Latest revision as of 01:56, 14 February 2025

The Epsilon Eridani System

Overview

A relatively young system, thought to have formed between 400 and 800 million years ago, ε Eridani is the 13th nearest star system to Sol, located 3.2 parsecs from it. It is a single-star system, home to several distinct debris rings still lingering from it's formation, as well as a limited number of terrestrial planets and several gas giants. The notable bodies of the system in order of increasing semi-major axis are:

Ran - Star

Baldr - Terrestrial Planet
Albion - Terrestrial Planet
Hodr - Terrestrial Planet

Inner Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

Aegir - Gas Giant
Forseti - Gast Giant

Outer Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

Thunor - Gas Giant
Heimdallr - Gas Giant

Comet Belt - Astronomical Feature

Ran

The single star at the center of the Epsilon Eridani system, Ran is a bright and young star which generates stronger UV and solar winds compared to larger and older Sol. It belongs to the spectral class K2V. The name "Ran" derives from the Old Norse "Rán" (lit.: theft, robbery), a goddess which personified the sea. Generally thought to embody it's dangerous and unfavorable aspects, she was sometimes depicted as killing seafarers by dragging them into the depths with a fishing net. The star's low orbits are largely unoccupied save for solar power collection infrastructure, as well as space weather monitoring and scientific probes.

Baldr

A small and airless terrestrial world, orbiting roughly 0.34 AU from Ran, Baldr is tidally locked in a 2:5 resonance, it's astronomical day is rather long at ~32 days compared to it's ~81 day orbit, leading to a solar day ~54 days long. The extreme thermal environment at the planet's surface, coupled to the proximity to the star and it's powerful stellar winds, leave Baldr ironically overshadowed by the system's plentiful debris rings in the mining sector. The planet holds no permanent population, however it has been previously visited by manned expeditions and been the object of scientific study for nearly as long as the system has been colonized. The planet is named after the Norse god of light, owing to it's proximity to the star, whose death is prophesized to be a harbinger of the end of the world.

Albion

Albion is the only Earth-like planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. Detection of it's earth-like characteristics, most notable of which were the presence of water vapor and oxygen in it's atmosphere, were the very reason the system became one of the first targets Humanity set out to colonize.

Surface Conditions

The planet orbits at roughly 0.71 AU from Ran, weighing 1.3 Earth Masses and with a radius of 1.1 Earth Radii, well as a similar, if marginally richer in oxygen atmosphere. The solar day on Albion is 33 hours and 8 minutes long. Surface temperatures reach as low as -101°C at the poles and as high as 26°C during summer at the equator, although average temperatures in most inhabited areas hover somewhere around 0°C over the course of the year. When it was first colonized, Albion already harbored it's own alien biosphere, although it was primitive compared to Terran life. Oxygen producing bacteria and small land vegetation and fungi were all that were present on land. While an analogue to the Eukaryotic cell had seemingly evolved, the handful of multicellular animal organisms within the planet's cold oceans were only beginning to develop. How such life had developed in so short a timeframe when compared to Terra was both highly unexpected to it's first settlers and still a topic of scientific discussion, although current leading theories are that relatively advanced microbes and possibly even eukaryotic life may have been seeded through panspermia after the planet had cooled from it's formation. Regardless of how it arose, the planet's native life was unfortunately ill-equipped to compete with the Terran specimens brought by the colonization effort, and a significant part of that early life was lost before any attempts at study and preservation could be made. Most of pre-human Eridanian life today exists only within controlled study environments and purpose-made space stations which attempt to emulate the planet's early biosphere. On the surface itself, most of the planet's flora and fauna have been replaced by descendants of the imported Terran examples and gene-edited additions which were considered necessary to stabilize the biosphere during the change, although a handful of the most adaptable of native land and sea life managed to persist into the current day, and were considered best left as they were. The planet's equator harbors a climate not too unlike temperate regions of Terra, although the further away from it one travels it quickly becomes more tundra-like and eventually arctic, with large continental glaciers dominating the planet's higher latitudes completely.

Colonization

While most early colonies did not stray far from the more habitable equator, present-day arcologies on Albion will sometimes stretch into the more desolate high latitudes when needed. Population densities are, in general, low and concentrated around a few major metropolises near the equator. The planet is the capital of the Eridani Alliance, headquartered in Morveren, one of the planet's largest cities, built along the coast of the Galdrygean Ocean, within the region where the first colonists had once landed their shuttles. It's sparser regions, meanwhile, include smaller clusters of towns, cities and standalone arcologies, and are unique within the Epsilon Eridani system given the world's singular status as a habitable, breathable natural environment. One of the reasons for this lack of centralization, which has carried to the Alliance's governing of it's interstellar territories, is the relative heterogeneity of initial settlement. Unlike many of the colonies that arose in the super-luminal age the Eridani awoke to, theirs was a colonization effort of a single, self-contained trip, one with enough numbers to establish many concurrent settlements on the surface, many of which have persisted into the current day.

Notable Locations

Morveren

Morveren and the greater Morveren Region lie on the western shore of the Galdrygean Ocean, only a dozen degrees north of the equator. It is defined by a region of low-relief terrain, extending into the ocean in relatively wide plains and sandy shores, flanked north and south by mountainous and cliff-prone terrain, Additionally, much of this coast is sheltered by a system of islands. This relatively hospitable coast of mild weather and stable, oceanic climate is home to so much of Albion's population and the capital of the Alliance by no coincidence, for it was one of the first areas chosen for landfall by the initial colonists, and was populated by a large basis of colonists from the ship's primary nations. The current-day metropolis which occupies the region, extends from one cliff-lined coast to the other, inland and out to many of the islands just off the shore, and is often the place people who "have been to Albion" have visited. From an urban planning point of view, Morveren is generally considered an expensive and even difficult city to develop, given it's long, comprehensive, and very much strict planning permission requirements, building codes and zoning laws which have only grown in size and complexity over as the city itself has. Save for the densest of downtown areas and islands, population densities quickly drop off when compared to modern Terran counterparts due to a generally lower emphasis on verticality, in addition to many more green spaces, parks, footpaths, and so on, when compared to Terra's wealth of self-contained Arcologies. The city itself is serviced by an extensive subway system, while overland rail is used for further destinations. Architectural styles vary between boroughs within the city, drawn from many of it's originating cultures, and containing everything from modernized reimaginings of old Terran styles to wholly new and contemporary buildings. With one of it's hallmarks being the prominent use of stone still finding currency with private and government structures alike, even when only as a façade material.

Landmarks of Morveren

Alliance Parliament Complex

Built along an elevated part of the landscape upon the north-western part of the city, the parliamentary complex of the Alliance is the prototypical example of Eridanian Classicist architecture. Clean-cut stone brick and tall, bronze-fixtured windows whose shape retain hints of their distant gothic origins as they loom over it's encircling hedges from nearly a meter above street level. Within it's sprawling halls are housed both chambers of parliament, as well as many other spaces, including but not limited to: meeting rooms, chambers and offices for visiting diplomats and members of government, a press briefing chamber, an intelligence management complex and a closed-access library responsible for archival of Alliance documents, as well as offering members of government access to reference material and research services.

Orion Confederacy Delegation Office, Epsilon Eridani Branch

An imposing building of trapezoidal shape, it's almost brutalist unadorned metal and glass construction is unlike anything else in the city, to the point of seeming like it's been imported wholesale from Sol. The flags of every human government within OriCon are flown along the concourse before it.

National Museum of the Alliance Navy

An austere and angular building, designed with large and imposing asymmetrical windows to illuminate it's spacious interior. It contains many examples of Alliance space hardware, exhibits on it's myriad military vessels both current and historical, and a permanent exhibit on the complete history of the ICV Albion, from the first design drafts penned in Sol to photographic and written accounts of the planet's settlement. An Alliance Navy missile frigate is kept at the grounds as a museum ship. Named the ANS Trafalgar, it had been in service up until the late 2550s, where the aging vessel saw limited use in a fire-support role against Xenomorph incursions at the edges of OriCon space before being finally converted into a display piece.

