Private/Closed Terrater: Omega/Deltaverse 2.0

[Dwayna DragonFire]

Original thread here https://pokecharms.com/threads/terrater-the-explorers-guild.19320/

Brief summary of the Terrater setting:

Somewhere in a hidden corner of the universe, there was a supposed gem. Many people knew this place as a safe haven amongst the stars, many others just called it home. Four suns and four moons in an impossible orbit around one large planet, boasting a vast ocean and one landmass under one ruler despite having a thousand nations. Such was Terrater, a place where science and magic often blend together in a 'perfect' storm.

Of course, such a supposedly idyllic locations always had a catch. For instance, everyone either had a magic power, or obtained one via going there even if they had no desire for it. Such could eventually be overlooked, but there was much more to the society. Not to mention, in exchange for the blessed 'freedom' many had obtained, a citizen would be made to go to work. The authority there was that of a monarchy, ruled by the Chosen family of the Terrateran Gods.

Whatever one had skills in, talentless or genius, there was likely a government sponsored Guild or Association. There was the police force called the Enforcement Guild, and there was a Merchant's Guild to sell and regulate merchandise. There were the general labor jobs like building or moving furniture, all the way down to simply serving other people who could pay for it. The portal building was the main headquarters of the Exploration Guild, and the Servants Association was filled with freelancers who were willing to do the jobs no-one else would. There was even the elusive Scientific Monastery, said to be lead by the Great Father of the Androids.

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Let me know what you'd like to get up to in this version of Terrater!

 

[Rex]

​

Name: Gaius Tiberius Gracchus (Born Leo Komnenos)
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Race: Kobold
Personality: An adventurer, entrepreneur, and all around seeker of treasure. Gaius is bold, adventurous, and quick witted. What he lacks in book smarts he more than makes up for in street smarts. He is also a daydreamer, subject to frequent bouts of wanderlust. He loves exploring new places and experiencing new things. He is earnest, eager, resourceful, and intelligent. He also struggles with bouts of intense greediness, can be moody and irritable, often possessive of others, and is defiant in the face of authority. He also struggles with his self image, to the point of being unable to reconcile his powers and shifting body, which limits him heavily.
Appearance: Kobolds of the Dragon Empire take the form of anthropomorphic mustelids. In Gaius's case, he resembles an anthropomorphic river otter, standing approximately 5'10" and weighing 140lbs. Compared to a normal human, his torso is longer, and his limbs shorter. Not to an extreme extent, but it would be noticeable were they to be stood side by side. He possesses the typical features one would expect of an otter anthropomorphic: A broad muzzle, smaller ears, a long rudder tail that starts thick and tapers to a point, and webbing between his digits, though only up to the second knuckles - that is, the set on his midfingers nearest the base - on his hands. His fur is the usual brown dorsal, cream ventral, configuration. He has blue eyes.
Apparel: Gaius prefers light clothing for his day to day business. A pair of gray pants tied around his waist by a belt, the legs rolled up to his calves. His dagger's sheath is often clipped to said belt for ease of access in a pinch. He may go shirtless, or wear a sleeveless gray tunic, usually pairing the latter with a blue scarf. He may also wrap his feet in bandages when he expects to walk long distances, exposing only his toes and heels. The bandage wrap continues up his legs to about the mid calf, with the end hidden beneath his pants.
Weapons: Typically, Gaius arms himself with a simple dagger attached to his belt. He does also own a more traditional longsword, but that's much harder to justify carrying around in an urban setting.
Magic: Though he has yet to accept it, Gaius's true nature is that of a dragon. A huge red dragon, to be exact, with all the usual powers such a creature possesses. His refusal of his true form greatly limits him, however. At his age, he should already be spending most of his time in his true draconic form, but instead he typically can only take the shape in times of intense, do-or-die, situations where his life is literally on the line. Instead, he usually manifests bits and pieces of the form, warping his otter visage with draconic features that allow him to make use of this or that ability.
History: Despite its name, the Dragon Empire isn't much of an empire these days. What had once been a grand empire of floating islands in a world of endless sky has been reduced to its last major city, Trapezounta, and its surrounding islands. There hasn't even been a dragon on the throne in centuries, instead, imperial power, usually held solely by one dragon Basileus, is divested into three groups, of theoretically equal power. The first is the Autokrator, who serves both executive and judicial functions as well as being the head, or Imperator, of the Imperial Navy. The second is the Imperial Senate, who officially only proclaims 'advice' though Autokrators are expected to honor these decrees as if they were law. The third is the Pontifex Maximus, who leads the Imperial Church in worship of the dragons who, when one is around to sit on the throne, serve as God-Kings of the empire.

