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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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Yam I Am Indefinitely Retired

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"We have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls - Has barricaded the world with hate. Has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.

Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much, and feel too little.

More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

Without these qualities, life will be violent, and all will be lost."

- The Great Dictator's Final Speech


All the world of Uniya shook to its very core with the outbreak of the Great War in 1899. With the powers of the landship and aeroplane, poison gas and machine gun, the consequences of the industrial revolution finally came to unfurl in a war so great - so horrid - that none might ever think to repeat it again. Promethium engines and mighty factories The War to End All Wars fractured every corner of the world as the full capacities of the world's war machines sprung to life, and so with them did the Great Power's untold colonies and allies did throw themselves into the fray.

Untold millions lost their lives in the seven bloodiest years of history - scars which some say will possibly never fully heal. And others yet say that we are headed straight away onto a path to a second, far more insidious war. But, such talk is surely just rumor and unwarranted anxiety. Right?

The year is 1946, and some fourty odd years have passed since the inception of the most deadly conflict of all history. The rise of communism and fascism have radically altered the global political scene since their inception after the Great War, as part of an eternal struggle against the role of the state and revolution. Needless to say, the world is a radically different place - the pace of industrialization only steadily marching onward - and the horrors of the Great War are, to most, but a distant memory. Yet, not all are content with the status quo which was so proudly proclaimed those four decades ago. All nations of the world seek peace, of course - only a peace on their own terms. And the peace that was settled then has certainly not gone so well for some...


In the wise words of a certain Brazilian NRPer, "It's been too long since there's been a good Dieselpunk NRP on RPG".

For about the 4 or so people who are around for that long and are still in the loop, this is an attempted re-rendition of the Dieselpunk Nation RP The Fumes of War. Sadly, the originals never got too much in the way of IC traction, but the high concept has always been a fun one to me, and i've always toyed around with the idea of it finally getting something underway for a long time.

Thankfully, the original writer has allowed me to take it into a new edition, and for that, i'm proud to present: The Fumes of War. Inspired by dieselpunk and film noir works like Iron Harvest, Wolfenstein, DUST Tactics, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the themes of FoW, to put it in simpler terms, is what happens when the idealism of steampunk runs out. The horrors of the Great War brings the Victorian romanticism to a clothesline stop, and the rise and fall and rise and fall of society in the wake of this upheaval brings around a black-and-white renaissance. Flappers. Avant-Garde style. Jazz. Futurism. Swing. Rock and Roll. Mobsters. Big, grandiose mega-projects and modern marvels. Bright, glitzy, electric-buzzing cities of the future.

All of these things - if nothing else - are anything less than unsubtle.

Now, to keep things semi-tethered, i'm going to implement a couple of tricks i've kept up my sleeve throughout my time doing NRPs. There will be a couple of important Great Powers - and their overseas colonies - that anyone will be able to implement events for as NPCs. How you interact with them can keep the global political scene tethered to something apropos a global "flash point" for various scenes of intrigue. When the OOC goes live, there will be a "Country Bible" that lists out the actions that are acceptable or not for each respective country, as to assist with your endeavors. For just this Int Check, i'm proposing a Council of Nations similar to the failed OTL League of Nations that intends to have its varied flaws - if not also its purpose.


FAQ:


Promethium? What's that?
Promethium is a fictional substance refined from promethite - a porous, clay-like sedimentary rock that often formed from the decay of prehistoric mountain ranges due to extensive weathering. Unrefined promethite is an acrid substance with a yellowish hue evocative of sulfur and the smell of burning salt. When refined into promethium, however, it becomes a reddish-yellow translucent liquid much denser than conventional petrol. When used in internal combustion engines, promethium fuel engines burn at some nine times greater efficiency when compared to gasoline. The chemical reaction that results as a result of oxidized promethium burning results in the creation of a small amount of water vapor, and largely leaves behind a solid mass of low-quality ferrous and zincoid compounds similar to iron slag. Naturally, promethite deposits are highly coveted, and the production of promethium has fueled the industrial revolution of Uniya.

What's The Rules About Mechanics and Stats?
If you need to ask, you're in the wrong place. If I need to ask you to not pull a magic nuke out of your pocket, you're in the wrong place.