Regnfelt

One of the planet's largest cities, it lies roughly 150km from the eastern shore of the Aettrian Ocean and was built upon the shore of river Heggel. Cold winds from the region's predominantly humid continental climate whistle in from beyond the nearby dormant volcano, Mt. Sovendefjell, and blanket the region in heavy snowfall every winter. Much more geographically constrained than Morveren thanks to the nearby mountainous terrain, the city is home to some of Albion's tallest structures, while underground tunnels and partially open-air areas below ground-level are relatively common. Outdoors areas in Regnfelt are often particularly recognizable for their prominent use of local basalt and other dark volcanic stone given their convenient weathering resistance, although many newer buildings have begun adopting the material alongside other similarly dark palettes for their aesthetic appeal and contrast to the snow, leading it to become a hallmark of the city within recent centuries. Unlike most of the planet of Albion, and indeed, the whole system of Epsilon Eridani itself, Regnfelt's demographics are skewed in favor of many of the system's less represented cultures, particularly those of Scandinavian descent, having been initially established by a small, but still significant conclave of such peoples from the ICV Albion.

Landmarks of Regnfelt

Stratton Medical Inc. Headquarters

Not merely a building, but a sprawling campus of R&D and healthcare laboratories leading up the slight incline to the company's administrative center, a towering monolith of black-tinted glass bearing it's rather aesclepian logo, wherein the snake forms a recognizable "S". Although now a subsidiary of Vey-Med Orion, SMI had once quickly established itself as one of the largest medical corporations of Epsilon Eridani in it's early days thanks to the popularity and thus sheer demand for genemodding services, of which their founders were quick to capitalize upon. However, once initial demand lessened, their expansion into the market of general healthcare came too late to prevent purchase by the, by that point, much better-established OriCon branch of the Skrellian megacorporation.

Kentwell University's Museum of Natural History

A wide, corinthian building found within the University's grounds. It's limestone neoclassical facade and vaulted ceilings are separated like ribs by tall, modern windows on shining steel frames, often to low, dramatic lighting at night. The museum itself is one of the most complete sources of information on Albion as a planet, including exhibits on extinct and/or fossilized alien flora and fauna from before human colonization, the geological history of the region and especially of Mt. Sovendefjell, and much more.

Loch Morkh

A freshwater lake amidst the mountains, not all too far from Regnfelt. It's peaceful shore and the surrounding nigh-untouched wilderness are a common tourist destination for those visiting the city or wishing for a break from it's monumental, looming skyscrapers. The region is considered a natural heritage site by the Alliance government. It is closely studied for insights into the region's geology and due to it's location within a tectonic subduction zone.

Other Locations

Albion is Epsilon Eridani's sole habitable world, and where the vast majority planet-bound Eridanians live. There are dozens of other large metropolitan centers not listed here, and uncountable numbers of smaller cities and towns spread over it's many continents, especially along equatorial regions, each with their own history and character.

Hodr

The only inner-system dwarf planet, Hodr is a small airless world near the inner limits of the system's innermost asteroid belt, generally thought to have formed alongside it. Although initially colonized for it's concentration of mineral resources, it's position at the edge of the asteroid belt has seen it become a major logistical center for belt mining and interplanetary trade. Although metals and other raw resources are still moved in great quantities through it, they are far from the only goods to do so in the present day. In ancient Norse legend, Hodr is the old norse god of darkness and winter, the blind brother of Baldr, who is tricked into slaying his brother by the trickster god Loki.

Inner Asteroid Belt

The innermost of the system's asteroid belts, it extends from roughly 1.5 to 2.5 AU from the star. Being a relatively young star system, Epsilon Eridani contains many more small astronomical bodies and general debris from it's formation compared to Sol. This plentiful supply of easily accessed resources has been exploited since the settling of the system given the need to provide Albion with orbital infrastructure, and such a need has only grown as the system developed. Today, the Inner Belt is the main supplier of materials to most space-based projects and industry, such as the myriad families of orbital habitats the outer system is known for.

Aegir

A gas giant of roughly 0.8 Jupiter masses orbiting at the outer limit of the system's inner asteroid belt, this was the first planet to be detected in it's roughly 3.5 au orbit around Ran. It's orbital space houses myriad moons and hundreds of space stations, ranging from hydrogen depots near the giant to distant families or "fleets" of civilian facilities. Overall, Aegir and it's many moons form a local subsystem which contains the majority of the system's space-bound population. In Norse myth, Aegir is a personification of the ocean and husband to Ran, whose children are referred to as the waves of the sea.

Outer System

Although not completely uninhabited, the outer regions of Epsilon Eridani contain only a very small fraction of the system's population, as few people have a need to venture beyond Aegir and fewer still to cross the Outer Asteroid Belt to the lonely gas giants that lie at the system's edge.

History & Culture

Life in Epsilon Eridani

Life in Epsilon Eridani is in most respects similar to life within Sol, although with a drastically smaller population and a sometimes familiar, yet often strikingly different set of cultures to even the original Post-Diaspora Sol colonies it arose from. The majority of Eridanians are planet-bound and live upon the sole habitable world of Albion. Beyond them, a large fraction of the system's remaining population is partially or completely space-bound, and live in the countless habitats and stations across the system, especially those orbiting it's innermost gas-giant, Aegir.

Eridanian Language

The language of Epsilon Eridani, often referred to as "Eridani Common", descends from the early Sol Common spoken by the subset of Sol territories that contributed colonists to the ICV Albion's crew. When compared to Modern Sol Common, one finds an endless number of differences, owing not only to the roughly 200 years Sol Common spent evolving independently from it, but also due to having borrowed from new languages more familiar to Eridanian colonists and even reviving certain Middle and Old English spellings or concepts, whilst dropping a large part of those influences unfamiliar to them such as French and German. Modern Eridani Common, while distinct from Sol Common, has been in sufficient contact with the latter to ensure a reasonable level of mutual understanding, though it varies between individuals, with a younger and/or more cosmopolitan person possibly having no more than a characteristic accent, while someone less inclined might be genuinely difficult for a Sol tourist to understand. Very unlike Sol's limited "ceremonial" relation to Sol Common, Epsilon Eridanians use Eridani Common as their primary language in everyday life and learn Galactic Common as a second language.

Eridanian Timekeeping

Time within Epsilon Eridani is primarily based around Albion. Due to the planet's orbit, the Epsilon Eridanian year is 175 days long except for leap years and consists of 8 months 20-23 days long. The 33 hour and 8 minute day is generally separated into three parts, "Morning (MG / Morᵹen)", "Mid-Day (MD / Middæġ)" and "Evening (AE / Ǣfen)". Each third is 11 hours long, with an additional 8 minutes of "Midnight / Midniht " which are considered "hourless". The standard timezone is Morveren Mean Time (EE:MMT). Digital clocks will generally display the hour as "XX" during the eight minutes of midnight. Physical timepieces such as wristwatches, on the other hand, are made with eleven hour indices, rather than Terra's twelve, with three revolutions indicating a full day. Normal convention is to have the hour hand stop during midnight and keep the additional eight minutes via a faster, 34th revolution of the minute hand, although some clocks incorporate alternative ways of displaying it such as an independent hand or separate inner dial.

Naming Conventions

Standard human naming convention remain the basis for Eridanians, and generally follows naming trends inherited from their originating regions (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Iceland). In general, surnames of non-Anglo-Saxon origin are used in their non-anglicized form, although the anglicized form may be used interchangeably, usually as a convenience to non-Eridanians. First names are not so consistent and may be anglicized or not.

Alien Inhabitants

Even if not entirely unheard of, alien citizens of Epsilon Eridani are quite few and far between, as the system never had a significant draw such as Mars had on the Tyrmalin for Sol. While most are welcome to live there if they wish, the distance from Frontier space, coupled with the system's identity still being so heavily human-centered due to it's past and relationship to old Terran custom has done much to discourage members of other species when choosing to move to Alliance space, especially when compared to the options presented by most other Alliance systems.

