Auleial

Nestled within the sparse outer reaches of Zalanthium, Auleial flickers and burns a deep saffron in the milky mist. Though this young star burns dimmer than some, it managed to create a perfect bath of energy and resources for life on its own worlds more than any other system in the region. From the bounteous shores of sapphire Aum'el, to the lush canyons and steppes of Liako, to the crystal mountain peaks of Laihin, the touch of autonomy and power that life brings has taken much of the system in its hold.

Through multiple perilous crises and desperate need for support, the three sister-species of Auleial came together to attempt to rein in their bustling system and make it a true utopia for all that lived under the light of their amber star. The government they formed has been bending over backwards to provide for its people for millennia as the system continues to evolve.

The system boasts a vast network of interlocking collector rings around its sun and a veritable storm of city-sized spaceborne habitats. Auleial's population is not heavily condensed in continent-spanning urban centers nor massive artificial worlds. The sparser spread of denizens through the incalculable voids between planetary orbits makes administrative action somewhat difficult to enforce, and a fair few thousand orbiting cities have been claimed by various revolutionary and terrorist groups.

Even in this time of unease, Auleial's government looks outward for solutions. It worked when expanding across the system, after all. Why shouldn't the people of other stars help them this time around? Several interstellar expeditions have been launched, with around half cutting communication and never returning. Where those stray Auleiali went is known only to the endlessly watchful stars of Zalanthium.

Worlds

Aum'el

Known also as the cobalt sea, the world of earthbound stars, and simply Little Blue, Aum'el shines close to Auleial with a deep navy light. Few are capable of withstanding its high temperatures, other than the Lumeirri that hail from it. Those that visit Aum'el will find it a series of scattered islands, with only two landmasses large enough to call continents. The ultramarine seas dominate over 85% of the planet's surface area, leaving shorelines abundant on the tectonically vivacious world. Perhaps it is this near omnipresence of water that allowed the amphibious Lumeirri to take control of the shining blue sphere.

Life on Aum'el is the most volatile of any of the worlds around Auleial. Met with the intoxicatingly rich radiation from their sun, life grew in a number of strange and beautiful ways. The ecosystems of Aum'el thrive on species of fungi-adjacent crops and plants that have ridiculously psychedelic compounds store within. Most flowering species and many animals use bioluminescence as a tertiary method of communication, as part of courting behaviors, or simply as a way to see better on nights that Laia's azure light does not hang above. Electrical currents as a means of defense evolved in 4 separate families of species. Rudimentary thaumic abilities have been shown to exist in some of the ocean's more intelligent creatures.

Nautical Aum'el with its peacock moon, Laia.

Infrastructure and development on Aum'el follows the same course as one would expect from such a sea-strewn world. The coastlines are almost entirely built over with cities of various types, while the interiors of larger landmasses are left almost untouched. Lumeirri cities even extend out into the briny oceans for several hundred kilometers, with some being as far out as the edge of the continental shelf. Maps of the world usually have two topological separators to accommodate the underwater half of Lumeirri civilization.

Aum'el's singular moon, Laia, has much more of its surface covered in land. Early in its formation, Aum'el's atmosphere was thick enough to cover Laia as well. Radiation from a younger and more violent Aum'el blasted away much of this primal atmosphere and separated the two, though they retain the same composition of gases. It has less development on it than Aum'el

Aum'el is very carefully monitored for climate trends using massive arrays of satellites and space stations. Ever since the mass extinction that the Lumeirri very narrowly avoided in the early 10,000s CE, the planet has been under heavy surveillance. The climate of Little Blue is supposedly stable, but the consequences for allowing it to slip a second time would be utterly disastrous. Vast reserves of shelter exist on both Laia and Ahsis to evacuate in the event that a "climate pause" exodus of the world is needed to geoengineer it back to a stable state.

Liako

Liako is a much more temperate and average world than Aum'el, though its bright lavender atmosphere may not give that impression. Much like other worlds, it sports vast green plains and snowcapped mountains, along with an equatorial desertic region. Liako certainly has the most widely covered surface. Its vast continents are lined by cities through and through, showing clear silhouettes of the land on its night side. Liako shielded its life from much of Auleial's temperamental flares, and the life that bloomed across it is much less aberrant than Aum'el's. The species that rose above the rest and conquered the violet world is the Ao'kami, the adaptable newcomers to the cosmic stage.

Liako's moon Naikaru shares a similar atmosphere to the world it orbits, and thus is somewhat habitable for the Ao'kami and Lumeirri. It has no permanent bodies of water on its surface, instead having a thick cloud layer, but geoscientists are slowly altering the moon's climate to hopefully add some blue to the dune-covered satellite. The adjustments have to be done slowly to avoid runaway effects and to prevent the disturbances of the several cities that exist on the moon's craggy highlands.

Liako and its two moons, the violet Naikaru and the barren Edera.

