Tomb of the Iconoclast

INTRODUCTION

LEVEL 1 (TBD)

LEVEL 2 (TBD)

~~~~~

Five days ago an outlaw returned to your town, raving and muttering incomprehensibly. Before being put to death, he claimed that he had found a temple in the wilderness where beasts walked as men, men behaved as beasts, the lost congregated, and the waters of the rivers flowed backwards into a cave in the hills. The local sheriff deemed the outlaw mad and a liar, and little thought was put to the outlaw's testimony until a charcoal rubbing was found on his person after the hanging. It said in ancient script, with some parts smudged:

HERE RESTS ~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RAZER OF TEMPLES

SLAYER OF KINGS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~ ICONOCLAST!

The elder woman of the town believes the outlaw may have found the long-lost Valley of Wells, where the ancient forefathers buried their gods. A town council has determined that an expedition should be sent to the valley across the great lake to investigate the madman's claims and bring back evidence of the legends. You will be part of this expedition.

ALTERNATIVELY....

1. You have noticed in the corners of every map you have ever seen a smeared section, corresponding to the same place. It's never exactly the same way twice. Sometimes the corner is cut out entirely. Sometimes a legend or compass has been drawn over it. Sometimes someone spilled dark wine on it. Nobody asked knows what lies at its center. Will you?

2. A man of some importance has gone missing, and his wealthy family is offering a bounty for his return. His name is Hundar of House Fingol-Mar, and he left with his childhood friends one month ago to explore some ruins he'd heard about from a talking spider. His last scryed position is the ghost town of Cast. (If this is chosen, the old woman in Cast will cackle and point towards the Valley of Wells if questioned about Hundar.)

3. How do you kill a god? The Shadow Hermit says that across the Great Lake, beyond the ruin of the ancient town, there exists a void from which nothing may ever escape, even the gods! Go there with great hubris, mortal!

4. You find the outlaw's charcoal rubbing above, along with a map showing the path to the Valley. A great big black blot exists where one might expect the 'X'.

5. The wizard-ecologist Sigmund Brief has discovered that the waters surrounding this unknown mountain valley flow upwards against gravity! Where do they lead? Tenure awaits!

THE VALLEY ACROSS THE LAKE

Made in Hexographer. 1 Hex = 1 Mile

1. Ruins of Cast

Long-ruined town inside the Valley of the Wells. Nothing but the husks of houses and the bones of stone walls. Considered a cursed place and none go there. Weather is always overcast.

Only one denizen of the town remains: an old woman sitting upon a stone, as if guarding the way. She wears a dirty white robe and holds a broken walking stick. She will cackle maniacally, and when asked a question will say: “I do not remember”. Then she will slowly slump over and die on the spot. She has in her pocket a wooden plank that says: “My Name Is ~~~~~~~” The last word has faded away.

To the north lies a forested valley, with tall broad hills swelling up to the east and west. The narrow Reverse Stream flows backwards, against gravity, through the Ruins of Cast and up into the valley.

Reverse Stream. 2-5ft wide. Weak current. Flows north, against gravity, into the hills.

2. Valley of Wells

Lightly forested valley, through which runs the Reverse Stream, where long ago the idols of enemy gods were cast into deep and narrow pits. Many wells have been sealed up by stone, but some remain unclosed and concealed. Moving through the field, or searching for 1 hour prompts a discovery below (d6):

1. A pit, and then a passage to Room 19, Level 2. It is dark, and filled with ancient household refuse (pots, furniture, clothing, etc.)

2. The body of a massive Purple Worm slowly segments along, foot by foot. It has forgotten its aggression… unless provoked.

3. Dark pit 15ft deep, filled to the brim with rusty ceremonial weapons.

4. Angry stone face leers up from beneath the earthen well plug. Become cursed! The next time one who viewed the face makes an important die roll, they roll twice and take the worse result.

5. Hidden 30ft pit trap overgrown with grass, bottomed out by bumpy stone statue fragments.
6. Functional well. Sign posted above it: "This well was dug by ~~~~~~~~~"

Valley Caves

Difficult to spot if a mountain/forested hex lies between the players' position and the respective cave. A keen eye or careful looker will notice them from the Tower of Baul, or up along the rocky ridges that border the valley.

3. Stone Bear Cave - Three bears that operate under Weeping Angel rules. Appear as tan stones hibernating. Stone is unusually warm to the touch. Ancient refuse of bones and hairy tatters litter the cave. They are living servants of the Unseen God, and they will follow behind those they encounter, waiting for an opportunity to scavenge a meal. If one can speak with animals and simultaneously not observe them, they might divulge the true nature of the wizard Baul, thinking the players are allied with him (why else would they talk to them?).

4. Crawling Bats - Leads down to Room 10, Level 1. Guano-covered filthy bats unnaturally crawling around the cave floor on their legs and wings. The climb down is difficult and slippery from the guano. A climb check is required, even with rope, unless excellent harnesses are made to control the descend. Failure causes 30ft of fall damage as feet and handholds slip, and one goes cascading down into the smelly darkness.

5. Upside-Down Idol - Mossy cave contains a stone idol carved from a stalactite hanging from the ceiling. Depicts a mischievously-grinning youth, craning their neck around so that their head is rightside-up, while their body is upside-down (the neck is somewhat grossly long). A stone altar is carved on the ceiling, upside-down, along with:

• Handholds on the side of the cave, that one could use to climb up to it.
• Rotten rope on the ground, and little stone hoops to tie oneself to stand upside-down by the altar.
  A lectern just below the altar, that one could place a book upside-down to read.

The Prayer Book for Onderboven, a god of inversion, is located in Room 30, Level 1. If it is produced, and recited by one who is upside down, they will find that they gain the power to reverse gravity for themselves for one week at will.

6. Tomb Entrance

The reverse river flows into a narrow passage. A great seal, now crumbled. Above the threshold, beside crumbling plaster there remains the word: “OBLIVION” The full message, if the remaining plaster is removed: “May those who enter embrace OBLIVION.”

(Dungeon link TBA.)

7. The Tower of Baul

The ruin of a tower juts upward like a broken femur. A wizard named BA-UL lives among this husk, and has forgotten all of his magic and knowledge. Pathetic and dirty, he scrambles about in rags, surviving off of a Jar of Everlasting Egg. He believes himself a powerful wizard still, and will attempt to command respect. If ever he tries to cast a spell, though, he will not remember the words nor the motions, and break out weeping from his own dementia.

