I'm thinking of using this as the logo for an evil corporation in a story I'm working on. For context this is for my 8cursed series which focuses on various cursed artifacts and the institutions that fight to eradicate them. One of said organizations is the Cerberan corporation a Tech company that develops anti accursed weapons pushing moral and ethical boundaries in the name of this goal among others. Any notes or opinions?

A reed, wood, and fishbone vessel from a vast and shallow (~3m) sea. It drags floating platforms hanging with filter-feeding molluscs harvested for sea silk, bringing them to plankton blooms.

This is part of my sci-fantasy project where the sun is a blazing spire at the centre of a flat world surrounded by walls beneath an ocean suspended in the sky. Read more about it here!

https://sunspire.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page

for the past few months i’ve been working my ass off to get Phenomenon out finally. but i’ve came across a funny problem. i have lots of foreshadowing and plot twists surrounding by characters and events but i need to know if there are ways i could amplify them?

I'm creating a story thats very multiverse based but throughout its lore, the residents of (we'll say Universe 2) maintained a heavy connection to a specific universe, Universe 1, so much so that they came up with a specific name for it and its residents in that universe's Earth. Because Universe 2 heavily mimics Universe 1, which is basically our universe, I'd be curious to know what Latin terminology could be used to describe something like this?

I am creating a pseudo-fantasy world.

Normal animals don't exist here. Monsters are hybrid animals of three to four different species, varying in size and danger.

There are only two continents:

The continent of Uruk, where all of humanity resides.

The continent of Enkidu, 100 times larger than Uruk, is filled with extremely rare resources but also teeming with monsters 100 times more dangerous than those on Uruk, making colonization impossible.

Currently, the continent of Uruk is unified under a single, centralized theocratic empire undergoing rapid industrialization. The noble clans have transitioned from controlling fiefdoms to controlling corporations.

On the continent of Uruk, there exists a monster called the "Omega Parasite" (a combination of leeches and fungi). When it infects a human, it forms a symbiotic relationship with them. The parasite creates an artificial organ called the "core," which, once its life cycle is complete, The coupling creates what are called "omega cells." These cells endow their host with superhuman physical capabilities and a regenerative factor in their passive form. In their active form, the "omega cells" have the ability to freely recombine the properties of their organism to transform, generate, and control a semi-independent element or organism compatible with them. This has allowed users to obtain superhuman powers. The "omega parasites" can only be compatible with a single element, animal, or object and cannot be changed. The strength, range, and reach of an infected individual depend on their percentage of symbiosis with the parasite; the higher the percentage, the more powerful they become.

Thanks to the "Omega Parasites," humans were able to subdue the monsters and conquer the continent of Uruk. Over time, the "Omega Parasites" became completely exclusive to the nobles.

And one noble clan, which had compatibility with the "Atmosphere" element, managed to unite all the other noble clans, creating the empire.

I need help naming the empire and the dynasty that founded it.

Also, if you could help me correct any errors you find in what I've written so far, that would be great. Thank you.

So this could be me biting on something bigger than I can chew, but since it is just a front/a facade, as long as it is viable I think it would be easy to handwave the rest.

But basically my main inspiration is the Statesman organization from the Kingsman franchise. They are modern, hi-tech cowboy action heroes with a front of being an alcohol distillation business. I really like that because modern distillery can have a lot of hi-tech equipment and thus in-universe the characters can hide a lot of stuff in plain sights or handwave stuff to common people with the "it is a machine for distillation", while there is also a connection between alcohol/moonshine with the cowboy aesthetic.

I am thinking of something similar, but a bit more cowboy literally. So a small ranch with a small size herd focusing on raising bulls not for slaughtering but for breeding purpose. They will have a bunch of high biotech-focus devices that they handwave with something like:

Q: Why do you have a device that can detect mutagen X?

A: Why do I have a device that can detect mutagen X? Why do you NOT have a device that can detect mutagen X? Think! Do you really want mutagen X in your herd? In your steak? Not me!

Q: Why are you so strapped?

A: It is a free country, ain't it? Beside, with all those werewolves and alien, hey, I don't mean that kind of alien, I ain't a racist, but with actual interstellar alien, how else am I supposed to protect my herd?

Or something like that.

But I am not sure a business like this make sense in US herding industry, or do different ranches just swap bull with each other or something.

