Races of the Pantheonic Territory:

The Jankari: [An ancient civilization, perhaps the earliest advanced civilization in Telles, the Jankari had an interstellar empire before the Telaretians had even reached the stone age. It is unclear just what led to their downfall, but some say they were wiped out by the ascendants after making first contact. Little is known about the Jankari’s physical appearance, as no bodies have been found, however they appear to have been a bit larger than the average size of modern races. While all that is left of the Jankari is ruins, these ruined worlds and stations contain ancient relics that showcase understanding of miasma and reality far beyond modern technology. Most attempts to understand or reverse engineer Jankari relics have failed, though some races have discovered the basics of activating and utilizing them. Some conspiracy theories claim that the reason the Jankari were so advanced in such an early era is because they were actually survivors from the previous universe, which they refer to as Effelzi, following its destruction.]

Indeice: [Tall and slender creatures with six arms and five dark eyes, the Indichians are one of the many client races of the Osine. Despite their advanced technology, their reproductive capability is extremely limited, thus they never ran into the restrictions imposed by their Osine masters. A very insular race, they also have seemingly little interest in exploring the universe, merely focused on living comfortable lives in their own home system. Aside from trade with starfaring races within Osine territory such as the Telaretians, the Indichians interact extremely little with the outside world, and aliens are not even allowed to reside within their territory on a permanent basis.]

Circumstances of the Telaretian Race: [Though occasionally, Telaretian planets are slated for harvest, the species is mostly allowed to freely spread throughout Osine territory due to their historical importance, provided they do not interfere with cultivated worlds. They are also considered to make suitable mortal forces for the ongoing war with the Khalak-Ora, and remain one of the most populous races in the galaxy despite their decline. Despite their vast population, relatively few Telaretians choose to reside within the Pantheonic Territory, not wishing to live the life of a second class citizen.]

Bloodspawn: [It is actually unknown just where this odd race of creatures originated, for even they don’t know their origin. They have been spotted in various areas across the galaxy with seemingly no possibility of traversal, leading some scientists to believe their origin could either be the invention by a certain Osine or Ascendant, some type of extreme convergent evolution, or perhaps simply an oddity of nature. Bloodspawn are born as amorphous creatures without intellect, and only develop into sapient beings after consuming the body of a sapient mortal. They then develop an appearance vaguely similar to that of the race in question, but generally with a redder hue than the actual species. Despite not being humanoid nor possessing a progression system, Bloodspawn circulate sanguine miasma within themselves like a Celan circulates blood. While bloodspawn are not illegal existences like Shades, there is no known civilization willing to grant them citizenship, and they lack a civilization or even a culture of their own, as they are a rare species, reproduce asexually, and seem to possess little to no attachment to their own young. Though it does not seem to be a universal trait, many bloodspawn have been found to take on the name of the first sapient life form they consumed. Some depthist sects rear juvenile bloodspawn and feed them sapients, while others decry them as evil creatures which must be purged from the world.]

Technology:

Celans and Bronze Alloys: [One interesting aspect of the materials technology possessed by the races of Celah is that a significant portion of them involve alloys of bronze. While still largely composed of copper and tin, these alloys used by the Celans are, despite this, able to survive vast stresses far superior to what the material should be capable of. Many aliens believe that the secret to this technology relates to the secrets of flickering miasma held by this civilization, but the truth is unknown, and no other race has yet been able to replicate them. Even reverse engineering of stolen fragments has yet to succeed. One fact considered of note by many who are aware, is that all known naeratanh is also largely composed of bronze alloy.]

Power Cores: [Staiven power cores are mostly simple superheated chemical reactants encased in strong insulators, though in the home system of Staive it is said these are being phased out in favor of the use of genesis miasma as a storage medium. Most races within the Pantheonic Territory use the Staiven-built cores, as their technology is simple enough the Staiven are willing to allow it to leak. In fact, those which are sold to aliens are purposefully designed to be very simple in concept but incredibly technologically difficult to manufacture, so as to maintain a monopoly on them. Celans largely make their own cores however, using a method involving flickering miasma which can increase atomic reactivity far beyond normal limits. These cores have threefold potential uses, able to function as batteries, reactors, or explosives. They rarely see use outside of power plants, mechs, and starships.]

Seiyal Explosive Technology: [While the Seiyal have enough of a technology base to understand nuclear technology, they simply have not done the testing and development necessary to turn such explosives into usable products that won’t cross the Pantheonic Government’s bottom line. Similarly, those within the Pantheonic Territory lack suitable places to test such weapons. For this reason, they are forced to use inferior methods such as synthesized nitroglycerin or napalm. Despite the fact that such compounds are often considered primitive, they are more than effective enough for practical use. In addition, a martial artist’s hand eye coordination and ability to throw objects is outmatched among the mortal races.]

Sending Stones: [Expertly crafted machines utilizing sanguine and extant miasma, sending stones are believed to utilize the Brink as a medium to transport objects which have been rendered nonexistent in the form of information states, and returning them to reality in another location. In practice, this means that they are capable of teleporting objects. Throughout the galaxy, there are said to be potentially millions of sending stones, however their limited range limits their utility. A sending stone cannot transfer an object more than a million miles away, and the transit is not instantaneous. Researchers currently believe that although the stones were designed as a network, the principle utilized by the technology should be theoretically possible to function, so long as the target location can be effectively marked. According to the Pantheonic Government, Staiven scientists are very close to being the first to reverse engineer the technology and manufacture their own sending stone equivalents.]

Soul Replacement: [Created roughly thirty years ago, according to the Pantheonic Calendar, this cutting edge technology is controlled in utmost secrecy by the Epon, and allows them to swap souls and engrams between humanoid bodies. One of the two bodies is destroyed in the process, and one of the souls is as well, though this is not considered an issue. Sufficient testing has allowed the Epon to use this on Jobu, Korlove, and Seiyal, though insufficient quantities of test subjects have rendered them unable to use it on the Reth so far. Despite their visual similarity to the humanoid races, the Staiven are not effective targets for the technology, as their brains are simply too different from that of humanoids for the process to operate smoothly. Similarly, using the technology with Korlove can cause locomotion issues due to their physical differences with Jobu and Seiyal. In addition, attempting the process with a soul enhanced by a progression system inevitably causes the process to fail, destroying both bodies and souls.]

