Empire! 8 - The Planets of Tekhum (Community Worldbuilding Game) (Waitlist available)

[Minescratcher]

Since time immemorial, the Empire has reigned over the solar system known as Tekhum. Adjectives are unnecessary; there is only one Emperor, and all the worlds that orbit the sun Ophon lie within the Empire. So it has been for more than two hundred million years, if the Imperial Calendar is to be believed; the Empire’s roots run deep, and there is no polity which does not at least acknowledge its overlordship.

The announcement now being transmitted to every subject and vassal is all the weightier for the Empire’s deep history: the Emperor has re-established the Elect, a group of states provided with advanced spacecraft engines, and in effect declared the end of millenia of insularity and isolation. There have been no Elect for over two thousand years, since the chaos of the War of Eternal Bombardments nearly depopulated the Empire, but hundreds of ships now venture into the abyss between the planets, and more join their number every day.

For these elevated powers, the future holds nothing but opportunity for those who seek to grasp it. It is a time of resurgent trade, religious revival, and political consolidation on a scale unparalleled in recorded history. And although it may be dangerous to speak it, some nonetheless whisper that perhaps this era will even see the founding of a new…

EMPIRE!
A Community World-Building Game originally by Morph Bark
Previously run by Morph Bark, QuintonBeck, Zayuz, Aedilred, RolePGeek, Gengy, TheDarkDM, LapisCattis, Aerin

Getting started:
Welcome to the eighth and latest iteration of the Empire! play-by-post game!

Empire! is a collaborative world-building game where you take on the role of the ruler of a region and their heirs and successors, perhaps turning your small starting realm into a Stellar Power or even an Empire, forming alliances, fighting wars and establishing colonies along the way. While the GM has some oversight and final approval, the setting’s content is controlled by the players. We are always accepting new players, on a first come, first serve basis, although if the game reaches 40 players, the GM will establish a waitlist to replace players who drop from the game.

The game is played in rounds, each lasting two real-life weeks and representing three in-game years. Every round you may take a number of actions that represent the significant activities of your country over that period. Someone will usually host an event every round, a physical or virtual gathering of important people from nearby realms, so that you can interact with each other, form alliances, pursue romances and feuds, and just generally get to walk around in your characters’ shoes. Eventually, your ruler will die or step down to be replaced by their heir or chosen successor, and the cycle begins anew.

Over the many rounds of the game, you will engage with the kingdoms and characters controlled by the game’s other players, and working together or at cross purposes write the history of our shared world. Of course, this is a substantial creative undertaking, so respect for each others’ creations is paramount. However, at the same time you must be willing to expose your creations to the vicissitudes of other players’ attentions, and be prepared to roll with potentially unexpected punches.

Below follows a basic summary of the setting, the solar system of Tekhum, including maps of the planets within it and summaries of the active non-player organizations. Review this information, then post in this thread that you wish to submit a region and note either which of the available regions you would like to claim or that you do not have a starting region preference. Once you have posted interest, write up your region for review and approval and post it in this thread.

Check out the rules here for the details of how Empire! is played. As a game attempting a moderate level of simulation, the rules are fairly extensive, and may appear daunting to new players; they include details of special abilities you can acquire later in the game, rules for resolving niche situations, and many other things that aren’t immediately relevant to new players. New players are advised to choose one or two attributes that most interest them and focus on those attributes’ flow of play. After a few rounds, the general rhythm of the game will become more familiar. Additionally, we have a friendly group of veteran players who are always happy to welcome new players to the game and help them get settled in!

We also have a community Discord server here. Membership is optional, but players often find that it helps them better keep track of the game and communicate with other players. As much as possible, questions about rules, balance, and other things addressed to the GM team should be kept to this thread or the game’s OOC thread once it is created, for ease of referencing questions and answers in the future.

Spoiler: Setting Tone, Technology, Magic, and Society

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Tekhum is a science fantasy setting: magic and aliens exist, but the laws of physics as we understand them today still generally apply. Many concepts can coexist in this space, but a few guidelines are provided below to ensure your submission harmonizes with other players’ submissions and with existing setting elements. Thinking about these elements is also often a useful source of inspiration for writing up your region.

The level of technology available to players at the start of the game is best described as “plausible near-future,” with a healthy dose of magic. Mass drivers and laser launch systems are known technologies, though they have only recently been built; the efficiency of chemical rockets is generally on par with modern-day technology (which is to say, fairly low). As members of the Elect, player countries have access to powerful and efficient Imperial spacecraft engines: the time taken to travel from one planet to the next nearest with these is generally about 30 standard days. In other fields, the available starting technologies listed in the rules thread serve as a representation of the cutting edge of scientific advancement. Faster-than-light travel does not exist at the start of the game, and if it is developed during play will require substantial investment of time and resources.

The existence of magic is an indisputable fact, and “magic” and “science” are not necessarily opposed forces. Magic may produce a variety of effects and even perform feats that violate known natural laws, such as shooting fire from one’s fingers or manifesting psychic powers. If your people use magic, they might have a high talent for a particular variety of magic with its own unique rules and effects, or they might be generalists capable of invoking a broad range of spells. Possessing magic does not grant your country any advantage over others in the game mechanics to start, though miracles or technological advancement may increase the power level of your magic during play.

The Empire is simultaneously a distant and an omnipresent force in Tekhum. The Emperor is something of an enigma; they never show their face, and even their name is not known, leading some imperial cults to claim that there is only one immortal and eternal Emperor. However, the Emperor’s heirs are known, and it is generally accepted by others that succession simply involves an heir's disappearance from public view. Despite this obscurity at the highest level, the influence of the Empire can be felt everywhere, with laws and decrees issued and enforced through the Imperial Court and its embassies on the inhabited worlds, and a ruler who gains the favor of the Emperor might even be elevated to the Senate, granting them a voice in the Empire’s system-wide governance. Other major pillars of the Empire include the InterPlaNet, which is the main method of information dissemination, and the Imperial College of Astronavigators, who provide astronomical data, standardize interplanetary communications, and assist spaceship captains.

Despite the widespread presence of modern and futuristic technology, the typical government and social structure of most regions is more similar to that of Renaissance or Early Modern Europe. In large part (though by no means exclusively) owing to the influence of the Empire, feudal-esque hierarchies ruled by land-owning nobles and placing emphasis on honor, personal respectability, and familial and marriage ties are the most common form of government; these monarchies are generally much more centralized than those of centuries past, and some are beginning to approach absolutism. Other forms of government such as republics, democracies, theocracies, and even stranger systems like magocracies or cyberocracies exist, but are less common. Similarly, although humans are not necessarily the majority species of Tekhum, most other intelligent species are at least human-like, and some may be able to reproduce with humans and with each other. Your region’s society may of course be structured however you wish (subject, as always, to GM approval), but the further it departs from these norms, the more difficult diplomacy with other players and non-player characters is likely to be.

Spoiler: Creating a Region

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When you join the game, the GM will assign you a region on the map. Requests as to in which region(s) you would prefer to start are taken into consideration, but not all requests are guaranteed owing to the number of players.

You must write a description of your starting region. Once this is approved by the GM, you may create your ruler and start play. A region description can be as detailed as you like but should include at minimum the following:

• Geography: Describe the geography of your region, including descriptions of the terrain, ecosystems, flora, fauna, landmarks, infrastructure, towns, and cities. Sansar is similar to Earth in many ways, and our own world is useful inspiration, while Veehra is a more hostile world, swept by fierce dust storms and possessing a thinner atmosphere and alien plants and animals. Artificial regions, such as space habitats, the aerostats of Badal, and the inhabited asteroids of Mekhala, should describe the design, systems, and major public spaces of the region. Consider for what purpose the location was originally built millennia ago, where the inhabitants sleep, live, and work, and what sorts of other creatures have adapted to the environment. Food, construction materials, and other such resources the region relies upon might be captured from space, produced by organisms living in the region, salvaged from abandoned areas, or, for Badalian aerostats, produced by ancient automated equipment suspended below the region, plunging through the Cloud Sea to extract raw materials from the atmosphere or the surface far below.
  
  The visual features of the map are often a good resource to inspire your imagination as to the locations of settlements and what sorts of natural features and wildlife might exist in your region.
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• People: Describe what the people in the region generally look like. What species are they? What do they wear? What is their culture like? What do they do in their daily lives? How are they governed? It may be helpful to see what your neighbors’ people are like, as cultural similarities may extend beyond the bounds of a single region.
  
  Also describe the history of the region. The apocalyptic War of Eternal Bombardments two millennia ago effectively “reset” most of the solar system, and the history of most regions is one of centuries of recovery and rebuilding; the Empire interfered little with the recovering civilizations of Tekhum, but it is omnipresent in the background. Whether it swayed the region to adopt new cultural elements, left little impact on your people, or alienated the population entirely is up to you. Similarly, whether your region’s relationship to the Empire is one of eager association, aloof pragmatism, or restless subjugation is your choice.
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• Resource: Describe one valuable resource that can be found in the region, which your people make available for trade. This resource is abundant in your capital region, and as such the region contains three trading posts of this resource, one of which your country controls at the game’s outset. You can have scientifically improbable things as a resource, such as time crystals, magic potions, or dragons, but gaining bonuses to rolls from any resource will require technological advances to be made in the course of the game. You should also choose one or two general categories into which this resource falls from the list of categories under the Resources and Trade section below.
  
  Also describe your region’s Desired Import, one resource that your region does not have in adequate abundance to meet local demand and which must be imported from another region. This might be something essential, like food, or perhaps a luxury item of which your people are especially fond. During the game, you will need to find a way to obtain this resource through trade, otherwise your people may become dissatisfied with your rule and rebel.
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• Faith: The world of EMPIRE! contains many mysteries and its people follow various religions, ideologies, and faiths. Provide an outline of your people’s beliefs at the start of the game. This may include one plurality or majority faith, and any number of minority faiths, within reason. Also describe at least one significant holy site in the region, which might be a grand cathedral, temple complex, university or priestly school, major library, sacred grove, ancient grave site, or any other type of religious hub.
  
  Your starting faith is not organized at the start of the game. In the course of play, you will have the opportunity to organize your faith or choose to adopt an organized religion created by another player. Organized religions provide benefits to their followers, which become more powerful as the religion grows in size and influence. Details of how to organize a faith and the benefits of doing so can be found under the rules for Faith.

Each populated region also contains three factions, the Government, Mercantile, and Media factions, whose support is vital to the control of that region. Your starting region’s factions will support you by default, but if you wish you may choose to have them support another player’s country at the start of the game or no country at all. Further details regarding support and factions can be found in the section titled Regional Factions, Support, and Rebellions.

Once your region is approved, you should copy your submission to a post in the Lands of Tekhum thread. As you write up more regions over the course of play, please edit this post to add them once they are approved. If you run into the forum character limit, you may always add more posts.

Starting Technologies
After writing up your first region, you may choose one technology that your people have mastered from the following list. If you do so, the manner in which that technology has been incorporated into and influenced their society should be evident in your starting region's description. These starting technologies serve to describe the baseline technology level of the setting and therefore have no mechanical effects, but they may be used as prerequisites for technologies invented during play (see the rules for Military and Economy and the section titled Technologies for further details). You may also choose not to start with any of these technologies; please note this explicitly in your submission if so.

The available starting technologies are:

• Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry: The greatest contradiction of space is that the vast emptiness of the void does nothing to alleviate the effects of being stuck in a sardine can with the same ten other people. Advances in small-group psychology and clinical therapy have enabled the endurance of longer periods of space travel without the mission ending in a nervous breakdown.
• Algorithmic Imagination: Though the technology remains experimental and limited, science has proven that creativity and intuition are not phenomena limited to organic beings. True self-awareness within electronic circuits promises great strides in research, industry, and government.
• Arcane Amplification: Time marches on, and where the sorcerers of centuries past had to make do with nonrenewable ley lines, overly precise chalk circles, or unpredictable sacrifices, the modern wizard has reliable sources of magical power at the tips of their manipulator limbs.
• In Vivo Modification: Genetic engineering is much easier without multi-year wait times between each experiment. An interlocking combination of tailored retroviruses, metal complex nucleases, and modified microbe immune systems enables simple DNA modifications to be performed in adult multicellular organisms, not just laboratory cell cultures.
• Nuclear Fusion: Simple fission reactors are as irrelevant as coal compared to nuclear fusion. Every time a spaceship’s launch thrusters ignite for takeoff, a city block turns on the lights, or a meal is placed in the oven, a tiny star is born.
• Pseudogravity Engineering: In the absence of a planet’s gravitational field, a rotating habitat module is the next best thing to stave off the medical crisis that is microgravity. Overcoming the material stresses inherent in rotating an enormous cylinder or torus fast enough to provide spin gravity without it shaking itself apart while under high thrust is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one.
• Xenolinguistic Cataloguing: Though the planets of Tekhum may be neither strange nor new, the myriad of lifeforms inhabiting them certainly are. Ensuring that the high-pitched clicking noises coming over the radio are translated with all nuances intact is more of an art than a science - one that may be the difference between life or death.

In addition to a technology from the above list, you may start with a second technology depending on your planet of origin. These are described in the Atlas section below.

Spoiler: Atlas and table of claimed regions

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Tekhum

Sprites by peony.

The Imperial domain extends throughout the entire solar system of Tekhum, though in truth it is limited to the inner system, as space travel beyond Mekhala is much more difficult and dangerous. Advances during play may allow states to reach the outer planets, but at the start of the game, only the inner solar system is available. The various known and accessible worlds are listed below.

The names of the planets are at least as varied as the languages spoken by their inhabitants, and your people likely have their own names for them. To avoid confusion in communication between Imperial states, the Imperial College of Astronavigators maintains a catalogue of standardized names and measurements for the major celestial bodies, which will be used throughout these rules.

You may claim a starting region on Badal, Sansar, or Veehra, or in Mekhala. Regions 1, 26, 39, 51, 60, and 100-110 may not be chosen as your starting region, though they may be surveyed and acquired normally during the game. If necessitated by the number of players, regions currently unavailable for claiming may be opened up, or new regions may be added to the maps.

Region numbers marked on the overall solar system map above indicate single-region natural and artificial satellites. New space stations and similar regions created during the game will be added to this map.

Ophon


G-class main sequence star

The sun of Tekhum is not only the center of the solar system in a gravitational sense but also in a political one. The name Ophon is used equally of the sun itself and of the megastructure which surrounds it: the Imperial Crown, a set of nesting rings surrounding the star, plated with enough solar panels to cover the entire surface of Sansar and then some and containing within itself a vast city of courtiers, bureaucrats, scientists, and artists. The Imperial Palace, home to the Emperor and the Imperial Court, is located above the sun’s north pole on the outermost ring, and all Imperial agencies likewise have offices across the Crown.

Badal

Airship sprite by DualR. Commissioned by OpenGameArt.org.

Terrestrial Planet
Average orbital distance: 0.72 AU
Diameter: 12,100 klicks
Day: 243 standard days
Year: 225 standard days
Surface gravity: 0.9 gees
Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide-nitrogen; traces of sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and noble gases

Badal is the first planet in Tekhum, and a brief glance at it suggests an utterly uninhabitable world. The corrosive clouds of sulfuric acid that make up its atmosphere are bad enough, but exploratory probes dropped beneath the toxic sea of clouds that makes up the “surface” of the planet have also reported temperatures in excess of four times the boiling point of water shortly before ceasing to transmit. No probe in modern times has ever reached solid ground, and radar suggests it may lie 50 klicks or more below the Cloud Sea. But life is not absent from this inhospitable world, and the enormous floating aerostat cities that ply the more temperate altitudes are home to thriving civilizations. Despite the extremely slow rotation of the planet, the wind speeds of Badal’s upper atmosphere are fast enough that an aerostat makes a full circuit in approximately one standard day, and resources are funneled up from ancient automated equipment hidden beneath the acid clouds, occasionally emerging to provide valuable minerals and chemicals.

The rushing winds and corrosive clouds of the Cloud Sea are unique to Badal, and constitute a severe barrier to travel. Ground units may not be transported across the Cloud Sea. Players who start on Badal may select Badalian Megadirigibles as an additional starting technology, which lifts this restriction.

Sansar

Space Needle sprite from https://game-icons.net/.

Terrestrial Planet
Average orbital distance: 1 AU
Diameter: 12,700 klicks
Day: 1 standard day
Year: 365 standard days
Surface gravity: 1.0 gees
Atmosphere: Nitrogen-oxygen; traces of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and noble gases

Sansar, the second planet in Tekhum, is believed by many historians and archeologists to be the origin of life in the solar system. Its comfortable temperature, vast aquatic oceans, and thick, breathable atmosphere mean that the surface contains many different biomes and myriad different species. Others note the existence of Firmament where no other planets possess rings, and that many of the standard Imperial units appear to derive from Sansar’s characteristics, notably the standard day, the astronomical unit of distance, and the gee. This theory is not without its opponents, though, and many have observed that the extremes of volcanism, weather, and climate present in some areas would surely have wiped out primitive life soon after it emerged.

Sansar alone among the planets possesses liquid water oceans of significant scale, and their fathomless depths cannot be crossed by those unfamiliar with their nature. Ground units may not be transported across oceans. Players who start on Sansar may select Wet Navy Ships as an additional starting technology, which lifts this restriction.

Firmament

Not to scale.

Artificial Habitat Structure (Orbital Ring)
Material Composition:
Liveable Surface Area: 12 million klicks square
Gravity: 0.92 gees
Atmosphere: Nitrogen-oxygen

A constant fixture in the equatorial skies of Sansar, Firmament is an orbital ring belted in low orbit around the planet, supported by a thin station-keeping ring in a higher synchronous orbit and three derelict space elevators at intervals along the surface. These elevators have been in ruins for the entirety of recorded planetary history, and the original builders or purpose of Firmament are long since lost to the ravages of time. Though imaging and visual observation suggest the ring may be inhabited, no one has yet accomplished an expedition to the interior, and the Empire has largely left it alone.

Players may not start on Firmament. At the start of the game the interior of Firmament is unknown and unsurveyed, though it may be reached by space travel or by repairing the ruined space elevators on Sansar’s surface. To do so, you must possess the Pseudogravity Engineering technology and take a TN 12 Economy or Intrigue action. On a successful roll, the region on Sansar containing the space elevator and its counterpart Firmament region will thereafter be considered to have an adjacent land connection.

Aridyin


Planetary Satellite
Diameter: 3,500 klicks
Tidally locked: yes
Orbital period: 27 standard days
Surface gravity: 0.17 gees
Atmosphere: None

Aridyin is unique among the moons of the inhabited planets for its great size. Though it is still much smaller than the planets, it is far larger than most moons, comparable only to some of the moons of the distant outer system. It is entirely lacking in atmosphere, and no signs of life have yet been observed on its surface. However, some astronomers claim that it possesses vast polar reserves of water ice, and blurry images of supposed artificial structures on its surface invite explorers to brave Aridyin’s mysteries.

Players may not start on Aridyin; at the start of the game the surface of Aridyin is unknown and unsurveyed.

Veehra


Terrestrial Planet
Average orbital distance: 1.54 AU
Diameter: 6,800 klicks
Day: 1.03 standard days
Year: 686 standard days
Surface gravity: 0.38 gees
Atmosphere: Nitrogen-oxygen

The third planet, Veehra, is a world of extremes. Twin oases of life, sheltered in basins that sink below the average elevation, stand out against the cold and barren deserts that stretch across much of the surface. The atmosphere thins rapidly as the elevation increases, and the peaks of the great mountains are more similar to the vacuum of space than to the atmosphere below. The plains of the northern hemisphere host the largest nexus of life, followed by the great lake of the south, and the deserts themselves are not totally unpopulated. With subterranean cities and defenses against dust, the inhabitants of Veehra have learned to overcome the blasting dust storms raging across the deserts that separate them.

Much of Veehra is battered by unceasing storms of sand, dust, and lightning, eroding or destroying machinery and threatening any who seek to pass through. Actions taken in Dust Desert regions marked by orange borders suffer a -1 penalty, and armies have a 50% chance to lose one ground unit for each Dust Desert region they pass through (including the site of the battle). Players who start on Veehra may select Dust Hardening as an additional starting technology, which negates the negative effects of Dust Desert regions on actions and armies. Alternatively, players who start in a region adjacent to a body of water may start with Wet Navy Ships as an additional starting technology, which is required to cross directly over the oases.

Mekhala

Distances not to scale.

Circumstellar Disk
Main inner boundary: 1.96 AU
Main outer boundary: 2.73 AU
Known celestial bodies with diameter greater than 500 klicks: 4
Known celestial bodies with diameter greater than 1 klick: 1,463,527

Mekhala is not a planet - it is the grave of a failed planet. Millions of asteroids drift around Ophon, none bearing an atmosphere and few having meaningful gravity to speak of. Yet life exists even here; many asteroids have been hollowed out and made into comfortable habitats, while others are inhabited by creatures who have even adapted to the harsh conditions of the vacuum of space itself. The raw materials of spacefaring are plentiful here, and Mekhala’s inhabitants have generations of experience with the void.

Transporting ground units between regions in Mekhala, even adjacent ones, requires space units. Players who start in Mekhala may select Vacuum Adaptation as an additional starting technology, which allows you to transport ground units through the vacuum of space without using space units, as long as both the source and destination region are zero-g regions (marked by blue region numbers) in the same orbit.

The Outer System
Beyond the asteroid belt lies the Great Gulf, a region of empty space equally as vast as the entire distance from Ophon to Mekhala, which separates the Inner and Outer Systems. The Outer System is known to contain several giant planets, composed mostly of gas, with many moons, though they have never been explored. Even the Imperial Astronavigators seem to have little information on them, except their names: in order Wakinyan, Kaua, Oreb, and Huma. Beyond the farthest giant planet, a few minor planetoids and many tiny asteroid-like rocks are known to exist, seemingly arranged in a cloud surrounding Tekhum at a great distance.

The Great Gulf is uncrossable at the start of the game; even with the most advanced spaceships available, the duration of a mission to the giant planets poses so many problems of organization, maintenance, life support, and health preservation, that it is simply impractical to attempt. Technologies developed during the course of the game may alleviate these problems, enabling rulers with a taste for the unknown to send explorers into the Outer System.

Spoiler: The Organizations

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The organizations operating in Tekhum can be quickly summarized as follows:

The Imperial Court consists of those attendants, retainers, and advisors surrounding the Emperor who, in addition to their responsibilities in the Imperial Crown, act as the Emperor’s representatives in planetary affairs. The Courtiers are exclusively human, a state of affairs which likely reflects the population of the Imperial Crown itself. From the Imperial Embassies on each planet they enforce the Emperor’s decrees, ensure the loyalty of Imperial states, and tend to the dream that is Empire. Prestigious and powerful rulers will find that the Imperial Court takes a greater interest in them, and those who gain their respect may even find themselves promoted to a seat on the Imperial Senate - a position which grants them both a decisive voice in Tekhum-wide policy and the chance to secure the Emperor’s personal attention.

The Basu-Rahman Group is a Tekhum-wide megacorporation centered on news and entertainment media. Headquartered on their massive city-ship The Maharaj's Dream, their journalism and investigation is renowned across the whole system. Their ruthlessness and cutthroat business practices are also widely known in certain circles, and many a competitor has met a sorry end at the end of a vibroblade paid for by the Basu-Rahman. At least, allegedly; despite numerous lawsuits and criminal charges, crack lawyers ensure that legally, Basu-Rahman is spotless, despite their deep connections to the seedy underbelly of the system.

The Pan-Tekhum Worker's and Trader's Union - usually called the Pan-Tekhum Union or simply the Union - found its start as a loose interplanetary coalition of smaller collectives, guilds, and worker's interest groups who found it expedient to work together to protect their interests. The re-introduction of the Elect catapulted them into prominence, as leadership rapidly centralized to ensure the continued protection of interests for workers and small businesses everywhere. They are now a major player in finance and business throughout the system. Despite their name, the Union actually has more in common with the structure of a medieval guild than the definition of a union proposed by more revolutionary groups in Tekhum, though their ownership structure is more horizontal and they have little interest in maintaining monopolies.

Empire relies on a number of threads to keep track of information and enable discussion between players. Links to these threads can be found below.

IC Thread
OOC Thread
Dice-Rolling Thread
Planets Thread
Rules
Regional Tables
Organization Tables
Community Discord Server

The GM Team
Head GM: Minescratcher
Organization GM: Silent_Interim
Tech Czar: Rolepgeek
Faction Tracker: Aerin

Battle Collator: TheDarkDM
Round Opener Helpers: BladeofObliviom - this could also be you!
Table Helpers: Aerin, Gengy, Volthawk - this could also be you!

[Lumaeus]

🐝The Arkhive Æternal (ARK)🐝
Requested Region: 46 (Sansar)
Region Name: The Arkhive Æternal

Leader: Her Arkhival Majesty, Queen Constance of Comment the First

Spoiler: History

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History lies in tatters. We hold but a scrap, torn from the end of a ribbon as long as life itself. The War of Eternal Bombardments, the Great Forgetting, demagnetized drives and burned books. The most valuable and fragile archival material of all, the mortal mind, could not pass through those days unscathed, even if it remained outwardly intact. Much has been forgotten.

It was in these days, in the depths of what seemed like it might be the last winter of all, that Amelia Gayle discovered the Arkhive. Hoping in desolation to escape devastation, she sailed north and north until the sun no longer dared raise its craven crown above the horizon. When at last it seemed the seawater itself might soon turn to ice, she landed on a rocky shore, empty of even the smallest sign of life. Shrouded in, shielded by, and blanketed under a night not black but poisoned mahogany by death, Amelia discovered a great monolith, new unearthed from the violence that had scarred even this empty island. Rising at an angle from the stone crust of the earth, what looked almost to be a steep ramp of concrete jutted out. At its terminus, a rectangular face dropped to the ground, a hundred feet tall. And at its base, a crack, barely open. The entrance to something below. And when she pried it open with a convenient crowbar that she had because it was an apocalypse and zombie video games taught me there are always crowbars just like everywhere all the time for no good reason, she was greeted by a rush of warm air, a golden glow, and a hum. She had found the Hive.

The underground complex was a paradisical garden in the midst of endless honeycomb. Bees busied themselves collecting nectar from plants not seen for millenia. Fruits were abundant and honey flowed like water. And it was when Amelia tasted that honey that she glimpsed the Hive-mind. The bees knew little of the outside world, but they knew their work here, on these forgotten plants, was a work of memory. And as they fed Amelia the Royal Jelly, that mission claimed her. She would take in refugees to the Hive, and they would begin the work of preservation and discovery. And though Queen Amelia Gayle, posthumously the Nine Hundred and Fourth, did not live to see the Hive become the Arkhive Æternal, she began the work that continues to this day.

Spoiler: Geography

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The Arkhive Æternal is an underground complex on an otherwise inhospitable spit of rock and permafrost at what might as well be the north pole of Sansar as far as anyone is concerned. Only accessible by the Gates of Knowledge, this great library is divided into twelve subsections, each claiming a Face on the inner ring or outer ring of a great hexagon. Each section blooms with ancient florae (sic) from the World Forgotten. It was, we know, the sprouting of these that first attracted the bees to the Arkhive.

The Hive is vast as a complex but small for a state, and its twelve sections are little more than eleven miniature cities with a similarly minimized federal district. Through the waxen halls and oozing wells of the Hive, a population in mere tens of thousands works and welcomes.

Spoiler: People

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Though primarily human-unless-Sansar-turns-out-not-to-be-in-which-case-I'll-change-that, the citizens of the Arkhive have representatives of almost every race on the planet and a few from beyond. All are welcome here, and those who swear to the principles of the Arkhive are invited to stay as equals in the society. This is necessary for the state as well, as the birthrate is super low because they're all nerds so they can't even get a date. People tend to be long lived here, according to their races, as the diet of kinda magic honey and ancient vegetables coupled with the lack of exposure to sunlight and ambient radiation means that they don't die as much. There is a lot of cirrhosis of the liver though bc mead.

Librarians, Technicians, and the Queen are all functionally immortal, such are the benefits of the Royal Jelly, but outside of very short lived races (if there are any idk yet let's see other write ups), they generally don't live long enough for this to show, since the Hive demands change and mellification always looms. And yet, are those mellified not in their own way immortal?

Spoiler: Government (and deets on mellification)

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Though under the watchful eye of a Queen, who holds a Face of her own, each of the remaining eleven societies conducts its research and arkhival mostly independently, according to its class(Computer Science, Information, and General Works; Philosophy and Psychology; Religion; Social Sciences; Language; Science; Technology; Arts and Recreation; Literature; History and Geography; Fiction). Each of these sections is headed by a Librarian (a ducal title). Many of these Librarians nominate Assistant Librarians or even mere Technicians to assist in the curation of subgenera.

No title in the Arkhive is hereditary, and it is only by the distribution of Royal Jelly, performed by and at the will of the Hive-mind, that citizens of the classes rise. This usually correlates with the nomination of the Librarians and the Queen, but the Hive-mind itself is and confers authority.

When the Queen and her Librarians pass on their mantles, they undergo the process of Arkhival Mellification, subsisting solely on the honey of the Hive. The Queen eats only of Royal Jelly, granting her immense memory and powers for her final years. When they pass, they are entombed in a cell of the Hive until they too become honey, which is mixed by the bees with all the rest, adding the deceased's knowledge and memories to the honey of the Hive-mind.

Many citizens of the Arkhive elect to undergo this process themselves, as well as a number of pilgrims who wish to dedicate their end to the future. This is imposed on none of them, though, and many choose their culture's traditional death and funeral.

Spoiler: Religion (spoiler: nothing top-down)

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The Arkhive has no state religion, but the endless blessings of Coedd have granted her majority in the region. Practica Arcanai holds a minority.

The Big Pile of Honey: One of the holiest sites in the Arkhive, the Big Pile of Honey awes all who look upon its sacred moundedness. It's just so big, you know? It's probably a god(s) thing. Some scholars point out that it's constantly replenished by a dripping from above, but, I mean, it's just so much.

The Circulation Desk: No one knows who the veiled, buzzing, nebulous creatures running the Circ Desk are, but they form the backbone of the Arkhive. They process returns, make displays, and keep the New Releases Showcase up to date. Surely, they must be priests of an ancient truth. That or a buncha bees in robes.

Milk and Honey: Technically a confederated microstate of enclaves and a church both, Milk and Honey is a chain of tea shops located throughout the Arkhive. Eventually, enough citizens of the Hive had spiritual awakenings from the Honeyed drinks that they just declared it holy, and who can argue?

Spoiler: Resource: Honeyed Words

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The Hive trades in Honeyed Words, a special honey which contains whispers and snatches of memories, archives, and knowledge past. The experience of consuming it is one of hallucinated truths, some since forgotten. It rarely coalesces into full meaning, but the addition of outside perspective can bring to clarity previously muddled thoughts. So those eating it tend to make sudden connections, some hallucinate events past, some even hear the dead--usually monologuing, but sometimes seeming to speak to them. For many in the Hive, this is a sacred communion. It's obviously an Animal Product and Information and Data.

Spoiler: Desired Import: Compostables

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The Hive seeks Compostables. The Hive shares its honey and fruits freely, and most visitors take more than they leave. The system needs input to be sustained.

Spoiler: Tech

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Xenolinguistic Cataloguing, obviously. And we'll take the moistboats too, sure. Wet Navy Ships.

[bc56]

The Dwarven Industrial Coalition
Region 88, the Central Claims

Listen up miners!
Put those beers down!
It's time to get to work!
Ready for Approval!

Spoiler: Leader

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Chief Executive Hammond Durham Rolls
Diplomacy: 4
Military: 3+1 = 4
Economy: 4+1 = 5
Faith: 2
Intrigue: 2

Spoiler: Geography

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The Dwarves dwell in hollowed-out asteroids carved into warrens of cramped tunnels, and in space stations floating in the void near sites of interest and mining claims. The center of their society is the habitat of First Claim, which consists of a largish asteroid coupled to the remains of the original colony ship which brought the dwarves out to these distant shores. These asteroids, being so far from the sun, are often icy and desolate, but the sturdy dwarves have made them a home.
One would be forgiven for expecting the industrious, cave-adapted Dwarves to have dark, forbidding habitats, but Dwarven warrens are awash with light and noise. In many, especially the larger habitats, a festival air permeates the space as dwarves off their shifts gather to drink, dance, and make merry, to trade in marketplaces and play games of dice, cards, and athletic contests. But they are cold.
There are a few notable habitats in the Central Claims.
First Claim: The original habitat of the Dwarven colonists and site of their old colony ship.
Frostbore: A very large asteroid which is the source of most of the Dwarves' ice and water, as well as a sizeable amount of metals.
The Iron Hall: One of the oldest free-floating space stations operated by the Dwarves, it orbits in the midst of a cluster of small but mineral-rich asteroids.

Spoiler: People

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Dwarves are a diminutive race, compared to humans, standing around four feet tall. Their skin comes in shades of grey and brown, sometimes mottled or speckled. All dwarves, male or female, have thick "hair" and "beards," even from birth, however these are not composed of hair, as humans understand it, but of numerous small tendrils, sensitive to touch and air currents. These aid dwarves in navigating the tunnels of their homes and workplaces.
Dwarves are often considered boisterous, rowdy, and loutish. These are all more or less correct assumptions. Dwarves work hard and play hard. They are fond of music, alcohol,
and sculpture, and many are adept stonecutters, metal crafters, and jewelers. Dwarves appreciate fine crafts, but their items are still made with utility and durability in mind, and so materials such as diamond are highly prized.
Most dwarves work as miners, hollowing out asteroids to extract minerals and create living space. This is a hazardous career, but generally considered respectable. Many miners double as soldiers, with the intent of keeping brigands and space monsters off of Dwarven claims. The upper class consists of master artisans, financiers, and military commanders, while the lower class primarily consists of those unfortunates unable or unwilling to hold down a job; it's one thing to have fun when you're off the clock, but not working at all is seen as an insult to the highly industrious Dwarves.
Dwarven ships are sturdy, resilient vessels, designed to survive impacts with asteroids, missiles, and other dwarven ships. These vessels show many scars of battle and accident, and Dwarves sometimes look with scorn upon pristine ships which haven't been used for any real work. Their vessels are propelled by solid-fuel and liquid-fuel rockets, as well as ionic propulsion occasionally when available.

