triogenix

Just making this post to let you know we're aware of this app and will be reviewing it in the coming week.

I love those sprites, +1.

With these answers, this application is accepted. Feel free to reach out to me or either of my deputies if you have any questions.

Guilds begin massive lay-offs, attempt to remain solvent as economy continues to freefall Article 5 of the Titan Rises Translated into Tau Ceti Basic Following up on our story from Saturday, many further guilds have announced cutbacks in personnel and operations as they attempt to remain solvent in the face of the Merchant’s Guild bankruptcy. Mass lay-offs have become common for all guilds as contracts are canceled, or do not come in to begin with. The response to this situation has been one of outrage, with protests from laid-off guildsmen seen across the Hegemony. Several hundred workers on remote stations of the Miners’ Guild were informed that their facilities were being shut down, and many communities bordering the Wasteland are forced to cope as the House of Medicine closes dozens of its clinics across the planet. In Jaz’zirt, Overlord Miazso struggles to keep order as unemployed guildsmen march in the streets, waving the banner of the organization known as the Hearts of Industry. Our sources in the region have informed us that some of these guildsmen have occupied guild-owned buildings and workplaces, and are refusing to allow remaining workers access until their jobs are reinstated. Hephaestus Industries has been quick to take advantage of this, hiring many of the laid-off workers to their own guild, allowing their continued employment and the growth of the company. Many senior guildsmen have accused Hephaestus of profiteering from the crisis rather than truly assisting Moghes, however, Hephaestus has responded by stating there is no better way to help the Hegemony than to ensure employment for its citizens. Hephaestus’s personnel in the Hegemony is expected to increase by 48% by the next week, should the current rate of hiring remain steady, becoming the Hegemony’s biggest employer. It is unclear if their profits will increase commensurate with this jump in the workforce, but given Hephaetsus’s culture about the purchase of company stock, that would not be off the table. Hegemon Not’zar has yet to make a formal statement on this economic crisis - however, he did inform Sinta Articles that Overlord Hutay’zai and many guild masters will be meeting to discuss possibilities to exit this crisis with minimal damage to the economy. While we guildsmen of the Keepers of Heirlooms suffer from this crisis too, and several of our chapters have had to lay off guildsmen - rest assured that we at Sinta Articles remain committed to keeping our readers up to date on this crisis as it unfolds.

I think I would retcon the Original Solarian Invasion Arc. While it wasn't a bad arc for it's time, it ran in 2015, on a very different aurora than we have now. Given that, in the current day it feels very sub-par, which in my eyes is an issue for an arc that has affected so much. If I could, I'd probably retcon it for that reason, and replace it with something better. I think currently, the weakest part of Aurora lore are the corporations. Despite being so massively important for our setting, corporations as a whole aren't really written about to the extent that nations, planets, and other entities are. Writing about them more, and thereby demonstrating their influence would make them stronger I think. The IAC is something that is currently barely hanging on as a vestige of the rest of Aurora lore, being rarely used by writers, whether it be for individual species or team-wide projects. I'd like to see it removed, and replaced with aid entities that are a part of corporations, as sort of a PR division of our playable corporations. That'd be much more interesting in my eyes, and allow for further integration into lore outside of "oh yea this IAC thing exists". I don't really see this as an issue currently, for one particular reason. What people tend to see are the very few conflicts that flare up between the teams(such as the examples you gave), rather than the much more common areas of cooperation between the two teams, and between all the teams in general. Therefore, I don't really feel a need to try and improve cooperation, because I think it's already where it should be. I don't really have a plan/direction for any of the "evil" factions, as all of them fall under specific species writers, and having plans for them would be stepping on that team's toes. I may encourage them to do something with those factions I feel they're not being utilized or are outdated,(yet not fully defunct/gone like ATLAS and the SRF) but I wouldn't want to give any specific ideas unless they had none. However my thoughts are a different matter, and in my opinion, those factions are alright. Having a few factions that can act as a constant "big bad" or threat for whatever writing someone makes to bounce off of is a good thing if they're not overused. And I don't think they've been overused.

Hey! Just checking to make sure you're still interesting in this application, as it's been over a week now.

