((It's shorter, because I don't feel that you all should have to read as much as I had typed last

time. It's still long, and that's because I can't help but to focus on details.))

Empire Name: The State of Anima

Primary Race: There is no true 'primary race', because the Forerunners are a biologically-
superior, assimilable species. However, the unofficial primary race is currently 'Animal'. (Or
'Animarian' in some cases)

Empire Description: An empire of creative, intelligence God-beings, that may be weak in 'god-
terms', but powerful in current intergalactic terms. They seek to collect and learn-- forwarding
themselves as a whole in the process.

Empire History
This is a long, intricate, and extensive history. I feel that it would be more appropriate in the
'Races' category-- but I'm going to discuss the wars that led to the formation of the separate
empires.

The 'Whole Shite'

Think of this section as a preclusion. Long ago, there was a god-race called the 'Forerunners'.
Their home-world was a planet called 'Nagas'. As a god-race, they can carry-out a myriad of
abilities, but can't tap into their 'full-power', the lack-of-knowledge about their ensemble. They
were fascinated by Earth, and chose to base their current ensemble off of many Earthen aspects.
They were especially interested in the Animal Kingdom, and assimilated all life-forms into their
'gene pool' using their 'assimilable' attributes. Long story short, they've come a long way in the
history of the universe-- existing during the age of the dinosaurs. Because of their choices, they
contain every Earthen species in their gene pool, can transform at will, and shape-shift (on
occasion). They also have immunities to just about every illness, disease, and infection that
exists, as well as cures. They are a wise race, and wish to learn all that they can. They were so
attached to the Animal Kingdom, that they've changed their planet name to 'Anima', and their
demonym to 'Animal'. (Every Animal has their own 'heritage', the same way the humans have
their 'heritages' and 'ethnicities'. You may also match this fact up with the knowledge of different
Earthen animal 'breed' or 'subspecies'.)

The Beginning
The old days. I mean the OOLLLD DAYYS-- as in, 'when-the-universe-first-got-here', days. A god-
race that called themselves the 'Forerunners' existed. The the Forerunners are credited as 'the
creators of Latin'. Xel Naga means 'Race of Gods' in Latin, anyway. This very-loosely suggests
that the Forerunners did in-fact, have a significant role in the formation of the Latin language.
Forerunners didn't have a knowledge of peace and war, good and evil, life and death. Before
things changed, the Forerunners spent their days discussing what little they could of philosophy.
More or less sharing how they felt, what they thought, etc. (Note that in these days, there really
wasn't too much shite to think about.) The Forerunners loved learning things, and learned about
the universe a lot quicker than most. The universe during this time was quiet-- too quiet.

I'm Bored, What Do You Want To Do?

Of course, a god-race that can't even 'know everything', with nothing to do, will become bored.
Ah, yes. Boredom is the only 'non-existent entity' that affected even the greatest of beings.
(Even Gods) Accordingly, the Forerunners were eventually influenced to find something else to
do. The small, quiet planet of Nagas would soon be the first planet to have 'astronauts'. The
Forerunners eventually looked towards the stars to find other worlds-- maybe with life on them
that were greatly-similar to themselves. The Forerunners had though of everything else that they
could do-- to no avail. The the Forerunners that were seen as 'Wisers'-- those who were or
seemed smarter than the general populace, acted as leaders, of sorts, and the rest of the Nagan
race looked to them for the word on what to do next. The Wisers were -apparently- so bored, that
they could not think of new ways to stave-off their boredom. With both the populace and leaders
asking what the other wished to do, someone had eventually decided to see what else was out
there. The soon-to-be 'astronauts' prepared to visit other worlds-- to find other life-forms.
Going The Distance, Go The Mile
The the Forerunners didn't go too far-- staying well-inside of this universe, mainly in the Milky
Way Galaxy. Mars, Venus, Pluto-- you name it. The Forerunners even visited planets that wouldn't
have been discovered for eons. They went to the universe's Outer Rim -the edge of space- just to
find life. When they had reached one planet, and failed to find life, they went to the other. Their
new 'one more' policy was becoming unhealthy-- neglecting their home-world, Nagas.

Earth? Are you sure?

