A World of Monsters. (An Encyclopedia on the creatures of the world of Null, Original Writing.)

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[A vintage poster is on display. It predominately features some sort of commercial sweet cider made of local fruit known as 'Apa'. The golden cider is packaged in clear glass bottles with their logo and a images of various Apa's lying next to it. The colors of the poster are slightly faded and the edges are slightly torn, but it is still in fairly good condition. Words read 'Have fresh Apa Cider everyday! Straight from the distillery's of Pop-Pop's, our new Apa Cider can be enjoyed any time, anywhere, any day of the year! Available anywhere Pop-Pop's products are sold in 7 flavors of Apa!']

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[An old, small pamphlet is on display. It features a series of weapons that appear to fire microrockets in place of bullets or slugs. The front cover reads 'World Weapon Committee: Intro to Sluggers.' The first page states 'Sluggers are almost as varied as as rail-weapons and old bullet launchers. Whether they're standardized .50 cal pistols or rifles, or the hulking 20mm Apa-Seed hand-cannons, they all fire the tried and true Det-7 explosive mass-reactive fuse warheads into a target.' The second page reads 'Remember, Sluggers are good against bare flesh, but have trouble punching through thick armor without using specialized armor-piercing heads. Be sure to keep at least one rail-weapon on your person for anti-armor purposes.' The final page reads 'The Slugger is a modern weapon for the modern age, but learning its strengths and limits will do you a world of good. Learn more at your local Weapon's Office or Militia branch.' The back of the pamphlet reads 'Remember the 3 S's of weapon's use: Safety, Security, and Solidarity.]

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[A post card is on display. It depicts a fleet of flying warships hanging protectively over a city. Words read 'Aerospace Corp, keeping the skies safe 30 hours a day, 7 days a week, 42 weeks a year.' A note is attached. It reads 'Well, 41.7 weeks a year, but rounding up is good too. XP']

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[A relatively new holographic poster is displayed. It features a series of synthetic anthropomorphic animals with clearly robotic arms and an aesthetic theme vaguely akin to that of old, well loved dolls performing on a stage as onlookers watch from various tables. They consist of a female dog, beowolf, and rabbit, and a male fox. Words read 'Raggity Ran's Bar and Stage Show, Performing for 15 years and counting.']

 

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[The following is a digital page from the 'Armor's and Weapons Catalog, 149th edition'.]

Designation: Version 7, Model 'Wolf-Tiger' Powered Armor, Oros Variant.

[Sketches depict an advanced set of powered armor, thick armor plates evoking the image of an advanced, futuristic knight. The stock version posses iconography depicting stylized Wolf-Tigers embroidered on the shoulders, forearms, chest and helmet. The helmet is totally enclosed, designed to be protective while have decorative embroidery that evokes the image of a Wolf-Tiger's face. Other sketches show the helmet opens up, revealing a reinforced glass dome under the metal. Sketches also depict the armor in various forms of camouflage, close inspection revealing the iconography to be gone.]

Power Source: Baraq Aleph Series Fulminite Generator. (Good for one month of continuous use before replacement or recharge.)

Undersuit: V-18 tech suit. 10% notable increase to strength, 10% notable increase to top speed. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Plating: V-4 Dragonscale powered plate. Reinforced Mithril Alloy capable of withstanding direct strikes from non-energy coated strikes. Vulnerable to Class 7 penetrating strikes and above. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Additional Features: V-8 Stun-Field generator, integrated, and hard points for armor-planted weapon systems including shoulder mounted launchers and forearm rail-guns.

Summary:​

The latest in the Wolf-Tiger model of Powered Armor, the Version 7 has few major upgrades over its predecessor, it's primary improvements mostly being in hardened system and firmware updates. The most notable major upgrade is the first in a series of anti Hack-Weed countermeasures, in order to prevent empty suits from being hijacked by the plant.

In terms of defense, the Wolf-Tiger V-7 retains an excellent track records against conventional slug and bullet based weaponry, though armor-piercing rounds from Sluggers and railgun weapons are still able to punch through the outer most layers and eventually breach the lower layers. As always, trouble is had with stopping fire from creatures, as thorns, spikes, quills and more continue to retain armor piercing properties as ever before, though the V-7 can deflect indirect fire and glancing blows without issue, only having trouble with direct attacks.

The series' thruster system remains an integrated portion of the armor, granting users excellent mobility in under water and low gravity scenarios. The thrusters can also be used in short, intense bursts to provide increased agility on land and air, though the user's leg power is more than capable of performing evasive maneuvers on their own, thus need for increased thruster capabilities on land is minimal.

Runes capable of being applied remains a feature in this armor set, allowing users to to augment and further amplify the suit's capabilities. Note, however, that as per the Runic Law of Age, the effects of the Runes will not be as powerful now as they will be later, though thankfully a runed V-7's modern capabilities and construction allows it to match older suits of runed armors, even pre-power armor suits.

The most wide-spread and popular modern day armor set in the world, the Wolf-Tiger model continues its service with distinction. Models, as ever, have the option to have the embroidery's removed at the users behest. Whether fighting a Killapede, or surviving an assault from a Spider-Ant Hive, the V-7 is a solid, dependable armor unit that won't let its user down in a variety of environments. Look for its sibling counterparts for more specialized roles, such as adverse weather, underwater, and underground variants, to name a few.

 

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[The following is a digital page from the 'Armor's and Weapons Catalog, 149th edition'.]

[Sketches depict a vaguely bullet like micro-missile. They come in a variety of calibers, though the most common is 12.7x60mm. Written across the munitions is a variety of identification script, including make and model, manufacturer, and minor details such as decorative heraldry stamped unto the material.]

V-17 Series Slugger Micro-Missile.

Manufacturer: Jetters Aerospace Engineering, Weapon's Lab 31, Munition's Department C.

Engine: V-18 Solarite Micro-Engine. Capable of maintaining flight across a wide variety of gravities, environments (Including vacuum and underwater), and accurate sustained flight at ranges up to 5 kilometers out. Accuracy drops at further ranges.

Caliber: .50 Cal for most weapon systems, .45 variant for machine pistols and .65 caliber for heavy machine guns.

Warhead: Mass-reactive Det-7 explosive filler-gel for standard models. Onboard computer systems capable of determining friend/foe IDs. Can be switched to a proximity fuse on the fly.

Speed: Mach 5.

Summary:​

The latest series of Slugger micro-missiles, the Jetters' produced V-17 has proven itself an excellent munition for Slugger weaponry, being compatible both with modern weapons as well as older models of Sluggers. The V-17 has been thoroughly tested in all environments on Null, including underwater, vacuum distortions and gravity-distortion rich zones, as well as on every known hostile form of life and armor on the planet. The most common models include:

V-17, Base: The standard model, good against unarmored and lightly armored hostiles, though has trouble penetrating tougher/thicker armors.

V-17, AP, 'Chitin-Cracker': Model up-armored with diamantium tip and reinforcement runes for superior armor penetration.

V-17, Stun, 'Shockcollar': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with a special Fulminite electro gel blend. Specialty rounds, solely detonate on proximity and are meant to stun individuals such as resisting criminals. Mostly used by police forces and capture-teams of Hunters.

V-17, Incendiary 'Thermium': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with Solarite based incendiary gel. Name taken from the Thermium material spewed by some species. Burns at a temperature close to 3027C.

V-17, Cryogenic, 'Frostbane': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with Glacium based gel. Reaches temperatures approaching absolute zero.

V-17, Electric, 'Fulgar': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with a Fulminite based electro gel. Excellent for overloading electrical systems as well as nervous systems.

V-17, Acidic, 'Acid-Bath': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with mutagenic Ferruvore acid. Excellent for eating through non-acid proof materials, flesh or metal.

V-17, Anti-Magic, 'Moon-Light': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with an energized Moonsilver infused core. Counteracts magical effects such as mystical barriers or creatures primarily composed of magic, such as Oculons or Storm Joys.

V-17, Anti-Infernal, 'Sun-Bloom': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with an energized Sungold infused core. Counteracts infernal powers. Predominantly used by the Ambaric Church.

V-17, Anti-Eldritch, 'Star-Bloom': Det-7 filler-gel replaced with an energized Stariron infused core. Counteracts Elder creatures, predominantly used by Magi and the forces of the Mediator.

 

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[An old, worn pamphlet is on display. On its cover, a single word is printed at the top: 'Rejoice.' An image of armored individuals who appear to be part of an order of knights, unified by by a standardized helmet: A wedged, furnace style knight helmet, with seven horizontal openings to see through. The openings are totally dark, with no way of seeing the individual within, as if light cannot pass through the bars. The armors themselves are fairly uniform, bulky yet paradoxically flexible, with differing colored pieces of cloth hanging from the left shoulder and loins. The Ambaric Cross is on display at the center of their chest pieces.

The next page reveals writing: 'Rejoice, be you parent or otherwise guardian of [The name of the individual seems to be redacted], for your child has been found to hold the power of the Lord within their hands. This birthright given to them allows them entry into the Order of Berserker Paladins, to hunt down and protect the innocent and pure form the wicked and hateful clutches of those wicked of heart and infernal of soul. Do not fear the arrival of the Paladins that have found the child and have approached you for the right to take them in for training. '

Another picture is displayed below this writing: It depicts 'Beserker Paladins' fighting and slaying demonic looking creatures, pushing them back into a dark, fiery pit they seem to have crawled out of. Guns, melee weapons, and their own fists are all in use to drive the evil creatures back.

The page after it continues with more writing: 'With bullet, blade, or fist, it is the duty of the Paladins to hunt down evil that manifests itself unto the physical plane, to cast them out into the darkness from which they came. Through the power of the holy light shining within their hands, all the weapons at their disposal allow them to smite the wicked abominations and permanently bar them from ever returning to the realm of Mortals again, not unlike a priest performing an exorcism.'

Another picture is displayed below this writing: It depicts a sole Paladin with their sword through the neck of a large demon, the individual being pulled away but not before they've notched their free hand into a fist, ready to drive it into the demons face before it can throw them away.

More words follow on the last page: 'The life of a Berserker Paladin is not an easy or safe one, for they are expected and must be ready to lay down their lives in the service of their fellow beings to protect them against the Infernal forces of Hell. Rest assured, however, that the final decision for the child's entry into the Order rests upon you, the guardian of [Once more, the individuals name is redacted] and [Redacted] themselves. It is natural to wish to protect your charge, but please think of the good they can do in their service of the Lord within their most sacred order.

The final image depicts an Oros child in the foreground, their hands haloed with light, while in the background a Paladin that seems to be them fully grown up is shown in the same position.

Printed at the bottom of the back of the pamphlet reads 'Printed by the Ambaric Church in cooperation with our brothers and sisters in the Order of Berserker Paladins. Blessings of the Lord and Am be upon you, reader.'

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Pamphlets such as these typically given to a guardian of a discovered child when they ask for time to think on the matter. If the guardian and child decide to accept the offer to have the child enter the Order of Berserker Paladins, then the child is taken away to begin their training with the Order. Initiates are allowed to visit their former homes upon completion of the training or to attend a major event such as the death of a loved one.]

 

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[The following is a digital page from the 'Armor's and Weapons Catalog, 149th edition'.]

Designation: Version 12, Model 'Oculon' Powered Armor, Oros Variant.

[Sketches depict an advanced set of powered armor, streamlined and designed with the image of a soldier in mind. The stock version possesses unit identification markings on the chest, pauldrons, and helmet, as well as a stylized image of the armor's namesake, an Oculon, on the back. The helmet posses a single large visor, spread across the eye region as well as 'spreading' down around the muzzle portion of the helmet with a pair of spoke like arms, not unlike a sideways capital 'K'.]

Power Source: Baraq Aleph Series Fulminite Generator. (Good for one month of continuous use before replacement or recharge.)

Undersuit: V-18 tech suit. 10% notable increase to strength, 10% notable increase to top speed. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Plating: V-4 Dragonscale powered plate. Reinforced Mithril Alloy capable of withstanding direct strikes from non-energy coated strikes. Vulnerable to Class 7 penetrating strikes and above. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Additional Features: V-8 Stun-Field generator, integrated, and hard points for armor-planted weapon systems including shoulder mounted launchers and forearm rail-guns.

Summary:​

The most recent edition of the Oculon model of Powered Armor, the V-12 Oculon retains the iconic visor design the series is designed for. This mono-visor is vaguely reminiscent of the Oculon spirit creature, a beast composed of a singular fiery eye surrounded by rocky material that opens and closes not unlike an ocular aperture. This visor is extremely durable, made of a diamantium based polymer. This allows it to be see through without compromising it's durability.

On the defense, the armor is comparable to the newer Wolf-Tiger series in most respects, though the armor's smooth contores and composition provide it with better elemental damage protection than physical contact. This allows it to better survive against energy and elemental blasts from a variety of sources, though physical and kinetic strikes have a likelier chance at damaging the armor than it would the Wolf-Tiger series.

Thruster systems are a relatively recent addition to the series, having been incorporated as part of the design since the V-10 model some centuries prior. Since integration, thruster systems prove to be as efficient as in any other form of Powered Armor with the feature.

Runes capable of being applied remains a feature in this armor set, allowing users to to augment and further amplify the suit's capabilities. Note, however, that as per the Runic Law of Age, the effects of the Runes will not be as powerful now as they will be later, though thankfully a runed V-12's modern capabilities and construction allows it to match older suits of runed armors, even pre-power armor suits.

Before the widespread adoption of the Wolf-Tiger series, the Oculon model of Powered Armor was the most widespread and used series of PA in the world. The reliability and well roundness of the armor for a variety of situations and damage types make it an excellent option in most combat scenarios. Its signature visor has always been known for the its aim assist protocols, which in the V-12 have been improved upon with a V-8 software system. While nowhere near as superb at aim assistance as the Arachnis sniper-specialized PA model, the Oculon offers a reliable means of insuring ones aim is rarely erring on a given target.

 

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[A brand new holographic poster is shown, depicting an upcoming video game. The game is stored on a small cartridge like device, with small print next to it claiming it carries up to a terabyte of storage space. The game proper appears to be a 16-bit RPG with a turn-based combat system and features anthropomorphic versions of Nullian animals as the player characters in a fantasy adventure. Writing in certain areas of the poster reads as follows: 'Play the exciting conclusion to the Falling Cinder Quadrilogy, featuring over 20 hours of story quests and dozens more of side quests, with the choices you've made in the previous installments coming to a head! Also included are the previous games of the series, for even more exciting adventure for those who have yet to pick it up! Only 45 Dollups!']

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[A simple conventional poster is on display, depicting a three data-cartridge set for a show called 'Starshine'. It seems to be about the adventures of a crew of Nullian explorers and the various alien peoples and threats they encounter along their journey. The show seems to comprise of three separate series, the original and two sequels, each several seasons long. Words follow on the poster: 'The whole series, now yours to own for only D100.']

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[An advertisement poster for another video game is on display. It depicts an Oros Magi of the Magi Order in their full armor firing a shotgun towards tentacled horrors trying to grab them on the platform they're on, while a fellow Magi runs towards them in the background, arm outstretched. Words read 'Final Pact, HD Edition. Coming soon.']

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[A written advertisement follows. 'Chimera wanted for government research. Must be healthy, have mothered at least one set of offspring, be of respectable mental fortitude, and not have any plans for the next two decades. For more information, contact 707-4501-813. Payment starts at D50,000, price negotiable.']

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[A video PSA follows, depicting a blocky but tough looking cellular device. 'The next upgrade for Comm. Bloks will be available this coming Hamaday. Visit your nearest government office on Hamaday, or at your earliest convenience if you cannot make it at that time, to receive your complementary upgrade. This has been a public service announcement from the Chamber of Public Communications, we will now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.']

 

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[The following is a transcript from a pamphlet detailing the latest version of the Maddock Industries V-10 of the Hammer family line of Slugger weapons.]

[Several illustrations of different, but related in design, weapons are shown.

The top most one is an assault-rifle style weapon, approximately 100cm's in length. It is a mostly boxy, dense looking weapon designed to fire 12.7mm Slugger micro-rocket rounds while being a solidly built and dependable weapon for close quarters brawls. The magazine is straight and angled back towards the user, and placed directly in front of the angled trigger guard. It holds 64 rounds in a duel-stacked, two row design holding 15 rounds per stack, leading to 30 rounds in the front and back rows. 4 additional rounds are slotted in the thinner portion of the magazine meant to be inserted and locked into the gun proper, holding two rounds in a single stack and having two rows. The barrel is rounded compared to the blockier and angled top portion, which is rigged to allow for placement of optics and other attachments. The grip is also comparatively rounded and rubberized, for ease of gripping. The stock juts out the back and comparatively small, but adjustable, allowing for a range of users to be comfortable using it. The electronic's suite is a slit at the back of the top portion, above main body assembly, displaying ammunition, range to target, and feeds ballistics information into the user's armor as well as whatever network the user is a part of.

The middle most weapon appears to be a DMR style sniping weapon, being about 95cm's in length. It is boxy like the assault weapon, but is not as dense and has a smoother finish to it's plating. The barrel, which is rounded like the assault rifle's, appears to be meant for firing a larger, 15mm round. The Magazine is straight and staggard stacked, holding 20 of the larger rounds. The stock is thicker and fixed, while a factory issue sight is attached to the main body, an ammo read-out suite located directly under it. The sight seems simple on first observation, but illustrations of looking down it reveals a high tech and data-rich sight that shows trajectory, effects of elements such as wind and gravity, as well as total ammo left and even seems to have a built in feature to show vulnerable sections of the enemy.

The third and final weapon is a heavy pistol design, with the magazine similar in design to the assault rifles: In front of the grip's trigger guard and angled backwards towards the user. It seems to hold approximately 18 .50 cal rounds within it's double-stacked design. Overall, the design elements are similar to the rest of the shown family of weaponry, with an thin but readable info display at the back of the top-barrel shroud and a rounded barrel inbetween boxy and angled plating. The bottom portion seems to have a laser sight built into the electronics held within the plating under the rounded barrel.]

Maddock Industries is proud to present the new V-10 of it's Hammer series weapons line. The Jackhammer Assault Rifle, Sledgehammer Designated Marksman Rifle, and Pinhammer lines have all been updated with new Mithril composites and alloys in their construction, increasing their durability for when one needs to use them in melee. Updates have also been made to the electronics suites as well as the attachment points, allowing for increased options during combat, and the modern version of our tried and true self-maintenance systems keeps them operable up to a month on the field without hand-maintenance! Order now, and receive a complementary paint-job to your specifications as well as several decals to adorn your weapons as you see fit. Pricing remains the same for these new updated weapons:

Jackhammer-D345

Sledgehammer-D350

Pinhammer-D90

Buy Hammer, and crush the opposition! (Specialist ammunition prices separate, free government issued munitions available at nearest Militia outpost within your area. Store firearms unless needed as per governmental guidelines and follow safety protocols on pain of suspension of usage of firearms. Remember, advanced weaponry is a privilege, not a right.)

[A note is attached to the pamphlet, reading 'Hammer's always made solid guns, literally! Total pain to take apart for monthly maintenance, though.']

 

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[The following is a digital page from the 'Armor's and Weapons Catalog, 149th edition'.]

Designation: Version 3, Model 'Arachnis' Powered Armor, Oros Variant.

[Sketches depict an advanced set of powered armor, streamlined and designed with what seems to be stealth in mind. The stock version is a sleek armor system with few if any sharp edges, the edges it does have being curved to reduce detection signature. The helmet lacks a visor, instead having 8 dot like camera-eyes, four on each side of the face, two stacks of two side by side eyes on a slanted placement over the bottom set. They are small and beady, almost disappearing in the base armor's black coloration.]

Power Source: Baraq Aleph Series Fulminite Generator. (Good for one month of continuous use before replacement or recharge.)

Undersuit: V-18/s tech suit. 10% notable increase to strength, 10% notable increase to top speed. Shadow-weave threads reduce sensor signature and power draw from stealth systems. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Plating: V-2 Stalker powered plate. Reinforced Mithril-Umbrum Alloy capable of withstanding direct strikes from non-energy coated strikes. Vulnerable to Class 5 penetrating strikes and above. Addition of Umbrum ore in alloy reduces sensor signature and power draw from stealth systems. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Additional Features: V-8 Stun-Field generator, integrated, and hidden hard points for armor-planted weapon systems including shoulder mounted launchers and forearm flamethrower units, as well as a forearm mounted hidden grappling line launcher as standard. Self-repairing Skulker smart-paint layer allows for automatic and passive stealth capability via mimicking the coloration and texture of surrounding environment. Internal hard-point for an Umbra-Bet type active camouflage generator available in base model, but not installed by default.

Summary:​

The newest iteration of the Arachnis Stealth and Recon PA System model line, the V3 has seen many major upgrades over their predecessors, including have a self-repairing Skulker smart-paint layer on the outer coating as standard for the current model, rather than an add on feature as it was in the previous generation. Due to the time and manufacturing costs associated with its production, the Umbra-Bet active camouflage generator continues to be produced on an as needed basis and installed in suits as required.

On the defensive side of things, the Arachnis's stealth oriented nature and the nature of the plating used results in it being less capable in protecting against melee based attacks than other, more direct-combat oriented armor systems. The curved nature of much of the armor, as well as ablative materials used in its construction, provide it with impeccable protection against energy and chemical based attacks. As a once unforeseen consequence of the addition of Umbrum into its alloy make-up, the Arachnis continues to posses excellent protection against ranged weapons fire, be it slugger or even non-armor piercing rail rounds.

Thruster systems are a relatively recent addition to the series, having been incorporated as part of the design since the V-3 prototype several decades ago. Since integration, thruster systems prove to be as efficient as in any other form of Powered Armor with the feature, though the stealth oriented nature of the suit leaves a notable 4.5 milisecond delay compared to the thruster systems of 'battle-ready' suits such as the Devestis or Wolf-Tiger lines.

Runes capable of being applied remains a feature in this armor set, allowing users to to augment and further amplify the suit's capabilities. Note, however, that as per the Runic Law of Age, the effects of the Runes will not be as powerful now as they will be later, though thankfully a runed V-3's modern capabilities and construction allows it to match older suits of runed armors, even pre-power armor suits.

Once a test-bed suit for infantry scale stealth systems, the Arachnis quickly became the world's leading stealth oriented power armor. With nearly every facet of it devoted to maximizing it's stealth capabilities, the addition of a Umbra-Bet active camouflage unit into the armor provides it with complete visual, auditory, and sensory cloaking capabilities that make it impossible to find short of dimensional-piercing sensory capabilities. This, in addition to the armor's extremely advanced and fine tuned helmet systems which provide unparalleled aiming support functions, make it the armor of choice for snipers and stealth focused Hunters across the whole of the Median*.

*Warning, due to the imperfections in consumer grade Umbra-Bet stealth field generator, firing of a weapon such as a Slugger or Rail weapon can disturb the stealth field, causing it to momentarily 'flicker' and potentially reveal the location of the user. Further imperfections also result in the stealth field not being operable for longer than half an hour at a time, following another half hour to recharge. Quick movements such as sprinting, leaping, and rapid melee combat can also briefly destabilize the stealth field. This has been your Median mandated safety warning on the usage of the Arachnist suit and its Umbra-Bet stealth field add on.

 

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[The following is a transcript from a section from the Grimoire of the Magi Order, written by an unknown author.]

Aether and the Magi.

'In the beginning, there was nothing. And then, [GOD/SAJUUK/THE LORD/THE MAKER/CREATOR OF ALL/THE ALMIGHTY] saw fit to begin anew. The first of these creations was a place, [SHEOL/THE AETHER/THE VOID/THE NOTHING OF EVERYTHING]. And from there, Creation began.'
-First passage from the Bible of the Ambaric Faith, the Aetheric Holy Scrolls, and the Book of the Great Spirits.

At the start of time, there were us, Mortals. In the time before time, there were the Elders, the prototypes to Mortal Life as we know it today. And in the time before the time before time, there were the Ancients, the Primordials from which all concepts derive from. The first among these, however, was the Aether, a place of nothingness. For the majority of its History, the Aether was inhabited by only two beings: Lethe, the Devourer, and her husband Eunoe, the Protector. The two are of the Aether and are the Aether, one and the same, or so it is written. Ever since the death of the first Universe was borne into creation, the Aether and the Aether Beings within it had one great purpose: To devour these dead realities to stop their rotting corpses from polluting all of Creation and to make space for new worlds to be borne. Thus, Lethe and Eunoe were known by their titles: 'The Vultures of God'.

However, as the two enacted their great and vital purpose, Great Lethe came to realize something: A terrible hunger existed within her, one that could not be sated but with the act of Eating dead worlds and wiping them from the face of What Is. So maddening was this hunger, that Lethe enacted the First Purge, wherein before she could be stopped, she ravenously Devoured vast swathes of Creation. Stopped by her husband, the first of several changes was enacted in the Pact they had with the Lord: They were not to Consume realities that still yet lived, with only the corpse universes being what they would consume. Lethe, having been humbled and learned to control her Hunger more, became a more compassionate being towards the Mortals she once feasted upon.

And thus, a long stretch of peace was attained. This Peace was briefly overcome when Lethe, in a moment of old weakness, created a race to feed her Hunger by having them strike out against Elders who sought to harm Mortals. They are only known today as the [Sleepers]. The Sleepers, however, grew independent and sought to feed their creator with the blood of Creation once again. Eunoe saw the madness of his wife's newly independent creations and rose a race of his own to combat them. They were the Oros, a people whose design would one day resurface to be used in our creation in this Age. Eventually, the two races fought each other to extinction and a new peace came over Creation.

One day, during the Mortal Age, Lady Lethe and Lord Eunoe had a child, a daughter named Media the Red Lady. With their child grown, Lethe and Eunoe took temporary absence of their duties to explore the afterlife, with Media having four Mortals Ascended to Aether godhood to be her assistants, the first and so far only time such a thing has ever occurred. They were the three sisters, North, South, and Libdas, and the Machine Mind Sora. With them came the first of the Magi, Mortal beings who has been born blessed with the power to manipulate the energies of the Aether.

The Magi were of free will, to do with their abilities as they decided, but they were not originally without a purpose. They were a defense for Mortal life, to stand against the jealousy of the Elders, who cursed the Mortals for the wealth of new universes dedicated to them to inhabit. Even upon the return of Lethe and Eunoe, the Magi continued to be borne among the Mortals, though in time, as restrictions were placed upon the Elders, the need for them decreased and their appearance in the Mortal Realms began to dwindle.