I just remembered something that I had wanted to put in this section when originally thinking about my application, but never made it into the final draft as it managed to slip my mind; that thing being terms. As it's been 4 days since I posted my application, I decided to put my ideas about them here. Terms are something I've spoken about with Cael in the past, and essentially the idea behind them is to enforce a constant input of new blood into the administrative roles of the lore team, by limiting the amount of time someone can hold the position for. Should I get this position, I'd like to start the process of changing the Lore Team Rules and Regulations to include a new rule that states Loremasters must resign after a period of 36 months in the position, and not reapply for a LTA position until another 12 month period has passed. The purpose of this rule would be, as stated, to ensure a constant input of new ideas to the highest levels of the lore team, preventing stagnation. The reasoning behind the 36 months is that it allows a recently elevated loremaster the time needed to get acclimatized with whatever their predecessor left them with, then begin working on whatever big thing they wish to do, such as arcs like KOTW, or in Cael's case, overseeing the transition to NBT. A 12-month break before reapplying to any LTA positions would then also give those with newer ideas the time to apply for the DLM position themselves, rather than have to compete against an applicant who had their time.

I had a few questions I wanted to ask you. 1) If you could retcon any arc ever run in Aurora Lore, which arc would you retcon and why? If you would not retcon any, why? 2) In your eyes, what is currently the weakest part of Aurora lore? 3) What are your thoughts on the IAC? 4) What are your thoughts on adding a term, so to speak, for administration positions within the lore team? As in, a loremaster may only be in the position for 2 years before resigning, or something similar?

I've enjoyed speaking with you about a number of topics on the multitude of Aurora discords, and I think you'll be able to fit in well with the overarching lore team. That said, I have a question or two for you. 1) What are your thoughts on the K'lax, and their relationship with the Hegemony? If you could change one thing about it, what would you change? 2) If you could retcon one Vaurca arc that has been run in the past, which would it be and why? If you wouldn't retcon any, why?

Merchant’s Guild Declares Bankruptcy, Hegemonic Economy in Danger? Article 4 of the Titan Rises Translated into Tau Ceti Basic Breaking news today, as the Merchant’s Guild, long thought of as the most successful and richest of all the guilds has declared Bankruptcy, citing difficulties finding customers for their goods in the midst of a galactic recession. The guilds have been reeling from this statement, as nearly all rely in some way on the Merchant’s guild for the transportation of goods either into or out of the Hegemony. It is still unclear exactly what effects this will have on the Hegemonic Economy, but there has been a sense of panic in nearly all guildhalls across Moghes, as high-ranking guildsmen attempt to figure out how to deal with this development. The only guild not immediately affected seems to be Hephaestus, who has the spur-spanning infrastructure to ride out this shock. They have even gone so far as to state they will not cease their business in the Hegemony and will assist the other guilds if necessary to keep the Hegemonic economy solvent. It is unknown exactly how Hephaestus Industries plans to do this, but the statement has been taken as a sign of hope in these dark times. The Merchants’ Guild is responsible for almost all of the exports which the Hegemonic economy relies on, being the only guild besides Hephaestus to have a charter that allows them to trade with the outside spur. As many corporations have already ceased trade with our Guilds, this lack of exports might be the final push that sees the economy enter into a freefall. We expect to hear more on this developing story within the coming days.

I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind should I be accepted.

Accepted. Feel free to message either me or one of my deputies should you have any questions.

I like it! I think it's a pretty simple idea that has a lot of potential, not just for teaching people how ship-to-ship combat works, but for keeping engagement levels high in between more major event arcs. Alone it wouldn't keep engagement levels high, but I think it'd be a good testing ground for how these regular minor events could be done both in code and in staff organization. If it succeeds, I'd like to look at then expanding other regular events we could do.