Modern Culture

While the initial efforts of the colonists of Epsilon Eridani to redefine themselves are all but past, there's no doubt it's only so due to their clear success. To the present day, anthropology, literature, linguistics, history, and related fields still see much higher interest and ongoing research at most Eridanian universities than their Terran peers, and while not always to the taste of every young Epsilon Eridanian, Albion still houses enough fathomless state libraries and museums to constitute the bulk of original Terran artifacts outside of Sol. Meanwhile, time did little to homogenize the cultures which first settled the planet, let alone the system, where many regional traditions still trace themselves back to specific sections or sometimes even just a handful of colonists from the Albion. Quite unlike to the more strict societal norms of the other non-Sol states of the Orion Confederation, social life within the Alliance, and within Epsilon Eridani itself still mirrors in many ways the very same liberal democracies it's diaspora roots were spawned from, including no shortage of counterculture and alternative movements, though while a rare few seek to challenge the very foundations of Eridanian culture itself, many are, in reality, yet another facet of it, recovering and reimagining their Terran origins of ages past into local counterparts, with some of those fringe groups such witches, pagans and satanists having been, if anything, reinforced by the state's early inquiries into European myth.

Religion

Although a third of the ICV Albion's crew was already declared agnostic by the time they had left Sol, that fraction would prove surprisingly small by the time they joined OriCon and found that most religious beliefs had been steadily falling out of favour in human space during the intervening centuries. The first settlers had brought with them many religions common to their regions of origin, allowing English Protestantism, Irish Catholicism, as well as other christian denominations from the remaining regions to find their way to the colony's beginnings. As the Eridanian character developed, however, the keen interest in how their ancient cultures had shared parallels inevitably began to explore the ties between Anglo-Saxon and Norse paganism, as well as how it sometimes differed from it's elusive cousin, Celtic paganism. While only limited amounts of information remained on the specifics of such religions, many smaller myths, beliefs and superstitions, both unknowingly inherited through the constituent cultures and recently rediscovered during this period of public interest, found generally good reception from most Eridanians, and in the coming decades both organized paganism and independent occultism saw a small resurgence in many regions within the growing colonies.

Overall, while agnosticism is not uncommon within the Alliance today, Epsilon Eridani itself remains one of the most religious sections of human space in an age where that agnosticism has otherwise risen to become the human standard, thanks both their unwillingness to give up the beliefs which they'd inherited from distant Terra, as well as the lengths to which older mythology was returned to the public consciousness in the colony's formative years. This has led over time to a gradual blending between these different aspects into composite and myriad belief choices as dependent on geography as they are upon the individuals themselves.

