The FARAD System: May 2015

Thursday, May 28, 2015

The Last Station: Navigating The Expanse:

While The Somnium Bleed may be a bridge between possibilities as the realm of dreams and nightmares, it has only a fractional portion of each of many universes, as it necessitates a connection being formed between those dreaming and a possible time and space within the multiverse. Each universe is different in the multiverse as no two are completely alike, even if they may seem greatly similar, and not all parts of a universe may have an individual dreaming about it until an individual has encountered it to be able to dream about it, even if later individuals link to that possibility without themselves having visited it. The Expanse, on the other hand, is the sum total of all universes in the multiverse, and the space between them. The Expanse may be seen as an undulating wave in an infinite ocean, as universes change states, expand, contract, merge, shred, and otherwise interact with one another, the wave being the burgeoning and cascading realities as seen from a distance. For every possible waveform along its multidimensional surface, a reality is mapped out, a host of new universes formed, stretching out into infinity and back in unfathomable variance. Those most similar tend to be closest to one another, but as the fabric of The Expanse ripples occasionally others stranger and more bizarre come close enough for the unthinkable distance to be traversed, or for the two realities to even bleed into one another. A waveform shifted into place on The Expanse and a single hyper-dense atom exploded, expanding into space and time, forming the universe at the same time as a myriad of others were formed. The multiple dimensions all bound into one another spread out, some becoming smaller, others expanding to the state of the universe as it became known... Some claim The Expanse is a place without any direction, mere iterations of possibility happening because they could, while others claim The Expanse is manipulated by one or more supreme beings even more powerful than the deities known to the universe currently...

Every universe starts out in The Expanse as an extremely dense atom of matter, which may encounter another dense atom, a fast-moving particle, or other fragments of another universe's destruction that causes it to rapidly expand and form its own universe. Each possibly universe remains inert until it is forced to expand, but each has two possibilities of its end. First, a universe may expand until it has no more inertia and it fades with a big freeze, a loss of even the most fundamental of energies, and its remnants expand in The Expanse as other possible universes draw them close enough to collide and form a new universe. Second, a universe may expand until its core's gravity causes it to form a big crunch, forcing the universe back into an incredibly dense atom which will await stimulus to expand again. The heat of its fusion back into an extremely dense atom causes stray particles to be emitted which may be absorbed by itself and cause it to expand again if said stray particles have escaped far enough that their inertia can cause a reaction. Another possibility is that they do not escape far enough and the universe will remain a dead one until outside stimulus interacts with it. Finally, these stray particles may also escape their original universe's dense atom state and collide with another possible universe and cause that one to expand instead. Every possible universe may slowly grow or shrink in size from universe gravity and stray particles in The Expanse or cause universes to collide and bruise, merge or shred each other apart, but all these possible interactions between universes happens in the infinitely expanding scope of The Expanse, as each possible universe interaction that causes parts to expand outward from other pre-exiting universes causes The Expanse to spread further out, and even possible lifeless universes continue this interaction throughout all possible iterations of possibility, with time in The Expanse being simultaneously infinite and non-existant to sentient perspective, as time is one of the many dimensions a universe gains as it changes from dense atom state to active universe state.

While few beings can survive in The Expanse without shielding from a multitude of particles, massive gravity and magnetism and more, there is evidence in the ancient history of the humans arrival on Lenida that they arrived from a place they called The Last Station, whose systems kept record of its travels through the last ten universes its creators had seen fit for its memory banks to recall in order to study The Expanse and all its universes. Fragmentary files appear to imply that it has traveled through far more than the ten, but regardless of the number, the long-forgotten race's technological remnants saved humanity and many other species, helping them to survive the end of the last universe and to spread out and colonize the current one. One of the oldest of the high ordered beings know as the Adacrea was a species known as The Lim, and their might and access to some of The Last Station's systems allowed them to leave it before humanity or the Pragur, and claimed The White Void as their home, before spawning many other species of Adacrea who would then combat the Pragur as they too left The Last Station and joined the universe. Humanity and several of the other species aboard The Last Station awaiting its systems to find them their new homes watched in abject wonder and horror as time did not age them while they watched the Adacrea and Pragur combat one another as well as form the first Fey, Celestial and Infernal species before each was sealed off or sealed itself off from the rest of the universe for a time. Deming that The Last Station had found suitable homes for the populations aboard it, its systems then entered the new universe and sent out massive vessels to seed planets before colonization ships were sent out. And as The Last Station sent them away, its drones gathered up supplies to repair and refuel itself, as well as to prepare for its next journey, sending each colonization vessel into a slipstream to its new planet while wiping out its own location from their systems. Now it continues its preparations for the end of this universe, hidden away, waiting to serve its purpose as ark and cataloger of this universe's history while its sensors record every detail within it. Those species that find it at the end of this universe will find its systems ready just as the last had, ready to aid them in surviving travel to, and colonizing the universe to follow.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Index Page:

