Overview
The Aerie Sector is home to the Kalimshari Ark : the Hyporia. The Aerie Sector is not particularly rich in less common or more useful resources, but the Kalimshari occupy several planets, prospecting for more.
Elderia is the most populated and most developed system in the sector. Only one month away from Embassy Station and sporting the M-class colonial seat of New Eldelyn, it also features shipyards, orbital academies, and its asteroid fields are being plundered for vital resources. Further out, systems along Kalimshari shipping lanes are patrolled by the weak but rapidly growing Kalimshari Navy. A smattering of Kalimshari dirtside colonies have been built alongside, forming small and remote communities. Due to overstretch, star systems beyond the immediate reach of the authorities are far less civilized. Exiled barbarians, smugglers and raiders operate in the Elvish Passage that connects the sector with the chaotic and lawless Zaalan Tribal Rim. Out towards the Wayward Belt, as well as hidden in the stellar nebula known as the Badlands, communities of Kalimshari exiles and outcasts have formed, posing a low-level but persistant threat to the stability of the Kalimshari Senate, which has since changed its punitive policies. Vi's Fixers have secret installations in these areas. Systems around the poorly charted Menphi Nebula have a higher incidence of arcane items such as Aeon Stones on their surface. There is a rumour of an arcane facility hidden deep inside the Nebula, yet no one has managed to successfully locate it thus far. |
Star map elements by Cecil Howe.
Unless otherwise noted, all planetary artwork below was edited from Endless Space 2.
Starbase models from Stellaris.
Unless otherwise noted, all planetary artwork below was edited from Endless Space 2.
Starbase models from Stellaris.
Kalimshari Core Colony
The biosphere of this world covered in oceans and shallow mangroves teems with life. Perhaps this is why the Ark Hyporia was guided to its gentle shores and bountiful reserves. One continent is being actively settled and developed by its Kalimshari population, while on its vast seas, seasteads and islands are being actively developed. Eldelyn City, the colonial capital, is built on seven rare rolling hills, with arcologies being built on each. It blends seamlessly into fields and wineyards. At its centre is a giant statue of the Runewarden, the mythical figure said to have brought the Ark to the Kalismhari. Other settlements are linked by gravshuttles and sea-going vessels.
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Away from the original landing site, the planet is still a wild, untamed world. The frontier ever expands and political fractures are starting to form, despite Ark authorities' best efforts. The Planetary Authority, placed under the leadership of the Kalimshari Senate, as well as the Chantry play a great role in tempering the fractious views of their people. Every new frontier settlement must have at least one member of the Authority (like an Arbiter) as well as a Shrine. Tough ecological laws seek to protect the Kalimshari colony in ways that were never possible in their pre-Scream galaxy.
The frozen, forbidding wastes of Vala-III are pocketed with geothermal vents spread across parts of the surface. Several mining and research communities have started to form around them, while a few small settlements are perched on glaciers. These wretched hives keep themselves fed by preying on the flora and algae that exists beneath the endless frozen wastes. The Senate vests its authority in the largest settlement, the starport known as Mana Aethel, led by the eccentric wizard Valiana Li.
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Beneath the frozen waters, it is believed that giant leviathan-like creatures roam, their silvery scales reflecting sunlight. Strangely enough, Pact Worlders led by Glemmin Gubbin (mostly Halfling and Ysoki) have settled on this world. They mostly occupy Tirion Urdh, a small Starlyft refueling outpost surrounding a modified and half-crashed Ysoki ship.
Yanta-VI was a quick favourite of the early Ark settlers for good reason : the dusty, arid world is covered with a very potent spice that has become an instant addition to any Kalimshari kitchen. Its production and harvesting, however, is kept tightly monitored by local authorities. How fitting that the Yanta Frontier Company, set up by Hiderid chef and businessman Krux Naykin, also runs the high security Limbo Correctional Facility. This prison runs on Hiderid doctrine - where prisoners of the Kalimshari and Coalition alike toil their debt to society away in stifling weather. It was defended by High Arbiter Naladel (whose statue adorns the work halls) as an alternative to systematic exile and the problems that the former Senate punitive policy have created.