WhAtS tHe TeCh LeVeL?
So, you've played Wolfenstein, right? Like, the new ones published by Bethesda, yeah? And Bioshock, too? Think of that sorta aesthetic. I'm pretty willing to let there be some "rule of cool" shenanigans going around with flying airships and mecha and that sort of thing. For just some reference, i'm gonna draw the line at some nukes. Think like Little Boy and Fat Man bombs that gotta be deployed via a bomber, but no ICBMs - understandably, they're incredibly difficult to manufacture, incredibly expensive, and all with materials that are in short supply. Jets and rocketry technology (Think like slightly better V-2 Rockets and like the ME-262/Su-9/FJ-1) are still relatively new and are in their infancy of design when compared to OTL. Just try not to masturbate over it and remember to actually write about something that isn't the Uberpanzerkampfflauger XVII Ausf. J and it's 200 millimeters of frontal armor.

TL;DR Think like a more 1950s flavor of Dieselpunk that's starting to bleed into Atompunk. Basically, think of like Pre-War Fallout and Wolfenstein: The New Order.




Hidden 2 yrs ago → 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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__________________________________________
Belzarovian Federative Republic
_______________________________________________________________

H I S T O R Y

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---P R E S S I N G I S S U E S

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---E C O N O M Y

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---F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S

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---P L A Y E R B I B L E

Things they would vehemently defend, to the death if need be:
  • The well-being of liberal democratic national movements around the relative vicinity of Belzarov.
  • The absolute fairness of their ideology and system of democracy and liberal thought.
  • Ideals of religious, ethnic, and social co-existence and harmony.


Things they would support:
  • Pro-democratic independence movements throughout the world.
  • Economic free trade and freedom of commerce, and treaties to facilitate the above with nations that they are ideologically aligned to.


Things they would feel is none of their business and not give an opinion about:
  • The exact internal affairs of other, ideologically-aligned nations.
  • Non-democratic or illiberal pro-independence movements.


Things they would feel indifferent about and let it sort itself out by the actors involved:
  • Implement economic, social, or political reforms that tweaked or reformed the current system without changing it outright.
  • Research or trade agreements with nations not ideologically aligned to them.


Things they would only do under great pressure, and even then reluctantly:
  • Sign a formal military alliance with an authoritarian, fascist, national socialist, or other similar far-right power.
  • Sign a formal military alliance with a communist, syndicalist, or other similar far-left power.
  • Grant states under their control who are rebelling semi-independence, similar to Dominion-ship or Special Administrative Region status.


Things they would never do no matter what (and would never give any ground on for these issues):
  • Relinquish their territorial claims on Bravsaara.
  • Declare war with the intent of expanding territory without a historic land claim.
  • Allow foreign influence of authoritarian, fascist, national socialist, or other similar far-right powers in government.


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Hidden 2 yrs ago → 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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Yam I Am Indefinitely Retired

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__________________________________________
Estewaldian Empire
_______________________________________________________________

H I S T O R Y

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---P R E S S I N G I S S U E S

Viewed from any modern standard, socially speaking, Estewald is an utterly backward society. A sizable proportion of the population is still encumbered beneath Estewald's feudal system, which binds the lower classes into an undesirable state of being bound to an individual's property - physical or intellectual. With the avenues of social mobility being few and far between, it is estimated that some 48% of Estewald's population are still tethered to serfdom in some manner, shape or form, and although the institution has undergone numerous reforms throughout its long history, the immense divides between the castes cause no shortage of deadweight loss throughout the Empire. For instance, the special exceptions placed upon taxes of the Landsmann peasants have often caused a shortage of income on the federal level, where surplus funds are instead largely siphoned by local lords and barons, until there is very little left at the top of the strata.

