Writing Challenge - May/June 2018 [CHALLENGE COMPLETED - RESULTS TO FOLLOW]

[Swamp Sensei]

I mean. I wrote teaching reflections...

Does that count?

I imagine not.

 

[Natz~]

to be fair your role one were counted cause they counted as creativity, doubt reflections would :V

 

[redfeatherraven]

I mean. I wrote teaching reflections...

Does that count?

I imagine not.

Wouldn't say no before seeing it. Lay it on me.

 

[Opossum]

Reaching out about things I may have overlooked:

Kirby Dragons .
Can't find an entry for you on week four.

Natz~ , Pazzo. .
Can't find entries for you on weeks three or four.

A0SHIMA .
Can't find entries for you on weeks two, three, or four.

@DarkAura64/Fenrir, Opossum .
Can't find entries for you on any of the four weeks.

Between Mafia, real life stuff, and the impending death of social groups this kinda slipped my mind in all honesty. Still working on the first bit of the novelization project but I'm unsure if it'll be ready in time.

 

[Pazzo.]

I messed up my entries for the last few weeks, I'll try and get it out today but I understand if I'm out.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Between Mafia, real life stuff, and the impending death of social groups this kinda slipped my mind in all honesty.

In fairness, I've also been a right terrible host of it.

Really should be throwing tags around more often.

I messed up my entries for the last few weeks, I'll try and get it out today but I understand if I'm out.

Nah man, out ain't a thing. Defeats the purpose more than you'd think.

Breaking a streak? Sure. But you're free to resume the next week in.

 

[Pazzo.]

Great, I thought I'd been [RETIRED].

I'll start working right now.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Great, I thought I'd been [RETIRED].

Bro if missed weeks retired us I'd have to rename this to Coricus' Writing Challenge.

Speaking of, Coricus you are ****ing killing this ****. Currently the only one of us with an unbroken streak, all four weeks.

I am legit proud over here.

 

[Natz~]

seconded~

good job girl~

shes been even posting them in the nintenzone for plenty to look at

 

[Coricus]

Bro if missed weeks retired us I'd have to rename this to Coricus' Writing Challenge.

Speaking of, Coricus you are ****ing killing this ****. Currently the only one of us with an unbroken streak, all four weeks.

I am legit proud over here.

<3

And I already did 500 words this week making a joke post fanfic on ResetERA, LOL.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I think I pulled a Swamp here.

I've been mostly neglecting working on the writing challenge to do other stuff. Well, one of those things was writing how I'd want a final series of the Pokemon anime to go, to post on Serebii Forums. I finished that earlier, and I was just now about to keep working on the challenge...but then I realized I had already written something.

2217 words. I'm submitting this.

 

[redfeatherraven]

A0SHIMA , Coricus , Kirby Dragons , Natz~ , Opossum , Swamp Sensei , Pazzo.

Two hours remain.

I'm cutting it close myself. Home stretch y'all, let's go for it.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Dude I'm doing final essays for my last term of college.

Nah.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Dude I'm doing final essays for my last term of college.

Nah.

Fully understandable.

Rooting for you on the essays, man.

 

[Coricus]

I figure Imma good for the week with the 500 word post I made on ResetERA on top of the 1250 word I did here.

But just in case.

Redfeatherraven desperately went to work typing down as many words as he could to make his deadline. He started this, he needed to set an example. Unfortunately, that was a little hard to do on the seat of a motorcycle at 60 miles per hour. With half the police in the state chasing him. Something about distracted driving, and the theft of a rather large supply of donuts. Those were some pretty good donuts, to be honest. But the police couldn't stop him from making his writing deadline, no one could. He'd sacrificed so much in order to be an internet using Pikachu. Mostly money. A lot of money. He payed almost as much on a month of internet as he had for his glasses, and his glasses weren't cheap. Neither was the tux he was wearing, but it was a rental so he didn't really care that much. He turned the bend around a steep mountainside in a part of the state he honestly didn't visit that much, trying not to get nervous around the deadly drop. Apparently the cops didn't get nervous either, because one of them just straight up fell off. Sucks to be that guy.

Red sang Deja Vu in an awful singing voice as the horseflies bounced off of his tail and rammed into the windshield of the cop car behind him. The cops started shooting, but instead they just kept hitting horseflies and making them explode like fireworks in the air. There were a ton of horseflies in the middle of nowhere and it sucked. But where there are horseflies, actual horses soon follow. And right on cue, a random horse fell off a cliff above. Red sped past the horse with the sheer power of writing it, making it well past the landing zone. But the cops couldn't match his awesome, and the horse collided with the front of one car and flipped it so hard that it did a 720 degree flip and fell further down the cliff.

Red could feel the words flowing through his pen, as though they were being sucked out of the air into it. Perhaps the souls of dead cops fueled his writing determination. 800 words, 900, 1000, a gazillion. All the while the cops were more and more helpless. An entire horseslide fell down the cliff, because that's what happens in Kentucky. And Cliff fell off the cliff too, whining about how much he hated Sonic because of course he was. But none of it mattered. The law didn't matter. Not even the donuts mattered. Red was writing like the wind, and the world couldn't stop him no matter how hard he tried. Because he was mother-fudging Redfeatherraven, Pikachu of the Appalachians. There was no "how" or "why." He looked good in everything, from Fire Emblem cosplay to a suit and tie. And if he wanted to write a whole bunch of junk while on a motorcycle, that was his call. And Arceus help anyone that got in the way.

 

[redfeatherraven]

I figure Imma good for the week with the 500 word post I made on ResetERA on top of the 1250 word I did here.

But just in case.

I have just this entire pile of mixed feelings.

Flattered, certainly. But also confused, very confused. Amused and confused.



10/10 would be confused again.

 

[redfeatherraven]

For me, we have one bit of lore expansion and a few bits of tripe. The most primary part is an entry expanding Starbound's Ruin entity. If it seems written stream-of-consciousness, that's because it basically is:

The lore in-game actually has very little to say on the subject of The Ruin, despite it ostensibly being both the impetus for the player's journey and the primary antagonist of the entire game.

The information provided about it is primarily conveyed by Esther Bright during the cinematic that plays when you first meet her at the Ark. It's described by her as a being that rose in response to the Cultivator's activity, one born "of hate and destruction" that "could not abide life in any form," and it was sealed away in order to halt its rampage, an act that took every last effort of the Cultivator - a notably powerful force - to accomplish.

It was capable of anihilating Earth with no warning and no effective counteraction. As Nox, during the final boss fight, states that the Ruin will awaken, not that it has, it presumably was able to do so even though it was at the time still sealed, weakened, or both. The Occasus cult believes it will be more than capable of wiping out all nonhuman life if only restored to full power, and it is probably fair to assume they're right, although it's also fair to assume it won't stop there.

I wouldn't call it a well-written end boss, but it doesn't much have to be. It is a looming, undeniably powerful force. We can take it from there.

As a first order of business, one wonders why it wasn't simply outright destroyed in the first place. The lore offers no suggestions to why, but I believe the primary implication is that the Cultivator, specifically, believed themselves unable to destroy it. Whether this was true or not is a matter of debate which we'll arrive at in a moment. First, let's hash out where and what the Ruin is.

