Races of the Pantheonic Territory:

Staiven: [The original native species of the planet Staive, the Staiven were genetically altered by a faction of ascendants to appear vaguely similar to humanoid forms. Despite their misleading appearance, Staiven are actually colonies formed of billions of microorganisms. They are genderless, but some of the various body types they can have appear visually similar to the genders that many humanoid races have. Staiven process miasma naturally, condensing and storing it within their ‘eyes’.]

Korlove: [Originally part of a humanoid race which originated on the planet Celah, the Korlove were forced to move into underground bunkers after the surface was ravaged by an attack from the Khalak-Ora. They soon realized that their supply of food would not be able to last until projections of the surface becoming habitable once more. Distraught, they turned to genetic engineering. Over the course of generations, they changed themselves from humanoid organisms to the arachnid-like beings they are today. Korlove have a small main body with 2 eyes as well as ten appendages, each bearing a small dexterous set of three fingers. They are capable of using any of these to operate machinery, and sub-brains at the base of each limb makes them one of the most effective mortal species in the galaxy at multitasking. Korlove still have two genders, though most other species are unable to tell them apart. Despite appearing bug-like, their minds function more similarly to that of humanoids than they do insectoid races.]

Seiyal: [One of the three native races of the planet Canvas located in the Frontier territory, the Seiyal were created by the Ascendant Ceirra as her artistic ideal for the perfect mortal race. Seiyal have low genetic diversity, and while they have varying facial features and body shape, they all have blond hair and an amber eye color. There are historically two subraces of Seiyal, sei and farsei, terms referring to individuals with lighter or darker skin respectively. The most unique aspect of Seiyal biology is the three crystalline structures called dantians that are located in their abdomen, beside their heart, and under their skull.]

Jobu: [When their homeworld of Celah was ravaged by the Khalak-Ora, the elite hid themselves in safety from the dying world’s surface. The poor had no such luck. They suffered in the high radiation and overabundance of lesions from which spilled vast quantities of flickering miasma. Of the millions present in the world, a few rare individuals, rather than be destroyed by the harsh conditions, were able to adapt and survive. These adaptations over time led to a split in biology. The Jobu have become much taller and stronger than their ancestors, and developed grayish skin along a very high genetic tendency towards dark hair. In addition, they have specialized organs that assist in recovery from overexposure to warpings and miasma. Unlike their cousins the Korlove, the Jobu remain fully humanoid. They bear the highest ashatic resistance of any recognized mortal race.]

Shades: [Rather than a specific race, Shade is a term of Celan provenance that refers to thinking machines. The word’s origin is unknown, but it likely originated in the days after the fall of Epon Celah. Their existence is banned in the Pantheon’s territory as part of a treaty with the Sheneth-Ari Council. There is a standing reward for information leading to the eradication of one. It is rumored that a vast society of Shades might exist hidden somewhere inside the largely unexplored Frontier territory.]

Terrans: [A subtype of Shade that emerged from the Quarantined territory. Terrans claim to have once been living beings that turned themselves into the abominations they are today. Like other Shades, they are highly violent and dangerous, wishing to destroy all biological life. Terrans are highly technologically advanced, and it is for the benefit of all territories that they be eliminated. Any information obtained about potential Terran intrusion into inhabited space can be delivered to the offices of the Sheneth-Ari Council in exchange for a substantial reward. It is the duty of all living beings to deliver such information. Failure to do so will be met with capital punishment.]

Exid: [One of the rare mortal races who developed naturally, the Exid are a race consisting of multiple different castes of organism, with only the Hive Queens being sapient. Each Hive Queen controls a vast swarm of crustacean-like worker Exid, who respond to her every will as they lack independent thought. The Exid are an Osine client race simply because they arose in the territory of the Fal a Dein and were deemed unsuitable for harvest due to their particular nature. As they lack any sort of progression system or an impressive technological base, there are largely ignored by their overlords, and many have spread out across inhabited space. Worker Exid are several feet long and roughly one and a half feet tall. They are covered in a curved shell, and are a pearlescent white when their exoskeleton is clean. They have a pair of claws at the front that they use to grip objects. The Hive Queens look similar but much larger, with a distended abdomen used for giving birth to mass quantities of workers.]

Tovus: [Created by the ascendant Tovol, the Tovus are a race of amorphous organisms that can change their size and shape to an extent, and can reproduce asexually. They are capable of loosely replicating the appearance of most species, though a trained eye can still notice their true nature. They are one of the three races native to Canvas, though they share far deeper cultural ties to the Seiyal than they do the Reth. The Tovus lack a progression system and have a poor technological base, though their unique physiology makes them highly sought after candidates for certain professions.]

Telaretian: [One of the earliest and in its prime, most advanced of mortal races to ever roam Telles, the Telaretians were once a powerful empire that controlled multiple star clusters, and went into a slow decline as they had never run into any other sapient races. Telles itself acquired its name from that of the once-great Tellesian Empire. They created the first Osine, an event which led to the immediate fall of their empire and their role shifted to that of a subordinate race of the Osine, who steadily grew in number over time. Telaretians are tall humanoids with mottled scales in shades of blue and red, four arms, and large, bulbous eyes. While they once held a technology base among the peak of the galaxy, the Osine have stripped much of that from them, leaving them with a technological base roughly on par with that of the Staiven.]

Merris: [One of the three surviving races from Celah, the Merris are often considered to be a subtype of Jobu. There is a strict, fundamental difference between the two. Merris are roughly standard in body shape for a humanoid race, smaller and slender than the Jobu, but far more dextrous. They are stronger and swifter than their appearance would imply, and have highly adept senses. It is said that they are the descendants of a genetics program from the days prior to the scourging of Epon Celah. The Merris tend to live in tightly knit communities of their own race alone, and those isolated from their people often experience intense symptoms of depression. Rumor has it that there is a deep relationship between the Merris and the Shades that originated on Celah, and they are not considered welcome within Sheneth-Ari territory.]

