It is the distant future, the year 2416. Humanity has reached its golden age; colonizing distant planets, encountering other intelligent races, and making itself known as a powerful, interplanetary nation. However, for every rise there is a fall, and that fall had a name..
The Leviathans.
Swarms of machine-like beings, taller than most buildings, numbering in the trillions; consuming all metal in their path to replicate themselves, annihilating most intelligent life in their way. They were mindless in their destruction; never tiring, suffering, showing mercy, or even intelligence at all. Countless numbers fell to their seemingly never-ending hordes. Eventually, it was decided that there was no hope of stopping them without sacrifice.
An object known as the Catalyst Device was sent with a large army on a suicide mission to the center of the galaxy; where The Leviathans seemed to originate. The Catalyst device would magnify the effect of any supernova it was activated nearby, making the radius of its destruction far greater than normal. It was activated as a supernova was made to happen at the center of the galaxy, and a majority of the Milky Way was consumed in fire.
Though the Leviathans’ numbers were reduced greatly, much of the galaxy was lost. The Milky Way then became known as “The Ring Galaxy” by its inhabitants. Humanity was reduced to a fraction of what its empire once was; desperately clinging to hope of reclaiming its past while still fighting off the remains of their Leviathan foes, as well as the opposing nations which seeked to crush them.
Whether you are a human, or perhaps an alien of some sort, your story begins 100 years after that event. The race you are a member of, the path you choose, your very fate, is yours to decide.
THE RING GALAXY:
The Ring Galaxy, also known as The Ruins of the Milky Way; are what remains of the galaxy after what was known as “The Catalyst Event” destroyed most of it. Many races coexist in this place, salvaging what remains of their destroyed worlds; while at the same time protecting those which still are untouched both by The Catalyst Event and Leviathans.
Though mostly destroyed; The Ring Galaxy still is home to many vastly different planets; and many different creatures, nations, and factions. With many resource-rich planets gone; many empires keep strong footholds on planets suitable for life, or bearing many useful materials. Trust is more valuable than ever, as many have resorted to piracy to make a living.
Large “caravans” and freighters are often seen shipping trade goods and valuable supplies from nation to nation, and are often the target of raiding pirates, trying to keep themselves alive and rich. Leviathan attacks are a common thing on planets that border the territory between Leviathan planets and those of the various factions of the galaxy. Planets like these are often sent shipments of supplies on a regular basis, having soldiers stationed there for months or even years to hold off the Leviathan threat.
The area of the galaxy that was destroyed in The Catalyst Event is a favored home to archaeologists, as well as smugglers and pirates who know that the nations have little reason to travel there, with the vastness of the area making it difficult to track down those who hide within the barren section of the galaxy.
RACES:
Bipedal primates, mostly lacking in hair. Varying levels of melanin present in the skin result in a wide range of skin tones. Omnivorous, sly, and quick, humans are renowned across the Ring Galaxy for being not only opportunists, but cutthroat pirates as well. Humanity saw its golden age a couple hundred years after their discovery of space exploration. After saving their homeworld, Earth or Terra, from ecological and political collapse, they moved towards settling and terraforming other planets in their home system of Sol. They were the first to “discover” Martians (To be discussed in a later entry), soon using them for manual labor on their budding colonies. About a century and a half later, Martian separatists incited a bout of violent protests across Mars, which quickly became a war. After a few years of conflict, Humanity gave up their claim on the Martian people, granting their people access to space-faring technology as a form of making amends, though tension between both races is present to this day.
When the Leviathans were discovered, Humans were among the first to gather military force to launch counterattacks, with many successful but costly campaigns across various regions of the Milky Way. They invented several weapons designed to combat Leviathans, such as the ALR (Anti-Leviathan Rifle), Focused Magnetic Mines, among others. Sadly, their efforts were not enough to stop the loss of many human lives and planets.