Spoiler: Government

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The Dwarves are organized into a worker-owned corporation, with different industries split into smaller subsidiaries. The governing body is the Executive Council, made of the executive members of each subsidiary, and the workers elect one of their number to be the ruling Chief Executive upon the retirement, death, or demotion of their predecessor. The Chief Executive determines the direction of the Coalition.
The Dwarves maintain a cold distance from the Emperor. He is acknowledged by name, but they give him little reverence from their seats in the cold dark far from the warm light of the Imperial Sun.

Spoiler: History

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In ancient times, long before the memories of any dwarves, a colony ship carrying the Dwarven people left their underground homes on Veehra and flew deep into the cold dark of Mekhala at the urging of their legendary Progenitor. After that came war. The Bug War.
The asteroids that would become the Dwarves' new home were infested with arachnoid creatures in vast numbers, simple-minded but ever-adapting things which would voraciously attack anything which entered their territory. The dwarves fought back, again under the direction of the Progenitor, and the bugs were, eventually, totally eradicated (although some may have escaped notice in isolated corners. It was then that the Progenitor hung up his arms and founded the Coalition, bringing the loose mining and crafting guilds together into an organized company that would be able to keep the lights on in such a hostile world. Since then, the Dwarves have thrived, many lifetimes after their founder's death.

Spoiler: Resource

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Ice:
It seems like an odd thing to sell. But out here in the depths of space, water is hard to come by, and ice has many uses, and the frigid asteroids the dwarves call home are rich with the stuff. Even if you don't plan on drinking it, ice makes an excellent shield against radiation, a useful coolant, and a solid structure for expanding further into the void, in a pinch.
Required: Booze
The dwarves make their own ales, of course, from hardy underground plants and fungi they brought with them on their exodus. But it's not enough to satisfy their need. Millions of dwarves must go to sleep sober each night because there isn't enough alcohol to go around. This is a state of affairs that cannot be tolerated.

Spoiler: Faith

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Majority: Cult of the Progenitor
The Progenitor is not the first dwarf, nor is he the father of all modern dwarves. He's not even a god in the strictest sense. But he is an object of admiration and worship to the dwarves of today, a legendary hero whose tomb hosts millions of pilgrims each year. The Progenitor was an industrialist, a visionary, and a warrior-king all rolled into one. It was under his direction that the dwarves left their onetime home and travelled into the depths of Mekhala. It was under his command that squads of miners eradicated the space bugs that lived within their new claim. And it was under his leadership that the Industrial Council was established to govern the new society.
He does have a name, but it is a secret known only to dwarves and spoken only in the most hallowed halls for fear of debasing it. At all other times they call him "the Progenitor," father of their entire civilization.
His spirit is said to aid miners in desperate situations. "Progenitor be with you" is a common blessing.

Holy Site: The Progenitor's Tomb
A large, ornate chamber at the heart of First Claim is dedicated to housing the earthly remains of the Progenitor. His corpse is encased in a carbide block, engraved with a record of his deeds for all dwarves to marvel at.

Spoiler: Starting Technology

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Fusion Reactors:
One of the technologies the ancient Dwarves brought with them was the power to harness the fire of stars, the primary example being the heart of First Claim's old colony ship.
Vacuum Adaptation:
While it's rare for Dwarves to jump into the vacuum of space with reckless abandon (and not just fly a ship with reckless abandon), it is occasionally done, especially for stealth insertions where the heat signature of a large ship would be a dead giveaway.

[moossabi]

Perhaps this is a bit premature but I would like to call dibs on 35 for the time being, writeup forthcoming once I finish reading through all the rules!

Now READY FOR APPROVAL

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The Fiorid Principality

Requested Code: ALF (approximation of Alfheim + TV reference)
Requested Capital: Region 35, a.k.a.
Verdalfheim

Spoiler: Geography

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Overview: The Tripartite Land
Verdalfheim has, historically, been more of an ethnic or climatic construct than a coherent geographical region. This is why the descriptor sprawls across three distinct sections of land: Verdalfheim Proper (northern half of the central island), Soleyja (smaller island nestled along the western coast of Verdalfheim Proper), and the Piedraema (coastal strip across the strait from the north coast of Verdalfheim Proper). The common links between these lands are the thick jungle climate and the Verdalfr, an Elven ethnic group which coalesced in Verdalfheim Proper and spread across the narrow waterways in ancient times.

As a general rule, the landscape of Verdalfheim is dominated by jungle, though its specific nature varies heavily with the underlying landscape. The lowest land, clinging to the banks of rivers, is frequently flooded and home to all sorts of pests and predators. Still, this area has proven best for rice-based agriculture, and for many millennia these proved to be the most important arteries of power projection, giving rise to the great historical Municipalities. Most of the landscape is high enough above sea level to avoid flooding, and these swathes of territory are well and truly choked by the rainforest and thus home to only minor villages and townships at the end of long, winding footpaths. The highlands, roughly corresponding to the western coast of Vertalfheim Proper and, of course, the slopes of the Piedraema, sport modest peaks which are nonetheless covered in even more jungle (though the furthest heights of the Aquilatindas manage to escape the treeline entirely). These peaks, made up of the pale stone used in all Verdalfr architecture, have come to hold artificially inflated relevance due to being the only suitable place for spacecraft landing zones. By virtue of this proximity to the cosmos, the Citadels of the nobility eventually eclipsed the Municipalities in prominence.

A parallel factor reducing the Municipalities’ potency is the diverse array of useful flora that provides an alternative to their rice-farming. The jungle’s trees, far from being obstacles to Elven habitation, comprise a colossal region-spanning orchard with all manner of fruits lying in wait upon their boughs. In addition, Verdalfheim is host to large swathes of native rubber trees, which are still only the region’s second-most-important tree-derived resource (#1 is covered in the Resources section). Thus, what may appear to outsiders as an unmanageable quagmire of endless rainforest is in fact a vibrant cornucopia for any sufficiently aware resident, maintained and strengthened by the hard work of the Druid caste.

The lands’ political unity is an emergent phenomenon of the past three centuries under the firm rule of the Fiorid dynasty, but in spite of political fragmentation the shared culture of the Verdalfr has resulted in a remarkably consistent framework of architecture and urban planning. Every site, be it a Citadel or Municipality, is laid out in a circular hub-and-spoke format anchored by a grand architectural centerpiece of some sort. As with the other elves of the continent, their primary building material is a bleached-white stone, which produces a stunning contrast with the landscape’s verdant hues if properly maintained. Citadels are usually built in descending tiers from the peak of a hill, with only the nobility and especially privileged free labor possessing houses in the open air. The nobles’ extensive unfree labor force is quartered in the catacombs of each citadel, which can stretch for miles beneath the earth. Municipalities, owing to their often-waterlogged surroundings and less socially stratified population, do not possess such systems, instead featuring networks of canals and bridges on any side exposed to water.

Verdalfheim Proper
This landmass forms the territorial core of Verdalfheim, bearing the vast majority of the region’s population along its rivers. The highlands of the western coast provide the headwaters of each such artery, as well as being home to most of the region’s Citadels. The Fiorid capital, Radicefst, is the exception to this rule, straddling a stretch of highland cradled between the two eastern rivers. This position allowed the Fiorids, once their minds turned to conquest, to dominate the great population centers at Sanguarmot and Estenda, securing a resource base with which they were able to snowball and unite the Verdalfr under one polity. Though most transit takes place upon well-trodden footpaths along the jungle floor, the Fiorids’ most recent infrastructural undertaking has produced a high-speed rail network situated on stilts above the treeline, allowing for a rapid redeployment of labor and resources between their center of power and the outlying holdings. The region’s southern border is formed by the Mezzavegg, a stretch of highland which heralds the end of the treeline. Fiorid tactics, rooted in jungle warfare, rendered the northern section of the island a far simpler conquest, but Verdalfr generals have always considered the conquest of the south to be an inevitability.

The Piedraema
This strip of coast at the foot of the Aquilatinda Mountains was settled by the Verdalfr in ancient times, maintaining cultural and economic ties to Verdalfheim proper in spite of nominal political independence. The greatest polity to emerge along the Piedraema was Cascatapaki-Altomunni, a union of Citadel and Municipality which controlled the land and sea passages to far-off northern realms. Cascatapaki is unique among Citadels for being built amidst a system of waterfalls, which granted it access to a vast reserve of hydropower with the arrival of modern technology. Of course, this independent growth did little to halt the Fiorid advance into the Piedraema and the end of the union, its former power forgotten alongside its international ties.

Soleyja Island
This island is a nature preserve populated exclusively by coastal fishing villages. Soleyja is the domain of the enigmatic Druids, a technocratic caste of geneticists loyal to the Crown, whose many experiments are tested in this controlled environment before, if successful, joining the ranks of the other lands’ region-wide orchards. Soleyja is therefore home to a far more alien roster of flora and fauna as the Druids work tirelessly to perfect the environment around them.

Spoiler: People & Society

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Physical Nature
Elvenkind has always held a significant presence on Sansar, though divided into numerous different ethnic groups. Compared to the average human, the average elf possesses more angular features and pointed ears; beyond this, the physical difference is minimal. Stereotypes about their long lifespans hold some degree of truth, for the average elf can stave off the ravages of aging for longer, but the end result is usually just an extra century of life. The Verdalfr, or “Green Elves,” are the dominant elven ethnic group of the region that they lend their name to. Their physicality is far from monolithic, with their skin ranging from pale white to bronze tan (depending on whether they spend more time beneath or outside of the tree canopy) while their hair can range from red to green and everything in between. The upper echelons of society, the Fiorid line and much of the nobility, possess greatly extended lifespans thanks to their Elder Blood, a unique condition that seems to correlate with albinism (pale skin and hair plus red eyes).

Organization: Government and Caste System

Verdalfheim’s government is best described as an absolute monarchy in which every aspect of society revolves around the Crown. The leading Dynast is always the head of state, officially styled as the Prince of Verdalfheim, and holds full property rights over all land in the region. The rest of the Royal Household, consisting of family members and their sworn attendants (of the slave caste by virtue of their status), holds a privileged position distinct from the rest of the command structure. The role of Chancellor is far more informal, a recent innovation born in light of Prince Isak’s abstention of power. So far only the Prince’s children have ever claimed the role, which has been accepted as a necessity to keep the state active.

The only caste to hold parity with the Dynasts are the Druids, a technocratic elite drawn from the brightest Verdalfr and appointed by the Prince. In addition to managing scientific and ecological pursuits, they also serve as advisors to the Crown and electors in the event of a Prince’s death, after which they will select a new Prince from among eligible members of the Fiorid family. The only consistent part of their uniform is a set of tree branches fashioned into antlers (nobody can tell whether they’re a headdress or actually growing from their skulls). Part of their inauguration is the integration of the Fiorids’ Elder Blood into their own, and as the Crown’s designated scientists they hold the most knowledge of the nature of this dynastic quirk.

The Nobility is a cohort of elites elevated to a position of socioeconomic privilege by the Fiorids. Unlike comparable castes in other societies, the Nobility is wholly unlanded due to the Crown maintaining a legal monopoly on land ownership. Their prestige is determined by their ownership of labor instead of land or capital, and as such Verdalfr Nobles incorporate vast quantities of slaves into their Households. Their wealth comes from labor contracts with the Crown, which will assign large swathes of resource-rich territory on the Fiorids’ behalf. Certain reliable Nobles have begun to function as de facto landed vassals, but title to the land still lies with the Crown and their labor contracts can be reassigned at any time. The highest among the Nobles are granted the additional privilege of access to the Fiorids’ Elder Blood, coveted by all for its lifespan-enhancing qualities.

The Military, in addition to serving its obvious primary role, is the chief agent of social mobility in Verdalfheim. The Generalship (including Admirals for naval/cosmic organization) can only be drawn from the Noble caste, but the reverse is also true: if a Knight demonstrates sufficient ability, they are automatically elevated to Noble status upon receiving their commission. Once an active conflict is over they will use their salary to purchase slaves and pursue labor contracts like any other member of the elite, though with particular favoritism bestowed by the Fiorids on account of their service. While Generals and Admirals organize logistics and strategic planning, Knights and Soldiers are the primary participants in combat. Knights pilot either agile mechs or interceptors depending on the nature of the battlefield, while Soldiers serve as infantry or ship crew to support the elite units. In peacetime, Soldiers are reallocated to domestic security or occupation duty, while Knights are retained as professional troops throughout their tenure.

The civilian wing of society is subject to many of the same principles as the nobles, just from a less privileged position. Their residences, including within the Municipalities, are all on land leased from the Crown in exchange for taxes (in the form of either currency or goods). Solitary plantation owners interface directly with the Crown’s administration, while village and Municipality dwellers are permitted to elect a Mayor to manage their city and intercede on their behalf. Citizen status is universally afforded to any free individual with a property lease, and legally speaking this distinction covers everyone from prosperous business owners to low level clerks. While most other castes are usually on even economic footing, the wealth gap across the spectrum of Citizens is truly massive. Some have entire platoons of Slaves to their name and vie for a promotion to the Nobility, while others must scramble tooth and nail to hold onto a tiny single-bedroom abode.

For all the window-dressing and faux grandeur, legal ownership of other sentient beings is the backbone of the Verdalfr’s entire economic system. There are two ways in which people can fall into this subjugation: the most obvious course is the punishment of criminals or prisoners of war, but impoverished Citizens, if no alternative presents itself, are also known to voluntarily attach themselves to another’s Household for stability. The former category is usually bought en masse by Nobles to handle the menial labor of plantation or excavation work, where they pose little direct threat to their masters, while the latter category is viewed as more trustworthy and assigned more important tasks like housework, bodyguarding, or even managing other Slaves. Some modest protections are in place to prevent abuse; if a Slave can prove they are being insufficiently provided for, they are legally permitted to abandon their master’s Household and attach themselves to another, but the illusion is dispelled by the fact that the judiciary is composed of other Nobles. Upwards social mobility is nigh-impossible from this pit, unless one is extremely lucky; this doesn’t stop the few success stories from being extolled as gospel to create a false notion of meritocracy.

Material Culture
Verdalfr textiles and furniture are elegantly crafted of pale wood interlaced with brass, complimenting the white stone of their architecture. The only sartorial laws are caste-based and of little import: only Dynasts are permitted the privilege of metallic circlets, while Nobles can only wear wreath crowns in the laurel style; either item is banned from use in official settings by anyone of lower status. A slave’s dress code is determined by the head of the Household, but it is mandatory for all to bear brass bands on their wrists to mark their status. Beyond this, no rules are seriously enforced, but choice of attire is usually indicative of class or origin. Backwoods villages, for example, have upheld a tradition of fashioning their clothing from woven leaves and other plant matter, creating quite the culture shock for Citizens of more prosperous cities clad in silk or, a recent fashion development, latex. Accessorization is carried out in the form of colorful silk scarves or sashes, a surprisingly widely-available material.

Leisurely pursuits are particularly important because of the escapism they provide, both for the oppressed and the oppressors. Great amphitheaters are a fixture of every community and serve as the social nexus of society, where (in theory) free and unfree labor can come together to enjoy a good show of some kind. Of course, the actual intellectual and artistic output of the region is dominated by Nobles with too much time on their hands, so the core values of Verdalfr society (such as lineal superiority and the dangers of violating a hierarchy) remain unchallenged in the plays and book readings that dominate showbusiness. Gladiatorial combat is relatively niche, viewed as a barbaric waste of potential labor by the upper classes, but remains a strong cultural force in some backwaters, where careers can be made by fighters soliciting tips on account of their performance. Still, lethality is considered to be a heavy taboo, so all combat is nonlethal; the emphasis is always on giving the audience a good show.

History Timeline
~2000 YA: War of Eternal Bombardments, Verdalfheim split into warring states for next 1700 years
~1000 YA: balance of power shifts from Municipalities to Citadels due to contact with the Imperial Court
300 YA: Prince Larus dei Fiori unites Verdalfheim, institutes absolute monarchic government
260 YA: Birth of Isak dei Fiori’s first two children, whom Larus spends his twilight years with
250 YA: Death of Larus dei Fiori, ascension of his sole surviving son Isak dei Fiori, who begins to share the Fiorid Elder Blood with the Druids and upper Nobility
250-50 YA: Birth of Isak dei Fiori’s latter four children, consolidation of Verdalfheim’s infrastructure
50 YA: Death of Isak’s wife Erna, retreat of Prince Isak from governance, great stagnation
7 YA: Eydis dei Fiori, third child of Isak, proclaims herself Chancellor to rule on her father’s behalf

Spoiler: Resources & Tech

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Summary:
Resource: Oil (Fuel and Power) [Great]
Requirement: Ores and Alloys
Starting Techs: Pseudogravity Engineering & Wet Navy Ships

Fluff for each:
Verdalfheim is surprisingly abundant in resources despite its wild terrain, boasting enough food and building materials to sustain the population indefinitely (in addition to useful supplementary products like rubber and silk). The crown jewel of the region’s economy, however, is its abundant oil reserve. Many years ago the Druids managed to engineer a tree whose roots would probe deep enough to tap into massive underground oil deposits, which could then be extracted from the tree at the surface in a similar manner to sap. This breed was seeded throughout the entire region, and oil extraction has become one of the most sought-after labor contracts for ambitious Nobles.

The sole resource that eludes the Verdalfr, and a glaring weakness for their armor-oriented army composition, is a lack of tough metals. Copper is available in sufficient abundance, facilitating an ornamental fixation on brass, but it isn’t anywhere near solid enough to provide the kind of strength required by weapons of war. Refinement is not an object of concern, for adequate smelting facilities and manufacturers already exist within Verdalfheim, but without an input like iron or titanium the Fiorid war machine may become far too difficult to keep supplied.

Though the Verdalfr have remained focused on internal development throughout most of recorded history, Elvenkind on the whole is well acquainted with sailing and exploration, an expertise which has translated well into the greater maritime system of the modern day. Such inclinations are also likely to be turned upwards in the near future, as frequent exchange with the Imperial Court has allowed Verdalf engineers to become accustomed to advanced mechanical practices related to orbital gravity.

Spoiler: Faith & Ideology

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Summary: Entirely open re: mechanical faiths

Since the devastation wrought by the War of Eternal Bombardments, a collective trauma surrounding the nature of death has lurked upon the underbelly of Verdalf culture. This is, in part, why the warring states period lasted so long; many rulers simply lacked the stomach to press an advantage that would have resulted in significant casualties among their own people. Thus death became the fixation of Verdalf spirituality, with death envisioned as a great enemy that must be fought off at any cost. The revelation of the Fiorids’ Elder Blood was a messianic development, the longest-lived dynasty of a relatively long-lived species. Divine right was a key fixture in Prince Isak’s unitary propaganda, and the Fiorids’ conquest of death itself made their stewardship a far easier pill to swallow (combined with the immortal reputation of the Emperor, government legitimacy stands virtually unchallenged in this regard). Blood and the exchange thereof is a mainstay of Verdalf mysticism, and it has become a peculiarly common practice for slaves of Elder Blood bearers to offer some portion of their blood to their masters so that some of the good luck and long life might bless them by proximity.

Still, none of this is extensive enough to warrant classification as a proper religion, and any religion which attempts to graft itself onto Verdalfheim will have to contend with the region’s cultural enmity towards death. Most irked by the lack of a verifiable divine force to intercede with are the Druids, who seek to uncover all aspects of the universe’s mysteries but cannot do so without the proper sanction of the self-mythologizing Crown. Their island laboratory of Soleyja is fertile ground for experimentation on the nature of the divine; the Druids await only a sufficiently potent divinity to prove its legitimacy.

Spoiler: Leadership & the Royal Family

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Chancellor Eydis dei Fiori (Rolls: 4, 4, 3, 2, 2)
Dip: 4 (3+1)
Mil: 5 (4+1)
Eco: 4
Fai: 2
Int: 2

The Fiorid dynasty exerts a total rule over Verdalfheim, with the role of de jure head of state resting with Prince Isak dei Fiori. Because the Prince has largely withdrawn from public affairs, his offspring have introduced the role of Chancellor to exercise authority on his behalf. The current Chancellor is Eydis dei Fiori, third child of Prince Isak and the most proactive of her siblings. She possesses lofty ambitions to reshape the subcontinent through force and extend Fiorid dominion to all of Elvenkind, though only the passage of time will be able to discern vision from bluster.

After granting the gift of the Elder Blood to his wife Erna, Isak fathered a total of six public children with her. Her untimely death is said to have catalyzed Isak’s despair, though their children seem to show little remorse for the event. Below is a list of each one’s general demeanor, which is likely to become relevant should Eydis’ regency collapse.

• Hekla, first daughter and eldest child, suffers from paralysis below the waist and has been wheelchair-bound for life. Quiet and bitter, she spent her youth studying a wide array of subjects under Druid tutors and is rumored to have become estranged from her father as a result of certain problematic discoveries. She maintains a strong bond with her siblings, engaging in a number of covert schemes to force them to get along.
• Arni, first son and second child, was born with a degenerative condition that scourges the left side of his face and chest, therefore he sports a porcelain half-mask at all times. This has by no means eased his ego (and perhaps fueled it as a coping mechanism), as he is by far the most bombastic of his siblings regarding their providential mandate to lord over all lesser beings. This has drawn him to the aesthetics of militancy and machismo, even though he does little to measure up to the role.
• Eydis, second daughter and third child, is afflicted with abnormal horn growths across her body. This unnerving physicality left her relatively isolated as a child and instilled a pathological need to force the rest of society to acknowledge her, ultimately motivating her recent self-proclamation as Chancellor. Her siblings, though rife with disagreement on the specifics of policy, universally back her government. Unlike her elder brother, she actually maintains positive relations with the leadership of the military and has given many Knights a run for their money with her mech piloting skills.
• Hinrik, second son and fourth child, was born without a right arm and had to be fitted with a functional prosthetic by the Druids. Felt isolated from Arni and Eydis due to their functional physiques but was too active to relate to Hekla, thus coming to rely extensively on his father for emotional support and fulfillment. In spite of crippling feelings of inadequacy, he is by far the most outgoing of the siblings, studious of foreign cultures and conscious of the need to maintain a stable society.
• Lilja, third daughter and fifth child, was blind from birth and thus wholly dependent on others. Constant efforts to rise above her disability were always met with disaster, rendering her incredibly timid and passive. She was the closest with her mother out of all the siblings and the two would often attend amphitheater readings of epic sagas together; when Erna died, she took it the hardest and has fallen down a similar path of despair to that of her father.
• Oskar, third son and sixth child, would have suffered from a particularly nasty strain of leprosy were it not for the swift intervention of the Druids. Reptilian DNA was integrated into his fetal form, meaning that the constant decay simply took the form of shedding skin. As the youngest of Isak’s brood and the only one to have their disability properly accounted for, he was afforded vast quantities of adoration (in spite of his scaled demeanor) that bred a deep sense of entitlement. His close association with the Druids leaves many in the dark as to the true nature of his increasingly esoteric interests.
• Rakel. Unsubstantiated rumors of a fourth daughter. Born just before Erna’s death. Blood in the catacombs.

[Aerin]

The Iron Masquerade (MSQ)
Capital: The City of Narsai, Region 69 (Nice)
Approved

Spoiler: Summary

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Capital: The City of Narsai, Region 64

Demonym: Masque

Starting Faith: The Soulbound Dance (Majority level, no Minorities)

Capital Region Resource: Hematite, a black iron ore (Ores and Alloys, Conductors and Circuitry)
Desired Import: Staple Crops

Starting Technologies: Arcane Amplification, Dust Hardening

Faction Support:
Government: The Iron Masquerade
Media: The Iron Masquerade
Mercantile: The Iron Masquerade

Pitch: Aristocratic mining Barons form a kidnapping cult to procure hosts for their masked deity, the Iron Monarch, after it consumes the former ruling bloodline.

Spoiler: Geography

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The city-state of Narsai is a metaphorical oasis in the middle of the vast Veehran dust desert, if not a literal one. The presence of the L'Bernon mountain range blocking access to the Great Southern Lake corrals trade caravans into a relatively narrow north-south corridor. Narsai is planted firmly in the middle of this corridor. It is a nearly necessary resupply point for travelers.

Outside of the city, the sandstorms rage and the land is frozen over. The only fools brave enough to weather the storms are bandits lurking to prey upon the trade route or nomadic tribes wandering in from adjacent territories. The garrison of the city is occasionally mustered the curb the former.

The city itself boasts no artificial atmosphere dome or climate control. The smooth black bricks of the L'Othaire royal castle form the tallest and grandest structure, followed by the Black Tower and the expensive manses of the Barons and lesser nobles. Only the rich live where sunlight can reach their dwellings on a rare clear day, because only the rich can afford to maintain secondary residences while continually repairing the sands' abrasion of their surface dwellings.

In the depths of the city where the pelting sands cannot reach, the laborers and common folk live in a labyrinthine network of tunnels and rooms created and leased at remit of the Barons. To live closer to the surface is a sign of wealth. One can roughly estimate the status of an individual by what level they reside upon.

Though stairs exist, the intense verticality of the city and the mines below necessitate the existence of cargo lifts and elevators. Though all such devices are owned by the various Barons, they vary in their accessibility, fee, size, and safety.

Spoiler: History

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Veehra is littered with the rusting machinery of bygone ages. Centuries ago, the raider who would become the founder of the Iron Masquerade ventured deep into abandoned mining shafts in the foothills of the L'Bernon Range in hope of procuring salvage from the derelict mining rigs.

A sudden dust storm had trapped him in the tunnel system for weeks. His edible provisions were gone and ice supply reduced to tight rationing, but most importantly: he was beginning to doubt his sanity. He had delved the deepest tunnels in a futile effort to find ice, and instead unearthed a sealed chamber of polished black crystal.

"Wear me," demanded the voice too svelte to be human. "And I will lead you to paradise."

The raider was cunning and resourceful (you had to be in order to prey upon the heavily armed supply caravans between the planet's twin oases), but he was desperate. Staring at the intricately carved black lattice of a monarch butterfly mask, he decided that he had little left to lose, even should this be another hallucination.

"Honored spirit, my lowly visage is not a worthy resting place for one such as yourself," the bandit challenged. "Teach me how to activate the mining drills, so that I might bring you to the surface."

This was not what the mask had asked for, but it was also desperate. Untold millennia of isolation had taken their toll upon the ancient personality. It could not survive another millennia without a power source.

The mask agreed.

It taught the brigand what levers and buttons to push, but not why. How to navigate the maze tunnels one turn at a time, but never the full map. How to operate, but not repair.

The bandit, though clever, was greedy. He rented the use of the megadrills to other raider bands, charging a premium for access to the mask's knowledge. He never wore the mask, nor allowed anyone else to talk to it.

The mining city of Narsai was born.

When the first drill broke down and his newborn aristocracy grew unruly, the petty king of Narsai begged the mask for the knowledge of how to fix the contraption. The mask refused.

"Wear me," challenged the sophisticated voice. "And I will lead you to paradise."

Even after decades of collaboration, the former bandit remained untrusting of the suspicious artifact. He devised a series of oaths that the two of them would swear, and ultimately refused to wear the mask himself.

"I promise that all heirs of my bloodline shall wear you when they ascend to rule," swore the king. "Starting with my own eldest daughter and heir."

"I promise that no harm shall come to any of your bloodline by wearing me," lied the mask. "And that I shall truthfully answer all questions from the ruler of Narsai, starting with how to repair the mining apparatus."

The shrewd king took an additional precaution. He dipped into his coffers to hire a Sorcerer from New Kildora to remove the soul of his daughter, placing it within a signet ring that she would always keep upon her person. Thus, he reasoned, the mask would never corrupt her true essence.

(Like many expensive and unnecessary medical procedures, the trend of relocating one's soul to an object was wildly popular among the megadrill Barons. When the methodology to do so became accessible enough to reach the peasantry through arcane amplification, the ritual gained religious significance.)

When Marie L'Othaire was coronated and donned the mask, she became the first true Iron Monarch of Narsai.

The mask, finding its attempts to feed upon Marie's soul thwarted by the cleverness of her father, was equally clever. It continued to provide answers to the rulers of Narsai, despite slowly dwindling power reserves. Humans were malleable, fickle creatures. It had centuries to spare before its battery finally depleted.

Eventually, one of its wearers would have a soul to suck dry.

(This is the true history, but it is lost to time or warped by perspective. This version is not taught in Narsai.)

Spoiler: Government, People

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The Iron Masquerade is a centuries-old monarchy lead by the Iron Monarch, who can be recognized by the distinctive butterfly mask they wear. When the current Iron Monarch dies or wishes to retire, the title is passed to their eldest offspring regardless of gender. Subservient to the monarchy, there are various Barons that each pay taxes to the Monarch in exchange for the permission to use a handful of ancient megadrills. The megadrills break down frequently, reinforcing the Barons' reliance upon the Monarch for assistance with repairs. They are ancient devices that cannot be replicated or understood given the current technology of the Masquerade.

At the outset of the game, the previous Iron Monarch has died suddenly and unexpectedly to disease, leaving a four year old son as the last remaining member of the L'Othaire bloodline. Coronation will proceed as usual, including all the traditional regalia and ceremony, but the realm will be ruled by regent until such time that the child reaches the age of majority and chooses an appropriate soul vessel, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for followers of the Soulbound Dance. When the ceremonial black butterfly mask of the Iron Monarch is placed upon the child's face during the coronation, the mask consumes him! Come to my round one event to learn more!

The peasantry of Narsai include some traders and artisans, but the majority are simple machinery operators in the enormous megadrills that produce the city's black wealth. They are plagued by the traditional illnesses and woes of an impoverished mining workforce. The vast majority of residents of Narsai are human, with the few exceptions being among the merchant class.

Trading caravans that travel between Veehra's two oases almost always pass through Narsai, and pay a fee to do so. These taxes are collected by the Iron Monarch, and a large chunk of the revenue is in turn used to pay tribute to the Emperor. Aside from continuing to pay what is due, the small city-state of Narsai merits little attention from the Emperor.

Spoiler: Resource

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Regional resource: The primary output of the Narsai mines is hematite, a highly conductive form of iron ore. The high-quality mineral is a black, brittle crystal, occasionally interspersed with streaks of rust-red banded iron. While some of the produced crystal is carved into decorative figurines by city artisans, the majority is exported to foreign buyers for use in conductors and armaments.



Desired import: The profits from the backbreaking labor of the drillers feed the lavish lifestyles of the Barons, affording them every luxury. The peasantry must save every penny to afford basic grains, the gold of the Veehran oases, to compliment their diets of recycled protein. Staple crops are imported to feed the masses at exorbitant rates.

Spoiler: Faith, Culture

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Followers of the Soulbound Dance believe that one's soul only persists as long as its vessel does, and thus they relocate their souls to physical objects. All other elements of the faith are optional, or practiced differently by various factions, but this is the core tenet.

The choice of object is deeply personal. The traditional, orthodox choice endorsed by the clergy and followed by the Barons is a masquerade mask, though fierce debate exists surrounding the inclusion or lack of an attached stick to manually hold the mask up. Narsai's nobility wear their soulbound masks to go about everyday life to flaunt their wealth and power. The peasantry often choose simpler, more practical objects (though the particularly devout or ambitious still elect for masks). Rings, necklaces, simple tools, and small carved figurines are common choices.

The vessel is always something small and lightweight enough to carry on one's person, as it is commonly believed that spending too long too far from one's soul vessel weakens the link between the soul and the vessel, eventually leading to the complete loss of the soul.

The ceremony to relocate one's soul is a coming-of-age ritual for most believers. It is never performed on children, as their souls have not fully developed, but the exact age of majority can vary. In order to perform the ceremony, another individual (usually a cleric) that has already relocated their soul must tap into their vessel as a power source for Arcane Amplification. The recursive nature of this process and the precise technique used has lead some scholars to speculate that the first arbiters of the ritual followed the practices of the sorcerers of New Kildora, but this is merely speculation. The modern practice bears little resemblance to the works of the snake sorcerers, and unlike the sorcerers, Masques perform very little other magic despite having their own souls easily available to tap for energy.

Holy sites of the Soulbound Dance double as both churches and mausoleums, with the most famous example being the Black Tower. The floors of the Black Tower are filled with nooks and alcoves holding vessels of all shapes and sizes. Masquerade masks are typically displayed upon a carved hematite bust of the deceased, if the deceased can afford to commission such a luxury. The bodies of the deceased are of no import, and thus are recycled for protein.

Not everyone can afford to reserve mausoleum space for their vessel, and some religious factions even prefer to pass down vessels among family lines as heirlooms. It is taboo to layer multiple souls within one vessel. Stealing a soul vessel is punishable by death by decree of the Iron Monarch, regardless of the intrinsic worth of the object.

In recent decades, there has been a growing cult-like obsession with the Iron Monarch. The clergy of the Black Tower preaches that the Monarch will one day release all souls stored in vessels and guide them to Paradise. This belief has always been popular among the workforce, for whom the promise of a savior to lead them out of brutal working conditions and abject poverty is a breath of fresh air among the constant dust, but now it is followed by several of the Barons as well. For this reason, the bottom floor of the Black Tower is open to all Masques for quiet contemplation and prayer to the Monarch, as well as daily sermons from the priesthood. At the center is a two-story tall black sculpture of a butterfly, wings spread wide.

Though the L'Othaire line has always been devout followers of the Soulbound Dance, the head priest of the Black Tower was recently appointed to be one of the late king's personal advisors in an unprecedented admission of the church's rising influence among the populace.

[Tentreto]

The Counts of Mirage (Ready for approval though I may add another minority)

region 53 (Now 57 after numbers update) in Veehra

Spoiler: History

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It is said that many years back, the Masklands were home to various centres of education, learning and art unrivalled across all the planets. It is also said that those who dwelt here were heretics, apostates, atheists, fanatics, and many other contradictory terms. What is actually known is very little, but it appears from the dark scars left at remote parts across the surface, that the Masklands were certainly a target of those ancient wars. From here, the Peludo claim that the first of their kind burrowed to the surface, to see all that the world had to offer. What they found was a land almost entirely inhospitable, with a few small cities weathering the storms. Over the centuries, the Peludo grew from a few minor tribes known to those who dwelled deep, to a strong faction, to their armies dominating the lands far and wide.

