Inflorescence

Template:!Alternate Plane InfoboxInflorescence is truly a part of Via Aylathiya in all senses of the words "part of." They share history, species, and culture, but those are mere coincidences compared to the physical location of Inflorescence. Inflorescence can be thought of as the part of Via Aylathiya extending into the fourth dimension, itself only three dimensional however. Put another way, Inflorescence is a portion of matter from Via Aylathiya that is about one kilo-light-year off-set from the rest of Aylathiya's matter.

There is another region of space that is similarly a part of Via Aylathiya but offset, the Lux Aeterna. Where the Lux Aeterna is chaotic, nearly dream-like in its rules and properties, Inflorescence is a highly ordered region of space. Compared to Via Aylathiya's endless conflict, Inflorescence has consistently been peaceful, with only external forces capable of enacting chaos in the region. As such, Inflorescence is considered to be "Above" Via Aylathiya while the Lux Aeterna is considered "Below' Via Aylathiya.

More precisely, Inflorescence is the region of Via Aylathiya located in four-dimensional space. While Inflorescence is itself a three dimensional region of normal space and time, it is offset from Via Aylathiya and the rest of the Local Cosmos in the fourth spatial axis. The realm of Inflorescence is dominated by a single massive spiral galaxy called Chapeirre. With slightly different laws of gravity than the Local Cosmos on which it rests, Inflorescence has very few black holes or neutron stars, with a very low number of stars having a mass in excess of 0.5 M_☉. Consequently, most of Chapeirre is completely lifeless and virtually uninhabitable due to a lack of metals to form asteroids and planets.

Within its clouds of dust and small stars are types of nebulae called "Grand Design Nebulae," peculiar nebulae that have similar formation patterns as the galaxies within the wider local cosmos. It seems that whenever a black hole or neutron star does form in Chapeirre, it begins accumulating orbiting material to form these nebulae. Most of the mass contained within Inflorescence is in a form of Dark Matter unique to Inflorescence. These particles account for most of the mass contained within Inflorescence and is responsible for its strange laws of gravity.

The first sapient life to exist in Inflorescence were beings known as Engels. Compared to the Lux Aeterna's Aeternaborne, known as Angels, the Engels are orderly almost mechanical beings whose true origin rests outside of Inflorescence. They universally make their way into it from elsewhere. The first of them was an entity called The Administrator, followed by Molonov and Delyatu. Soon after the origins of the Engels, colonists from Via Aylathiya found their way into Inflorescence. They would come to worship the Engels as deities. After millennia of this the Engels united in 99,871 BCE, forming a three-headed Triumvirate Civilization. The people of Inflorescence, themselves also united by their deities, joined them on their conquests. Soon after formation, the Triumvirate would expand outside of Inflorescence into the Local Cosmos, in particular the "normal" part of Via Aylathiya. Inflorescence has not been united since the fall of the Triumvirate, with the remaining Engels and outside forces at first quarreling over the Triumvirate's ruins, but now coming to peaceful agreement about their territory.

Dimensionality & Properties

Inflorescence is a three-dimensional region of Normal Space with no particular anomalous properties inherent to its space-time. As a realm, Inflorescence is very similar to the local cosmos. Its properties are so similar that the most commonly excepted theory for its creation, Cosmic Division, is that Inflorescence and the Local Cosmos were both one before splitting as the two cooled. Out of the five known spatial dimensions to contain matter, Inflorescence is "off-set" by about three kilo-light-years in the "W" axis. Other than that, it shares the same X, Y, and Z dimensions that the Local Cosmos does.

At one mega-light-year across, Inflorescence's total volume is a tenth of a percent as large as the Local Cosmos. The total amount of mass contained within Inflorescence, however, is comparable to the entirety of the Local Cosmos. At just under a third of the Local Cosmos' mass, Inflorescence is very densely packed with matter. Most of this matter is in the form of Dark Matter, specifically a form called A.M.P.s (Anomalously-interacting Massive Particles). Called "Strange Axions," these particles conform to a more complex set of gravitational interactions that the Local Cosmos' W.I.M.P.s (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).

Environment

Surrounding Chapeirre is a mostly empty region of space. Surrounding this empty region of space is an increasingly dense "fluid" that slows objects that move through it. This fluid, called "Ambros" (a word borrowed from Fuukanist mythology describing a primordial reality), impedes the movement of objects on a trajectory that would otherwise lead them outside of Inflorescence. The Ambros eventually reaches such a high pressure that any objects sent into it are crushed. What lies beyond the Ambros is likely the Void of Creation.

Far beyond Chapeirre, around half of a mega-light-year, another unique phenomena occurs called "Portae Amaranthae." Wormholes linking disparate locations within the Local Cosmos are visible in Inflorescence as long translucent Amaranth tubes. When a wormhole is first activated within the Local Cosmos, the path it takes arcs across Inflorescence, often for light years in length. These tubes, the width of the wormhole generator that made them, last for mere seconds to years with no correlation to how long the wormhole exists in the Local Cosmos. Within these strikingly purple tubes are projections of the ships that used them. There are vessels from unknown civilizations still passing through wormholes that have yet to fade, offering a valuable insight into civilizations of the past.