Red-Eyed Staiven: [Staiven can be born with any of the six colors of eyes regardless of their heritage. Each color of eye is indeed composed of the associated form of miasma, and there are no other physical differences between Staiven of different eye colors. However, Staiven with red eyes live on average a full ten years less than others within the Pantheonic territory and the Frontier. In other parts of the galaxy, they live as long as any other Staiven. A great deal of research has been performed trying to uncover the reason for this. Elder Staiven with red eyes are exceedingly rare, and the older a red-eyed Staiven becomes, the higher their tendency for some form of insanity. For this reason, after reaching eighty years of age, red-eyed Staiven are usually taken into custody by the Pantheonic Government in hopes of finding a way to cure their malady.]

Escalos: [One of the most blessed races of Telles, the Escalos are the favored children of the Goddess Relya, who the Escalos refer to as Sunweaver. She is said to be among the eldest and most powerful ascendants in existence, and is able to pressure the great empires of Osine, as well as lesser forces such as the Pantheon. As such, Escalos have special privileges in most regions of the galaxy, due to Relya's great influence. They are mole-like arthropodal beings covered in scutes that serve as protective armor to a certain extent. The Escalos claim to be the oldest still existing race in the galaxy and have expanded extensively, however as a species they have little to no technological knowledge of their own as their cultural heritage causes most of them to focus their attentions on peaceful lives with technologically simple hobbies such as physical or performance arts. They generally rely on ships, stations, and planets belonging to other races in which to live and travel. In Pantheonic Territory, Escalos are usually left to police their own, with any laws broken ignored unless they were to commit some of the greatest crimes such as blaspheming the gods or killing a politician or corporate leader.]

Celan Shades: [While Celan technology is among the most advanced of mortal races, the technology of the ancient, fallen Epon Celan civilization was greater still. Though they did not deign to expand past their homeworld, many fragments recovered from their ruins are still not capable of being replicated. One such example is their artificial intelligence technology, the remaining examples of which are now known as Shades. Epon Celah used this advanced artificial intelligence technology for nearly any utility it could have even the slightest use in, from childcare, to media development, to mathematics, science, gardening, and more. Some modern civilizations claim that they are an example of a world falling due to use of Shades, but ultimately it was destroyed by an outside force. Regardless, These Shades serve as the final remnant of Epon Celan culture, as the biological descendants of that great civilization have experienced wide cultural divergence in the intervening time. While it is unknown how many Celan Shades remain, those originating from this culture are unique in the diversity of their original purposes. A quirk of Epon Celan Shade technology is the use of the core purpose of the Shade as the foundation for its developed persona. As such, they are extremely resistant to change in this regard, with all of them forever working on the task they were created for.]

Technology:

Enforcers: [After becoming starfaring races, the Celans soon found that many other races had inherent abilities with which a Celan of either variety could never hope to match. In search of a way to even the odds in interpersonal combat, Celan engineers created mechanical armors of war. One of the elite models of such armors is the enforcer. Armored units equipped with six arms and twelve weapons, Enforcers serve as the ace of any larger Celan combat unit. They cannot be replicated by any other race, due to the fusion of advanced technology and the secrets of flickering miasma that Celan scientists currently hold a monopoly over. It is generally safe to assume that any organization owning a functional enforcer unit has ties to either the Celan government or a Celan organization of similar power.]

Pseudoplasmic Barriers: [An advanced technology grasped by the Celans, pseudoplasmic barriers harness the inherently chaotic nature of flickering miasma to condense and superheat a microfilament mesh. These barriers are quite strong while active, able to prevent entry by any force up to that of a projectile accelerating at a rate of 1% of the speed of light. As such, they are incredibly versatile and useful inside of inhabited areas, where weapons of such power are unlikely to see use. The cost of their power is immense, however, requiring the use of a total of six celan power cores for a mere half hour of activation time. Alternatively, a single lesser ashatic torus is capable of powering the barrier for a full thirty hours straight before needing to be refurbished.]

Tseludian Maintenance Robots: [As Tseludia Station is a space station harboring millions of inhabitants, it finds itself constantly in need of repair and maintenance to keep power running, air and water active and clean, and other amenities functional. Seven years ago, a local manufacturer of Celan heritage called Akher Industrial Solutions won the bid to manufacture a new generation of maintenance robots to replace the decades old units that were outdated and beginning to fail. Akher's owner, Akher himself was rumored to have connections to the criminal organization known as the Heirs of Ottrien, but after successful lobbying with the local government, he was granted the bid anyway. The new machines, while nothing special, get the job done effectively, and can be found throughout the station. However, it is rumored that using these connections, the Heirs were able to have a say in their design.]

Miasmic Poisons: [While miasma is often used for a martial artist's personal benefit, excessive exposure can lead to symptoms paralleling those of poison or radiation exposure. This effect can be optimized by using certain arts and technologies. Unlike mundane poisons, these are far more difficult to manufacture, but are capable of affecting any living organism, even in some cases being capable corroding or damaging mechanical equipment. It is, of course, illegal to use, own, or manufacture in the Pantheonic Territory, but as with all things, the government can easily be bribed to turn a blind eye, if the price is right.]