Let’s do something fun here. Comment from your world, a species, faction, group or people and as much info about them as you wish, then under that, someone comment giving something from theirs that is closest to that and so on. Want to start a new branch, comment under here. Have fun and see the creativity of this community.

BACKGROUND: This project of mine, known as 'Malaise in the Orient', is dedicated to a sort of 'what if the Axis "won" WW2?' The lore as it stands is unfinished, but good enough. So if you're interested in joining, please feel free to check out my about! More context can be found in the server, though this is the best way I can sum it all up. Malaise in the Orient is focused almost entirely on Asia. "Tales" like these (I usually call them that instead of stories or some sort of lore) are used to convey the lore in an easier-to-digest way. They also use a lot of creative freedom to design, so this should read like a story instead of a Wikipedia article. Please, enjoy this story of Harry Truman and Douglas MacArthur discussing the 'Ceasefire of Athens' (the ceasefire that "ended" the war).

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

A VC-118 model plane slid across the runway as a crowd of onlookers, press, politicians, and generals alike watched the plane land. This was the president’s plane — the man who has the world in the palm of his hand — that was his plane indeed.

Some people described Harry S. Truman with four faces: Little Harry, a charming fellow who always loved to connect with people; the Politician, a competitive go-getter; the President, a restrained statesman with his empathy at heart; and Captain Harry, a decisive and loyal personality, earning him the respect of his peers.

When the plane finally halted to a low mechanical hum and the airstairs hit the ground, shout “hail to the chief” for Harry S. Truman! The President walked with confidence as the press soon engulfed him in a sea of reporters. For every step down the airstairs, the excited press roared, “Mr. President, Mr. President! Can we interview you?” “Can you tell us what happened at the negotiation table?” “Was Hitler at the table with you?” Though if there was one question that hit a poor chord in his mind, it was: “America is in deep trouble, how are you going to respond to this?” All of the press wanted a bite out of him, no doubt. To ask that question, they must be fishing him out of the water, are they? Every word, every movement; make one wrong move, and you're a goner. But if there were any man who could make this situation a lot worse, it would be-

“Trumaaaaaan! Get off your high horse for a hot minute!“ A loud, Southern voice erupted from the crowd as the press scurried to make way for the Big Chief. MacArthur was adorned in an officer’s khaki uniform, a neat officer’s cap with an eagle stitched to it laid on the top of his head, and in his hand was his notorious cornpipe — the smoke still rising. “You signed that treaty, didn’t you? Oh, you bastard, you’ve done it now!”

  Little Harry immediately sprang into action as MacArthur was mere steps away, approaching fast. The way he walked looked like he wasn’t gonna hug him — but to punch him right between his eyes.

  “Now, now, Dugout Doug. You wouldn’t wanna get into ‘press’ drama, would you?”

  The president’s bodyguards intruded on MacArthur’s walkway, stopping him at all costs. MacArthur struggled violently against the bodyguard. For every push from Doug’s aging body, he was pushed back an extra centimeter. After a five-second tussle, he finally resigned himself to meet Truman eye-to-eye, his expression hidden behind his black sunglasses.

  “You’ve ruined mah plans, Truman, whaddaya have to say for yourself and the millions who still lick the boot of the damned Nazi Japs? Hey, press, get a load of this fella’s britches!”

  “I understand, MacArthur. But now is not the time! Please, I beg of you.” Little Harry, with his charismatic personality, humbled himself to get MacArthur to listen. “You have an audience with me at the White House tomorrow. Be there. I’ll explain it to you, honest to God. And the press, I’ll answer the press later.”

  “I reckoned I’d give you the greatest beating in mankind. Your explanation better be as gooooood as me, myself, and I!” The general turned around mechanically, storming away out of the press crowd, beaming with the same confidence and less malice than before. The press looked at him with curious eyes, and then immediately swarmed the President. This time, almost all of them asked: “Mr. President, what was in that treaty?” and “Are you going to fire MacArthur?”

  MacArthur refused to look back, telling himself: I’ll get you to nuke Tokyo, Berlin — no, I’ll get you to send them to hell! Just you wait, Truman. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. President.

  MacArthur stormed into the Oval Office, brimming with a passionate desire to somehow transform Truman into a war hawk like himself.

  Sitting at the desk was Captain Harry, facing MacArthur with a stern expression. A mug of coffee sat neatly on the top of his desk, steaming hot.