Mechanical Suits and the Celan Military:[Due to both the fear the race has for Shades due to its history, as well as the heavy Pantheonic restrictions on artificial intelligence and machine learning programs, drones are unable to be fully effective for combat, particularly on a planet or within a station. After all, without internal control, a drone would need to be piloted remotely, leaving far too simple a weakness for an opponent to interfere with. Thus, Celan military forces have taken the route of creating advanced mechanical suits to make up the gap in personal power between them and races with progression systems.]

Seiyal and Firearm Technology: [Even prior to contact with the Staiven, Canvasians had invented gunpowder technology. Fireworks were a staple of large celebrations, and merchant ships operated by mortals and Tovus would at times utilize cannons in addition to on-board martial artist defenders to protect their cargo. Though the smaller, more portable concept of the gun was proposed and even invented, its use did not catch on. Part of this is because initial versions were of poor quality, and another is because the martial-oriented culture at the time focused on growing the quantity and quality of its elite warriors, rather than raising the standard of the general army. In modern times, the great power of the firearms used by the more developed races has in turn inspired many Canvasians, as the trend has started to shift over time. Some suspect that in the near future, it was possible that such weapons might start to pop up among the lower levels of certain more progressive martial organizations. After all, it is not that such weapons are banned outright by great forces such as Sunlit Hall.]

Internal Celan Virtual Networks: [The traditional model for a virtual environment is a computer network, a web where each node is a different machine interfacing with one another virtually. This is the model used by the Staiven, and is the nature of the Tseludian internet. Internal Celan networks, however, utilize a different design, the latter consisting of computer terminals merely serving as wireless access point to a single, large computer capable of mass parallel computation. The benefit of this design is that it is a fully closed system, and eliminates the risk of being hacked, so long as the central computer does not actively open itself to external sources.]

Weapons of Mass Destruction: [WMD is the designation for weapons of such magnitude that they might destroy an entire city, starship, or space station. The Seiyal refer to these as weapons of the ‘immortal level.’. Nuclear and fusion warheads, antimatter bombs, the ‘titan’ series of Celan mechs, ablation engines, and many other instruments of war also classify as WMD. They are banned in most territories, though the Pantheonic Government, despite banning their use by all factions external to themselves, in many cases do not enforce this due to internal corruption. If a WMD is utilized publicly, however, the faction is not only censured, in most cases it is destroyed outright unless the revealed individual or machine is destroyed, and the capacity to create it is removed. Despite this, no underworld organization can be considered a true power unless they bear at least one weapon of this level.]

Advanced Materials Technology: [Every civilization’s material technology tends to diverge after a certain point in development. In part this is generally due to the resources they have available, as well as the other technological developments they have. For example, the Staiven excel at advanced molecular structure synthesis, and can create materials designed for extremely specific tasks, while the Celans focus on materials that function well under extreme conditions involving the properties of flickering miasma. But while Staiven materials are extremely difficult to replicate without the relevant technology, they are relatively simple to analyze. Contrarily, advanced Celan materials are to an extent the product of warpings, and are extremely difficult to understand or replicate without an understanding of the circumstances of their production.]

Tseludia Station’s Construction: [Built using an asteroid as the foundation, Tseludia Station is largely the product of refined minerals which emerged from said asteroid, as enhanced with materials bought and traded with. The majority of the station is composed of stone interlaced with proprietary Staiven alloys, resulting in the general patchwork colored structure that composes most of the station, including the stacks. In parts of the station largely inhabited by aliens with visual sensory organs, paint, wallpaper, veneers, and tiling are all used to hide this ‘eyesore’, as many consider it to be. The construction of the stacks are extremely strong, however, easily able to hold the thousands of tons of weight that each one lifts, even in the enhanced gravity of the station’s spindle. Despite this strength, the immense weight of each stack is such that if one were to fall and crash into another, a chain reaction might occur. This premise has been part of the setting of three distinct apocalypse films in the past decade, created and set within Tseludia itself.]

The Celan and Epon Celan Disparity: [It is said that in all fields but one, the current Celan civilization has yet to surpass their ancestors, the Epon Celan civilization. The Epon Celans were masters of mundane technology, said to be the greatest in all of Telles at the time. But their miasmic technology had fallen behind, which left them vulnerable to the weapons of the Khalak’Ora. For this reason, the natures and abilities of a Celan Shade seem strange and near impossible to most mortals. Their most exceptional innovations were in fields whose use is illegal under Pantheonic law- nano-scale machinery and artificial intelligence.]

Servitors: [Originally developed by the Telaretians, a servitor is a machine composed of ashatic compounds, the sole materials that exist within the Brink. These machines are capable of interacting not only with the ashatic currents, but also with souls. For ordinary mortals, a servitor can be considered an assassination tool so perfect as to leave no trace. Many scientists and engineers among the more developed races have claimed that the ban on the development and use of servitor technology has caused miasmic technology to stagnate. However, this ban, enforced in most territories, only applies to mortals, unlike some bans which apply to all beings. For the Ascendants and the Osine, the use of servitors is a given. Most famously, they have been used for millennia by the Osine to harvest the souls of their dead client races for use, and for this reason are also known as Soul Collectors.]

Martial Arts:

Seiyal and Talent: [The martial arts subculture of the Seiyal has an extreme focus on a practitioner’s abilities and talent. Some are born with innate talent that allows them to awaken miasma and soul sense without even being taught, or to instinctively understand certain vital aspects of bodily movement that greatly speed up one’s martial progression. Such geniuses are often heralded as the future of the sect or clan, and their potential exerts pressure on their force’s opponents. After all, the more talented an individual is, the easier it is to reach the high stages of martial arts, past each of the bottlenecks. However, at each successive level, prodigies become rarer and rarer. After all, many reach the limit of their talent and fail to pass a bottleneck, become overconfident in their abilities and accidentally cripple themselves, or, mostly commonly, are slain by both allies and enemies due to how they create jealousy and intimidation in others.]

Medicine Path: [In films, manifest practitioners of the medicine path are often depicted as healers capable of repairing mortal wounds in instants and healing their allies up to peak effectiveness. In practice, matters are not so simple. Summoning functioning flesh would be an incredibly complex endeavor, even for a manifest immortal. Instead, medicine path practitioners could be considered essentially the same as poisoners, except their medicines are drugs beneficial for themselves and others, rather than poisons. Of all the orthodox paths, the medicine path is perhaps the one whose practitioners are regarded with the most suspicion, as poisoners have been known to disguise themselves as medicine path practitioners to hide within orthodox territories.]