I think with Biesel for me, it's good as is, nothing really new needs to be added, just IC arcs and expansions. I know that seems like a non-answer, but now that it is no longer our main setting, I feel that spending too much writing effort there would be a waste of time. We'll always need a place for people new to the server to make characters from, one that doesn't require much reading of lore or understanding of the spur, and to me, that's Biesels remit, so expanding upon it a lot would be counterproductive in addition. However, I'd like to return to Port Antilla, and run a few more arcs there regarding their integration into Tau Ceti, as it hasn't been the site of an arc for a while. I have a few ideas swirling around in my head, but nothing super concrete I can point to. Continuing articles regarding the CRZ is also of interest to me, specifically, what exactly the corporations are doing in the Reconstruction Zone, along with further articles about the Peacekeeper Mandate and the newly formed TCAF. I have many many ideas for this, including using the notable units of the TCAF that I had written for the ongoing arc, but were dropped due to it's relatively recent formation. It'd make sense to bring them in once the TCAF is more established. Yes. I've cracked the whip so to speak before on people who I considered my friends in regards to Unathi WLs, but I don't think you were around for that. In my eyes, megacorporations have the issue currently of 1) being too monolithic, and 2) almost always being the party that reacts in a given situation. The only time I can think of corporations, not nations or other entities, taking action in a meaningful was the establishment of the CRZ, and even then that could be argued was Biesel. I think, especially now with a weakened Sol and the corporations scared as a result of their assets being seized, corporations should shift towards a more active stance in the spur. I don't want to see corporations overpower nation-states, per-say, but I don't want them to be relegated to constantly reacting to situations. It's hard to put into words but here is an example: In Dreary Futures, the main drivers, those acting, were either the SFA, FSF, or Elyra. The Horizon, and therefore the corporations, acted a little by hiring the FSF, but still were, in general, reacting to events as they occurred. Instead of this, I want to put corporations, and the Horizon, in the driver's seat of an arc instead, having them be the ones whose actions others must react to. As an example, Zavodskoi is having a squabble with someone, and therefore Horizon must assist Zavodskoi as best they can, making their own decisions about what to do based on their own thoughts, and the whims of corporate masters. Now, this can be incredibly difficult, but I think it's possible and will make for better events. As for being too monolithic, beyond finally making them drivers of events and therefore giving them character, breaking up the corporations, plus giving them more unique flavor is the cure for this. When I say breaking up the corporations I don't mean a few paragraphs on a wiki page that won't actually affect anything. Instead, we should strive towards tangible effects of the differences between corporations that will affect players actually playing the game, mostly through arcs. Whether it's having corporations bicker or outright fight, I have a lot of ideas for this, but I must not only speak with the team about them but also most likely CCIAA, as they'd be pretty heavily involved. Consequences from these arcs should have impacts onboard the ship, anything from certain corporations can't be played for a couple of weeks, to certain characters being fired from the Horizon due to their affiliation with x corporation during a tense moment; in general, giving events weight for characters beyond the arc or people dying. To be clear, these are just potential examples I thought up of, and whatever is implemented would need much more workshops with the team and CCIAA. This would showcase in a clear way that the SCC, and to an extent the playable corporations, are not monolithic and could be used to give each corporation its own flavor, more than they currently have.

Let the worst man win. I'm incredibly happy to see you have applied, as I've loved working with you on the team, whatever project it's been. I'd be more than willing to work under you should you get this position, and endorse this application. That said, I have a few questions. 1) What do you believe are your biggest drawbacks, both as a writer and as an applicant for this position? 2) When it comes to the SCC, you mention wanting to see the nations of the spur have more "teeth", do you have any ideas or desire to run more corporate-centric arcs around internal conflict within the SCC? 3) Lastly, would you plan on retaining your position as Skrell Lore Writer, holding both DLM and SLM, or would you resign?