Liako was the location of Auleial's first interspecies contact. Lumeirri clad in insulating outfits descended upon the world en masse during their 250 year exodus from their own world. Astronomers from Aum'el had not been able to spot any signs of civilization on Liako, as the Ao'kami had not developed nearly as much technologically as the barely spaceborne Lumeirri. Many great leaps in advancement spread through Liako, unintentionally causing the nation formerly known as Sitarrako to rise as a world-conquering force.

Liako is an industrial powerhouse of a planet. Having access to more metals than any other inhabited planet in Auleial, it is only fitting that much of Liako's economy is taken up by technological development. Its airless moon Edera serves as an important resource pool to harvest from, though a lot of quarrying is done in the middle of Liako's vast equatorial deserts.

Laihin

Laihin is much larger than Liako and Aum'el, and much colder. Being the seventh planet in Auleial, its oceans are ones of ethane and nitrogen rather than water. Its indigo seas and pale crystal plains are not remarkable from afar, but are sights to behold on the surface. Laihin's size makes it look rather lonely, even though it has over 9 billion inhabitants. The strange crystalline environments Laihin owns are similarly reflected in the Qathrlt that call it home. Most of the homes they construct are grown crystals and geodes around ultra-stable metal frames.

Laihin's biomes appear as odd analogues to temperate worlds. Various crystals and ices cover what would be volcanic plains on other worlds, while frigid rivers and lakes run through silicon prairies of periwinkle grasses. Many species of flora and fauna grow quartz shells or exoskeletons to combat the gravitational stress and harsh weather of Laihin.

Laihin, the frigid outlier of Auleial's life-bearing worlds.

Laihin's three moons are mostly used for research and resources, with less than 10 permanent settlements on each of the tiny frozen rocks. Qathrlt form intensely devoted colonies of scientists in these rare moon bases, away from the distractions of any environment beyond the structures. Rare metals are found deep underneath the moons' surfaces, so mining operations take place every so often.

History

Exodus of Little Blue

The year was 1037 CE. Aum'el was growing noticeably more acidic day by day. Clouds of sienna smog blotted out large portions of the sky. A daily extinction list had been proposed to keep track of the truly cataclysmic decline in biodiversity. Crops failed, forests withered, and the oceans filled with byproduct chemicals that ever so slowly rose near the lethal limit. Despite having unified under a single world leader, Aum'el was on track to burn itself out and perish in industrial shame. Flooding and erosion shattered mountains and buried cities not built to withstand the tides and currents of the shifting navy oceans.

A project was proposed. It would take several months to complete, and be more expensive than the infrastructure costs of building 300 cities, but it had the potential to save the world. Scientists had been to Laia in the past few decades, and it had proved itself to be habitable. Not nearly enough space for 13 billion Lumeirri to live on, let alone thrive on resources imported to there, but it could certainly support some inhabitants. Liako, on the other hand, had never been visited. It had visible plant life, but its ecosystem was barely tolerable for any Lumeirri. It was once considered a possible expansion of Lumeirri civilization, but now it would have to serve as a desperate last-ditch attempt at a home.

Two billion to Laia, the other 11 to Liako. Complete exodus of Aum'el, save for a couple thousand designated scientists who would study the climate of the dying world up close. Leaving the world behind would freeze industry entirely. The battle against the damnation of the planet would be easier, the project head posed. Geoengineering the world could save what little was left, they argued. It barely gained enough funding to begin.

Within the next two years, every single Lumeirri was displaced from their home, permanently. The alteration of the climate was projected to take 250-300 years. Families struggled to stay together as they loaded into the almost endless swarm of skyscraper-sized transport ships. The ones taken to Laia would be helping to expand civilization and develop it; the ones put on Liako may as well have been executed. They had no goal but to survive on the violet world, shivering in its environment. Water even froze near the poles of the planet. It was cramped, but nobody had any choice. The rumbling of the launches only ended after an entire week.

Only the most dedicated scientists remained in the hazy valleys of Aum'el. Billions of abandoned homes stood in cities that no longer had names or faces. They would be torn down soon enough. Clad in protective suits and equipped with durable and mobile vehicle-homes, the few remaining Lumeirri started their work. There was a lot to do.

Sitarrako's Conquest of Liako

The year that 11 billion Lumeirri descended from the skies in countless vast monoliths is documented in thousands of works of art across Liako. The nation lucky enough to receive this divine boon was Sitarrako, a struggling monarchy under siege by nomadic barbarians. A few blue creatures shuffled out of the towering objects and into the cities. They spoke a strange tongue that flowed and rippled like water. The Ao'kami of Sitarrako's temples believed that the sky gods had finally sent their destroyer angels to eradicate Sitarrako's foes. Perhaps they were right, in a sense.

There was a month of unease within the pillars that lay scattered across the kingdom's domain. The blue fish-people scurried in and out of their domiciles, attempting to negotiate with Ao'kami scholars. A game of sorts was made to communicate. Glyphs of a strange variety were exchanged with the native script, then sounds, then words for basic concepts. After much deliberation, the Lumeirri and Ao'kami could finally speak to one another properly. They claimed to have come from the blue star that covets the sun. They did not know that Sitarrako existed. That a kingdom as grand as it was too primitive to even spot from their heavenly seat.