Typically, draconic heritage is by bloodline, dragons in kobold form take kobold partners and the product of those unions are, usually, more dragons. At one time, there were many great dragon bloodlines, who would elect among themselves a leader in a semi-republican form of governance. As history went on, these great bloodlines began to disappear, and in response more and more power was granted to the kobolds who served the dragons in all things. Eventually, there was only one draconic bloodline left, and they ruled as the head of what was now, definitively, a kobold empire. Sometimes, however, a miracle would happen, and a kobold would manifest draconic heritage seemingly from nowhere. These kobolds were, of course, the descendants of these old dragon bloodlines whose ancestors hadn't themselves been able to take a draconic form, but carried on the potential to their descendants, until a quirk of genetics allowed it to manifest once again.

There were times in the past that there were no dragons to rule the empire. It was because of such times that the current trifecta system of Autokrator-Imperial Senate-Pontifex Maximus was set up. However, this has been, by far, the longest such stretch of time, and many kobolds struggle to hold the faith that their dragon god-kings will ever return to them. Many have become resigned that there will never be another, and that their empire shall crumble into the dust from which it came, reduced as they are to a mere Trapezuntine Empire. To make matters worse, the Autokrators of late have begun their own little Imperial dynasty. With the Pontifex Maximus weakened, by the shaken faith of the people, and the Autokrator in charge of the military, the Imperial Senate has little power to check the executive and have become increasingly irrelevant as the Autokrators remake their title into that of an absolute monarch.

Into this situation was born Leo Komnenos. The Komnenoi were an aristocratic family of senatorial rank. That is to say, even the Imperial Senate of the Dragon Empire wasn't truly a democratic institution, being made up of the heads of the most prominent kobold households. At the start, these households were those that could claim at least some descent from one of the draconic bloodlines of old, but as time went on even these began to disappear, replaced by prominent families who served the empire well in matters of trade, diplomacy, governance, or warfare. The Komnenoi were an exception, able to trace their bloodline back to one of the earlier Basileus dynasties. If any family was going to produce a new Dragon Emperor, it would be them. This made them a threat.

Shortly after Leo's birth, the reigning Autokrator, Andronikos II Palaiologos, manufactured a reason to strip the family of their titles and senatorial rank, and put many of its members to death. Being something of a more minor branch of the family, Leo and his mother managed to slip through the cracks and disappear, taking up assumed names and living in the city's outskirts. Thus, Leo became Gaius. Something of a troublemaker from a young age, he had a magnetic personality that attracted others to him. As he grew into a teenager, this charismatic troublemaker became de facto leader of the city's young underclass, and then as a young adult, a full blown rabble rouser and popular figure among all of the city's dispossessed.

Before long, it looked like there might be a full blown revolution on the Autokrator's hands. Rumors circulated about the strange youth, his magnetic charm, his fiery nature. Though Gaius had first manifested his draconic powers soon after puberty, he had hidden it as best he could. He didn't want to be revered as a god and propped up as a leader, but even so, people saw things, or claimed they saw things. Either way, the rumor began circulating that the dragon they'd long awaited for had returned to the empire. And when these whispers reached the Autokrator's ears, action had to be taken.

He could not risk trying to kill Gaius. If the kobold died, he would only become a martyr to the people who followed him. Plus, if he really was a dragon, and that manifested fully in the city, it would be the end of the Palaiologoi, and the resurgence of the Komnenoi they had worked so hard to erase. Instead, Gaius was captured and exiled. This was understood to be akin to a death sentence, the endless sky was a dangerous place for a lone kobold, the history of the Dragon Empire left them with few friends among the other races of the world. In yet another strange twist of fate, however, Gaius instead found his way to Terrater, where he has carved out a new life for himself.