Ckey/BYOND Username: Triogenix Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Deputy Loremaster Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes. Past Experiences/Knowledge: Deputy of the Unathi team for a year, then Unathi Lore Writer for a year and a half. Examples of Past Work: https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Unathi_Guilds https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Unathi_Recent_Events https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Tza_Prairie(this one was pretty much all me) https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Notable_Unathi Significant Contributions to the Original Peacekeeper Mandate Arc & Porta Antilla https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Empire_of_Dominia#Zhurong_Imperial_Shipbuilding(with schwann) https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Human_Piracy(wrote the Unathi Sections for this page) The Original Unathi Scarcity Arc The currently uncompleted Titan Rises arc The currently uncompleted Sk'akh Reformation Arc(though rusting did most of the writing) The TCAF expansion & articles The Regions of Moghes(editing mostly, Rusting did a lot of the writing) https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Tret(This was mostly the Vaurca Team, but I assisted a little) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Do you have any experience managing a Team? The duties of a Deputy Loremaster often revolve around being a Project Lead, not necessarily just writing. In regards to recently, I've been managing the Unathi team for the better part of 6 or so months, ever since Haydizzle resigned, so I have experience from there. Beyond that, in the past year part of my duties with classes has been leading people inexperienced in the outdoors on expeditions. 2. In a brief summary, explain the direction you'd wish to see the Lore Team take in regards to AuroraLore. I think the biggest thing I'd like to see that I sort of tried to start with the Zhurong Imperial Shipbuilding with Schwann is more diversification in the SCC instead of just "NT + friends". Pitting members against each other through lore, then having lore arcs where aforementioned members squabble, is something I'd like to see, rather than the SCC fighting/dealing with outside forces such as the SFA or others. Currently arcs have a sort of monotonous feeling in my opinion where the SCC as a whole goes somewhere, does x, y, z while fighting someone, then leaves without any sort of internal strife. Having a dreary futures style arc where instead of an external threat all the potential threats to the crew are internal is something I would like to run, though I accept it may be difficult as intrigue/internal style arcs are incredibly difficult to do properly. Still, it's something I'd wish to try. 3. If you were selected, what do you believe should be changed about how the Lore Team operates? I think it's still similar to what I mentioned in my Unathi Lore Developer Application having the Loremasters be more present, and should I get this position I plan on trying to improve it myself. Time and time again I've found myself writing a vast amount for the team projects that have come up, the Peacekeeper Mandate and ongoing TCAF arc come to mind, because I feel if I do not they won't happen. It's been said that the Deputy Loremaster is supposed to be the Loremasters go-getter(I can't think of a better term), getting on people's asses about doing stuff and making deadlines; not only for team projects, but for species projects that have languished. The level of pressure on these projects, whether they be individual species or entire team projects needs to change, and by being in the position of Deputy Loremaster, I'll be able to best ensure that change occurs. This does not mean to over-rule a species writer and speak directly with their deputies, but to encourage species writers to formulate a plan for specific pages that may be in disrepair instead of going after other tasks. The biggest place this could have been done in recent memory actually concerns my own team - we focused on other things besides Ouerea which had not been updated in forever, before finally getting to reworking it. I think this was a mistake, and while I mostly blame myself, I think there could have been nudges towards it from the Loremasters. Additional Comments: I've absolutely loved working on the Unathi Team, both under Haydizzle and with my two deputies. We've written some amazing stuff and have gotten the species into a much better place than it was previously. However, should I get this role I think I'd want to dedicate most of my time to it, and therefore would resign my position as Unathi Lore Writer. I'd still help out whenever I find the opportunity, that goes for almost any team, but I don't want the duel obligations of being both Deputy Loremaster and Unathi Writer on my plate, as come the school year, I'd be unable to handle it. Beyond that, I want to mention what I consider to be a few of my drawbacks. First among them is obviously my grammar, and writing. Anyone who has worked with me in the past can tell you that I have horrid spelling and grammer, and that editing of my work is always required. In a position of deputy loremaster, I'm unsure how I would be as a general editor for work others do, but I have done well with it in the past when the work was not my own. Second is my propensity to write things all at once, rather than in a slow methodical way. I tend to lean towards impatience when getting work done, sitting at my computer for however long it takes to get a full rough draft up, then presenting it with edits needed NOW because I wish to launch whatever lore as soon as possible. This may seem good, yet when writing things that might effect the entire setting, therefore needing input from the entire team, this may cause issues as people are flooded with requests for edits, and I don't feel like waiting so I launch anyway. I believe I can keep a lid on this however, as I did while being lore writer for the Unathi team(until I realized one of my deputies was the same as I am) and it shouldn't become a problem. However it is still something I am compelled to include in this application. I look forward to answering any questions you may have!