---E C O N O M Y

In spite of nature's bountiful blessings, Estewald's economy remains rather...sluggish, to say the least. Largely dependent on the export of its raw materials, its tertiary economic sectors are - perhaps unsurprisingly - almost completely nonexistent, and what little remains of a developed banking or service industry exists near solely for the use of the proportionally tiny middle and upper classes. In fact, some even go as far as to say that it is only their lucrative exports of chromium and promethium that keep the entire Estewaldian economy afloat. Combined with nothing short of simply sharkish colonial policy

---F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S

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---P L A Y E R B I B L E

Things they would vehemently defend, to the death if need be:
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Things they would support:
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Things they would feel is none of their business and not give an opinion about:
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Things they would feel indifferent about and let it sort itself out by the actors involved:
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Things they would only do under great pressure, and even then reluctantly:
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Things they would never do no matter what (and would never give any ground on for these issues):
  • Estewald is vitriolically opposed to communism and will - under no circumstance - ever partake in any actions which they view as potentially aiding The Internationalists.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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Yam I Am Indefinitely Retired

Banned Seen 2 mos ago


__________________________________________
Great State of Zengrav
_______________________________________________________________


H I S T O R Y

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---P R E S S I N G I S S U E S

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---E C O N O M Y

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---F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S

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---P L A Y E R B I B L E

Things they would vehemently defend, to the death if need be:

  • The breakup of Zengrav, under any circumstances.
  • The colonization or any attempts to "land-grab" the current territories of Zengrav.
  • Ideals of absolute rule by the central government.


Things they would support:

  • Pro-government internal factions and others who take up arms in (nominal) support of the central government.
  • Economic aid from other foreign nations - assuming that the deals are quite fair for the time being.


Things they would feel is none of their business and not give an opinion about:

  • Individual foreigners or adventurers who come to assist the government, or otherwise act in their interest.
  • External affairs that are largely unrelated to Zengrav's interior affairs.


Things they would feel indifferent about and let it sort itself out by the actors involved:

  • Internal affairs within the country that have nothing to do in either their interest or do not work against (what remains of) the national unity of the state.
  • Research or trade agreements with nations not ideologically aligned to them.


Things they would only do under great pressure, and even then reluctantly:

  • Allow foreign influence in government to official degree, such as special administrators, consulates, or advisors.
  • Sign a formal military alliance with any external nation.


Things they would never do no matter what (and would never give any ground on for these issues):

  • Give way to reformists or revolutionaries within the government or without.
  • Allow foreign powers to seize or appropriate territory.


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Hidden 2 yrs ago → 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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__________________________________________
Soviet Federation of the Union of Vilturia
_______________________________________________________________

H I S T O R Y

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---P R E S S I N G I S S U E S

Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer

---E C O N O M Y

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---F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S

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---P L A Y E R B I B L E

Things they would vehemently defend, to the death if need be:
  • The Internationalist Movement, The Revolution, and the Plight of the Worker. In that order.
  • The absolute fairness of their ideology and system of democracy and liberal thought.
  • Ideals of religious, ethnic, and social co-existence and harmony.


Things they would support:
  • Pro-communist movements around the world.
  • Treaties and formal military alliances with communist, syndicalist, or other similar far-left powers around the globe.


Things they would feel is none of their business and not give an opinion about:
  • The exact internal affairs of other, ideologically-aligned nations.
  • Non-democratic or illiberal pro-independence movements.


Things they would feel indifferent about and let it sort itself out by the actors involved:
  • Implement economic, social, or political reforms that tweaked or reformed the current system without changing it outright.
  • Research or trade agreements with nations not ideologically aligned to them.


Things they would only do under great pressure, and even then reluctantly:
  • Research or trade agreements with nations not ideologically aligned to them.


Things they would never do no matter what (and would never give any ground on for these issues):
  • Sign a formal military alliance with an authoritarian, fascist, national socialist, or other similar far-right power.
  • Implement reforms that would roll back the economic powers of the party, or otherwise
  • Allow foreign influence of authoritarian, fascist, national socialist, or other similar far-right powers in government.


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Hidden 2 yrs ago → 2 yrs ago Post by Yam I Am
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"All nations want peace.
They only want peace on their terms."

- Daimyo Akihiko Kimura, 1495 AC


For centuries, the realms of Nohr and Hoshido have waged war unto one another. Victories were exchanged, honors gained and lost, and their fields watered by the blood of sons and daughters, martyrs and heroes, but final victory lay forever out of grasp. Untold grievances compile to the tone of drums and poems, and these products of long-ruptured Valla, like quarreling young brothers, clash evermore between East and West. There exists little in terms of reconciliation, and even lesser a will to do so - only will nothing short of utter and total submission shall do, and this mutual feeling has long been cemented in aeons-old rivalry. And, perhaps, it lie time yet again that the fields of Iusera dance to the tune of war.