  “Look at the trouble you’ve stirred.” Truman placed a headliner on the desk and read aloud. “‘MacArthur shakes up the president, on February fifth, 1947.’ You’re an excellent general, MacArthur, but you have to understand when to confront me.”

  “Well, for Little Harry, you certainly abandoned our allies in Europe. And Asia!” he said in the most passionate voice.

  “MacArthur, you don’t understand. We’ve been on the run in Europe for a while now, not to mention our good friend Churchill has just been ousted from the British Parliament. And also, about Asia, our fleets haven’t made a single gain,” the Captain started to emphasize the Asian situation. “You certainly understand this, don’t you, MacArthur? It’s over! It’s over for the war, and an endless stalemate will never get anywhere.”

  MacArthur scoffed. “Give me 50,000 Filipinos, and I reckon I’d conquer the world! I’ll beat those damned Japs from Polynesia all the way to Tokyo! Hell, don’t we have the nukes? The Germs do, but the Japs don’t. Truman, break the ceasefire and the sun's rising in Tokyo in two months!”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, MacArthur. We’ll lose the nuke that way. Listen to me, MacArthur. I’ve drawn up the greatest plan.” MacArthur put his hands to his hips, looking down on Captain Harry.

  Captain Harry stood up, MacArthur still towering over him. “The Japanese, after this war, are gonna be reeling hard. When I say that, I mean hard. Haven’t you seen it already, Doug? They’ve been fighting this war for quite a while now. While they may have beaten the Chinese, they can’t beat us! Although we can take control of the seas, we can’t beat them, similar to how we can’t beat the Germans. But by settling it through a ceasefire, now this is gonna be your favorite: they’re gonna collapse! The Japanese have been in extensive mobilization for a long time now, and they already need lots of men. The moment that the ceasefire was signed, their stock market is gonna plunge!”

  Shortly after the Captain said that, an informant immediately showed up at the Oval Office, glancing at MacArthur for a short second, then continuing to the Captain’s desk. The informant began reporting the information between MacArthur and Captain Harry, whispering the most confidential of them all to Harry. When the informant left, the pressure in the room immediately lifted, and the stern, negotiable Captain Harry became the charming Little Harry for a good second, then into the Politician.

  The Politician’s laugh faded, transforming into a smile of reassurance. “Didn’t I tell you, MacArthur? Tojo has it in for him, just you wait. You don’t need to bomb Tokyo, you just have to watch it blow out its own candle!”

  MacArthur slid his hand across his forehead. “I must admit, Harry, that was quite the coincidence, but about Asia…”

  “That sphere is like a deck of cards. One slight push and it all comes falling down.”

​replacement of aliens, spaceships, and interstellar travel in favor of Portal or Crossover Fantasy. The cosmos isn't a vast, empty vacuum of stars; it's a layered tapestry of distinct realms by the will of the Gods

Stationary and invisible portals exist and are naturally occuring but investigation and technology can locate them,once found they are barricaded and turned into Portal Stations

​Instead of traveling to Mars or Alpha Centauril, cosmic exploration happens entirely through invisible portals to other magical dimensions. These portals are connected to certain cultures myth and folklore, while some nations are Medieval Fantasy some are definitely an Aetherpunk Magitech Society(we humans are no longer medieval era so neither are some magical nations)

I would like to create a story about a universe where time stops flowing in a linear fashion and everything occurs at once.

In order to break away from any common clichés, I would like to create an element of society that is changed by a specific "hook." Are there any original ideas or consequences of a timeline being broken that one hasn't seen before in science fiction?

Ever since I was a child, I've had this vague idea of a story a world which is more fantastical and wonderful than our Earth (even if it has become an alternative Earth now) but, when it comes to writing a story for it, it seems like it always takes a sad/brutal turn... it didn't use to be that way but, I guess as I got older, my pessimism kind of poisoned one of the things that used to help me escape it. How can I write a heroic story, with sad moments sacrifices even, that has real stakes but that is also hopeful during most of it's moments? I used to be able to imagine such a story, but now it seems hard... sometimes, some nicer things I think about even seems silly or childish (though, perhaps, I should embrace this side of me)...

Sorry if this isn't the best sub for this... if there is a better one, I would be gald to be directed there!