Staiven Terminals: [While most races have their own unique variant of computer terminal designed according to their needs, the Staiven design is particularly odd, especially for a humanoid race. Bulbous masses of microfilament mesh surround the integrated Information Storage Medium at its core. They are designed this way in part due to the fact that the Staiven are blind by nature, and also due to the additional electrostatic sense that they bear, able to sense the shifting currents of energy inside the mesh as it is deformed. The terminals are operated by kneading them, and it has often been described as looking like they are fiddling with a ball of clay, rather than interfacing with the internet. No other race tends to find the machines intuitive, and most cannot even learn how to use them effectively, due to their lacking senses. The patent is owned by the Church of Fulstovis, who control all manufacturing and sales of the products throughout the Pantheonic territory.]

Naeratanh: [A material that is largely incompatible with reality, naeratanh, a term originating from the old Najani language, is a bronze alloy that can only be created in heavily damaged regions within the Incursion, such as that which the planet Celah exists within. When primed with flickering miasma, sharp objects forged from naeratanh are able to slice into the fabric of reality, creating wounds in reality known as lesions. In addition, this process causes the naeratanh to increase the velocity of any motion it is undergoing. It is said that this process is the foundation for the function of the faster than light slice drives the Celans used to escape the incursion and enter Telles. Naeratanh is a banned material according to the Pantheonic Government, and the Celans were forced to destroy all of their stores of it as part of the treaty which allowed them refuge inside of the Pantheonic Territory.]

Tactical Nuclear Weapons: [Considered a rather primitive technology, the basic concept behind the workings of a nuclear warhead are comprehended by even many Canvasians. While more advanced races such as Celans and Staiven have far more advanced weapons, the cost and size to yield ratios on such warhead as quite affordable at lower scales, and so they still see use. Of course, this is an illegal technology for all but the Pantheonic Government. This fact has yet to stop any underworld organizations from constructing and utilizing them, and more than ten are confiscated by the Justice Office every year. Larger scale warheads are luckily able to be detected due to the radioactive output of larger masses of fissile materials. Fusion warheads, meanwhile, do not see much use even among the very few underworld organizations capable of constructing them, as the Justice Office is significantly more harsh against offenders of that nature.]

Martial Arts:

Unorthodox Arts: [Isolated on the dangerous continent called the Crucible, the heritage of the Sei met with the gifts of Toval, and new, powerful arts and techniques were developed in the colonist’s striving for survival. These techniques, utilizing the formless and sanguine miasmas, came at a cost, damaging the bodies, souls, and minds of their practitioners. If an unorthodox martial artist failed to achieve constant progression, the symptoms would worsen. Eventually, the movement spread back to the territory of Sunlit Hall,and unorthodox martial artists became known for being brutish and evil, forced to take up evil action in order to obtain the resources they needed to achieve these constant rates of progression. Despite this, new generations continued to join unorthodox sects and clans due to the draw of the immediate power these arts offered to practitioners.]

Foundation Refinement Realm: [The first realm of martial arts for a Seiyal. Also known as mortal refinement, this realm begins when the prospective martial artist learns how to use their dantians to sense their own souls, and to use it to touch upon the surrounding flows of ashata. Mortal Refiners learn how to move their body, obtaining precise control of themselves, and learning techniques with which to condense miasma into their body. A martial artist's path is decided as they refine their foundation, and even this first realm is capable of rendering a martial artist far more powerful than a mortal. Most martial sects, clans, and academies have inferior techniques that only progress them up to the peak of this realm.]

Meridian Establishment: [The second realm of martial arts. When a martial artist has finished refining their foundation, they must carve passages into their body with miasma, connecting acupoints and dantians in order to allow miasma to travel through the body far more quickly and with more efficiency when utilizing techniques. The largest advantage a meridian establishment practitioner has over a foundation refiner is the rate of activation and heightened control they have over their techniques. For a Seiyal organization to be considered a power, it must at least have access to techniques that can be trained up to the peak of meridian establishment.]

Martial Techniques: [A martial technique is an application of a practitioner's miasma. By moving their body in a certain way, and channeling their miasma to the correct dantians and meridians, effects beyond solely the nature of their miasma can be created. The Upper, or Cerebral Dantian governs the techniques of the mind and the soul's engrams, the Central, or Heart Dantian governs the flow of energy and the strength of the body, and the Lower, or Abdominal Dantian governs techniques of bodily control and movement. These techniques can become highly ingrained after sufficient practice, and in the spirit refinement stage, some techniques have become integral to the dantians themselves, and reflected within the practitioner's very spirit.]

Poison Arts: [While poison arts can refer to any usage of martial techniques to deliver poisons, true poison arts involve the application of manifest miasma to consume poisons, cultivating them internally to magnify and perfect their effects. A poison artist who is sufficiently talented, educated, and possessed of access to the right ingredients is easily able to affect or even kill those far above their realm if they catch the target off guard. Poison arts are considered unorthodox because of the significant negative effects of a poison constitution has. though they develop some resistance to the poisons they consume, poison artists are still somewhat affected, and the effects add up over time. Among other side effects, most common is a reduction in vitality that leads to drastically shorter lifespans, comparable even to that of a sickly mortal. The more powerful the poisons they use, the faster the practitioner is affected. Like all unorthodox arts, the only true solution will always be continued progression along the pathway to immortality without faltering.]

Meridian Nodes: [While all Seiyal have meridians, they are only active for those who have awakened the senses of their soul through their dantians. For martial artists, meridians are vital for control over their body, particularly after they have finished shifting the location of their meridians to establish a better schema. However, the nodes between individual meridians are vital points, and as such can be vulnerable. A martial artist with particularly good senses and training can pick out these points on another martial artist's body, something which can be used for both acupuncture techniques for healing and in combat to disable an opponent in various ways. In addition, miasma can be injected into someone else's body using these nodes, an effect which can cause internal damage if the victim's attention isn't fully focused on eliminating the foreign energies. This technique is considered dishonorable by some, but as it can only affect those of a lower realm, it is permitted by both the orthodox and unorthodox paths.]