Church of Sk’akh gridlocked; paralyzed by Th’akh Demands? Article 2 of the Sk'akh Reformation Arc Translated into Tau Ceti Basic Almost a week has passed since over a hundred surviving shamans from the Akhandi Temples announced a demand for reparations from the Sk’akh church to pay for the destruction wrought by the Iron Crusade five years ago. The church still has yet to issue a response to these demands, the four current Archpriests having met in the city of Skalamar to discuss this development several days ago. Our confidential sources inside the Third Scept tell us that it appears the church appears to be gridlocked as a result of these demands, unable to make a decision to even begin proper discussions on the subject without a High Priest to direct it. The exile of High Priest Unzi marks the first time that the Church has been without a High Priest in centuries, with the last known instance having occurred at the height of the Second Hegemony. For centuries, the church has not had to face a situation such as this, and according to our sources, was woefully unprepared to make decisions on such a large scale - with the conclave of Archpriests having allegedly devolved into vicious argument on the demands of the shamans. Our sources report that the Hegemon’s own Archpriest attempted to guide the discussion, but was met with angered shouting from his fellows, as they could not reach consensus on the matter of the demands. It is still unclear whether or not the church will have a response any time soon, but it seems that as of now the Archpriests are unable to reach a conclusion on the matter. According to our sources, Archpriest Koszkahe Oklaal, personal Archpriest to the Hegemon himself, raised an even wilder proposition to his fellows - putting his own name forward to be elevated to the position of High Priest. Since the exile of High Priest Unzi, the position has existed in limbo, with many fierce debates being held on the matter - he was not formally stripped of his title, and he has not been confirmed dead. Given that, many among the Sk’akh faithful believe that Unzi is still the High Priest, and will remain such until his death or formal excommunication by the archpriests. The chamber erupted in outrage, with the Archpriest of the Southlands calling Archpriest Oklaal a ‘power-hungry and honorless spawn of the Chained Wastes’. At this point the conversation became increasingly agitated, though we do not have much information on what words may have been exchanged following the insult to Archpriest Oklaal’s person. Archpriest Oklaal was seen leaving the Third Scept later that same day, seemingly in a state of anger. While we can only speculate as to what else may have transpired within the Third Scept, it seems that the Archpriests have yet to reach any kind of consensus. As always, we will keep our readers updated on this story as it develops.