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Population Center: New Hollowstone:

Capital of the continent and nation of Tesaria, New Hollowstone was built atop the ruins of Old Hollowstone quite literally. Old Hollowstone was largely built where it was due to its strategic position, but unbeknownst to the founders of the failed colony, there had once been a human colony deep underground. Due to the ancient human colony utilizing staggering space efficiency in design and a multitude of methods to reduce tectonic and floodwater damage, it had gone largely undiscovered at the time because few of the tunnels leading down to it were still intact, and even those were largely found in caverns beneath the earth. When its population became too small to maintain those systems, much of it sunk into the ground, built too solidly to be completely crushed by those forces even after the millennia hence, but devastated and broken nonetheless. When colonists of Tesaria found its ruins, few entered them, with even fewer coming back out to speak of the wonders underground. As the colony faced more and more dangers coming up from those ruins, they collapsed the tunnels they had discovered and much of the colony itself was rubble at the time to likewise be discovered later.

Danger still lurks in its ancient halls, but amongst the living terrors are also technologies and marvels worth hazarding the journey. As such, sector by sector it is slowly being reclaimed and secured, though only three of its five-mile diameter uppermost levels being fully explored and the dangers removed, and an unknown number of levels below. Atop these three levels skyscrapers have been erected in the last hundred years to replace the buildings constructed during New Hollowstone's formation, though some still exist and are kept preserved for posterity and cultural reasons. Amongst these older buildings is The Singing Stone Tavern and Inn, whose Reynix owners have a lineage tracing back to some of the original founders of New Hollowstone, including the famous Quinn Xhen.

Also amongst the older buildings is the Watchtower Gulden, whose magical design was designed by one of Kestrel Alras' staunchest allies, Renée S. Finch. A null-mage, master alchemist and artificer, she and a crew of two hundred hurriedly constructed it in defense of the capitol during The Tesarian War for Independence. To this day it has been greatly studied in the hope of replicating its design, as Renée had cyphered all of her plans as well as doling out instructions piecemeal while rotating groups of her crew to ensure none could pass on what they learned to other nations. After burning her notes when it was finished, many had implored her to construct more, but like Kestrel herself, Renée not only disappeared from the public eye but seemingly from history altogether. The only remnants of her last journals that have been deciphered so far seem to imply she was trying to construct an artifact that would use magic, alchemy and science for an unknown purpose which would wield temporal might. If ever she did finish this artifact, it either has never been found, or its greater purpose has not been discovered.

Being the multicultural center of Tesarian government, New Hollowstone was not founded with segregation of any species in its design. Still, due to the Tesarian War for Independence mostly being fought against The Great Suarn Empire, the Draconis Dragon-Kin population has mostly settled in The Rookery, a slum neighborhood on the Southeastern edge of the capitol where it begins to ascend Mount Athka, so named after to explorer. The dense design of their neighborhood was initially widespread and lofty, but as more and more felt the need for defensive foresight, it was expanded inward as well as up the mountain in order to prevent any mob force from rising to attack. Few individuals have made the attempt and between the government and the population of The Rookery they have been dealt with great ease. However, there are many prejudiced individuals in The Rookery who feel Tesaria should still belong to The Great Suarn Empire, and there are rumors that there may also be those who feel likewise for the Auduron Empire's scant failed colonies on Tesaria, and may be providing state secrets to each empire.

As Tesaria is inland many miles, few Naiads and Cubi feel comfortable living there for prolonged periods of time, but the Gitwerg, Goblins and Gnomes find great joy and honor in joining with the exploratory efforts to reclaim portions of Old Hollowstone, and the human ruins beneath it, as well as expanding the mining operations around the city. There is still animosity between the three species, but by and large it has decreased significantly as fewer and fewer of their population in the capitol have considered themselves citizens of the distant governments of their birthright and more citizens of Tesaria and New Hollowstone. As such, there are many hybrid offspring of these and other species that reside in New Hollowstone, and the utilization of ancient techniques from each culture present have been studied and melded together as New Hollowstone has developed.