Monarchy

While most of Terra's British Royal Family survived the Final War, and although many places within Sol still recognize them in a ceremonial role to some capacity, their influence would not prove a lasting mark on the ICV Albion or the colony it would one day spawn. Later, faster attempts at colonization made with FTL technology would eventually extend or reinvent the role of monarchy within the space that went on to became the Orion Confederation and even parts of the Alliance, however the Eridanian's motions to distinguish themselves from their Sol origins quickly saw such an aspect of government left behind with Terra, if nothing else for a lack of need or mandate at the time, although passing mentions to non-existent monarchy still happen on occasion, largely as irony or figure of speech.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{DISPLAYTITLE: Species - Humanity}}
+=The Epsilon Eridani System=
-==Introduction==
+==Overview==
-:<q>''Being human is given, but keeping our humanity is a choice.''</q> <u>-Unattributed</u>
-Humanity: truly one of the most diverse forms of intelligent life in the Galaxy. Despite their comparatively young age on the Galactic scale, humans may have undergone more change than any other contemporary species. From attaining sapience, to their explosive arrival on the Galactic stage, humans have expanded rapidly and with great momentum. They have only recently begun to find common ethical ground with the majority of their kin.
-==Biology==
+A relatively young system, thought to have formed between 400 and 800 million years ago, ε Eridani is the 13th nearest star system to Sol, located 3.2 parsecs from it.
-===Physicality:===
+It is a single-star system, home to several distinct debris rings still lingering from it's formation, as well as a limited number of terrestrial planets and several gas giants.
-:<q>''"A Human is a member of the species Homo Sapiens, which in their ancient tongue of Latin means 'Wise Man'. Humans are a member of the mammalian order of primates, and a type of hominid related to other Earth Primates like Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans. They are social creatures and usually live in communities they call 'cities'. They help and protect each other and care for their children until normally a quarter of the average lifespan has passed. They are incredibly diverse and adaptable, able to live through some of the harshest conditions exposed to them. In many of these harsh environments, the Humans can even thrive. They have a very complex brain which is much larger then their closest ape relatives. They utilize a diverse array of languages, form complex and abstract ideas, naturally develop and invent, and exhibit an incredible spectrum of emotions."''</q> <u>-Quar 'Keeluk's Lecture: 'On Human Biology and Culture', first presented shortly after Human First Contact with the Vikaran Federation.</u>
+The notable bodies of the system in order of increasing semi-major axis are:
-The human body has four limbs (two arms and two legs), a head, and a neck that connect to a central structure (the torso). The body's shape is determined by a strong skeleton made of bone and cartilage, surrounded by fat, muscle, connective tissue, organs, and other tertiary structures. The spine located to the rear of the skeleton contains the flexible vertebral column, which serves as the primary support structure and which also surrounds the spinal cord -  a collection of nerve fibers connecting the brain to the rest of the body. All major bones, muscles, and nerves in the body are named, with the exception of anatomical variations such as sesamoid bones and accessory muscles.
+* '''Ran''' - Star
-Arteries, veins, and capillaries carry blood throughout the circulatory system. Utilizing the beating of the heart - the human's primary circulatory organ - to transport blood 'cells' to every other portion of the Human body. Venules and veins collect depleted blood cells from tissues throughout the body. These collect in progressively larger veins until they reach the body's two largest veins, the superior and inferior vena cava, which deliver the depleted blood into the right side of the heart. From here, the blood is pumped into the lungs where it receives oxygen and drains back into the left side of the heart. From here, it is pumped into the body's largest artery, the aorta, and then progressively smaller arteries and arterioles until it reaches tissue. Here, blood passes from small arteries into capillaries, then small veins and the process begins again. Blood carries oxygen, waste products, and hormones from one place in the body to another. Blood is filtered of waste by the kidneys and liver.
+* '''Baldr''' - Terrestrial Planet
+* '''Albion''' - Terrestrial Planet
+* '''Hodr''' - Terrestrial Planet
-The body consists of a number of body cavities - separated areas that house different organ systems. The brain and central nervous system reside in an area protected from the rest of the body by the blood-brain barrier. The lungs sit in the pleural cavity. The intestines, liver, and spleen, meanwhile, are located in the abdominal cavity.
+* '''Inner Asteroid Belt''' - Astronomical Feature
-Height, weight, shape, and other body proportions vary individually, and also largely depend on age and sex. Human body shape is influenced primarily by intrinsic hormonal development undergone during the species' youth, the resulting distribution of muscle and fat tissue, and personal habits and lifestyle choices.
+* '''Aegir''' - Gas Giant
+* '''Forseti''' - Gast Giant
-===Mentality:===
+* '''Outer Asteroid Belt''' - Astronomical Feature
-:<q>''"We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools..."''</q> <u>-Martin Luther King Jr, American Minister during the Civil Rights movement in the former United States of America.</u>
+* '''Thunor''' - Gas Giant
+* '''Heimdallr''' - Gas Giant
-The Human individual is complex, and may exhibit vast differences in ideology from their close relatives, let alone their peers. However, in recent years most of humanity have rallied behind Egalitarianism and championed the pursuit for true equality for all. The modern human tends to have a deeply rooted belief in equality of opportunity and individual liberty. For most of their modern history, Humanity has worked to stamp out oppression, authoritarianism, and corruption in their society, with a fair degree of success. A strong affinity for Democracy and 'fairness', coupled with their adaptive genius and insatiable curiosity, seems to drive them far beyond what one would think is possible. Humans make incredible mediators and skilled diplomats, but they are also cunning warriors and brilliant scientists. On approach, Humanity often attempts to achieve neutrality as a bare minimum, often with the goal of eventual friendship. Naturally, Humanity avoids exhibiting hostility without cause, and will attempt to deescalate a situation. This initially lead the Galactic community to assume Humans could be easily taken advantage of. These notions were quickly corrected, as Humanity's peaceful nature stems from their natural pragmatism and a powerful drive for self-preservation.
+* '''Comet Belt''' - Astronomical Feature
-===Genemodding:===
+==Ran==
-:<q>''"Humans have this upsetting notion of doing things just because they can, and not because they should. Manipulating their genetic code...nothing good can come from that. But, humans never live long enough to contemplate those consequences, do they?" - Recorded statement from Xerr'qura, Chief Medical Officer aboard the NDV Marksman, 2564.</u>
-The practice of 'genemodding' has been a custom of humanity, ever since the technology was commercialized late into the 23rd century. Whether used as a form of cultural expression, a necessary adaptation to one's environment, or purely for combat enhancement, humans are one of a relative handful of species who've mastered the technology, and lack much of any reservations regarding it's use. Over the centuries, it has spawned a number of unique variants: still genetically human, but modified extensively from the base-line.
+The single star at the center of the Epsilon Eridani system, Ran is a bright and young star which generates stronger UV and solar winds compared to larger and older Sol. It belongs to the spectral class K2V.
+The name "Ran" derives from the Old Norse "Rán" (lit.: theft, robbery), a goddess which personified the sea. Generally thought to embody it's dangerous and unfavorable aspects, she was sometimes depicted as killing seafarers by dragging them into the depths with a fishing net.
+The star's low orbits are largely unoccupied save for solar power collection infrastructure, as well as space weather monitoring and scientific probes.
-Hard-Worlder: An adaptation that sprang up during humanity's early colonization efforts in the frontier. This adaptation was designed for the worlds surrounding the galactic core: the gravity on these worlds would be oppressive, compared to Terra's, sometimes two to three times the Terran baseline of 1g. On the rare habitable worlds near the core, the colonists would be modified to adapt to the crushing gravity. Compact musculature and stronger organs were a start, alongside denser bone-structures, more elastic blood vessels, and an enhanced cardiovascular system. Due to these adaptations, in a 1g environment, there is a risk of 'decompression', which can result in medical issues if not treated properly: common indicators of decompression include shortness of breath, muscle cramps, erratic heart-rate, and vision problems. Gravitational adjustment therapy can help alleviate these issues, however.
+==Baldr==
-Low-Grav: The opposite of the hard-worlder, this human adaptation came about due to extended living in low-gravity, or zero-gravity, environments. This was a more natural adaptation then the hard-worlder variant. Strong hearts and stronger veins, lighter bones, increased fluid retention in the retinas and organs, are only a few of the physiological changes from the human baseline. In their native gravity, such humans would look like any other. Taken out of their environment without proper physical therapy, however, and the effects on their physiology would be disastrous
+A small and airless terrestrial world, orbiting roughly 0.34 AU from Ran, Baldr is tidally locked in a 2:5 resonance, it's astronomical day is rather long at ~32 days compared to it's ~81 day orbit, leading to a solar day ~54 days long.
+The extreme thermal environment at the planet's surface, coupled to the proximity to the star and it's powerful stellar winds, leave Baldr ironically overshadowed by the system's plentiful debris rings in the mining sector. The planet holds no permanent population, however it has been previously visited by manned expeditions and been the object of scientific study for nearly as long as the system has been colonized.
+The planet is named after the Norse god of light, owing to it's proximity to the star, whose death is prophesized to be a harbinger of the end of the world.
