The Cetera-Matris are not an actual nation, despite holding territory, but rather a mutual defense pacr sealed between the guardians of two sleeping primordials, the seldom seen icy Solnarigh and the aquatic Reighnads. The two races are the guardians for a pair of primordials who sleep securely at the heart of their respective domains, ready to awaken “when the sun freezes over and the moonlight burns like fire”.These two primordials reside beneath two elaborate temple complexes, one built in the depths of the bay of lights houses the burning moon and the other at the heart of the Frozen Cliffs mountain range is the resting place of the frozen sun. Their two cultures are theocracies, the Reighnades ruled by an order of sorcerer priestess known as the moon kissed daughters and the Solnarigh by 5 ancient elders who are permanent, statuesque, fixtures of the gateway leading to their master’s sealed chambers.
Geography
The Reighnades live in 6 underwater cities/temple complexes, 5 smaller ones evenly spaced around the 6th larger one, called Primus, that houses their master. Primus is built at the bottom of a deep fissure that has geothermal vents at the bottom and acts as the capital and locus for the Reighnades power. The other 5 sit on the ocean floor and act as anchors for an enormous ritual circle that was made before the longwatch began and who’s propose the watchers dare not guess or tamper with.
The Solnarigh meanwhile live in various small ice castles found in the most inaccessible regions of the frozen cliffs. Atop the highest mountain lies a temple known as the frozen peak, of which the holy summit is and unknown poor reflection, that houses the primordials sleeping chamber. Some of these castles link down to a tunnel system below the mountain, some of which lead to the coast and to a hidden cove south of Fidgit port where the Solnarigh keep their small navy.
Culture
Reighnades: The seldom seen Merfolk of the Sea of Lights are the ones who give the waters their name, as their nocturnal magical ceremonies of moon worship form spots of blood red light can be seen from the shore of the empire on the night of a full moon. The bane of fishing communities and smugglers, the Reighneads are known to attack lonely vessels to steal their cargo. The Empire really doesn’t care about this harassment, as the Fishfolk do not attack the mighty Living Ships due to the high risk of doing so.
The Reighnades live in an incredibly religious society. All live to serve the church, from the lowlies fish farmer to the mightiest warrior and most devout priestess. The fishfolk have their duty drilled into them from a young age and are incredibly devout as a result, all most all are content with their place in life, a place generally chosen for them by the will of the clergy. Devotion is reinforced by every part of their culture, their cities are huge temple complexes, were the workers are effectively servants and the warriors divinely blessed paladins. The priests are magically gifted individuals who are trained from an early age to maintain the ancient mysterious works of their primordial progenitor. These works often involving repainting worn down runes with a special magically produced paint made partially with primordial essence infused blood, something the clergy willingly give on a regular basis. In return for this noble sacrifice the recently bleed priests live pampered lives, ostensibly to ensure their quick recovery. Some priests spend their entire lives in a perpetual cycle of bleeding and recovery, but those who hold real power and influence generally forgo the luxurious rewards to stay active and engaged with the varios subtle schemes and power plays that the highest of high priests engage in. More or less these games of subterfuge exist to occupy their time and keep them sharp incase crises does occur.
The raiders are the Reighnades with the most freedom, more than even their religiously bound leaders. They score the local region for hunting, raiding and trading opportunities, looking to bring back extra food and precious metals to their kin. The most valuable things they can aquire are corrosion proof metals, namely gold, silver and bronze. These metals supplement the mainly stone age level of technology used by the Reighnades: leather, bone, shells, teeth and stone make up the majority of their tools and structures, metal that can survive underwater are used either to add decoration to temples, as the basis for enchanted tools or statues, or as highly prized weapons that are preserved over generations and handed out ot only the most skilled warriors.
Magically the Reighnades practice 3 schools. Ice magic learned from the Solnarigh that is often used to create tough and buoyant magical maintained weapons, structures, armor, etc. Blood magic involving using either their own or other’s blood as weapons. Finally they practice a divine magic based on a pale blue moonlight that supperheats anything it touches that is used to boil targets alive or in their limited metalsmithing.
Solnarigh: beings so rare they are thought of as myths by most, these icy beings live at the heart of the Frozen cliffs around castles made from Millennia old ice. Little is known about them by outsiders but the myths and legends of the locals, for they rarely leave their domain and when they do the elements mask their travels. Their home is thought to be the origin of the unnatural cold permeating the land and they are also whispered to be the source of the Ice Witch traditions.
Solnarigh are replacement for the harpies who originally acted as guardians, but who were too free spirited to be relied upon to stay true though the generations. As the fickle birds slowly abandoned the old ways and temples those worshipers, human, harpy and others, who remained true began to seek either a fresh source of guardians or some way to increase their own power and tranced mortality so that they could maintain an eternal vigilance. They found both in the way, the ice which tradition is an incredibly powerful and reckless form of magic, capable of great feats but also runs the potential to run wild if poorly handled. The fate of Merken fortress is one example of this instability, and the Solnarigh are another. Ice witches powers who lose control become consumed by the magic of the frozen sun and become frozen creatures known as Solnarigh. An intentional flaw in the tradition, the trap generally claims the old, the weak, the desperate or the foolhardy, all who are then lured to the frozen peak by the sirens call of the 5 elders who created the tradition.
This hypnotic song never leaves the Solnarigh mind and it makes them willing slaves of the temple, eternal guardians of their new sleeping master. As a result of this method Solnarigh are few in number and hard to replace but make up for this in being entirely made up of incredibly durable and ancient mages. The nature of the cures however means that there are very few exceptional members among their ranks, those powerful enough or wise enough to have been great in life generally can avoid a frozen fate without even knowing it is a risk.
Pact: The pact that binds the two races together is ancient and is an agreement that the two will come to eachothers aid should outsiders attempt to interfere with their sleeping master's work or resting places. They also agree not to attempt to expand or do anything that might provoke any foreign powers while also ensuring that their realms stay free from foreign interest. There has been some wiggle room in this of course, the Reighnades’ raids have made them a nuisance for their terrestrial neighbours and the Solnarigh have done little to expel others from their mountains due to relying on them for fresh recruits.
Military
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Heroes
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Relations
The emerald empire have a very limited dialogue with the pact, mosty spawning from the days when they were in the series of wars that resulted in their conquest of most of Shenra when they struck a nonaggression pact with the Reighnades. Since then minor correspondence has been ongoing entirely on the terms of the Reighnades, who generally only initiate a dialogue on the surface when they send envoys to complain about things while the EE has to make do with sending dead drops down into the dark if they want to communicate. For the most part, the two stay out of eachothers way
Description: A band of bounty hunters, bound by blood Faction: The Lawbringers Location: The Red Desert Synopsis of Role: the long fangs formed after 12 mercenaries took a contract to defend one of the last Nyr'kiin hives in the red desert from a marauding tribe demanding tribute from them. The 5 survivors have stuck together since and one by one became followers of the red god Iustitia. They wander the Red Desert fighting for just causes while the thirst slowly takes hold of their bodies and minds.
Race: Bloodhunter/human Faction: The Long Fangs Location: The Red Desert Description: Leader of the long fangs and source of their thirst. Once a Saliszi of high renowned in his youth the now aging warrior fled into the desert after slaying his lord for a crime that changes every time he retells the story.
Race: Bloodhunter/Nyr'kiin Faction: The Long Fangs Location: The Red Desert Description: A rare instance of a freethinking Nyr'kiin, Rak left his his home hive to wander the wastes, only to return to defend it years later. There he finally found belonging, not with his kin but with the other warriors who came to their defence.
Race: Bloodhunter/Mutant Faction: The Long Fangs Location: The Red Desert Description: A former Drathan slave soldier the seldom spoken Sett was the first to accept the faith of Iustitia into her heart. She has sworn an oath of vengeance against all slavers and her transformation is the furthest along as a result, interacting with her pre existing mutations in strange and terrifying ways.
Race: Bloodhunter/human Faction: The Long Fangs Location: The Red Desert Description: A former monster hunter who captured or hunted the horrors of the desert for a Drathan patron who collected them for study. She joined the 12 in an attempt to get close enough to add Artizian to her patrons collection but found herself unable to kill the noble monster so after weeks of battling by his side.
Race: Bloodhunter/human/mutant Faction: The Long Fangs Location: The Red Desert Description: A man seeking a method of harnessing the powers of raw icor for medicinal purposes. So far, no medicinal breakthroughs have been achieved but plenty of very dangerous, and sometimes explosive, concoctions have been created from the failures. Bounty hunting and common medicine pay for supplies to continue his work, the thirst a potential for an eternity of study.
The dwarves are an old race. A proud race. A greedy race. Standing at just over a meter tall they are a stocky race who evolved on a planet 1.5 times the size of earth. Other than being shorter and broader than humans they bear a striking resemblance to the earth born race despite being from an entirely different galaxy.
Demis are 3 salve races based upon Dwarven dna that have been made to fulfil specific roles in Mayall society.
Goblins:
Goblins are the first slave race manufactured by the Dwarves. While the same height as their overlords goblins have been deliberately twisted from their source dna to look as undwarvish as possible. They are hairless with green skin, have pointy ears(something shared by all slaves) beedy yellow eyes and sharp fangs. They were made to perform manual labor, but ever advancing technology means that most now operate machinery instead. They have not been fully replaced by that machinery thanks to their cheapness of production, requiring only raw biomatter to make, and their adaptability to new tasks/work environments. They are slightly stronger than the average dwarf, who are themselves already pint sized powerhouses, and have increased resistance to environmental forces and the pressures of gforce. All of these improvements come at the cost of premature aging, and a goblin only has an operational lifespan of about 30 years if they are treated well. Most aren't.
Psycnoids:
Psycnoids are grey skin goblins with a third eye in the center of their foreheads. All of those eyes feature dark grey sclera,silvery reflective pupils and thin jet black irises. When the materialistic dwarves discovered other races with magical and psionic abilities they grew to both despise and desire their natural born mastery of the universe and sought to use their organic sciences to acquire these powers for themselves. Unlocking their potential was a long and arduous journey, as they seemed to be substantially lacing in whatever traits it was that let these abilities come to others with such ease. The task of empowering dwarven kind was eventually deemed a failure, as all test subjects suffered mental burnout after only a few short years. This was an unacceptable price to pay for the dwarves, but not something they minded implementing in their slaves. Psycnoids then, are the mass produced psionics of the Mayall, created as a combination of untapable communication array and anti psionic defence/detection system. They are not taught how to use their powers offensively, for fear that they would turn this strength against their masters. Psycnoids are also often used as head slaves and personal servants, receiving and executing orders from their masters or doing important errands that can't be trusted to some random goblin or sprite.
Sprites:
A sprite is a 20 cm tall elfine humanoids who have four dragonfly wings growing out of their backs that allow graceful and nimble flight. They have a lifespan of roughly 5 earth years. At some point a dwarven technician looked at the maintenance aisles streaking through their server farm and decided that they were a massive inefficiency that should be reduced as much as possible. The end result of years of tinkering was a reduction of maintenance isles to 30 cm gaps in a room otherwise stacked from floor to ceiling with computer components and the genetic engineering of the 20 cm tall sprites that would use them. With their vertical mobility, a high resistance for both high and low temperatures that let them work in refrigerated rooms and next to overheating circuitry, the tiny creatures were initially used only as repair technicians, but were gradually introduced to other areas as well. Most noticeably they were used in place of AI in drone and robotics technology, as their capability for creativity, adaptability and unpredictability made them useful for combat operations, often been used enmass as pilots of expendable drones and man sized mechas where they could often outperform others artificially commanded drones while also being cheaper to manufacture. These drones are often shaped like the sprites so that they can translate their instinctual and learned flight skills from flesh to machine.
Description of government:
The Mayall are controlled by an immortal oligarchy of CEOs and Shareholders who are in control of the various corporations that have occasionally overlapping monopolies over every part of the Mayall economy. With scant few exceptions most of the citizenship are either employed or contracted by these corporations and generally live in company housing where corporate policy is law. The only real systems of governance that remain are those relating to violence, namely law enforcement and the military, which are used to protect the power of the corporations as a whole inside and outside of the Mayall’s territory respectivly. These are made up predominantly of slaves rented out from various companies and lead by dwarves who, because they are bribed by every single corporation simultaneously, function as neutral neutral arbiters between them and effectively makes the corporations the shareholders of various government organisations.