-------

It isn't mentioned precisely where the Ruin is sealed. A portal is needed to get there, but then, the Ark is reached via (multiple) portals too, and the player is beamed down to the Ruin's surface. I believe the implication of being sealed, and its net effect on our universe, suggests very strongly that it has been placed outside our universe. Perhaps where it is space-time is folded, or at least differently accessible, which would explain how it was able to come to and obliterate Earth so suddenly.

Its present location may have something to do with wormholes. The Ark's gate itself has a substitution cipher message encoded around the outside, which reads (corrected for typos) "COLLECT THE SIX KEYS AND PLACE THEM HERE TO OPEN THE BLACK HOLE." It is possible they mean this literally, and the Ark's portal is capable of somehow stabilizing transit into, or more likely through, an actual black hole with the assistance of warp technology.

This raises a few additional implications. The Ruin is capable of surviving outside our universe with no problem. It is itself a living organism (SAIL says as much on arrival) but is very alien to any other kind of living organism known and equally hostile.

It is my assumption, and I will operate on it (though leaving the matter ultimately open-ended), that the Ruin actually originates from outside our universe, and it wrought havoc after somehow once finding its way in.

Its hatred of life is a bit more difficult to explain. My initial speculation was that perhaps life was somehow harmful to it physically, but on further review I genuinely don't believe this to be the case. After all, while your presence on its surface certainly isn't great for its health, you have to act upon it in order to cause it harm; it's not simply allergic to you.

Imagine this though. In-game, it is effectively our destiny to kill it. I am of the opinion that, through means currently unknown, it is itself perfectly aware of this fact, and is taking measures to stop the threat to its own survival.

And imagine what means it clearly must take. The being is ages old even if the timeline of Starbound alone is considered, and surely it's seen even more. It's seen life raise up from effectively nothing in a multitude of forms. If one is to play 20 questions, a game ostensibly geared toward guessing nearly anything, one opens with the query "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?" And the Ruin has seen beings spring from all three sources - animal (Humans, Apex, Hylotl, Avian), vegetable (Floran), and mineral (Glitch, Novakid).

Nearly everything in the universe has the potential to, someday, be deadly to it. Were such a creature bent to its own survival above all else, what other measure would there be to take except to eliminate all threats to its existence? When everything's a threat, you wipe everything out.

This, itself, should be sufficient to go on for its motives. The final remaining pieces of the puzzle involve how it is released, which has less to do with it and more to do with the Occasus cult.

As a final thought, this idea perhaps even answers why the Cultivator, mighty as it was, declined to destroy the Ruin when it most likely had an opportunity to. Perhaps it was not malice that forced the Cultivator's hand, but instead mercy.

Clearly the Ruin was once merely a wayward creature not of our universe that accidentally wandered in. It was shown its death, and - as any creature with a survival instinct would - it lashed out for what it percieved was its own survival. It is not a being born of "hate and destruction" - it is a being born of fear, of that primal fear we all share as living creatures. Perhaps the Ruin knew not what it did. What would it be for a being so dedicated to preserving and nourishing diverse forms of life to pass judgement on a being merely wanting to itself live?

This, I believe, was the Cultivator's motive in sealing it away. Where it was sent, it could theoretically live safely away from the sentient life in our universe that might threaten it.

It is also fair to note that, when the Cultivator sealed the gate behind it, the artifacts necessary to reopen it were some of the greatest gifts that the being bestowed on the sentient races, at least for a few. The exact functions of the Royal Medallion, Bone Trophy, and Mirror of Wisdom are unknown, but the remaining three include the Apex' Genesis Coil (which seems to be tailored towards the genetic engineering that defined them as a species, culminating in the VEP), the Avians' Wheel of Kluex (which is at minimum the holiest relic of their primary religion, and may have function beyond that), and most of all the Humans' Master Manipulator (no doubt the base model from which all future Matter Manipulators in use by the Terrene Protectorate are derived). Especially in the case of the last one, it is furthermore evident that the artifacts were not acquired right away, and each may have even been in many ways a test of the species it was entrusted to. And when they're set in the Ark portal and it activates, each is lost forever.

That is a steep price, and likely set that high to discourage disturbing the Ruin except under the most dire of circumstances. The Ruin was under no such compunction. Most likely the Occasus cult was set to disturb it (using Earth as a sort of practical test for their methods of doing so, simultaneously obliterating the organization that might stop them) and the Ruin merely responded in kind to being disturbed.

This could make for a real bittersweet boss fight later in the story, as if the full understanding is reached, the Captain is effectively being forced to take the effectively innocent Ruin's life for the good of all other life in the universe. We'll see how that plays out as well.

The next bit is a brief section of timeline I've tried to put together from the lore available for Humanity. Spoiler alert, it ain't much.

Most of this is either copy-and-pasted or paraphrased from lore books in Starbound. What I've included in my wordcount are the sections I added on A.Z. Price, which are delineated by a ">"; the remaining parts aren't considered:

:Sometime Prior to 500 Years Before Game Begins
- Humans effectively strip Earth of its finite resources. However, they are still able to advance technologically (suggesting extraterrestrial expansion and resource collection had at least begun on a small scale).
- Humans discover warp travel, and advance greatly both technologically and culturally.
- Warp travel allows for plentiful resources, and, more importantly, other sentient life (it is not mentioned exactly at what time or in what order these other races were contacted in). Humanity is "forever changed, enlightened by these discoveries." Internal conflict seems to largely stop.
- Rather than expand in earnest, most of humanity instead took their resources back to Earth, looking to support "a sustainable way of life" with it there and improve their homeworld.
- Alien races also begin to visit Earth in earnest.
- Humanity begins to take a role uniting the peoples of the universe, and there's calls to form an organization for the purpose.
> A.Z. Price operates around this time as some mix of a professional anthropologist. In his travels to complete A Brief Treatise on Ancient Human Civilizations, he begins to interact with the races that come by Earth. From here he transitions into becoming an amateur xenologist.

:A bit over 500 Years Before Game Begins
- Terrene Protectorate established.
- "We accept any race, class, or religion. We offer homes, guidance, education and safety. Our aim is for unity and harmony across the universe. Our arms are open to all."
- From newer documents, a secondary wording to the above: "The Terrene Protectorate has stood proudly for over 500 years, striving for peace, and for unity amongst the many peoples of the universe. We exist to offer aid to the vulnerable and sanctuary to those living in fear. We endeavour to educate, protect and support all those seek our help."
> A.Z. Price submits early xenological studies to the fledgling Protectorate. Due to some mix of this and strings pulled by his publishing company and editors, he is nominally appointed First Contact Ambassador and sent out into deep space to research the primary sentient races.
> Although he was told he'd first meet with the Hylotl, his initial directions were altered in order to send him towards a Floran camp. His ship does have the uploaded coordinates of Earth but no line of communication, and he was not stocked with enough fuel to return. All of this is deliberate on the part of his publisher in order to renege on his ironclad contract to publish A Brief Treatise on Ancient Human Civilizations, which is neither brief nor much of a treatise, and comes on the heels of several additional failures.
> The Protectorate, who were not informed, gets wind of this error too late to correct it. They're forced to delay their announcements regarding the post of First Contact Ambassador, instead opting to operate the other way around and accept ambassadors from the primary galactic civilizations as their first points of contact, treating the Grand Protector as the ambassador of Earth in the meantime. A series of proper Terrene Ambassador positions - one to the primary governing body of each sentient race providing an ambassador to Humanity - would be created later in order to allow the Grand Protector to focus on management of the Protectorate.
> A.Z. Price, meanwhile, would continue about his duties. The information he had access to from the Protectorate would allow him to contact, research, and document Hylotl, Floran, Glitch, Avian, and Apex civilizations. He would prove unable to discover any Novakids.

