Ascendant Frontier (Player alliance)

Name	Ascendant Frontier
Ticker	ASCN
Type	0.0 Industrial
Founded	May 2nd, 2005
Status	Closed Jan 2007
Contact details
Alliance CEO	CYVOK
Diplomat(s)
Public Channel
Website	[ ]
Corporations
Executor	Cyvok [CLS]
Members	Celestial Horizon Corp. [CLS](founder) Dirty Deeds [DDC](founder) AWE Corporation [AWECO] Confederation of Red Moon [CoRM] Dragon's Rage [D-R] Eve Defence Force [EDF] eXceed Inc. [IXC] Eye of God [EoG] Freedom-Technologies [F.TC] Golden Oaks Industries [GOI] No Joy Corp. [NOJ] STK Scientific [STK] Syncore [SNCO] The Flying Dutchman [TFD] The Fuzzy Kittens [Fuz-1]

Alliance Description

"We are the Ascendancy, we play the game, we don't play games. We don't care about your space. We are not intimidated by your kill boards. Your forum abilities will not scare us. Play nice and so will we, play poorly and we will return the favor. Respect, Honor, Team-Work, Strength & Unity. Please Read CYVOK's Bio before EvE mailing me about anything."

Highlights

Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] was founded on May 2nd, 2005 by Celestial Horizon Corp. [CLS] and Dirty Deeds Corp [DDC] after the siege and disbandment of the Xetic Federation. ASCN quickly grew to become one of the big 4 alliances of the time, housing over 4,800 players at one point.

Ascendant Frontier is in the top 5 rank of alliances who built most outposts of all time. [1]

On December 11, 2006, at 18:36:00 Band of Brothers destroyed "Steve" in the C9N-CC system. SirMolle of BoB publicly announced that they had blown it up while the pilot was offline due to a glitch.

Notable Accomplishments

First Outpost

ASCN was the first alliance to deploy a player made outpost. On the 20th of August 2005 Prometheus Station was launched, a Minmatar Refinery Outpost located in the 5P-AIP solar system in Feythabolis. This was Eve's first player built station. [2] It was named "Prometheus Station" in honour of the main contributor and organizer to the effort, Prometheus Wrong.

This deployment occurred in the middle of a war with the Mercenary Coalition [MC]. ASCN claims that the MC was ineffective in disrupting their operations and that the deployment of the Outpost was good proof of that. MC claims that their priority was never to disrupt the deployment of the Outpost and that if it had been it would have been disrupted, and in all ways their clients goals were satisfied.

In an interesting move of empathy for the EVE community's curiosity, for over 48 hours after the deployment of the Outpost CYVOK rescinded the standard Not-Blue-Shoot-It (NBSI) policy usually active in ASCN space so that neutral parties could fly to 5P-AIP to satisfy their curiosity. It is widely believed that many neutral alt characters took this opportunity to make strategic bookmarks of some usually defended areas of ASCN space.

First Titan

On September 25, 2006, CYVOK publicly announced that ASCN had completed production on what Kieron later confirmed was the first player made Titan in the EVE Universe. The Titan "Steve" Launch
Cyvoks announcement post. - [3]
CCP Kieron's confirmation - [4]

"CCP kieron - Posted - 2006.09.25 18:10:00 - [278]

Congrats on being the first to build a Titan. What a way to secure a place in EVE history!"

The CCP News article - [5]

Outposts and Storylines

ASCN built a total of 19 outposts across Feythabolis. ASCN held 22 outposts in total. VNGJ, UB5, 2-RSC7 being the 3 Conquerable stations.

ASCN also engaged in factional warfare between the Angels and Sansha factions and their ongoing dispute in the Paragon and Feythabolis regions.

ASCN History

The Beginning

Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] was founded as an alliance when the 2 would-be founding corporations (Celestial Horizons [CLS], and Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC]) left the Xetic Federation [XF] and claimed the regions of Feythabolis and Impass.

This split from the Xetic Federation [XF] has been widely analyzed and criticized. Supporters of the move maintain that the Xetic Federation [XF] was functionally dead, with Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC] and Celestial Horizons [CLS] being the primary defensive corporations fighting unsupported against the ongoing war with Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS], and The Five [5]. Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC] and Celestial Horizons [CLS], unwilling to continue to take the burden of defence solely on their shoulders, instead left Xetic Federation [XF] and less then 1 week later formed ASCN. It is suggested that this was a necessary step to not only "trim the fat" that had grown in the Xetic Federation [XF], but to improve where XF failed, and place more of an emphasis on PVP. A central tenent would be "in ASCN everyone fights."