Lone Practitioners: [While the great martial alliances rule the land, and the martial forces control their own territory, it is not uncommon for prodigies to emerge among the small martial academies, or who have survived the collapse of their faction. Some of these unlucky martial artists join up with martial forces as external elders, or resort to banditry. On Tseludia Station, the two main opportunities for a lone practitioner is to work for a PMC or to start a gang. Life is more difficult for these practitioners, but conversely, the difficulty often results in them acquiring more opportunities to make a name for themselves, not held back by reputation and the thin veneer of righteousness. The names of the greatest of the Lone Practitioners often gain the influence of a faction in their own right.]

Flickering Arts: [Characterized by stuttering, chaotic motion, the flickering path is one that acquires more and more complexity the further one walks upon it. It seems inherently impossible to control flickering miasma, and a skillful practitioner of this path is one who is able to constantly adapt to changing circumstances. To an unobservant eye, a powerful flickering practitioner seems to be teleporting around the battlefield, constantly shifting location and orientation, though the truth is that the chaotic effects of flickering miasma do not solely affect one’s motions.]

Martial Techniques and Technological Development: [Historically, the Seiyal saw martial arts as a discipline wholly divorced from science and technology, a type of magic granted by the divinity of the goddess Ceirra. However, after joining the galactic society, they were confronted with alien technology that utilized miasma, and it became clear that the principles of martial arts were not as unique as they seemed. Martial arts techniques and the abilities of miasma are one, and races such as the Staiven have been able to develop certain technologies by studying the capabilities of Seiyal martial artists. It is said that the Celans have taken the opposite approach: reverse engineering their own understanding of flickering miasma’s principles in order to create martial techniques, so as to better understand the mechanics as a whole.]

Technique Failure: [Of course, like with any motions and skills, techniques can fail. Whether it was an incorrect motion, incorrect body shape, or failed miasmic motion, a variety of results may occur upon the failure of a technique, depending on one’s level, how much miasma was involved, and how poorly the technique’s execution was. On the lower end of results, the technique might simply not function, and the motion be effectively a normal bodily motion. If the technique is forcefully interrupted however, or the miasma involved is too great, a failed execution might result in damage to one’s meridians or even the fracturing of the martial artist’s dantian itself. Usually, the more powerful a technique is, the more difficult it is to use, and the risk of permanent damage caused by a technique’s failure is part of the reason martial forces often restrict their strongest techniques to only the most talented of practitioners.]

Dual-Miasma Paths: [A path utilizing two miasmas is often not considered a real path. After all, the energies within the miasmas conflict, and cause damage to the body. For low-level practitioners, this can easily cause death. Such injuries, too, cause sanguine miasma to form within the practitioner’s body, which can rapidly cause the path to become one of three miasmas, an even more fatal occurrence. But in rare cases, when an advanced practitioner with a sufficiently durable physique becomes so injured that enough sanguine miasma enters at least one of their cores, they can become so infiltrated by the sanguine that it becomes naturally generated, as if that was truly their path. This is an unorthodox path of pain and hardship, much more dangerous than a true sanguine path. None would choose such a path of their own volition. Not unless they had no alternative.]

Meridian Purification: [More of a rumor and a legend than a real technique, in many stories even now there is a procedure known as purification, where a martial artist’s meridians are ‘washed clean,’ expelling all miasma, and allowing another type of miasma to enter. In the stories, this was a way to change one’s path, and is often used as a literary device to depict an evil unorthodox character renouncing their ways and becoming an orthodox practitioner. In reality, the technique is widely claimed to be a myth, though rumors of similar techniques existing have continued to spread for centuries.]

Genesis Singularity: [One of the more well-known spirit refinement methods of the genesis path, this art is controlled by a number of different genesis forces of Sunlit Hall, its roots tracing back many generations, and is one of the most popular spirit refinement methods among several of the forces which control it. The method consists of using the force of miasmic current to pressurize the soul, squeezing it slowly into a smaller and denser state until ultimately it hits a critical point, and collapses into a true singularity, and for better or worse. Once true singularity is achieved, the practitioner immediately initiates their ascension, for better or worse. One side benefit of this method is that the practitioner’s soul becomes more difficult to target due to its small size and high density. It is, however, often much easier to sense due to the extremely unusual density it will attain.]

Pugilists: [Pugilists, historically, have often been considered as fools or idiots. The entrance of the Seiyal into the galactic era only exacerbated this idea, as great innovations in weapons technology have resulted, leaving many to feel that the pugilist is the way of the past. Several of the stronger pugilist forces have finally moved on to the use of gauntlets for their arts. There are few techniques uniquely for pugilists, and in the modern era, the discipline is in most cases a matter of those who prefer their own fists to a separate weapon, and for that reason simply temper their bodies. It is said that the self proclaimed Martial God, one of the very few martial artists to successfully ascend to immortality, was once a practitioner of fist arts. His legend still inspires a great many to pursue this path, despite its downsides.]

Soul Manifestation: [A powerful ability only usable in the spirit refinement realm and above, a manifest practitioner must fuse this unusable technique with their cerebral dantian during their core formation, and practice a relevant refinement method in order to acquire it. Soul Manifestation allows the practitioner’s soul to mimic their manifested objects, creating a temporary conduit and allowing for the objects to be altered post-manifestation, a matter which is normally impossible outside of normal physical interaction. The objects are stuck in the general shape of the practitioner’s soul, however, providing a new limitation to the practitioner’s abilities. This ability is famous, and the technique is well known, but fitting refinement methods are all but unknown, with only a few proven to exist. Despite its power, few manifest practitioners are willing to acquire it.]

Ashata and Spacetime:

Naeratanh and Flickering Miasma: [Naeratanh, a material invented by the Celan civilization, is an extremely rare material that is created with a secret method involving flickering miasma within the incursion. It is the only known physical material capable of tearing lesions into reality with mere movement, bringing into question whether this is due to the unique properties of flickering miasma, or whether similar materials might theoretically be possible to forge using other miasmas. Such speculation is illegal to discuss in public within the Pantheonic Territory, according to a ruling set by the council in the year 1606 PTS.]

