Foreword

THIS STORY CONTAINS SUBJECTS LIKE HOMOPHOBIA, SEXISM AND VIOLENCE.

This story takes place thousands of years after our era, in a galaxy far from the Milky Way. The calendar of this universe begins at the end of the "War of the Guides," a terrible twelve-year conflict waged by the Nuoro system, a neighbor of Viterbo, where our tale unfolds. Controlled by an empire hungry for expansion, Nuoro attempted to annex surrounding worlds. However, the fierce defense and alliances formed by these systems prevented the empire from achieving its goals, though the war's violence left indelible scars on all its participants.

Four years after the end of the War of the Guides, on the advanced planet Raven 2, a group of criminals known as the Golden Soldiers took advantage of the political crisis to overthrow an already weakened republic. They seized control and declared the planet under their command. The interplanetary war, which had ravaged so many worlds, had left Raven 2 in a state of desolation, poverty, and despair. The Golden Soldiers, feeding off this instability, installed a climate of terror, deploying their armed forces in the streets, the countryside, and even along the coasts.

Once recognized for its joyful and free population, Raven 2 was praised for its pioneering promotion of women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the rights of the Rafîkis, all t intelligent alien species. However, this legacy was shattered under the rule of the Golden Soldiers. Women were reduced to servitude, and millions of Rafîkis and members of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested and treated like animals, their cries of despair echoing in the heavy, suffocating air.

Faced with this overwhelming oppression, resistance seemed impossible. The Golden Soldiers solidified their total control over Raven 2, extinguishing the last sparks of hope and plunging the people into an endless night.