Author's Note:
In my time browsing through much of Homestuck Fanfiction, I have found not a single story elaborating on the stories of the Ancestors. This story will attempt to be just that. This is intended as an expansion of Doc Scratch's brief glimpse of the ancestors' stories. I will not be typing dialog with any of the characters' quirks, as it is an unbelievable chore to write and a pain to read. Not to mention it is utterly incompatible with my writing style.
The History of Alternia:
PROLOGUE
How vast is the expanse of reality? How many universes, and versions of universes have existed within its borders? How many beings such as Lord English have plagued it? Is what we understand as reality just another enclosed, self-contained bubble within some greater dimensional plane? We will never know the answers to any of these questions. Other questions as to meaning, and of purpose are also impossible to answer to the satisfaction of everyone. What can be determined, and studied objectively, is the history of the denizens of reality. In a region of space, in a bubble of self-contained paradox (fittingly named Paradox Space by its denizens), lies a series of universes. Within these universes reside the two most violent races ever to exist in any corner of reality. Cherubs, one of whom dominates the entire existence of Paradox Space and ultimately proves to be its end, and the other, lesser in violence and brutality only by the slightest degree (and only outmatched in scale and power) is the focus of this study. Trolls.
In order to understand the hideous, gruesome culture that the trolls were at the end of their race, we must first touch on what the first iteration of their people was. Dubbed 'Beforus' by later inhabitants, the birth world of the trolls was a harsh environment. It was situated in a system where it was the solitary planet, and possessed one single moon. The star of that system was a red supergiant, albeit an extremely stable one. It stayed a red supergiant for the entirety of the lifespan of Beforus, all 8 billion years of it. Beforus was situated at a distance where life could evolve, guided by the intense sunlight and harsh weather. Most of the history here is unimportant; a lack of sentient life coupled with periodic mass extinctions makes for little of note.
Approximately 7 billion years after its formation, Beforan life experienced a breakthrough. Many of the ecosystem's fauna formed a symbiotic relationship with an evolving species. Over the next 500 million years, they guided each other's evolutionary path, until the race that named itself Troll achieved sentience. The biology of trolls is fascinating in the extreme, but for the sake of brevity will be overlooked for the most part.
The most immediately notable thing about the Trolls is what they have named the "hemospectrum". Due to some unknown evolutionary pressures, the blood of the race is varied in color. Some theorize that the single species is actually a hybrid of two previous species, one with a copper-based blood and one with an iron base. This has some circumstantial evidence, as the blue blooded trolls often had an affinity to arachnids, which also share the same color of blood. Whatever the case, the hemospectrum quickly became the dominant social hierarchy in troll societies. The lower castes (rust, brown, yellow) tended to have rather short lifespans and until late in the race's lifespan, limited intelligence. They were gifted in psionic powers though, and those of the classes above them (teals and greens), who were longer lived and also skilled in psychological manipulation, made use of them (this division of powers is another piece of circumstantial evidence for the hybrid theory). Above the greens, the blues held sway, and above them, the purple blooded were kings.
It was not until the fall of empire whose names have been forgotten did a global government arise. A mutant troll with a blood type and abilities much stronger than any before seen emerged from the breeding caverns. The liquid in her veins was a color that came to be known simply as Imperial Purple. Under her leadership, the various factions of the trolls united. She brought about sweeping reforms to their society. The lowest castes were freed from their menial labor, and though many of them would still work in those same roles as time went on, they were no longer slaves. She turned the system of domination by higher blood types on its head. At the end of her rule, Beforan society was as close to a utopia as ever seen in all of reality. Nearly every member of society worked for the benefit of those beneath them in power, and earned advancement through their success. And the Empress was the beloved leader. She had been alive for nearly twenty five hundred sweeps when, in the span of a few days, the entire planet was sterilized by meteors, and then erased from existence.
But not for long. A new universe came into being, with the same parameters as the old one. But this time, there was already a sentient force acting within it. The planet that was Beforus came to be known as Alternia. It had two moons, one pink and its natural satellite. The other was green, and housed a man with a cue ball for a head. Much of Alternia's history is the same as Beforus. However, when the Trolls achieved sentience, the original path of the race was altered. A single influence at the beginning, but not a small or subtle one. It took the form of a writhing tentacle monster the size of a city. Its true name cannot be properly pronounced by any being with a single mouth, but it was known to the trolls as Gl'bgolyb. This hideous abomination spoke into the minds of the trolls, guiding them and influencing them, provoking them to more and more bloodshed. And so when the Imperial Purple blooded troll emerged to unite the world, she led it down a path of further violence.
Gl'bgolyb was able to speak to her conscious mind. It urged her to conquer the world. She did so over the course of a single sweep, an almost laughably easy task. She possessed all the psionic abilities endemic to trolls and in much greater power than any had ever seen. The Highbloods, petty kings, quickly joined her for the promise of more subjects to torment. Any holdouts were simply slaughtered. It took longer to organize a bureaucracy than it did to conquer the planet. It did help that she had an ace in the hole with Gl'bgolyb. Its voice could annihilate entire castes of trolls. She was not shy of using this weapon. Multiple times, she had the creature genocide the lowbloods. Within five sweeps they would be back, just as numerous as before.
And so she ruled by fear and brutality. Any lowblood that stepped out of line was summarily executed. Midbloods had the right to stand trial in a kangaroo court (the Highbloods found this venue to be an exceptionally entertaining one), and Highbloods had only the rule of never defying the Empress to obey.
But it is not her empire that we will study. Rather, we will study the lives of those who tested it. The existential threats they posed, and how they were put down. The story of the Signless, those who followed him, and those who came long after him. And how Alternia, just like Beforus, was purged of all life in a matter of hours, save for a pair of trolls who would punish each other for their atrocities.