After the defeat of the Anglars in 12 A.A. (After Andross), Peppy Hare became the presiding General over the Cornerian Armed Forces and the leader of the Cornerian Empire. He was a man of the people, governing even less by the military than the beloved General Pepper had, and his reign marked a golden era for the people of Lylat. After 32 years in office, General Peppy died of old age. The people of the system were heartbroken, and later events would suggest that old age wasn’t quite the cause of death…

In the same year of 44 A.A., a new leader by the name of Jaden Torres took control. He was a charismatic bloodhound of only about thirty years of age, well-known for his governing of several Cornerian colonies on the now fledging planet of Venom. He was the voice of change, he said, and he was elected with ease.

His change was at first just what he’d promised, everything working for the people, but in time his style grew more and more militaristic. The people complained, but he would hear none of it, only tightening his grip on the system and, from time to time, having to silence small rebellious sects that continued to question his authority. By 50 A.A., the Cornerian Empire was a military dictatorship headed up by Jaden Torres himself, corrupt with power.

In Banku of 51 A.A., Venom, the very planet he had helped to its now thriving status, requested to secede from the Empire, disliking the direction in which Lylat was headed. Torres was infuriated, and he immediately deployed troops to the streets of New Corneria City, along with many colonies across Venom. In time, this action spread to the rest of the system, with the Cornerian Guard occupying every inhabited planet. Poverty grew, and with it, starvation, and as Corneria fell into disarray, the people eyed Torres’s mansion in the heart of the capital with disgust and loathing. People were shot on sight for the smallest of crimes, usually theft, and the evil of the Empire grew.

It was too much for them.

In 53 A.A., in an all-out display of force, a previously silent rebellion lashed out, sweeping the streets of Corneria City. It was the largest rebellion yet, having learned from the mistakes of its predecessors and thus having remained in the shadows, growing, for quite some time. Jaden Torres was brutally murdered in his mansion where he had locked himself in his room in fear and cowardice. The killer: Blood Claw, a young red fox, and the leader of the rebellion. To this day, no one knows his true name, but it’s speculated that he has descendents still living in Lylat…

Much of the Cornerian Guard had fallen, and what was left on Venom was eradicated by rebel squadrons deployed for that very purpose. The people were happy: Their most hated leader was dead, and the seemingly equally corrupt Cornerian Army was now in submission, dwindling in number. What was left of the Cornerian Army resolved to restore the system to an era much like the most successful of all time, that of General Peppy Hare.

Understandably, Blood Claw’s Rebellion refused to let Corneria City, the heart of the Empire, back into its foe’s hands. Unsuccessful negotiations continued between the two sides in the now all but decimated capital city until 56 A.A., but to no avail. A tired Cornerian Army, now having gained some numbers back, attempted to take the city back by force, and while the reclaiming is a success, Blood Claw’s forces regained control in an assault less than a year later.

War enveloped the whole of Lylat as both sides repeatedly gained and lost control of Corneria City. Aquas City, the origin of the rebellion and the birthplace of Blood Claw, has become a base of operations for the rebels. In light of constant conflict, it becomes a military state, and its citizens become impoverished. By 65 A.A., Corneria City has become so damaged that it is unsalvageable and of no use to either side. The Cornerian Army retreats to its old base on Katina, renaming it Grey Base in honor of the greatest fighter pilot ever to defend it, and also renaming themselves: They are now the New Cornerian Forces. Blood Claw and his rebellion also retreated, asserting complete dominion over Aquas and her people.

The war continued for over a century, neither side gaining much, but the entire system losing everything. In 118 A.A., the Rebellion claimed Titania as their own, enraging the native Barkule people, a tribe of blue jackals that called the desert planet home. After the rebels refused to leave, warfare ensued that led to the annihilation of countless ranks of Barkule warriors, and after 50 years’ time, the remaining jackals were rounded up, packed into small cargo ships and ejected from their home. After crash landing on Venom and discussing matters with the powers that be there, the Barkule were allowed to live an existence there in refuge and isolation from the rest of the people. Their exile continued for 11 long years.

The tale of Titania was tragic, but truly, no world was left untouched, though the likes of Fichina and Venom have stayed out of it as much as possible. Fichina was occupied briefly from 131 A.A. to 137 A.A., but little was accomplished by the NCF there, so they pulled out and swore to leave the frozen planet in peace. Zoness was completely desecrated, both sides ignoring past agreements and dumping copious amounts of waste into its vast oceans. Lylat is a shell of its former self, and the war is nothing but a stalemate.

After years of discontent among the starving people of Aquas, the rebellion devised a brilliant plan to dispose of would-be insurgents—they created their own group, called the Aquas Underground, which acted as a pseudo-rebellion, but was under their control. Only the highest up in the Underground knew that it was all a ploy crafted by Blood Claw’s Rebellion to trap any revolutionaries, or even spies from the NCF, opposed to their cause. However, after its creation in 165 A.A., the Rebellion-controlled Aquas Underground only remained as such for six years when its emblem and name was stolen to serve as true opposition to its creators. In 171 A.A., Redshire Nought of Aquas took control of this faction, weeding out those faithful to Blood Claw’s Rebellion and in their place putting his own people so that they could truly fight the oppressors of Aquas.

The brutality continued this way until one fateful day in the year 178 A.A. when a nuclear attack at Aquas City occurred. Nuclear warheads, having been outlawed since the time of General Pepper, hadn’t been manufactured since even farther before that, and even in the animosity of the current conflict, neither side had resorted to such extremes. The attack was intended to strike the rebel base there, but the presence of three notable persons at the site, Captain Michael Grey of the NCF and Redshire Nought and Marcel Crow of the Aquas Underground, prevented any incident. Once it was determined that neither side was at fault, Lt. Col. Horus Chike of the Rebellion was called in to assist, and catastrophe was averted. Regardless of any temporary safety, the people of Lylat had their eyes opened to a new threat: A terrorist faction calling themselves “Apostasy.”

A short two weeks later, the leaders of this new threat made a system-wide announcement: It was their dominion that would prevail over all others, and those to stand in their way were not advised to do so. Negotiations were immediately opened between all other factions, regardless of the century-long hatred and conflict—one could say that it was the first wise decision the war-driven people had made in quite some time. It was determined that an alliance would be formed and called just that: The Alliance. Allies on both sides combined to form one force with which to combat Apostasy. Agreements were met, as well. For the Underground’s participation, Nought requested that the people of Aquas be left alone, and that the Rebellion not try to rule them as it was never their right to do. Also of the Underground, Zane Abraham made the unyielding demand that his homeworld, Zoness, be spared from any further pollution, and that immediately following the resolving of the war, it would be cleaned so that future generations could live in peace and health.

The Barkule Clan of Titania agreed to enter the fray with their allies, the NCF, and in return asked that the Rebellion vacate their planet as soon as the fighting was done. For the time being though, they would allow bases to be maintained on their desert world, despite previous transgressions.

Kruger Lombardi, a descendent of the renowned Falco Lombardi of Star Fox, withdrew his Space Hot Rodders from their allegiance to the Rebellion, though he promised that in their wanderings they would only raid Apostasy supply lines, never anything of the Alliance. In return, they were allowed to keep whatever loot they gained from said raids to themselves, as long as nothing of the nuclear variety was ever obtained.

The Alliance, now having been in operation for a bit over a year, has encountered some unrest, considering the fact that former enemies have been made to work together. They wait in an uneasy ceasefire, having heard nothing from Apostasy for several months. No one knows when the next attack will arise, but strange activity coming from the condemned planet Eladard has suspicions running high…

The year is 179 A.A. How will Lylat define itself?