Into that Vast and Unrelenting Darkness (40K Xeno Civilization Quest)

[Lord4StarCommand]

Hope it includes Cursite and Curse weapons and doing Yr Albian's bioship or selling them Bloks.

After those Holy Emulator to have more direct communication with gods.

 

[The Bird]

[X] Plan: A HAPPY YALDABOATHSMAS to The Toymaker, our Gods and Shrines
-[X] Fleets Actions
--[X] Endeavor-B
---[X] Spidercide 1
---[X] Drydock 1
--[X] Resistance
---[X] Spidercide 2
--[X] Valiant
---[X] Spidercide 3
--[X] Discovery
---[X] Drydock 2
---[X] Spidercide 4
--[X] Spirit of Toxel
---[X] Drydock 3
---[X] Spidercide 5
--[X] Delivery
---[X] Spidercide 6
---[X] Spyring
--[X] Emissary
---[X] Echidna Observation
---[X] Spidcercide 7
--[X] TKK MothaShip
---[X] Horizon Librarius Outposts
-[X] EXP 168
–[X] The Cage: (0/25 → 25/25) construct the Cage, limiting damage from Dark Seed. Cost 1 ART.
–[X] Court of Cycles: (0/25 → 25/25) create Chronotemple of the Eternal Wheel, increasing Network by 3.
--[X] ShrineCity: (0/20, --> 20/20) establishes ShrineCity, a Holy Site that increases FTH by an elevated amount.
--[X] Master Control Shrines: (0/25 --> 25/25) establish Master Control Shrine network, increasing FTH and EXP, cost 1 Network.
--[X] CityBlok Resonance-Drives: (0/20 --> 20/20) upgrades Arcoocubes with Resonance-Drives, increasing FTH and CUL.
--[X] Mycelliometal Network: (0/15 --> 15/15) upgrades metal TotemTek Conduit Network, an arcane connection network that allows for inter-spirit communication and coordination, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Living Metal.
--[X] Yr Albain Herd-Temples: (0/15 --> 15/15) gain Saurian Herdbeasts, increasing CUL
--[X] Alkemote Bottling Facility: (0/25 --> 10/25) gain Alkemote Bottles, used by Mysteks as alchemical supplements, increasing Warp by 1.
--[X] Hypermodular Power Bay (0/15 --> 15/15) unlocks Hypermodular Power Bay upgrade for ships, improving performance and adaptability, costs 1 Nuclear Material.
-[X] CUL 138
--[X] Celestial Resonance: (0/50 --> 50/50) gain Celestial Resonance, increasing all categories. Cost 1 ART and 1 WRP.
--[X] Empyrean Resonances: (0/50 --> 50/50) researching Divine Rites will now grant Empyrean Resonances, in the same order of potency as Rites, Least to ???. Gain Empyrean Resonances for all gods whose rites have been purchased, increasing points in all categories. Cost 2 Warp.
--[X] Create Volcanus 9 (0/25--> 25/25) Spy-Ring: Requires a ship.
--[X] Glasmite Resonart: (0/10 --> 10/10) Glasmite Resonart becomes standardized, increasing CUL and Warp. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.
--[X] The Conduit Folios: (0/25 --> 3/25) gain Conduit Plays, improving the performance of all Calculator technology and .ARCHONS, increasing FTH.
-[X] FTH 138+6+25(sphere)+3(frontier society) 173
--[X] The Book: (0/15 --> 15/15) craft the Book, Avatar of Memory, allowing for the storage of memories and experiences and increasing ACD.
--[X] The Dagger: (0/15 --> 15/15) craft the Dagger, Avatar of Sacrifice, increasing the strength of rites and increasing FTH.
--[X] Hypercomm Quantum Consecratek: (0/25 --> 25/25) Temples upgraded with Hypercomm Consecratek, allowing all gods to transmit their blessings and miracles between their major temples and holy sites and minor temples.
--[X] Holy Crucibles: (0/50 --> 50/50) gain Holy Crucibles, causing each theurgy tier to allow its associated order to create Blessed Artifacts of equal potency, increasing all point categories. Cost 1 Warp and 1 Network.
--[X] Hallowed Shrine: (0/20 --> 20/20) Shrines upgraded to provide FTH.
–[X] GIFTEN-NACHT OF ALBYRT ST. KLAUF: (0/25 → 25/25) Toymaker Festival upgraded into Giften-Nacht of the Toymaker. Cost 1 LM and NK.
--[X] Polar Tower of the Hermit: (27/50 --> 50/50) gain Polar Tower, greatly increasing the power of magic in all shapes and forms, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.
--[X] Holywick Lantern Candles: (5/15 --> 15/15) Gain Holywick Lantern Candle Artefact, increasing FTH and conferring an additional degree of protection.
-[X] ACD 121+4
--[X] Holy Emulator: (0/50 --> 50/50) all divine entities gain Holy Emulators in their holy places that allow for them to be channeled through AI simulacra and theurgy. Cost 1 Network, 1 Warp.
--[X] Shield Capacitators: (0/35 --> 35/35) gain Shield Capacitators, improving ShieldTek performance.
--[X] Academy Fleet Compartment High Energy Lab: (0/20 --> 20/20) Academy Fleet Compartment upgraded with High Energy Lab, increasing available power and efficiency of all advanced subsystems. Costs 1 Nuclear Material.
--[X] MegaBeast Serum: (0/15 --> 15/15) create MegaBeast Serum, increasing FTH and Warp by allowing for the development of Shrine MegaBeasts.
--[X] M-Boost Formula: (0/25 --> 5/25) Aleketeks develop M-Boost Formula, increasing EXP.
-[X] Resource Management
--[X] Artifacts: 2 --> 1
--[X] Biodata: 1 --> 2
--[X] Intel: 0
--[X] Living Metal: 3
--[X] Network: 4 --> 6
--[X] Nuclear Material: 2 --> 0
--[X] Warp: 4 ---> 2

