The Ao System

Ao System
Ao is a type F white star with 1.2 solar masses and a surface temperature of 7400 Kelvin. It hosts an inner, metal-rich asteroid belt, two organic-life-bearing planets, a pair of co-orbiting rocky dwarf planets, a class-Y sub-stellar object possessing a number of moons and minor ring system, and an outer, icy ring. The first life-bearing planet is an Earth-sized body–named Maa'i–almost entirely covered by mostly-shallow oceans and a few deep trenches, whose nearly-circular orbit lies nearly three-quarters of an AU from Ao and has two small moons. A smaller, Venus-sized body named H'u is home to a wide variety of biomes that fluctuate wildly with the seasons, as this planet has both a highly-elliptical orbit that crosses that of Maa'i and an axial tilt of nearly forty degrees. The orbits of H'u and Maa'i are resonant, their points of proximity oscillating in an arc focused on the aphelion of H'u every 32 cycles.

A relatively-nearby supernova in the distant past when Ao, Maa'i, and H'u were in alignment focused a great deal of energy onto the planets, causing portions of their crust to become dimensionally unstable. The molecules of the resulting crystalline deposits are vibrating at a quantum level between normal-space and folded-space as they individually seek a neutral state wholly in one or the other, which radiates an energy that the lifeforms have incorporated at a cellular level and adapted to harness in ways that are easiest for non-natives to describe as 'magic'. The process of accessing this magical energy, or mana, draws the crystal completely into normal space, and so the total amount of mana available is finite, vast though it be. In theory, matter can be artificially forced into the dimensional-bridge state to replenish mana stores, but the specific conditions and levels of energy needed are beyond belief.

Synergy between the mana-crystal deposits on Maa'i and H'u creates connective rifts between major nodes at times of close conjunction; this provides a bridge for species to transfer, resulting in isolated populations of closely-related groups on both worlds, though improbability of nodes connecting to the same counterpart every conjunction and harsh existence on H'u leads to evolutionary divergence in most cases.

Inhabitants of H'u
Due to the extremes of seasonal variation on H'u, it has not developed highly-complex organisms of its own beyond some avians and small predators. Infrequent explorers and lost wanderers end up on H'u from Maa'i after passing through the rifts, but none have established a colony with a significant population.

Inhabitants of Maa'i
Maa'i is home to several sapient groups:  the great whales, the dolphins, the Huul (abyssal merfolk), the Ei'aa (shallow-water merfolk), and the Ka (land-dwelling humanoids).

The great whales are considered the eldest of the sentient races, with extremely long lives and memories. Among the dolphins, Huul, and Ei'aa, the great whales are regarded with much respect and awe, and each group credits the behemoth cetaceans with teaching them the art of language and how to sing their histories.

Dolphins are somewhat cheeky, free-spirited and amorous creatures as a general rule, and–either through some quirk of nature or concerted effort on the part of many generations longing for more than fruitless pairings–are genetically compatible with the Ei'aa, and are frequent companions to the merfolk. Pairings between dolphins and Ei'aa that result in offspring are rather rare, however, and always the product of these unions is a slow-to-mature, effeminate hermaphrodite known as a ikrii'aa ('pleasure child', so called because the dolphins and Ei'aa alike treat these hybrids as delicate playthings or dolls existing purely for their gratification and afford them negligible social liberties).

The Huul, or abyssal merfolk, dwell in the crushing depths of the great trenches that cut into the shallow oceans of Maa'i. Physically, their appearance is at once surreal, frightening, and strangely beautiful, their elongated, spindly forms sharing attributes of viper-fish, insects, and merfolk in a way that can only be described as 'alien'. Like terrestrial insects, the Huul molt an exoskeleton in stages as they mature, and have a distributed nervous system that makes them incredibly rugged, and each member of the species is a hermaphrodite, able to switch functional role from one mating to the next.

Each Huul stores mana-crystal particles in an organ whose position is analogous to the brain on humanoids, and this is regarded by them as the seat of their soul. A side-effect of such close association with quantum-shifted matter is that each Huul has a sort of precognitive ability, called 'sight-into-time' that allows them a diffuse, blurry impression of near-future (generally up to a few minutes) probabilities; those with more-potent mana stores are able to sense further into time but with progressively-poorer clarity as temporal distance increases. Some Huul have glimpsed sharp-edged fragments of vision where myriad timelines twine together into a nexus of high-probability, but not as an effect of conscious effort.

