The Searchers

“For those alive at the time of the Apocalypse, the very concept of aristocracy was unthinkable. Theirs was an egalitarian age – or at least one that pretended to be such. After the total destruction of civilization – and all its precedents – the survival of the species required the kind of sacrifice not possible for those driven merely by self-interest. What was required, went far beyond petty motives like advancement, reward, recognition or happiness. The twelve groups from which the new aristocracy arose were a dozen among a few hundred such groups… and yet was only these twelve willing to perform this greatest service yet required from the sons and daughters of men. It was their sacrifices and their contributions that made the Life Ship, the Life Fleet, and the survival of humanity possible. Everyone worked, everyone made a contribution. But none could deny that their contributions were critical. At first, the early heroism carved out a space for these families, deemed worthy of mankind’s collective respect. Their continued role in the mission entrenched them. And then, as time passed, fifty, sixty, seventy generations: mankind once again found itself with an aristocracy. This aristocracy had the benefit of all of human history. Wealth beyond imagination. And a purpose integral to the continuance of human life, and human culture. Such is the new aristocracy.”

– Helene Arynikk, A History of the Life Ship’s 12 Noble Families

Few in the Realm have not heard at least some of the stories of House Zoskiar’s explorers and scouts. The Zoskari, known also for their work with metals, were famous throughout humanity’s old worlds for their ability as scouts. More than the technical skills for exploration – the Zoskari had a unique willingness to explore. They seem more comfortable on the edges, far away, alone in dark places no others dare to visit.

They first emerged as a distinct people when workers from Mercury in the Old Earth system, Alpha Centauri and the outer reaches of Tau Ceti formed a distinct culture in iron and metal processing platforms. They were skilled shipbuilders, capable of constructing or adapting vessels even as they travelled. It was this ability, their notable courage, and their willingness to search when things seem hopeless that made them one of the Noble Houses of the four rings.

After the attacks of the Apocalypse, only seventeen vessels remained. The number seventeen remains sacred to the Zoskari to this day. From these vessels, the Zoskari moved quickly – charting the fields of the Nahur asteroid belt, and indeed first finding the sun Arca.

As the best remaining engineers, biologists and strategists of mankind began to build the Life Fleet at the sun Arca, it was also the Zoskari that played a crucial role in the Ingathering. Many people alive today are alive because their ancestors were lucky enough to be found by Zoskari scouts, and brought in with the remnants, so that mankind could unify, and continue.

Today, the Zoskari continue to serve in high-risk missions involving searching and exploration. Before the Fleet moves, the Zoskari spearhead movements in the most promising directions as it searches for the required resources among the stellar bodies and systems.

They are known as being passionate people, warm and inviting, courageous, friendly, energetic and quick-witted. Their bravery is not something they speak of – others call it that. They term it ‘honour’ – although some at times get irritated with them and call it ego.

They were the first of the noble houses to be given title to land on one of the four rings… and their land is a contrast to them – an icy, cold place, with glaciars, mountains, forests, tundra and steppes covering most of the 3,300 km² of their domain.
There is their capital, sometimes known as the Red City, a sprawling network of crimson monuments and low-rise concrete structures, officially known as Amedra.

From a fortress in the centre of Amedra, and from various Noble Estates scattered throughout their territory, their patriarch, Duke Arvin, oversees his family. The Duke has a wife, four sons, three daughters, and the extended family is counted as 137 souls.

The Marked

“Imagine, for a second, the implications of such complete destruction, on every sphere of human civilization, and the human psyche. No religion, no philosophy, no ideology could stand in tact – with the holy cities and humanity’s most closely held ideas and convictions obliterated and incinerated instantly, with no regard and no discrimination. For centuries mankind fought wars for their beliefs – and here came some external enemy, casually wiping it all away as if millennia of suffering and sacrifice and development was no more than dirt on the surface of a mirror. At once, and suddenly, everything, was gone. And the means to survive at all was by no means certain, let alone the capacity, and the will, to rebuild. That first generation, to their eternal credit, did rebuild, however; and in three generations they created an Establishment that was a defiant answer to the destruction of our species. It required adaptation – like never before in history – and the formation of new ideals and new ideas, forged by practicalities and necessity itself. The Ingathering made survival possible – but it did not make the Establishment inevitable. For that to have happened, it required the unfaltering devotion, sacrifice and relentless commitment of surviving peoples, not least of which were the blistered sons and daughters of the Namactoun.”