And bringing up the rear are some effectively randomly-generated characters for potential use in some other project down the line, taken from a few rounds of the card game Superfight. The prompts are included in the below text, but not the wordcount:

----------------------

IDENTICAL TWINS
SHOOTS ACID
THROWS NINJA STARS

If ever there was a call for shameless sexy ninja twins this would probably be the time.

The question is what, exactly, to do regarding the acid. Surrounded by so many characters with unusual powers, I don't suppose it'd be out of place for this to be some sort of natural ability, but it'd be equally interesting to cultivate a sense of mystique about it - it's _billed_ as natural, to frighten enemies, but it's actually some kind of mechanical solution.

----------------------

MAD SCIENTIST
9 FEET TALL
ARMED WITH A CHAINSAW

I assume that being 9 feet tall has little to nothing to do with his scientific pursuits and is a mere coincidence. Dude just happens to be immensely tall and likes his chainsaws.

But I'd also expect him to straight up revel in it, with more ham than Brian Blessed in a Butterball factory. Probably also stacked as hell from some mixture of field work and swinging around chainsaws with engines the size and weight of Doberman Pinschers.

No chainsaw-loving mad scientist worth his salt couldn't pimp his own chainsaw. That'd just be sad, really. Whether he learned the skills to do so for the purposes of chainsaw-pimping or simply on their own merits are anyone's guess, but it would require at a minimum a good handle on materials research (to pimp the chain, by far the weak point of any chainsaw) and mechanical engineering (to pimp the engine, the beating heart of every chainsaw) and developed properly those skills could be parlayed into any number of R&D facilities.

It'd make him an excellent candidate for some agency's Q figure. Other than the urge to stick a chainsaw into literally every piece of equipment large enough to conceivably conceal a blade somewhere - typically hidden as a defense mechanism to some critical subsystem, or part of the weaponry, or perhaps even just for effect, like an artist's signature with more bladed teeth and personal injury risk - he'd probably do excellent work.

----------------------

Total considered text comes to 1,964 words.

 

[redfeatherraven]

The deadline is nigh.
I solemnly swear I will get these damn results situated this time.

The next week of the challenge has begun.
Sixth week deadline is June 10, 2018.​

 

[Pazzo.]

Made an (unfinished) attempt at post apocalyptic fiction. It's pretty rough right now, I'll follow up with more later.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Made an (unfinished) attempt at post apocalyptic fiction. It's pretty rough right now, I'll follow up with more later.

As it hasn't yet been used that I recall, you still have your mercy period available if submitted by tonight.

 

[redfeatherraven]

SUBMISSION NOW FORMATTING LATER.

1,852 WORDS.

Spoiler: HURRY RED

++ Factional presence in Altais Rift

Having a terrestrial-bound sentient species has not stopped humanity from developing hundreds upon hundreds of separate noteworthy cultures, even if one were to grossly oversimplify and look at groups no smaller than a country. It should come as a great surprise, then, that each of the spacefaring races in Starbound - including ours - seem to have at most two to three relevant primary cultures throughout the whole of space.

However, this can be somewhat forgiven in Altais Rift and its surrounding galactic space. It is well past the fringes of known territory for any of the galactic governments, and none have laid proper claim to the territory. It is, effectively, the wild frontier - making it an excellent place for small communities and private hideaways.

Though most of the groups encountered would be factional only inasmuch as a small community or group would be considered a faction, this allows the limited faction knowledge throughout Starbound to work in its favor - perhaps these are not the full scope of the civilizations encountered, but they are the fulll scope of those present.

Breaking this down by race, we'll denote the major factions at play for each and their presence in the galaxy surrounding Altais Rift:

+++ Apex
The Apex have two primary factions: the Miniknog, and the Apex Liberation Front.

++++Miniknog
The Miniknog actually seem to have very little presence in this sector overall, with a limited number of populated centers and few means of central control. While the galaxy is rich in resources, it is no more so than any other galaxy the Miniknog have access to per se. However, its relatively remote location compared to normal Miniknog space does offer it a sort of expendability that they are able to exploit. As a result, they have established a series of laboratories scattered on planets throughout the area, dedicated to a number of pursuits but most primarily weapons research.

Although the surrounding vicinities are too broad to monitor, and generally not worth the Miniknog's time, these facilities specifically are watched very closely. The Captain first comes to Miniknog attention when he stumbles upon and raids one such facility, but is not actively sought until he begins doing so systematically.

The most senior party presence near Altais Rift operates primarily from a space station near the edge of Miniknog-occupied space, which doesn't extend into its galaxy. From here they're able to communicate with their own colonies and facilities. However, this doesn't afford them the ability to enforce their will directly (except in pinpoint operations targeted at local leaders or the like). They therefore rely more on carefully-selected enforcement and government personnel at a local level. The general level of indoctrination across mainstream Apex society - and those colonists selected for the area, who are generally rewarded with the option for party service - allows the greater government fabric to hold together, but not particularly extend itself.

++++Apex Liberation Front
Where the Miniknog merely exists within the galaxy, the ALF thrives. There are an astonishing number of multiple guerilla cells operating from the area. Their primary goal is to utilize the resources of the galaxy to bolster their overall operations, stockpiling materials and munitions of all sorts and kinds. They're also keenly aware of the weapons research ongoing in the galaxy and gather as much intel on it as they can.

In order for this general mission to be successful, however, it is imperative that the Miniknog see the movement as much smaller than it actually is, lest the party deem them an actual threat and move against them in more force. This is an illusion they take great pains to maintain.

Cells are paired up with a maximum of two to three other cells across the galaxy, and although a plurality of other cells exists in the space they are deliberately not made aware of it, communicating and interacting only with their designated cells or command. Almost all of them are on standing orders to lay very, very low, and encampments are forbidden to be grown beyond a certain size or occupied by more than a handful of personnel. Outside visitors are thoroughly vetted, and interaction with the local presence is kept to a bare minimum.

In this way even when the Miniknog manage to locate a rebel encampment, they get very little foothold from it - at best the ALF loses three camps out of thousands, potentially with a few of their sympathizers to boot. If they're especially lucky they may find operational plans just before they're executed, but generally speaking little other intelligence is gained.

