Overview
Aurelia is a distant world set in the genre of space-faring
science fiction. It acts as a central hub for the Naumannite, a race led by
their religion, and who lost their native home long ago. It is a harsh, icy
world on which they have, for a century, done penance for a terrible crime they
committed: wiping out the planet’s original inhabitants.
It was created during Episode 3.
Geography
The planet Aurelia is in a distant corner of its galaxy, far
away from the more-traveled space lanes. The world is covered in ice and its
surface is too inhospitable to support life. Within, however, it teems with
life. Below the surface are hollow caverns, many of which are lined with
crystals. There are a number of chambers that form patterns not unlike those
found in geodes.
The planet’s surface is constantly wracked with storms, some
of which have an electromagnetic quality to them. The planet itself is
surrounded for most of the time by a natural ion shield that prevents
transmissions or the use of teleportation technology. Every five years,
however, Aurelia’s elliptical orbit brings it close to the sun, which causes
the ion shield to be torn away and the planet’s surface to be burned. This
period of scarring lasts for one month – during that time, a good portion of
the ice melts and the planet is covered with a great deal of vapor. At the end
of this period, the atmospheric elements that have been released cause the
shield to be replenished.
Inhabitants
The Naumannite are a tall, hairless race, with very long
limbs and necks. They are very pale, with white skin and large, orb-like eyes
that range from deep red to violet in color. They are somewhat sensitive to
sound – this is reflected in much of their art and technology, which is often influenced
by their deep appreciation of harmonics. Most favor simple clothes, usually
consisting of a robe or cloak, though they do employ different-colored mantles
to signify particular religious or social standings.
Centuries ago, a tragic event of which the race no longer
speaks caused their original home planet of Naumann to be destroyed. Today, the
entire race consists of only 150 million individuals, most of whom are
scattered throughout the galaxy. While Aurelia is now the hub of their
civilization, at any one time there are only 15 million Naumannites on the
planet. It is part of their cultural
mandate to keep a steady 10 percent of their population there, in accordance
with religious obligations.
Naumannites reproduce asexually and are grouped in “pods,”
families of 20 to 40 members. A pod of 20 will typically have six or seven
adults and twelve or thirteen children. They can communicate with members of
their own pods telepathically, and each is able to empathically sense the
emotions of Naumannites outside of their pod. They are able to speak, but home
life is fairly silent. Naumannites live to an average of 110 years. Most of
those who are not born and raised on Aurelia are typically sent to the planet
at around age 40.
While the race does possess teleportation technology, it is
useless on Aurelia for most of the time. As a result, they use magnetic
technology for much of their transportation needs.
In addition to the Naumannite, there are many different
species of fauna on the planet. Among the more dangerous are creatures composed
of a tar-like sludge that’s unaffected by sound waves. These beings are capable
of extending segments of themselves out to act as tentacles that can draw
victims in to be digested osmotically. Also of note are a number of creatures
with crystalline skin, some of whom are very large and capable of burrowing
through solid rock.
Over
a century ago, the planet was inhabited by the Cubane, a bipedal race who
resembled large, crystalline insects. They have long since become extinct.Society
The Naumannite is a race in a perpetual state of penance.
Their central government is a theocracy run from Prima, their capitol city, the
largest settlement on Aurelia. The Naumannite have a complex relationship with
the planet – they are its custodians, its venerators, its explorers and its
prisoners – albeit voluntarily. Living in the planet’s often harsh environs is
the task they are performing in an effort to receive absolution for a terrible
crime they committed long ago – the crime of genocide.
About half of Aurelia’s occupants are permanent residents,
who typically have their entire pods living with them. The other half are
representatives from other Naumannite families across the galaxy. Each pod that
lives off-world must select a member to come to Aurelia when the time comes.
Those who are chosen spend ten years in training before they are permitted to
leave. This is the minimum duration for their pod’s act of contrition.
Every five years, at the time when the ion shield is down,
the Naumannite transfer approximately 3.5 million temporary residents via
teleporter – those who are beginning their period of penance. At the same time,
most of those who are ending their 10-year requirement leave.
Their society – and their religion – is governed by a High
Augur, referred to as His Resonance. The High Augur and his staff are all
permanent residents. Those visiting for their 10-year penance are often put
into roles of peacekeeping and security. Life is harsh in the tunnels and penitents
must often guard population centers from the world’s many threats. During their
period of atonement, all young penitents must make pilgrimages through the
tunnels and actively hunt down and dispose of dangerous creatures as a rite of
passage.
Aurelia is the Naummenite holy land – believed to have been
the place where their deity departed from the physical universe. As such, life
on the planet is full of ceremony. Their scripture is read aloud, and close
attention is paid to its pronunciation and tone. The Naumannite treat all
rituals with a great reverence, and their education while on the planet is of
utmost importance. By the end of their ten-year period of penance and training,
most have become part of the holy orders. Performing penance is also the only
way to gain rank in the church. On their departure, the new priests are usually
become missionaries, with missions in various parts of the galaxy.
Religion
The Naumannite religion consists of four main sects. Of
these, the two major sects clash most often.
The primary sect, representing the original religion, is the
Way of Transcendence. Its members are referred to as Transcendants. Their core
belief is that they must strive to live in both literal and figurative harmony
with their surroundings. Sound is very important to the Naumannite. They search
constantly for the proper sonic waves to bring them into sync with the rest of
the universe. Of utmost importance is finding the wave that would bring them
into harmony with Aurelia. They believe that if they achieve this harmony, they
will be able to transcend the physical universe and follow their deity into the
next reality. This sect is the oldest and the most accepted. Members of this
sect are found most often in the city of Prima.