Many years have passed. Things happened, life-forms were 'spawned'. As bored as the
Forerunners were, they were still gods, and, thought that beggars could be choosers. For some
reason, it was decided that Earth would be skipped in the Forerunners' search for intergalactic
life-forms. Why was Earth skipped? Who knows? It is in the same solar-system as Mars, Venus,
Pluto, and numerous other planets that were visited. I guess it could be aligned with those times
you're in the store looking for one item, find it, but don't like the colour, so you discard it and
become picky. In any case, the the Forerunners were indeed guilty of this act, and, it would have
cost them their entire search-- making them destined for damn-near eternal boredom. (At least
until they developed the gusto to go out and search again.) The the Forerunners were feeling
strange, and -not knowing why- decided to land on Earth. The search-party figured it to be some
kind of 'exhaustion' (or what they knew of it at least), and thought that a brief period of rest
would fix this. A few Forerunners thought that Earth might have something of interest. The rest
thought the few were crazy, and asked again to verify that they meant Earth, as in, the planet
that they were nearing. So, it was agreed. The the Forerunners would travel to Earth for resting,
while trying to find anything of interest.

It's...Beautiful
Xel Nagan Lore -'Lorem Novi'- is quoted as saying: “We had seen this planet-- Earth, and its
beauty beheld our sight and attentions. What have we, that this lush and lavish world have been
hidden under our sights for a multitude of times.” If you want the “English” version, they said:
“How in the hell could we have ignored such a beautiful planet? How long would we have missed
such...splendor?” And, the Forerunners did indeed find Earth to be the most beautiful of planets
that they'd been on. Some even thought it to be more of a beheld sight than Nagas. Earth (at
this time) was...perfect-- a...'haven', if you will. Lorem Novi described the first actual on-ground
sight of Earth as: “A perfectly-harmonious collaboration of life. Trees that seemed to touch the
sky. The sky here was actually a perfect shade of blue, with the perfect balance of clouds in it.”
After the the Forerunners had arrived and rested, explorations and excursions began. T'was not
until their third day that the first life-form was discovered, however. A Forerunner had stepped in
a puddle. The odd sensation of 'loose-ground' surprised them. The Forerunners could see their
reflection in it. The water really caught the entirety of the Forerunners' focus-- clearly in awe of
this 'loose-ground', and the fact that it could show them what they looked like.

Earth Has Life! Our Search Is At-Last...Over!

In a nearby bushel, an animal -a Raptor- was stalking the Forerunner. Of course, a dinosaur
doesn't know what a 'God' is, so it's would naturally treat one the same way it would treat any
life-form that was moderately-sized-- as prey. The lone Forerunner heard the Raptor's growl, and
was startled by it. Turning to the left, the Nagan caught eye of the dinosaur-- as if waiting for an
introduction. After the Raptor had growled a second time, the Forerunner met the animal's eyes.
Once-again, becoming fascinated, they stood there-- simply watching this beast behave
naturally. The Raptor eventually attacked the Forerunner-- appearing to bite the left-arm of the
latter being. As a god-race, the Forerunners were fairly-weak, due to their self-containment. Sure,
they may have been Gods, but they weren't trying too hard to keep it that way. The Forerunner
felt pain, but barely tried to move-- eventually doing so after 60 seconds had passed. The
Forerunner had begun to realize what was occurring-- he was being attacked, the dino saw them
as food. Fearing for....well....whatever semblance of life that the Forerunners knew of at the time,
the Forerunner feared for his overall well-being. He knew he was being attacked, and the pain-
messages started to rise. The Forerunner began trying to shake the hungry predator loose, but to
no avail. After what would have seemed like 10 minutes to anyone watching the struggle, the
Forerunner did something that could not be explained. From the outside-looking-in, the
Forerunner had began to 'open' some type of hidden ability. There was a flash of yellow-white
light -the source of said light being the Forerunner's arm- and began to strobe, even. The Raptor
kept going for it, obviously ignoring the light, but the Forerunner was in a state of confusion-- not
having the foggiest idea of the ongoing ensemble.