The ALF, meanwhile, profits greatly from their presence in the vicinity. It's estimated by their command that nearly 2% of the entirety of the front's economic strength originates from this galaxy alone - not their primary operations, but with nearly all of ther galactic presences providing a fraction of one percent each, just to make it to full numerals is impressive.

The ALF are also the first Apex group the Captain meets, as they're the only one of the two with a direct presence in Altais Rift, with a camp on the forested world of AR-V. His first interaction with them involved a joke about the old Earth TV show, "Alf." To his horror, they actually requested copies of the show - as a comedy, they presumed it would be good for morale, and at any rate it couldn't be worse than the Miniknog's programming. Ever since, he's been charged with hunting that down.

+++ Glitch
The glitch do not have primary factions per se. Generally speaking, their kingdoms do spread across multiple worlds; most settlements can trace their origin back to expansion from a planet with a castle ruled over by a king, but there is no conglomerate of kings or anything else that might suggest a race-wide organization.

How the Glitch reconcile the fact of their medieval stasis with space travel is not yet fully understood; they see it as something technomagical and for whatever reason either don't question or can't fathom the implications of the technology unless they become self-aware.

Societies existant in Altais Rift:

Altais Rift I: Lush planet. The Captain's farm and township. Rustic ruins dot the planet. Has an abandoned mine and one of two Ark portals in the system.

Altais Rift II: Does not exist. Asteroid belt at its presumed location.

Altais Rift III: Lush planet. Flower sub-biome. Rustic ruins dot the planet, but no active sentient habitation. Lots of cat ghosts. Has the other Ark portal in the system.

Altais Rift IV: Desert planet. Oasis, Colorful, and Savannah sub-biomes. Relatively large Glitch village in the Desert section, with the Oasis just off its east outskirts. Savannah inhabited by a trio of Fenerox - one in one house, two in another, all female. A now-abandoned house with a more modern feel is also in the savannah. Defunct and dilapidated Glitch dungeon/keep in the desert sections, currently inhabited by a lone merchant; its relatively safe Chapel is a frequent meeting place for bandits of varying stripes. Originating world of Arrowshield.

Altais Rift V: Forest planet. Mushroom, Jungle, Swamp sub-biomes. Apex rebel camp bordered by forest on the west and swamp (with abandoned Frogg housing) in the east. Multiple rustic ruins dot the planet, similar to those found on AR I and III. Substantial Agrarian village in the mushroom biome, bordered by a massive hill on the east. Glitch outlaw Farmchain hides out in an old, abandoned mushroom inn on the other side of the hill at their eastern outskirts, adjacent to more rustic ruins. Female native Avian merchant has set up travelling cart in Jungle sub-biome, bordering Swamp biome on the west. Originating world of Dmir.

Altais Rift VI: Desert planet. Unexplored until recently. Colorful and Savannah sub-biomes. Expansive Bone sub-biome, full of savage (and mostly Avian) warriors. Abandoned Glitch dungeon near embark. Several Fenerox in savannah, both living alone and on either side of a Floran canyon (one male east, one female west, past Colorful biome); a third Fenerox hut, the nearest to the canyon mouth (east of Colorful biome), is destroyed and unoccupied. Two female native Apex outcasts living in natural tunnels in the Colorful biome. Hylotl village. Floran canyon inhabited by two friendly Floran. Several singular native merchants, including an Apex rebel, a native Avian, and a Glitch. Pyramid tomb on large hill overlooking bone biome to east. Numerous ruins, all deadly. Human outlaw Emma living in an abandoned, ancient house east of the Hylotl.

Altais Rift VII: Desert planet. Unexplored until recently. Ancient Hylotl castle, with a female Hylotl merchant occupying it. Floran village far west of that, with a lone Apex male in a house on its west outskirts. Far west of that, an abandoned sandstone Oasis town full of Floran and Avian statues...and several CRT TVs. Far west of THAT, a Novakid village. There's no doubt in my mind that this world has, by far, the most interesting natural history of the entire lot.

All-Seeing Crusaders: Glitch faction. Wears headgear reminiscent of eyeballs with wings. Related to Eye Guards found in Eyepatch biomes. Somehow linked to Glitch dungeons of antiquity, especially their Chapels. Seem to have a precognitive bent, or at least put that forward.

::A brief history of Altais Rift VII::

Altais Rift has had some interesting colonization history, spanning back several hundred years before the Captain's settlement on AR-I. But the most intriguing of these histories concerns the world furthest out in the system - the desert world of Altais Rift VII.

Altais Rift VII began as a world covered more than 95% by water. Within the thin, windswept continent continent jutting from the ocean's surface was a land of lush tropical paradise. It was here the Hylotl merchant Kenji Igarashi arrived, stopping into the system to refuel. Young and idealistic, Kenji decided that one day, when he was affluent enough to afford it, he would build his home here.

Sadly, short as Hylotl lives are, he would never see the day. But Kenji's hard work built a small but noteworthy merchant empire, with Igarashi Enterprises securing a legacy for his family for hundreds of years to come.

Many years later, the merchant's grandson came across one of his old travel journals which held the coordinates for Altais Rift VII. Seeking to fulfill his wish and bring honor to his grandfather's memory, he had a castle erected there in the old Hylotl style - the House of Fifty Storms. It would be the first homestead on the planet, and endure as a family home through multiple generations of the Igarashi line.

Several hundred years into the future, during the time of the Stargazers' Inquisition, a camp of Avians fleeing persecution chanced upon the world as well. The Igarashi, now a powerful and prideful family in the sector, did not take as kindly to the inadvertent invasion of their hidden paradise, a world unquestionably theirs. While they allowed the Avians refuge and supplied them with provisions, the Avians were only granted a parcel of land out in the sandiest parts of the continent, a good distance away from the grounds.

[EDIT]: Phew.

Sorry about the homogenous text blob. Just wanted to keep it honest with respect to time.

Won't **** over it. I'll just break it into its chunks.

Spoiler: Factional presence in Altais Rift

++ Factional presence in Altais Rift

Having a terrestrial-bound sentient species has not stopped humanity from developing hundreds upon hundreds of separate noteworthy cultures, even if one were to grossly oversimplify and look at groups no smaller than a country. It should come as a great surprise, then, that each of the spacefaring races in Starbound - including ours - seem to have at most two to three relevant primary cultures throughout the whole of space.

However, this can be somewhat forgiven in Altais Rift and its surrounding galactic space. It is well past the fringes of known territory for any of the galactic governments, and none have laid proper claim to the territory. It is, effectively, the wild frontier - making it an excellent place for small communities and private hideaways.

Though most of the groups encountered would be factional only inasmuch as a small community or group would be considered a faction, this allows the limited faction knowledge throughout Starbound to work in its favor - perhaps these are not the full scope of the civilizations encountered, but they are the fulll scope of those present.

Breaking this down by race, we'll denote the major factions at play for each and their presence in the galaxy surrounding Altais Rift:

+++ Apex
The Apex have two primary factions: the Miniknog, and the Apex Liberation Front.