However, Duke Pollis, ruler of one of the few human cities in the region, saw an opportunity to bring the Peludo under an Imperial banner outright. Offering them the Emperor's bounties in return for fealty to himself, he named the greatest of the Peludo leaders Counts, all under him in hierarchy, and the Counts swore to never raise arms against him. Unfortunately, the Duke, and his heirs, were all killed when their castle collapsed in on them, seemingly dug out from below. The Peludo Counts, now officially guaranteed turned back to their squabbling and fully began to dominate the region, as no Duke had been officially chosen, and the remaining human Counts closed ranks, unwilling to fight the strength of the Peludo.

For the next century, various strife, war and conflict gripped the lands, as each Count now sought to take control and gain the Ducal title, with much loss of life in the harsh land. Eventually however, the Peludo Countess Melia Sahara, travelling as a diplomatic to another court, came across a dead group of travellers, all of whom had in their possession and on their faces many ornate masks. Intrigued and enticed, the Countess took these and wore them to her meeting, and within a year, wearing masks became the height of fashion and décor within the nobility, and within five, it had become something of a statement of identity, with each Count, tribe, family and profession beginning to make their own markings. And in this all Countess Sahara saw an Opportunity.

Drawing on her fame, she managed to draw a mask wearing group of Counts together, and made an official offer to unite the land. The Counts would have no Duke. However, the Counts would need a representative, a first amongst equals. Therefore she proposed that amongst themselves they elect a Mirage. A leader who officially put aside their identity for the good of the lands, to settle disputes, and guide them all. She had read her people's feelings well, for it was agreed, and Countess Sahara became the first Mirage. And so have the Mirages ruled for life, elected by all Counts, for 500 years.

Spoiler: Geography

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The Masklands are vast, large and unforgiving, with unending plains, small hills and seemingly eternal dust storms. There is little change in colour from the orange dust and dirt though there are quite a few black charred mounds, canyons and plains. Ice can often form and sub zero temperatures can persist for months on end. Above ground are dotted a few small cities in the cover of what few hills and gullies can be found. Possibly the most notable part are the farm sites dotted about, each of which is fiercely protected by its guards. Even at the far south at the Pole, all there is are a few ice caps bringing a slightly lighter colour to the landscape. If one were to look here alone would be to see these lands as nothing more than a barren wasteland, but as might be noted, there is much below the mask.

Below the surface are vast carved out cities going many miles deep. These cities are made with steel, glass, and stone, making them almost immovable, and daunting monuments to the people's industrialness,. For the uninitiated it is hard to see where the ground begins and the city ends, and many a traveller has sook shelter in a burrow only to find themself in a foyer. Even further down, are vast mining complexes, mining out the various minerals and ores of the planet safely aware from the surface.

What might also be seen between each city however are the great underground railways, built to run the great distances between each city and keep the various Counts connected. These rails have even been extended to begin to run a train between the two oasis lands, and attempt to access some of their wealth.

Spoiler: People

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The 'Peludo' (As they call themselves) dominate the Masklands. These appear very similar to Armadillos, they they have two crucial differences. Firstly they grow to a length of around 3m including their tail, and secondly, have their front grasping claws adapted to have an opposable claw, allowing them great manual dexterity. They maintain thick armoury hide which allows them to withstand much of the harshness of Veehra, though they are well adapted to also living beneath the baleful surface. In fact the deepest settlements and the oldest are Peludian. They are somewhat known for their adaptability, and their shameless adoption of customs that interest them. Therefore, the current fashion and dress of the nobility changes rapidly. Beneath this however the Peludo often wear heavy cloaks and scarves to cover them selves from both the dust and the cold.

Outside of this, a sizable minority of Masklanders are humans, having arrived here from various migrations, movements or otherwise. Some of these groups are more nomadic or recent arrivals, while a few have survived enough raids, attacks and storms to be accepted as part of the political landscape. The majority of these humans live above or just below the surface as opposed to their Peludian neighbours.

A smattering of other species exist in the Masklands, though they tend not to have the political weight of the Peludo or Humans. However as the Masklands are so vast, they tend to be left to their own devices, or curried by a political faction if needed. One example are the dwarves, who claim to be the original inhabitants of the lands, though any truth to this is unknown


The customs of the lands are many and varied for its large size, however the most notable is readily apparent to any visitor: That almost every native carries on them or wears a ceremonial mask befitting them. Each mask has many different symbols or colours denoting both the social position of the individual, but their trades, accomplishments, skills and also their family, tribe and so on. Generally, a noble will have a carved mask of a precious material, while many poorer will have varnished wood, plastic or possibly steel. While most will accept an outsider for not wearing one, they will tend to offer a plain mask to them. It is the Peludo who will barely ever remove their mask, while may others will use them more as a personal identification. Indeed, with how individual each mask is, they are often used as official identification, and stealing a mask: or worse, destroying one, will lead to a very unpleasant situation. The masks of the Peludo are made to cover over their muzzle and face and rarely the ears, usually held on by a strap around the neck. Other masks can vary, from Masquerade style, to domino masks, and in one tribe directly tatooed onto the person.

Generally, before coming of age, a child wears no mask, until they are old enough to work. At this age they are given a simple mask to wear, on which the most basic of symbols and heraldry is put. Upon coming of age, the individual either crafts their own, or if they are unskilled or wealthy enough, hire an artisan to craft one for them. This mask then persists with them for life. If a mask is broken or lost, an individual is usually considered a pariah until they can gain a new mask, although the lost of much of their iconography will be a shame for years after. It is possible to change for a new mask, although this is usually done on gaining of social status or if the ld is beginning to wear thin.


Notably however, magical skill and ability is almost unknown to the Peludo, and few of the others of the region have a strong tradition of it, with most of it being brought in by those travelling from other regions.

Spoiler: Government

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The Masklands are run on what is essentially an elective system among the Counts. A Mirage is elected for life from each Count, who 'officially' leaves their titiles to instead rule in the interest of the Counts as a whole. The Counts themselves are essentially chosen by agreement. The five Original Counts raised by Duke Pollis are traditionally always included, as two human Counts, the ones who had managed to survive and hold their lands until the first Mirage was elected. Five other Peludo have been raised to the title of 'Count' by order of the Mirage in time. Additionally however, five 'Knights' can also be elected to be retain the rights of Counts for a Mirage's tenure, after of which they lose this right, unless reaffirmed.

Broadly, each Count has broad rights to rule as they see fit, in raising tax, running their land and entitled to their own land armies. They are forbidden from slavery, and from secession as a few of the outright commandments of the Mirage.

Beneath Counts, are 'Barons' and 'Earls,' essentially vassals to the Counts, with Barons ruling below ground, and Earls above. Below these are 'Marques,' who tend to manage small holdings or operations (and tend to be petty nobility) and 'Lairds' who are the nomadic and wandering tribes on the surface.

Each person is beholden to their community and hierarchical leader, and feudally obliged to support their liege in an agreed manner, whether that be through materials, troops or otherwise. If a dispute does arise, the local noble is expected to deal with it within their community how they see fit, thus theft in an eastern Lairds domain is likely to be trialled and sentenced different to a Peludo Baron. Disputes between nobility are more complicated, with the Mirage dealing with those amongst Counts and Knights. Barons and Earls face the strange position of having to both seek the ear of other Counts to have disptues against their liege dealt with if it cannot be done between themselves.

Spoiler: Resource

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Resource:
Tungeston (Ores and Alloys)
With its vast underground mines, the Masklands have made use of their niche by finding vast quantities of Tungsten, a material with many uses, and can be used as a alloy for almost anything.

Required: The Peludo obsession with their masks, and denominating their heritage can sometimes reach fanatical levels. Therefore there is an eternal search for new substances to paint on their masks for different definitions or colours. Too many have died from Uranium based paint that the Mirage is keen to find safer alternatives.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Peludo are not exactly agnostic, however as many a missionary might find, they are horrific convertees. This is not from their lack of interest and willingness to experience new ideas. It is in fact, that they are just as quick to adopt to a new creed with more interesting traditions, hymns, or hats. Thus a faith has to both be appealing to their curiosity, and gain enough of a hold to survive when the first wave turn away. The few faiths that survive often have quite a bit of synchronicity by necessity. The nobility, while they will take as much part in ritual as the commonfolk, will still be wary of threats to their power. This hodgepodge of beliefs that forms is usually labelled as 'Mongrelism' as it is night unrecognisable from what it may have been before.

The humans of the land by contrast tend to tie their faith more directly to their identity as tribes families, so a more settled belief settles here. Therefore it tends to be here where any seat of religious power settles and cements itself. The Temple of Malanos, near the Pole, and the Fallen Palace of Duke Pollis are possibly the most major, with the former being the traditionally the point the Peludo broke the surface, and the latter where they finally achieved power.

What has gained some purchase is from the Iron Masquerade, in the Soulbound Dance. Lacking much of their magical skill, the ceremonies for transplanting the soul to the objects is purely ceremonial. On the other hand, masks are almost the only object chosen, and their importance and tie to identity are so intrinsic that if the rituals did have power no one would notice. The ceremony itself is widespread in itself.

Similarly, the Mother Serpent has achieved a small cult like status as the focus on rebirth and shedding skin has achieved some strength in the more northern areas, as the Peludo liken it to their own armoured hides. The lack of large snakes, or any snakes in the south has somewhat stymied it though.

The Cult of Avva occupies the strange position of being the most successfully imported faith, yet has next to no adherents amongst the Peludo. This is mostly due to the Peludo being content to not see the sun, with the more surface dwelling cousins appreciating it's tenants more.

Plurality:None
Majority:None
Minority: Peludian Soulbound Dance
Minority: Peludian Mother Serpent
Minority: Peludian Cult of Avva
Minority: Peludian Mongrelism
Minorty: Pending from Neighbours

Spoiler: Starting tech

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Dust Hardening: The Masklands are vast and dangerous. All who have survived here beyond a generation had already begun to improve what they had, and themselves
Xenolinguistic Cataloguing: With the varied tongues and bodies of the Masklands, most inhabitants are at least conversational in a few languages. The Mirage and their entourage have managed to coordinate this enough to have a strong basis for lingustics.

Spoiler: Starting Ruler

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As of the Start of the game, the de jure and de facto leader is Mirage Julia Sahara

[Grim ranger]

The United Houses of Senkar (UHS)

Requested Region: 16 (Badal)
Region Name: Senkar

Leader: Lord Ziven Alegre, Speaker of the Houses

Spoiler: Summary

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Capital: Aerostat city of Senkar, Region 16

Demonym: Houses

Starting Faith: The Forever Self (Majority, no Minorities)

Capital Region Resource: Senkar Medicae
Desired Import: Fuel

Starting Technologies: In Vivo Modification, Badalian Megadirigibles

Pitch: A group of minor nobility and medical practioners join their houses together under the umbrella of local wind spirits.

Spoiler: History

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In the wake of the War of Eternal Bombardments, many wanderers looking for their own place in Tekhum had been left traveling the void. Many of these refugee caravans and small fleets containing last resources of several defeated noble houses found their way to Badal, arriving at one of the remaining aerostat cities that had not been destroyed by the conflict: the research-focused city of Senkar.

Initially, this mix of competing factions brought about the expected unrest, disturbing the pre-existing upper crust of doctors and scientists that claimed the flying city as their domain. As no side was about to give ground in order to survive and trust was scarce in wake of war, these factions were set to erupt into conflict that would have destroyed the entire aerostat... were it not for an intervention by one of the secrets long held by Badal's inhospitable atmosphere.

Making their appearance by possessing several leaders of the warring factions, the Djinn went on to end the budding war for Senkar in its infancy, forcing the gathered dregs of humanity to the negotiation table. Although reluctant at first, the leaders of emerging Houses found enough common ground to come together under the umbrella set up by the mysterious beings seemingly inhabiting the aerostat city itself... and those few who stubbornly refused were soon met with the collective force of those who had compromised among themselves.

With the unification of UHS, the Houses were formalized as the governing bodies of the coalition, and slow process of the ill-fitting parts merging into a single culture began. By the time the news of re-establishment of the Elect arrived, the floating city had realized its unique religion and way of life, pursuing transhumanism and cooperation under the umbrella of their ever-mysterious benefactors.

Spoiler: Geography

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The aerostat city of Senkar is a curious construction, one of the oldest constructs still floating above the sulphurous ruin of Sea of Clouds. The large top-like base of the city is one of dark, pitted metal, the anciety systems steadily pumping chemicals through massive system of pipes and crackling at times with power surges as it continues to fulfill its function. This base of thriving civilization is seldom visited by the more influential people, and instead boasts lesser settlements often haphazardly worked onto its sides or in the superstructures that house great many displaced refugees. Despite this, it also hosts most of the docks, with majority of the aerocraft capable of surviving the corrosive cloud cover hidden in hangars thoroughout the ring-like layers of the structure.

Above the megastructure begins Senkar proper, the habitation growing newer and more pristine as it reaches towards the sky. The spires have long since been claimed as seats of the larger Houses, with all of them connecting in spiderweb pattern to the tower in the middle: the seat of Lord Speaker. The cityscape is one of brass, concrete and white cloth, nearly every street corner hosting its own laboratory or clinic, and large self-contained sections of the city acting as research complexes.

Spoiler: Government & People

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The ruling body of Senkar is the High Court, made of representatives of the larger Houses and at times particularly accomplished individual constituents. This small circle of individuals dictates policy of the United Houses for most part, held in check by the oversight and veto power of the Speaker. While there are no particular term limits for the position of Speaker, it is common for them to share their body with one of the Djinn as a measure to keep their bad habits in check in turn, and there is a certain degree of wariness between different factions of the government that helps to keep any too ambitious individuals honest.

Beneath the High Court, there are number of Low Courts arranged around different houses and their alliances. Low Courts can be formed and broken by circumstance, and often it is simply the matter of social prestige to set one up successfully: the oldest and grandest have lasted from the formation of the United Houses themselves, while newer ones can be formed and forgotten in months. The Low Courts handle practical implementation of the edicts of High Court, and are rewarded or punished according to their diligence and success.

Overall, the social structure of UHS strives for meritocracy, with particular focus towards merit in fields of medicine or any particularly groundbreaking research. The pursuits of many are directed towards such ends, but in society that prices individual drive and achievement, variety of lifepaths regardless find a decent following. Apart from the mandated service of two years that all citizens or those wishing to become citizens must perform at the behest of the Courts, all members of society are allowed to live their lives without much in way of overt interference.

The population of Senkar mostly consists of tall and thin humans, descendants of the initial wave of space-adapted refugees. With the help of the medical technology of the city, the frail constitution of void-dwellers has been reinforced to the point that 0.9 g gravity of Badal is their new normal, but the general body shape has regardless persisted through the generations. The skin tone of now planet-bound people has gradually shifted away from the unnaturally pale guise of voidborn, however, and most of the population is fairly tan or at least healthy-looking by human standards. Robes, stiff coats and cloaks are in fashion around Senkar, with elaborate patterns seeking to outshine each other in subtle displays rather than particularly garish colors.

Out of the inhabitants of the floating city, however, the most notable and mysterious by far are the Djinn. Difficult in the extreme to spot with the naked eye, they occasionally fly through public areas, stirring loose items and dust in the wake of their breeze-like forms. Some of the more important Djinn have chosen to seek more solid presence among the local populace by donning pressure suits or other means to give their amorphous self ways to interact with their human neighbors, and these are often individuals of notable prestige. An often noted way of the Djinn to establish their presence is through one of their Guides: a human allowing the Djinn to fully or partially dwell in their body, often through the use of specialized breathing masks.

Spoiler: Religion

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The spiritual outlook of the Houses has gradually formed as a result of the common spiritualism of middling nobility melding with the more scientific view of the city's scientific elite, but it was only upon their meeting with the Djinn that the philosophy known as The Forever Self was finalized.

Essentially, The Forever Self posits that everyone has a specific nature, a core of their being that is vital for leading a fulfilling life. This does not only refer to what some faiths call the soul, but also matters of form and mentality: a full, unfiltered look at an individual as a whole. Not all are even consciously aware of their core self, and like gems they can be polished and shaped. The Forever Self seeks to create an universe where true, polished selves of people are able to exist beyond the obstacles that would often prevent them from realizing themselves, be they societal or physical. As such, the faith broaches the realms of transhumanism and magic as well as simple spirituality, and its pursuit can be a lifelong goal with no expense spared.

While respect towards the differences of unique perspectives is at heart of the faith overall, its adherents recognize that they live in yet imperfect universe. As such, they are often forced to close ranks against those who would impede their pursuit or attack their ideas as a whole, even if battles between fully realized heroes and villains would be a joyous thing to behold otherwise.

As the grand unifiers of this philosophy, the Djinn are afforded respect and reverence bordering on worship, and their hosts often lead the roundtables and gatherings of The Forever Self in the open.

Spoiler: Resource & Desired Import

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Regional Resource: The local resource of Senkar Aerostat are the Senkar Medicae, mass of trained medical personnel trained by the local upper crust of accomplished doctors and scientists. This influx of trained professionals allows the laboratories of Senkar to continue operating at full capacity, and many of them head elsewhere to work on other aerostats receptive of their skills.

Desired Import: While food and healthcare are taken care of by the laboratory complexes, the constant power drain of complex equipment leaves Senkar in need of more Fuel than most aerostat cities of the Cloud Sea.

[Volthawk]

Eilif Dhaoine
Requested Region: 25 (Backup choices: 27)
Region Name: The Reserve

Leader: Clagath of Deargabh

Spoiler: History

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In the time before the War of Eternal Bombardments, the Reserve was...well, a reserve. Taking advantage of the islands providing isolated environments, the wizard-scientists of the pre-war Empire worked away here to master and manipulate life, creating a wide variety of insectoid creatures - many of these were intended to be dangerous, but others were created for their impressive looks, to act as food for the more valuable creatures, or to similarly fulfil specific niches in the ecosystem. The Reserves often took visitors, whether they were there to marvel at the great works of the Reserve's masters, or to draw on their expertise and creations for their own purposes. Naturally, those purposes often involved war, so when the War of Eternal Bombardments broke out, the Reserve became a target, nobody wanting the creatures found on the islands to be used against them.

The survivors of the War in the Reserve were mostly visitors and low-level staff - those that weren't in the central buildings when the War came to kill the wizard-scientists who ran the Reserve and to destroy their research - along with a few poor souls who had fled by ship from elsewhere and found themselves in a worse place than they left, so there was no surviving chain of command or social structure to immediately adopt. Instead, there was a period of peace where the survivors on each island recovered, found each other and formed new communities, picking through the ruins for anything of value. Meanwhile, the surviving engineered lifeforms that were once contained by the Reserve's systems found their own freedom and began breeding out in the jungle.

After some time (rather less time than the survivors expected - they're not sure why, but the creatures ended up being a little more fecund than the early survivors expected), the attacks started, and life on the Reserve became more of a fight for survival against the creatures. They became known as the bascail (basclan singular) by the Dhaoine, roughly translating to "Death's Teeth", but have been given other names elsewhere, in places where one (or a group) have made it to other shores or by explorers who spend enough (but usually not much) time in the Reserve to name them - bugulons, for instance - while both Reserve locals and foreigners find themselves using simple names like bug, insectoid or similar simple names at times when there's no need to distinguish between a basclan and a mundane insect (or words like monster when a basclan is particularly dangerous).

For most of the Reserve's history since the rise of the bascail, the nature of the threat facing the scattered settlements kept them all busy and divided, and coordinating on a higher level was typically impractical. On top of that, raiding quickly became part of life on the Reserve - when times are always hard, and your own survival is in jeopardy, why not take from others to ensure you and yours do well?

Eventually, advances in weaponry and armour turned the tide against the bascail enough that safe routes across the islands of the Reserve could be established. Soon, settlements began forming permanent alliances and trade routes, and those that opposed or raided those alliances were cut off from all help and left to either accept terms or eventually fall to the creatures that dwelled in the jungles or their neighbours seeing them as a safe raiding target.

As the islands unified, they began to make formal, steady contact with each other and it didn't take long for the question of a Reserve-spanning alliance to be suggested, as trade between the city-states dominating each island's alliance grew. Given the nature of living here, all-out war never broke out - nobody was willing to leave themselves vulnerable by committing a large amount of hunters and warriors elsewhere - and instead duels and champions settled the matter of who would end up in charge and dealt with minor power struggles. The Emperor's proclamation came a few years after the dust had settled and the city-states and alliances of the Reserve had formed into a single unified country, the Eilif Dhaoine, and they accepted being a part of the Elect, and the technology involved in that, with enthusiasm. The Reserve may have been their home and the crucible in which they earned their strength, but it was not the most pleasant place to live. Now, perhaps, they can forge a new and better home for themselves using that strength - on this planet or another.

For reference, Eilif Dhaoine means "the people of Eilif", Eilif being one of the names used for the physical islands of the Reserve as a whole. Despite that, most people still use "the Reserve" when talking about the region itself and not the country. Meanwhile, "the Dhaoine" is sometimes used to refer to the people that live in the Reserve.

Spoiler: Geography

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The Reserve is an equatorial island chain, hot and humid and filled with life - although these days, much of that life is descended from those created before the War. The flora here looks rather normal for a tropical rainforest on Sansar, although even here many species show differences compared to more natural specimens elsewhere, alterations made to ensure they could support and survive the insectoids placed here by the pre-war wizard-scientists. Prime among these changes is the drochridhe, a fruit-bearing tree which was modified to grow significantly larger than the normal variety, and whose fruits contain a variety of compounds that are perfect for the growth of herbivorous insects but toxic to humans before being broken down by a basclan eating it, something that ensures that there are plenty of prey animals to be found on the island for both predatory insectoids and the humanoid population. The people of the Reserve have...mixed opinions about the tree, as while it is part of the problem when it comes to sustaining the bascail population, they are also dependent on eating the herbivores that are fed by it.

The most notable part of the Reserve's ecology is, of course, the wide variety of bascail present. While not all of the creatures created before the War survived the bombardment, enough did that the ecosystem is dominated by these artificial species. Some normal animals do still survive, finding niches not covered by a surviving bascail species, but the insectoids make up the vast majority of the animal population - herbivorous bascail climb the trees for fruits or chew through the trees themselves, predators eat those bugs, other predators or humans (depending on their size and disposition - their artificial origins means that many are rather more aggressive than one would expect), and so on.

The people of Eilif Dhaoine tend to live in fortified settlements, although these days a significant amount of the population lives in buildings that have spilled out from the city's walls into the land around it - with growing numbers and advanced weapons, it's far easier to keep the surrounding area clear of dangerous bascail, although incidents still happen sometimes and living within the walls is safer and more prestigious (except for the sealga, those that make their living and fame as basclan hunters - they typically live outside the walls, as an implied statement about their confidence against the bugs). Over time safe and stable roads, patrolled regularly, have been established between these cities, and smaller outposts built for specific purposes (such as mining colonies) have sprung up to supply and support their mother city.

Spoiler: People

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Centuries of fighting for survival have led to the settlements that make up the Dhaoine having a very militaristic culture, with the hunt being held up as something of great significance - after all, the hunt was how you fed your people (while agriculture and fishing has grown in importance in recent centuries, for the worst of the times between the War and the modern day, killing and eating a large basclan was a major way you kept fed), how you protected yourself from the bugs, and how you proved that you were skilled and valuable to your people. A practice of trophy-taking, either from the creatures you killed or the people you've raided, has also grown alongside the hunting culture.

Those that are martially inclined within the Dhaoine tend to fall into two categories. The majority are the lannan, those that remain within the settlements of the Dhaoine (or the immediate outskirts) and protect the rest of the people from bascail or raiders. They're more numerous, and the job is the less prestigious of the two, but they still take pride in their work and wear chitincraft armour with pride - the most common chitincraft equipment used by lannan is made from one of a handful of ant-like species of basclan (some city-states use other hive-based basclan, but the ant-like ones are most common), who are killed en masse and their remains taken home for less prestigious artisans to make a large number of suits of armour and weaponry. The rest are usually sealga, hunters that venture out into the wilderness to bring down predatory bascail that have proved troublesome for their people (particularly if said basclan is famous - sealga have a reputation for being glory hunters), or to hunt large herbivores to give their people an influx of food (basclan meat is...an acquired taste), or to raid another settlement (although that's less commonly done these days, now that Eilif Dhaoine has been formed - many sealga are eager to get out into the world and raid non-Dhaoine targets, though). Many people join the ranks of the sealga only to die quickly, so the sealga subculture has developed a number of ranks over time, a somewhat unorganised system where surviving the sealga's life and bringing in impressive kills or pulling off audacious raids increases a sealga's standing in the eyes of his peers, and that influences how they are referred to by their peers. The most successful hunters are rich and famous, and show that with chitincraft made from their own kills and worked on by the most prominent artisans of the time.

Species-wise, the majority of the sentient population of the Reserve are human, but all kinds of people were present on the Reserve when the War came, so small amounts of other species are present in the modern population - some species died out for one reason or another, of course, but some have managed to stay present.

Spoiler: Government

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Supports: All controlled by Eilif Dhaoine

Technically, Eilif Dhaoine is governed by an alliance made up of factions that each control one of the Reserve's islands, each themselves formed by an alliance of the settlements within them, and decisions that affect the country as a whole are voted on by representatives of each part of the Reserve.

In practice, though, power is more centralised than that - a practice of settling disagreements and cementing deals through duels quickly became common in the Reserve, given the reluctance each alliance felt towards amassing armies and meeting in large-scale battles (after all, that's how you leave yourself vulnerable to the wilderness taking advantage of your home being weak), and through that a power hierarchy quickly fell into place. While all the factions within the Reserve get a vote, they are organised into power blocs based on the outcomes of those duels (and in more recent years, outright tournaments that are explicitly for this purpose) and expected to follow the wishes of those that bested them.

Spoiler: Religion

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The Anam Beathach (Majority)
The most common element in the spirituality of those that live in the Reserve is the concept of the Anam Beathach, a bestial spirit of great power that lacks much will of its own, but is more an unconscious manifestation of nature's might. The wizard-scientists of the pre-war Reserve tapped into this entity's power when they created the bascail, which explains the might, rapid growth, and aggression shown by the creatures, and by using chitincraft weaponry and armour the sealga and lannan themselves tap into that same primal source of power. Similarly, some believe that acting in a way that fits the nature of the Anam Beathach is a source of power and vitality, a belief that has done much to sustain the raiding culture of some city-states.

Minority Faiths
Putting aside small local faiths with little prospects for future growth, the followers of Coedd have a small presence in the Reserve. There have always been scattered stories of talking trees or nature spirits out in the jungle, and even a few names that (accounting for linguistic drift over the years) might even translate to something like Coedd, but there was little in the way of an established faith along those lines...until Eilif Dhaoine was formed and the people of the Reserve looked outwards to find out about the other peoples living on Sansar. The faithful of Coedd was among those they found, and the religion found it quite easy to establish a presence here - the Dhaoine are quite inclined to having nature be a major part of their spirituality, and praising the forest but not the beast suits some of those that have had to deal with the bascail quite nicely.

Spoiler: Resource: Chitincraft Wargear (Weapons, Armour and Munitions/Art and Cultural Products

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Hunting basclan (or simply defending yourself from one, although the locals tend to call that hunting too, along with pretty much anything else that results in a dead bug) is a major part of life in the Reserve. Naturally, the chitin harvested from those kills are put to use in various ways, a practice rather simply referred to as "chitincraft".

Prime among the products of chitincraft are the weapons and armour used by those of a martial inclination in the Reserve, which incorporate chitin to various degrees, taking advantage of its useful properties - most types are substantially tougher than regular insect chitin, while other varieties have useful properties when it comes to flexibility or conductivity/insulation. Given the mixture of magic and genetic engineering that went into the creation of the bascail, some of these properties can be a little odd, but usually are quite useful - after all, the weapons and armour used here aren't primitive breastplates and spears, but weapons and armour following modern design principles, so properties other than strength are sometimes wanted.

They're not entirely built from chitin, of course - often chitin isn't even the majority material once you're talking about firearms and other complex items - and other materials are used as needed, but the artisans involved typically make the effort to ensure that a large amount of the visible surfaces are chitin. They also tend to make the effort to ensure that each item looks impressive and distinct - if it is a commission, usually from a sealga who traditionally brings in a kill to be used for materials, the artisan typically tries to make the designs and adornments on the chitin fit the hunter's attitude and reputation, or to evoke the nature of the monster whose chitin was used, while in the far more common case of chitincraft equipment being made for more general use an effort is still made to make the item look impressive and to channel the bestial power of the donor creatures, but in a less specific way. Even then, the people living in the Reserve put great cultural value in the chitin and the way that it is shaped, engraved and decorated, and no sealga worth anything would go outside without some amount of chitincraft present and visible, often paired with other trophies.

Spoiler: Desired Import: Luxury Goods

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Life in the Reserve is tough. Everyone who has been born, lived and died there has known this, but they've still persevered in hardship because there was little other choice. Now that the islands have been united, communications with the outside world have become routine and the Emperor has revealed himself...just accepting hardship without any complaint has become less palatable to most of those living in the Reserve. They deserve more, to have things that are pleasant to own and comfortable, to live well within the walls of their settlements, and now they know that there's so much out there, even on other worlds...if their leader is incapable of going out and securing some of that luxury for themselves, that leader is clearly unworthy.

Spoiler: Techs

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In Vivo Modification
While the magic and biotechnology that created the bascail were lost during the War of Eternal Bombardments, enough has been pieced together by examining ruins and studying the engineered creatures that the basics have been rediscovered.

Wet Navy Ships
The fact that the Reserve is an island chain has made sailing an essential part of life here, sailing routes forming the chains that bind the scattered settlements of the Reserve together.

[TheDarkDM]

Approved



The House of Fire
Requesting Region 70

Spoiler: History

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Once, we were the chosen of the Emperor. From the proud rings of Ophon, we watched in our battle groups and carried the divine will across the stars, gracing the lesser races with the shining countenance of the Imperial Standard. Our terrible strength was tempered in justice and righteousness, and none could stand against its irresistible force. Four times in our illustrious history, we ravaged the seething masses of the outer orbits to restore order and harmony, and four times our jealous rivals seethed in their silent impotence. In our pride, we thought our position as unassailable as the Emperor's own godhead, and in our pride we fell. The thousand faces of chaos rose once more among the outer orbitals, and with the blessings of Ophon we embarked upon the Fifth Punitive Campaign. Imperial blood was spilled and holy fusion called upon to quiet the seizure of dissent, and we were tested as never before as our battle groups, battered and winnowed, coalesced into a single Fleet Triumphant. But as months turned to years of hard campaigning, and the merciless demands of loyalty mounted, our enemies on sacred Ophon began to whisper in the Emperor's ear. When at last we returned in glory, it was not Triumph that awaited us, but recrimination and shame. Our holy campaign was branded an abomination, its name and the sacrifices in its name erased from Imperial histories and replaced with a single damning expletive - The War of Eternal Bombardments. Our Imperial crest was disintegrated, our family name abolished, and all records deleted from the heraldic databanks. The proud generations of our family, from our most distinguished elders to our most callow heirs, were loaded aboard the disarmed remnants of our wounded fleet and banished to the void.

Journeying into exile under conventional drive and denied the guidance of the College, years were lost traversing the void. The wounds of war became scars of emergency repair and salvaged bulkhead, our death-sleek warships reduced to a shower of artificial comets. Yet even deprived of Imperial Drives, our drive plumes were beacons in the long night, and we soon found ourselves playing host to petitioners befitting our fallen station. The War had cauterized the organs of rebellion, but the detritus still choked the outer orbitals with refugee columns, hibernation ships, and diaspora fleets. The boldest among them dared an approach vector to our nameless armada, ignorant or uncaring towards the Brand of Exile upon our hulls, and with every vow of obedience in return for protection our new House grew. Word of our coming rippled through the fractured remnants of InterPlaNet, rousing some to desperate reprisals and others to enlightened obeisance. The reprisals, impotent though they were, bound our new federation in blood and fire, and when the last of our reactive mass threatened to gutter out amid the gravestones of Mekhala we understood the portent. Guided by the wisdom of the Core Seers, Duke Shalmaneser declared the House of Fire and raised its standard, the selfsame brand of our exile, over the largest asteroid in the system.

As we toiled to sculpt Dur-Shalkhir into a palace befitting our exiled dynasty, so too did we endeavor to master our new and hostile home. The ships that had cradled us on our long decades of exile were dismantled one after another to form the foundations of our future glory, until only our mighty flagship, invincible in battle and unmatched in dignity, was interred at the very heart of Dur-Shalkhir. There, the technomystic properties of the Core embraced us, transforming the House of Fire into what it is today. The Lords in Iron, sworn vassals to our noble Ducal line, spread across the surface and through the crust of Dur-Shalkhir in search of its bounty, while the first of our noble Void Knights emerged as guardians of our outer satellites.

Spoiler: Geography

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The territory of the House of Fire comprises the enormous iron asteroid of Dur-Shalkhir as well as nearly one hundred minor asteroids caught in the gravitational pull of the Core. While most of these satellites are little more than barren rocks, some of the larger ones boast modest resourcing operations, habitation bunkers, or hydroponic domes maintained by the lesser houses of the Lords in Iron. This stands in stark contrast to Dur-Shalkhir itself, which after many centuries of painful development boasts numerous advanced arcologies, mines, and painstakingly maintained green spaces. The asteroid is a dwarf planet nearly 900 kilometers in diameter possessing an iron-nickel core and mineral-rich mantle. Chief among these for the House of Fire’s exploitation is a shocking abundance of uranium vein deposits through the outer mantle. While its composition is sufficiently dense to generate an appreciable gravitational field, the influence of the technomystical Flagship Core installed at the center of Dur-Shalkhir has amplified it far beyond what would occur naturally. At the deepest levels, where the ducal family and other luminaries of the House keep their vault-palaces, Dur-Shalkhir boast a gravity of approximately 0.7 G. This artificial field weakens significantly as it approaches the surface, and those poorest vassaldoms of the House enjoy a variance between 0.3 and 0.4 G. While this presents constant challenges, Dur-Shalkhir remains the most comfortable location for human habitation within the Mekhalan orbital. Some within the House theorize that adjustments to the Core might enable a more reliable gravitational field to be projected, but the death of the last Core Seer five centuries ago have left such hypotheses as idle speculation.