Planar Warpings: [If the use of miasma to alter physical reality can be considered cutting edge science, warpings are several steps beyond even that. They can be considered the imprints left on reality by structured ashata itself. This is a level that has only been theorized by races such as the Staiven and the Celans, and claimed by some to be beyond the limits of technology- the realm of the divine. Osine and Ascendants, of course, are all fully capable of creating and utilizing warpings. In isolation, a warping slowly disappears, the universe returning to its rightful state. When multiple warpings are placed too nearby one another, however, they interfere with one another, causing extremely dangerous chaotic effects, and greatly increasing the planar torsion of the region. Some scholars have theorized that such issues and discrepancies may be the reason for the unique nature of the Incursion.]

Conduit: [Associated with sanguine miasma but not restricted to it, a conduit is a bridge between spacetimes, and unless there is a lesion, miasma cannot enter Telles without passing through a conduit. Artificial conduits are considered one of the vital inventions necessary to develop ashatic and miasmic technology, though in theory, such technology could also be created using biological conduits such as the specialized organ located within the eye sockets of the Staiven race. It is theorized that perhaps the reason why humanoid bodies are capable of generating sanguine miasma when damaged by miasmic effects is because humanoid blood contains an inherent capacity to become a conduit. Recent testing has only increased the support for this theory.]

Miasmic Mixtures: [Multiple miasmas are able to exist in the same place, but they are unable to combine. Only in the Brink is this possible, and in Telles, all one acquires is a chaotic mixture. Combinations of miasmas all have different results, according to their individual processes, and the advanced sciences of certain races have begun to touch on controlled usage of multiple miasmas in a single machine. Uncontrolled mixtures, however, such as what is produced by a lesion, always has one single result. Utter chaos and unpredictable results for everything it makes contact with. Such chaos is inimical to ordered structures such as machinery, living beings, and in many cases, molecular structures themselves.]

Pantheonic Laws and Culture:

Access to Food in the Pantheonic Territory: [Even races with shared origins often have different dietary requirements, much less aliens with little shared in terms of heritage and nature. Even the humanoid classification of species, which share such odd convergent similarities all have very different diets. In any given station or planet within the territory, farms and factories can be expected to produce more than sufficient food for the Staiven population, and nutrient bathhouses are a common sight. For the stations with a large population of a given species, such as the Seiyal, Celans, and Exid on Tseludia Station, mass production of synthesized food can be expected, as well as a number of restaurants. For those who are less common, such as the Telaretians and Escalos, food must be specially synthesized, and sometimes all that can be found is nutrient paste. For rare races such as the Reth, even such paste might be difficult to acquire.]

Trade in the Pantheonic Territory: [Trade, the lifeblood of all great civilizations, is a core element of life within the Pantheonic Territory, spearheaded by the influence of the Church of Fulstovis. Despite the vast distances between stars, technology, unique resources and products, and even entire populations are constantly moving between star systems. The use of long term stasis technology by most of the territory’s races has allowed this industry to thrive despite the long voyages. A single trade deal between two systems might take over two decades in subjective time to complete, potentially even arriving an entire decade late if delays occur during transit. Still, the revenues generated through such trade are immense. Due to the unique advantages provided by the voidgates, Staive has managed to become one of the richest trading hubs in the inhabited galaxy, second only to those within the Osine nations.]

Rush Hour on Tseludia Station: [Though the Staiven are blind, and thus pay no attention to the on and off cycles of the station’s dome light, their sleep schedule, presumably due to the will of their dead creators, quite similar to that of the humanoid races. It is a roughly 25 hour cycle. As the vast majority of the station’s population is Staiven or humanoid, the trend of largely synchronized low activity periods followed by high activity ‘day’ periods is simply a part of station culture. Because of this, the concept of ‘rush hour’ exists, when a large percentage of the station’s inhabitants wake up and walk to their workplace, or leave their workplace to return home, rendering the streets extremely congested for a period of time. The sole exceptions to this trend is the spacedock, which is bustling at all hours, and Otan, where shifts of drones are constantly moving around. Of course, a city as widely inhabited as Tseludia is never truly in a slumbering state, and many live on their own schedules, with no care for how the majority of the population spends their time.]

Pantheonic Law and Organized Crime: [Throughout all of Pantheonic space, Pantheonic Law remains consistent. After all, the presence of the churches ensures that no local government would dare to rebel against the rule of the gods. Because of this surety, and the influence of the Church of Verain, very few types of weapons are illegal under Pantheonic Law, and certain amounts of corruption within the system are granted a blind eye, provided prisoner quotas are met. After all, if the ruling powers support the system, and the weaker powers such as the corporations are able to benefit from it, only the oppressed might wish to confront Pantheonic hegemony. This is where organized crime syndicates come into play. By tacitly acquiescing to the existence and development of such organizations, this creates an environment where individual racial and cultural groups form their own forces, ones which inherently conflict, and must fight one another for dominance. A setting where each of them rely on the laws and rule set up by the Pantheonic Government to maintain their standing, and each would also be glad to see the downfall of another, rather than work together to achieve independence.]

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Torture in the Pantheonic Territory: [Most advanced civilizations largely spurn torture’s use, as it has been known to be very effective at acquiring useless, false, or unusable information. That said, the threat of torture alone can be effective at times, so few forces are willing to do away with it altogether. The practice is in theory illegal, but both the Justice Office and the underworld organizations use it when needed. For this reason, certain groups such as the Epon train each of their higher rank members in how to resist torture, and the Staiven have even tested brain alteration that allows a Staiven operative to diminish their pain and discomfort by as much as needed, so as to increase their tolerance. In fact, over half of the current major corporations of the territory require personnel in certain roles to undertake such treatments, with stipulations in their contract detailing punishments to occur to them or their estate if any confidential information is leaked.]

Reth Governance: [In the modern era, the Reth do not have a true government, finding themselves willing to rely on the Pantheonic Government and the Church of Saaya to handle their logistics. With the relatively small and scattered population they have in the current era, there is little need for any more structured command. Prior to their exile from Canvas, the Reth homeland was ruled by an elected council. The final members of the council died in the homeland before the race’s evacuation, and it was never reconvened. Some of the larger Reth enclaves have considered forming such a government again. The Church of Saaya has, notably, stood against this proposition.]

