It is the year 10,174 A.G. of the Padishah Imperium of Man, ruled over by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. It is a time of expansion, of discovery, of new heights.

Now open to the wider galactic spheres through new influxes of disruptions through the establishment of the GalRails pan-galactic travel system, the Imperium has opened its eyes to a fundamental truth that has been known for hundreds of years. Humanity was not alone in the great dark depths of space. And now, after nearly nineteen millenia of isolation, this subset of humanity has now been exposed to new ideas, new technologies, and new knowledge.

It is upon the world of Kaitain, our story begins, Imperial Throneworld of the Corrino dynasty, as established in the ancient Butlerian Jihad against the thinking machines that they believed had held them back. The throne room of Emperor Shaddam was gaudy, bedecked in enough gold, jewels, and rarer objects to serve as a royal treasury unto itself.

Dozens of nobles and politicians from other fiefdoms, the Landsraad who ratified all orders and Imperial mandates of the Emperor, meandered about the throne room attending their own business as they went through their politicking and arrangements under the watchful eye of their Emperor. Shaddam himself sat upon a massive throne carved of a single piece of Haatz quartz, the pale crystal shot through with streaks of green and gold, with billows of fiery reds and yellows staining it, giving an impression of the white dressed Emperor sitting on a throne of solid flame. Known by another name, the Golden Lion Throne, the preeminent symbol of the Emperor's power.

An alarm began to lowly drone, signaling the time for an important meeting the Emperor had scheduled. It is known in the Imperium that the Padishah Emperor did not take many face to face meetings, and thus, it must have been important enough to disrupt a meeting of the Landsraad.

The many political agents swiftly moved out of the room, though several entered as they made their ways out. From behind the throne came the Reverend Mother, and personal consort to the Emperor himself, Anirul Corrino nèe Anirul Sadow-Tonkin, dressed in queenly traditional black robes, her head shaven, and iron teeth implanted in her jaws. From the opposite right side of the room came Jubal Irat, Mentat Archthinker, the current head over the Mentat Training Schools his red sapho stained lips neatly hidden underneath a layer of bushy white hair from his prodigious mustache and beard, the gold and red admiralty suit he wore indicative of his high office in the Imperium. From the left side of the room came the Tlelaixu Master Huixl Seriat, the current High Master of House Tlelaixu. His rather offputting appearance of a blue and grey jumpsuit combined with his small eyes and unnaturally sharp teeth showed he was far from a baseline human, despite his rather handsome red copper hair and chiseled features.

His personal Council at his side, the Emperor pressed on a small keypad installed into the arm of the Golden Lion Throne, opening the massive doors that stood nearly 200 paces from where he sat. Shaddams stern face showed its age, not traditionally, for he was nearly two hundred years of age and only looked to be in his forties due to his clinical doses of melange, but his stormy grey eyes with their blue flecked irises show their years. This was a ruler, a hard set Emperor of his realm, and he chose these few to see his face in person, an honor to such extra galatic guests, the first of their kind in the Imperiums history.