((((()))))

Resistance is futile.

((((()))))

Fleet Actions

While the Directorate enjoyed a Cosmic Renaissance, the fleet would embark on its most ambitious outing yet.

On Volcanus 9, they helped foster a spy-ring, comprised of humans hand picked by the fleet. They would infiltrate the hive pretending to be recent arrivals from the Hand, slipping into the middle hive.

The V9 Ring would immediately run into complications when one spy, Thesophillius Von Argetlam-Harris De Bouche, was discovered with a piece of Directorate technology. The result would be numerous minor spies being burned and the rest having to go to ground, meaning that what information they successfully managed to relay back to the Directorate was limited: they had identified a few small gangs, a list of important but publically known nobles, and a handful of minor Mechanicus manuals.

The captured spies find themselves becoming human sacrifices via burning at the stake as punishment for harbouring illegal xenotechnology and being aligned with the forces of darkness. They are, unfortunately, unabled to be rescued.

Observation of the Echidna System, named after the planetoid of note, prove more broadly successful. Long range spy-probes and stealth-metal equipped observation platform would reveal the presence of Khimer: highly augmented even by Khimer standards, but the evidence is irrefutable. They seem to be accompanied by strange centauroids who seem to serve as religious leaders, using biological interface technology on both themselves and hundreds of Khimeroids to conduct ceremonies that can only be described presently as organic-telepathic sermons.

They also seem to worship or are led by (which, or even if there is a difference, is unknown) what appears to be an augmented, if living, example of the shaperformes that were discovered within the Bioship, one with multiple cranial units and what appear to be additional artificial neural structures.

The rest of the system is uninhabited: one of the planets, the next one outward from Echidna, seems to have a light presence on its rocky, thin gassed surface in the form of capillary structures whose purpose was unknown. Several other biological structures were scattered throughout the four gas giants of the system, ones that seemed to be siphoning their atmospheric contents.

Deeper in, instead there seemed to be a large array of structures orbiting the star, each the size of major space stations whose mass, according to scans, was 90% neural tissue. Once this information got back to the Khimer, they reacted with extreme alarm: quietly, overnight they would begin redirecting their resources to increase the pace of re-armament. Developing better combat bioaugments, producing more tanks and artillery, researching better fusiontek.