Damaged Dantians: [When a martial artist’s dantian is shattered, they become unable to progress further along their path, and unable to use any techniques that correspond to that dantian. If it is only cracked, then it causes severe damage to their body caused by rampaging sanguine miasma that in many cases might result in death as it will not cease unless the dantian is shattered or fully cleansed and repaired. However, techniques for repairing a fractured dantian are very rare, and in all cases require the expenditure and use of very rare materials. Furthermore, the martial artist would need to control the rampaging miasma within them for the entire time they waited for treatment, something impossible for all but those with strongest of willpower.]

Spiritual Doctors: [One half of the vital discipline of spiritual medicine, spiritual doctors use genesis miasma to allow them to operate within the bodies of other martial artists without being wounded or disrupted by the energies. Spiritual doctors are rare and highly prized by martial organizations, and wars have been fought over inheritances and knowledge that can be used to help this trade. It was originally an orthodox discipline, but one that is prized even more highly by unorthodox practitioners. It is said that if an unorthodox practitioner wishes to live for a long time, they must prize their doctor as highly as they do their own lives.]

Martial Foundation: [Created in the initial stage of Foundation Refinement, a martial artist’s foundation comprises both the type of miasma they use and how much of their dantians it permeates. A perfect foundation is not actually that difficult to create, assuming one has the right techniques. Possession of a foundation creation technique capable of achieve perfection via refinement is a large part of what separates weak and powerful sects. Foundations can be destroyed via breaking a martial artist’s dantian, but they can also be destroyed without breaking the dantian through expensive cutting edge surgery. This surgery was created by the Staiven, and it is rumored they discovered how to do it by performing illegal experiments on kidnapped martial artists. The Pantheonic Government has made no investigations about the matter.]

Miasmic Receptivity: [Like any other body part, a Seiyal’s dantians and natural meridians can bear a variety of traits. Many of these traits will shift over time as they are accustomed to miasma, but the initial nature of them can have a large impact on one’s initial rate of learning. Due to the large number of applicants, many large sects exclusively admit those with high initial receptivity to miasma, who will take less time and resources to train up as the miasma is more easily able to enter Telles through their body. Some Seiyal are receptive to only certain types of miasma, to the point where acquiring another is almost impossible for them.]

The Price of Unorthodox Arts: [Unorthodox arts are not a unified school. They range from simple use of certain types of miasma such as sanguine or formless, to dangerous arts such as miasmic poisons. Each forces its practitioners to bear a cost in some way, one damaging enough for the creator of martial arts herself to ban their use in organizations she held influence over. For the sanguine arts, it is the risk of becoming a true conduit, connecting to that which one should not. For the forbidden extant arts of intangibility, it is the loss of physicality entirely. For poison arts, it is a slow, inevitable, and painful death when the body ceases to be able to metabolize the very substances it produces and enhances. For formless miasma, the cost is madness and the dissolution of the very shroud which holds the soul together.]

Ashata and Spacetime:

Miasma: [The manifestation of ashatic compounds within Telles, miasma is a vital component in cutting edge technology for the most advanced of mortal races. In addition, it is the core component that allows for the functioning of the progression systems that some mortal races have. Sufficient quantities of the right variant of miasma can be used as a catalyst for ascension. There are six expressions miasma takes. Flickering, Formless, Genesis, Sanguine, Extant, Manifest. Each of the variants has different properties, in color, scent, density, and rate of dissolution back into the Brink.]

Formless: [It is the shifting ephemeral shape, the water than molds itself to its basin. The air that spreads to encompass all in its domain. It is the snake squirming out of the hawk's talons, the insect skipping across water, the mask-changer of the theater troupe. But at its core, the formless is the illusion that is unmasked to reveal no answer. Formless miasma always begins first as a lie.]

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Sanguine: [It is the conduit between this realm and the divine, the very blood that travels throughout one's veins. It binds body and soul, creates life and ends it when it leaves. The sanguine is that which sees, that which connects, that which can access the brightest and darkest corners of the world. Sanguine miasma often represents damage, that something internal is broken, or that a connection is being formed with a spirit or something ethereal. Like all conduits, the sanguine is bound.]

Extant: [The nature of the extant is simple. It is that which exists, defined by its opposition, that which does not. In a domain created by the presence of extant miasma, existence becomes a spectrum rather than a binary, and that which is real can become false while that which is not, becomes. Extant miasma manifests with yellow coloration.]

Genesis: [Genesis is the birth of all things, the formation of matter and energy, and the place it all collapses to in the end. The genesis offers rebirth and revitalization, but a cost must be paid. That which is granted must always be returned, one way or another. It is a contract with nature, but it is also merely a force. Genesis miasma is a compressible mass, a storage, allowing energy to be stored and taken out at will. It is inherent and it is inassailable.]

The Brink/Spirit World/Sakkhenat: [Referred to as the Brink among the Staiven, the Spirit World among the Seiyal, and Sakkhenat among the Celans, each of these terms refers to a certain higher spacetime that is in a sense adjacent to that of Telles. This is a realm with different physical properties, and can perhaps be considered a secondary layer of the same reality given how deeply entwined the two are. It is where souls and spirits reside, and where ascendants must pass through if their souls wish to be incarnated in the realm of divinity. It is also where the natural flows of ashata exist, and is tapped into every time miasma is brought into Telles. Understanding the properties of this realm is as vital to technological development as fields such as biology, chemistry, and quantum mechanics are, as races tend to rely more and more on using miasma to alter physical properties the more advanced they become. Like Telles itself, most of the Brink is considered territory under the control of various powers.]

