The Isolation Famine

The Isolation Famine refers to one of the Largest-scale anti-humanitarian crimes to occur during the Golden Millennium. As implied by the quite fitting name, the event involved a trade embargo led by the Couatl Pact, resulting in the death of over 5 trillion civilians across several systems under the jurisdiction of Calanthite governors.

The Famine began as the result of a relatively petty feud. The head Rajpramukh of the Couatl Pact was involved romantically with a Calanthian Shepherd (religious leader), and when it was revealed, the current Calanthian Lanceholder Chizkiyahu ordered the relationship ceased, as it reflected badly for a Calanthian Shepherd to be involved with slavers. In response, the Shepherd fled, abandoning their flock and taking wealth and artifacts with them. In their escape, the Shepherd murdered several members of their own flock, stole Calanthian classified secrets, and broke their oaths of dedication. Outraged by such a betrayal from a Shepherd, the Lanceholder and other upper levels of the Calanthian Shepherds ruled vengeance, and utilizing the Lance of the Ram, annihilated the Shepherd along with their escape vessel.

Enraged and distraught, the head Rajpramukh ordered a complete trade embargo of all Calanthian ports. The Calanthians, who already had tenuous relations with the Couatl Pact, imported little but the most essential goods from Couatl ports, and primarily imported food to systems with dim suns. These systems were the first to feel the brunt of the embargo, as they immediately transitioned to emergency rations. After 10 galactic standard years of continuous embargo, despite the assassination of 8 head Rajpramukhs and over 200 lesser ones, systems began to starve. No plans supported this long of a delay in response. The Calanthians largely focused their support on major systems, as food transports to minor ones within the first year were all beset by slavers wielding electra. Planets which attempted to grow their own crops mysteriously found their water, even when filtered, to contain enough herbicide to prevent any growth, and Wormnet-connected systems across planets were destroyed by means of Inchworm or other viruses.

The embargo continued on for 50 more galactic standard years, and ended with the fall of one of the Calanthians' great strongholds. The tremendous loss to population across the galaxy, while less than 5% of Calanthian numbers, resulted in permanent instability. Trust in the Shepherd among Calanthian outer holdings decreased significantly, and eventually contributed to the fragmentation, and the Remembrance.

-Crassius Hadrana