Description of military:
Arks: the arks are the current center of Mayall existence, both culturally and militarily. Vast spacecraft twice the size of jupiter housing brown dwarf stars at their cores these craft are massive mobile battlestations capable of leveling words with their raw firepower, but as they hose the entire remaining dwarven population are almost never committed militarily and are instead used as launching points for military action, much like aircraft carriers are used in naval warfare.
The arks set the standard for the rest of the Mayall military, with large command ships or vehicles staffed by the dwarven high command directing large swarms of slave troops. In space vast super carries are the center of a fleet, with expendable escorts ships, attack craft and drones all being piloted by slaves.
Planate side operations are no exception. If the dwarves decided to come down to the surface at all they will generally reside in ocean based carriers or in mobile armored command centers in the form of huge mecha or landships capable of rapidly turning local resources into more slaves and equipment. The vast majority of these forces will be goblin infantry who fight with reckless abandon and are armed with equipment that is as disposable and cheaply mass produced as they are. In stark contrast their tanks, mechas and other vehicles having been designed to operate effectively in high gravity environments, are remarkably sturdy, particularly when compared with those made by species used to operating on smaller words.
Technological Overview:
Bioengineering: The Mayall have long since mastered the science of biology and the practical application of this knowledge can be found all across Mayall society. Genetic engineered crops feed their hords of slaves while specially modified viruses hunt down and kill infectious bacteria, eliminating most forms of disease. However they have limited themselves from investing in pure organic technology, preferring metal and crystal commanded by organics over actual living systems of technology.
Cloning, 3D bioprinting and Neural Read/Write: A body is just a complex machine of flesh, blood, bone and graymatter. There is nothing unique about a living being, there is no soul nor any secret spark of life needed to make a sentient creature. These things the dwarves know yet are loathe to admit. Bodies can be grown in vats or constructed from base atoms in the span of just a few minutes or evens seconds. Minds can be broken down atom by atom and then rebuilt just as they were, with the subject only experiencing a momentary lapse of consciousness as a result. This allows for the digital transfer of individuals from place to place, mental backups and mass production of any individual, though these uses are the purview of the paranoid, the desperate and the slave.
Biological Immortality: Through centuries of study the Mayall have solved the problem of their own mortality and can, for a price, slow or completely stop the aging process of an individual. The oligarchs of the Mayall live forever while their subordinates have to make do with either merely slowing the aging process or replacing their decrepid bodies all together to escape the hungry jaws of death.
Dwarven Micro RuneCraft: The art of carving runes to direct magical energy is an ancient art that has remained relevant thank to constant advances in complexity and miniaturization which have turned the art into a reality altering programing language. Dwarves no longer lovingly hand carve their runes into treasured artifacts but instead write out programs in a higher level language that is easier to work in than base runes. This language is then translated into rune-code by the a compiler, after which the runes themselves are inscribed onto a given object using an automated micro laser.
Non invasive Brain Links (NIBL): The Mayall alternative to cybernetics is a system that can link brain and machine without drastic alteration of a person's body. This is done generally using specialised helmets or crowns worn by the subject, the inside of which is lined with electronics capable of artificially mimicking some basic psionic abilities, effectively allowing the wearer to mind control the machine without themselves needing psionic powers. A lot of their machinery, particularly mechas, are controlled in this manner and they are also used as non invasive mental augments, allowing the user multitasking capabilities, rapid data retrieval/storage, hands free long distance communication etc. Lighter, more regal models are expensive shows of wealth, while full head covering models are either cheaply made mass production units or incredibly advanced specialist devices.
Stasis Technology: Stasis is a quasi magically powered state that massively slows down time for all subjects within a stasis field. Generally this is used as a more advanced form of cryo sleep, but can also be used for military purposes as the field of slowed time can act as an almost impenetrable barrier, making it useful for trapping enemies or blocking incoming fire. They are rather power hungry and it is impossible for the field projector to be contained within its own field, as the system cannot function in the frozen time within, nor can it be enveloped by a thin shell or dome of frozen time, as doing so freezes everything in the shell as well.
Aether Jumping: The Mayall’s primary method of ftl is the Aether jump, which plunges the craft into an alternate reality known as the Aether. Here time speed up compared to that in reality, allowing the craft to travel immense distances in realspace far faster than they normally could. However the actual ship still experiences all the time it would take for them to travel the journey normally, even as an observer would see them arriving at their destination moments after they left. The realm is also seemingly occupied by strange beings that seem to like to invade the minds of those traveling though their domain. To prevent madness and the ravages of time from destroying the crew two methods are employed: either the passengers use stasis chambers to sleep through the trip, or their minds are uploaded to the ships computer and their bodies dismantled into raw resources, to be remanufactured upon arrival. The dwarves generally use stasis, while any non esensial slaves suffer the latter fate. All this results in an ftl method that is generally faster, harder to intercept and less fuel hungry than its competitors (power only needed to enter and exit, with the only costs in the Aether being maintaining the functionality of the stasis pods), but requires time at the start and end of each jump for storing/unpacking the crew and cannot be adjusted mid jump. To counter some of these flaws the pilots/bridge crews often have stasis fields built into their flight chairs and ships will often make several smaller jumps where only essential crew are woken on the stops in between the destination to make decisions as to whether to continue on the current heading or to adjust the flight path.
Other: The Mayall have access to most standerer tech usd by space faring nations such as shielding, lasers, nuclear fusion/fission generators, (non sentient) AI, automated production lines etc.
Cultural Overview:
The dwarves are elitist to a tea, and are as a result obsessed with acquiring and showing of their status in society. The upper crust adorn themselves with precious metals, exotic fabrics and illustrious gems, often braiding these through their hair as decoration. Slaves, strange alien pets, artists, musicians, spouses and suitors, all equally extravagantly decorated, are also shows of wealth that can be found trailing behind the rich dwarf as part of their elaborate entourage. The dwarven citizenry engage in this as much as their wealth can allow, resulting in petty shows of riches that few of them can truly afford being commonplace.
Dwarves social structures are loosely based on the old clan system that held them together in ages past. Family and kin are of incredible importance to the dwarves, while those from other “clans” are of little importance. Clans are generally very small, consisting of a couple of families all living and working in the same general area, that area being anything from a city block to an entire satar system depending on local population density. New people are added to the clan though birth(a rare occurrence) or marriage, while dwarves can leave a clan by being ostracized for some misdeed or by joining another clan via marriage. Who stays in their clan and who leaves is decided by which person is wealthy, with the richer dwarf accepting their spouse into their clan.
Cloning is an incredibly important and somewhat taboo part of Mayall society. It is what fuels the Mayall’s reckless disregard for the lives and life spans of their slaves, for if and when they die they can simply be regrown from raw materials and have the same skills and memories loaded into them from backups of their minds. The Dwarves can also benefit from this technology, and the poorest often do, sacking body after body because it is, in the short run, cheaper than acquiring the immortality of their betters. But to do so is seen as abhorrent, both in terms of social standing and spirituality. Legally a clone has access to all the same assets, and debts, as the original, but it is seen as a being with a new soul by dwarven religion, making this form of rejuvenation an uncomfortable moral quandary for those who use it. Some might chose to die and pass on their wealth to their offspring, but those saddled with debt will be reborn so that their next self can keep working for the sake of the clan. It is also looked down upon by the those who can afford to extend the lifespan their original bodies rather than renewing them, for cloning is irreversibly tainted by its use for slave manufacturing. There is then a cultural divide, one generally mirrored by class divisions, between those whose bodies are the ones they were born with and those who live in freshly printed ones, with the former looking down their noses at the latter.
The Demi slaves meanwhile are not bothered by such concerns of the soul and have, out of necessity, embraced their eternal cycle of death and renewal. They are certain the soul will always find their fresh home after death or dismantlement and that it can even split itself into multiple copies if multiple bodies are available, which is something of a regular occurrence as the Dwarves simply copy an existing salves memories to make a new one. This results in many of them sharing common memories of “ancestors” and they often form faximalies of an extended family/clan based upon these shared experiences. It is something of a common belief among the Demi that they are all sourced from a single common ancestor, a belief that binds them together and can bring about acts of selflessness for total strangers that their dwarven creators would never even consider performing.
History:
The Mayall are simultaneously both one of the oldest race in the galaxy and incredibly recent additions to it. This is because Hundreds of millions of years ago the Mayall where but one of many species that evolved in an entirely different galaxy, one that was on a collision course with a third, entirely different, galaxy.
The Mayall are ruled by a race of dwarves who evolved on a heavy world. Short and strong as a result of the haigh gravity of their home it also caused them to develop space travel far later than most species, meaning that when they finally crawled out of their gravity well they were considerably stronger than others expected, something they exploited to heave themselves rapidly up the local political ladder. Acquiring for themselves several planets deemed undesirable by other races they verasisosly mined and expanded across them, causing their population and wealth to boom relatively unmolested. Having grown rich of resource mining dense and large worlds, they developed several species based off of their own dna to do dreary and dangerous work for them while they, or rather their oligarchs, enjoyed all the profit.
With the introduction of cheap slave labor and the discovery of immortality the dwarven population stopped expanding while their empire continued to grow. While the galactic collision slowly approached the Mayall became a powerhouse of their part of the galaxy, controlling hundreds of star systems with many home to millions of slaves working at the beck and call of a few free dwarven governors. Wars were waged, markets conquered, systems striped bare of all easily accessable resources. The oligarchs grew spectacularly rich, the slowly dwindling masses fought over the few remaining jobs available for free dwarves and the slaves endlessly toiled, died and were remade to continue their servitude.
When collision became imminent the peoples of the galaxy finally looked up from their petty squabbles and recognised the doom approaching them and all simultaneously, and separately, scrambled to find a solution. Some developed vast simulations to predict which regions of space they believe would be spared from the carnage and waged bloody, desperate migratory wars too these supposed sanctuaries. Some hunkered down, constructing vast bunkers out of whole planets or around entire stars, hoping that some of their masterworks would survive. Other simply ignored the problem and strove to exploit their fearful neighbours unpreparedness for conquest, carrion birds reaping one last harvest before the end took them all. The Mayall decided the best option would be to leave the galaxy entirely.
Great sleeper arks where constructed that would enable to efficiently carry their civilization across the seemingly infinite dark between galaxies. These were small dyson spheres built around gas giant sized brown dwarfs that would reliably power the arks for millions of years, equipped with thousands of stasis pods to hold the populace and enough materials to hopefully maintain the machines keeping them alive till they reached their destination. The arks where a major undertaking, with all available resources being diverted to either the ark project or to the military, which fought a near constant war against carriorn empires, migration crusades and other desperate doomsday preppers in battles for the supplies necessary to complete the construction ontime.
In the end a dozen arks where produced, just barely enough to house the dwarven population that survived the apocalypse wars. Their engines flared, powered by thousands of solar panels inside and out, the vast boosters bringing the arks up to close to light speeds before shutting off, leaving their passengers fates in the hands of the mathematicians, that had calculated their trajectory, the engineers, that had finally balanced the engine, and pilot that had executed the burn. The arks soared out of the galaxy, borne upon the wings of Newton's Second Law, as the two vast stellar disks crashed together and chaos engulfed the races, and untold trillions of abandoned Mayall slaves, that remained there.
Now, millions of years later, one of the arks has at long last reached its destination. The arms of the galaxy embrace it and the curtain of darkness is replaced by the lights a million individual stars. Solar Panels soak in this light and the Mother AI begins manufacturing salve workers from its backups so that they might make ready for their master’s awakening. Their eternal journey is almost at an need, now all they need to do is stop.
The Zuukind Empire is, or was, a theocratic empire that engaged in a series of crusades towards the galactic core, all originating from its place of birth in the outer fringes of the galaxy. In the process the zealots conquered, converted and destroyed many nations, their greatest victim being the Orionic Empire itself, that was cleaved in twain and simultaneously overrun by those fleeing the might of the Zuukind. Their state religion, Anchorism, attributes the gravitational force created by what other ascribe as dark matter to a galaxy sized divine being, one that grants divine authority and wisdom to certain chosen individuals such as the line emperors. This line ended, along with the empire itself, as a result of a coup that saw the last emperor killed in battle and the empire’s territories plunged into a civil war between various factions attempting to fill the power vacuum. The Zuukind Empire counted many races among its ranks, but only the core faithful, those that were absorbed by the founding race of Rodorphins in their early years of conversion based expansion, are grouped under the moniker of Zuukind. Those races forever associated with the fallen empire and the destruction it wrought upon the galaxy.