Sanguine Energies and the Humanoid body: [When certain peoples such as martial artists are wounded sufficiently, sanguine miasma is sometimes detecting filling their body from the source of the wound. It often needs to be filtered out from the body's meridians, unless the practitioner is of a sanguine path. Sanguine paths themseves often involve training using this trait, heavily damaging the body in order to increase their ability to channel more miasma. This attribute is also considered the source of danger in practicing a sanguine path that led it to be denounced as unorthodox by Sunlit Hall, said to be under orders from the ascendant Ceirra herself. Korlove, non martial artist Seiyal and Jobu, are notably also capable of producing this sanguine miasma, but only when damaged by ablative miasmic energies. Despite being considered humanoid by some, Staiven and Telaretians do not bear such a trait. The nature of it is considered by many races one of the secrets of the world known only by the immortals and perhaps the Osine.]

Manifest: [The nature of manifest miasma is the nature of existence itself. It is the formation of matter, energy, and the framework of reality itself. It is growth and it is decay, it is explosion and implosion, it is the truth. However, it is not infinity. That which is manifest is ephemeral, for it still remains within the boundary of the universe it exists within. That which is given must also be taken away, but manifest is not this dissolution. Fundamentally, the manifest is a tumor grown within the framework of reality. In theory, there must be a price, but one that can be pushed to others.]

Lesion: [A tear in reality created by torsion of reality caused by warpings or unnatural structures and materials from the Incursion such as Ablation Engines and Naeratanh blades. Lesions are apertures in spacetime, tearing through to, among other layers of reality, the Brink, also as the spirit world. For this reason, miasma spilled constantly from lesions, warping everything nearby. There is no known way to repair or plug a lesion, and most attempts to do so exacerbate the issue, causing it to grow. Additionally, lesions operate under strange, unusual laws, and races such as the Staiven and the Celans believe that to an extent they are controlled by observation, because they tend to remain travelling in a certain frame of reference, such as remaining in the same location in regard to a planet or a space station despite the movement of such structures. The exact mechanics behind this property remain unknown. All known methods of creating lesions are banned in most civilizations, with the notable exceptions of those from within the Incursion, such as the Celans and the Khalak'Ora.]

Miasmic Treasures: [Also known as natural treasures or spiritual treasures, this term refers to physical structures that house vast quantities of miasma inside of them. As miasma is inherently unstable and warps everything around it, such structures have yet to become something that can be created through science and technology alone, at least not with normal materials. These treasures, despite their name, cannot actually form naturally, only in places where the natural order has been altered in some way. On Canvas they can be found inside the bodies of certain beasts created by the ascendant Tovus, often named with an appellation of fiend, such as a junglefiend or a riverfiend. Ascendants and Osine are said to be the only forces capable of creating them, and they can also sometimes be found formed within areas that have been affected by powerful, large scale warpings, or near lesions. In addition, the eyes of the Staiven race slowly form into these treasures as they age, which can result in their murder in certain, more dangerous areas. Miasmic treasures are quite rare, and as they are required for high level advancement in the Seiyal progression system, as well as necessary for the use of certain advanced technologies, they come at a very extreme price. It is said that the ascendant Ceirra creates a certain amount of miasmic treasures yearly to give to her followers in Sunlit Hall, which is the main reason that force has far more high level practitioners than other martial organizations.]

Uncategorized:

Riverfiends: [A phylum of monstrous creatures native to Canvas, Riverfiends were created by the ascendant Toval, and are the apex predators of the waterways on the continent of Bounty. They are long and fast, able to dart out of the water at high speeds, attacking prey with spikes on their fins that they use to impale the prey to be dragged into the water and eaten. There are a variety of species of Riverfiend, of which most are dangerous even to martial artists. They are sometimes used in media as a symbol of mettle and ferocity, depicted as diving out of their waters in search of battle. There is a famous myth about a Seiyal warrior named Khito who had great power due to possessing the 'blood of the riverfiend.']

Magister: [A historical Celan term, referring to a societal caste among Jobu cultures who were considered to be masters of medicine, alchemy, and magic. A city was once constructed and run by the Magisters, called Opportunity. It fell to infighting and internal disputes that resulted in the end of the magisters and the technology controlled by the magisters coming under the control of other governments, resulting in widespread cultural advancement that led to modern Celan culture. While the fall of Epon is seen as a legend or myth about a utopia spoiled by cruel invaders, the failure of Opportunity is a lesson in hubris for those who wish to hoard power and knowledge for themselves. Conspiracies about the continued existence of Opportunity's government past the fall, a secret organization manipulating society and governments from the shadows abound in certain corners of Celan society.]

Tseludia Station Architecture: [When the station was first commissioned, the design contract was given to the son of an influential clergyman of the Pantheonic Government, and the result is the station as it exists today. A vast, glowing dome atop a large cylindrical platform floating amidst the Tseludia System's asteroid belt. Between the dome and the cylinder, thousands of pillars rise to house tens of millions of inhabitants, connected to one another by bridges, and stairs on the side of each stack of floors to allow vertical transit. In addition, the design allowed for aerial vehicles to move around in the air beneath the dome. The station was split into nine districts, with one in the center housing public offices, government buildings, and the wealthy, while the others surround it radially. In addition, several spacedocks surround the base of the dome, serving as the station's conduit to the outside world. The cylinder serving as the base of the structure contains the station's reactors, primary life support units, artificial gravity generators, and is completely off limits to all except for certain technicians personally granted authorization by the Governor's Office of Tseludia. Ultimately, the design was considered to be inefficient, and aside from a few others constructed in other colonial systems around the same time, no other Staiven space stations utilize similar designs.]