Still, one day, he hopes to return to his city and set it free.​

 

[Mr.RMA]

Name: Michael Tourniquet
Gender: Male
Age: 1024 (Looks to be in his mid-twenties)
Height: 6'3
Weight: 200 lbs
Appearance: A tall, somewhat pale, heavyset human being, Michael has short, dark brown hair and brown eyes though these are generally covered up by a securely fastened dark-green visor. While he is entirely made of flesh and bone like any other human, there is something… subtly off about his complexion, giving off uncannily synthetic vibes in certain lights. His usual style of dress while out and about consists of a green dress-shirt, lime-green tie, black jacket, and black slacks, all under a dark green trench coat, with a black newsboy cap. Apart from this, and perhaps most attention-grabbing of all, are the cybernetic gloves and shoes he wears, with the gloves seemingly being made entirely of a platinum material, whilst the shoes appear to have a similar color, along with a green-colored metal running along the soles and where the ‘tongue’ would be on conventional tennis-shoes.
Personality: A bit scatterbrained, Michael doesn’t really give off the impression of a professional super-scientist from how he conducts himself, at least not frequently. The sort that can jump from skittish and off-the-wall in one moment to absolutely stoic and down-to-earth the next, there are times where it seems like someone is turning on and off a series of switches that change his particular mood at any singular period of time. Much of this is on account of recent circumstances, as he’s essentially lost the vast majority of his memory, which has left him understandably a bit agitated.
Skills/Magic: An expert in the field of utter BS science that his writer is using to handwave explaining all the cool futuristic stuff his character can do… To put it in a somewhat less self-deprecating way, Michael is a quintessential sci-fi super-genius who can make any number of technological marvels, including the very device he wears on a regular basis, the aforementioned set of gloves, shoes and visor, which together form a super-durable, transparent shell around his body, allowing him to survive various forms of otherwise lethal injuries and trauma without a scratch, though that’s not to say it is entirely impenetrable. The device also allows him to absorb and discharge an astronomical amount of electricity, which also factors into the magical ability he gained upon his arrival in Terrater: He now possesses the ability to generate elemental lightning, which he can use to power his device to even greater effect without the concern of running out of power. The visor also allows for a number of visual effects which he can switch between at whim.
It's worth noting however that in Michael's present mental state, much of his skills are rather degraded. Though he's managed to get the hang of some things, there's a lot he needs to catch-up on, especially now with the newly acquired magic in play.
Past: Over a millennium ago, on an Earth that had perhaps developed just the tiniest bit sooner by the immense standards of the universe, an utterly unremarkable child named Michael Tourniquet was born, and subsequently carried off from his mother’s arms, under the front of standard medical checks, but truly for the unscrupulous machinations of the head of the hospital, who’d decided to experiment upon the brain of the newborn child. Initially nothing seemed to come out of this experimentation, but around the time the boy reached his 18th year, something seemed to click within his mind… awakening an incalculable intellect that would immediately set to work on creating robotic duplicates of himself, imitations that would vastly outperform the lowly human abilities of their originator.

Unfortunately for Michael, the lengths his intellectual side went to acquire the materials for these robots got the attention of a nefarious syndicate, run by the very same man who’d tinkered with Michael’s brain years prior. Seeing more potential in the technology than the creator, the syndicate sent agents to abduct the robots and do away with the young man. What they hadn’t been prepared for, however, was the behavior of the two androids, the first having been driven insane by an error in the later stages of development, laying a destructive path in his wake, while the other proved staunchly loyal to his creator, the two forces both dispatching any agents that neared Michael’s house before they could hope to accomplish their mission. Knowing he was no longer safe in his home, Michael and this second robot, given the moniker Mr.RMA, fled the premises and seemingly began a great journey on the run… The term “seemingly” being used because something… unexpected, happened to the hapless inventor’s memory around this point in time.

A day came when Michael awoke in an utterly unfamiliar place… one that appeared to be floating through the far reaches of space, with no sign of Earth in sight. What was more, he was soon greeted by the AI running the station… the very same one that he vividly remembered going insane… all while Mr.RMA himself soon made himself known via the visor he hadn’t even noticed was wrapped around his eyes at that very moment. What Michael would soon find out was that quite a bit of time had passed since his last conscious memory… about one-thousand years to be exact. Somehow he was still as youthful as he’d last recalled, but apart from that… essentially everything else had changed, and changed drastically.

