Races Creatures and Cultures

The Alastrans are among the most populous of the races of Darksea. A humanoid mammalian species that evolved on the planet Alastra. Most Alastrans are light skinned and blonde-haired, but there are darker tones among them, including olive complexions and nut-brown hair. Darker skin or black hair is very rare and usually the sign of mixed heritage with the Ridorans. All Alastrans grow small crystals on various parts of their bodies. It is most common on the right brow, but it can spread across the brow, forehead, jawline, and occasionally the shoulders and nape of the neck. The color of the crystals is said to represent an Alastran’s disposition and attitude, similar to how astrology is perceived by humans.

The ancient Alastrans were guided and protected by the Ascended Amathae and developed into a client species of the great Amathaean Empire. The Alastrans worshipped the Amathae and became a deeply religious and conservative society. When the Amathaean Empire faded, the Alastans entered a turbulent dark age. From this emerged the Alastran Empire as it is known today, one of the most powerful factions in the galaxy. The modern Alastran Empire is composed of thousands of star systems. Imperial government is controlled by a shared power system between the Emperor and his Imperial House as well as the Noble Council, a collection of representatives from each of the Great Houses.

The emperor is the most powerful figure in the Empire, and his position is a right not of bloodline or family but of proven psionic ability. Powerful psions are rare within Alastran society, and the anyone possessing strong natural psionic ability is considered blessed by the Amathae. The High Temple finds and tests all such individuals, and they are adopted into the Imperial House. The most powerful such psion is given the position of prince primaris. This position can change hands depending on who is considered most powerful at any one time. Upon the current emperor’s death, the prince primaris immediately becomes the new emperor.

The High Temple composes the Alastran’s religious arm, and while technically separate from the government, religious officials hold incredible sway over political affairs. Given the importance of religious in Alastran society, it is easy for priests of the High Temple to alter public opinion on a wide scale and influence the decisions of those on the Noble Council.

The Ridorans share common ancestry with the Alastrans, and both species evolved on Alastra. The Ridorans, however, became remarkably different than the Alastrans in both outward appearance and internal biology. Like the Alastrans, the Ridorans are a humanoid mammalian species, and both races have roughly the same shape. That is where similarities end. Ridorans tend to be much stronger and large of build compared to the Alastrans. They are significantly more durable, able to survive longer in harsh environments such as extremes of heat or cold. Ridorans are well-muscled with darker skin tones, ranging from light milk chocolate to dark brown. They tend toward coarse black hair but may sometimes have dark brown hair that is finer. They do not have the telltale Alastran dermal gems. Their internal biology is also different, with Ridorans possessing two hearts and larger lungs, making them incredibly athletic with greater stamina than any Alastran. A Ridoran’s skin is naturally resistant to low levels of radiation.

In ancient times, the Ridorans and Alastrans fought over territory on their homeworld. The Amathae, seeing that the more organized Alastrans would likely overpower the Ridorans, removed the Ridorans from Alastra and settled them on a rugged but mineral rich world far from the Alastran star system. The Ridorans thrived on this new world, building a powerful and advanced civilization. The Amathae guided the fiercely independent Ridorans only from a distance, and they were never worshipped by the Ridorans, whose spiritual practices tended toward mysticism and shamanism rather than the organized High Temple of the Alastrans. There is very little psionic ability among the Ridorans, and any modern Ridoran psions have Alastran or Jaursaad heritage.

Ridoran society and government are not centrally organized, and even as they grew and advanced, they retained the fiercely independent clans of their ancestors. By necessity, the clans came together to form the Conclave, a loose confederation of voting representatives from each clans that made major decisions for the Ridoran people as a whole.

Due to their physical prowess and fearlessness, the Ridorans made excellent soldiers and often served as frontline infantry and shock troops during the First Mordath War. They fought side-by-side with their former rivals, the Alastrans, both species operating in service to the Amathae. When the Amathae faded, the Ridorans were less impacted than the Alastrans and continued to build a thriving industrial society that greatly expanded. Trade with the Ridorans was instrumental in helping the Alastran Empire pull itself out of its dark age.

When the Alastran empire recovered from the tumult of the Amathae’s fading, there were many centuries of peace between Alastrans and Ridorans. Intermarrying was commonplace. Overtime, the highly organized Alastran Empire began to overtake the Ridorans in dominance. The Ridorans were often held by back internal strife between rival clans. Peace between the two powers became strained and uneasy. This was pushed to a breaking point during the Syltec Rebellion. Desperate for war material and manpower, the Alastrans turned against their Ridoran allies. Alastran agents manipulated the factious Ridoran government, turning clan against clan and clearing the way for the Alastran invasion. After a short conflict, the Conclave and most of the Ridoran clans surrendered to the Alastrans, becoming a client state known as the Ridoran Protectorate. To this day, the Alastrans remain in control of the Ridorans, sapping their resources and industrial strength and displacing many Ridorans who fled the conflict and occupation.

