Legacy: Lore and Out-Of-RP Writing

[Poetic Ghost]

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Welcome to the Lore page for the sci-fi anime RP, Legacy. This is where RPers involved can post all kinds of lore stuff for everyone to see! If you are not involved in Legacy, please do not post here.

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

[AnonymousGhost]

Zetari & the Zetarians

The Planet

Zetari lies in the outer reaches of the universe, in an area of open space with no other nearby inhabited planets. It is approximately 18 million square miles (this is slightly larger than Earth’s moon) and orbits a small sun at a distance of a little over 100 million miles. However, the planet itself does not rotate, which creates two drastically different and unchanging climates on the left and right hemispheres.

The left hemisphere faces the sun and lives in a perpetual state of daylight. The temperature hovers around a balmy degree most reminiscent of warm spring when the planet is at its closest to the sun and can fall to a deep winter when it is at its furthest.

The right hemisphere faces away from the sun and lives in a perpetual state of darkness. The temperatures here could be described as freezing and really fucking freezing.

Both hemispheres’ landscapes are an array of grays, blacks, whites, and pale blues and purples. To those not accustomed to such coloration, the planet may appear muted, like the color saturation on a television has been messed with. The topography is predominantly mountainous and rocky with lakes scattered across its surface. There is one especially large lake that straddles the two hemispheres in the northern pole area. This lake is called Lyra’s Mirror due to the fact that, for a reason the Zetarians were never able to fully investigate before their untimely demise, its surface is always perfectly still thus allowing the glassy liquid to produce a perfect reflection. Canyons are a common feature, as are caves.

The flora and fauna that reside in the right hemisphere have evolved to be bioluminescent, as well as to have an enhanced sense of hearing compared to their left hemisphere counterparts. Foliage is sparse in the right hemisphere and has a bare, pale appearance. Trees and other plants tend to grow outwards in width more than upwards in height, although their small size is still taller than the Zetarians. The animals have thick coats or hides to protect themselves from the freezing temperatures and large, clawed paws to assist in digging through the stony ground.

While the flora remain pretty much the same in the left hemisphere as in the right, they are not bioluminescent and grow significantly taller. Forests are more common in this hemisphere as well. The animals here grow thicker furs or hides when the colder temperatures roll in, but mostly rely on camouflaging characteristics for survival.

Zetari’s most lucrative resource is their mines. Anything from luminescent stone to geodes to precious gems can be found in the deep recesses of the planet and fetch a high price in the market.


The Zetarians

Zetarians are generally humanoid in form with slenderly muscled frames that allow for quick, agile movement. They have varying shades of metallic skin ranging from an almost translucent pearly white to a coal black. Zetarians in the left hemisphere fall on the darker end of the skin tone spectrum while those in the right hemisphere fall on the lighter end. Their eyes are completely black—devoid of any pupil, sclera, or iris—almond in shape, and only slightly smaller than baseballs. Their height range, once fully mature, is anywhere between 4’1’’ and 6’0’’. Their ears are elongated and pointed and their canine teeth are longer and sharper than a human’s. Their fingernails and toenails are a shade darker than their skin and naturally grow in a pointed, claw-like shape. Much like any other species, they have various physical characteristics that individual Zetarians may or may not have. These include: horns of various sizes, shapes, and lengths protruding from their head (a recessive trait); limbs that humans may perceive as disproportionately long; forked tongues. Their lifespan averages 120 years, but some have been known to reach as old as 200.

Their diet is predominantly carnivorous, but they solely drink a glassy liquid for hydration. Plants are considered delicacies because of their scarcity.

Given the relatively cold environment of Zetari, its inhabitants are acclimated to colder temperatures. This isn’t to say that they can’t freeze to death; it would just take an extremely cold climate. On the other hand, this makes them especially susceptible to overly hot temperatures.

Also due to the odd positioning and revolution of their planet, there is no day and night. It is either always day or always night depending on which side of the planet you're on. Because of this, Zetarians do not have a circadian rhythm that cycles approximately every 24 hours. Instead, they sleep when they need to sleep. Just for ease and convenience, most everyone in a given city will sleep and wake at about the same time so that business and other necessities can be done.

The Zetarian language is musical and fluid. To a foreigner, a Zetarian conversation would sound like a song.


