Records Recovered from the Divine, Arbitrage is the dossier for the Road to PALISADE. Within the fiction, it is written by said Divine.
Factions
Divinity
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| The Divine Principality: Stitched together thousands of years ago from the remains of the Divine Free States and the Principality of Kesh, it is largest empire in the history of the Milky Way Galaxy. Even now, divided against itself, any subdivision of its arms stretches further than any kingdom or confederation ever has before. An utter failure.[1]
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| Stel Apostolos: An ancient people, ever obsessed with external conquest and internal freedom, and utterly uninterested in understanding their own contradictions. They are dedicated to the pursuit of forward Motion, and I suppose I can respect such bullheaded devotion. It is, at the very least, not boring. They are the meat and muscle of the Pact of Necessary Venture.[1]
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| Stel Columnar: Famously “courted” by the growing Principality many generations ago, this nation of humanoid synthetics traded freedom for the prestige and security of the Principality. They hid behind imperial walls and pursued the Future, pushing boundaries not only in technology, but in art, commerce, and war. I suppose I can call them cousins, but not with much fondness. Today, they share righteous screeds and fight for the return of something like democracy as part of the Pact of Necessary Venture. What a comedy.[1]
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| Stel Kesh: Among the oldest operating powers in the stars. Devoted to the Past even though they’ve long lost control of the Divine who shares its name. Snobbish historians, ineffective parliamentarians, and stubborn reactionaries. Kesh is generally aligned with the Curtain of Divinity.[1]
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| Stel Nideo: With origins in the long lost Twilight Mirage, Stel Nideo are architects of our current era, dread controllers of the Present. Along with shaping mass media, popular culture, and educational standards, they now operate both Received and Progressive Asterism, the former run by the corrupt Cycle and the latter by the grotesque puppet of the lost prophet Gur Sevraq. These priests, pop idols, and patriotic poster children are largely aligned with the Curtain of Divinity.[1]
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| Stel Orion: For hundreds of thousands of years, Stel Orion—under countless names and forms—has repeated a cycle of exploitation and revolution. Competing spirits of individualism and camaraderie ebb and flow, but industry remains. Is it any wonder that it remains associated with the raw breadth of Space itself? Currently, Orion is at war with itself, with countless small factions not only differing in position on the larger civil war in the Principality, but also on many additional issues like wealth, religion, and culture.[1]
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The War
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| The Curtain of Divinity: For generations, the Curtain of Divinity operated in the shadows of the Principality, partly as intelligence agency, partly as shadow government. Now they have been dragged into the daylight, and serve as one of the two ruling factions of the whole Principality. Though there are some divisions along questions of secularity, humanism, and cultural taste, in general, leaders of the Curtain are conservative, traditionalist, and nationalistic. They seek the reunification of all five Stels and the permanence of the Divine Principality.
Led, in public at least, by Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh, the Peaceful Princept. In fact, the Curtain has five divisions, each led by a ruthless individual known only by a codename: Silk (diplomacy), Damask (research & inquisition), Lace (military), Linen (economics), and Gabardine (espionage and collaboration).[1]
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| The Pact of Necessary Venture: As their (current) name suggests, the Pact began as a cooperative exploratory committee founded in the late 14th Century of the Perfect Millennium. They sought new territory to conquer, breaking an old taboo in the process, and inviting destruction and fracture. Which is appropriate, as their vision for the future is one where each Stel is granted more autonomy and independence — some even claim that they would see the Principality utterly destroyed and replaced by a loose affiliation of free states.
Despite this, the Pact are no radicals: While they want more independence from the Principality, they have little interest in shaking up the internal power structures of the Stels themselves. After all, their founders were all Elects, and though only two remain (Gallica, elect of the Divine Present, and Rye, elect of the divine Space), they are led by Dahlia, who serves as both Apokine and Glorious Princept.[1]
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| Millennium Break: Terrorists, thieves, and revolutionaries. Founded on the moon of Partizan in 1423-1424 PM. A wrench in the wheel, a fly in the ointment. Critical in pushing the Principality into chaos. Now spreading dissidence through the galaxy. Their manifesto, such as it is, is thus:
We will help those displaced by the war. We will claim supplies only when it adds losses to the ledgers of the unjust. Free and fair elections will be held every two years. Burn thrones, build tables. When we provide for ourselves, we can provide for others. We will not turn our back on allies in need. If we must play their game, make sure to bloody their noses. When we reach the edge, we will Leap. Look sick as shit.