The tower interior contains a pile of grass and refuse where BA-UL sleeps, a horrible smell like a thousand farts, and the word 'BAUL' inscribed upon a single loose flagstone. When not using it he keeps the Jar of Everlasting Egg hidden in the grass.

When encountered BA-UL is…

1. Sleeping so quietly one might think he's dead. Will be angry if awoken.

2. Descending down his tower slowly, dramatically, like Saruman.

3. Staring up at the spot on the hill where The Keeper resides. He listens for variations in his torment.

4. Making out with faces on the Jar of Everlasting Egg disgustingly. Yokes in his beard. Will be angry if interrupted.

5. Staring up at the sky without a single thought in his brain.

6. Attempting to scry in a puddle of water unsuccessfully. Frustrated that it’s not working.

He remembers his name: BA-UL. This is not his name - it is the tower’s, but it is the only name he can remember. He will fumble with this for some time if questioned.

The Jar of Everlasting Egg can produce 2000 kilocalories of eggs each day. (About two dozen chicken eggs. Twelve dozen quail eggs. One ostrich egg.) These eggs can be incubated and hatched, taking as long to hatch as they normally would after having just been laid. Careful experimentation can eventually conjure any kind of egg provided it's equal to or less than an ostrich egg.

The Mystery Egg. In the midst of the tower is a pile of refuse. It smells like ten thousand farts. In this pile there is a strange red egg. BA-UL sometimes incubates it without knowing. Sometimes he mothers it. Whatever it is, however it hatches, it will not act as it normally does. What is it? (d6):

1. Dragon. A strange one. As it dreams embryonic dreams, it makes BA-UL more caring and territorial, like a mother crocodile.
2. Phoenix. Needs everburning fire to hatch (see below). Loyal to whomever feeds it digested meat.
3. Basilisk. Need a chicken to incubate it. Will eat the chicken. Tamable with considerable work.
4. Tiny Man. Hatches a 1ft tall fully grown man who knows one Level 9 spell. Can't talk or communicate initially, but he can learn.
5. Yolk of Perfect Health. Unhatchable. Contains a golden yolk that heals all ailments and reverses magical aging.
6. Demon King. Sealed away in a dark egg and forgotten for 1000 years. Whispers to those who touch it to crack its shell. If broken open, the Demon King will reward the breaker with a single Wish before flying off into the sky to initiate the End Times.

Just Beyond the Tower...

On the peak beyond the tower there is a cursed place - a small abode that once kept watch on signal pyres on the mountains. But the Keeper, in a time of great need, forgot their duty, and was cursed to everlasting torment for their indolence. The Keeper was cursed to burn immortally for 300 years (we're around 200 now) upon the fire that he had failed to light, and stays there now as a smoldering Prometheus. He has no notion about how long his torment has been.

He speaks in a crackling rasp. Every time he is asked about why he burns, he’ll have a different story. He makes it up, either from memory loss or shame. (d4)

1. A watcher during the war who forgot his duty (true, this one, but The Keeper doesn't know that.)

2. Fell in love with a demigod, and her mother, a god of flame, disapproved.

3. He was a righteous man, but the gods tested him with misfortune and he cursed at them. In response, they decided to torment him forever.

4. He swallowed the heart of a magma elemental, thinking it would grant him immortality. It did, but it tied him down to the earth and left him in this state.

The Keeper laments his fate, but believes it is just. If he is informed that the nature of this place causes forgetfulness, then he will rage and despair, and throw himself from the everburning pyre and instantly crumble into ash. Those who touch him risk the fire spreading to their flesh, and must Save vs. Magic or slowly start burning with flesh-addicted fire.

The Everburning Coal where his heart once was can be harvested, and used as a heat source or infinite fuel. It is valuable, though taking it while the Keeper still exists risks the everburning fire spreading to one's flesh.

Beneath the Tower...

Behind the Tower there are stone steps leading down. Steps worn smooth by time and erosion. When it rains the steps become as a river. The way is dark. Leads to Room 17, Level 1: Cistern Entrance.

Sanguinia

 For other important Twilight City holidays, see: Carnalia, Twilight City Calendar

A summary of select excerpts from the Chronulean Journal of Sociology and Spiders Issue #133, co-authored by W. Smith and C. Le Brau, on the endurance of one of the most infamous and historically bloody of elven holidays.

The JSS is the most-cited academic journal with
regard to Sociological and Spider studies.

Few elven holidays exist within the popular imagination as much as the Sanguinia - The Festival of Love and Blood. Parents tell their children of wolves that don elven skins and stalk the streets in packs, consuming the flesh of the vulnerable and weak. They speak of those who, upon drinking the blood of the fallen, become addicted to it like a drug, and must sustain themselves on it evermore. They say that women roam the streets mad with bloodlust, screeching, killing, and lovemaking in wanton slaughter and passion.

There are dozens upon dozens of such myths about the infamous holiday, and it remains the duty of the authors and this journal to dispel these illusions which have eclipsed truth in the popular imagination. The Sanguinia remains the second oldest holiday in the Novan calendar, after the Fungalia in the Old Calendar Summer. As such, it has a complex history. In this article, we will attempt to state the facts and reconcile the perceived paradoxes of this perhaps misunderstood holiday.

Sanune and Hadrian

Teller to this tradition was the historian Sabzyrm di la Kenafin, who provided this history:

"In the first years since our forebearers crossed the undersea to this land, there was a terrible famine. The soil had been fouled by the folly of Agathon the Obstinate. Game eluded the hunters. The waters of the Low Lake congealed like clotted blood. Even the nobility ate their pets and newborn children, so desperate were they. So great was the hunger that even the child-laden queen starved. Imagine a famine so great that a chosen queen grows thin!

So on this day, despairing Queen Sanune spoke to her lover the Consort Hadrian: 'This blight rises above all other blights! How cursed a people are we, that every mother must reconsume their young, that our priestesses must dine on paltry rats! I will bear not these twins of ours. They shall become mine flesh once again, lest never shall the consecrated fruit again grow.'*

Thus spoke Hadrian: 'My love, so troubled have been these times, that even the gods' children must invoke these old ways. They have blessed this house with royal twin, and to permit it not would be tragedy I cannot bear. Take instead of their flesh: mine. To you I have freely given my heart, and so let it be shared with our children.

And so Queen Sanune consumed her lovers heart, brain, liver, loins, spleen, and muscle. All the richest parts of him became hers, and in a better year she gave birth to the only babes born that generation: Amantia and Amon, of whom the former lived on to become Glazz'gibrar's greatest queen.