After the return of Lethe and Eunoe, three more daughters were borne to them: Aegia, the Silver Lady of War, Orual the Amber Lady of Knowledge, and Null the Green Lady of Madness. The last to be born between Lethe and Eunoe was a son. He, however, was born asleep and has never since awaken, to the eternal grief of Lethe and Eunoe. Following this, the two became more reclusive and distant from dealings with the rest of Reality outside of their Duty, with their children becoming active and aiding to curb the rising threat of Elder insurrection against those Mortal planes not protected by the Elders' previous restrictions. Of them, Media and Null, the oldest and the youngest of the Aether Sisters respectively, created Mortal Races to do their bidding. Media, the Orberon, and Null, the Oros, reborn using the designs once drafted and used by her father long, long ago.

Null created a world that would one day bare her name in order to perfect the Oros through the trials of a hellish deathworld as their homeworld. Media, who had taken many shortcuts to get the Oberon to the same degree of capability, saw the Oros and found them better suited for her needs. Thus, in the year of approximately 1000 A.A, Media created a mortal shell for her to inhabit and interact with Nullian kind, the Mediator. In the year of 1501, she succeeded in unifying the various Nations of the world of Null under the banner of the Median, with her Pact being a simple one: She would help ease the burden upon the Mortals from the onslaught of daily Nullian life and thus allow us to advance towards the stars, and in exchange, we would hunt down the Elders that stalked the stars.

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To be a Magi is to be a being with the potential for great power, but with the burden of great danger as well. They become a target for Elders, who fear them becoming predators against their kind anew, a fate that is sealed for their attacks but motivate and embolden Magi into their role.

The Magi Order of Null was founded in years long past, when Aether Shamans united to form a singular institution to train and prepare others of their kind. Thus the first true Magi of Null came into being. Mortal and Spirit alike could be born blessed with the power to perform Aetherworks, the magic of manipulating the Aether, the only form of magic available for most modern Oros who have since become immune to the touch of most other forms of magecraft. It is long, draining work to become a Magi, but once the training is complete, a being of great power takes their steps to aid in the betterment of the world. Magi of the Order hunt down Elder creatures that are a threat to Null, as well as engage in peace talks with those Elders that can be reasoned with. In addition, it is the responsibility of the Order to help hunt and strike down fearsome beasts that threaten the people, and to aid the Order of Berserker Paladins with their God given duty of striking down all things demonic in nature.

Those who are found to be blessed by the Aether are taken to the Order and trained lest they become a danger to themselves or those around them. Once trained to control their powers, they are given the choice to remain with the Order to serve the people of the Median, or they can return to their old life. This is a far cry from the old days where Magi had only the choice to serve within the Order.

The power over the Aether, known as Aetherworks, is highly dangerous. In theory, one can do virtually anything one can imagine with this power, up to and including rewriting reality itself. In practice, however, Magi are limited by training, skill, and natural power, which grows over time as they better learn to use their powers. Numerous schools of training exist, from the Sunbearers and Hydrosingers, to Stormbringers and Frostcallers. The most powerful and dangerous school is that of the Aethermeisters, whom directly call upon the energies of the Aether itself rather than using the Aether to conjure and control the elements the other schools use. This means they can wipe things off the face of Existence, the total cessation of existing, upon Devouring them with their Aetherworks. With this power in hand, even the lowliest Aethermeister is a threat to the mightiest god that does not take them seriously, though in turn the Magi but be careful, for such power is not a plaything and can just as easily turn on them if they treat it as such..

In the Modern day, Magi inhabit all strands of society, with our ultimate goal being to protect our fellow Mortals and to destroy any Elder threats we encounter. We are spread through all career paths and social classes, from humble Hunters, to Median Knights in the military, to leaders of Nations. Time will tell how successful we are in this endeavor, however, to keep our people safe, as even the most powerful and dangerous of us are still Mortal and can overextend ourselves.​

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a reduced, publicly made available transcript from the Galactic Monitoring Index, written by the Institute of Aerospace Monitoring.]

Planet Name: Null.

Planetary Position: 3rd.

Moons: 2, Yarah Dam/Senora Sanguine (The Elder Blood Moon) and Yarah Mat/Senora Virdis (The Rotten/Green Moon.)// Yarah Mat Distance: 450,000 miles from Null. Yarah Dam Distance: 700,000 miles from Null.

Diameter: 12000 miles/19312.128 kilometers.

Surface Land to Water Ratio: 35 Percent Land, 65 Percent Water.

Atmosphere: 1.07 Galactic Habitable Standard* 02/N2. Level of contamination with foreign bodies bacterial and chemical in excess by several orders of magnitude. Contaminants inhospitable to foreign material.

Gravity: 1 Nullian Gravitic Standard. Exact measurements varies based on some locations, the standard gravity is typically 2.5 the Galactic Habitable Planetary Standard*.

Surface Temperature Range: -200 to 155C/ -392 to 311F. Average surface temperature in most livable regions are around -50 to 50C/ -58 to 122F.

Thaumaturgical Rating: 10 on the Nullian Magic Rating Scale. Comparison with other planetary bodies believed to hold life indicates this is almost thrice the galactic average.

Length of a Day: 30 Hours.

Days in a year: 292. Days in a standard 7 day week in order: Memsday, Thressday, Morchtday, Tulinday, Hamaday, Yulsday, and Faraday.

Arisa Civilized Sapient Population circa 3152 AA:

Median Population Estimated 7.5 billion individuals, 3.4 billion Oros across the various Nations of the Median, 2 billion Chimera and Cerberi, and 1.6 billion Mortalized Spirits, ~500 million Other.

Ogra Population Estimated 8 billion, 5 billion Ogra, 2 billion Mortalized Spirits, 1 billion Western Lasarna, 1 million Other.

Striga-Hyto Population: Estimated 1.8 billion, 1.3 billion Striga, 2 million Oros, 2 million Ogra, 1 million Other.

Lasarnan Republics Population Estimated 3 billion individuals, 2 billion Eastern Lasarna, 1 billion Mortalized Spirits, 1 million Other.

Fahn Dominion Estimated: 4.4 billion, 4 billion Fahn, ~400 million Other

Mycoda Collectives Estimated: ~4 billion Mycoda [Various Variants]

The Kingdom of the Sun Estimated: 9.8 Billion, 5.2 billion Hume Races, 3.2 billion Anima Races, 200 million Eastern War Dragons, 200 million Other.

Notes: *Data collected after careful observation of known galactic bodies and comparing them to our own standards over the course of several hundred years.

 

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[The following is an exerpt from a weekly article providing news on the world of Sports on Null, imaginatively titled 'Sports News Weekly', this one dated years prior to the current date.]

It's another good week to be a sports fan as we have several up-coming matches across numerous competitive games this sports season.

In the world of Boom-Ball, the finalist teams for this years championship finales are down to up and coming underdogs Steelwater's District 3 Saints and the current three-time champions, the Hamsaya City Royals. Last week's explosive game saw the Saints win their way to the championship finales against their long time rivals, the Traummond Shinooks, with the Saint's star player Nass Mondzahn performing a Flourish to take the Shinook's lead player Ash Tasoth out of the game before moving in for the goal, planting the Boom Ball and ending the game with an explosive detonation that sent the entirity of the enemy team flying!

Richochet fans meanwhile are gearing up for the mid-season play-offs, with the first game featuring Hama's Panzers against Rahls Ravagers. Hama's stunning victory at the end of the first half of the season against Coilland's Plenty saw rookie player Cass O'caya pulling Hama's team out of the jaws of defeat by managing to go two to one against Coilland's remaining players and taking out both with a calculated throw that saw her bounce-ball hit one then the other in a two-for one 'Double-Trouble' throw. Many veteran players are impressed by to see such an expert move of calculating prowess come from such a new and unseasoned player. Many say this speaks of a long and excellent career awaiting young Cass, though we will see if she can maintain such expert level richochets going forward or if this was a lucky one time trick for the newcomer.

Memsday Night Combat continues it's ongoing competition for newblood teams of rookies to try and defeat current reigning team 'The Enemy Doesn't Care What We Call Ourselves Do They' in their challenge for such newbie groups to try and defeat them in at least 1 round of a 5 round match for the grand prize of a 1 Million Dollup per player payout and a sponsorship deal by TEDCWWCODT for the rookie team that manages to accomplish the challenge. So far, none of the 25 teams that have participated have managed to beat TEDC's challenge of winning at least one round, though the most recent team called 'Fireteam Sanguine' has managed to earn a second try after managing to, against all odds, have at least one team member survive one round and even tie with TEDC's score not once, but twice.

On the topic of Ties, Heavy Weight Combat Boxing continues to see up-and-coming Spirit League Champ Mae Lee once again tie with 7 time world Oros Champion Hoxton Tanner. Mae Lee, a Mortalized Erui tiger Spirit, has had her 4th tie-breaking match against Firebrand champ Hoxton which once more has ended in a tie for both champions. Some experts believe that these two titans of heavy weight combat may indeed be each other's truest match, with few if any having any concrete belief on who, if either, will ever be able to truly win against the other.

In the world of Duelist Competitive Championships, the ongoing Tournament has seen an unexpected victory when Loray Meetra managed to break her opponent, one Kayla Torres's, blade with a mighty swing of her Axe-Scythe, only for Kayla, undeterred by her weapon's broken state, to slip past her opponent's guard and jam both the tip of the blade and the broken handle in between sections of Loray's plate armor. While overall points were deducted for bloodshed, Kayla ultimately was given the win for the duel by the judges and even recieved high praise from her opponent. "It takes a special kind of duelist to not give a damn of having a broken weapon and still find a way to achieve victory." Loray has gone on record saying after recieving modest medical aid for her injuries before her regen kicked in.

In non-competitive news, the world of Sports Shooting, a staple of Normal Oros sports events, is still out of season until the end of the year, but it has seen a notable upswing in new participants in out-of-season play and training. The Displaced, as those brought to our homeworld have been known to be called, have seen a large number of athletes begin to get into the native sports scene in the five years since their initial arrival. While bringing their own sports from their original home, many Displaced have a noted insterest in trying to participate in Nullian classics.

'I've always liked guns, kinda had to on the mean streets back home, but being able to shoot guns at targets like it's freaking golf? Count me in!' Says one Raptor based Displaced by the name of George Smith.

'Golf', for those unaware, is a sport native to the Displaced's original home culture, which involves hitting a small white ball with a specialized club to send it flying towards a small hole dozens or even hundreds of meters away. This sport, practiced in a manner akin to Sports Shooting, has taken the interest of numerous Nullians who have flocked to observe the Displaced game being played on makeshift golf courses.

For racing fans out there, the Median Knight's Great Walled City Hover-Bike Racing Circuit continues to be closed due to the on-going conflicts across numerous fronts including against Spider-Ants, Mother Roots, and the remnants of the Dark Spirit Crisis requiring the attention of the Median's armed forces. No official comment has been given when, exactly, there will be a return to the racing circuits. Many fans, while disapointed, are understanding, with those at the Great Walled City that birthed the GWC Racing Circuit, Dreamhold City, to eagerly await their beloved home-town sport's renewal.

To end off this week's sports news, another Season of Champions in Arara's Golden Arena has begun, with the Great Spirit of Loot herself presiding in an opening ceremony that saw this season's competitors starting strong across various combat, platforming, and problem solving trials. Competitors both returning and new are particularly excited over this Season's loot rewards, ranging from gilded melee weapons to a set of custom made Aurum Champion armors and weapons as the current Seasonal rewards for all competitors who succeed in winning all of the Season's challenges.

That's it for for this week's news, sports fans, but we'll see you again next week at the same usual time for new updates and new stories to tell!

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[What follows is an excerpt from 'Musicians Digest Monthly' on new released by various musical artists.]

The music scene has been witness to several new releases this month, from old favorites to newer artists breaking ground to make themselves a place all their own.

Taking the world by storm with their new 'pop' stylings, the Displaced have seen several musical stars find an audience both among their own people as well as Nullian kind. Among these stars, canine pop idol Eileen Ferris has released two new singles, 'High Rise' and 'Trouble Boy', while fellow primate pop star Kenzie Thomas is currently working on her as of yet untitled new album, set to release later this year. Kenzie is famous for her debut new album with heavy tones and themes criticisng the old world the Displaced come from, titled 'Shattered Faith', something welcomed by both the Displaced for its unapologetic and critical look at the government and corporate systems of the old world among other things, while Nullians find it a fascinating and unadulterated look into life in the old world from which the Displace hail from. Rumors exist of a possible collaboration between the two pop stars, though there has yet to be any sort of official announcement or confirmation.

Coming straight from Hurkora's Recording Hall, Oros opera singer Jassete ChuGora's latest piece continues to bring recognition to the Mortal from the Hurko Spirit race, who find her melodies and tunes 'familiar yet distinct'. The Great Spirit of music herself, Hurkora, has gone on to say that her biggest regret was not signining Jassete on to be her own personal Mortal musician, a fact that Jassete is quick to say some words about. "She's just being humble, I can't dare to come close to matching her musical talents or ear. Still, if she likes me, I must be doing something right, no?" Jassete is currently set to have a live concert tour across several of the Great Walled Cities, including Steelwater, Traummond, New Cambaria, Tenebraum, and Dreamhold City.

On the terms of more classical stylings, old school big band group 'The Clovers' have confirmed their latest album has been delayed indefinitly due to the destruction of their recording studio and equipment in the latest beast raid to assail their home town of Juniper Hall. The Clovers had for the longest time refused to move to a Great Walled City for a multitude of reasons ranging from solidarity with their fellow Juniper Hall townsfolk as well as the belief that the move to a new and unfamiliar location might have an affect on their musical stylings, which focus on a somber tone for the genre. With this latest disaster, which has seen much of Juniper Hall destroyed in an unusually powerful and dangerous animal raid coordinated by Spider-Ants, many of the remaining inhabitents are without homes and have lost their faith in the 'old way' of living in 'old fashioned' towns such as their home. The Clovers have confirmed that, after some debate, they will be moving alongside their fellow Juniper Hall towns people to the nearest GWC of Juniper Hill.

Coming out more recently, the electro-swing collaboration between DJ Skully and DJ Scarface has seen a mostly positive reception from their fans, both Nullian and Displaced alike. when asked seperately for comment about their collaboration partner, both DJ's had only one thing to say about the other: 'I like his style.'

On more tragic news, the current band for the world famous Berserker Paladin Theater Troupe has suffered a great loss as two of their current band-mates have fallen on the line of duty. As always, the exact identities of the current Theater Troupe composition remains a closely guarded secret, but it has been confirmed that a private service will be held within the Paladin Order's headquarters. Their last album, Rain of a Thousand Iron Fists, will be the last album to contain the latest iteration of the Troupe's musical band. Reports confirm that the surviving members of the current Troupe, in honor of their fallen pack-mates, will disband and open the way for the next iteration of the band to replace them.

(Eileen Ferris and Kenzie Thomas belong to some pleasant fellows I've met on Discord called Shocken and Iselwyr respectively. Their characters appear as cameos among the Displaced populace in this setting.)

 

[TripleMRed]

A Guide to Common Nullian Fruits, and Some Other Edible Plants. [3152 Edition]

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Greetings and welcome to all of the Median's newly Displaced populace. We understand thoroughly that, due to circumstances outside of your control, you have wound up on our world with no way back to your points of origin. We deeply apologize for any and all pain, suffering and/or dismemberment the survivors of the initial Displacement may have suffered due to our world's incredibly hostile nature, and we hope that your new homes in the wonderful City of Dreamhold/Byr will be a safe and comfortably accommodating place for you all to live in in peace.

Due to the 'changes' that were made to your bodies in order to make you compatible with living on Null and not instantly be dissolved into a bubbling boiling puddle of rotting biomass on contact with the contaminants in the air, we have prepared a short but helpful list of various native Nullian fruits, as well as some other edible plants, that will be continuously updated as time goes on as we help you integrate and get as close to comfortable with your new lives here as possible.

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Apa: The Apa is one of the most common and widespread fruits on the Arisa continent of Null, coming in a massive variety. From Verdent Bitters to Brown Sugar Apas, to the thorny and massive Pineapa to the bitter 'Tomato' like Bitter Apa, its varied flavors and common nature means you will never want for any kind of Apa in today's modern age. While your biologies have been made fully compatible with Nullian foods, it must be noted that the Apa has some differences from the equivalent known to most Displaced, the Apple.

The juices of an Apa are highly caustic which, while a nonissue for the biologies of Civilized Races, can be a problem when trying to prepare them due to their rating on the Nullian Caustic Scale. Most modern kitchen equipment has been specially acid proofed to allow the ease of handling the corrosive juices, but one must be careful as it's not unknown for spills to occur, which can lead to damage to rugs or the floor. Another major difference, in place of many smaller seeds, the core of the Apa is a massive pit like seed roughly 20mm's in width. Contained within is a notable amount of cyanide, which can be useful to add an almondy taste to items if one lacks the nut for use in cooking. Safety warning, do not eat more than 10 Apa-Seeds in one sitting, lest you gain an upset stomach.

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Pair: Comparable to the 'Pear' fruit known to your kind, the Pairs of Null posses a similar appearance in that they have a fat bottom half that tapers to a point at the top. They get their name due to the fact that they always come in twin pairs, attached at the stem. Similar to the Apa, they posses corrosive juices and a pit like seed, though these are less potent than the Apa varieties.

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Banki: A crescent moon shaped food, Bankis are Null's equivalent to your 'Bananas', though with several key differences. Namely, a Banki's peel is green in coloration, and one knows it is ripe when the peel develops several splotchy black spots. Furthermore, the seed of the Banki is actually located on the 'Handle' used to peel it open, and in the wilds it secrets a subtle pheromone that drives small fauna to dig a hole to lay the seed in to have it grow in a new, safe place. Aside from this, the Banki is overall a pretty harmless fruit, lacking any real notable deadly features such as caustic juices or other phenomena. Enjoy to your heart's content, or use in recipes as you see fit.

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Plumpkin: Similar in appearance to the Pumpkins of your world, and with a meat of similar consistency to 'sweet potatoes', the Plumpkin is a hearty and nutrient rich sweet tasting delight that is available year round in a wide variety of different kinds of a flavors. Despite this, however, a word of caution is necessary: The Plumpkin is known infamously as the 'Genocide Gourd', as when placed in fields with other forms of fruit or vegetables, they will spread their root systems to target and strangle to death these other plants before using their rotting forms as fertilizer for new Plumpkins to form from their strangling roots. As such, when handling Plumpkin seeds, it is absolutely vital not to allow any be planted near non-Plumpkins. If you or someone you know has a personal garden, do NOT forget to remind them of this fact lest they lost their entire crop and accidentally cause a small Plumpkin outbreak.

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Ash-Berry: A most peculiar plant that is difficult to properly compare with Displaced native flora, the Ash-Berry resembles a common cherry with a brighter, fuller and shinier color, and spawned in massive quantiies around a singular large trees out in the Ash Fields of the Southern Heat Plains. Nourished by the volcanic ash enriched soil, these trees periodically release spore like seeds from their tops, which float down and grow into new Ash Trees, assuming they are not eaten in their sapling stage by tree hungry creatures. The fruits of these trees do not contain seeds, and instead act as enticement or payment for animals to protect the trees from harm by flora consuming creatures. The Ash-Berry itself is the size of a cherry, but possesses a bitter taste. They find excellent use in bitter recipes, candies, and as flavoring for medicines.

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Shellfruit: A fruit commonly found on islands owned and visited by the Wavechasers Nation of Oros, Shellfruit are similar to 'Kiwis'. They grow low to the ground and are covered in a soft-fuzz shell casing, contained within a slightly glowing flesh known for its delightful flavor. A word of warning, however, as it has been found that Shellfruit are unusually radioactive for fruit and consuming large quantities can lead to stomach pains. If you feel a slight burning sensation as you ingest the fruit, do not panic. This is your bodies reaction to radioactive material kicking in as the flesh is consumed. It is not recommended to eat anymore than 10 Shellfruits in one sitting lest one get sick and have to spend a day recovering from the radiation dosage.

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Nullian Fig: It is a fig. Same as in your world, though notably larger and encased in a tough armored shell, making them a favored fruit for Shinooks. Excellent for making popular fig based candies and cookies.

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Orange: Named after it's orange coloration, it should not be confused with the 'Orange' from your world. The Nullian Orange is the size of a 'Grapefruit', and flavored with enough citrus flavor to make ones eyes water if not partially drained of its juices first. The outer shell can be 'cracked' and split open, allowing direct access to the four-sectioned meat within.

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Spudder: Also known as the Tato, the Spud, or the Earth Apa, Spudders are starchy tubers that are like the tougher alien cousin of your 'potatoes'. Needing to be boiled in order to be edible, Spudders are an excellent source of nutrient and extremely flexible for their wide, wide range of recipes and ways to prepare them. It is not recommended to eat any that have glowing postules on them, as those have been infected by a tuber disease that leads to sickness to those who ingest the contaminated material.

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Karaton: Also known as the Spike Root, the pale purple Karaton is akin to your 'Carrots', and are useful in a wide variety of recipes. Known for their health benefits including aiding in improving eyesight, Karatons are similar to other tubers in that they must be boiled to soften them for consumption, lest one tries to gnaw through roots as tough as rocks. As a bonus, their pointed, spike like shapes makes these tubers an excellent, if odd, make shift stabbing weapon in emergencies.

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Rice: From Ice Rice in the Northern Frozen Wastes, to the Spice Rice of the Southern Heat Plains, rice is a form of plant that is not too dissimilar from those of your world. Coming in a vast, vast, vast variety, it is difficult to get sick of this staple food due to the nearly limitless dining combinations one can have alongside these countless plant seeds. Warning, do not attempt to eat Nullian rice without properly cooking them first, as in their natural state they are as tough as rock and with sharp ends capable of causing lacerations in the esophagus and stomach.

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Wheat and Oats: Like rice, wheat and oats is another staple food shared between our world. With just as vast and exhaustive a variety as their rice counterparts, Nullian wheat and Oats can be used to bake a wide, wide variety of breads, pastries, and other foods. They are also notable for being edible without needing proper preparation, thus allowing one to subsist off them directly from the stalk, making for a quick if unimaginative meal.

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Paynut: A strange nut without a direct counterpart on Earth ,though the flavor is said to be akin to 'Peanut Butter'. Paynuts are a form of plant that have developed a form of symbiosis with other creatures: Those that bring it 'payment' in the form of a dead small animal will, in turn, be allowed to feed upon some of the large acorn like seeds produced at the end of its low hanging branches. Warning, however, for if one tries to take a Paynut seed without paying the toll first, the plant will inject an obscene amount of cyanide into the seed that completely ruins the vaunted and sought after flavor.

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Choco Fruit: Unlike the 'cocoa' seeds of the world of the Displaced, the chocolate on Null hails from the dark skinned and vaguely heart shaped fruits of the Choco tree. The flesh is bitter, but when the ground or mashed fruit flesh mixed with sugar and sweetened with milk, chocolate is made to be consumed and enjoyed.

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Vanilla Rose: Pink-tinted white rose flowers, Vanilla is extracted from the sap of these thorny roses before being processed into its final, safe to eat form as vanilla. Attempting to eat the sap before processing is unadvised, as it is toxic and ingesting too much can result in coma or even death, depending on quantity.

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Heart Rose: Akin in flavor to 'Strawberries', the Heart Rose's syrup is extracted and refined in a process akin to the Vanilla Rose. Attempting to eat the unrefined sap is highly unadvisible, as it has been known to cause heart attacks in one or both of the ingestor's hearts in its raw form.

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Sweet Hickory: Known to you as a 'Pecan', Sweet Hickory seeds is extremely well loved by Nullians, including Oros, and they are known to become highly alert when the prospect of being able to eat Sweet Hickory is brought up. Nothing makes an Oros your friend as quick as them baking (or buying from a store, they're not picky) Sweet Hickory Pie to share or as a gift.

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These were just a quick list of some foods on Null, some more familiar than others, that we hope will help make your lives here on our world more comfortable. The full list of edible foods can be found online, though the digital copy of this quick list will be updated in the future with more common edibles for you to learn of and try for yourself!

[....This digital edition of the guide list is many, many, many updates behind the current update....]

 

[TripleMRed]

[A vintage, old timey poster can be seen, depicting what seems to be a semi-anthropomorphic rabbit of androgynous shape made of ink doing what appears to be a dance with a top hat and cane which appear to also be made of ink. Words follow, reading 'See the amazing wonder of the moving picture, starring the one, the only, Blotty Bunny! Watch the latest mover with only 5 Bits admission, 2 Bits for children!']

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[A newer, though still vintage physical poster, can be seen, depicting what seems to be a pair of desperadoes facing each other in the wild outlands of a dry desert at dusk. The words on the poster read 'After over 30 films, the Gungrave Chronicles finally comes to an end. Catch the Last Shot, now in theaters for all the civilized world to see.']

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[A digital advertisement for a graphic novel series is shown, depicting an almost robotic figure in a space suit like attire, dodging laser fire amidst the stars while firing back at an unseen enemy, the figure's large expressive mono-chromatic eyes on its LED visor winking at the audience while it seemed to be wagging the index finger on the hand without a weapon like they were imitating another gun firing. 'Space Cop Groove, Volume 1, now on sale for only 5 Dollups.']

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[A digital advertisement depicts a 12x16 inch tray with a pair of carry handles on the sides and a sophisticated looking tumbler lock looking device on the multicolored metallic sheet covering the tray. Words on the tray read 'Stonecutter Menu 14, Halwurst and Meatloaf with garlic mashed tubers, Veggie Pocket, and spiced apa pudding desert.' Words follow, reading 'Military H-Ration Surplus Sale. Stock up now with all of your favorite H-Ration meals at discount prices and Nullian Kitchen approved seal of quality!']

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[A recruitment still ad is seen, showing an armored, poncho adorned member of the Hunter's Guild motioning over an array of cooked meat cuts and ornately crafted plant based cuisines. 'The Hunter Culinary Organization, for the taste of old fashioned home style hunting cuisine at affordable prices. All meals certified fresh, all parts of flora and fauna used, and all cooked by professional culinary staff with no substitutes save what is explicitly requested by the patron. 20% gratuity for all field Hunters who participated in ingredient hunt added to all orders, requires a minimum of one hour or longer to acquire ingredients for meals and additional hours based on meal prep time for completion of dish. First come, first serve policy in place, no refunds unless order is confirmed to have come out wrong or one hour delivery promise is not met. The HCO: Putting quality first in every meal™.']