After The Catalyst Event destroyed most of the galaxy, Humanity saw widespread famine, poverty, and unrest across the systems they controlled. Food riots, as well as violent coups incited by the lower class, resulted in the eventual fracturing of the human government. Now, Humanity as a whole is no better off than before, and now various factions controlling small systems are in an unsteady ceasefire, though all are attempting to lay claim to the last few habitable worlds in what was once Human territory. Many humans have broken away from the various governments, resorting to piracy or other illegal acts in order to survive in the remnants of the galaxy. Humans are seen across the galaxy engaging in “scrapping” and engaging in trade of illegal goods, such as the new hallucinogen “Stardust” or military grade weaponry.
Despite their poor reputation, humans have also become valuable companions to adventurers in the Galaxy, with many being skilled in ship repair, or the creation of homemade weapons from very little material. A large faction, the Human Reclamation Front, has amassed a large amount of support from the various human factions, and has begun the lengthy process of not only unifying the many human groups, but also retaking the various planets and star systems lost to the Leviathans.
The Slythin are reptilian, snake-like creatures. They lack legs, usually slithering on the ground with their muscular tails and lower body. Their upper body consists of a pair of arms, each with a 4-fingered hand bearing opposable thumbs and sharp claws. Their eyes are large in comparison to the head, usually colored yellow with green irises and dark pupils. They have hair, much like a human, but it is usually long, thin, and dark; coming in shades of purple, black, and dark blue. Their heads are long, with a narrow mouth, the jaw of which can unhinge in order to swallow large prey, usually whole and alive. They tend to be about twenty feet long, but the way they use their body makes them appear to be about eight feet tall, as they cannot stand on the end of their tail. Their scales are usually in shades of green, yellow, blue, brown, or red, depending on the climate of their environment of birth. Slythin tend to not last long in cold, hence why the color of a Slythin raised in such an environment is unknown. Newly born Slythin tend to be pale in coloration.
The Slythin Empire, where most Slythin align themselves, is ruled by a pair of totalitarian rulers known as the Diarchy. The two Slythin who are within the Diarchy are of either sex, and usually establish dominance over previous Diarchy rulers via a trial by combat. One member of the Diarchy usually has control over military affairs, while the other tends to the needs of the populace, though these roles are interchangeable. Those who are a part of the Diarchy wear one of two parts of an ancient ceremonial mask, one half of which covers the upper part of the head while the other covers the lower end. Some believe that these halves of the mask give a telepathic link between both rulers, a belief reinforced by the fact that when both are present in one place, they tend to speak in unison.
Slythin culture is focused almost entirely on the act of war. It is believed that one can only gain the favor of the gods by earning it on the battlefield. The Slythin Empire is feared across the Ring Galaxy for being ruthless and brutally efficient in their various campaigns, forgoing stealth and gathering information in favor of simply overwhelming and terrifying the enemy with their massive numbers and vicious fighting styles, most infantry favoring weapons which cut or maim their opponent. Soldiers of the Slythin Empire don’t carry rations to battle, usually preferring to feed on dead or dying opponents, though cases of consuming their enemies whole and alive aren’t rare.
The Slythin Empire has all but outlawed the use of firearms by its armies, declaring any and all soldiers who would use them as cowards not worthy of glory. Slythin outside of their Empire’s influence or who have escaped their control usually see this as foolish, though there are many theories as to where this belief originated. Regardless, Slythin armies are usually victorious due to outnumbering their foe by a large degree. The large loss of life in successful campaigns, followed by the colonization of conquered worlds manages to keep the population of the rapidly-growing Slythin Empire mostly in balance.
Slythin in the Empire’s control are almost always entirely loyal to it, but those who are not usually want to stay away, and very few Slythin make any effort at rebellion. Slythin make excellent bodyguards and assassins, and often make livings as such. Despite their carnivorous diet, Slythin outside of the Empire are known to be much more friendly than their loyalist counterparts.
((Not really an accurate picture, but it was as close as I could get))
Early in the space-faring age of Humanity, it was discovered that Mars did, in fact, support life. However, it was not on the surface where this life would be found, but underneath it. Massive underground cave networks were shown to be home to a myriad of fauna and flora, who could not survive on the lifeless surface.
