Worldbuilding

Agartha


Throneworld of the Sovereignty. It can only be called a 'world' based on certain definitions, however. In the many thousands of years since the rise of the Sovereign, what started out as a mere planet has significantly transformed. First, when sprawling urbanization completely enveloped the planet into an urbworld. Then, the construction of the dyson sphere, encasing the entire system in a metallic shell.

Finally, the millennia spent on 'The Illumination', a construction project that filled the entire system with hardlight constructs, converting the entire interior of the shell into usable living space. These Living Spaces are sectioned off into anything as small as a house, as large as a planetary surface, or even bigger. The planets within the system were also rearranged in relation to the constructs and sun, 'anchoring' them into complete orbits.

With the completion of this project, the meaning of 'Agartha' shifted from the name used for the planet from which the Sovereign originated, to refer instead to the entire enclosed system. This being of course, a result of the fact that the entire system was now a gigantic planet. Its population has since surged to a few orders of magnitude above that of other systems, reaching close to a quadrillion, based on the last Sovereign census.

Teratons of matter are imported into the Throneworld on a daily basis, making use of the hardlight scaffolding to construct everything from new factories or houses, to new cities, to entirely new biomes. And it is this population of the entire star system with matter that qualifies Agartha as a world, rather than a system.


An artificial biome within one of Agartha's Living Spaces. Note the circuitous patterns on the 'sky' that give away its hardlight nature, as well as the floating coloured hardlight constructs.

The energy required to power the hardlight generators is voluminous, and would drain the sun in a matter of centuries. As such, the Illumination was designed with other power sources in mind. As the Golden Sovereignty expanded its borders, Stellar Siphon Stations were constructed in orbit of stars whose planets have since been stripped of resources (or did not have any planets to begin with). These massive stations would siphon their host stars' solar energy and transmit them through the Warp, and into colossal batteries that would store the necessary power.

By the time the Sovereign consolidated his rule of the Home Galaxy, a hundred thousand Siphon Stations had been built above lone stars, ensuring that the enormous energy burden could be evenly distributed for long-term survivability.

Ultimately, however, the he would wean them off the reliance of solar power, and design power stations that tapped directly into the boundless energies of the Warp itself. These Warp Generators ensure unlimited power for Agartha's Illumination. The Siphon Stations, however, remain dormant in orbit of their host stars, ready to activate at a moment's notice, should the Warp Generators fail.

Even in the wake of the Sovereign's death and the ensuing centuries of civil war by those encroaching from the outside, Agartha remains a force to be reckoned with. It is capable of projecting its power and stability across the entire Home Galaxy, and indeed, the entire Home Group, comprised of several dozen galaxies centred on the Home Galaxy. It achieves this through the use of the Golden Armada.

Golden Armada


Agartha is protected by the Golden Armada, the Sovereign's personal fleet. Battle-hardened after many thousands of years conquering different civilizations and galaxies, this elite guard's performance is second to none. In the centuries since the Sovereign's untimely death, control of the Armada has shifted to the Synod, the Sovereignty's legislature, and remains under standing orders to protect the Throneworld.

Built on the pinnacle of Agarthan Standard Template designs, each vessel remains state of the art even after dozens of millennia of use. The Armada is the largest single Agarthan military formation, consisting of several galaxies' worth of total mass. This unprecedented scale allows Agartha to project its power across the entire Home Group of Galaxies, numbering in several dozen, with ease and impunity. And in the grand scheme of things, from merely observing one of the Home Group galaxies, it would not be obvious at all that the Sovereignty was in a state of decay.

The Golden Armada served as the front line force for the Sovereign's conquest of Universe 12, and the gold standard for all war fleets in the Sovereignty. Any other fleets apart from the Armada were in some way, shape, or form, derived from it, such as the innumerable local defence fleets erected by each galactic militia.

Unlike those local fleets, however, the Golden Armada's vessels came pre-built with a Master Intellect, a powerful ancilla that would perform continuous research and development to improve its host vessel's performance. In simple terms, each ship in the Golden Armada is capable of evolving over-time, such that the oldest of its vessels were completely different designs from what they were when they were originally built. The only resemblance they bear is the chassis and outer hull, preserved to maintain compatibility with the Agarthan Standard Template.

