The Forestress of Seaside-Thicket had stood for well over a thousand years - A thousand, two-hundred, and thirty-six to be precise, if their books were accurate. Over the centuries, it became harder to tell fact from fancy. Not that it really mattered to the people who it concerned. The Forestress did it's many jobs, and it did them efficiently, and it did not need the validation of history to continue to do such a thing. .
It's first job was to protect the town of Woodshold, the only Human settlement on the island of Verdansbane. Protect it from the Kaen, and the Ouyxay, for sure - raids and atacks were not uncommon, be they in the form of sieges, or be they in the forms of naval fleets. Each had their strengths, and each had their weaknesses - Weaknesses that the Guard had learned to exploit. But they were far from the only threat to the settlers here.
Not far from the fort, laid the Forest of Viraketh. Atop the forts battements as she was, Vortex could see the tops of the trees from here, though they were miles away. It looked no different to any normal forest back home. The treetops went high, and the ground dense with shrubbery of various blues and greens - but she had heard the stories. They were why she was here, at least in part. They had captivated her, though if they had not, she was sure that she would be feeling this emotion all the same, far away as she was from what sparked it in her.
An overall feeling of unease. Nervousness. She felt her body shiver slightly. Like the forest itself was actively repelling her away from it. She couldn't help but bare her teeth in a grin, despite how shaky it was.
She had never been more excited in her entire life.
"The feeling doesn't go away, Chronicler. No matter how long you look at it."
"I can tell." Vortex answered the Guard-Captain, not taking her eyes off the forest for a single moment.
The Guard-Captain let out one lone, single chuckle, before stepping towards the edge, and next to Vortex. He looked out at the forest with her for a moment, one part admiring the sight, and one part doing his job, surveying the land for threats of whatever sort. The two of them had spoken as the ship took them to the Island of Solaris. Vortex had, presumably, bored the man half to death with facts about the island he almost certainly knew, stationed here for as long as he had been, but he never once seemed to lose interest in what she was saying. He was more a silent type, Vortex supposed. She had read about people like that, back home, but to actually meet someone like that was one part intimidating, and one part exactly what she had wanted when she left. Or, well, one part of many reasons why she had left.
"I suspect that we'll be ready to go within a few hours." The Guard-Captain said, still looking out across the plains and woods. For a breif moment, Vortex realized she had forgotten his name, but it came back to her in the nick of time - Yorren.
"Where exactly are we going?" Vortex asked.
Yorren pointed towards what Vortex assumed was a clearing, "We have a few outposts within the forest. Good for observation, storing, and training new arrivals. They act like a perimeter as well. Let us know if the beasts are headed our way. Useful." His hand lowered. "We're doing a maintenance inspection. Nothing too fancy - Make sure everyone is in order, all the infrastructure is sturdy, and repair it if it's not. Nothing exciting - But it should be fine for your purposes, I assume?"
Vortex
Alloy Horizon
Alloyan
None
Three
Void Coves: Alloy Sea, Alloy Lake, and Alloy Ocean
Unknown
Crythans
Crythans
Untold Quadrillions
'Worlds like the Alloy Horizon are a good reminder that no matter how much we think we understand the Cosmic Tide, even the relatively mundane can present a surprise and mystery that eludes us.'
A particularly unusual world found within the Voidsea, Alloy Horizon, colloquially referred to as 'The Alloy Horizon' is a Rogue Void Island located within the Core Trench of the Sky River.
Along it's surface, down several kilometres, and in some regions nearing it's exosphere, the world is fully covered in Nanites - Tiny, self-replicating machinery.
It's surface is ever-shifting, and to an unknowing observer, may appear to be liquid. In reality, it is untold quadrillions of these Nanites, which refer to themselves as Crythans, reorganizing and restructuring themselves and their entire world. Little is understood about what the exact purpose of this is, as the Crythans are a very private people that do not wish to share their ways with others.
Though Nanites are not exactly unheard of across an area as vast and densely populated as the Sky River, what makes the Alloy Horizon situation so unique is that there is absolutely no record of where they came from whatsoever. This is to the extent that there is knowledge as to which of the main Gyres that make up the Sky River it comes from - Assuming that it comes from any of them at all.
Such a lack of records raises a multitude of possibilities, all of which appear to be impossible in their own right. The Nanites themselves claim to have no knowledge of their origins. They seem to acknowledge that they were created, but beyond that, claim no knowledge of what created them.
Despite having no historical records - Or, at least, any they are willing to share - the Crythans have created their own civilization upon Alloy Horizon, and it's three orbiting Void Coves, Alloy Sea, Alloy Lake, and Alloy Ocean. They claim to have been able to settle a variety of worlds in the past, and that those colonies are still out there, somewhere within the Voidsea, though they do not have contact with Alloy Horizon. Various methods of testing for communication with other worlds seems to confirm this assessment - Ally Horizon is, at the very least, not communicating with other worlds.