In their imperialistic fashion, the humans enslaved the Martian people, and they were forced into hard labor, constructing the cities of humanity on the surface, for a few dozen years. It wasn’t long before the Martians held a revolution and were eventually victorious. To atone for their acts, the human government at the time brought the Martians to the space-faring era, and they are now cautious allies of humanity.
The average martian is about seven feet tall. They are somewhat reptilian in nature, although they are difficult to compare to life on Earth. They are covered in black keratin spines, with a few longer, wider ones on their shoulders. They are bipedal, but have four arms as opposed to two. Each arm ends in four slender fingers. Their head is shaped like a fan or semicircle, and houses a peculiarly shaped, albeit large brain. The lungs of a martian are designed to hold in air for longer amounts of time than that of a human, allowing them to traverse airless environments for slightly longer periods of time.
The eyes of a Martian are totally black, and are typically large. They can see well in dark, but are very susceptible to bright lights and flashes, unless they were born in such an environment.
Martians are known to have a tribalistic government, and usually the strongest or smartest Martian is known as a leader. With their space-faring population growing to a number vastly larger than that of their ancestors, Martians now have different leaders depending on their planet, but they work together for the greater good of all Martians, as opposed to those under their command.
The Slythin Empire created a biological weapon early in their history. It was an amorphous, amoeba-like mass which would consume hostile life on a targeted planet, and be collected for reuse once the planet was deemed safe to colonize. This was the early ancestor to modern Gellites.
It was successful at first, winning the Slythin Empire a fair number of planets. However, what was not predicted was that the weapon would gain sentience.
The weapon, after successfully consuming most sentient life on a distant jungle planet, generated a mysterious crystal at the supposed center of the mass. The crystal began to glow, and then the mass attacked the Slythin meant to contain it.
This amorphous mass consumed anything in its blind rage. The crystal that formed at the center fractured, and many new masses were formed of the old. After a long war, Gellites and Slythin now rest on a very uneasy ceasefire.
Gellites dedicate their lives to gathering information and sharing it with other Gellites, or other sentient beings. They have no concept of gender, as they reproduce through mitosis after gathering enough mass through consumption of organic matter. They are renowned across the galaxy as scientists, and even explorers.
With the inability to use firearms, most Gellites use a special form of Augments for combat, with injected nanobots being used as opposed to a traditional Augment Gauntlet.
(Ignore the mouth)
The Faasaajiir (Fah-sah-jeer) is the race that humanity once called “greys” back in their pre-informational era. They are short, with smooth grey skin. They have two slender arms and legs, and a pair of large, dark, disc-like eyes. They lack any sort of mouth, instead breathing and filter-feeding through their porous skin. They have no audible forms of communication, instead using telepathy to speak to other intelligent races. They have no individual language, therefore they make excellent translators, as well as linguists.
Most Faasaajiir live within a democratic society, where leaders are elected by popular vote. Faasaajiir society is heavily capitalist, focused on development, scientific research, and advancement of the economy. Due to this, Faasaajiir are usually at odds with the Ennochi clans that dot the galaxy, who do anything to protect planets with life. Faasaajiir are known to have weak immune systems, which leads to them almost always wearing some form of protective gear when travelling off of colonized worlds, or interacting with strangers. On planets without a biosphere, Faasaajiir construct large domes filled with flora dedicated towards producing oxygen. Richer Faasaajiir tend to live closer to the domes, where air is clean and plentiful, while poorer ones tend to live further away from them, where air is pumped from fairly long distances, and is usually unclean to a degree.
The Faasaajiir nation makes most of its trade from advanced technology, such as Faster Than Light warp systems for ships, genetic augmentations, or advanced armors. While they usually avoid active participation in war, their strong economy and willingness to trade makes them a powerful ally. Humanity makes as much trade as they can afford with them, as well as Martian colonies, and occasionally the Kna’Renian government will trade mercenary armies for better armaments or vehicles.
