The Lesson of Leonis A land once rich in minerals and ores, Leonis quickly established itself as one of the great empires of old; mining their way to dominance by turning these ores into weapons, and swiftly destroying any whom challenged them in a series of long, bloody battles. Leonis were infamous for their ruthlessness, and total destruction of entire cities; often leaving the land so badly damaged and tainted by war that life could no life could survive there afterwards. The military touched every aspect of Leonid society. Leonids were taught to fight from the moment that they could walk - many growing up in military 'academies'; where children were categorised into three schools; intellect, force, and labor. These groupings carried through into adult life, and even government, with one representative from each school forming a ruling political triad; a system which left the empire in a constant power struggle. Despite their enemies growing in number, and political conflict from within, their military power remained unmatched, and Leonis always remained victorious. That was, until the ores ran out. The so called 'Lesson of Leonis' is taught to all children at schools and academies across the 12 colonies. It teaches of the dangers of hubris... a lesson that the Leonids had to learn the hard way. No longer able to sustain the military empire that they had built around them, and with enemies on all sides, Leonis soon crumbled. The final attack of the Leonid war saw a huge bombardment on the Leonid Nuclear Reactor - a move which left the remains of the city uninhabitable, and even today Leonis is a barren landscape, with few signs of life or foliage. Though it has recovered significantly since the fall - the majority of it's populous having moved underground to escape the radiation - the people of leonis have not forgotten the past. With their military and government destroyed, and land left ruined, the remaining Leonids pleaded for help and mercy. Whilst their cries went ignored by many, eventually Picon answered. With Picon's help, Leonis has gradually begun to remerge as a military power, becoming the primary supplier of troops and military machinery to the Zodiac army. Despite officially having been accepted into the Zodiac Alliance, having it's own elected quorum delegate, to this day many argue that Leonis is more of a vassal state to Picon than it's own political entity, and some fear their combined power within the alliance.