The opposing opinion supported by many (in particular those left in the Xetic Federation [XF] after the split) was that Celesital Horizons [CLS] and Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC] took an opportunity to split from a weakened alliance to further their own power, claim space, and (some go so far to say) steal billions of ISK worth of assets in the process. Supporters of this view suggest that both founding corporations over emphasized their contributions to the war front and that many corporations were contributing equally. It is also pointed out that it was an attack from Cinnander [CLS] from Celestial Horizons [CLS] on a Shinra Sigil in Curse that was used as a catalyst to start the war between Xetic Federation [XF] and Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] with The Five [5] (For more details read about Cinnander).

It is believed that the issues causing the split were being debated by key individuals in both Celestial Horizons [CLS] and Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC] long before the split occurred. It was generally believed that most of this disgruntled discussion was only talk until one night on Teamspeak where CYVOK [CLS] and Steelrat [DDC] found in each other a sympathetic ear and this grew quickly into a plan to leave the Xetic Federation [XF].

Whatever the truth, the Xetic Federation [XF] did not continue to hold their space. Although they carried on as an alliance for some time after the split, their claim to any 0.0 region was quickly stifled. CYVOK [CLS] and Steel Rat [DDC] invited corporations to Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] that they felt were sufficiently involved and committed to a fair and unilateral defence of the new empire, and had a track record of this commitment. Although initially the intent was to keep neutral relations with Xetic Federation [XF], after a series of attacks both in the game and on the EVE Online forums they were acknowledged as hostile.

While the split was happening, negotiations with Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] and The Five [5] to have a cease fire in the Feythabolis and Impass regions proved fruitful. This brought an end to months of station ping-pong, particularly in the UB5Z-3 solar system. This was well before POS sovereignty systems were introduced, back when all that was needed to capture a station was to lower its shields. Sometime after Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] and Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] again found themselves in negative relations, however relations with The Five [5] continued to be cautiously positive through most of their time at war with Red Alliance [RA] and right up to their invovlement with the siege of EC-P8R. This proved to be a foundation of relationship when key corporation from The Five [5] went on to form Lotka Volterra [LV].

Conflicts were intense after the Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] split from Xetic Federation [XF]. Some of the most outspoken critics of the split went on after Xetic Federation [XF] to be a part of NBSI Alliance [NBSI]. Most notably were [TMPL] and [MAZA]. This is where the initial bad blood between these two groups originates and continues on to this day. Although there were many small skirmishes most of the battling went on within the confines of the EVE-O forums much to the annoyance of those not involved in the conflict. MAZA merged with Euphoria Released [E-R] much later, and Black Lance went on to join Dusk and Dawn [D2] when it was founded after the collapse of G Alliance [G], further concentrating entities hostile to Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] in the north, and in specific corporations and alliances.

Considering the democratic model of the Xetic Federation [XF] a failure, CYVOK and Steelrat made it clearly known that Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] was a dictatorship. Popular opinion within Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] was that a main failure of Xetic Federation [XF] had been that it had grown too unmanageable as a democracy, and that the time investment in the bureaucratic aspects of the alliance had grown far too extensive and tedious.

With the fall of Xetic Federation [XF], Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] claimed the regions of Impass and Feythabolis. Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS], who had left the Stain Alliance to pursue more PvP-centric goals claimed Omist (Stain Alliance [SA] reorganized previously under the name Stain Empire [SE]). The Five [5] claimed Immensea and Tenerifis and further east bringing them into conflict with Red Alliance [RA]. The stage was set and the players that would shape the rest of Ascendant Frontiers [ASCN] history were on the field.

Stain Civil War and Omist Protectorate

When Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] declared the recreation of the Stain- Alliance [SA] and announced their imminent return to traditional Stain Alliance [SA] space they offered Stain Empire [SE] the opportunity to join them peacefully. This began what is commonly refered to as the Stain Civil War.

Although the still newly forming Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] decided to remain neutral in the war (which took place throughout the regions held by Stain Empire [SE]: Paragon Soul, Esoteria, and Stain), in a bold move Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] declared that Omist was to be a protectorate and quickly secured ownership of all stations in the region. Defenders of Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] proclaimed this a temporary and necessary step to ensure that migration of Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] did not leave a power vaccum to be filled with undesirables, and also to ensure that the Stain- Alliance [SA] versus Stain Empire [SE] civil war was not carried out with Feythabolis in the middle. Critics of Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] saw this as a permanent land grab opportunity. The results of this move can be seen on this Historical Map.