What they lack in combat prowess, Faasaajiir more than make up for in intellect and economic know-how. They are valuable companions to scientists, travelers, and traders alike. Most Faasaajiir who don’t live on their own colonized worlds tend to be travelling merchants, hiring bodyguards from other races in order to protect themselves and their goods.
The Ennochi are a race of insect-like bipeds. They have a exoskeleton, usually dark in color with veins of varying color all around their body, most prominent on the clear, vestigial wings on their back. These veins, along with the wings and eyes, are known to change color depending on the emotion the Ennochi in particular is feeling. They have two primary arms, with two lower ‘legs’ beneath, although these have become mostly useless with evolution, as well as a pair of legs that allow them to walk.
All Ennochi share a common trait, not seen among other races, even those with telepathy. If an Ennochi comes into physical contact with any form of life, it can communicate with it, regardless of whether the organism in question has a language, or even if it can create audible sound. Those with telepathy can only communicate with races with a developed language, but the Ennochi are able to surpass this weakness.
The Ennochi were introduced to space-faring technology by other various races while their civilization was still in its infancy. Unlike those who brought them this power, they still chose to allow life to flourish over technology. Their care for life has stayed with them throughout their whole history, to this day. On colonized worlds, agriculture and industry is done on satellites, where pollutants are collected and stored on lifeless planets. Buildings incorporate various flora into the structure as opposed to cutting it down to make room. Many Ennochi dedicate their lives to extensive terraforming projects on various worlds, especially worlds left lifeless from the Catalyst Event.
Ennochi government is much closer to socialism than capitalism, but it is not entirely one way or the other. The needs of all are taken into consideration, but money is still used. There is no such thing as a homeless Ennochi who didn’t choose to be homeless, as basic housing is provided to all Ennochi, free of charge, with more advanced housing being earned through work.
Ennochi, though deeply revering all forms of life throughout the galaxy, are not pacifists if the need to fight arises. Their soldiers are skilled with most forms of combat, although they lack any forms of chemical weaponry or heavy bombs, as their armies try to avoid collateral damage as much as possible.
Due to their beliefs, Ennochi despise the Slythin Empire, who attack other races wantonly, and have a deep distrust of the Faasaajiir, who almost always put industry over nature. Ennochi are excellent botanists and biologists,
The Ami are an ancient race, originating from near the center of the galaxy. They are avian in appearance, with a feathered body, arms resembling wings, and clawed feet. Their feathers have a wide range of colors, though your average Ami has beige or light brown feathers, with their beaks usually taking darker tones.
They were highly advanced in their prime, controlling a large expanse of systems, their home star at the center. They created the Leviathans as protectors of the Galaxy, to be stationed on lifeless planets and awoken if a great threat were to rise from the rest of the galaxy. Sadly, their programming was corrupted, leaving them with only the goal of creating more Leviathans and the destruction of all life in their wake. The Leviathans turning on them lead to the downfall of their great civilization, leading to them sending a small group of cryopreserved eggs and adults in a ship disguised as a meteor away from their territory, leaving their empire that took milleniums to build to be entirely destroyed, along with most of their history and advanced technology. This ship was found a few Earth-years after the Catalyst Event, and its occupants revived. Using Faasaajiir translators, the Ami survivors explained their origins. Nowadays, as they try to reclaim their lost glory, they are vilified, often blamed wholly for the destruction of the galaxy.
The current Ami government is a oligarchy, with several Ami controlling various aspects of the nation, such as colonization efforts, economy, and military. With a smaller population than most other races, the Ami boost their military using robotics, with ‘automated soldiers’ making up the majority of Ami military, with a few high-ranking Ami as officers or elite soldiers.
Though the Ami are usually hated by other races, The Faasaajiir and Gellites have given them audience in attempts to learn of their lost technology, while the Ennochi have given them solace as the last of a dying race. They are excellent engineers, skilled in robotics and ship production, which is usually their trade. Some Ami have abandoned their fellow survivors entirely, making livings as pirates or assassins.
