History

Children of the Stars​

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Cerolia was once a world that belonged solely to beasts, insects, and plant life. Sentient life had not developed, and would not naturally develop on the planet before the end of the star Sovra's life cycle. The ancient Anunnari came to the planet in order to further life throughout the cosmos. They managed to create life in the form of two very different bipedal sentient beings known as the Ali and the Mek'Va. It took cycles to train these new sentient beings as they built enormous subterranean power plants designed to tap into the planet's natural energy in order to power all future cities and settlements indefinitely. The Anunnari gave the ancestral races the keys to a utiopia in the form of technology and knowledge, then their travels took them back to the stars...

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The children of the Anunnari were tasked with the protection of the planet Cerolia. As both races grew in knowledge, so too did they grow apart. Eventually, large portions of the Mek'Va who referred to themselves as royalty sparked genocide in the name of cultural purification. They saw their race as better than the Ali, and sought to prove their might by fighting and enslaving all who would stand against them. Slavery was not only reserved for the Ali, any supporter of their cause would be struck down or shackled. They had superior numbers, and in the end, they were victorious. The Ali were reduced to a working race, and those who would fight against the Mek'Va were forced to wage combat from the shadows.

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Powerful substations kept all of the Mek'Va cities alive and running while the Ali serviced them in other ways. Eventually, the ruling class began to look deeper into the substations and found enormous doorways that - once powered and properly directed - lead to an entirely new world made. Within were powerful crystals that seemingly extended to infinity. Laws that governed the universe were different there, and prolonged exposure drove many to the brink of insanity. Samples of the crystal that came back to Cerolia were shown to have addictive qualities... They could easily be refined and injected into a victim, a practice that was always fatal to those who would go without for too long. It created such a strong dependence on the drug that anyone who refused to take their dose would die within a week's time. However, other than fatal addiction, the victim's physical and mental capacity was left untouched.

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This made the perfect item for control...

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The doorways were left open indefinitely as operations to extract as much of this crystalline substance were underway. Mass injections were mandatory for all slaves, and weapons that forced exposure from afar were used to strong-arm rebellious cells into servitude. Their methods were brutal, yet they were incredibly effective in their tasks. The issue, however, was that their plan was unsustainable. The plane of existence that they had connected Cerolia had an abundance of the substance, but the doorway leading to this other world was never designed to be operated indefinitely. The power draw on the planet became far too great, and this had catastrophic consequences for the world in its whole.

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Violent collapses destroyed all but two of the substations, one of which was the currently undiscovered Grand Substation that served as a headquarters for all power gathering operations. These great collapses released deadly ionizing radiation in enormous quantities and trapped all individuals unlucky enough to be on the other side permanently in their new domain. Liberationists free from Mek'Va rule, lead by General Benjamin Kine, utilized this to their advantage. They were able to overthrow the Mek'Va aristocracy and gain control of drug production so the victims of their horrid reign could finally taste freedom, most for the first time in their lives.

 

There was another issue at hand...

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While the strange radiation outside of newly quarantined radiation zones was not enough to significantly harm life on the planet, it was unique enough to make all creatures who reproduced sexually baren.

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Within a generation, the majority of Cerolian life would cease to exist...

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Desperate, a group of resistance researchers made the journey to the Grand Substation for one last expedition. Without the masterful genetic manipulation of their creators, they had no choice but to seek answers elsewhere and find a solution to their crisis. Records indicate there were only four volunteers that were qualified for the job, all of which were former heroes of the resistance.

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They were led, once more into the void, by General Kine.

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With the last bit of power drawn to the primary doorway, they stepped into the unknown and never returned. Nearly a full cycle after their disappearance, crystalline formations began to appear throughout the planet. These crystals would be found in every climate, no matter the conditions. Every sample was the same and they produced absolutely no radiation whatsoever. The substance was given the title of Æether, and its presence is believed to be the work of the four that crossed into the abyss.

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While studying these new crystals, a pair of romantically tied scientists made an incredibly important discovery by sheer accident. They both handled a single crystal at the same time while passions were high, and their willing spiritual connection with each other triggered a change within the crystal itself. Like a womb, this was the birth of the first Aluni. The crystal she was born from would become what is now known as the Symbiont, a life form that lives within all modern sentient beings. This one trait is what separates the children of the ancients from the beasts of Cerolia. Some animals have crystalline adaptations, but none have a symbiont the same way as the major 13 races. In order for the insects and animals to thrive in a world beyond reliable sexual reproduction they formed various asexual methods of continuing their kind.

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Different species began to pop up throughout the planet, seemingly through chance. Thirteen races in total came forth from what very well could have been the end of civilized life as they knew it. It was often cited that the Mek'Va of questionable moral character attempting to reproduce this way were only able to create crystals filled with modern Mek'Vatir. In truth, there is no real proof that the moral character of those in contact with a birthing crystal plays any role in the outcome of their children.

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In order to survive, they had to kill...

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The Ali and the Mek'Va never could recreate their own kind. As predicted, they went extinct within a single generation and left the world to their children. Just as the new races needed to eat and survive, so too does the Symbiont. Its sustenance, however, comes in the form of souls from the dead. The fauna of the planet were incompatible - however, the prevalent Mek'Vatir were both insignificantly small and provided the spiritual nourishment needed for their Symbionts to continue on. Since the centimeter-tall beings reproduce via spores, killing them simply allows them to spawn more offspring.

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Harvesting souls could only be done through pure gathering points, however. These were the palms of the hands, the souls of the feet, and the upper digestive tract. For generations, the Mek'Vatir were incorporated into the Cerolians culture and diets in such a way they have become inseparable.

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The lowliest creature on the planet, became the most important commodity available to the masses...

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