Chapeirre

Chapeirre up close.

Within the center of Inflorescence lies one galaxy, Chapeirre. It combined with the rest of the galaxies in Inflorescence over ten billion years ago, leaving only a small handful of stars existing outside of the galaxy still within Inflorescence. Chapeirre is a spiral galaxy in the process of transitioning into an elliptical form. Just like the local cosmos, Chapeirre is populated mostly by red dwarf stars. The ratio in Chapeirre, however, is much more extreme with over 95% of its stars being red dwarfs. Black holes and neutron stars are much less common, consequentially making metals heavier than iron also uncommon.

Grand Design Nebulae

Within Chapeirre are what are known as Grand Design Nebulae, a unique form of Nebula found in the galaxy. Due to Inflorescence's A.M.P.s, the behavior of matter on a large scale is different, allowing these nebulae to form. Grand Design Nebulae often take on the form of dwarf galaxies, with spiral, irregular, and elliptical nebulae analogous to galaxy variants. In these regions, matter is far more concentrated, allowing for a more standard distribution of stars.

Grand Design Nebulae often form around any of the few black holes or, in some cases even Neutron Stars, that exist in Chapeirre. A.M.P.s respond to strong gravity wells by dragging nearby matter towards them, eventually forming much denser regions over billions of years. Currently, there are over fifty of these nebulae in Chapeirre with well over one hundred in the process of forming. Any life that forms in Chapeirre is confined to these nebulae as even planets are a rarity outside of them save for moonless massive gas giants and brown dwarfs.

Florescence

Florescence is the most common name for the core region of the Chapeirre galaxy. While having the highest metallicity of anywhere in Chapeirre, Florescence is still far from the metallicity in, for example Via Aylathiya. Life is comparatively rare in the region and even less common in the area around it. Even so, The Ravis and Llæns call this region home. Florescence is controlled by the Boreal Federacy's state of Blumeheim which has drained it of resources, causing it to be dependent on imports to survive.

As of the current year, Florescence has a population of over 17 quintillion mostly residing around its central black hole Mei'os. At 41 million stars in size, Florescence is small for a galactic core region. It is one of the most densely populated regions of space as well as one of the highest valued regions per system. The average system within Florescence is more valuable than those elsewhere, causing it to have one of the highest costs of living in its region.

Name

The Ravin name for the region, "Vynos" is best translated as the word, "Florescence." Florescence means, "the process of flowering." The name comes from their region being origin point of their religion. Many believe that their religion will eventually "flower," causing it to spread rapidly among individuals residing outside of Florescence. Originally, the name was more meant to represent how their civilization would colonize the rest of the universe. Once that has proven impossible, The Ravis largely shifted to a more peaceful means of spreading their faith. The entire region is called "Sei-Vynos," meaning "Inflorescence," which is the complete arrangement of flowers on a plant.

Astrography

Florescence, while controlled mostly by Blumeheim, is divided in two parts, Ravi-Empyrea and Llæ-Empyrea. Together these two nations make up the two jurisdictions of Blumeheim. The central black hole of Florescence, Mei'os, is the most populous body in the core at almost 500 quadrillion inhabitants within its direct orbit. Other important worlds include Alphos and Yuusha, the home worlds of the Ravis and Llæns respectively.

Florescence has a very low metallicity, causing life to be very rare within it. While in many galaxies, bacteria-covered worlds are relatively common, Florescence only has one planet known to have naturally evolved life, Alphos. The other planet to have life since antiquity, Yuusha, shows evidence of terraformation, suggesting that the life on its surface is from another world or genetically engineered.

Major Worlds

			File:Mei'os.png
	Alphos	Yuusha	Mei'os
Location	Ravi-Empyrea	Llae-Empyrea	Mei'os Shared Zone
Population	TBA	TBA	TBA
Unique Attributes:

History

The history of Inflorescence is directly related to the history of Via Aylathiya and always has been. Even more than Via Aylathiya, the history of Inflorescence is defined by "Great Actors," individuals whose influence was solely responsible for historical events. These Great Actors often lead nations or were the embodiment of these nations. Many of these Great Actors were beings known as Engels, meaning that Inflorescence's history is "sporadic" with past trends often turned on their heads by these Great Actors.

Early History

The first sapient being in Inflorescence was an Engel known as The Administrator. Upon emerging in about 500,000 BCE, The Administrator found itself alone in the plane of Inflorescence. All of the few planets with life it found had no intelligent life, just what it deemed self-replicating carbon-based machines (bacteria). Bored with Inflorescence, the Administrator would spend its time researching the fundamental nature of reality. It made great leaps in technology after converting entire star systems into its laboratories.