While the Magus Ludus Academy of the Arts itself was lost during The Tesarian War for Independence, many of its surviving staff and student body during and after the war settled in Gear Rise and New Hollowstone, and New Hollowstone has since formed The Skorr University for Spellcraft. While not as revered as many more ancient schools of magic or Magus Ludus itself, Skorr University has fostered creativity with its students and many great modern mages have graduated from its programs.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Tesaria Continent: City Locations:

Many millennia before the the formation of The Great Suarn Empire humanity had first arrived to colonize the planet when chancing upon Lenida fortuitously as the remnants of their peoples spread out into this universe from the one prior as it died. Spread out so vastly amongst the stars, the humans on Lenida would not know their cousins managed to find other worlds to settle, and even their own technological mastery was largely forgotten as few remained with the knowledge and tools needed to be able to pass down their history accurately. As a bastion of human progress amidst the rather barbaric cultures that formed in those dark times, the continent of Tesaria was settled amongst the first, though the learned knowledge of magic to aid them with their decreasing technological prowess would soon lead to the downfall of a great civilization. Many had begun spreading out to distant lands due to political reasons, but none could foresee that dissenters remaining on Tesaria would enact a doom upon the land.

Drawing forth wild magic in concentration along the leylines in Tesaria, the dissenters had sought to devastate their hated foes in one fell swoop. Miscomprehended the multiplied force of such an act, they brought forth a surge of magic that destroyed all but the most simplistic or shielded of technologies, as well as causing ruptures in the Kish Tectonic Plate that spewed out toxins, radiation, mutagenic banes and caused a two-thousand year storm across the entire continent, which gradually shrunk until it now covers only The Northern Wastes. Those that survived did what they could to rectify the disaster, but most attempts were failures that drove the population to flee, leaving the land to nature and time.

Five hundred-seventy-two years ago, the Felinae explorer Athka Rinn was driven by a terrible storm toward Tesaria despite attempts by her crew to keep them from that ancient, fabled land of woe. Thankfully for their vessel, The Savage Serpent was only driven aground and not torn apart by the storm they expected to still remain around Tesaria. As they needed to gather supplies to repair their ship, Athka took a few of her bravest sailors to travel far from the shore to determine if they had indeed arrived safely on Tesaria and how. Due to the scant few tales of Tesaria mentioning great landmarks that they were able to identify, the group verified their location, but were still astonished to find the continent habitable for the most part. While the storm had not fully vanished, it had been greatly reduced due to the land reabsorbing many of the magics that had kept it going, allowing nature to reclaim the continent, albeit with many species that had evolved differently within the storm and the mutagenic banes that warped their being.

When The Savage Serpent brought news of their journey back to The Great Suarn Empire, the emperor at the time dismissed the doubt of his aides and funded a larger exploration to be run by Athka. It ran for five years across the continent before Athka's death, with her successor, the Auduron Draconis Dragon-Kin Garesh Kone, continuing it for a further four years before the survivors returned with journals, samples and far more. This all persuaded even the doubtful aides to see their ignorance, and pushed the emperor to start colonization of the lost continent.

The plans for colonization were met with hardship, the first true settlement, Hollowstone, being abandoned twelve years after its formation. Other settlements cropped up and failed, but it was not until Dagger Crest was formed in The Badlands that a stable city began to flourish. Following this achievement, the Reynix Quinn Xhen managed to gather enough small camps together to reclaim the ruin of Hollowstone and turn it into New Hollowstone, which would become the capital of the then Tesaria Colonies of The Great Suarn Empire. Oak Hill, which had been formed not long before New Hollowstone, started to grow more prosperous and some wealthy investors moved further East to Dunklestadt amidst The Ghost Grove, and some from Dagger Crest moved North to form Thosisi. Four hundred thirty one years after it was rediscovered, however, a great change would occur that would forever alter the political climate of Lenida.

As The Great Suarn Empire laid claim to much of Tesaria, other empires and nations still attempted to carve portions for themselves as well, and tried to stir unrest amongst the population. For the most part this was largely handled with great ease, though wariness of what had caused Tesaria to be uninhabitable for so long kept most from escalating skirmishes into true war. However, as the numina are wont to do, they had selected champions of their own amongst the planet's population. Unlike many times prior, the Odarne Pantheon had taken particular interest in those who either currently lived in Tesaria or would be subtly manipulated into arriving there. The Arbiter Dyndar chose one in particular which sparked consternation within the pantheon: The android Kestrel Alras.