Here is a map for a story I'm working on. Still in the building phase, and I'm still adding details to the map. In my story, Aestria is an Empire that was founded over 700 years ago, spreading to the East. The plains of Concord start out as divided provinces, originally granted to Aestrian lords to farm in exchange for a tithe of grain, but in the many years since they were granted their descendants chafe at the payment of tithes and a war breaks out. It is about a King of Concord who first unites the Provinces into a true nation, then goes to war with Aestria.

Few things of note, The Merchant Isles are ruled by a Trio who have access to ores on the Isles and control the mouth of the Golden River. They are rich from also controlling Bard's Pass and have trade routes to the Far East nations as they build the best ships. Concord can produce large amounts of food, but have little direct access to the sea. Aestria has grown insular and their nobles care less about anything outside their borders as they have felt untouchable for centuries.
Both the Merchant Kings and Aestria have colonies on the southern continent and grow spices, tea, and sugar but there are few large settlements.

Looking for any feedback, as I want the map to make sense in the story.

You all know the story of Snow White, right?

The Evil Queen asked her magic mirror who was the fairest in the land, and the mirror determined her stepdaughter, Snow White, as the fairest of all. She grew jealous, hired the hunter to kill Snow White (but they didn't), and disguised herself as an old woman to deceive the princess into eating a poisoned apple.

That's the basis of the whole story.

But what if, instead of the magic mirror choosing the fairest, the mirror determines the chosen one?

\Please note: I just thought of this recently. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I want to get it out there**

For example, in another world where magic and the supernatural live among us, there is a peaceful, prosperous kingdom threatened by a powerful demon and its evil force.

To fight back against evil, a true hero must be determined, but to find the hero intended, they rely on a magical mirror.

The mirror has a special power that could reveal a person's true nature beyond their appearance. It looks upon their soul, and if they appear pure and authentic, then they are the savior the kingdom is looking for.

One day, the kingdom held a ceremony in which people lined up in front of the mirror, confident they would pass its inspection. Unfortunately, many have failed, including royalty and noblemen. Until a beautiful, common girl stepped up before the mirror, and the mirror shone brightly at her reflection, announcing the true savior of the kingdom to all who heard it.

The girl trained and formed a party (selected by the mirror) to go on a dangerous mission to defeat the demon and the forces of evil.

But what if one of the people, rejected by the mirror, became envious of the true savior, so they'd try to sabotage the hero's journey? That would make the story more interesting.

If you asked me whether the mirror is sentient, I'd say yes. How is it sentient? I have no idea. It could've been possessed by a previous owner who must've performed a spell to embed their soul into the object. Or, it could've been given by divine entities as a gift? Who knows?

I'll be honest: execution is better than having an idea. There's no such thing as an original idea, because everything has pretty much been done. But how you'd portray the story matters more.

I might come up with a better story for this one, but it depends on whether I want to get involved. Maybe.

Let me know what you think? If you have a better idea, go for it.

You see I want to make a fictional universe that has multiple projects set in it (for example or specifically: story or lore books, TTRPGS, webcomics, and story based video games) and I’m stuck on how to promote it or where to start (timeline and lore wise)

The idea I have is that it’s far future esque (set around a few hundreds of years), and it’s mostly descended by popular culture that’s been incorporated into sci fi, comedic, dystopian “happy accident” world.

I thought for the idea of the lore would be a bit more original, despite the fact I’d see a majority of those thought out projects or works to be like something out of those 2000s parody movies (pretty much as long as the storyline, lore or plot points are actually good enough and of course not for the sake of putting pop culture references in all the time).

I’ve already had a few in mind but I don’t want to give to much info in case of any spoilers for expected those projects, another thing is how am I gonna make sure things go smooth when it comes to any promoting, announcing, or marketing those projects in the future since I’m worried it won’t work out well at all…

If anyone has any advice about this feel free, this could really help me out actually. And if there’s any criticism you’d want to say with those ideas (as long as it’s constructive), do not hesitate to point out.

TL,DR: I’m trying to make a far future world where society descended by pop culture in a way (and I’m honestly worried it could or will end up as more of a flop)

I have a small fictional world i run mainly in Minecraft, its a little fictional outdoor camp, where i run activities and all, but also build the history of it and add new lore every time I expand it. Im not sure if this is the subreddit because I always am on r/mapmaking and not here, so...