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Many settlements on this world are dug in caves in ancient cliffsides for heat relief and water. The colour of the drapings says a lot about where the inhabitants stand on old and new politicial issues within Kalimshari society (purple and blue being pre-Scream Imperial colours, notably). The capital settlement and major starport on Yanta is Wellabel, notorious amongst trader for its mayor Lensa Yelven's policy of taxing a "protection fee" to all first-time visitors. Wellabel is wedged within a narrow canyon, and isn't afraid of enforcing its taxation policies with orbital cannons.
The Senate's efforts are focused on colonization of the Esledel Plains that surround Wellabel. Other than tasty minerals, there are crystalline deposits which could see heavy use in computing and psionic technology.
The Senate's efforts are focused on colonization of the Esledel Plains that surround Wellabel. Other than tasty minerals, there are crystalline deposits which could see heavy use in computing and psionic technology.
Weeks from the Ark Hyporia, the toxic world Nevael-III was not exactly a prime candidate for colonization. This has not stopped a few Kalimshari settlers and exiles alike to settle here in small biodomes dotted around the surface, far from the influence of the Chantry and of the Senate. Early on, the Senate research ship KSV Lily of the Void discovered alien structures on the planet's far side, and its crew subsequently defected and founded Bar-in-Edlhed, which to this day remains the largest atmostructure on this world.
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This world supplies the Kalimshari with several rare elements and mining operations operate, constantly digging into ancient archeological crystals and other treasure troves full of danger and wonder.
The potential for amazing new discoveries is huge, and the world has drawn people of many walks of life : stern scientists, treasure hunters, cultists, corporations and land miners have rushed to this new frontier to hopefully leave with a piece of ancient Stream history. Words of caution about Digsite X-45 - rumoured full of dangerous maltech - have attracted the Cult of the All-Code, who have take control of it and zealously guard its secrets with their lives.
The potential for amazing new discoveries is huge, and the world has drawn people of many walks of life : stern scientists, treasure hunters, cultists, corporations and land miners have rushed to this new frontier to hopefully leave with a piece of ancient Stream history. Words of caution about Digsite X-45 - rumoured full of dangerous maltech - have attracted the Cult of the All-Code, who have take control of it and zealously guard its secrets with their lives.
The Ark Hyporia is the true seat of Kalimshari society. Both the Senate and the Chantry leadership live amongst its ancient structures, and many Kalimshari actively seek to transform the Ark into a permanent space habitat. It sits in the Elderia system, the name chosen as a call-back to an ancient Kalimshari kingdom. The Ark carried more than 10 million colonists during the Great Jump, led by the Runewarden, of which about 60% have now left to colonize nearby worlds.
More information about the Ark Hyporia can be found here. |
Ophoni & Wayward Fringe
The Ophoni are a minor civilization with an extremely one-sided focus on science and discovery that by the time of the Great Jump had been nearly completely assimilated by the Kalimshari and the Hhrot. Only a handful have escaped in the Ark Hyporia. They have settled on alien bio-domes on the partially-miscible world Seryn-IV, where gravshuttles struggle to operate and a tram connects a handful of settlements to the core Ophoni starport, Zoman City. A persistant rumour on the extranet asserts that an unbraked AI of Ophoni design dwells beneath Batani Outpost, prompting many cultists to visit ... and leave empty-handed.
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Its position is not ideal. Close to the Serine Gap and far from Kalimshari patrols, Seryn-IV is keenly exposed to Zaalan and Exile raids, and uncharted parts of the world serve as obscure refueling posts and illegal mining operations, prompting pleas from Ophoni leaders for more protection.
