DremachirDraft

Overview

The Dremachir Homeworld, Drema.

Dremachir (Dreh-mah-kheer) is the blanket-name given to the vast collective of genetic divergent subspecies originating from Auril, mostly located within their chaotic planet-world, Drema, within the Daedal system. Their homeworld is a resource-rich, dark, dusty planet with large uninhabitable wastes and dotted with sulphur-rich lakes that have an eerie, orange glow. Despite nearly three centuries of consistent efforts by the colonisers, the planet remains a hostile environment. Most of the habitable hotspots, where vast aquifers of water along with other natural resource pockets were discovered, were occupied and turned into expansive, country-sized megalopoli with little to no planetary oversight or governance. Nowadays, the Dremachir world serves as a local sector center of commerce and services, where one can buy, find or hire almost anything they might desire.

The Dremachir themselves are a varied, inconsistent mixture of various nations, groups, gangs and subspecies, the only concretely unifying trait among them being having little desire to be fully integrated into the core Auril society.

Planet

Drema, translated from the Auril tongue into 'Shadow', is a large rocky body with an outward hostile appearance. It has had several centuries of consistent volcanic activity which has resulted in the planet being mostly covered in volcanic ash, and the air within filled with a variety of less-than-pleasant minerals and compounds. Nevertheless, the air is safe to breathe if filtered, and the entire planet has been undergoing intentional, and unintentional, climate change over the centuries of inhabitance by the colonists. This has resulted in the current-day Drema of developing a variety of sparse pockets of exotic vegetation, oasi of water and other more distinct biomes, to the point some parts of the planet even get regular sunlight, particularly around the Auril Enclave. Each City has its own biosphere which ensures filtered air coming in and an ability to safely be outside, apart from a couple of notable exceptions, they essentially have their own giant biomes and climate, optimised for whatever it is the saturated society had a need, or desire for, or as a consequence of such.

The world has several satellites in orbit, many of them home to various luxury hotels, negotiation venues and resorts.

Biology

Dremachir as a name is a blanket term for a large variety of mutations, subspecies and mixed breeds that have emerged over the centuries the planet had been isolated. Exposure to a variety of interested alien cultures, particularly humananity, also led to some Chir specifically tailing their bodies for appeal, or even lack of. In turn, most Xenoanthropologists have given up trying to document all the various subspecies that are not sterile, simply blanketing them as "Dremeri". Though, this mostly came after a couple of curious groups went missing after attempting to leave one of the safer megalopoli.

Subspecies

Despite the almost granular deviation from even potentially each individual, there have been general similar traits observed among the Dremeri. In particular, many of them have developed a filtration mechanism inside of them that creates protrusions as mineral deposits. Depending on the origin of the individual, from wealth to parenthood, they may portrude from their head, and be smooth, or be numerous and coming out of their joints, chest, back or any other location. Some of the subspecies may create hardy or particularly sharp horns, while others may have them be sensitive to touch or other stimuli, though they opt to live in more open spaces to avoid doorframes.

• Lilin -- "Flower": The core inhabitants of Lust and are the most consistent in appearance, often labelled as "Succubi" or "Incubi" depending on gender. They're often winged, with elegant horn, smooth skin and a variety of sexual enhancements and modifications to appeal to humans and other clientele. Due to the nature of Lust's primary service, they have a variety of approaches to fertility. Some may require specific hormones, others have muscles blocking off the relevant organs, or other means. Being unconditionally infertile, while not unheard of, is rare.
• Khor -- "Punch": Wrath's primary denizens. Noted by their large sizes, ram-like horns and fierce tempers. They are tribal in nature, and most of their modifications came from needing to wrangle and wrestle the hardy fauna located around their city. While almost queer in the eyes of the modern space society, and even other Dremeri, they are best-adapted to the traversal and survival in the Wastes, as their mule caravans, mounted by local domesticated animals 'Urna', can be more reliable, and at times faster, than anything mounted on wheels.
• Belph -- "Lazy": Part of the ever-reclusive Sloth population. They are known to be anything either quite thin and frail, or rotund and stout. Despite their Eehin bodies, they have made a very notable exonet presence for themselves, often posing as Holo-tubers, and even beating out prominent Lilins. They're noted by an overreliance on limb extensions, mechatronics and conveyor belts.
• Ashmedai -- "Sand Eaters": The general term for the blending pot of bandits and raiders that live in the various caves, mountains and underground locations across the greater wastes of Drema. They often have the most rudimentary of modifications, their mineral filtering resulting in spikes more than horns, with most of their efforts put into survivability, hardiness and avoiding Wrath's khalazars. The gangs often comprised of multiple other subspecies.
• Ashin -- "Of Sand": The most populous subterranean group. They're noted for being short, with stubby limbs and excellent darksight. They're the key maintainers of the vast, planet-spanning underground network of tunnels, tracks and undercities, though not the exclusive ones.

These are not exclusive ones, as there are many intermixed and minor branches spread throughout the planet.

History

Preface

Documentation that can be considered in any way official and of Dremachir origin is sparse at best. Each city, village, factory and potentially even household can have a different recounting of any number of events, especially ones predating the Auril attempt at reclaiming Drema. However, this does not mean that Auril and Dremachir scholars alike didn't try. Despite the planet's weather tending towards massive dust-storms that used to bury entire villages, hostile fauna and even more hostile locals, a somewhat consistent thread in the tumultuous history of the planet and its people was found. The events as described aren't to be taken as gospel.