– Helene Arynikk, Devastation: The Apocalyptic Context Of Establishment

Many think of the Namac only as warriors – these fierce, confident and passionate people have traditionally added significant numbers to both Navies – but there is more to House Namactoun than merely their skill in warfare. Indeed, their skill with numbers have made them almost as famous for being bankers, mathematicians and accountants – and many of the most respected clerks and clerical workers throughout the realm hail from the Namactoun.

The Namactoun are sometimes called ‘The Marked’. The Namacs came from three warships and ten patrol vessels, the crews of which had deep roots to both Mars and Earth. During the Apocalypse, these vessels were outside the obliteration zone – but the radiation from the blast, as well as the genetic mutations among the crew gave the Namac a very distinctive appearance. Their skin tones are either very dark or very light, depending on the conditions of the light they find themselves in. Many among them amplify their distinct appearance by wearing their hair tied up in lush, long manes.

The Namac were critical in warding off pirates and outlaws as the survivors gathered at Arca – and they played a critical part in the logistics of gathering in humanity, finding resources and constructing the Lifeship. Their patrol vessels became some of the first ships of the Navies, with five given to the Red and five to the Blue Navy, and their warships were eventually melted down and became part of the hull of the Lifeship itself.

Namactoun is one of only two landlocked territories in all of the 12 houses. It is bordered by House Zoskiar’s to one side and by House Aman on the other. While the lower regions consist of various smaller villages and towns in open steppes or in thick forests, the rocky upper regions hold stone- carved walled cities, including their austere, monolithic, symmetrical capital, Tahomargh.

The House is ruled by Duke Bhraw, whose wife passed away. He has five sons, and the extended family number 231.

The Unbending

“The problem remains, essentially, one of supply lines. It is not resources that is scarce – the building blocks of all we need, metallic, chemical, surround us in every direction in bountiful superabundance. It is as common as the space which holds it. Nor is the problem of gaining access to those resources, or utlising them. We can do all of it, often without human intervention, putting our mining drones and our construction platforms to work. The problem is fundamentally one of scheduling. The near impossible task of deciding which resources are needed, and in which quantities, in relation to each other, and trading off the various combinations of resources processed against each other – so that life sustaining conditions for the fleet at Arca is not interrupted even as we build the future of our species. Such problems, however, is not new to the Hataibor. It is precisely the same problem we encountered on the Jovian Moons and on the surface of Neptune. It is the exact same problem we had at the Relay Station of Centauri. Hataibor has the heart. Hataibor can build. It is just the scale that is new.”

– For Jvpiter Gave Us Our Steam, Shon Kiagenjigai

It is said: “If the Hataibor can’t build it, it can’t be built,” and “If the Haitabor can’t live there, no one can.” Indeed, the proud and strong people of House Hataibor once settled some of the harshest environments in the old solar systems: the Jupiter and Neptune colonies, as well as several other difficult, even improbable stations, bases and settlements throughout the Old Civilization. The reputation of the Hataibor as strong, dependable, stubborn and enduring people is as famous as their hardiness as settlers of untamed places, and their work in constructing megastructures. What is often overlooked is their skill in power generation (their origin being Jupiteran, after all). Hataibor technology powered many of mankind’s earliest explorations. Without the vast megastructures and docks of the Hataibor, the Lifeship could never have been built.

At the time of the apocalypse, the surviving Hataibor all came from a single floating megastructure – the construction platform Enki 278 – and the fact that so many survivors came from this house is testimony to the scale of their engineering.

The Hataibor also built some of the earliest vessels that used centrifugal gravity to mirror earthlike conditions within.

As impressive as their automated ships, workdrones and superstructures are – the are perhaps more notable for their physical strength and endurance – as no amount of technology or steel can ever completely replace human labour.