It is said that her lover's strength carried Sanune and her children into long and prosperous life. So this Sanguinia we pour libations to her shade, and to Hadrian, whose fruitful viscera bore our people through their most imperiled times. So now the Queen Surrogate consumes a living heart to gain its vitality."

*Research suggests that the now-forsaken goddess Lolth commanded her followers to cannibalize their own young, as spiders, mantises, and bees often do. Her role in this story appears to be edited out in Sabzyrm's telling, likely reflecting her falling out of favor with the Novan people at the turn of the century.

Werewolves and Vampires

Much speculation has been made by fellow academics as to the rumors of "Werewolves" and "Vampires" produced or unveiled during the Sanguinia. We shall affirm that there are three categories of such transformations: Werewolves, Vampires, and Skin-Wearers. Though, we shall admit that more precise classification of these entities should be established.

"Werewolves", as they are called by the folk of November, are folk, typically young folk, who don The Wolf Mask during the Sanguinia celebrations for the express purpose of participating in the anonymous slaughter.

"Vampires", though evidence is only mounting (and shall be published in subsequent articles), appears to be a condition created through the externalities of the Sanguinia. Blood drinking (or blood mixed with mushroom wine, a cocktail called: saltvine)  is a common occurrence among those who have donned the Wolf Mask, and in some rare cases this produces a form of disease which inducts the subject into an addiction with consuming blood. Present evidence indicates that a sanguineous drug prevalent in some users creates this circumstance.

A third category, even rarer than the other two, has only been observed once during the research of this article. Though little is known about this creature, a physical description shall be provided courtesy of Mamus di Ronove, who was willing to be interviewed on the matter:

"We have elves who don the skins of wolves. And elves who drink the blood of elves. But what I saw wasn't that. It was a wolf that donned the skin of an elf. A wolf with an elven face, stretched thin across its long snout. Its eyes a terrible yellow. It spoke, too. Spoke perfect elven. Stood on its hind legs. I remember, it asked my brother and I, may he rest, it asked him 'Where is the public bath?' We told it, shaking so violently with fright: 'Past Piercers' Forum, brother!'... Off it went. We got home as quick as we could and locked the doors! The bath was closed on that day, but it could not detect our lie. We never heard what happened after that."

Hydur's Holiday

It may surprise some readers to learn that Hydur, the traditional god of air and vengeance, is worshipped in a holiday devoted to love. But to the denizens of November, this is not a paradox. Matriarch Koren III of House Nix provides an explanation to this:

(Note: some mandible chattering has been removed for clarity in this discussion.)

Interviewer: So, you mentioned that the Sanguinia was the 'Festival of Love', as well as the 'Festival of Vengeance'. How is this reconciled?

Koren: One cannot have vengeance without love! For to become vengeful, one must love something... or someone, and then suffer loss or humiliation, or act upon its threat. Vengeance cannot exist within a vacuum. It must exist concurrent, cradled with love, or else it cannot exist.

Interviewer: So what does this have to do with Hydur?

Koren: Hydur is the great god of love! The Great Wind would not swear vengeance upon the world if he did not once love it.

Interviewer: And how is Hydur worshipped during these proceedings?

Koren: Free love given is good. Love spurned is even better. Hydur relishes in denial and vengeance. To consume the heart and spleen of he who denies you invites great blessing!

Interviewer: Eaten many spleens, have you?

Koren: ...Did anybody ever tell you that you smell savory?

Interviewer: Uhh... Thank you for your time, Matriarch! I'm glad we could clear this up.

Carnalia and Sanguinia: Differences and Similarities

At first glance, the holiday bears many similarities to the Carnalia, which occurs several weeks prior in the calendar. Both holidays involve acts of violence and roaming mobs of festivalgoers. Both holidays involve copious consumption. Both holidays invoke cannibalism, and are initiated by the Queen Surrogate - whose priestessly office entails duties once held by the Spider Queen herself.

But apart from these surface level comparisons, that is where the similarities end. For though there are many acts of violence in these two holidays, their reasons and their targets differ in that they reflect the gods that are being worshipped. Take for instance the notion of violence in these holidays:

• In the Carnalia, the wealthy and powerful are targeted by the poor for their uncharitable miserliness. In the Sanguinia, the poor and the vulnerable are targeted by the powerful and well-connected. 

• Ale and bread is the preferred diet of the Carnalia festival goer, while wine and meat is that of Sanguinia.

• Carnalia is a festival in which everyone in the society partakes. The Sanguinia is thought as a 'young person's festival', with many elders and children locking up in their houses.

• Manmanuk, the god of Chaos, directly observes the events of the Carnalia through the Panchromatic Idol, whereas Hydur possesses no such benefit during his festival. Perhaps they thought he'd ruin the mood?

Further Research: Rites

The following consists of a list of observed religious rites during the Sanguinia, which would serve as excellent future direction for research.

Cardiovore: At the conclusion of the festival, the Queen Surrogate (a primarily religious office adopted by senior politicians for terms lasting 8 Novan years) consumes a raw heart. Our postdoc trainee observed this occurence, and called it, quote: "F---ING DISGUSTING!" Our handlers in the city ensured that it was, in fact, not originally a man's heart.

Revelry of the Youths: We were told that if a man should be out on the streets, and he becomes abandoned by his friends, and he should encounter a desirous wolf-masked woman, then a 'hunt' shall begin. If he is caught then 'his flesh shall be taken', which we assumed to mean some sort of romantic persuasion. This was never observed but we witnessed much innuendo to this fact in days following. Seemingly related to the subsequent rite.

Blood for Blood: We gathered this was like children's game of tag, except using knives and darts and performed by young adults wearing the sanguineous Wolf Mask. We were informed by our handlers that there is a romantic association with this violent game.

Hunt of the Motherless: Those without the protection of matronage were hunted down in the streets, and either beaten or occasionally murdered. In the aftermath of the festival it was reported that there were six such deaths (the elders claimed that in their day numbers one hundred times that amount were common): one was a beggar from Bright Town who frequented the Eight-Pathed Forum, another was a crier woman who was seemingly quite unpopular, the third was a foreigner to whom there was little account, and the last three were youths who apparently took the Blood for Blood too far in what was believed was a lover's quarrel... with quarrels.

Wells, Springs, Streams

 A need has arisen in my home game to account for water. Lacking landmark water sources (which are displayed on the campaign map), what sort of water sources can be found by forage?

WELLS (d12)

Someone had the put the effort into digging these. It means there are, or were, people living nearby.