-Vat-Born: A deliberate degeneration, vat-born (or 'clones', a moniker gifted to them by the media) are simply humans made faster, cheaper, and with many genetic shortcuts. Vat-born are typically fitted with cybernetic augmentations to alleviate genetic burdens: underdeveloped brains are finished with cybernetic grafts, weak bones are strengthened with steel rods and plating, and ocular and olfactory senses can be restored with specialized implants. The legality of vat-born humans is questionable across the galaxy: the Orion Confederation outright banned the development of vat-born humans in 2284, yet the technology continued on, existing in corporate blacksites and rogue medical complexes. Nevertheless, vat-born are granted official citizenship in the Orion Confederation, and automatically assigned to an assisted living program known as 'Golmi Assisted Living and Genetic Therapy'
+==Albion==
-Vanities: A catch-all term for various genetically modified sub-groups, with the only defining feature being that their enhancements are purely cosmetic. This doesn't include those who decide to change their hair or eye coloration: this is for the people who see their bodies as entirely malleable, and worthy of expressing themselves to the fullest. The most common modifications are full covers, with extensive surgery and genetic therapy needed to assume a desired form. These individuals may look like elves, or felines, or insects, or things even stranger, but the differences are only skin (or scale) deep: beneath the alterations, they're still human. Thematic groups of Vanities have been known to proliferate throughout Orion Confederation space: to list each and every one would be an exhausting measure, so Vanities are grouped together based on their inspiration. These range from the Animalas (animal-based genemods), Tolkeins (cosmetic modifications based off of fantastical creatures), Hivers (genetic modifications inspired by insects, ranging from eusocial programming and insect-like chitin to simple antennae)
+Albion is the only Earth-like planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. Detection of it's earth-like characteristics, most notable of which were the presence of water vapor and oxygen in it's atmosphere, were the very reason the system became one of the first targets Humanity set out to colonize.
-==History==
+===Surface Conditions===
-===Origin System:===
+The planet orbits at roughly 0.71 AU from Ran, weighing 1.3 Earth Masses and with a radius of 1.1 Earth Radii, well as a similar, if marginally richer in oxygen atmosphere. The solar day on Albion is 33 hours and 8 minutes long. Surface temperatures reach as low as -101°C at the poles and as high as 26°C during summer at the equator, although average temperatures in most inhabited areas hover somewhere around 0°C over the course of the year.
+When it was first colonized, Albion already harbored it's own alien biosphere, although it was primitive compared to Terran life. Oxygen producing bacteria and small land vegetation and fungi were all that were present on land. While an analogue to the Eukaryotic cell had seemingly evolved, the handful of multicellular animal organisms within the planet's cold oceans were only beginning to develop.
+How such life had developed in so short a timeframe when compared to Terra was both highly unexpected to it's first settlers and still a topic of scientific discussion, although current leading theories are that relatively advanced microbes and possibly even eukaryotic life may have been seeded through panspermia after the planet had cooled from it's formation.
+Regardless of how it arose, the planet's native life was unfortunately ill-equipped to compete with the Terran specimens brought by the colonization effort, and a significant part of that early life was lost before any attempts at study and preservation could be made.
+Most of pre-human Eridanian life today exists only within controlled study environments and purpose-made space stations which attempt to emulate the planet's early biosphere. On the surface itself, most of the planet's flora and fauna have been replaced by descendants of the imported Terran examples and gene-edited additions which were considered necessary to stabilize the biosphere during the change, although a handful of the most adaptable of native land and sea life managed to persist into the current day, and were considered best left as they were.
+The planet's equator harbors a climate not too unlike temperate regions of Terra, although the further away from it one travels it quickly becomes more tundra-like and eventually arctic, with large continental glaciers dominating the planet's higher latitudes completely.
-:<q>''The Solar system can support a trillion humans, and then we would have a thousand Mozarts, and a thousand Einsteins'' </q> <u>-Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon inc.</u>
+===Colonization===
-The Sol system is the origin system of Humanity. It is composed of one G-Type Main Sequence Star that is known informally as the "Sun", and formally as "Sol". The Sol System is about 4.6 billion years old and was formed naturally by gravity in a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, and the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Sol System. As is common for these systems, the Sun accounts for 99.9% of the Sol System's total mass. This results in the system's strong gravity. The other celestial objects in the Sol system orbit Sol in an organized and predictable fashion.
+While most early colonies did not stray far from the more habitable equator, present-day arcologies on Albion will sometimes stretch into the more desolate high latitudes when needed. Population densities are, in general, low and concentrated around a few major metropolises near the equator.
+The planet is the capital of the Eridani Alliance, headquartered in Morveren, one of the planet's largest cities, built along the coast of the Galdrygean Ocean, within the region where the first colonists had once landed their shuttles.
+It's sparser regions, meanwhile, include smaller clusters of towns, cities and standalone arcologies, and are unique within the Epsilon Eridani system given the world's singular status as a habitable, breathable natural environment. One of the reasons for this lack of centralization, which has carried to the Alliance's governing of it's interstellar territories, is the relative heterogeneity of initial settlement.
+Unlike many of the colonies that arose in the super-luminal age the Eridani awoke to, theirs was a colonization effort of a single, self-contained trip, one with enough numbers to establish many concurrent settlements on the surface, many of which have persisted into the current day.
-There are eight planets in the Sol System. From closest to farthest from Sun, they are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The first four are terrestrial planets, with Earth being the homeworld of the Human Race. These planets are mostly made of rock and metal, and are mostly solid. The last four planets are Gas Giants, and as the name suggests, are composed mostly of gas.
+===Notable Locations===
-The Sol System contains other notable celestial features. A conglomerate of asteroid belts divides the space between Mars and Jupiter. Further out, beyond Neptune, lie the Kuiper belt and the scattered disc. These zones contain dwarf planets, including Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, Ceres, and Eris. There are further thousands of cosmically small objects to be found in these areas. There are also comets, Centaurs, and standard interplanetary dust. Six of the planets and three of the dwarf planets are orbited by moons. Furthermore, planetary dust orbits the gas giants, leading in some cases to pronounced planetary rings.
+====Morveren====
-The Sol system is an altogether typical system, if rich in resources. Three of the eight planets, one of the dwarf planets, and three moons are currently inhabited by Humans. Of the planets, Humans have colonized Venus, Earth, and Mars. Pluto is the lone inhabited dwarf planet. Earth's Moon (formally named "Luna"), Mar's moon (formally named "Phobos"), and Saturn's moon ("Titan") have likewise undergone terraforming processes, and are now inhabited by Humanity.
+Morveren and the greater Morveren Region lie on the western shore of the Galdrygean Ocean, only a dozen degrees north of the equator. It is defined by a region of low-relief terrain, extending into the ocean in relatively wide plains and sandy shores, flanked north and south by mountainous and cliff-prone terrain, Additionally, much of this coast is sheltered by a system of islands.
+This relatively hospitable coast of mild weather and stable, oceanic climate is home to so much of Albion's population and the capital of the Alliance by no coincidence, for it was one of the first areas chosen for landfall by the initial colonists, and was populated by a large basis of colonists from the ship's primary nations.
+The current-day metropolis which occupies the region, extends from one cliff-lined coast to the other, inland and out to many of the islands just off the shore, and is often the place people who "have been to Albion" have visited.
+From an urban planning point of view, Morveren is generally considered an expensive and even difficult city to develop, given it's long, comprehensive, and very much strict planning permission requirements, building codes and zoning laws which have only grown in size and complexity over as the city itself has.
+Save for the densest of downtown areas and islands, population densities quickly drop off when compared to modern Terran counterparts due to a generally lower emphasis on verticality, in addition to many more green spaces, parks, footpaths, and so on, when compared to Terra's wealth of self-contained Arcologies.
+The city itself is serviced by an extensive subway system, while overland rail is used for further destinations.
+Architectural styles vary between boroughs within the city, drawn from many of it's originating cultures, and containing everything from modernized reimaginings of old Terran styles to wholly new and contemporary buildings. With one of it's hallmarks being the prominent use of stone still finding currency with private and government structures alike, even when only as a façade material.
-Other major population centers of note in the Sol System are the Ark IV station - a megastructural arcology around Earth which contains much of Earth's original biosphere and animal life, and Unity - a Dwarf Planet sized Habitat constructed between Earth and Mars which serves as the capitol complex of The Orion Confederation.
+=====Landmarks of Morveren=====
-More information about the Sol system can be found [[Lore:_Sol_System|here]].
+* '''Alliance Parliament Complex'''