-No accurate picture available-
Similar to humans, but taller and more muscular. They have pale skin, and a pair of sharp, piercing eyes, usually brown. Their hair is usually white, or of similar hues. They average at about six or seven feet tall, though some have been known to grow to greater heights.
With the Kna’Renian government being very secretive, little is known about Kna’Renian politics outside of the fact that most Kna’Renians are loyal to it, similar to the Slythin Empire, though not as religion-influenced. In fact, it is unclear if the Kna’Renians have any sort of unifying religion or deity.
Kna’Renians are known for being excellent soldiers, both with firearms and melee combat. Outside of the Kna’Renian government, they are often found as mercenaries and bodyguards. The Kna’Renian government has a sizeable portion of its military dedicated to being sold to other nations as mercenary soldiers, which is where most of their income originates, as Kna’Renian soldiers are highly sought after. However, there is a rule between mercenary armies to never engage Kna’Renians loyal to their government in combat, resulting in scenarios where heated battles suddenly result in Kna’Renian armies on both sides to retreat.
Due to their powerful military, few nations choose to threaten them, though the Slythin Empire outnumbers their armies greatly, and they are usually teetering on the brink of war.
Kna’Renians are valuable companions to anyone planning any sort of combat-related activity, in space or otherwise.
Technology, Culture and Threats:
Milky Way Standard (MWS) is a special language created to bridge the barrier between the various races of the galaxy. Instead of an individual having to learn the language of every race they wish to interact with, all travelers simply learn their native tongue, along with MWS. It relies both on vocal communication as well as gestures.
The Catalyst Event destroyed countless planets and stars. Instead of exploding, however, the stars within the Catalyst Event’s radius shrunk, leaving a concentrated chunk of a mysterious new metal, which has been coined as “Novastar.” Novastar is highly durable, able to cut Titanium. It is an excellent conductor, but its most interesting feature is that it can be ‘programmed’ to become other elements by adding or subtracting electrons from it using advanced machinery.
It is highly rare, and nearly priceless. Its rarity and value make it one of the only reasons people explore the areas affected by The Catalyst Event, besides hiding from the law.
StarDust is a highly potent hallucinogenic powder, created as a byproduct of refining Novastar. It is nearly as expensive as Novastar on black markets, and nearly all users become addicted for life, or suffer constant hallucinations, usually driving the addicts to insanity. Rich users, usually crimelords, often carry a supply of detoxifying agents on hand to keep themselves from being permanently affected.
Leviathans are a type of automaton, believed to have existed for billions of years. They are large, averaging around fifteen to twenty feet tall. They are humanoid in shape, but their shape is where resemblances end. Their ‘fingers’ are bladed, usually cutting anything soft they attempt to pick up. They are not too intelligent, and most lack any form of attack beyond crushing or hurling heavy objects. Their danger comes not from their intellect, not even their size, but their numbers. Even after the Catalyst Event destroyed an estimated trillions of Leviathans, their numbers are still great.
Leviathans have only one purpose in their existence; to attack and reproduce. Leviathans seem to attack any form of life that is not another Leviathan, and are constantly searching for metal to consume. When they are ‘full’ They regurgitate molten metal, which somehow forms into the shape of a new Leviathan before cooling, allowing the new Leviathan to stand, and continue the cycle until destroyed.
There is only one way to stop a Leviathan; and that is through the destruction of two ‘cores,’ one in the head and another in the chest area. Destroying one or the other won’t make any difference, both must be destroyed to stop the Leviathan. Special weapons, such as the Anti-Leviathan Rifle, were developed to be used against them, and are still in widespread use to this day.
Leviathans have the ability to “jump” from planet to planet, floating through space until coming into contact with a planet or ship. Due to this trait, certain planets are constantly under Leviathan assault, with soldiers being stationed on these planets for months at a time, constantly fighting Leviathans and moving to different areas before being swapped out for a different unit.
The current number of Leviathans is unknown, nor is it known if we can outlast or even defeat them.