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a digital page from the 'Armor's and Weapons Catalog, 149th edition'.]

Designation: Version 7, Model 'Devestis' Powered Armor, Oros Variant.

[Sketches depict an advanced set of powered armor, large and bulky with heavy plating and maximum armor coverage, with the visor being little more than a pair of angular eyes attached together by a strip of visor material between them. The stock unit possesses identification markings on the pauldrons, chest, and helmet, with a shield symbol motif prominent.]

Power Source: Baraq Aleph Series Fulminite Generator. (Good for one month of continuous use before replacement or recharge.)

Undersuit: V-18/h tech suit. 10% notable increase to strength, 10% notable increase to top speed. Increased heat tolerance and durability to weaving structure. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Plating: V-4/H Dragonscale Powered Plate. Reinforced Mithril-Adamantium Alloy capable of withstanding direct strikes from non-energy coated strikes. Vulnerable to Class 9 penetrating strikes and above, with heat tolerance in the thousands of Celsius range without issue. Optional runic upgrades where available.

Additional Features: V-8 Stun-Field generator, integrated, and hard points for armor-planted weapon systems including shoulder mounted launchers and forearm rail-guns. Includes space for optional integrated V-1 energy shielding generator systems.​

Summary: The latest in the Devestis line of heavy powered armor, the Version 7 continues the lines dedication to heavy armor protection without compromising the design heritage's highly modular nature. Even in today's modern market, the Devestis continues to be the powered armor system with the most variants to its name, whether it is Solarite Plasma Reactor Engineering models, Ultra-High Pressure Deep Sea models, Heavy Weapon Platforms or the ever reliable Damage Testing and Monitoring variant.

On the defense, the Devestis continues to be the toughest of its kind with a Mithril-Adamantium alloy plating as well as reinforced undersuit, allowing it to laugh off damage that other Power Armor would be threatened by, requiring the most powerful or esoteric of attacks to breach easily. Combined with a heat tolerance in the thousands of degrees centigrade, and the Devestis stands as an excellent platform for heavy weapons or damage tanking roles on the battlefield.

Thruster systems are a relatively recent addition to the series, coming in only in the 6th Version, but have proven an excellent addition to the system by providing the heavy armor set a much needed boost to agility.

Runes capable of being applied remains a feature in this armor set, allowing users to to augment and further amplify the suit's capabilities. Note, however, that as per the Runic Law of Age, the effects of the Runes will not be as powerful now as they will be later, though thankfully a runed V-7's modern capabilities and construction allows it to match older suits of runed armors, even pre-power armor suits.

Still the unchallenged heavy PA platform on Null, the Devestis continues to serve with distinction in armories everywhere, whether it is exploring deep pressure environments, the incinerating depths of an active reactor in need of immediate repair, or even just providing additional heavy firepower on the battlefield, the Devestis is unmatched in its defensive capabilities for mass produced, commercially available PA systems. When you need to take a hit, or give it right back, you can always rely on a Devestis to watch you back!

 

[TripleMRed]

[Transcript from a 3162 AA article from Science News Daily on the worlds within the Nullian system.]

The home star-system of the Median and it's people, commonly known as 'The Null System' in day to day life but also known by its official name of Dominus after the main-sequence star at its heart, is home to a number of worlds and planet-sized moons that hold mystery and exciting history in their formation and make up.

At the heart of the solar system is the large main-sequence star, Dominus, so named because in early records of folk lore, it was believed to be the ruler of the heavens over the Nullian system. The most intriguing facts about Dominus include it having a higher than normal Thaumaturgical rating compared to other stars and that it is at the high end of yellow main-sequence stars in terms of size. It also holds the distinction of being the absolute farthest star from heart of the Okeanus Galaxy we orbit, being the final star still in the Galaxie's gravitational pull before entering intergalactic dark space.

Following that, the first world we encounter is Ignis. Ignis is a fascinating world, as it is as close to Dominus as possible without actively falling into its gravity well and being pulled into its depths. Furthermore, it is home to a high amount of volcanic activity, with one side of its tidally locked face bright on the night side due to active lava formations, and the other a burning desert with volcanoes rising and falling in a particularly violent dance of activity. Relatively small, early recon probes by scientific committees have found that Ignis is a treasure trove of minerals and other resources, ranging from mundane ores to more hardier mystical elements such as adamantium or elemental crystals such as Solarite.

Following Ignis is the dead world of Hemistone. Originally only a single world, approximately a million and a half years ago, an extra-solar planetary capture in retrograde slammed into Hemistone's original singular body. The resulting impact led to the death of whatever biosphere Hemistone may have once had and has led to an aesthetically beautiful yet haunting double-bodied planetoid of shattered continental plates and debris fused together and orbiting the split, fused planet at the center. Believed to have mineral deposits from both worlds still within and without the debris field, Hemistone holds the distinction of having the first unmanned probes of the Median make landing there in the 2400's, where they continue to find new and fascinating discoveries of both planet's history every decade as they continue their endless search for scientific discovery on the fused world.

At 1 AU from is the third planet from Dominus and the largest technically-habitable world in the system that is named after it, the world of Null holds the widest and most fascinating amount of biodiversity, as well as the oldest natural ecological history, of any of the world in the system. Home to billions of sapient individuals on-world, with over a million more in habitat stations surrounding the planet's orbit, Null holds the distinction of two of the most dangerous moons in the system: Yarah Mot, the Dead Moon which was poisoned by a freak and never before seen Theumaturgical event in the 2900's by an extradimensional element classified as 'Decay', and Yarah Dam, the Elder Blood Moon which is home to an entire ecosystem of Elder Things that evolved from the fallen bodies of Elder Gods slain eons ago by the Great Spirits protecting Null.

As of the writing of this article, the Moon Wars that began in the early 3150's are still raging as hold outs of the 'Moon Elders' responsible for much of the troubles in the late 3000's/early 3100's continue to be fight against Median forces.

Past the planet-system of Null, there is the fourth world of the Nullian System, Phobia. Originally a habitable world some 500,000 years ago, a Theumaturgical event of unprecedented size and unexpected violence erupted, covering the world in a planetary storm of black clouds and red lightning, with the center of the endless hurricane resembling a massive, red eye, whose frightening appearance was what gave it its name millennia ago by early astrological scholars to discover the planet. In recent centuries, unmanned drones have been sent to investigate the world, with more recent technological advancements allowing for unbroken contact despite the magical storm. What was discovered beneath the clouds is a wind-swept, but surprisingly still living environment, with plants having evolved to flow with the wind and small scale animal life living a subterranean life beneath the endless gale force winds and lightning strikes. Mountains have been eroded down from once glorious heights to large hills, and the lightning strikes result in the sands and dirt becoming pillars of glass that are, in turn, eroded and swept up by the winds.

The fifth, and largest, planet in the system is the gas giant Typhoon. So named because of its blue, ocean like coloration and its 'waves' of cloud-bands, Typhoon posses both a a surprisingly small number of moons for a Gas Giant as well as a rare, double-ring system surrounding it. The inner most ring is new and in a slow decay pattern, and will finish collapsing into Typhoon's gravity well in approximately 10k years, which will be believed to be spectacular event as the ring's larger fragments burn up in atmospheric entry. The other, outer layer ring is far enough away to be in a stabilized orbit around Typhoon, with estimations as to how long it will last being little more than guesses at this point in time.

Of its 17 moons, 4 are planet sized and are worlds in their own right. Umbra is a shadowy worked distinct for having a vast store of Umbrum ore on both the surface and in the planetary layers, which causes it to spectacularly move in and out of visible wavelengths at semi-regular intervals. Glacius is the a frozen wasteland which is believed to have a liquid ocean of water hidden beneath miles of sea-ice, with scanners indicating an active core and enough thermal vents and active lava flows in its depths to support some form of life. Arachnia, so named due to the Great Spider Spirit crashing into it tens of thousands of years ago and cracking the ground in a spider-like formation that can be seen from orbit, has a relatively thin but stable atmosphere, with geomantic arachnoid creatures making a living on the surface due to left over magic from the Great Spirit Irmra giving them life.

Concordia, however, is the most notable moon of Typhoon due to the fact that, thanks to a mixture of a thick, greenhouse enabling atmosphere and an active core, it is a lush, vibrant world of green forests, grassy hill plains, jungles, swamps, and thriving oceans. Early drone footage shows an active, insect rich ecosystem within a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere compatible with Nullian life forms, marking the world as a possible colony site once the Moon Wars end and the space around Null is secured.

In contrast to the blue, ocean like Typhoon, the gas giant Fulgeria resembles an active lightning furnace, with angry red and orange coloration along its atmospheric bands and the presence of no less than two active super-storms on opposite sides of the planet. Fulgeria is notable compared to Typhoon in that it actively possess an ecosystem of its own, with massive swarms of gas-skimming octo-jelly floaters, lightning absorbing glide-serpents, gas filtering flocks of flying manta like creatures, and large skywhales that consume the smaller creatures by the dozen. Recent satellite-drone scans also indicate that life exists deep into the planet's lower layers, including creatures adapted for living in the hyper-pressure conditions of the massive liquid hydrogen ocean beneath the cloud layers.

Of it's over 70 moons, only three are of planetary size and structure. The tidally locked, shadowy world-moon of Nox exists on the dark side of Fulgeria and is a dead world of little else than eternal darkness, though signs of technology belonging to an ancient species of Elder known as the Stone-Eyes is thought to exist here. There is no question of this technologies presence on the world of Apex, however, where the ancient space fairing Stone-Eyes built a massive ecumenopolis across its surface, stone-tech structures still standing even after the Stone-Eyes disappeared eons ago. By comparison, the small frigid iceworld of Frigila is in an active global ice age due to an impact event some two thousand years ago resulting in a massive amount of atmospheric debris inducing the climate shift. Drone-Satellites have only recently arrived in Frigilla's orbit and have begun the process of deep-scanning it to uncover its lost history.

Finally, the farthest world of all in the Nullian System is the world of Aurum, so named because of its golden sheen. Spectra-analysis indicate that this sheen is not, in fact, actual gold, but rather ice that has been tainted this color due to the presence of macro-colonies of bacteria that thrive on both the frozen water ice as well as the world's tectonically active surface. These golden ice-mountains shift and change frequently, relative to the geological scale, and as such rarely stay the same for more than a thousand years. Despite the truth of its composition, the Great Spirit and Queen of Loot Arara has claimed rights to the world, with plans to turn it into a 'true' golden fortress in time.

In addition to the planets and moons, the Nullian System is home to no less than three distinct asteroid belts. The first is formed in the orbital pattern of Hemistone, created around the same time as the impact of the once two distinct planets, with debris entering the same orbital pattern as their originator. This is the smallest of the asteroid belts.

The second Asteroid Belt is the Phobia/Typhoon Division Line, a massive field of asteroids and other material that formed early in the system's birth and has remained in place ever since. It is believed that his line, combined with the two gas giants, are the primary contributing factor to the relative lack of asteroid impacts on the inner planets.

The third and final asteroid belt is the Fulgeria/Aurum Division Line, which is both proportionally the thinnest and most resource rich of the three inter-system asteroid belts of the Nullian system. This belt too has been claimed by Arara as part of her domain.

Finally, just beyond the Nullian system proper there is the Oort Cloud, a debris field of materials numerous light-days thick, and the closest part of the rest of the galaxy to the Nullian System. Currently, plans are in place to send mining ventures to the Oort Cloud to begin construction of massive mining and refinery stations to process and send back the materials gained there to be of use to the Median's people. Just beyond the Oort Cloud, and the closest neighbor to our home system, is the Gygas Nebula, a small nebula with a handful of stars, the closest being one dubbed Ahot, or Sister.

As the farthest star from the center of our Galaxy, Null is both the loneliest system and yet also the most distinct for its placement. It is hoped, both by the scientific community and the average living soul in the Median's care, that we will discover and become allies with other sapient races amidst the stars, joint in mutual beneficial partnership for a safe, secure future for all. Only time will tell if this will be the case.

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of a forum post made in 3155 in a Displaced military discussion forum posting on a popular science-fiction discussion site, created by one 'Slugger-R-Us' to the Displaced community on site.]

Forum: Nullian-Terran Military Comparison Thread, Version 2 (First Version shut down due to routine harassment by a now banned user identified as 'IchorSlave33' causing thread wide arguments forcing moderators to step in)

Original Post Date: Sararus/Janus 32nd, 13:45 PM Eastern Standard Time.

---

Slugger-R-Us: Alright my little antisocial anthropods, Big Brother Slugger here to give you lazy bastards that sweet, sweet info on local military organizations, which by the way any of you could have done if you weren't all lazy pricks, but don't worry. I exist, so you can continue to ferment in your own inability to search your own damn topics yourself.

Jaybird404: I thought you Oros were supposed to be all nice and stuff?

GorStain: I think it's because they're one of those Empusas.

Slugger-R-Us: First, I had an Empusa for a dad, which is where I get my 'tude, to set things straight. Second, this is me being nice. Now, do you 'Jarheads' or whatever you Displaced call yourselves want this info spoon fed to you, or are you going to get off your asses and do it yourselves, only to jank it up and wind up misinformed like what happened wtih Steve-Stein?

Steve-Stein: I said I was sorry!

Slugger-R-Us: I'm not the one you have to apologize to for getting almost everything wrong about the Order of the War Panalopy? You're lucky most of them don't hang around this place, or you'd get 'um, actually'd' to death. With lots of mean, mean words thrown in for good measure by the way.

Anti-Lope: OMG, stop stalling and just do your presentation thing already!

Slugger-R-Us: Contain the calamity that is your mammaries, I'm getting to it.

-Now then, what you need to know about us Nullians and our military organization is that there's two main kinds of military organizations: The 'Official' Median forces, and the 'Private' Orders and Guilds that work with the government in official while remaining their own distinct cultures with their own maintained traditions.

Mousepad: Question.

Slugger-R-Us: Hold your questions until after the presentation or be mocked by your peers.

Anti-Lope: FFS, shut up Mouse, I've been dying to get a full breakdown of their shit since we got here and I'm not waiting any longer!

Jaybird404: We could totally have figured it out on our own if we had more time, we've only had forum access for three months! That's not long enough to figure all this shit out!

Moderator 'Major Lupa': Everybody chillout for a few minutes and let the man speak. He's doing this as a favor for the lot of us, so just wait until he's finished.

Slugger-R-Us: So like I was saying, two different 'sects' of military orgs around these parts. We'll go through the 'Official' stuff first. Now, official, Median run and operated organizations include the Hunter's Guild (which was a Private sector until the unification of the three primary corps during the Third Draconic War a few decades ago, I'll get into that another day so shut up on questions about it), the Median Knights, and the Guardian Order.

-Now, the Hunter's Guild is one of the oldest and most venerable continuous organizations on Null. Their primary purpose is to hunt down and destroy, contain, divert, preserve, and study wild life out in the wilds of the planet. They're usually lightly armored and full of gadgets and weapons designed to sneak up to and take down a target, be it at range or in a close quarters capture mission.

-There are 3 (get used to seeing that number a lot) specializations within the Guild: Hunters are the mainline ranged and stealth experts of the Median, stalking and taking down their prey. Trackers specialize in using both training and equipment to tag and track down their prey during the hunt. Wranglers are mainly capture units, but when working with others lethally they make excellent use of their gear to tangle up and bog down the enemy.

-Summary: They're the scouts, trackers, snipers, and stealth experts of our official military forces.

--The Median Knights, meanwhile, is the 'real' military arm of the Median military. Formed at the founding of the Median in 1501AA, the Median Knights are a unified, formalized division of soldiers who fight in major tactical and strategically vital wars, be it against Dark Spirits, Spider-Ants, Mother Root, or Moon Elders among other tactically competent and organized fighting forces. They're the heavy hitters, the big guns, the 'meat' of the Median military as it were.

--While there are technically over a dozen specializations, the 3 primary ones that follow are the most common and widespread of them all, useful in any and every tactical situation compared to the more specialized formations. Knights are the mainline infantry of the Median, using mission specific gear and armor subweapons and equipment in a generalist role that makes them good in almost any scenario. Heavies make use of heavy armor and heavy weapons, up to and including back mounted launcher systems, to provide heavy fire support. Tacticians are a support role who use a wide array of sensors and equipment to provide highly accurate targeting data to their allies as well as call in fire support from afar.

--Summary: They are the shooty-shooty bang bang infantry of the Median Military. Like some of you guys were back home, but not Displaced!

---The Guardian Order has existed for thousands of years, acting as a medical and healing organization in all that time. During the Third-Kingdom War that led to the founding of the Median, however, the Guardian Order took up arms and joined the proto-Median alliance against their Third-Kingdom enemies, taking on the roles of medics and support troops, with advances in technology we take for granted today allowing them to accomplish such tasks with incredible precision and capability.

---The three specializations of the Order include the following: Guardians are heavily armored defensive units meant to provide support by aggroing the enemy to keep fire off other, less armored units, using gear to siphon power from enemy forces or disrupt their abilities. Aegian use their equipment to augment their allies via activating highly advanced energy shields, both as static barriers as well as amplifying existing shields or adding new ones to shieldless enemies. Apothecaries make use of both healing equipment on their persons or via drones to provide healing, buffs, and debuffs as necessary.

---Summary: They are our White Mages. Do not. Fuck. With. The White Mages. Yes, I stole that from one of your people's media streams, no I'm not apologizing.

Mousepad: Sick!

WarNotLuv: Wait, where do those jetpack guys I heard about come into all of this? Storm-Leapers I think they're called? Or those Sand Shark desert guys?

Slugger-R-Us: I said to hold off questions until the end, but I'll actually answer that since it's relevant: Storm-Leapers, Sand Sharks, Raiders, and all the rest are the other dozen+ specializations I mentioned exist in the Median Knights, which I will not be going into because each one has enough history and purpose for deployment that even I don't want to spend so much time on for right now. I'll get to those guys on another day, but I'll say this much for now: They are all the signature, trademark units of their respective Nationalities, each with a storied history and origin. Like I said: Their stuff will come another day.

Anti-Lope: Cool! Okay, so those were the 'official' stuff, what about the Private stuff?

Slugger-R-Us: Settle down, my agitated antelope of questionable parentage, I'm getting to that. Hold on to your ears, this one's going to be the speed round because each one is worth their own dedicated breakdown another day too:

-The Order of the War Panoply is an all female Order of Dames (As in female knights, you fucking sub-amoebas) borne from the remnants of the ancient days of Oros Warrior-Queens, being a knightly order dedicated to perfecting the art of warfare and proving their superiority over their enemies by wearing elaborate, and deadly, stylized armors that increase in complexity and ornateness as they climb up in rank and status, directly correlating to age and how long they've been perfecting their art. They begin as Combat Maidens equipped with Combat Skirts, before becoming Battle Matrons adorned in Battle Dresses, before finally achieving the rank of War Matriarchs in War Gowns at the top of order. They are, without exaggeration, some of the deadliest Mortals alive on Null, bar none.

-The Order of the War Forge is an all male Order of Knights borne as the direct male counterpart of the Order of the War Panalopy. Rather than being combatants, though not to downplay their combat capabilities, the War Forge act as the support staff and smiths for the War Panlopy: The boys create the toys while the girls perfect the art of killing things dead with said toys. Traditionally, each Dame in the War Panalopy is paired with counterpart of the War Forge, who acts as their personal smith for the rest of their careers. While romantic relationships between them have occurred, most of these relationships are platonic in nature at most and strong bonds of friendship form between the assigned pairs. Smith Sons become Forge Fathers after proving their worth and joining their respective Combat Maiden in her own promotion, before ascending to the title of Adamantine Patriarchs after they and their respective counterpart prove themselves further after centuries of combat and arming for combat.

-The Magi Order is ancient and mysterious, with much of their inner secrets unknown to the common folk. What is known is that, using Aetherworks, Magi are magic users of the Aether, able to be of any species though on Null, though due to sheer numbers and statistical probability they're primarily Oros. They provide support or kill teams against Eldritch forces, and they lack dedicated roles and more are hyper competent generalists in all regards, getting more powerful and more deadly the older and more experienced they get. IE, they're Space Wizards that are shooty-looty-and-goodie-patootie. No, I'm not apologizing for that joke. I refuse to.

-The Order of the Berserker Paladin is an anti-infernal order of holy knights directly tied to the Ambaric Church, though they technically predate the Ambaric religion by a long ass time. The Berserker Paladins have a number of different classes but this is only relevant amongst their own kind and their missions. To outsiders looking in, other than different coloration on their cloth or different armor configs, Paladins are similar to Magi in that they're sent in as support or as kill teams against their specific enemy.

-Not technically any kind of official military org, be it Private or government, the Militia is the general term for most of the capable adult populace of Null that isn't a direct member of any of these organizations. This is more of a default, before the Great Walled Cities came about, as in order to survive on Null you had to be both a good fighter and a good teammate. I'm speaking from experience here and without any humor: If you made it to adulthood you were, by default, considered part of the 'Militia' by simple fact that you lived to become an adult. I'm not going to go any further in depth at what life was like back then, it fucking sucked and you lucky fucks have no idea how good you have it to have arrived in the time of the Great Walled Cities. This isn't to say your arrival didn't suck: I'm legitimately sorry for any injuries or lost friends and family you might have had on arrival before the Median got to you, but if you hadn't shown up in this current age of the Great Walled Cities, 'a portion' of you Displaced being dead would have been 'all'.

So yeah, that's the basics of our various military organizations. I'll be taking questions now, but before anything else: Yes, I do know what 'Magical Girls' are thanks to you bastards, and yes, I can see the similarities between them and the War Panoply, especially with the colorful armor and styling fight moves. No, I'm not going to acknowledge that they are 'magical girls', because that means some of you will win, and I refuse to allow that to happen. So yeah, gimme your questions.

[The rest of the threat continues for hundreds of pages after ward, 15 percent of which were answering questions from the breakdown previously given.]

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of a data file on the Displaced population and its composition as of 3155 AA]

The Displaced situation which began at the end of 3150 and which has officially been considered 'handled' as of 3153 is one that cannot go understated for all official Median officials. This data packet will include a brief summery of each of the Displaced cultures of the three 'Waves' of Displaced that have arrived on Null since the start of this decade. Please familiarize yourself with the essentials stated in this packet, and be sure to look into follow up data packets that goes in depth into the unique qualities of each of the Displaced populations we are now host to.

Overview: While instances of Displaced are not unknown to us, every instance prior to the mass Displacements in recent years have always been of individuals, and groups of no larger than three at a time. Many Displaced before this suffered virtually instant death upon contact with the caustic pollutants pumped into our atmosphere by the flora and microfauna on the ground, with a lucky few being 'upgraded' to Nullian standard before they are introduced to our atmospheric conditions.

The unique thing about the Displaced we have received, outside of the sheer quantity of individuals present per Displaced 'Wave', is that every single member of the Displaced populace has been 'upgraded' to our standards, increasing durability, physical capabilities, and adding things such as Sentinel Bacteria in order to allow them to survive not only our atmosphere but also the harsh ecosystem of our planet.

This is not by mistake, but by design, as according to files released by the Office of Thaumatological Affairs, the Displaced were captured en-masse from their home dimensions by a rogue Uplifter, who designed to test them for integration into Null's ecosystem. Enough of each passed the trials to warrant the integration of all selected candidates, which resulted in their upgrading to Nullian Standard and subsequent release in Stahlmount Plateau near Dreamhold City. The Uplifter in question has since been put on trial and destroyed by its kin, but the damage is done now: With their upgrades, it is impossible to send these Displaced back to their home dimensions safely.

Regardless of their Wave of origin, all the Displaced so far are currently living at the nearest GWC of their arrival, Dreamhold, due to the fact that in addition to proximity, of the Great Walled Cities it is the one with the most amount of undeveloped Districts, providing the most space for the Displaced populations of all three populations to live in relative peace and comfort.

With this in mind, we shall go over a quick look over each of the Displaced populations, divided by 'Waves' as previously mentioned.

-

First Wave Displaced: The first to arrive on Null, the First Wave Displaced hail from a less lethal and less theumatologically active world they know as 'Terra', with the population of sapient being comprised of Uplifted animal life. Designed to a similar bipedal, anthropoidal template across all their uplifted species, the 'Terrakin' hail from a highly advanced world that, lacking the unifying challenges of a deathworld like our own, are highly divided by tribalistic national lines and loyalties to politically powerful mega-corporate entities. Life across their civilization, which has orbital habitats and several off world colonies at varying stages of development across their home solar system, is generally hard and bleak in a distinctly different manner than that of our own world, though the individuals brought in for the First Wave Displaced all hail from one city in particular, Sunset City, from the nation of United Americana Republics.

The most populace on arrival, the First Wave Displaced are of the widest variety of species, including many kinds of uplifted mammals, reptiles, avians, amphibians, and several kinds of aquatic species as well. Of those species of mystical trait and quality, two distinct kinds are notable here outside of the occasional Spirit or native deity: 'Vampires', which are a naturally bat like species by default though the trait can be inherited or given to any other First Wave Displaced species, and 'Were's, which are capable of transforming into more powerful 'warforms' based on their respective species. Between these 'mystical' species and the Mundane majority, Vampires and Were's are distinct minority making up less than twenty thousand individuals between the two species combined. Regardless of species, all produce offspring through live birth and have mammalian style traits across all known examples of First Wave Displaced members.

Additionally, cybernetic and biological augmentations are quite common among their populace, with replacement limbs being common even for those without a history of injury. Their Displacement lead to many of their number receiving grievous injuries from the largest Spider Ant nest in the region upon arrival, though quick response from Dreamholds defense forces minimized fatalities and allowed the survivors to move into the safety of Dreamhold as heavy investment by the Median to build a cityscape home for them in two of the empty district plots of Dreamhold was completed within a matter of months after their arrival thanks to aid from the Median's direct leadership.