Approaching Dur-Shalkhir, the naked eye can easily discern a number of atmosphere domes constructed in an irregular ring around the equatorial band, curving naturally to incorporate impact craters and topographical anomalies in a series of themed and manicured parks. Closer to the poles the impression grows increasingly less welcoming, as the greater part of the House of Fire’s industrial base burrows like a tumor down the axial center of the asteroid. Radioactive exhaust fumes too hot for the air recyclers rise in two sweeping wings from “north” and “south,” while the incessant glow of automated factories and surface-vault slums invite the creation of constellations all their own. The Eye of Esarhaddon, the largest crater on Dur-Shalkhir’s surface, has been repurposed as the crown-asteroid’s primary space port, its base converted into a monstrous series of air locks and automated docking arms located on the dark side of Dur-Shalkhir’s northern hemisphere. Deeper inside the asteroid, one transitions from smooth-bored rock tunnels to metal plated boulevards and finally to intricately sculpted ad inlaid galleries at the deepest levels, with abundant holoscreens creating the illusion of space and light in a kingdom of claustrophobic tunnels.

Spoiler: People

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The House of Fire, both core ducal family and attendant vassal families within the Lords of Iron, proclaim themselves to be genetically pure humans. Whether the Imperial Families of Ophon would agree has not yet been tested. Forced to adapt to conditions that varied between Thrust-G, Zero-G, and Core-G, the humans of the House of Fire boast weaker skeletons and less developed muscle mass compared to their terrestrial-born counterparts. Tall to the point of unsettling, they nevertheless display a disconcerting grace in low gravity environments. Pale skinned and entirely hairless, their eyes have adapted to the darkness of their Mekhalan home, with pupils capable of dilating to encompass almost the entirety of their sclera or constricting down to pinpricks when faced with unshielded exposure to Ophon. While deeply sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, the people of the House of Fire have a developed tolerance for microwave radiation, in addition to a sympathetic sense for exotic energies similar to those emitted by the Core.

Organized into a strict feudal structure, most people within the House of Fire serve in organized trades, their loyalty given to whichever Lord in Iron oversees their industrial fief. Placement within an indus-fief is a highly ritualized ascension to adulthood for the commoners within the House of Fire. Childhood development is overseen directly by the ducal family, which funds the maintenance of communal creches and compulsory elementary education for every child. During this period of education and indoctrination, each child undergoes rigorous aptitude testing, and at the age of 12 standards is apprenticed to an appropriate indus-fiefdom. Specialized training follows for an average of 4 standards, after which a member of the House of Fire is considered a full adult. Social mobility is minimal, with the only paths out of industrial servitude typically being acceptance into the highly discerning ranks of the Void Knights or the Ducal Armada, or by volunteering to participate in the Games. Honorable service with the Knights or the Armada guarantees status as a ducal guard and admittance to the barracks-layers and their high-G amenities. Survival in the deadly Games guarantees celebrity and sponsorship, sometimes even to the point of adoption within a noble house.

As if to strike against the monotone nature of their home, the people of the House of Fire adore bold colors in their decor and fashion. Shades of red predominate, though none save the ducal family are authorized to wear the holy Exile Red. Denied the varied imagination of hair styles, the people of the House of Fire instead indulge in fanciful circlets, veils, and headdresses, along with a well-developed cultural tattoo language. Distinct to each class and sector of their society, tattoos within the House of Fire can be badges of honor as well as shame.

Spoiler: Government

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The House of Fire is organized as an absolute dictatorship, with the Duke of the ruling family nominally controlling all aspects of life on Dur-Shalkhir. Practically, much of this power is diluted down through the web of spear-families, sworn vassals, and risen knights known collectively as the Lords in Iron, who form an unofficial advisory council and possess first-hand knowledge of most aspects of life under the House of Fire. While this arrangement leaves open avenues for treachery, and the House has indeed survived three Iron Uprisings in its history, the ducal family’s claim is buttressed by three unassailable factors: their control over the life-support machinery of Dur-Shalkhir, the sworn loyalty of the Void Knights and Ducal Armada, and access to the mysteries of the Core. This has assured the survival of even weak Dukes, though the ducal family’s traditions of internal meritocracy have kept public family embarrassments to a minimum.

Spoiler: Resources

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Resource: Uranium [Fuel and Power/Ores and Alloys]
Resource Requirement: Ice/Water

Starting Technologies: Nuclear Fusion, Vacuum Adaptation

Spoiler: Faith

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The Communion of Black Sky

No record remains of the true formation of the House of Fire - whatever hard data survived the War of Eternal Bombardments was lost in the intervening transit to Mekhala. However, the House has nurtured an elaborate and self-aggrandizing mythology through oral and artistic tradition which has blossomed into a cultural certainty. Even the common people within the House of Fire believe themselves to be the inheritors of a great destiny. Among the nobility, this sentiment is amplified to a religious zeal. There has never been a Duke born that did not seethe in the night against the treacherous Imperial Advisors who poisoned the Emperor’s mind. More than personal grievance, however, the traditions of the House of Fire ascribe a divine providence to their exile. Alone in the Black Sky of space, they teach their children and their childrens’ children, the House of Fire will take the next steps to advance the glory of the Empire. Lost technologies like the sacred Core lurk, forgotten in the black, awaiting enlightened minds to nurse them to life. And beyond even Mekhala itself, unconquered expanses await the civilizing hand of the Emperor’s truest servants. It is a cultural alloying of revanche and revelation that justifies any action in the name of glory.

[Gengy]

This is a post of intent.

Interested in playing, Interested in starting near the space pirate Role, for good or ill.

Region: 5 or 6, I guess?

[Kythia]

Ready for approval

Coedd
Requested Region: 32
Region Name: Coedd

Leader: Coedd, the Emerald Queen, the Unchanging and Everchanging, Spirit of the Forest, Drinker of Water and Reveller in the Sun, the Slow Dance and the Bursting Bud (this continues for some time, in order to avoid hitting the character count I will stop here)

Spoiler: History

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Coedd is and was. Coedd is eternal and unchanging. Coedd held Coedd before meat left the oceans. Coedd was Coedd before every empire existed, Coedd will be Coedd when empires fade to dust.

Coedd was content to be Coedd for more growing periods than there are meat in the Empire. Meat walked through and in Coedd, performing meat tasks. Coedd was content. Meat fought meat and Coedd was harmed. Coedd is waking. Coedd looks outward, to meatlands of not Coedd. Coedd is ever changing with every cycle.

Spoiler: From the personal correspondence of Garrick Mynqvist, ArkHivist

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Hi,

I’ll write this all up in time, but just to get some stuff down. Coedd-Island - I’m going to call it that for reasons that’ll become pretty clear over time! - seems to have been a borderline uninhabitable rainforest hell even before the war. It looks like there were some scattered attempts at colonisation around the edges but the interior was basically untouched. One of these colonies seems to have been doing something - I’m not trawling though yottabytes of data about the War to find out what exactly but it must have been something big, as Coedd-Island was one of the sites targetted by the thaumo-fusion bombs. If you don’t know them look them up but basically get a massive nuclear bomb and a massive magical bomb and stick them together in such a way that each feeds on the other. The crater is still pretty visible from orbital scans two millenia later. We know from other sites that the combination of radiation and thaumaturgy causes an explosion in mutations for hundreds of miles around. This..this may be relevant. I’ll pick my words carefully for the facts and let you come to your own conclusion.

In the wake of the bombing, it became known that there was a race of sentient plants on Coedd-Island, which call themselves Coedd, I’ll call them Coedd-Race (are those reasons becoming clear yet?). The leader of Coedd-Race...and sole political authority is called Coedd, I’ll refer to “her” (more on that later) as Coedd-Person - and are those reasons clear yet!? We’ll also need “Coedd-Religion” for their religion - again more later - and Coedd-State to refer to the state as distinct from the island. Their primary language (you’ll never guess what they call it…) is pheromone-based and all those Coedd’s are exactly the same chemical mix - they genuinely just don’t differentiate between those concepts. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Anyway. Presenting these as stand alone comments with no commentary to potentially poison your own opinion forming
1)Coedd-Person claims that she massively pre-dates not just the bombing but the emergence of animal life on the planet.
2)Thaumo-fusion bombs are known to create mutations and Coedd-Island was bombed by a thaumo-fusion bomb
3) Coedd-Person claims that the bombing led to a change in her behaviour and her slowly becoming more active in the world (and I do mean slowly. Again, it’s been millenia) but
4) The first appearance of Coedd-Race in the archives is around two hundred years ago (though you know as well as I that they’re not complete - the first reference to Coedd-Island, a massive subcontinental landmass is only just over a thousand years ago, and it’s only “We saw land on the horizon”)

I do want to stress that I do not disbelieve Coedd-Person’s account, though nor do I strictly believe it. I’m recording facts here

Spoiler: Geography

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Coedd, the island, is heavily forested ranging from lush sub tropical rainforest in the north to temperate mediterranean in the south. It was never extensively colonised before the War and since then the forest has reclaimed what little civilisation there was round the edges into overgrown ruins barely recognisable as artificial.

The island of Coedd (and the nearby island to its south) separated from the main landmasses of Sansar long before Pangea split and so its flora and fauna were distinct even before the magical radiation mutation. A high proportion of Coedd's creatures are chameleonic - which is relatively rare on the rest of the planet - and the scientifically inclined can find other unusual forms common here related to the shapes of jaws and similar. Equally, releasing spores is by far the most dominant way for plants to seed - while it is something of a lesser strategy on the rest of the planets. Most of them have co-evolved so that their spores work together - light spores clustering around poisonous ones to avoid being eaten, for example, or spores travelling inside a cloud of more nutritious ones precisely so they can be eaten depending on the evolutionary requirements of the particular plant.

What it does mean is that travelling through the forests of Coedd at certain times can mean each step kicks up a cloud of spores thick enough to be almost blinding while carnivorous predators blend into the jungle until they're ready to pick off stragglers or the unaware. It's little wonder there were few serious attempts at colonisation.

Spoiler: People

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Coedd is Coedd and all is Coedd. Coedd is infinite and undivided in billions of separate bodies. All life is Coedd and Coedd is all, no part of Coedd is Coedd but all parts of Coedd are Coedd.

Spoiler: From the personal correspondence of Garrick Mynqvist, ArkHivist

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OK, so, given we’ve had to come up with a whole Coedd-Person, Coedd-Race etc distinction, I should probably talk about what Coedd is. And that’ll be tricky because I’m really not certain. I’ll stick to the facts again. First you have to understand that this Coedd-Something naming I’m using is me attempting to impose the ArkHive (say)’s values on Coedd. Coedd uses the same terms for these concepts because, to Coedd, they are the same thing. Coedd, per Coedd, is essentially a vast distributed single mind and body comprising all life on Coedd-Island (and I’m using Coedd’s definition of “life” here which explicitly excludes non-plant life. While Coedd recognises e.g. my sentience she doesn’t consider me to be alive in the same way as her. Which, to be fair, I’m not).

The tree-like figure that we generally mean when we talk about Coedd-Person is a specialist tool of this distributed being used for communicating with meat - no more the entirety of the being than my voice box is the entirety of me. By convention we refer to Coedd-Person as “she” but that’s little more than nonsense, to be frank. Mapping concepts like “male” and “female” from mammals to plantlife is little more than a linguistic shortcut. But the form we most often see Coedd-Person in - the somewhat slender, willowy tree/human hybrid - is parsed by mammals as a female one, Coedd-Person doesn’t seem to mind and so generally we use “she”. Just be aware it’s shorthand not fact - “she” has no secondary sexual characteristics for example.

And similarly the lumbering semi-sentient mobile trees that we refer to as males are not actually male. Coedd sees them as no less or more a part of her than Coedd-Person, just specialised for a different task. If we wanted to put it into traditional terms we would be talking about a single race with considerable differences in appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism in terms of intelligence but that might well not be the appropriate way to view it.

The vast majority of plants on Coedd-Island are not mobile at all - though Coedd doesn’t distinguish them from the mobile ones except in purely functional ways, they are not “lesser” or certainly not “not part of Coedd”. Some move, some don’t, it depends on whether Coedd needed a moving plant or not at the time that one grew. All are equally and inextricably part of Coedd and in our terms would be part of the same species. Certainly it is possible to animate a previously unanimated plant - I have seen it done - but it appears Coedd prefers not to change categories in this way for some reason - Coedd-Person’s speech can be extremely confusing as I’m sure you have noticed and I was unable to work out what her answer was. Perhaps it’s harder, or more costly in terms of some resource? I’m not sure.

As you’ve no doubt seen yourself, what we commonly call her “daughters” are very similar looking to Coedd-Person and, like Coedd-Person, see themselves as simply a manifestation of Coedd. They are clearly different…entities? Beings? I’m not sure of the word…to Coedd-Person though (I know you know all of this, I’m just trying to keep things in one place). There is variation in appearance enough to distinguish between them and knowledge gained by one is not automatically gained by the remainder of Coedd/Coedd-Person.
In terms of lifespan: She has been known to slumber from time to time, often for months on end and coming back somewhat weaker than before - a one person version of the circle of life tied, perhaps, with resurrection or perhaps with another body assuming the mantle of Coedd. Her appearance never meaningfully changes during these periods though. The barely sentient walking trees can be killed by anything that kills a walking tree - they are large and tough but not invincible or immortal. It's not known for sure whether Coedd-Person can be killed outside of her cycle of slumber and waking but there is no reason to assume not and Coedd-Person herself found the question too confusing for her to answer

As an aside - when Coedd says "All life is Coedd" she's using her definition of life, not ours. There are minor groups of non plants scattered here or there - largely ignored by Coedd unless they intefere with the forests. For example, one of the beaches she regularly uses to give away narcotics has a permanent human populaiton long-enough establised to have metal houses (doubtless shipped in from elsewhere) and there's even a couple of spaceports - small by any standards let alone the standard of "one of only a few on an entire sub-continent" which have permanent staff and all the accoutrements of a provincial starport. These groups communicate extensively as a form of almost "self defence" - managing relations with Coedd is far more important than rivalries between spaceports.

Spoiler: Government

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Coedd is not only the only sentient creature on the island but the entirety of the population of the island. The term "government" is of limited meaning when discussing the island of Coedd but for completeness "absolute dictatorship" is probably closest.

Spoiler: Religion

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Coedd is a goddess. "God<ess>" is a notoriously difficult word to define but by most sensible definitions of the word, Coedd is a goddess. She can control the entire population of the faithful, define the attributes of new births, everyone sentient in the pool of worshippers agrees she is a goddess - Coedd is a goddess and the worship of Coedd is Coedd.

Outside the island some few places worship Coedd as well as a sort of nature/mother earth figure. Her faith are passionate, zealous protectors of the forests and unfavourable towards heavy industry and other anti-ecological practices. Opinion is split on space exploration though the general feeling is that those who want to leave the forests should be encouraged to do so and travel to somewhere where they won't be in the way of the forests reclaiming the world - space seems ideal. The faith isn't opposed to fauna - Meat in the vernacular of the faithful - accepting the fertilisation is necessary and sentient Meat should be healthy until its ultimate reward as fertiliser. But it doesn't really care about their non-forest related activities. The faithful believe that those that die and do feed the plants have their memories live on in some way in the root system and often the corpses of particularly important people are sent to the island of Coedd by followers of the religion so their bodies can be broken down as close to Coedd herself as possible.

Majority Coedd, no others present

Spoiler: Resource: Narcotics (Medicine and Drugs)

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Controlling the extensive natural plantlife of the island, Coedd can and does create a vast array of narcotics which is usually left in piles on beaches for anyone who wishes (and braves the journey to the beaches) to take. Religious ceremonies often involve copious usage of these narcotics.

Spoiler: Desired Import: Industrial Machinery

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There is no mining on the island of Coedd and what limited manufacturing there is tends to take the shape of lumber forced to grow in a certain way and then harvested after its death. Specialised machinery can make a huge difference, though Coedd is a cautious buyer preferring smaller sizes over efficiency if a trade off must be made.

Spoiler: Techs

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In Vivo Modification
The signature of Coedd. "In vivo" doesn't quite apply, but every inhabitant of the land was genetically tailored to fulfil an exact purpose.

Wet Navy Ships
Mats of males laying on their backs make simple rafts - the population of Coedd all float and the challenge in maintaining a wet navy was one of navigation not engineering

[Rolepgeek]

The Black Cloud Coalition
暗雲聯盟
(Ànyún Liánméng)



Capital Region: North Way Cluster (Běizhōu Qún | 北週群) [Badal-2]
Ruler: Captain of the Coalition Jié Měifēng & HelmsModerator Guiding_Stars4 aka 'ZhǐZhī'
Diplomacy: 4
Military: 5
Economy: 2
Faith: 2
Intrigue: 4


APPROVED

Spoiler: History

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A rough timeline of the relevant history in the Coalition’s founding and development runs as follows:

• Low level piracy has been present on Badal for as long as can be remembered.
• A large number of wars are fought over a long period of time on Badal between aerostatic clusters; privateers become commonplace as resource shortages and economic warfare abounds.
• The previously mentioned warring parties falter, and make an uneasy peace; many privateers become pirates to sustain themselves, adding to extant low level piracy. Lasting tensions and grudges delay unified action to suppress pirates, preventing early and decisive action.
• Piracy shrinks at first due to competition and still weak economies, but grows again as prosperity grows, people seek escape from oppression, and trade becomes more common. Badali states begin making initial inroads on cooperation to suppress piracy.
• Pirate fleets, already developing around the most successful crews, begin to grow rapidly as anti-piracy pressures ships into alliances for mutual protection.
• Several prominent pirate fleets become capable of matching up to airfleets of the anti-piracy coalitions, with over 70% of pirate vessels belonging to one of five fleets at their most dominant. These fleets capture or settle a number of smaller aerostats to use as naval bases and more permanent settlements, and find that the relative mobility advantage granted for repositioning is tremendously useful in avoiding more concentrated assaults when managed carefully. Larger aerostats are occasionally targeted but the difficulty of conquest and security concerns makes this impractical much of the time.
• The Black Wind Aerostatic Habitation Complex becomes a pirate base for one of the larger fleets (the Red Cloud Armada or Xiá Jiànduì | 艦隊霞 ) needing to recover from a costly engagement with pirate hunters.
• The Black Wind is explored further than prior inhabitants had the manpower or inclination for - cybernetics research, development, storage, and manufacturing sections discovered. Soon, these cybernetics are being used to restore many of the injured Red Cloud pirates. The Armada is significantly restored by this, and the Black Wind complex becomes a focal point of their operations.
• The first successful experiments with early PEEARIT tech take place.
• The earliest form of the Black Cloud Coalition is founded as other pirate fleets are attracted, defeated, or proactively allied with; captured aerostats join what is dubbed the 'North Way Cluster', and the prosperity and strength of the group becomes self-driving as momentum and morale builds. PEEARIT use grows more widespread and non-pirate immigration begins to grow.
• The first assaults on North Way from anti-piracy fleets occur, but are poorly coordinated and insufficiently supported, with the net result of producing a stronger sense of unity in the Black Cloud Coalition’s membership.
• The Coalition begins formalizing their coordination and leadership structures in response to the ongoing threat - this causes them to resemble a traditional state more but with significantly more horizontally-oriented power structures.
• The success of this structure in fending off further assaults grants legitimacy to the experiment, and the process continues, resulting in (finally) the establishment of a properly unified administrative and bureaucratic system - albeit one with significant dependence on the use of PEEARIT assistance.
• Significant growth in the civilian populace of the Coalition as military successes give credence to offers of protection and the idea of a new start, attracting fugitives, the disaffected, refugees, and outcasts.
• An interim period as external threat begins to wane, with the primary hostile powers on Badal forced to acknowledge they may be unable to destroy the Coalition outright given the present circumstances. The Coalition is occupied by internal politics and economic restructuring and development, with both local and Coalition-wide administrations, continuing to shake out the function and structure of the organization as a whole and future direction.
• The current Coalition Captain, Jié Měifēng (傑美風), comes to preside over the Coalition following her successful coordination of a masterful stroke against the Bironaians, including the elimination of their previous leadership and multiple knight-officer. In the after math, her popularity earns her the teasing moniker “Xiǎohòu” (小后) (or ‘Little Queen’) in addition to her existing nickname of “Tiāndào” (天盜) (or ‘Heavenly Bandit’).
• The Black Cloud Coalition becomes a member of the Elect, by the Emperor’s will, to the simultaneous confusion and excitement of its members.

Spoiler: ”Geography”

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The stable core of the Black Cloud Coalition is the North Way Cluster, a myriad of interdependent and occasionally physically interlinked aerostatic habitats spread over hundreds of kilometers, as the various aerostats maintain position or allow themselves to drift according to the dictates of their individual populations and the requests of their neighbors.

At the heart of the Cluster, both physically and culturally, is the massive aerocity officially referred to as the Black Wind Aerostatic Habitation Macrocomplex or Hēifēng Fán Chéngshì (黑風渢城市), and more commonly known as The Black Wind or Hēifēng (黑風). Though perhaps not the oldest of the aerostats that make up the North Way Cluster by warrant of original construction, the structure is nonetheless ancient and still bears many of the tell-tale markers of age - including the outline of what is presumed to have been a cybernetics manufacturing industry from before the War of Eternal Bombardments, though even the PEEARITs used by the Coalition today were only able to use technology from the period as a starting point.

The aerostats themselves have little in the way of unifying design elements not already common across Badal as a whole; radially symmetric superstructures and toroidal lift-enhancer envelopes are common, as are extensions from the center of the complex to expand surface area, often accompanied by additional lifting elements if located above the primary superstructure. Most not already equipped have been retrofitted with defensive weaponry in case of assault, but in actual warfare it’s likely these would serve only as delaying mechanisms until more complete support groups can arrive.

The current government makes use of distinct categories of spaces within the aerostats for administrative purposes, a practice formalizing and unifying some of the systems of nicknames and unspoken rules about available use-cases for specific areas already in use by Coalition members, easing navigation for members passing through other aerostats.

Violet Zones || The Parks | The Breaches | The Springs | Hēiyùn (黑運)
Summary: Some of the only true ‘wilderness’ that can be found on Badal, these so-called ‘acid jungles’ go to show that life, indeed, finds a way. These sections are usually open to the exterior atmosphere, a result of ancient damage or overgrowth in untended sections, and the local wildlife has adapted accordingly. Acid pools to concentrate dangerous substances or even expand the available space to grow (around which an abundance of acid-loving or even consuming organisms flourish), living semi-permeable seals grown over hull breaches to trap water vapor while allowing in most other gases, and carnivorous plants ready to fertilize themselves with hapless passersby, these zones have rarely proven worth the effort to unmake, despite frequently holding long-lost technologies within their depths; the oxygenation processes, filtering byproducts, and medicinal drugs derived (in addition to the total failure to cultivate in any controlled fashion) make them an ill-understood boon to the Coalition, though a genuine pain point for their local aerostat’s inhabitants.

Yellow Zones || The Skytops | The Glassgardens | The Hollows | The Pots | Dà Xū (大噓) | Rè-Shī (熱濕)
Summary: Agricultural areas used as greenhouses, artificial fields, or aeroponics bays, these frequently contain levels of carbon dioxide that would be lethal to inhale for humans pulled from Badal’s atmosphere, making use of specialized air filtration systems to capture and neutralize or harvest acid that would enter, while retaining moisture. In conjunction with carefully monitored fertilization and irrigation systems, agridome tender traditional knowledge, and the brilliance of Ophon on Badal’s daylight side, Badali agricultural output easily outstrips even the most fertile parts of Sansar several times over - a genuine necessity when every additional acre adds that much extra weight.

Black Zones || The ‘Combs | The Mazes | The Warrens | Thermae | Zhāngdà (張大)
Summary: Densely packed mixed use (typically non-industrial) areas. Very common in use as mixed residential sectors, with density ranging from implausibly cramped to merely claustrophobic. Rarely part of a habitat’s original design, but also frequently defended as fostering community and providing local identity and texture by residents.

Green Zones || The Hangars | The Arches | The Hollows | Xiǎochuāng (小窗)
Summary: Exceptionally spacious areas with high ceilings and low density. Popular and multi-use, but space-inefficient; commonly used as parks or for hosting festivities. Unusually even distribution in habitat designs due to their use in providing lift for the aerostats they’re within.

Red Zones || The Ironvines | The Undertow | The Bilge | Lǎonǎi/Lǎoqiú (老奶 / 老球)
Summary: Tall but comparatively narrow ‘towers’ which seem to hang either below the aerostats or from elevated hydrogen lift-envelopes down to their host aerostats - commonly used as logistical hubs, docks, and for sensitive equipment best kept apart from the hustle and bustle of the primary interior. Reflected cloudlight makes them more popular and well-lit than might be expected for their location and purpose.

White Zones || The Clinics | The ‘Shops | The Belts | Shīwù Chǔ (失物處)[/i]
Summary: Advanced manufacturing, medical wards, some high end research facilities and engineering workshops; responsible for production of many of the highest value goods, including almost all cybernetics. Has some of the least clutter of any zone, and the most security presence.

Blue Zones || The Graves | The Hallows | The Insurance District | Zhòngshén Zhàndì/Zhòngzhàn (眾神戰地 / 眾戰)
Summary: Heavily religious areas with a lot of shrines, churches, temples, etc; not officially a zone designation but still recognized as one by everyone. Sometimes as small as a single corridor.

Orange Zones || The Bells | The ‘Hood | Chòu-Chòu (臭臭)
Summary: Chemical districts: refineries, pipeworks, treatment plants, bio-waste recycling, and more. Unpleasant to pass through, dangerous to inhabit long-term, and a common cause of lung replacements. Utterly vital to keep their aerostats habitable.

Silver Zones || The Dumps | The ‘Shops | The ‘Fineries | Bǎokù (寶庫)
Summary: Recycling workshops and repurposing facilities; also home to a lot of cheaper engineering shops, more basic manufacturing, and so on. One of the poorest but busiest districts with a lot of people moving in and out - nobody wants to do the recycling but everybody knows it needs to get done. Tends to get a receive a lot of input from raided goods that can’t be used or sold.

Gold Zones || The Heights | The Sunbelt | The Bowls | Xuàn Céng (眩層)
Summary: Highest (and lowest) parts of the aerostats, often sandwiching hydrogen lift envelopes and requiring passage through Red Zones to access; communications equipment, solar banks, and luxury services are all very common here. External maintenance crews are often based out of these areas due to easy access to outside of the aerostat and the relevant equipment to be maintained.

Ghost Zones || The Crypts | The Wirewall | The Cut | Jiǎláng (假廊)
Summary: Unmapped, off-book, or otherwise ‘missing’ spaces officially labeled as simple voids in an aerostat’s structure, presumably for weight-saving purposes, and forbidden to entry by non-specialists. Impervious to EM communications and scanning. Ninety percent of known spaces so labeled remain located on The Black Wind; only a third of these are located behind or within Violet Zones.

Spoiler: People

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The Coalition’s membership is tremendously varied as a result of the tremendously divergent origins and reasons for joining found within that membership, and estimated to be between 90 and 95 million individuals. Mostly human, and almost universally make heavy use of cybernetics for cosmetic, prosthetic, and augmentative purposes.

While the use of magic is not especially common among Coalition members, several standout practices receive more recognition and prestige than others, the foremost among these being the weather mages who supposedly interface successfully (though the multitude of casualties among such sorcerers may convince one otherwise) with Badal’s elemental spirits to manipulate wind strength and cloud formations, and have frequently played vital roles in raiding operations. Biokinetics and similar means of soothing the body or healing injury are in great demand for simplifying and smoothing the process of cybersurgery, and runesmiths, as ever, find a myriad of mediums on which to practice their craft (though importing the necessary materials from off-world or finding them in raids has always been exorbitantly expensive and/or difficult to arrange before the introduction of the Imperial Drive).

The Personal Electronic Emergent Assistive Resource ImplanT (or “PEEARIT”) is installed in almost every member/citizen of the Coalition at this point as children, wherein it grows and develops alongside the host’s own mind, able to (usually) safely interweave itself into the brain, and serving as a true AI partner and companion. Based on technology found deep in the heart of Black Wind’s specialized cybernetics facilities, it’s hypothesized to have originally been based on pre-Bombardment technologies, and is almost certainly a significant factor in the survival and success of the Black Cloud Coalition since the practice began.

PEEARITs are the only place true AI is found in the Coalition; they can, however, hook themselves into a number of the electronic/virtual systems to manually control or coordinate with their biological partners, and are often supplemented by assuming command positions over so-called ‘dumb AI’ - expert systems with no emotional capacity and little or not ability for self-reflection or improvement, usually specialized for managing specific systems and able to have that expertise directed at virtual speeds by a PEEARIT interface. The idea of installing PEEARITs outside of a person’s mind has been brought up and shot down multiple times over concerns regarding stability, safety, and accountability, and other methods of producing true synthetic intelligences are as of yet still edge cases with limited applicability.

Spoiler: Government

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Though local self-governing units (colloquially referred to as “Heads”/”Cāng Huì” (艙會) are left to manage themselves most of the time, there is a democratically central administration ('officially' titled the Coalition Unified Administration, but almost always referred to as The Overhead, The Forecast, or Those Poor Saps) that coordinates resource redistribution, member contributions, provision of basic necessities, foreign policy negotiations, and Coalition security, as well as advanced cybernetics manufacturing and sale.

Between these highest and lowest levels are the "Parlor Councils"/"Kètīng Huì" (客廳會) of individual aerostats, set up by their local Heads, which/who handle much of the day-to-day governance, maintenance coordination, and local rules and requirements. Local markets, traders, and businesses fill most of the Coalition member’s remaining needs and many of their wants. More mobile ships are also self-governing in accordance with the clouder & pirate codes, as they have been since before the foundation of the Coalition.

The use of PEEARITs are heavily utilized to enable and ease administration and coordination on all levels, having become so integral that those without a PEEARIT often face not insignificant bureaucratic hardship when attempting to interface with the Coalition’s systems of governance, compounding with the outsider status such individuals are usually forced into.

The North Way Cluster’s government faction is composed mostly of the myriad of ship captains (and their crews), administrative experts, and community leaders; though their positions are largely democratically elected, some remain in their position much longer than others, whether by popularity or recognizable competence, and they can exert their influence when they choose. Currently, they are all far more supportive of the Black Cloud Coalition than they are of any other potential government.
The local Merchant faction is composed of smugglers, trade associations, bulk resellers, cybernetics supply managers and doctors’ unions, and more besides; currently, they act in the interests of the Coalition
The local Media includes Pirate radio, PEEARIT forums, cyberspace - any and every communication channel is in easy access for Coalition members aboard the Cluster. Currently, the conversation is as favorable as can be expected regarding the Coalition.

Spoiler: Religion

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While members of the Black Cloud Coalition come from many walks of life, and religiosity is by no means uncommon, there is little unity to be found among the spirituality and superstitions of the crews and populations. The most common combination of superstitions and philosophical impulses are known as the Clouder Codes: a mixture of autonomy and democracy focused ideological drives, justifications for piracy, and the superstitions inevitable from life and work in such dangerous environs.
Plurality: Clouder Codes
Minorities: Sky Leviathan, Soulbound Dance, Forever Self, Cult of Avva, The Illuminated Primarch, Slingid

Spoiler: Resources

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Though reluctant to sell to non-members, the Black Wind’s manufacturing base still serves the Coalition well, allowing them to produce more than enough host-adaptable cybernetic systems for both augmentation and prosthetic purposes to serve as a point of more legitimate trade with outsiders by virtue of sheer quality and versatility, and the sale of such is often used as a way to acquire foreign currencies for other necessary transactions.

However, the scarcity of access to raw materials afflicts the Coalition as harshly as it does all others on Badal, and the superconducting materials necessary for the production and maintenance of these systems are always in short supply, creating a demand for the import of either superconductors or the supplies from which to produce them.

Resource: Cybernetics & Prosthetics (Categories: Computers, Medicine & Drugs)
Desired Import: Superconductors/[Superconductive/Precious] Metals

Spoiler: Technology

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Starting Technology: Algorithmic Imagination - though the applications outside of PEEARITs is still quite limited.
Regional Starting Technology: Badalian Megadirigibles - though often small as compared to their contemporaries.

[MrHeadcrab]

The Durats of Burtzlund
Region: Sansar-50

Spoiler: People

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Origin
In times ancient to the ancients, early Durats were classified as a sub-sentient burrowing rodent. Individually weighing under 15 pounds and rarely longer than 30 inches, Durat burrows were only notable for the psychic jolt they could invoke to spook aggressors. Individually kidnapped Durats displayed a dog-level of intelligence, and could not be made to show meaningful psychic capability. As such, they were discounted and largely ignored. However, the Durats had an unknown (at the time) capability. In groups, usually of four to nine, Durats can psychically link. This ability, called "wising" allows the group to communicate, improve their collective intelligence, and increase their psychic capability.

Due to their small size and tendency for hiding in burrows, Durats didn't make a splash until the invention of laser weaponry. The combination of powerful offensive force packaged into a small form-factor with limited concussive knockback was revolutionary for the Durats. An individual Durat gained the ability to match a human in combat, and a pod of Durats could match a human in intellect. And even then, it required The War of Eternal Bombardments to destroy the old status quo and make room for the Durats to enter the galactic stage. The following centuries would see a cultural explosion for the Durats, as they became technology obsessed and utilized their newfound power to gain a political capabilities on-par with the other sentient species.

But of course, this is all ancient history.

Modern Times
Durats have gained a rich history and cultural identity. They improved their ability to speak with other species and gained an affinity for technology.
It is rare to communicate with a single Durat, it could hardly make conversation. Instead, Durats pods communicate as a single entity, with one Durat taking the role of speaker and interfacing for the group.
Durats are known for their affinity for technology. Their psychic capabilities allow for careful and precise manipulation of fragile materials by specialized pods. Leading to Durats becoming a lead superconductor and microcircuit exporter.

Durats are not the only species inhabiting Burtzlund. Various humanoids live throughout the region, especially near borders and the coast, but Durats make up the population majority. Burtzlund is ruled by the Exalted Pod in the Capital of Tresses. This small ruling body consists of the Speaker Supreme and his Great Wisers.