The Culture

The pantheon that governs the Zetarian faith is known as the Family of Celestial Bodies. The Family includes: Lin the Goddess of Space; Dresden the God of Stars; Lyra the Goddess of Moons; Krii the God of Black Holes; Nül the Goddess of Planets; the triplets Crym the God of Asteroids, Hikar the God of Comets, and Xero the God of Meteors; and Blythe the Goddess of Nebulae.

Zetarians believe that Lyra the Goddess of Moons created them and their planet because she wanted an inhabited planet to care for, like her sister Nül had. But Lyra feared her brothers and sisters would harm her creation so she placed it in the outer reaches of the universe so that it would be safe. Zetarians also believe Lyra created them and their planet in her image, which is why the landscape and their physical characteristics are reminiscent of moons.

Any god or goddess in the Family may be invoked for favors, although Zetarians hold Lyra above the others. No one has invoked the favor of Krii, though, because his nature is that of black holes—unknown and unpredictable. If called upon, he may harm or help, but there’s no telling which.

The afterlife is known as the After World and the living plane is known as the Present World. Zetarians believe that spirits known as Ferriers guide the souls of the dead to the After World, but require the presence of a living spirit to create a beacon, or anchor, of sorts to allow the Ferrier to move between Worlds. Should a Zetarian die alone, it is believed that their spirit is trapped inside the decaying corpse, doomed to eternal darkness. If a Zetarian dies in the presence of an enemy, it is believed that the living spirit of the enemy will lead the spirit of the dead Zetarian astray so that the Ferrier will never find them and the Zetarian spirit will continue to wander the universe, lost, forever. It is rumored that if a Zetarian dies a noble death, there is a chance Lyra herself will ferry the spirit to the After World.

Because of the peculiar way in which their planet orbits their sun, Zetarians do not measure time as humans do. Their timekeeping is based on the exact positioning of stars as seen from telescopes known as Nénar Tìrs (star watchers). When a Zetarian is born, the exact positioning of the stars as seen from that city’s Nénar Tìr is recorded and is the equivalent of a birthday. They call it a star map.

While they do mostly keep to themselves, Zetarians do engage in trading and travel. As mentioned before, most of their economy is based upon the exporting of mined materials. Generally, they’re self-sufficient, but do import odds and ends when the need arises.

When it comes to war, Zetarians fall somewhere in the middle; they do not seek out war but neither do they see combat as a last resort. Given their view on physical contact, though, the vast majority of their weaponry and tactics involve distanced combat.

Zetarians see physical contact as a form of intimacy, reserved for immediate family and significant others, and so may be mistaken as rude or cold by ignorant foreigners whose hugs or handshakes are rejected. The origin of why Zetarians view physical contact this way is unknown. However, some native historians speculate it’s tied to the phenomenon known as “trondo núte,” which roughly translates to “touch bond.” This phenomenon refers to when a Zetarian has made such prolonged physical contact with another that the two can sense each other’s emotions. This is extremely rare and has only occurred in a dozen or so Zetarians.

Because of this belief, medical staff are regarded with a certain reverence. These are the most trustworthy, compassionate, and dependable of the community who—through a lengthy evaluation process that includes the entire community they will be serving—are voted into the position. This gives them the privilege of physical contact with those outside of their immediate family and significant other. Of course, sanitary precautions are taken as with any medical procedure so medical staff would not perform activities like surgery without gloves. Those within the medical profession also keep their fingernails shaved down to a blunt end so that there is no risk of an unwanted puncture. These Zetarians also serve as leaders of the community on a governing board.

Since Zetarians are monogamous, they also have an institution similar to human marriage. When two Zetarians decide to “settle down,” they have what is called a binding ceremony, which is officiated by a doctor. While not mandatory, it is tradition that the doctor that officiated the binding ceremony also performs the childbirth procedure.

While Zetarian reproductive organs are humanoid in design, the mortality rate for the mothers in natural childbirth is 98%. Instead, a childbirth procedure is done in which the baby is surgically removed from the mother. Enduring this procedure multiple times is taxing on the body and decreases fertility so Zetarian families generally have two or three offspring at most.

**If you have any questions about something I didn't mention, lemme know and I'll add the information**