Three centuries, they would live on Liako. For those three centuries, they would teach the Ao'kami of their strange technology. The world would undergo a massive shift in power. The ways of metalworking so refined that one could travel beyond the skies and live, the power to harness thunder to light and heat homes, and even ways to create metal mounts that could outrun any creature. The Lumeirri were like gods, though they never admitted it. There was always an air of caution when granting the Ao'kami these gifts. Words of draining the world of life, of killing the natural with the machine.

Sitarrako thrived with the Lumeirri's help. It grew to span the whole world. It unified all under the violet heavens into the kingdom of the gods. The Lumeirri were impartial. They simply required land and seas to survive on. They were waiting for their world to be healed. An entire world, just as wide and endless as Liako. As Naikaru and Edera were, too. Not gods in the sky, but expanses of stone and sand like our own. The heavens were more Liakos, it would seem.

Ahsis

After the great revival of Aum'el, most Lumeirri went to reclaim their home. Some stayed on Liako, since it was the only world they had known. The original travelers had already died out, and new generations had existed on the planet for centuries. Laia had a similar share of Lumeirri stay behind. The moon had grown into a bustling world of its own. The repopulation of Aum'el went smoothly and slowly. Civilization rose freshly, with almost all relics of the old world reduced back to the soil they rose from.

Centuries, then millennia passed. The Ao'kami spread their kind to their moon Naikaru, and interplanetary politics began to come into play. There were basically only two nations at that point. The newly resurrected republic of the Lumeirri, and Liako's Sitarrako empire. Some Ao'kami had been awaiting the return to Aum'el, and so had spent decades in the great deserts to train to manage the heat. The leaders of both territories realized that they were separated by neither culture nor race, and they agreed that celestial bodies should have no borders. They created the first generation of the Auleial Interplanetary Union, though it had yet to be called that.

The first major project of the expansion-minded civilization was the terraforming and colonization of Auleial's fifth planet, Ahsis. The blood-red world had a toxic atmosphere and planet-spanning deep oceans. The goal was to create a utopian climate where neither Lumeirri nor Ao'kami were uncomfortable in temperature, and where land was abundant for everyone. The Lumeirri on Laia had been learning about terraforming for the past three centuries, and several thousand experts came forth to discuss the project.

Exactly how hot should Ahsis become? How much of the ocean should be drained to produce land, and where would the excess water go? Is it plausible to reshape the topology once the water is reduced? Question after question was deliberated for decades, all while surveying teams mapped out the exact climatic conditions of Ahsis. Digital models of potential future Ahsises were thrown around the room. One team adamantly demanded that a moon be created or captured for Ahsis to have. They suggested moving the outermost planet, Oudhoa, inward to serve as the red planet's moon.

After much heated discussion on the future of the carmine sea, the project was finalized. Slowly, the atmosphere was filtered of its toxic components. The oceans were drained and transported to various other parts of the system. Aum'el and Laia received most of them, while a large portion was reserved for Naikaru. Land peaked above Ahsis' waters for the first time since its birth. Thousands of years passed while the world was slowly tweaked to gain even the lowest class of habitability. More decades of argument occurred as an artificial biosphere was crafted. Ecologists precisely started their work on Ahsis' bare rock and sand. Soon enough it would be transformed into lush forests and grasslands. Soon enough, and yet lifetimes away.

Ahsis was tremendously difficult to bring to life. Unfathomable amounts of energy were required. Even after it had been completed, the need for a more reliable source of power than nuclear fusion became apparent to the Auleial Interplanetary Union.

Kan-Dammleur

Just as the terraforming of Ahsis was completed, the first explorations of the rest of Auleial were conducted. The Qathrlt were discovered on Laihin, and the large fields of color that were once thought to be tholin deposits were identified as Laihin's strange crystal life. The Qathrlt had not colonized beyond their vast planet, but quickly joined the AIU. The name "Auleial" is a portmanteau of each species' word for the sun. It is only at this point in the early 1800s that the star gained its current name.

With its name, Auleial was adorned by the four rings that make up Kan-Dammleur, which roughly means "Sun-eater" in an old Lumeirri language. Another project that spanned thousands of years was planned and put into action, this time being infinitely simpler than Ahsis. A series of four interlocking orbital rings that would drink in Auleial's light and use it as energy to transport elsewhere in the system. Kan-Dammleur would provide almost unlimited free energy for the people of Auleial, solving one of their most pressing issues.

Yttral's boiling metal interior and its former moon were stripped of material to create Kan-Dammleur. It was completed 106 years ahead of schedule due to an incredibly lucky flare catch by the first ring. The rings are angled to block only a negligeable portion of Auleial's light, which is accounted for by planetary micromanagement. Even today, Kan-Dammleur is the oldest still-standing structure in the system, being a true representation of the golden age of innovation and collaboration between Auleial's people.

Species

Lumeirri

Ao'kami

Qathrlt