Discovery
The strobe light, slowly becoming an orb of light, was beginning to change into many different
color and hues. The Forerunner that was being made lunch of (we'll call him Hhorus), was still in
shock-- in relation to the situation. The growing orb of light soon engulfed the attacking Raptor,
and then, Hhorus as well. The light-orb was now one color, red. The red orb had 'peeled-off' of
both the Raptor and Hhorus, forming a cube above the head of Hhorus. The Raptor was scared of
the light-- as red wasn't a pleasant color to it, I guess, and ran away. The red cube took the shape
of the Raptor that was now going without lunch for the day, and Hhorus saw it. He flinched--
thinking it were the same animal, going to attack him again. Instead, the red light object had
began to lower itself-- to about the would-be eye-level of Hhorus. (If he had actual eyes.) Then,
this light hovered at the same level, not doing anything but glowing. Hhorus felt 'connected' to
this object-- as though it 'called-out' to him, and he reached for it. As he began to reach for it,
another Forerunner called his name. The usual “are you lost”, and “why are you alone”, were
asked. But before Hhorus could reply, his traveling kin-mate noticed the red orb. Reaching for it,
the Forerunner's hand was briefly slapped by Hhorus-- advising his kin not to touch it, because it
was an 'unknown object', and was potentially dangerous. The kin looked at him and scoffed,
making a second attempt at touching the light when Hhorus wasn't paying attention. The raptor-
light combusted upon contact with the Forerunner's hand, sending both Hhorus and his kin flying
backward. Hhorus got up, and regained composure. “Did I not tell you to abstain from touch?” He
asked, impatiently. But his kin wasn't recognizable. What Hhorus saw in front of him was an odd
version of the attacking Raptor from a few minutes ago. This one had four limbs that seemed to
mimic that of the Xel Nagan appearance. Hhorus immediately grabbed the strange figure. “What
have you done with my kin!? Speak!” Scratching his head, Hhorus's kin (Signit), looked as a
confused, anthropomorphic Velociraptor would. “Hhorus, 'tis I, Signit. Do not play dumb.” The
creature seemed to speak the tongue that Hhorus and his kin did, as well as, match Signit's
voice. However, Hhorus didn't seem to buy it. “Liar”, he spat. “Disclose the location of my kin,
or...I shall do something unsavory!” Hhorus was grabbing the figure even harder this time. “Argh.
Hhorus! Do not trifle! 'Tis I...Signit. Unhand me.” Signit was surprisingly calm, for someone being
prehistorically assaulted. Hhorus looked hurtfully confused. He didn't understand. “Signit...” he
said, in psuedo-awe. “Y-you're...”

“What am I?” Signit asked, impatiently.

“You're...not carrying our rightful appearance.”

“What do you mean?” Signit began looking around. He didn't know exactly what he was looking
for, but he was thinking of a way to see what he looked like. In his haste, he stepped in a
puddle-- as his kin did. The soft, weak sensation surprised him-- again, in the same way as his
kin. “What is this!?” He yelled. “Hmm. It...it is...me?” He reached for the calm-again pool of water
on the ground after he had knelt. The ripples distorted Signit's reflection, then restored it. Signit
saw himself, and was shocked. He stumbled back, losing balance. “What happened?!” He asked.

“Unreal”, was all that Hhorus could manage to express.

“Hhorus, do not stand there like an idle being of no significance. Call our brothers!” Though,
Signit had forgotten -in his haste- that this was unnecessary, as the Forerunners could 'sense' an
'uneasy' event when kin were involved. In a matter of seconds, the remaining Forerunners of the
search-party were there. All in total shock when they caught sight of Signit. The onlookers of the
search-party all had questions and statements of their own...

What is it?
What happened?
What a creature...
What a creature, indeed. Hhorus had opened some kind of hidden ability of the Forerunner race.
Signit -obviously- had been on the receiving end of this ensemble. This ability would come to be
known as 'assimilation'. Hhorus didn't know it, but he opened that door when his fascination
blended with his escalated state-of-awareness. Of course, passion + concentration = some shite
happening. But I digress. Signit was just staring into the sky, in total shock yet still, of his new
appearance. Whoever seemed to be in-charge of the search-party, spoke-up, and began
demanding answers to questions.

“Who, or what, has done this to our kin?”

Numerous “i have not the foggiest” and “i wish that such an answer existed” escaped the group,
save Hhorus, who slowly began connecting events together, and backed-out of the main circle.
Hhorus seemed to forget that he was the equivalent of being second-in-command, and, because
of this, was directly asked when the question arose the second time.

“Hhorus! What have you to explain of this?” Asked the apparent commander.

He tried to look innocently confused. “Well...it is possible that I could be responsible for a certain
series of events that transpired to-”

“So, you actually know how this happened?

“I have a general conception.”

“Well,” said the commander, extending his arms. “Please share that conception with us.”

“I know not how to explain this with perfect sensibility. But about three days after our arrival, I-”

Hhorus didn't get to finish because Signit, the strange dinosaur, totally legged-it.

The search-party, commander, and Hhorus stared. After a while, the commander spoke-up. “Well,
don't just stand their in a useless idle manner! Pursue him! We have to find out what occurrences
are taking place within his being. With an outstretched hand, similar to that of military generals
that signal frontal assaults, the search-party commander gestured the group in a general
direction. Though, it were unnecessary. Because the search-party saw which way Signit went.