The massive space station, a sort of planetoid-sized biosphere moving freely through the cosmos, was known as Botsina, taken from the Aramaic term for lantern or light. Evidently this had been Michael’s greatest achievement… Whereas the ARMA units had been unrivaled advanced robotics that had been built within weeks, this was the product of centuries of development. What’s more, he and his initial two creations weren’t the only residents. The entire station was occupied and run by generations of ARMA units, the first batch created by Michael personally, while the rest were created by the machines through the schematics he made available to them, all while he apparently allowed himself the vanish from the public eye, as to not allow any temptation to maintain total control of the station take hold. The plan was for him to merely be the maintenance worker, keeping the entire place in working order with the assistance of the station itself and Mr.RMA, but obviously, something had gone wrong in the midst of that plan.

Though the exact reason for why he’s somehow managed to live for hundreds of years without aging has eluded not only Michael but both of his original ARMA units, the AIs at least had some inkling as to what became of their creator’s memories. In order to evade the potential consequences of living far beyond what the human brain was expected to retain, Michael had devised a device that could drain him of certain memories and archive them for later reference if needed. What this ultimately did was create subsequent “eras,” generally spanning over the course of about a century each. The problem was, this was a one-way method. The only way he could get any of these memories back was to go through and witness the archives directly. Therefore the most vital later memories, such as the existence of Botsina, its present state and location, as well as its functions, were always supposed to be retained. Somewhere along the line in the latest era however, the archiving system had gone awry, and as an emergency protocol, Michael’s mind was essentially reset to the earliest memories he’d never previously stowed away. Naturally the downside was that this now meant he was completely unprepared to handle the sheer amount of progress he’d made over the eons.

Needing quite a bit of time to process all this suddenly-new information, Michael was recommended an opportunity to get away from Botsina for a bit, as the space station was starting to near a planet with extraordinary lifeform readings. Figuring an adventure would help get his mind off some of the existential drama, Michael ultimately agreed to explore the planet, taking an individual-capacity shuttle down in order to avoid any uproar from a much larger space-faring body suddenly showing up near their atmosphere. Upon his arrival, he was suddenly met by a… surreal presence, a being that seemed to radiate an energy that Michael could hardly comprehend… This entity explained he had arrived on the planet Terrater, a world of magic… and before he could even question the validity of magic as a physical concept, he was being asked what kind of power he would wish for.

Now forever enchanted with elemental power, Michael isn’t sure when he’ll feel ready to return to Botsina, figuring perhaps this brief trip could go on for quite a bit longer than intended. After all, this was a massive planet, a cornucopia of diverse environments and lifeforms. Perhaps if he had to build up new memories, this would be the most ideal location of them all.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

A 'Brief' Summary of Terrater's History

The Time Before​

The legend goes that all of reality was created from a single event, what many scientists would consider the Big Bang. Those that were created in the Time Before often refer to something called The Source, said to be... well, 'the source' of all creation. Many powerful beings were made during this time, including the three that are now known as the Terrateran Pantheon: The Great Mother, The Great Father, and The Great Dragon.

The Great Mother, also known as Terrater, is said to have made the body of the planet that now shares her name. However, although there was some life on the planet, Terrater could not make intelligent children of her own to live upon its surface. This is where her brother Uriel came in, as he created three Android children to match himself and his siblings: one male, one female, and one nonbinary. These three of his children were tasked with spreading another of Uriel's inventions; the portals. Wherever Uriel saw the potential for intelligent life, a portal would be placed upon that planet so that Terrater could finally have children of her own, adopted from across the multiverse.

This left the third job to their sibling Atonus - they would need some travellers to explore these worlds when they were ready to be explored. So the body of another planet was made, around one of the four suns of their solar system. Upon this planet, Atonus placed the spawn of dragons and even made a species of their own known as Spirit Dragon. With the ability to command all five of the elements, these dragons could reproduce regardless of gender and were immortal of age. As such, they would be the perfect first Explorers to Terrater, as they and their spawn could wait around until the portals could be opened.

As such, these intelligent lifeforms asked the gods to pick a leader amongst them. The gods were a lot more involved with mortals back then, and as such Atonus looked upon their children. There, he pointed to a black dragon with purple eyes, her element that of Spirit. So it was that Atonus' Chosen, Obsidian DragonFire, became Queen.

