Amaranth
'Whatever Amaranth is hiding - be it in the database or elsewhere - there isn't a single person in a single Sphere that doesn't want to know exactly what it is.'
Amaranth is a mechanical Void Construct that is both the size of, and presumed to have formerly been, a Void Islands. It is technically located within the Voidheart's Convergence Void Archipelago, orbiting the system from a distance of 1.25 Light years. It was originally thought to be a rouge Island before it was observed and found to be in orbit of Pyrrash. It is located within the Akka-Akko Sphere. Considered one of the most mysterious and valuable worlds within the Voidsea, there are those that say that the huge importance of the Political Core, and the biggest prize for the Eternal War of Ideology, is Amaranth.
This is, of course, depending on if anyone can make heads or tails of the valuables on the world.
Though it is believed to have once been a terrestrial world, whatever semblance of it's former self has been completely remodelled and changed - The entire world is mechanical, right down to the core. Archeotechologists and researchers have discovered compounds originating from many different Void Islands, Islets, Coves, and other celestial bodies from not only around the Political Core, or even Akka-Akko, but from across a huge swatch of the Sky River. The world does not appear in any known databases before the Technopocalypse. Who created it is not known.
The Akka-Akko claim to have discovered it shortly after the Taekni Age - Though they were aware of the existence of a world along it's orbit, it was assumed to be a Rouge Island that lacked any real importance. However, as the Broadwave spread, Amaranth began to 'glow' throughout the Voidsea. Once noticed,, it remained a point of fascination, and when they were able to, the Akka-Akko sent Void-Drones, and eventually, Void-Ships to investigate. There, they found the uninhabited mechanical cube, active, computing, and various machines functioning, and doing something that none were fully aware of. The world also functions as an Amplifier World, relaying the Broadwave more powerfully in nearby regions. Though useful, this has raised more questions than it has answered.
Amaranth is home to the Amaranth Database - A Database of immense, and seemingly impossible information. Due to the worlds importance, and the open interest and desire from other Spheres, the Akka-Akko have the world blockaded, and special permission is required to do any research. And while other Spheres complain, they dare not risk losing access to the Political Core, or take their chances against the Akka-Akkoan fleet. And thus, officially, the world is uninhabited, and under blockade. In practice, many forces conspire to gain access.
Description
From orbit, Amaranth appears as a slow-turning, dark metallic cube, wrapped in immense geometric lattices and antennae that shimmer faintly with Broadwave resonance. It emits pale, pulse-like glows from beneath the outer surface — regular signals timed, for unknown reasons. There is limited visibility on the cube, in contrast to what one might suspect from a world so far from any stars - However, It’s not lit by local suns, but rather by its internal computation fields, which emit a low glow.
Amaranth is an entirely mechanical Void Island, lacking any natural resources that would be found on a naturally forming world, such as air, plant-life, or water. The world also lacks an atmosphere. The surface is covered in various metallic towers, many of which appear to be either cooling rods, or radio-wave receivers and transmitters. Gravity is weakest at the vertexes of the world, and strongest at the centre of each face.
Functioning as an Amplifier World, Amaranth is something of a regional hotbed for Taekni. Indeed, some of the energy that is transmitted through the Broadwave appears to go towards the functioning of the internal mechanisms of Amaranth. It also, in turn, makes all the systems nearby far closer to Taekni Broadwaves.
Under the surface of the Void Island are hundreds of layers of complex machinery and processing pacts, much of which remains unknown to researchers. It is assumed that much of it goes towards keeping the various technological databases online, including the Amaranth Database.
The Amaranth Database
The Amaranth Database is locared at the core of Amaranth. It is a vast database that contains an unfathomably large amount of data on just about every subject imaginable - World which were considered lost were found again thanks for the Amaranth Database. It is also one of the reasons that the Akka-Akko Sphere has such advanced technology.
However, it also contains information that seems impossible, or contradicts reality itself.
History
Originally, the world was simply designated as 'Rouge 10' as it was the tenth Rouge Void Island that had been discovered from the orbital telescope over Rukuo-Akko. It was deemed as unimpressive until several years later, when it began to 'glow' after the Broadwave began to reach the region. It was later visited by Void-Ships and Drones sent to investigate the world. Upon the discovery of what precisely it was, expeditions were sent to investigate the surface. It was during this that the part was able to access various computers on the world, and discovered that it was refered to as "Amaranth".
Little is known of fully understood about Amaranths history - How it's mechanical form came into being, who constructed it, or why.
What is known is that it used to be a regular terrestrial Void Island, similar in composition and environment to worlds like Failstate, Tallyx, and Cognivox - a barren, rocky world, with no atmosphere, or notable resources. There is further evidence to suggest that it's current orbit is not its original one, but that the world into this position, though debate and research is still ongoing.
Colonization
Though colonization was considered, and an early settlement was even created and established, it quickly fell apart. The logistical issues in keeping such a colony afloat became readily apparent, and despite the trove of available information, there simply wasn't much interest in living on the surface, with few amenities or environments, or opportunities for self-sufficiency available. Instead, any colonization of Amaranth was done in orbit, with various Void-Stations being established to provide the environments needed to sustain life.
Regular journeys to the surface were underway, but following the establishment of the Political Core, and the risk of upsetting various Spheres, Akka-Akko restricted these journeys to avoid offending any other Sphere in the region. Since then, these various Void-Stations have primarily been part of the blockade to prevent espionage and unauthorized access.
While the Akka-Akko claim a neutral stewardship, many suspect they have made deep access to the core—a possible explanation for their disproportionately advanced technology.
Part of Akka-Akko
Amaranth's existence has proven to be both a massive boon to the Akka-Akko Sphere - And also a massive hindrance to it's goals of soft power and diplomatic brokering.
While Akka-Akko has been able to benefit from various bits of information they have acquired from Amaranth and the Database - Many other Spheres also wish to do just that themselves. The Political Core's location was chosen due to Amaranth's presence - It was speculated that proximity would encourage good behaviour by each Sphere, as none would want to jeopardize their access by causing conflict. To an extent, this logic has held up, but not perfectly - Groups like the Nexvoid have launched attacks to annex the Void Island and all it's data, and various times, accusations have arisen over one Sphere either being favourited, or breaking the terms of the Core by accessing it without permission.
In an effort to preserve peace, the Akka-Akko placed the world under a Blockade, to prevent any Sphere from accessing it.