Kingdoms, fiefdoms, regular peoples and fledgling tribes find themselves caught within the maelstrom, for few inside Iusera escape the vision of either great power. Fewer yet still operate freely, without the good graces of one power or another, and within this mosaic of moxie do others still align with one or the other. One by one, the sovereigns of Iusera step in line, pledging their allegiance to Nohr or Hoshido, in such tumultuous web that they no doubt have their eyes upon leveraging the great powers to resolve grievances of their own. Day by day, the lines in the sand are drawn, sides chosen, and flames flared, and when the fuse on the powder keg does finally reach its munition, once again shall the thrones of Himeji and Windmire throw themselves unto the fray.

In this tempestuous middle, there are no doubt those who shall find themselves involved, whether they like it or not. Mercenaries, spellhires, and other arms-for-sale have never fared shortage of work throughout Iusera. Your company - The Silver Hawks - have been in the most gracious employment of Nohr's aristocracy for the past two months, but their contact is soon to come to an end, where the Hawks shall move to greater opportunity. There is but one final matter to resolve before the company's contract with Nohr's throne is up - one ultimate job to take. One, unwittingly to the members of its takers, shall be the catalyst that may forever change the face of Iusera...





Let's just get this out of the way: Yes, every Fire Emblem fan ever has come up with their own theories and ideas to how they'd make Fates better, because Fates is a mess and ugly and weird and tone-deaf and all other sorts of bad things. So, of course we can do better because Intelligent Systems just isn't "big-brained" enough to make a "real" setting with a "real" story.

Now that i've gotten the part where I sound pretentious out of the way...*clears throat*

Welcome, one and all! This in particular is a brainchild i've been storming up for a little bit, after i've taken a bit of a deep dive into the history surrounding Fates' (very) troubled development. I thought with all that knowledge regarding the various changes and iterations from Fates original drafts into its final rendition, it would be a bit of fun to take those concepts and apply another spin on them. It's far from an uncommon opinion that Fates' worldbuilding and storytelling is...less than stellar. But likewise, its enamoring aesthetics and unique, thematic bridgehead between East and West has always been something interesting to be as well. All that being said, I suppose it's been long enough since its been out that there should be another take on it with the hindsight on it in the years of discussion on it, and i'd like to bring something to that table that isn't another person going, "Fates bad".

In this RP, you would play as a member of the titular mercenary band, the Silver Hawks, as they go about on missions that will - advertantly or no - change the face of the continent with their actions. Situated right in the middle of this powder keg of nations, the Silver Hawks will eventually need to make some difficult decisions as who to pledge their allegiance to, whether that be Nohr, Hoshido, or just themselves. The setup should be familiar enough, but there should be enough leeway to let everyone say their peace and alter how they would like for the course of the RP to go as well.


Guidelines:
  • This is a re-imagined version of Fates, so a lot of key details have been changed between the source material and this rendition. If anything needs further explanation, or if you have questions, do the (hopefully intuitive) thing and ask.
  • You don't really need much knowledge about Fire Emblem Fates to enjoy this. As I said earlier, much has been changed from the source, right down to many of the plot hooks, the setting details, and the story beats. If you know your basic low fantasy politicking tropes and you have some decent reading comprehension, you'll be fine.
  • My style as a GM isn't really to make a "main character" that everyone is intended to follow around. I tend to give pointers, answer questions, and guide along the general tone, throwing in NPCs that assist the story as it progresses and then largely let the players do their own thing. I expect most players to have their own ideas as for what they want to do and what would make their characters "tick", and i'm willing to let most things go along as long as there's a clear player consensus on how everyone wants to proceed.
  • All that being said, I expect most players to have their own subplots and ideas for what they want to do with other characters, and the setting as a whole. Don't be afraid to pitch ideas and try and set up events.