Seiyal Medical Sector: [While the medical technology of the Canvasians are low, the Staiven are not unaware of the financial power of the large numbers of refugees and immigrants from the race who continue to enter the Pantheonic Territory. This is a powerful market, and the more time passes, the more pharmaceuticals, equipment, and dedicated professionals have been trained up to deal with the race’s medical needs. While the power and influence of the Seiyal medical sector cannot compare with that of more populous and advanced races such as the Staiven and the Celans, the treatment options available to the race continue to wildly grow in number and quality as more is learned about Seiyal biology. In certain circles, it is rumored that the more powerful corporations within this sector have deals with government officials to acquire more information about Seiyal and martial artist biology.]

Role of Shades in Traditional Celan Culture: [The Celan Shades are beings that had existed since prior to the foundation of the current Celan civilization. Due to the uniquely isolated location of their homeworld, no ascendants were present to claim the world, which led to a situation where the powerful Shades became dominant forces, equivalent to gods to certain groups. For some Celans, this treatment has yet to end. Many Merris still treat the Shade Anteky as their guardian deity, while Arvajott was said to be last seen in command of a flotilla which has yet to be seen in galactic society after leaving Celah. Jinulde was seen as a sage who could answer any question if one traveled to its mountain, while Janottka was the Sorceress, a trickster used in stories to scare children. Many have been lost to history, such as those who were destroyed in the fall of Opportunity, and the majority of the Celans simply see them as powerful and dangerous beings better lost to time.]

Outlaw Status in the Pantheonic Territory: [The Justice Office is not known for its careful policing of the alien population. Deaths are only investigated if corpses are found, and disappearances are ignored entirely unless ‘funding’ for the investigation appears. An outlaw, however, is someone whose death would not be prosecuted, and who the office at least claims to be actively searching for. This designation is reserved for criminals whose actions have either impacted the government’s image, or who have threatened it. Outlaws are generally sent to labor camps on the prison moons, but in some cases they might be directly executed by the office, something that does not occur for ordinary criminals unless they resist arrest. It is not uncommon however, for this designation to be appealed and revoked in court.]

Monopolies Under Pantheonic Law: [At any time, the Council of Clerics may decide that a corporation’s monopoly on a product or service is not in line with the Pantheon’s will, and forcibly break it up, or simply remove the product’s patent qualification. Such preservation of the free market is widely celebrated by the territory’s citizens at large, but is never invoked for businesses directly operated by the churches, and rarely for large corporations with deep ties to them. Unless one of the churches actively wishes for it to be broken, however, monopolies are never contested, and generally seen as ‘good business’ in the corporate sphere.]

Canvasian Honor Duels: [Contrary to what is claimed by popular culture, there is no tradition of an ‘honor duel’ for martial artists. Duels have been fought to assert dominance, for betting, for challenges to authority, and as proxies to reduce losses as part of a larger conflict, but the idea of challenging another practitioner purely because of such nebulous concepts as honor is more myth than reality. There is, after all, rarely a need to make conflicts into a one on one fight. The concept of these duels, as portrayed in popular culture such as Canvasian martial arts films, originated from the mortal culture of Bounty in the mid 1500s. The practice originated with the Tovus, in fact, and spread among the farsei inhabitants due to cultural exchanges, though the practice lost a certain amount of popularity following the later colonization of the continent by Sunlit Hall in the late 1500s. Despite this, the practice lives on in mortal-produced media about martial artists.]

The Pantheonic Navy: [A powerful individual is qualified to rule a nation, but to impose law, a military is necessary. Largely under the influence of the Church of Verain, the Pantheonic Navy is the sword-arm of the Council of Clerics, and altogether, is said to be the most powerful mortal military in Telles, simply due to its size. Every planet and station under Pantheonic rule is guarded by at least one warship posing enough firepower to annihilate it outright. Despite its great power, the Pantheonic Navy has never been a wartime force, as no mortal force has yet dared to covet that which belongs to the Pantheon.]

Nuclear War and the Staiven: [Despite their invention of nuclear technology, the Staiven have had a unified government long enough that there was never a nuclear conflict between them. In fact, the Staiven have not fought a real war in centuries, not since the time when the Pantheon first arrived on Staive, the forces of their Reilanh fighting against the natives for dominance. Ever since the pact 1634 standard years ago, which concluded in Pantheonic rule, the Staiven military has only had minor conflicts with alien forces, and occasional border issues with Osine client races or the underlings of other ascendant factions. Their dominance simply grew to the point where conflicts failed to escalate. However, the Staiven still have an understanding of mutually assured destruction. They are simply the ones who handle the role of the destruction.]

Poison in the Pantheonic Territory: [Few poisons are illegal under Pantheonic Law, as each of the many races in the territory have substances their constitutions cannot handle. In fact, many races even enjoy consumption of poisonous substances, such as the fixation of many humanoid beings with alcohol. The exception to this rule is, of course, the ban on substances hazardous to the constitution of the Staiven and the Escalos peoples, and that of miasmic poisons, which are hazardous to most mortal life forms. Special permits can be granted for the synthesis and use of such substances for industrial purposes.]

Avoidance and the Underworld: [Publicly, the underworld and its organizations are rarely brought up. Certain underworld organizations such as the Hadal Clan, the Drelistai, and the Heirs of Ottrien are business groups in good standing, and gang violence is attributed to smaller, subsidiary forces. This is considered a fact of life in Tseludia, one that allows for a balance to occur. Racketeering is simply a part of life in certain districts, and in some places, criminals are the protectors of fair business. Evidence to prove connections that are widely known are disregarded, and nothing is done to change matters. However, these truths are not fully understood by the wider public, as it is general knowledge that the further one stays from underworld activity, the lower the odds of one being forced into it.]

Pantheonic- Sheneth-Ari Treaty Item Twenty-Three: [One of the more well known parts of the lengthy and complicated legal document that ended conflict between the Sheneth-Ari Council and the Pantheon of Staive, item twenty-three was the stipulation that all mechanical or virtual life forms, colloquially known as ‘Shades,’ are to be destroyed by the Pantheonic Government, or should that not be possible, for their existence to be reported to the Sheneth-Ari. Such reports invariably end poorly for all mortals within the affected city. Despite being only item 23, this section of the treaty is one of the most staunchly enforced by both governments.]

Uncategorized:

Canvasian Demons: [Many races have the concept of demons, a sort of evil being that exists in mythology. Similar concepts and terms have been ascribed to tumors, Cthonians, evil ascendants, certain races, or in the case of the Canvasian mythology, demons are simply people. In their traditional worldview, each person has two halves, the righteous and demonic aspects. Normally, everyone has a bit of both, but their righteous side remains in control, allowing them to operate normally in society. However, it is said that a demon is someone who has allowed their darker half to take control, turning them into a murderous monster. A demon.]