The Collapse

Despite being the oldest event relative to the Dremachir history, it is not the vaguest. The original self-replicating genetic modification colony facilities that were built before the Vox invasion on the Auril homeworld are still standing. The same facility was also replicated in every major megalopolis on the planet. The logs extracted from the machinery paint a somewhat clearer picture. Facing complete cut off from the core system, the local Drema Aurils seemingly spread out towards the most habitable or otherwise exploitable locations on the planet's surface, and subsurface, and using genetic caches from the original facility, began adapting themselves for the varied environments they faced. Despite the rather obvious conclusion, the mechanics of it remain a mystery, as few means of planetary logistics were available at the time, and fewer for additional construction.

Nevertheless, this marked the seeds of the dwellings, and the distinctly varied genetic nature of the now-forming Dremachir, as every locale required different treatments for optimal survival -- which was likely seen as preferable at the time.

The Aid & Rejection

Decades later an investigative Human fleet was retracing the path of the same Vox flotilla that ravaged the Auril world and discovered the Daedal system. While the primary planet they scouted was Aura, all they received was a declination of any aid whatsoever, despite the planet's visibly ravaged state. Drema, however, sent back several pings of request for aid, each from different locations on the planet. The fleet soon sent out additional beacons and began to coordinate supplying and building up the existing external infrastructure. It is believed they were the main contributors to the technological maintainability and the establishment of some form of rudimentary logistical network between the clusters of life on the surface. At this point, the Dremachir were taking shape into distinguished subspecies, and the underground expanses were being discovered and starting to be exploited.

The logs of the charitable fleet in question gave us a rough estimate of several years of continuous aid, it noting that every major establishment was provided with adequate self-sustaining provisions based on the varying needs per 'city', while also laying the backbone of commerce, as docks and guiding satellites were setup to facilitate the operations. However, with the rising self-sufficiency of each dense pocket came rivalries between them over yet-unclaimed destinations, or simply due to the growing cultural differences. This resulted in several individual groups actively robbing and looting the aiding fleet to the point several ships were abducted to aid in a local war and they decided to pull out. This marked the beginning of the locally nicknamed 'Great Screw Up' -- a tumultuous time of constant warring between the growing distinct factions and cities.

The Humanphage

With the human fleet departed, the entire planet was left to fend for itself once more, resulting in the isolated, growing cities diversifying further, influenced by their hostile neighbors and differing ideals. However, this didn't last longer than a few decades at most, as the news of a "Hell planet" had spread, and aspiring explorers, prospectors and other interested parties from various Orion reaches began to visit. Given the state of almost every faction had decayed, the humans were welcomed back, and trade pacts were beginning to form. The first such Sol traders, either as a happenstance joke, or due to the environment on the planet, decided to name the cities after the Christian deadly sins. The very first city nicknamed like this was also the main trading hub, and was appropriately named 'Greed'. Ever-growing demand of the planet's resources began to speed up the overall development, with service and industry beginning to solidify, all under the purview of Greed's now-made magnates, which helped fund the slow formation of Lust and Sloth, as humans provided the means to industrialize, and a growing appetite for service.

It is around this time that the underground network was established, handled by a modified, imp-like subspecies of the original Drema colonists. Travel over the surface was hardly safe for any shipping platforms, be it from turbulent weather or the ever-present bandits.

The Auril Return

Unfortunately, Drema was not the sole society growing from an increased exposure to the galactic trade networks. The Aurils, who had been quietly rebuilding their system decided to reclaim their colony. Their prior attempts at contacting them through satellites and other remote means met with little consistent response, to the point they instead contacted a human ship and was met with seemingly alien responses. Driven by a newer set of ideals and the obtuse, Auril AI named Arbitrator seeing it beneficial to exploit Drema, their previous kin sent a fleet to get in contact. This marked the first time Drema assembled a 'planetary council' of sorts, which they named "The Seven", quite literally because seven people showed up from the growing population centers. Auril representatives seeing warped members of their own kind was expected -- after all, the genetic modification facilities were deployed there to have the population adapt to the environment on a more granular level. However, this did not extend to such vast mutations in their eyes and especially did not extend to having aliens on the same council, as the representative from 'Greed' was from a corporation that had already begun expanding its reach on the planet's surface. The negotiations were unsuccessful, as Aurils were already developing their stringent stubbornness and neither humans or the Chir were willing to become, essentially, vassals of the Auril proper.

The Dremachir War

The following years were riddled with ever-increasing tensions as the Auril fleet begun to slowly encroach upon Drema's space. Having a rebuilt network of colonies and a functional, rebuilt planet with a far more cohesive government allowed Aurils to outpace any Drema's attempts at arming themselves, barring direct supply from any corporate allies. The state on the surface of Drema also led to a boiling of various tensions, as alliances formed and faded, and negotiations became completely unreliable, as most corporate interests were not lending themselves to war, 'The Seven' having become a dozen, or five, or any other number at any point as the apparent sense of impending war riled the factions, while the now thoroughly distinct cultures from each city had different demands and preferences, all the while Aurils did not yield or change a single word of their official, initial demand. The only two consistent negotiators were Greed and Wrath, both of which seemed to be willing to stand their ground; one driven by a developed culture of conflict, the other having corporate-allied mercenaries ready to join any conflict.