As Stain- Alliance [SA] began to show itself as the inevitable victor of the conflict the region of Omist was handed back to them peacfully. However history shows that this transition may have happened too quickly as they soon lost their foothold in the region to Stain Empire, and faltered in the newly aquired territories with Prime Orbital Systems [POS] and Tribal Souls [TS] emerging from the splintering of the Stain Empire [SE] along with Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS]. At the same time G Alliance [G] moved in. However, G Alliance [G] did not keep their sight set on Stain- Alliance [SA] for long.

G War

G Alliance [G] approached Ascedant Frontier [ASCN] about gaining access to the newly acquired Stain- Alliance [SA] space (mainly Esoteria) through Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] to attack Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS]. This was positioned as a personal vendetta type attack, and Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] seemed fully aware of the impending conflict and even looking forward to it. Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] obliged and proceeded to permitted G Alliances [G] fleets and logistics through without hinderance.

After about a week the war was over. G Alliance [G] claimed that the attack on Ministry of Amarr Secret Service [MASS] was not as entertaining or prolonged as they had hoped. CYVOK made a post to the effect that the war was over, G Alliance [G] would be leaving the south, and that Esoteria would become an Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] Protectorate. An Ascendant Frontier fleet was assembled to escort G Alliance [G] out of the south.

G Alliance [G] took great offence to this, and began an invasion of ASCN while still under a flag of friendship. In the initial hours of the war there was much confusion on the Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] side and losses were heavy. After a prolonged war lasting many weeks G Alliance [G] managed to claim the AZN-D2 system in Feythabolis for 1 day before approaching CYVOK about a ceasefire which he accepted. Both sides had undergone a massive loss of resources. The official announcement of a cease fire was posted on the EVE-O forums.

The results of the war were obfuscated. Supporters of ASCN suggested that the victory was theirs since G was not able to take and hold any stations in ASCN space and tens of billions of isk was lost through POS destruction. Furthermore the station in AZN-D2 (1 of 8 stations held by ASCN at the time) had been the only station threatened and had only being lost for 1 day before it was reclaimed. Supporters of G suggested that the extensive losses that ASCN had taken clearly showed them as the winner and that had they wished to continue the station AZN-D2 would have remained in their hands.

In either case, the timing of the conflicts in AZN-D2 were key. G launched their main attacks just before the planned patch from CCP that would change the sovereignty timer on POS towers so that large towers were weighed heavier then small or medium, and so that it would take 5 days for a tower to claim sovereignty instead of 1 day. If the G Alliance [G] attack had been successful it would have meant that their defenses would be reinforced by the mechanics introduced in the patch and reclaiming the system would have been that much harder from Ascendant Frontier [ASCN].

A brilliant move on the part of G Alliance [G] was on one of the later major engagements in AZN, only 2 days before the impending patch. After experiencing minor defeats (with POS ping-pong being a major tactic used on both sides) G launched an apparent attack on 68ft. ASCN fully bought that G had changed their focus and deployed most of their fleet to defending that area in Impass. However it was found to be a decoy, and G managed to quickly bubble up AZN before the main fleet could return.

While this was one of the first battles where POS ping-pong sovereignty played a significant role, it was also believed at the time that some POS bugs were rampant on both sides. There is documentation supporting the idea that a Junior GM at the time (GM Swoosh) placed some key POSs into a type of "God-Mode" for several days while attempting to fix some of these issues, further creating problems. There was finger pointing on both sides of rampant lag when engaging by the POSs. Also there were many accusations of exploiting bugs that would allow the addition of Strontium Calthrates to a tower while it was in reinforced mode. Publicly none of these issues have been acknowledged by CCP to this day. However this was the battle that began the general impression that as a game mechanic POSs were very buggy. It is commonly believed (and some say quietly acknowledged) that CCP used the siege of AZN to ferret out many of the bugs they had never found in the POS war programming.

As the attacks continued other parties entered on both sides. Right out of the gate G Alliance [G] brought both the Imperial Republic of the North [IRON] and the RAZOR Alliance [RZR] with it to assist in the siege. Calling on further allies as the war went on both Vertigo Coalition and Euphoria Released [E-R] came to assist G Alliance [G], while other smaller groups taking advantage of the war hopped on the band wagon without invitation and invaded ASCN space. During this time, in a private communication which was later released to the EVE community, G Alliance [G] approached Band of Brothers [BoB] with the intention to pursuade them to join in the attack on Ascendant Frontier [ASCN]. The communication copy showed an easy rejection of that plan from Band of Brothers [BoB] who had historically been enemies of G Alliance [G] and at least had some positive diplomatic relationship with Ascendant Frontier [ASCN].