Miasmic Enhanced Tovus: [As an amorphous race, the Tovus are capable of shifting the shape of their body to whatever they wish, within certain limitations. They can even roughly replicate the appearances of other races, though the reproduction is only effective from a distance. As a mortal race, there is no natural way to lift this limitation, but with the assistance of a Seiyal extant practitioner, a Tovus operative can realistically mimic any race they need to, so long as there is not an extreme size difference, such as that with an Exid Queen. Popular media has even depicted the concept of a Tovus cyborg altered with advanced technology to use formless and extant miasma, and able to perfectly replicate not just any race, but also any individual. While there is no evidence such a procedure exists, the concept is fairly well known within Canvasian culture.]

Blood Among Humanoid Races: [Interestingly, the purpose and composition of blood among the various humanoid races is startlingly similar. While only those of shared direct origin, such as the Jobu, Korlove, and Merris, can directly transfuse blood between one another, by adding and removing certain specific compounds, it can actually be possible to transfer blood between a Seiyal and Korlove, for example, without causing major issues, though the chance for complications is much higher than usual. For some reason, this only works for the blood, and not other fluids and organs that a given two humanoid races share, at least without significant anti-rejection treatment. A common hypothesis in the past was that this has something to do with the unique trait humanoids have of generating sanguine miasma within their body after being wounded in certain ways, however as the reason for that trait is unknown, this idea still remains untested.]

Ceirran Worship: [Among Ceirrans, worship is a simple matter. Followers are encouraged to pray at the altar, and it is said that working on one’s martial progression within the temple will improve one’s talent and increase the odds of success through the goddess’s divine favor. For this reason, there are few organized services, merely a few priests who answer questions from the followers and teach them the principles of the Ceirran faith. Devotees are merely expected to live out the precepts of the religion in their daily lives. With the exception of Tovus, aliens are forbidden from entrance into Ceirran temples, and both worshippers of other gods and practitioners of the unorthodox path are similarly banned from the premises. In the Pantheonic Territory, as the Ceirran faith is limited in how it can publicly advertise itself, many temples can be relatively hidden, their locations known only to a select few, and some worshippers are forced to make do with personal shrines placed inside of their houses. Despite this, certain symbols, such as the white sun, indicate their locations to those who are in the know, a beacon for far-travelling Ceirrans.]

Reth Fighting Style: [As their progression system utilizes only one type of miasma, the Reth lack such obvious and simple distinctions like the Seiyal have. Instead, the difference in Reth fighting styles is largely a matter of tactics, influenced by unique tricks and skills that a given Reth might have. One commonality between most Reth is the idea that melee weapons are unnecessary, spurning such implements in favor of their natural claws, or in modern days, the usage of firearms. Historically, they are known for using ambush and hit and run tactics, taking advantage of the sense-clouding traits of their smog, as well as their agile nature to move quickly, and strike upon their enemy’s weaknesses. According to Sunlit Hall, this is evidence of their cowardly and demonic nature.]

Funereal Practices of Sunlit Hall: [Due to the extremely close ties between Sunlit Hall and the Ceirran religion, the two groups share practices. In essence, for the members of Sunlit Hall, the purpose of a funeral or memorial service was to honor the life of a great warrior, and light up the deeds they had committed from the darkness of history, before cremating their remains and tossing them out into nature. On Tseludia Station, this means the ashes are discarded into space like most corpses. Some particularly devoute Ceirrans claim that if the deceased individual’s life burned sufficiently bright, Ceirra herself would descend to take the individual’s soul to her kingdom in order to reside forever in comfort. Most modern scientists believe that this is not in fact the case, and the claim’s origin is dubious in general.]

Traditional Seiyal Funeral Practices of the Crucible: [As the Crucible was a continent dominated by unorthodox forces, the influence of the Ceirran religion was not substantial until Sunlit Hall’s first crusade. Though scattered groups worshiped Toval, Domines, and Saaya, the region was largely secular, though it had spiritual traditions nonetheless. Perhaps as a trace left by the farsei’s origins, the Seiyal inhabitants of the Crucible retained the tradition of cremation, but unlike their sei counterparts, they believed that rather than returning them to nature, it was best to inter their remains within a decorated urn, which would be held by the family of the deceased. The urns were said to bring fortune to the family, and in large clans and sects, entire buildings were constructed to contain them over time. During invasions, Sunlit Hall would often prioritize destroying the mausoleum because of this, in order to reduce morale.]

Dietary Restrictions: [As the vast majority of all food is lab grown or synthesized, it is rare to find someone with a moral issue about a certain food. Indeed, even the concept of a ‘vegetarian’ has nearly died out among most residents, though the concept had previously existed among all carnivorous or omnivorous sapient races. However, despite modern comprehension of biology, there are still disputes about the ideal diet for a given race, nutritionally speaking, particularly because this may vary according to the individual. The Staiven are exceptional in this regard, as colonial organisms, because the various component organisms of their bodies each have different needs, and are affected differently by exposure to different nutrients. In extreme cases, a Staiven’s diet might even cause clear and visible changes to their body.]

Associations Between Sanguine Miasma and the Depthist Cult: [The Depthist religion is extremely widespread despite its nature as an illegal religion. In a matter that was first discovered due to statistical analysis, sanguine practitioners of the Staiven and Seiyal races have a 25% higher chance of joining the Depthists or expressing positive opinions towards the cult and its members. Due to their low numbers and insular community, the Reth were unable to be sampled, but as every member of the race can be considered a sanguine practitioner, there has been some interest in researching such statistics among their numbers.]

The Incursion War: If the Incursion’s origin is known, it has not been spread to the wider society, but it is rumored to be a fragment of another dimension, populated by the Khalak-Ora, who have long fought any Osine or Ascendants who wished to enter their territory. Over time, the Incursion has been slowly growing deeper into the galactic spiral, at a rapid rate of almost four light years a decade, prompting an invasion by the neighboring Osine nations of Shalthen-Qatath and the Tellati Confederacy. They were rebuffed, and the attack prompted retribution by the Khalak-Ora, who promptly began an invasion in return, resulting in a war which has lasted for centuries now, and only continues to grow in intensity and scope. The presence of humanoid beings originating within the Incursion were a surprise, but the Celans brought valuable information about the enemy with them when they fled into Osine space, and were accepted as refugees in return.]