It seemed the Khimer were preparing for war.

And, towards the latter end of the second decade of the final fold, the fleet would gather the entirety of its fleet: every combat capable ship available, installed with anti-morphogenic disruptor-emiters. Extremely advanced field manipulators, they were intended to use a particular form of arcane waveform to disrupt the morphogenic field.

Infinitely cruder than the technology displayed by the Spiders, this technology was a brute force solution, its development spurred along by a vast conglomerate of private citizens panicked by the destruction of the Accomplishment as well as various charities formed by the survivors of the Accomplishment.

Each of these ships also contained a bevy of other upgrades. Advanced shield capacitors to block the weaponsfire of the spiders for longer. Advanced hypermodular power bays capable of rapid reconfiguration in crisis situations with additional high energy labs on every vessel to provide healthy increases to performance across the board (and, on paper, improve physics research in the Directorate).

A vast and overwhelming force, commanded by Admiral Wurf aboard the Resistance. All seven military vessels of the Fleet, including its two dedicated warships. They would abuse the rules of the timefold and use it to ambush the Spiders, save the Accomplishment, and if it was possible, even save the people they were attacking.

It hadn't been enough.

Met with the entirety of the fleet, the battle had at first seemed difficult, but winnable. The enemy were numerous, but the upgrades let the fleet hold their own: the protections of the shields kept the hull safer for longer, and when shields were breached, their shots would do less damage, turning less of the hull into spiders, who themselves were weaker, more sluggish under the fields effects, and in turn more vulnerable to the weapons of the Hunteks, the order newly equipped with a bevy of devastating god-forged field annihilator artefacts and blessed cursite weapon-spirits, discovering the Spiders primary weakness: their fields absorbed curses like sponges.

A weakness shared by their fleet, as scans would, over the course of the battle as more and more of the fleets mystics across all seven vessels cast the Curse of Darktide upon the enemy vessels, the water bursting apart sealed microservers, quantum microactuators being covered over by barnacles, and conjured fish oozing various organic chemicals inside the internals of the Krillships, their morphogenic technology unable to simply remove these irritants, forcing them to devote more and more of their field and overall structure to account for these problems even as the ships fields began to suffer a curse buildup.

Initially, the outlook had been good. However, the enemy were numerous, unrelenting, and even weakened and presented with countermeasures still devastating. One by one the smaller vessels of the fleet would fall, forced to retreat, brought low by sheer volume of the cloud of hundreds of trilobitic, chrome ribbed vessels, which to the dismay of those who saw it would see that not even a perpetunite bomb could fully destroy them, the ships slowly reforming, bent and deformed, once the reaction finally went out. The damage caused by the Teeth and the three Heavy Fusion Cannons aboard the Resistance would likewise also see their damage regenerated, though both would cause their targets to slowly deform and twist under the strain of the energy utilized.

It would take a grotesque amount of damage to destroy even a single krillship, the vessels taking the same amount of force that would down a resistance three times over to fully annihilate. As the battle continued, more and more of these ships would disengage from the forgeworld below, joining the assault on the Endeavor, easing the defenders burden.

And yet, the battle would not reach its first terrible tipping point once the fleet began to run out of fusion torpedoes. The most effective weapon against the krillships due to being able to engulf and disrupt multiple at a time, without them the Endeavors were forced into using only their laser batteries, while the warships had to contend with their cannons. It was at this point the Spider Infection on both the Emissary and Toxel would reach the critical point, forcing the vessels to disengage.

Desperate, the sorcerers came together, making a concentrated occultek push, using the power of every scrap of cursite aboard and several magicians aboard taking massive karmic debts to amplify the powers of the Darktide to their absolute limit, succeeding…

And in the process accidentally creating a morphogenic INFECTION. The spirits of life governed illness, and so their curse, in lieu of seasickness was an altogether more arcane form of oceanic plague. From ship to ship they would rapidly suffer from a self-perpetuating darktide curse, probability folds slowly converting and mutating the krillships field like a virus.