The inciting incident was one of Greed's water treatment plants being destroyed by an explosion. The accounts of who did it differ. Some people believe it was a false flag operation, while some say Aurils were the first to fire. Wrath Khanlords in particular claim that "They did it to get on with it." Regardless, the following conflict started with a wholesale invasion of Greed as the primary target by the Auril forces. The exact reasoning for this is not known, but of all the city-states Greed had the "most" reasons -- led primarily by aliens and their interests, and having the most organised forces and the largest supply of liquid water inside of the surrounding mountains and aquifers. The city itself fell within a human month, however the rest of the planet proved far more difficult -- the hired mercenaries prevented any real mobilization for another city landing, and the state of ground warfare was extremely dire. The Aurils could not utilize their natural aerial advantage due to the harsh weather, and the vast underground network of tunnels proved to be excellent terrain for guerilla warfare. The imp-like Chir sinking entire formations and bases in ambushes, and harassing the occupied 'Greed' from underground.

The result was an exhausting, attrition-based conflict that stretched out to decades, as Aurils slowly took over the airspace of Drema and organised retaliatory bombardments of any attacks, and had flooded all of their single occupied city's tunnels, barricading the rest of the underground entries. For the haphazard Chir alliances, particularly the other cities, the war was just as costly, as any above-ground functions were exposed and vulnerable. All the while the new occupied Enclave had slowly begun assimilating into Auril rule and, quite notably, proved to be quite stable and secure in the latter part of the war. The population was not subject the full brunt of all Auril expectations, and the species intermingled there, as volunteers and exiles were sent to Drema. Seeing this, many of the corporations begun to pull back from supporting Dremachir, seeing Auril rule as being better for business on their end. The municipal governments in the cities thought similarly, and soon enough 'The Seven' had gathered again to sign the Treaty of Light. It mandated that Drema was now under the rule of Aura, but maintained its independence to self-govern, barring 'Grave offenses to the Established Rule', and supported Aura in resources in any projects they deemed necessary.

Current Day

After the war, the blockade was lifted, and the planet was fully open to commerce once more, yet with more Auril supervision. This essentially led to its current day -- pockets of sprawling megalopoli surrounded by small villages, camps and tribes on the surface, with a bustling underground network of entire 'undercities'. The Enclave, more appropriately nicknamed to, 'Pride', along with every other city had expanded their borders, reach and influence, yet the planet itself remains difficult to tame, and few factions desire another open conflict with the Aurils -- there are often enough enemies around any one individual than to worry about a vague enemy they hardly see at all.

Most sociologists that chose, or were chosen to study the world, has concluded that Drema's culture as a defined, singular concept does not exist. Just like far-flung past of Sol, it's split into major countries, each one with their own values so starkly different that besides the language and a convenient tell of the horns, one could barely tell they're from the same planet, let alone the same 'species'.

The authority of the Aurils is nowadays exercised by 'City-wide' policy enactments, minor quotas and certain laws. The Auril government is also responsible for the Prefectures, which are the inter-city peacekeeping forces, often made up of volunteers from the Chir, and assigned Aurils.

Khorra

There is a great wealth of biological knowledge on Wrath, however, I am not going back there to log it all. -Xenobiological Expert, Bill Flowers aboard the NSV Assesser, in orbit of Drema.

Human-named Wrath. A megalopolis in the center of vast, rainbow-colored jungles, is the main domain of the Wrath tribes, seated atop a large aquifier layer of a strange liquid. The city itself stands in defiance of the general flora of the planet, as it's a lush, dense jungle covered in various trees, bushes and other plants, all serving as an enduring shield from the elements and one of the few oasi on the surface that provides "clean" air -- this being done entirely naturally. The actual structures themselves do not extend far past the treeline, most of its buildings being made flat and one or two stories at most, with the exception of the palaces of the tribelords. The city itself is split into various regions, governed by a distinct colored tribe, and their affiliated flora, with the city itself spanning more the size of an entire conventional country in sheer area, with its own distinct, smaller biomes pocking the surface. Various tribal convoys can be seen coming and going out of the perimeter, mounted with mechanised motorcycles or their 'mules', spreading their colors outward.

Culture

While primarily a warmongering city, the forests and jungles of Wrath are known to hold a variety of cultures, spread out amongst the tribes and various groups. Life can vary from pacifist 'tree hippies' to battle-hardened vagabonds, with anything inbetween. The melting pot of various expressions of nature and its way of spreading is what defines the diaspora of the vast floral expanses.

Tribes

The tribes are the main source of all the growths surrounding, and comprising, Wrath. The origin of their distinctions is disputed, as most of the history is kept oral, and the constant warring has left few if any elders that even remember there being a people before them, on Aura. Their specific genetic modification facility is no longer present, instead, it seems specific plants have been turned into makeshift producers of elixirs for them, aided by various attachments built overtime. Each major tribe had their own source, and is speculated to be the reason behind their visual and belief-based differences, as a theory is that the major plantlife that was used as the basis affected the genetic material, giving the user a sense of 'instincts' that come from how that plant functioned -- be it a weed, a tree, a fungi or a more standard-based plant.

Each tribe carries their own beliefs and, very importantly, their own colors. While each tribe has its own way of spreading, recruiting and functioning, they all end up spreading their seeds into the parched soil of the sandy planes one way or another. The process is often ritualistic and can be done off of muleback, or spread via giant funnels, not too dissimilar from agricultural equipment. The seeds, distinctly colored, eventually flourish and grow, and each group's plants are different. Some grow fast and wither away quickly, if not maintained, others take strong root and need to be burned or sprayed to be reseeded by another tribe.