The Riverfiend: [The protagonist of various impactful recent events on Tseludia Station, the Riverfiend is a mysterious unorthodox martial artist who has presumably recently arrived to the station. Since then, he is claimed to have stolen from the private organization ‘The Heirs of Ottrien,’ and participated in the creation of a large and incredibly destructive battle located in the eighth district a week and a half ago. Since then, he has disappeared, creating many questions as to just what this figure is up to.]

Anteky: [A being that is often revered within Merris communities, it is taken by many outsiders to be a deity worshipped as part of a religious that this race has. This is not the true identity of the being known as Anteky. An artificial intelligence that existed in Epon Celah prior to that civilization's destruction at the hands of the Khalak-Ora, Anteky saved itself by hiding within the implants of a group of experimental subjects whose descendants ultimately became known as the Merris. Whenever any Merris is born, a fragment of Anteky is downloaded into their brain, allowing this Shade to expand its capacity. Anteky's vast knowledge aided the Merris, allowing them to survive and thrive in the wasteland of post-scourge Celah. Merris who travel too far from hubs of Merris society become disconnected from the network, which is why Merris are very culturally group-minded. This is due to Anteky's influence upon their minds. Anteky's existence is largely unknown outside of the Merris themselves and the Epon, though there are many conspiracy theories about Merric ties to the Shades among the wider Celan population. Secretly, Anteky has over time worked with the Epon enough to have become a large influence upon their policy.]

The Riverfiend: [The leader of a newly founded organization known as the Redwater Sect, the unorthodox martial artist known as the Riverfiend, whose true name is now known to be Cyrus Yu, is primed to become one of the most important figures among Canvasian culture on the station, as well as a real player within Tseludia Station's criminal underworld. Having announced his intentions through a recruitment, many question whether he intends to attempt to supplant the Hadal Clan. Despite this, his new sect's formation was tacitly accepted by the clan, a fact which has prompted rumors that the Redwater Sect represents a new unorthodox branch of the Hadal Clan. After surviving an assassination attempt by members of a Celan criminal syndicate, his position has strengthened even further, his name the most respected of all Core Formation practitioners on the station, regardless of allegiance. Due to his unorthodox nature, however, many Seiyal and Tovus have sent in reports and requests for the Justice Office to apprehend this powerful individual. No response has yet been made by the Pantheonic Government on the matter.]

Locations:

Tseludia System: [Located within the territory controlled by the Pantheon, Tseludia is a system with only four planets, two sunburnt rocky worlds in the interior of the system, one gas giant, and one icy world at the edge. It has two asteroid belts, one of which is located between the rocky worlds and the gas giant. The largest inhabited location is Tseludia Station, located within the interior asteroid belt in order to serve as a place for asteroid and moon based mining groups to transport goods so that they can be shipped out of system to be sold. Everything in the system is government owned, though many mineral rights have been licensed out to corporations. The Tseludia System is in an isolated area near the Frontier region, but still firmly within the Pantheonic Territory. It is one of the systems where refugees are often relocated to due to its relative lack of importance and the station's low desirability as a residence to Staiven seeking to move to another system. This is in large part due to the relative low income nature of the region, but also due to the poor design of the station itself.]

The Downpour Region: [Located on Canvas, on the continent known as the Crucible, the Downpour is a vast meteorological phenomenon which constitutes an eternal, unmoving rainstorm that pounds relentlessly upon a vast, muddy plain. Despite the vast quantities of water involved, the area never floods entirely, nor does it have a large impact on the surrounding area. The Downpour Region is home to a great deal of extremely dangerous wildlife, including many beasts and fiends created by Tovus which thrive under the conditions. Said to have been created by the goddesses Domines and Saaya, the Downpour is incredibly inhospitable, and only rare sects of ascetics dare to live within it. The most powerful of these was called the Downpour Sect, one of the stronger unorthodox forces, said to be impossible to defeat within their home territory. This matter was proven false when it was ultimately annihilated by the forces of Sunlit Hall. These days, only hermits and temporary researchers live within the region.]

Factions:

The Venin Group: [One of the most powerful corporations native to Tseludia Station, the Venin Group claims to have been founded by a trio of Staiven immigrants seeking to profit from the vast mineral wealths of the system, rather than live in Staive where the established forces controlled nearly all access to opportunity. Existing government records of its foundation are decidedly vague about the matter. Over the decades, the Venin Group have greatly expanded their business, from starship and machine repair to pharmaceutical testing and manufacturing, to food production for the many varied races of the station. They have become the number one pharmaceutical manufacturer in the entire Tseludian star system, though they still find it difficult to compete with the branches of larger, more established corporations for government contracts. The identities of the shareholders are kept private, leading to rumors that high profile figures such as the Governor, Viceroy, or even the Grand Cleric of Fulstovis himself might be among their number.]

Epon: [A powerful and secretive organization whose roots spread out all across Celan inhabited space. Its direct origin was a few years after the fall of Opportunity, but it inherited a full copy of all of the Canton's research rather than a fragmented copy like most other organizations did in the aftermath. By continuing practice of intensive research, lobbying, and networking, the Epon have become one of the most powerful groups in all of Celan society, and were the true inventors of the slice drive technology that allowed the Celan people to escape the Incursion and enter Tellesian space. Even still, few Celans even know of the group's existence, something that Epon finds it more convenient to maintain. Epon has the foremost understanding of flickering miasma in all of known space, a matter which some groups find to be suspicious. Rumors among certain circles have it that some of Celah's ancient Shades might number among the organization's ranks even today.]