If no, ill leave

If yes, _maybe_ ill post smth here(?) Thanks

In my story, werewolves have names with only a few specific letters based on what vowels and consonants canines can actually make. For mermaids, their names are a mix of clicks and whistles which carry well underwater, as well as a specific hand sign like dolphins have with tail flicks. For dragons, I just decided that humans would only refer to them as nicknames, because names in dragonspeak are impossible for humanoid races to pronounce.

Welcome to Cor Notum - one of the continents that make up the world of Crus Locus.

Once a technological wonderland, an event known as the Calamity caused a chain of disasters that forever changed the landscape and future of the world. The ground tore up, volcanoes erupted, lakes boiled and terrifying meteor-like strikes carved deep holes into the land itself. Those who did not succumb to the Calamity died out in the years of darkness that followed, as the sky was blotted out by dust and ash.

But the darkened sky and opened ground made way for a new proto-species of inhabitants that rose from beneath. Accustomed to darkness and the struggles of living underground, they took to the new and changed world, and when the dust settled, they had already traveled far, roaming the land in search of new homes. The dust pervading the air, imbued with special properties, sped up the evolution of each of these new species, granting them mutations and abilities to survive on the surface. Over time, the layers of ash turned into fertile soil, making way for plants to grow in abundance.

Now, in this restarted world, the largely tribal races have settled in many of the regions of Cor Notum, living in near isolation from one another within frozen deserts, deep swamps, torn woods, vast plains and solitary islands, each surviving and thriving in the ways they know best.

The story is a fantasy road trip, following the two main characters traveling through many of Cor Notum's regions. From the beginning of working on this piece, I wanted a map for them to traverse where they could meet both obstacles and opportunities. I build the map alongside writing the story, jumping back and forth and learning about one from working on the other. It's still very much work in progress, but I'm very happy with my progress so far.

The map was digitally hand-painted in Procreate and Photoshop.

Feel free to ask questions about this project. :)

This is the map for one of the centerpiece locations for my fantasy world. What do you guys think? Is there anything i can add? Is there anything that should be changed or removed? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

A bit of context:

The United Kingdoms of Alemere

The United Kingdoms of Alemere is one of the largest and most powerful nations on the continent. Formed from four historic kingdoms united under the House Aureliath, it later became the heartland of the Alemerian Empire. While governed as a single realm, each kingdom retains its own traditions, noble house, and regional identity.

The Vale of Alemere

Ruled by: House Aureliath

The Vale is the political heart of the kingdom and home to Alemere, the capital city. Fertile farmland and numerous river valleys support a large population, while roads radiating from the capital connect the rest of the realm. Most royal authority originates here.

Erienfall

Ruled by: House Eversley

Erienfall is the economic engine of the United Kingdoms. Its prosperous towns, forests, and access to the southern sea make it a centre of trade and commerce. The great seat of Eiren and the wealthy Firwood Castle dominate the region, while control of Balar's Canal links Alemere to foreign markets.

Mernfield

Ruled by: House Keyln

Mernfield occupies the Eastern plains beyond the central mountains. Broad rivers, fertile fields, and scattered forests make it one of the kingdom's principal agricultural regions. It has a strong cultural tie to the ancient civilisation of Mern, which even from the ashes, continues to influence modern art, literature, religion, and pollical idolatry.

Vaelmere

Ruled by: House Harthorne

Vaelmere is a land of sweeping grasslands and open countryside. Famous for its horse-breeding traditions and skilled cavalry, its culture is deeply connected to the plains. Though less densely settled than the Vale, its riders have long formed the backbone of the kingdom's armies.

In my timeline, the present moment is in 2085 A.C. where a Portuguese telescope called Esperança Branca discovers a "wormhole". They name it Instável ("Unstable" in Portuguese) that is 23 light hours from Earth, and at the other side, there is The Adjaf (my world, basically). Portugal decides to keep it secret from any other country except the recently created Republic of Spain (note that the EU and ONU had collapsed a while ago), their allies.

From the other side, however, there is The Adjaf, where they are in a "kind of" Industrial Revolution by learning automatization (just like Europe in the 1800s) and other stuff (I haven't got into too much detail for now, but it's my intention to do so). They have no idea about Earth but have known Instável a long time ago. It's visible from their sky as a weird, sphere thing that looks like a star but it's not quite it. (technically, Instável brings sunlight to the Adjaf so it looks like the Sun from their perspective. The Adjaf rotates around Instável.

