Rapide Frontier
The Rapide Frontier is a cluster of crystal spheres at the distant edge of the Known Spheres. The region's name derives from the numerous one-way Phlogiston currents that link the spheres of the Frontier together.
Historically on the fringes of wider astral society, the Rapide Frontier contains a mixture of new and established spelljamming cultures and people, and more attention has fallen on the region in the wake of the Second Unhuman War, when one of the final battles of that war, the Battle of Gardenspace, was fought in the middle of the Frontier.
Far from sometimes oppressive oversight, and protection, of the Imperial Elven Navy, the Rapide Frontier contains a mixture of opportunity and danger alike for the spelljamming crews that brave its currents and spheres.
Geography
The Rapide Frontier contains thirteen crystal spheres, which include thriving, ancient societies and uninhabited wastelands. They are often divided geographically into the Inner and Outer Spheres.
The Inner Spheres are made up of the five crystal spheres. Among the Inner Spheres are:
Each of the Outer Spheres are located on one of the three major Flow curernts that form the borders of the Rapide Frontier. The Outer Spheres include:
- Podspace
- Emberspace
- Nilespace
- Pillarspace
- Bugspace
- Arborspace
- Bluespace
- Coldspace
Localized Phenomena
While one-way Phlogiston currents are not uncommon throughout the Known Spheres, most currents tend to favor one direction while still allowing slower passage in the opposite direction. By contrast, the Rapide Frontier contains only three Flow currents (Bug-Pillar, Garden-Mind, Mind-Arcana) that allow for two-way travel. These one-way currents have forced the spacefaring races and cultures of the Frontier to interact with one another frequently, as any trip away from one's home sphere invariable results in passing by or through multiple foriegn spheres.
History
For centuries, the Rapide Frontier was known but not an important center of the astral community. It's distance from the core of the Known Spheres and proximity to the Arcane Outer Flow, beyond which the rules of magic begin varying wildly, made traveling to the Frontier an unappealing prospect.
The first Frontier civilization to gain access to spelljamming technology was the kingdom of Kemet in Nilespace around 2150 BCR. They were followed, over the next several thousand years, by the residents of Arborspace, Arcanaspace, and Pillarspace.
In 820 CR, a group of Shardminds create their colony on the ringworld Salus in Mindpsace. This colony would go on to become the largest community of shardminds out of the multiple regions bordering the Frontier.
In 902 CR, the planet Syre in Arcanaspace became embroiled in a devastating world war. The weapons of mass destruction used are so great and terrible, and the effects of them so indiscriminate, that Arcanaspace was functionally shut off from the wider spelljamming community.
From 1063 to 1072, the Imperial Elven Navy (IEN) fought the disparate forces of spacefaring orc, goblinoid, ogre, and kobold tribes in the First Unhuman War. While the bulk of the conflict did not touch the Rapide Frontier, the Great Hunt that followed, where the victorious IEN began systematically hunting down the surviving fleets of their enemies, brought the elves to the Rapide Frontier. The expansion of elven hegemony after the war and the elves' desire to stay vigilant to prevent their various enemies from regrouping, lead to the establishment of the IEN's base in Coldspace in 1078.
In 1282, the all-consuming war in Arcanaspace ended with the ascension of the sphere's new gods, the Major Arcana. As the people of Syre began to rebuild their societies, they were again welcomed back into the spacefaring community.
The inhabitants of Arborspace had long long proven themselves to be the most technologically advanced civilization in the Frontier, thanks to the power generated by burning the sap of the Modun world tree. However, in 1412, it became public that the sap of the Modun had nearly been exhausted. In order to keep the Arborian way of life, the world tree's connection to the past, present, and future of the planet was utilized to allow Arborians to mine sap from the distant future once it had reformed. Doing this required the creation of a far more authoritarian government than had existed previously and the institution of a mining draft.
A group of pirates harrassing the trading vessels of the Frontier, led by the vampirate Captain Flynt Locke, settled in Podspace in 1474 to form a stronghold from the IEN and any other group that would retaliate against them.
From 1479 to 1485, the Known Spheres were dragged again to conflict during the Second Unhuman War. Unlike the first, the fighting between the IEN and the Scro had expanded to include the Frontier, as elven and Scro vessels clashed in violent and pitched battles, forcing nearly everyone to risk choosing a side or risk being destroyed. In 1485, one of the climactic battles of the war, the Battle of Gardenspace, was fought in the Frontier, which saw the destruction of both the entire Scro Tarantula Fleet and the IEN's pursuing fleet, save for one elven vessel.
Following the treaty that ended the Second Unhuman War, the elven control over the region has waned, as the IEN has focused most of their effort on the core Known Spheres. While the IEN are still garrisoned in Coldspace, their presence in the Frontier has been joined by the Scro with their base in Emberspace. Though no longer at war, the tension between the two forces has left the Frontier on edge.
Additionally, the floating meteoropolis the Rock of Bral arrived in the Rapide Frontier during the later years of the Second Unhuman War, fleeting the Scro Tarantula Fleet. The presence of the Rock has brought never-before-seen commerce and trade to the Frontier, which was once a true backwater.
Interactive Map of the Rapid Frontier
by Harris
Type
Galactic Sector
Location under
Included Locations
Comments
Author's Notes
The Rapide Frontier was originally created as a modification of Mystaraspace, created in the fanzine Threshold, by John Calvin (aka chimpman). Some spheres were kept relatively intact, such as Pillarspace, while others are entirely original, like Arcanaspace. Nonetheless, the look of the Frontier would not be how it is if not for this preestablished work. The Threshold issue containing information on the spheres that would be modified for the Frontier is available online, and I encourage everyone to read the great work there using this link.