Only within the multi-colored gates of Wrath is there a sense of balance among the groups, as repeated wars there have resulted in more than one fire that required combined effort of reseeding. No blood is told to be shed there, nor any arms are to be made.

In spite of having access to a supply of water that is suspected to be the largest across the entire surface of the planet, the city-state still faces resource challenges, as the arid land requires fertilization, which can only be provided by other cities, along with power, which their disharmonious society struggles to organise in any significant way.

The number of variations among the mixed breeds and colors makes extensive documentation nigh-impossible, except for the bravest of explorers, especially as smaller groups have mixed and matched the plant-based genetic materia. Regardless, the major ones are known:

- Redskins. An aggressive, motorised group that spreads itself far, wide and thin. The plants it breeds are lengthy and flatten against the ground, allowing them to be easily driven-over by the motorcycle convoys of the tribe. Their belief of life is that it is short, and must be experienced to its fullest. Likewise, it is one of the few tribes to have openly adapted to use vehicles. They're often known as bandits, and their tribe is non-exclusive, often welcoming any Chir or even aliens alike.

- The Roots. The core tribe of Wrath and one responsible for most of its lush and long-lasting forests and core defenses of the inner city -- the thickly, dark trunks surrounding the perimeter were grown and fostered by the tribe and had endured most of the dire environment of Drema over the ages. Its members are often stoic and capable of seeing past short-term gains. Their mainly seen in green colors, be it skin or leafy or branchy appendages. Their 'recruitment' is a prolonged process, involving multiple 'bathings' in a rootpool, allowing various thorny branches to wrap around the subject and inject them, allowing for the genetic alterations to occur.

- Thornborn. A separated 'tribe', living in individual packs. Their identifying mark are giant, thorned branches that cover odd perimeters of their settlements. Their core beliefs are stemmed in strong family values, with true recruitment only being possible by mixed birth, with the child being a full, admitted member of their isolated societies. They're often noticed as purple, with various spikes and horns growing out of their bodies, including back and limbs.

Beyond these, the forests, swamps and plains of Wrath's expansive country is home to various vagabonds and loose, chaotic tribes with their own customs and ideals.

Pools of Concordance

A hissing, bubbling pools of steamy, pale-blue liquid, labelled "Concord" are littered across the lush fields of Wrath's outer areas. The liquid therein is suspected to have been unearthed by the original founders of Wrath. The exact chemical composition is unknown, but its properties on flora are particularly notable, as it acts like an a heavily saturated source of moisture for plants. Consequently, their harvesting has become essential for sustained life of most tribes, as the natural weather of Drema provides little moisture on a regular basis.

When it was first discovered, the singular pools were fought over by the various Wrath ancients, however the fighting was cut short as it was discovered that Dremic (and consequently Aurilic) blood causes a violent chemical reaction, turning the pool's contents completely inert, and the color a discolored, dirty brown. With enough volume of blood, it was possible to render an entire source of Concord useless.

Consequently, every Tribe, both new and old, honors a pact to never shed any blood near these pools, and they are considered sacred grounds, the immediate proximity serving as a safe haven, with refugee, religious and various aid establishments forming and dissolving around the pools overtime. While in modern day they are often covered in various plastic and metallic shells, and the immediate perimeter is often guarded by mixed-tribe and Auril forces, the actual access to the harvested material is often up to contention, with the pipelines being sabotaged, diverted or stolen from regularly.

During the war, Auril forces attempted to commit a surprise aerial attack on the pools, by dumping blood-saturated carcasses of their own from above right into the pools. While countering any subsequent attacks was a simple matter (a roof), the initial attacks found success, resulting in the notably arid desert in the middle of the Wrath's ecosystem. The pools were the most populated at the time, and as the pact of Concord was already established, mostly by various healing and neutral stations. The attack left them all desiccated and resulted in innumerable losses, as the entire region was made inhospitable. The land since was turned into a memorial, with a face for each loss carved into the hardened floor. It stretches out for literal miles, and was named the "Sea of Faces", and is often cited as one of the most heinous offenses committed by the Aurils during the war.

The Mirth Harvest

A great attraction to the entire global community of Drema is the bi-yearly celebration held in Wrath's center itself. It matches up with the harvesting cycle of most of their crops, and holds a peaceful week of revelry and celebration. The various rituals are meant to congratulate each tribe's successes, discuss diplomatic relations, present newly-concocted mutations and host various shows of strength, including trials of combat for tribal ascensions of rank. The destination is held on top of and around the largest Concord pool in the whole of Drema, so no conventional harm can come to the guests, but there are still guards that are equipped with bolas, lassos and various other binding-based weapons, including strangulation.

Mentality

While the deeper motivations of any given Wrathborn, or Khor is difficult to generalise, due to the variety of Tribes they may originate from, there are general observations that permeate through most individuals.

• Fire in particular is seen as an equivalent to a 'weapon of mass destruction', and is shunned, hated or feared by most, though some tribes see it as a necessity.
• Consequently, ballistics and especially laser weaponry are viewed as an 'affront', instead most Khor prefer to use melee and various biomechanical weapons, such as poison darts, venomous appendages, spikes, teeth and so on.
• Given most represent their tribes overtly and proudly, along with their own unique understanding of 'nature' and how it acts, most Khor are upfront and direct, and consider dishonesty as irrational and an offense.

Belphia

Frankly, I don't know why you'd live anywhere else. Every station would only ever dream of such excellent design. -Expert Structural Engineer, Craig Edifice, Belphia.