+Built along an elevated part of the landscape upon the north-western part of the city, the parliamentary complex of the Alliance is the prototypical example of Eridanian Classicist architecture. Clean-cut stone brick and tall, bronze-fixtured windows whose shape retain hints of their distant gothic origins as they loom over it's encircling hedges from nearly a meter above street level. Within it's sprawling halls are housed both chambers of parliament, as well as many other spaces, including but not limited to: meeting rooms, chambers and offices for visiting diplomats and members of government, a press briefing chamber, an intelligence management complex and a closed-access library responsible for archival of Alliance documents, as well as offering members of government access to reference material and research services.
-===Homeworld:===
+* '''Orion Confederacy Delegation Office, Epsilon Eridani Branch'''
+An imposing building of trapezoidal shape, it's almost brutalist unadorned metal and glass construction is unlike anything else in the city, to the point of seeming like it's been imported wholesale from Sol.
+The flags of every human government within OriCon are flown along the concourse before it.
-:<q>''We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children'' </q> <u>-Anceint Native American proverb</u>
+* '''National Museum of the Alliance Navy'''
+An austere and angular building, designed with large and imposing asymmetrical windows to illuminate it's spacious interior. It contains many examples of Alliance space hardware, exhibits on it's myriad military vessels both current and historical, and a permanent exhibit on the complete history of the ICV Albion, from the first design drafts penned in Sol to photographic and written accounts of the planet's settlement.
+An Alliance Navy missile frigate is kept at the grounds as a museum ship. Named the ANS Trafalgar, it had been in service up until the late 2550s, where the aging vessel saw limited use in a fire-support role against Xenomorph incursions at the edges of OriCon space before being finally converted into a display piece.
-The Human homeworld, informally known as "Earth" and formally as "Terra", is the third planet from System's star - the Sun. Earth rests in the middle of the Sol System's "Natural Habitation Zone". It is an Ecumenopolis, or "City-World", with most of the planets surface now covered in a sprawling mega-city. The surface of the planet, however, is dotted with sprawling areas devoid of permanent human habitation, which serve as preservation sites for the planet's diverse natural biospheres. Water covers nearly 79% of the planet's surface. Following pronounced ecological upheaval in its past,  mega-structural dams and canals were built to divert the water flow of the once-rising oceans from flooding most of the Human coastal societies.
+====Regnfelt====
-===History:===
+One of the planet's largest cities, it lies roughly 150km from the eastern shore of the Aettrian Ocean and was built upon the shore of river Heggel. Cold winds from the region's predominantly humid continental climate whistle in from beyond the nearby dormant volcano, Mt. Sovendefjell, and blanket the region in heavy snowfall every winter.
+Much more geographically constrained than Morveren thanks to the nearby mountainous terrain, the city is home to some of Albion's tallest structures, while underground tunnels and partially open-air areas below ground-level are relatively common.
+Outdoors areas in Regnfelt are often particularly recognizable for their prominent use of local basalt and other dark volcanic stone given their convenient weathering resistance, although many newer buildings have begun adopting the material alongside other similarly dark palettes for their aesthetic appeal and contrast to the snow, leading it to become a hallmark of the city within recent centuries.
+Unlike most of the planet of Albion, and indeed, the whole system of Epsilon Eridani itself, Regnfelt's demographics are skewed in favor of many of the system's less represented cultures, particularly those of Scandinavian descent, having been initially established by a small, but still significant conclave of such peoples from the ICV Albion.
-:<q>''History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.''</q> <u>-George Santayana</u>
+=====Landmarks of Regnfelt=====
-It is hard to determine exactly when Human history begins, and the topic is still hotly debated by interested parties to this day. Most humans trace their lineage back into 'Prehistory', beginning with the Palaeolithic Era ("Old Stone Age"), followed by the Neolithic Era ("New Stone Age"). The Neolithic saw the Agricultural Revolution begin between 10,000 and 5000 BCE, in the Near East's Fertile Crescent. During this period, humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals. As agriculture advanced, most humans transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes into a settled, agrarian lifestyle in permanent settlements. The relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed communities to expand into increasingly larger units, fostered by advances in transportation and husbandry.
+* '''Stratton Medical Inc. Headquarters'''
+Not merely a building, but a sprawling campus of R&D and healthcare laboratories leading up the slight incline to the company's administrative center, a towering monolith of black-tinted glass bearing it's rather aesclepian logo, wherein the snake forms a recognizable "S".
+Although now a subsidiary of Vey-Med Orion, SMI had once quickly established itself as one of the largest medical corporations of Epsilon Eridani in it's early days thanks to the popularity and thus sheer demand for genemodding services, of which their founders were quick to capitalize upon. However, once initial demand lessened, their expansion into the market of general healthcare came too late to prevent purchase by the, by that point, much better-established OriCon branch of the Skrellian megacorporation.
-Whether in prehistoric or historic times, people always needed to be near reliable sources of potable water. Settlements developed as early as 4,000 BCE in Iran, in Mesopotamia, in the Indus River valley, on the banks of Egypt's Nile River, and along China's rivers. As farming developed, grain agriculture became more sophisticated and prompted a division of labor to store food between growing seasons. Labour divisions led to the rise of an enriched upper class and the development of cities, which provided the foundation for civilization. The growing complexity of human societies necessitated systems of accounting and writing.
+* '''Kentwell University's Museum of Natural History'''
+A wide, corinthian building found within the University's grounds. It's limestone neoclassical facade and vaulted ceilings are separated like ribs by tall, modern windows on shining steel frames, often to low, dramatic lighting at night.
+The museum itself is one of the most complete sources of information on Albion as a planet, including exhibits on extinct and/or fossilized alien flora and fauna from before human colonization, the geological history of the region and especially of Mt. Sovendefjell, and much more.
-With civilizations flourishing, ancient history ("Antiquity," including the Classical Age, up to about 500 CE) saw the rise and fall of empires. Post-classical history (the "Middle Ages," c. 500–1500 CE,) witnessed the rise of Christianity and, concurrently, the Islamic Golden Age (c. 750 CE – c. 1258 CE). These ancient religions, so prevalent in human culture, cling to life even to this day - but only barely. The Timurid and Italian Renaissance (from around 1300 CE) saw a bloom in artistic and mechanical innovation. The mid-15th-century introduction of movable-type printing in Europe revolutionized communication and facilitated ever wider dissemination of information, hastening the end of the Middle Ages and ushering in the Scientific Revolution. The Early Modern Period, sometimes referred to as the "European Age and Age of the Islamic Gunpowders", from about 1500 to 1800, included the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Exploration. By the 18th century, the accumulation of knowledge and technology had reached a critical mass that brought about the Industrial Revolution and began the Late Modern Period, which started around 1800 and has continued through the early 21st century.
+* '''Loch Morkh'''
+A freshwater lake amidst the mountains, not all too far from Regnfelt. It's peaceful shore and the surrounding nigh-untouched wilderness are a common tourist destination for those visiting the city or wishing for a break from it's monumental, looming skyscrapers.
+The region is considered a natural heritage site by the Alliance government. It is closely studied for insights into the region's geology and due to it's location within a tectonic subduction zone.
-The latter half of the 21st century saw many large cultural shifts, such as the period of great secularization, in which most of the human population abandoned religion in favor of empiricism and logical thought. However, the centuries of technological improvement and the expansion paved the way for the greatest crisis mankind would face; climate change. Drastic changes in the climate and rising water levels were lead to a shrinking landmass inversely related to the exponential growth of the Human population. As resources dwindled and conditions worsened, Humanity turned their eyes up. Mass migrations and haphazard colonizations became common toward the end of the century. Billions of humans abandoned the Earth for, first, its moon Luna, and then nearby Mars.
+====Other Locations====
+Albion is Epsilon Eridani's sole habitable world, and where the vast majority planet-bound Eridanians live. There are dozens of other large metropolitan centers not listed here, and uncountable numbers of smaller cities and towns spread over it's many continents, especially along equatorial regions, each with their own history and character.
-In 2083, less than a decade after the ''Timingala'' disaster, the Earth's remaining Nations engaged in the planet's third global-scale conflict, known colloquially as "World War 3". Sparked by the increasingly untenable shortage of vital resources, this war engulfed the planet. Ending just after the turn of the century in 2105, this great catastrophe saw the destruction of many powerful and influential Nations, such as The Peoples Republic of China, The Russian Federation and The United State of America.
+==Hodr==
-In the War's devastating wake, however, came the birth of great Nation-States that exist upon Earth to this very day. Among the surviving Nation-States are the Republic of Cascadia, The Greater Canadian Federation, and The United States of Central America. Nuclear devastation seen during the latter days of the conflict lead to the poisoning of many of the already dwindling habitable zones on Earth. Large portions of the Earth's surface, including large swathes of "The American South", "European Russia" and "Manchuria", were rendered completely uninhabitable until the late 2200s. During the conflict, the newly founded colonies on Luna and Mars could no longer rely on their Earth-borne patrons for much support. Already nearly self-sufficient, the colonies declared independence with virtually no resistance, as the Nations of Earth were too embroiled in their final battle to handle these fresh revolutions.
