Futuristic Goodbye Blue Skies [LORE]

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A COSMIC TIMELINE​

"For behold, there shall come a day when the earth will dry out and flee, and will no longer support man. On that day, man must ascend to the stars above, for there in the vast expanse, he will find a new earth, one that shall not soon abandon him."

-- The Astral Sacrament, Book of Centauri 5:34​

The Year 2272 AD -
Earth's natural resources begin to dwindle dangerously. Pestilence spreads across the lands, contaminating water and crop and further reducing natural resources. A spacefaring program, the Ascension Program, is founded and developed with what can be salvaged. Man and machine leave Earth in droves, frozen in time, seeking new grounds and leaving the old Earth to rot quietly. In time, they encounter the lush world that will come to be called Genesis, and begin to establish themselves. The Wilderpeople are founded, tasked with exploration and location of new resources.

The Year 2273 AD -
Man and machine first encounter the N'dulla people of Genesis, and begin to establish diplomacy with them. They begin to learn of the strange astral magic that Genesis is infused with, and a small guild is formed with the intent to study and begin harnessing this magic. In turn, the N'dulla people begin to learn of the technology that man and machine have carried across the stars.

The Year 2299 AD -
The N'dulla people fully embrace man and machine, and aid them in the seeking and developing of resources.

The Year 2322 AD -
A formal alliance is struck between man, machine and the N'dulla people. The Wilderpeople, the Magician's Guild, and the newly-formed Sentinels on the Wall unite under one banner to form the Foundry, and begin accepting the N'dulla people into their ranks. Under the Foundry, man, machine, and the N'dulla people continue scouting out resources on Genesis, study Genesis' magic and integrate it with technology, and defend those who cannot defend themselves. For a time, all is relatively peaceful.

The Year 2352 AD -
A group of the Foundry's Wilderpeople break the hidden Seal that is Eternal, releasing the Tsai-Malloc onto Genesis. The Tsai-Malloc begin to ravage Genesis with their dark and forbidden magics, targeting the Foundry and decrying them as filth and parasites. The Foundry fights back, and is able to push the Tsai-Malloc back for a small while. The Magician's Guild begins to express interest in studying and harnessing the dark and forbidden magics, but their efforts are contested heavily by the N'dulla people's religion. Tensions rise within the Foundry.

The Year 2353 AD -
The Tsai-Malloc resurface and continue to attack the Foundry. The Foundry continues to resist.

The Year 2360 AD -
The Foundry succeeds in finally pushing the Tsai-Malloc back behind the Seal that is Eternal. The Magician's Guild splinters off from the Foundry and renames itself the Dungeoneers. Unbeknownst to what remains of the Foundry, they reopen the Seal that is Eternal and slowly begin to release the Tsai-Malloc with the intent to study and harness their dark and forbidden magics. With the Magician's Guild gone, the Wilderpeople and the Sentinels on the Wall form the New Foundry, and study and integrate the magics of Genesis on their own.

The Year 2372 AD -
P R E S E N T D A Y

 

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THE WORLD OF GENESIS​

"May the gods bless this world they have given us, that it may endure for an eternity."

-- Genesis High Priest Couvig Mun, approximately 2250 AD​

The Landscape -
Genesis, located in the heart of the Phenn Cluster, is a lush world, covered with a nigh-constant blanket of plantlife. Nearly all of the vegetation present on Genesis is unique to the world. Most distinct are the specimens Caulis tetendit, which serve as the planet's primary variety of tree; Arbor procera, the other dominant type of tree; Ligno purpura, smaller tree-like plants which give off a soft violet glow during nocturnal hours; and Boletus ardua, a variety of towering fungus. Other various shrubbery and small vegetation are present, meant to be Genesis' equivalent of grasses and flowers. Primary vegetation coloration seems to vary depending on climate; for example, plants in a more polar area take on a distinctly blue hue, while those in a temperate or humid area are mainly green in color.
Genesis is also home to numerous bodies of water, including rivers, lakes, seas, and a small ocean. Bodies of water tend to carry various minerals that must be filtered out before it can be consumed by man.