Although ASCN stood alone for the majority of the conflict, in the later stages of the war Band of Brothers [BoB] used the opportunity to attack and capture an Imperial Republic of the North [IRON] outpost in [Deklein]. Band of Brothers [BoB] and Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] both claimed that this was a situation Band of Brothers [BoB] was taking advantage to take a key outpost, and not directly to assist Ascendant Frontier [ASCN]. Additional reinforcements arrived throughout the war to assist ASCN including Stain- Aliance [SA], [MASS], Firmus Ixion [FIX], and Prime Orbital Systems [POS]. It didn't go unnoticed that Tribal Souls [TS] used this time to launch their first Outpost in Paragon Soul. This caused some initial bad blood between Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] and Tribal Souls [TS] that contributed at least in part to the war between them in Paragon Soul some time later.

At the same time Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS] were forming a foot hold in [Omist] but were under heavy fire from Stain Empire (SE). Initially Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] had given support to Kinghts of the Southern Cross [KOS], and were anxious to come to their aid as the war with G Alliance [G] war was ending. However, although there were many lines of friendship between the two alliances there were serious concerns that Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS] was not the force that was needed to defend Omist. A percieved inability of the young Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS] alliance to offer any kind of successful resistance against Stain Empire [SE] caused serious concerns within Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] leadership. The point being that if they couldn't defend themselves then Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] would be forever defending them. After attempting to get all sides to come to a reasonable settlement and failing in that diplomatic effort Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] came to direct its support on the side of Stain Empire [SE]. This was seen as a betrayal by Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS] and a public posting on the EVE-O forums marketed it that way to the wider EVE Community. Inside of Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] many pilots were concerned about the shift (but no less willing to follow orders) until a clearer picture of the reasons behind it were given. Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] offered sanctuary to key Knights of the Southern Cross [KOS] corporations and individuals within its borders before throwing its support behind Stain Empire [SE] for the region.

Esoteria Protectorate

With the civil war between the Stain- Alliance [SA] and the Stain Empire [SE], Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] lost its stable neighbor to the West. In what was viewed as a land grab by some, and a last option by others, Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] claimed the region of Esoteria as a Protectorate.

Esoteria is considered to be strategically important in the south because it seperates the southern regions from the region of Stain, which is historically very hard to control because of the NPC stations and open docking rights there.

Without a suitable alliance to defend the strategicly placed region Ascendant Frontier [ASCN], Tribal Souls [TS] and Prime Orbital Systems [POS] later agreed to share the region equally. There would come to be no limitations on hunting, mining, and placement of Player Owned Stations throughout the region. Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] would claim the station in C9N and Prime Orbital Systems [POS] would claim the remaining stations. Tribal Souls would be mainly active in the south where the regions of Esoteria and Paragon Soul intersected.

The lines drawn at these initial meetings would later be disputed between Tribal Souls [TS] and Ascendant Frontier [ASCN], particularly in the south eastern part of the region where Esoteria connected to Feythabolis. This would be another point that would later lead to the Ascendant Frontiers [ASCN] invasion of Paragon Soul and the destruction of Tribal Souls [TS].

After the war with Tribal Souls [TS] Esoteria continued to be a shared region between Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] and their allies Prime Orbital Systems [POS].

Axiom Split

With the differences in leadership styles between CYVOK and Steel Rat becoming more apparent, the leaders agreed that an amicable split was necessary before tensions grew. Dirty Deeds Corp. [DDC] formed the Axiom Empire [AXE] as a result of this split and laid claim to Impass. Eye of God [EOG], another founding member of ASCN made the decision to join them.

It is generally believed that these two alliances have kept very close ties. In gangs in the south they can be seen flying together often. This supports the public statement that this change was mainly administrative in nature and that both alliances still share a common vision, with slightly different paths to get there.

Axiom Empire was a key player in the war with Tribal Souls and afterwards it was agreed that they would maintain a station in this region otherwise occupied by ASCN.

Battle at EC-P8R

In the most massive operation in EVE history to this date, ASCN was a key contributor to the assault on EC-P8R. The stated goal was to cause significant damage to TRUST, a self-professed neutral party whom ASCN and her allies believed to be closely tied with the G Alliance {G). Still motivated for revenge from the G Invasion, ASCN, BoB, LV, The Five (5), and other allies locked down EC-P8R and systematically destroyed all TRUST infrastructure in the system, including a Capital Ship array. ASCN and allies put forth that the array was days away from completing a Mothership, but TRUST put forward that the Mothership had already been completed and the allies were too late.