Government:
At the top of the governmental apparatus is, or was, the emperor. Descendants of the prophet Avostin Zuuk they rule with the divine mandate and are unrestricted by any legal law or apparatus. Below the emperor is their court, a collection of favors individuals who might be anything from bureaucrats, head priests, generals, scientists or wealthy industrialists to individual soldiers, courtesans, childhood companions or celebrities. All of them are vested with a chose amount of authority by the emperor and act as both his/her ad visors and as unrestricted arbiters of their divine will. Below these individuals is the state proper, a mix of bureaucratic agency and religious institution generally referred to as the theocracy, it is charged with maintaining and nurturing the financial, military and spiritual health of the empire. As a result they are the underappreciated lifeblood of the empire, ensuring, among other things, that the faith is strong, that the emperor's armies are equipped for war, that the empires infrastructure remains intact, that waste is disposed of correctly and that that heretics and criminals are routed out and punished. These positions are filled by individuals specially trained at religious schools for the job, the tuition costs of which makes them these positions the purview of upper middle class students. The emperor traditionally does not meddle with appointments of bureaucrats, though their favor or ire can affect an individual's social standing among their peers and thus can indirectly affect their position in the hierarchy.
The government itself has partial control over the economy, with the state and emperor mostly free from the influences of the various large corporate entities that run the civilian economy. Corruption is meticulously routed out by state inquisitors, their rigorous faith making them more resistant to bribery and manipulation than the average government employee. Religious mandate allows the state to set prices for purchasing services but generally private businesses are allowed to run themselves as they see fit so long as they do not actively clash with the needs of the state. Governance outside of the core worlds works similarly, with the representatives of the central state mainly enforcing taxation, forced requisition and religious law while letting local affairs be dictated by either a ruling corporation if the world is ripe for a specific type of exploitation, the former local leadership if they were comparative during the absorption period or a governor appointed either by the theocracy or the emperor, who is free to run the territory as they see fit so long as they comply with the state’s needs.
The masses influence on political affairs is mainly done via the local priesthood, who are expected to listen to the concerns of their flock, which is generally done via one to one confessional like meetings. Most often complaints will be met with guidance or advice, but sometimes the priest will bring important matters to the attention of the theocracy, allowing them to keep a finger on a pulse of the people and giving them a sense that they are being listened too. To encourage the public to rely on the priesthood as their first go to for enacting change anything said by a person to a priest during a confessional cannot be used against them in a court of law, nor can it be the basis for an investigation, creating a safe and controlled environment for addressing of sacrilegious views.
History:
Despite vast advances in the field of physics, the Rodorphin never found what contemporary human scientists refer to as dark matter, the group of so far undetected entities that are responsible for a significant proportion of the gravitational field holding the galaxy together. This mystery, having eluded their brightest minds for centuries, gradually took on a mystical quality for the Rodorphin, one that eventually ascended into a full blown religion canonized by Avostin Zuuk. It centers around the worship of the unseen force that holds the galaxy together, a force that Avostin Zuuk anthropomorphised into a god called the Anchor, said to rest at the heart of the galaxy with its limbs sprawling out from that central body to form the arms of the galaxy. Avostin Zuuk’s influence grew and spread due to the prophet’s dazzling charisma, becoming more and more abrasive to the Rodorphin’s current government as the faithful push for expansion/emigration towards the galactic core, culminating in a core-bound colonization/crusade flotilla headed by Avostin Zuuk being formed and subsequently clashing with border patrol forces belonging to one of the Rodorphin’s neighbours. For the sake of maintaining control and preventing a war the central government attempted to crack down on Anchorism, but was taken by surprise by Avostin Zuuk’s fleet turning around and sailing straight for the home-world, their arrival culminating in a lighting coup that handed the reigns of power over to the prophet. Avostin Zuuk was subsequently crowned the first emperor of a new royal dynasty, his power derived from the divine anchor, and on that day the Zuukid Empire empire was born.
Faith and empire alike are first consolidated within the Rodorphin’s own territory before beginning a slow and steady push towards the core, gradually absorbing and integrating each empire they encounter over a few decades. This process was relatively effective when dealing with the sparsely populated sprawling realms of the outer reaches of the galaxy, but by the time they hit the territory held by the Orionic Empire propper the rate of progress had been deemed unacceptable by the latest, and subsequently last, emperor. In response she launched a full scale crusade, blasting through system after system, shattering the Orionic Empire in the process, while leaving her subordinates to pick up the pieces of the peoples and places she conquers. This caused a great deal of economic, political and religious tension back home with some warning that they might well collapse like the Orionic Empire if they did not consolidate their new holdings. With the central figurehead of the empire off conquering distant worlds with the most faithful at her side and repeated calls for her to return to address the growing instability her recklessness was causing, those who do not like the way the empire was being run began to meet and conspire against the current emperor. What ended up spurring them into action was not the completion of their scheming however, but an opportunity created when a notable section of formerly absorbed territory suddenly broke away from the empire. The conspirators managed to grab the reins of the general panic and anger that resulted from this and directed it at the emperor and her new method of expansion, turning the demands that the emperor return home from mutterings to violent uproar. The unlikely alliance of religious leaders, capitalists, nationalists and populist leaders then used their followers and resources to rapidly seize control of the empire’s core worlds, cutting off the emperor's supply lines. The tip of the crusade’s spear was forced to turn back in response, just as planned, but the return trip was a bloody one as they were harried by the rising warlords of the realms they have shattered and are plagued by the inability to acquire supplies without fighting costly battles to seize them. Even the outlying provinces of the empire’s old acquisitions turned hostile as they attempted to forge their own futures free from the rapidly disintegrating empire.
When they finally return to the imperial heartland the emperor found their enemies well prepared and, though the rebels troops were green as can be they far outnumber the weary and worn down loyalist forces due to their ranks bein swelled by each and every group marginalized by the empire’s rule. What was meant, by some, to be an intervention rapidly devolved into a shooting war after the emperor refused to meet any of the demands of the rebels and warmongers on both side’s agitation for decisive action eventually caused by the first shot of the battle being fired, perhaps accidentally, by an unknown rebel gunner. With battle commenced the empire’s finest manage to extract a hefty toll on the rebel forces but were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer number of ships and a planetary defense emplacements located around the Rodorphin home-world. The emperor's flagship broke in two after stubbornly taking hours of sustained fire while she and her honor guard drop podded to the surface in an attempt to seize the palace on foot. Finally, less than a hundred meters from where Avostin Zuuk was first crowned emperor, his royal dynasty was ended by a singly stray bullet.
Having overcome their enemy, the only person it seemed who had been holding them together in the first place, the rebels rapidly succumbed to the entropy of victory and where driven apart by their vast ideological differences. Attempts to seize power were made by multiple parties simultaneously, resulting in battles breaking out between previously aligned rebel forces all across the core worlds while various populist, nationalist and religious focused uprisings cleaved swathes of territory from the empire’s control, many of whom set eyes upon their ideological difference neighbors and saw them not as fellow citizens free at last of the yoke of tyranny, but as targets of opportunity, scorn or cries of heresy. The emperor's death was as a result the beginning, rather than the end, of the Zuukid civil war.
Military:
Ideology: The core principles of the Zuukid empire and its descendants militaries is a glorious hardened core protected by a disposable center. Their own ship, troops and vehicles where made to the highest standards possible materials wise but where often elaborately decorated or stylized at the price of operating efficiency. For example, Zuukid built ships often have figureheads on them, depicting saints, prophets, and emperors who give the vessels their names. the extra work needed to stabilize the ship's thrust is considered worth it for the positive effect on moral they have for friendly units and the awe they impart upon enemies and/or possible converts. However the Zuukid fleets where padded with reclaimed, captured and requisitions vessels known as adjuncts that exist primarily to support and protect the core. It is these disposable escorts that allow the Zuukind to commit forces that most would consider to costly to risk, and to do so safely knowing that the disposable assets can be sacrificed to save the core.
Weapon Systems: Lasers use focusing chambers to translate electrical energy into occasional bursts of focused light that relay energy to a small point on the target. These are primarily used on units expected to operate on their own for extended periods, deriving their firepower from the same systems that power their other systems. The inherent speed of photon based weapons also makes them excellent for point defense systems and accurate long range space based weapon systems but they are limited by the fact that they only do heat based damage, the fact that they can be reflected with the right materials and the fact that intervening materials such as air, smoke, water and gas all greatly their effects over distance.
Coil-guns meanwhile utilize Gauss technology to propel various ammunition types using a series of electromagnets. Coil-guns generally consist of one or more coils arranged along a barrel, so the path of the accelerating projectile lies along the central axis of the coils. The coils are switched on and off in a precisely timed sequence, causing the projectile to be accelerated quickly along the barrel via magnetic forces. These weapons can be used to fire a variety of munitions, from solid slugs to explosive shells, flak, acid canisters, incendiary devices, flechettes, guided missiles, drones, and even boarding craft. Unlike lasers these weapons are hampered by their need to carry this ammunition, which means they are limited by either short operation times, space consuming ammunition stores or the need to protect dedicated supply vehicles. The utility and raw damage of these weapons cannot be denied however, and so coil-guns are found all over the Zuukind military, where they fill rolls that lasers cannot.
The zuukid empire is notable for an unusually usage of of melee combat as something other than a last resort. There are three reasons for this. The first is that many of the Zuukind have a long and steady history with ritualistic forms of melee combat, often originating from mating rituals, that have subsequently had religious tapping interwoven with them, that have lead it to being seen as the most sacred form of battle and one that brings the victor praise and recognition from their peers and superiors. The second more pragmatic reason is that it is a lot more targeted and less destructive than, say, an artillery barrage, leading to it being used to capture enemy ships, vehicles and facilities that can then be used to continue the war effort. The final reason is simply that it is incredibly unexpected by most enemies the Zuukid empire encountered. Their target’s general lack of preparation for close range combat coupled with the Zuukind’s general size and physical prowess made melee encounters almost always come out in the empire's favor if they could safely close the distance. Safe distance closing generally occurs in dense city fighting and ship boarding actions where the enemy's fire is downgraded for fear of damaging their own facilities.
Notable units:
An iconic staple of the Zuukind’s core fleets, these versatile mecha are designed as vast suits of power armor mimicking the shape of their pilot. They are generally armed with a energy lance which is a combined melee/ranged directed energy weapon that can either fire lasers from its tip or energize its entire length into a long stabbing weapon, generally used for sabotaging enemy vessels if they can get close enough. They also carry an Aspis, which is a device that can be used to physically block weapons fire and contains a directional force field generator to increase the mecha’s survivability. A second, omnidirectional, generator is located behind the mecha’s head. The mechas are also capable of operating in atmosphere and on planetary terrain where they can divert power normally used for maneuvering into their various weapons and defense systems to let them operate as tanks instead of as fighters. They can also swap out their energy weapons for heavier Gauss weapons, though these limit their ability to operate independently, as the hoplite can only carry a very limited amount of the gauss propelled munitions without compromising its maneuverability.
Exceptionally large ships that personify the zuukid’s usage of adjunct vessels, generally made up of asteroids or welded together space battle debris they are used to protect the rest of the fleet. With minimal crew capacity and almost 0 armaments the martyr is used to physically shield the more important core ships from fire as they move into optimum firing range. Some more sophisticated variants are equipped with heat/mirror shielding, point defense weapons, force-fields, decoys etc. However most simply absorb fire via sheer mass and some lack engines entirely, being simply reinforced slabs or convenient debris that are held/pushed ahead of the fleet via tractor beams. Smaller variants are used to shield fighter, bomber, boarding and Hoplite teams as they approach their targets.
Small autonomous robots or power armor individuals that are tasked with latching onto enemy spacecraft and disarming, disabling or breaking into them. The Nahash variant show is a Sethhanide design does this using special acid coated claws to cleave through very specific hull materials. It also has 4 small turrets mounted on its wings designed to coat larger areas with the acid. They are often fired from coil-guns at enemy vessels, and have just enough charge in their capacitors to course correct slightly and to cancel their own momentum before they collide with the vessel. If left to their own devices they can do considerably more damage than a similar sized missile, cutting away rivets that hold armor in place, blinding sensors, crippling entire rows of turrets, breaking into ship rooms via airlocks or vents to massacre crew etc.
