Chapter 01 / Evidence, not encounter
A species reconstructed from absence
The Hadesians are known through archaeology rather than diplomacy. No living voice explains their laws, songs, conflicts, or ambitions. Their record begins after the ending.
What remains suggests a sentient species that achieved local spaceflight and settled Hades I, II, III, and IV. They mastered movement within their system, yet never appear to have discovered jump points or spread to other stars.
That narrow geography makes the ruins feel enclosed, like the remains of a civilization trapped inside one stellar room until its own violence consumed it.