The First Era​

Obsidian DragonFire lead the dragons of the neighbor planet to the original world, full of unexplored lands itself. A pangaea, the land of Terrater was easy to explore for Dragons, mapping the large world in a matter of months. The waters surrounding the land were easily named The Vast Ocean, as there were no other landmasses to speak of. All mapped out, Obsidian ordered her people to divide the vast landmass as equally as possible, that which we now know as the Thousand Nations. From there, the dragons built the foundations of the cities, Madoné built around the Portal Building. There they waited, making families of their own and squabbling to themselves over whether Obsidian was truly worthy to lead all of the people of Terrater.

Legend states that Obsidian herself birthed five children, though much information of her spouse has been lost to history. It is said that Obsidian's mate was another female Spirit Dragon, her elemental powers also lost to time. Whatever the case, Obsidian had one child of each element: Aussir of Air, Olathyukin of Earth, Ulhar of Water, Sililos of Fire, and Orn of Spirit. Having five children as such, Obsidian was then truly recognized as the Chosen of Atonus. Her word was often seen as the divine word of Atonus, and as such the gods started to fade more into the background.

When the portals were finally opened, the dragons took on bipedal forms to interact with the lifeforms they found on the other side. Wanting much variety in their lives, these other lifeforms were welcomed to live on the planet Terrater, so long as they followed the word of Obsidian. Most of the lifeforms agreed, some that were without magic gaining powers upon arrival and henceforth were named The Changed. A select few of the outsiders plotted her demise after seeing the lush paradise that they could inherit were they to conquer her.

Terrater had never known true war until that day, when a large group of people gathered together to take down Obsidian. The dragon queen fought valiantly, but she had not prepared enough for the onslaught. So it was that Obsidian and a few of her followers were slain, but not without consequence. Her five children banded together to slay those that had risen against their mothers, and after the fighting was done, talked at length over who should inherit the throne. As Dragons tended toward tradition, it was agreed that in honor of Obsidian's memory, the child of Spirit would be the first to ascend the throne.

The Second Era
​

Orn DragonFire felt that the best way to combat such horrible events would be for the people of Terrater to learn how to fight. Under his strict rule, he trained the citizens in martial disciplines with the help of the Androids (now many in number), so that they could defend themselves from outside attacks. For many millennia, the travellers brought from other worlds would be saved from external evils, and made thankful for him 'saving' them, though some could akin them as like crusades. For such crusades, he needed those that were loyal to him, only truly trusting those of his blood or those that ha named his personal knights. One such elven knight swore her life to the DragonFires, submitting herself to an injection of Phoenix blood mixed with other ingredients at her king's request, making her immortal of age as well.

There were also still remnants of evil laying around on Terrater as well. An army loyal to Orn would be dispatched to investigate the deaths of many spirit dragon leaders, and the evil left behind would be immediately excised. Orn planted new leaders into the Thousand Nations that he knew would be completely loyal to his cause, as he could see into their hearts with his Spirit Magic. Many started to believe that Orn was turning into a tyrant, his heart hard and cold because of what had been done so many years before.

One fateful day many years later at the height of his power, he rescued some humans from a post-apocalyptic world. There he met the love of his life, a human woman named Nerezza Dellanotte that was Dragonmarked upon arrival. Cross-breeding was almost completely unknown until this point, but as Spirit Dragons cared only for spiritual connections, her species was not counted into factor. Her spirit sung to him as his soulmate, such fate magics counted as undeniable truth that they were meant to be together. So he spawned a daughter with her, half-human and half dragon. They named her Dwayna, a remnant of Nerezza's old world.

Unbeknownst to him, his brother Sililos had also found a human soulmate, a woman named Sophia. Together they had two children not long after Dwayna was born; Dominik and Amethyst. Their father, still an explorer after all this time, went out exploring again when their youngest was fifteen years of age. Once a loving father, the dragon came back possessed by a demon, slaying his mate and stealing away his daughter, leaving their son to wallow in misery as the now possessed corpse raised his daughter into a weapon. After five long years, Orn had no idea what had happened to his brother, and in fear sent his daughter away to another world with his most trusted knight.