Eventually, the Administrator would first send probes out of Inflorescence. These probes were built to detect interesting things, take samples, and report back to the Administrator. To this day, direct communication between Inflorescence and where these probes went, Via Aylathiya, remains impossible. Only a small number of probes returned, prompting the Administrator to simply produce more to get more information. Soon, entire systems would be disassembled to create the probes. As more returned, the Administrator observed weaknesses in them, the samples they brought back, and the kind of phenomena they observed.

In about 300,000 BCE, the Administrator first deciphered that the samples it had gathered were in fact sapient entities much like itself. While small, they too were aware of their own existence. These entities, a species called the Svartálfar, had been warring against these probes for millennia. Since the probes expected for no life to be in Via Aylathiya, their sample-gathering was very destructive. Planets they disassembled to form way-stations were populated and the samples they often left to starve were not rocks that could be jostled and left in vacuum, they were living beings.

Ohko-Administrator War

From the samples, the Administrator learned of a being truly similar to itself, a being called Mother Ohko who ruled the Svartálfar's civilization. This being, like the Administrator, spontaneously manifested, itself also held great power, and had been the one destroying all of the Administrator's probes. It had a new mission, to capture and experiment on this "Mother Ohko" character.

In 310,344 BCE, the Administrator captured a close disciple of Mother Ohko, a powerful Svartálfar female known as Eve. Eve was difficult to subdue, causing the Administrator to develop new technologies, its first true weapons, to contain her. After a thorough interrogation, Eve was coldly cast aside, left to die on the planet Tryvya. Using the information attained by Eve, the Administrator finally managed to capture Ohko, subjugating the being to intense experimentation. The Administrator ignored the war between its autonomous self-replicating probes and the now headless Svartálfar civilization; it had its prize.

The Administrator learned much about Thaumaturgy from the Ohko entity, learning to use it itself. It learned to project an avatar of itself into Via Aylathiya and, from this avatar, release large amounts of energy. This usage of an avatar is likely why many accounts of the remaining Svartálfar describe a formless being laying waste to their worlds. The Svartálfar could be considered extinct in about 310,931 BCE. Only a handful of subspecies, genetically distinct from the main civilization, remained.

The Myrkálfar were one such subspecies that, while not surviving to the modern day, had a large impact on the history of the subsequent civilizations of Inflorescence. Descended from the Svartálfar samples taken by the Administrator, they would be freed as they were dumped onto a planet that just so happened to be marginally habitable.

Setting the Stage

At the same time as many civilizations began forming in Via Aylathiya, civilization came to Inflorescence. After 200,000 BCE especially, civilization seemed to spring up all at once. The Myrkálfar would form a civilization, called Kekkai. This civilization's thoughts and religion seemed to have spread to the primitive civilizations all across Inflorescence. Their vehemently monotheistic, Administrator-centered, faith had an influence on the various civilizations that their missionaries uplifted. The Orcubor, Atlins, and Re'Tlel were highly influenced by them, creating a near plane-wide religion dedicated to the veneration of the Administrator. The Administrator itself lost interest in the primitive races of Inflorescence, its advanced technology to them appearing as supernatural ability.

A break-away group of Myrkálfar, being persecuted by the wider religious order of Inflorescence for their general heresy, fled to an empty corner of the Tloinin nebula. Cornered and nearly exterminated, the group cried out to their goddess, Delyatu, only for an Engel, claiming to be this being, to emerge and push back the wider Inflorescence fleets. Myrkálfar. The group immediately stopped identifying as Myrkálfar, opting to call themselves Vlanoans instead.

Other Engels would form after Delyatu, notably Molonov. Spontaneously manifesting on the planet Alphos in about 220,000 BCE, Molonov would begin uniting the various theocracies of the Ravis species, claiming to be a prophet from the "One True God," which he did not name, causing the Ravis to assume that this Engel was speaking in the name of The Administrator. Titania emerged under similar circumstances; however, this Engel was skeptical of the nearly religious devotion that the people of Inflorescence had to the Engels. She devoted herself to the unraveling of the mysteries of the Engels and their supernatural powers, which would later be determined to be Runic Thaumaturgy, which is, despite the name, an entirely naturalistic phenomenon.

A concerning part about this history is that almost everything that is known about it is known through the lens of the Engels or their followers. An objective view of the events described is hard to piece together. Additionally, history is recorded in a third-person omniscient point of view, as though gods were looking down to record information. As such, the historical documents of early Inflorescence are usually considered to be "mytho-historical accounts."

Great Changes

In about 100,000 BCE, the Administrator once again began paying attention to the universe it found itself in. The Administrator would release an invitation to every Engel, small theocracy devoted to some Engel or another, and even machine. This invitation was simple; the Administrator offered to share its technology in exchange for fealty. Really, it could not care less about the quintillions that called Inflorescence home; its goal was to secure allies amongst the