Shortly after the siege G Alliance disbanded. Whether this was in any way a result of the damage inflicted on TRUST depends on who you ask. Dusk and DawnD2 was formed shortly after with many of the G corporations. Many Key TRUST corporations joined D2. Whether this was because of the preexisting connection that ASCN believed in, or the newly forged connection of a common enemy only the members of TRUST can know.

Also after the siege a general softening of the hatred for G occurred in ASCN. For the first time since the unprovoked and "blue" attack that G began, some of ASCN came to feel that they had had their revenge. Concretely this was demonstrated by a change in standings setting G/D2 back to a neutral (although no more trusted) entity.

Tribal Souls War 2006-05-07

On May 7th, 2006, ASCN declared war on the Tribal Souls Alliance. Although the original announcement was made from a comical standpoint, the victory was a decisive one and Tribal Souls fell quickly. Supporters of the war stated that Tribal Souls had become ineffective at defending their borders, and too demanding in their negotiations with ASCN. Detractors from the war stated that this was another example of ASCNs tendencies towards betraying their allies when they could further their own agenda and power.

After the Tribal Souls stations were captured CYVOK made an offer to Tribal Souls in this announcement.

Seeing Red

Whether it is true or not, ASCNs assitance to the The Coalition is publicly backed by the belief that Red Alliance (RA) is an alliance that is engaged in key breakings of the EULA and exploitations. RA denies this. In anycase, whereas historically much of the combat in EVE has been about enjoying the game, the current war with RA and its allies is fueled by a desire (misdirected or not) to keep the game "pure."

Political Landscape before the BOB war

Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] was widely considered one of the 4 super powers in EVE, along with (in alphabetical order) Band of Brothers [BoB], Dusk and Dawn [D2], and Lotka Volterra [LV]. Of these alliances Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] enjoyed friendly relations with Lotka Volterra [LV], a historical enemy in Dusk and Dawn [D2], and an ongoing territorial war with Band of Brothers [BoB]. Other relationships included a full alliance with Axiom Empire [AXE] (formerly part of Ascendant Frontier), an ongoing fued with Against All Authorities [AAA] (made from the remenants of the Stain Empire after its collapse during the Stain civil war), a historical enemy in Red Alliance [RA] (mainly due to their hostilities against Lotka Volterra), and a newly formed enemy in Goonswarm (although initially ASCN was neutral towards them, and was one of the few alliances to stay out of the band wagon attack after the Smokse Incident, Goonswarm had shortly after sided with Red Alliance against Lotka Volterra and the rest of the The Coalition.

It was a widely held opinion that out of the 4 super powers in EVE at the time that Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] had the most impressive industrial base. Likewise it was the general opinion that the main military strength that ASCN had depended on its ability to field massive fleets in comparison to its enemies. ASCN was often criticized for a lack of military skill depending more on quantity then quality in its military engagements.

First Titan Revealed

On September 25, 2006, CYVOK of Ascendant Frontier publicly announced that they had completed production on what Kieron later confirmed was the first player made Titan in the EVE Universe. It was later named "Steve." This is often sourced as a spark point in the final conflict that brought about the end of ASCN.

The Pendulum War

See main article: The Pendulum War

In late 2006 BoB declared war and in a campaign lasting several weeks decisively defeated ASCN. This led to ASCN disbanding in early 2007.

Bob War & Fall of ASCN

When Bob declared war on ASCN initially ASCN took the offensive. Invading Period Basis through the newly acquired Esoteria region, ASCN struggled to gain a foothold in TPAR-G but, after weeks of attempting to claim soverignty, they simply failed. ASCN claimed repeatedly that the game was near-unplayable due to the lag, and the losses generated by it. Whether by resolve, experience, exploitation, or patience BOB better weathered the defeciencies in these early days that were evident in CCPs infrastructure. The continued losses had a devestating effect on ASCN morale. With their traditional ally, AXE, occupied in the north by AAA and LV seemingly occupied by RA, ASCN had no support. It was later discovered that LVs ties to BOB were much closer then believed and this was most likely also a contributing factor to the situation. The fact is, ASCN had made a lot of enemies, and BoB was a more patient and combat experienced opponent. The debate of PVP skill versus industrial base seemed to be settled - PVP skill was the winner.