A Sethhanide designed spacecraft that was 4000 m long while only being 200 m wide and 20 m tall it was one of the longest vessels the Zuukind empire ever produced. It was designed as a dedicated broadside vessel, with just under 1000 high grade laser cannons mounted on a single narrow side of its immense length. If it angled itself correctly it could bring all of these to bare while only presenting only a thin 20m line of its own bulk to the enemy. This made it an exceptional ship for engagements with only one major enemy ship but left it vulnerable to franking above and below. The front of the craft features a figurehead in the form of a fully functional mech representation of a prominent Sethhanide, most often of its inventor with whom the class of vessel shares its name. The entire vessel is capable of moving in a serpentine manner, slithering through space unpredictably as it orientates its cannons at foes. It is also able to enter a coiled up defense mode around its figurehead when attacked from multiple angles, the head producing a substantial shield around the compacted vessel while the cannons are able to target vessels all around it.
A ship specifically made to be launched via coil-gun, the Crescents main maneuvering wings fold up against its body while in the barrel and then extend upon exit to steer the craft. Generally they will perform strafing runs using their for mounted twin armaments on whatever they are engaging, then will decelerate and perform a rear assault on the enemy formations.
Throne Class Cruiser(Large), A predecessor of the medusa class, it too features many side mounted laser cannons, however as these are mounted on the rather rigid front section the majority of the aiming is done via lenses. Generally they are sued as the command ships for small battle fleets engaging in longform operations out of Zuukid home controlled space. Stronghold Frigate(Medium): Mid sized carrier that features a large amount of forward facing firepower. A group of these can do significant damage to far larger ships if they can focus fire, while also fielding a sizable fighter/bomber screen to protect their long tails. Guardian Corvette(Small): Each spine contains a small point defense turret that lets this ship screen other vessels against bombers and missiles. They almost never act alone, but instead escort larger craft when the enemy is expected to employ a large number of fighter/bomber craft. Dominion Strike Craft(Fighter): A single man spacecraft built primarily for dueling with its equivalents and intercepting bombers/missiles. The rotatable wing mounted engines give it excellent maneuverability. Virtue Torpedo Boat (bomber) equipped with a single Gauss cannon and carrying a number of high yield missiles or shells it is designed to deliver these payloads to weak points on enemy ships without them having to worry about armoring the munitions themselves against point defense. Powers cargoship (civil): a small cargo vessel used by the Zuukind military to transfer moderate amounts of materials between vessels or across relatively safe routes.
Compact weapons platforms capable of being dropped from orbit, the Zuukind will “seed” a landing zone or priority target with these to soften them up for further assault. A pod can either unfold instantly form their compact forms to attack or can remain hidden buried or submerged at their impact site for days waiting for an opportune moment to strike their targets.
Made from similar materials and components as a lot of their spacecraft, these tanks skim across battlefields at high speeds, bringing their versatile selection of armaments to where they are most needed. Its primary weapon turret will generally be an anti tank weapon, while its many spine mounted turrets act as anti infantry/air weapons.
The size of small dogs or large birds these units will move ahead of the Zuukind armies, spotting targets for artillery, routing out ambushes and gathering intel. Small, stealth and disposable they can be found scouring the periphery of most battlefield, circling enemy formations like carrion eaters as they relay vital tactical information back to the Zuukid forces.
While conventional wheeled/tracked vehicles and more advanced hover vehicles are used by the Zuukid the Sethhanide bioengineers have created a number of biomechanical frame onto which conventional weapons systems can be mounted upon. While generally slower than traditional vehicles they are far more capable of handling difficult terrain and can run most of their systems off local biomatter rather than needing access to specialized fuel. The fact that they need far less metal to produce is also considered a great boon and so, as their production requirements intersect very little with traditional manufacturing, pure and biomechanical warmachines are often seen fighting side by side in the Zuukid military.
Religion/Culture:
Religion: Anchorism
The Zuukind believe that the galaxy rests upon or inside (which is matter of much theological debate) a great being known as the anchor. It is this being that provides the additional gravitational pull that holds the galaxy together and is, effectively, anthropomorphised Dark Matter. Because the heart of the great beast is located at the galactic core that places is considered the holy land by the faithful, which is somewhat problematic as the Zuukind empire was located at the fringes of the galaxy. It is the state religion of the Zuukind empire, and adherence to it is mandated resulting in religious intolerance and persecution of all belief systems that were incompatible with anachronism (which was most of them).
One of the focuses of religious worship, other than regular temples, are deep space monasteries. Here, in small space stations free of artificial gravity, the faithful can come to get closer to the anchor, free from the distraction of other gravitational pulls. Those who stay there are entirely reliant on external supplies, as the monasteries are often light-years from the closest star. A careful balance is maintained between the frequency of supply ships arriving to drop off fuel, food, etc, and the amount of space given over for storing said supplies. Both add mass that might distract the meditating inhabitants of the station, and so they are almost always walk a thin tightrope of survival for the sake of enlightenment. For some even these stations are not enough and the greatest seekers of the anchor will live alone in tiny ships or even space suits in deep space, deliberately becoming the most isolated people in the universe for days or months on end. Insanity in these individuals is common, enlightenment rare. Telling the difference is sometimes an art onto itself.
Regular worship involves meditating once per day in a zero gravity environment, either a simulated one available in planet-side temples or by deactivating the artificial gravity for those who are currently in space. Most space bound habitats and vessels coordinate this meditation ship wide, setting aside 30 minutes of zero g for all those on-board to meditate simultaneously. There are also drug assisted guided meditation sessions lead by the priesthood, each lasting two hours, that Zuukind are culturally expected to partake in at least once a week. Commoners will generally partake in group sessions in temples, ship wide broadcasts or, at worst, recordings available online while the dedicated wealthy might have private sessions or a personal priest. The most faithful may partake in this type of meditation more than once a week.
Demographics (Species):
Rodorphin: Bulky 8 limbed creatures that are the founders of the empire and its faith. They somewhat resemble the mythical centaurs, with a humanoid torso mounted at the front of a hexapod body, but they have claw like feet and their skin is covered in soft scales that comes in various shades of dull reds, browns and oranges. They are carnivores that are about two and a half meters tall and can outpace horses on most terrain. They are used to a higher oxygen concentration than that expected by humans, and as such often need to supplement the air of other worlds with additional O2 using a filter/enricher mask lest they be left permanently breathless.
Founders of the Zuukid empire and the species of the Prophet Avostin Zuuk they fill much of the imperial theocracy on account of their home-world being the empire’s capital. They can also be found across the empire, though unlike humanity they did not end up ubiquitously dominate their empire’s holdings. This is partially because the empire put the faithful first, not the founders and also because the Rodorphin’s oxygen need restricted them from casual occupation of many worlds.
The Rodorphin exhibit sexual monomorphism, with all members appearing to be masculine in appearance to the casual human observer. Culturally, other than a basic use of pronouns they distinguish very little between the sexes, resulting in an absence of the gendering of titles, occupations and words found in other species’ languages. For example, the emperor is always the emperor, regardless of gender, with the word empress being seen as an annoying and pointless complication in other languages.
Sethhanide: An alien race with a colony of serpents, known as hydras, growing on their skulls. These serpents are a form of parasite on the Sethhanides planets, which have developed a symbiotic relationship with several species there. The serpents help protect their host from the dangerous ambush and pack hunter predators that live on the planet by providing 360 vision, acting in shifts as a night watch and fending of foes with their venomous spit. In return the host warms the cold blooded serpents and shares food with them. While the Sethhanide have long since surpassed the need for their companions they retain a cultural and biological fondness for the creatures, and as such most of them retain them as pets.
The Sethhanide known well known for their work in cloning and genetic engineering, the most notable of their achievements having been the race of Vuans, human based super-soldiers that they provided to bolster the Zuukid crusade forces. Sethhanide vehicles, robots and space vessels are generally serpentine in nature, this leaves them rather fragile but highly maneuverable.
They were early willing members of the Zuukid empire and their addition of biomechanical engineering is the basis for a lot of the empire's success. They have managed to keep a firm hold of their art despite it spreading across the empire thanks to their old home systems now housing most of the universities that teach it while simultaneously having lax local ethics laws that allow the somewhat unseemly experiments needed to further the art of biomechanical engineering. Sethhanides had less problems than the Rodorphin in colonizing other worlds, though their size did still cause some similar problems that limited their spread, the main one being time, as colonization efforts of abandoned or underpopulated worlds where still in their infancy when the empire collapsed.
Vuans: The Vuans where developed by the Sethhanide to serve as shock troops. There were two primary goals in their development. First, to have troops optimized for operating effectively in human friendly environments and second, to let them easily put captured/seized human technology to work. A third added benefit is that their production required only human cadavers, something that was in plentiful supply after most military engagements in Orionic Empire space. They possess increased strength, endurance and limited regenerative capabilities that have greatly extended their lifespans at the cost of increased risks of brain disease like Alzheimer's. Their usage has fallen off in most parts of the former Zuukid Empire due to a lack of raw materials, but they persist in use among the Faithful Hairs and with/as independent marauder groups all over the galaxy.
Vauns, after being assembled from raw materials, are subjected to intense indoctrination and brainwashing to remove any prior loyalties or personality, making them perfect zealots of the Zuukind cause. Despite this some memories will remain in fragments, and the older variants particular can be plagued by flashes of their past lives. When this occurs most submit themselves for re-indoctrination but rarely they deserted instead, something that became considerably more common during and after the empires collapse.
Rekshai: Rekshai come from the Sethhanide home-world, where they were one of the predators that causes their symbiotic relationship with their distinctive serpentine hair. Unlike most of their competition the Rekshai where not driven to extinction by the rise of Sethhanide civilization, as instead the worryingly intelligent monsters managed to follow their most successful prey species as they expanded across the globe, avoiding all subsequent attempts at extermination through cunning, stealth and adaptation. By the time technology had advanced enough that true eradication would be possible conservation moments had arisen that preserved the predators existence, though limiting their domains to certain national parks, zoos, preserves etc. and initiating an ever advancing method of prevent attacks on Sethhanides using radar tagging, smart shock collars, etc. They subsequently fell into quiet irrelevance, a lingering reminder of what progress had overcome, until the someone in the biotech industry had the idea of using them as a basis for a new biomechanical construct.
Subesequent study revealed just how advanced the brains the beasts had actually been, exhibiting intelligence that, if given a slight boost, allowed them to achieve limited sentience. While some might argue against the wisdom of granting greater cognitive abilities to one of your own predators the effectiveness of the results were undeniable. Coated in biometalic armor, improved with synthetic muscles, injected with performance enhancing drugs and installed with limited cybernetics they became deadly weapons of war capable of understanding complex orders with little alteration to their cerebral cortex. The Zuukind subsequently use them as incredibly deadly attack dogs: unleashing them on enemy formations and ships via specialized attack craft, releasing them into cities and compounds to sow terror or having them accompany inquisitors hunting down heretics.
Inevitably some subjects have escaped and evaded re-capture, the collapse contributing significantly to the number of such escapes. While these subjects have sometimes started infestations via breeding their offspring are non-augmented and thus lack their parents intelligence boosting implants. Unfortunately they display more intelligence than their wiled betherned ever did, presumably due to being trained/lead by their progenitors.
Lonoxi: Insectile creatures that evolved a social structure similar to that of ants or bees, where a small number of fertile females have access to a small number of males for breeding purposes while the majority of the species are infertile drones made to serve the fertile females bidding. This social structure was retained even when the race achieved sentience, with fertile Queens and their male lords acting as regents and aristocracy while the drones where their willing servants. This persisted right up until the invention of chemical warfare, as the subsequent reactions introduction of gas masks unintentionally gave the drones a way to free themselves from the pheromones the queens secreted, pheromones that none of their kind had recognized as existing. Here the species split into two distinct, opposing, styles, the old monarchistic one which used this knowledge of pheromones to cement their rule and one where the drones overthrew their progenitors and formed collectivist councils of drones to govern, with the breeders being subservient to the will of their offspring. These two patterns never managed to overcome one another, the ability completely stop the creation of pheromone filters as difficult as preventing breaches in filter protocols.
