ΒΆ Core Worlds
The Core Worlds are a number of interplanetary nations that have attained power over portions of the cluster and that aren't directly administered by the superpowers. Though varying in size and age all comprised hundreds or thousands of colonies. The Core is relatively peaceful though wars between the core powers can escalate quickly as they enlist Armounauts and petition the super powers for aid. There have been 7 Major conflicts the core and many fear that it is only a matter of time before one of these conflicts escalates into a cluster wide war.
Balharn
Balharn experienced a notable revolution after falling under Ysenic control. The revolution was successful in ousting the Ysenic occupation. It is a heavily industrialized world, rich in minerals and renowned for its musgravite jewellery. Home to Balharn Heavy Industries, the largest manufacturer of mining equipment in the cluster, it played a pivotal role in creating the Interplanetary Nations Coalition. This coalition aims to foster cooperation within the cluster and mitigate the influence of superpowers.
Kiltro
The newest interplanetary nation in the core worlds, Kiltro is renowned for its fierce independence. It was established by refugees from the Jambles, with its capital world being Mesa. Mesa is notable for its colonies, which are situated on high, artificially expanded mountaintops above the planet's toxic, high-pressure atmosphere. The planet experiences three-hour days, leading to significant geological activity, flattened poles, and a bulging equator plagued by a persistent anticyclonic storm known as Mil's Eye. The majority of Mesa's population originally came from the Jambles world of Mil, displaced by nuclear conflict instigated by superpowers. The Milesians, along with the Armournauts, spearheaded the colonization of several neglected worlds in the core, asserting their presence. The Kiltroans maintain a defiant stance against the superpowers, with their music reflecting this rebellious spirit.
Libridonnis
Libridonnis is celebrated for its agriculture, preserving much of Earth's flora and fauna. With a slightly lower gravity than Earth, it is a popular tourist destination. It was the first in the cluster to engage in the luxury food trade upon the discovery of corridor travel. Libridonnis has also established several successful frontier colonies and runs a prominent terraforming program, having terraformed eight worlds since the scattering. The planet operates with a unified language and government.
Hythe
Kosemen, the capital world of the Hythe interplanetary nation, is unusual. Settled only within the last 100 years, the initial flotilla remnant that arrived shortly after the scattering elected to enter mass hibernation while a small portion of the crew prepared the colony. Two hundred years ago, a band of Armournauts surveying the unmapped core world discovered that the dominant life forms on the planet descend from genetically altered humans that appear to have been once designed as transport, cattle, and pets. Now feral and invasive, these beings have overrun local ecosystems, outcompeting local life and spreading to all corners of the planet. When the Armournauts uncovered the few that had survived the long hibernation, they were horrified, not knowing how or why their former shipmates would have created such GELFs. With the Armournauts' help, the hibernation-sickness-stricken crew were able to establish a colony, and the generations since have grown it into an interplanetary nation. The Hytheans are a highly democratic and ethically preoccupied people, having outlawed all forms of genetic engineering, and have become something of an advocate for Speciated Persons across the cluster. Alarmingly, similar Kosemen specimens have been appearing in feral populations across the cluster, despite Hythean efforts to curtail poaching.
Colmar
Also known as Monsoon due to the severe storms experienced by early colonists, Colmar is a remarkably Earth-like world with diverse climates. Its wildlife, predominantly crab-like arthropods, exhibits a high degree of eusocial behavior. The Colmar colonies, historically marked by internal conflicts, only reconciled when corridor travel was discovered. Their planetary government now helps manage the planet's diverse nations interested in the wider cluster.
Idris
Idris is famous for its vast subterranean cave systems, remnants of a colossal petrified coral-like organism that likely perished 200 million years ago. These caves harbor a unique ecosystem within sunken oceanic cave systems. The surface of Idris is arid and intensely hot, especially near the equator. Colonies are concentrated around large sinkholes and cenotes. Governed by a network of AIs descended from the flotilla's operating system, the atmosphere is thin, with extreme temperature swings and stable weather conditions.
Yengsha
Yengsha, renowned for its tea, cuisine, and extensive rainforests, was one of the most successful colonies after the scattering despite its initial small population. They preserved their technology and adopted an agricultural lifestyle, with a rigorous schooling system that funneled children into necessary roles. This practice has evolved, offering more flexibility and incentives. Yengsha's citizens benefit from shorter work weeks, early retirements, and a higher quality of life compared to much of the cluster.
Belgra
Belgra suffered greatly from the scattering, losing much technological knowledge and the means to replicate it. The planet's equatorial region supports a rich diversity of life, while its frigid tundras are sparsely vegetated and wildlife is scarce. The Belgra nations, once small but mutually cooperative, experienced significant growth and conflict over newly accessible lands following technological exchanges with the Venti and Temple. These conflicts have mostly been resolved, leading to greater interplanetary cooperation among Belgra's nations.
Urkazzabad
Urkazzabad features a heavy atmosphere with perchlorate-laden life, which has adapted to an environment that is innately toxic to humans. The planet's forests, seas, and savannas are well-preserved due to minimal colonization. Only two of its eight continents are significantly colonized. Colonies are mainly situated in deserts, mountains, or polar caps, where breathing the atmosphere is safer at certain times of the year. After a period of warfare, the Urkazi dynasty unified the world, but a succession crisis and a number of civil conflicts have threatened the stability of their interplanetary nation.