When the Ark Hyporia first landed, this world was first considered before proponents of New Eldelyn won. Aethele is a water world with a solid marine biosphere, but very little land above sea level. It is also battered in constant storms. The Senate decided not to prioritize colonizing this world, but this did not stop several Ophoni and Kalimshari settlers from calling it home upon the recent discovery of 16 ancient hex-shaped arcologies, locally known as "tiles" drifting across the seas. Today, Hex 2-2 is the sole producer of the native and delicious Exokrabster. Tile Hex 1-4 is covertly used by the Senate to house some of the planet's most notorious maltech academics.
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The Iso Shrine is a Chantry monastery built on an ice giant in the Iso system. It houses holy artefacts brought by the Kalimshari during their great flight from their home galaxy. It is also the home of the Bluebanes of Isadora, a mystical order of female Solarians that also acts as caretakers.
Incursions by Wayward Belters and the Cult of the All-Code are common, and non-Chantry ships travelling to the shrine are viewed with extreme suspicion. This place is therefore fairly unknown and forbidding to the Kalimshari themselves. |
Until about 20 cycles ago, many Kalimshari wrong-doers found themselves exiled, unable to settle or pass through Senate space under even harsher penalties. For them - as well as many opponents of the Senate - very few places had become hospitable and many have left for Embassy or even Coalition space. Just as many were sentenced to live in the Belt, a system where makeshift mining facilities helped turn it into a giant open prison, far from the concerns of upstanding Kalimshari citizens. The exiles there were left to their own tools, but were generally expected to operate the stations and trade under heavy unfavorable terms for sustenance.
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Far from submitting or dying out, the Wayward Belters turned the stations into genuine mini-cities, making use of repair shops and shipyards to patch up their shuttles and build a clunky but effective light fleet. Some mining stations were transformed into liveships and hydroponic facilities with help from unknown benefactors within Kalimshari society who, it is believed, took offence to the Senate's harsh exile and displacement policy, but could never speak against it. Soon, the Wayward grew bolder and stronger, and every captured ship was a prized possession to the chaotic, warlike groups that controlled the Belt. This was a severe - and predictable - blow to the Senate's overstretched authority. Anger and resentment is considerable amongst Belters, but also amongst outsiders.
The Belt is as inhospitable as its inhabitants Despite the liveships, a lot of food and supplies is stolen, smuggled, or traded for resources from neighbour systems. It is a lawless area of the Aerie Sector, a nuisance to other colonists, and a shame the Senate must now work tirelessly to resolve. In recent cycles, the Senate has drastically changed their policies and building up a suitable interplanetary force that could contain, if not reclaim, the Belt. This is starting to show in small but daring raids, but the inhabitants of the Belt have bit back with unexpected tenacity as they seek to protect their new home.
The Belt is as inhospitable as its inhabitants Despite the liveships, a lot of food and supplies is stolen, smuggled, or traded for resources from neighbour systems. It is a lawless area of the Aerie Sector, a nuisance to other colonists, and a shame the Senate must now work tirelessly to resolve. In recent cycles, the Senate has drastically changed their policies and building up a suitable interplanetary force that could contain, if not reclaim, the Belt. This is starting to show in small but daring raids, but the inhabitants of the Belt have bit back with unexpected tenacity as they seek to protect their new home.
Oyogiri One was built out of a Coalition scout vessel left behind in the Aerie about ten cycles prior to the arrival of the Kalimshari. The Kalimshari and Ophoni have turned the wreck into a comm array serving most of the Aerie Sector. Unfettered by old Imperial law The ruling Oyogi Development Board has tasked several scientists with development of brand-new cybernetic wetware, far better suited to the new conditions of the Stream. In time, the array has become the Stream's premier medical university. Squabbles around ethics have led some prominent scientists such as Mewei neurologist Majorn Li to dramatically resign some cycles ago - only to found Oyogiri Two in the Yawin Corridor. It is hinted that the Coven of Fortuna is based out of this station.
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