As part of the mating act, known as 'merging of souls', a Huul will adopt a submissive position and allow their partner to consume their mana-organ. This causes a massive release of energy and feedback loop into both partners, who fuse together while pupae develop in myriad nodules on the submissive Huul's abdomen and their mana-organ regrows. During this joining, the submissive Huul's nutritional needs and absent senses are provided by their mate, while their extra limbs and combined sense of touch allow the couple to maintain a high degree of functionality to protect the vulnerable young.

Major mana crystal nodes are worshiped by the Huul as divine, and they are ascribed with spiritus due to their frequent habitation by interdimensional entities that take on sensual, semi-humanoid phantom-forms to interact with normal-space. Though the Huul have minimal development in science, technology, math, or philosophy, their religion surrounding the existence and attributes of the mana-crystals and the associated energy and beings which relate to them is remarkably complex.

Occasionally, an interdimensional entity will take up residence in a Huul's mana-organ, and this Huul is given an elevated status in their society as someone who is blessed and protected by the gods. Such individuals infrequently mate, and almost never as the submissive party, since the disruption of their mana drives the interdimensional entity away. However, there are exceedingly rare instances of the entity in that situation choosing to bind themselves to the mating couple and their offspring, all merging into a single, legendary organism who possesses seemingly-impossible abilities such as teleportation and clarity of sight-into-time.

Population of the Huul is kept in check by an extremely high infant mortality during the generative phase of mating, as well as a keen awareness of the energy flux generated by their community's central mana crystal that supports their existence.

Huul architecture primarily relates to use and extension of natural formations via excreted material that's somewhere between cement and silk in its properties. Their arts are limited to crude cave-paintings and ornate, abstract sculpture that possibly serve religious functions; to represent deity-forms, act as offerings to them, or act as crude tools to interact with mana. Mana-crystal nodes are developed into elaborate shrines and hubs of cities, but the crystal itself is never altered due to its sacred nature. Warfare is generally waged as guerrilla skirmishes against dire threats rather than opportunistic expansion/conquest.

The Ei'aa, or Children of the Moons, are dolphin-tailed merfolk (though they have a single tail, their evolutionary history and hip-fins place them in the same taxonomic group as centaurs and hexapods of other worlds) that dwell across the majority of Maa'i, laying claim to an empire that spans the globe...from the shallow breakwaters of the archipelagos to the very brinks of the deep submarine chasms. This, then, is their domain. With haughty pride, aggressively harvest and utilize the abundant magical energy to sculpt their attire, objects d'art, and the very waves, directing the paths of the great sea-currents to serve as highways, fixing the temperature and salinity of this volume of water just so to create an ornate edifice of such subtle variation that one can't help but be in awe, even unto an age after the Ei'aa have passed from the world. Magic and patient guidance both are the tools used by the artisans that direct the growth of corals into stunning, bonsai-like structures, forming the core of their palatial cities.

Attire plays an important role in Ei'aa culture. The nobility wear their hair cropped short, while the descending ranks of social class allow their hair to grow to full length. Naked shoulders and neck are seen as scandalously immodest through much of the population (this partly explains why those who cannot afford gaudy outfits wear their hair long, as it covers the neck and shoulders); garments that reveal glimpses of the shoulders or minimally-decorated necks popular among some of the nobility are tolerated but risqué. Bare breasts show the degree of health and physical well-being of an Ei'aa, and also serve to indicate their openness and trust of others. Sheer drapery over the chest can denote shyness or aloofness of the individual, and to completely hide the chest is the mark of a socially-unacceptable individual (those who are terminally-ill or members of the military are notable examples of this practice).

In the time of Endless Stars' setting, the Ei'aa are long-vanished; their reckless consumption of mana at an exponentially-increasing pace came to a head when their sages realized there were not enough reserves to maintain the continued existence of the Ei'aa, let alone all life on the planet that depended upon the mana, for much longer. With much anguish, the entire Ei'aa population (save for a few scattered individuals) chose together to end their existence in order to leave what remained to the life that would be able to exist for countless ages at its natural rate of mana use, and have enough time to adapt to its absence as the supply slowly dwindled. Only the physical structures and fading echoes of their magic-shaped endeavors remain, though it will be aeons before the great currents of the oceans fully revert to an unaffected state.

Not much is worth saying about the Ka; they are a simple, bronze-age group of humanoids with golden skin and fine, curly hair that ranges from sandy blonde to copper in hue. They ply their trades and make war within sight of the shores of the archipelagos they inhabit, seldom venturing further afield. There are no significant deposits of mana-crystal above a depth of eight fathoms in the oceans, and save for secret pockets hidden deep in caves, the Ka have had no exposure to or interaction with the material. Bereft of awareness of magic, the Ka have developed their own arts and ways that, by the time in which the game is set, has led them on the path to the stars themselves.