First Wave Displaced are known for their high crime rates in their home universe, however the 'second chance' of a fresh start on Null seems to be sufficient motivation for many individuals among their number to avoid drawing the attention of law enforcement as much as possible. While both compared to the other Displaced populations and native Nullians the First Wave are still the population with the highest crime rate proportionate to their size, the various Street-Clans, or 'gangs', of their people are smart enough to tow the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior, giving them some level of leeway to continue existing following the recent 'Clean Up' done by a Median Investigator remembered as 'The Cleaner' by the gangs.

The First Wave Displaced within Dreamhold inhabit the two district city scapes of 'Sunrise City' and 'The Pond' for their ground and amphibious based populations respectively, with a Nullian minority living amongst their number. A number of their most renowned soldiers, as well as several detachments of their military regulars, have begun taking part in aiding us in the Moon War that began shortly after their own arrival.

-

Second Wave Displaced: Where the First Wave Displaced are comprised of potentially hundreds of different species from a single city of a megacorportation dominated civilization, the Second Wave Displaced are notable in that they are a singular species of a space fairing civilization. Comprised of an artificial, synthetic species designed to emulate organic capabilities including a reproductive capability similar to our own. These 'Automos', created artificially similarly to the First Wave Displaced, were created to be an independent, self sustaining and self sufficient research and colonization platform that would explore their native galaxy to study and prepare the way for their creator's expansion. The members Automos of the vessel stolen by the Rogue Uplifter, the Atrius, currently reside in Dreamhold's orbital station and shipping yard, aiding in the design and construction plans of the first true purpose built Habitat based Orbital, 'Far Side'.

The Automos are a pleasant people in their own right, grateful to be given sanctuary by the Median though seemingly wracked with an existential malaise due to the current lack of ability to continue their purpose built journey. When asked if their creators would be concerned about their disappearance, the Atrius's crew members were willing to admit that they do not know, as contact with their creators had been lost for over a thousand years during the Atrius' eternal voyage.

Despite their artificial nature and origins, the Automos are fully capable of independent thought and action, developing skills and interests that go beyond the necessities of simple exploration and research drones. With default, bipedal forms of synthetic skin, muscle and organ analogs over a reinforced self-repairing core frame work, they are quite compatible with our civilization's building standards and construction norms. Additionally, it is theorized that the Automos might be an alternate universe version of the Synths that were developed by our own native scientists, albeit a more complex, apparently robotic version than the Synths we have developed so far. Indeed, the Automos are quite interested in learning about and communicating with our various kinds of robotics, from the sapient, organic emulating Synths, to the countless forms of Neo-Golem, or the ancient magitech Golems still in use by many older family lines to this day.

Second Wave Displaced technology is quite advanced, but also resource intensive, with weapons and defense technology requiring power outputs that can only be achieved by the Automos when paired with 'Enhancement Frames', which would be to them what Power Armor is to us. Their ship borne technology, while on an entirely different, Mundane-tech base from our own technology, has also proven useful in designing new ship borne defenses and weapon systems due to the ongoing Moon War.

As previously mention, the Second Wave Displaced mostly find themselves inhabiting Dreamhold's orbital station, with many finding work in defense or engineering actions in the station proper or on the orbital elevator connecting Dreamhold's central Arcology to the station. Several of their elite units have been seconded to aiding in fronts on the Moon War as well, in addition to defense posts to help protect their new, permanent home of Null.

-

Third Wave Displaced: In comparison to the highly advanced, mundane-technological polities of the First and Second Wave Displaced, the Third Wave Displaced is stand out for being something of a total inverse: Their civilization hails from a singular world that has yet to undergo an industrial revolution, whose rulership constitutes mostly of non-constitutional monarchies and direct action-city-states. In addition, instead of low levels of magical use by the majority of the population, the Third Wave Displaced are actually quite potent magic users as a civilization. While gun-powder munitions are known to them, in the form of early musket long guns and cannons as well as early firework-rocketry, they make use of black powder that is whole inefficient of producing sufficient penetration to be useful in anything save hunting of mundane game native to their world, with their own psysiologies being durable enough as to make unmodified black powder weapons short of direct hit cannon fire little more than an irritant to their flesh. Following their upgrades to Nullian biological standards, even irritation is up in question.

Compared to the previous two Displaced Waves, the Third Wave is comprised of several species of naturally occurring races, tellingly several that are reminiscent to anthropoidal versions of animals we are familiar with, including Gryphons, Dragons, and even saurians, in addition to other unfamiliar races such as 'Minotaurs', 'Gnolls', 'Harpies' and more. All known species are fully sapient and sentient, with the majority of those among them being a race of mono-horned canine-eared hominids known as 'Canidae' and split-tailed feline hominids distinct from the Cheshires of our world known as 'Felidae'.

Proportionate to the other Displaced races, the Third Wave the least in number to arrive, having just over a hundred thousand individuals, all of whom were stolen from a well known trade city in their native world as 'Merchant Path'. As the last of the Displaced to arrive, only being fully pulled in from the dimensional stasis storage system used by the Rogue Uplifter to contain the various Displaced for sequences delivery to our world, they are notable for their leadership, which had been awakened before the rest of their kind, helped to recreate the home now lost to them in a two District wide zone meant to emulate their old city and surrounding area within the confines of Dreamhold as much as possible, with enough space to grow as they adapt and become accustomed to the more advanced technologies of our world.

Led by a city council of merchant lords and 'Guild Masters', Third Wave Displaced were, before arriving to Null, physically the closest to us Nullians in terms of physical durability and capability. Indeed, their upgrades to Nullian standard make them, in terms of physical feats proportionate to their sizes, stronger than their Nullian counterparts, with more durable flesh than is considered normal. It should be noted, however, that Nullian weapons are more than capable of inflicting injury when generously applied in combat, and that Nullian warriors are able to fight them in even footing in all training sessions performed by the two forces thus far.

The greatest application of the mystic arts they have so far is the unique skill for creating mystical shielding around even their most basic of warriors, by utilizing enchanted armor or clothing. This enchantment comes at a literal high price, however, and thus most of their soldiers have to make do with singular pieces of armor to provide them with this mystic shield, the rest of their bodies covered in little other armor due to the materials of their native realm being of little worth on its own in protecting them due to their own enhanced physical capabilities relative to their realm's building materials.

As mentioned, Third Wave Displaced now make their homes in a recreation of their old home, New Merchant's Path, recreated within some of Dreamhold's untouched districts. Eager adventurers and hunters of dangerous monsters in their own reality, the Adventurer's Guild has become an associate member of the Null's native Hunter's Guild, with Adventurers joining their Nullian counterparts in Hunts and operations against terrestrial threats and creatures across the Arisa continent. They unexpectedly would provide aid in the Moon War when several of their Adventurer parties would aid Median forces protecting the planet side Adira Construction Yards in the Skyrunner's home desert regions from a surprise assault by Moon Elder forces.

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The array of quirks and differences cultural, societal, and biological across the three Wave's of Displaced are too many to count, however despite all of these differences, enough commonalities can be found between ourselves and our new neighbors to allow for peaceful, if at times complicated, coexistence. With each Wave of Displaced having their own unique proclivities and attributes, it is best for all Median officials who are likely to encounter their respective Wave. Regardless of what kind of Displaced you might meet, always be sure to: Be kind, be courteous, and be respectful. Regardless on your private thoughts regarding their respective world of origins or cultures, they did not ask to be here and so we must try and do our best to be accommodating to our new brothers and sisters. Remember, on Null, we're all in this together.

 

[TripleMRed]

[A new holo poster is visible, detailing what seems to be a games and trade fair of some kind. Among the visible items are a variety of collectible figurines, including long, borzoi like clothed feral canines, rocks with hats, toy mini versions of Null's Dracoequines coming in a variety of pastel colors, and several kinds of plushies.

'3155 Game and Toy's Fair! See the latest in your favorite collectible figure lines, including Scrunco's, My Pet Rock, and Your Tiny Dracoequine! See the latest in the Scrunco spin-off lines of Scrinkly Scrunco, Abstract Scrunco, and the beloved dark fantasy ScruncPG, Scrunco the Reckoning! Behold the latest releases of Your Tiny Dracoequine: Combat Maul 5000, as well as the latest codices for Axe-Scythe, Axe-Scythe 4k, and the Mundane Made Marvelous RPG, Office Drone!

Also catch the latest releases of Yayairu's Marketable Plushies and Queen Seam's Stuffed Animal Collections.

All this and much, much more at this year's Game and Toy's Fair! All proceeds from concessions goes to supporting the efforts of the Moon War.']

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[A holo-poster is shown, depicting book covers showing cloak and mask wearing Nullian mice and rats staring across a ruined, overgrown battlefield, cityscape, and factory respectively. 'The classic post-apocalyptic book series that defined a generation for young book readers is seeing its latest reprinting. Collect and enjoy the Ruststalker Saga for only D25, available at all retailers physical or digital for literary media this summer.']

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[An advert is shown, depicting several kinds of alcoholic beverages, from conventional wines and whiskey's, to more wild smoothie or milkshake like concoctions, all being placed into a box of for delivery. 'Bar Box, your one stop shop for all your drinking desires, now with our new variety box pack.']

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[A poster from the early 3150's is shown, depicting various armored Nullians of various species, standing side by side and armed to the teeth, their gazes turned skyward to a depiction of a blue tinted moon, tentacles surrounding it in a metaphoric way, with words lining the bottom of the poster. 'They started this war, and we will finish it. Join the Median military today to help us strike back against the foe on Yarah Dam!']

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[Another poster from the early 3150's is shown, depicting an armored Nullian soldier standing in the middle of ruined, sickly green lit city scape, reaching out to the viewer as his fight horrors behind him. 'We need you to avenge Yang Quartz! Join efforts for the war on Yarah Dam today!']

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[Yet another poster from the early 3150's is shown, split in various sections each depicting various activities from civilian courier planes, to engineers in an automated factory working on the machines, to Hunters on a Hunt. 'Support at home means support for our boys and girls in plate high above! Do your part to keep our home safe and our troops supplied!]

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of an overview from a manual from the Aerospace Fleet's starship division.]

Before going into indepth breakdowns of each of the Fleet's current stock of Aerospace ships, as of 3150, we will begin by going over an overview of the vessels and craft you will become familiar with during the time of your service within the Fleet. We shall be going from largest to smallest operational military craft and their variants.

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V-1.2a Star Palace Command and Control Support Station.

Size: 4 miles in diameter at the equilateral band, 5 miles in height from lower section to top section.

Mass: 2.5 billion tons, unloaded.

Crew: Estimated at 20k at maximum operation capacity, 10k at current operational occupancy.

Weaponry: 80 capital ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 358 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 500 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 800 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 158 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 80 Sun-Rise Non-Nuclear Ultra-Heavy Bombardment missiles (2 gigaton range)

Summary: The first space capable Command and Control Support Station of its kind and the direct successor line to the atmosphere constrained Sky Palace class, the Star Palace was designed and created to act as a repair and support station with command functionality by forces in a given theater. Of the 7 Star Palace's originally commissioned, 3 would remain in Null exoatmospheric orbit to act as safe zones away from the primary combat theater in Yarah Dam lunar orbit. The other four would remain in lunar orbit to provide repairs, resupply, and coordinate invasion forces during the still ongoing Operation: Lunar Dance. Heavily armed for defending themselves in the likely hostile attempts to strike at them, Star Palaces are extremely durable installations that can take a direct ramming attack by a Star Whale with minimal superstructual damage.

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V-1.3a ExoFortress Assault Carrier.

Size: 3 miles in length.

Mass: 578 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 5k

Complement: Variable based on species profiles, but average of 100,000 troops for deployment. Max capacity estimated to be over a million.

Weaponry: 48 capital ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 280 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 300 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 358 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 88 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 8 Sun-Rise Non-Nuclear Ultra-Heavy Bombardment missiles (2 gigaton range)

Summary: The evolution of the old StratoFortress class aerial assault carriers, the ExoFortress retains the heavy firepower for defensive purposes of its class of warship, updated and upscaled due to the increase in size by a third compared to the original atmosphere only ancestors of the current class. Designed to ferry massive amounts of troops from location to location amongst the stars, current ExoFortress complements are at a fraction of their full capacity in order to minimize losses during the opening salvos of Operation: Lunar Dance.

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V-1.4a/b Cosmoclast Battlecruiser.

Size: 2 miles in length.

Mass: 220 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 2.5k for Aleph complement carrier-variant, 1k for Bet combat only variant.

Complement: Aleph only, max of 25k troops for deployment.

Weaponry, Aleph/Bet: 0/8 Plasma-Caster Solarite directed energy launcher catapults (500 megatonne range) 20/38 capital ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 100/120 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 150/200 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 100/200 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 30/48 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 0/24 Sun-Rise Non-Nuclear Ultra-Heavy Bombardment missiles (2 gigaton range), 0/8 Sunrise Torpedo Launch Tubes.

Summary: The space fairing successor series to the old Terraclast aerial battlecruisers, the Cosmoclast has been built to maximize firepower on its frame in direct combat, with the troop complement carrying Aleph variant being equipped more for defense rather than direct combat, similar to the ExoFortress but on a smaller scale. The combat dedicated Bet variant utilizes a mixture of heavy firepower and coordinated tactics with others of its class as well as Frigate escorts to destroy hostile entities. This mixture of tactics and firepower has led to the Cosmoclast gaining a massive acrued kill count of Moon Elder orbital assets, including scores of Star Whale's, dozens of Lunar Mantas, and numerous Ctenosolars in space combat around the opening battles of Operation: Lunar Dance. Their orbital bombardment capabilities also makes them distinctly suited for the opening salvos of Operation: Moon Fall, planned to begin at the culmination of Lunar Dance's efforts.

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V-1.1a Dandelion Frigate.

Size: 1 mile in length.

Mass: 98 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 500 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 18 capital ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 80 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 100 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 100 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 28 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 4 Sun-Rise Torpedo launch tubes.

Summary: The latest in a long lne of Frigates to act as a supporting element to their Battlecruisers, Dandelions are ships that are made to add additional firepower to a Battlecruiser's ship-of-the-line foes. Cruiser analogs and higher are their primary targets, and although meant to be used in a supporting role, wolf-packs of Dandelions have proven in Operation: Lunar Dance to be quite capable of destroying enemy cruiser analogs on their one when supported by their Rose Frigate sisters.

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V-1.3b Rose Frigate.

Size: 1 mile in length.

Mass: 100 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 500 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 1 super-heavy spinal-mounted gauss cannon, 12 captial ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 80 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 68 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 100 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 28 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets.

Summary: The first of its kind to be created wholesale around a spinal-mounted gun, Rose Frigates act as the long range snipers of the void-based battlefield, providing long distance fire support for their Cosmoclast's as well as focusing fire to eliminate wounded or fleeing enemy craft. They have come to become priority targets for the Moon Elders as, time and again during Operation: Lunar Dance, Rose Frigates firing reinforced, mass detonating munitions from their spinal guns into open wounds of Moon Elder void creatures led to their rapid destruction at a fraction of the time compared to the hour long slugging matches other vessels can expect to endure when fighting their enemies.

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V-1.2a Sunflower Destroyer.

Size: 1 mile in length.

Mass: 80 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 500 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 148 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 380 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 88 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 8 Sun-Rise Torpedo launch tubes.

Summary: The evolution of its aeronautical counterpart, the new void capable Sunflower Destroyer places a heavy focus on providing protection to their Cosmoclasts and ExoFortress's from hostile fighter and bomber equivalent swarms, utilizing a blistering amount of point-defense turrets to eliminate fighter equivalents in droves. Additionally, a heavy amount of ultra-heavy Slugger turrets and 8 Sun-Rise Torpedo launchers provide the Sunflower with counter-capital ship power to allow it to provide assistance in the fight against hostile capitals.

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V-1.2b Starorchid Destroyer.

Size: 1 mile in length.

Mass: 92 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 500 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 4-linked rapid-fire heavy spinal-mounted gauss cannon, 18 capital ship grade gauss-cannon batteries, 120 16 inch ultra-heavy Slugger turrets, 48 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 80 Star-Bloom plasma warhead missile pod formations (100 megatonne range), 28 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 4 Sun-Rise Torpedo Launch Tubes

Summary: An experimental design that has proven surprisingly and satisfyingly successful, the Starorchid class Destroyer is built around a series of 4, rapid fire heavy spinal gauss cannons that, in rapid succession, unleash a fusillade of munitions meant to tear into and eradicate enemy Escort equivalents as fast as possible. Their successes against Storm-Eels, Thunderheads, Shredder-Mites and Cragspires have ensured their continued use and deployment in an anti-escort role, similar to the Rose Frigate's Capital-Ship killer status.

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V-2.3d HaleMaker Heavy Bomber Corvette.

Size: 500 meters in length.

Mass: 1 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 100 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 12 rapid fire gauss point defense batteries, 6 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, dimensional storage capacity for 100k tons of high yield guided explosive munitions for bomb-bay.

Summary: The successor to an earlier, failed prototype design, the HaleMaker succeeded where the original failed by the use of modern day dimensional storage technology allowing it to not only safely be equipped with tons of high explosive ordinance, but with a high variety of of munitions allowing it to be used in a wide range of bomber mission profiles. Though designed for bombing ground based, stationary targets, the guided nature of the munitions allow the HaleMaker to double as a heavy anti-ship bomber in the right circumstances, which scores of them have proven during Operation: Lunar Dance.

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V-2.3g HaleRaker Heavy Gunship Corvette.

Size: 500 meters in length.

Mass: 1.2 million tons, unloaded.

Crew: 100 max crew complement.

Weaponry: 24 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 12 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 8 missile launcher turrets.

Summary: A derivative of the base corvette design, the HaleRaker was created with the intent of using what are normally point-defense systems for ground-support roles. While this has yet to be tested on the Yarah Mat, early tests here on Null have shown great promise with the concept, though the relative proximity to the ground in their intended role makes HaleRakers susceptible to heavy ground fire. Only time will tell if the gunship-corvettes will be worth their material cost when Operation: Moon Fall begins.

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V-1.3a Darkstar Stealth and Infiltration Heavy Insertion Ship.

Size: 250 meters in length.

Mass: 500,000 tons, unloaded.

Crew: 50 max crew complement.

Complement: 200 total.

Weaponry: 8 rapid-fire gauss point defense batteries, 4 Sun-Beam laser point defense turrets, 8 missile launcher pods.

Summary: A prototype design, the Darkstar series of stealth insertion ships were crafted with the intent of inserting strike-forces behind enemy lines in under the protection of an Umbrum based stealth-field that would shroud it from detection from all manners of scanners, detection suites, senses, and across all known audio-visual bands. Out of all the vessels listed in this manual, the activities of the Darkstar are the most unknown due to their classified deployments, though their non-classified capabilities will be mentioned within. The amount of Darkstars currently in existence as of time of writing are unknown.

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V-4.5d Hale-Crane Bomber.

Size: 40 meters in length.

Mass: 500 tons, unloaded.

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot, 1 bomber-bay operator, 1 gunnery officer supported by automated systems..

Weaponry: 4 dual-barrel rotary 40mm gauss turrets, dimensional storage capacity maximum of 128 guided munitions of various payloads and variants, 4 light torpedo launchers equipped with 32 dimensionally stored torpedoes each. 8 point defense anti-guided munitions lasers, holo-chaff and electro-flares by default. Hardpoints for additional munitions available.

Summary: The latest in the long, storied line of Hale-Crane Bombers, the latest space capable variant, while slower than its fighter counterparts, is still the fastest bomber relative to its tech level in Nullian history. Flights of these ships proved their mettle in the crucible of Operation: Lunar Dance, making daring bombing missions to knock out and disable Moon Elder weapon analogs on various capital ship scale creatures, weakening them in their battles against their Nullian counterparts and saving countless lives during these heaven shaking slugging matches. Plans for the Hale-Crane include them making precision bombing raids when Operation: Moon Fall commences.

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V-4.0 Thunder-Crane Ground Support Gunship.

Size: 40 meters in length.

Mass: 540 tons, unloaded.

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot, 7 gunnery positions.

Weaponry: 4 dual-barrel rotary 40mm gauss turrets, 2 heavy Slugger turrets, 2 air-to-surface rocket launchers, 2 multi-purpose missile launchers, 2 155mm artillery cannons. 8 point defense anti-guided munitions lasers, holo-chaff and electro-flares by default. Hardpoints for additional munitions available.

Summary: Originally conceived as a cheaper alternative to the Hale-Crane, the Thunder-Crane proved its worth as a ground support craft time and again since the original's inception centuries prior. Though planned to be deployed during Moon Fall and the ensuing campaign on Yarah Dam, several flights of Thunder-Cranes found themselves in space providing defense for several Nullian Escort and Capital craft against Leecher boarding creatures.

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V-3.2a Daisy-Cutter Ground Attack Heavy Fighter.

Size: 35 meters.

Mass: 300 tons, unloaded.

Crew: 1 pilot.

Weaponry: Variable missile and bomb payload options, 70mm rotary gauss cannon in main chassis. 4 point defense anti-guided munitions lasers, holo-chaff and electro-flares by default. Hardpoints for additional munitions available.

Summary: Envisioned as a heavily armored ground attack fighter, the current version of the Daisy-Cutter has evolved the original's design to have an x-shaped wing and engine placement, for better thrust and maneuvering across the lower gravity and thin atmosphere of Yarah Mat. Upscaled alongside its fellow fighter designs for increased capability out of atmosphere, the Daisy-Cutter proved an exceptional make-shift hostile vessel systems destroyer, with several squadrons making names for themselves in Lunar Dance by making daring strafing runs to take out hostile weapon analogs that were missed by Hale-Crane Bombers.

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V-5.7b Star-Hawk Multirole Fighter.

Size: 32 meters.

Mass: 200 tons

Crew: 1 pilot.

Weaponry: 4 30mm repeating gauss cannons, default payload loadout of 320 Ripper-D BVR capable anti-fighter missiles divided between 8 dimensional storage enhanced launch tubes, 8 Drop-Shot guided bunker-buster bombs by default, dimensional storage maximum of 32 bombs. 4 point defense anti-guided munitions lasers, holo-chaff and electro-flares by default. Hardpoints for additional munitions available.

Summary: The proud modern day descendant of the original Sky-Hawk lines of multi-role fighters, the Star-Hawk continues to see use in a variety of mission parameters, though it has primarily been used as of Operation: Lunar Dance as a fighter-interceptor, hunting down and destroying Shredder-Crabbs, Aero-Mantas, and Gigas Bombards that would threaten their fellow starfighters or their larger Escort and Capital ship counterparts. While many have been destroyed or mission-killed in these brutal void-fights, 60% of pilots of these destroyed craft have been able to be safely recovered thanks to the advancements in compartmentalized cockpit design, including the ability for the cockpit to serve as a vessel on its own as a make-shift survival pod when detached from the rest of the craft, a feature all modern day space fighter designs feature but which the Star-Hawks' role has forced it to be the most often user.

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V-7.0a Void-Hopper Dropship.

Size: 32 meters.

Mass: 240 tons.

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot, 1 gunnery operator supported by automated systems.

Complement: 20-40 standard operations, 50 max.

Weaponry: 5 dual-barrel 20mm repeating gauss cannons, dorsal mounted missile launch system with 8 launch tubes. 7 point defense anti-guided munitions lasers, holo-chaff and electro-flares by default. Hardpoints for additional munitions available.

Summary: The space fairing successor to the Sky-Hopper line of Dropships, the V-7.0a Void-Hopper has yet to see intended deployment on Yarah Dam, though its tests within Null's varied and times unstable environmental conditions, as well as tests within the dangerous Decay corrupted atmosphere of Yarah Mot has proven the Void-Hoppe enough to officially have it replace its Sky-Hopper predecessors wholesale for all major deployments going forward. Talks have been put forward on what to do with remaining Sky-Hoppers still in existence, though final decision on their fate has been postponed until after the invasion of Yarah Dam has proven its successor design successful performance wise in the future warzones. For the moment, all military Sky-Hoppers are undergoing moth-ball procedures, while civilian Sky-Hoppers continue to see heavy use across numerous fields of work.

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This concludes the overview portion of this manual. The following indepth breakdowns on the operations, maintenance, and performance factors of each demonstrated ship will continue starting in reverse order, with the V-7.0a Void-Hopper Dropship.

 

[TripleMRed]

Displaced Announcements Newsletter, 1. (3153)

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If you are reading this, we would like to thank you for subscribing to our first issue of the Displaced Announcements Newsletter, a way to keep all of our fellow Displaced up to date on various announcements, relevant news, and helpful informational tips in regards to our new home here on Null. This edition will be lighter than successor Newsletters, so be mindful of this going forward.

To begin, we are happy to announce that the '3rd Wave' Displaced have finally been fully removed from their stasis holdings and have successfully been moved in and integrated into a recreation of their home town within Dreamhold City, set up in the formerly empty districts in the northern face of Dreamhold. Due to various cultural and societal differences, the 3rd Wave Displaced are not yet open for visitation by outsiders until they finish adjusting to their new situation in due time.

We must also state that the Eastern district plots of Dreamhold, used for military testing and training purposes, are strictly off limits to all non-authorized personal. Live munitions and robotic training drones are in active use here, and any non-authorized personal trying to enter this restricted location will be detained by onsight overseers code named 'Maestro' and 'Orchestra'. For your safety and health, please stay away from this active training and testing site.

Additionally, we would like to take this moment to confirm, and stress, that all seminars or training simulations for those who have sought licenses to participate in Hunting activities outside of City walls are not exaggerated, overstated, dramatized, or hyperbolic. Local life forms are, in fact, as durable and dangerous as the simulations imply. All those with Hunting licenses please learn from one Mr. Hadrian Miller's mistaken belief that the opposite was true, and do not hesitate to utilize overkill. Remember: Local life forms have redundant, semi-decentralized nervous systems, and traumatic damage to the brain does not, in any way shape or form, guarantee a quick kill. 9 times out of 10, a single bullet into or through the brain will just anger the creature in question, and only partial destruction of the head can lead to a berserker state, and ensuing mauling, of the unprepared. Full cranial destruction or decapitation is highly recommended at all times for quick kills.

And yes, full Power Armor is a safety requirement in Hunts, lest you wish to end up a limbless, barely living wreck like the previously stated Mr. Miller.

On a final note, we wish to thank all of our brave men and women in our military units who courageously volunteered recently to assist in the ongoing Moon War, despite the millions of those who have perished in the conflict so far. All proceeds in current War Bonds go to supporting our troops and the effort to bring them back alive and well.