++++Miniknog
The Miniknog actually seem to have very little presence in this sector overall, with a limited number of populated centers and few means of central control. While the galaxy is rich in resources, it is no more so than any other galaxy the Miniknog have access to per se. However, its relatively remote location compared to normal Miniknog space does offer it a sort of expendability that they are able to exploit. As a result, they have established a series of laboratories scattered on planets throughout the area, dedicated to a number of pursuits but most primarily weapons research.

Although the surrounding vicinities are too broad to monitor, and generally not worth the Miniknog's time, these facilities specifically are watched very closely. The Captain first comes to Miniknog attention when he stumbles upon and raids one such facility, but is not actively sought until he begins doing so systematically.

The most senior party presence near Altais Rift operates primarily from a space station near the edge of Miniknog-occupied space, which doesn't extend into its galaxy. From here they're able to communicate with their own colonies and facilities. However, this doesn't afford them the ability to enforce their will directly (except in pinpoint operations targeted at local leaders or the like). They therefore rely more on carefully-selected enforcement and government personnel at a local level. The general level of indoctrination across mainstream Apex society - and those colonists selected for the area, who are generally rewarded with the option for party service - allows the greater government fabric to hold together, but not particularly extend itself.

++++Apex Liberation Front
Where the Miniknog merely exists within the galaxy, the ALF thrives. There are an astonishing number of multiple guerilla cells operating from the area. Their primary goal is to utilize the resources of the galaxy to bolster their overall operations, stockpiling materials and munitions of all sorts and kinds. They're also keenly aware of the weapons research ongoing in the galaxy and gather as much intel on it as they can.

In order for this general mission to be successful, however, it is imperative that the Miniknog see the movement as much smaller than it actually is, lest the party deem them an actual threat and move against them in more force. This is an illusion they take great pains to maintain.

Cells are paired up with a maximum of two to three other cells across the galaxy, and although a plurality of other cells exists in the space they are deliberately not made aware of it, communicating and interacting only with their designated cells or command. Almost all of them are on standing orders to lay very, very low, and encampments are forbidden to be grown beyond a certain size or occupied by more than a handful of personnel. Outside visitors are thoroughly vetted, and interaction with the local presence is kept to a bare minimum.

In this way even when the Miniknog manage to locate a rebel encampment, they get very little foothold from it - at best the ALF loses three camps out of thousands, potentially with a few of their sympathizers to boot. If they're especially lucky they may find operational plans just before they're executed, but generally speaking little other intelligence is gained.

The ALF, meanwhile, profits greatly from their presence in the vicinity. It's estimated by their command that nearly 2% of the entirety of the front's economic strength originates from this galaxy alone - not their primary operations, but with nearly all of ther galactic presences providing a fraction of one percent each, just to make it to full numerals is impressive.

The ALF are also the first Apex group the Captain meets, as they're the only one of the two with a direct presence in Altais Rift, with a camp on the forested world of AR-V. His first interaction with them involved a joke about the old Earth TV show, "Alf." To his horror, they actually requested copies of the show - as a comedy, they presumed it would be good for morale, and at any rate it couldn't be worse than the Miniknog's programming. Ever since, he's been charged with hunting that down.

+++ Glitch
The glitch do not have primary factions per se. Generally speaking, their kingdoms do spread across multiple worlds; most settlements can trace their origin back to expansion from a planet with a castle ruled over by a king, but there is no conglomerate of kings or anything else that might suggest a race-wide organization.

How the Glitch reconcile the fact of their medieval stasis with space travel is not yet fully understood; they see it as something technomagical and for whatever reason either don't question or can't fathom the implications of the technology unless they become self-aware.

Spoiler: Societies existent in Altais Rift

Societies existent in Altais Rift:

Altais Rift I: Lush planet. The Captain's farm and township. Rustic ruins dot the planet. Has an abandoned mine and one of two Ark portals in the system.

Altais Rift II: Does not exist. Asteroid belt at its presumed location.

Altais Rift III: Lush planet. Flower sub-biome. Rustic ruins dot the planet, but no active sentient habitation. Lots of cat ghosts. Has the other Ark portal in the system.

Altais Rift IV: Desert planet. Oasis, Colorful, and Savannah sub-biomes. Relatively large Glitch village in the Desert section, with the Oasis just off its east outskirts. Savannah inhabited by a trio of Fenerox - one in one house, two in another, all female. A now-abandoned house with a more modern feel is also in the savannah. Defunct and dilapidated Glitch dungeon/keep in the desert sections, currently inhabited by a lone merchant; its relatively safe Chapel is a frequent meeting place for bandits of varying stripes. Originating world of Arrowshield.

Altais Rift V: Forest planet. Mushroom, Jungle, Swamp sub-biomes. Apex rebel camp bordered by forest on the west and swamp (with abandoned Frogg housing) in the east. Multiple rustic ruins dot the planet, similar to those found on AR I and III. Substantial Agrarian village in the mushroom biome, bordered by a massive hill on the east. Glitch outlaw Farmchain hides out in an old, abandoned mushroom inn on the other side of the hill at their eastern outskirts, adjacent to more rustic ruins. Female native Avian merchant has set up travelling cart in Jungle sub-biome, bordering Swamp biome on the west. Originating world of Dmir.

Altais Rift VI: Desert planet. Unexplored until recently. Colorful and Savannah sub-biomes. Expansive Bone sub-biome, full of savage (and mostly Avian) warriors. Abandoned Glitch dungeon near embark. Several Fenerox in savannah, both living alone and on either side of a Floran canyon (one male east, one female west, past Colorful biome); a third Fenerox hut, the nearest to the canyon mouth (east of Colorful biome), is destroyed and unoccupied. Two female native Apex outcasts living in natural tunnels in the Colorful biome. Hylotl village. Floran canyon inhabited by two friendly Floran. Several singular native merchants, including an Apex rebel, a native Avian, and a Glitch. Pyramid tomb on large hill overlooking bone biome to east. Numerous ruins, all deadly. Human outlaw Emma living in an abandoned, ancient house east of the Hylotl.

Altais Rift VII: Desert planet. Unexplored until recently. Ancient Hylotl castle, with a female Hylotl merchant occupying it. Floran village far west of that, with a lone Apex male in a house on its west outskirts. Far west of that, an abandoned sandstone Oasis town full of Floran and Avian statues...and several CRT TVs. Far west of THAT, a Novakid village. There's no doubt in my mind that this world has, by far, the most interesting natural history of the entire lot.

Spoiler: Didn't really mean for this to be submitted, but what the hell.

All-Seeing Crusaders: Glitch faction. Wears headgear reminiscent of eyeballs with wings. Related to Eye Guards found in Eyepatch biomes. Somehow linked to Glitch dungeons of antiquity, especially their Chapels. Seem to have a precognitive bent, or at least put that forward.

Spoiler: A brief history of Altais Rift VII

::A brief history of Altais Rift VII::

Altais Rift has had some interesting colonization history, spanning back several hundred years before the Captain's settlement on AR-I. But the most intriguing of these histories concerns the world furthest out in the system - the desert world of Altais Rift VII.