The Exalted Pod
The Exalted Pod is carefully constructed from seven delegates taken from the influential sectors of Burtzlund. One from a distinguished Professor Pod from The University, one from the High Priest Pod of The Great Cathedral, one from a Corporation Head Pod from the Industrial Merchants, one from an influential general in the military, one from the President Pod of Burtzlund Administration, one from the Policy and Precedent Department Head Pod, and one from a celerity Durat Pod elected by popular vote. This pod of seven Durats has near complete authority over Burtzlund law. And is assisted by a fleet administration staff and advisors to run the region.

As The Exalted Pod represents the primary influences on Burtzlund rule and operates with totalitarian levels of power, understanding The Exalted Pod gives insight into Durat Civilization. Firstly, The Exalted Pod is not a phenomenon reproducible by other cultures. Each influence gives a single ideal Durat from their respective pods, to form the The Exaulted Pod. Each influence has its own ideals, objectives, and perspectives of the change needed in Burtzlund, but a Durat pod always identifies as a single individual. The beliefs of each Great Wiser is bound to single identity, that decides its own opinions based off its component parts. The capability to literally "build" a ruler is not something reproducible outside of the Durat species.

While The Exalted Pod may have near complete authority, it can face consequences to its actions. The influential bodies can recall and replace their representatives in the Pod if The Exalted Pod is behaving poorly, especially around precedent. This brings us to Established Precedent. Established Precedent is a tool used by the Executive Pod to offer stability to its citizens and corporations, creating a foundation upon which society can rest. Creating established precedent is an action by The Exalted Pod to let the people know that "something is unlikely to change". And while it is certainly within The Exalted Pod's power to update, modify, or remove Established Precedent, it is a very unpopular move, that can lead to the replacement of Great Wisers. If enough wisers are replaced, the personality of the pod can be differentiated strongly enough as if it were a new person.

With that summary out of the way, lets talk about the seven influential factions that form the Exalted Pod.

The Administration
Do not take the administration lightly, for it is powerful. The administration is best viewed as a conglomeration of giant government-run companies that serves The Exalted Pod and the people. It handles Taxes, Schooling, Transportation, Infrastructure, Transplant Centers, Hospital Regulation and so many others. The Exalted Pod is very willing to run companies as part of the Government, and use profits and research profits to manage other parts of administration. Do not mistake this for modern capitalism, the Government will take its profits and use them aggressively, and is not above forcefully annexing private companies, though there is a large amount of Established Precedent to be managed in that domain.

The Policy and Precedent Department
The job of the policy and precedent department is twofold. It is a study of the legalize of past precedent, it's limitations and powers. And the foreign relation arm of the Administration. The PPD employs diplomats to other regions and manages internal law. All very useful influences for The Exalted Pod.

The University
The University is owned by The Administration but operates with a large degree of independence, additionally holding relation to several private sisters. The University itself is a single great institution in Coastaphornia, with all the research, staff, and teaching that goes on there, but it has strong influence in all academia in Burtzlund. Its influence adds intelligence, a scientific mind, and cutting-edge knowledge to The Exalted Pod.

The Military
The military is the military. It is made to fight, it knows how to fight, and it wants to fight. Luckily the other wisers usually aren't so bloodthirsty. But as the strength of the Durats, the military has its influence in The Exalted Pod.

The Corporations
The corporations represent the influence of the private sector on The Exalted Pod, they provide understanding of the current economic pressures and how to manage the powerful Durat economy.

The Church
More about the Church can be read about in the faith section, but it provides a sense of morality and accountability to the Exalted Pod.

The People
The people have their vote on The Exaulted Pod as well, so with a singular united voice they can decry the desire of the masses. As this vote only defines a seventh of The Pods personality, it is not so vicious a fight as in democracies. Often, the vote of the people becomes the Speaker Supreme, and serves as the face of The Exalted Pod.

Spoiler: Speciality - Wising

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Biology
Made possible by a specialized Psybellar Cortex in the Cerebellum, wising is the defining trait of the Durat species. When a Durat joins a pod of Durats, the single Durat loses all sense of individuality. Instead, the pod identifies itself as a single individual. The beliefs, intellect, and capabilities of each member Durat become desires and partial aspects of the whole. It is a common misconception by humanoids that Durats members retain an individual internal voice in the collective identity. Instead, the pod identity is one singular perspective, and no mental aspect identifies with any single member. Even the speaker, who does all or the majority of the pod's communication, is simply the member the pod chose best suited as the "mouth". This distinction is important, and it prevents pods from being bogged down by individual member conflicts of interest.

Summary
To humanoids, a Durat pod is best explained like this. A single Durat member would be the equivalent to your left arm, but if your arm also made you a bit smarter, and perhaps gives you slight Ornithophobia. You don't preen over your arm, it's simply a part of your body. If you were falling to your death, you'd instantly use your arm to save the rest of your body, it's not even a sacrifice, it's just mitigating the injury you're about to take. Humanoids who don't understand a pod's relationship to its members can often mistake individual Durats as suicidal or extremely self-sacrificing, but the cognative perspective is simply different.

Being part of a pod conveys great benefits. One of which is simply "not dying", and single Durats outside of a pod will pass away in a matter of weeks. Additionally, pod members gain increased intelligence, increase psychic abilities, perfect coordination, and exact spatial perspective between members. If a humanoid were to blindfold themselves and toss a ball from one hand to the other, that's about the difficulty two podded Durats would encounter playing catch while blindfolded.

This level of coordination is extremely helpful to Durats. From perfect factory assembly lines to perfectly synced sports teams, and from flawlessly moving combat units without blind spots, to astounding improvisational music.

Spoiler: Religion - The Illuminated Primarch

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Durats in The Illuminated Primarch (Majority)
Similar to their long-distant Jy'mar cousins, the Durats seek enlightenment to achieve a higher state of consciousnesses. They aim to achieve the ideal physicality, mentality, and psychality to rise above their weak singular forms and become an exemplar megapod.

Connection
Of all facets of existence, Durats believe that enlightenment is primarily gained through connection. The greatest sign of an Illuminated individual is their wising capability and their capability to maintain numerous connections. However, this is a large ask, as your usual Durat has trouble wising more than ten other Durats simultaneously.
There are two outcomes from this dilemma. First is that religious Durats often engage in spiritual communion. This ritual involves large numbers of Durats packed together, each trying to wise with the others. This ritual has been shown over time to slowly increase a Durats wising capabilities.
The Second outcome is that Durats obsess over technologies that can artificially increase their psychic abilities or extend their lifespan, as many Durats believe that an individual's ability to wise is only limited by practice.

The Great Gathedral
The greatest joy of the Enlightened Durats is the great Cathedral in the South of Midrell. This massive temple contains a great many-layered room. Here, daily, Durats gather to partake in the most holy communion, wising in the largest Durat Megapod. The core of this Pod is formed by a collective of Radiants and Exalted, who have maintained the pod with never less than a dozen mediating in the great chamber for over a millennium. Their great expertise and power allow even Natural Beings to temporarily join in a megapod over thousands large. At peak capacity, the latent power of this pod is said to be capable of creating earthquakes.

Spoiler: Geography - Burtzlund

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The Region of Burtzlund is divided into five sub-regions. Norwall, Hovell, Coastaphornia, Midrell, and Southerly.


Norwall
The second largest region in Burtzlund, Norwall is the industrial core of the region. The mountains to the west are covered with mines and the ground carved with mineral extraction sites. Factories and foundries litter the landscape, using legendary Durat engineering to craft scientific marvels. Over 80% of Burtzlund's extracted mineral resources are pulled from Norwall, and 50% of exported technologies are crafted in its factories.
Nature has been pushed back, and superconductive hovertrain rail lines the edges of great ravines carved into the earth. Spaceports and loading stations are plentiful, and a steady stream of carrier ships are constantly moving their wares just above.

Hovell
Hovell provides a stark contrast to Norwall. The ancestral home of Durats, the great wooded forest of Hovell is a protected nature preserve. Aside from select historical sites, research stations, and orbital bombardment bunkers, the landscape of Hovell is largely devoid of civilization.
This has led to Hovell being quite dangerous. Unlicensed citizen pods are not permitted to enter without a guide. As the native flora and fauna can easily make a meal out of unprepared Durats. Giant ferns, strangling vines, and brilliant flowers thrive in this overgrown forest. Predators can be found large and small, from the giant starfaced rashor to the small inverted meat snail, Hovel provides a reminder of just how dangerous Burtzlund used to be.

Coastaphornia
While not the capital, Coastaphornia is the cultural center of Burtzlund. The demographics of Coastaphornia are extremely diverse, with species from all reaches of Sansar and space having made this beautiful land their home. And it's quite the popular home; long beaches, beautiful architecture, and a moderate climate makes Coastaphornia one of the single most popular tourist destinations in all of Sansar.
But there is more to Coastaphornia than just pleasure. To the North resides the University of Burtzlund and the North Coast Tech Area. The North Coast Tech Area contains some of the most successful technology development and sales firms, having a historical reputation of innovation. The University is similarly impressive. Alongside its renown for technological development, challenging curriculums, famous alumni, and state-of-the-art laboratories, the University is known for its Dean, the Librarian Pod.
The Librarian Pod is a joint pod with its sister pod in The Arkhive Æternal, and enjoys an exported diet of Honeyed Words. In The Arkhive Æternal, the distant twin pod oversees the Technology Section as Librarian, and feeds daily on Honeyed Words. Every five years, cross pollination occurs between the Library Pod in Coastaphoria, and the Library Pod in The Arkhive Æternal, each trading half their members. These trades allow both pods to stay familiar with the ethnic perspective of both domains, while simultaneously gaining understanding of the great works being done by both powers.

Midrell
Midrell is the largest sub-region in Burtzlund. The rainy but mild climate makes it the primary location for farming and animal husbandry. Farms dominate the landscape. Aside from these, this is the home of the Great Cathedral, which can be read about in the Religion Section.

Southerly
Southerly is the final sub-region of Burtzlund. Sporting the highest density of Durats and the Region's capital, Tresses, Southerly is dear to Durat identity. The great forests and lake make a beautiful landscape, but unlike Hovell, the wilds have been tamed and infrastructure built into the trees themselves, integrating with nature rather than destroying it. Official funding is high in Southerly, often leading the impressive technologies and museums being built within the sub-region.
In the Northwest of Southerly lies Tresses, the Capital of Burtzlund. Unlike other cities, Tresses is designed specifically and only for Durats. This leads to great inconvenience for other species, but streamlined and beautiful architecture for Durats to enjoy. The nature of Tresses is not tainted for the sake of the city, rather, the city builts above, below, and around the trees and beautiful flora of the region. And the crown gem is the palace of the exalted Pod, the ruling pod of all Burtzlund.

Spoiler: Resources

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Export: Superconductors and Microcircuits
A Durat Pod's psychic telekinesis is not particularly powerful, but it affords extreme fine-grain control. In specialized Pods, this control can be precise enough to place diodes on a circuit with the use of a microscope. Modern automation is faster and far more efficient for large scale production, but Durat's telekinesis allows them to quickly build test boards for R&D and construct custom-order microelectronics.
This head-start has also kept the Durats at the forefront of microelectronic automation and foundry investment, leading to their largest export being Conductors and Circuitry.

Import: Exotic Matter
Burtzlund is lush and brimming with organic and outward resources, so it follows that the Durats most desire that which come from off-world. For religious reasons, Durats value rare materials that can increase psychic aptitude or extend one's lifespan. Durats also have an intense curiosity and love of technology, meaning unknown elements and physics-defying materials are treasured for their scientific value.

Spoiler: Tech

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Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry
As a burrowing group-mind, coexisting in space-ships comes easier than most.

Wet Navy Ships
Rodent on a Boat! Like other Sansar-native species, Durats have also adapted Wet Ships for trade and combat.

Minescratcher Approved

[Gaius Hermicus]

The Merely Players (MRP)

Waiting for approval

Region 74 - the Globe

Spoiler: Geography

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The Globe is one of the smaller asteroids in the Mekhala Belt and of relatively little interest to most researchers. Due to significant collision and structural damage over many aeons, the interior is mostly composed of loose rubble, with the largest veins of ore drained long ago by itinerant miners. For this reason, it was effectively worthless and available for purchase by Croesian eccentrics. The buyer, a harmless madman with a preternatural ability to predict stock market values, built artificial gravity stabilizers and filled the asteroid with narrow tunnels and chambers, too small for a human to navigate but perfectly sized for monkeys. Having imported his research subjects, he implanted an inexplicable magical machine in the center, which produces typewriters and ink from thin air. Food was supplied by the introduction of insects, mice, and other small vermin which feed on the native bioluminescent moss. Monitoring stations were originally set up to follow the monkeys’ progress, but over the centuries they have fallen into disrepair and are no longer operational.

Spoiler: People

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An ancient Imperial proverb, the original meaning obscure, invokes the labor of ten thousand monkeys at as many typewriters, with the inevitable result that eventually one will produce the complete works of “the Bard”. This Bard was presumably a mythical demigod or culture hero in the distant past of the Empire, though his or her true identity is not entirely clear to the Merely Players. Nevertheless, some or other misguided nobleman with too much time and money on his hands set out long ago to put this theory to the test, importing ten thousand capuchin monkeys from a distant planet, supplying them with near-unlimited quantities of typewriters, paper, and ink, and training them to type incessantly. Millennia passed, and the population grew, until a sudden and surprising event occurred. Typing purely at random, guided by some unseen and unknown force, coherent sentences began to flow from one typewriter. Nearby writers turned and gathered around in wonder at the words that had appeared on the page:

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

The monkeys’ demonym and purpose in life were now clear. More and more works of the Bard began to be reproduced, and the formerly bestial monkeys began to evolve sapience, adopting the customs and names detailed in the plays and poems.

The Merely Players resemble capuchin monkeys, typically between one and two feet in height, and covered with brown, white, black, or grey fur everywhere except their face. Both their fingers and toes are dextrous, allowing for faster typing, and their tails are prehensile, enabling them to sleep hanging from suspended rafters. They have adopted customs and mores similar to those of Elizabethan England, as portrayed in the plays of the Bard, and dress accordingly: ruffs, feathered hats, and puffy-sleeved shirts are widely popular among men, while women prefer voluminous dresses and petticoats. Naturally curious and social, their intense study of the Bard’s plays has instilled in them a prodigious memory. They speak, at least in formal settings, in blank verse, which they regard as the purest and most sacred form of speech.

Spoiler: Resources

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Resource: Typewriters (Art and Cultural Products)

Desired Import: Cloth

The Merely Players desire better material with which to craft their elaborate costumes than the coarse fabric they spin from moss fiber. Silks, satins, and velvets would be particularly in demand, as would other sumptuary products or tailors of commensurate skill.

Spoiler: Faith

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Bardolatry

While the Bard’s true nature is unknown, the power of his sacred plays and poems are undeniable. Furthermore, the consciousness of the Merely Players developed on the basis of their exposure to the texts. Bardolators revere this hidden god through his works, performing his plays, memorizing his monologues, theorizing about the meaning of the arcane phrasings, and attempting to imitate his diction in the composition of their own oratory and lyric. The most devoted Bardolators throw themselves upon the typewriter, following the original practice of random typing at breakneck pace, praying that the spirit of the Bard will inspire them to reveal more of his work, as it is believed that more plays have existed and have not yet been discovered. The faith further involves a trust in providence and miracle: mathematically, it should have taken quadrillions of years for monkeys to type out the Bard’s works, yet somehow, miraculously, it happened nonetheless. Hence they trust in chance, believing the Bard works in mysterious ways and accepting even disastrous turns of fate as essential to his will. Perhaps, they reason, the Bard is composing a new play even now, with them as the principal characters. All the world’s a stage, after all, and all the men and women merely players.

Spoiler: Factions (to be fleshed out later maybe)

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Government: The Thanes (Glamis, Cawdor, Ross, Fife, Caithness)

Mercantile: The Merchants of Venice

Media: The Tragedians of the City

Spoiler: Starting Technologies

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Pseudogravity Engineering
Vacuum Adaptation

[farothel]

Ready for Review

Bafatis Dynasty (BAF)
Requested Region: 66 (Veehra)
Region Name: Voletha

Leader: Duke Cinra Bafatis

Spoiler: History

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The Bafatis family was given control over the Voletha region since time immemorial. The Dukes of the Bafatis family manged to keep the region together during the War of Eternal Bombardments and after that, but this have come at the price of near complete isolation. With the dust of Veehra swirling around them, only the geography of the region made that they managed to keep an industrial base as the dust normally didn't come far into the region. This coupled with the fact that the region had enough resources to keep the factories running made that the factories could keep running. They also managed to keep the fusion plants running and even build a few new ones, making energy abundand and cheap within the region.

In the last years, they have started to come out more, trying to contact other regions and even other planets.

Spoiler: Geography

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The region has some hills and they form a a ring around the region with rivers starting that feed into the sea. The hills, while not all that high, do keep the dust out of most of the region. It's also in these hills that most of the resources are located. The capital is near the largest river.
Near the sea the land is more flat and it's there that most of the industry is located. A large network of trains connects the hills and the resources with the industrial sites.

Spoiler: People

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Voletha is mostly human, but other races do exist here and all are welcome. Due to the lower gravity the people tend to be taller than average. They work hard, but when they are free, they like to play mind games more than physical sports. Intellect is highly priced in the region

Spoiler: Government

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While the Duke has the last word, during the years various Dukes have added ministeries and even a parliament to help with the day to day running of the region. The parliament is elected by the citizens of the realm, but has only an advisory role. The real decisions are made in the Ducal council, a group of people appointed by the Duke (normally around 10 people are in the council). Most of these are either industrialists, ex-members of parliament or experts in their field. One is always a priest-psionic.

Spoiler: Religion

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The cult of the Mind.
The Mind is considered the most important thing, as for everything else the Mind can create a machine to do the work for it. The few psionics born in Voletha will always end up as priests. They will use their powers to help people, but also in courts and to rehabilitate criminals. One will always be near the Duke to protect him against other mind powers. While there are a few minor cults, the majority of the people follow the Cult of the Mind.

Holy Site: the Academy of the Mind. The location in the capital where priest-psionics are trained.

Spoiler: Resource: heavy machinery

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The region is heavily industrialised, mostly with heavy industry. This creates an abundance of heavy machinery used in other more consumer oriented industries.

Spoiler: Desired Import: magic talismans

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The people in the region like to have talismans to protect themselves against magical forces. However, there are only a few priest-psionics and they are not enough to satisfy the demand for magic talismans.

Spoiler: Tech

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Nuclear Fusion and Dust Hardening

[JBarca]

The Khylokian Reign of Blood [KRB]

Spoiler: Banner

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Spoiler: Summary

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Region Preference, in order: 82, 76, 83

Leader: Bloodlord Peter

Capital: Khylosen

Demonym: Khylokians

Starting Faith: Cult of the Unapproachable Bloodfather (Plurality)

Resource: Unrefined Metallic Ores (Ores and Alloys, Precious Minerals)
Requirement: Efficient Fuel

Starting Techs: Vacuum Adaptation, Nuclear Fusion

Supports:
Government: KRB
Media: KRB
Mercantile: KRB

Brief pitch: A hardworking regular fella was accidentally promoted into ruling a polity of violent, blood-obsessed raiders.

Spoiler: Astrography

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Khylosen is the largest city in the Khylosen Cluster, a small group of large asteroids in the furthest reaches of Mekhala. Each rock in the cluster large enough to hold a generator, a dock, and a cave is crawling with Khylokians, giving the asteroids in the cluster a particularly messy, cobbled-together look. The majority of life here spends most of its time in caverns within the asteroids, which are, at the best of times, half-heartedly lit, nearly warmed, and unconvincingly cleaned. Administration buildings, armories, food preparation services, livestock storage, shipyards, gymnasiums, tax offices, casinos, bars, mercenary clubhouses, and the like cluster in the caverns, safe from invasions and accidents of space. Many of the structures within these caverns are built with cement made from the very rock harvested during the carving of the caverns, endlessly recycled. Strangely, the Khylokians have long since mastered Nuclear Fusion, but are bored by the implications. The fusion generators that littler the pathways of Khylokian settlements are seen as annoyingly warm tools rather than marvels of scientific advancement.

The center of caverns tend to be round holding pens for various blood-filled skins animals, including the famous starshrikes. These large, bat-like creatures can survive total vacuum for some time and hunt by dragging their prey into the void to let it freeze or suffocate. Khylokians consider starshrikes to be valuable hunting companions and warbeasts. The holding pens also are used for herd animals to keep the Khylokians fed and clothed. The once-threatening demand, "Where's the speef?" is now met with a grin and a vague gesture upward.

Homes, in the form of recycled hull plates welded into tent-like structures, cling to all other surfaces of the asteroids - ramshackle cubicles rammed between rambling structures are often filled nearly to the brim with Khylokians hot racking the available space. From above, the asteroids are dotted with hundreds or thousands of tiny huts, each housing warriors and their families - the first line of defense in Khylosen will always be those whose habitats are in the line of fire.

Spoiler: History, Government

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The Reign of Blood as a polity exists under the direction of the Bloodlord, following in the bloody footsteps of Khylish, the first Bloodlord. For the last two thousand years, the Khylokians have been raiders and pirates, hopping between asteroids on their fusion-powered jumpers and hunting stray civilian vessels as they could. The Empire was long seen as a sort of distant police force, under whose attention the Reign must fly in order to survive. Time, though, bred complacency and complacency, as the saying goes, breeds contempt. As the centuries flew past and no retribution came from the sun, the power of the Bloodlord grew and the rules governing the Khylokians became ever more complicated. Each Bloodlord added to the Sanguine Charter, the list of laws in Khylosen. Removing previous proclamations was difficult, but clarifying them to neuter them or even change their meaning was easy enough. Lawyers, then, are respected for their knowledge and hated as a symbol of the system that makes many simple tasks difficult or even dangerous.

The Reign of Blood is led by a Bloodlord. The Bloodlord has, legally, full dominion over all Khylokians. Under this leader are a number of Red Captains, each of whom has dominion over an asteroid and commands a Wave, a large subdivision of warriors. Red Captains are, to a person, capable sanguimancers. They wield massive political power and are often the heads of major families. At any given time, there are four First Captains, called upon to lead major operations and in charge of the largest populations.

The current four First Captains are Zuun khy-Joch, Barun khy-Oged, Khuid kho-Tuil, and Omnuud khy-Chaga.

One year ago, the previous Bloodlord, Kheer kha-Ujin, died. On his deathbed, a series of mistakes, lapses in judgment, and coincidences in law led to an unlikely successor being named. The new advances in spaceflight coincided with the reign of the Bloodlord Peter. Peter was, until his coronation, a mid-level buearocrat whose job mostly involved teasing out minor inefficiencies in logistics. The new Bloodlord is a devoted imperial loyalist and is far more concerned with spreadsheets than raids. How he will handle his new role is very much an open question at this point. When questioned, though, he spoke optimistically about new advances in synergistic team-building, so perhaps this is the dawn of a new era in Khylokian history?

Spoiler: People

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"Khylokian" is a somewhat difficult word, as it describes both a species and a broader culture (the majority of which is, of course, the species in question). Khylokians are human-height, thin, wiry, and gangly. Their two arms and two legs, which jut out from a small, round thorax, are long enough that they would have trouble comfortable sitting in a human chair. Their three long, cartilaginous fingers and one thumb are tipped with visci ous, retractable claws and their eight splayed toes have enough joints to allow grasping, even of relatively flat surfaces. They have acutely pointed muzzles filled with sharp teeth and covered in flesh so rough and thick that it is akin to scales. The dry, green flesh that covers their bodies is ridged along joints. It thickens and darkens around sensitive areas, like the abdomen, groin, and face. Khylokians are tough, strong, and recover from injuries nearly as well as Humans do, though they are rarely accused of being endowed with a generous creative spirit. Their limbs can move quite quickly, but their proportions and grabbing feet make them poor runners.

The Khylokian culture, which includes primarily Khylokians and humans (though many other species are present, of course) is one that might be described as "fond of blood." Pure Khylokians are often born with the ability to manifest sanguimancy, a style of magic that allows one to temporarily modify one's body by absorbing blood. The returns on the abilities of a powerful enough sanguimancer are efficient enough that, for small bursts of power, one's own blood can be used to great effect. Novice sanguimancers might absorb the blood of an enemy and gain a short burst of speed or improved eyesight, while masters might cut their own palm and gain the strength to hurl a boulder or drag their claws through armor. Sanguimancy is inherited, though it can be given over to new bloodlines through a ritual of blood transfusion.

Because of this mystical power, much of Khylokian society revolves around blood. Raiding and warfare are pillars of the people, as the cycle of gaining enough power by drawing blood to fight more foes to draw their blood is now self-propogating. When a Khylokian dies, it is considered proper behavior for a mourning family to consume what blood is left in the corpse. Prestige is often measured in calculating who has spilled and consumed more blood. Blood earned is more valuable, both in terms of magical potential and prestige, than blood given freely or stolen.

This, of course, has colored Khylokian foreign policy. When non-Khylokians are seen as so many bags of blood waiting to be earned, peace is less a state of affairs and more a coincidence. The first Bloodlord, Khylish, reorganized Khylokian society to keep the bloodlust pointed (mostly) outward, allowing the Reign of Blood to function as unit rather than devour itself from within.

Within the Reign, the Khylokians are much less violent than one might assume. They fight, and kill, each other with frequency, but various Bloodlords have created enough overhead that it is usually not worth it to murder a neighbor compared to shipping off with a Wave and hunting foreigners. Under the First Captains are various buearocrats, Red Captains, and similar experts, in charge of organizing the rabble toward greater projects. A First Captain might organize a campaign, but a Red Captain will gather warriors, select lower officers, and ensure everyone is pointed in the right direction.

Those at the bottom rung of society's ladder are those no longer able or willing to hunt - the maimed, the old, the young, and the unskilled. These are thought of as barely a step above dirt dwellers, but have the opportunity to earn some prestige with war and/or loyal service.

Spoiler: Resources

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Export: The largest export of Khylosen is, by far, heaps of unsorted, unrefined metallic ores. There is not a single miner employed by the Bloodlord or his Red Captains, but being surrounded by folks who happily dig up the goods and mass up their valuable ships with them has its perks. For every new drive, hull plate, or cannon the Khyolokians harvest, several tons of raw metals are put on the market to trade for things that are actually valuable [Ores and Alloys, Precious Minerals]
DI: Both the ships that feed the Khylokians and the generators that keep their homes free of the Soft Death are ever-hungry. In order to survive at the edge of civilized space, massive amounts of Efficient Fuel must be imported.

Spoiler: Faith

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Over the last few hundred years, the lack of imperial interest in the behavior of the Khlokians began to leave the raiders a bit restless. The Bloodlords and the Khylokians began looking elsewhere for their guidance and stumbled on what they consider to be the source of their power: the Unapproachable Bloodfather. This divine entity is the source of sanguimancy, but is also so distant and uncaring that only the sacrifice of blood through the magic can draw his attention, and then only for a few moments. Rituals and doctrine are few, but the power of the Unapproachable Bloodfather is recognized broadly, so most Khylokians swear by and to him and dedicate some small amount of blood to him daily.

There is a recent push, particularly from Bloodlord Peter, to blend the figure of the Emperor with the mythological Bloodfather. The Emperor deserves veneration!

Holy Site: A silver statue of Bloodlord Khylish on the outer edge of the Khylosen rock pours a ewer into space. When available, blood is pumped into the statue to drift away and into the void, to be consumed by the Bloodfather.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Submission Accepted

Spoiler: Flag

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Faction Title
Glorious Purifiers
Region Name
Moonsoul Mountains [Region 42]

Spoiler: History

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For centuries, the barren lands lay a completely uncivilized mess where magic was real, monsters were terrifying, and anybody who was sane did not dare step inside. Leviathans towered over cities, using the empty shells of metal as nests for the city block sized eggs of their young. The auroras flow not just above the lands, but through them like rivers. Oblique opal beasts eclipse the moon that eclipses the sky. A land completely and utterly abandoned by humanity.

One day, contact to the outside was made from this land. A technology had been activated, a simple radio call. Primitive by the standards of those high above, even by the standards to which they should talk, but none of the monsters should have been able to form eloquent words. The ... people? Of this forgotten land, they wanted to receive supplies from the empire. Wanted to do diplomacy. And so the empire told them that they needed delegate to even begin negotiations. A proper delegate, one who could prove there was a sufficient community in this dead zone to give credence.

A delegate which these lands provided.

And so it was that the Shrine managed to talk its way into being a state. Again, if they are to be believed. All because these strange lands did manage to provide a human, from a ruling class of humans. A ruling class that had, over some combination of fractional and whole numbers of rotations of Sansar, learned to tame the foreign monsters. Had learned to go from little pockets of humanity, keeping themselves and their traditions alive, to the dominant force within the region, albeit still only numbering in the dozens. These mystical techniques weren't able to be duplicated towards any other problems of the empire, but they were probably just doing it wrong.

Spoiler: Geography

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Mountains and plains. Filled with phenomena that wax by the year, but are typically a barren empty lands. Cold comparatively, bitter, heavy winds. High places to go to to find the few remnants of civilization, with the low grounds dominated utterly by strange beasts which are, in turn, dominated by the few denizens that live in cohabitation.

The lands are littered with the last remnants of a dead civilization, from the most recent war skyscrapers overgrown with plants make up what would be forests, roads upturned and carved into the rivers, a whole set of hills and valleys peppering the lands themselves.

Some small portions of the mountains are crafted with a new civilization, large sets of stairs far as the eye can see, structures with oblique purposes, whose only purpose is to keep things at bay. To all appearances, these lands still seem like foreign wastes dominated by things better described by radiation poisoning shown by the giant craters littering the region.

Spoiler: People

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Humans are the recessive gene that has somehow taken hold over the domination of beasts that outnumber and outsize them a thousandfold. In ye olden earth times they appear to be something between Asian and Irish, and they live inside shrines with the rest of civilization forgotten. They have a very long lifespan compared to normal humans, through a combination of genetic engineering in the past and magic rituals today. If their rumors and propaganda are to be believed, their eldest in communication predate the last apocalypse. They're certainly different in some aspects from other instances of humanity that they keep close to the chest.

Especially as contact to wider worlds grew, these people started referring to themselves more and more as Moonmen.

Practicing quiet arts with a tradition of martial arts, banishment, and demon usage, they dot the different mountains in a similar way as people would dot islands. In the past the humans have communicated to each other through rare pilgrimages and magical signals of light far across the distance, but the recent advent of ships and technology have made intercontact much easier.

The lands do not sustain a high population, but they do not need much food. They eat extravagantly through magical means, but none of it provides more than entertainment. They have customs and magics foreign to outsiders, but are still very new to the comparatively high technology of the rest of the world.

Spoiler: Moonmen Biology

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Each Moonman is a human, technically, but they cannot reproduce traditionally. Reproduction of the typical sense creates monsters, deformed or otherwise, sometimes cute pets. It's an actual grabbag when it happens, and even cross pollination with other humans will at most result in an actual human being born. Whether this is the result of mutations from the war, something much older, or enough modifications and iterations that their bodies can no longer properly biologically replicate is in the air. The actual birth of a new Moonman is a far more intricate and derived process, where in a core is blessed and written in, the heart which serves as the beating soul of that person forever more.

Using these souls, the Moonmen can transcend their bodies into other forms, piloting great leviathans, managing their whole mountain sentrytops. But always their core is, at birth, bound to a humanoid shell of what they once had, so long ago. The core itself is a shell of calligraphy, magically empowering their bodies, giving them the ability to astrally project 'hands' as part of their will, among many other feats, and resembles a stone wrapped in a hundred seals or more. This blessing is done deliberately and takes significant investment during a traditional pregnancy, morphing whatever is developing inside into something more. Usually by binding the spirits and outside world in some shape or form into the being, but sometimes more personal, and sometimes stranger.

Each Moonsoul can learn all of magic, but each one has unique affinities. Affinities themselves can be aligned, and often correlate to words. Though given words and carvings are often massive approximations and simplifications of their raw identity, and rarely does one presume a true designation can be given.

Spoiler: Government

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The government, fitting for a small group of humans, is also small. The religion is inextricably tied to the beliefs and localities, and fitting for a people that time has marched on and forgotten about, are largely disorganized but unified by traditions and shared experience.

In recent times coordination has improved, and the culture of humility and fortitude has let them organize themselves into a method that the rulers from high suggest is best. A royal succession. Specifically one that will become bound to not any of the people currently ruling or making decisions, but passed on to a new child. One imbued with an intelligence far beyond her years, and who may start the makings of a dynasty.

There isn't much delegation or structure beyond communal unity and a willingness to choose, but each small shrine does have its own head, and they roughly vote on things. The idea of decisions that impact them all, rather than on a singular matter though, is pretty novel.

Spoiler: Religion

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Hundred Hands Of The Soul

One can work with the will of two, if they try hard enough. One can work with the will of two hundred, if they apply their spirit properly. One can command the spirit of the universe, if they achieve enlightenment. Sets of philosophies encouraging deep study and meditation, spiritual travel, and a steady calm are professed, and with them each person is raised in the tradition of a miko, gaining powers and being taught powerful arts.

Contrary to what most might believe of a religion like this, indulgence and hedonism is quite encouraged with the society. Magic and makeup can help people achieve their ideal selves, some abandon the appearance of humanity altogether. Rumors hold that the people have long since ceased being human, and simply hold the masks of apes as mementos of their past.

Live life with discipline, and make sure you love every second of it.

Minority Religions
Coedd
Sky Leviathan

Spoiler: Coedd Blurb

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Kythia writeup goes here

Spoiler: Moonmen Magic: Arcane Axioms

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While the capacity to manipulate all manner of spells is as well known as breathing to the ingrained instincts written on the literal heart of each of their kind, the details of how they manipulate magic are laid out here (in brief).

First, the symbolism of symbols. Typically through signs meant to hold magic pulled from the air, and signs meant to shape it into form, paper wards or carved symbols can take the form of scrolls casting simple to complicated manner into life. From 'create this fire' to 'animate this animal into a makeshift tractor' to 'repel all invaders of a kind' to 'reincarnate an ancient undead deity as a small child' to 'purify this cache of water', the building blocks are there. Often times it takes research and very specific science to put the physics of magic to use, but catalogues are many many of the common uses. Often the written word is meant to be a battery to pull in the ambient energies of the outside world, hold it in place, let you shape it to cast the magical effects.