This has been the first addition of the Displaced Announcements Newsletter. More, and happier, news to come next time. This concludes this current Newsletter.

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript by a Displaced agent compiling a report for Displaced leadership circa early 3156. The Agent's name has been hidden to guard their identity, but their distinctly informal style of writing may prove to their determint in remaining anonymous.]

Agent [Redacted] Reporting in. I've completed my mission in compiling an overview of all military forces on Null. This includes our own forces as well as those of our fellow Displaced, with detailed breakdowns following this overview. I'm aware that the Street War earlier this year has left many of our people shocked, and I cannot blame them for the vote to have us become a full member of the Median, which is why I personally volunteered for this assignment. It has taken me some time to run through all known military organizations on the Mortal side of our new home, but I'm confident that we'll be well informed with the information I've managed to secure.

Median.

-The Median is the second oldest continous organized unifying government after the Lasarna Republics. Founded in 1501 following the Third Kingdom War, its military organizations include the main military force of the Median Knights, as well as its medical support division of the Guardian Order and its recently integrated recon, stealth, and sniper experts in the Hunter's Guild. These three bodies, alongside with specialized units from the Median's component Nations, form its primary fighting force against all threats against its peoples. The Militia, which is considered every able bodied adult not directly a member of the military, also serves as the final line of defense for their people, as well as a first response unit for those townships and locations still outside the safety of the Great Walled Cities.

-The Median's greatest strength is its infantry, however over the years, it has developed a small, but flexible series of vehicles to complement their forces. The Armored Corps, where all Nullian ground vehicle and ground support aircraft fall under, is considered a specialized portion of the Median Knights. From Hoverbike and beast cavalry scouting troops, to an array of specialized mechs, to a pool of hover armored vehicles from transports to tanks, the Armored Corps is considered the backbone of any large scale deployment as it is with their support that the infantry arm of the Median are able to win wars. In additon, a heavy use of both robotic drones and attack beasts are also seen during war time.

-The Aerospace Fleet and Navy are two interconnected services that, despite their vastly different operational areas, share history in their ranking structure and sharing of personel early on in the Aerospace's infancy. Protecting the skies and the seas respectively, Aerospace pilots see their fighters and bombers being used from both Aerospace carriers as well as seaborne bases and naval carrier units. During the lead up and outbreak of the still ongoing Moon War, Aerospace developed its first series of fully functional space-capable vessels, using both new and heavily upsides and modified versions of existing Air Ship designs. This increased size also includes a noticeable increase in firepower, with orbital bombardment capabilities that would give our old world friends pause.

-The Specialist Corps is not an official part of the Median military in the traditional sense but rather is an identifying moniker for the various technically independant organizations that work closely with the Median. From the Forge Lords and War Dames of the Orders of the War Forge and War Panpoly, to the Berserker Paladins and Magi Order, there is a specialist organization for any situation required by the Median. The War Priestess's of the Ambaric Church are not, in fact, considered a Specialist Corp, but rather are used in a manner akin to Chaplains in other militaries, attending services in war zones and bestowing final rites to the dying.

-The Handmaiden Guard are interesting in that they're not, technically, part of the military structure of Null, but rather the guards and enforcers of Mediator Media's will. Having little actual authority in war planning sessions, Handmaidens are still considered incredibly valuable advisors, as well as powerhouses in their own rights to be unleashed on the absolute worst warzones when seconded to Military operations.

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Displaced.

-As their is a wide variety of Displaced peoples from several realities and cultures, we shall perform this breakdown in order of arrival, starting with our own military organizations.

-Neo Sunset City, located within Dreamhold City's southern districts, is where all Terrankin Displaced live. Our government structure, as you are well aware, is a democratic society run by Governer voted into their position by the people, and supplied by the Megacorps that wound up being dragged here with the rest of us. Our core military contingent, the Sunset Defense Force, is an all volunteer military organization similar to the official military forces of the Median. Armed with Nullian grade military hardware and our own web of veteran trainers, many within the SDF have been modified or augmented with Nullian Synthetic augmentations on top of their military PA, a continuation of our now long standing cultural leanings towards augmenting ourselves though with native materials now. The SDF has a branch of high end operators known as Special Operations Division, which is where many of our special forces find themselves in their service.

-In addition to the official military forces of the SDF, there is also Corporate Security Forces, an overarching name used for Corpo security across various Megacorps, which are used by the Corps to protect their interests and material. Following our official unification with the Median, new laws meant that, while Corpo security could be retained, their authority and leeway regarding what they can and can not do have been changed to be under the supervision of the Median government. Even with the Moon War taking so much of their attention and resources, Dreamhold's Defense Garrison has been given authority to monitor and police Corpo activities for breaches in our new laws. This agent cannot help but appreciate this turn of events, as now the Corps can't get away with the sort of stuff that they could ruling over Terra. [Redacted: Karma's a bitch like that.] Corpo experimental DEW weapons have also proven useful in helping the Median make its own breakthroughs in plasma and laser based infantry and vehicular scale weaponry.

-One thing I wasn't initially sure about, and advise we keep a close eye on ourselves, is the 'Street Clans' we have in Neo Sunset. I'll call them what they are: Gangs. Following the Street War a few months back, most of the major trouble-makers and lunatics among them have been purged, and those that actively helped us against their rebelling former allies have been given amensty for their own past crimes. I highly doubt that the gangs are anywhere near the good guys they're now styling themselves as, but following the Street War and how that mess ended, I don't think any of them are stupid or crazy enough to rock the boat. I think we all remember what happened when we finally caved and asked our Nullian neighbors for help against that. The Cleaner they sent was no joke, and the Militia are still trending on social media.

-After us Terrakin, there are the Automos. Actual [Redacted, expletive]-ing alien robot things, man. Nullians are aliens too, but you can sort of see them as like our alternate universe selves. Anyway, the Automos have spent much of their existence as self-sustaining, self-sufficient surveyor and colony Synthetics. As such, the Atrius Guard are their primary military contigent, and are experts in void combat and warfare. It is thanks to the Automos that so many combat tactics and upgrades to Nullian space ship tech have happened in such a short span of time, and the Far Side Habitat colony is set to open up this year. In addition to using a heavy mix of missile and beam weaponry, the Automos also have the Cyberwarfare Division. While not the best in the current conflict due to a lack of cyberware by the Moon Elders, the CD is the first line of alarm against malware intrusion and infiltration by the enemy.

-Finally, our Third Wave Displaced friends, [Redacted, explative]-ing fantasy races man, are not the most technologically advanced, but they are the second toughest Mortal beings in terms of durability after the Lasarna themselves and the unbreakable boned Oros. A major trade town's worth of people on the North Side of Dreamhold, their primary military unit is the Merchan Path Guard, made to defend their home from invasions. They mostly see use these days as makeshift police officers and governmental honor guards, though.

-Outside of the Guard, there is the Adventurer's Guild, the Thief's Guild, the Assassin's Guild, and the Mage College. The Adventure's Guild is where their hard hitting fighters from all walks of life go seeking glory and gold, and have found a lot of use helping out during Hunts and other deployments in and around Dreamhold's territory. The Thief's Guild and Assassin's Guild both have a lot less use due to being forbidden by law to use their skills within Median territory, however they have apparantly seen a lot of use in taking out high ranking targets during the Moon War, or stealing artifacts of import from the enemy. The Mage College has also seen a surge in new students looking for a new perspective and school of thought in regards to Mana magic use, with their graduates finding work both among Adventurer's as well as being seconded to Median military operations.

---

Ogra.

-In terms of raw population size, the Ogra has everyone else beat in terms of a single species population. Their violent, war like culture over the millenia has also made them the premier experts in large scale military deployments, with Ogra logistians and strategists aiding Median forces in planning out the invasion of the Blood Moon. The Median species are more dangerous pound for pound and have superior technology and variety, and the Lasarna are the most dangerous individually, but Ogra have mastered combined arms warfare on Null.

-Unlike most other militaries, Ogra military forces are not divided into different branches, but rather seperated by different Commands that work together. Ground Command, Armored Command, Air Command, and Sea Command all work together as a well oiled machine to destroy their targets, be it other Ogra nations, hostile wild life, or Moon Elder invaders. If the Ogra were a singularly unified people, they would be the largest and most experienced military force on Null in terms of experience with conventional warfare. Ogra make use of various forms of weaponry, from incindiary Oil Guns, to gauss assisted exploding bullet launchers, to an array of cryogenic weaponry. They make heavy use of all three weapon categories, and others bought from their neighbors, to destroy their targest in coordinated assaults. Primitive but functional drones and war beasts also see heavy use among the Ogra, inspired by the Median's use of such elements in their warfare.

-Of the three major polities on Null, the Ogra have the most expansive and diverse range of vehicles. Rather than having a singular, dedicated platform to build off of, Ogra experiment and make heavy use of countless variants, upgrade packages, and new designs. Anything that works, or can be tweaked to make work, is used, with the most tried and true designs seeing the most variants and upgrades. From swathes of scouting and transport vehicles, to many different tank and artillery platforms, the Ogra make up for their relative fragility for a Nullian Civilized Race with overwhelming support and usage of heavy weapon platforms and vehicular death machines.

-The Western Lasarna also serve as a massive boon in terms of raw mystical firepower for the Ogra nations, working with their frenemies to destroy threats and prove their mettle in warfare. While less coordinated and disciplined than their Eastern counterparts, they still serve as excellent force multipliers for any Ogra military unit on deployment.

-

Lasarna Republics.

-The military situation of the Eastern Lasarna is a rather interesting topic. Due to their incredible mystical power, even post reduction by their pact with Laylaru, weapons technology development took a slower and different route for the Eastern Lasarna. Pouring their incredible magical power into their creations, the Eastern Lasarna are notable in that they are the first to create forms of directed energy weapons in the modern day, including their Solar Crossbows, lighnting spewing Thunderguns, and Sunlight directed heat rays. Their melee weapons are also notable for being infused with elemental powers far more than the average in the other polities, keeping them extremely well armed no matter the range. Their armor systems are unpowered, but extremely durable due to their construction.

-The Lasarna Republic's military is divided between two distinct components: The Navy, and the Aero Force. Naval Marines, operating magitech submersibles for heavy firepower and able to breath deep under water, are skilled combatants in both underwater combat and amphibious assaults. Their expertise also makes them premier candidates for fighting in void combat due to analogous conditions with deep sea combat. The Aero Force, comprised of both Aero Hoplite infantry and Air Ships of Lasarna magitech construction. This Floatstone based contra-grav magitech was developed long ago, and served as the basis for reverse engineering by the Median for its own air-ship designs over the centuries.

-Compared to the other civilizations, the Lasarna Republics makes little use of traditional ground vehicles, though all their soldiers are expected to complete courses in the operation of compatible vehicles with their ally polities. Instead, the Lasarna employ heavy use of Golems and mystical Simulicra War Engines, combat elements that provide all of the same benefits of vehicles used by other nations without wasting the power of individual Lasarna troops on their operations.

-In addition to their primary military elements, the Lasarna also makes use of Auxilaries, comprised of Non-Lasarna combat elements. Mortalized Spirits and War Dragons alike are kept in Auxilary elements, which operate with the main body as specialist units. The additional capabilities of both parties help shore up weaknesses in Lasarna deployments while simultaniously increasing their overall firepower and ability.

---

This concludes the overview portion of my report. Going forward for the rest of my report, a breakdown of the various tactics, strategies, and specializations amongst these various military elements will be included in the order they were presented in the overview.

[The rest of the report goes on for scores more pages in in-depth detail.]

 

[TripleMRed]

(The following is a transcript of an official Median report breaking down the various Street Clans, Corporations, and other factions of interest living in Neo Sunset City within the 1st Wave Displaced sector of Dreamhold City.)

Following the Street War at the end of the prior year, we were tasked with providing an update on the information of the various factions within Dreamhold's Neo Sunset City. Not including governmental employees and native Nullians, it is estimated that approximately a million individuals of Neo Sunset's population is accounted for as being associated with, formerly associated with, a member of, or otherwise has done direct buisness with members of the following groups. If we include individuals who are simply familiar with, or knows someone that fits the prior category, the number of the populace with some connection with these groups is nearing one hundred percent.

Due to the events of the Street War, an accurate census of the total membership of each group is currently unknown and will require a more indepth analysis to gain an accurate picture.

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Megacorporations are not unfamiliar to us here on Null. However, the culture surrounding the MegaCorps that originate from the world of Terra is distinctly different compared to our own. Where Null's harsh conditions and environments forced the development of a cooperative nature between its people, both corporate and public, the MegaCorporations of Terra operate on a cut-throat, tribalistic level, focusing solely on the benefit of their own corporation and no one else. This has subtly, but noticeably changed for those stuck here on Null, in order to both be competitive and survive against the much more united and native backed local corporations, they have begun to shift toward and adopt a more Nullian style work culture. This has nothing to do with moral or ethical changes, and has everything to do with being competitive in the Nullian market. Unheard of in their own world, the three primary MegaCorps to arrive on Null have been forced to tentatively unify into a conglomeration known as the Displaced Corporate Alliance.

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Of the three MegaCorps to arrive on Null, Theodore-Thatchet Trading & Goods is the most mundane. Focused primarily on home goods, consumer grade electronics and recreational hunting items, T3-G as it is commonly known as has the least noteriaty to their name and is the one closest to native corporate values and ideals, making them the easiest to integrate into our line of thinking. Despite this seemingly benevolent reputation, however, they are still known to participate in corporate espionage and warfare with other corporate groups in their native reality, muscling out other potential competitors in their market throught bribery, extortion, corporate buy-outs and, if all else fails, industrial sabotage operations.

Prior to Neo Sunset's official integration into the Median earlier this year, this unsavory part of their history continued to operate, curbing potential competitors in the Displace market while trying to have a monopoly in trading common goods with Nullian buyers. Following Neo-Sunset's integration, Median trade and corporate laws now hang over their heads, and their native competition have more autonomy and power over responses regarding what they consider 'competition that threatens the health of the market'. The new head of the Nullian bound branch of the T3-G, a crocodilian man by the name of Edwards Zobec, is more than willing and able to rebrand and work within the bounds of the new governing laws without complaint or issue.

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In comparison to the other two Displaced MegaCorps, Alyxguard Heavy Munitions is famed for its heavy grade weaponry and mercenary (or 'Private Military Company', as the Displaced are so fond of calling them) renting services. Rockets, high power rifles of all varieties, heavy armor and weapon augmentations are their bread and butter. It was the preliferation of Alyxguard weapons in the streets of Neo-Sunset that led to the uprising's heavy armament. Indeed, it was discovered that Alyxguard's previous CEO, Petrov Gorchenko, was directly working with the uprising's conspirators to maximize profits in the chaos, something that led to his removal from office with the end of the rebellion.

The current CEO, a saber-toothed feline woman known as Samantha Adams, has since taken control and has moved the corporation to be more in line with Median laws, including turning their mercenary outfits into security detail and moving their arms sales to Nullian Military contracts exclusively. With upgrades to bring them to Nullian standards, Alyxguard weapons have found a small, but growing cult following among the native population.

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Said to be the most cutting edge and richest company on Terra, Aisha-Li Dynamics Coalition has found itself no longer at the top post Displacement. Their bleeding edge computer systems, cybernetics, and experimental shielding and directed energy weapon systems are all of interest to Nullian investors, who have since bought large portions of stock in the company after it was opened up to Nullian integration. The unofficial head of the Displaced Corporate Alliance, Ai-Li DC is surprisingly compliant with the new world and the way things are run, despite historically being the most aggressive and expansionistic MegaCorp in Terra's history.

It is believed their new-found behavior post Displacement is due to the fact their CEO, 'Red Panda' heiress to the Coalition Sakura Li, is the actual top executive of the corporation rather than a Post-Displacement vote into office. Keeping her private life and thoughts to herself, and inaugurated into the office mere hours before the Displacement brought her and portions of her company to our world, she has proven buisness savvy and flexible enough to easily comprehend and work within the bounds of our native corporate environment to maximize both profits and alliances in the long term, rather than focus on short-term gains.

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Street Clans are an ancient Nullian tradition dating back to long before the Median's founding, in a more primitive time when long distance communication was virtually nonexistant and defenses for local towns and villages needed to be immediate and coordinated. Borne from Militias that, over time, developed their own subcultures and traditions, Street Clans have become a mainstay of Nullian society and are considered just another part of any Median habitation's tradition and lines of defense alongside the conventional Militia and official military forces.

The Street Clans of Terran origin are an entirely different story. While the origins of such organizations is unknown and lost to time, Terran 'Gangs' are, by contrast, tribalistic groups of like-minded individuals who form their own subcultures that run counter to the wider accepted societal norms. Usually, but not always, criminal in nature and origin, Gangs are as varied and diverse as the populace of Terra itself. Running the gamut of anything and everything from counter-culture youth groups that accept anyone, to groups of individuals bound by a certain gimmick or commonality, to ethnocentric groups that recruit exclusively from only certain sects of the population. Following the Street War, most of the unstable or uncontrollable elements of the Terran Gangs have been expunged or otherwise dealt with, with those remaining being smart enough and cautious enough to avoid drawing unwanted attention or causing too much trouble as to bring in Median government officials to investigate going ons.

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The Hooligans, not to be confused with the similarly named Ogra Clan known as the 'Hooligoons', are a Terran gang unified by their youthful subculture, trouble-making nature, and love for 'street punk' attire. Their unifying 'uniform' include leather jackets and a wide assortment of glowing neon paint over both themselves, their gear, and their clothing. Compared to most other Terran Street Clans, the Hooligans do not have any one unifying leader or hierarichal structure, instead operating in a cell based system involving various different Hooligan gangs that each operate in their own manner and with their own leadership style. This has made the Hooligans the most diverse in the form of relationship with the Median's law enforcement, as some cells are little more than counterculture youths expressing themselves through trouble-making, while others are very much hardened criminal cells ranging from common criminals seeking monetary gain to out and out anarchistic elements.

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Los Muertos are an ethnocentric gang that focuses on recruiting from Terrakin of Hispania cultural descent, though actual species is irrelevant as long as the language and cultural requirements are met. Identified by their glowing skeleton tattoos over their bodies and their skull iconigraphy, they made a name for themselves in the extortion and racketeering buisness before the Street War. Post Street War, Los Muertos have had a shift in priorities that puts them closer in line with what is identified as Nullian Street Clan traditions, serving as protectors of those of Hispaniac descent in Neo-Sunset neighborhoods. Los Muertos also hold the distinction of being the first Displaced gang to open up recruitment to Nullian natives after the Street War, though they exclusively recruit from Bughunter Oros due to them being the closest comparable native culture to their own, as well as sharing a similar traditonal language. Their current leader is a crocodilian male known as Hefe Cavera, 'Boss Skull', a more level-headed and reasonable individual compared to the more criminally oriented leadership prioer to the Street War's end.

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The Subsonics are a tech and augmentation focused gang who are obssesed with sound and sonic weaponry. Most noise complaints filed in Neo-Sunset can be attributed to Subsonic activity testing their sonic weapons for fun, or playing music to obscene levels of volume. Unified by their hard rocker aesthetic and heavy augmentations, all synthetic in nature following the Displacement and integration into Null, the Subsonics hold the distinction of being the only Terrakin derived gang to be taken over by a Nullian leader. Specifically, the latest onsite overseer of the Eastern Testing Site in eastern Dreamhold, an Oros male known by his moniker of 'Soundwave', believed to be derived from a fictious character in old Terrakin fiction. Restructured to be more in line with Street Clan standards, the Subsonics heed their leader's orders with feverish devotion, and have become surpisingly reliable, if 'anonymous', sources of intelligence for the local law enforcement of Neo-Sunset's precincts.

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The Sex Vixens hold the distinction of having never fallen into the parameters, by Median standards anyway, of being a 'gang', and fit almost all the hallmarks of a proper Street Clan. Composed entirely of entertainers of red light district origins, the Sex Vixens act as protectors, avengers, and a social safety net for exotic dancers, sex workers, and any and all other related works in Neo-Sunset, be they male or female in origin. Predominantly composed of females of all Terrakin species, the SV's work very closely with the Median law-enforcement to ensure the safety and well being of their members and protected individuals. Technically lacking a single leader, as each brothel or club is overseen and operated by their own leader, most defer to the oldest Night Club owner to have Displaced alongside them, Madam Clover, in terms of what to do and what not to do in the new world. The SV's hold the distinction of being one of the only three Terrakin 'gang's to have not participated in the rebelling elements of the Street War.

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The Coven were originally a high priority target by Median officials early on due to a misunderstanding. Initial reports painting them as a scheming cult of curse casters, it was quickly found that the Coven are not magic users or a cult in anyway, but rather a group of young panksters who hail from all walks of life and whose 'curses' are little more than clever use of hacking, drones, and simple but effective trickery. Despite the annoyances this can cause, the Coven social group is harmless and is traditionally seen as a 'good luck' charm by many of the gangs of Terrakin origin. Are one of the three Terrakin 'gangs' to not participate in the rebelling elements of the Street War.

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The Cossack Ronins are a highly unusual gang as they are very well known for their excellent public relations despite their criminal elements, with them commonly using their signature bikes to compete in charity races and events. This is actually a massive change from their original dispositions in older times, where they were known and feared as one of the most violent, brutal, and volitile gangs in Sunset City's history. This brutality made them very few if any allies, and indeed they found themselves on the receiving end of a massive reprisal by many other gangs in the 4th Gang War in their original world's history, when they went a step too far and pushed the other gangs into a violent retaliation. The surviving members of the Ronins reformed the gang into a less hostile, more pubically appealing organization, though they retain their harsh recruitment hazing rituals and do not shy away from organized crime in the form of the drug and weapons trade. Their current leader, a canine of mixed breed origin known as Hanzo, is notable to having been the first among the gangs to raise objections to the plans leading up to the Street War and was the leading element behind the Allied portions of the gangs fighting against the rebelling elements during the month long conflict.

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The Scorned Eyes is an interesting organization as they do not have the normal characteristics of either gangs or Street Clans. Indeed, it is more accurate to say that the Scorned Eyes are a form of private detective agency that exclusively reaches out to scorned or cheated lovers or otherwise broken homes, selling their services for a notable but affordable price to compile evidence in the favor of the scorned party. It is believed that the Scorned Eye recruits from members of the Coven who 'grow out' of their age limited service period, and who also hail from broken homes themselves, which would explain the close relationship between the two parties. This 'agency' notably has been reached out and recruited by Nullian intelligence services for their experitise in monitoring and infiltrating Displaced networks, something they prefer to keep to themselves. Their leadership is known, but under protective anonymity by Median high command.

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The Gas Rats began life as an ethnocentric gang composed entirely of rodents until they eventually branched off and opened up their doors to anyone willing to join, provided they could pass muster. Named for their affinity for aerosolized chemical weaponry, the Gas Rats are chemists par-excellence despite their often dodgy, barely clothed forms, unified by an affinity for spiked bracelets, collars, and gas-masks. The premier drug makers among the Displaced gangs, 95 percent of all drugs in circulation within Neo-Sunset can be traced back to the Gas Rats themselves, or an abandoned lab of theirs that other gangs have taken over. Despite their potential to cause great damage due to their knowledge and experience in chemical warfare materials, the Gas Rats have a tentative alliance with the Median, being used to produce new chemical weapons for use against Spider Ants and Mother Root targets, something they agree to on the basis that it provides them with the money needed to make more drugs for their own personal usage. Those among them who opposed this deal were among the rebelling side of the Street War, bringing with them their knowled of chemical weapons. This event has strained the relationship between the two parties and has placed a more careful eye on their activies. Their current leader is a female 'skunk' known as Flower, who keeps her forces in line through a potent mixture of charisma and chemical ecstasy enhancers of her own make, something that makes her very popular with her gangs members.

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The Dandies are a highly unusual group in that they do not fit the typical gang or Street Clan markers, but rather are a social club that believe in living a certain lifestyle. Named after their dapper outfits and dandy lifestyles, the Dandies wear armored clothng of Nullian design and make, and often adorn themselves in an older, but 'stylish' fashion of dark suits, various forms of ties, and hats of every design from top hat to bowler and everything in between. Another unifying element of theirs is their signature cane, which are distinct and made for each member upon proving their commitment to the social club, unique to each individual. These canes hold within them a paralysis dart launcher good for twenty darts, something they exclusively use to defend themselves from the criminal element and which they are forbidden from using in normal day to day activites on pain of punishmen within the club. An odd group, the Dandies are recent editions to the Neo-Sunset managerie of factions, being Terrakin with a fascination for the idea of non-violent social clubs common in Median society, with theirs being modeled after the Dreamhold Suit Society. For their part, the DSS were more than happy to help the Dandies formulate their dress codes and founding traditions, and the close ties between the two often sees Dandies move beyond Neo-Sunset to venture into the DSS clubs in eastern Dreamhold.

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The Jokers are an ethnocentric gang comprised entirely of 'Spotted Hyena' Terrakin. Formed in response due to the low population numbers of their species in Sunset, especially post Displacement, the Jokers are extremely territorial in protecting their claimed territory in 'Hyena Alley'. Keeping to themselves to focus on repopulating, they are infamous for their extreme brutality even by gang standards if threatened, and do not take the injury or death of one of their members lightly. The most brutal of their elements include maiming, torture, and assault in various forms against those that cross them, assuming they are not killed outright. Their leader, Queen Impisi, has made her stance of violent retribution for attacks against their kind known, though she is more than reasonable enough to negotiate if violence is not required for a given offense. During the Street War, the Jokers are notable for being the only gang to not join either side in the fighting, instead protecting their territory against both sides. Post Street War, the Jokers have petitioned for aid in helping to boost the population of their people. Negotiations are currently ongoing between the Joker's leadership and Median medical authorities for in-vitro assistance in growing their numbers. A smaller, but not insignifigant subsect of their female and hermaphroditic populace have also put out feelers looking for mates of Ogra and Oros origins. Status of their successes still pending.

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The 5th Street Cleaners is a new, Post-Street War Street Clan, and is comprised of individuals of the titular 5th street who banded together in the interest of protecting their people, due to the loss of life and home in that location during the outbreak of the Street War. Wearing their every day clothing, they are identified by their distinct styalized '5thSC' logos they painted or stiched into their clothing. Lacking much in the way of criminal elements, the 5th Street Cleaners are of little interest to law enforcement and have been given specialized devices to call in official law enforcer support rather than try and meet out vigilante justice themselves. They lack any formal leadership and their structure is closer to a milita than anything truely organized.

