The largest passenger-carrying aeronef of the pre-superwing era - and the second-largest aeronef of any type, exceeded only by the same manufacturer's Teliríän's Talon-class lifting-body cargo hauler - was unquestionably the Simurgh-class skyliner. The brainchild of fêted designer Amélys Skybreaker of Cisspatiale Aerospace, Simurgh was intended
Perhaps foremost among the unfound oddities of the universe is the one charmingly named the Omphalocelic Scab. Known about from the legends of those who are themselves legends - and bearing in mind that all translations from the Precursor are, at best, deeply approximate - we are told that there
Seedships Heirs to the massive sublight colony ships pioneered by Kasjan Lyris and the Deep Star program, the modern colonial seedship is as difficult to characterize individually as its predecessors. While the Deep Star ships were differentiated by the rapid progress and therefore updates to the design - sometimes even
Among the most notable features of the Celestial Garden are its multitude of ponds, brooks, and other water features, many of which are devoted to the raising of koi, the noble brocaded carp. These include the famous Aqueous Pavilion (accessible through the Empress's Gallery), a semi-submerged conservatory where
I saw this image on Xitter: I didn't think that what the 'verse would be adding today is the Blue-Green Ecociates GR-00T Treehammer orbitally-launched forestation cluster notbomb, but it turns out that's just the ecopoesis tool no-one knew they needed.
It is legend, it is rumored, it is whispered: That among and beyond those rare and curious cosmozoa which stretch their being along time and across space, there exist a set rarer and more curious yet which dwell a-straddle worldlines and in the gaps between, where Is dances its eternal
BE ADVISED: The Department of Exotheology does not study exotic religions. (That would be the purview of the Department of Exoreligiology in the Faculty of Memetics.) Rather, the Department of Exotheology studies exotic gods. Advanced courses in this department invariably involve the study of things mortals were not meant to
Just been making some adjustments to the Imperial Military Service Table of Ranks today (specifically, adjusting the enlisted ranks to correct some seniorities and fix the missing E-9 grade), so here's the current version, screenshotted from my internal wiki for your convenience: For those playing the game at
Welcome to Wynérias! Please be prepared to present your authorization from the Executive Board and your corporate identification upon arrival at Port Sung. Access to all regions of the planet beyond Port Sung is clearance controlled. Be aware that Wynérias proper operates under the conlegial jurisdiction of Wynérias Development and
So, today you get another worldbuilding post as part of answering a reader question; specifically, concerning the accidental/deliberate distinction and other questions of guilt and innocence in Imperial jurisprudence. This is, as you might expect, a mite complicated. So the first, and the easiest, part of the Curial court&
FROM: CS MINALIROS, BORDERLINE PICKET FORCE TO: CINCSPIN (CS LIBERTY'S PRICE) ***** EXPEDIENT ***** FLEET CONFIDENTIAL E256 ***** SITREP 1. HAVE MADE ZERO-ZERO INTERCEPT WITH LEAD SHIP OF INTRUSION FLEET, VNS NOBLE VENTURE. 2. AN INSPECTION OF THE INTRUSION FLEET REVEALED NOTHING UNUSUAL. SHIPS OF THE PLANE CARRIED ONLY CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
Those of you who are old enough to recall the original publicity campaign surrounding Extropa Energy's pet project - or who have dug it out of the archives in the years since - might remember the first renders of the Esilmúr Sphere: a diaphanous veil cast over hot
Freedom's Seed COG
"So. To recap. You designed a system of self-replicating robots in the shape of snakes..." "In our defense, the network disruption had lasted years and we couldn't run the idea past anyone." "...which you equipped with an artificially-intelligent recognition system for coercive actions
glitterstaff
So, let's talk about the glitterstaff, that favorite prop of half the anime characters to come out of Delphys's own Kyo Aziris. If you are familiar with the history of nanotechnology - which I admit, gentle reader, is unlikely given that you are reading this book
Eldraeic Word of the Day
velle: river (SUBJECT is a river of land mass LOCATION, draining watershed SOURCE into DESTINATION) This word also provides the -vel root found in many of Eliéra's river names of historical Alteníän origin, including most famously the Maethevel, which is born on the slopes of the Imperial Mountain,
meta
A little meta note on worldbuilding, inspired by - well, okay, it's January, so you can guess what the annoying discourse has been for the last four? - four - days. Now there is a thing that while it's hardly been a major theme, here, is
Wintergifting
Today’s question for Dr. Science is from one of our younger readers. It’s actually a little more suited for Dr. Theology, but since we don’t have him on contract, I’ll try and fill in. You are all familiar, no doubt, with the legends attached to the
immigration
We have seen, in recent years, many attempts to explain the Empire's immigration policy. All of these have foundered on the rocks of the assumption that it is, indeed, an ends-driven policy - which is not a reliable guide when dealing with people who see themselves as merely
eldraeic language
halla: forest, specifically a tamed forest used for dwelling, silviculture, lumbering, coppicing, hunting, parkland, etc. Oppose loth. loth: forest, specifically wild forest not used for any purpose. Oppose halla. (Note that this is a very important distinction on Eliéra, which has a lot of forest cover, and it is important
meta
In today's recommendations, I should like to draw y'all's attention to The Problem with Sci-Fi Body Armor, over at A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. Why? Well, apart from being interesting in its own right, it is one of the latest and best posts whose
worldbuilding
(To be pronounced, naturally, just like "Catholicism Wow!". You may feel free to imagine for yourself Buddy Queen Victoria, Buddy Cecil Rhodes, Buddy Genghis Khan, or Buddy Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.) In which I write in response to this comment back on "Nom": Are there any
Imperium Bellipotent
“Consider, gentle reader, that even as the flesh of an Emperor, or of any man, is constituted of what he eats, so then is an Empire, in bones and sinew, constituted of what it eats. “Therefore, to maintain the health, and to avoid the manifestations of ill-nutrition, unseemly bloat, or
wet navy
I saw this picture today, via an Astral Codex Ten post on distinguishing human art from AI art, but that is not the context in which I reference it: Instead, I merely point out that it would be an accurate representation of what the Royal Alatian (later Imperial) Navy would
food and drink
Pressed bean curds are a common item in many Eliéran cuisines, in recipes both savory and sweet. I refer to them using this long description since, despite being identical in many ways and produced from the same small group of plants, they are one of the very few foodstuffs to