Crimwol

Crimwol (Indaric: كرموال) is the second world orbiting Hwrett. Much of its plant life had evolved to mimic the hue of its scarlet-colored sun. From fiery red to golden yellow, its plants, so isolated on islands deep in the global sea have evolved a staggering array of colors.

All landmasses on this ice-covered world are volcanic in origin, but with such fierce competition from Crimwol's plants, the efforts of its volcanoes to fill the atmosphere with warming gasses never makes progress. Thus, ice covers a quarter of the planet. This planet's native ecology has evolved many methods to keep warm, such as incorporating ethanol as antifreeze and fur.

The native Tannjens have largely abandoned their home planet, whose population is not even a tenth of its maximum some five millennia ago. Since the collapse of the ancient Tech Egealta civilization, Crimwol had been at the mercy of warlords seeking glory and emperors seeking hegemony alike. The Tannjens have migrated throughout much of Zalanthium and beyond.

Without their kin so much as looking back to their home world, the remaining Tannjens formed an eclectic militaristic state to defend themselves. Maintaining the ruins of a dozen empires, from old orbital weapons to house-sized guns whose designers have been forgotten to history, the United Duchies of Crimwol, fiercely defends its home.

History

Ancient Era

Many say the brain is the most powerful computer in the universe and, yes, its capacity for associative data storage and learning is certainly impressive. What was less impressive to the ancient Tannjens was its need for nutrition, hyper specific temperatures, precise pH, and its purpose. Brains are for making more children, not calculus.

Tech Egealta was founded on the principle of transcending the flesh. They created the first Nachleben in the universe, that is, computers capable of maintaining the soul. With trillions of these machines produced over the years, Tech Egealta's leaders could use the tremendous amounts of energy needed to keep animals alive for other purposes. The Nachleben were typically modeled after Tannjens at first, but soon forms mimicking animals, objects, and even amorphous shapes became common.

Those who refused to become Nachleben were stripped of rights and pushed into nature preserves. They lived short naturalistic lives and lost even the ability to cure their illnesses as databases of "veterinary medicine" were deemed superfluous. The few thousand Tannjens crammed into these reserves soon adapted, discovering the secrets of herbal medicine and basic agriculture.

Unbeknownst to the ten times great grandchildren of the first Tannjens sent to these preserves, their civilization had fallen. The Andvaris Swarm razed every civilization in the universe. The clever Nachleben, however, had a simple plan. They had no need for reality; they could retreat into simulated paradises, subsist off nuclear-powered batteries for eons, and wake up when the Andvaris Swarm finally left.

Still as statues, the Nachleben hid in plain sight. Andvaris drones could not tell them apart from rocks and they could not tell the still-organic Tannjens apart from animals. This order persisted for 170,000 years.

Common Era

The Nachleben remained where they first stood, the meta-materials composing their body as strong as ever. The Tannjens had become one million strong by 2000 BCE. They tore down ruins to forge bronze tools, but the Nachleben were far too durable to be anything more than strange formations. Of course, superstitions about the "people-shaped rocks" abounded, but they were nothing more than that.

By the time the Tannjens tore down mountains to get to the coal within, they had the technology to pry apart these "stones." Curious to see what was within, the first Tannjens to do so experienced fatal radiation poisoning. But, with proper precaution, these statues were discovered to be ancient relics. Governments gathered these machines and paid thousands of researchers to unlock their secrets. Through stimulating their limbs with electric currents, one could coax them to move. While clunky industrial-era batteries could hardly do the job, within the century the entire planet's economy had become based on these useful machines. Their hearts powered cities, their eyes took family photos, their arms labored in factories, and their legs held up civilization.

There were even more to be found on Crimwol's large moon of Starrock, including far larger and more useful machines. The governments of Crimwol, once competing for land and sea now competed for space. The first colonies on Starrock went up in 1003 CE. Just twenty years later, the Tannjens had set foot on every somewhat notable rock in the system. Every government and company wanted their name in the histories of each world.

Overlord Era

Millions of Nachleben were carelessly dumped into landfills, stripped for parts or not. Their brains, dense orbs unassailable even by atomic age technology, made for good paper weights and little else. They saw limited usage in sanding applications given their resistance to wear, but were mostly unused. By the billions these orbs piled up in landfills, at the bottom of lakes, under the foundations of buildings, or strewn about on airless worlds under the full unfiltered radiation. Needless to say, most did not survive being harvested. Some may have been able to subsist on auxiliary power, but waking up to find themselves buried and slowly buckling under pressure had been the fate of most.