    Q&A:
    • What's the current year? - 1495 AC.
    • Are countries that aren't Nohr and Hoshido available as character origins? - Yup, they sure are.
    • What about Valla? Where's it? - Going with the original notes and taken from interviews from Intelligent Systems, I made it such that Valla was a long-bygone Empire that was in control of the entire continent of Iusera, which is more what was originally envisioned for it instead of what was shown in Revelations. By the time of 1495, Valla is long gone: Trying to resurrect Valla is like trying to recreate the Roman Empire in today's political climate.
    • What about the kitsune and wolfskin and manaketes? - They exist: They're just sprinkled around the place in various smaller communities. They either tend to be so well integrated with their host that they're not particularly differential to the greater nation as a whole, or they're quite insular.
    • What if the role I want is taken by another applicant? - Some of the roles, like Quartermasters and Signalers, can easily have multiple in the same company. Others would require some coordination, like a situation with two co-captains: In these cases, i'd just talk it out beforehand with their relationship before we settle on anything.
    • What will you do? - Me? I tend to fill out whatever roles are left out in the party, then adjust with NPC characters. I got plenty of notes and ideas, so don't worry about me.
    • When are applications due? - Mmh...by Saturday sound good?



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"The people of the Empire have no national spirit - they have only family and clan solidarity. Without the Empire or its most illustrious rulers - the Kazymovs, the Azaryans, the Zyriazis - they are only a heap of loose sand.

The Others of the Galaxy - within, without, and beyond the light of our Empire Eternal - are the carving knife and serving dish, while we are the meat and dressing."

— Dr. Iriya Muzaev








P R E M I S E

Hey, everyone! Yam here back at it again with yet another annual post-winter rush RP.

Mekhanauts is a military science-fiction RP inspired by works such as BattleTech, Dune, UnderRail, and Aposimz. It's intended to take some of the out-there tropes of hard, cold, facts-based science fiction, and with the introduction of fantastic and unearthly developments of the farther-than-perceivable future, all in a Gothic Realist subtext.

It's a blend of realism and fantasy means that the characters are developed as true to what they would be in the real world while they are place in situations that are completely supernatural. To put it simply, Gothic Realism is about how real people react in unreal situations.

To that end, Mekhanauts combines real, hard sci-fi concepts with the fantastic, combining and reconfiguring what can be known and what cannot be - until coalesced into one, syncretic faith: The Religion of Science, conjoined into what is referred to now as, "wisdom".

You are members of one of the uncountable numbers of warlord states in this fractured Imperium. Not as commanders nor bureaucrats, but as common people thrust unto their positions as the backbone upon which a new Empire shall be construed. You fight under the banner of the Admiralty-Governor Khorchidian - Lord of Kyzyl-Dash and heir-claimant to Sirius - common soldiers fighting over the fate of the Empire. There are countless warlord states, all claiming to be the true adherents and successors to Sirius, and Khorchidian is no different from the rest. But, you have a job to do, and your objections, aspirations, or motivations to be here may very well not matter to him one bit: He is still supplying you to do a job - with a large degree of autonomy to boot - is he not?


S E T T I N G

The Sirian Empire - which has ruled over near all-Mankind for close to six millennia - has found itself broken and scarred. Her children lord over their petty leftovers, where they bicker over the succession that was the Great Galactic War. The Milky Way Galaxy of Mekhanauts is a place of unbridled heroism with horrid acts and rectification of its structures, until one reaches reconciliation or apathy.

A majority of Mekhanauts' influences come from various older, more fantastical epic science fiction: It combines Dune's multilayered interactions with ecology, politics, religion, and emotion with the intrigue, fusion of science and magic into one entity of UnderRail. Mekhanaut's main nomenclature is of Kazakh, Armenian, Greek, and Slavic (Primarily Russian, Ukrainian, and Serbian) origin, fusing together old mysticism and legends of West and Central Asia with the cautious coolness of retro sci-fi. The world of Mekhanauts is as much of an operator of "Rule of Cool" as it is a cautionary tale of romanticism of empire and historical phoenixism.