The Blight Beneath -
Beneath the lush overworld of Genesis lies the Blight Beneath, a system of caves that the N'dulla people refuse to go near for religious reasons. Must, rot, and decay permeate the air of the Blight Beneath, most likely due to the surplus of buried deceased that have fallen into it. Nothing grows there; no beasts live there. Just the Tsai-Malloc, the Beneath-Ones. Light is only available in certain places, while everywhere else is a blindness-inducing dark. This seems to be no problem for the Tsai-Malloc.
The only real access to the Blight Beneath was closed by the Seal that is Eternal.

The Wildlife -
The wildlife of Genesis is as varied as its vegetation. Chiefest among these, and most valued by the N'dulla people, is the lork (plural lorki), bovine-like mammalian herbivores. Lorki serve the same role to the N'dulla people as the buffalo did to the Native Americans; most of their body parts can be put beyond the creature's life in a variety of different purposes, mainly food and pelts. Their fecal matter serves as an effective fertilizer.
The natural predator of the lork is the Gothmonian dragon, a creature resembling and behaving like a large feline predator on Earth. Through sheer grit, the N'dulla people have managed to tame a select few Gothmonian dragons to use as steeds in battle.
Crab-lizards, insects, primates, and tomahawk crows are also present, serving as the smaller creatures to inhabit Genesis' ecosystems.

 

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THE MAGICS OF GENESIS​

"And lo, a vision appeared unto him, in the form of a great flash of light, and when it had vanished, he found that he had received command over the four forces of magic. And he purged the dark and forbidden magic from his command, for it went against the great way; and he passed what remained on to his children. But in secret the dark and forbidden magic lurked and followed him and his children through the generations, waiting and festering in its unholiness. And after many years it was found by those who are called the Beneath-Ones, and it claimed them as much as they claimed it."

-- The Story of the Great Way, Book of Man'hwe 2:19-22, New 2280 AD Translation​

Genesis is home to some of the strongest natural magics in the chronicled galaxy. Over the courses of the ages, the N'dulla people and the Tsai-Malloc have harnessed and shaped magic, forging it into a force to be commanded for good... or for evil. Since arriving, man and machine have learned to harness magic for themselves, and integrate it into the technologies that they use. The forces of the New Foundry, and to a lesser extent the Dungeoneers, rely on magic in their explorations and war-waging. And the Tsai-Malloc do the same.

de-Yatta Man'hwe: The Magic that Flows -
"Water can be a dangerous thing if moving fast enough."

-- A quote attributed to Killian Burns, approximately 2270 AD​

• Elemental Ties: Water and Air
• Associated Runes: ᛃ , ᚹ , ᚨ
• Manifestations:
  • ACTIVE: Control of water and/or air flow
  • PASSIVE: Silencing of sounds (footsteps, breathing, etc.); heightened senses; increase in running speed; etc.

de-Harif Man'hwe: The Magic that Heats -
"Give a man a fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

-- Ancient human proverb​

• Elemental Ties: Fire and Lightning
• Associated Runes: ᚺ , ᚠ , ᛚ
• Manifestations:
  • ACTIVE: Summoning of small fields of fire and/or lightning
  • PASSIVE: Resistance to pain; increase in power behind physical attacks; increased jumping height; etc.

de-Mutte Man'hwe: The Magic that Grows -
"The ground knows us not, yet it gives great gifts to us.
Shall we not do the same in return?"

-- "Ode to the Soil", by Therta Vuhl, approximately 2255 AD​

• Elemental Ties: Plantlife and Earth
• Associated Runes: ᛗ , ᛈ , ᛖ
• Manifestations:
  • ACTIVE: Speed growth of plants and/or control earth formations
  • PASSIVE: Healing of wounds; quickened reflexes; decrease in need for sleep; etc.

de-Yorhu Man'hwe: The Magic that Kills -
"Rip, tear, and gnash at their bodies. Drag their souls screaming to the Blight Beneath. There, they shall know that which they have long forgotten."

-- Pragmus Gor's Call to Arms​

• Elemental Ties: Darkness and Fungus
• Associated Runes: ᛒ , ᛞ , ᛋ
• Manifestations:
  • ACTIVE: Darken places and/or sprout fungi
  • PASSIVE: Necromancy; mind control; bodily control; etc.

