Once upon a time... in our Galaxy

As we approach the release of the final chapter of Captain Shepard's story, it is fitting to recall the key events that brought our brave captain together with the entire Galaxy to its current state.

The Era Before the Council

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away... The Citadel, the political, cultural, and financial capital of the Universe, had yet to be discovered. This period is known as the Pre-Council Era. The earliest event in [Mass Effect](/games?search=Mass Effect) history is the deactivation of the Reaper, a highly advanced, organic, living ship by an unknown race 37 million years before the Citadel's discovery. Believed to be dead, this ancient Reaper begins its movement in the orbit of Mnemosyne.

Millions of years later, the Protheans — the only race at the time to master interstellar travel — created a great empire that spanned the entire Galaxy. Using what was considered their own technology and relays, the Protheans provided their civilization with a developed infrastructure before their mysterious disappearance that occurred 48,000 years before the onset of the Council Era.

I don't feel sorry for the Reaper....

Fast forward 48,000 years, to a time when the Asari, experimenting with relay technology, stumbled upon the Citadel in the Serpent Nebula. This marked the beginning of the Council Era and the establishment of the standard galactic timeline.

Key Facts:

The Ancient Reaper

37 million years BCE: An unknown race fired a projectile of destructive power from a gigantic mass accelerator. It shattered the Reaper, a highly advanced organic intelligent ship, into pieces.

The Disappearance of the Protheans

48,000 years BCE: The Protheans conquered countless planets; their empire grew to enormous sizes before they mysteriously disappeared. Relays and the Citadel are considered remnants of Prothean technology.

The Destruction of the Krogan

1900 years BCE: The Krogan, the native inhabitants of Tuchanka, discovered nuclear energy. Unfortunately, it spiraled out of their control, giving rise to weapons of mass destruction that caused global devastation. As a result, the Krogan reverted to a primitive, savage, clan-based society.

The Mu Relay Lost

1800 years BCE: A supernova explosion displaced the Mu relay, the only relay connected to the Pangaea system. It is lost in the void of space, and the route to the Pangaea system is now cut off.

The Discovery of the Citadel

580 years BCE: While experimenting with what was then believed to be Prothean technology, the Asari began exploring various relays and where they led. Eventually, they stumbled upon the Citadel and settled there. Sixty years later, the Salarians found the Citadel and established diplomatic relations with the Asari.

The Council Era

Twenty years after the Salarians met the Asari at the newly discovered Citadel, the two races formed the Citadel Council. This marked the beginning of the Council Era and the establishment of the standard galactic timeline. The new Council made contact with the Elcor and involved them in creating a unified banking law. This law established a single galactic currency uniting the entire economy.

Back to the Citadel? Why not.

As diplomatic relations were being established, the Turians were on the brink of civil war. The Turians had been experimenting with relays around the same time as the Asari and Salarians, expanding their empire by colonizing planets. Ultimately, the colonies revolted against the Turian hierarchy in pursuit of independence. After a decade of struggle, the civil war came to an end.

Three hundred years later, the Citadel was enriched with new races and inhabitants. The Elcor, Batarians, Vorcha, Hanar, and Quarians established embassies on the Citadel.

Two hundred years after the expansion of the Citadel, a reconnaissance team discovered an inactive relay leading to the native world of the Rachni, insectoid beings. The Rachni Wars began. The war lasted eighty years until the Council discovered the devastated Krogan world. They tricked the Krogan into fighting the Rachni. Due to the Krogan's excellent martial skills, Rachni were thought to be extinct for just over two hundred years. As a reward, the Krogan were granted a planet. Their population increased, leading to the establishment of a Spectre team on the Citadel. After the Spectres attacked the Krogan, the Krogan Rebellions began.

One hundred years after the start of the Krogan Rebellions, the Turians, just having survived a civil war, discovered the Citadel. They were hired to fight the Krogan. Utilizing the Genophage, a Salarian weapon that strike the Krogan on a cellular level, the Turians stripped them of their reproductive ability, thereby suppressing the rebellion. As a reward, the Turians received an embassy on the Citadel.

The vastness of space beckons and calls...

A thousand years later, the war with the Geth began. The auxiliary machines (Geth) created by the Quarians suddenly gained self-awareness. When the Quarians realized this, they began dismantling the robots, but the Geth fought back and pushed the Quarians from their home worlds. As a result, the Quarians became nomads and began drifting through the expanses of the Galaxy on the