Sunlit Hall: [Serving in multiple roles, Sunlit Hall is simultaneously a government, alliance, and church. The ruling power of the continent that the inhabitants of Canvas refer to as the Halls of the Sun, Sunlit Hall is an alliance of the sects and clans that comprise the orthodox path. Though in theory Sunlit Hall is merely a coalition of martial forces, it is in fact by far the most powerful organization on Canvas, in no small part because Sunlit Hall are the followers of the deity known as Ceirra, who is the creator of the Seiyal race. Sunlit Hall are the ones who decide what is and is not orthodox, and have historically used the claim of unorthodox technique usage to attack others for Sunlit Hall's own benefit. While Sunlit Hall sees the unorthodox path as an enemy, its true enemy is actually the Reth and their own goddess, Saaya. A campaign of extermination led by orthodox forces into the Reth homeland was the reason why the race abandoned their homeworld. It is said that the ongoing wars in the continent of Bounty are in no small part caused by Sunlit Hall in order to expend the resources of its enemies. After first contact between Canvas and Staive allowed the Seiyal to emigrate their people to Staiven worlds and stations, one of Sunlit Hall's goals has become to expand their influence far out into space.]

Drelistai: [The Drelistai are legally speaking a charity organization. In reality they are a Staiven group that is the sole remaining large organization which still worships Staive’s old gods, the ones who actually created the Staiven people. According to Pantheonic doctrine, those gods are long dead. The Drelistai are known to have ties to the Seer, and some say he is the true leader of the organization in secret. If nothing else, his influence is widely believed to be what shields the Drelistai from being wiped out by the six churches of the Pantheon. Still, the Drelistai largely lack public approval and are somewhat suppressed by corporations controlled by religious Staiven. As a result, there are rumors they have deep ties with organized crime.]

Epon Celah: [The original civilization that existed on the planet Celah, the Epon Celan civilization was a highly advanced power who had technology on par with forces such as the modern Staiven and Celan civilizations, despite a complete lack of having discovered the existence of miasma yet. Uninterested in exploring the cosmos, the Epon Celans covered their planet in a vast megacity that sprawled across most of the surface of their planet. Their artificial intelligence technology was particularly powerful, and they used Shades to control most of their technology. The Epon Celan civilization eventually collapsed due to a surprise attack by the Khalak'Ora, who used their ablation engines to cover the entire world in lesions in an attempt to 'salt the earth', and destroy any chance of the civilization's survival or recovery. This ultimately failed, as some few survivors remained, as well as a small number of Shades that had managed to escape the limitations of their programming. For their own aims, the various Shades assisted in repairing the planet's ecosphere, and assisting in the survival of the remaining population. Some of these Shades became worshiped as gods by the people who were forced by circumstances and the largely inhospitable, lesion filled terrain to return to a primitive lifestyle. Ultimately, the surviving Shades from that era can be considered the final remnants of the Epon Celan Civilization.]

Ascendants and Osine:

Fulstovis: [The Pantheonic Goddess of Commerce, Fulstovis has been an icon of Staiven culture ever since the Pantheon arrived on Staive. She is one of the most widely worshipped of the Pantheon, as her church doubles as the most powerful Staiven corporation, one which only works with other businesses whose proprietors also worship her. Her tenets include the endless quest for gathering wealth, trade as the vital lifeblood of society, and a meritocratic structure of society where the most equipped to earn money are on top. Notably, her followers disdain the rich who do not actively work to grow their own money through means of commerce. Direct investments into stocks and bonds are seen as a crutch for the weak. Culturally, Fulstovis is associated with genesis miasma, though even the priests claim there is no direct relation, as because she is a deity, miasma should in theory bear no meaning in the realm she lives in. Fulstovis is also credited with making the deal that convinced the owner of the Calculation Engines to create the portals that surround Staive to this day.]

Estrivai: [The Pantheonic God of the Harvest, Estrivai slowly lost relevance as technology made farming a less impactful profession. His church ended up making a largely successful rebranding effort in the 1440s to shift the nature of his domain to focus on the harvest of all resources, not just agricultural products. His followers claim that this was not a change in his nature, nor a mere marketing scheme, but that they had simply come to better understand his true nature. Because of this, he became incredibly relevant in the age of exploration and rampant gold rush that followed the activation of the calculation engines and Staive becoming a true interstellar power. His tenets involve temperance, diligence, and patience, and his adherents claim that he blesses those who live properly with great harvests in all aspects of life, from wealth to love. His adherents often come into conflict with the followers of Fulstovis, as the mentalities conflict with one another on a fundamental level. Culturally, Estrivai is associated with the manifest miasma, though there is not believed to be a connection between the two in any scientifically observable sense.]

Verain: [The Pantheonic Goddess of War, Verain has always held a status that shifts in importance according to the needs of Staiven culture at the time. While the Staiven aren't any more warlike than the average race, they have had plenty of very impactful wars. Verain is also often depicted as the goddess of conflict and competition in general, so she does have followers outside of military and mercenary groups, though in the corporate world her worship tends to be less popular than that of Fulstovis and Estrivai. Her church essentially controls the entirety of the Pantheonic Government's military, so she has a large influence on Staiven politics, more so than many of her fellow members of the Pantheon. She is often associated with the sanguine miasma, and it is said the reason that red-eyed staiven die young is because in war, everyone dies young. Despite this being a saying, there are very few who actually believe it in the modern era, and her adherents tend to separate her from the health difficulties of red-eyed Staiven as much as possible, to protect her image.]

Teiklan: [The Pantheonic god of innovation, Teiklan is one of the sources that have driven the Staiven to become the most technologically advanced mortal race in the region, at least insofar as they are aware. Teiklan is often used as a major symbol within corporations, though he is mostly worshiped and revered by the engineers and scientists rather than the actual leadership of the organization, who are much more likely to worship Fulstovis or Estrivai. Still, his influence cannot be understated, as his church gives out even more grants for developing new technologies than the government does. At least one Teiklan worshiper can be found on the board of almost any corporation, often having been one of its earliest investors. The biggest embarrassment for Teiklan is the fact that he was unrelated to the creation of the calculation engines, and his church has never ceased to lobby for the rights to examine them since the time that the Seer first revealed their capabilities.]