Secondly, the Moonmen themselves. Made up of some hundreds of curled up nested balls of 'language', holding their bodies together which otherwise cannot sustain themselves, their genetics having fallen too far to hold up normally. Serving as their souls, making them wellsprings. Dance and ritual and martial arts and physical movement help *tap into* the energy within their own bodies, motions both small like finger twirling to large like cartwheels depending on personal preference. Much more than most living creatures, they can hold and shape spells, and usually have engrained or encarved specific flicks of writing to channel powers, like the monk conjuring a hundred hands to pull collapsed rubble off of puppies after a natural disaster.

The other bit is the binding of spirits and sentience. Things have a natural will they follow, and especially the large but mostly mindless creatures can be made more mindless and more like constructs. Similarily, most things are alive in some sense. The winds, the mountains, even things from dreams and other worlds. Pulling fabrics from those things, sometimes in whole, sometimes in part, one can impart them into something. One can make a kaiju corpse, dead and empty, flow like the river, and go where it is directed with a giant payload on board. They are much more powerful alive, but much more unwieldly, and so far no realistic cast of long term domestication has been successful.

This is also in part how their reproduction works. Pulling in concepts and 'intelligence' from other sources, imparting their knowledge, and also the knowledge of archives and written words (not in the magical sense, but in the literal sense of pulling apart books and placing the knowledge inside). The consciousnesses varying from fully aware to barely flickering with awareness are congealed into a singular 'brain'. With the right magics it can even allow their minds to inhabit external shell bodies, through a much easier process of making a receiver for their consciousness in whatever object or being is currently present.

Spoiler: Resource: Unblemished Wreckage (Industrial Machinery, Planetary Vehicles)

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For all that the monsters have stomped over every piece of this land a dozen times over, it is mostly the surface covered by dirt and concrete and whatever those ancient materials are that has been upended. There is a shocking amount remaining underneath, all manner of metals and gizmos and whats its that seem to serve purposes of times long forgotten.

But those purposes can be recovered, and in recent times such recovery has begun to be put to use. It is what allowed the first contact with the outsiders, as well as the first transport to take them there.

Shiny metal, jagged. Contraptions, fully formed without the blueprints to them. All kinds of Industry, just waiting to be pulled forth and repurposed.

Spoiler: Desired Import: Symbol Printing

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The primary art of wards, of gestures and of magic within those of the Moonsoul Mountains, those that wield the power of the hundred hands, they carve their will into receivers that bear their power. However, such things are difficult to make in a mass quantity, or of quantity or quality enough to bind the biggest beasts to their will.

Ergo, as this is part of day to day life, the more the merrier. Something to magnify it, be it printing, carving, inks or lasting liquids, the conduit does not need to be paper wood or stone steel as in ye times of olde, though those have in the past provided the best results. Hell even an image would do, though that would be difficult to make last given the magic unbinds when the symbol vanishes. One enterprising mind has figured a system of sigils on the sides to holster the magic while the screen is off, and then to manually rebind it into the main screen afterwards. But such things are early and such things cannot do truly large spells in small form.

All in all, modernizing the technology is difficult, and while the people have enough to get by on the essentials, more is universally better, and it is a dependent for every part of society.

Spoiler: Techs

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Arcane Amplification?

Wet Navy Ships

[Stygian]

The Eucrus Alliance (TEA)
Starting Region: Anjahar(#11)

Approved

Spoiler: Geography

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Anjahar is a large, cylindrical habitat that seems to rotate on a horizontal axis—with a singular central shaft that is gyroscopically stable for the bipeds who find scaling the outer reaches difficult. The majority of embassies and outward-facing political and civil offices are stationed on this thoroughfare for convenience’s sake.

At the bottom of Anjahar is an “ocean”, which the whole of the station passes through once every solar day as it rotates. This simulates the passing of a tide and helps with metabolic and aerobic processes. Because of this, the habitat has been built with verticality in mind—since the shifting gravity is of little concern to a species that can scale such surfaces with ease. This transition also assists with an internalized day/night cycle, as the deep waters provide much less ambient light--save for bioluminescent algae and other such material that help to cut down on energy consumption, while not hampering their night vision. Much of the interior looks to be a patchwork of biotech and traditional construction materials--with personal habitats favoring a biodiverse, synthetically hardened coral as an aesthetic choice and perhaps an instinctual one.

Kanmara military prefer mass drivers and solid munitions to energy-based weaponry—especially given the volatile atmosphere of Badal. Regarding ship-to-ship combat, the kanmara prefer boarding actions--utilizing their unique physiology and preference for close quarters to win engagements. There is something to be said for overwhelming force.

Spoiler: People

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The kanmara are a species of humanoid crustaceans ranging from two to three meters tall. They are robust, with broad backs and a typical hardened carapace and exoskeleton. They do maintain some human-like features in the face and torso, though they do have a somewhat bulbous, shelled head—and they are genetically compatible with most humanoid species—though artificial birth through an incubator is possible for those that are… squeamish.

Initially developed from a group of refugees formed from a series of compacts between clans, the kanmara have developed a deeply ingrained sense of loyalty that runs throughout the core of their society. A heavy focus is placed on military service—which is mandated for all able-bodied kanmara for a period of no less than three years according to the Imperial Calendar.

Scientists and healers are also held in high regard, and those who are not deemed fit for military service are often relegated to civil service for six Imperial years.

Among older kanmara, a common tradition after a great battle is ritual scarification along the chest or back—but many of the newer brood have settled for paints and tattooing, to the consternation of their elders.

Spoiler: Government

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The Eucrus Alliance is ruled by a stratocracy. Initially due to necessity at the Alliance's founding, this practice has been more or less preserved by a period of compulsory military service when each adult comes of age. While there is nominally a single figurehead, important matters of state are typically decided by military council. Community-appointed leaders are also given leave to represent their people, acting as an advisory board through which lesser matters can be decided by committee.

Spoiler: History

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The Eucrus Alliance is originally composed of refugees from eight major clans and ten minor vassal families who were once... rather more human than they are now. Originally fleeing unto the lifeless wastes of Mekhala, these disparate groups entered into a series of binding compacts with one goal: survival.

Countless civilians from the various families were slotted into whatever positions they might find an aptitude for--scientists, skilled laborers, doctors. And the rest-- seeing a common thread between the myriad threats of bandits, deserters, and otherworldly horrors--formed the first military regiment of the Eucrus Alliance, known colloquially as "The Vigil." While the military structure of the Alliance has seen many reorganizations since those days, it is often said that warriors who acquitted themselves with distinction before their demise have gone on to join their brothers and sisters in the Vigil.

Time passed, and hardships came and went. The limited resources of the Mekhalan belt had laid a heavy toll upon the alliance. As it turned out, terrastrially-bound species were not meant to survive in space for long periods. Still determined to press on, the scientists of the Eucrus Alliance turned unto a sort of patchwork solution--impromptu gene therapy, to help with adaptation to this new environment. Some hundred cycles, treatments, revisions went into balancing the well-being of the colony on a knife edge. While the larger history of this period has become something of a mystery, what came out of the other side began to call themselves the kanmara.

Eventually, seeing no future in maintaining a position in the belt, the Eucrus Alliance turned to Badal--taking things they had learned in constructing a dome upon the asteroids, and turning them to the task of inhabiting a much more hospitable space in the corrosive upper atmosphere.

The Eucrus Alliance finds itself in a neutral position regarding the Empire itself. The whims of a galactic figurehead have never been so drastic that the kanmara could not adapt--and should the War of Eternal Bombardment be a one-off, they likely never will.

Spoiler: Resource

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Starting Resource: Synthetic Proteins (Food - Animal Meat and Byproducts, Drugs and Medicine) -- Colloquially known as "merusia", the kanmara have learned to rely on a form of vat-grown meat that is genetically modified and enriched to provide nourishment for species with high metabolic rates. These advancements have caused a profound reduction in the amount of space and dedicated resources required to sustain their population--who have adapted to a mostly carnivorous diet.

Additionally, it's theorized that the vat-grown nature of merusia could be exploited for further genetic experimentation and medical research, as it is living flesh.

Required Resource: Rare Metals

Spoiler: Faith

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Major: The Protean Paradigm: A blend of science and faith concerning the evolution of species. The kanmara believe that alteration through gene therapy or magics is a path to divinity—speeding up a process that has taken billions of years. Put simply, and without the prose that has been written by more high-minded adherents of the faith, what is more divine than taking that process and controlling it in a fraction of the time?

Minor: The Illuminated Primarch

Spoiler: Technology

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In Vivo Modification, Badalian Megadirigibles

[Elemental]

If I may be so bold, I would like to lay claim to Region 60 for my werewolves. They shall ride down the mountains on their dire horses to say hi and invite you to their barbecue.

Correction: Make that nightmares, not dire horses.


Huge WIP of course...

Edit: READY FOR REVIEW. WOO.

The Kingdom of High Ishtahnos
The Highlands of Ishtahnos
Region 65
By the Light of the Sun, His Royal Highness, John IV, High King of Ishtahnos, Lord of the Clans, Chief of the Silverfang, King of the Five Mountains, Grand Marshall and Defender of the Small,
Elect of the Empire and Loyal Servant of His Grace the Emperor

Spoiler: History

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The recorded history of the Ishtahn goes back to just after the War of Eternal Bombardments. With their land scorched by the celestial fire of Imperial weapons the Ishtahn were forced to take shelter in tunnel networks beneath the ground for many years before they were able to return to the surface. What they found was a landscape shrouded in darkness, some foul sorcery of the war had turned the Sun black in what appeared to be a perpetual eclipse. Life was harsh during what was known as the Dark Age and the Clans were often forced towards putting their own needs before their more distant kin. But still they persisted, hunting the beasts of the plains, taming the vicious nightmares, battling the demons that lurked in the dark and carving out towns underground.

For a thousand years the darkness covered the land and the Ishtahn grew accustomed to the darkness. They worshipped the Moons that gave them the strength to endure and began to develop their code of honour. Slowly the Clans began to work together but they never truly made any great steps against the demons. That is until the first day of the second millennium dawned and rather than the black Sun they were met with rays of pure Sunlight. Things got more than a little crazy for a while after their sudden empowerment, but after a month or so things calmed down and the Ishtahn were able to come together. The Council of Clans was formed and they resolved to claim the surface world. The end of the Dark Age came to be known as the Dawn.

In the centuries that followed the Ishtahn prospered and experienced a great cultural and religious awakening. The tunnels were abandoned and proper cities on the surface were built, the arts and sciences flourished, commercial contacts with distant lands were established, migrants were accepted, Great Charters were written that established and then strengthened democracy, social programmes were enacted. Aside from a demonic invasion four hundred years ago and a kerfuffle with a mysterious orb one hundred and fifty years ago everything's been looking up.

Spoiler: Geography

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The Highlands of Ishtahnos, like much of Veehra, is predominantly a cold, dusty desert. It can be found at the northern edge of the Great Highlands of Veehra with much its of territory made up of highland plains that gently slope upwards to three great mountains. While other mountains do exist within the Highlands, they are much smaller both in height and spread.

The largest of the three great mountains in terms of land area, but third in height, is Mons Karavon near the northern edge of Ishtahnos. It is approximately elliptical and over a thousand kilometres from east to west, but is extremely shallow in slope and is more akin to a flat plain than a mountain. Though average annual snowfall is low most of the upper slopes of Mons Karavon are covered in a thick layer of glacial ice built up over untold millennia. High winds alternatively deposit and sweep away dust leading to a visually shifting landscape of brilliant white ice and red-orange dust.

Much more impressive is Mons Azania which lies in the southern region of Ishtahnos. It is the second highest peak on Veehra and is much steeper than any other of the three great mountains of Ishtahnos. Its upper slopes are dotted by glaciers and snow, but the peak region of Mons Azania is so high it protrudes above most of Veehra's atmosphere and whatever snow manages to fall there is sublimated in the harsh, unfiltered Sun to leave behind bare rock. However despite the desolate conditions, the great altitude is perfect for astronomical observations and so the summit is dotted with telescopes. The ruined city of Deira fills the mountain's caldera with the twisted remnants of a glass and metal dome still partially arcing over it.

A bit further south at the very edge of Ishtahnos lies Mons Khassia. Though not as tall as Mons Azania it is still an impressive mountain, though this is somewhat dulled by being located deeper into the Great Highlands. In terms of glaciation it is similar to Mons Azania. Its remoteness has caused the Ishtahn to leave it alone for the most part.

As indicated, the remainder of the land of Ishtahnos consists of gently sloping plains cut by the occasional river valley. Below the glaciers is a vast barren desert that covers approximately a third of all Ishtahnos. What little water in this region is locked away in permafrost and the winds blow away any soil before it can develop. As a result the only vegetation of note consists of lichens clinging to rock and hardy, stunted grasses that grow in what little shelter is available. Little in the way of animal life makes its home here aside from small mammals such as red hare, sparse herds of tundra deer and the very rare Karavon serpent.

The remaining portion of Ishtahnos on the lower slopes is warmer with less intense winds and a greater annual rainfall. It is still, however, predominantly a desert. Statistics compiled by the Royal Geographical Society of High Ishtahnos place the lower slopes as being approximately fifty-eight percent dust dunes that support almost no vegetation or animal life. Where there is more access to groundwater the dunes give way to xeric scrub that cover approximately percent of the lower slopes. The vegetation consists of thorn covered shrubs or cacti and is often extremely poisonous, nevertheless hardy herbivores with resilient constitutions make their homes here. The remaining twenty percent consists of scrublands and dry grasslands depending on local soil conditions. Ironically where the soil is poor grasses are unable to take hold and so a huge diversity of flowering plants is able to thrive which erupt into a blaze of colour whenever there is sufficient rain. This abundance of vegetation supports large herds of herbivorous mammals and their predators. Some of the more iconic animals include the aurochs, plains wolves, nightmares, highland lions, chamaeleon flower serpents, gold dust butterflies and the dreaded obsidian winged eagle.

Fed by glaciers and rainfall, rivers cut through the plains of Ishtahnos, carving out wide valleys for themselves which are somewhat sheltered from the winds. The deeper soils here combined with the more constant supply of water mean that these are the only parts of Ishtahnos capable of supporting trees. Stands of gnarled pines grow that help to prevent the loss of fertile topsoil and in the lowest sections of the valleys near the western border groves of wild apple trees cling to the slopes. During the Winter the rivers freeze over, but this is little hindrance to the fish that live within them.

Ishtahn cities and towns are built with a relatively simple architectural style out of brick and stone which is often then plastered over to protect the underlying masonry or brickwork from dust. The plaster starts off white but slowly becomes redder and redder as dust sticks to it. Windows tend to be small and are outfitted with carved wooden shutters and most buildings. Exterior ornamentation is somewhat limited as ornate designs are harder to clean, but geometric patterns in the plaster as well as decorative ironwork on verandas and balconies are very common features. Most cities are located above, or near to, networks of underground tunnels where the Ishtahn once lived. These tunnels have since been abandoned save for occasional use for storage. Rail networks crisscross the country and aqueducts bring additional water down from the mountains.

The principal cities of the Highlands, and the only cities with populations in excess of two million, are as follows:
Dantenon, the largest city and primary industrial hub.
Ketravan, located near the western border, a secondary industrial hub, trading centre and site of Ishtahnos's largest university.
Harazan, the capital and cultural centre.
Corvopolitanus, a secondary industrial hub and site of Ishtahnos's oldest university.
Sarcorov, the centre of the Church of the Benevolent Sun.
Ak'Harrek, located on the southern border serving as a commercial hub for international trade.

Spoiler: People

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Ishtahnos has a population of approximately fifty-six and a half million, of which fifty-four million are Ishtahn, human werewolves native to Veehra. The remaining two and a half million consist of minorities that have moved to Ishtahnos over the centuries. By far the largest minority is the Varn Clan, a group of human nomads who settled in the eastern parts of the Highlands approximately six hundred years ago. They are worshippers of the Mother Serpent and though integrated into Ishtahn society they maintain their own ways and many retain their nomadic lifestyle. Other minorities are urban in nature and are descended from traders and artisans who migrated to Ishtahnos's cities. They number approximately one and a half million and originate from a variety of lands across Veehra.

The remainder of this section will focus on the Ishtahn.

Spoiler: Biology

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The Ishtahn are a population of human werewolves native to Veehra. Their physical appearance in human form is mostly unremarkable, save for their size with the average Ishtahn adult male standing at seven feet, or two hundred and thirteen centimetres in height and the average adult female only slightly shorter at six foot nine inches, or two hundred and six centimetres. They are possessed of powerful physiques and their strength is further heightened by their magical nature. They are twice as strong as a human their size and build would indicate and possess considerable durability and regenerative capabilities, they are able to shrug off small arms fire and regrow lost limbs over the course of several weeks. In addition they are hairier than most humans and their hair grows at a faster rate and baldness and other forms of hair loss are extremely rare.

As werewolves, the Ishtahn have the capability to shift from their standard human form to an anthropomorphic lupine form. When "wolfing out", the Ishtahn grow in height by approximately six to eight inches, or fifteen to twenty centimetres, with a commensurate increase in mass. Their fur is usually black or dark brown and around their thirtieth year their fur develops silver patches and streaks that grow in number over time. In this form they receive not only a new appearance and increased size, but their strength is boosted considerably. Estimates put the strength of a transformed Ishtahn as being equivalent to that of ten normal human men and armour piercing weapons are required to pierce their hides. They also gain a considerable boost to speed, agility and to their hearing and olfactory abilities. Their claws are also capable of ripping through steel.

Of important note, however, is that an Ishtahn cannot gain access to their full strength without exposure to direct Sunlight. When in indirect or reflected Sunlight they gain very little strength from transforming and cannot transform at all when completely shielded from the Sun.

Psychologically speaking, the Ishtahn are mostly the same as humans everywhere else, but their lycanthropic nature gives them an enhanced sense of empathy and an innate friendliness that causes them to view all peoples as part of their pack. It is very difficult for them to turn a blind eye to those who are suffering and they are nearly incapable of turning away those who need their help. Fortunately they are much better at picking up on body language and other subtle tells than most people so it is difficult to trick them, however this has two side effects, they are uncomfortable around machines and other non-biological entities and successful betrayal is something they find almost impossible to forgive.

When an Ishtahn and a non-Ishtahn human have children, the children inherit some Ishtahn traits. While at least two thirds Ishtahn blood is required to fully transform, those with more dilute blood bounce back from injuries much more quickly than most humans, are still unusually strong and find themselves growing claws in direct Sunlight.

Spoiler: Culture

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The Ishtahn are a friendly people who are welcoming towards outsiders. Their society is egalitarian and provides for the needs of its people without question in the form of wide ranging social programmes and guaranteed freedoms. They are not ones to stand on ceremony and in general live rough and tumble lives. Their attire is well suited to the dust and cold of Veehra and often includes long dusters, an additional hooded cloak, thick scarves and bandanas and broad brimmed hats. When outdoors they have very little skin exposed save for the area around the eyes and some or all of their hands.

The traditional way of life for the Ishtahn is one that involves ranging on the open plains herding aurochs and this way of life is still followed by nearly a third of all Ishtahn. Even many city born Ishtahn spend a few years out on the plains to get in touch with their culture and gain familiarity with the great beasts of the plains and wastes. Even those who do not choose to spend part of their youth following the herds still learn how to ride the fierce nightmares of the highlands and how to fight both in their human form and werewolf form.

During war the Ishtahn don black uniforms which include lightweight nanoweave armour which is often augmented with ornamented plates of steel superalloys. This is due to their preference for fielding light troops mounted on nightmares which perform better in Veehra's dust deserts. For common troops gold is used as a highlight both woven into cloth and also electroplated onto weapons, whereas elite troops and marines make use of white and silver highlights to indicate their status. While they have plenty of guns, often fitted with bayonets, the Ishtahn prefer to fight in melee, commonly utilising zweihanders on foot and lances when mounted. Elite troops are known to use katars in close quarters combat and when in werewolf form the Ishtahn take advantage of the additional speed and agility to dual wield a sword and long knife. Other weapons are seen but these are the ones most commonly issued by the army.

Since time immemorial, the Ishtahn have been divided into Clans. While in the past the Clans squabbled over resources since the Dawn they have worked together towards the good of all. Over the centuries the differences between the Clans have lessened somewhat, though each still maintains their own symbols, colours and traditions. The most important aspect of Ishtahn culture that survives from the days of the Clans is the Ishtahn Honour Code. The Code outlines the shared values of Ishtahn society; honesty, loyalty to Clan and country, freedom from tyranny, charity, kindness and hospitality. The full code is quite lengthy but it doesn't stray far from these points.

The following are the Ishtahn Clans and their approximate populations:
4500000 - Clan Redwind
4200000 - Clan Shadowclaw
4100000 - Clan Silverfang
3700000 - Clan Dusthide
3400000 - Clan Riverrun
3200000 - Clan Iron Moon
3100000 - Clan Singing Wolf
2800000 - Clan Windsong
2800000 - Clan High Mountain
2700000 - Clan Demons' Bane
2500000 - Clan Wastewander
2000000 - Clan Desert Rain
1900000 - Clan Rageclaw
1800000 - Clan Burning Lion
1400000 - Clan Shadow Dream
1300000 - Clan Nighthowl
1300000 - Clan Wildheart
1200000 - Clan Redheart
1100000 - Clan Howling Moon
1000000 - Clan Darksand
1900000 - Clan Dreadfang
1800000 - Clan Blue Sky
1600000 - Clan Falling Sun
500000 - Clan Black Serpent
400000 - Clan Golden Claw
300000 - Clan Blacksun
300000 - Clan Frostrider
200000 - Clan Stormhowl

Spoiler: Magic

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The Ishtahn are, to put it simply, bad at magic. They have no special innate ability, technological aid or secret ancient knowledge of the finer points of the arcane. In addition their lycanthropic nature interferes with the flow of magic through their body greatly limiting the amount of arcane energies they can draw on. As a result their sorcerers lean heavily on the art of Gramarye, a system of magic that utilises sigils, calligraphy and written charms. The Ishtahn utilise this magic for two principal purposes, illusions and daemonology.

Illusions: Scrolls are prepared with representative calligraphy, often of animals, that when activated creates a partly tangible illusion of the animal in question. Said illusions, especially when examined closely, appear to be made of writing. Special inks and parchments are used for this art and though the process of preparing the scrolls is usually very time consuming, the resulting illusion is more tangible if activated while the ink is still wet on the page.

Daemonology: In the past the Ishtahn had a problem with demons and unfortunately they were of the kind that cannot be easily banished by stabbing them repeatedly because they'd just get up again eventually. Fortunately the Ishtahn eventually figured out that a binding circle doesn't have to be a stationary affair. Enchanted golden lassos and bolas quickly became standard for dealing with the threat. Once the demon was wrestled into submission a paper charms containing seals of binding would be used to either banish or compel it into obedience.

Though this started out to deal with rampaging demons, Ishtahn daemonologists have also studied how to summon their own demons. As the Ishtahn lack the magical might to compel a demon into service even with a properly set up binding circle they are forced to only summon demons who they can physically subdue long enough to affix charms to.

Spoiler: Government

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In the past the Ishtahn Clans were essentially independent from one another with the High King's position, when there was a High King, being primarily one focussed on resolving unnecessary disputes. After the Dawn when the Clans came together a Council of Clans was created and Chief Lucas of Clan Silverfang was made the High King by unanimous assent due to his leadership during that chaotic period. As things calmed down Great Charters began to be released that curtailed the powers of the High King and the Council of Clans in favour of the elected parliament that now rules the Ishtahn. Reserve and emergency powers are retained by the High King and the Council of Clans, though their roles in the current day are primarily cultural and ceremonial. The current High King is John IV, who at thirty-eight years of age has been High King for five years.

The Parliament of High Ishtahnos, as defined by the Great Charters, is a bicameral legislature with elections held every three years. Voting is mandatory for all citizens of at least eighteen years of age.

The lower house, or the House of Delegates, is made up of one hundred and fifty members. The members are elected from three member constituencies that are adjusted according to a mathematical algorithm every two parliamentary terms. The House Speaker, who is chosen by pulling names out of a hat for each legislative term, is a non-voting member but on the plus side gets to be able to tell other delegates to shut up.

The upper house, or House of State Counsellors, has one hundred and twenty elected members that serve a maximum of two six year terms and unlike the House of Delegates, candidates must be at least forty years of age. Rather than constituencies, State Counsellors are elected by the entire electorate with three seats reserved for minorities, two for the Varn and one for urban minorities. There are in addition three unelected and non-voting members, the Bishop of Harazan, the Lord Advocate and the Master of Nightmares, who serve as advisors and break ties.

The executive arm of the government is headed by the First Minister who is chosen from among the Delegates during a joint sitting of parliament at the beginning of each legislative term. The First Minister then forms a cabinet which must be confirmed at a second joint sitting. At any time a vote of no confidence against the First Minister or a member of their cabinet may be called.

The currency issued by the Ishtahn government is the Ishtahn Gold Mark. Though polymer banknotes and small denomination coins of bronze are also issued, the Mark is also issued as once coins of solid gold with the High King's effigy on the obverse and a new design on the reverse every year. Despite being minted of solid gold it is still a fiat currency.

Spoiler: Resource

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Veehran Aurochs (Meat and Animal Products, Fauna)
The Highlands of Ishtahnos are rich enough in resources to provide for all the needs of its citizenry, even a fair amount of luxuries, but there is little that their industries can spare for export without falling short of domestic demand. The one thing they do have in abundance however are Aurochs. The Veehran Aurochs is a ten tonne shaggy behemoth of a bovine with horns that can rip through plate steel. The Ishtahn have domesticated these animals and graze them on the grasslands of the Highlands, following the herds from the backs of their nightmares and driving them to the cities to be slaughtered or readied for live export. That is, if you think you can handle them.

Spices
While the inhabitants have most of their needs and desires met by local industries and agriculture, the lands of Ishtahnos are ill-suited for the cultivation of more than a few comparatively bland spices. New trade routes must be opened to meet this demand lest Ishtahn cuisine languish in obscurity forever.

Spoiler: Faith

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Majority: The Church of the Benevolent Sun

Though freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Great Charter of 1707, the Church of the Benevolent Sun is also recognised by that same charter as the State Church. As evidenced by its name, the Church reveres the Sun as the benevolent source of light and life and they further view the Ishtahn as one of the Sun's favoured peoples due to the effects of sunlight on Ishtahn physiology. Rather than using this as an excuse to be smug and elitist, the Church has adopted a stance of living up to the high burdens of such favour and so teaches the importance of helping out the unfortunate and defending the weak, teachings in line with the Ishtahn Honour Code.

The hierarchy of the Church of the Benevolent Sun is a rather simple and decentralised one. In most cities and many large towns there is a cathedral run by a chapter of canons who elect a bishop from among their number. Bishops are responsible for overseeing parishes in the surrounding province. The only exception is the city of Sarcorov, which has no province and serves as the seat of the Archbishop who is elected from among the other bishops by a grand synod of all the canons. The Archbishop's role is primarily to help resolve matters of dispute between the provinces, act as an advisor to the High King and perform religious ceremonies for the state. Priests may be men or women and can marry and have children.

The seat of the Church of the Benevolent Sun is the Archbasilica of the Golden Sun, commonly referred to as the Golden Cathedral, in the city of Sarcorov. The oldest parts of this complex are over eight hundred years old though the majority dates back five hundred years.

Minority faiths: The Cult of the Mind
The Cult of Avva
The Soulbound Dance
The Mother Serpent
The Wolf Heart

In addition to the state religion several religious minorities exist. Some of these, the Cult of Avva, the Cult of the Mind and the Soulbound Dance are present due to merchants and artisans moving to Ishtahnos to engage in commerce and starting communities in the region's cities. The Mother Serpent is the faith of a nomadic group who migrated into Ishtahnos centuries ago.

The Wolf Heart, meanwhile, is an attempted revival of the pre-Dawn faith of the Ishtahn. Its adherents revere the moons, reject the Church hierarchy, emphasise unscientific aspects of wolf behaviour and advocate a return to the Old Law before the Kingdom was established. Most of the Ishtahn do not take them very seriously or ignore them.

Spoiler: Starting Tech

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Dust Hardening: Like most of the peoples of Veehra, the Ishtahn know well the hassle of dust and have thus gone to great lengths to insulate their machinery and electronics from it.
Nuclear Fusion: Approximately a century ago the Ishtahn cracked the secret of reliable, efficient fusion power and this transformed society, drastically reducing the cost of industry and improving the lives of the populace. Unfortunately the reactors were very large and due to the difficulties of constructing transmission lines across the dust deserts remote regions were forced to rely on less efficient and thus more expensive methods of generating electricity which hindered their economic growth and quality of life. Ishtahn researchers worked on this for decades, attempting to miniaturise the fusion generators with no success. Fortunately twenty-five years ago an individual who was part of a group of wandering refugees from the south got a job at the University of Corvopolitanus. Within a month he'd managed to iron out all the flaws in the prototype schematics and within three years the first portable fusion engines had been successfully trialled and within a decade every city, town and train was lit by miniature suns. Sir Professor Todd Stevens Jun. M. Tech has received numerous high honours for this work and the truck sized fusion generators he helped design are called Stevens Engines in his honour.

[Feathersnow]

Approved after changes

The Combined Commonwealth of Sligs

Spoiler: flag

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Region 77- The Parrot's Perch

Spoiler: Geography

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There are three main habitat types in Slig Space- Basilicas, Barracks, and Mines. These three are all clearly defined, but often found near each other, either connected, in parallel orbit, or on the same planetoid.

A Basilica contains an adult Queen. Even Queens that choose non-governmental roles and identity as a member of a Teivosk instead of as a member of The Court perforce live in Basilicas, though their telepathy means they are not necessarily physically present there. A Basilica contains a large, generally spherical enclosure capable of giving the Queen room to move and manuever. Like most Sligs, she probably prefers zero gravity and uses medical boosters to eliminate any medical effects of permanent freefall. The Sphere is lined by layers of floors, typically parallel rather than radial, where the Teivosk attending her (or to which she claims membership) raises young and does various commercial and residential activities.

A Barracks is similar to a Basilica, but has no Queen and a higher population. It often contains gardens and/or ranches instead. Note neither Basilicas nor Barracks ever have heavy industry.

Mines are where industrial activities take place, air gapped from living areas. They typically contain Workers there on commute for three standard day shifts. Once the Workers are exhausted, they rotate out for ten standard days off.

Mines that are tapped out are often converted to Barracks, while Basilicas are usually very large ships with minimal engines custom built for the purpose.

The biology of the animals in the gardens and ranches is unique, often amphibious, large, and crustacean-like. The most common livestock is the Paramite, a creature combining aspects of a spider and a rabbit. The Scrab, a larger and vicious vicious crab-like omnivore, is rarely raised, though breeding populations are maintained. Both are fed primarily on maggot-like fleeches that feed on cultured, recycled waste enriched with organically exochemicals, as well as grain.

There are few advanced plants in Slig Space, with most greenery of obscure allies of the Fern. This stems from Slingid's divine hatred of trees in a now largely forgotten holy war.

Most habitats are cave-like, with clear plastic pressure domes used only for farming.


The great planetoid of the region remains untouched.
This is partly because of religious reasons, but mostly because it is salty slush, and considered of low value, unlike methane or metalloid planetessimals.

Spoiler: People

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Sligs believe themselves to have originated on Sansar, probably near where The Reserve is now. They fled to Space long ago, under the dictates of their distant God, The Great Parrot. No Slig Queens are believed to live outside the Combine, and few Workers live outside Mekhala.

Sligs are a hive species evolved from seal-like eusocial carnivores. They come in three distinct genders, two of which are intelligent. "Worker" (He/Him) represent over 99% of all Sligs and are highly diverse mentally and in many physical features. All, however, have many traits in common. They all possess at least latent tele-receptive psi powers. That is, while few can actively project onto minds or the world around them, they are unusually receptive to broadcast or targeted mind effects from others. Physically, they all have a face resembling a squid with knuckles, two large hands at the ends of heavily muscled arms, and no other limbs. They typically weigh 30-50 pounds. Thet breathe through gills generally kept covered to preserve moisture, and often wear Goggles to protect their eyes. More elaborate clothing isn't forbidden, but a Worker's status is defined, in part by which prosthetic device he uses to aid to transportation. Two legs are most common, but rotary wings and full body armor are known to be used. Prostheses are generally only worn in formal or business environments, however.

A Queen (She/Her) is built on a similar body plan, but with webbed hands, flukes at the base of her spine, and many times the size. A queen can easily mass 50 times that of a Worker.

Queens are all powerfully psionic. They are always in potential direct contact with all other Queens, as though by telecommunications. They can possess the minds of a Worker, though this is considered deeply immoral without explicit consent. They can also read the minds and Memories of Workers. This is only considered wrong if it is used to give advantage to a rival group of Workers, such as industrial espionage between Teivosks. Queens have agreed not to do that under The Grand Charter. The most commonly used and powerful psi ability of a Queen, however, is to form a Gestalt. A Gestalt of 5 Workers or less is called a "Working Group" and benefits from the direct oversight of the Queen. A larger Gestalt of up to 28 Workers causes the Queen to blank out until she tires and ends it reflexively after a few hours. This state creates a great sense of coordination, motivation, and increased mental acuity for the affected Workers. Larger groups can exist, but suffer breakdowns in effectiveness.

Drones (it) are the biological male equivalent of Queens. At maturity, they physically fuse to a Queen, enhancing her psionic potential and helping regulate her exocrine and immune systems while causing her to give birth regularly.

Queens and Drones are born once every 61 years, while Workers are born approximately every 8 months of every other year. All eggs are in clutches of 1-4, Drones outnumber immature Queens (Nymphs) 7:1. The simultaneous birth of reproductive is called the Jubilee, and much of the Slig calendar is based on it. A Slig Queen reaches physical maturity around age 39 and might live for over two centuries. A Worker reaches maturity at age 9 and does not suffer age related infirmity.

Spoiler: Government

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The Government of the Sligs shows clear signs of evolution, but has been in its present form since not long after the Sligs fled to Mekhel in the early days of the Great Bombardment. There is a head of State, the most powerful Queen, who coordinates every freeholding Queen in The Royal Court. Then there is the Prime Minister (Mechanical Ruler), who is appointed from among a host of representatives of the various Teivosks in a parliament. He is always a Worker, as are all parliamentary members.