The words of children.[1]
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Others
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| Hypha & Ashen: The former were a culture of galactic nomads, guided by a paranatural force called the Strand which they could commune with using technological devices built into their antlers. The latter are their descendants, their routes broken by the Principality’s expansions and occupations, their culture ripped from them.[2]
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Persons
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| Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh (he/him): “The Peaceful Princept,” supposed leader of the Curtain of Divinity. Growing, ever so slowly, into the title.[1]
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| Fingers Crossed (they/them): One might wonder just how this criminal and rebel has studied enough classified Principality material to become the expert forger that they are. Yes. One might wonder.[2]
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| Gucci Garantine (she/her): Once, when she operated the revolutionary group HORIZON, true heir of the Rapid Evening, she called herself Saint Dawn. Now she simply calls herself one of the Millennium Break’s commanders, albeit through gritted teeth.[1]
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| Kinoki (she/her): A code-cracking algorithm that slowly turned into a master thief and hacker. Strange life, even to me.[2]
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| The Lace of the Curtain of Divinity: Marshall in command of the Curtain’s military forces, including reconnaissance and martial saboteur units.[2]
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| Layer Luxurious (he/him): A "podcaster." What a waste.[1]
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| Omi (they/them): A synthetic member of Millennium Break with a top-shelf scenario simulation engine and an unparalleled sense of precision timing (among other beings of their type, at least).[2]
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| Pressure Cove (they/them): Captain of the Fox in the Snow and leader of a group infatuated with Fealty and their promised way of life.[3]
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| Robet Shpache (he/him): An expert in security systems, Robet Shpache wields cameras, gates, and drones like weapons.[2]
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| Sierra (they/her): The bashful intelligence which pilots the agrivessel the Hen and Chicks.[1]
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| Veronique (she/they): Elect of Fealty. A loyalist. A protector. A runner, in a previous life.[1]
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Divines
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| Conviction (she/her) & Amaryllis (they/them): Conviction is among the proudest of all Kesh Divines, a caped, golden, horse-knight who speaks with absolute confidence. Their elect, Amaryllis, spent years in the shadow of Veronique, their junior in all things. Until now, of course.[3]
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| Discernment (it/its) and Vigna (they/them): Vigna is egotistical with little reason to be, but Discernment could stand to be a little prouder. It is a massive Divine that seeks to put the world in its gaze, in every possible version of that statement. Part galactic spy satellite, part museum, part military base. It really tests the boundaries between passive observer and active agent, doesn’t it?[2]
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| Fealty (any, they/them): A Curtain Divine of glittering chrome and sculpture.[1]
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| Fortitude (it/its) & Acacia (they/them): A Divine from an era before my own, and in that way at least, a curiosity. It spreads its strength across many military units. As always, its need for an Elect is a disappointment.[1]
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Locations
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| Crown: The ancient homeworld of the Columnar, found deep into the coreward reaches of the Sagittarius arm of the galaxy. It was devastated by the arrival of the Perennial Wave, and today remains ruined.[2]
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| The Skarnoc Debris Fields: The remnants of a battle from the era before the Twilight Mirage, where the Rapid Evening fought and lost the Divine Nobility. Besides the normal ship debris, the field has gathered strange crystalline spires.[1]
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Articles
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| A Dash of Purple: Fealty, of course, knew what it was at once. How could they not?[1]
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| Hollows & Hallows: Mechanized military vessels, often in humanoid shape. The latter are enhanced by the touch of a Divine.[1]
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| The Treaty of Permanent Peace: An agreement of terms and conventions between the Curtain and the Pact, negotiated by the Elect Rye and the Peaceful Princept. By all accounts, this was the first great achievement of the latter. Without the safeties, guidelines, and structure provided by the Treaty, the less technologically advanced Curtain would have lost the war within the first two years of its start, with countless civilians left dead across core Curtain worlds.[1]
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Miscellany
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| Kalmeria Particle: Most people don’t know what it really is, or where it came from. Some know that it is named for the rogue engineer Kal’Mera Broun, but phew know that it is the result not only of their research into the divine Asepsis, but also the particular consequences of Millennium Break’s battle with Motion and her siphoning of so-called “Autonomy Itself.”[1]
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| The Perennial Wave: Perennial is something like a god, or at least I think she imagines she is. Her wave is her arrogant whim, made manifest. Functionally infinite nano-particles, spread throughout the galaxy, hampering all technology except (curiously) Divines.[1]
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References