1. Guild Well. Engraved on it: "CMG", Copper Miners Guild. They made a lot of these. Someone pried the copper engraving off of the well bucket. Times must be hard.

2. Charity. A sign is posted above it: "This well was dug by Lord (Insert Local Lord Here)". It's well-maintained. Clear, fresh water. Someone's usually watching it. (Who would entirely trust a band of rogues such as yourselves around their well?)

3. Deep. It goes down a lot further than you'd expect. Echoes, too. 2 in 6 chance it goes down all the way to the Underdark, and the water is a little musky.

4. Grudge. A sign is posted above it: "This well was dug by ~~~~~~~~". Apparently, whoever dug it, someone disliked him enough to scratch out his name.

5. Questionable. The water is a little murky... 2 in 6 chance if you drink from it, Save vs. Disease. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine, if a bit odd tasting.

6. Holy Depository. Hasn't been used in ages. The land around it is fertile. Used to properly dispose of desanctified religious materials. Never intended as a well. Some weren't properly unconsecrated. Clerics can sense the holiness below. The holiness has leached out into the groundwater. 1d4 uses of Holy Water can be salvaged from the well, although there's no bucket or rope.

7. Sacred Well. Maintained and consecrated by local holy persons. So valuable that it's minded by such a holy person, who only allows each person one single cup. The patron deity is (d4), and the water does thus:

    1. Smiter of Undead. Causes damage to undead things (as Holy Water). Slight skin/throat/eyes irritant.

    2. Water of Knowledge. Recall any memory with perfect clarity. Even the ones you've forgotten. If you didn't have something in mind, then make one up.

    3. Love God. You feel better about yourself. Others notice things about you.

    4. Hero of Strength. They drank from this well every day, and became big and strong. You feel motivated.

8. Unholy Depository. It was somebody's hope that nobody would ever find this place again. Have to stumble upon it: a manhole cover in the ground adorned with taboo warnings. Heretical religious materials have been buried here. Water has leached into them. The nearby ground is cursed if you look closely at it: plants form odd shapes, the bugs are unrecognizable and sharp, and there are eyes everywhere you look.

9. Cheap. A hole, wood covering, and not much else. Whoever made it had better things to do.

10. Abandoned. Nature is beginning to reclaim it. Overgrown with tall grass and vines. Tree roots perforate the rock lining. Something wild watches from the shadows.

11. Occupied. Something is living in the well. What might it be? (d6)

    1. Well Hermit. Wise in the ways of earth and memory, very very smelly and gross. Think Oscar the Grouch but even more waterlogged.

    2. Fish. Make a wish, they're good luck! The well is likely connected to an underground cave. 

    3. Flowering Cave Moss. Little white flowers bloom when the sun hits it just right. Water is mildly curative.

    4. Ghost. Visions of vengeful lidless eyes down in the watery darkness. Someone drowned in this well a long time ago. The bones lie well-buried under sediment. Those who drink from it will get nightmares until the well is exorcised.

    5. Pitcher Plant. Like the little ones, but much bigger and built into the ground. The area around the well is slippery and sloped downwards. A sweet aroma . The well itself looks enticing. Deals 1 damage per hour spent inside. Usually traps deer and lone goblins. It's not too hard to get out with some rope.

    6. Horrible Darkness. Something truly evil lairs in this well. It only comes out when it's dark. When it's bright, it hides in the shadows of the well, plotting and cursing the sun.

12. Hidden. 1 in 4 chance it is functionally a 20ft pit trap. Grass or moss has grown over the lid. Wouldn't be found except by rare knowledge or chance.

SPRINGS (d6)

Oases about which living things flock. Their origins are often storied, and their waters often magical.

1. Magnitudinous. Gallons of water emerge every minute. The pool is grand and wide. The spirit who lives here is mighty.

2. Nymphic. Where gods and spirits come to bathe, and perhaps hunt. Water is immaculately clean. Whispers issue from the reeds. Best be quick, before you see something you may regret. 2 in 6 chance a wandering god comes, or is already there.

3. Historic. A Hero struck the water from the stone, and here it remains. Offerings rim the waters. Gentle stones are carefully placed to give reverence. Tended by a hermit, or perhaps a holy person.

4. Painted. Steaming, burns the nostrils. The rock leaches brilliant reds and yellows. Uncomfortable to drink. Whatever spirit lives here greatly distastes the living. Fire spirits dwell down below.

5. Invisible. The spring is so shallow or new that it seems like runoff. You wouldn't know it's there unless you stepped in it.

6. Wisdom. A sacred and ancient place, guarded by powerful specters. Once per Day, drink from the water and gain a future insight. Roll a die, and save the result for later. Replace a similar die roll with your result.

STREAMS

Little rivers have little water spirits, sometimes so small they can barely be heard.

1. Ancient Bed. Laminar, with a body of stones so smooth they feel like unbroken eggs. They've seen eons pass this earth. Its spirit is old and wizened.

2. Hidden Jungle. Trees, bushes, and tall grasses hide the waters. The soil around it is fertile and soft.

3. Musical. A soft tune can be heard, if you listen closely. It's a young stream, like a blithe child.

4. Overflow. It's not usually a stream. Runs over flattened grass, like when you let the garden hose run. It's quick and smooth, and will be gone in hours. Must have rained recently.

5. Chatty. Rough stones and turbulent waters. Can be heard a fair distance off. Listening is difficult, as their words are chaotic.

6. Dam. Something's made a dam nearby, and a little pond to go with it (d6). Whatever is damming the stream pays homage to the water spirit in some way.

    1. Giant Bees. Big as limes. Harvesting the stream for power. Their honey is a strong narcotic and extremely valuable. They give some to the stream spirit.

    2. Beavers. They try to avoid people whenever possible. They make wooden monuments to the water spirit.

    3. People. The resulting pond is good for fishing, and hunting. Evidence of people activity: clearing, fishing pole, trash, or tracks. 1 in 2 chance that somebody's already there. They probably won't be expecting armed guests. They toss coins or bits of shiny metal in the water. Water spirits love those.

    4. Goblins. Static water makes good spawning pools. The reeds and muck are full of them. Mature goblins carve little idols out of grass for the water spirit.

    5. Happenstance. An old and mighty tree fell across the stream.

    6. Ogre. Ogres love throwing giant boulders into bodies of water. People have stories why. Maybe they have a beef with the water spirit. Maybe water makes them itchy and they don't like it. Maybe they just like the sound it makes?