Altais Rift VII began as a world covered more than 95% by water. Within the thin, windswept continent continent jutting from the ocean's surface was a land of lush tropical paradise. It was here the Hylotl merchant Kenji Igarashi arrived, stopping into the system to refuel. Young and idealistic, Kenji decided that one day, when he was affluent enough to afford it, he would build his home here.

Sadly, short as Hylotl lives are, he would never see the day. But Kenji's hard work built a small but noteworthy merchant empire, with Igarashi Enterprises securing a legacy for his family for hundreds of years to come.

Many years later, the merchant's grandson came across one of his old travel journals which held the coordinates for Altais Rift VII. Seeking to fulfill his wish and bring honor to his grandfather's memory, he had a castle erected there in the old Hylotl style - the House of Fifty Storms. It would be the first homestead on the planet, and endure as a family home through multiple generations of the Igarashi line.

Several hundred years into the future, during the time of the Stargazers' Inquisition, a camp of Avians fleeing persecution chanced upon the world as well. The Igarashi, now a powerful and prideful family in the sector, did not take as kindly to the inadvertent invasion of their hidden paradise, a world unquestionably theirs. While they allowed the Avians refuge and supplied them with provisions, the Avians were only granted a parcel of land out in the sandiest parts of the continent, a good distance away from the grounds.

 

[redfeatherraven]

The deadline is nigh.
I...goddammit.

The next week of the challenge has begun.
Seventh week deadline is June 17, 2018.​

 

[redfeatherraven]

Lest we think I disappeared for a week doing nothing, here's this week's 1,770.

First, there was some slight revisions to last week's submission while I expanded it further. I'm not counting Part I since I can't really separate out the changes, but it's here in order to make Part II make sense:

Spoiler: A brief history of Altais Rift VII, Part I

Altais Rift has had some interesting colonization history, spanning back several hundred years before the Captain's settlement on AR-I. But the most intriguing of these histories concerns the world furthest out in the system - the desert world of Altais Rift VII.

Altais Rift VII began as a world covered more than 95% by water. Within the thin, windswept continent continent jutting from the ocean's surface was a land of lush tropical paradise. It was here the Hylotl merchant Kenji Igarashi arrived, stopping into the system to refuel. Young and idealistic, Kenji decided that one day, when he was affluent enough to afford it, he would build his home here.

Sadly, short as Hylotl lives are, he would never see the day. But Kenji's hard work built a small but noteworthy merchant empire, with Igarashi Enterprises securing a legacy for his family for hundreds of years to come.

Many years later, the merchant's grandson came across one of his old travel journals which held the coordinates for Altais Rift VII. Seeking to fulfill his wish and bring honor to his grandfather's memory, he had a castle erected there in the old Hylotl style - the House of Fifty Storms. It would be the first homestead on the planet, and endure as a family home through multiple generations of the Igarashi line.

Several hundred years into the future, during the time of the Stargazers' Inquisition, a camp of Avians fleeing persecution chanced upon the world as well. The current Igarashi patriarch, Takashi, now leader of a powerful and prideful family in the sector, did not take as kindly to the inadvertent invasion of his family's hidden paradise, a world unquestionably theirs. While they allowed the Avians refuge and supplied them with provisions, the Avians were granted a parcel of land out in a valley past a great mountain, further past rolling hills and plains, nearly half the world over.

And now here's Part II, which is counted:

Spoiler: A brief history of Altais Rift VII, Part II

This parcel was amongst the sandiest and most windswept part of the continent, and to Takashi it seemed more trouble cultivating than it was worth, but to the Avian refugees, who had nothing else, it became home.

They were able to craft sandstone dwellings and did what they could for the land, but the soil wasn't fertile or stable and their plot could at best only support a meager crop of beakseed. Nevertheless, it was enough to become self-sufficient in the eyes of the Igarashi patriarch. Following their first year - once the crop had begun to produce with an illusion of regularity - Takashi thereafter made no great effort to contact or supply them further, hoping mostly to forget they were there. The Avians took to this new state of affairs with some despair, ekeing out a relatively miserable existence.

Their turning point came after the Igarashis hosted a small group of investors and suppliers for a social affair. One of the Avian, a young woman named Tlina, managed to convince a transport captain to facilitate her passage to a nearby space station and back.

She had hoped to strike up some form of trade agreement with anyone there who would listen. As it happened, that same day a young Floran woman was also visiting the station. Her name was Saada - a prospective Greenfinger, seeking a place to begin a new settlement. A rare combination of idealist and pacifist, Saada sought a tranquil and prosperous life for the people uner her care.

Her prospects had not been great, however; she had been refused or rebuffed from many potential sites. The Greenfinger came from a line and a culture of proud and fearsome warriors even amongst Floran, and Saada found that their reputation often preceded hers. Moreover, asking her people to walk a more peaceful path in favor of a harmonious existence with the greater galactic community was still a very alien concept to many of them, and though those that came with her tried for respect of their Greenfinger, they found they couldn't give it up so easily.

The people under Saada's charge had begun to desert her, dissipating amongst various stations and crews, to the point that by the time of her meeting with Tlina only a couple remained by her side.

The Avian and the Floran, equally desperate, struck a bargain to assist each other. Tlina would shelter the Florans in secret, and Saada would use what power she had to bring out the land's bounty. Together, they would not just have a home on someone else's paradise, but a paradise all their own.

Though each had some measure of the danger of what they proposed to undertake, neither realized at the time just how starkly their deal would alter the course of history on the planet.

When the transport captain returned to take Tlina home, he was reluctant to bring any Floran along as well, much less a band of five. But thanks to Saada's diplomacy he was eventually convinced, and was further convinced to return them directly to the Avian camp rather than dock at the House of Fifty Storms. Several in the house of Igarashi found this odd, but Takashi found it a convenience and paid it no mind. Over time, his apathy would prove to be the single most beneficial trait for the fledgling Floran group, and they built and thrived in secret.

With some effort, Saada delved deep below the Avians' land and set root systems snaking into the underground, seeking reservoirs of water and nutrients. Though she found little, she drew out what moisture lay deep below the soil and pooled it on the surface, imbuing it further with nutrients and elements of her power. Plant life, which had been formerly sparse, flourished under this new nourishment. Reeds and palms sprung up from the sands.

Within a few short months what was a wasteland had become a thriving oasis in the sands. Tlina took a more official leaership position within the Avian group, and together she and Saada guided their peoples to prosperity. Statues were erected to the wayward partners who had met each other in their people's darkest hours. Peace largely reigned.

The Avians built a watchtower facing east, towards the mountain separating them from the Igarashis' castle. The merchant's trading parties and dignitaries were infrequent, but not altogether absent, and the Avians had learned from prior dealings that his feelings towards the Floran race were not warm. The Avians knew well that, were their partners discovered, the results would be disastrous. Thus they kept a close watch, alerting the village whenever Takashi's troupes were spotted, and the Florans took shelter underground for the duration.

This latter action irked the Florans somewhat, especially as their numbers grew. After all, it had been they who had rejuvenated the land to the point where it could sustain their whole group. The hunters grumbled restlessly, able to find only meager prey within the town's borders, and even as they tested their talents underground, they longed for the hunts they could have in the open fields just beyond the eastern tower.