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The 70th Street Hoods are a gang who trace their lineage back to '70th street' back in old Sunset City. Known for their 'hood' culture, the originaly ethnocentric gang has since opened up its doors to anyone willing and able to keep up with their lifestyle of pushing drugs, earning money in underground animal and pit fights, and generally being trouble-makers. More organized and unified than their Hooligan rivals, the Hoods often get into territory disputes with the Hooligans, ranging from simple shouting matches, to shows of force, to out and out fighting. Suffering disproportionate casualties during the Street War, the Hoods have spent the months since nursing their wounds and coming to terms with the new way things are done in a post integration world. Due to the losses sustained among their senior leadership, they are currently operating on at a lower capacity as they try to sort out and decide who among them shall be their next senior staff.

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The Golden Path is less of a gang or street clan in the traditional sense, but more of a ethnocentric religious movement with cult like elements. Careful surveilance have revealed, while odd by our standards, no elements to their belief system that could prove dangerous or otherwise determinetal to other individuals not a member of the Path. Recruiting exclusively from species of 'Kumatian' origin, ranging from lions to crocodiles to jackals and more. The members of the path replaced their body parts over time with augmentations, synthetics post Displacement, until they were almost completely replaced save their brain and several key organs. Covered in furless, black and gold synth-skin, with hair replaced by synthetic dreadlock like ornamentation. By the end of their journey down 'The Path, Adherents are almost completely Synthetic, with enhanced speed, reaction, durability, and more, though at costs of increased strain on their nervous systems tryingto keep up with their full abilities, as well as a massively increased caloric intake even outside of extensive physical activities.

The belief of the path is that that the adherents can come close to the abilities of the gods of the old Kumat pantheon via cyber, or synth,-ization. One of the few organs members of the path do not change about themselves is their reproductive organs, due to a strict adherence to its foundational aspects that include that the Path cannot be forced on others, but must actively choose to walk down it in their attempt to emulate the gods. Children born to parents following the Path are born completely natural, and are not allowed to begin walking down the path until they have reached adulthood and are aware of what is involved with this way of life.

The founder and leader of the Path is Pharoah Baako, a jackal who was the first to journey down it and set down its foundational creeds. Baako preaches not just striving to emulate the gods in form and ability, but to also seek to emulate them by protecting the less fortunate, with Path members having a religious duty to step in and stop wrong doing the stumble across. Relatively small in number, and mostly keeping to themselves, Baako and his follower's thoughts regarding Null and its peoples remains unknown, though he has preached working alongside their 'alien brothers and sisters' for a better world.

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The Harlequins started life as a gang of misfits known as the Clown Brigade, adorned in ridiculous attire emulating clowns and court jesters while performing increasingly outlandish stunts and pranks, earning money on the streets through their stunt work and routines. Early on into their arrival on Null, however, a subtle but unmistakable shift began in their culture, revolving around a fascination with the court jester of the Median Court, Harley the Harlequin. This fascination led to the madopting the Mediator's jester and daughters purple and red color-scheme, as well as beginning to incorporate many of her more well known routines and jokes into their shows.

However, this did not go unnoticed, and while the specifics remain unknown, it is known that the Clown Brigade was paid a personal visit by Harley herself, before they proceeded to chang their name to the Harlequins following this encounter. In the years since, the Harlequins have adopted more and more mannuerisms and attire to better reflect the Median Court Jester they have come to have an almost cultish fascination with, adorning themselves in armored suits akin to their idols combat gear. Although not confirmed, it is believed by some sources that the Harlequins have taken to vigilante justice, using skills and even abilities never displayed before while making use of non-lethal weaponry and maneuvers to take down wanted criminals. They now earn most of their money by performing high skill performance shows, with tickets to the events becoming sold out in record time.

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The Masque Club is a societal club with a limited number of members. Little is known about them other than they have ties to a currently unknown benefactor, believed to be a member of the Median leadership, and that they operate out of fronts before leaving to perform odd jobs ranging from seemingly mundane activities, to high level mission perameters currently classified at this current security level. All we know for certain is that they all wear some manner of mask, they are on our side, and they are not, or possibly cannot, be interupted while they are 'on the clock'.

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The Scales is an ethnocentric Street Clan comprised entirely of reptilian Terrakin who unified to fight back against historic violence and tensions against Terrakin of reptilian descent. Over time, however, the Scales have become just another gang who use threats of violence and coercion as much on the people they claim to protect as they do against those they claim to protect their kind from. Post-Street War, the Scales have altered their structure to be less aggressive and hostile towards outsiders, as well as return to their roots as protectors of their fellow reptilian Terrakin. Additionally, several Chimera and Empusa have joined with the Scales post Street-War, though they aren't particularly popular among their fellow clan members due to the fact they point out that, strictly speaking, all Terrakin are technically mammals due to being warm-blooded, giving live birth and suckling their young through mammary glands, with the presence of scales or fur being superficial. Their current leader is a male 'Komodo Dragon' named Hank DeSoto, who is said to have slain the previous leader and taken his place in order to point their clan back on the right path, or so the story is told.

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The Bonecrushers are a Post-Street War Street Clan, and consists primarily of Nullian species with Terrakin being new recruits. A proper Street Clan of Dreamhold origin, the Bonecrushers were one of three Street Clans who volunteered to move into Neo-Sunset post-Street War to act as liasons between traditional Nullian Street Clans and the local gangs. Bonecrushers gained their name due to their origins as a Bonetaker Nation group that moved to Dreamhold, then called Byr, from the Bughunter lands and carried with them their cultural practice of consuming bones. Current leader is a Firebrand raised Cu Sethan.

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The Reapers are a Post-Street War Street Clan, and consists primarily of Nullian species with Terrakin being new recruits. One of three Dreamhold Street Clans that volunteered to move into Neo-Sunset post Street-War, the Reapers originate as a Stonecutter Street Clan from Dreamhold's ancient days, when it was still the Stonecutter city of Byr. Named after their scythes, used as makeshift weapons owing to their origins as farmers, the Reapers are the oldest still living Street Clan in Dreamhold and thus bring with them a wealth of culture and experience to help guide their new neighbors. Current leader is a Royalback descended native of Dreamhold named Kharl Stahlfresser.

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The Divers are a Post-Street War Street Clan and consists primarily of Nullian species wtih Terrakin being new recruits. The third of the three Dreamhold Street Clans that moved to Neo-Sunset post Street-War, the Divers originate from the Wavechaser populace in Dreamhold who lived in the Pond, a localized artiifical lake with sea like qualities, before the arrival of the Displaced, and who shared their territory with aquatic Displaced species. Traditions of sailing, deep diving, and fishing runs deep in their culture, and they have made it a point to guard their Displaced neighbors even before the outbreak of the Street War. Current leader is simply known as 'The Captain'.

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Organized Crime is not unknown to Null, as centuries ago Organized Crime families were ejected from the Spirit Realm of Lacuna to Null, where they caused no end of trouble before localized reprisals saw to their destruction. Hiding behind the veneer of civility, honor, and legitimate buisness, Organized Crime Families, commonly known as 'The Mob', has been brought over from Terra alongside the Displaced, with three prominent families having become a part of Neo-Sunset's populace. All three make use of legitimate buisness fronts to produce the majority of their monetary funds, however it is virtually impossible for their criminal origins to disappear so quickly or cleanly, meaning they remain persons of interest for the Median government to monitor for illicite activities.

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The Felidae Conglomerate is a massive network of interconnected criminal syndicates, gangs, and crime families, all unified by one trait: They are all Terran felines. Big cats or otherwise, they are the premier crime family linked together by both species relation as well as marriage alliances, the Felidae Conglomerate's largest legimate sources of money include being info brokers, stock traders, and having heavy stake interests in various corporate holdings. Their list of criminal activities is extensive, but mostly revolve around white collar crime, insurance fraud, and insider traiding, however this also serves to cover up their more gruesome criminal activies, including gun running for criminal groups, 'leg breaking', extortion, and murder, among other things.

It was the former head of TFC, a male tiger named Alexy Petrov, that helped insite the Street War, though his exact motivations remain a complete mystery why this was the case following his mysterious suicide midway through the conflict. It is almost certain that whatever his intentions for insighting the conflict, the ultimate fate of Neo-Sunset becoming an official part of the Median and its various powers now being beholden to its laws were almost certainly not what he had been hoping for.

-

The Carcharadai Cartel is one of the two rival, competing criminal families operating within the Pond. Comprised primarily of shark based Terrakin, the Carcharodai are known for their loaning and investment buisness in the underwater and shore side communities within the Pond, as well as having legitimate but competing food buisnesses selling fresh caught feral fish and other undersea food stuffs for the aquatic community. Larger in size than their rivals, the Delphinidae Syndicate, the Carcharadai are not as cohesively unified as their bitter rivals, which leads to their often bloody and brutal conflicts ending in a stalemate.

Disliked by even the regular members of their special communities, the Cartel remains in power due to to towing the line between legitimate buisnesses and out and out illicit activties, which include blackmail and the black market trade. The current leader of the family is Don Krakun, a sourly buisnessman with a temper but an art for selling a salespitch and brokering deals.

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The Delphinidae Syndicate is comprised primarily of 'dolphin' species, with the unquestioned leadership being made up of 'Orcas'. In comparison to their Cartel rivals, the Syndicate have a much better public relations with the public of the Pond, putting on a friendly, charming face through which they use to sell their security services and sell their goods as one of the competing food suppliers of the Pond. However, this friendly mask hides a brutal, ruthless capacity for bloodshed and calculated, targeted violence. While they much rather prefer to be loved, they are willing to settle for, and have the capacity and ability to, be respected through fear.

Led by Matriarch Fassata, the Syndicate charms do not hide or disolve away their murderous capabilities in the eyes of the Nullian law, and since Integration post Street War, the Syndicate's brutal methods have yet to resurface and no mysterious disappearences have occured in the past few months. This agent cannot help but stress the importance of continued monitoring of the Syndicate for any lapses to their old methods. While TFC were the origins for the Street War, and the Cartel's activities earns them no friends anywhere, the capacity for loss of life by the Syndicate if left unchecked is massive, particularly with the physical power of the Orcas.

---

Non-Aligned Groups of Special Interest are exactly as the name implies: Groups that lack a tie to the criminal underworld, or whose activities are too broad to be considered more than a subculture or subgroup. Only two primary groups of interest fit this description in Neo-Sunset.

'Were's, as they are known, as individuals afflicted with a mystical nature that allows them to shift their forms between a normal default form, a larger and more powerful monsterous War Form, and a more agile feral form. About 1 in 20 Terrakin are a Were and can be found all over society in almost every strata or group, though they tend to keep their true natures secret if they can manage it. While having potential for destruction, Were's tend to be less inclined towards causing trouble than most other Terrakin, possibly to avoid detection and conflict against their kind by other groups. As a Special Interest Group, they are monitored and provided governmental aid for their populace, though discretely as to avoid too much unwanted attention.

Vampires, meanwhile, are another group of individuals afflicted by another mystical nature. Requiring semi-regular ingestion of blood to remain healthy and sane, Vampires are notable in that they can spread their affliction to other Terrakin in an on-permenant manner. These 'Thralls' tend to be linked and subbordinate to their 'sire', though they themselves are not 'true' or Trueborn Vampires. Trueborns number in only a few tens of thousand in total number, and live in a special district zone all of their own in the outskirts of Neo-Sunset. Because of their special dietary requirements and ability to make Thralls, Vampires are closely monitored and observed in a manner similar to Nullians with the Bloody One condition. However, the ongoing Moon War has stretched monitoring abilities and thus have made it difficult to keep a close eye on them, even post Neo-Sunset incorporation into the Median.

Previously trying to keep their true natures hidden in the old world, both Were's and Vampires are now public knowledge, though ironically they are now just another curiosity in the daily lives of the Displaced Terrakin, as common sentiment after Displacement and adjustment to living on Null is caution, but not surprise at this revelation.

---

All of these Street Clans, gangs, and other organizations should be kept a close eye on through surveilance in order to ensure no repeat of the Street War happens again. This agent also particularly reccomend keeping a close eye on the Delphinidae Syndicate in particular. Their capacity for destruction cannot be stressed enough.

 

[TripleMRed]

(The following is a transcript of a breakdown of the known mystic elementals of Null by a Displaced scientist, sent to their colleagues in their field.)

Since we've got here, my peers in the scientific community Displaced here from their respective universes have been inquiring about some of the fascinating things we've heard about our new home. Null is, for lack of a better term, a mystical land home to elements that defy conventional physical laws and which do not fit in known elmental periodic tables. As one of the first to attain work in our new home, the responsibility fell to me to compile a brief overview of some of the new, fascinating elements not found in our homelands.

Conventional Elements: Before we dig into the mystica elements found here, it is important to note a key difference between the 'conventional' elements of this universe compared to our own. In the scientific community we've developed here, the term 'Molecularly Stable' is a term you will see often, refering to the small but vital difference between the molecular bonds of things in this universe compared to our own, particulary here on Null. The term 'Molecularly Stable' means that elements and objects made of those elements in this reality are notably have greater durability and resiliance compared to those of our own, 'Molecularly Unstable' universe. As an example, Iron here is of a higher quality and tensile strangth than our own back home, and even common stainless steel of Nullian Origin (And presumably other worlds in this reality) are approximatly 5 times stronger than that of our home universe. Consequently, living creatures in this universe, including ourselves post 'upgrading' to Nullian standards, are hardier, more resiliant, and overall stronger by various factors compared to our own reality. Furthermore, Null in particular has creatures of durability that increases over time as a result of increased technological levels causing them to adapt to become hardier. The reasoning eludes me, though I'm told it has something to do with 'keeping itself deadly' in regards to this world we're now on.

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Mystical Elements: Elements not found in our universe of a mystically charged nature, some within our community have dubbed this classification as 'unobtanium', in allusion to a common term in science fiction seriels of the past. Regardless of how we classify them, these elements lack a naturally occuring quivalent in our own home universe, and so each is distinct and has unique uses in Nullian technological development. Many Nullian creatures naturally harness the abilities of these elements by consuming them and integrating them into their biology, giving them elemental abilities related to the element in question, though most with such powers are using fully home grown abilities. One universal trait with all of these elements, however, is that they are self-replenishing when unrefined, and as such are sustainable resources provided their ore deposits aren't tapped out.

-

Mythril: The familiar name of a fantastical metal stronger yet lighter than steel, this is true still here on Null. Refined Nullian Mythril is about 5 times stronger than reinforced steel alloys, while only being a 4th of the weight, making it the ideal baseline metal for all modern day alloys used for modern armor systems. Although the final strength of the alloy is determinate on the other materials used, Mythril is used in almost every form of construction due to its extreme flexibility in usage and its wide applications on the exact alloys used. It also is surprisingly tolerant of heat, though the plasma coated claws of Nullian wildlife puts medium grade Mythril armors to the test.

Adamantium: Another familiar name for a fantastical metal of extreme durability, Adamantium is quite heavy, but also extremely durable by an order of magnitude compared to its Mythril counterpart. Finicky to refine, it is almost impossible to get pure Adamantium, as it is notoriously difficult to remove all impurities from the substance even with a divine blacksmith. It is often said that 100% Pure Adamantium is as unbreakable as an Oros' bones, though this is said to be an exaggeration by those said to have seen such material. As of the modern day, 'pure' Adamantium refers to any Adamantium refined to have, at minimum, a 99.9% purity, though it is difficult to determine the purity outside of labratory conditions, which means many 'Pure' Adamantium ingots found in the world are often as low as 97% purity.

Fulgerite: Also known as Fulminite, Thunderstone, and occasionally Voltite, Fulgerite is an elemental ore that develops crystaline outcroppings known for producing its own electrical charge, or absorbing electrical charges from bolts of lightning. Used primarily in power generation technologies, Fulgerite has a long history as one of the first mystical elements mined and used by most Nullian civilizations for a wide variety of applications. Military applications include powering of rail and gauss weaponry, as well as using Fulgerite lining to amplify and improve the rails and electromagnetic rings, as well as weaponized stun or electric ammunition, while power generation and defensive applications are a common use of the substance in all fields. It is not compatible with Solarite power systems, at least for now, without explosive results.

Solarite: Also known as Sunstone and Nitro-Ore, Solarite is an elemental ore wiht crystaline outcroppings known for its production of solar plasma. Functionally a non-radioactive fusion reaction in waiting, Solarite has always had a military appication in explosive weaponry and bombs, as well as the long used 'Red Powder' ammunition for conventional bullet based firearms, though an accidental discovering in the mid 1000's of the Nullian Calander found it can also be used as a potent, though finicky, power source in the form of Solarite Plasma Reactors. It has been found in recent years thanks to testing with Displaced plasma technology that Solarite interacts with, and attempts to absorb, near by plasma that is within a few centimeters of the substance. While easily containable with even a half inch of material between it and the other substance, this reaction causes a potent explosive reaction when even electrical plasma is involved, explaining its destructive relationship with Fulgerite.

Glacium: Also known as Coldstone and Semi-True Ice, Glacium is a frozen material that absorbs heat yet does not completely melt away provided it does not absorb too much too quickly. As such, it is a common material used for cooling technology as well as ice based weaponry and ammunition. It is excellent in stopping fires when properly processed into a misty foam, and as such Glacium based foams mixed with water is an extremely common resource used by Nullian fire departments in combating infernos. It is not reccommended for unrefined Glacium to be used in cooling drinks as it will freeze the liquid on contact. Handling of unrefined Glacium is recommended with proper equipment, as direct skin contact can lead to damage, while refined Glacium is safe to handle, though still cold to the touch.

Hydrostone: Also known as Aquaore, Hydrostone is the simples of the mystical elements: It creates water and in its refined form can be used to part exiting water into its base components. As a result, many advances in developing Hydrogen fuel cells that only require water as the fuel has occured thanks to using Hydrostone as the source of these discoveries. The Median now uses hydrogen engines as a less powerful, though still very potent, secondary backup fuel system to power all of their ground and air vehicles while using Fulgerite or Solarite energy as the primary energy source. One should be careful when using Hydrostone to make drinkable water, however, as the water produced by Hydrostone is directly affected by the environment it is in and the quality of the local water. As a result, Hydrostone found near salt water is unsafe to use for drinking, as is Hydrostone found other unsafe materials in the wild. Only refined, tested Hydrostone found for sale or public use in the Civilizations of Null are reliably safe for getting a quick drink to hydrate yourself with.

Floatstone: Also known as Hoverstone and Skystone, Floatstone is the fantastical gravity defying rock found all over the world in the many floating landmasses in Null's skies. Naturally defying gravity through mystical means, refined Floatstone is used for creating all modern day Nullian hover and gravity manipulation technology, including contragrav vehicles, intertial dampeners, and weight distribution engines. Useful in any and every imagineable scenario, refined Floatstone takes the natural gravity defying abilities of its unfrefined ore and allows it to be manipulated through application of precise electromagnetic discharges, which alters the local gravity being manipulated as well as extend its effects beyond just the ore, allowing for fine control of contra-grav technology. As an added bonus, Floatstone's anti-gravitic properties are not 'slippery' like those we developed in our own home, meaning that Floatstone tech does not 'slide' around without the proper force needed to move the object proper being applied.

Umbrum: Also known as Shadowstone and Nightore, Umbrum is a fascinating material with the ability to manipulate a localized pocket around itself to avoid detection across most known spectra, upto and including sound and smells. That being said, unrefined Umbrum is very easy to detect on any functional scanner, as unlike its refined, easily controllable metals, raw Umbrum ore fluctuates its energies eratically, causing scanners to pick up wild and rapid distorions of signals coming in and out of detectible wavelengths. Properly refined and utilized Umbrum allows for the use of stealth technology, both passively and actively, making them an extremely useful tool in military applications.

Moonsilver: A silvery, liquid metal in its natural, unrefined state, Moonsilver is a highly unique mystical substance in that it actually counteracts and absorbs Mana based magic with no apparant limit in practical day to day terms. This property makes Moonsilver, though relatively uncommon, a highly sought after material for the detainment of rogue mystical threats or the containment of mystical hazards.

Sungold: A goldish, glowing liquid metal in its natural, unrefined state, Sungold can only really be described as 'holy', a substance widely used by religious organizations for its abilities to counteract and destroy what can only be described as 'unholy' powers and creatures. It's most popularly used by the Berserker Paladin Order in its demon hunting duties, though it also sees use as stores all over the civilizations of Null for emergencies if the propery authorities on the subject are not availble.

StarIron: A solid ore like metal without ferromagntic properties of its own, StarIron, also known as 'Cold Iron', is distinguished by the unrefined ore having a jet black appearence covered in what can only be described as stars. It is most well known for being anethema to Elderitch powers, and is widely used by the Magi Order and its constituents and peers in the fight against Elder Things. Tellingly, StarIron is also useful against what our culture's myths identify as 'Fae', which has all sorts of implications. Interestingly, its effects are diminished by those who have Elder Blood, but are not themselves full Elders, with them finding it uncomfortable to touch and be around, but not out and out painful.

-

Additionally to these materials, the Nullians also make use of the 'Damage Classification System', which is a multi-tiered system to classify the power of an attack based on their performance against known materials used for armor. Due to the fact that Nullian creatures demonstratably grow stronger over the centuries in response to adapting to advancing technologies, the system has been redone multiple times over the centuries, with this in particular being just the most recent and modern day, though not necessarily final, version of the system.

Class 0: A baseline, used to describe any form of attack that can damage soft materials such as unreinfroced fabrics and soft metals.

Class 1: Any attack capable of bruising the flesh of civilized flesh, as well as punctuing iron.

Class 2: Any attack capable of outright removing, puncturing, or otherwise severely damaging flesh, as well as puncturing low quality steel.

Class 3: Any attack capable of damaging reinforced steel alloys and unrefined Mythril ore.

Class 4: Any attack capable of damaging refined Mythril armor.

Class 5: Any attack capable of damagin medium grade Mythril alloys.

Class 6: Any attack capable of scratching high grade Mythril alloys.

Class 7: Any attack capable of damaging high grade Mythril alloys, and scratching low quality Adamantium armor.

Class 8: Any attack capable of damaging medium quality Adamantium armor.

Class 9: Any attack capable of damaging Adamantium/Mythril alloys.

Class 10: Any attack capable of damaging high quality Adamantium alloys.

This system is not ironclad, and there are many variables involved that keep it in flux, such as the involvement of Runic reinforcements or magical abilities. With the advent of shielding technology in recent years, this system also does not take into account shield strength beyond its comparable durability to any given armor.

I hope this has been informative to you all and I hope we can begin proper discussions about the implications and capabilities of these fascinating native materials!

 

[TripleMRed]

[A worn out poster is visible, carefully preserved with loving care. It shows a band made up of hair metal rocking Ogra playing before a crowd. Words follow, reading 'Rockageddon CCXVII, touring live across select cities of the Median this summer!' A list of bands is visible underneath this, but time has left the names and logos too faded to be legible now.]

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[An advertisement shows a robotic rabbit woman in a maid outfit standing in an action pose, a mop in one hand and a cycloptic robot torso leaking oil in the other. Her hand is holding it by the head, crushing the metal, while her face is in a seren look of icy fury. 'Metal Maid Panic, sequel to the critically acclaimed Metal Maid and Metal Maid Black graphic novela series, coming soon!']

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[An old advertisement is visible, the date very recent, depicting a squad of colorful Displaced women in frilly sailor fuku outfits as they strike action poses, the edges of the poster showing shadowy figures menacing them. 'Lovely Honey Squad, collect the entire series for only D55!]

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[A holographic advertisement is visible, showing a lively beach area full of aquatic Displaced and non Aquatic Displaced, as well as Nullians, enjoying the surf and sand. 'Neo-Sunset is proud to present the grand opening of the Pond Bay Beaches. Enjoy good food, meet exciting new people, and dance the night away with friends and family. Admission is free, space is limited, first come first serve.']

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[An extremely old poster that has been preserved depicts a first generation Nullian combat mech, the chest open to reveal the pilot sitting within, arms bare and eyes exposed as he glares at the viewer. 'Heavy Mettle Waltz, Tales of the Steel Front War. Coming Soon.']

 

[TripleMRed]

[A new digital poster is visible, showcasing an array of different branded drinks. 'Sylo's Drink Emporium, Dreamhold's newest Native-Displaced drinking franchise! Enjoy classic Median brands from Pop-Pops, Sip's Up, Soda Jerks, Wine 'N Dine, and Suuki's Shake Shack, to iconic brands including Neo-Sunset's Sorry Sake, Buzz On, and O'Nell's New Eirland Whiskey. Step on in and meet new folks with a drink in hand and a smile on your lips!']

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[An old, worn out poster depicts a war scene out of a science fiction setting, showing heavily armored soldiers firing at one another with energy weapons as a star ship comes down in flames in the background. Words underneath read, 'Strained: Crimson Orchestra, Volume 4 Coming Soon. Catch the climactic finale of the critically acclaimed dark science fiction war series that have captured Nullian minds and thoughts for decades.'

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[A holographic display showcases what seems to be a promenade at Dreamhold's residential area for aquatic species, the Pond. It scrolls through several mom and pop establishments, as well as some more mainstay Nullian eating establishments, including fast food staples like competing pizza franchises, the sun icon clad Dominus Ignus and Nullian predator themed Apex Den, as well as iconic staples such as the not-officially-endorsed Burger Mediator, the officially-endorsed Harley's owned by Mediator Media's right hand jester of the same name, Dreamhold's own native Byr-Byre Burger, and the all encompassing Soup Palace.]

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[A new holographic poster is visible, depicting a Median aerial cargo ship traveling to the West, with words following stating 'LongLong-Tehemon Shipping, the shipping company with exclusive rights to private trade with the Sun Kingdom on the West Coast! Apply your company for a trading space on our cargo liners now! Space limited, first come first serve!]

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[A Median military recruitment poster showcasing a Hunter, a Knight, and a Guardian planting a flag upon a strange creature of craggy stone like flesh and blue ichor spilling out of its wounds as words underneath read 'We need you to fight against their celestial tyranny! Join the Median Armed Forces today to take the fight to Yarah Dam!]