With raw materials becoming rarer and rarer as time goes on, most governments have made it illegal for civilians to salvage destroyed warships, instead reclaiming them for their own use. However, many people have become Scrappers, visiting areas of large battles and stealing ship components or simply scrap metal, and selling the parts on black markets. Scrappers are not usually violent, and most Scrapper ships wouldn’t stand much of a chance in a prolonged fight. Instead, Scrapper ships rely on speed both to dodge attacks and escape fights.
Credits are the primary form of currency in the Galaxy, accepted by almost all governments. Credits are a digital currency, but there is a ‘standard’ for them. Faasaajiir created the credits for interspecies commerce, but instead of using gold for a standard, as humans once did, there is a system known as the “Energy Standard.” The Energy Standard means that every credit can be transferred to a Bank for a certain amount of fuel or energy, though exchange rates vary from bank to bank.
With gene-altering technology well past its infancy, it has found a place both in military and civilian use. Augments are small “chips” inserted into an Augment Gauntlet, with is placed on the wrist, where a small needle painlessly inserts into a vein. Augments contain various nanobots and chemicals which alter an individual's’ genetic code at will, allowing the user to perform actions impossible otherwise. Augments range from the mundane, such as telekinesis or increasing adrenaline production to what some would consider “superpowers.” Augments were originally created exclusively for military purposes, but have found their way to consumer markets as well. Prototype Augments did have certain ‘glitches’ which resulted in several gruesome deaths, but the finished models have little to no side effects. Augments do “burn out” over time, and need to be replaced or recharged via special machines.
-Special Note: Gellites, lacking wrists as well as the ability to wield any sort of weapon effectively have resulted in the creation of Augments that can be injected directly into Gellites.
Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel is still common in the galaxy, even after the Catalyst Event. Though most spacefaring vessels obtain nearly infinite energy from a small nuclear fusion reactor, FTL travel requires a large burst of high amounts of energy, which the average fusion reactor isn’t capable of generating at once. FTL Fuel Rods are required for travelling at this speed. An FTL Fuel Rod is a lead rod containing a highly dense amount of material for a ship’s reactor, allowing for a single “burst” of FTL Travel. Due to accidents in the past, FTL travel is only permitted from one “FTL Beacon” to another. FTL Beacons are large structures, which can be targeted by most ships and used for FTL travel. Some programmers have enabled ships to not require an FTL beacon to travel to, though some consider this to be highly dangerous, as high speed travel around many ships could potentially result in fatal collisions.
CHARACTER SHEET: (Please fill this out and post it here if you want in!)
Name: Gender: (If applicable) Age: Appearance: (Description is fine, pictures are acceptable if you can find one.) Race/Species: Social Class:
Basic Backstory (Make it at least a couple paragraphs. Here’s my filled-out character sheet as an example)
Name: Gabriela Jules Gender: Female Age: 32 Appearance: She has hooded blue eyes that are like two sapphires. Her thick, wavy, black hair is very long and is worn in an impractical, handsome style. She is very tall and has a leggy build. Her skin is light-colored. She has delicate ears and long-fingered hands. Her wardrobe is uncomplicated. Race/Species: Humans Social Class: Upper-Middle
Personality: A risk taker and adventurer, Gabriela doesn’t shy away from a challenge. She takes pride in her ship, and will do anything to improve it, or its crew. Skills: Piloting and Crew Management. She’s a good shot with a pistol. Likes: Cleanliness, exploring new worlds, winning in spaceship dogfights. Dislikes: Hiking long distances, melee combat, unruly crew members. Goals: To become a famous captain and own her own battleship. Strengths: Management, Piloting, Diplomacy. Weaknesses: Not a good melee fighter, can have a short temper with stubborn people, and isn’t good at ship repair. She also has a hard time coping with loss. Occupation: Freelance Captain/Merchant.
BASIC RULES:
1. If you wouldn't do it in any other RP, don't do it here. 2. Try to keep posts to at least a few paragraphs. 3. Try to keep Gore to a minimum, nothing gratuitous. 4. Please consult me for any questions related to the universe!
-
Thanks for giving this RP a look! I'll be on later today if anyone has any questions.