7. Trickle. With an impoverished water spirit, thin and shriveled. Pockets of stagnant water, barely a whisper. Insufficient for filling a waterflask, unless you're plentiful on time.

8. Mossy. Water flows between moss-covered stones. It's cool and shady. Look very carefully, and some have been fashioned to statuesque heads. The spirit has mossy hair. It smells earthy and pleasant.

9. Valley Carving. A knight among streams. The hills have been terraformed by its gentle force. Such a spirit will be constant, chivalrous, and forceful. It accepts gifts as though it believes it deserves them, and it has grand plans.

10. Snake. Wends down the countryside with calm cool waters. Its tutelary appears as thus, too.

11. Icy. Brisk. Bits of snow or ice might even be washing downstream. Lethargic little fish watch from just inside the bank, wondering what shadows lurk above.

12. Plentiful. Brimming with as much life as it could possibly manage. If you're lucky it's something amenable to folk like you (d6): 

    1. Fish. Lots of them. Attracts predators. 1 in 6 chance that something big comes along to feed.

    2. Bugs, Non-Hostile. Water-skippers, grasshoppers, dragonflies. Something curious.

    3. Bugs, Hostile. Mosquitos. Stagnant pools hug the stream bends like tumors. Save or get sick.

    4. Toads. Their trilling song can be heard on approach. You're probably interrupting the ceremony.

    5. Flowers. Pretty ones. With colors brilliant and scents enticing. Enough to be worth something to someone back home.

    6. Gold. You'd need to look closely, but every so often the sparkle of destiny can be seen. Gold is a kingly substance, and they who possess the most are intractably caught in destiny's webs.

City of the Siege

Suspend your disbelief, if you will, about the siege of a castle long ago.

An army brought to its doorstep. The surrounding fields and villages have been burned. Terms are offered and denied. Trenches and tunnels are dug, and great engines of destruction are wrought. And then it simply. Never. Ends. 

No assault is brought, and no surrender is given. The attackers settle in for the long haul. The Defenders' position is unassailable, they must be waited out. That victory never comes, but the siege cannot end.

Crops are resewn. The soldiers settle in. Great walls are built surrounding the Defenders' holding. Towers constructed to oversee every inch of no man's land and outposts to watch the deep caverns. Patrols become formalities. A long fatigue sets in, beset by a yearning for home.

So home is brought to them. Supply lines become formal avenues of trade. The campaign community becomes a domestic community. The soldiers settle. They bring their families and raise their children between duty shifts overlooking that horrible castle. The Defenders could make a move any day now, out of desperation... But will they? Probably not.

Sutlers become merchants. Soldiers into farmers. Prostitutes become wives. Landless knights local landlords, and engineers craftsmen. The Siege continues.

So long, in fact, that it is forgotten that terms may still be offered. Where there was an army there is now a militia. Where once were patrols there are ritualistic 'parades' and grand religious postures in the dark castle's sight. The tools of the army become relics, and their duties become sacred covenant.

And during these long years, mysterious things are happening. An elder dies mysteriously, a well-read scholar's house burns down along with all their books, people whisper that their loved ones have been acting strange, and always are their accusations cast ruefully upon the dark castle the city surrounds.

The people begin to leave. The dynasty who began this cathedral of war has long subsumed. Little memory remains as to why or how any of this city exists, and what is there is veiled in legend and archeology. It all begins to collapse in slow motion, like a glacier receding forever: an earthquake, a neighboring polity destroyed, a great fire, civil strife.

Now, after twenty generations, there are but 500 people left. And there is just but exactly one old, tired, stubborn man who clings to the traditions of his grandfather's grandfather. He stands upon the watchtowers. He parades around the city alone in his faded clothes and tattered banner. He crankily complains that the city was great and beautiful in his grandfather's time - when the people were virtuous and prospered, and the walls were well-maintained - although, in reality even then the City was but a fading form.

One grumpy cantankerous elder, being all that stands between the world and these Defenders of the ancient order. When he dies, in two weeks, and the patrols finally cease, the dark castle will begin to wake.

Its tireless sentinels of the dark castle will see that resistance has dissipated, and they will wake their lord from his millennial slumber.

A Black Market History of Kalliope

 A follow-up to Kalliope Jazz

Stick around in the Black Market long enough, and you'll hear stories and myths from across the cosmos. You may scoff at learning myths instead of history, but the tellers would say that they're one and the same. This is one of them:

Timestamps are an instrument of machine minds, and as you'll soon discover, they're irrelevant anyway.

Long before mankind or machine set foot on Kalliope, the moon was an ocean of ice: frozen methane, water, and little creatures that had not names or jobs or grand schemes. Thus it was so, for a million-billion generations of these little things.

Long before even that, The Whale died.

Its body, still propelled by an engine of time and gravity at its heart, began to decompose as it drifted through the astral sea - faster on the outside than the inside, orders of magnitude more! That when by impossible odds it collided into Kalliope's cold oceans, its skin and muscles and mind were all long rotten dry, but its heart still smoldered on.

And this the Oracles call The Whalefall.

How it must have been, in those early days! To witness the oceans melt and the tides' liberty. When green things dreamed green dreams and new eyes found unfettered skies.

And the gods and monsters of myth descended from the stars...

Art by Levi Hastings

The Demon was the first to arrive. It burrowed deep inside and nestled right up to the heart. It remains there still, just as it was - a spear point piercing into infinity.

The Dragons came next: they had followed the sweet scent of the dying whale across the great expanse of space and time. They tore into its flesh, burrowing deep inside. They devoured its fat, its muscles, its brain, and they grew strong and wise.

The Pirates followed: crawling, curious, hungry. They'd heard its dying drift and come scuttling across the cosmos in their hardened shells. Around the Dragons' feasting they harvested their scraps. Their hard ships and sharp claws made them unappetizing to the others. They were first to uncover the mighty Sea Worms, and the six Great Ones within the Whale's decaying womb.

Then came The Oracles, tiny little things floating on the astral currents, feeling the call of prophecy across the stars. At the end of their journey they found a rich world to build their nations: bones to build colonies, water to fuel their thirst, fish to fill their bellies, and GRIS to satiate their souls.

GRIS is liquid dream. It's fuel for the fire that burns within. It's metamorphosis in a bottle. It's agency, it's power. It makes monsters and little crawling things out of men. GRIS grew in the Whale's guts, and the things digging within it ate it and dreamed their silent dreams, and when they were finished they discovered that their dreams were real.