Parts of their structure wouldn't just be covered in barnacles, the vessels would literally be barnacalized, forcing the ships to devote more and more effort towards remaining functional as more and more crawling corrosive molusks burst apart from the vessels overheating microservers, which began producing that most destructive of substances: pressurized steam in millions of micropockets across the structure, causing them to puff up and bloat. Even their spiders were affected, sluggish due to the nanocells that formed their "organs" ceasing to function properly due to water leakages, their matter deletion function malfunctioning and converting its target to coral.

This would cause the krillfleet to react immediately with prejudice, the entirety of the fleet disengaging: the handful of uninfected vessels, their numbers dwindling, would head to the uninhabited dustball next to the forgeworld, using its lack of defenders to begin an immediate planetary infection. Within moments the krillships began merging with its surface, producing more and more krillships to aid their fleet. Within two hours, the total amount of converted planetary matter was approximately two hundred miles.

The rest of the fleet, those already infected, would turn their full undivided attention away from the forgeworld they had been in the process of erasing. Thousands of vessels would bear down on the fleet, and immediately the Delivery and Discovery would find themselves overcame by the swarm, so large that it blacked out the sun as it fired on the Directorate, a hail of annihilation that would reduce the ships to empty space, leaving those aboard to choke to death, the spiders only extending the courtesy of a quick death on humans, the insectodroids systematically murdering the homo sapien inhabitants of each vessel.

Given the ability to breath again, the inhabitants of the forge world would take the brief respite to both evacuate, loading what few ships they could with priceless artefacts and senior magi, the leftover space reserved for those among the priesthood who weren't essential to the war effort as well as what servitors they could successfully ship off, the small amount remaining going to the citizens and civilians of the world, the adepts, overseers, and other servants of the Omnissiah deemed worthy of salvation, while the war-priests and cybersmiths of the world began attacking the synthetic consciousness of the swarm using ancient noospheric relics designed to allow the user to project sanctic schismaticals into the machine technology of the enemies of mankind. The menials and labourers meanwhile would be sacrificed into the maw of the spiders, given unstable plasma weaponry and told to die to protect the Omnissiahs chosen.

Combined with the morphogenic curse infection, the Spiders would begin rapidly deteriorating the creatures rapidly seeing their operating ability degrade. On the dustball below, the healthy infestation would only barely outrun the cursed infection, water and barnacles growing across the planet even as it found itself more and more krillformed, great bands of corroded metal stretching behind smooth chrome even as the infestation began to reach downward, attempting to draw power from the planetary core in at attempt to accelerate the production of healthy ships and burn out its infection.

However, as potent as the infection was, it wasn't enough to destroy each ship, and though the Fleet attempted to weather the barrage, one by one the ships fell, forced to retreat to preserve its occupants.

Eventually, Wurf was forced to call a retreat: the humies weren't done evacuating, but he couldn't justify wasting the lives of the rest of the fleet in a doomed battle. They had already lost two ships. He wasn't going to lose the only genuine warships.

As he ordered the retreat, the only consolation prize for the Fleet was that they had at least helped some of the humans survive.

Catastrophic loss! You have lost the Discovery and Delivery! However, you successfully saved the Accomplishment and allowed some of the human forge worlds inhabitants to retreat. As such, you have gained at least some reputation with the survivors, wherever they might end up.

Horizon has reached Outpost Level 5. Further, it has gained one rank of Hobbgrot Propagation.

All ships that have survived have taken severe damage to structure, systems, and crew except for the Resistance, which has instead taken light damage.

Spoiler: Diplomatic Ledger

Imperium of Man: A highly xenophobic genocidal space empire consisting primarily of the species known as humanity. Their government consists of a theofascist dictatorship led by a figure they call the God-Emperor, who obviously going by the title seems to occupy the position of both Monarch and Diety, and have a highly authoritarian, reactionary culture where religion and government occupy the same location. Reputation: -200 (Will likely attempt to kill us on sight)

Chaos: A conglomerate of different human factions that are united only by what can be described as a campist hatred of the Imperium despite largely having the same code of ethics and religious practices. Most (but not all) seem to worship one or more of a series of malevolent dieties known as the Chaos Gods. Reputation: -200 (When it comes to ideology these guys are basically the Imperium with a different coat of paint on their human skin banners topped with skulls. They probably aren't going to be happy about the deliberate subversion of their organization)