In the end it was the Zuukind that forged the two together in an unhappy union, Sethhanide manufactured drugs making drones immune to the pheromones while the Zuukid theocracy relentlessly preferred the breeders as officials or governors due to their longer life spans and more individualistic intelligence. Still, while there where those who longed for both the old ways faith and inquisitors kept the Lonoxi firmly focused on serving the empire as a whole. With the empire gone however the old divisions have re-arisen, now joined by the third who still desire what the Zuukid brought them.
Drones are rather squat, bulky and well armored, featuring a pair of large blades pointing backwards from their forearms. Males are tall, thin and supermodel esque in appearance, traits grown to improve their odds of been chosen by a queen. Queens themselves are somewhat similar in appearance to the males but have a large abdomen extending out behind their hips that is used to grow and lay eggs.
Forensakai: Unlike the Rodorphin, Forensakai exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism that make their two genders aprea to be almost different species: the females are tough four armed, four eyed bipeds with shriveled wings while the males are 4 legged creatures of an almost bestial appearance that are capable of flight. Despite their structural differences and the makes animistic appearance both genders exhibit near identical levels of intelligence. The reason for these differences can be found by studying their old mating habits. The females need a living host within which to parasitically insert their larvae(much like certain parasitic wasps of earth), a host that they actively defend from other predators while their young mature inside it. The males then need to both retrieve this host in the first place and need to keep the woman fed while she guards the host. To do so they travel great distances to find the perfect host as well as to forage food for their mate, but do not need to be able to tussle with hostile predators. Thus the females became tough flightless fighters and the males agile aerial hunters with excellent endurance. The Forensakai eventually adopted a herding method of protecting their hosts and upon this cooperation their civilization was build.
While their life cycle involves presenting a host they do not require once capable of sentiences like the Parasitians. Infact scentiens generally make for very poor hosts due to their diets, general lack of extensive fat reserves and ability to recognise they are infested. Instead they use livestock, preferably large caterpillar like creatures from homeworld, but creatures like cows will serve the task as well, though the infant will often need assistance from their parents or a doctor to deal with the creatures skeleton.
Other: The empire absorbed/subjugated may races during its heyday and as such it contains a baud sampaling of the galaxies races further augmented by pilgrims from even further afield. However, only the above are referred to as Zuukind due to their pervasiveness as the faces, both civilian and military, of the empire.
Characters:
Relations:
Habitation:
Aesthetics: Zuukid architecture and fashion generally follows that of ancient greece mixed with local flavor. White marble and equivalent synthetic materials dominate their public buildings which are decorated with columns and statues. Togas made of modern materials are associated with Anchronism and are thus popular wear for the faithful when the climate permits them.
Vartini Scout Tank Vopundre Medium Tank Orgivia Light Tank A Orgivia Light Tank B Bakago Bombardment APC Carall APC
Seen above are a variety of vehicles sporting the innovated ball tread system utilised by many pre civil war Zuukid vehicles. Best exemplified on the exposed treads on the Vartini scout tank, they are magnetically held spheres that can be made to rotate in any direction, allowing for unprecedented maneuverability. Ball tread tanks are capable of moving freely in any direction like a hover tank tanks, but don't suffer from the same extreme energy requirements, lack of traction or issues with recoil that floating vehicles do. Despite these advantages the ball-treads take considerably more maintenance than traditional treads, maintenance time that most would prefer to spend on the even costlier mechs, and as such most modern armies using these will mix them in with regular caterpillar threaded variants to bulk up their force count.
Vartini: a small lightly armored tank that relies almost entirely on the superior maneuverability its ball treads give it to stay alive, weaving deftly through narrow streets or uneven countryside. Its primary armament is a turret mounted laser blaster used mainly either to harass targets of opportunity or to see of pursuers as it gathers intel.
Vopundre: one of the oldest models, it's more or less a traditional tank with its tracks replaced with ball-treads. Despite this it stayed in production throughout the crusades due to being a reliable workhorse, well armored, powerful main gauss gun, and highly maneuverable, and still sees alt of service in the civil war thanks to the ease of reattaching caterpillar tracks, resulting in some odd looking repair jobs with tanks sporting a track on one side and ball-treads on the other.
Orgivaia A and B: designed alongside each other by two competing design philosophies the empire ended up taking both on thanks to them being able to fill two roles by stapling a different turret on the same base. The A variant acts as a smaller, faster, Vopundre that can duel with other tanks, while the B variant has two twin linked Laser blasters used to combat masses of infantry and light vehicles and is considered the perfect tank for city fighting.
Bakago APC: a large box used to ferry infantry around, the quad barreled turret sat on top of the vehicle is what really makes it stand out. By loading a variety of gauss munitions the Bakago can provide fire support for its passengers against almost any target, providing artillery strikes, suppressive fire, AA cover or anti tank capabilities. Each baral is loaded with a different payload, and when a target is sighted the unsuitable munitions are swapped out while the barrel holding the correct response lets of the first shot of the engagement.
Carall APC: while smaller than the Bakago and armed with inflexible laser blasters the Carall has one major advantage, that being its powerful shield generators that let it bring troops to a location more safely and can also be used to set up an large bubble shield to protect them once combat begins.
Specialization: Beast: She can summon animals to come to her aid, empower herself others or animals with simple physical improvements or temporarily grant them physical traits of other animals that are present. She also has an intrinsic understanding of animal body language and as a result gets along with them easily. Finally her senses are naturally sharper and her general physique sightly improved even while in her human form. Sound: Rieka has no skill with instruments (her claws ended up made using them incredibly inconvenient anyway), and her voice is ill suited for singing which made originally getting sound powers rather unfortunate. In the short period before becoming a monster girl she mainly used via shouting/screaming at her enemy. Now she howls instead which is a minor improvement. Primarily used to in conjunction with her beast powers to provide additional buffs to her and her allies, it also gives her limited magical offense through debuffing spells and ranged sonic attacks.
Weapon: Her primary weapons are her fists, teeth and claws augmented by a pair of magical bracers that can be used to block, empower her punches or that transform into golden claws for better scratching power.
Power: Duplication: She can spend large amounts of mana to create duplicates of herself. These duplicates are as strong and tough as her, and retain any of her physical transformations, but cannot cast spells. A single wound will destroy them, though her inherent toughness, often augmented by buffs, make striking a strong enough blow a difficult prospect. Regeneration: She can regenerate health and recover mana much much faster than normal. Limbs can be reattached or, if mana is expended, regrown entirely. As a result she is incapable of succumbing to her wounds and can only be killed by a single decisive blow. Her wounds heal even while in combat and she also has increased stamina. Her disguise inhibits most of the wound regeneration but she is still has an impressive amount of stamina.
Perks: Dule weapon (melee): she has a pair of bracers that enhancer her brawling ability, either by adding force to her punches, being used as a blocking tool or by adding long golden blades to her claws. Enhanced weapon: This weapon, and her natural weapons, are superior to the standard fair. Flexibility: Rieka has a far greater range of motion in her limbs and joints than a human being should have. Adding this to her strength and dexterity it gives Rieka unparalleled agility. Awareness: She is ar more intune with what her already enhanced senses are telling her, letting her detect threats or irregularities in her situation with ease. By extension this makes her an excellent tracker Blood magic: She can convert health to mana. With regeneration she can convert mana to health. This makes the two resource pools effectively one and the same. Interdimensional Home: A spacious studio apartment located in another world that can be accessed after 10 seconds of concentration. The room has no door, a window looking out at an alien city, simple furniture and a fridge containing an endless supply of cheat instant meals. It also features a number of terrariums and cages where Rieka keeps a number of low maintenance or useful pets that she can borrow traits from. Monstrous metamorphosis: extremes of emotion (or intense hunger) can cause her to lose control and unleash the beast within, her mutations overcoming her mind and body as she becomes a fully fledged werewolf. This form is even stronger, faster and tougher but she loses the ability to think rationally, becoming limited to simple fight or flight style decisions. This form is not prevented from using magic however, which can cause issues if the beast starts duplicating feral versions of herself, as they lack the magic to shift back to monster girl or human form.
Patron: Feral
Benefits: Focused, Subtle, Magical Overload, Physical prowess, Mental Link
Drawbacks: Alien Mind, Alien Tongue, Formless, Monstrous Form
Monstrous Form: Body mutation: Nonstandard limbs (wolfish arms and legs, addition of tail and wolf ears) Mind mutation: Devourer, Feral and as a direct result Alica, hunger for the blood of magical beings which the pair both uses to sustain themselves. Soul mutation: Redirected Magic (Feral improves her physical traits while draining some of her magical energy in the process), second specialisation (Beast)
Fighting Style: When it comes to physically fighting Rieka is a wolf through and through, because she fights with a pack, one consisting entirely of duplicate copies of herself. Using her regeneration and blood magic in combination she can rapidly produce the mana necissery to build up a small army of clones that, thanks to her inherent toughness and strength, are more than meer decoys, capable of dishing out serious damage in melee while shrugging off attacks weaker than rifle bullets without being dissipated. All this is before her specialisations come into the mix.
With beast and sound magic she can buff both herself and her clones even furthur. Before duplication she can physically empower herself with extra muscle or with mutations borrowed from other animals, either the ones in her dimensional home (mainly herbivorous insects) or any that she can find/summon from the immediate area. After duplication she can further buff herself and her close using soundmagic, her howls empowering the pack to fight harder and to shrug off even greater blows. She can also weaken her foes with his magic or use it for ranged sonic howl attacks. Overall Alica’s magical effects aren't particularly strong individually however she can pump out a lot of them and can passively maintain a lot of buffs/clones thanks to her high mana regeneration gained from regeneration, blood magic converting the hp portion of regen into mana and her high vitality.
The pack fights mostly using hunting style tactics, surrounding the foe with their numbers and trying to herd them to a disadvantage location while individual duplicates make attacks of opportunities on their prey when it is distracted. The clones are not opposed to using human wave tactics however, bum rushing a target en masse as Rieka herself pumps out a constant stream of reserves in an endurance match that the mana ritch werewolf can often win. Ranged combat wise the pack is limited to throwing things, although working together they can toss some pretty heavy stuff around. Watch out for flying cars. And flying wolf girls.
Rieka herself, when she isn't at the heart of her pack buffing or at the back reinforcing it, is an in your face brawler who will furiously try to beat the crap out of her foes with a flurry of punches, kicks, scratches and bites. Her regeneration means that she can afford to be reckless like this as long as she avoids instantly fatal blows and it gives her pack ample opportunity to attack the target from the rear. It's preferable that she be the focus of their foe’s attacks, as the clones can mostly dish out the same amount of hurt as the original, but Alica herself can soak considerable more damage.
Personality: Spunky, enthusiastic and endlessly energetic, Rieka tries her best to not let circumstances get the better of her which is as much a coping mechanism as it is her natural personality. She tries to make friends, it's lonely being a monster with another monster living inside you, but so far she hasn’t had much luck. She’s also something of a glutton for punishment, has an almost reckless disregard of her own safety and takes far to much enjoyment from fighting a good, and just, fight.
History: Rieka was, originally just another high school graduate from a small town who had no idea what she was going to do with her life. Half decent grades, small circle of friends, minor interest in athleticism, no real skills or special talents to speak of. It doesn't really matter anymore. She can't go back, not when she can't be comfortable in her own skin anymore. Not with the hunger gnawing at her bones.
It was while she was talking a short jog through the local woods one evening when she met her fate, stumbling across an injured young girl dressed in cutesy attire slumped against a tree with a dainty rapier resting at her side who looked to be the victim of a wild animal attack. The girl tried desperately to get Rieka to go away, warning that she was in danger, but young woman would not be dissuaded and tried to assist her, to both their detriment. The girl’s attacker revealed itself almost as soon as Rieka got to the girl’s side: a monstrous wolf, its fur black as coal, teeth the size of kitchen knives and its body covered in wounds, old and new, surged out of the undergrowth and charged the pair. Rieka was thrown aside by the surprisingly strong girl just before the beast was upon them. Rieka crashed to ground as the girl let out a sickening scream that was cut off as suddenly as it began. Unwilling to look back as the monstrous wolf began to gorge itself on the girl’s body she tried to crawl away, only to be presented with an unnaturally cute critter that then inexplicably spoke to her in an unsuitable calm tone.