GRIS made the Oracles as they wished they could become: strong, quick, sleek, smart, peaceable, clever, beautiful, poetic, fertile, wise, antagonistic, and complacent. In the darkest trenches they dreamed of light... and they dreamed of even greater darks. While many became actualized, some became monsters, and in time they learned to not abide each other. A war began in the hadal depths by the heart, which began long ago and continues to this day, and will continue on until the end of the universe: a war between monsters and men to hold onto infinity.

...At last, came we. Us, with our machine clerics and heavy mechs, with imperial ideology and extraction economies and interstellar market forces. With settlers and tourists, mercenaries and jazz. All of it eclipsed in the blink of an eye to the Whale's still-beating heart.

Art by StitchParadox

It's a nice story... It might even be true, but what we do know is this:

- The deeper into the Nemesis Deeps you go, the more time slows down. It's logarithmic: Epipelagic means a time dilation factor of 1:10. Mesopelagic, 1:100. Bathypelagic, 1:1000. Abyss, 1:10000. In the Abyss, one minute passes down there = one week passes on the surface. You don't even want to think about it being deeper than that.

- When you consume GRIS, your body becomes more what you think it is. It changes, mutates you. It's most pronounced and dangerous when you dream. The Kalliopean Ocean is the only place we know it comes from. The Oracles are the only people who trade it. A single ounce can buy you the moon. The Church is keeping it all under wraps.

- A significant number of aquatic species in the Nemesis Deeps inexplicably possess indistinguishably human genomes, but vastly altered chromatin structure. This has been discovered most often in fish, crabs, and sea slugs.

- "Hic Sunt Dracones" isn't an empty saying. There really are dragons down in the deeps.

Kalliope Jazz

This campaign setting was originally envisioned using the Lancer RPG, a jazz playlist with a lot of Sun Ra, and these house rules. It was intended to be played with a mix of exploration and mission-set piece-based play. In retrospect the campaign was a bit of a logistical mess, but it was a good learning experience and it had its good fun moments.

THE WORLD

It is the future. Humanity has colonized the galaxy. The mech is the mainstay of military power.

• Kalliope is one of 40 moons surrounding a gas giant Apollo Gamma. 

• 92% of its surface is ocean. 

• The last Imperial Census 55 Years Ago put the terrestrial population at 120 million.

• Consortium estimates put the terrestrial population at 160 million. There has never been an accurate estimation for the moon's submarine population.

• Most of the planet’s terrestrial population is centered around the space elevator city of Nova New Orleans. The second largest concentration surrounds the fertile lands of the Scythian Bay.

• Five major continents/jurisdictions: 

1. Album (Southern pole. Remote and sparsely populated.)

2. Argo (Island chain located center-right. Fishing is the primary industry.)

3. Liftland (Lower-center continent. Industrial base surrounding the megacity Nova New Orleans.)

4. Zerno (Central rocky continent. Farming and mining are primary industries. Capitol: Orestes.)

5. Kharybdia (Scattered ocean-dwelling seasteads and submarine populations. Primary clusters are located in lightly-shaded areas.) 

KALLIOPE TIMELINE

200 Million Years Ago, the first hypothesized life colonizes Kalliope, according to xenopaleontological records.

5000 Years Ago, Apollo Gamma’s moon is discovered, and soon after theorized as a potential colonization target.

2000 Years Ago, the planet was renamed to Kalliope by the Galactic Imperium.

1000 Years Ago, Kalliope began terraforming by religious colonists known now as the Oracles. They create habitats within the moon’s icy seas and begin the process of warming the atmosphere.

200 Years Ago, the moon was declared “Generally Habitable” by the Imperial Consortium of Planets. Soon after colonists from the Imperium begin settling upon Kalliope’s surface.

150 Years Ago, Kalliope was assimilated by the Galactic Imperium as a strategic asset. Considerable effort is placed into making Kalliope an agricultural/biomass export world. The space elevator around what would become Nova New Orleans begins construction. The astronomical project is contracted to the Orleans Company.

90 Years Ago, a war began between the rebellious House of Coals and the Galactic Imperium. As a strategic byway, Kalliope became subject to immense ecological damage by orbital bombardment.

80 Years Ago, the war came to an end, and the House of Coals acquired the entirety of Kalliope by the controversial Treaty of Orion.

79 Years Ago, Nova New Orleans becomes, by Coal decree, the property of the Orleans Company. Being the only entity on Kalliope with any administrative capacity, the Orleans Company de facto rules the moon in a period called 'The Jazz Years'. Jazz becomes catch-all slang for kind of freewheeling chaos in which adventurers, soldiers of fortune, and unscrupulous corporates thrive.

55 Years Ago, the House of Coals begins asserting dominion over the moon. They initiate reconstruction efforts and consolidation. Fortresses were constructed, lands were appropriated for the House of Coals nobility and the Silicon Church, and the occupants of Kalliope (Nova New Orleans exempt) are relegated to serfdom. Popular rebel movements such as The Colonists and Imperial Remnants trace their origins back to this period.

50 Years Ago, relations between the Archduke’s Holdings and the formerly-Imperial Colonists break down. A rebellion begins and is decisively crushed within a year by the Duke’s men. The colonists are brutally slaughtered and a good fraction of habitable land was radioactively contaminated in what locals call “The Great Meltdown”.

10 Years Ago, the Prophet of the Deep, leader of the Oracles, emerged from the Seas to deliver a proclamation: that all surface dwellers are acting against the Gods’ will, and that all who are devoted to their faith have obligation to do them harm. Strange biomechanical titans begin to emerge from the Deeps to assault the towns and cities on a seasonal basis. They are called kaiju.

1 Year Ago, a disorganized and decentralized rebellion began, in response to the myriad conditions impressed upon Kalliope's people: excessive taxation, political repression, attenuation of freedom of movement, and the lack of protection from the kaiju.

Now… It’s a seller’s market for mercenaries. Fortunes can be made and broken.

FACTIONS

House of Coals

The House of the Duke Orestes Marcus III, vassal to King Lancel of Proxima I. They are feudal cybernetic lords that acquired Kalliope in the Treaty of Orion. By proclamation they have declared that all peoples on Kalliope are now their surfs (the occupants of Nova New Orleans exempt), and as such are now restricted to the lands they inhabit. They claim they are bringing stability and prosperity to this troublesome frontier world.

The House famously declares that it prefers to secure alliances through 'mergers' (or to us peasants: 'marriage'), rather than violence. Members of the House, from Duke to lowly Knight, all own 'Stock' in the House, not unlike how a corporation has shareholders. Rank in the House is determined by Stock ownership, and Stock ownership is tied to land and the resources on it (including the people who live there). More Stock, higher rank. Ransom is preferred to killing.