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[An online video advertisement begins to play, depicting a crazed looking Empusa in disheveled office clothes standing in front of an enormous assortment of various items and objects.

"Come on down to Maggie's Madhouse, the only approved source for extradimensional media, games, toys, and assorted garbage the Artist's Quality Control Union didn't take behind the shed and put down like a mad Clucken!" Walking around, the Empusa woman takes out various items including, but not limited too: A singing plastic wall bass, a tacky lamp designed to look like a hairless female's leg, an archaic game system with a odd, trident shaped controllers plugged in, and a poster depicting a group of fantasy adventurer's journeying to destroy an evil ring. "If you want to experience the oddities and wonders of the multiverse, but lack the ability to travel the distance and/or are forbidden from doing so, we here at Maggie's Madhouse can become your one stop shop for all manners of foreign, alien media and wonders!"

"Have you always wanted to reexperience the disappointment of never amounting to anything?" She took out a packet of cigarettes. "These lung-cancer sticks can make you die inside physically as well as emotionally! Have you always wanted to keep a pet, but don't want the responsibility of a real animal?" She then lifted up a surprisingly very robust and advanced dynamic robot dog. "We've got all kinds of mechanical friends to keep you company! Have you always wanted to experience never ending dread and fear for your life as you are watched in your sleep by a horrific nocturnal predator?" She proceeded to bring in a Furby from just off screen. "Now you can experience that and practice your staring contests with this Godless crime against goodness!" Tossing the thing aside with barely contained disgust, she smiled widely at the camera as she spread her arms wide, the camera pulling back to see the whole of the store.

"Maggies Madhouse, new locations opening in Dreamhold, Bloodmount, Ceárta Iarainn, Long Lotus, and Orehaven soon!"]

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[A poster advertising a convention of some kind is present, the word 'MonCon' at the top. It is split between three sections: On the left is 'EcoMon', depicting an armored Oros commanding Nullian animals to fight an off screen enemy. The other on the right is 'ManaMon', which depicts a more wholesome scene of a Chimera eating ice cream with a floating creature of Nullian urban legend allegedly confirmed to be a myth. At the bottom is 'HighBound' a spin off of ManaMon that depicts a legendary powerful creature, in this case an extremely muscular ghostly dragon, behind a sitting Oros with a buckler connecting the two of them through an etheral link. Words on the bottom state 'Opening Fabius 32nd'.]

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of a portion of a report by a party of foreign origin that was caught being sent to the Continent of Nod several decades prior to the outbreak of the Moon War, with terms translated to local parlance.]

Blessings of the Ancestor Goddess be upon you, Honored Councilor Nefet.

Your humble servant sends this report to you in good health, my long term infiltration of the local superpower of the continent of [Word translates to 'Stasis', is believed to be their name for Arisa. Further instances of Arisa being mentioned will be maintained as 'Stasis' going forward.] having been successful. The locals continue to believe I am a [Displaced], which their welcoming nature has allowed me to maintain this cover without issue. As per your instructions, I will report on all I have managed to learn on the local powers as well as their component species and the lands they inhabit in that order.

To begin my report with this superpower I reside in, the 'Median of United Nations', as I believe is the official full translated name comes out to in our tongue, is the dominant nation-state upon the Eastern Coast of [Stasis], and, in your servant's most humble opinion, all of the continent. I fully admit I may be biased in making that claim, as this Media was founded by the 'Oros', a species I was surprised to learn through my rigorous studies are our distant relatives, proving live confirmation of Skolar Isim's theory of our most distant ancient ancestors having split off in the days of the [Wolf-Seal] to other lands.

The Median is a super-state comprised of the union of several component 'Great Nations', who each themselves are unified powers of component 'Nations' of genetically related, but culturally distinct, subcultures. Each of these 'Great Nations' has their own distinct and vast history, society, culture, and relationships with one another, having unified some 1600 years or so ago under the banner of a [Goddess-Ruler] known as 'Media the Mediator'. While I was initially skeptical to these claims, as shown in my attached files in my report, I have confirmed that this is, in fact, truth, and that this Media may in fact be the elder sister to [Weaver Null], the Great Architect of our world Herself. The implications and ramifications of this revelation are beyond the scope of your humble servant to postulate in this report and which I leave in you and the rest of the Honored Council's hands.

The Median, despite its diverse history and component cultures, is a democratic society, with the specifics varying from Great Nation to Great Nation from constitutional monarchies to representative democracies. My files on the specifics of their sociopolitical schema are also attached in this message. I was chosen to begin my long term infiltration and research mission based on prior information from scouting drones that indicated that the peoples of the Median are matriarchal, which would give my sex an advantage.

In actual practice, this information is both extremely outdated and only partially correct. In the distant past, many Oros societies were divided between War Queendoms and Forge Kingdoms, back when internecine warfare was common. War Queendoms, ruled by Warrior Queens, cooperated with Forge Kingdoms, ruled by Forge Kings, in a mutually beneficial arrangement during this era, and both kinds were subservient to whatever the leading unifying force of their respective Nation was dominant, which ranges vastly from Great Nation to Great Nation. By the time my spy mission began, this information is as stated grossly outdated and the current cultural practice among the Median is a egalitarian, merit based system, though I would stress that the specifics vary between the various Nations due to varying cultural beliefs on what qualities make for good leadership.

Technologically, on paper the Median is woefully behind our own accomplishments back home, with direct energy weapons still in a relative infancy. In practice, however, what they lack in raw advancement they make up for in variety, as each culture's unique historical development and the ongoing cooperation between them have led to many fascinating creations. While not as advanced as our own, as an example, they managed to invent, refine, and perfect [Float Stone] based contra-gravitic technology in little under three millennia, an astoundingly rapid rate of advancement by our leading scientist's measures on how fast this technological progress 'should' go.

Based on my observations, the reasons behind these rapid advancements is that, while Oros make up the majority of the population numerically, they are cooperative with other species they live alongside rather than dominative. I am aware that there are those back home that would find our cousin's egalitarian approach to inter-species relationships naive to a humorous extent, I cannot argue against the evidence that their cooperative efforts working with various different technological bases and abilities to advance have born great fruit for their troubles. Any further comment on this I will leave out of my main report as it is up to the Honored Council and Her Holy Majesty Herself to decide the viability of this approach.

In terms of biology, the Oros are still made of organic cells rather than our own transition into nanite based cellular biology. The single most fascinating, and mind boggling, aspect about our cousins however is their bones. I have provided as much evidence on the subject as I dared risk installing into the files below my report, but I say this, Honored Councilman, without lie or exaggeration, our cousins are in possession of unbreakable bones. The Sleeping Cult may well have the confirmation they need on the whispered of 'intended people' they claim to seek, which is why I now break protocol to directly urge the Honored Councilor to be very selective and cautious to whom you reveal this knowledge to as if the Sleeping Cult learn of this, I fear it would trigger them sending their fleet to interact with our cousins long before we are officially ready to open communication channels with them.

Outside of their bones, our cousins are similar to us in that they have several [body-types], racial and cultural [Nationalities], and a sturdy, redundant biology. In the name of science and potential future cooperation with our cousin species, I took the initiative to begin a relationship with a male member of their kind, a [Normal] type of mixed Nationality who is a low level functionary in the bureaucracy of the 'Great Walled City' of Bone's Borough. My experience so far with him and his family members has been most pleasant, and at risk of allowing my personal feelings bleed into this report, I believe that his kind nature is emblematic to how their kind would treat us if we approach them with open hearts and minds.

Having said this, one thing I found fascinating is the composition of the life forms within the Median. While the Oros are a majority in terms of numbers, the next most common astounded me. Just as Skolar Isim's theory on us having relatives in other lands were confirmed, so too was the similar theory that the Ophio of our lands have relatives.

The 'Chimera' and 'Empusa' are a fascinating set of races to observe due to the vast differences, yet glaring similarities, they have from our own homeland's counterparts. Most of the in depth specifics are in the related files, but I must say that never would I have suspected Ophio relatives to be such elegant, scientifically minded scholars rather than imperial conquerors. Though, research into them does confirm a long dreaded theory based on genetic analysis that the Ophio are, too, our relatives, just as these Chimera and Empusa are relatives distant relatives of the Oros. I once again leave these implications and their ramifications up to the Council to decide upon. Additionally, a unique hybrid form of life mixing Oros and Chimera traits, the Cerberi, also exist here in these lands, which I'm sure will be bewildering to those back home as to the specifics of how this is possible.

The next most common life forms are the 'Mortalized Spirits'. While the existence and veneration of the [Great Spirits] of [Lacuna] are known and occur, the existence of flesh and blood descendants of exiled Spirits was never dreamed of in our homeland until I saw them with my own eyes here. Friendly and welcoming as any flesh and blood beings, they are as diverse in biological life as they are in the Spirit Realm and I'm certain some of the [Great Spirit] Cults back home would find themselves weak in the knees to speak to them.

The least populous, not counting members of other [Stasis] races native to our world who migrated to the Median, are the 'Displaced'. While we understand the term in our own language and what it entails, our experiences with these Displaced is minimal, as our encounters have been limited to individuals or small groups appearing in our lands. It would appear that the Eastern seaboard of [Stasis] is something of a dimensional nexus point relative to other locations on our world, which makes Displacement and Displaced a much more common occurrence here than in other parts of the world. Too diverse in range and variety for any kind of extensive breakdown, Displaced find themselves a welcome, if extreme minority population wise, addition to the Median.

---

To the east of the Median, in a series of archipelagos and large islands in addition to floating continents, is the 'Lasarna Republics'. While Displaced individuals form a minority population in the Median and a meager token novelty here in our homelands, the Lasarna are comprised of almost entirely Displaced peoples who arrived to our world thousands of years ago and lived to establish their own society here. The related files and details on their history is attached, but it's generally agreed upon that their initial arrival influenced the ancient development of the Warrior Queen system in ancient times among Oros scholars. Culturally, they share some aesthetic similarities to the [Translation difficult, roughly 'Wine Makers'] culture within our own species' history.

Biologically, they are mammalian with feathered wings, fish like traits on their outer appearances, and wyvern esq limbs due to what is believed to be a pact with one of the [Great Spirits] themselves. Split between females and intersex of the hermaphroditic variety, they make heavy use of the mystic arts and much of their technology is directly derived from innovation and evolution of mystic-tech over the centuries. This would make them, in this servant's humble opinion, the closest analog [Stasis] has to [Term hard to translate, closest analog is 'Fae'.] of our homelands, using Mana based technology rather than [Void, IE Aether] based tech. Today a democratic coalition of numerous aligned republics, the Lasarna are seen and treated as close allies to our cousins despite early troubles in the distant past between them, something I believe the Council should make note of in planning for opening relations with the peoples of [Stasis].

The most striking population among them is a recent inclusion to their society in the form of [War Dragons]. I already know the shock it will be for our people back home to learn the troops of our people's old rivals survived to the modern day, but I would like to stress the danger they pose is minimal compared to the wars of old and that this lack of threat to us should be taken into account going forward.

---

To the West of the Median, past the 'God's Spine' mountain range and leading into the 'Land of Giants' exist two distinct civilizations. Those inhabiting the ground are known as the 'Ogra', and their Displaced protectorate species the 'Gobbs'. It is difficult to put into words to describe the Ogra clearly without resorting to less refined and more oppressive language, but I shall try. The Ogra are a people whose history is mired by war and conflict, often among themselves, but have in recent centuries begun to move away from their violent past to more advanced and civilized forms of living. This warlike history makes them the closest analogs I can think of to the Ophio back home, but despite this, their various nations have become trade partners with the Median despite a rough history between them, which I believe sheds the light of hope to our own future in finding a peaceful solution to the Ophio wars.

Biologically, the Ogra are fast breeding and physically large and powerful, with an extremely strong family instinct and dynamic that stays with them all their lives. While crude by our standards, their technology is advancing at a rapid pace thanks to a mixture of trade, war time development, and research contracts between themselves and their allies.

The second main power in this region are the Sky Island bound 'Striga-Hyto'. Another Displaced civilization, the 'Hyto' as they are often shortened to are a mercantile culture of avian mammals who have extremely advanced, by [Stasis] standards, directed energy weaponry they loan out and sell to other nations in the region. Their mercantile nature and the heavy usage of mystical energy weapons makes me compare them roughly to the [Difficult to translate, roughly 'Sea People'] living in the shallows around our home continent. They honor their deals and contracts making them a reliable and steadfast trading partner, which has made them allies all across their home region.

Additionally, their sky living way of living brings to mind our most ancient allies, the [Term hard to translate, closest analog is 'Moon Rabbits'], though they lack the nomadic space fairing live-ships our old allies lived in.

---

Finally, and the societies farthest from the Median while still being on [Stasis] are the 'Fahn Empire' past the Ogra regions, the 'Mohga Collectives' in a region known as the 'Deep Lands', and the 'Kingdom of the Sun' in the far West, on the opposite coastline of the continent. They have only recently been discovered and begun trade with the Median, having only begun doing so within the last millennia or so, a paltry time-frame I know, but despite this short amount of time there has been much information I have been able to acquire on them.

The Fahn Empire claim to be descendants of the Old Goddess Fa, and their caprine like appearance gives credence to this. They have been at war with the Mohga Collectives east of them for centuries at the latest, and have even conquered and integrated several specimens into their armies as auxiliary, through conquest unlike how the peoples of our lands have adopted the Displaced of the Exodus Peoples into our various nations through peaceful integration. They keep to themselves and seem to have a low opinion of most other native civilizations of our world and are tight lipped on their culture and technology, slow to trust others as they blame the other Old Gods for the death of their 'Great Grandmother'. More research is required.

The Mohga Collectives, meanwhile, are an evolution of the armies of the Stone Eye Elders who allied with our Dragon enemies so long ago. Originally mystical war beasts, they have since evolved through the guidance of their hive-mind elements into their current form, mimicking the appearances of their neighboring nations. While evolved, their old directives appear to still be functioning, and they have been engaged in war with both the Fahn and the Sun Kingdom for an unknown extensive period of time. Interestingly, they are supposedly all female yet have no troubles being able to reproduce, though the means which they do so eludes my understanding due to my host nation lacking the information on their particulars.

The Kingdom of the Sun, meanwhile, is comprised of the 'Peoples of the Sun'. They are a collection of various species led by what appears to be a form of felinoid-primate divided between several distinct subspecies who arose to form their own society and civilization in the relatively calm West. They are an alliance between a representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy ruled by a set of royal houses who change leadership after the term of the current monarch runs out in a cyclical manner, believing in a philosophical belief they call 'The Wheel of Life'. Above the monarchs are the 'Great Sages', which I was alarmed to learn may in fact be surviving Dragons from our wars many eons ago. However, these 'Great Sages', of which I have compiled all I learned about form available information in the data files below, do not appear hostile or interested controlling in other polities, which I believe should be mentioned and stressed upon by your Honor within the Council to avoid any unnecessary conflicts that could be avoided.

From what I could learn, the Great Sages selected the distant ancestors of the Sun People to raise them, and a selected number of other species, in an uplift project which led to their current civilization. Despite our people's poor history with the Dragons, I believe that, our relative proximity to them offers us a unique position to become trade partners with them, in order to begin opening relations with the peoples of [Stasis]. If nothing else, as they seem to be the only surviving remnants of the old Dragon civilization that still possess a society we can understand, we could use this opportunity for a morale boos to our people by making an official peace treaty with the remnants of our former enemies, though as always this is up to your Honor and the rest of the Council. In terms of equivalence, the only thing I can thing of even close to this civilization is a mixture of the Ophio's uplifted lower populace making up the majority of their civilization combined with the familial monarchical society of the [Name directly translates to 'Mantid'.] peoples in our home land.

---

As I have gone over the known civilizations of [Stasis], I would like to add information on the actual biosphere of these lands. An extended, detailed breakdown on all factors is in the files I send with this message, but in short terms, Stasis is a land that I cannot help but find troubling. While all who where alive before our Great Sleep eons ago can attest to, our world has always been hostile, no matter the continent or region. However, where our homeland of [Flow, their name for the continent of Nod] is home to the Cyclical Forest whose never ending lifecycle brings and takes life across our continent in a constant rate, [Stasis] is one with a stable, still biosphere. While evolution still takes place, it does so at a relatively slow, even pace. At least, that is what is supposed to happen in theory.

In practice, [Stasis] may well be more hostile to life than our own homelands. While there is no end of dangers in our wilds, all major civilizations on [Flow] have been able to find their footing relatively quickly and our biggest hurdles have not been our ecosystem, but constant warfare with one another. In [Stasis], while it has been no stranger to war as we understand it, by and large the first and greatest enemy our cousins and their peers have faced is nature itself. It is the only land I am aware of where actual, literal wars against wildlife have taken place by technologically advanced civilizations and it would be an actual war. I have lived in these lands for several decades at this point as part of my infiltration, and I have had no less than three dozen near death encounters in my time here. My pre-mate, Founder Goddess bless his heart, claims I've been lucky to have had so few in my time here. I'm afraid he was not making a jest.

I believe, with my own pedigree as a biological and sociological researcher, that this incredibly hostile environment is what bred such a strong sense of community and open-mindedness among the peoples of the Median. In the simplest, most basic of terms, they have had no choice but to evolve to be unified and cooperative in order to survive, with wars between civilizations being devastating yes, but rare compared to surviving against nature itself. Our cousins do not care what you are, who you are, your standing, your beliefs, your creed or identity or passions. All they care about is that you can fight and do so standing by their side. That is my professional diagnosis on them, and which I believe my peers in my socio-strata will agree with my assessment of them.

It is therefore why I must once again break protocol to directly urge you, Honored Councilman, to stress to the Council that our cousins, despite lacking our advanced technology, are not to be treated as simple, primitive, or 'less advanced'. The crucible of evolution they have undergone has forged a strong, powerful civilization with equally strong allies, and it is in the best interest of our Ecumene to learn form them and open up trade and communications as though they are our equals, for if left alone, it is a matter of 'when', not 'if' that they will reach our level of advancement on their own terms.

[The message ends here and is followed by numerous attached data files on countless subjects related to the civilizations of Arisa.]

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of a public database entry on 'The History of Modern Median Weapons.']

Since the dawn of tool use, weapons have been a part of sapient cultures the world over, with the members of the Median being no different. From the simplest spear to the most cutting edge ranged weapon system, we have gotten very good at finding new and exciting ways to fend off or destroy hostile forces that would threaten us and our kin. In the current chapter, we will be going over a brief summation of the history and function of existing weapon systems developed and used by the Median, as well as a small selection of weapon systems produced by our trade partner states that are notable imports to our civilization.

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Melee.

The grandfather of all weapon systems, from knives to spears to hammers, melee weapons have been in use since the first tool based weapon was developed. The historical development has been shaped by both necessity, available resources, and what is most practical to use in a given situation. If one is fighting a duel, a sword is considered ideal. If one is hunting or otherwise favors reach, pole arms such as spears and pikes are favored. If one is dealing with a heavily armored opponent, the crushing power of a hammer or maul is the way to go. The forms melee weapons take are as varies as are their niches, with every culture having their own distinct favorite National weapon famed in their historical use.

In the modern day, most military grade melee weapons are differentiated from 'civilian' weapons by the use of a technological advancement of some kind. The two most common are 'stun' and 'sear' based weapons. Stun weapons, typically blunt such as bludgeons, one handed hammers, and so forth, are covered in an electrical power field specifically designed to impart a debilitating shock on impact. This is most commonly used as a form of subjugating dangerous, resisting animals, criminals, or salvageable but malfunctioning machinery. Searing based weapons, however, are specifically designed for lethal purposes and are most commonly used in bladed weapon systems. Searing systems work by coating the sharp edge of their blade with a plasma field to aid in cutting, stabbing, and piercing attacks by increasing penetration and damage done on a direct blow. Whether it is a common combat knife, bayonet, or dueling sword, the searing function is wide spread and widely used.

In terms of notable historical weapon designs, some select notable ones include:

-The Chopper. Said to be the unifying weapon system across all Nations, the specific design of the Chopper sword varies wildly from Nation to Nation both in time period and in what individual cultures sought to gain from their combat weapon. Used by some cultures as their primary weapon while others used it as a secondary side arm, the Chopper gets its name as the most common unifying feature across all designs is that it is built with a large blade that excels in chopping attacks. While some models are capable of stabbing, the Chopper's primary mode of attack was designed around making the swords multi-purpose tools, allowing them to be used to clear their way through forests, jungles, and other foliage heavy environments, as well as to cleave open the throat-the most common weak point in Nullian biology-and even to be used as an emergency butchery tool on animal life when scrounging for food.

-The Great Knife's origins are debated, but the most commonly agreed on theory is that they originate in Firebrand culture and history and became widespread during the centuries where the Royalbacks briefly took over and ruled the Orosoid sphere of Arisa. The Great Knife is so named because of its large size for a knife, with the generally agreed requirements to be considered one to be the size of a Normal Body-Type Oros' forearm, but no longer than this and to have a specifically knife shaped blade. Considered something of an emergency weapon, it has been known that more daring Nullians have historically mastered Great Knife combat so as to use it as their primary means of melee combat rather than as an emergency weapon or side arm. In modern day terms, it is most commonly mastered by Hunters and stealth operatives seeking to sneak up on their targets.

-The Axe is one of the oldest tools known to exist, and one of the most diverse in design and ubiquitous in multi-utility. Useful in both utility roles such as chopping wood as well as combat, Axes have something of a certain cultural view due to their use as a common executioner's tool whether by beheading those put to death or, in the case of Oros, cleaving their throats open. As such, Axes have something of a certain reputation in symbology outside of specific uses such as with lumber companies, which most are careful to avoid unless they are looking to make a specific statement about themselves or their organization.

-Where the Axe is said to be a tool of death, this is half true for the signature weapons of the Handmaiden's of Media, the Axe-Scythe. Mystic weapons forged in the Aether, and the signature weapon of Media herself, the Axe-Scythe is a tool that combines the fondly regarded agricultural tool with the deadly executioner's weapon, the blade able to hinge between a scythe and axe configuration. This gives a certain authority to the Handmaidens of Media, who are sent out rarely to deal with problems that normally cannot be resolved by conventional, Mortal means. As much a symbol of hope as it is dread, it's generally considered both a good and bad omen all at once if one is seen for a simple reason: If you see it, the good news is help is here and you will be saved. The bad news is, if you see it, the problem is bad enough that you were in need of help and rescuing in the first place.

-The Hammer is one of, if not the most widely respected tool in Oros culture the continent over for a reason that species with breakable bones would see as unusual, but for the Oros makes perfect sense: The Hammer is seen as a weapon of mercy. As their bones cannot be broken, Oros hit with a hammer can be concussed and non-lethally subdued, which led it historically being used as the premier tool for non-lethal subjugation of dissidents and criminals alike among Oros. As such, the Hammer is often seen as the symbol of justice and mercy in law and healthcare, a symbology whose irony is not lost for those whose bones can be broken.

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Ranged Weapons.

While we may never know what the first tool after the rock and spear were, we do know that as soon as the first melee tools were invented, tools for dedicated rangecraft swiftly followed. The resulting evolution, from the first throwing spears and slings to the increasingly complex nature of bows and fire arms, has led to some of the most recognizable and widely used weapon systems of the modern day. Indeed, gone are the days of ranged weapons being specialist tools, and in the modern day a ranged weapon is the norm for most fighting individuals of the Median, with melee being reserved for specialists, CQC, or enthusiasts. Due to the complex and extensive nature of ranged weapon variety, the Median uses the 'Milo's ID System' for classifying ranged weapons by their method of operation and ammunition.

-Arrow weapons are some of the oldest surviving examples of ranged weapons. Gone are the days of the humble composite bows and in are the modern day compound bows, automatic crossbows, and other specialist weapons. Despite the name, an 'Arrow' weapon is classified not by literal arrows being fired, but by how the munition does damage. Namely, Arrow weapons are classified by launching any munition designed not to completely enter the target, but to stick into a target and prevent regeneration by blocking the means to do so. As such, literal arrows are fired alongside specialist rail flung serrated shards designed to cause bleeding causeways while keeping the wound from healing. While seen by most gun enthusiasts as a niche form of dealing damage, Hunters and their like have found Arrow weapons highly useful in their capacity to launch tracking munitions that cannot be removed by the target, in addition to the often quieter report of bow fire than the booms of even a suppressed gun.

-Bullet weapons are the first, and thus oldest, firearm family on Null. The secrets to black powder has been known for thousands of years, but the simple fact of the matter was the black powder lacks the raw power necessary to be a threat to Nullian life forms, especially with the fact that things have gotten more durable as time has gone on. Today, black powder is exclusively used in the market of fireworks, pyrotechnics, and niche sports shooting competitions. However, in 500AA, a way to safely shape Solarite crystals was discovered. From this innovation came the first mass produced Solarite based gun, the Solar Wheel Musket, entered widespread use. As new ways to better make use of Solarite were discovered, including the invention of a way to safely grind the crystals into the first batches of Red Powder, bullet based firearms entered a enlightenment period of developed between the 1400's-2000's, rapidly groing from breech loaders and lever actions to caseless pulse fired munitions.

Eventually, however, Null's life forms grew in durability as they always did, and the lethality of bullet based weapons began to wane and new technologies needed to be developed. However, despite this, bullet weapons continue to see use in the modern day as a new niche has been discovered for them. Utilized large, dense and heavy rounds at high speeds designed to squash on impact to impart all of their energy on the target, Bullet based weapons on Null now find use as 'concussion' weapons designed to disorientate tougher creatures via continuous application of concussive bullet impacts to armored skulls.

-Immediately after the discovery of how to weaponize Solarite, explosive munitions using the elemental crystal began to be developed by every Nation for every niche from mining to explosive weapon systems and beyond. The first mass produced infantry rocket was the incredibly crude, inaccurate, but cheap and easy to produce Disposable Solar Rocket V1 by the Royalback Nation. Little more than a Solarite Crystal in a shaped casing to direct its backblast as propellant that detonated on impact with something, the DSR would be the forefather for future explosives weapon development as everything from grenades and more advanced rockets began to evolve from its initial simple design. Modern day military grade explosive munitions very in payload based on mission parameters and purpose, but the most common warhead for grenades and infantry rocket systems is a weaponized Solarite Plasma battery designed to detonate violently on impact with a target or on a fuse if no viable target is immediately present in the respective blast zone.