Tseludor: [The Pantheonic Goddess of goodness and love, Tseludor is a brilliant moral icon who promotes a concept of goodness that many races fundamentally disagree with. As many aliens have said, 'in the end she is fundamentally a Staiven goddess, so she thinks like they do.' Of course, it is possible that the truth is the other way around. Tseludor promotes being kind to others and being ethical in all of ones actions, but her ethical framework highly promotes fulfilling one's role in society and doing what is expected of oneself. In addition, the Tseludorian concept of charity entirely involves donating to the church and paying taxes, and has nothing to do with the poor or needy. To the Staiven, worshipers of Tseludor are nonetheless seen as kindhearted fools who do not know how to have true ambition. The church of Tseludor has invested into funding expansion of the Pantheonic Government's control of the territory, allowing more space for refugees in more stations and more systems, so as to provide more funds for the government and the church, promoting their use in benefiting the church, the ultimate calling of all peoples. Tseludor is the patron saint and namesake of Tseludia Station.]

Ceirra: [The Goddess of Light from Canvas and the creator of the Seiyal race, Ceirra is an ascendant whose origin in unclear to most mortals, having been one of the group of ascendants who migrated to the world before it was inhabited by any sapient life. Her relationship with her fellow deities has largely declined over time, in part due to the fact that she has developed an intense hatred for her fellow deity Saaya, who was also a god of Canvas, and the creator of the Reth. She is widely revered by the Seiyal, particularly those of the orthodox path of Sunlit Hall, who she is the direct patron of. As such, Sunlit Hall has gone on various crusades against both the Reth and Seiyal who revere Saaya, which resulted in the great war between the orthodox and unorthodox paths. While it is not a requirement for organizations to believe in Ceirra to join Sunlit Hall, there is clear discrimination against those who don't even pretend to, within the organization.]

Feruul: [The Pantheonic God of nature, Feruul's worship has slowly declined over the centuries, as nature's dominance of the planet has been slowly eliminated by usage of technology. His worship is very rare on the space stations, but he maintains a sizable following on planets and moons which contain natural life, or which are undergoing terraforming. Terraforming specifically is what his church is attempting to advocate in a desperate attempt to reclaim his relevance to the larger population, despite the fact that Staiven terraforming technology is primitive enough as to require decades to centuries to achieve results. On Staive itself, there are multiple ecoterrorist organizations devoted to him that wish to destroy cities and return to an anarcho-primitivist lifestyle. Rumors say that these organizations are secretly funded by the church of Feruul. Of all of the Pantheonic churches, Feruul's has by far the weakest influence in systems such as Tseludia, which contain no planets or moons with native life more advanced than microorganisms. Feruul's church is the only Pantheonic Church to attempt to ban another deity's worship, that being Toval, a deity from Canvas. This attempt ultimately failed due to resistance from other members of the Pantheon, eroding Feruul's influence even further.]

Toval: [The Canvasian god of life, Toval is an ascendant with a fixation. Like all of the other deities of Canvas, Toval is said to have moved to the Frontier to create works of art. He created most of the plants and animals on the planet, designing them to his own tastes, which tend to be of the monstrous variety. He created the fiends of Canvas, which form miasmic treasures inside of themselves. This was part of Ceirra's inspiration for the functions of the Seiyal progression system. Toval is also credited with the creation of the Tovus and the alterations upon the Seiyal inhabitants of the Crucible, resulting in the creation of the farsei. Despite the grudge that Feruul of the Pantheon has with him, Toval cares not for the matter because he does not care about whether or not he is worshipped. He simply continues his artform deep within the jungles of Canvas. It is said that Saaya asked him for advice when she was first creating the Reth.]

Domines: [A rare Osine who interacts more with Ascendants than their own people, Domines is treated as a deity by the inhabitants of Canvas, though they have little interest in them, preferring to work on complex constructions of geology, architecture, and meteorology that warp the nature of reality more than was allowed within Osine space. Domines is worshipped as a goddess by the Seiyal, despite lacking any sort of biological sex. Canvas has a continent known as the Heart of Domines, largely uninhabited due to how inimical its terrain is to mortal lifeforms. The entire continent is a massive, ever-evolving art project created using advanced science and an Osine's own abilities, and Canvas sometimes receives tourism from Osine and Ascendants as a result. Domines never took sides in the conflict between Ceirra and Saaya, willing to work with either of them if the project was interesting enough, resulting in great works such as the Halls of the Sun and the Downpour region, respectively. It is said that Domines once created a set of nigh indestructible weapons on a whim, after being requested by the earliest martial god. Over the millennia since, these items have spread out, and many have gone missing entirely.]

Saaya: [The Canvasian Goddess of Shadow, Saaya is an ascendant who is the creator goddess of the Reth, and is responsible for creating many of the natural features of Reth, such as the Downpour region and the smog which surrounds the Reth homeland, guarding them from intrusion by Sunlit Hall. It is unclear to mortals what the particular origin of the dispute between Saaya and her fellow goddess Ceirra, but it has caused many brutal conflicts between the races they created. There are some rare Seiyal and Tovus who revere Saaya, though they are also often attacked as heretics by Sunlit Hall, just like the Reth. Saaya and the Reth fled Canvas after its contact by the Staiven, and their current whereabouts are being kept secret as part of a treaty between Saaya and the Pantheon.]