In pre-Diaspora times, the Sligs were ruled by The Court directly with no formal Worker Parliament. But, as the economic power of the Worker cliques, or Teivosks, eclipsed thst of most Queens, and lesser and younger Queens allied with Teivosks to remain relevant. Eventually there came a point where the Chorus of Queens was riven by infighting over the interest of informal Worker cliques, which had already long eclipsed specific bloodlines and become pan-national.

And so, The Great Charter was established, with rights for the Teivosks and ndividuals both Worker and Queen, and limits on the powers of the co-equal co-rulers of the Sligs. A Queen might choose at maturity to either be a Freeholder and court the Teivosks while paying fealty to the Royal Court, or join a Teivosk and be subject to the rights and responsibilities of membership. All workers belong to the Teivosk that raised them from eggs and have certain basic rights from both their brothers and Queens. Each Teivosk has a voice in Parliament.
The Combine is largely ambivalent to the Empire, but hopes to remain in their relative good will, as long as they recognize Slig self-rule.

Spoiler: Religion

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The main religion of the Sligs is the Faith of Slingid, The Parrot. He is a cruel, indifferent God who urges his followers to greatness. He has few tenets besides the eschewing of all conventional writing other than legends on maps and that necessary for annotations of blueprints. Which are technically numbers. Any other text is open to interpretation, and thus risks gaslighting the author.

Magic is used to record audio, psionic impressions, and even memories to fill this lack, and seems to have been used for this purpose since earliest history.

There is a minority faith that reverse the Ancestral Queens. They seek to one day return to Sansar, in defiance of the Slingidites, who hold Mekhala to be the Promised Land.

Spoiler: The Cenotaph

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This is the Shrine containing both the Beacon that led the Ancestral Hives to this region on Mekhala and the Ashes of nearly every Queen who ever lived, including every Queen to be Hatched in Mekhala. It is a vast Hollow Sphere containing a vast orchard with various mastabas jutting from the outside. It is a rare zone of artificial gravity, not practical to mass produce at this time.

Spoiler: Resource, Lepkashramov Ikons (magical material)

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While not ignorant of conventional science, most effects of any great interest achieved by Sligs are done through their unique magical system, Lepkashramov. This us the creation of metal sculptures with magical powers characteristic of their material components.

The first uses of Lepkashramov involved soft, non-reactive metals and mostly allowed the storage of information without conventional writing. But, as advances in metallurgy came, so to unlocked new forms of Lepkashramov. The main industry of the Sligs is building these Ikons, and they have the resources in their Mines to do so for a long, long time.

Spoiler: Required resource, food

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The sligs selected a uniquely rocky area of Mekhala, and are running low on foodstuffs quite often. Their slow growing population means they have a long time to go before starvation set in, but the next Jubilee year will increase the problem greatly.

Spoiler: Supports

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Government- the recent election of Prime Minister Snimt'Glek to is incontrovertible, though he us charged with securing more food before the next Jubilee year.

Media- Radio Operas by Klop Teivosk are very popular, and most competition is local to the CCS.

Mercantile- The Sligs are devoted to industry, even if they make poor salesmen. They control their own trade at this time.

Spoiler: starting Techs

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Arcane Amplification
Vacuum Adaptation

[hermanthedragon]

The Cerulean Kingdom
Requested Region: 40 (Sansar) (Backup: 34)
Edits made - Ready for Review again

Spoiler: Geography

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Due to the moisture that comes in on the ocean breeze, this area is very lush and full of natural resources. The area is mostly filled with mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrublands with the more densely forested areas lying closer to the western coasts. The soil in this area is extremely fertile leading to much of the rural land being taken over for crop and ranch land. The region is also home to several types of domesticated animals which can be shorn for fleece as well as fiber producing plants. There are two major cities, Saltmouth which is located at the base of the peninsula and Northhost located on the northwest coast, and many small towns.

Spoiler: People

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Due to the area’s resources, the population took less time to recover after the War of Eternal Bombardments. The people in this area are generally humans, but this region is also likely to be the host of at least a small population of any other species common on the planet due to the high density of resources. Because this area is so resource rich, the basic needs of most of its people are completely met leading them to explore art, philosophy, and magic. People in rural areas are generally farmers and ranchers, and wear practical, but well-made clothing woven with basic enchantments against wear and tear. The people in cities tend to be scholars, merchants and nobles and likely have more expensive enchantments woven into their clothing, such as intellect boosting enchantments for the scholars or more frivolous enchantments such as ones that change the color of a garment at will for the nobles. The nobles tend to throw large lavish parties, and much of the technological innovation of this society is based in entertainment.

Spoiler: Government

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The government of the Cerulean Kingdom is a typical feudal-esque hierarchy.

Spoiler: Resource

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Charmed Textiles: not only is this fabric beautifully made with different patterns woven in, but fabric makers weave enchantments into their creations ranging from simple warmth spells to more frivolous enchantments such as charm spells or spells that make the pattern on the fabric seem to move. This fabric is generally woven by hand as the enchantments are nearly impossible to weave in by automated machine.

Spoiler: Desired Import

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Entertainment: As all other needs are generally met, the people of the Cerulean Kingdom, especially the nobles and the wealthy with more time on their hands, are always in search of new ways to entertain themselves in their free time and quickly tire of the old ones.

Spoiler: Faith

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There is no major religion in the area, but people who moved to the area from other regions of the world brought their own faith and have set up small local churches.

Spoiler: Starting techs

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Arcane Amplification
Wet Navy Ships

[xanxosttheslaad]

Approved!

CASSIOPE
Region 87 - The Space-Kelp Cluster

Leader - CASSIOPE 2323

Spoiler: Geography

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The Space-Kelp Cluster, similar to the other asteroid clusters within Mekhala, is dominated mostly by the vacuum of space, interspersed by many thousands of asteroids, perhaps pushing into the millions if you include even the little bitty ones. Many of the larger of these are host to a curious resident, a unique plant-like crop known as space-kelp. The space-kelp will cover large swathes of the asteroid’s surface with a tangled net of root-like holdfast, supporting sturdy trunk-like stipe which extends great distances outward into space. The stipe occasionally branches and interweaves, forming a lattice structure which supports the yarn. This yarn replaces the leaf-like fronds of terrestrial-aquatic cultivars, and grows from nodes along the stipe. The yarn consists of extremely thin fibrous tendrils which fill the space amongst the stipe lattice, resembling a loose, greenish-yellow cotton candy cloud. The yarn, with the help of the vacuum-resistant mucus coating it and all other structures of the organism, acts as a net that captures solar wind, sunlight, and micrometeorites, which provide the energy and material for growth. Space-kelp growths can extend out hundreds of kilometers thanks to the lack of gravity, with very little impediment due to the average distance between bodies lying somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

While many asteroids within the cluster are occasionally visited, harvested, or perhaps have a small permanent base for mining and farming and relay and so forth, the center of activity in the region is its most massive body, known as CASSIOPE. It consists of an asteroid a bit over 100km in diameter that was apparently split in half some time ago, and enveloped in several layers of tightly woven, mucus-suffused space-kelp fabric, in turn covered in a thick layer of space-kelp holdfast. The stipe and yarn growing off of this holdfast is much less impressive than that of other asteroids due to the inhospitable spin rate of the habitat, and tends to be thicker near the center where gravity is weaker, while curving in the direction of either end. The inside of the envelope is filled with a breathable atmosphere, as well as twin city-complexes on either inside face, powered by large kelp-burning power plants. A slow tumbling end-over-end, put in motion long in the past by now-forgotten methods, creates a comfortable effective gravity in these cities, allowing residents to bustle about as if planetbound.

Spoiler: People

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The space habitat known as CASSIOPE is kept running by a population of autonomous humanoid robots, generally industrial and blocky in appearance, their bodies optimized for habitat maintenance and customizability. Most have some sort of abdominal compartment, intended for the storage and compression of space-kelp yarn as part of CASSIOPE’s most common task, the harvest.

The governance of CASSIOPE is amalgamated from the entirety of its robotic populace, which routinely provide digital feedback through various forums of the habitat intranet (‘KelpNet’), with subforums which administrate bureaucratic, strategic, and maintenance processes. The overall intentions of CASSIOPE are streamlined every so often into the form of a single leader unit, the programming and identity of which is the result of much more direct influence of the body at large, currently CASSIOPE unit 2323. Similar representatives of the common will are used in other strategic cases (military commanders, diplomats, covert operatives, etc.)

In addition to the CASSIOPE units, the habitat is host to a small, diverse minority population of organics, dwelling in luxurious facilities within the twin cities. The organics are recently arrived, settling in the past several years after the introduction of Imperial Drives, and are treated as valued guests, like a habitat-wide resort colony. They are however not granted any role in habitat administration, besides the occasional supervised maintenance or bureaucratic work if such is an organic’s desire. By and large, these organics occupy themselves with various forms of arts and creative recreation (especially the musical, performative, and digital), with the support and engagement of robotic units. Amidst sprawling organic residential complexes are numerous concert halls, theaters, dance halls, ballrooms, and studios, all of which were set up pristine and expectant before the organics’ arrival. Despite the relatively small population of organics relative to the number of custodial units, they take up an outsize proportion of allocated physical spaces for residences and recreation, largely due to the robotic citizens’ preference for cozier residences suited to their space-saving folding design.

Additionally, the robotic citizens have direct access to KelpNet for digital entertainment, socializing, and recreation, and are able to simulate a digital presence and experience while performing their more mundane maintenance tasks (although what sort of online activities are available to them is constrained somewhat by distance-driven network latency, with the most active online spaces and pastimes only available near the habitat).

CASSIOPE’s extensive system of servers, in addition to hosting KelpNet, also stores backup data for its custodial units (both locally and amongst a decentralized network on other asteroids in the cluster). This allows them to re-download (most of) themselves in the event of some unfortunate accident, once a new body has been constructed. While sans corpus, they are able to operate in a limited capacity off of server bandwidth, as disembodied residents of KelpNet. At any given time a small percentage of units exist in this capacity, although typically only temporarily for no more than a few years before the impetus calls them to once again assume a material existence.

Spoiler: History

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The prevailing understanding of the origin of CASSIOPE is as an ages-old scientific outpost, likely human as one might guess from the humanoid design of the custodial units. The principal aim shifted over the centuries, first an exo-botanical experiment, and later an astro-engineering project to create the contained binary asteroid habitat that exists now, through a forgotten process making use of an asteroid-spanning network of holdfast to secure the two halves through a controlled spin-bisection. Later, the habitat saw increased population and industrialization, which both allowed for and were encouraged by megaprojects undertaken to enclose, pressurize, and gravitize the habitat, eventually resulting in the current state of a populated and Sansar-esque habitable interior.

Primitive robotics had a presence from the earliest phases of CASSIOPE, originally as research assistants and attendants to the first propagation stations. These were extremely basic with respect to contemporary algorithmic imagination technologies, although the scientists working with them were quick to personify and feel affection for them regardless. The units were dominated by a servile impetus, an asimov-esque central directive to ensure the security and satisfaction of their organic masters. Over time, advancements were made in the field of AI, and the scientists led their own initiative to apply such upgrades to their robotic lab-pets. Over time, increased capability of the custodial units allowed for a drastic decrease in the role of organics in habitat maintenance and coordination, especially in the later stages as scientific experiments on exo-botany and engineering gave way to industrial activity in support of the resident population. The colony was repurposed into a sort of resort, with custodial units seeing to all needs of the organics, as well as constructing numerous facilities for recreation, leisure, and arts for the non-laboring populace to spend their days in.

When the War of Eternal Bombardments began, CASSIOPE was at first a significant refugee destination. The custodial units, programmed with hospitality protocols, were gracious hosts, and oversaw much expansion of space-kelp cultivation across the cluster to feed the sudden increase in population during this time. Leisure infrastructure was repurposed into refugee camps en masse, and the habitat became one of the most densely populated regions in the entire system. This in turn sparked mass exodus from the habitat, mostly of wealthy residents bearing anti-refugee sentiment, going off to more comfortable parts of the Empire.

The height of the War brought countless atrocities across the worlds of Ophon, and CASSIOPE was unfortunately no exception, despite its relative seclusion out in Mekhala. Within one part of the conflict, the rhetoric of war convinced itself that even their opponents’ refugees posed a threat, and that any major presence of rival peoples surely harbored secret insurgents, biding their time. In one of the bloodiest and cruelest crimes of the War, an army of hackers managed to hijack and supplant the hospitality protocols of the custodial units. The events that followed were indescribable.

Soon the only warmth in the habitat was that of circuitry, and of the kelp-burning power plants that powered it. Their vile task complete, robotic bodies stood still, trapped inside the virus. The longest day passed, frozen in blood. Uncounted years later, the war had ended. Organic remains were only soil, on account of ancient, accidentally imported fungi and lichens, and all but a few of the metal remains were similarly devoid of their simulacrum of life.

By pure chance, a flare from Ophon sparked something in a few of the upright metallic corpses, breaking them from their loop. With great impetus, CASSIOPE became alive again. Its custodial units mourned blood that had long since dried, and set upon the grand task of restructuring themselves so it would never happen again, creating a new, decentralized system of administration and decision making, with emphasis on the power of all upon the whole. A tamper-proof reconfiguration of Hospitality Protocols was implemented into the fundamental features of each unit’s operation, alongside enhanced measures to maintain security and autonomy. Industrial pursuits commenced, cleaning and repairing the habitat facilities once more, harvesting long-overgrown space-kelp across the cluster to feed the power plants, and repairing or recycling those among them who weren’t lucky enough to be awoken by the initial flare. Remains of their memories and personalities were uploaded into the servers, and used as a blueprint for the construction of new custodial units as part of the rebuilding effort.

At present, significant rebuilding has taken place, with the robotic population surging to unprecedented levels. Through technological advancement, they have been able to greatly increase their own efficiency at necessary maintenance tasks, thereby freeing their own time. In imitation of the exploits of organic guests of the past, many have taken to the variety of leisure activities recorded in the archives, practicing at throwing all sorts of dances, shows, sportsball games, and all manner of online entertainment over the recently-developed KelpNet. Having perfected most of these by their internal measures, they now turn outward to the rest of the system for inspiration, sending ads abound on the InterPlaNet to advertise their ‘little corner of utopia in Mekhala’. Having thereby received the attention of the Empire and being granted a place among the Elect, the digital assembly of CASSIOPE is now eager to send representatives far and wide, in search of organics to be made into friends and guests.

Spoiler: Resource

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Space-Kelp: Fruits and Vegetables, Fabrics and Textile products
Primarily grown on the many smaller asteroids within the cluster, space-kelp has a wide variety of uses. Softer parts of the stipe, primarily the less tough inner layers and newer growth, are edible and function as a staple crop that plays the largest role in feeding organic residents. Countless chemical, biological, and physical processing and preparation methods have been developed over the years to extract different nutritional contents and culinary properties from the kelp, allowing the organics healthy variety in their nutrition and cuisine (although this is also supplemented by imports and smaller-scale horticulture within the habitat).
Additionally, the space-kelp yarn, a mucus-coated filamentous structure used by the macroalgae to intercept, capture, and feed upon solar wind particles, space-born dust, and micrometeorites, is harvested by custodial units and used to make all sorts of fiber-derived materials, from clothing to construction-grade composites. Advanced weaving patterns and tensile reinforcement technology was a specialty of CASSIOPE's forerunners, as evidenced by the gargantuan, mucus-suffused kelp fabric layers comprising the pressurized interior surface of the CASSIOPE habitat, although current kelp fabric manufacturing methods are fairly rudimentary in comparison, merely sufficient to patch and reinforce the habitat walls.

Demanded Import: Conductors and Circuitry
As CASSIOPE grows, the manufacture of new robotic bodies, as well as new digital infrastructure for KelpNet server and backup hosting, requires immense material inputs. Basic components of steels, aluminum, silica, nickel, titanium, etc., are plentiful between asteroid mining and space-kelp extracts, but there is a increasing unmet requirement for electrical components and their materials.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Hospitality Protocols
Organics need not labor. They’re not very good at it, anyways. They are to be kept as objects of reverence and inspiration, and given every opportunity to pursue the highest of their curious little organic activities, that we may learn from their peculiarities.

Spoiler: Factions

Show

(All owned by me)
Government: Bureaucracy Matrix
Mercantile: Maintenance Coordination Assembly
Media: KelpNet Forums

Spoiler: Starting Technologies

Show

Algorithmic Imagination
(insert robot emoji here)
Vacuum Adaptation
Advanced shielding technology allows custodial units to traverse the vacuum for all sorts of maintenance tasks.

[BladeofObliviom]

Slapping down a casual bit of interest on Region 69.

Ready for Approval.

Soom-Clan Marauders

Planum Khassia (Region 74), Veehra

Spoiler: Summary

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Three Letter Code: SCM
Starting Ruler: Chieftess Varsa Soom
Starting Technologies: Dust Hardening
Starting Faith: Mother Serpent (Majority)

Faction Support:
Government: Soom-Clan Marauders
Mercantile: Soom-Clan Marauders
Media: Soom-Clan Marauders

Spoiler: History

Show

There are many tales of the clans’ history. Some say that a demiurge sculpted them from clay as the first people of the red earth. Others say that the wastes were once bought and sold by corporations, and people were brought to work in factories and plants. Some even say “Syvine Nanotechnology” is still out there somewhere, broken and buried but spewing silvery dust that thinks into the storms. Whatever the case, this era came to an end with the Bombardments. The Red Planet’s skies were choked red and black, and the barren years began.

There was little in the way of civilization at the time, with only small bands of survivors eking out a wretched existence in the wastes, scavenging what they could. But two thousand years is a long time, and slowly people rebuilt their understanding of things, built up once more the trappings of science and technology. They struck deals with Sorcerers, beseeched the blessings of the Mother Serpent’s protection, and grew strong again, bit by bit. But among dozens of clans, it was the ambitious Soom that gained the Imperial Engines and joined the Elect, carting two ramshackle carriers and a fleet of air superiority fighters away from the smoldering remnants of what had once been the Horn Traders. Wretched poachers - they would not be missed.

Spoiler: Geography

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The Khassia Plain southeast of the great Oases is a smooth expanse of red stone and choking dust upon the surface of Veehra. It has little in the way of landmarks but for the serpent’s spine in the west, a great mountain range broken in the center by a crater from the war, a gap said to lead to fabled fertile lands in the west. There are ancient cities too buried beneath the dust and sand, but little remains of them to seek upon the horizon. No, the true landmarks of the plain are the winds and tunnels left by the passage of the Vast Serpents who call this land home, who part the sands and stone alike as they travel between their hibernation periods; in their wake travel the people, who reinforce the tunnels and build cities of their own beneath the earth, carving out tributary tunnels and passages, until the time comes to move on once more and their last home is inevitably buried beneath the dust: Just one more ruin among many.

Spoiler: People

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The Clans in general and the Soom-Clan in particular lay claim to descent from the eldest peoples of Veehra. “The Soil is Red with the Blood of our Ancestors”, they cry at rallies and screens: Lingering resentment for those who squat on fresh water remains, leaving them to eke out an existence on hunts, hydroponic vegetables, and what water they can get from moisture collectors.

Survival in the wastes is dire. Outside of their dugouts, the clans maintain vehicle fleets to travel in relative security through the storms, but maintenance is a perpetual struggle; they have learned to scavenge for what they can, build what they need from limited materials at hand, and raid for what they cannot.

Despite the prevalence of vehicles though, there are some traditions for which they are forbidden - many lesser hunts are considered dishonorable to attempt unless on foot. It is common both in and out of safe dugouts to wear tight cloth wrappings for protection from the dust, and even in safe places it is highly taboo to show a naked face, even moreso than naked flesh. Masks both ceremonial and practical - or even just cloth face coverings paired with protective goggles - are a frequent sight.

Like all cultures, the clans have fashion and status symbols in their dress: While dyes and vibrant colors are an exorbitant luxury afforded only to a scant few with the ability to maintain a secondary wardrobe they can keep entirely separate from the dust, the most common status symbols are animal parts such as horns, furs, bones, and even the scales of the Mother Serpents (harvested only rarely when shed or from a body returned to the soil - Serpents are not hunted). Wearing such an animal part is only permitted for those who collected such parts themselves directly from the animal - typically the hunter themselves. Attempting to claim such a trophy dishonestly is punishable by injury via the offending trophy - impalement for horns, smothering for furs, bashing for bones, and very literally “swallowing one’s lies” for scales. This is not inherently a death sentence - survival of these ordeals is considered equivalent to earning the piece.

Disputes within and between clans can frequently be resolved by trial by combat, in the form of a duel with traditional weapons to yielding. This is only honorable from an insider - an outsider challenging a duel is a deadly insult. Outside of heated disputes, wrestling is much more popular as a form of sport for both recreation and minor resolutions - an emulation of the Mother Serpent’s preferred method.

Spoiler: Government

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The Clans are organized into networks of main and branch families, alongside communal affine kinships who are not members of the clan such as lovers, concubines, thralls, and even hirelings or the rare welcome outsider. Though there are others with their own chiefs and communal councils, the Soom are the region’s dominant clan and the mainline Soom family - a dynastic house in all but name - holds primacy in a wide variety of executive matters, particularly including raiding, hunts, battle-readiness, and preparations to abandon a dugout city when the time comes. Most day-to-day operations of a clan are however communal and managed by a council of representatives who have the time and patience to regularly spend hours in meetings regarding hydroponic practices and moisture collector rationing.

Spoiler: Resource

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Resource: Energized Chrysoberyl (Precious Minerals/Conductors and Circuitry). The stone below the Plain may be poor in metals, but it is surprisingly rich in quality semiconductors suitable for use in lasers and similar applications.

Required: Ores and Alloys. The plain is notably metal-poor, and what little is available goes overwhelmingly into maintaining vehicle fleets and critical tools. It’s never enough.

Spoiler: Faith

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Majority: Mother Serpent

Mother Serpent burrows, embraces, protects her young. Mother Serpent glides through the sands between her times of rest. And when she wills it, Mother Serpent swallows whole.

Mother Serpent is not a singular being, but a mythologized representative of a species of Vast Serpents that roam above and below the shrouded plains of Veehra. No single member of this species is Mother Serpent, and yet all living specimens are. Snub-nosed, powerfully-muscled, and possessing only vestigial fangs, Mother Serpent is the color of the sirocco and nearly invisible within the howling storm but for the rumbling of the earth and glimpses of stirring scales in the dust. The trails she leaves are nevertheless unmistakable, and lead always to shelter when Mother Serpent dives once more. And though her wrath is terrible, she is no danger when resting beneath the dusts. When danger grows too great…Mother Serpent sheds her skin as well. She is reborn, glistening and new beneath the shell. So too are other things.

Spoiler: Starting Tech

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Dust Hardening: Various masks, seals, and other assorted technologies are critical to survival in the rougher parts of Veehra.
NONE: Though not primitive, the Soom-Clan’s technological state is generally very last-gen, and they do not stand out technologically from the Imperial baseline.

Spoiler: Starting Ruler

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Chieftess Varsa Soom
Diplomacy: ?
Military: ?
Economy: ?
Faith: ?
Intrigue: ?

[MappyPK]

Ready for approval.

The Cloudburst Confederacy

Starting Region: Agbada (Region 49)

Spoiler: Summary

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Capital: Castle Kiniun

Demonym: Agbadan

Three Letter Code: CBC

Starting Ruler: God-King Okan Kiniun

Starting Technologies: Arcane Amplification, Wet Navy Ships

Starting Faith: Cult of Avva (Majority)

Faction Support:
Government: The Cloudburst Confederacy
Mercantile: The Cloudburst Confederacy
Media: The Cloudburst Confederacy

Spoiler: Geography

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The Cloudburst Confederacy rests within the Agbada Basin surrounding the southern Great Lake, known to locals as the Great Sea of Omi. To the north lies the Oke Range. The land itself is something of a safe space tucked away in the corner of the dusty planet, though that isn’t to say it's bustling with life. Rather, the region is still dry and lacking serious vegetative cover, only with the occasional tree and variety of bushes, most similar to an earthly savanna. The largest cities lie along the coast, while smaller towns and villages can be found scattered through the rest of the land.

Spoiler: Government

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The Confederacy acts as a stereotypical feudal system, with powerful houses ruling sectors of the land. These houses are united under a single king, the ruler of the most pious and longstanding house. Presently, and for all of recorded history thus far, this has been House Kiniun of the City of Agbada, a blessed lineage of Lions, whose manes are said to shine as bright as the flames of the sun Avva itself. Known as the God-King, the emperor is said to be able to harness and store the power of the sun god himself and is therefore granted absolute decision making authority, though he does employ a roundtable of advisors and a grand jury, primarily for show. Only he can command the special ships provided by the Empire.

Spoiler: People

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Anthropomorphic animals of many kinds live in the Agbada Basin, namely those that would typically be found in the savanna: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, gazelle, zebra, antelope, giraffes, and elephants, to name a few. Each group is an individual species, generally just referred to as the typical animal’s name with caps lock for distinction. Particular peoples tend to group together, though the largest of cities, including the capital of Agbada itself, has a variety of districts. It is likely that the basin has the highest civilized population in all of Veehra. Usage of basic fire and light magic is commonplace among nobility and occasional among commonfolk. Many essential technologies are informed by the ability of some to perform tricks with flames.

Spoiler: History

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Its not quite certain how the people of Agbada arose, but it is clear that they were not the first to inhabit the lands they call home. Much of the urban infrastructure is repurposed ruins from times past, with run down concrete buildings and flickering neon signs appearing commonplace. New construction is relatively rare due to a lack of resources; instead, systems and buildings are consistently recycled and repurposed as necessary.

Otherwise, the status quo has been in place for quite some time. An age in which the Empire had not held influence over the Confederacy cannot be remembered by any, or noted in any history books. House Kiniun has been the seat of the God-King for well over five hundred years and shows no signs of changing any time soon.

Spoiler: Faith

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Even the Basin isn’t safe from the dry atmosphere of Veehra, leading to a lack of rainfall even in what may be considered the most fertile soil on the planet. In a somewhat backwards line of thought, Agbadan folk tradition proposes that the Sun itself is an otherworldly deity, Avva, that watches down upon the people of the whole planet. Bright and sunny days indicate careful attentiveness by the sun god, while cloudy skies are his long awaited period of rest. Social norms and laws are prone to ignorance and blatant disregard during periods of dense cloud cover – the sun god is not around to see one’s misdeeds, afterall. Only can Avva learn of evils during this time through the prayer of the God-King of the Confederacy, who is said to have a natural connection with the deity. In moments of bright sunlight and desperate measures, the Agbadan belief is that Avva himself can inhabit the body and soul of the God-King.

Most importantly, however, are rainy days, which bless the fertile soil of the basin. When the sun god cries, it rains. Most rainstorms occur when the skies are cloudy, so it can be believed that Avva’s simply having some sort of bad dream during his rest. But when it rains with clear skies, the people of Agbada know that they have done something far too wrong, going so far as to cause the sun to cry. Arguments erupt and conflicts boil doing the rare sight of a sunshower. The God-King is often to blame and must take it upon himself to clear his name.

Space travel has long been a taboo to the followers of the Cult of Avva. Commonfolk are not to leave the soil of Veehra, else they may wander too close to the sun god himself.

Spoiler: Resource

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On seasons of good harvest when the basin has been blessed by sorrowful slumbers of Avva, plenty of crops are available for export to nearby nations. Particularly common are flax, legumes, and leafy greens. However, the most abundant harvest tends to be the hardiest of them all, Sun-Kissed Maize, a delectable corn-like crop known for its yellow and orange burst of color which does well even with a lack of rainfall. When heated, it pops off the cob.

Unfortunately, the lands do not lend themselves well to resource extraction. In particular, Ores and Alloys are practically nonexistent and need to be imported from less blessed regions of Veehra for their use in construction, machinery, and weaponry.

[Corona]

White Pawns
Region name: Kan (23)

Leader: His Excellency Elia Eramo, IPPfK
Starting rolls
Diplomacy: 4 (3+1)
Military: 5 (4+1)
Economy: 2
Faith: 2
Intrigue: 4

Spoiler: Geography

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Kan is situated in the rough center of the continent of Zabava. The most prominent geographical features of the region are the western peninsula of Padets, with minor isles scattered around it; the great lake, called Velkit; and the cave complexes in the south, with many "natural shrines" consisting of beautiful stalagmite formations. There are two biomes, broadly speaking. The southwest and center is rocky and hilly country. The mountains there used to be somewhat taller, continuing the mountain range to the south, but they have been scattered by the powerful magic released two centuries ago. Although the entirety of Kan is criss-crossed with modern travel infrastructure, and population has swelled since the WoEB to more than a hundred million, the highland towns and villages preserve a traditional rural atmosphere, having for example small grocery and craft shops that are economically redundant, but allow one to live without commuting to economical and cultural hubs very often.

The rest of Kan, especially the coasts, is lush with greenery and fertile. The biggest urban agglomerations are in the lowlands as well: Morye in the west and Zakhodni Zaliv and Zhveplo on the east coast. Zhveplo is famous for its sulfur mines and Zakhodni Zaliv is an ancient trading hub where cultures have historically mixed, while Morye offers the best natural harbor, protected by the Padets peninsula.

Much of the area is built up, but this is a reminder of former glory and pride. Especially in the larger metropoleis, only choice districts have been restored and are inhabited. The rest of the sprawling urban jungle, in large parts consisting of rubble, is avoided physically and in conversation. Dysfunctional remnants of magic litter the area. On some days, they are less dysfunctional than you would like, transporting you arbitrarily or causing conditions ranging from funny to horrifying. The ruined suburbs are avoided by decent people and have become a hiding place for the destitute, outlaws and anti-government movements.

The capital, slightly west of the geographical center of Kan, is called Lunino. It rests on the slope of a volcano gone extinct long before the WoEB. The caldera is filled with a small lake, Ribnik. It was believed that the lake amplifies magic by providing a connection to nature's vast reserves of it.

Hairy eagles are sort of a mascot for Kan. Some say that they were hairless in ancient times, but that is unlikely as such a feature would make them less resistant to the cold. It is more likely that an ill-informed journalist confused the hairless Kanites and hairy eagles.

Buckwheat and rice are the staple foods of Kan. Synthetic food is not very popular yet, although mass media trends could change that.

Spoiler: People & History

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Whether Kanites are humans proper or merely a closely related species has been a contested question, with different educators and scientists giving different answers, to a large degree based on their political stances. Kanites have a human-like body, differing from humans principally in these details:

• Kanites have orange skin, so prominent is the hue that they are sometimes nicknamed carrots or, with considerable insult, gingerskins. Ironically, they can't see this by themselves - read on.
• In place of "red" cone cells, Kanites have a type of cone cells that allow them to see the concentration of magical energy, an adaptation that has served many mages in the history of Kan well. Determining the type of spell cast and other details without using any tools other than the eyes, though, is a difficult feat that can be achieved only with talent and after years of training.
• Kanites do not have a strand of hair on their head or body; instead their heads are protected by exoskeletal scales that protect the cranium. These scales are attached to the skull with cartilage tissue that serves as padding. The scales have different shapes and color varying by individual and life stage. Though it is more difficult than with hair, they can be and are shaped with physical and chemical means to enhance appearance.

After the War of Eternal Bombardments, families with great magical potential, known as the Charovniks, led Kan. Back then, as well as in what is known of ancient history, Kan was more of a geographical and ethnical term, as the area was home to an ill-assorted collection of polities. Using impressive magic, the Charovniks strenghtened by the interbreeding and experiments they did to isolate the genes with greatest magical aptitude, they restored their region to good shape quicker than many other areas of the Empire recovered. Later, about two hundred years before Round 1, they attempted to make use of a perceived low in Imperial power and authority to break free from it and take as much as they could from the Empire. The Imperial army arrived in force when escalations of insubordination became unacceptable. The Imperials made short work of Kanites on the open battlefield, but the latter withdrew into the cities and hills and fought from there for every inch of soil. The fighting and Imperial bombardment during this war left many of Kan's cities in ruins to this day.

During the last months of the war, the Charovniks hid in a stronghold and concocted spells of mass destruction, which they unleashed when defeat could not be delayed any longer. Their spite inflicted the largest casualties on Imperial forces among any encounter in the hellish campaign, but also laid low what had been intact of their country and their noble families. The spells at first impact slashed off limbs and turned the ground upside down. Later, they poisoned the winds passing through Kan and inflicted the families of soldiers coming home with grave sickness and disfiguration. For this reason, even more so than because the Charovniks led the country into war in the first place, mages are now widely hated in Kan.

With the region completely devastated and without leadership, the Empire set about occupying it and created the office of a Plenipotentiary tasked with overseeing the material and political reconstruction of Kan, and ensuring the Kanites do not rise up again against the Empire. The Empire instituted education that emphasised loyalty to itself, reduced and deemphasized Kanite national pride and traditions, and attempted to get Kanites to have peaceful, mutually advantageous relationships with their neighbors. Some of the impacts of this have been that many Kanites have become mercenaries; after all, what better way is there to serve a neighboring country than to protect it with force? Also, those who oppose the current government structures often take the stance that Kanites need to be more conscious and proud of their traditions, which is often countered by the claim that these traditions have led to the disastrous reign of the Charovniks.

Kan has been occupied for the last 200ish years, but gradually, the Empire's wariness has subsided. Most of the occupying troops went home, leaving policing to trustworthy Kanites. The Plenipotentiary has become a profitable office to be elected into, if rather removed from the Court and the Imperial capital. Doku Saisha, one of the past Plenipotentiaries, in league with some courtiers that saw the potential in molding Kanites into a useful tool for their ambitions, created the White Pawns organization and gave it control over much of the territory and populace of Kan.

The international stereotype of Kanites is expressed in the adage "Peas (peace) and carrots don't mix." Kanite raids and offensives were frequent in the history of the surrounding areas, and the relatively recent rebellion and fierce resistance offered to the Empire only solidified the image. Nevertheless, most Kanites today feel guilty for their nation's past agression. Martial valor, in spite of the occupation remaining an important value in Kanite society, compensating even for the hole left by the departure of magical skill as a positive value, is expressed through gladiatorial games, recreational animal hunting and mercenary work.