Ouerean Riots pacified, Hutay’zai Bannermen to withdraw, replaced by K’lax warriors, Izweski Bannermen to remain for time being; Nobles give statements. Article 3 of the Titan Rises Translated into Tau Ceti Basic After 2 long days the last of the Ouerean Riots have been pacified, thanks to the help of the noble bannermen who answered the calls of their clans to assist local watchmen. Finally able to wake up to a peaceful morning free of fires and the aftermath of riots, the Ouerean people celebrated once again being able to return to work now that non-essential businesses may reopen. Watchmen still stand on increased alert, as do the Bannermen, and curfews remain in place, but the situation appears to have stablized. The cost of the riots was immense on the planet, with estimates saying that over 2 billion credits worth of property were damaged while riots gripped the city, including most of the rebuilt government buildings in the cities of Kr’ath, Z’ek, and Um’a’yid. Governmental power around the Trizkizki Sea is now concentrated in New Skalamar, which has avoided much of the destruction due to the deployment of Izweski and Hutay’zai bannermen to the spaceport located within it. The death toll has risen to over 1000 dead, 10 of which are believed to be watchmen or bannermen deployed to help quell the rioting, while injuries are in the thousands. House of Medicine hospitals located on the planet have been overwhelmed, and have requested support from the local branch of the Interstellar Aid Corps to assist in dealing with the aftermath; the Interstellar Aid Corps has responded saying that they will assist. Meanwhile the Construction Coalition has taken on many contracts to rebuild the areas devastated by the rioting, being paid from clan Zik'san’s own pocket, as the overlord shows his care for the planet. Now that the situation has quieted down, Sinta Articles has had many of it’s requests for statements answered by the many nobles we petitioned earlier in the week. The first to answer was Overlord Zik'san, who had this to say when asked about his thoughts on the rioting: “Ouerean democracy and the freedom of our society is something unique within our Hegemony, and shows the level of trust the Hegemon has in the people of this planet. Those who participated in the rioting betrayed this trust, and threatened not only our planet but the very system that benefits us all. I thank the Hegemon for his timely intervention, and the great spirit for giving him the wisdom that would allow this Ouerean political experiment to continue.” Chieftess Ozesh Zuruziir “I cannot say that I am satisfied to see this rioting and destruction brought to an end. Satisfaction would come if it had never taken place. While the freedom that we all enjoy on Ouerea is a great gift, these recent events have been a sobering reminder of the price of such things. I cannot condemn these rioters wholeheartedly - they are victims of a campaign of lies, to incite our people to violence. I am grateful to the Hegemon for his intervention, and ashamed that the situation has come to the point where it was needed. Our world is a grand experiment in self-rule, and we must live up to that promise by showing that we are capable of ruling ourselves, and not burning our own cities at the slightest provocation. We all must do better in the future - Sinta, Skrell and humans alike - to rise above our basest instincts, and to improve and protect this world that we all share.” Overlord Hutay’zai: “We must all remember the place the spirits ordained for us in this life, and not look beyond our station. Ouerea is a different world with a different culture to my own, however many of its people are still Sinta, who must not let their passions against a guild such as Hephaestus sway them into endangering the good of all who follow the Hegemon. These riots were a travesty, and it is only by the will of the spirits that they did not cause lasting damage to the aquaculture projects.” Guildmaster Titanitus Aeson: “Our relationship with the people of Ouerea has always been a rocky one, we have had many difficulties in the past and I had hoped that the aquaculture endeavors would mark a new dawn in our relations. However, it is folly to believe that all will see the common good, and there will be those that resist. I do not blame the rioters directly for this travesty, they were taken advantage of by liars and cheats who wished to harm my guild, their only sin was trusting those who they should have not. Hepheastus will do whatever is asked of it by the Hegemony to help track down those who misled the people thereby inflaming these riots so that they may be brought to justice.” Hegemon Not’zar(via High Speaker Seleta Sarnac): “I[The Hegemon] am saddened that once again Ouerea has proved to be a tinderbox waiting to spark at the mildest of embers, even lies. It brings me great shame that I have had to return to the planet twice in the past decade to deal with this, and I will be working with the Grand Council and Overlord Zik’san to ensure I do not have to again.” In other news, Hutay’zai bannermen have been seen leaving Ouerea, being slowly replaced by warriors of the K’lax hive to continue enforcing curfew, keeping the peace while the watchmen reorganize themselves. It is expected that both Izweski Bannermen and K’lax warriors will remain on the planet until the watch is once again able to keep the peace themselves, which may be weeks. It seems, at least for now, that this new bloody chapter in Ouerea’s history has been closed.

Rioting on Ouerea enters 3rd Day, Izweski & Hutay’zai Bannermen deployed to reinforce Watchmen Article 2 of the Titan Rises Translated into Tau Ceti Basic After the release of supposedly classified Hephaestus documents late last week, Ouerea devolved into a scene of protesting and rioting that has now entered its third day. Watchmen have been working around the clock to keep those protests still peaceful peaceful, but it now seems they have been unable to deal with approximately 1/5th of Ouereas entire population joining into the riots. The biggest story coming from the planet has been the destruction of the K’rath City Center and palaces. Rioters entered the district early yesterday morning and began to set alight the buildings of Izweski governance and the houses of the upper classes who lived in the area. Watchmen and the population of the district had been preemptively evacuated to New Skalamar, where the planetary government is trying to consolidate its position. A curfew has been put in place planetwide but does not seem to be having an effect, and more areas are falling to the anarchy of rioters as the day progress. The current estimated total of deaths caused by the riots stands at around 59, with many more injured. However, the Hegemony as a whole has been looking to the planet with interest, and now that it is clear that planetary law enforcement alone will be unable to quell the riots, the Hegemon himself has stepped in. High Speaker Sarnac announced this morning that it is the Hegemon’s will that these riots be pacified so that the construction of the aquaculture farms which may save the Hegemony can continue uninterrupted. To that end, Clan Izweski and the Clan Hutay’zai will begin to deploy their bannermen with the assistance of many Kataphract chapters to the planet, taking over riot control responsibilities from local law enforcement under the command of Overlord Zik'san. Hegemon Not’zar has also met with the Grand Council of Ouerea, and Overlord Zik'san to help find a resolution to these disastrous riots. For now, we know that a new curfew will be put in place at a local time of 8 pm, enforced by Izweski and Hutay’zai bannermen and that any outside during this time requires solid reasoning. Overlord Zik'san has ordered all non-essential businesses shuttered, and encouraged the population to remain in their homes unless absolutely necessary until the situation is resolved. We have attempted to reach out to all nobles involved in this development, but have been told they are too busy to give comments for the time being. We will keep our readers appraised.

