[hider=The Manichaeverse][center] 

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[indent][sup]PARAGON-38 engages in battle alongside the 12th Assault Fleet of the Ebott Alliance[/sup][/indent]

[h2][b]▼ DESCRIPTION ▼[/b][/h2]
[indent][sup][Sci-Fi, Giant Mecha, Fantasy, Space Opera][/sup][/indent]

The Manichaeverse is a universe where humanity was nearly snuffed out by a spaceborne virus arriving on a fallen meteorite, and the survivors emerged under the banner of the Deus, a twisted dogmatic faith preaching the gospel of dominance and fear of the Other. Driven by zeal and desperation, the humans under Deus emerged from the cataclysm and spread through the stars, meeting other species and continuing their crusade against the xeno, especially a coalition of aliens seeking to oppose the Deus Imperium, the Ebott Alliance.

While this is a universe where technology allows space-born fleets to trade volleys and vast constructs inhabit the spaces between stars and planets, the Manichaeverse is defined by the technological advancement that allowed the Deus Imperium to rise from a near-dead world to a star-spanning tyranny; the bipedal weapons platforms known as the CRUSADERS. Ranging in size from just a couple stories high to dwarfing the largest battlecrusiers, the CRUSADER mechas dominate battlefields not just through superior technology but through the weaponization of the Deus Imperium's greatest asset; the zeal and fanaticism of their soldiers. More specifically, Deus Imperium scryers tapped into the secrets of the Vigor, an internal source of power in sentient beings that allows them to effectively surpass physical limitations in and around them. The discovery of Vigor and what it could do allowed for the creation of weapons, technology, and ultimately a mecha that could effectively run on the "Soul" of its pilot, creating a seemingly unstoppable weapon of war driven by its pilot's fighting spirit.

While the Crusaders allowed the Imperium to nearly subjugate the whole galaxy, a cabal of aliens and humans no longer following the cruel teachings of Deus stole the secrets of Vigor and the CRUSADER and gave it to the last great power still resisting the Imperium on the world of Ebott. Backs against the wall and with nothing to lose, Ebott chose to use this technology and created the first of the PARAGONs, the mechas that would resist the Imperium and their CRUSADERs. Against all odds, the PARAGON proved incredibly effective, stopping the Imperium onslaught in its tracks and defeating even the feared CRUSADERs in battle. Ebott had discovered not just a new hope for their survival but that Vigor could help them utilize their own hope and determination to resist just as Vigor helped humans to utilize their dogmatic faith.

The last stand on Ebott turned to an Imperium rout, and previously pacified worlds rebelled and flocked to the banner of the new Ebott Alliance, as the Deus Imperium realized that their occupation had turned into a war against a true equal.

[h2][b]▼ SPECIES ▼[/b][/h2]
It is noteworthy that all sentient species in the Manichaeverse, humans included, are descended from a common ancestor, thus many share a similar bipedal humanoid shape, though species with more divergent biological makeups are not uncommon.
[list][*]Humans: Inhabitants of Earth, almost all of whom live and serve under the flag of the Deus Imperium, a tyrannical space empire controlled by a cultish theocracy. Humans of this universe are able to, with the proper training or tech, utilize Vigor, which they have used to great effect in the conquests of Deus. Thanks to technological advancements, cybernetic enhancements are relatively commonplace, though almost all human-made cybernetics are made to look as human as possible, in line with Deus' vision of a "purified humanity".
[*]Hellions: The human terminology for basically every other species in the galaxy, once used to degrade but now used as a unifying title and a point of pride by the Hellions themselves. While there are far too many to mention, Hellions generally have the appearance of animal and humanoid hybrids to varying degrees. They are able to use Vigor just as well as the humans can, and have done so to resist humanity's imperial ambitions. Confusingly enough, humans that defect from the Imperium and align themselves with the Ebott Alliance or other anti-Deus forces are also called Hellions, though humans that do so often heavily modify themselves with cybernetic or biological enhancements to distance themselves further from baseline humans.
[/list]

[h2][b]▼ OTHER ▼[/b][/h2]

Vigor is not just utilized for Mecha combat. Some tech in the Manichaeverse can interface with the Vigor of an individual, using their Vigor to give subtle boosts to their abilities such as improved endurance or intellect. Individuals who are trained or experienced with utilizing their Vigor, who are almost always PARAGON or CRUSADER pilots, can also tap into that energy to perform incredible and impossible physical feats outside of their fighting robots.
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