Vannaleer
Vannaleer's continents are sparse, and life has only recently begun to emerge onto land. The planet is dominated by strandbeasts, large, multi-legged, armor-plated creatures that roam shores and rivers. These amphibians, which never stop growing, can dwarf dinosaurs. Vannaleer's sea forests, similar to kelp forests, support a diverse array of amphibious life. Due to its weak magnetic field, UV radiation is hazardous. The Vannaleer nations formed a federation upon discovering the wider cluster and began colonizing.
Drovz
Drovz is plagued by a poisonous bacterial bloom that has caused a planet-wide ecological disaster, transforming what was once a verdant world. Recent paleontological evidence suggests these blooms occur every thousand years or so. The population has largely been evacuated to orbital colonies, and there is contention over the location of the new capital. The refugee crisis threatens the stability of the interplanetary nation, with rising crime, extremism, and pirate activity exacerbating the situation. Efforts to maintain order are increasingly reliant on Armournaut bands.
Yowcan
Yowcan is famed for its shipyards and the invention of the space elevator. Initially colonized with ease, its population quickly grew to ten billion within 300 years. Yowcan's scientists developed theories about the pillars and corridor space based on independent observations. When they encountered the Venti and Temple, they expanded their colonial program rapidly, though they were eventually outpaced by superpowers and briefly occupied by the Ysenics. Yowcan's strong navy, tested in conflicts with the Venti, Temple, and Ysenics, has proven exceptional. Its prefecture nations are seen as prosperous, peaceful, and powerful.
Lohoso
Lohoso is known for its vibrant, multicolored flora. Its tundras and caps are also adorned with colorful algal life. The planet is home to Scalechimps, tree-dwelling, facultative bipedal reptile analogues that form complex family groups and use tools. Unlike their Earth namesake, Scalechimps are wholly carnivorous and use tools to bludgeon prey, gather insects, and crack bones for their marrow. They live in large troops and are often poached, being introduced to numerous worlds across the cluster. The Lohoso people live predominantly in vast green arcologies that have inspired similar environmental efforts across the cluster.
Omed
Omed has been undergoing extensive terraforming efforts since the flotilla remnants arrived 500 years ago. Once a thin-atmosphere dust bowl, Omed had little potential for colonization due to its exposure to solar flares. Omed rotates incredibly slowly, about 16 months for a single day-night cycle. Omed's strong magnetosphere has helped preserve its atmosphere despite its near tidally locked status. Omed's traction colonies move to follow the habitable band. Life on Omed has evolved to cope with extreme conditions. The Omed people practice a form of the Storian faith, worshiping the pillars and believing the scattering was caused by ancient alien gods known as the Monumentals. Storian Oracles play a central role in governance and civic duties.
Pestralia
Pestralia operates under an AI-facilitated demarchy, a unique form of governance that emerged post-scattering from a surviving population of initial colonists. The AI randomly selected crew members to govern for set periods, promoting political engagement and decision-making. It enforced this system after its ethical safeguards were removed by desperate survivors; the machine had previously predicted a 20% chance of their colony surviving. Without constraints, the AI's radical proposals were able to improve these odds. The demarchy was just one facet of its proposals, which included strict, even harmful rationing; prescribed reproduction rates; and the exile or enforced hibernation of members who were unwilling or incapable of contributing to the group. The crew's changes to the AI proved successful; their colony endured and then flourished. Over time, Pestralians adapted to this system, ensuring each member was prepared for governance when chosen. Although the AI now provides more sophisticated support, the foundational principles of this governance system remain.
Alsan
Alsan is a tectonically unstable planet, with an ashen surface and noxious atmosphere. This is due to significant seismic, volcanic, and subsurface ocean activity. Pulled in multiple directions by its three moons, its subsurface tidal oceans and lava flows cut large swathes through the planet's crust, causing it to be dotted with vast sinkholes, chasms, and canyons. Vast wind farms on the surface, and geothermal and tidal power plants in the depths, grant the planet a functionally limitless source of power. Deep sinkholes grant easy access to rich veins of ore, and methods are being pioneered to lift minerals directly from lava streams. The Lunar Union had for years shown interest in the world when a series of civil conflicts aligned the union with the guilds. In return for a moderate resource subsidy and formal recognition as a union exclave, the guilds that control the planet keep their authority and certain "allowances" are made for Alsanian traditions. This is the first and perhaps not the last Union expansion into the core and is viewed with mixed sentiment by the other core worlds.
Pyrean
Pyrean is a planet of oceans and lush valleys, meandering great rivers, and verdant fields surrounded by vast snow-covered mountain ranges on its grand alpine supercontinent. The planet is considered to be the pinnacle of natural beauty, whilst its people hold a surpassing favor amongst the cluster, at least most of its people, as the centuries since the scattering saw a marked stratification of their society. Lucky as the original colonists were to find such a paradise, it is unclear how or why they developed such an enmity for those who were artificially birthed from the flotilla's embryonic stores. What is known is that those "natural-born" colonists viewed the other colonists increasingly as servants and organ banks. So entrenched was this division that the rights of the artificially birthed became closer to those of pets than people, and cosmetic surgeries and alterations became common. The stores were exhausted over time, and the class of artificially birthed contracted to a tiny percentage of the planetary population. While some reform has occurred, as descendants of artificially born have greater rights, contention still exists about how substantive it is, especially as rumors abound about illicit cloning and organ harvesting.