Human-named Sloth. A large perimeter of Auril-made turrets surround the interconnected network of railways that sprawl outward from the walled core of a technopolis known as Belphia. placed adjacent to a large, glistening mountain shelf that houses multiple compressed veins of precious ore. Established early on by a group of miners and engineers, it has since grown into the center of Drema's industrial production and a self-sufficient, automated pocket, kept isolated from the harsh realities of the planet.

The city's crux, borne from the practicality of miners and aspirations of engineers, is convenience and efficiency. Most of the city is densely packed, with most distances being manageable entirely on foot or via automated transport, with personal vehicles being rare and unnecessary in the eyes of the populus. Sloth served as the core provider of munitions and arms during the war, and suffered numerous bombardments due to this, resulting in most of the relevant production being moved underground, and allowing the city to be redesigned and rebuilt multiple times over. The ever-evolving efficiency was not ignored by the Aurils after the war, and the city remains one of the few to be actively preserved and guarded by Auril technology, with their own engineers providing direct aid to the instruments and processes.

In spite of this, and the near-universal need for Sloth's production, it has remained staunchly stable in how much it outputs and ships, with it taking human decades for upgrades to occur. Naturally, this is still a cause of ire for the Auril establishment, as their needs and demand shifts and changes on a granular level, however, the sheer stability of Sloth is one they begrudgingly respect. However, the city has faced numerous issues over its growth and development. Key part being power, as the entire city is reliant on an excess that rivals the entire rest of the planet, and therefore unsurprisingly requires multiple large power plants and the fuel for such can only be provided by other cities, including Wrath and Pride, the former of which is frustratingly unstable in the amount it can, or would provide.

Appearance

Due to the nature of Sloth, the denizens, nicknamed 'Belph' by most human media, have progressively evolved towards two distinctly different builds -- those of bulkier, stocky ones as their duties are often involved in resource extraction, process, manufacture, or towards lither, light builds as they serve as the designers and engineers. Fanatics of automation and robotics, the denizens have various exosuits accessible to them, ranging from ones meant to aid in direct labor to ones capable of repairs, lathing and transportation. Acquiring a license for one is near-crucial, and almost every citizen has an almost natural-borne tendency towards them. Their skin has universally turned paler, as the air in the city is filtered and it is not uncommon to see Slothborn be absent of any horns at all.

Culture

The general disposition of Sloth is ubiquitous, as it was founded based on cooperation and specific goals of efficiency and convenience. However, delving deeper into the exclusive, closed-off city reveals a variety of boons and issues that the city faces.

Mechatronics

Most if not every Citizen ends up owning some form of an exosuit, even if it is a light one that simply enhances their movement and allows them to exert less physical effort to achieve the same physical result. This has resulted in Belphs being famous mechatronic experts, often able to intuit damages and repair them themselves. The exosuits and mechs alike themselves are also built efficiently, and often lack any embellishments or aesthetics, this also has resulted in them being covered in LED and holo screens, that often flash advertisements, as the advertising agencies provide discounts to acquiring one. Various shows and competitions are held for mech pilots, either showing off efficiency in specific tasks, or capacity for combat. A particularly popular 'sport' is "Exoball", which is a mixture of football and general skateboarding, as two teams try to get a magnetic ball carried into a line while keeping themselves balanced on top of hoverboards. Physical contact is allowed. Beyond that, there is Mech-jousting, mech-wrestling and almost every other human-sport analogue, but with mechs. The relevant venues and stadiums had to be expanded multiple times due to the ever-growing number of guests that gather to observe, and even participate.

Exclusivity

While Sloth does not bear the literal physical barriers of Lust, the city's strict infrastructure planning has resulted in the city being difficult to migrate into, as every citizen is assigned a specific workplace and the most efficient housing based on their duties. Due to such a pragmatic approach, external, aspiring workers have to prove that they are a better choice than ones that have already lived in and have been observed, which is exceedingly difficult.

Cost of Efficiency & Convenience

Due to the foundation of the city relying heavily on being as efficient as possible with very few resources, and the involved design of the city's entire infrastructure, it has resulted in it being extremely plain. While nowadays the city's unassuming walls are covered in screens and advertisements, the underlying lack of imperfection has resulted in observed trends in the Belph population, with the city being one of the largest consumers of AR and VR content and headsets. The general capacity for manufacture and distribution also results in Sloth being the center of production of various products, both useful and not, and since the technopolis is a center of in-person advertisement, many of the citizens are key customers.

On top of this, the efficiency of travel and ability to get and function from their homes, with offices barely existing as a concept at all in Sloth, has also resulted in a generally reclusive population, with only the active miners and maintainers of equipment being seen outside at all.

Leadership

The city is led by a council of its original creators, left to slumber for long periods in cryostasis. Each of them had developed an AI personality to fill in for any minor administrative decisions. During the first decades, the AI was seen as rudimentary, and completely misaligned with the personalities of the actual council, requiring multiple persistent revivals. Over time, it seems to have gained more refined accuracy, though some critics have observed that the priorities of the council had shifted as well, prompting some skeptics to speculate whether the AI adapted to the council, or if the council was adapted to the AI, as it had constant neural links to the members. The Auril government did not make any comment.

Auril Influence

The city has one of the friendliest relations with the Auril government, as they always meet the established quotas, and their extreme pragmatism in place of aesthetics or vanity is admired even by some Aurils. However, some critics have observed that Aurils have also supported the ever-growing plague of advertisements and desensitization of the population. Various policy changes, as requested by Aurils, occasionally major ones, seem to grow unnoticed by the placated population. In spite of these allegations, any gaps in infrastructure support is often given aid to and the innate function of the city has always been upheld by the governing bodies.