With ASCNs morale taking a hit BOB slowly began to filter into Esoteria. This was the weakest of all ASCN regions given that it was fairly newly acquired. Although there were some successes on the ASCN side, and some battles won, overall, with each station captured, the morale and land given again took a toll on morale.

With Esoteria on Bobs hands, they continued to take advantage of opportunities as they arose. A spy offlined towers in OOY-Z allowing them to gain that system easily. A misfueled tower in C9N allowed them to gain a foothold there. But perhaps the most telling victory as to the status of the war was when Bob put a single large POS tower in ASCNs capital system of AZN, and ASCN--even with some aide from Axiom Empire pilots--was unable to muster enough strength to remove it. At that point it became obvious that the morale of the alliance was broken.

Although the morale was broken the fight carried on. ASCN had a lot of territory and a lot of towers - along with a lot of dedicated pilots. But as the key stations in Feythabolis began falling the emphasis switched to evacuation and suicide last stands rather then victory.

As ASCN fell The Confederation of the Red Moon formed an alliance that then became blue with Bob in southern Feythabolis. Dragon's Rage and AWECO formed Intrepid Crossing in ZS-2LT and DB1R-4 in the east but eventually fell to overwhelming hostile BoB forces. They temporarily became blue with BoB as a ruse to buy some time to regain their strength. However, after refusing to pay several billion ISK per month rent to BoB to be allowed to stay in the very Outposts Intrepid Crossing built, Intrepid Crossing were again attacked by massive BoB forces. Despite fighting until the last ship, they inevitably lost and were forced to move out. Intrepid Crossing relocated to the new Drone Regions. The Outposts previously built and owned by Dragon's Rage and AWECO were eventually taken back from BoB with the invasion of the Red Swarm, but were never returned to their original owners. They both currently remain practically unused. CLS-F (the Combat wing of CLS) broke away from Celestial Horizons and formed Gekidoku. Most other corporations left the area completely.

Other Facts

The term "Hobbits" was first used by Minmatar Vengance to describe the people of Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] as an industrial people with xenophobic (isolationist) tendancies and the pilots in ASCN adopted it. Shortly after ASCN space became known as "The Shire" and their have been many "Lord of the Rings" parallels drawn from there.

ASCN was often called "The Ascendancy." This has been used both to describe Ascendant Frontier's rise from Xetic Federation [XF], but more often used to describe the alliance wide belief that the building of an empire provides a higher goal.

ASCN held to a public message that its primary interest was building an empire. To that end they had (at the time they fell) been unsurpassed in the number of Outposts that have been deployed (Outpost Count).

As the "enlightened dictator" of ASCN, the views of CYVOK ranged from adoration, to absolute hatred. One player extended the personal attacks from in game to out-of-game by putting up a website that displayed pictures of the player of CYVOK with threats and general hate propaganda. Some outside the alliance believe that CYVOK controls Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] with an iron fist, and that he has gone too far with his dictatorship. An example is often drawn to the temporary policy that Ascendant Frontier players were restricted from posting on EVE Online public forums. Inside the alliance there has historically been some that feel that there is a hidden agenda to CYVOKs plans. However, those that are closest to him trust him, and to date his charism and direction have been the indispensable force of momentum within Ascendant Frontier [ASCN].

Currently disbanded, with the statement that it will never be reformed - Throughout it's history ASCN held the regions of Feythabolis, Impass, Paragon Soul, Omist (albeit briefly) and Esoteria (With Esoteria being jointly held with their allies Prime Orbital Systems [POS]).

The unoffical motto of ASCN was "Keep the Feyth". An obvious but wellmeaning pun on the region and the family's of corperations making Feyth the "empire" of 0.0.

Titan Rumours

Since the fall of ASCN, there have been persistent rumours that they may have constructed up to three Titans before the collapse of the alliance. Only one Titan, an Avatar-class, was ever unveiled by ASCN. CLS-F was rumored to have either a Ragnarok or a Leviathan however no hard proof exists. The third titan was known to have existed as parts but it is unknown if it was ever built and so the whereabouts of the remaining Titan(s), if indeed they ever existed, is unknown.

Another rumor never confirmed and ASCN sources refuse to do so, was the report that a BoB Titan was stolen by an insider and turned over to CLS-F and hidden in a deepsafe spot. Stolen Forum posts do indicate that the titan was petitioned and deleted by CCP for its storage in an "offgrid" safespot bookmark.