The Chase, The Assessment, The Answer

Signit was running, as fast as his scaled legs would let him. He was running not because of fear
that he would be mistreated, but because he wanted to be alone to 'assess' this whole ordeal. He
felt as though introspective thought was required in order to keep his sanity. He didn't get too
far, as Forerunners were Gods, and faster than Earthen life-forms-- who were scientifically 'more
dense' than the beings of Nagas. Two members of the search-party had gained-on, and
eventually tackled Signit-- who was thrashing about and roaring plenty until the search-party's
commander caught-up.

Eyeing Signit, in part-awe, part-disgust, he sighed. “Signit” he said calmly. “Why don't you calm
down, and hear Hhorus's explanation about what exactly transpired here during this day.”

Still roaring, Signit didn't fully hear what his commander had said.

“Argh. I said...SILENCE YOURSELF!”

Signit ceased the noise and antics immediately. Once he appeared to be calm enough for
coherent conversation, the two search-party members released him. “Behold”, he said upon his
release. “There wasn't too much need nor necessity for that much contact.”

“Silence, as Hhorus is about to speak, Signit.”

Hhorus nodded. “All right. I was attacked by some kind of....life-form.”

Immediate gasps filled the air.

“Let him finish!” ordered the commander.

“It either detested my presence, or was too hungry. It tried to consume my arm-- to no avail. But,
I had eventually began to feel...this very uncomfortable sensation-- it's indescribable. I realized
that I was not in the best of situations, and that my well-being was compromised. So, I began to
panic-- still in awe of this powerful and fast life-form. Then, this light appeared. The source seem
to be my arm, and it eventually increased its size-- which ended-up covering the life-form and
myself.”

He's seen a life-form, here!

But how!?
We have finished our journey, at long last!

“No, no. My friends. Our journey is not yet complete. Hhorus has to finish his story, and we have
to find a way to communicate with this life-form...peacefully.” Said the commander. “Hhorus,” he
added. “If you would continue.”

“The light eventually shocked the life-form to the point of retreat. Leaving me alone with the now
red cube that was hovering above my head. The red cube soon transformed into an image of the
same life-form, which I feared would attack me again. Instead, I felt the light call-out to me, and I
began to reach for it. That's when Signit had called me, and -long story short- ended up touching
it himself. Even though I advised -against- doing that.”

The commander, now rubbing what would be his chin, sighed. “I see. Interesting, Hhorus.” He
turned to Signit, who was pretending not to understand what was going on. “Which makes you
the one with the most fault!”

Signit stammered, then scoffed. “Me?! I am at no such fault-- even if you think I am! If not for the
curiosity of your second-in-command, I would not look like this in the first place!”

“True,” the commander retorted. “But if not for your ignorance, you wouldn't be here, as well.”

Signit sighed. “This is true.”

“Well, we should report back to Nagas. Our recent-- Hhorus's discovery will be the interest of the
Wisers.”

“NO!” Hhorus exclaimed.

“Hhorus, calm your storm. Try again.”

“I do not mean to speak out of turn, but we still know not all of the aspects of Signit's ensemble. I
think...I think that I might have opened a hidden door of sorts during my struggle with the life-
form.”

“A....a...a door, you say?!”

“Yes. And revealing a discovery so sudden would surely disallow us any progress towards the
openening of this particular door. Or any door, as far I as I have it said.”

“Indeed, Hhorus” said the commander. “However, perhaps we can somehow collect more
members for the search-party, when they learn that life has been found!” Before Hhorus could
reply, the commander barked the orders to prepare for return to Nagas.
Return To Nagas...NOW!
And this is what happened. The Forerunners were back on Nagas-- and had approached the
Wisers with their new...'discovery'. Signit, in his...new state. The Wisers looked at one-another,
then at Signit. They'd asked to know what had happened, and Hhorus told them-- concluding the
story for the search-party. The Wisers said that they rather unsure of what to do next. The
search-party commander recommended that independent studies be taken-out on Earth, to see
if it were an able planet for the Forerunner race to inhabit. After many talks, and preparations,
the Forerunners prepared to move their entire 'scientific' collective to carry-out studies, and
report back to Nagas for the final verdict on what to do.
Can We Leave?
While the research team was on Earth, two more incidents of 'mysterious change of shape' had
occurred. One Forerunner was turned into a frog-like being, the other, some sort of aquatic
animal. The one who had changed into an aquatic animal, had somehow changed their shape
into the 'true form' of the animal that they had contact with. Of course, this sparked a lot of
conversation in interest within the Wisers' ranks and scientific collectives. For a while, it was
thought that Earth was 'poisonous' to Forerunners, and sent special Forerunners to 'test' its
environment. All of these 'hazmat' Forerunners returned unaffected, but claimed that Earth was
just as healthy as Nagas. Of course, the questions of 'The Doors' were still in-play. However, the
Forerunners weren't interested in them for now. They were however, ready to 'move' to Earth, to
study the life and environment there. The scientific collective gave the green-light, and the
Forerunners received the answer to their highly-anticipated question. However, a few
Forerunners stayed behind-- not wanting to 'dissolve their true natures', and maintain the
Forerunner race as a whole, and as its own. To this day, Forerunners exist. But they are strictly
unaffiliated.