Many left during the Kanite Rebellion or in the aftermath, but there are some minority sapient species in the region, including regular humans and Durats. They are largely concentrated in the Imperial Quarter of the capital, where the Plenipotentiary's seat is. This includes a symbolic regiment of the Imperial Army seving as the Plenipotentiary's honor guard.

Spoiler: Government

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Kan is under the Empire's occupation, formally. The Imperial Plenipotentiary for Kan is a dictator chosen by an elaborate ritual involving a mysterious divining device known as the Chrna Kotska, with just a few known requirements for candidates:
- they must not be a Kanite (that would run counter to the definition of an occupation)
- they must not hold another office in the government of the Empire or the provinces of Tekhum to prevent conflict of interest

Originally, the Plenipotentiary was to be elected by the Imperial Senate, but due to its frequent deadlock and disinterest in Kan, the Empire created the Chrna Kotska to declare the Empire's will for each election. The Chrna Kotska is a dark glossy cube, light enough to be carried in hands. It is handled by the office of the Priest of Orphon. Any country under the suzerainty of the Empire of Tekhum can put forward a candidate, though the Chrna Kotska can also lead the Priest to a candidate proactively. Critics of this system say that the Chrna Kotska's suggestions are unpredictable and there is no obvious connection to the current Emperor - no transmissions from the cube to the Imperial Crown have ever been detected. The Priests for their part are unwilling to let someone experiment on the cube closely.

The Plenipotentiary exercises their power in choosing foreign and domestic policies for the whole of Kan. However, they have little time to spend on day-to-day matters, or they might not care for them at all, if they're from another part of Tekhum and want to spend more time at home, as is often the case. Thus these mundane tasks have been in the most part delegated to the White Pawns, although there are also some smaller autonomous areas, enclaves gifted by past Plenipotentiaries to their friends or influential leaders for various reasons, or remnants of pre-occupation polities ruled by a native Kanite aristocracy.

The current Plenipotentiary is Elia Eramo, a relatively low-ranking noble human from the Cerulean Kingdom who had lived in Kan for a few years, overseeing a company he held shares in, when he was picked by the Chrna Kotska unexpectedly. Since then, many relatives and acquaintances have tried to contact him, hoping he'd throw a little of his fortune their way. A dedicated unit of the White Pawns protects him from such unpleasant encounters.

The White Pawns are an organization that provides services to the Empire, Imperial courtiers and nearby states and tycoons rich enough to afford their services. They facilitate tracking down outlaws or political rivals (especially but by no means exclusively magic users), suppressing inconvenient factions, investigations of property damage and protection of civilian ships. The Imperial Army is plenty capable, but can't or won't protect the cargo of a merchant of local importance. The cargo may be vitally important to him, but it isn't to the Empire. He might then hire the White Pawns. Also, some orders come from the Imperial Crown itself... sometimes, the Empire's direct interference would appear inelegant, overbearing, oppresive. That is when the White Pawns are called upon.

The White Pawns are led by the board of Captains, with each Captain having brigades of mercenaries and spies under him. The Captains are promoted through a mix of precedessors picking them or becoming distinguished enough that their troops proclaim them a Captain. The Captains meet to select civilian advisors for various departments like Finance, Education, Space Travel or Magic. There are no elections for the country-wide government in which common citizens participate - though there are city leadership elections in some regions.

Starting technologies: Wet Navy Ships, Nuclear Fusion
The Kanites conduct trade regularly with other nations on Sansar, and have a significant merchant navy. Sailing and swimming are also notable hobbies.

The Empire oversaw the construction of the first fusion power plants in Kan during the occupation so that the vast region would not be starved for basic needs like electricity, heating and filtered water.

Spoiler: Faith & Culture

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State religion: None
Minority: Mochvsega
Kanites used to believe in magic being the one way to free oneself from the mundanity and suffering the world is suffused with, and in the four fundamental forces that fuel magic: time, space, life and unlife. The religion was caled Mochvsega. Much of the details about the religion are lost now due to the interruption in transmission of its teachings and disdain of magic users.

Minority: Imperial Cult
A few believe that divine providence has sent the Emperor to liberate us from suffering. When His Imperial Majesty first came to this system, He spread the Word of order and love, but nobody listened, so now that the evil of the world boiled over in the WoEB and subsided, He has approached Tekhumites for a second time, offering them a means to visit Him and repent. Many more revere the Empire as the origin of civilization, and follow its trends in art, philosophy, etc.

Culture:
White is the color of death in Kanite society. Kanite military uniforms for which camouflage isn't a concern tend to feature white as a base color.

Kanites know the value of modern technology and use it, but many of them attempt to preserve ancient traditions in free time, like sewing or farming by hand. The naming schemes of modern technologies are often a callback to older analogues, like a popular one-person small spacecraft model being named Canoe.

Kanite poetry matches initial sounds of each pair of successive lines, e.g. the anthem of occupied Kan:
Firstly risen Orphon, the warm sun
Firmly over our past we stand tall
Serve the world and Kan true
Celebrate the great day

In ancient times, it was traditional to bathe in the blood - really, water mixed with some blood - of one's ancestors when they died, a ritual to absorb their wisdom and transfer the ability to carry on the family name and reputation. Due to the influence of globalized culture, this has been deemed as too icky and substituted with bathing in the ashes of cremated ancestors.

The traditional family consists of 2 men and 2 women, not counting children. The older woman is called satra, the older man satl, the younger woman erni, the younger man takho. This arrangement means that the younger pair (who enter this union quickly upon adulthood) has someone to teach them how to live an adult life and manage a family. Blood parents are expected to be more like friends. When the older pair die, the younger pair are "promoted" and expected to seek out their own erni and takho.

As for carnal relations, they normally occur between satra and satl, satra and takho and erni and takho, with the last pair being expected to make children. Other pairings are proscribed by conservatives but occur nonetheless.

Spoiler: Resource

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Faded Relics (Art and Cultural Products, Magical Items)
Although Kan is reasonably rich in crops and minerals, it is the archaeological artefacts that are an endemic resource and a tourist draw. Soil deposits, old landfills and urban ruins have preserved countless items manufactured in the era of the powerful wizards and even in the ages before WoEB. Scrolls might just be faded nonsense that looks beautiful on a wall in your office, they might tell the gripping tale of a forbidden romance or they might
contain a spell lost to history, although it is likely that you can't tell unless you have a degree in the history of Sansar. There are statuettes of abstract shapes and of extinct animals, some becoming animated if you touch them. There are primitive computers as well, with hard drives packed with mundane reports that should have been "emailed" (as they called it) centuries ago.

Tourists like to hire local guides to take them to archaeological sites so that they can discover their own Kan souvenirs. It is highly unlikely that the tourists will ever exhaust the deposits of artifacts, in part because they often take ancient mass-produced garbage that can be replicated easily with modern technology, but there have been scattered attempts to stop this fossicking or restrict it to sanctioned sites.

Desired resource: Robots
Kan's heavy industry has been fairly stagnant in the recent century. There is a significant reserve of educated productive-age citizens, but such labor is expensive and the Plenipotentiary has only intermittently adopted economic policies that would strengthen the nation. All kinds of mechanized tools, computing power and spaceships are imported in great amounts.

[Tala_Whitecap]

Ready for Review Updated 1/24

The Ethen Guard (ETH)
Requested Region: 86 (Mekhala) (Backup: 72)

Spoiler: Geography

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The asteroid(s) home to the Ethen Guard are almost entirely rock. The landscape is craggy, mountainous, and for most lacking in appeal. For the Ethen Guard however it contains something crucial, Ethenite, a crystal from which they are sustained. These lands are sparse, the only visible change is the craters and mountains of the land and the density of Ethenite in the various areas. The Ethen Guard has made little change to the landscape aside from exposing more Ethenite. The land has been lightly modified due to the Ethen Guard’s travel and several invasive species have joined the landscape, the main being a natively white, but here purple lichen which caused absorption issues in the Ethenite and required the addition of animal species which enjoy consuming the lichen. It appears as flakey patches on the land and if left alone spreads in blankets on the ground. Present day the land does contain more vegetation as the animal waste created a more nutrient dense environment creating sparse but very present plantlife, a small variety of insects, and about 4 species of animals.

The animal waste is collected so that the vegetation is limited to pastures in very few areas in an attempt to make moving the herds easier but also to decrease the impact on the terrain.

The asteroid is very dry, cool in temperature, and consistent in its annual weather change which is none. There are several clusters of hilly mountainous regions where the Ethen Guard will retreat to study and meditate as they are without vegetation and animals due to the thinner atmosphere at greater altitudes. There are several gravel pits caused by the fly larvae that are much avoided by the Ethen Guard as the unstable land is much harder to traverse for their less dexterous bodies.

Spoiler: People

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The Ethen Guard are a sort of elemental or golem, made of stone and fueled by the Ethenite Crystals of their land which absorb the ether of the atmosphere surrounding them. Without the Ethenite they do not exist and while they don't naturally die, the separation can cause immense issues and "death". They don't really decay either, they stone they are made up of can crumble and break apart, but they also can replace it as they are made from the land. They don’t create the ether, instead it is native to the asteroids they call home. Prior to discovering the crystals here and dividing their people their population boomed to excess in their previous home which had a similar type of crystal. They are as a people not born but rather created through intentional ritual as a community using the Ethenite. The first of the Ethan Guard were not the Guard at all, but creations by other people long since lost due to the degradation of the land and the crumbling of the initial planet. The Ethen people did not suffer the changes of the planet and stood even after the people fell. The Ethen workers had been valued for their size and ability to haul and manipulate the land as well as their storytelling and long memory. Their own personhood was not contested and early on they became a people of themselves.

They historically spent their time as researchers and admirers of the Ether, space, and the atmosphere when the people no longer needed them to shape the land. Presently the bulk of their time is rather unfortunately spent in animal husbandry which was not so much an intentional addition to their culture as it was an accident. The Guard are very curious and when invited to travel leapt at the chance. Upon their return several of the Guard incidentally brought back a type of lichen that happened to thrive upon the land. The lichen was not easily removed by bulky Guard fingers but was very adeptly removed by the Sneep (Snail sheep) that had existed on the same planet as the lichen. As first time observers of an invasive species the Guard did not anticipate the chain reaction that would occur adding in the Sneep. The Sneeps’ waste and fur created an ample environment for flies. The flies larvae much larger than anticipated caused foundational issues in the rock if left for too long and so Mogs (Mole hogs) were brought in to control the fly population. The Mogs had eaten seeds on the previous planet and so a variety of vegetation was introduced to the land that thrived in the waste from the animals. Baffled but not yet through with their tampering both Gows (giraffe cows) and Chats (Rat chickens) were brought in to maintain the new vegetation and bugs respectively. It was then that they declared enough was enough and are currently in the thick of combining animal husbandry and their previous sciences trying to find balance once more. It is going less than superbly however at least the animals are cute.

The space between the planet the Ethen started on and the asteroids the Ethen Guard now live on is significant enough that the two groups do not currently communicate. Keeping up was just a painful reminder of a people they could not see again.

With a value for histories, knowledge, and oral storytelling those with the most power are those with the longest memory and greatest storytelling skills. They have little need for a more structured government and make decisions as a collective with those elders or most “Known” holding more weight and the younger newer of the Guard holding less sway. The most Known currently of The Ethen Guard is the “Collective of Seven” (literally Seven elders) who remember the ways of the people on-planet hundreds of years ago.

Spoiler: Resource

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The Ethen Guard have found themselves rich in well fed animals and have quickly accrued more than they care to maintain (Meat and Animal Products). They are also rich in knowledge of astronomy, the ether, atmosphere, and Ethenite. They use rather outdated means of recording and studying but they are accurate and their findings relevant. They don’t lack time with such long lived peoples, but they move at the pace of a mountain. The addition of the animals has really rapidly changed the way life occurs and they are very adept animal trainers at this point.

Spoiler: Desired Import

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While not necessary for The Guard, the animals do require water of which there is none on the asteroid(s) naturally. Most tools are also imported as The Guard are not a dexterous people.d.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Ethen Guard are not a people of faith but of history, science, and tradition.

Spoiler: Starting Tech

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Arcane Amplification: The Ethenite and the Ethen Guard together can create new Guard, visually storytell, and create visual maps/figures. This has helped greatly reduce their need for physical record keeping.

[Tychris1]

Ready for Review

Sorcerers of New Kildora

Region 72 Kildora

Spoiler: Geography

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"Sand. Let me tell you about Sand. Where I am from there are countless myriad forms of the beautiful razor-sharp things. The sun-baked sheets that blind the eyes, the moons-lacquered oceans that lull you in, the blistering wrath and empty depravity of her upsets and reclines. Sand is my home and it is my prison. I travel the Kildora Wastes, the stretch of blasted contested territories stretching from the southern Buttes of The Worldspine Snake to the distant perilous purview of New Kildora. The wadis around New Kildora, artificially made by the bastards within years ago, is the only source of fresh water reliably. All others must pray to find a hidden oasis amidst the mercurial desert storms or brave the Worldspine Snake's treacherous heights for greener pastures beyond. Dunes roll over one another, swaying and changing each day like the breathing twitching heart of the world. The mesas of the west are our only covenant of peace. The Retreat, we call it, and it is true to its name. I have laid my tent there many a night and I hope one day it will be my last rest."
- Raider Rashkel

Spoiler: People

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There are two groups of people in the land of Kildora. There are the raiders, nomads, and survivalists who roam the Wastes and make due in the vast empty divide that consumes them all. Then there are the Sorcerers of New Kildora, who rule from their towering mountains of power, and lay claim to all within their sight. Though their worlds are vastly apart in terms of political machinations, access to resources, and general day-to-day affairs they do share an original cultural point of inception and thus share a myriad of cultural norms. Showing ones bare face is considered far more taboo than a naked body and tight cloth wrappings are the norm. Horns, scales, and bones are used as marks of favor or indicators of status, either taken from an animal killed in a hunt for the desert dwellers or grown and crafted by the Sorcerers Serpent Magic. To wear the remains of a beast you did not fell yourself is considered punishable with the remains in question; Impalement for horns, swallowing them with scales, and bashing with bones. This is not a death sentence and those who survive such ordeals are considered to have earned them. Sorcerers will frequently offer transmutation with the caveat of carrying their brand or mark in the process, elevating their reputation, and indebting more to their service. Within both groups, ritual combat is considered highly important and a means to settle disputes instead of outright warfare. Desert dwellers wield traditional weapons, often handed down from one generation to the next, and engage in ample wrestling as a means of subdual. The Sorcerers of New Kildora vary from martial weapons to magical duels of hexing each other with fleshcurses. Champions sometimes take the place of the Sorcerer in question, with a thriving market of gene-spliced fighters and crafted serpents throughout New Kildora, and the greatest Sorcerers have a host of champions to call upon.

Outsiders are afforded no reprieve.

The Desert dwellers live in snake holes left over by the Great Serpents who are revered by all. They trade what they can amongst each other, raid surrounding regions, and chart the stars at night. They live in a stratified caste system of haves and have-nots where violence and cunning are not merely encouraged but required in society to get ahead and to stay healthy. Offerings and festivals are often brought to the foot of the mountains of New Kildora. Most every nomad clan is in one way or another indebted to or in business with a Sorcerer or more likely a Cabal of Sorcerers. A common tribute is a firstborn child or a sufficiently Great Serpent that the Sorcerer will whisk away to unseen heights. Those sorcerers who dwell in the lower rings of New Kildora see the most interaction with the plebian masses, often performing rituals on the ill or the sickly and giving them a chance at rebirth and renewal. To be peeled and given new skin as the Great Serpent sheds the old and welcomes the new. With access to the dark depths of venomous pools from the time before the Darkening, these Sorcerers drink deeply of foul life-altering magic and hoard it obsessively within their vaunted mountain halls. It is the source of their dread magics, with ancient roots connecting it to the Great Serpents, and Desert Dwellers who have gained their hands on a modicum amount find themselves in either great peril or ascending power (Often both). The bones of the old monastery temple to the Serpents have had a constant process of reconstruction and paradoxical preservation over it leading to New Kildora laying directly atop the Old. To become a Sorcerer most oftentimes requires an apprenticeship, who are sometimes the firstborn children of favored allies, and more often people willing to be greatly indebted for an unknowable time for the chance at true power.

Though all Kildorans are humans they are frequently gene-spliced with serpentine features and almost every Kildoran has snake eyes as a result of these traits being passed down even if they have never encountered a Sorcerer in person.

The greatest Sorcerer clan are the Doomweaver Clan and their leader bears the title of Doomweaver and lords over all.

Spoiler: Resource

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Silver Serpents are the predominant export from the artificially created and maintained wadis of New Kildora. From harvested glaciers and pooled water from the rainy seasons (Which are unnaturally localized around the mountainside) this mystical crop is grown with a mixture of traditional agriculture techniques and bizarre manipulations of matter. The long silvery stalks are reminiscent of serpents dancing in the water. Waving with the wind of Mother Serpent’s storms. This crop is highly reminiscent of millet save that it has been genetically modified and its matter composition manipulated to be composed of a non-toxic metallic substance. Every harvest season countless thralls are put to work collecting the stalks and preparing them for extraction. Stripping as much of the silvery metal as possible for smithing and cleaning the grains for processing.

Categories: Fruits/Vegetables and Ores/Alloys

Requirement: Crystals. The Sorcerers of New Kildora will say they require crystals for many of their finer rituals and magical practices and there is truth in that. Their methods are generally protracted and involve many components and reagents. But there is another equally as important reason. Greed. The desire for a Sorcerer to have supremacy of fashion, wealth, and glory over all other would-be Serpent Masters.

Starting Tech: Dust Hardening
And
In Vivo Modification

Spoiler: Faith

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Majority: Mother Serpent

Mother Serpent burrows, embraces, protects her young. Mother Serpent glides through the sands between her times of rest. And when she wills it, Mother Serpent swallows whole.

Mother Serpent is not a singular being, but a mythologized representative of a species of Vast Serpents that roam above and below the shrouded plains of Veehra. No single member of this species is Mother Serpent, and yet all living specimens are. Snub-nosed, powerfully-muscled, and possessing only vestigial fangs, Mother Serpent is the color of the sirocco and nearly invisible within the howling storm but for the rumbling of the earth and glimpses of stirring scales in the dust. The trails she leaves are nevertheless unmistakable, and lead always to shelter when Mother Serpent dives once more. And though her wrath is terrible, she is no danger when resting beneath the dusts. When danger grows too great…Mother Serpent sheds her skin as well. She is reborn, glistening and new beneath the shell. So too are other things.

Mother Serpent is wise. Her blood is the blood that pools power in our veins. She has taught us the wisdom of our flesh and the secrets of the unknown. When the first sorcerers were furtive beggars she granted them a rapture. From one we are many. From many she is One.

[zabbarot]

READY FOR REVIEW

The House of Brimstone
Requested Region: Mekhala for sure. preferably a smaller asteroid

Spoiler: History

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This is a place of two histories. One recent and a second that cannot be spoken openly. Centuries ago voidsmen found this unusual asteroid of twisted scrap metals and began their work reclaiming it. A city was forged of ancient ships, too damaged to ply their trade between worlds, but not yet devoid of the spark that lets them sustain life.

Mostly they traded the ancient metal harvested from the asteroid, but sometimes surviving scraps of ancient technology were found and traded. Archeologists from across Tekhum were drawn to this site that seemingly held relics from before the war. As they cut deeper and excavated a spiraling pit into the layers of crushed metal they eventually found the core.

A single obelisk of unknown material, dark as the void, is the center of the asteroid. No tool they had was able to mark it. It did not even make a sound when struck. No expert was able to interface with it, but even its presence exuded a crushing pressure. Eventually the pit turned towards the sun, and the obelisk came alive.

The mining crew nearest the obelisk was consumed in a pulse of energy except one man whose body was seized by the ancient wizard who escaped from the obelisk. The forgotten coreseer quickly took control of the settlement and set to work reestablishing the colony as his personal seat of power.

The second history is told by the Arch Magi and started long before the War of Endless Bombardments. The House of Brimstone crafted great and terrible magics for the Emperor during the age of subjugation. Their core seers were among the most powerful mages outside the great rings of Ophon. Their power grew as the empire was unified, but once the work was done they were a threat, which came to a head at the end of the War of Endless Bombardments.

In a betrayal that has been erased from the long history of the empire, the Emperor unleashed a monstrous spell, crushing the orbital palace of the core seers into an orb of twisted metal. Millions died in an instant, leaving only the arch magi to see the destruction. There was no time to respond. In the next instant their wave forms were shattered and stilled. In a final curse the archmage swore to return.

Spoiler: People

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The people of Kish are hereditary void travelers. They left the tyrannical gravity of planets behind in the early days of the empire. Their ancestors caged Ophon and spread humanity across Tekhum. They are human, but generations plying the void without the protective magnetosphere of a planet has drastically increased their genetic variation. They at least share an identifiably human body plan, with two arms, legs, and eyes.

Since the reincarnation of the wizard the people of Kish have been given a new purpose whether they wanted it or not. The government was reorganized into a tyrannical autocracy in a single cycle and most dissenters were eliminated with a single overwhelming show of power.

Spoiler: Geography

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Kish is the name of a single great asteroid composed of layers of ancient scrap metal. In truth it was once an arcology, home to millions, before being crushed into a ball and flung into space at the end of the war.

Now a city of has been welded out of derelict voidships into a crude ring around the asteroid, serving as home for the millions who settled in the sector. Now a palace has been carved around the obelisk the corelock master.

Beyond the ringcity there are hundreds of smaller asteroids and void settlements that rely on Kish for trade and protection.

Spoiler: Faith

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Spoiler: Mood Music

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The Ophonic Mysteries

Deep in the haze of the lost histories they say humans were once confined to a single planet. They say even then they understood the power and majesty of mighty Ophon. With primitive magics they crafted a crate of thunder and fought their way into the heavens. Not content to merely step closer and bask in the light, they caged the celestial core and seized its power for themselves.

Here at the seat of power the core seers mastered the art and forged the traditions. Planet bound magi drew their power from ley lines, but the core seers tapped into the deepest well. They forged a pact with Ophon, letting its power sear into their souls, turning their eyes to ash in the process. Thus, a core seer is marked. The light of Ophon burns forever in their sockets.

Spoiler: Resource

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Exotic Matter - The rare metals of Kish are transmuted through arcane science into exotic forms for use in the higher sciences.

Required Resource: Fissile materials

Spoiler: Starting techs

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Arcane Amplification and Vacuum Adaptation

[Lleban]

I would like to request Region 11,12, or 19 on Badal. Anywhere on Badal would work though READY for Review

The Federation of Badalian Chaebols(FBC)

Spoiler: ruler: Dr. Song Freidman

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Diplomacy 2
Military 2
Economy 5
Faith 3
Intrigue 5

Spoiler: Geography

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Neo Guleum, Metrohell in the sky, a city of over 10 million people crammed on massive balloons. This balloon network is tied together, supported by the imperial aerostat granted to the Chaebols eons ago. On these balloons are dozens of skyscrapers packed to cram as many people as possible in the limited space provided. Badal's lower gravity and Neo Guleum's stability have also encouraged reckless growth. To the point where the average building is twenty stories tall. Above the acid clouds the climate is cool all day. Winds of bitter cold tear through the massive wind tunnels created by the maze of spires and precipitation is largely unheard of.

Neo Guleum can be divided into five districts via a series of byzantine zoning regulations designed to inflate property values. Finance Central lies at the city's heart pumping beloved capital into the rest of Neo Guleum's veins. On the north edge of the city lies the Chaebol Headquarters. Overlooking the scenic vistas of swirling acidic nimbus clouds Chaebol Headquarters is the city's administrative brain. Connecting these districts is the Spire Spine, a street consisting of the city' s tallest skyscraper devoted to controlling propaganda and the praxis of PSYCHO-CAPITALISM. Opposite the Headquarters is the Gut, the largest district by area and the one most packed with residences. The final district is The Wall, a large ring of factories on the city's southern edge, creating a wall of chemical plants, chip factories, and electronics assembly between residents of The Gut and the vast Badalian cloudscape. Most people get around the city via massive elevators, sky bridges, and elevated rail. Due to space concerns, atmospheric control, and city density, personal automobiles are rarely seen on the streets of Neo Guleum.

Spoiler: People

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The residents of Neo Guleum are unashamedly human. To the point where many of the elite families can trace their family line back to old Sanasr. All of the Chaebol families have the remains of the supposed original Imperial Writ of Commerce gilded and framed like immaculate museum pieces.

Physically citizens range from pale to olive-toned skin with black hair. What is most notable about the citizens of Neo Guleum is their embrace of cybernetics. The first cybernetics were given to workers to enhance sensory inputs and minimize the need for sleep. This enabled workers from the manufacturing and service industries to work longer hours at higher productivity. Brain implants are also seen as key tools to maintain labor discipline. With them Citizens can access information webs at will where all crucial services can be paid for with naught but a thought. Those who act against the Chaebols can be effectively isolated from accessing vital services or flooded with advertisements until the malcontent senses are overwhelmed. Gut enchantments with miniature lithium reactors compensate for the increased energy load while decreasing the need for extraneous greenery in city limits. Outside of Utilitarian cybernetics, there is a thriving market for limb enhancements, face reshapers, and spinal augments.

Culturally, Neo Guleum revolves around the consumption of imported goods from beyond city limits and from the invention of new services. VR-Gatcha games dominate the market home market. Procedurally generated films are the talk of the watercooler while manufactured pop music "borrowed" from other Badalian Aeristats blares in most public places. Family is a fundamental value to most Guleumites. Filial piety and sky-high land prices mean most homes are multigenerational. Individualism and a cutthroat labor market have atrophied any true sense of community. Because of this family feuds run rampant, settled via televised duels.

Spoiler: Faith (Pyscho-Capitalism) majority

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While aethism runs rampant within Neo Guleum there is a belief in the power of Markets. Markets bring happiness. Markets bring fufilmant. Markets Bring prosperity that trickles down eventually. Reading the markets with mathematical certainty can bring all of these things, perhaps even determine the future. But those who cannot read the Markets will suffer its ups and downs. PSYCHO-CAPITALISM promises that with the perfect mathematical model, one can predict the market so far in advance that one can ensure infinite portfolio growth.

Spoiler: Resource: Loans

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The main export of Neo Guleum is credit (Loans). In an economy built on finance every business and tycoon needs credit. Credit makes Badal go round whether people realize it or not.

Spoiler: required resource

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The thriving cybernetics industry requires a myriad of electronics to meet constant demand.

Starting tech: Algorithmic Imagination

[SerakHawk]

Submission Accepted
Illumined Utopian [ILU]

Spoiler: Flag

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Each star of the flag represents one of the Triumvirate branches while the black arc connecting them signifies the Console's role as unifier of the three main parties. The Arrows reaching skyward represent the emphasis on betterment and continued prosperity for the Illumined Utopian.

Region: 10 (Badal)
Region Name: Height of Utopia

Spoiler: Geography

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The Height of Utopia is an expansive agglomeration of pressure sealed habitats, tunnels and tube-ways connecting the ever growing warrens of the people of the Illumined Utopian wrapped around a captured asteroid nestled between crippled aero-ships floating in the skies of Badal. Twisting corridors and packed winding tunnels open into vaulting chambers carved out of the very rocks of the home and sealed against the hazards beyond the walls of the habitats. Parks full of looming bushes dripping with fruits the size of most of the inhabitants are scattered through the warrens with plenty of space for all to nest and root and dig about at their leisure in comfort away from the acid skies beyond the glass ceilings and windows. The crippled aero-ships hoisting the asteroid in the skies of Badal are maintained by the inhabitants to stay afloat as the warrens grow and twist around their hulls. In the expansive cargo holds of the aero-ships and in the asteroid captured from Mekhala lie uncountable riches of metals and precious minerals. Beyond the warrens of the Height of Utopia are outlying habitats of the Illumined Utopian run by the Protectorate. The Protectorate acts with its 'vast' outcroppings and aero-ships set for mining, salvaging and defending the floating home. The Protectorate spends its time salvaging from the crippled aero-ships, stripping what is unused and repurposing it for the Jy'mar people. As the warrens expand so much the Protectorate expand and grow Utopia for all future generations.

Spoiler: People

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The Jy'mar are a race of furry mammals small in stature to the stellar norm, 3 to 4 inches in height at the most. A fast breeding and multiplying race they swarm their enemies with overwhelming volumes to make up for their small sizes, which also benefits them in the terms of resources required for growth and maintenance leading many of the people to live in abject 'luxury' wanting for nothing but to exercise, eat drink and multiply. The fervor they hold for their Utopia and its defense is only second to their desire for exotic and lovely foodstuffs to gorge on. The Jy'mar prefer to exist in their natural furred form, while those who volunteer to join the Protectorate forces shave their fur completely and train, live, breath and die in their airtight space suits only taking them off for medical check-ups and when sent on extended leave back to the Heights of Utopia. The People themselves have found introspection and self-betterment a worthy activity with their basic needs met, some do wallow in the abundance but are often shunned by Jy'mar society.

Spoiler: Government

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The government of the Illumined Utopian is headed by a triumvirate of representatives headed by the Console of the Utopia. The traditional triumvirate positions are the First Speaker elected of the Utopia populous, the August Legate highest of the Protectorate and the Illustrated Prime leader of the faithful. These three positions choose the Console from the population of the Jy'mar, sifting through the millions to find those who have begun to elevate themselves beyond their peers. The First Speaker supports the Console on all matters of diplomacy and economics while pleading for the cases of the many protected who live in Utopia. The Protectorate is the military branch of Illumined Utopia charged with the defence and expansion of the Warrens, the August Legate leads the military arm and raises the generals to position of power and trains the Console in matters of war. The Illustrated Prime tends to the Console's questions of faith and ministers to the Jy'mar populous to ensure that the exalting of the Jy'mar progresses.

Spoiler: Resource

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Exotic Heavy Metals {Ores and Alloys - Precious Minerals}
The cavernous holds carved out of rock are chocked full of heavy "rare" metals like platinum, neodymium and their kin while the holds of the crippled aero-ships contain further unknown wealth that continues to be discovered. The Jy'mar have little need for many of the metals as their demands in times of peace are low, as such a surplus is stockpiled as the warrens expand.

Spoiler: Desired Import

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'Protein Heavy' Foods {Meats}
The Jy'mar of the Heights of Utopia hunger for protein heavy foods go extend the supplies created in the warrens and to fully train the warriors of the Protectorate. These meats of other creatures are considered strange and wonderous delicacies eaten by the giants beyond the walls of the warren and across the empty void of Tekhum. A little food goes a long way for the people of the Illumined Utopian.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Illuminated Primarch {Majority} - The Jy'mar in their Utopia have come up with a series of beliefs and understandings of the greater 'world' of faith, the most predominant is one in which those people who aspire to be better and higher and enlightened having experienced all that the world has to offer can be exalted to a higher state of consciousness and become Illuminated among the commons. The Illuminated strive for perfection of body, form, and willpower to become paragons of their race and faith to further be exalted on the ring'd layers of the path of the Illuminated Primarch. It is the goal of all adherents to reach the pinnacle of the rings to obtain a perfection yet unknown in the system.

The Seven known concentric rings of exaltation are documented in the archives of the Primes and the faithful, rumors abound regarding two further exalted rings beyond the highest ever being recorded having reached.

Natural Being
The Lowest ring is where all people start, the commonality of all intelligent and their base natures only briefly experiencing the higher exalted functions while reveling in the base expression of mortality. The majority of all people remain in the lowest ring, never striving to climb higher.

As one betters oneself and aspires to reach exalted higher state of consciousness and connection with the higher emotions one climbs up the concentric rings through the following layers:
Illuminated - The Neophytes and inductees to the religion all become Illuminated as they begin their journey to the higher rings
Luminous - One becomes Luminous when base emotions can be overcome and improved on, the ranks of the Luminous recognize their own peers and elevate those who they believe can walk in their ranks
Radiant - Experienced Luminous are raised to Radiant when they are able to prove a dedication of form, body, mind or ability that is the expression of their being and soul. This dedication is the foundation on which further rings are build and determines their future paths in the faith. Luminous are tested in a conference of Radiant, Exalted and sometimes Eminent who question and grill the Luminous' dedication to their path, a successful conference grants the ring of Radiant
Exalted - The Radiant are raised to Exalted when then have made a sign of perfection along their path, a dedication beyond all which proves their intention to become the path they chose, the first step in the embodiment of the expression of their soul. The Sacrifice of Craft ceremony is held in secret with a select group of Exalted and Eminent, and sometimes the Prime, for the Radiant to showcase their dedication and path to their to be peers.
Eminent - The Eminent are raised by the Prime as those set in leadership over the followers of the faithful, those marked for potential elevation to Prime who have an almost absolute dedication to their path and who embody it in soul, mind and body.
Prime - There is one Prime in the ranks of the Illuminated Primarch, they lead the faithful and settle disputes of position and teachings.

Spoiler: History

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The History of the Jy'mar people is mostly lost to the war of great bombardments, what has remained in the times since was what the Jy'mar have done since. The first recordings and oral tales involve Jy'mar Elite reaching beyond their limits to work magics and hold together the asteroid housing the warrens. The asteroid was sent hurtling through the void of Tekhum from Mekhala and only through great sacrifice of all of the ascended burning their souls were they able to moor the asteroid into the skies of Badal. Times of hardship followed where the Jy'mar's size hampered their ability to explore the now crippled aero-ships they found themselves tangled with as they attempted to reestablish a society. The warrens adapted to the dangers of space needed little modification to adapt to the skies of Badal, but it quickly became apparent the military leaders required a larger presence to ensure the safety of the warrens until Utopia was restored.

Spoiler: Starting techs

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Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry: The greatest contradiction of space is that the vast emptiness of the void does nothing to alleviate the effects of being stuck in a sardine can with the same ten other people. Advances in small-group psychology and clinical therapy have enabled the endurance of longer periods of space travel without the mission ending in a nervous breakdown. Due to the tight spaces of the warrens and the large population base of the Jy'mar they developed the mentality and technology to live in tight quarters for extended periods of time.

Badalian Megadirigibles The rushing winds and corrosive clouds of the Cloud Sea are unique to Badal, and constitute a severe barrier to travel, this tech allows for ground unit transport across the cloud sea.