The Amathae are among the most ancient and mysterious races of Darksea. Once, they controlled a vast empire many times larger than that of the current Alastran Empire, holding the majority of the galaxy in their sway. Supremely advanced and highly evolved, the Amathae reached a point of technological, biological, and spiritual advancement which allowed them to Ascend, or transform into beings of pure thought energy. For millions of years, they departed from the physical universe, and their massive empire was erased to make room for younger races.

Some of the Ascended Amathae eventually returned to Darksea to protect the younger races from the Mordath threat. They created a new, much smaller empire built on the power of Ascension technology. This new Amathaean Empire is the only one now known to any younger race, and it ruled over much of Darksea for millennia. The Amathae used their wisdom and power to guide the younger races, often worshipped as gods. They succeeded in protecting the younger races from the Mordath threat, but this came at the cost of their own existence. Today, the Amathae have faded into legend. Most know of them only through ancient ruins and relics that few understand. Most assume the Amathae are extinct entirely, but there are some among the Jarusaad, their most favored servants, who know the truth. While the Amathae may never return to their full former glory, they continue to greatly influence the events and people of Darksea, and the marks they have left on the cultures, religions, and very biology of the younger races will never be erased.

Not all Alastrans agree with the religious fundamentalism and spiritual mysticism that pervades Alastran culture. As their civilization climbed out of the Dark Age, there was a general push toward the power of science and technology. Worship of the Amathae was seen by some as a relic of the past that exerted wasted superstitious influence. The Syltec Great House lead this secular charge, founding one of the most powerful technological corporations in the Empire. The Syltec Corporation attracted all manner of secular leaning individuals, scientists, and innovators who wished greater freedom from religious dogma in pursuit of their work. The Syltec soon became a safe haven for any such individuals, and it rose to heretical levels of secularism, clashing frequently with the High Temple and a large majority on the Noble Council. Yet, the Syltec proved untouchable in their wealth, and the influence their technology and weapons trading only grew.

Under Seranna Syl, the most outspoken and headstrong leader of the family, the divisions between the Syltec and regular Alastran society reached a breaking point. Seranna assembled her loyal followers, including many large and powerful Great Houses disillusioned with Alastran fundamentalism, and declared independence from the Empire. This was the birth of the Syltec Rebellion and the start of a prolonged and bloody civil war within the Alastran Empire. The Syltec have used their technology and wealth to hold their own against the much larger Alastran Empire, carving out a comparatively small region of space in which they operate as the independent Syltec Regime.

Most Syltec are biologically Alastran, but they have sought many ways to distinguish themselves from their brethren. Most notably, all Syltec surgically remove their dermal gems. The Slytec embrace of biotechnology and genetic engineering also means they tend to include far more cybernetic enhancements and greater variations in build and body form compared to traditional Alastrans, which tend toward the thin and ectomorphic. There are far more genetically modified endomorphs among the Syltec, Syltec Troopers being the genetically enhanced extremes. Under Seranna, the use of cloning and heretical biotechnology is commonplace, and she continues to push the boundaries of what is possible—or safe.

The Jarusaad are the feared and mistrusted psionic warriors of Darksea. In the ancient past, the Amathae recruited a large number of Alastrans to serve as elite warriors in their army against the Mordath invaders. The Amathae trained and altered these Alastrans using Ascension technology to give them powerful psionic abilities and gifted them with knowledge and technology unknown to any other race. The genetic alterations caused the Jarusaad to lose many of their telltale Alastran physical traits, including dermal gems. Darker complexions, especially black hair, is much more common among the Jarusaad.

During the First Mordath War, the Jarusaad suffered heavy losses, including the almost total destruction of their homeworld, Novariss, a once lush paradise which the Amathae had reserved for them. The fading of the Amathae caused a diaspora of the Jarusaad as they spread about Darksea individually or in small groups, struggling to survive the total collapse of their civilization and its masters. For millennia, Jarusaad space was a zone of utter lawlessness where power was gained only by those strong enough to take it. Eventually, the most powerful Jarusaad overlords, known as Arbiters, came together to restore the Jarusaad to some semblance of their former glory. A new Cabal, or alliance of Arbiters, was created, and the once fractured Jarusaad were reunited under a single banner.

Culturally, the Jarusaad are distinct from other races and bear little resemblance to their Alastran ancestors. They are a harsh warrior culture that values strength and ability above all else. The rule of the Arbiters is absolute, and only those with proven skill advance through the ranks. Every Arbiter has at their command a cadre of elite psionic warriors known as Talons. Many of the teachings of the ancient Amathae are lost, and the modern Arbiters have turned the Jarusaad toward their own purposes. The modern Jarusaad believe they are the only faction with the right to possess psionic technology and ability, and Talons travel about the galaxy to find and reclaim the scions of the ancient diaspora and return them to their proper place withing the Jarusaad Order.