Autons: A collection of different robots manufactured by the same extinct race, currently the majority of the Auton civilization was enslaved by an alien logic-virus that drove them into an organocidal frenzy. The friendly ones consist of the AutoVessels Ijin, Vlahk, and Koptu, along with their crews, each a few hundred strong. The less friendly ones were the Forbidden Archive, a group of semi-AutoFacilities that used to work for their government in running a black site. Reputation: 42: Cautious Respect. Provides 1 EXP.
-AutoVessel Influence: ++++++ (WARNING: This will begin to drop should the power differentials between both states grow too extreme.)
-Forbidden Archive Influence: +++

Khimer: The enigmatic remnants of a once vibrant civilization, the Khimer have been reduced to a handful of military bases on a dying world, and a small fleet they had no means to repair or expand. While their exact social structure is unknown, the War-Brain seems to operate in a position of prominence in it. Technologically, the Khimer are adept with biotech manipulation and have access to weaponry designed to petrify organic material, and in theory have all the requisite knowledge and technology for space and even warp travel, but no industry capable of supporting it. They had been given access to a cloning facility, some resource donations, an early warning deep space monitoring array, and an expanded heatshield to cool their planet and keep it from warming up. They were also receiving regular shipments of useful materials for rebuilding purposes, largely ice, soil, and a handful of useful metals. Recently had been gifted several glacier-ranges. Reputation: 124- Reliable Allies. Provides 1 CUL, 2 EXP and 1 ACD.

Yr Albain: An exodite world owned by members of the Aeldari species, Yr Albain was a very recently acquired ally. Deliberately living simple lives in harmony with their world, the otherwise peaceful residents of Yr Albain are currently recovering from the genocide enacted on them by the Imperium and Chaos, a process sped up by its World Spirit awakening as the diety Dhia'Albain and the variety of mystical tools provided to them by the Directorate to complement their own considerable abilities. Reputation: 55- Healthy respect. Provides 1 FTH and 1 CUL.

Winterspite Kabal: An organization of Dark Eldar that make their coin acting as pirates and mercenaries. Formerly led by Lord Nisraen, its current archon is the Banefrost, the former flagship turned demigod. Currently has a contract with the Directorate allowing them to purchase their services and stopping them from being raided by the organization. Reputation: 17- Just another client.

Vaul-Tan: Planetvessel bound Eldar, one of the handful that populated this region of space. Generally nomadic, they used a rigid system of mental discipline and monofocus known as the Path system to deal with their metaphysical condition. Vaul-Tan specializes in more mental disciplines such as the Path of Logic. Reputation: 15- Neutral

Invaders: The H'kek are a aggressive, curmudgeonly, distrustful, and also belligerent space faring species that suffers from degenerative neural conditions as a result of the extensive mental and neural modifications inflicted on them, which they dealt with via neuropathic medicine and specialized sedatives intended to mitigate this issue. They were currently in a cold war with their rival, the H'kann. Reputation: 21: More or less neutral.

Abductors: The H'kann are a paranoid, pessimistic, mistrustful, and also broadly suspicious space faring species that suffers from crippling medical and physical disorders as a result of the experiments performed on them, something they deal with via a variety of physical aides and augmentations. They were currently in a cold war with their rival, the H'kek. Reputation: 16: Cautious Neutrality

Orkblood Kindred: A faction of Kroot that have declared war on the Directorate. Their physiology has shown itself to be incredibly physically robust and while they deliberately use more primitive forms of weaponry, those weapons and their very ships are made using highly advanced artisanal techniques from various complex materials, alloys, and biocomponents that it is clear that the enemy is in fact very technologically sophisticated. Reputation: -50: War

Ravvanak: A reptilian race, all encountered examples have acted as pirates preying on the less advanced utilizing highly advanced stealth technology and terror tactics. A catspaw for the Toothgrimm Kabal, they likely act as hired muscle and assassins for the organization. -100: Hatred.

