Foundations of Sdu: Past, Present and Into the Future
Following the great wars spanning prehistory, the Iru peoples return to form the Old Sdu Kingdom.
From Book Three of Kannes — Seles
In the days of Ellemdillem of Dyet, the Kyir entered the sector of space once known as Uma. They were a technologically advanced people desirous to enslave all in the universe, motivated by their belief that as gods they were superior to others. By proclamation, they reckoned themselves to be heirs of the Asin, beings who helped settle the worlds after the creation event. The Kyir originated from Uma as descendants of the Iru Kro, but they had left eons ago in pursuit of exploration and scientific discovery.
Upon their return, regional leaders cautioned them to shun a nameless planet, warning that it was the domain of a god older than the Kyir that was not friendly to visitors. And yet, in arrogance they moved to claim the planet and a number of other planet states to form a regional base for their universal offensive. The return was celebrated as destiny, but Kyir political interests and military factions were privately interested in mining the planet, to be known as Sdu, rich natural resources such as Carium, a precious mineral used to operate the stargates.
The supreme general of the interstellar Cloud Yisibi served as ruler of Uma, part of a district they named “Kyyifin” which rested on the outer reaches of their empire. In the second year of his dominion he encountered the ancient Iru leader Guuerdur, who by that time was thought to be a legend, but the Kyir soon learned he was the being others had warned them about. Guuerdur emerged from his self-imposed seclusion on Sdu to confront and drive away the invaders. The Kyir lieutenants fell and Guuerdur flung their carcasses into the atmosphere.
The supreme general moved in with a legion of warships and assault troops, each clad with adaptable Kyir armor and heavy weaponry that they had perfected over the centuries, and yet Guuerdur prevailed, smashing through their defenses and enveloping their war machines with bands of enchanted metal that shredded them to pieces. He slew the sons of the Kyir King and shattered the supreme general’s troops with a flash of ambient energies summoned from the world of Sdu itself. Guuerdur set the flagship of the supreme general afire and forced it backwards into the Kyir claimed space. The supreme general escaped, but he was later executed by the king for his failure to suppress the uprising.
“ The nine who remained became known as the Gasham — “The Elder Ten” of Sdu, who were Guuerdu (Guuerdur), Anaru, Antares, Xteru, Deres, Nexu, Marru, Arayu (Arayun), Gemmades and Gese.”
The assault devastated the morale of the Kyir soldier class, and the king and Kyir leaders quickly escalated the conflict by rallying their people into support of a full-scale war, where they sent for reinforcements and drafted recruits from across their already vast realm. Faced with the possibility of defeat, Guuerdur sent a universal call to his ancient Iru brothers and sisters requesting that they return home — and they responded.
Their numbers were once in the tens of thousands — but now they were less than twenty. With their combined might, however, they easily defeated the Kyir by triggering a gene in their DNA which made them extraordinarily susceptible to the light and heat of Polma, the Sdu sun. They next attacked the Kyir warships, ground bases deep within the empire, and hundreds of their capital states, forcing them to retreat into the outer rim of space, shattering their grip on the worlds that they had conquered and bringing an end to the Kyir as a power.
Afterwards, nine of the remaining Iru made a pact amongst them to unite under a single leader to prevent their numbers from wasting away to nothing. They renamed a withered expanse of Uma “Xiru” (Sdu), meaning “The House of Iru” after their kind. The nine who remained with Guuerdur became known as the Gasham — “The Elder Ten” of Sdu, who were Guuerdu (Guuerdur), Anaru, Antares, Xteru, Deres, Nexu, Marru, Arayu (Arayun), Gemmades and Gese, while the nine who left were called “Aknazun” meaning “The Ones Beyond,” for they chose to leave Sdu to dwell among other peoples.
But for some of them to simply remain on Sdu was not enough. Xteru had spent millennia as an assumed deity of his own vast kingdom — the long extinct Empire of Endi. He attempted to convince the others that they should expand their dominion across the universe and subdue it. He was primarily opposed by Nexu, who was envious of Guuerdur as leader and wanted to rule over the Iru himself. Nexu subverted Xteru’s plans and war broke out between them. Guuerdur fought both and negotiated a peace, convincing them to set aside their differences.
But Xteru was dissatisfied and he secretly contrived to overthrow Guuerdur. He convinced several of the Iru to join his side, and in a final act of envy and rage, Xteru struck down Guuerdur with a blow from his mighty axe. He next took the dissipating energies from Guuerdur’s body and used it to greatly increase his own strength, and then afterward he turned on his kinsmen and imprisoned them in a nether dimension of his own creation. Only Arayun escaped and he fled from Xteru’s power.
Xteru then used his new strength to gather the decedents of the Iru from across the universe to transplant them to Sdu, including many of the subjects he had ruled over in Endi. Xteru then reigned over the Iru as a god, founding the ancient Sdu Empire. For millennia he ruled uncontested while expanding his kingdom unto the farthest reaches of the universe.
Facts about the Old Sdu Kingdom have been contested, with a number of scholars insisting that its preeminence is more legend than reality. Nevertheless, the Old Kingdom continues to be an inspirational model for political leaders and would-be despots seeking to revive its legend as the model authority for governance and administrative rule.