So it was that Sililos was renamed Majesty, he and his daughter setting fire to the capital and laying waste to many buildings. The two dragons fought, the skeleton of Majesty falling to the power of his brother. Greatly weakened, Orn clung to his wife, only for the both of them to be slain by Amethyst in the ensuing fight afterwards. Thus, Amethyst claimed to be the new Queen of Terrater.

It was at that point that Dwayna returned, having insisted on checking up on the goings on in Madone. There she was met with the horrific sight of the city in flame and her parents dead, a madwoman stood over their bodies. In a fit of rage, Dwayna hunted down the other would be princess, the struggle fierce and lengthy. Eventually, both wounded heavily, their swords clashed one last time; Dwayna's sword striking true into her cousin's heart.

The Third Era​

Dominik wanted nothing to do with the throne or his father's legacy, so Dwayna ascended the throne in keeping with tradition. Having learned to have a softer heart because of her human mother, she soon abolished most of the old antiquated system that her father had created. She only kept one tradition; any outsiders would be presented to her upon their first visit for her approval, and anyone born of Terrater would have a ceremony upon adulthood to gain citizenship. She then decreed that the people of Terrater should follow their passions in life, to work as they pleased rather than strictly through the military.

Twenty-five years ago, a great shadow was cast over the skies of Terrater. The remnant of the demon that had possessed Sililos brought beings of shadow to the world, forming bipedal shapes and beginning the Shadow war as they fought against the people of Terrater. With many people dying, Dwayna called to the heavens, daring them to make a champion for her to fight. She alone would be willing to die if it meant saving the rest of her people.

So the shadows answered with a being that took the likeness of Dwayna herself, seeming to mirror Dwayna's every move and know where she would step. Dwayna lost her left arm and right leg, falling to the ground. In the very last moment before she was killed, a white light suddenly pierced the shadow, the monster in front of her fading to ash before her eyes. The shadows were gone, leaving Dwayna dying on the battlefield. The clerics took her to the Scientific Monastery, where Uriel interacted with mortals for the first time in a long time.

There, the original non-binary Android offered to give of themself to save her life, as the dark magic had left Dwayna's limbs unable to fully heal. Previously the Gatekeeper of the ream, they removed their own wings and reshaped them into limbs for Dwayna, making her whole in a different way than before. Then, the Gatekeeper was reshaped to accept what had become of the dark energies, a strange shining orb that merged with their original core. Thus they were given a soul, and named Edward by Dwayna.

It is now the fiftieth year of the Third Era. Dwayna has since married Edward and adopted a human son. The people of Terrater celebrated this anniversary of Dwayna's rule with a prayer for those lost. The people are happy with their freedom, loyal to Dwayna not only because of tradition, but because she has treated them with kindness and given them their own rights within Terrateran society.

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Forgive an old man for going on... Such is my lot in life as the God of Knowledge and Artifice. I hope my Children serve you well, and I hope you find Terrater a nice place to live. You are one of her adopted children now, after all, and you deserve to be happy. This is a safe haven amongst the stars... A place that you can call home. Good luck.

 

[Dark Soul]

Name: Mikhail “Miki” Fazera
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 147 lbs.

Appearance: Miki appears to be human; her complexion is pale and her artificially greyed hair has a metallic luster. To complete the monotone palette, her eyes are chrome in hue - but light up gold when her HUD is activated. She has angular facial features with a tapered chin, strong and expressive eyebrows and her ears have two lobe gauge piercings each.

She tends to dress in the style that Terrater fashionistas have come to refer to as “Vancerian techwear”; weather-proof, composite material articles of clothing with stylized geometric patterns. Miki in particular gravitates towards a sleeveless grey blouse with a slim black tie clipped on, a short and multi-pocketed high-collar black waistcoat with accents/insignias in red and gold, fingerless black gloves, a multitool bracelet, sturdy black pants and high-top combat boots.

Personality: Though she’s always been pretty corporate, Miki still has a punk streak. She gives off an air of no-nonsense; puts in hard work and likes people best when they have similar drive. She’s by no means a stickler, though; even if she’s most accustomed to striking out on her own, she’ll gladly do her part for a well-built team. She brings healthy doses of encouragement and pragmatism to any effort, letting her actions speak louder than words.