Individuals:

The Seer: [It is said that once, a young man stumbled upon a hole in the ground. He entered, his adventurous spirit driving him to explore. Inside, he encountered the legacy of the old, dead gods of Staive, the original creators of the Staiven race. While the details are shrouded in mystery, what is known is that he acquired machines known as the Calculation Engines, enormous machines from prehistory. They are said to be capable of absorbing all the information in the universe, and using it to compile accurate predictions of the future. The young man holed up inside of that domain, and a force under his name was built up in the surrounding area, as he could use his knowledge to influence the world to his liking. Despite being a mortal, the Seer’s influence has spread to rival that of the Pantheon itself, in part due to the fact that only he can tear new voidgates. Despite being a mortal, the Seer is said to remain alive though it has been over a millennium since his birth.]

The Demon of Twinjade: [Karie Hadal, foremost daughter of the famous Hadal Matriarch, Sirena Hadal, has greatly grown in notoriety in the past day, due to the revelation that she has been responsible for the partial collapse of two stacks. Charged with domestic terrorism by the Justice Office, she has been protected by the Hadal Clan. Many journalists have claimed that she may be demonic in nature, and she has received the title Demon of Twinjade due to her heritage and the fact that she is known for her expert ambidextrous swordplay. There have been numerous calls from the public for this criminal to be brought to justice. However, there is also a vocal minority who support her, claiming that her actions were merely ‘defending Canvasian territory from Celan invaders.’]

‘Windless’ Wei Hadal: [Few on Tseludia remember the battle that gave this aged warrior his title, and few were even alive at the time, as over a century has passed. The meaning of it, too, is known by few, even those who have heard of his title. The rumor went that he once sapped the energy out of the wind itself, leaving an entire plain perfectly still. He was one of the Clan’s true elites during the war that resulted in their exodus from Canvas. On Tseludia, the man is known for his dedication to his clan and Matriarch. He had four children, one of which died back on Canvas, while the other three remain alive. His wife, however, has been deceased for over seventy years. While few believe he has much chance of approaching immortality, he remains among the most powerful martial artists on the station, and a vital figure for the Hadal Clan’s internal stability.]

The Twinjade Demon: [A dangerous criminal, formerly a member of the Hadal Clan, the Demon of Twinjade is a reckless and unpredictable terrorist that has been known to use explosives and physical coercion to achieve her aims. The exact nature of these goals is unknown, but the Justice Office has promised to handle any and all demons within Tseludia Station's boundaries. While her exact goals remain unknown, informants within the clan have claimed her goal may be to take revenge on her relatives, so it is suspected that she might stop laying low in order to involve herself once more in the ongoing hostilities between the residents of districts 3 and 6. Furthermore, there are rumors that she may have been harbored by underworld organizations around the area, a matter which is currently under investigation by our hardworking friends of the Justice Office.]

The Supreme Elder of the Hadal Clan: [An enigmatic figure who rarely takes action, his existence only became known when he took action to fight off an attacking titan, before disappearing once again, with rumors of death from his injuries. Rumors have claimed that he is a true immortal ascendant, while others say that he is an earthly immortal, or perhaps just a very powerful spirit refiner. Regardless, the Supreme Elder is known to be the clan’s trump card, someone who always remains in the sect to protect it unless there is dire need. Since the events of ten years ago, the Supreme Elder has remained in the Shadows, doing nothing that might provoke the government. To the wider world, his name and history remain unknown, prompting many to believe that he was either trained up in secret by the clan, or is perhaps simply so ancient that records of him have been lost to time.]

Du Qin Hadal: [Du Qin Hadal was once considered among the least talented juniors of his generation of his clan. He was also known as a coward, because Du Qin did not like to use weapons. Instead, the young man loved to create sculptures, and enjoyed the experience of being out in nature. He experienced multiple bottlenecks, not only due to his talents, but due to suppression by those within the clan who would not support the rise of a coward and a concubine’s son. Eventually, however, he fought his way to the spirit refinement realm, and became an Elder, though his poor reputation prevented him from inheriting the clan lineage, and his half brother became the next patriarch. Despite this, he eventually became the first and only member of the clan to become an earthly immortal. Even as an immortal, however, Du Qin never acquired a martial title.]

Janottka: [One of the sole surviving remnants of Epon Celah, the Shade Janottka has had a huge impact on the development of Celan society and culture after the fall. In the legends and histories of that era, she was known as an enigmatic figure who mentored some of the greatest heroes and villains of history, and was a part of the rises and falls of multiple nations. In the legends, and in many novels, she was considered a harbinger of ill tidings, and is a large part of the reason why Shades were so feared in Celan culture. Said to have deep ties to the once-great government of the city of Opportunity, many claim that Janottka was either destroyed in its downfall, or remains wandering the emptiness of the abandoned Celah.]

Factions:

Inheritance in the Hadal Clan: [As a clan, the Hadal family places a great deal of importance on bloodline. Only those of the main line are able to inherit the position of the clan leader, but any youths within the line are capable of competing for the position, not just the children of the current head. This position has remained empty since the current Matriarch took up her position after her predecessor’s death. Recently, pressure from the branch families for a successor to be selected has grown, though by tradition this can only be decided when one of the candidates forces all of their opponents to forfeit their right to inherit or if every other member of the Elder Council agrees on the matter.]

Branch Families in the Hadal Clan: [Treated of secondary importance, while the branch families of the Hadal Clan are considered full clan members and are able to learn the family’s techniques, they are not directly given access to the clan’s vast economic resources. They are forced to vie for benefits with one another, competing over the rights to manage the various businesses and territories of the clan on the main family’s behalf. The most effective way to do so is to build connections with the prospective heirs for the position of clan leader, as well as with the clan’s Elders. While anyone can become an Elder if they surpass the bottleneck and become a spirit refiner, such a matter is easier said than done.]

Hadal Clan Vassal Gangs: [The largest problem with the expansion of the Hadal Clan is its very nature as a clan. There are simply too few bloodline members, and the ratio of supported external members to branch members, to main bloodline needs to be kept in check or there will be risks of the clan collapsing. For this reason, the Matriarch, upon arriving in Tseludia, chose to allow local gangs to control their own territory within the domain under the Hadal Clan’s control, to keep out alien forces and keep it in order for the Clan’s benefit. So long as these gangs do not work with the Clan’s enemies, and pay a ‘leasing fee’ to the Clan, they are allowed to act unhindered. Of course, if they anger a corporation or the Pantheonic Government, they will receive no aid from their master.]