Dorgan: A hippotomid species, the Dorgan belong to a hyper-corporatist civilization that acts as contractors for various services for the Toothgrimm Kabal that preyed on less advanced civilizations for profit. Technologically they had displayed advanced communications technology and the capacity to field the largest fleet the Directorate has encountered yet. -100: Hatred.

Cerebrojelly: A catspaw of the Toothgrimm, the Cerebrojellies are a sophontic symbiotic organism that hijack hosts bodies via interfacing with their brain. They have been caught trying and failing to both infiltrate the H'k and the Khimer. -25: Just business.

((()))

The Cosmic Renaissance. The process that began at the start of the timefold grown into something all encompassing, a supreme confluence of public opinion leading to a massive increase in interest in casual theurgy, which would eventually result in a number of mystek developments.

On Teklia, the city of Yaccae would be created: a gigantic Arcolocube sized shrine complex located on one of the equatorial continents, deep in Tekla'Kul, a jungle that was otherwise entirely overgrown with a mile tall mass of runaway plant-life, most of its fauna living in tunnels and cavernous hollows. Many of these criss-crossed the length of the jungle, the Arcolocube easily incorporating these biological tunnels into itself, a way to keep the Wyld exceptionally close for proper offerings.

Yaccae was created to be a city of shrines, a city of spirits. It would have a single dark portal, one created in its heart: this titanic warp-gate, warded by four spinning rings of biometal studden with lumium, would feed the Central Teklian Master Control Shrine, a titanit array consisting of a several hundred foot tall monolith located at Yaccae's zenith, one with thirteen pillars installed in it, the motive spirits of the greatest shrine in Yaccae. In a grid around it were four TekPyramids, each surrounded by Fire Fairy Courts.

Protecting the shrine was Seeryu, the divine dragon spirit of Yaccae, a vast and powerful spirit that appeared as a long and flowing whiskered serpent with brilliant jade scales. An ancient vita, supposedly the idol they had been born from was thousands of years old, tended to faithfully from ancient Teklia to modernity, surviving countless fallen dynasties and dark spirits and even the destroyer war where the idols spirit protected the family who served it by cursing a destroyer sorcerer with enlightenment, ensuring that its offerings had been steadily maintained and even growing as the Directorate did. Now, Seeryu served as guardian for thousands, their blessings upon the city ensuring that they could see throughout the city and congregations of malicious spirits attempting to pass through the Dark Portal and crushing them like a bug, incinerating them with golden fire, or punishing them by transmuting the offenders body into solid petrified silver or else jade.

The power from the Shrine would be fed into the shrine network via mycelliometal cables made using harvested biometal from Naklis, criss crossing across the city and connecting every shrine to one another. Even as power flowed, so too did information as across the Directorate additional parliaments would begin to form: the Parliments of Root, the networked spirits of arbor and wyld, and the Parliments of Thunder, the spirits of urbantek, of terminals and power circuits, and the Parliments of Ore, the spirits of elements, of stone and steel deep beneath the earth and soil. Individually, these Parliments may have consisted of invisible or hard to see spirits, but by coming together each were able to use the many Oracle Stone Chambers of the Directorate to communicate their will and desires and in turn gift their Oracles various blessings for carrying out their desires, the CityBlok Resonance Drives serving as their vocal chords.

Together, the thousands of shrine complexes, libraries, spiritual bureacracies, and embassies would come together to make a city of spirits, one populated by massive amounts of vita, devils, ambassadors, guardians, and archetypes. To allow these teeming masses of masked and metal cloaked spirits and semi-mechanical awakened automata to traverse the city, no expense was spared: the city utilized a series of great lifts, each using mobile shrines at their center and gravitic arrays on their bottom to allow spirits to venture to different layers, roadside shrines using the empyrean resonances of the Functionary and the Roadguide to act as anchors for the denizens.

It was in this place various spiritual consortiums began forming, cabals of likeminded spirits who would congregate, whether from shared ideals, interests, or hobbies, forming various amenities designed to service the myriad citizens of the city. On the lowest level, located in the Red Lantern district visitors could visit a variety of vice indulging ventures, though none were as infamous as the House of Sin.