House Hataibor is now one of the twelve landed noble houses on the Four Rings of the Lifeship – and their territory is in the Inner Portside Ring, alsongside Houses Tesaban and Vlalis. Their territory stretches from the Second Ocean in the South to warm deserts and temperate grasslands. The coastal desert settlements and wide plains of the interior are popular with visitors  – and the distinctive, sturdy multigon shapes of their buildings make their capital Enkdambul one of the most recognisable on the Rings. The Hataibor language continues to exist alongside the common and Royal Languages, and the word for Duke is Shon. The House is led by Shon Shagitai, who has a wife and three concubines, fifteen daughters and twelve sons. The extended family number is 289.

The Steel Angels

“So drastic and sudden was this reversal, that it gave rise to the famous metaphor, used throughout the Realm in the original Royal language: ‘Nahur Attarevyaer’. For centuries humans from the First Civilization ignored the sea of asteroids as impassable, impractical, dangerous and with no benefits with which to reward exploration. Then suddenly the Sea of Nahur became a shield against the Nemesis – a crucial component of human survival. So dense was the asteroid ocean that it obscured all behind it. Hence, ‘Attarevyaer’ – to go back when you least expect it, after conditions changed, thereby turning what was once useless or insignificant into something of utmost importance.
The Sea of Nahur – arguably – did prevent any final extermination efforts by the Nemesis after the Apocalypse.
But it was a dangerous ocean to cross, and it required pilots capable of pushing their vessels into acrobatic feats. It was lucky then, for the survivors, and a great many of the later refugees, that the Tesabi were around.
With their small frames, they could handle accelerations and gravity defying stunts no other pilots in human history were capable of. They could speed towards an asteroid – be gripped by its gravity – and speed towards it faster than any vessels moved ever before… and then dive, or redirect, or pull up, or turn away at sharp angles – at the last minute. Today, many in the Realm know the Tesabi for their beauty or their hospitality. But nearly every one of our ancestors renowned them as pilots.”

– Helene Arynikk & Pallboh Ghove, In The Sea Of Nahur

 It is interesting that the Tesabi were among the first to live in artificial environments, even before the Apocalypse – and yet are the only people who can trace their lineage back to two specific tribes of Old Earth. Physically small, these descendents of ‘Greeks’ and ‘Phillipinos’ are well suited for rapid acceleration, agile feats of deep space flight and sudden changes in gravity. Members of the two tribes merged as a result of coincidence… the Tesabi migrated from old Earth and become one people as colonists of a relay station, from where they worked as pilots for hire.

Today, they continue service as pilots – but they are perhaps more famous for their tourism, their wines, and their physical beauty. They are also known as a gentle, loyal, and practical people.

The original station of the Tesabi was destroyed during the Second Iridium War – and they scattered throughout the old colonies. Centuries of existence as a distinct people, and cultural and social connections – proved hard to erase, however. Just before the Apocalypse, there was finally a movement underway for the Tesabi to reunite on a new station – and the first ships of Tesabi were on their way to New Relay – on the remote edge of Centauri sector –  when the attacks destroyed their dreams of reunification along with the rest of humanity.

The Tesabi commander Aristades (whose name was given to one of the Colonies of the Realm) was leading a convoy of ships at the time: ten carriers, four freighters, and thirty seven smaller ships. After meeting at Arca, only a few Tesabi initially joined the efforts of to build the Lifeship, while others went looking for more survivors. When it became clear there was no hope for survival away from the Arca Effort – they returned, bringing with them larger numbers of survivors than anyone knew was still alive.

Today, the Tesabi is based on the Inner Portside Ring – and they enjoy an immense variety of climatic zones, with deserts and grasslands, temperate zones, forest and grasslands, Mediterranean portions and even some jungles. The Tesaban Twins peninsula is one of the most popular tourist areas in all of the Realm. The capital, Atini, houses some of the oldest artistic and cultural treasures of humanity, and the settlements along the Arkiadoson River is a spectacular sampling of post-attack Second Civilization architectural styles.  

The Tesabi are led by Duchess Mirikitri, who has a husband, three daughters and four sons. The extended noble family number 219 souls.

The Adaptable

“From shoots that grew at first – in the emerald isle and also that of the rising sun
A hundred million battles already lost and won – when the children of Hitocae
Arrived at Arca – not on capital ships – but a free fleet of a hundred thousand
Across void sky.