The Masked Specter Sect: [This force’s existence is unknown. It is possible it is merely a rumor, or perhaps just a fiction. However, many believe it to be real. The sect is said to be a secret society of formless practitioners who have hidden themselves within Sunlit Hall using extreme powers of disguise. While none claim they secretly rule the orthodox path, due to the protective influence of the ascendant goddess Ceirra, many mysterious happenings over the years have been blamed on them, particularly among certain internet circles. On Tseludia Station, rumors of the Riverfiend being an ex member of the Masked Specter Sect have propagated, but few believe them, as he is being far too high key. In popular culture, the sect is said to be headed by a powerful earthly immortal known as the Many-Faced Demon.]

Public Perception of the Heirs of Ottrien: [As is not uncommon for gangs formed from a disenfranchised population, the Heirs promote themselves as the guardians of Little Celah. Though they do take protection money, they successfully ‘defend’ the district from the majority of predatory alien interests, and due to the current divide between the Celans and the Seiyal, this matter earns more merit in the eyes of the local population than it normally would. Many Celans see the organization as a ‘government and military of their own’, though some, particularly those living in the fifth district, see them as a criminal force which extorts the people. Currently, however, the public support for the Heirs are at an all time high within Little Celah proper. The other races, however, see them as nothing but alien thugs, unless the potential for some sort of deal exists.]

The Ceirran Faction of the Hadal Clan: [While it is somewhat repressed, a few choice religions have been allowed to exist by the Pantheonic Government, particularly those where the figure of worship lacks a conflicting domain with the Pantheonic gods. One of these is the worship of Ceirra by the Seiyal. Brought over to Tseludia largely by the Sunlit Hall force known as the Hadal Clan, the Ceirrans are both suppressed openly by the government and in secret by Sirena Hadal, their own Matriarch, who is a firm believer in secular rule. Such policies are rumored to have a relation to the clan’s choice to go into exile. Despite such disadvantages, due to hidden support, the faction has grown over time to become one of the clan’s two great factions, along with the merchant faction.]

Black Bullet PMC: [A Staiven-owned company, this mercenary force largely accepts corporate hires, though they are not unwilling to dabble in extrajudicial work on occasion. Black Bullet is one of the most diverse forces on the station, as its leader is a firm believer that each species has its own specialty in warfare, and that by combining them, they would acquire a competitive advantage in the mercenary industry of Tseludia. As the company has become the third strongest mercenary group on the station, some have claimed its founder’s idea had merit. Forty percent ownership of this PMC belongs to the Church of Verain.]

The Cult of the Depths: [The church that worships Delithia, one of the oldest ascendants, is illegal in major galactic territories. Banning her worship is, in fact, one of the requirements to become recognized by certain influential forces such as Relya, the Sheneth-Ari, the Shalthen-Qatath, and the other Osine collectives. Despite this, many forces do not bother to harshly enforce these laws, due to fear of angering Delithia herself too much. The Depthist religion has spread throughout Telles, and even still, some planetary surface civilizations make contact with the galactic world having already formed their own unique sect of the religion. Despite having a unified name, many of the Depthist sects have very different beliefs, and there are few truly major leaders of it. Were it not for the shared persecution, the cult might perhaps have splintered into various truly separate and conflicting churches. The cult’s name originates from the story of Delithia’s ‘holy land,’ described as a puddle containing an ocean, a sea of worlds within itself. The descriptions are largely contradictory, and many Depthists see it as more of a symbol and a metaphor than a real, physical location. Some say, however, that the holy land is a true place, and is where their goddess resides.]

Sunlit Hall’s Information Network: [For generations, Sunlit Hall has kept tabs on powerful martial artists both righteous and evil, as well as the movements of the various martial forces. This information was distributed to the other member organizations under Sunlit Hall’s banner, so that they could collaborate to deal with rogue martial artists and unorthodox forces. This information is of great import to the orthodox forces of Canvas. After joining with galactic society, the scope of the network expanded, and is also used to help the sects and clans of Sunlit Hall to keep up with their peers who moved out to the various stations and worlds the Staiven allowed Seiyal to immigrate to. In particularly distant regions such as Tseludia, however, the information from Canvas is rarely relevant.]

Akher Industrial Solutions: [One of the largest corporations of Tseludia owned and operated entirely by Celans, AIS is ultimately a machine company. Their main businesses are the construction of assembly line mechanical technology, as well as their contract to supply the government with the cleaning robots that can be found all across the city. The company is quite successful, in part due to the assistance it had continually received from its largest ‘Investor’, over the course of its operation. Between its ties to both the government and organized crime, AIS is widely believed to be a contender for the 'next generation of major Tseludian companies in the tech industry. For an alien organization like Akher, this status is extremely uncommon.]

The Hadal Clan and the Underworld: [Unlike most underworld organizations, not much that the clan itself does is actually illegal, aside from some of the corruption and bribery, as well as conflict with other organizations. In fact, what to most other underworld hegemons of Tseludia is the legal front organization, for the clan is their true self. By accepting ‘donations’ from gangs operating within their territory, funds from technology smuggling, racketeering, life form trading, and other illegal industries are still able to fund the clan, without forcing its members to get their hands dirty. This is doubly so for the main branch of the family, many of whose members have broken even fewer laws in their lifetime than the average Tseludian resident. Of course, this current state of events was not true in the past, when ‘Jade Empress of Pain’ Sirena Hadal carved out the clan’s place in the station by force.]

Ascendants and Osine:

God of Death: [Despite the variety of beings worshiped as gods, there are none in current records who claim domain over ‘death’. This noticeable gap has been remarked upon, though the consensus is often that many religions claim their object of worship has their own afterlife for their believers. In that sense, some say, the power of death is one which belongs to every deity. Others have noted that until just a few centuries ago, the theology of the Church of Verain had begun to shift to a greater focus on rites and hymns of the dead, expanding from a mere focus on conflict and war. All of a sudden, however, that trend reversed, and the church instead began to focus more on her identity as Goddess of Conflict and Competition. The rites and hymns created during that period were all subsequently altered, and their focuses shifted to match the new trend.]