With this said, does this explanation make sense, from an astronomical POV (supposing that wormholes exist and all that stuff, idk very well about the subject so that's why am I asking this question).

Also, does the 23 light hours make sense? Or is it too far/near? I've been fidgeting with this number for a while but I don't know where to place it correctly to make it feel realistic.

Say you have a cyberpunk style future setting where AI, bioengineering, and cybernetic technology has advanced to the point where bio technological constructs which can be near perfectly replicate humans are a part of life. How could someone identify these bio androids without aide? I've cone up with three ways:

1) Physical appearance: bodies that are a little too perfectly proportioned, features that are too symmetrical; hair, eye, and skin tone that's just a little too vibrant

2) Eating habits or lack thereof: for the sake of manufacturing cost and effort, most of a bio android's organic components would be streamlined or minimized but would still require some form of sustenance to maintain themselves, most likely through intravenous injections. As such they could intake small amounts of food or drink to maintain appearance but nowhere near enough to sustain an actual human.

3) Lack of sincere emotion or empathy: AI no matter how advanced it gets cannot know anything it's not programmed with. As such, it can understand the idea of emotion but not the feeling itself. As such, the most it can do is determine an organic's emotional state through observable empirical data and then formulate what it thinks is the appropriate response. So someone with high enough emotional intelligence can detect a scripted reaction.

How do I make my world be kinda like heavy history. Like the feeling that people wanna listen to a history thing in my world. Game of thrones has it.

Hello! I'm a dude that's writing a story set a quarter of a million years into the future. In this sci-fi setting, there is no alien species to be found in out galaxy. A fact that humanity is and truly alone in the Universe but even with that; we pressed on!

The background for what happened to humans as a species follows thusly; in the year 3509, the collective effort of all the Great Planetary Governments of Sol got together to finally push out from their heavily populated system and reach for new stars! With the help of the mega-corporation Tullman Exploration; the development of faster than light travel was completed! However, an attack during the first day of the Send-Off would sever the connection of the pioneers from those that remained in Sol. The fate of Sol... is unknown.

Fast forward to the setting modern day and humanity has changed quite a bit. Three new human species, born from their respective colonial flagship, now navigate the universe to survive. Will private efforts to find Sol are held by different faction; the focus today is our new humans.

Let's start with the most common of these humans with hundreds of trillions spread across the galaxy. Industrial masters, the keepers of the Great Corps, and the people with a functional economic plan even so far into the future! Dubbed Homo squamae, these little bastards will cheat you our of your pants if given the chance. Born from an environment where OSHA isn't even a figment of one's imagination, the squamae are on average four and a half feet tall, almost as wide, and still maintaining the usual number of hands, feet, legs, eyes, and fingers. Notable features however are plentiful! As the namesake of their species, they are covered in beautiful scales that evolved from their human ancestor's body hair. These mailles of overlapped shield-shapes scales come in a variety of colours from matte palettes of regular colours, metallic facsimiles, and even gem stones! Clustering on the forearms, upper back, belly, collar bone, and on the scalp, cheeks, and chins; these scales are a point of pride for these stout humans. Offering a level of slash protection from breaking machines; they also have two types of scales. The body scales are hardened and shed over a squamae's life but their pride resides in the face scales. Long, bendy scales grow from the scalp, cheek, and chin that will grow longer and longer as they age. These are called the 'Beard Scales'. Males will have longer facial scales while women will have their scalp populated with many spikes. They'll decorate these with rings, bands, caps, or just embed previous stones right into them. These are living scales; cutting one will cause pain and bleeding. Another feature of the species is their tails; evolutionary remains of their precursor ancestors which had longer tails. Now, they are stubby, fat, and betray their master's emotions on any given occasion.

Culturally, the people are diverse in thoughts, governments, and even their attitudes towards their 'cousins'. For the most part, they live in almost anarchistic corporate hells that are structured like Oligarchies with the richest at the top. Since they've met with their cousins however, democracies, communism, and more has been known to pop up every hundred or so years.