We're on Earth, Now What?

I'll tell you what. The Forerunners went into pseudo-hibernation. That is, they observed from
afar-- only interacting when they came-upon a lone life-form. As the years passed, the
Forerunners would go-on to catalog every single living -animal, plant, or otherwise- specimen on
Earth. They even assimilated plankton and amoebic organisms. They eventually worked their
way up to parasites, allowing them to add myriad of parasitic qualities to their gene pool. They
did this until humans 'came-around'.

Humans & The Animarian Gene Pool

By the time the humans popped-up, Forerunners had already successfully assimilated 100% of all
organisms in the Animal Kingdom. They were bored-- again. Luckily, humans were around for
them to assimilate. Humans fascinated the Forerunner race-- even more-so than animals. The
humans seem to 'control' Earth-- going where they pleased, doing what they pleased. A carefree
species of seemingly-superior beings. The Forerunners simply had to assimilate their DNA.

The first Human-to-Forerunner DNA Assimilation Assessment was a failure. There was
something...odd, about the Humans' DNA. It wasn't like animal DNA. It seemed to...'act'
differently. Of course, studies were conducted. Forerunners lived amongst the Humans as their
pets and things. They didn't kill anything at all-- in their entire Earthen history. (Keep in mind how
dangerous their parasitic traits potentially are.) They just 'changed and prayed'. Meaning that
they Changed shape to mimic that of any household pet, and prayed that they could fool the
owners. Some worked-- able to access a good amount of Human DNA, while others failed-- being
stabbed-at, shot-at-- all sorts of horrible things.

After the Forerunners had thought that they had received enough Human DNA to conduct a
'Combined Effort Assimilation', they also created a designated name for their exclusive gene pool
ensemble. The Human DNA strengthened it. The gene pool was now referred to as the 'Animarian
Gene Pool'-- a gene pool that was made to handle any and all living species.

Fast-Forward to When The Empire Actually Formed

Eventually, Forerunners mastered the Human appearances. They began vocal aspects as well.
And, after long and extensive trainings, had mastered all Human languages and dialects. It was
official-- the Forerunners were now on Earth, living amongst the Humans.

After Earth broke-out in total warfare, the Forerunners found themselves in the middle. As in, not
affiliating with any side or alliance. The Forerunners didn't want the ugly sides of Human affairs--
just the good aspects. Besides, as a non-Human race, they really didn't owe shite to anyone--
group or individual. They were just there to catalog DNA and knowledge-- nothing more, nothing
less.

So, eventually, the Animals (having scanned every living organism on Earth) returned to their
home-planet of Nagas. After the Forerunners that had stayed behind beheld their power, and their
collections, there was a full-embrace of the Animalian Concept, and the planet of Nagas would be
known as 'Anima' from that day then until it was decided that it would be changed again. The
name 'Anima' was a sort of tribute and thanks to the many interesting and powerful species that
inhabited Earth.

The State of Anima (and allocation concept)

Anima's name was changed when the Animals thought that five individual but yet unified states
would increase overall State Productivity. (The state of being in tip-top planetary shape.) There
are Five States that focus on doing one, two, or a few, like-minded ensembles. To learn more
about this, visit the Anima child-boards.

Conclusion
The State of Anima is an empire of Gods that managed to stay unified, stay out of wars, and learn
all that it could possibly learn about this universe. While the beings themselves are biologically-
superior, their technology is on-par with that of the current technologically-advanced empires.
With a passion for gathering knowledge, collecting artifacts, a militaristic knowledge, and a strong
urge to forward their entire ensemble, the Animals are an excellent empire.