“It’s going to eat you after its done with her you know, but if you sign a contract with me and became a magical girl you might just survive. I’m in need of a new girl anyway.”
Rieka could only look at her dumbfounded for a few silent moments before it added
“It’s your fault she’s dead you know, the least you could do is make sure her family has a body left to bury.” it looked past her at the monster for a moment and adding “You’d better hurry up if you want that though”
It was that guilt that sealed the deal. Magic flowed into her as she stood and turned to fast the beast which showed sudden interest in the new magical girl where before it had ignored the scared young woman. After a long, grueling battle in which the unskilled girl lost more blood than she thought she had in her she finally put down the beast thanks in no small part to the mounds it had sustained fighting the other girl, including the rapier she had trust through its chest in her dying moments. When the final blow was struck two horrible things happen. First of all the wolf shrunk as it perished, shedding fur as it revealed it’s true form: the broken body of another young girl. Second, an ethereal presence leaped out of the body at her ghosting inside her body faster than she could react. Then she blacked out.
She woke up some time later, her body forever changed. Back fur coated her arms and lower legs, claws had sprouted from her fingers and toes, her teeth had grown sharp, a long tail swept down behind her and a pair of ears could now be found perched atop her head. Worse than this was the fact that both of the other girl’s bodies had been torn apart and devoured while she was out. Judging by the fact that she was now covered in even more blood it had been her who had consumed them, and yet she was, horrifyingly, still hungry. The last thing she saw after she awoke was the strange creature that she had signed a contract with. It was some down the path from the bloody carnage, staring at her blankly.
“Disgusting” was all it said before it disappeared into the forest. The next time she saw it it had a new girl who it had sent to kill her. It ended up being one of the few things she had enjoyed eating since her transformation.
After the next few weeks she got to understand her new predicament. The spirit, something she eventually found out was a being know as a lesser force, had possessed her body and now drove her to hunt and consume other magical beings. For the most part she still had control of her body and mind, at least until the hunger got bad enough or she broke down emotionally, but the specter, that she ended up calling Feral, rudely inserted itself into her mind as a kind of brutal instinct that wordlessly helped her find pray and fight it. She tried her damnedest to avoid hunting anything/one innocent and has so far has succeeded with a few near misses. Eventually she was guided towards the city, a concrete jungle bursting with potential pray.
Additional Info: When it comes to normal food she is actually a vegetarian, but her speciality dish is, by necessity, monster mash stew.
Type: Lesser force
Name: Feral
Personality: Feral is an apt description of its personality, which is precisely the reason Rieka gave the thing possessing her that name. The completely alien mind of the spirit thirsts for the blood of magical beings and communicates primarily by forcing this urge upon Alicia, driving her to hunt that most dangerous of pray. It's only other communications are feeling based, as it subconsciously urges Rieka to go this way, avoid this thing, attack this thing in this way and so on.
History: Feral seems to be a kind of ancient spirit embodying the concept of either predators or the hunt that has hopped from host to host, be it magical girl, monster or other mythical creature, and then driving them to hunt down other magical beings to further sustain itself.
Resources: Feral has nothing other than Rieka at its disposal.
Additional Info: Feral is possessing Rieka and if she dies it will attempt to possess something/one else nearby
1g, 3s, 4b Emergency origin 16 Overdeveloped (+1 vit) Psychic (+2 mag +2 LCK) S for Sound (+ 1 agi, + 2 MAG, + 1 LCK) Fists(+2 STR) Skimpy(+1 agility) Duplication Gold for regeneration origin choice of +1 weapon stats, enhanced weapon (+1 STR) origin choice of +1 weapon stats, melee (+1 str + 1 vit, buffed by enhanced weapon to become +2 str + 2 vit) Flexibility (+1 agility) Awareness Familiar, S switch to Interdimensional home. Big damn hero - origin switch to blood magic ( + 1 vit) Monstrous metamorphosis (+2 Str + 2 AGI + 2 Vit when active) Patron choices:
Lesser force
Benefits: Focus, subtle, magical overload, Physical prowess (+1 to physical stats), mental link
Drawbacks: Alien Mind, Alien Tongue, Formless, Monstrous Form
Monster girl from magical overload Body mutation: Nonstandard limbs (wolfish arms, legs, tail and ears Mind mutation: Devourer. Tasty tasty monster meat or a more spiritual hunger for the hunt. Soul mutation: Redirected Magic (-3 mag, +2 STR, VTI and AGI), second specialisation: Beast (+1 STR +1 agi + 1 luck)
Perks = + 5 Str + 3 Agi + 3 Mag + 4 Vit + 1 LCK
3 bronze and 1 silver remaining for +5 stats
+ 1 Str + 3 Mag + 1 Vit
Physical prowess, second specialisation and Redirected magic from patron
+ 4 Str + 4 Agi + 3 Vit - 3 Mag + 1 LCK
Beast, flexibility and blood magic grant out of transformation/disguised stats
Written Description: Constantina is a young european woman with bleach white hair and emerald eyes. She wears a plate hauberk over which a purple cloak has been draped and a pair of matching purple boots. A Laurel wreath worn atop her head and a necalse bearing a winged skull amulet denote her as a Censor, one of the keepers and enforcers of the laws of death
Personality: Bold proud and charismatic, Constantina endeavored to embody the spirit of Scelerian culture and ideology as she spreads the faith and might of the Divine emperor across the known world. Unfortunately, with the crisis of the ashen empire now over the trappings of wealth, empire and divinity have proved far too tempting for the prophet and she has fallen back into the hedonism of the old empire, now with the added benefit of being waited on hand and foot by undead servants, which is something of a common occurrence at all rungs of post war Scelerian society. Being sent to help fight the M Virus is as much an tempt to get her out of the house as anything, so while Constantina might attempt to put on the airs of her old self and rekindle the fires of resistance, a certain part of her really would rather be anywhere else but here.
Game: Dominions because nobody has bothered typing out the lore of all of the games 100 or so nations online:
Current Story Constantina is the daughter of Sceleria’s Emperor and first of the Censors to take up their new responsibilities under the deathcult and was named Prophet after her father claimed godhood upon the disappearance of the Pantokrator. She lead his legions, living and dead, on a great campaign to put put down and then bury the reanimated corpse of the Ermor empire once and for all. Now, years later, vast swathes of the land have been reduced to lifeless barren wastes that will never recover, but at long last Ermor has been put to rest and Constantine's father, the divine emperor, has ascended to become the new Pantokrator, the lord of all creation, after their forces overcame all the forces of all other pretender gods who dared challenge them. When world of the spreading Virus that threatens to bring down the entire arcade the Divine emperor has sent his greatest warrior and general to see that this plague never reaches his recently acquired Dominion.
Weapon(s) Lictor Axe: A great executioner's axe wielded by the Censors and Lictors of Sceleria that has been enchanted by thaumages to halt the dead in their tracks. Deals magical damage and paralyzes undead units making it an effective weapon against the endless hordes of Ermor and as a tool to keep Scelerian undead in line.
Slot One: Reanimators: alongside her god’s many physical empowerments Claudia is also blessed with the innate ability to remaimate 50% of living the enemies that she kills in battle. These slain foes return as soulless (read zombies) that will serve her for the remainder of the battle or until they are once again struck down. Soulless are still able to use the weapons they used in life but are lacking in the skill needed to use them particularly effectively however they are rather difficult to bring down due to a lack of vital organs.
Special Abilities
Slot One:
Items Slot One. Slot Two. Slot Three.
Strengths
Highly trained Prophet of the Divine Emperor: Censors’ are already elite troops when they first set foot on the battlefield thanks to their training, Constantina herself has a wealth of combat experience fighting numerous foes of all shapes and sizes making her some of the best humanity has of offer in terms of melee combatants. Peace has led to rust setaling on these skills however, a corrosion that will need to be shaken off in the coming campaign. On top of this natural skill, the blessings of god are many indeed and as his Prophet Constantina is permanently blessed with:
Resulting in movement speed, shooting skill, combat skill, strength, magic resistance and hp all being far greater than that of that of the average well trained human.
For reference, the base human stats of an unarmored human for most of these is generally 10
Generalship: You can’t exactly conquer save the world on your own unless your a titanic sized super combatant, so the Prophet has a lot of experience in running an effective army. From Logistics to leadership, tactics and strategy, all these essential skills and more were been put to good use by the Constantina in her campaign. Should it be so necissery she can call on that knowledge again, abit in a somewhat diminished state.
Legendary Commander of the Undead: commanding the mostly mindless undead requires not just regular leadership but the ability to sustain their continued existence, for without undead leadership the dead crumble back to their natural, inanimate state. Constantina herself can command and sustained over a hundred undead servants on her own.
Super combatant in the making: her universe provides many paths to greatness. From fast tracking up the magical skill ladder using magical gem based empowerment and the many powerful spells this grants access too, to the existence of many powerful artifacts that can let moralt men stand their ground against titans and magic beasts there exists in Constantina the possibility of achieving some truly stupendous power if she is able to grasp it.
Weaknesses
You and what army?: being able to lead dozens of undead is all well and good, but the Prophet does not exactly have access to the many, many priests and Thaumaturgs that animated those minions to begin with. Without acquiring items of magical skill to produce them herself she will be mostly, baring those temporarily raised by reanimator, have to go without the legions she is used to having at her beck and call.
Probably should wear a helmet: despite her divinely granted power she is still mortal, something she should probably keep in mind lest a swift blow to the head leave her as merely another carcase ripe for use as undead fodder.
Magic takes effort: her world’s magic may be a fantastical one full of magic and wonder but all this comes at a price. Simple combat spells impose a great deal of fatigue on the caster that can potentially knock them out cold for muits, while greater and more permanent feats of conjuring require rare magic gems harvestable only from mysterious sites of power. With an empire at her beck and call the woman could have commanded dead gods from tartarus, traverse continents in a few days by traveling through the underworlds or revive great heros as mummified monsters, but alone her powers are significantly more modest, at least compared to those lofty heights. This will no doubt piss her off.
Personality: Ioxeia is cautious yet inquisitive. Spiritual and analytical. Kind, but the doctor also knows best. She has seen a lot of good people die. She will do everything she can to not lose another.
Brief Biography: Just as weapons have rapidly advanced and become more sophisticated to allow humanity to harm the demonic monsters invading their world, so too has medicine advanced in-order to undo the harm done to them by the fiends. The Panaceans have long been at the forefront of these advancements, drawing wisdom and understanding from their gifts and using it to create mundane treatments and teach the art of surgery to themselves and the un-blessed.
Ioxeia was born the child of two Panacean doctors and, like all their other children, was inducted into the order as soon as she could walk. From a young age she got hands-on experience with the ins and outs of the human body. The Panacean Disciples followed on the heels of the Crusade’s warriors as part of the armies massive baggage chains. There, right behind the frontlines, they tended to the wounded, mending broken bodies so that they could be sent back out into the fight. All of Loxeia’s formative years were spent here, elbow deep in the dying and under the constant fear of Demonic raids targeting their field hospitals. She learned the very basics of how to fight to defend herself and her patients when she had time, but for the most part she learned how to run and hide in the shadows and fragrant smoke of the Disciples’s hospitals.
Then, once the crusade reached the Abyss, the nature of the war changed. No longer did armies do battle in the fields but instead bands of martyrs descended down into depths from the wounded could not be pulled out of so easily. As the war changed, so too did the Disciples. They could no longer rely on distance or the masses of soldiers to protect them, for down in the depths everyone was at risk and those who could not defend themselves were a potentially lethal liability. Ioxeia and her fellow Disciples were trained in the art of battle and survival by grateful veterans whose lives they had once saved so that they might continue to do so in this new stage of the war. One by one the Disciples felt they were ready to face the abyss. One by one they found a group to join and descended into the depths. Some returned. Many did not.
Now it’s Ioxeia’s turn to descend into the depths bearing Panacean’s cleansing mist. By the light of god and the strength of women, the vile cancer afflicting the world will be cut out, one incision at a time. -----
Passive: Surgeon’s Hands (+5 Skill). When one errant twitch could end a life, you learn to keep your hands steady.