And upon the folk who gathered there did impress
Adapting to the black truth
Rather than fantasies of redress
The children of Hitocae
Already known and working among the many
Brought forth the few
To yet manifest multitudes
Like unto Eire and Nippon of Old”

– The Ballad of Ulstear

Whereas many of the Houses are known for one or two things, the Hitocae are known as generalists, who have nevertheless distinguished themselves in fields ranging from warfare, to trade, to settlement, to scholarship. Originally from gravitational settlements like Lagrange points or well outposts, they have had established relationships with most of the peoples going back to the times before Arca.

They are versatile and curious, and other than their oval shaped eyes, there is very little that makes them recognizable. They vary in physical and psychological traits. Perhaps they are best known for their adaptability – the Hitocae make excellent partners, and they have lived, fought, worked and died alongside others for many centuries. To this day, there are more of the Hitocae living in the fleet, colonies and Central Station City than within the confines of House Hitocae’s formal domain. There are even rumours – unproven but persistent – that an outpost of Hitocae still dwell at Arca.

The Hitocae integrate so well that many of them are considered members of other houses. When among their own, they have rich traditions stretching back to Old Earth. It is an interesting feature that the integration does not go both ways – those who are not born Hitocae are seldom accepted as Hitocae, while Hitocae who leave the Hitocae become whatever group they integrate with.

Their home terrain is a swirling peninsula jutting into the Third Ocean – with miles of unspoiled beaches and pristine bamboo forests and beaches. The Hitocae enjoy living on islands best – and their capital city – Shiosha – is built on a string of islands instead of on the mainland.

From the Jade Pagoda on a mountain overlooking Shiosha, they are ruled by Duke Ayedo, who has a wife, four daughters and three sons. The extended noble family number 435 souls.

The Mystical Jurists

“It was very hard for ancient oaths, religions and traditions to survive the attacks. With Earth gone, all sacred cities and places and artefacts were eternally lost. All prophecies concerning humanity’s ascension to heaven from earthly life – disproved permanently and all vows rendered utterly meaningless. It was brave and brilliant thinkers alone who saved mankind’s souls by establishing a Church that could encompass all the broken and bruised beliefs of our ancestors, and yet continue its mission into a future never imagined even by our greatest seers and most respected prophets. Everything had changed. Every faith was at risk of completely vanishing – unless it radically reinvented itself. Except for the mystics of the Santuli – whose traditions were so adaptable – that to many outsiders it seemed their traditions and convictions barely skipped a beat.”

– Meliohs Kathande, The Creation Of Humanity’s Church

House Santuli: Ancient, steeped in traditions that predate the realm and rich in vibrancy, colour and tastes. Social, fair minded, diplomatic and gracious, the Santuli are known throughout the realm as peacemakers, judges, artists, scholars, artists and technologists.

Once, they stretched in small pockets throughout the colonies – often as independent traders – and they could be found on freighters and merchant vessels up and down the routes of the Solar reach. The Santuli are also a pious people – they have religious traditions that predate the Church – and their mystics can be found teaching ancient traditions not only in the Church Orders but as Teachers for Hire.

The Santulians came to Arca on four great colony ships – as well as embedded throughout the other survivors. The Four Colony ships provided many resources that were critical in the early days, as the Lifeship was still being built, and as more survivors arrived. The Santulians built their one thousand spires of their capital city – the Realm’s only Sacred City – in the delta and jungles of their one peninsula.

There, they invited others to come – and there they settled.

The Santulians have a complex society, highly stratified and highly specialised – with rules and unspoken codes others seldom understand and they never disclose.

Two peninsulas jut up, and three major inlets of sea bring the Third Ocean far inland. Santuli is between Hitocae and Shanrani – yet its topography makes it insular in many ways. The famous beauty and ornate extravagance of the thousand spired city, Sanasala, invite pilgrims and seekers from all over the Realm – either to strict, quiet contemplation or ecstatic festivals – and the city is warm, humid and in a dense jungle in a river delta. While this is the common view of all of Santuli, the truth is that Santuli has very varied terrain.

They are ruled by Duchess Geeta, who has a husband, a daughter, and three sons. The extended noble family number 312 souls.