Society in the 96th century is incredibly fractured, and drastically different from our own. A total coalescence into something that can be called "Imperial Culture" is, by all means, impossible. The Empire is a collection of thousands of worlds and even more floating colonies. Every world and colony contains hundreds of languages of various families and trees and countless more clans, and it is only by the tenuous connections of its upper strata has the Empire developed anything close to a coherent culture. Many even from the same world do not speak the same mother tongue as one another: It is only through Salchak - a trade language that remains only barely standardized enough to allow for some degree of mutual intelligibility throughout the wider galaxy - that any are able to even speak to one another. Even this is, from time to time, assisted by the utility of psyonik power to accentuate words or feelings, incorporating the necessity of psyoniks into language itself.

Slavery has always been a topic of incredibly nebulous legal tenure within the Empire. Slavery was never de jure legal within the borders of the Empire, but the practice had never been formally outlawed and persisted throughout the perpetuation of various indenturement and caste systems, which had transpired into may forms of coercive control - de facto allowing slavery. While most people who existed as various forms of property in this sense have had certain protections against them in the case of outright abuse or negligence, the hard fact of the matter was that the effectual enforcement of any of these rights were simply far too diffuse to realistically control - there were far too many planets and not enough infrastructure to effectively police these actions.

Many warlords - and Imperial Lordships before them - insist on the mass-creation of vat-cloned persons through the gene-banks of so-called "martial castes", where they are typically drilled from young annual age to fight for their creators', or otherwise are contracted out for mercenary service at hefty cost. Their freedom of movement is severely restricted, and their opportunities and knowledge are far removed from anything that is not combat-related. For all practical intents and purposes, they exist as the property of their creatives. Many local administrators believe that agrarian or industrial lifestyles has made a large part of the galactic population simply unfit for military service or warfare of any kind. Even with optimistic reforms, this belief is so wide-spread and well-entrenched in some regions of the galaxy that it would require at least a generation to overcome.



Juggernauts - great machines of war which have beared the brunt of thousands of conflicts across centuries of galactic warfare - are your companions, and you the eponymous "Mekhanaut". Juggernauts are war incarnate - towering machines that advance forwards with thunderous strides, bolts of war roaring from the weapons at their disposal, while connected to their core by their pilot's Psyonik Tether. They are terrifying combatants, fighting with all the skill and ferocity of a fully-fledged warrior as though they were moving their very own body, but combined with the durability and firepower of a main battle tank.

Juggernauts are not, however, simple machines. Though the continuous bond and the residual operation within each and every Core they posses, Juggernauts grow to possess a being all their own. Many Juggernaut suits are decades old, if not centuries, and have long grown to harbor their own sentience and persona. All but the most recent of Juggernauts develop what is a Spectre - a being that is unto itself another essence within the fusion of man, mind, and machine. To operate a juggernaut is no simple task as it is to drive a car or to steer a spacecraft, for each Juggernaut comes to bewitch their own senses of desire and self-preservation. They have their own intelligence - even if they are usually not capable of prolonged speech, but all operators know that, to a Juggernaut, they shall act far before they ever speak.

It is far from uncommon for old Juggernauts to be able to comprehend long-extinct languages from centuries or millennia ago, the result of far-lasting bonds between their former operators and their shared experience. Even the nature that they still stand is testament to their odds to their operators at times: While a nuclear blast or a solar pulsar might fry an operator inside until all that is recovered is a melted biological sludge, the Juggernaut often survives intact.

There is little more rewarding than to be a skilled juggernaut operator. Apropos riding a great dragon or tumultuous stallion into battle, moments between total control and no control.


Z Y U N - A Y R A Q



At the intersection of several Enkoispace routes, the Ayg'hri (Аъгхрі) System at first glance seems to be an unassuming place - only home to some artificial colonies and small mining operations. In such an unassuming system belies the gem of Zyun-Araq.

She is a frigid, terrestrial planet, the fifth from her star and possessive of one thin set of rings and four moons. The majority of her surface is of a cold desert climate, rocky and with hot, dry summer periods followed by long, cold, freezing nights, and only broken up by a strip of temperate steppe at her equatorial region. She is habitable - just barely - through the efforts of timely adaptation and ingenious architecture. Her indigenous aliens are an amphibious ilk - though primitive compared to us, they are a hardy and perceptive peoples, and pick up on new concepts very quickly. They have built little of a civilization for themselves, and have bequeathed themselves to their ancestral lifestyles as subjects beneath the Empire.