The members of the next largest sect are called the Scions
of the Higher Octave. They arose largely as a reaction to the initial edict
that was made nearly a century ago indicating that the penance on Aurelia must
be performed. They consider themselves much more progressive than the
Transcendants. They believe that to achieve harmony, they must not only look
inward but outward as well, and adapt their surroundings to suit their needs.
While the Transcendants do have greenhouses and other adaptations they’ve made
to survive, the Scions go much further. It is this faction that is most
interested in terraforming Aurelia – they feel they must do so to make it into
the paradise their scripture says it must be.
They believe that it is part of their penance to tame the world. The
Scions are most often found in the city of Fusion, which is located much deeper
in the tunnels than Prima.
There are two minor offshoots of the Transcendant sect. One
is a group of zealots calling themselves the Harmonics. They take their
religion further than the core beliefs would indicate. They believe that their
penance will continue until their deity returns and personally ends it. The
second is called, simply, Omega. The Omegans believe that their leaders, a
group of holy individuals called the Coda, have already achieved a state of
harmony. They believe it is time to end their penance and share their
harmonious enlightenment with the rest of the galaxy. Some advocate bringing
other races to Aurelia but most seek to travel out and spread the word.
History
The Naumannite race drifted homeless through the galaxy for
a very long time after their world was destroyed. They were on a search for
their holy land, a planet described in their sacred texts – a place that would
be a gateway to their heaven.
Then they had a vision of a crystalline chamber – a harmonious
place from which their deity departed the physical plane ages ago. Led by this
vision, they searched until they found Aurelia – a planet about which
everything seemed right. Its position seemed to match the place hinted at in
their holy texts and its interior (once they figured out how to reach it)
looked very much like the visions that had been received. Furthermore, its
resonance seemed very close to that of their deity’s, as described in their
traditions. Surely this was the holy place they sought.
There was no authority in this part of the galaxy to speak
of so they had the right to claim the planet as their own, which they did.
While the planet’s environment was harsh, they were soon able to use their
sonic and magnetic technologies to adapt. The only intelligent life form they
found on the planet were the Cubane, which at the time numbered barely one
million (though it was not yet known that there had been that many). The
creatures were very surprised to meet these newcomers, who treated them with a
great deal of respect. The Cubane had never seen an alien life form before, and
they welcomed the Naumannite with open arms.
At first, it seemed as though the Naumannite had found their
Utopia. They regarded the Cubane, whose crystalline structure was reminiscent
of descriptions of their deity, as angelic beings, direct servants of the god. The
Cubane, the Naumannite felt, were going to guide them to the holiest of crystal
chambers – the one from which their deity transcended his physical form.
But soon, the Cubane began to die. Their bodies began
crumbling and shattering. The Naumannite probed the problem deeply with their
sonic sensors, but that only seemed to increase the death rate. By the time the
Naumannite realized that it was their own sound technology that was causing the
Cubane to die out, it was too late. A chain reaction had begun, and within ten
years, the Cubane were completely extinct. The Naumannite had unknowingly
committed genocide.
This was the worst of all possible crimes. But yet, there
were no galactic authorities to punish them. Even though it had been an
accident, the Naumannite felt they had transgressed against their deity and
lost his favor due to their arrogance and short-sightedness. The High Augur
decided then that the whole race would do penance until such time as they came
into harmony with Aurelia.
Even though this judgment was broadly accepted, there were
those who were not completely happy with the new direction of the
Transcendants. The penance was necessary for such a terrible crime, many felt,
and would help ensure that such a thing would never happen again, but there
were those who desired to continue shaping Aurelia to suit their needs, as did
before the Cubane began to die out. These individuals felt that if they completely
ceased all use of their technology, it would be a step backward and they’d
never learn to use their advances responsibly.
Over the next two decades, this group became known as the
Scions of the Higher Octave. They moved away from the Transcendants, journeying
deep within the tunnels to find a place where they could start over. After this
long pilgrimage, in a huge cavern on the opposite side of the planet they found
the ruins of the Cubane’s former capital, its streets covered with a layer of
crystal dust, which was all that was left of the previous occupants’ remains.
The destructive sonic wave that had infected the Cubane years ago claimed many
more lives than had been previously thought. To honor the fallen people, or so
the Scions felt, a new city was founded on the old city’s ashes. The Scions
named their new population Fusion City to express the idea of the two cultures
growing together as crystals sometimes can, becoming as one.
In the years that followed, there was relative peace.
Another, much smaller schism occurred within the Transcendants approximately 30
years after the first one. There was an occasion on which one of the ooze
monsters roaming the caverns managed to breach Prima’s defenses and enter the
city itself. It tore a great swath of destruction before they managed to stop
it. In response, many felt that they had not been vigilant enough and that
their deity was testing them. They formed a stricter, more zealous sect that
dedicated nearly every aspect of their lives to reaching the harmony they
sought. That somewhat militant order became known as the Harmonics.
Over the next few decades, tension built as the various
sects’ ideologies grew further and further apart. After another thirty or so
years, another new sect broke off from the Transcendants. This new group, the
Omegans, decided that they’d reached their harmony. They demanded that they be
allowed to leave the planet or bring outsiders in to study their ways.
In
the last few years, the conflicts between the sects have grown more heated. The
Omegans in particular have been met with sharp resistance. As ever, though, the
Naumennite remain a peaceful people, though some say that will soon change. As
their first century on Aurelia has come and gone, the sects have generally been
content to remain at a standoff, a “cold holy war,” if you will. There has been
no violence yet, but it may not be long before blows are struck and their peace
is shattered forever.