-Rail weapons were the first new technology discovered after Red Powder weapons, completely by accident. While exact accounts very, the tale goes that a Chimera scientist in around the mid 700's AA was experimenting with the electro-magnetic properties of Fulgerite when she discovered its ability to magnetize metal and, by chance, accidentally sent a metal ball baring going at high speeds to be embedded in a near by wall. Shortly after this discovery, research began on how to weaponize this magnetic phenomena, and around the 800's, the first mass produced rail weapon was created, the Electro Driver Bombardment Cannon. Since then, miniaturization has resulted in rail weapons becoming increasingly more and more man-portable, until we reach their modern day forms as rail infantry weapons.

Rail weapons in the Median focus on a specific combat niche for most of their designs: Defeating armor, with the biggest design hurdles over the centuries being to find the perfect medium between the right sized munition that was both dense enough to punch through armored plating and skulls, while being small enough and light enough to be used in rapid succession. Most infantry based Rail rifles are semi-automatic guns launching a standardized 8x50mm sabot round meant to breach armored targets and attack the flesh beneath the plating. These Sabots, as with any ranged weapon system's munitions, come in a variety of different ammo types, with the two most common being 'splinter' rounds against organic targets-splintering after breaching the armor to have a shotgun like effect on the intended flesh-and 'AM' anti-material rounds designed to remain solid in order to reach sensitive components deep within mechanical chassis'.

-Sluggers are, in the modern day, the most widely used ranged weapon in the Median, and is our biggest export to our trade partners in terms of weapons trading. The successor to the Bullet weapons as the de-facto 'standard issue' munition, Sluggers are highly advanced micro-missile munitions averaging at .50 caliber sizes for most infantry variants. Designed to breach lighter armor and explode to deal maximum trauma inside the target, even centuries after their introduction, Sluggers remain relatively highly effective against Nullian life forms, though the number of rounds needed to kill the average creature has slowly but steadily increased over time.

Starting life as experimental rocket assisted 25mm under barreled grenades for bullet rifle systems around the 2200's, Sluggers slowly developed their modern forms over the next 4 centuries as experimental variants were made to test their effectiveness as stand-alone fire support systems. Initially cased munitions, the first modern day caseless Slugger microrocket was created in 2645, a 25mm heavy weapon's system that, through ensuing decades of miniaturization and technological advancement, slowly began to morph into the current day sizes used by infantry the Median over.

-Energy Weapons are still in their infancy within the Median, as much of our historical weapon's focus has been on the perfection of kinetic based designs combined with the difficulties to make ranged energy blasts based on known Nullian scientific principles. The earliest energy weapons of Median origin were the single use Solar Blast Cannon, a short ranged plasma lance using a carefully directed and harnessed Solarite Crystal shard as its one use munition. Legally speaking for taxation and trade purposes, only energy weapons that are powered, fueled, and operated using an internal energy source can be classified as a 'Directed Energy Weapon'. Weapons that fire energy but utilize elemental crystals as non-reusable expendable ammunition is legally classified as 'Energy Assisted Solid State Firearms'. As such, no native Median energy weapon can be classified as a true DEW, though those produced by the Lasarna and Striga-Hyto that follow this definition can be.

In terms of these weapons, the most common for the Lasarna are the Plasma Bolt Launcher systems, typically stylized in the form of crossbows. Harnessing elemental energies into a launchable bolt format, these weapon systems are extremely powerful but tend to overheat if used consecutively and thus trade rate of fire for raw damage. The Striga-Hyto, meanwhile, are famed for their battery powered Beam Rifles, though what this beam is varies between different manufacturer models, with armor piercing models being particle based and common anti-organic models being a dispersing plasma plume.

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Countless models of weapon have been invented and used over the centuries, which every Median citizen has access to and can benefit from to stay safe in our hostile world. In the next chapter, we will go over the evolutionary history of support systems that improve weapons from simple range finders to genetic locks for theft prevention.

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of the overview of the template for the average Great Walled City prior to their mass production across the Median, sent to various heads of state, high level governmental employees, heads of industry, and 'Upper Echelon' economic strata leadership within the Median circa 2889.]

Following the most recent 'Great Dragon War' as of 2888, it has been concluded by the Senate Mediata that the as of recently proposed 'Great Walled City Project' is to begin implementation at the key locations listed within the project's site selection pages: The Project has already identified geographically ideal locations to situate the construction of these 'GWCs', however even with all locations meeting the geographical and tectonic requirements for ideal localization, there is still much variety in the local landscapes of each chosen locale and the preexisting cities and outlying territories for many of these locations that will require their own individual specialized needs in construction and/or reconstitution or preexisting settlements and local areas. The Mediator herself has assured us that the bulk of construction that necessitates more esoteric means will come directly from her personal employ, easing the burden on individual Nations and cities in the construction efforts of the project.

We shall now go over current plans and potential problems to be resolved for the project's final products:

The current plans for the average [Read, baseline based on the most ideal of geographical and preexisting construction conditions] Great Walled City involves a triple layered defense for both above ground and below ground threats to be counteracted, with the primary cityscape at the center having a radius of 25 miles for a total diameter of 50 miles from one end of the innermost wall to the other end. As this is an estimated average for ideal conditions, selected sites that do not meet the ideal conditions [Example: Located at or near a major water front such as the shoreline] will be modified on a per-instance basis. The modifications to the baseline plan per each instance will be handled in the pre-production stages when necessary.

In terms of design, each GWCs make up will be dependent on preexisting local habitation development and urban development, however for those GWCs with the freedom to follow the ideal plans, the average GWC design is centered around a central arcology with a central capacity to create a space elevator to further plans for exo-atmospheric development within the Median's larger plans. Each GWC is to be portioned off into various Districts [Sections, Segments, alternative names pending] divided between an 'Urban' District, a 'Rural' district, a 'Manufacturing' District, and an 'Agricultural' District, though final plans for this development are still pending. The underground sections of the GWC is, in itself, a massive arcological section spanning at minimum the span of the upper city and to be developed down into bedrock where and when possible. It is estimated that current GWC plans, when built to ideal specifications, can comfortably house, feed, and sustain a population of as many as 200 million, though this is a low estimate and actual space for living, provided maximum resource production and output, is much higher.

The average GWC is intended to be completely self sufficient in terms of mining, food, equipment and defense production, however we recognize that intra-city trade between Nations makes up a sizable portion of internal economic generation within the Median, and as such 'specialized' GWCs have been planned to specialize in production of specific goods or hardware to facilitate and encourage continue trade and economic flow post GWC completion. Regardless of final design or responsibilities, GWCs are to be linked with a 'Deep Road' under-rail system at the bottom of the lowest levels of the 'Under City' sectors, connecting between nearest GWCs and allowing for safe travel and trade between them in addition to aerial travel, being located deep enough underground that they are safe from even the deepest known Spider-Ant digging ranges.

In the past few centuries, it has long become tradition to build underground as much, if not more, as it is overground in any major city-scape, with underground habitation and production facilities becoming a norm within the last 5 decades. The Under-City will therefore be a continuation with minimal problems adjusting for most of the population already making use of existing such environments in major urban centers. The Mediator's assistance in the construction of these expanded areas without needing to destroy or upend existing above ground urban environments will be a great boon to the speedy construction of the GWCs.

To power such massive complexes as an entire GWC, even well below maximum capacity, power distribution for an ideal standard GWC includes several Class A power generation fusion reactors of either Fulgerite or Solarite based power production, several Class B macro-power generators as secondary power, a series of Class D Megabatteries as tertiary back up and emergency power, and localized emergency power battery systems at various localized distribution points where habitation, food production, and manufacturing are located. As Class A fusion reactors are scalable in size, the exact number per GWC is at the discretion of local planners and officials, though it is highly recommended to err on the side of caution and go for several more than is immediately needed. Cooling for all systems and underground areas are to be handled per Median city regulations, modifications for such scale pending final results of test examples.

Additionally, standard city planning protocol for even normal urban planning notes to provide supplementary power generation stations across key areas to lower the burden on main power generation plants and to allow for them to run on more efficient, maintenance friendly lower power settings when not requiring maximum output.

GWC maintenance, operations, and construction/reconstruction protocols are modeled after current Median city operations in that personnel are hired from local populace and supplemented with automated assistance wherever feasible (Teams of service/cleaning drones accompanying each technician/janitor, law enforcement enhanced with Neo-Golem Assistant Sheriff Models, ect ect) which are to be updated and maintained to Median standards at all time.

Due to the importance of the GWCs for our people's continued safety and future, failure to keep important city functions at peak conditions for extended periods of time will be subject to a review over mishandling of resources if necessary following failure to update after three failed monthly inspections.

The namesake of the project, the 'Great Walls', will similarly be dependent on individual modifications, but will follow a standardized format for the average in ideal conditions as follows: The inner most wall will be approximately 95 meters in height and 160 meters in thickness and will be the site of the majority of artillery and anti-air defense positions, as well as the majority of military deployment facilities on the interior most facing of the wall. The second wall, to be located no less than 1000 meters away from the innermost wall, is to be approximately 65 meters in height and 95 meters in thickness, with defensive structures for direct fire over and in between the outermost wall and the area between them, as well as secondary artillery and anti-air positions such as mortars and short range AAA platforms. The outermost wall is to be located no less than 500 meters away from the middle walls, and is to be approximately 35 meters in height and 55 meters in thickness, and is where the majority of direct fire outer facing defensive positions are to be located.

A minimum1 kilometer 'dead zone' is to extend out between the outermost wall and the nearest natural habitat in the region where any creature beyond a set size or biological make up is to be drive off through the use of electro coils, sonic weaponry, or low-caliber fire. If creatures refuse to leave, or are being charged in in an animal attack via Spider-Ant provocation, lethal force is authorized. Between the stretches of land of the walls are to be further bulked with automated defenses, traps, mines, and other defensive measures to be used in the event of a breech. Where spacing is available the use of customized defense options will be left to the decision of the local city's defense strategists at their own discretion.

These defenses must have thorough overlapping fire to cover air, ground, and subterranean regions. In addition, each GWC is to be defended with a defense force of trained, professional soldiers dedicated to each GWCs defense, in addition to any secondary Home Guard or Militia defenses up to local discretion. As defense requirements vary from location to location, coordinating the creation of each GWCs' defense unit will be done in a by case basis. Regardless of what local defense force numbers are at location, it is highly recommended that automaton defense units, Neo-Golems and drones should be used to supplement and bulk up local defenses. Current stocks of excess Orthos, Humblebee, Hellhawk, and Jackrabbit autonomous drone units have been earmarked for this purpose and regular upgrades to maintain Median modern standards will be required. A fully stocked and trained fleet of the Aerospace Corps. will be provided for each GWC for defensive purposes, in addition to official outlying bases for Median military operations to provide rapid response support for city defense.

Despite these massive defenses being in place, the recent Dragon War proved that a powerful, fast enough enemy can blow through our conventional defenses in record speed. As such, a final layer of defense has been retrofitted into the original plans for the GWCs in the form of a new sub-program of purchasing and installing the Lasarna's City Barrier System as a final defensive measure to keep the core of the GWCs safe. Proven their worth when the dragons failed to breech their own CBS', the Lasarna have agreed to trade deals with us for the purchase of enough of these systems to provide such barriers to all GWCs and have enough left over to install into the remaining major settlements not within range to be built into a GWCs construction range.

Coordination between GWC government, local military defense operations, outlying Median military bases, and extended National and Median governmental bodies will be imperative for the smooth, rapid construction of all planned GWCs. Those that can be built or rebuilt to exact specifications will be done in massive construction projects that are to be defended 30/7 by Military units and local militia forces, with governmental aid being provided for the mass scale transmogrification of existing underground locations in existing cities for GWCs that are to be converted from existing locales.

However, the sheer scale and colossal amount of manpower, resources, and man-hours required for even one GWC, much less all planned locations, to be completed in rapid succession requires more than just coordination and assistance, it requires assurance as to the success of the project as something on this scale has never been attempted before. As such, in addition to Senate authorization of the Project, Mandate 742 has been voted into effect for the production and monitoring of 'Test Sites', including 4 planned uninhabited locations and 3 planned inhabited locations, to be the grounds for the first GWCs in order to test the viability of the project in a variety of control conditions.

2 of the uninhabited sites are to be test grounds for perfect 'Ideal' conditions, while 2 are to be given to the testing of 2 'unideal' environmentally difficult locations in the Great Banded Desert and the Northern Wastes respectively, with the 3 preexisting cities being each unique in their existing state of size, urban composition, and geographical placement. Following the completion of construction, a monitoring period of 25 years will be in effect to see the short term success of the project before further authorization on subsequent waves of GWC construction. If the monitoring period produces satisfactory results, the remaining planned GWC locations will undergo the conversion process in a series of waves to be determined based on priority of necessity, with those locations that would benefit the most of GWC conversion having high priority.

Current estimates place the total financial cost of the full, completed project anywhere from several tens of trillions of Dollups to a few quadrillion, going by typical economic models of the costs of construction and maintenance at current day rates. While we do not believe in moving away from economic models entirely, the nature and importance of the project has led to increased interest in automated assistance within Median construction and maintenance operations to offset what would otherwise be an exorbitantly high cost. Preexisting projects researching more advanced Neo-Golem models and the 'Synth' Project are being looked into and invested in to preemptively assist in lowering the final cost of production. Current economic theory postulates that using a mixture of Median workers and workers from our allied trade partners in addition to automated help could actually increase total economic growth by the end of the Project's construction and initial maintenance period by facilitating trade between our peoples and moving economic flow between all parties.

Additionally, success of the project would make the Median the foremost constructors of similar 'Fortress Cities' based on the GWC parameters, which would allow us to sell our nation's services to others in the creation of their own such locations. This will lead to increased trade and movement of financial goods between our peoples, boosting all economies involved, at least in current theory. Finally, regardless of success or failure during the monitoring period, the extensive defense network for these cities can be implemented on a much smaller scale to boost existing city defense lines and wall structures, ensuring all urban centers have some benefit from this projects plans, though they will not be as well defended due to the sheer scope, scale, and thoroughness of what differentiates the 'Fortress City' concept from existing cityscapes within the Median.

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript of an article by a Displaced individual with a culinary background detailing the cuisine of the Median]

Many of us who arrive to Null and manage to survive long enough to be integrated into the Median hail from all manner of worlds through the dimensional nexus point linking our worlds to Null. As such, we come from a wide variety of backgrounds, histories, cultures, and even races, each with our own personal stories to tell. One commonality linking many of us, however, is that a not insignificant number of us hail from some variation of the world we usually call 'Earth' [or Terra, Gaea, ect ect]. Looking at the Median's peoples and their cultures indicates us as to why, as many cultures evolved within the Median share distinct similarities between themselves and those cultures of the versions of our own world.

So, to my fellow Earth-Peoples, whatever version or variant you may be or hail from, I come to you today to give you all an overview of some of the culinary features of our new home. We might not be able to go back, but that doesn't mean we can't find some great things to eat here.

The first thing to go over is that, unlike most of our Earths, the various Orosoid cultures of the Median [Oros, Empusa, Chimera, Cerberi], all have lived on the same continent for all of their evolutionary history and thus have lived in relatively close proximity for much of their history. As a result of this, many dishes we recognize as hailing from specific countries or cultures in our worlds tend to have blurred origins here within the Median. For example, what we recognize as cake as a confection doesn't originate from a Hellenistic culture here, but was a development within the Russo-Sino esq Nation known as the Icebreakers, who are famed for their contributions to confectionery history here. Due to this, despite cultural similarities in some aspects, I will not be doing an in-depth comparison

Another key thing to note is a culinary quirk that is the direct result of a biological factor. The Orosoid Races all share a common biological quirk, being omnivores that require both animal protein and plant nutrients to remain healthy. Unlike most other omnivores that can subsist largely on one or the other entirely, the Orosoid Races need both to remain healthy. This isn't to say they can't go a day on nothing but a salad diet, but long term continuous lacking of one or the other has negative effects to their health. As such, almost every meal of note throughout the day has a mixture of both some kind of animal protein and plant matter. The closest thing to a 'vegan' Orosoid are those who get all their protein from the increasingly common vat grown meats that have become a large and common part of the Median farming industry, but it is biologically impossible for them to not eat any flesh at all. The closest thing to vegetarianism outside of a largely vat-grown diet is those who get their protein from things like milk, eggs, or Mofu Meat Wool, to name key examples.

This leads into the other big thing about what there is to eat here: Ingredient availability. While Null has many naturally occurring analogs or equivalents to foods we recognize from earth, be it in taste or in culinary function, one-to-one direct versions borderline do not exist in the Eastern parts of Arisa. The Sundom on the Western side of this super-continent has even more ingredients, many of which are closer to what we know, but the distance means that importing these ingredients leads to a notable up-charge compared to other products to compensate for the delivery. Fortunately, a small but booming industry of vat growing our native food stocks at comparably affordable every day prices means most of us Displaced can still have something from home we recognize, if we're willing to hunt down the stores that carry them.

Finally, this leads to some of the notable culinary ingredients in popular use, particularly meats. The primary livestock animals in the Median are the Clucken, the Oliphant, the Apo, the Porcerus, and the Mofu, as the five most widespread and common livestock animals raised or meat grown in vats. Clucken fill an ecological niche we would recognize as belonging to chickens, but where the familiar taste of chicken meat would be is instead closer to duck meat in taste and texture. Not necessarily a bad thing as it's still delicious, but for those looking for 'authentic' chicken taste locally will have to look into Bughunter culinary lines as they have a variety of large scale insects with a taste comparable to chicken, if you don't mind the texture of crab meat. Their eggs flavor also varies on subspecies, so there is a wide variety of eggs from this one creature to try out practically every morning.

The Oliphant, meanwhile, fills a role akin to bovines in our worlds. If cows were the size of dinosaurs and had bad tempers. Synapsids producing a thick milk analog [it is the same function as milk as we know it, but diverged evolutionary from their main-line mammalian cousins many millions of years ago] that has a naturally rich, creamy texture when pasteurized, Oliphant beef when properly cooked is, to our 'upgraded' physicality to match the locals, fall off the bone tender and with a naturally richer flavor than cow beef. While certainly tasty, the richness of this can be a turn off for many who miss the steaks of our own world.

The Apo is a special treat, only eaten when they die of natural, non-infectious causes due to shared cultural respect for them among the Orosoid Nations. Laying massive eggs akin to those laid by Ostriches back home, a single Apo unfertilized egg can be used to make an omelette of generous size. Fertilized Apo eggs are as protected as their parents, and as such are illegal to sell for consumption.

Filling in the niche of pigs is actually a local porcine species, the humble Porcerus, colloquially known as the Shell-Hog, native hogs that evolved natural armor plating an a rhinoceros esq horn from their heads in addition to their tusks. Most popular with Chimeran races, Shell-Hog meat is particularly succulent in comparison to the relatively simple and dry meat of earth pigs, and are popular additions to any menu where Chimera live.

Finally, the last but certainly not least of the most common of the local livestock species, the not-so-humble Mofu. These sheep creatures evolved not a body full of wool, but a spongy outer layer of external fat deposits that are easy to remove and digest, incentivizing the extremely intelligent predators of Null to avoid killing them to retain a constant supply of meat on short notice. Mofu Meat Wool is easy to harvest, nigh infinitely and quickly replenishable, nutritious and delicious with the flavor changing based on diet. A staple source of protein, Mofu Meat Wool's biggest drawback is that when cooked, it naturally produces a layer of greasy oil that, while very useful due to its myriad of uses, can be very messy to handle for those inexperienced with it.

Not counting regional unique animals and game creatures, these 5 species make up the core of most protein available within the Median, able to be found in any location selling food.

Having said all of this, fruits and vegetables are more easy to broadly categorize. Most fruits have some manner of caustic juice of varying degrees of acidity, so preparing them without ruining the kitchen can be a bit of trial and error with the proper acid proof utensils. Most vegetables, meanwhile, are fairly mundane and straight forward, though a number of variants make use of toxins and poisons in some way as part of their defense so one should always keep an eye on that when buying them or eating out.

Drinks are as varied as the foods, but the 'core' drinks found everywhere are tea, coffee, and cider. While all Nations have their national drinks of choice, Tea and Coffee offer a simple, easy way to purify water for safe consumption in ancient times and remains a common sight even in the modern day with advanced water purification techniques. Ciders, meanwhile, have always been a popular alcoholic beverage due to allowing the drinker to ingest a decent portion of their daily plant nutrient intake in a fun, tasty manner. Indeed, the first sodas developed by the Median were non-alcoholic mass produced versions of popular regional cider flavors, which continue to be popular drinks even today, with Nullian fruit soda having a notable number of nutritional intake compared to 'normal' soda we are familiar with.

The final thing to note is, as mentioned, despite similarities with cultures we are familiar with back home, Nullian culinary development and history has as many differences as they do with recurrent themes thanks to their alien biosphere and ecosystems providing different sets of available ingredients. This has also had an effect on the development of many foods that we would be familiar with back home. For example, burgers and pizza exist here as well, but due to the pressure to avoid food being stolen out of one's hands by a hungry animal, they developed to be closed face, akin to the UFO burgers some of us may remember from back home.

Having said all of this, each Nationality has its own culinary specialties evolved through millenia of using what was availble in their homelands to make their signature dishes:

-The Skyrunners are well known for rich spices borne from hardy desert plants seeking to dissuade animals from consuming them. Sun drying, salting, and oven baking are signature cooking methods for them, though the comparatively low density of animal life in the Great Banded Desert means that they also are home to things like kebabs among other treats. Their national dessert is the Burrow Honey Bread, a favorite of the Royal Founding Family and a popular on-the-go treat at any street vendor worth their sugar.

-The Royalbacks, due to their one-time dominion over most of the Orosoid world, have a massive variety of regional variation on dishes a loved of staples like rice and noodles that unifies their diverse subcultures. Frying is one of the most popular ways to prepare food, locking in fat and protein into even meatless dishes to get in their dietary needs easily and frequently, with Mofu Wool Grease being the most popular cooking medium just for this particular reason. One particular dish that has never lost popularity ever since their First Kingdom era is Curry, which exploded in popularity and never went away when Bughunter territory was claimed by their expanding empire.

-The Bughunters, as their name suggest, feed on a wide range of massive insects that thrive in their parts of Eastern Arisa. Due to the similarities with their arthropod ancestors, the most common flavors we would recognize, even if the meat isn't familiar, would be those of crab, shrimp, and lobster, cooked from everything from in-the-shell to battered and fried as common street food. Their biggest claim to fame, however, is their dairy industry, having the largest array of milk producing animals relative to their location from local herbivores, making them the undisputed masters of cheese, butter, and yogurt to the rest of the Median.

-The Firebrands live in some of the most fertile soil in the whole of Eastern Arisa, the Southern Heat Plains being rich with volcanic activity. As a matter of fact, the hardest part of farming here before the invention of the indoor vertical farm was keeping their harvests safe from hungry wild-life. However, what the Firebrands are most famed for is their spicy dishes. Born with innate tolerance for extreme temperatures, their biology also makes them highly resilient to capsaicin and similar hot substances, there are few native dishes that don't involve at least some kind of heat added in for extra kick, with even their deserts making generous use of things such as cinnamon or ginger.

-The Stonecutters, with their long history of mining deep within their mountainous homes, have an equally long history of easy to store and carry foods for quick breaks in between morning and evening meals. From sandwhiches, rolls, and a vast selection of sausages, Stonecutters enjoy a reputation as some of the premier 'carriable' food creators in the Median, with them being credited for the invention of the predecessors of what we now know today as the Nullian burger, hot dog, and pocket sandwiches. They also hold the esteem of inventing 'Electra-Cooking', a method using application of fulgerite crystals to cook food.

-The Icebreakers, up in the far frigid northern territories of Arisa, have always historically been great creators of soups and stews, with familial communal stew pots being crewed night and day by family members to be prepared for a warm meal at all hours of the day. However, what put them on the map for the rest of the Median was their extreme variety of sweets, particularly confections, mastered over the centuries supposedly by the Royal Families competing to outdo one another in the ever popular tea ceremonies done in any discussion worth deliberating over.

-The Wavechasers, being the Nation closest to the seas as it surrounds their lands on al sides, are the biggest consumers of seafood per capita of all the Nations. If there is a fish, crustacean, or cephalopod dish served in the Median, it was likely invented first in some way by the Wavechasers. Additionally, they also have a booming industry of sauce making, making them the premier sellers of culinary sauces in the Median for just about any kind of dish or palette.

-The Crimson Cities, home to the highest populations of Bloody Ones per capita in the Median, is home to a wide variety of dishes using the local 'blood flora' and conventional blood based recipes within the Median. This is likely to be lost to most people, us Displaced included, but Bloody Ones taste blood differently from how other people do. Rather than the coppery, metallic taste we are familiar with, Bloody Ones interpret the flavor of blood as being akin to 'broth', the closest way they can describe it in terms we can understand. A required part of their diet, Bloody One cuisine, to their taste, is very flavorful, as the blood of each species tastes like its own 'broth' to them.

-Crown City, home to the remaining Royalists of the Unification War who wished to be allowed their own city-state, is well known for continuing and refining the long line of high class culinary culture and cuisine from all across the various Nations. What they're most famed for, however, is they are the largest single producers of chocolate within the Median, being founded in a central point in between the Crimson Cities and Bughunter lands. They gladly sell their produce and mercenary services in exchange for other trade items hard to get in their part of the world on their own.

-The Chimeran Races historically have lived in the underground portions of the regions of Eastern Arisa. As a direct result, their native cultural cuisine makes heavy use of fungi, Porcerus, and other kinds of resources found deep underground. The invention of hard candies is credited to the Chimera, particularly the Empusa, who used their gem making talents when mixed with sugar-sap tapped from underground plants to craft edible, sweet gemstones. Chimera remain prominent producers of hard candy in the Median to this day.

And finally, we have Displaced such as ourselves bringing to the Median our own home's culinary wonders to our new home. With aid from the Median's acquisitions departments, most of us have been able to bring with us Nullian grade versions of our home-land's foods, allowing us to add to the wider culinary landscape of Null. Stay tuned for my next article coming next week, where I will be discussing new dishes you can make using a mixture of native and Displaced ingredients for some truly interesting culinary creations!