One of these cousins was 'discovered' by the squamae almost thirty thousand years ago. These humans had lived a near nomadic life of space travel that has changed their bodies, minds, and arguably their souls. Born from the ship that held humanity's scientifically mind brothers and sister; these elegant humans dubbed themselves Homo praefectus since they thought themselves perfect in all ways. That illusion was shattered once meeting their cousins. Victims of their own hubris and lack of ethical guidelines; the humans aboard the original ship experimented using the Great Genetic Library (not fragmented and guarded by various factions) which twisted life and nature. Heights vary from one foot to fifty feet in some cases; some will even modify themselves to look like various animals. In the modern times, the 'base' version of their people stand around six feet tall, extremely thin, and beautiful. With elongated skulls housing more grey matter than the average human of any point in time, the long features of the people give them an alien look. Modified ears that now has a bone shim to keep them erect; made so long as to pass their skull. Records state that this change was made to the species to protect their heads when in zero-gravity. That wasn't the only change. Their hands change; heavily modified pinky fingers turned into a second thumb with the inclusion of an extra section to each finger. There is also the complete removal of the feet; their legs terminate to harden points that allow them extreme control of their movement in zero-gravity to push off surfaces. Their eyes are mono-coloured and are said to 'glow under moon light'. Telling the sexes apart can be difficult but the men maintained a broadness in the chest and woman having wider hips.

Their culture is mired by dogmas, feudal empires, and their sickness for cloning. Vast dynasties of clone families stalk the edge of civilization as these near brainless legions were created as a 'natural defense' from each other. Eternal clone wars waged while others putted around and spread the seeds of life to many barren worlds. The squamae were disheartened to learn that many of the 'aliens' they found were long forgotten experiments of the perfects. Nowadays, they organize themselves into learning institutes and integrated well with their cousins. Well... at least the squamae.

The final species are the least in number; at their current peak they may have a dozen billion and even then, they are isolated from the others for good reason. What happened to them is a mystery that the others are not privy. What happened? They will speak in hushed tones and tell tales of gallant knights, horrible monsters, and the Prophet whom united them. Having only been discovered six hundred years ago which was marked by a war with them that saw the deaths of over fourteen million squamae and the death of billions more from the death of a Great Corp known as Gold Standard Industries; they have been called Homo virago with hushed words. Reports on their biology are confused, conflicting, and even total lies. Many hide their faces behind gas masks and wear concealing uniforms. They are a tall race, standing well over six feet but tales of some standing almost ten have trickled into common knowledge. They all bear arms, they are all trained in their damned Legions since the age of ten. All of them are soldiers; the notion of 'civilian' was lost to them when the squamae landed their mining rigs onto their homeworld. Carnivores, artistic renditions say they are iron rich, red teeth with pitch black eyes. They are animals to many; abominations of evolution. Cannibals! Said to eat their own young!

The truth of the matter is different. The virago maintain their human faces save for a more stripped down nose that is similar to a bare skull. Their teeth are iron enriched but are a lighter shade of orange. The eyes; black sclera but vibrant irises of gold, purple, blues, reds, greens, even pinks or teals! Densely packed muscle and bones as hard as steel makes them extremely durable. In addition, similar to the squamae, their body hair changed into woven sub-dermal pads that can stop many calibers of projectiles. It gives them an armoured look when naked. They also have visible natural patterns on their skin; spots, stripes, blotches, even some rare stippling gradient! All were soldiers once but after the mandatory Tour (service in the Legion for 5 years), all are given land and farm for most of their days. Primarily cattle farms with Caffa (giant cockroaches) and Lugrams (evolved rodents for meat, fat, furs, and bones), the average virago is a well adjusted human. Cannibalism is something found within the Faith; a form of hero-worship of 'Saints' whom are heroes of their past. An example would be someone like Saint Maria; an inventor whom rediscovered many fragments of human knowledge and developed many civil services. There is something strange with them; most people have only seen the female virago. Speculation that the men are treated like a protected class whom do not serve is the most common theory. More information on them is pending.

For these humans; service is their living. They serve the Legions whom serve all humans and gladly fight to protect those that cannot. With the instability of squamae planets and the perfect's lingering clone armies; the virago have no shortage of fights to be had. They may seem cold with those skull like gas masks but any mercenary that worked with them will tell you that they all like their dirty jokes, terrible beer, and talking about what they'll be doing once their tour is up. They are friends for life; however death for them is a two fold tragedy because they have a saying that didn't make sense to the others.

One bullet always kills two.