Gear: Strapped to her back, Miki carries what can only be described as a large canister; a cylinder of black steel, glowing red through various small crystalline windows. On activation, the canister vents and her body is enveloped in an organic-looking exosuit (black with white limbs, gold accents) that functions as reactive body armour, mobility enhancer, and comes equipped with a sensor/targeting array linked to Miki’s HUD.

The exosuit is a prototypical innovation utilizing the cutting edge of the budding Vancerian nanotechnology, utilizing the planet’s ubiquitous manareactors as a power source to form pre-programmed structures of various molecular makeups, such as the armour, sensors and weapons. The mana-reactor is self-replenishing, but this process takes time- meaning the suit cannot function at full capacity for long periods of time.

Weapons: From the front arms of the exosuit extend two foot-and-a-half collapsible blades of hyperrigid alloy, capable of blocking powerful blows, being superheated/supercooled, and constantly maintaining the sharpness of their edge. The blades can be split lengthways to function as the tracks of a railgun, which fires ferrous disks with devastating power (at the cost of rapidly depleting mana-electrical reserves).

Skills: Miki’s years in various simulations and missions have made her into a skilled combatant; she’s known to adapt quickly to hostile situations and devise tactical plans on the fly. Although she chose not to pursue any career in the field, she’s quite scientifically minded- enough, at least, to have a workable understanding of (and firm control over) the technology she handles in her line of work. She’s street-smart and persuasive, though that doesn’t apply quite as much on Terrater or any world outside her own.

Her exosuit contains twin “actuators”- devices used by Vancerians to affect the natural world using the arcane energies sourced by mana-reactors, according to pre-loaded programmes that function similarly to the “spells” used by other societies. Possible effects include telekinesis, temperature shift or electrical discharge- all harshly limited in duration and efficacy by the suit’s suboptimal power reserves.

The arcane ability Miki developed after exposure to Terrater she’s come to refer to as ‘Shatterpoint’- and she’s more troubled than excited by it, owing to some difficulties in containing its effects. Through vibrations at resonant frequencies, she can degrade or even shatter hard materials, but without any precedent on how to maintain control, this happens unwittingly at times.

Past: Vanceria, a planet believed by contemporary xenoarcheologists to have been seeded with early humanoid life by an unknown party tens of thousands of years ago, considering the conspicuous genetic differences and taxonomical incompatibility between the resident humans and all other lifeforms present. Over this long period, a wealth of mineral riches and arable land allowed civilizations to flourish.

In recent centuries, technology in particular evolved greatly; massive upheavals to former cultural sensibilities resulted from this, including widespread dissolution of old hierarchical power structures and increasing globalization. Steam, combustion, eventual electricity and digital infrastructure came with massive improvements to quality of life. As with many societies, though, the Great Filter approached- the drying up of natural resources and increased levels of pollution coincided with massive population growth and grew into a toxic recipe for conflict, societal and ecological collapse.

It was at this moment in history that the skies filled with the strange vessels of the Exethol, or the envoys of the Transcendent Work. The hive-minded, inorganic-seeming Exeth’o had featureless visors for faces, synthesized voices, standing at seven foot with digitigrade stilt legs and extended arms. Their sudden appearance almost sparked a first contact war, but the Exethol came with a resolution of peace and promised the Vancerians salvation through the sharing of technologies.

The most prominent inventions were the mana-reactors (which distill the background field of arcane energies present throughout the universe into actionable power, offering clean and replenishable electricity) and actuators (devices that make use of mana-electricity to affect the natural world in limited but highly useful ways). Once the base needs of a declining society were met, what followed was a new renaissance of technology; with millions able to contribute to greater goals rather than having to work to survive, innovation increased exponentially under the guiding hand of the Exetho, and robotics, cybernetics, advanced software and material sciences became a part of everyday life.

The Exetho, for their part, never made the reasons behind their gracious support completely clear. It was claimed that the seeding of Vanceria with early hominids had been their doing, and they were thought by some to be “making an investment”, though what exactly they stood to gain by growing population numbers and uplifting the Vancerians is still unknown. No individual ever acted out of its own accord, as if every single deliberation was agreed on by the majority - or as if, some figured, each body was merely another extension of a singular mind. Regardless, the aliens kept a presence in every major population center and were widely held as the sole reason for the stability and advancement of Vancerian nations and their very survival.