A small satellite orbiting Hwrett gave the "all clear" signal several millennia late; the ancient device was one of the few the Tannjens hadn't found and tossed into a museum. The Nachleben ambled out of facilities, brushed moss off of themselves, trudged ashore, or at least attempted to do so. In various states of disrepair they began discussing what to do to rebuild. The Nachleben soon noticed the scattered remains of their brethren. They recognized components in vehicles, electronics, and even houses. They responded much the same way anyone would seeing a predator tear apart a comrade. These animals needed to be put back into their reserves first and foremost.

Thus the war began, although neither side saw it as such. Putting down the ancient weapons of some precursor civilization and putting down the animals who slaughtered their countrymen and played with their viscera. The Tannjen were outnumbered two to one, but the limping Nachleben had nothing in the way of infrastructure or weaponry. The feuding Tannjen states put aside their differences to unite into the Hwrett Congress.

Around when the population had quartered, both sides put down their arms as yet another player entered the fray. The snoutless woman bald across her body save for the top of her head called herself Sachitel. With her, more hairless snoutless creatures and beings made of crystal arrived. Each one could brave the vacuum of space and could move fast enough to traverse the gulf between stars, somehow under their own power.

These were Magi, the users of Thaumaturgy. Perhaps at full strength, the Tannjens could crush them with bullets from orbit. Perhaps the Nachleben, whose strength and speed were unparalleled, could send wave after wave until they overwhelmed the magi. The Nachleben and Congress pledged fealty without the woman saying a single word. Sachitel ruled the Second Aeternal Society. She left nearly as soon as she had arrived, leaving behind her magus army to enforce her will.

Several years later, she had returned. Sachitel began to remake the planet as she saw fit. Nachleben and Tannjen alike faced screenings for magical potential. All those with potential never saw their home world again. These magi were sent to the front lines in the eternal warfare against each and everyone one of her neighbors. She had the best thaumaturgy in the universe, but with so few subjects, she had gone as far as Zalanthium to find them.

That was, until her visit to The Benefactor.

The Wish

Her wish, an army of magi she could conquer Eos with. The Benefactor, perhaps the most powerful spirit in existence, grants wishes in exchange for fulfilling a contract. All Sachitel would need to do is fling an asteroid's mass of precious metal into its maw and she could live the rest of her days a conqueror. Every tenth Tannjen had their souls touched by the Benefactor, apparently it did not recognize Nachleben as living things. The Tannjens gained whatever passed for magic in the Benefactor's view, which apparently was a very broad set of abilities. Most of them gained abilities so obscure it would take millennia for them to emerge organically once more.

Sachitel had her magus army induct whichever ones seemed useful and left the rest, over 9 billion, with only a few hundred guardians. This army spent its days feeding the Benefactor, fighting wars across an ever-increasing number of fronts, and finally laying waste to Eos' cities. Crimwol was free to an extent. Even though Sachitel's warriors could do anything they liked, the Tannjens and Nachleben could begin rebuilding. In secret, some explored their hidden abilities, most of which figured out how to leave Crimwol. Many went to Limehold, some to Eos to get their revenge against Sachitel, and some began roving across Cosmoria as Sachitel had.

For the next few centuries, Crimwol changed hands between the warlords flying throughout Zalanthium.

Self Rule

With the Hwrettlords war band making Crimwol their permanent home in 4300, the planet stopped becoming a place to be raided. It slowly rebuilt, offering goods for trade. This new peace made the planet far more productive. Other bands began slowly settling worlds, forgoing their nomadic life styles. The gains were just too great, even if the cost of defending worlds was much greater. As the Hwrettlord political situation grew increasingly complex, different houses competed for trade rights with passing ships. What emerged was a system of property rights which trumped even claims to birthright or divine right to rule. When seizing assets became bad for the economy, the nobles of Crimwol either respected their traders or fell by the wayside.

At this time, Crimwol was known across the universe as one of the best places to do business. Trade with the rest of Zalanthium was high, but even places as far as Dotskgard, Matoehdahn, and The Heart of Providence traded. Empires came and went, but during the fifth and sixth millennium, Crimwol remained independent.

In 5120 CE, Tech Starrock landed troops on Crimwol and seized its capitol. With overwhelming power and wealth thanks to Starrock's lower gravity, the rulers of Crimwol's large moon easily bested a planet with a population ten times larger. The ascension of Lord Protector Bath f'Starrock marked an end to Crimwoli independence that would last for millennia. Starrock's population slowly rose as opportunities on its parent dwindled, coming to match and even surpass Crimwol by 5630.