Thankfully, the Greenfinger had support of the strongest hunter of their camp, a warrior named Ashemak. The towering Floran Champion had earned his place as Saada's second in comand before their journey began, hunting a Mother Poptop. The story went that as Ashemak prepared to strike, it broke his spear with a lucky swipe. Undaunted, in return, he wrestled it to death. It was a story most outsiders found unbelieveable - but to the Floran that witnessed his return, wearing the beast's ripped-off skin as a cloak, none dared question it.

To succeed in such a feat, the Champion often said, one has to not just be a strong hunter, but a clever one. Ashemak believed that someday, when his people were strong enough, they may be able to make their presence known and take the fertile plains unchallenged, and he bent his will many long years to see that day arrive.

Saada was aware of his thoughts, and to some degree sympathised. But she knew that the Igarashi were wealthy enough to hire mercenaries and soldiers strong enough to wipe the refugees all out in a day if they chose. Above all else, the Florans survived through the merchant's continued, and at least somewhat willful, ignorance.

More importantly, any challenge not only ran the risk of the Igarashi retaliating against the Floran, but also the Avians who they had grown to share their lives with - and in particular, Tlina, whom Saada had grown to love over time. Though Saada could never find the moment to express it - duties being what they were, for both of them - any threat to Tlina was unacceptable to the young Greenfinger.

She therefore guided her Champion to turn their hunters to the most benign efforts she could manage, while still seeking hunts that would benefit their peoples. As life returned to the area and native creatures began to replenish, there was thankfully much to do simply on the settlement's defense. Ashemak, meanwhile, respected Saada too much to actively work against her, but nevertheless continued to strengthen those under his charge, as the dream he held fast to demanded.

Two years passed in relative harmony.

And then Takashi, in a rare moment of outward patronage and inward curiosity, decided to see how the Avians were doing personally. The caravans normally came from the east by wagon, an hours long trip that worked well to enable the refugees to make preparations. But the merchant patriarch had other matters to attend to that day, and decided to take his personal shuttlecraft and arrive before the caravan embarked, far ahead of schedule. Besides, he reasoned, trade with the Avians was on the decline. Perhaps if he knew what would sell better there, he could parlay that not only into more profits at home, but exponentially more out in the more hostile climes of the universe at large.

There was little warning but a fleeting shadow over the eastern tower. In the span of a heartbeat, the Florans were discovered.

And here's...something else, I suppose? Mixed feelings about it, but any practice is good practice.

Spoiler: An interaction

"You will learn that there are bigger things to fear in this universe than some tentacled rock."

The captain hung limp on his shackles, silent, as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Echoes of the Miniknog's strike slowly faded to his captive's pained breaths.

Satisfied that he was broken, Stoniil straightened his cuff and made to leave, only to hear a weak, gasping chuckle escape his captive - softly first, then louder, as though he'd at last realized the punchline.

The official allowed himself a brief eyeroll before turning on his heel to face his prisoner again. Breaking his guests' psyches was not uncommon. With so many, it typically happened twice a week. And in his eight years as warden, Stonill had yet to hear anything of importance come from a place of hopeless madness.

But Big Ape had other thoughts, and so Stoniil was on strict standing orders. Hear everything. Document everything. Investigate everything. Know everything.

He stooped low to the captain's face. "Is there something you'd like to share?"

"Bigger things," the captain chortled.

It was now that the warden raised an eyebrow. That tone. He'd heard madmen, and this one didn't seem quite there yet.

It wasn't much promise, but, well, any port in a storm. "Go on."

The captain snapped his head to face his captor, and spat blood on his face. "Like this ****."

-------

The doctor shook his head derisively as he bound Stoniil's knuckles back into place. "I truly don't know what you expected. I told you about that one."

"You did," he sighed. "But he's the only one in this sector that we know for sure escaped. That makes him seem valuable, regardless of the truth of it."

Stoniil stepped down from the table and tested his bandaged hand with a rub. Say what you will about his medic's methods, he thought. Broken in three places, and not a hint of pain at all. "I apologize in advance, dear friend. You've been requested to tend to him next, and I'm told you're to do what you can about the pain." Stoniil shrugged. "I would overlook any...indiscretion, if I could, but he's being monitored very closely."

The doctor merely shrugged. "We all have our jobs to do, Nikhil. Think nothing of it." He picked up a clipboard, the syringes in his coat jingling a chorus with every motion, and clapped a hand to the official's shoulder as he left. "Besides, all the better for the next round, eh?"

 

[redfeatherraven]

The deadline is nigh.
Pretty sure it's just me and Cori at this point. Home stretch though!

The final week of the challenge has begun.
Eighth week deadline is June 24, 2018.​

 

[Pazzo.]

Sorry I haven't kept up with this or even communicated, I've been on an extended vacation to Australia and only have access to internet at night and in the morning. Otherwise I'd be on top of this.

 

[Natz~]

its no problem, everybody been off :V

except for woomy

woomy been amazing on this

also vacation in austraila, how has that been?

 

[redfeatherraven]

Damn.

Just beyond the buzzer.

Spoiler: Character trait analysis

I only have the basest information about any of these characters' traits, and it's making the next part Herculean to achieve, rather than the mere exorbitantly difficult it should be since I'm **** at dialogue. And monologue! Would zero characters talking be considered an oudenlogue? I'm sure I've found ways to screw that up too; I'm nothing if not consistent with my -logues.

But enough disparaging stream of consciousness. Let's run it down.

We know we're working with at least four primary characters at the moment - Takashi Igarashi, Tlina of the Heretics, Greenfinger Saada, and Ashemak of Saada. I'm assuming several factional names at the moment, as I've no real information on the Avian or Floran naming schema. I'd also like to add a fifth primary, at least - a positive character for the Igarashi, something to suggest their later return to the planet won't be an inherently terrible thing - and the way things look we'll probably have supplemental logs from characters that interact with the main ones.

Taking it from the top:

::Takashi Igarashi
-------
Takashi's role in the story is to provide an explanation for why a ruined Hylotl castle showed up on Altais Rift VII occupied by a lone merchant (an explanation made moreinteresting as a reclamation than an occupation) and he got a lot of the other factions' displacements and disappearances laid at his feet as well, because we needed a bit of a villain.

He's also one of the first Hylotl we'll be hearing from, and so even though he'll inevitably get there we can't make him a full-blown ****heel right off the bat.

To fill all these roles, he needs some pretty serious flaws with reasonable if inexcusable explanations.
---
Takashi derives a lot of his self-worth from his pride as a merchant, and equally as much from his pride at being an Igarashi merchant. By the time of the opener the Igarashis had been around for generations, and by choosing to consolidate the power of that empire along his family line, the last name became equally as important as what Takashi did with it.