Mentality

Due to the various factors surrounding Sloth's inner workings, the general Belphian can be observed to have a few dispositions:

• They have a general desire for efficiency, or a complete rejection of it
• They may have a disposition towards adventure and risk-taking, or be reclusive and asocial
• They tend to not like to move, preferring motorised or mechanised methods of transportation, even if it means standing on a conveyor belt.

The fundamental dissonance comes from the nature of Sloth, and the constant exposure to hollow advertisement, efficiency and convenience. Some Belphians may prefer this way of life, and some may reject and seek a way out, resulting in a variety of opinions.

Lirin

Gods above, why was I brought here? What did you expect me to say of this place? -Religious Affairs Expert, Bane Mielikki, tourist taxi on Lirin.

Human-labelled as Lust, the bustling center of commerce and services, Lust is the most conventional city in appearance, with most of its structures and design following the principles of core Cosmopoli of Sol. Bustling streets, high-rises and an urban sprawl stretching out in every direction. There's a far higher density of humans and other species, either as workers or tourists. The skies around the city, while normally a wild, chaotic stream of stormclouds, is stabilised using their own engineered atmospheric anchors, shaped like dark obelisks stretching into the sky, allowing for traffic to come and go smoothly.

The city was founded in one of the few calm valleys on the planet's surface, where the weather was stable enough to allow for reliable air-transportation. This allowed Lust to be easily accessible compared to every other city at the time, including Greed. This led to it becoming an excellent transit hub for trade, and the ease of access led to a growing service industry, as various trader and hauling crews used the city as a port of rest. Once the Auril re-occupation began, however, Lust became a valuable target to attack and defend, resulting in constant orbital battles in and around its airspace. The growing stalemate of conventional warfare made Aurils consider other options, which resulted in Lust being the first target of concerted geoatmospheric military effort, originating from the newly founded Pride, along with a massive cave in of an entire mountain range. The results were successful, burying Lust in newly formed storms, that heavily the city's functions. The coalition of Drema, however, had already been developing weather stabilization technology, and Lust was the first location it was used on, the situation returning to a similar stalemate several years later. In modern days, the weather obelisk perimeter was requested to be expanded multiple times, but Aurils had declined to aid them in any such efforts.

Culture

After the war, Lust was slowly restored and built back up to a commerce and service center, though it being essentially entombed within a perimeter of atmospheric stabilization pylons resulted in the city being forced to be built in density, resulting in multiple layers, splitting the population up into a naturally-formed 'class' system, with the lower levels having far greater levels of poverty and crime than anything above. The consequential rise of the Daedal system as an attractive hub to Sol-bornes and alike resulted in ever-growing overpopulation, which in turn resulted in existing corporations being able to operate on extremely cutthroat policies, as any jobs and housing was in particular high demand.

Outer Lirin

While the inner city is an exclusive, dense hub, overtime the outer ring surrounding the giant weather-stabilising obelisks had developed into a city unto itself, often nicknamed 'Envy'. The 'city' has a poor overall reputation, being inhabited mostly by exiles, desperate, and those seeking ways into Lust itself. While inside of Lust you can 'find' anything, it is often Envy that invariably is the source of it, as its not officially protected by Aurils, Prefectures or Lust itself, meaning its denizens are the easiest to use for completely unregulated procurement. Some volunteer forces from Lust's prefectures are present, but they struggle to uphold any semblance of law. The city is often wrought with the harsh weather of Drema, blasted by sandstorms, heat and harsh, cold nights. In spite of this, the population rarely dwindles.

Despite the nature of Outer Lust being only a benefit to the extremes of desire within Lust and those with the mind to exploit, Outer Lust serves a fundamental purpose is in keeping Wrath's ever-expanding flora from piercing and surrounding Lust and draining it of its own natural reserves of Condor and plain water, as the two 'cities' immense borders are on the verge of intersecting, and there have been multiple clashes between Lust's gangs and Wrath's tribes.

Inner Lirin

The lower layers of Lirin is where most of the population resides, and where the highest density of the blending pot of humans, Lilin and other Chir and their equally as diverse cultures gets to express themselves. Once let in, any citizen is essentially allowed to roam free, though no housing or even a job is guaranteed, and a living has to be earned or gifted. Due to the sheer density and employment being entirely controlled, gangs, vigilantes and various other groups are commonplace in the ground-level and lower levels of the city, spread around the diverse architecture and scattered infrastructure of the city. Any movement must be done on foot, as the streets and alleys are too densely packed for any vehicle transportation. However, in lower layers in particular, mechanised grappling hooks were developed as a viable means of evading authorities and transporting oneself to and from higher layers.

In spite of the natural formations of gangs, bootleg products and general unseemliness of the underbelly of the lower layers of Lust, the upper layers, mostly populated by tourists, retained a certain level of security and safety, mostly upheld by the largest density of Prefectures — the inter-city peacekeeping forces across the entire planet.

Identity

The city overtime had developed a very targeted class of genemodded population, named 'Lilin'. Crafted with specific intention of appealing to the most common customer — humans. From skin colors, facial structures to hair and limb shapes, whatever semblance of the original Auril was morphed among Lilin to an alien-within-an-alien appearance, which has garnered both attraction and repulsion from various supporters and critics alike. As a whole, Lilin often carry the least attachment to any individual or group, due to the natural entropy of identity that has happened overtime.

