Vespia

"Vespia, also known as the 'Black Pearl', is the center of the Directorate and Vespian civilization as we know it."

- Excerpt from Encyclopaedia Vesperia

Vespia (New Standard Vespian: ) is a major planet in the Cardinal Worlds, as well as the capital of the Unified Vespian Directorate and the homeworld of the Vespian species. Settled by Mikael O'Neill and the first generation of Vespians in 57 NE, Vespia holds the record of being the first settled planet in the known galaxy. Home to more than 152 billion inhabitants, Vespia is the most populous world in the Directorate, and the center of Vespian culture and civilization. Often called "Mikael's Black Pearl", Vespia holds an important place in the hearts of all Vespians for its role in their history and its place in the government of the Directorate itself.

Though often called "the first among equals" in the Directorates millions of colonized worlds, Vespia is held to a higher standard and often regarded as the "king of kings" by Vespians, for its role in governing the affairs of even the most powerful of planets within and without the Cardinal Worlds. Throughout the galaxy, all of the major planets within the Directorate follow closely all of the cultural shifts which take place on Vespia, seeking to remain in lock-step with the cultured inhabitants of the Black Pearl.

Colonization
Vespia's colonization begins in 57 NE, when Mikael O'Neill and the first Vespians he created, settled the planet some n/a years after their exodus from Earth. Mikael had been spending the years looking for a world suitable for colonization, and upon discovering Vespia, immediately fell in love with the planet and its torrential environment. Not one for green rolling pastures and crisp blue seas, Mikael had chosen Vespia, a grey, stormy world, as it reflected most the environment that best suited the disposition he was in during the near decade of solitary loneliness he had experienced not long after losing his homeworld and species back in the Milky Way Galaxy. He got to work establishing a home for himself on the planet near the Grey Sea in the south-central region of the planet's singular continent. It would be at this location that the later city of Blackstone would be built.

Ancient history
Thirty years into his time on Vespia, Mikael created the Vespians in -48 NE, the first of which was Lucius, known to Vespians in the modern day as "Lucius the Firstborn". Mikael died several years later, teaching and training Lucius in how to govern, as well as teaching him everything he knew as well as passing on his instructions for the future of the Vespian race. Lucius gave birth to the first generation of Vespians shortly afterward, and the city of Blackstone was built on the site where Mikael had originally landed, a mausoleum marking the exact spot of the landing. Lucius would guide the progression of his children, seeking to expand their numbers and understanding as best he could in the coming decades.

The Vespians were quick to expand and explore in the years following their creator's death. They built the cities of Oxida Nova, Urbana, Hyde, and Roche in the following decades, and established the first households that would come to govern their species for the next ten thousand and more years. Development for the Vespians was incredibly slow for the first two thousand years, the reason many modern anthropologists believe had to due with the epidemic warfare between the early city-states that came to dominate social life after the formation of the seven Great Houses. Archaeological findings in the regions originally inhabited by the first Vespians, indicated that the first five cities of the Vespians were destroyed and re-built at least seven or eight times within the first two centuries of their foundations.

Grand Mausoleum of Mikael
The Grand Mausoleum of Mikael is a monument to and the final resting place of Mikael O'Neill, creator of the Vespians. Within the construct are the remains of Mikael's ship, as well as the hard-coded information that had been accumulated by humanity for safe storage and transport to what was originally planned to become the new homeworld for the human race. Currently, access to the mausoleum is restricted to certain times of the day, and only certain sections are open to the public. Other areas include the tomb Mikael's body is stored in, as well as the body of his created son and the first Vespian, Lucius the Firstborn. Records kept by Mikael as well as the repository of human information and history are also located at the mausoleum, but are obviously kept away from the public and heavily protected.