Hephaestus Documents leaked; Protests and Rioting erupt on Ouerea Article 1 of the Titan Rises Yesterday morning, a day after the compilation of Hephaestus’s first Aquaculture Center, an unidentified leaker released what many believe to be classified Hephaestus documents onto the platform known as “64-tan”. These alleged classified documents reveal an inside report commissioned by Hephaestus Industries to theorize about the potential environmental and ecological damage to the Trizkizki Sea. The conclusion was that within the next decade, pollution from the Aquaculture centers, and the mass fishing to populate them will result in a downward ecological spiral that will eventually leave the Trizkizki Sea a disaster, bare of almost all complex life. Hephaestus has denied that these documents are real, stating that they were forged by those who wish to hurt the company and its reputation and have given the press access to several similar real classified documents, reports, and papers that show the Aquaculture centers will not adversely affect the ecology or environment of the Trizkizki Sea. Still, these forged documents have taken Ouerea by storm, being shared across the planet, and have resulted in an increase in civil unrest. Watchmen across the planet have reported spontaneous protests outside of Hephaestus facilities, some of which have begun to devolve into riots. Hephaestus Security personnel have been coordinating with the Watchmen to ensure as little damage is done to Hephaestus facilities and the surrounding area; dozens have already been arrested for inciting riots in an attempt to keep the protests peaceful. The biggest protests have occurred outside of Aquaculture Centers 2 and 3, which are still under construction, where Hephaestus Security forces estimate a crowd of fifteen thousand at each site have gathered to protest the construction of further Aquaculture Centers. While these crowds have remained mostly peaceful, there have been some instances of violence as individuals attempt to block workers and materials from entering the construction sites, or have attempted to forcefully enter the construction site. Hephaestus' security forces have however managed to keep the violence to a minimum, and only a handful of rioters have been injured in the past day; before being detained and handed over to the watchmen for their crimes. While these protests and riots rage on Ouerea, the situation is much different on Moghes. Many of the nobility have condemned the protestors and rioters, saying that they are endangering the future of the Unathi species by opposing the only solution to the rationing and specter of famine hanging over the Hegemony. Social Media networks such as Chirper have been flooded with support for Hephaestus by those from all walks of life across Moghes, who see what the guild is doing as necessary. A minority who attempted to form a protest outside the Hephaestus Branch Office in Skalamar found themselves quickly confronted by counter-protesters, peasantry mostly from Moghes who had come to seek a job with the guild, which quickly descended into a brawl. Watchmen intervened within minutes, and injuries were reported to be minimal. No arrests were made, and the crowd was simply ordered to disperse. We will keep our readers updated on this situation as it develops.

In my opinion, this backstory fails in a basic sense to show me that you are able to understand Unathi lore, and make a character with it. You have alot of the basics down but you're missing the meat that makes up a backstory, for example; What year were they born in, how did Unathi history affect Sathess, were members of the Tau'ha'nor clan who were more sympathetic towards her? If so, what were their names and how did they influence Sathess' life after the death of her father? What religion does Sathess follow? How does she view the Hegemony? Etc. Due to these reasons outlined, this application is being denied. Re-application will be allowed after a 3-day period.