The Benefit

A new religion, simply called The Benefit began becoming popular during Crimwol's difficult era starting in the 6900s. Economic decline spurred by the development of Isocel as trade capital of Zalanthium, resource wars over the last easily-accessible material in Crimwol's thin crust, and warlords maintaining control of Hwrett's asteroid belt—it was a hard time for the planet. It was shedding population as its people left in search of more opportunity.

Furthermore, the Nachleben had been degrading. Without the carefully-managed society of their ancient creators, error had slowly infiltrated their cognitive processes. Without the means to repair their thought patterns, many spiraled into insanity. These immortals had become highly influential in Crimwoli society; their decay obliterated investor confidence and destabilized relations with the mostly Tannjen civilian class.

In 6990 CE, the brightest stars in the shine seemed dim compared to the decelerating vessels of the Triumvirate Civilization. Their fusion reactors were far more advanced than anything Crimwol could reasonably manufacture. The largest of the craft landed on Starrock and smaller craft splashed-down on Crimwol. Over one million soldiers spilled out, a deceptively low number. Each one was clad in thick graphene-doped fiberglass, impervious to anything a Tannjen infantryman could reasonably carry. Thus, the leaders of Crimwol ordered their entire nuclear arsenal to vaporize the invaders. Their slow rockets were no match for the anti-air and anti-ballistic fire from the ever-strengthening ground bases, however.

The Triumvirate created a typical military garrison on Crimwol called Fort Maihuenia after its commander. On Starrock, Fort Forestine after the late previous commander. The Triumvirate created its base of operations in Zalanthium on Crimwol. Following the soldiers were contractors and their families, laborers who would desecrate the billions of Nachleben corpses still ripe for the taking. Armed resistance was met with precision strikes; the Triumvirate learned its lesson that indiscriminate strikes only furthered resistance. The people had to welcome occupation or, at the very least, be able to live life more or less normally under it.

No one on Crimwol actually knew why the Triumvirate had invaded their home. In truth, not a soldier knew anything beyond "for the glory of the Three" and "a bonus for facing combat." The contractors assumed they were gonna melt down the Nachleben whose living members had dwindled to one billion. Everyone knew this world was to act as a forward base deeper into Zalanthium, but other worlds could serve that purpose with much less resistance.

In this environment, The Benefit began gaining significant popularity. It grew from a small cult to a global phenomenon. An invisible "leader" was gathering the wishes of his people to be granted. With enough faith, and accompanying monetary contribution, the leader was said to be able to grant all wishes. Several strange occurrences took place, from the outright disappearances of whole neighborhoods to sudden extinction of certain predators. Soon after, people would come forward claiming their wish was granted. Suddenly, an armed militia of previously unknown civilians stormed Fort Maihuenia, destroying it with armor and weapons of effectiveness unseen in the universe prior.

The Benefit had become the dominant global religion only a decade after the Triumvirate landed, even challenging the faith of the Triumvirate soldiers and officers. Before Fort Forestine could be destroyed, the Triumvirate detonated atomic weapons in Crimwol's upper atmosphere. The resulting electromagnetic pulse crippled communications. For the next year, the most fanatic Triumvirate soldiers leveled as much of Crimwol as they could. After a month, orbital strikes suddenly could no longer be done. Every time one was ordered, the person pressing the button perished. Then, it suddenly became impossible to practice thaumaturgy on Crimwol. Elite Triumvirate magi were rendered helpless. They resorted to dropping rocks from orbit, which apparently was beyond the power of this leader to stop. After several years, whoever had been cutting deals with The Benefactor stopped. With a vengeance, the last cities of Crimwol fell.

The message was clear to the entire universe. The Triumvirate would stop at nothing, whether it was going into debt, bombing its own colonists, or even sacrifice its own forward base. "The Benefit" could not be allowed to exist. The smoldering remains of Crimwol once again became host to a Triumvirate forward base. The surviving Tannjens were deported to Starrock as they were found. On Starrock, they remained too afraid to even whisper of the previous religion.

Afterward, the planet became an agricultural powerhouse feeding the vast armies the Triumvirate sent deeper into Zalanthium. It fed the occupiers of Limehold and the besiegers of Isocel. Slowly, the Tannjens were once again allowed back to their home, but few returned. They once again migrated everywhere they could, anywhere but the farmland their planet had become.

Crisis of the 71st Century

One century of Triumvirate rule and the population had reached one billion. One day, shipments stopped coming in. Shortly after, so did communications. The Underministry of War in Zalanthium, as Crimwol's rulers had become known, was by itself. Without missing a beat, it issued a new currency, simply called "scrip," ordered the construction of factories on Crimwol and Starrock, and began training Tannjen soldiers. It seemed the military division on Limehold had defected, leaving the Underministry by itself. Both claimed to be the true successors to proper Triumvirate rule.