Given a soul and the gift of magic by Dyndar, he offered scant guidance as she became a great mage at the Magus Ludus academy of the arts, as well working with her allies to defeat many great foes that were both champions selected by the other numina and those whose fates were unexplicably tied with Kestrel's own despite no intention by the numina. As her renown grew, the small retreat she and her allies had built expanded to become the city of Gear Rise, and many who sought freedom for the colonial cities encouraged her at great length to confront The Great Suarn Empire and demand independence. Driven by a sense of justice but also reverence for all that the empire had accomplished, she and some of her allies left Tesaria to speak with the emperor's court. Meeting failure despite the emperor's mutual respect, she sought to show the Tesarian people's resolve, sharing vast numbers of spells and technological designs with the lowliest of individuals who would receive them, before bringing her army to each of the outposts of The Guard that The Great Suarn Empire had left to protect the colonies and enforce their subjugation to the distant throne. It took a mere eight months to drive those that survived and did not accede off the continent. The Great Suarn Empire was humbled in this, but neither it nor the other forces vying for control of Tesaria gave up easily. It would take another four years of combat with many rotating alliances both aiding and betraying the Tesarian people before finally the various empires and nations had enough public criticism of the war that Tesaria was finally granted its independence.

Kestrel Alras and many of her allies left the public eye after that, not wishing to become ruling figures of the government they had won the people the right to form. It became a loose participatory democracy, with several small villages not electing to join but still protected by the nation as a whole. Some claim that Kestrel herself founded Despolis in The Northern Wastes amidst the ancient human ruins when she sought answers to a grand question, and that after it was formed she left to the storm-wracked landscape in the East to continue her search. With the government in place there were still some skirmishes here and there, but for the most part Tesaria was allowed to grow into its own identity, gaining allies in many of its former foes and oppressors. However, even with the hundred and thirty years after it gained its independence, there are still some parts of the continent not fully explored due to the dangerous flora, fauna and puissant vestiges of the ancient human civilization that once resided on the continent...

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Population Center: Cubi Flotilla Yul'Ghen:

While most of the Adslein population centers are greatly affected by the sharing and clashing of cultures of their residents, the Cubi Flotillas primarily are comprised solely of Cubi and those whom the particular flotilla have accepted as one of their own by unanimous vote if not by blood. As the Cubi have been nomads for countless millennia, they have had many changes to their own culture and are accepting of adapting their culture to a great many inclusions in each generation, but with regard to how these adaptations are interpreted, utilized and passed on, each individual flotilla has their own stance. The Yul'Ghen flotilla, whose primary wanderings are in the waters East of Adslein, was one of the first flotillas to leave The Starry Oceans of Quantil and the first to arrive on planet Lenida. As such, its residents were well known for their quickness to explore, adapt and constantly redefine themselves. While other flotillas split off from them due to differences in opinion on certain matters, the Yul'Ghen flotilla has regularly sent its adolescents out into the world to learn new things to bring back and further increase the pride of the flotilla, and most readily accepted nomads of other species that have exhibited a spirit of freedom, exploration and curiosity that has served the Yul'Ghen flotilla well over the millennia.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Population Center: Kunkar Colony:

Due south of Rekande, the Kunkar Colony serves two great purposes, each necessitating proper care. The first being that it houses The Great Suarn Empire's greatest prison population, having no rules except that escape is punishable by death, and that any attempt to harm or even approach its other chief charge is punishable by fates far worse than death. The second charge of the Kunkar Colony is the care of many young dragons to ensure that the population does not greatly diminish, in honor of the Draconis Dragon-Kin ancestors. The Kunkar Colony is protected from attacks and escape attempts by magic and science alike, as well as its remote distance from the mainland of Adslein.

Few have ever been rumored to have escaped its borders once on the island itself, and even fewer have been granted full pardon and allowed to return to the mainland. Any who go to the island will find themselves charged with high treason if they are not permitted to aid the young dragons or are not sentenced to go there already, and will be summarily bereft of at least two digits on their dominant hand before being marked as belonging there. The amputation and markings serve as a symbol of their insanity to those already on the Kunkar Colony, for none sane would ever wish to approach it unless they were in the care of the young dragons.

Kunkar Colony's island has rocky soil which is high in salt and acid content, and little grows there. What does is primarily bitter or supremely sour if even edible. Most food is shipped there in scant supply from the mainland to ensure that those in the Kunkar Colony tend to be too weak to fight the Guard protecting those serving the young dragons, much less put a concerted effort toward escape. Due to its harsh nature, the animosity between different species and cultures is largely diminished, as fighting amongst themselves only serves to further weaken their bodies.