Affiliation Status
Alloy Horizon is nominally independent, though are de-facto part of the Cosmic Union. They are located deep within Union territory, and are surrounded on all sides. Their nearest neighbours also are either unaware of their existence, or are opposed to it. With limited options, and an open offer of friendship from their omni-present neighbour, the Crythans entered a loose-association status with the Cosmic Union.
Officially, they aid the Cosmic Union in whatever needs they may have - Be they Voidcraft repair, technological assessment, or rapid-construction. In exchange, they are left to their own devices, as well as protected from any Voidsea threats.
Theories
The Alloy Horizon's mere existence represents a number of questions, many of which are either impossible to confirm, or simply don't make sense given the history of the Voidsea. This has lead to wild speculation and theories about their existence.
Typically, these theories can be subdivided into two types - Speculation about the origin of the Crythans, and about the Alloy Horizon as a Void Island.
Crythan Origins
These theories focus on the origin of the Crythan Civilization.
Ancient Civilization
This theory suggests the existence of an ancient civilization that inhabited the Void Island. This civilization would have created the Nanites, and then been overtaken by them, in a manner similar to that of the K.A.R.T.H and the world of Iron Eden.
The primary flaw with this theory is the Technopocalypse - Such an event would have likely destroyed the Nanites, unless they had a defensive mechanism against it. This is one of the more popular theories, in no small part due to the fact the Nanites refuse to speak on their creators.
Bio-Nanites
One proposed theory is that the Crythans are a Kinde of biological Nanites. This theory primarily exists to explain how the Crythans survived the Technopocalypse. Due to the Crythans' isolationist tendencies, and a shared agreement between the Cosmic Union and Alloy Horizon to not release data about their origins, this claim is currently non-falsifiable.
Survivors
Some speculate that the Crythans originated during the Void Age, and somehow survived the Technopocalypse. Though rare, some forms of technological life were able to survive the Technopocalypse. The theory postulates that the Nanites were able to protect themselves from it, and built up their civilization afterwards.
The issue with this theory stems from the fact that Nanites are small - Small pieces of technology were more likely to break than larger ones, due to storage capacity. Even then, many larger structures completely detonated - So what hope would the Crythans have had? It further requires the Crythans had foreknowledge of the incoming Technopocalypse, which not even the most advanced civilizations of it's time were able to predict.
Emergent
Something of an inverse of the Survivors theory, some speculate that, like other forms of Metalkinde, the Crythans gained sentience via Taekni and the Broadwave. The arguments against this are the same as the 'Survivors' theory - Namely, that mechanical life has not been found to have been influence by Taekni, nor the Broadwave, on this scale.
Alloy Horizon Theories
These theories speculate on where precisely Alloy Horizon originates. This is a question of particular interest to those who study the Convergence and it's various effects, as the Alloy Horizon appears to have simply appeared out of nowhere. If this is the result of some phenomenon caused by the Convergence, it could provide some astro-geographical data that allows for better predictive modelling for the future. Due to the Crythan's isolationism however, speculation is all that can be undertaken.
Wormhole/Rift
One of the more common theories of this is that The Allot Horizon simply travelled through a wormhole or rift in the Voidsea that was capable of supporting it's transition into the Sky River. Such events have not been particularly uncommon since the Convergence, and so, this is a theory which has stuck. However, if it is true, the exact location of the bridge between where The Alloy Horizon came from, where where it is now, has not yet been discovered.
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Skoga Sigurd
Skogan
Skoga Sigurdan
Chlorothis - Greater Solar Union, Void Age
Void Island
1 G
Three
Extensive
Greater Solar Union - Formerly
Cosmic Union
An old gem left behind by the Greater Solar Union, Skoga Sigurd is a Void Island located within the Quillaztlan Court Void Archipelago, found within the Core Trench. It possesses three Void Coves, the most important of which being Ondandi, the headquarters of the former Re-Genesis Initiative. Recovered data packets around the Core Trench suggest that at the time, Skoga Sigurd was named 'Chlorothis'.
As part of the Initiatives goals to learn about environments on various Void Islands, and provide scientific research for terraforming projects across the Union, Skoga Sigurd was not settled by a large number of people. Instead, it became what was dubbed the first "Botanic" world - A world dedicated primarily to the collection, harvesting, export, and scientific study of a wide variety of plant-life from across the Sky River.
Samples of flora were collected and brought back to Skoga Sigurd from thousands of worlds, planted there, and grown in abundance. A variety of experiments were performed, adjusting some plants to a higher gravity, or to a lower one, crossbreeding programs, re-vitalization efforts, or simple preservation were all cornerstones of Skoga Sigurd's purpose. It was widely considered a gem of the Greater Solar Union, and dozens of other Botanic Worlds were created in both it's image, and it's intent.
History
Pre-Colonial
Before colonization, Skoga Sigurd was a large Void Island, which had the basic components necessary for life, but was still a long way from being considered "habitable". The presence of flora present both on it and Ondandi revealed that Skoga Sigurd got what little plant life was on it via panspermia, and debris from various asteroid impacts throughout it's existence. Despite this, life on the world was incredibly basic, and primarily relegated to it's oceans, bar a few insectoid Kinde. Composition wise, the world was high in concentrated gasses that were toxic to Kin for prolonged periods.