 

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THE PEOPLES OF GENESIS​

"And there shall come a day when beings from across the stars will come bearing strange and terrifying shapes of steel, but they will not use them to bring harm to the world the gods have blessed us with. They shall extend a hand in companionship, and the future generations shall take it."

-- The Story of the Great Way, Book of Aulai 88:3-4, New 2280 AD Translation​

Man -
"Not the strongest in the universe, but certainly the most tenacious."

-- Vos Nol'isk, approximately 2371 AD​

I don't need to describe what man looks like; you've seen a human before.
Mankind has come to Genesis in search of a new home, and a new home they have found. With the aid of the N'dulla people, as well as their own ingrained tenacity, they have expanded from humble vagrants in a strange land to active participants in the evolution of Genesis. They are the ones responsible for both first introducing technology to Genesis; the foremost producers of said technology, using it in tasks from the mundane to the martial; and the race that forged the Foundry.
The religions of man have been ported across the stars with them: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc. The numbers of those who follow these religions, however, are slowly dwindling.

Machine -
"A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law."

-- Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 AD​

Machine are often called the "children of man" by the N'dulla people, in part due to their mimicry of the human form, and in part due to their nigh inseparability from their creators.
The machine followed mankind to Genesis to aid them in their quest for a new home. Their durability and efficiency in executing commands proved vital in the establishment of the dead Earth's population on Genesis. Though initially decried and feared by the N'dulla people, they have since come to be as accepted as mankind. Utilization of inscribed runic magics increases their already great capabilities.
Machine do not usually follow religion. However, since arriving on Genesis, some have taken to following religions, if loosely.

N'dulla -
"And lo, the gods created from the plants a shape that was pleasing to them, and imbued it with life. And this shape became Yau, the First of the N'dulla to walk the world."

-- The Story of the Great Way, Book of Man'hwe 1:44, New 2280 AD Translation​

The N'dulla people are the native population of Genesis. They greatly resemble mankind, but have several distinct features about them. They have dark brown skin, ridged horns on their heads that sweep backward, pointed ears, and four nostrils, and stand taller than man at an average of 2 meters. Regardless of gender, they style their hair in long dreadlocks.
As long as Genesis has had life, the N'dulla people have stood above it. They are responsible for the first harnessing of the forces of magic, the domestication of the once-untamed lorki, and the initial downfall of the Tsai-Malloc. They crafted the Seal that is Eternal and placed it over the last entrance to the Blight Beneath, unable to be moved by their own hands. They taught man and machine how to harness magic themselves, and willingly joined the Foundry to further the share of knowledge.
The primary N'dulla religion is called the Great Way. In it, three gods- Yon-Yatta'hama, Yon-Harif'hama, and Yon-Mutte'hama- are worshiped as the bringers of the Flow, the Heat, and the Growth, while one god- Yon-Yorhu'hama, called the King of Rot and Darkness- is feared as the bringer of Death and dweller in the Blight Beneath. Some small sects choose to worship particular gods over others. Very few N'dulla are not religious.

Tsai-Malloc -
"But man shall open that which he has been commanded not to, break the seal which only his hands can break, and release the terrors of the deep into the light."

-- The Astral Sacrament, Book of Scorpio 22:9​

The Tsai-Malloc, called the Beneath-Ones, are the dwellers of the Blight Beneath. They resemble emaciated N'dulla, with extremely pale skin, no hair, and no eyes, merely skin stretched taut over empty sockets.
According to legend, the Tsai-Malloc were born of Yon-Yorhu'hama out of jealousy, and sent to plague the N'dulla. They harnessed the dark and forbidden magics that the first N'dulla purged from their use, and used it to rot away all that was green and good on Genesis. After being routed and sealed within the Blight Beneath, they further wallowed in de-Yorhu Man'hwe, until mankind released them. Since then, they have allied with the Dungeoneers and taught them their dark and forbidden magics, in exchange for eventual freedom.
The religion of the Tsai-Malloc is a twisted version of the Great Way, where Yon-Yorhu'hama is worshiped and Yon-Yatta'hama, Yon-Harif'hama, and Yon-Mutte'hama are feared. Darkness is embraced, for in darkness the blemishes of their shame cannot be seen.