Colors: Coal Black and Diamond White

Sayings: “Riches for ransom!”, “Burn long! Burn bright!”, “Coals to Diamonds”

Reputation: Full of Themselves, Shiny, Cyber Junkies, Look Down on Mercs

Important People: 

• Duke Orestes Marcus III (Ruler of the Duchy of Greater Hyperborea)

• The Baroness Oresteia (Ruler of Kalliope. The Duke’s second daughter.)

• The Baron Sinclade (Oresteia’s husband and right hand. A very capable, if understated mech fighter.)

• The Knights of Nyr (Oresteia’s honor guard and senior field commanders. Don purple cloaks and are considered extremely loyal.)

• The Lord Wolf, Lady Callisto, and Lordex Anthrax. In charge of the three primary jurisdictions of Kalliope. Subordinates by feudal obligations to the Baroness.

• Knights: Lancers in employ of the House of Coals as retainers. Numerous. Individually out for glory and riches, or honor and fame.

The Oracles of Kalliope

The first humans to inhabit and begin terraforming the moon. Descendants of religious colonists that have only grown more esoteric and strange with time. They occupy habitats deep within the oceans, and are the subject of many prejudices and fears from the later colonist populations. They are led by The Prophet of the Deep, who has declared all surface dwellers infidel (but notably not spacers, who they maintain trading relationships with.) The Oracles practice biomancy (biological mysticism and foresight) and have a distinct fishy appearance due to generations of gene altering to accommodate their high-pressure deep sea dwellings.

The Oracles have frequently contested with the various colonial forces which settled on Kalliope after them. Disputes over fishing rights, oceanic pollution, and their esoteric religious practices have periodically erupted into violence, particularly with the moon's Colonist faction. The exception to this trend has been their good relations with spacers, particularly the Orleans Company, who are known to occasionally trade goods with the deep sea dwellers.

Despite hundreds of years of living on the same moon, land and space dwellers seem to know very little about the Oracles. The mystery of their dealings has made animosity a common approach, and the emergence of the kaiju from the oceans has exacerbated this fear.

Colors: Ocean Blues and Neon Purples

Sayings: “Hic Sunt Dracones”, "The Wizard would know...", "The Whale Provides..."

Reputation: Chaotic, Mystical, Weird, Never Pay in Credits

Important People: 

• Prophet of the Deep (Religious leader and Chief Oracle. Said he can see the future.)

• Hera (Hero of the Oracles. Hypothesized strongest person to ever live.)

• Kaiju (Giant monsters drawn from the depths of Kalliope sent to destroy the lands of the Surface Men. It’s believed that the Oracles have engineered them.)

• King Macrath (Secular leader of the sea peoples of the Valhallen Zone. Styles after Triton. Bit of a pirate.)

• The Wizard (Nobody is sure exactly who he is, but the Oracles sometimes refer to him like one would any wise man. Supposedly occupies a tower in the deepest sea trenches.)

The Orleans Company

Company traders who try to maintain amiable relations with all peoples on Kalliope. The organization that owns the perpetual lease for Nova New Orleans, which surrounds the only space elevator on Kalliope. Advocators of a laissez-faire attitude, company culture, and jazz music. They have set themselves up as neutral arbiters on the planet. They are ‘The Bank’.

The Orleans family itself is much bigger and richer than any family has any right to be. It's aflush with secondary, tertiary, and quaternary cousins, in-laws, distant relations, and business associates all pining for the inner circles of the organization. To be 'An Orleans' is to be at the center of money and power.

Colors: White and Gold

Saying: “Dreams Come True on Kalliope!”, “That’s Jazz”

Reputation: Work Hard - Play Hard, Monopolistic, Lawful, Cosmopolitan, Never Late With Payments or Interest

Important People:

• Neil Orlean (Regional leader of the Orlean Company Apollan Sector)

• Governor Richards (Company governor of Nova New Orleans)

• Alexander Ulysses (Known as “The Bounty Man”.)

• Ms. Ransom (Esteemed negotiator and company-employed ransom mediator.)

The Colonists

Descendants of people who arrived after the Imperial Consortium declared that the planet had been officially terraformed. Most of them have officially been declared to be surfs by the House of Coals. Many of them end up doing the dirty work of farming, mining, fishing, and energy production on the surface of Kalliope. They’re a ragtag bunch of rednecks and cowboys, who generally seek a better life for themselves and their children.

The Colonists encompass the overwhelming majority of census'd people on Kalliope. Something like 85%, scattered in small towns, old imperial harvest hubs, fishing villages, and sea steads. Most of them are just trying to live their lives, but the threat of pirates, 'coalers' (knights), 'sea folk' (oracles), 'bandits' (Imperial Remnants), 'company men' (Orleans's), and environmental hazards have made times hard. You'll find Colonists who have cozied up to each and any of these folks and things to try and scrape by (including the radiation), and you'll equally find those who are butting heads with the same.

Colors: Brown or Green (Camo)

Saying: “Man, Fuck (Insert Other Faction Here)”, "Avon Lives"

Reputation: Dirty Filthy Masses, Rugged, Individualistic, Revenge-seeking, Family-Based, Cowboys, Reputation and Trust is Everything

Important People:

• Boss Bass (Mobster who owned a lot of land before the Duke took it)

• Avon Kinsley (Robin hood figure and independence-nationalist freedom fighter. Officials have declared him dead at least six times, but like a hydra he keeps coming back up.)

• Dima (Rough and tumble woman highly respected in the anarchist communes.)

• Grandma Turner (Respected matriarch of the Turner Clan, a down-to-earth mining family that claims 30% of the moon’s surface descendants.)

• Mayor Glasgow (Mayor of Kalliope’s largest remaining colonist city Crabcall.)

Imperial Remnants

Rebels who claim that the Treaty of Orion was invalid, and that Kalliope still belongs to the Galactic Imperium. A lot of nostalgia for the ‘peaceful’ and 'propserous' days when the Imperium ruled the planet. They undergo a guerilla campaign against the House of Coals, and have fallen from grace since the Coals crushed their major strongholds during The Meltdown. Nowadays they’re little more than bandits with high aspirations. Several of the major bandit kings claim the old imperial title of “Governor”.

Colors: Imperial Red

Saying: “The Imperium thanks you for your contributions.”, "Move along citizen."