Back in the motherland, the Triumvirate tore itself apart as its ministries and provinces fought over land rights. Over a dozen messengers and even more transmission claimed to represent the Triumvirate, each one asking for money, gold, or food. The Underministry began referring to itself as the Admiralty of Hwrett, referencing its complete control of the star. As Tannjens gained positions of power, the Triumvirate architecture, language, and culture fused with native Crimwoli styles.

The first verifiable transmission came in 7255 CE, over a century after the fighting began. It contained an official pardon for every soldier who had "defied" Triumvirate orders to dispatch against its provinces. A month later, craft from the Triune Republic offered to pick up anyone who wanted to return home. They only got about ten thousand elderly folks whose parents had been soldiers and a further twenty thousand Tannjens who were dissatisfied with the Admiralty.

Fracture

As the various Vice Admiralties demanded more recognition, they split off, returned, and split off again in a series of wars. Crimwol remained the seat of the "Admiralty of Hwrett" which became more a symbolic structure than an actual state. Even Crimwol became divided as various "kings," abandoning the naval naming scheme altogether, rose and fell. The gradual ebb and flow of migrants from elsewhere, in addition to native cultural developments, lead to the adoption of a more standard naming scheme. The various rulers of Crimwol became known as "dukes." From time to time, a united Crimwol and Starrock would proclaim itself the "Kingdom of Hwrett" only for internal pressures to break it down into its components once more.

When the so-called Ammonia Kings of the outer Hwrett system united under a single banner, it forced the inner system to defend from the onslaught in all directions. Crimwol sustained much damage, enough to keep it somewhat cohesive after the invasion. In 9412 CE, the planet became one under the United Duchies of Crimwol, whose Lord President held the crown of the Kingdom of Hwrett, but was an elected aristocrat. To this day, the United Duchies rules Crimwol, Starrock, and many of the icy bodies deeper into the Hwrett system. The population had risen to fifty billion, two hundred if one includes Starrock and space habitats. It is by far the strongest world orbiting Hwrett.

Life

Monovertabremes

All multicelluar life on Crimwol, which had only evolved once in the planet's history, is descended from a Monovertabreme. The first monovertabreme was a hairy creature which had live young and evolved milk production to aid their young. The Tannjens are themselves creatures of a single spine, but most life on the planet has evolved all kinds of alternatives. They remain the most common type of macroscopic life due to the orbital bombardments Crimwol has suffered. Much of the world's ecosystem has yet to recover.

Duovertabremes

The next most common order of complex life are the Duovertabremes. These usually small creatures have lost the ability to lactate, but make up for it in sheer number of offspring. A single litter could contain hundreds of individuals who quickly disperse. With the largest being about the size of a hand and the smallest requiring a microscope to view, this diverse order was the backbone of Crimwol's ecosystem. Many duovertabremes have a second pair of "pseudo-spines" which have evolved into wings.

Amorphovertabremes

Organisms whose spines have evolved into a network of bone and nerves, the Amorphovertabremes typically live underwater. Many of them are flexible, having traded hard bone for soft cartilage. Most reside within the sea, but a small number have found their way onto land. Many stationary creatures anchored to the seabed are amorphovertabremes. By mass, they are over half of all animal life on Crimwol, the oceans protected them from the worst of the fate of Crimwol.

Trivertabremes

A nearly extinct order which used to be the dominant order on the planet. Until twenty million years ago, anyone observing the planet would have assumed these three-spined creatures would have been the first to evolve intelligence. Whether hunted to extinction or destroyed in Crimwol's wars, there are more Trivertabremes living off world than on it.

Metavertabremes

Microscpic worm-like creatures who are their spines, the Metavertabremes reside in extreme environments such as deep underground, ocean trenches, and even in the upper mantle. The metavertabremes probably did not notice their planet being leveled, even the largest bombs could not reach most of their habitat.

Microbes

There are five domains of microscopic life on Crimwol, nine if foreign organisms are to be counted. They fill every niche available and are ready to evolve at short notice into new niches, such as the insides of soldiers landing on a new planet. Microbial life from Crimwol has followed the Tannjens everywhere they went.

Plant life

Native plant life had recovered more or less, but to this day competes with the imported crops used to feed its foreign-born population. Wooden plants make up the majority of all biomass on Crimwol period, including naturally-evolving rafts that float from island to island, spreading seeds and taking advantage of the pure unobstructed sunlight on the ocean. Native plants to Crimwol are usually warm colors, ranging from red to yellow. Invasive plants are coolor greens and blues.