The Kinbuilders

“What soon became apparent was that a number of invisible, incorporeal structures would be as important – if not more – for the survival of the species than our feats of engineering. The truth was that no amount of technology, moral certainty or passionate engagement or belief in a cause was enough to turn a collection of tribes into a society and a disparate group of survivors into a civilization. What was required for Establishment was something altogether more fundamental… and some might say more boring. The key ingredient was the ability to set up, and maintain, institutions. Along with their language becoming the common tongue, it was this ability to create lasting efficient institutions that was the biggest gift of the Bolishians to mankind.”

– Helene Arynikk & Janos Behmel, Built To Last

Bolishians – for all their variety, and all their complexity – are perhaps best known for their languages and their institutions. Their languages tie the old and the new civilisation together. The old civilisation in the form of Standard – the Volapuk that was most widely spoken throughout the old colonies, and still spoken by the people of the fleets and colonies. And the creation of Ashicivis – the Royal Language, and the language of the Monarch, the Church and the Nobility. Bolishians are expert at restoration, preservation and maintenance – and they run maintenance on most of the Lifeship, and large parts of the fleet. They are stoic, sentimental and protective – and their mastery of institutions and pageantry held much of the early realm together.

The Bolishians were the second to arrive at Arca – a fleet of seventy free ships and three frigates arrived – and together with the Hitocae – they lay the foundation of the rescue, relief and ingathering efforts. The Bolishians skill at administration and bureaucracy made them a vital partner at establishing some sort of order.

The Lifeship was built largely without their help. But when it came time to look at the interior of buildings, and urban planning, and creating communications and transport networks within – they played a critical role. Indeed, without the Bolishians, there would have not been an Establishment – they wrote the first laws, and the first Queen, Anna, was mainly of Bolishian descent.

Today, they continue to serve throughout the Realm, as administrators and maintenance workers.

Green and rainy, Bolishia was built to be comfortably cool and conducive for agriculture, fishing, and woodlands. The capital is Bay City – where the Bay City University welcomes students from throughout the Realm. It’s elite schools in the interior trains the children of the nobility, and the towns range from quaint villages to towering examples of the advanced.

Duke Padrik rules the Noble Family. He has a wife, a daughter and two sons. The extended noble family number 124 souls.

The Secret Keepers

“How is it that the intense, broody people could also be passionate lovers or ice-cold killers? The secret may lie in history more than genetics. As rulers – sometimes tyrants of Tau Ceti – we Darads built an impressive civilization. But it was underpinned by violence and rule by fear. The artists and thinkers and dreamers were subject to warriors – who protected them, but also demanded loyalty and deference. The Darad character has always been many things at once – but nearly always, it is kept in place by a strain of detached cruelty and secrets – private secrets, group secrets, trade secrets, martial secrets and the secrets of others.”

– Kaiaeryan Mabos, Reflections of Tau

 Lean and lithe, the Darads are a people with highly evolved motor skills and coordination. They have made their names – and their fortunes – with bio-machine integration. They are passionate, resourceful, stubborn, brave – and often secretive. They have thin and athletic builds, but vary in appearance, although they can often be identified from their very dark, almost black eyes.

Daradan society always functions on two levels – the visible, and the invisible. On the surface, they are like most people. In reality, the Darad nobility run the show with ruthless efficiency, with dark rituals and blood rites dating back to their tyrannical empire in the days of Tau Ceti.

The Daradan Nobles have gained some notoriety for being greedy among the powerful and connected – but civilians dare not say this.

The Darads, more than any other, remember the old days before the attack. They were born of warriors – the abandoned forces of the losing side in the Second Iridium War – that united to become a single people on Tau Ceti.

There – despite the best efforts of Old Earth and other diplomats – they resented the interference – they slowly grew their influence by supplanting the power structures of others. By the time the attacks occurred, all of Tau Ceti was under their political control.

The Darads sent out ninety vessels from Tau Ceti in total to scout, and begin infiltration, of neighbors. Four of the survived the attack and came to Arca. It is their biomech that drove many of the innovations in metamaterials – critical for the building of the Lifeship.

Landlocked – with high mountains forming a ring around a central network of valleys. Grandiose angular edifices perched from cliffs. Pyramid, A-Frame and Triangular homes and buildings form cities that are laid out like Tau Ceti’s Old Fortresses.

They are rules by Duke Phadyairan. He has a wife and only one son, having lost his eldest son. The total noble family number 339 souls.