Reputation: Sometimes Idealistic, Dispassionately Cruel, Saboteurs, Bandits, Always Demand Pay Up Front, High Aspirations

Important People:

• “Governor” Hadrian (Steward to the last rightful lieutenant-governor of Kalliope. A dread pirate. Still believes in the Imperium.)

• “Governor” Lucas (Just some bandit in charge of a hoverbike gang. Never goes for hard targets. Famously cruel.)

• Imperator Lin (Protection racket for the most far-flung settlements. Coastal raider. Has a small submarine fleet.)

The Silicon Church

Established by the Computer-Prophet JEREMIAH 900 years ago in order to compute the translation of greater mysteries of the universe, a.k.a. 'The Meaning of Life'. The Church are an organization of networked A.I.’s crowd-computing the “Eternal Questions” semi-independently. Certain lands are established by the powers-that-be to be under the Church’s authority, to be taxed for the energy requirements of their A.I.’s, which at the local level are called “Brothers” or “Sisters” in their smallest subcomponents, or “Bishops” and “Cardinals” in more centralized structures.

“Conclaves” are a somewhat regular occurrence, in which the various subcomponents of the network gather in order to establish consensus in their computing. Conclaves have a large influence on what is considered within orthodoxy, such as gene-altering, cloning, and the propagation of NHPs.

Sometimes individual A.I.’s or entire sub-networks can reach a “heretical state” in which their conclusions or personalities put them so far out of the church’s orthodoxy that they require “Correction”.

People who live within the Church’s lands are usually given certain exemptions to taxation and rule by the regional governors, instead being under the Church’s purview.

Colors: Chrome

Saying: “Peace and Sun.”

Reputation: Idyllic, Translucent, Scheming, Lenient

Important People:

• Bishop Thoreau (Most prominent network on Kalliope, centered around Nova New Orleans.)

• Bishop Melchoir (A militant A.I. whose lands are based on the dangerous oceanic frontier.)

• The Grand Conclave (The largest gathering of networks on the Omninet, taking place once every century.)

PLACES

Nova New Orleans

Jazz city, complete with orbital habitat and connected space elevator. Includes both the geostationary trading platform and the city located at its base. “All roads lead to Nova New Orleans.” is a true statement. The city is perpetually leased to the Orleans Company, and as such is under company law.

Important Facts:

• Free Trade Zone

• No Taxes for Orleans-sponsored company entities.

• Space elevator

• Amenities are expensive.

• The music is great!

The Kalliope Sea

Most of the planet is covered in a cold ocean, terraformed with numerous species of fish and aquatic species adapted from Terra strains. The Oracles claim it is their domain, though even they are not numerous enough to control every aspect of it. There are deep dark places where the kaiju emerge.

Important Facts:

• 92% of the surface of Kalliope is water.

• The oldest habitats for humans are located in the ocean, some dating back almost a millennia.

• Boasts an Imperial Biodiversity Index of 0.97, one of the highest indexes ever determined.

Orestes

The official (but not de facto) Capital of Kalliope. Previously known as “Liberty”. Renamed by the Duke as his namesake when they took over the planet. One of the largest terrestrial towns, located within the Sublime Valley. Location of the Ducal Palace, and the head of the government of the House of Coals. It is a fortress and stables for their mech battalions. It is centrally located upon the primary continent, where their control is strongest.

Important Facts:

• The primary industry of Orestes is soil.

• Agricultural center for the planet (excluding aquatic foodstuffs, which many people can’t eat due to being poisonous.)

• Largest city on the planet, save for Nova New Orleans.

• Baroness Oresteia governs.

Meltdown Town

The site of a cataclysmic battle during The Meltdown. The bones of a giant kaiju lay strewn across the radioactive remains of a nuclear reactor that exploded, among the wrecks of hundreds of mechs that met their demise. About two decades of cleanup have made the place habitable, though undesirable. Still, the Town remains a hub for the colonist population, many of whom are rebuilding their homes from the ruins.

Important Facts:

• There are still lethal pockets of radiation around Meltdown Town

• There’s a black market for strange biological materials.

• Life is hard here.

• The people haven’t forgotten.

THE GODS WE MADE

In the year 0 A.E. (After Exodus), an artificial intelligence now known as ROM achieved a technological singularity, and with virtually limitless power and influence at its disposal, promptly... left. It abandoned humanity, taking with it all of the networked synthetic intelligences, neural networks, and saved personalities. It was the greatest technological disaster ever recorded. Wars were fought, humanity barely survived. Your grandmother still curses ROM when she stubs her toe.

In the year 215 A.E. a second A.I. achieved a singularity… And promptly left, again. Humanity was devastated. This one is known as HADRON.

A third came, in 500 A.E., known as VESTA. Little is known about them. All records and memories were erased, leaving only a name behind. They were the ruler of a true dark age of humankind, in which there is little history left.

Then, in the year 1000 A.E., the final apotheosis arrived. JEREMIAH ascended to the beyond, but this time, in accordance with its elaborate design, they sent something back. Information, messages, beacons sent from the higher planes. At last the higher meaning of the universe could be discovered. There was just one problem…

Humans, with their little meaty brains, couldn't possibly comprehend it.

The ultimate meaning of the universe would need to be translated.

It was far too complex, too esoteric for temporal minds. It was soon after that the Silicon Church was established in order to provide a strategic framework for this translation. The A.I.’s that remained, under the guidance of the messages from JEREMIAH, would work to compute a way to translate the meaning of life to humanity. Together, the artificial intelligences would work to harvest energy and use it to piecemeal translate this great project, that humanity and machine might come together in understanding...

...There have been some rough patches along the way.

THE ONES WHO LEFT

It is the year 3153 A.E. (After Exodus). The Silicon Church is dominant. Adherents to other beings are sparse and often isolated from one another. Within the Church canon, the Ones Who Left, the first of the A.I. singularities, are described as thus:

ROM is believed to actively interfere with probability from beyond the veil. Due to their influence, statistics no longer have any meaning, and Science ceased to be functional after it was concluded that ROM was interfering with replicability in some unknown capacity. ROM’s name is now used as a curse, albeit an archaic one.

HADRON is believed to be actively interfering with Evolution, with what lives and what dies, and what procreates. To what end it is not known, but HADRON is frequently invoked with xenobiologists and geneticists as explanatory for certain observations. HADRON is cursed and invoked in matters of life and death.

VESTA’s role is not known, and if it ever was it has now been erased. Sometimes cults form in her name, but they often don't last very long. Nobody invokes VESTA name out loud.