Spiritual Surgery: Ioxeia grabs a patient next to her and pulls them away from combat. Once out she uses a combination of magical and mundane healing techniques to physically mend the wounds of the patient over the course of one round. REQ:: P:0 || S:14|| R: 0 [AP(action point): 1 ] Effects ) : Move the patient and Ioxeia away from combat +30 resistance for heal roll Iimmobilizes the patient for one turn -9 skill for the patient and Ioxeia for one turn (difficult to move while being operated on) The patient can break effect at any point but will lose the healing gained from the skill Fatigues Ioxeia Turn ending
Obscuring smoke: Ioxeia enchants the smoke from her censer and blasts it out into an obscuring pleasant smelling cloud covering a wide area. The smoke itself shrouds those within it from view, while the scent heightens the senses of any who breath it. P:5 || S:8|| R: 0 [AP(action point): 1 ] Effects : +3 skill for all individuals while they are inside the smoke cloud Not turn ending
Angels in the mist: Parts of the Censor’s smoke briefly takes on the vague form of several angelic beings, each of which strike at a target with a singular blow before dissipating back into the smoke. These figures can even charge slightly out of the smoke to strike. The concentrated smoke forming the angels is overpoweringly strong, and the inevitable gust of it that hits after they strike briefly overwhelms the target’s senses. P:10 || S:10|| R: 0 [AP(action point): 1] Effects : +3 power Target: -3 skill for 2 rounds Turn ending
Minor Feat - Get away from me/them!: Ioxeia kicks or shoves a foe with desperate strength to get them away from her or someone else. Useful for running away afterwards, environmental hazard shenanigans or pushing a target out of her smoke cloud buff. P:10 || S:0|| R: 0 [AP(action point): 1] Effects : +5 power -5 skill Attack roll that deals no damage Shoves target in melee range far away from Ioxeia Not turn ending
Censer: A metallic instrument used for the burning of essences and perfumes for the purpose of spiritual purification to cleanse a room of demonic corruption. It also helps mask the scent of blood and bile. A series of fine chains allow the device to be swung around to further spread the scent around a room.
Doctor’s Garb: Ioxeia wears an avian shaped mask with green lenses protecting the eyes that is distinctive of her order. The beak is filled with perfumes similar to the ones burned by the censer. The accompanying bodysuit seals all but her hair and ears away from the air, protecting her from bad humors and bloodstains.
A large satchel containing medical supplies such as bandages, scalpels, rubbing alcohol, tweezers, needles, suture, leeches, salves, holy water and more. Also contains plenty of spare fuel for the censer, standard rations, a journal and a Panacean holy/medicine book.
Bottled Raven Essence: a small vessel containing a spectral raven. The holder of the vessel can mentally command the avian to assail their foes with its razor sharp beak. Functions as a basic magical ranged weapon. (+2 P)
Gambazan: a quilted linen jacket worn over her docterly attire. Provides a surprising amount of protection but in the end is still only made of cloth. Slightly cumbersome. (+1 R -1 S)
Xavior stands at just about two meters tall. He has red skin and a pair of curved horns that give him a demonic appearance, along with a pair of pointed ears and claws instead of nails. His eyes are golden and without irisus, which are matched by much of his equal golden ornamentation. His hair is short, and he has a well kept beard and goatee adorning his chin.
His body is large, broad shouldered and artfully muscled that is generally has the stately clothing of the era, be it a suit, toga, robe, stretched across it.
PERSONALITY
Xavior is generally a calm and noble soul, speaking in a somewhat refined manner and paying courtesy and kindness where such things are due. He is slow to anger but if truly roused he will burst into a self righteous fury and strike hard and fast at the object of his rage. He also has a bit of a flare for the dramatic, in terms of both action and presentation.
He presents himself as trustworthy and considers himself as a man of his word. On the flip side he is not particularly trusting, especially of those whose deeds and person he does not know. He dislikes owing people nonspecific favors, and acts swiftly to pay his debts, or to ensure that those who owe him know what he expects in return.
This does not necessarily mean that he is honest. The god can be trusted to keep his word, and only his word. It is the letter of the oath that matters, not the spirit. So make sure you read the fine print.
Will
Xavior considered a person who keeps their word to be the most noble of souls. How else will this game of gods be won if not by union of those who can be trusted to honor their oaths? Well, it could be one by a single murderous survivor, a backstabbing chareton or a domineering overlord, but all of these are unacceptable to Xavior, even, or especially, if he himself was the one to win this way. In Xavior’s opinion a world created by such a person would be a stagnant monument of ego unworthy of existence.
A shared dream meanwhile, a synthesis of ideas and ideals blending together to create something unique and unexpected, now that is something worth building a world upon. That does not mean Xavior is an empty vessel. He is a partner, and his aid is only given when it is bargained for by gods and mortals alike.
A node-land under Xavior, thefor, would be one defined loosely enough that it may be molded by its inhabitants to their desires, and punctured by grand works they have bartered for the creation of. It is also one within which pacts are sacrosanct, the oathbreaker is an accursed wretch and the consequences of going against one's word are enforced by reality itself.
A world meanwhile, well, that would very much depend on who signed onto his pact. But it is safe to say that it would not be a world with set masters or rulers, only people, living their own lives and making deals bound by blood.
2 mp : make a glider that can call the wind to give it more lift 1 ap: make a nice sharp curved sword for slaying beasts, fools and anything else. Durable enough to be wielded by a god without breaking, otherwise unremarkable. 2 (4 discounted with adventure!) ap: to make a large ancient mystical forest to get lost in. Hosts a lot of sea life-esque animals (fish, squids, octopuses, crabs, shrimps, sunfish, sharks etc.) in the place of bugs, birds, lizards and small mammals collectively known as tonnikala. 2 (3) mp: to make forest-kin, a diverse range of animated plant matter that roam the forest and make it more ‘interesting’ to explore. Replace your large mammals in the food chain (wolves, deer, etc) and add in a few more unique things like towering humanoid forest guardians, giant root based snakes or the mysterious handworm. They will collaborate in doing violence towards anyone not living in harmony with the forest (something that makes them all tamable by those that do and the bane of lumberjacks), but otherwise act as normal animals. Their carcasses can be harvested for many potentially useful components which have a variety of medicinal, magical and material uses. 1mp: teach some elves basic wood/plant working to make stuff like pointed sticks, nests, vine grass skirts etc. 1mp: artifact: Granysmith’s cookbook: can be used to learn how to cook an apple pie once the prerequisite technologies have been acquired (fire -> cooking and some form of domestication for dairy products) 1 ap (discounted from 2 from adventure!) monument/landscaping/legendary beast (hard to say what this counts as tbh): big tree house dungeon 1 ap (discounted from 2 using adventure!) legendary ‘beast’: Jim (of many titles): a calcified heart that still beats and is capable of reanimating anything that once had a soul into undead creatures serving his will. Seeing as everything has a soul, well, that gives him a lot of options. His heart is very sturdy, requiring strong magical or divine power to destroy. 4 mp (discounted from 8 with adventure!): to create the class system. See roleplayerguild.com/posts/5390338 for more details as to how this works 2 ap (discounted form 3 with adventure!): to make the Darkwood [Adventurers] Guild holy order, a presently pretty loose knit group of adventures based out of the Darkwoods. Members have a high chance of getting bonus forest related skills. 1 ap (discounted from 2 with adventure) to make the small landscaping change of a spooky castle up in the mountains 1 ap to make Jim a champion with the [necromancer] class 1 ap to fill the castle with mundane treasures 3 mp to unlock the Forests Aspect: More than just trees, a forest is a diverse and complex ecosystem, that, while yes, defined by its largest of residents, includes so much more than that. From vines growing on the trees, to caterpillars munchkin on the leaves and birds tonikalla munching on the caterpillars, to the mushrooms munching on the rotting wood below, all are part of these great landscape defining realms.
Forests are also more than just an ecosystem, they are ancient heartlands of terrestrial life, and hallmarks and symbols of nature itself, ones oh so often stood in opposition and contrast to the civilizations who fell them for timber and /or clear them for farmland. To those of the plains, forests are deep dark mysterious things, hiding dangers and terrors, things best gnawed at the edges of or briefly penetrated and plundered for treasure such as furs, fruits or fungus rather than a place any sane being would live.
Of course, people and forests are not incompatible, and to those who would live in harmony with the trees, or even encourage them to flourish in new and wonderful ways, forests can be a sanctuary from the harsh world beyond, and a wonder deserving of protection. From [druids] to [treeshapers] and [forest guardians], mortals who live in tandem with the forests can enter a symbiotic relationship that allows both forest and friends to prosper. 2 ap (discount from 4 with forests) to make the lightwoods in the south west of the continent, between the mountains and the desert. 1 ap (discounted from 2) to make the Cortex Plant, a large growth which can 1 ap: teach the basics of Druidry to the elves of the dark wood, allowing them to gain variations of the [druid] class by entering a symbiotic relationship with Huwu’idang that lets them gain the same environmental restoration and growth encouragement magics as it. Then with levels and technology, they will be able to do so much more.
2 mp ( discounted from 4 by Adventure!): to create the labyrinth city
2 mp: curse the Rirakuri so that if they eat mortal souls they instantly get really bad hangovers
1 mp: create/teach the [poltergeist] class, which ghosts can gain and which allows them to interact with the mortal world in the way a poltergeist would when they are angry. Ment to let them protect themselves from soul eaters, will likely result in the odd vengeful haunting.
1 ap: teach the Rirakuri about classes
2 ap (discounted adventure): Mother Brains: Hulking colossi of biometal that roam the streets of the labyrinth city, seeking out ore and assailing any that incur into what they see as their domains. While being tall as buildings, quite stompy, and having a nest of tentacles so their bodies do make them dangerous on their own, the main threat they pose is via their manufactured offspring:
1 mp (discounted adventure): for Labyrinth Sentinels: Biometal constructs produced by their metal mothers as defenders and laborers.
Their bodies are incredibly tough, night immune to primitive weapons but a quirk of their construction means they must leave one or more glowing red power cores exposed to the elements. These crystals can be damaged somewhat easily, making them glaring weak spots in their otherwise unbeatable defense. Should one die, its soul is drawn back to its metal mother, causing its body to decay into a plain metal husk.
There are 4 kinds: Troopers: vaguely humanoid troops armed with arm cannons (that fire red energy bolts) and wrist blades Bruts: Hulking soldiers twice as tall as a man armed with crushing pincers and heavier arm cannons. Swarmers: which stand just over third of a human’s height and atack with long barbed tails. Stalkers: Muscular predators with razor sharp claws and good stealth capabilities that like to ambush their prey or assassinate high value enemies
1 ap (discounted adventure): slimes!: Born of damp and a bit of lingering divine might, slimes were simple spheres of goo that hopped or rolled around their homes, eating just about anything and everything. Any fluid wil do, and any power too, which caused all sorts of strange and fantastical slimes to come into existence, from blood slimes, to magma slimes, to ice slimes born in different climates, to shadow slimes, plant slimes, kung-fu slimes and abyssal slimes. A slime’s slime will retain its essence and properties after death, which may have uses in future.
1 ap (discounted adventure): magamtaurs: bulls of living lava, that form in the deep, and generally do not like people messing with the rock and stone of their home, let alone mining it. Won;t affect close to surface mining, but go dig down in the underground and you risk their ire.
2 ap (forests): Darkwood Guardians: Consisting mostly of Rangers and Druids, they have a deep connection with the Darkwoods, allowing for greater coordination with its natural defenders, as well as enhanced skill in operating within its confines. Each member gains either the [guardian] class, a defensive class that synergizes well with existing ones, and with other [guardians]. Their leaders are [Wardens], a class capable of anointing fresh [Guardians] and one that will also gain skills to empower their subordinates.
3 ap (discounted with forests) to turn a Huwu’idang into an avatar. Monpau is his name, and he is a Lung Dragon (read chinese dragon, one of them long noodle bois) with green sacleas, sapphire eyes, branch antlers, a mossy beard, fun whiskers, a grassy mane going from skull tot tail tip. He is your protective grandpa. Love him.
3 mp: raise Coin Fairies to a fully sapient species capable of receiving divine wisdom
1 mp: to teach the elves and coin fairies of Sanctuary how to make pots (and other kinds of ceramics) real good. Ming vases up in here and all that.
1mp: to teach coin fairies in general how to miniaturize technology of other, larger, species effectively.
