Emerald Knights

The ancient Maltusians built seven (or nine, if you believe the legends) Power Relays across the galaxy, each channeling a different light from the emotional spectrum and housing a different entity inside. With this power, the Guardians formed different corps of ringbearers who could harness this energy and used them to connect routes between their Relays, shaping out a massive empire that engulfed tens of thousands of star systems.

Over time, however, due to the distance between Relays, the empire became splintered in factions and a war raged on until the Maltusian empire was destroyed by civil war and invaders that acted upon this opportunity.

The only faction not consumed in this war was the Green Lanterns of Oa, who had been the empire's peacekeepers and refused to take sides in the civil wars and instead rallied around the closest systems surrounding Oa to fend off invaders.

As time went on, remnants the old Maltusian empire were taken over by the Collective, Apokalypse, the Reach, and others as the Green Lanterns could only hold onto a fraction of their former empire: Approx. 3600 star systems (or Sectors) surrounding Oa (Sector 0 or Sector Prime). For reference, the Sol System (and Earth) is Sector 2814.

The Maltusian Council on Oa allowed refugees from the old empire to take up residency in Sector 666, but their old rivalries carried over and eventually the Green Lantern Corps was sent in to quell the fighting. But that didn't happen.

A crazed team of disgruntled Manhunters who had lost their families from all the civil wars decided that the refugees of the old empire represented a diseased limb of the once great empire and decided to take matters into their own hands, igniting an experimental weapon into the star of Sector 666, causing it to go supernova and destroy all life in the Sector just hours before the Green Lantern battalion had arrived to calm the warring.

Hearing of the Massacre, Apokalyptan invaders advanced upon what was now known as Oan space. But the massacre had united the Corps and the 8000 Green Lanterns took a strand at the border.

Not interested in going to war with the 8000 Green Lanterns loyal to Oa, Apokalypse ceased their invasion. The Collective, Reach, and other would be invaders did likewise whem confronted with a united front.

Peace has been tense as the borders remain under constant guard, maintaining a strict demilitarized zone that taxes the resources of many border civilizations and the Corps alike.

Recently, the Corps has lost nearly 400 members, whose rings corrupted by the power of the fear entity known as Parallax. Many such fallen Lanterns are now loyal to Sinestro. While his own corps of followers work throughout space, Sinestro himself has become obsessed with Earth in Sector 2814, once part of his jurisdiction as a Green Lantern. The exact reasons for Sinestro's interest in Earth are known only to him and his most devout followers.

Due to the growing size and power of their enemies at the borders, the Oans have desired a way to increase the size of their Corps and have begun looking for the lost rings. They have managed to identify users of other rings, such as Atrocitus who seems to have found a small cache of Red Lantern rings and has declared himself the Master of the New Red Lantern Corps but no other users have come forward to swear an Oath to pledge their service to the last remaining Lantern Corps other than Razer, Star Sapphire, and Saint Walker (and his small band of disciples).

Due to the presence of the traitor Sinestro on Earth and the ever growing rise of the Metahuman population and other factors (Darkseid's interest in Earth, the Martian virus, and Earth containing the last remnants of Krypton), Oa has assigned a special Lantern task force to Earth currently comprised of 6 Green Lanterns and the only known Violet Lantern.

Traditionally, the number of Lanterns assigned to a Sector depends on several factors: planetary population, strategic placement, resources, cultural significance, and so forth. While barren Sectors will have a single Lantern, crucial systems have been assigned a dozen Lanterns. Most inhabited Sectors are given two Lanterns.

Lanterns are allowed to leave their Sector to respond to neighboring Sectors' requests for backup or to pursue fugitives, investigate leads, or attend additional training or important meetings on Oa; but it is the expectation that no Sector is to ever be devoid of at least one patrolling Lantern for any significant period of time.