If there is anything that the Four Horsemen can agree on, it is that the Golden Armada is the greatest obstacle they must overcome in order to successfully conquer the Throneworld.

Agarthan Race

Agarthan Praetors overlooking a Sovereign military parade, ca Age 626, colorized

One of a dozen "Highborn" races created by Supreme Kai Ugg in 1,500,000 Before Age. These were characterized by extremely high longevity that on the high end, could reach the same order of magnitude as an non-golden Shinjin. Their genomes also possessed a far expanded concentration of genetic data capable of withstanding unprecedented amounts of data loss and corruption from selection, mutation, and inbreeding. The intent was for one of these races to eventually rise up above the rest and become the stewards of the universe.

The Agarthans, under the Sovereign, ultimately stepped up to the plate.

The Agarthan race is based heavily on a humanoid template, one not too different from Earth humans. One might even say that Agartha is Earth's counterpart in Universe 12, if Earthlings could live for thousands of years. The average Agarthan lives anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 years, depending on their lifestyle.

Short-lived "century races" compatible with Agarthans, typically those under their genetic purview, also see increased life spans with interbreeding. The hard cap for hybrids seems to be a thousand years at most, however.

Similar observations were made of other galaxies that held significant positions in the Sovereignty: Agarthan immigration and hybridization has only served to increase all indigenous races' lifespans on average.

The Sovereign himself was an extremely rare example of the Agarthan race who seemed to have an even greater degree of biological immortality. Or perhaps he was gifted with the lifespan of a Shinjin. Who knows?

Caerleon Race

Mynia and some of her Knights in one of the Ivory Palace's towers

An Agarthan-hybridized Century Race based in the Albarica Galaxy, in the western reaches of the Sovereignty. Originally the dominant race in Albarica, they led feudalistic lives bound to chivalrous codes. From their throneworld of Caerleon, they sent out Knights to police and administer their territories.

When the Sovereignty arrived, bearing gifts of knowledge and technology, Caerleon's leaders sought diplomacy with this advanced foreign power. As the millennia passed by, Albarica was settled by Agarthan colonists, who mixed and bred with the local populace. Of particular note was the noble House Fullbuster, the Sovereign's Chief Scholar, which absorbed the Albarican royal family into its fold, as part of a strategic deal to give Albarica full provincial representation in the Synod.

This political maneuvering completed, House Fullbuster and its vassals proceeded to modernize Albarica, elevating its status to something somewhat befitting a galaxy in the Home Group. With this process came the extensive construction of WarpNet server links, essential tools for the Chief Scholar's collection of knowledge. All being said, however, Caerleon's chivalrous traditions prevailed over those of the Agarthans.

The extensive Agarthan immigration and the resulting interbreeding, however, has all but completely eliminated the original pure strain of the race. No living Caerleon native has been observed to display the traits of a race that lives a hundred years. Indeed, in the millennia since their provincial recognition, the traditions have altered so that adulthood was attained at eighty years. This being said, however, Caerleons compose only 10% of the Albarican population. The majority of the White Empire's citizens are a diverse number of century races.

Modern Caerlons, due to their hybridized nature with Agarthans, are thus seen as something of demigods within Albarican society. Combined with their tradition of participating in military, particularly Knightly, professions, and their chivalrous code, they are typically seen as either virtuous peacekeepers, or godlike overlords.

Mynia's employment of meritocratic policies has done some good in changing this perception. It is entirely possible for a member of a Century Race to ascend to the position of Lord High Admiral, or Lord Sector Marshal, but for the most part, the Knights have remained mostly Caerleon in composition. It might just be because the turnover of Centurians is relatively high, given their limited lifespans, and the Knights have long been in a tradition of errant ventures lasting decades each.

Given the current status of the other Horsemen, the other races of Albarica would consider Caerleon's rule to be the most benevolent choice.