Ran by the White Masked Mrs. Knives and her husband, Azzmodiax OrphiaTek the III, this outlet of the House of Devils catered to every sin its guests desired. Tekket and other mortals interested in dark spirits, Occulteks looking to mingle. Dark spirits that were interested in the same, in experiencing vice with spirits and mortals alike. Booze and other alcohol flowed endlessly from the houses taps, provided by the House of Sins staff, a variety of debtors who had agreed to work for Mrs Knives, the deviless having acquired their freedom from the Dicemaster through unknown means in order to help secure their loyalty. From these taps it entered the cups of anti-anima, vita, and devil alike, the air filled with the singing of Current Witches and strange serpentine ambassadors, the tables served a constant flow of food brought forth from the kitchens of the house of devils itself, both houses connected via quantum consecratek and dark portals to allow both Nis'Roc and Gum'Boh to serve visitors vast, grotesquely INDULGENT meals. Of course, the House catered to all vices: a mere floor away from the hellish cabaret was the party floor, a nightclub in which the dance floor was covered by swathes of undulating spirits and mortals dancing to the tune of the near hypnotic music produced by the clubs DJ. It was there that many would mingle, leading to many, Tekket, Devil, Ambassador, Winterspite Kabalist, and even on occasion a visiting Yr Albainite to require the last of the Houses amenities.

To cater to those with a more carnal or romantic interest, the House had its own hotel, each room soundproofed, consecrated by the Dancer, and warded, each suite designed that its occupants would have their needs automatically cared for so that they wouldn't have to leave for days, if not weeks.

Higher up, one had the middle layers, consisting of various residential districts which consisted of myriad apartment complexes with shrines at their heart to house all manner of vita and miscellaneous spirit. Most non-native arrivals would arrive from emerging from the Ark of Night and Day using the Shadowgate Transit Nexus: managed by a collection of Judgements, Debtors, and even a handful of White Masked Devils, this facility consisted of a series of portals, four in total. The Gate of Brass, the Gate of Flux, the Gate of Vines, and the Gate of Pearl, each connected to a different location on the Ark, two in the city of night, two in the refuge of day: the former two in the house of devils and scraptown, the latter two placed within the grove of eternity and the smithy of souls. Surrounding the portals were a massive travel plaza, one in which visitors too and from the ark travelled as they wished across the city. To service these spirits, the Shrine-Keepers and Nova Adepts of Yaccae would take on a variety of additional roles: noodle cart vendors, architects, IT support technicians.

It was on these layers that the Nova Mechanicum would nest, creating cybertemples of their own so that their own adepts could study the rituals of the Directorate to improve their technomagicks, in turn bringing with them all manner of machine spirit and paleotech vita such as the Castellatrons, descended from ancient battle automata found in moon-side data schematics and modified with Directorate technology to serve instead as mechanical labourers for the Nova Adepts, or the Nova-Technomats, masses of cogitators with implanted cerebral matter that successfully awoke, their bodies equipped with masses of magnetodendrites for mobility. Their Preservatoriums, where they lay broken machines and dead members of their faith to rest and where priests on the edge of death would inter themselves into life preserving technocoffins flooded with organic-preservative and wired to complex life support technology and mind machine interfaces, would be patrolled by scores of Tacchis-Pattern Servitors, complex bio-automata constructed using donated body parts grafted into the machines through the careful specialist work of the Adeptus Bionovae Geneteks, each of these artificial cyborgs the product of dozens of priests, adherents, or friends of the faith being joined with the machine to create a single automata from their pieces and countless pieces of paleotech augments in order to create a perfect synthesis between man, alien, and machine.

Higher up one would find the greater temples and holy garden, the white lantern district where great centers of learning and spirituality would be constructed, such as the headquarters of the Ordo Caddeuces, a house of healing ran by the Testament, staffed with the archetypicals of their order, the silver skinned multi-armed and multi-winged Malaks, and lifegiver effigies on every floor, topped with a TekPyramid designed to allow the order to conduct healing ceremonies across the Arcolocube, or the Central Bureacracy, the organization having moved its headquarters with the construction of the city. There, the servants of the Functionary, whether spirit, mortal, or machine would collaborate to sort through the grotesque amount of paperwork produced in the Directorate, helping train Shrine-Keepers and aspiring bureacrats in the Halls of Honor, and certifying Occulteks seeking to utilize the darker and more dangerous technologies of the Directorate and monitoring those who did so. With the development of Shadowgate technology, many would seek out the rarely handed certificates required to construct them, only a few hundred per year, and only if the Bureacracy could confirm they belonged to either an organization with conjuring contracts or if they already possessed their own conjuration contract with a spirit of the ark, so long as it adhered to Directorate contract law.