When an archeological dig in a former conflict territory uncovered a circular gate of unknown but decidedly alien make, its subsequent activation sent the Exetho across Vanceria haywire, scurrying to their ships and returning to orbit to ready defenses, in a never before seen state of what could only be described as abject terror. A confusing and tense few days followed in which the Exetho made clear that the connection ought to be severed and the gate destroyed, even insinuating that destruction would be wrought if this demand was not met. When the archaeologists uncovered from various inscriptions that at the other end lay an intergalactic nexus of alien civilizations, the choice was not easily made. Midway through deliberations a crew of Explorers came through from a place they would call Terrater, at which point all communications with the Exetho ceased and their ships jumped away.

A time of civil unrest followed, but also of confusion- What the Exetho knew of Terrater, and why they had seemed to fear it so deeply seemed unknowable. If any on Terrater knew, they kept it a closely guarded secret no matter how often the Vancerians inquired. There were fears that without their former allies technology would eventually stagnate on the planet; fortunately, Terrater itself began to fill the gap over years through cultural and technological exchanges with other societies of humanoids or different species altogether.

A few dozen citizens willing to brave ‘The Change’ installed themselves on Terrater and created an embassy, working to build further connections and find unique applications of technology to trade for. Upon the arrival of the first, one decree from the leadership of Terrater was relayed, and strictly enforced; under no circumstances were mana-reactors or the technology to build them to be traded or sold, and the only reactors that could be brought to Terrater were those classified for personal use- all strictly accounted for at all times. Why the reactors were considered so hazardous was left to be wondered about, though it certainly could be related to the complaints from users of inherent magic of a “draining sensation” in the close vicinity of one…

~~~

Mikhail Fazera was born to the nation of Sankta before the departure of the Exetho, meaning she enjoyed a relatively worry-free upbringing and quality education, getting lofty academic evaluations from teachers despite her unruly attitude. Showing an aptitude for applied science and engineering from an early age, she was slated to continue that line of study in higher education until the Uncovering of the gate spoiled those plans. Sankta had been among the most developed of nations and thereby strongly dependent on the Exetho, taking every word of their guidance as gospel; the drawback of this became apparent after their departure, when many vital aspects of daily life were crippled or ground to a halt.

Long months of uncertainty and strife, rising crime rates and tensions between nations as Vanceria reinvented itself by necessity once again left a deep and lasting impression on Miki. The threat of violence had come so close that when lasting connections with Terrater were established and life returned to a semblance of normality, Miki’s goals had shifted and she dedicated herself to the goal of keeping the peace and stability of Vanceria, in whatever small ways she could. Still, her proclivity for practical science came in useful in her new vocation; the testing of dangerous but promising prototypes.

Voidlite was one of the subsidiary corporations the Exetho had held great interest in and directed much funding to through their Sanktan attendants, despite the fact that its mainstay had been experimental weapons technology, a largely redundant field given the dearth of armed conflicts under the Exetho-devised United Vancerian Legislature.

The company shifted its focus when most weapons research was strongly limited due to the fractured Legislature writing up more peace treaties, and combining the scraps of information left behind by the Exetho with the prospect of connecting to other worlds, it began to work on top-of-the-line exosuits that would be of interest to those looking to safeguard explorers in hostile environments… or soldiers on battlefields. All the while, Miki saw action both in hundreds of lifelike simulations to test suit and weapon capabilities, as well as on contracted missions dealing with some of Vanceria’s massive wildlife or rogue remnants of Exetho-sponsored warmachines.

A few years on and Miki had become one of two Voidlite employees to make the transition to Terrater, fulfilling her purpose by exhibiting Vancerian technology to valuable partners. Even if the reactors the suits were powered by could not be sold, the suit blueprints could, leaving it to the buyer to find a method of powering them and adapt them for their own purposes. When recently massive advancements were made on a fully nanite-based prototype, it necessitated a change of career for Miki; field-testing had become the greatest priority, and there was no greater variety of environments to test in than she would face if she signed up to Terrater’s Explorer’s Guild.

Settling on Terrater was, understandably, a massive cultural shock to Miki that in some ways she is still dealing with after years, though some aspects of it have become familiar and even normal. She is excited about the new hand fate has dealt her with the Guild, and looks forward to being distracted from her greatest struggle- the massive crush she has on a girl called Malyn, her tech support and fellow Voidlite transient.