We're dropping in on Takashi at a pretty tumultuous time in Igarashi history. Business was booming, Igarashi was expanding - now it's gotten some competition and run low on places to expand further, and it's just kind of lukewarm across the board. Regardless of any prescriptions about the ebb and flow of business and the knowledge that he's probably operating in a slump, he's reminded at many turns that his results don't truly measure up to his forebears - from investors, from peers, from public opinion - and heavy is the head that wears that crown.

In this way, Takashi can be said to rely on his name more than his skills. While he's no slouch, he's got a bit of an inferiority complex to the titans that have come before him in his ancestry, and counteracts that as best he can by projecting an image of himself - showing that he is, in fact, an Igarashi. But he's going kind of Gatsby about it, taking pride in what he has and demonstrating it to any colleague or visitor that comes by. It's a desperate attempt to demonstrate that he knows the place he holds.

This would also explain his minor disdain for the Avian - In his mind they have no real demonstration of his character other than his abject generosity, and if he intended to make that kind of statement loudly enough for his tastes he'd probably just throw money at a charity or two.

And it would explain his outright fury at the Floran. The mutual Hylotl-Floran aggression is well known by anyone who deals with the races. Having what is for him an ancient enemy suddenly appear living on a world that is well known to belong to the Igarashis - well, that wouldn't make for much of an appearance.

And to Takashi, appearance is paramount. Respect of his peers is about all he has left. Were he to fall from grace, he wouldn't just shame himself, he'd shame his whole family line. And beyond even that, he'd be ruined, cast out, his whole livelihood decimated.

It explains the lengths he's willing to go to in order to rid his world of those who he feels are a blight and a mockery of his reputation, to which he feels he's more or less earned and is entitled to.

:: Tlina of the Heretics
-------
Tlina's role in the story is to explain two things directly - the sandstone village in the oasis, why there are Avian statues in that same oasis - and, as well, she partly explains why there are Floran statues alongside those Avian statues.

The sandstone village could be built, technically, by anybody, but besides the statues - which can be used to lay things out pretty clearly - we can eliminate most of the other races simply by style alone. Apex and Hylotl are far more modern (and the latter already occupies the world via the castle), Floran are more likely to use plant life instead (and have a village further away, which we'll get to), Novakids prefer a wild western aesthetic which leans more on wood, and Glitch prefer architecture using actual quarried stones.

Avian aesthetics seem to lean harder towards civilizations with a meso- prefix, which would include sandstone as one of their primary components. Native villages, temples, and tombs bear this out more than the Grounded do. And while sandstone isn't a direct building material per se in any of their generated homes, Native villages are closest in style and shape on inspection. The rest can be excused as recently ex-native Avians working with what they had available, which turns out to not be much.

There's a few questions I have regarding sandstone collection and use, but we can leave those for another day. Obviously they succeeded, I can figure out details when I have more time to research.

At any rate, Avian-Floran relations aren't exactly an automatic thing (Floran-anything relations aren't exactly an automatic thing). Even in desperate times, what we'd need in order to draw the Floran faction forward is a character willing to bring them in, which is where Tlina fits. She can't really be part of the current command structure so much as an envoy; any leadership that exists will have their hands full just trying to get by. She has to be willing to take a few risks - there's people actively looking to find and kill her and everyone she knows, so just to make it out to a place where she can ask for help she's got to be willing to make a gutsy play. And she's got to have enough naive hope to believe that the benefits of bringing on the Florans outweigh the dangers from the exposure, the Igarashis, and even the Florans themselves.
---

:: Greenfinger Saada
-------
Saada's role in the story is mostly to explain why there are Floran statues alongside the Avian ones in the oasis. It suggests a rather strange partnership to say the least.

The last time an interaction between the two races was shown in the lore (via Maku's Journal), it involved a Floran who'd captured an Avian during a hunt. They eventually got along after some prodding, but starting a partnership off as a captive puts things on kind of an awkward foot. And also suggests a much bolder set of Florans - a set who wouldn't be passive about the living arrangements on AR VII.

While those bolder Floran must have existed in their ranks - after all, there are Florans doing just that, right now - their leaders would have needed to keep that kind of thing in line at least long enough to strike up a partnership. The Heretics were clearly not equipped to fight and would have needed associates who they could rest assured wouldn't fight them.

Yet they met Florans, says the statues. Must've been some kind of Florans.

Saada is one option for that kind of Floran - a pacifistic one in a position of authority, with a small enough group to her name that they can sneak onto the world and begin a civilization largely undisturbed until they can later grow and flourish. Keeping Florans peaceful on a settlement scale requires more than just Greenfinger abilities. It also requires an immense faith in those ideals, a demonstration that such faith leads to strength rather than weakness, and the ability to retain a group of Floran around her capable of identifying that, as no person rules alone.
---

::Ashemak of Saada
-------
Ashemak's role was primarily inspired by a Large Floran Statue in the Floran village. Besides introducing a clearly revered leader, he also allows us to smooth over a handful of narrative things missing from the above three characters.

He explains why the Floran village persisted despite the apparent abandonment of the settlement further to the west, which clearly has their influence - peaceably, to boot. It allows us to kind of explain the ruined Hylotl castle further east as well - that could have just as easily fallen into ruin on its own, but conflict seems more interesting. And, as above mentioned, it suggests a bolder kind of Floran to carve out their home in the middle of a wasteland, practically at the doorstep of the enemy. To arrive at this, we need to allow for a leap from the pacifistic ways of Saada to an all-out brawl with Takashi. Though I have certain ideas in mind for how that will be achieved, it isn't an overnight transistion - and yet, to avoid being wiped out, it kind of has to be, like flipping a switch.

By giving another character the agency to be combative, and setting him in a position of authority not quite as high as a Greenfinger, while deeply respecting that Greenfinger, we can have the ability to retain the tribe's power to fight when the time comes. We can have that switch. It creates a sort of narrative tension as well, showing the dichotomy between the wants and desires of both peace and glory in the hunt. It demonstrates that these two desires can yet respect and understand how much they need each other to survive, and in doing so, kind of strike a bit at the heart of a kind of implied Floran conflict with the galaxy at large and their place in it as a civilized race. It allows me to give a character the ability to move the Florans later by having him want a certain spot.

And it lets me write up a badass. No complaints there.
---

[EDIT]: I had to go from 1,712 words to at least 1,750 at literally 11:59 PM. Managed to finish at 1,764 - but seconds too late. Like I said in the opener:

- A submission entered at 11:59 PM EST is valid. A submission entered at 12:01 AM EST is not.

I already used my Mercy. No leeway for me - especially for me. I got an example to set.

Eh, c'est la vie.

The document above was difficult to complete because the only character my mind could quickly whip up was Takashi. What can I say - Hylotl click with me, villains click with me, a Hylotl villain isn't an issue. I had to resort to filling in the rest of the characters by narrative place alone and resign myself to an incomplete analysis, but it did let me into their heads a bit more.

It isn't what I really wanted to submit this week, either way. But when it gets down to 8PM on a Sunday and I haven't been able to work on what I really wanted yet - the words just didn't come, frankly - I take what I can get.

That it was just slightly too late is bittersweet, but it's still here, and I'll take that too.

 

[redfeatherraven]

The deadline is nigh.

The challenge has concluded.​