+The only inner-system dwarf planet, Hodr is a small airless world near the inner limits of the system's innermost asteroid belt, generally thought to have formed alongside it.
+Although initially colonized for it's concentration of mineral resources, it's position at the edge of the asteroid belt has seen it become a major logistical center for belt mining and interplanetary trade. Although metals and other raw resources are still moved in great quantities through it, they are far from the only goods to do so in the present day.
+In ancient Norse legend, Hodr is the old norse god of darkness and winter, the blind brother of Baldr, who is tricked into slaying his brother by the trickster god Loki.
-The 22nd Century was centered largely around reshaping human culture and history, and symbolically rebuilding and assisting in the Earth's recovery. During the time of human civilization's greatest crisis, strong bonds of unity and egalitarianism, alongside a deep respect for nature and the preservation of natural environments, formed that largely persist to this day.
+==Inner Asteroid Belt==
-The 22nd Century saw massive explosions in population across all human-inhabited areas, and a resulting golden age of human colonization efforts across the Orion spur. Initially utilizing cutting edge Artificial Birth and Data-to-Brain Transference technologies, Humans began seeding colonies with "Vat-Grown" humans. These technologies allowed the "Vat-Growns" to be digitally imprinted with basic knowledge during their gestation period, on their long trips out into the stars. Amusingly, this technique was abandoned almost immediately, as one of the initial Seeder Ships was detected by the Vikaran Federation. Tracing the colony ship back to its origin point, Humanity established First Contact with the Skrell, and quickly established a friendly relationship with the species. This vital relationship advanced Human spacefaring technology by generations, removing the need to grow generations of settlers in transit. The original Vat-Grown colony ships were allowed to remain on their planned courses, and the colonies manned by this divergent Human subspecies may be found to this day in areas such as Alpha Centauri and Epsilon Eridani.
+The innermost of the system's asteroid belts, it extends from roughly 1.5 to 2.5 AU from the star.
+Being a relatively young star system, Epsilon Eridani contains many more small astronomical bodies and general debris from it's formation compared to Sol.
+This plentiful supply of easily accessed resources has been exploited since the settling of the system given the need to provide Albion with orbital infrastructure, and such a need has only grown as the system developed.
+Today, the Inner Belt is the main supplier of materials to most space-based projects and industry, such as the myriad families of orbital habitats the outer system is known for.
-Other occurrences of note during this Era included the development of comprehensive climate altering technologies and the birth of "The Eden Initiative", which saw the restoration of Earth, the effective end of Climate Change, and the large scale terraforming of Mars and Luna into Earth-Like Worlds. As a side effect, the mass adoption of Anti-Pollution edicts and the implementation of "Green" Technology became commonplace across most of human civilization.
+==Aegir==
-Intent on establishing a formal government, Humanity's colonies across the stars held a conclave to discuss how best the race as a whole should be represented amongst the stars. From this first conclave came The Orion Confederation. Functioning as a Government body possessing nominal power over both colonies and planets, The Orion Confederation's power in the early days of expansion ensured the presentation of a unified human front. Simultaneously, the Nation-States of Earth banded together and, taking cues from the long-defunct United Nations, founded the United Earth Federation (UEF), which exists to this day.
+A gas giant of roughly 0.8 Jupiter masses orbiting at the outer limit of the system's inner asteroid belt, this was the first planet to be detected in it's roughly 3.5 au orbit around Ran.
+It's orbital space houses myriad moons and hundreds of space stations, ranging from hydrogen depots near the giant to distant families or "fleets" of civilian facilities. Overall, Aegir and it's many moons form a local subsystem which contains the majority of the system's space-bound population.
+In Norse myth, Aegir is a personification of the ocean and husband to Ran, whose children are referred to as the waves of the sea.
-rd Century WIP (Highlight: Diplomatic Tensions with the Unathi and the Embargo against Sexism and Slavery)
+==Outer System==
-th Century WIP (Highlights: Intervention in the Tajaran Civil War)
+Although not completely uninhabited, the outer regions of Epsilon Eridani contain only a very small fraction of the system's population, as few people have a need to venture beyond Aegir and fewer still to cross the Outer Asteroid Belt to the lonely gas giants that lie at the system's edge.
-th Century WIP (Highlights: Phoron Baby, Phoron!)
+=History & Culture=
-===Current Racial Status/Government:===
+==Life in Epsilon Eridani==
-In the 26th Century, Humanity thrives from its prosperous unification and few enemies on the galactic stage. Widespread, relatively peaceful, and technologically advanced, Humans have quickly become a galactic power. Most humans enjoy comfortable, profitable, and/or fulfilling lives in a thriving and competitive galactic economy. The Orion Confederation has become a focal point in galactic trade and diplomacy, and humanity enjoys what is arguably the most prosperous times in its history.
+Life in Epsilon Eridani is in most respects similar to life within Sol, although with a drastically smaller population and a sometimes familiar, yet often strikingly different set of cultures to even the original Post-Diaspora Sol colonies it arose from.
+The majority of Eridanians are planet-bound and live upon the sole habitable world of Albion. Beyond them, a large fraction of the system's remaining population is partially or completely space-bound, and live in the countless habitats and stations across the system, especially those orbiting it's innermost gas-giant, Aegir.
-==Culture==
+===Eridanian Language===
-===The Human Diaspora===
+The language of Epsilon Eridani, often referred to as "Eridani Common", descends from the early Sol Common spoken by the subset of Sol territories that contributed colonists to the ICV Albion's crew.
-''The Human Diaspora'', often simply referred to as "The Diaspora", is an archaic term referring to the period in time prior to the Last War where human cultures departed from Earth as largely insulated cultural blocks. Colonization missions funded by several of the major world powers at the time departed from the planet on the very cusp of global annihilation. Over time these missions established colonies in distant systems which retained pre-War cultural identities. Countries such as the United States of America, Russia, India, Australia, etc. no longer exist as formal cultural bodies on Earth, in much the same way that ancient Rome or Egypt have been relegated to history. The only remnants of these cultures now exist among the stars as the inheritors of the Diaspora.
+When compared to Modern Sol Common, one finds an endless number of differences, owing not only to the roughly 200 years Sol Common spent evolving independently from it, but also due to having borrowed from new languages more familiar to Eridanian colonists and even reviving certain Middle and Old English spellings or concepts, whilst dropping a large part of those influences unfamiliar to them such as French and German.
+Modern Eridani Common, while distinct from Sol Common, has been in sufficient contact with the latter to ensure a reasonable level of mutual understanding, though it varies between individuals, with a younger and/or more cosmopolitan person possibly having no more than a characteristic accent, while someone less inclined might be genuinely difficult for a Sol tourist to understand.
+Very unlike Sol's limited "ceremonial" relation to Sol Common, Epsilon Eridanians use Eridani Common as their primary language in everyday life and learn Galactic Common as a second language.
-===Language:===
+===Eridanian Timekeeping===
-Humans speak a wide array of minor dialects and languages, but two are most prevalent throughout modern human culture: Sol-Common, which is almost entirely spoken by residents of the Sol System. Sol Common is also used throughout The Orion Confederation, largely in a diplomatic context. It is a merge of the old Earth languages Latin, British English, French, and German. Galactic Common, the more prevalent of the two, is the lingua franca of the Confederation. Galactic Common is a bastardization of American-English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani, with loanwords and influences that have been assimilated from other languages - even Alien languages - over time. In some highly isolated communities, archaic human languages such as Chinese, Russian, and German are spoken still.
+Time within Epsilon Eridani is primarily based around Albion. Due to the planet's orbit, the Epsilon Eridanian year is 175 days long except for leap years and consists of 8 months 20-23 days long.
+The 33 hour and 8 minute day is generally separated into three parts, "Morning (MG / Morᵹen)", "Mid-Day (MD / Middæġ)" and "Evening (AE / Ǣfen)". Each third is 11 hours long, with an additional 8 minutes of "Midnight / Midniht " which are considered "hourless". The standard timezone is Morveren Mean Time (EE:MMT).
+Digital clocks will generally display the hour as "XX" during the eight minutes of midnight. Physical timepieces such as wristwatches, on the other hand, are made with eleven hour indices, rather than Terra's twelve, with three revolutions indicating a full day. Normal convention is to have the hour hand stop during midnight and keep the additional eight minutes via a faster, 34th revolution of the minute hand, although some clocks incorporate alternative ways of displaying it such as an independent hand or separate inner dial.
-===Religion:===
+===Naming Conventions===
-:<q>''God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.'' </q> <u>-Friedrich Nietzsche, Philisopher</u>
+Standard human naming convention remain the basis for Eridanians, and generally follows naming trends inherited from their originating regions (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Iceland). In general, surnames of non-Anglo-Saxon origin are used in their non-anglicized form, although the anglicized form may be used interchangeably, usually as a convenience to non-Eridanians.
+First names are not so consistent and may be anglicized or not.
-The concept of religion as a whole is largely lost to present-day humans. However, very few humans still practice various religions, the most prevalent of which are Christianity - and its two main denominations, The Roman-Catholic Church and The Fifth Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ (Better known as Mormons), Islam and its only surviving denomination - Sunni, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Combined religious worshippers represent around 7% of the human population with 80% declared Non-Religious and 13% classifying themselves as "Undecided".