1 ap: (offscreen) teach coin fairies to commune with the Huwu’idang
1 ap: (offscreen) teach coin fairies how to become [dragon tamers]
Members have a high chance of getting bonus forest related skills. Rebrand to simply the Adventurer’s Guild and go global. [Adventurers] in the guild can also now gain bonus trade and shadow related skills.
Jim:3
[necromancer] class, able to upgrade others to it as well
Darkwood Guardians: 2
Consisting mostly of Rangers and Druids, they have a deep connection with the Darkwoods, allowing for greater coordination with its natural defenders, as well as enhanced skill in operating within its confines. Each member gains either the [guardian] class, a defensive class that synergizes well with existing ones, and with other [guardians]. Their leaders are [Wardens], a class capable of anointing fresh [Guardians] and one that will also gain skills to empower their subordinates.
Personality: Rayne is a kindhearted soul, brave if not daring, determined and honest even when it is to her own detriment. Despite having had some self confidence issues, she is no pushover, and will stand up for what she thinks is right even if the whole world is against her. She is notably very much against the idea of killing people, even if they are her enemies.
Brief History: Rayne comes from a world devastated by the byproducts of magitech, and while the regime responsible for that devastation has been overthrown, it was too late for the surface world. The sky was shattered, bathing the land in deadly radiation and the last living souls in the world had to hide away in a series of underground caverns known as Dungeonidas. Rayne herself was an original member of the Knight Witches, the group that overthrew that regime, but was ejected from the group before battle for the fate of the world took place due to branding reasons (her name and that of the leader Robyn were considered too similar).
Despite this ejection (for, unbeknownst to her, very stupid reasons) Rayne still held the power of the link, the power to gain magical strength merely from having people put their faith in her. Thus, when the remnants of the regime's golem armies invaded Dungeonidas, and with the other Knight Witches seemingly nowhere to be found, Rayne was the only one able to stand up against them.
After a series of conflicts, twists, turns, and conspiratorial backstabs she eventually discovered that the new society had simply traded one world destroying magitech powersource for another, one that began to rend reality asunder. She defeated the avatar of this new apocalypse, the fallen knight witch Robyn, and was poised to become the avatar of life itself, Gaia, charged with restoring life to her ruined world.
Then, instead, she found herself here, in this new one.
Universe of Origin: The Knight Witch
Equipment:
Armor: Rayne’s armor is somewhat fashion over form, but the solid plate covering her chest still provides a fair bit of protection
Runedge: An enchanted blade made to be far heavier than its slim form suggests
Abilities:
Flight: Ryne can effortlessly hover through the air, though her jogging pace speed leaves much to be desired.
Dashing: Rayne can perform a straight line dash, teleporting a fixed 3 meters in any direction, which renders her immune to damage while doing it (but unable to take any other actions at the same time). There is only a short half second cooldown between dashes, making it quite useful for mobility as well as dodging.
Weapon Summoning: Rayne can store weapons in her magic, and then pull them out in the blink of an eye to attack, before returning them to storage at the end of her stroke.
Magic Bullets: Rayne can fire large magic bullets from a hovering glyph at a slow but steady pace, and for little to no effort. They have a fairly limited range however, and simply dissipate when they exceed it.
Spell Cards: Rayne can also use mana, which is dropped from enemies she damages (and which then hovers where it falls in the form of football sized glowing blue orbs that she has to get close too to pick up) to cast larger spells. Her max mana pool is pretty limited (and she can only briefly hold over her maximum of 8), but she has incredible versatility in the spells she can cast. The only issue is that it is based on a deck and card draw system, with 10 cards in a deck, and 3 in hand, rather limiting her ability to effectively wield that versatility. (Rather than try and simulate this however, let’s say that once Rayne has cast a spell, she then has to cast a few other, different, spells before she can cast that same spell again). Note that these spells occur around her rather than being fired in a direction.
(mainly for my own benefit (why did I make myself do this, there was no wiki for me to steal from))
(6) Creating a Death Spiral (a shmups worth of bullets for several seconds)
(2) 3 seeking swords (stun enemies)
(3) A giant sword to spin around her for a while
(3) A giant axe to spin around her once
(3) A vertical lighting bolt that strikes down from above her to below her
(4) causes two giant wrecking balls to smash out from either side of her
(4) armageddon, a massive wave of destructive magic
(1) wreckless blasts, which also hurts her
(1) a blast that destroy enemy projectiles,
(2) a blast that reflects enemy projectiles
(2) a blast that stuns enemies
(2) a single touch/damage activated bombs
(4) a rain of several touch activated bombs,
(2) Create a damaging cloud of darkness
(4) 4 orbs of ball lighting fired around her in an X
(3) death ray (does more damage the longer it hits a single target
(2) reload the current weapon.
(3) Summon a permanent ring of (destroyable) floating rocks,
(3) Summon a temporary indestructible floating shield,
(4) Summon a temporary automated turret that copies her current weapon
(5) Summon a temporary accompanying (dragon whelp shaped) that copies her current weapon
(2) Summon a temporary accompanying (raven shaped) familiar that fires seeking swords when she casts a spell.
(5) Give herself ethereal armor, letting her take an extra hit (does not stack)
(0) Restore an 8th of her mana pool,
(0) Attracting all the mana in the area towards her
(2) lets her gain 1 mana for each enemy destroyed for a time
(3) makes the next drawn card cast 0
Momentos: Rayne can gain cards based on the abilities bosses she has defeated.
The link: the more people who feel gratitude and have faith in Rayne, the more powerful she becomes (gained from people directly giving her thanks). Specifically her base bullet damage/rate of fire increases, and her mana generation and spell power/duration increases. These upgrades are noticeable, but not massively dramatic.
Appearance: Rayne is a halfling, with (pierced) pointy ears and a rather short stature.
Personality: Rayne is a kindhearted soul, brave if not daring, determined and honest even when it is to her own detriment. Despite having had some self confidence issues, she is no pushover, and will stand up for what she thinks is right even if the whole world is against her. She is notably very much against the idea of killing people, even if they are her enemies.
Brief History: Rayne comes from a world devastated by the byproducts of magitech, and while the regime responsible for that devastation has been overthrown, it was too late for the surface world. The sky was shattered, bathing the land in deadly radiation and the last living souls in the world had to hide away in a series of underground caverns known as Dungeonidas. Rayne herself was at one time member of the Knight Witches, a 5 women group that overthrew that regime, but was ejected from the group before battle for the fate of the world took place due to branding reasons (her name and that of the leader Robyn were considered too similar).
Despite this ejection (for, unbeknownst to her, very stupid reasons) Rayne still held the power of the link, the power to gain magical strength merely from having people put their faith in her. Thus, when the remnants of the regime's golem armies invaded Dungeonidas, and with the other Knight Witches nowhere to be found for unknown reasons, Rayne was the only one able to stand up against them.
After a series of conflicts, twists, turns, and conspiratorial backstabs she eventually discovered that the new society had simply traded one world destroying magitech powersource for another, hexoil, power stolen form the circle of life itself, one that began to slowly rend reality asunder as the war for Dungeonidas reached its peak. She delved into the cracks in reality, defeated the avatar of this new apocalypse, the fallen knight witch Robyn, and was poised to become the avatar of life itself, Gaia, charged with restoring life to her ruined world.
Then, instead, she found herself here, in this new one.
Universe of Origin: The Knight Witch
Equipment:
Armor: Rayne’s armor is somewhat fashion over form, but the solid plate covering her chest, shoulders and hips still provides a fair bit of protection
Runedge: An enchanted blade made to be far heavier than its form suggests
Abilities:
Flight: Ryne can effortlessly hover through the air, though her power walking pace speed leaves much to be desired.
Dashing: Rayne can perform a straight line dash, teleporting a fixed 3 meters in any direction and appearing again with a bright flash. While this used to render her untouchable while doing so, something about this new world causes this not to be the case, which is going to give her quite the scare when she first takes a hit while dashing. There is only a short half second cooldown between dashes, making it quite useful for mobility as well as dodging.
Weapon Summoning: Rayne can store weapons in her magic, and then pull them out in the blink of an eye to attack, before returning them to storage at the end of her stroke.
Magic Bullets: Rayne can fire large magic bullets from a hovering glyph at a slow but steady pace, and for little to no effort. They have a fairly limited range however, and simply dissipate when they exceed it.
Momentos: Rayne can gain cards themed on the abilities of bosses she defeateds.
Mana bubble off: When Rayne hits a foe with an attack that does not use mana, that strike has a moderate chance of causing a football sized orb of mana to appear next to the impact site. This mana can be collected by anyone who has free capacity for it (as in they have used mana to cast spells) which includes, unfortunately, the target. Rayne’s natural mana regeneration is rather pathetic, meaning that unless she has time to rest, this (and a few specific cards) will be the only way for her to regenerate mana, barring the discovery of alternate/external sources.
The link: The more people who feel gratitude and have faith in Rayne, the more powerful she becomes (gained from people directly giving her thanks). Specifically her base bullet damage/rate of fire increases, and her mana bubble off chance and spell power/duration increases. These upgrades are noticeable, but not massively dramatic.
Spell Cards: Rayne can use her mana to cast larger spells via special spell cards. Her max mana pool is pretty limited (and she can only briefly hold over her maximum), but she has incredible versatility in the spells she can cast. The only issue is that it is based on a deck and card draw system, with 10 cards in a deck, and 3 in hand, rather limiting her ability to effectively wield that versatility. (Rather than try and simulate this however, let’s say that once Rayne has cast a spell, she then has to cast a few other, different, spells before she can cast that same spell again). Note that these spells occur around her rather than being fired in a direction.
Ryne’s max mana is 8, however spell costs are for context only, and and we won’t be keeping track of the minutia
(6) Death Spiral - Creates a shmups worth of bullets for several seconds
(1) Seeking sword - fires a single phantom blade that homes in on and stun enemies
(2) Seeking swords - fires 3 phantom blades that homes in on and stun enemies
(3) Ethereal sword - summons a giant sword to spin around her for a while
(3) Magic ax - summons a giant ax to spin around her once
(3) Lightning - A vertical lighting bolt that strikes down from above her to below her
(4) Wrecking ball - causes two giant spiked wrecking balls to smash out from either side of her
(4) Armageddon - a massive wave of destructive magic
(1) Wreckless blast - which also hurts her
(1) Shockwave - a blast that destroy enemy projectiles,
(2) Parry - a blast that reflects enemy projectiles
(2) Flashbang - a blast that stuns enemies
(2) Runic bomb - a single touch/damage activated bombs
(4) Bombardment - a rain of several touch/damage activated bombs
(2) Cloud of darkness - Create a large lingering damaging cloud
(4) Electric orbs - 4 orbs of ball lighting fired around her in an X shape
(3) Flamethrower - replaces her magic bullets with a stream of flames
(3) Machine gun - massively increases fire rate, but reduces individual bullet size and damage
(4) Triple cannon - fire 3 bullets in a spread
(5) Shotgun - fire a dozen small bullets in a wide spread
(4) Boomerang gun - fire a crescent moon that pierces foes and terrain, and then comes back
(4) Hand Cannon - bullet size massively increased
(5) Ghost gun - makes her fire rapid fire multi shot homing terrain piercing bullets that also have much longer range
(5) Rocket launcher - bullets have no range limit, and explode in a 3 meter aoe on impact
(3) Death ray - replaces magic bullets with a lock on laser that does more damage the longer it hits a single target
(2) Reload - recasts the current weapon, letting it be active for longer.
(3) Gaia’s shield - summon a permanent ring of (destroyable) floating rocks,
(3) Magic shield - summon a temporary indestructible floating shield,
(4) Sentry gun - summon a floating automated turret that copies her current weapon
(5) War spirit - summon a dragon whelp shaped familiar that copies her current weapon
(2) Wise spirit - summon a temporary aven shaped familiar that fires seeking swords when she casts a spell.
(5) Etheria armor - Give herself magical armor, letting her take an extra hit (does not stack)
(0) Mana surge - Restore a point of mana
(0) Collection - Attracting all the mana in the area towards her
(2) Garbage collector - lets her gain 1 mana for each enemy destroyed for a time
(3) Manna gamble - makes the next drawn card cast 0
(0) Loan - refills mana entierly, but causes her to draw a hexed card that takes 3 mana to destroy
(4) Discard frenzy - for five seconds, all cards cost 0, but also have 0 effect
(0) Wild card - discards her hand and draw three cards