Zyun-Ayraq has also found herself home to another flock - followers of old, Earthian Abrahamic religion: We know them as Avrakhans, and for as long as there has been a good Empire have they constantly been a thorn in the side of the good nature of Azvari and the Empire. The Avrakhans are a largely nomadic sort, traveling the vast reaches of the planet in single-file caravans of yak-like creatures they call "ghurts". They were long ago sent here to earn off their continuous debt to the Empire as well as to allow them to provide the Galaxy with an invaluable service.



Indeed, they both guard something of far greater value on Zyun-Ayraq.

Sozyak seeds are unassuming things - they are bumpy, black or slate spheres with tiny, pink-lined ridges. Each is barely the size of a ball bearing, and possess a distinct gritty, saltine taste to them when eaten raw. They are hardy things, capable of surviving under deep snow and ice, where they thrive in the rapid melting periods of Zyun-Ayraq's hot seasons.

And each Sozyak seed contains enormous amounts of DELTA - the most potent psyonik drug known, and has provided the overwhelming bulk of facilitation of psyonik power throughout most of history. Its use in both biological and mechanical applications for astral travel is far too omnipresent to every truly undersell. From these tiny seeds is the DELTA within extracted and refined into various psyonik powders and reagents, from industrial-grade Enkoinine meant to be churned and thrown by the barrel-full into Enkoimetic Astrogation Computers to Desat psy-drugs that open minds to peer into the threads of time and space themselves. From these inoccuous black-and-pink dots from the backwaters of the Galaxy are they shipped off by the tonne, where they are heated and crushed and titrated and blended where they supernova in value. It is no understatement to say that the known universe's navigation relies on DELTA - Whoever controls the manufacture of DELTA controls galactic space travel.

This unassuming planet harbors the one of the keys to intergalactic travel and psytek, and has carved for herself a place as the Galaxy's seedy trading post. Her moons shelter smugglers and traders from all corners, all hoping to nudge in on the lucrative trade of Sozyak. It is imperative to anyone in the Southern Galactic Hemisphere - so close to the old position of Sirius - to control the segment and with it the tide of the great struggle.

But DELTA must flow. No matter the cost.



Y O U R M I S S I O N

Your mission is the pacification of Zyun-Ayraq. The overall control over the planet is essential for the continued operations of the war's progression, and the control over Zyun-Ayraq's strategic position and its Sozyak production is essential.

You are, however, far from alone in this goal: Already several warlords and rivals have begun to stake operating bases on Zyun-Ayraq. We cannot accurately assess their total strength or influence on Zyun-Ayraq, but their influence over the control and production of Sozyak is likely a tremendous source of their income - one that we must appropriate at once.

The locals have also not been the...most cooperative. Many of them erroneously believe that, because the authority on Sirius has been called into question, that rules and laws somehow do not apply to them. The Avrakhans have a considerable sway over the cultivation and production of Sozyak as it stands. It was believed that - by giving these cultists a token goodwill measure and shipping them off to this frigid lands to forever and put themselves to greater utility to all Humankind than to stand idly and preach their horrendously antiquated scripture - this small act might allow some of these Avrakhans to be appeased with the idea of relative self-governance while producing an invaluable commodity to our Empire. Alas - it seems that, as the old saying goes, if you give a rat a biscuit, it shall ask next time for the entire pantry.

Your top priority, above all else, is the security of Sozyak production and the total control of Zyun-Ayraq. All other means are secondary, and you and your comrades are free to pacify the planet as you see fit.

We are likewise on something of a tight schedule: Our leader, the Admiralty-Governor Khorchidian - Lord of Kyzyl-Dash and heir-claimant to Sirius - is highly expectant of our success. It has been made clear in no uncertain terms that, once our mission is complete and the planet secure, that His Majesty expects total control to be transferred to his jurisdiction (Or warlordship - whichever you prefer). Of course, when this is all said and done and Zyun-Ayraq is under our control, we might have something to say about that...


O R I G I N A L A R T W O R K









// Thanks to @GN FOREVER for the format.

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