Hi! Rusting already asked a lot of questions so I'll keep mine short. Throughout the app you make mention of Szehisro's Clan, but never any specific members. Were there any members of his clan or the crawler that had a significant impact on him? What were their names? Etc.

First Hephaestus Aquaculture Center Completed on Ouerea Prologue to The Titan Rises Translated into Tau Ceti Basic Almost a year after the phoron scarcity first began to truly afflict our great nation, a ray of hope finally begins to shine from the world of Ouerea. Hephaestus Industries proudly announced today the completion of their first Aquaculture center on the coast of the Trizkizki Sea, near the capital of New Skalamar. The new Aquaculture center - named Aquaculture Center 1 - is the first of the 17 planned to be constructed by Hephaestus Industries, with help from all the Hegemonic Guilds. It was opened with a grand affair managed by the Hephaestus Sector Administrator for the Hegemony, Yukal T’zakal, with the Hephaestus Director of Personnel, Brizio de Moze also in attendance. Titanus Aeson was sadly unable to attend but sent his congratulations to both T’zakal and all the workers who helped in the construction of the center. It is believed that once fully operational, each Aquaculture Center will be able to produce two hundred million tons of protein-based foodstuffs every year. Once all centers are fully operational, the numbers add up to around four billion tons of foodstuffs a year. While this is a great success for the Hegemony, it is still a far cry from the believed 6 to 8 billion tons of foodstuffs believed by scholars to have been produced on Moghes prior to the Contact War. Still, Master of River’s Hutay’zai and Hegemon Not’zar assure people that this will be enough to stave off the famine currently threatening the nation. However, not all are happy with this new beacon of hope. Many groups on Ouerea, still resentful of Hephaestus after the Ouerean Revolution, have condemned the company once again being invited onto the planet and promised to take organized action against it. The most vocal among these groups are environmentalists, who claim that these Aquaculture centers will cause irreparable damage to the ocean environments of Ouerea, causing a mass die-off of natural fish and threatening the livelihoods of the fisherman who work on the sea. Hephaestus has denied these claims, with several well-educated human scientists submitting reports that no ecological or environmental damage will result from the Aquaculture Centers. It is unclear exactly what these groups hope to accomplish by taking action against the food salvation of our Hegemony, or how they plan to do it. We will keep our readers updated on any situations regarding this new Ouerea.

Akhandi Temples Demand Reparations for Destruction Translated into Tau Ceti Basic In a surprising announcement today from the city of Mendell, 112 surviving shamans of the Akhandi Temples have demanded reparations from the Sk’akh church for the destruction caused by the Iron Crusade against their temples. The temples, which had stood for thousands of years, were destroyed almost entirely by the Iron Masks during their crusade against other religious groups under the direction of former High Priest Unzi, destroying an unknown amount of history and cultural knowledge that had survived the fires of the Contact War. The Akhandi have set a price to it however, and in total, they are demanding several billion credits over the next decade and an official apology from the church for the destruction wrought during the Iron Crusade. The announcement has immediately been met with a rush of reactions from the rest of the planet, with Overlord Hutay’zai - the Hegemon’s Master of Rivers, and a devoted follower of Th’akh himself - praising the announcement from the surviving shamans. In a public address from his seat in Kutah, Overlord Hutay’zai declared, "For centuries, those who keep the faith of the spirits have been persecuted. The courage of the wise and honorable shamans of the Akhandi moves me - and to those of the Sk’akh Church who still have honor, I implore you to listen to the words of these Sinta, whom your order has wronged. The Iron Masks dishonored the Akhandi, and all followers of Th’akh - and now you have an opportunity to redeem that vileness.” However, Overlord Hutay’zai’s position is far from common among the Hegemony’s mightiest. Other nobles, such as Lord Yu’huni of To’ha’dat have dismissed the demands out of hand, saying that the church has no obligation to pay for the decisions made by former members who were already punished by law. In a somewhat eerie silence, the church has not yet responded, not even issuing an outright denial of the Akhandi shamans’ demands. It is unclear when the church will issue its response and what it might say. As always, we will keep our readers updated.