Lust is also one of the key exporters of media services from the entire Daedal system, as their affinity towards technology allowed them to establish various networks of media, particularly among human exanet circles. Streams, news, 'holotubers', stores and advertisement have all contributed to providing Drema, and Daedal, as a whole, an image of tourist and business attraction among humans and other aliens.

Mentality

The average Lust citizen is one that does not consider themselves as part of any real nation or even of the planet, as the saturation of foreigners, of Chir and otherwise, makes it nearly impossible to truly identify with or be a part of a larger community.

• Lilin may be keen to indulge in or exploit other people's desires, sexual or otherwise. It's the largest form of appeal Lust has.
• Generally, they are self-centered and opportunistic, mostly stemming from the high-stakes environment of Lust. It's easy to lose everything.
• Similarly, Lilin are generally extremely protective of anything they have.
• They may struggle to identify with any larger group and may lack a sense of self. Their bodies have been shaped for appeal over the ages, and little else.

Symfria

Entry is forbidden without permission. This includes journalists. -Adonael the Dutiful, Symfria's gates.

Human-labelled as Pride. A defiant set of high-rise ivory towers, donned in distinct Auril colors pierce through the washed out palette of the planet, making the Metropolis of Drema a distinct sight even at the longest of distances. Founded by conquest, the remnants of the original, bustling center of corporate strength are left as enclosed memorial pieces, with the rest of the city having been rebuilt over the course of the war and the following peacetime. The law of the general Auril population is upheld, with all its expectations and support to the populus.

Pride holds the most diverse population relative to the rest of Auril-controlled territories, and prejudice based on unconventional traits is seen as impractical among Prideborn, with every official citizen being given equal treatment, and merit being rewarded with little bias.

Culture

The rule of Auril mixed with the discordant, mixed population of Dremachir has resulted in a contrasting blend of cultures and philosophies coalescing within the ivory halls and towers of Pride. No one doctrine truly rules over the city, despite its Aurilic influence, except that of the meritocratic governance of Aura. The general living conditions are, relative to the other major centers of population on Drema, far better, though it comes with many more restrictions, and the general expectation of contributing to the overall Auril state. While intermingling is common, it is noted that any Auril that decides to make children with a Dremachir often has the child inhibit far more Aurilic traits than Chir ones, likely due to a far more stable and strengthened genome.

Exiles

Symfria, or Pride, is under direct jurisdiction of Aura and therefore, by law, is a location that is equally barred from the exiles as the homeworld, however, in practice Exiles are able to appeal for residency same as any local Drema resident -- as they are seen as equal in terms of rights. The process has grown to be more prudent, requiring examinations and proof of competency, with there being little bias shown towards fresh exiles. This has resulted in the population to be composed of exiles and true citizens along with the various flavors of Chir.

Beyond that, the city also serves as a primary hub of Exile appeals, though such processes are extremely cumbersome to achieve, as particularly in modern days, under the pressure of underpopulation, banishment from the core world requires grievous, serious offenses, and appeal for exiles of the past is proving to be ever easier.

Aquatic Oasis

The original settlement of 'Greed' was selected for the aquifer pool of Concord, which was teeming with various aquatic life that had developed in the saturated environment. During the war, the growing city had eroded the rocky foundations and the depths of the aquifer, along with the interconnected cavern systems were used by many guerilla Drema forces, particularly the Ashin, resulting in many breaches, leeching of the Concord and various infiltrators. It got to the point that some Chir had assumed various aquatic mutations to better survive in the depths. The Auril forces, completely inexperienced in subterranean matters, chose to seek external aid as the resource was too valuable to be harshly disrupted, blown up, or rendered inert. They sought out other species, and contracted a group of subterranean experts that helped seal the pool up. Unfortunately for the Auril, by the time that was done the pool was already inhabited by a core, if small, group of fully aquatic Dremachir, which continued to develop into its own small civilization. Notably, their blood is saturated with Concord, and does not affect it at all, while carrying a stark, bright blue color. Over time they have been allowed to integrate into the core species, and many regular citizens choose to don suits and visit the small villages scattered across the isolated pool.

Mentality

• As living on Symfria requires one to be accepted, and is still under Auril rule, most denizens that are born from it are not lawless, contrary to most of the rest of Drema.
• The less cutthroat nature of the city, and its mixing of cultures, means that most people there, be they Chir or Aurils, are generally more open-minded.
• The need to 'prove' oneself to even be accepted into the city as an outsider has led to many denizens to 'overcompensate' in their efforts to prove themselves best.
• Due to the intermingling, the potential for mixed breeds among Aurils and Dremachir, and the mixing of cultures, is far more likely.

Minor Cities & Locations of Note

New Greed

The single largest orbital body in the entire Daedal system, the astropolis of New Greed is seated in one of the closest Lagrange points of Drema, it is the newest addition to the list of population centers, and has come from a natural expansion of commerce and in defiance of certain Auril laws. The original takeover of Greed during the War, had resulted in gambling being outlawed on the 'grounds of Drema'. The loophole in the wording was never altered, in spite of Aurils being aware of it, and the station was permitted to function with limited autonomy. Naturally, it became the sole hub of gambling, and the most neutral ground for planetary and corporate negotiations alike.