+===Alien Inhabitants===
-===Relationships With Other Species:===
+Even if not entirely unheard of, alien citizens of Epsilon Eridani are quite few and far between, as the system never had a significant draw such as Mars had on the Tyrmalin for Sol.
+While most are welcome to live there if they wish, the distance from Frontier space, coupled with the system's identity still being so heavily human-centered due to it's past and relationship to old Terran custom has done much to discourage members of other species when choosing to move to Alliance space, especially when compared to the options presented by most other Alliance systems.
-:<q>''Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."'' </q> <u>-John F Kennedy, Former President of The United State of America.</u>
+==Modern Culture==
-Humanity has excellent diplomatic relations with most of the galaxy, barring a few outlying exceptions. They are most commonly known as the "Mediators of the Galactic Stage", and often times large diplomatic meetings between other galactic parties are hosted by The Orion Confederation. They are however known to provoke conflict on occasion, preaching democracy, liberty, freedom, and equality across the galaxy - even in areas where the message is unwelcome. The War of Abolition was instigated by humans against the Unathi in an attempt to force the Empire of Moghes to Abandon Slavery. Another Famous example of human interventionism would be Operation Peacemaker, where The Orion Confederation and The Vikaran Federation worked hand in hand to put an end to the Tajaran Civil war, even going as far as occupying Adhomai with peacekeeping forces and creating a Demilitarized Zone. More in-depth human/xeno relations are laid out below.
+While the initial efforts of the colonists of Epsilon Eridani to redefine themselves are all but past, there's no doubt it's only so due to their clear success.
+To the present day, anthropology, literature, linguistics, history, and related fields still see much higher interest and ongoing research at most Eridanian universities than their Terran peers, and while not always to the taste of every young Epsilon Eridanian, Albion still houses enough fathomless state libraries and museums to constitute the bulk of original Terran artifacts outside of Sol.
+Meanwhile, time did little to homogenize the cultures which first settled the planet, let alone the system, where many regional traditions still trace themselves back to specific sections or sometimes even just a handful of colonists from the Albion.
+Quite unlike to the more strict societal norms of the other non-Sol states of the Orion Confederation, social life within the Alliance, and within Epsilon Eridani itself still mirrors in many ways the very same liberal democracies it's diaspora roots were spawned from, including no shortage of counterculture and alternative movements, though while a rare few seek to challenge the very foundations of Eridanian culture itself, many are, in reality, yet another facet of it, recovering and reimagining their Terran origins of ages past into local counterparts, with some of those fringe groups such witches, pagans and satanists having been, if anything, reinforced by the state's early inquiries into European myth.
-:'''<u>The Vikaran Federation (Skrell, Teshari, Akula, Vulpkanin):</u>''' Humanity's first and longest standing friend on the Galactic stage, the Vikaran Federation remains a close ally of Humanity, with free trade and cultural exchange between Humanity and the Vikaran member races flourishing to this day.
+===Religion===
-:'''<u>The Diona:</u>''' Humans are entirely neutral in regards to the Diona, seemingly indifferent with them until recently. The Diona weren't understood to be sapient life by Humans until the Skrell convinced them otherwise.
-:'''<u>The Alarune:</u>''' Humans are suspicious of the Alarune, simply because they have only just met and need to work out exactly how to interact, but initial results have been regarded as promising by both parties.
-:'''<u>The Vox:</u>''' First contact between the Vox and Humanity was an attempted Vox raid of Mars, which ended poorly for the raiders, who thought the other planets in the area wouldn't come to Mar's aid. Since then, Humans and Vox share a puzzling and shaky trade relationship that is, ostensibly, mutually beneficial.
-:'''<u>The Shade-Kin:</u>''' As Humanity's Second Contact in the galaxy, the Shade-Kin are loved by humans. The two races get along famously, sharing a love of democracy and equality. Although they are friendly with each other, the Shade-Kin's nature has left Humanity with an incomplete understanding of the race's culture and biology.
-:'''<u>The Unathi:</u>''' Humans openly despise traditional Unathi, as their culture supports subjugation, sexism, and slavery. As most humans regard this as "A disgusting and archaic practice that simply cannot be allowed to continue", Humans have a current and long-standing embargo the Unathi - barring any and all Unathi goods from entering Confederation space. Smugglers are punished as if their actions are equivalent to participating in galactic slavery. The Empire of Moghes dislikes humanity for harboring political dissidents of the empire, pro-democracy activists, and equality activists. Regardless, the Confederation provides asylum to any and all who seek refuge from the Empire.
-:'''<u>Tajara:</u>''' Liked by humanity, a longtime affiliation with Terran felines and humans dating back tens of thousands of years fostered quick and warm relations between Tajara and Humans.
-:'''<u>Angels and Demons:</u>''' Because of their appearance, humans are instinctively suspicious of both angels and demons. Although it is accepted that their resemblance to creatures in Earth mythology is nothing but a coincidence, relationships between the species is strained, and layered with superstition. Galactic records confirm that neither angels nor demons have ever interacted with humans prior to their arrival on the Galactic stage, and the resemblance is entirely coincidental. To those unaffected by the superstition, this is an amusing, but statistically inevitable reality.
-:'''<u>Rapala:</u>''' Humans lack a formal stance on this species, as they have only recently been introduced.
-:'''<u>Zorren:</u>''' Humans lack a formal stance on this species, as they have only recently been introduced.
-:'''<u>Phoronids:</u>''' Humans lack a formal stance on this species, as they have only recently been introduced.
-:'''<u>Roseu:</u>''' Technological companions and skilled traders, the Roseu are respected by humans, and are well-liked by these rodent engineers in return.
-===Species Relationship Quick Reference Chart===
+Although a third of the ICV Albion's crew was already declared agnostic by the time they had left Sol, that fraction would prove surprisingly small by the time they joined OriCon and found that most religious beliefs had been steadily falling out of favour in human space during the intervening centuries.
+The first settlers had brought with them many religions common to their regions of origin, allowing English Protestantism, Irish Catholicism, as well as other christian denominations from the remaining regions to find their way to the colony's beginnings.
+As the Eridanian character developed, however, the keen interest in how their ancient cultures had shared parallels inevitably began to explore the ties between Anglo-Saxon and Norse paganism, as well as how it sometimes differed from it's elusive cousin, Celtic paganism.
+While only limited amounts of information remained on the specifics of such religions, many smaller myths, beliefs and superstitions, both unknowingly inherited through the constituent cultures and recently rediscovered during this period of public interest, found generally good reception from most Eridanians, and in the coming decades both organized paganism and independent occultism saw a small resurgence in many regions within the growing colonies.
-{| style="background-color:#DCDCDC; text-align:left;" width="250px" cellspacing="0" border="1"
+Overall, while agnosticism is not uncommon within the Alliance today, Epsilon Eridani itself remains one of the most religious sections of human space in an age where that agnosticism has otherwise risen to become the human standard, thanks both their unwillingness to give up the beliefs which they'd inherited from distant Terra, as well as the lengths to which older mythology was returned to the public consciousness in the colony's formative years. This has led over time to a gradual blending between these different aspects into composite and myriad belief choices as dependent on geography as they are upon the individuals themselves.
-! style="background-color:#A9A9A9;" |Species
-! style="background-color:#A9A9A9; width:150px" |Standing
-|-
-|Akula
-|Friendly
-|-
-|Auril
-|Suspicious
-|-
-|Alarune
-|Neutral
-|-
-|Diona
-|Neutral
-|-
-|Dremachir
-|Suspicious
-|-
-|Phoronids
-|Neutral
-|-
-|Shade-Kin
-|Friendly
-|-
-|Skrell
-|Friendly
-|-
-|Tajaran
-|Positive
-|-
-|Teshari
-|Friendly
-|-
-|Unathi
-|Hostile
-|-
-|Vox
-|Suspicious
-|-
-|}
-==OOC Notes==
+===Monarchy===
-===Etiquette Guide for Human Players:===
+While most of Terra's British Royal Family survived the Final War, and although many places within Sol still recognize them in a ceremonial role to some capacity, their influence would not prove a lasting mark on the ICV Albion or the colony it would one day spawn.
+Later, faster attempts at colonization made with FTL technology would eventually extend or reinvent the role of monarchy within the space that went on to became the Orion Confederation and even parts of the Alliance, however the Eridanian's motions to distinguish themselves from their Sol origins quickly saw such an aspect of government left behind with Terra, if nothing else for a lack of need or mandate at the time, although passing mentions to non-existent monarchy still happen on occasion, largely as irony or figure of speech.
-Generally playing as a human supremacist will not go off well in the community and could lead you into trouble later down the line. We recommend highly against this as it also runs counter to our primary human lore.
-===Important Racial Terminology:===
-*''Solar'': A Term used to describe someone from the Sol System.
-*''Terran'': A Term used to describe someone from Earth.
-*''Duster'': A Term used to describe someone from Mars.
-*''Spacer'': A Term used to describe someone who doesn't have a home "World". This also applies to those born on Unity depending on who is asked.
-*''Fed'': A Term used to describe someone from Unity, or someone who is a part of the government of the Orion Confederation.
-*''Lunar'': A Term used to describe someone who is from a Moon, Particularly Luna, Earth's moon.
----
- Author: ''Harlichan (KodiakJackson)''
-{{Races}}
-[[Category: Lore]]
-[[Category: Races]]