Because of these factors, Ondandi was selected for colonization first, due to it's more readily available capacity for life. Skoga Sigurd was slated as a secondary colonization target, which would be focused on when the Ondandi colony was established, self-sufficient, and capable of carrying out such a long-term project with minimal aid from the Greater Solar Union, which would allow the wider state to focus on large-scale projects, and allow for the new colonists to have a shared project to work towards.
Throughout this period of time, a variety of expeditions were sent to Skoga Sigurd, for survey purposes, including probe, drone, and manned expeditions that were designed to determine the suitability for colonization, what adjustments might need to be made to any colonies on the surface, or what terraforming requirements may be needed. It was during this time that the Re-Genesis Initiative was founded, and became involved in the surveys.
Sim'ra
Sim'ran
By the time of the Valhallan Age, the many celestial bodies of the Cosmic Tide had already long been a place where many Kinde had set their feet on, built cities, monuments, or otherwise left their marks. One such world was that of Sim'ra, or as it was known during the Void Age, Skoga.
Sim'ra is now a Void Island that has come to serve as the functional seat of government for the Simian Kinde.
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Eo
Eosi
Deep in the expanses of the
Isogar
Isogari
Third
3.6 G
5.8
38 Degrees
31 Hours
31 Hours
Yes
Isogar is a huge Efri Void Island, found within the Sky River. It is part of the Nexicarid Void Archipelago. It orbits the twin stars, Chitonia and Carapax.
It is up to 1.7 times the size of Verdrasil. It has three Void Coves, all of which are inhabited by Isogari faunakinde. It also possesses several asteroid Coves, which have been settled, and transformed into system capitals by the Cosmic Union. A variety of Voidsea-based infrastructure has also been set up in place within the worlds orbit.
It is a world of immense gravity, brutal environments, and extreme weather events. A large axial tilt ensures that the weather is unpredictable, and brutal to the unprepared. It's multiple Coves and stars ensure that tides are equally dangerous. All of it's biomes have been sculpted by them in some way or another. The gravity on the surface of the Void Island is up to 3.6 times that of Verdrasil's. Scientific surveys, experiments, and research must contend with this, and the small number of settlements are either aquatic, or are manned by Kinde which are suited to such conditions. Isogar is off limits to most colonization efforts, due both to these environmental hazards, and the native life on world.
Despite it's brutal conditions, the world, as well as it's orbital rings, teem with many forms of native life. Most notably, it is the home of the Nexipods, a Faunakinde of incredibly tough Isopod-like creatures, which have dozens of evolutionary branches. Despite their lack of sapience, the Nexipods have spread across multiple Void Islands, creating what is known as the Nexipod Range, where they have undergone their own branches of evolution to form ever more Kinde, adapted to a wider variety of environments. The sentient Kinde, the Varlings, from the Void Island of Sycarid, are descendants of the Nexipods, hailing from this region. It is speculated that the Kinde reached the Voidsea via asteroid impact ejecting a number of Nexipods into the Voidsea, where they remarkably survived, adapted, and spread out across the orbital rings, and then, the rest of the Voidsea.
The world's biodiversity, history, and being the centre of the Nexipod Range makes it both a scientific marvel, but also, a strategic risk - The Nexipods are a target of the Silurian Swarm, seeking their rapid-evolutionary abilities. The Cosmic Union has a strategic interest in ensuring that the Swarm cannot absorb them, and has thus taken more invasive steps in order to ensure the Swarm cannot read Isogar, or any of the regions in which the Nexipods have spread.
Native Life
Nexipods make up the vast majority of native life on Isogar, and make up 86% of the faunakinde there. Their evolutionary tree is immense, and makes up everything from tiny pollinators, to apex predators. They are found in every biome that the Void Island has, from the arctic icecaps, to the crushing depths of the Isogari oceans. Fossil records seem to suggest that the first Nexipods came into being over 300 Million years ago, and that all Nexipods alive today are descendants of this common ancestor.
In the time since diverging from this common ancestor, the Nexipods have split into tens of thousands of distinct families, in no small part due to their unique rate of evolution.
Other forms of life do exist on Isogar, and are most analogous to insects and fish. They are often in competition with other Nexipods, which also fill in similar niches. Further fossil evidence suggests that there have been a multitude of predators which acted as predators to Nexipods, and had a series of adaptations that allowed them to penetrate their various defences.
Core Trench
Of all the Gyres that make up the Sky River, the Core Trench is perhaps the most significant - It is, after all, the Core of which the rest of the River orbits.
Zarxia
Eosi
'Zarxian blood holds Union lines- 'gainst the fire, for endless time - Ash and blood, horrors portray - Yet the soul forever, shall Remain!' - From the Saga of Zarxia