While some tensions exist between the Jarusaad and Alastrans on the right to possess psionic ability, the two sides are usually at peace. The Alastrans considered most Jarusaad to be the mystic psychic warriors of the holy Amathae, and thus the Alastrans both respect and fear the Jarusaad and would rarely be willing to fight against them.

The Mordath are the ancient enemy of Darksea that few truly remember. Only the Jarusaad still possess detailed records of the First Mordath War or a realistic understanding of the ancient foe. The Arbiters prepare for a time when the Mordath will return to Darksea to once again claim it for their despotic empire.

The Mordath are similar to the Amathae in that they possess Ascension power and technology, but they are in almost all other ways entirely different. Unlike the Amathae who believe in the need to protect, nurture, and guide lesser races, the Mordath believe it is the duty of Ascended beings to control lesser races and ensure they develop along a predetermined path. As a result of this belief, the Mordath direct their servants in vast campaigns of conquest across the universe, enslaving and consuming every race they encounter. The Mordath have already conquered the entirety of their home galaxy and have spread to many neighboring galaxies, making them by far the largest faction in the entire universe.

Darksea lies many millions of lightyears from the Mordath’s home galaxy, making it a difficult target for them to strike, but as the home of their hated rivals the Amathae, the Mordath are determined to subjugate Darksea and all the races which inhabit it.

An additional distinction between the two Ascended races is the Mordath’s inability to manifest a form in physical reality. Instead, the Mordath act through intermediate vessels, including the Bae’Shal creatures they created and any sufficiently powerful psion they can possess.

The Bae’Shal are the twisted horrors and living war machines of the Mordath. While a variety of races and servants inhabit the sprawling Mordath Empire, it is the Bae’Shal who are most commonly associated with them. The product of the Mordath’s Ascension knowledge and the utter manipulation and corruption of life, the Bae’Shal have no true identity of culture of their own. They exist as little more than psychically controlled living machines that carry out the Mordath’s will of conquest and annihilation.

Immensely strong and varied, the Bae’Shal can stand easily against the technology and war machines of other races, eventually using sheer numbers and powerful regenerative capabilities to overwhelm opponents. The Bae’Shal attack without fear or sense of self-preservation—endless tide of mindless killing machines intent only on their masters’ will. Only the ancient Amathae had the technology and power to oppose the Bae’Shal tide. Without them, the younger races face an enemy terrible beyond all imagination.

The Scrithii are an intelligent insectoid race that commonly spread across the less-hospitable planets of Darksea. Widespread and without any formal government of their own, every Scrithii hive is unique and independent of the others. The Scrithii are highly adaptable and move from planet to plant by scrounging and salvaging the starships of other races. Unable to create their own PSInavs, the Scrithii cannot use voidspace travel without help, but they often are able to barter resources or salvage in exchange for a PSInavs assistance. The Scrithii possess no real space force of their own and are content to spread their hives on planets most other races avoid. The Scrithii are capable of thriving in these harsh environments in their massive subterranean hives. Generally looked down upon as a primitive scavenger race, the Scrithii are nonetheless intelligent, cunning, and industrious in their own right.

The Shivar are one of the few client species of the Mordath that has not been entirely enslaved or consumed. This is due to their incredibly advanced psionic ability, which allowed them to resist the Mordath for many centuries. Rather than deplete any additional strength against them, the Mordath offered them a truce, allowing them to become partially independent so long as they served the Mordath. In exchange the Mordath would share with the Shivar some of their Ascension knowledge. The Shivar greatly wished to Ascend, so they accepted this deal. The Mordath never shared any true secrets of Ascension with the Shivar, but the Shivar now rule the psychic space knows as the Mindways, serving as the Mordath’s most elite psychic agents.

The Shivar are an amphibious species with long, gangly limbs and strong tails. They have no mouths, absorbing needed nutrients through pores in their skin. In the water, they sometimes use rapid vibrations to communicate, but they typically communicate telepathically. It is difficult for them to traverse land. Naturally, they do not stray far from the dank swamps that serve as their homes, and they make use of antigravitational technology to help support their weight when forced to go longer distances. Although space travel is rare for them, their gloomy, water-filled ships are powerful and capable.

A race of formidable warrior reptiles from a harsh volcanic world. The Dracknar are a single star system species, high reclusive and xenophobic. They live independent of any major faction, their star system lying in the neutral border zone between Jarusaad and Alastran territory. The Dracknar are physically imposing and highly skilled in industry and metal work. They look down on most other species as little more than slave labor, and their military skill makes their solar system one of the best defended in all of Darksea. Despite this, the Dracknar have no dreams of conquest.

Their past is shrouded in mysticism, but there is rumor that they too are the product of Amathaean intervention.