It is not inhabited by any particular group, and it serves as another source of revenue and attraction, though most Aurils find the act of gambling confusing, as the quick gratification clashes with their long-term oriented mindsets, however some obsessive Aurils, particularly Incani, find the act a 'fun' mathematical challenge, and have been observed to spend thousands of games knowing that in the average they may come out on top. This has resulted in Aurils being limited, or outright banned in some venues.

Desert Nomads

Belonging to no one country, the vastness of the uninhabited plains of Drema are dotted with small outposts, villages, caves and camps, each holding a variety of bandits, thugs and societal rejects that were unfit for any country, or chose the life there to fulfill their idyllic philosophy without the burdens of being beholden to any of the surrounding cultures. They are generally known as 'Ashmedai'. From roaming gangs that raid the numerous cargo trains, or feign landing pads for unsuspecting tourists to rob, to odd sects and religions worshipping and living inside of burrower worm carcasses, the deserts are ripe for the niche and the strange. Various myths and legends propagate from the deserts to the outer rims of the countries, often attracting explorers and tourists with tales of artifacts, caverns of splendor and other attractions of treasure, but they often end up robbed or lost to the elements.

Fleshlands

The sickly, pale-red patches of land dot the major stretches of arid lands of Drema, stretching out to cover entire square kilometers in cases of the largest sizes, particularly around the toxic rivers. The lands are composed of several structures -- tendrils, stretching outwards and upward, that seem to act as a means of gathering more nutrients from the windy atmosphere. Other organic flora include spiky thorny bushes and vines stretching over the surface, and pools of regular water, covered by protective resin. These are believed to be waste products of the biomass processes.

It's made out of unique material that hasn't been traced back to any other lifeform on Drema, and any sample gathering is an innately dangerous task as the landmass is soft and malleable, the flesh easily parting when stood on, and the thorns making it difficult to touch any parts of it without care or specialised equipment.

Getting the substance inside of one's bloodstream through an incision, consumption, or skin contact, seems to produce varying effects on the individual, ranging from mild poisoning to the exposed tissues (including internal) becoming cultured with the mass. The infection that is produced this way does not spread from person to person directly, even on contact or additional consumption.

Despite the isolated nature of their locations, and the hostile flora, certain patches of land are inhabited, and often targets of exploration or a checkpoint destination for travellers, as the water reservoirs are sterile of any infection and can be vital for continued travel on the exposed surface.

The lands extend downward to cover vast amounts of underground caverns, that have little documentation, and, rarely, may be filled with certain fanatical groups that purposefully have molded themselves using the flesh infection.

The Lost Epoch

As Drema was settled, explored and terraformed by both the war and the Chir's civilization, many ruins were uncovered by shifting dunes and dried rivers and lakes. Many archeological studies were conducted, and the conclusion that was reached that they belonged to a predecessor civilization, with a currently believed technological level of the human space-age. The artifacts found in the various ruins are also famed collectors' items and are used as a status symbol. No intact remains have been found however, as the caustic atmosphere, uneven soil and dryness of the surface can easily desiccate any organic remains. However, there are suspected descendants of the unknown civilization.

Caverns of Tenebris

The underground complexes that span most of the inner shell of the planet. A lot of their winding tunnels were excavated to form underground rails for cross-city transportation. The numerously minor, yet relatively notable subspecies of Chir, known as 'Ashin', reside within them. They are excellent spelunkers, and excavators, rivaling even those of Sloth. Ashin had evolved to be smaller-framed, imp-like, with eyes that are well adjusted to the darkness. During the war, they were single-handedly responsible for keeping most of the Auril ground troops isolated to within the now-Pride, as they would cause massive sinkholes to swallow up entire troop movements, though such tactics were not exclusively used against Aurils, but any other opposition as well. Due to the harsh weather, difficult terrain both on and under the surface, and Ashin being naturally inclined towards it.

While the tunnels are a maze that few can confidently traverse, they all eventually lead to one place -- Tenebris, the city under the surface. Little is known about the cultures and populations therein, as the city itself is more of a myth, and has never been officially found, however, Ashin have been adamant in requesting each city, even Pride, to pay a tithe to keep the rails intact. It is believed that Ashin are not actually descendants of Aurils or the Chir, and are actually the past inhabitants of the planet who had fled underground.

Employment under Nanotrasen

Many corporate recruiters lurk in most of the cities, even Symfria is not excluded from more clandestine advertisements of the 'Greater Frontier'. As such, many Dremachir, exiled Aurils, and those born on Drema itself may find themselves in their employ, as they have all proven to be specialised, and capable, in some way that led to their very survival on the planet. However, this does not come without issues, and Dremachir are often the targets of various complaints of behaviour, insubordination, and a general trend to disregard their duties for their own goals.

Rumors and Speculation

• The Auril government is purposefully enforcing inter-city chaos
• The succubi roving gangs that lure tourists are good, actually, and provide services that one couldn't even find on Lust.
• Khorrian motorcycles are amazing, cross-road vehicles that can withstand any weather or terrain.
• Symfria is a purposeful attempt at diluting the Chir population.
• The fleshlands are perfectly edible, and the illness is just superficial.
• Whatever device or method that was used to bury Lust is still active, and in use.
• The Sea of Faces holds a paracausal power.
• There are giant worms in the lands that are responsible for most of the tunnels under the surface.
• Tenebris isn't real, and the Ashin are just a scattered group of Dremachir that learned how to dig well.
• Tenebris is real, and is responsible for the environmental calamities that befell Drema. The fleshlands are a consequence of this and are made up of previous population centers.