They would also serve in most other administrative roles in the city, processing applications, request forms, marriage certificates, and other tediously mundane to most but endlessly riveting to the Bureacrats minutiae required to keep a city functional. A surprising number of these bureacrats would consist of Hobbgrots, collections of Shroomboyz and Lurp veterans looking to apply their skills and talents to the real world. As a result, their habit of consuming mojo-shrooms would reveal a surprising fact about the Functionary when these shrooms would make their way to the hands of his more conventional priesthood: it seemed the functionary had a fondness for recreational mind altering substances, especially powdered and smoked mojo-shroom incense, his priests finding it remarkably easier to call upon his miracles when using the substances.
And in its uppermost layer was the Green Light Districts, a series of eco-domes and open air wyldland where the city kept the vast majority of its herds and herb-gardens, hundreds upon hundreds of minor temples scattered throughout to rear greater tri-eye psi-aurochs, minigargantuas, pyrofowls, and Primal Arcano-Tyranosaurs as well as harvesting all manner of elemental lotus, mojo shrooms, sacred mints, and other components for incense. The product of efforts to improve Lifeforce generation in the Directorate and the fruit of collaboration with Yr Albain to do the same for them.

MegaBeast Serum. Fossegrimm Professors. And the Yr Albain Orbital Herd Temples. The Serum would create greater beasts, produce greater wells of lifeforce by use of the Mysteks and Herdtemples, allowing for them to create greater guardian beasts. The greater guardian beasts, leaders and protectors of the herd, would be produced from lifeforce and mountain-blood enhanced versions of the serum, growing near titanic, the size of buildings, the alchemical power within them igniting their souls and awakening all manner of power, making them almost in texture to spirit beasts (and, it would be discovered in the centuries afterwards, possessed of enhanced, albeit not infinite, longevity). These herds would frequently be hybridized when possible with the HerdBeasts of Yr Albain, their most arcane tutored by the Fossegrimm and joining the Parliment of Flux.

The Fossegrim's own project, this parliament was formed from the beasts and plants whose psychic ability it had awoken, each tutored in the arts of the Living College and joined together in a great WyldGestalt, working alongside the other protectors and agents of nature to protect against preternatural threats, such as the daemonic Jaggedy Crow, a corrupted nature spirit in servant to Tzeench summoned by the ignition of the Polar Tower that sought to manipulate its way into control over a WyldShrine in order to advance its personal ambitions of power and corrupt its Vita, only to find themselves frozen by the cryokinetics of the Parliment and placed near the tower, the daemons power siphoned to fuel it even as the tower gradually reinforced their icy prison, which found itself tended to by the Frost Ape Shamans, who made sure to keep the Crow entertained with strange hooting music-chants and oddly satisfying wyld-plays.

Elsewise, the WyldPsykers would grow in power and prominence in various ecological niches, such as the Desert, where the war between the Formics and the Wasps once again escalated, the formics deploying Swarmlocks, Psi-Ants of various castes possessed of near-sophontic intelligence, Swarmlock Generals capable of commanding from afar with peerless strategic accumen hundreds of ants, Swarmlock Commanders using psychic kinetic manipulation and bio-reinforcement alongside biological acid-blasters to turn themselves into living jetfighters, and Swarmlock Princesses acting as synaptic nexuses for the Parliments of Hive and coordinating the vast gestalt spiritual powers of the formics when threatened by necroid colossae. This would be met with the psychic awakening of the wasps in turn, many of them undergoing a second metamorphosis to become Nekrodopteran Priestesses, large Nekropsykers who would harvest the souls of fallen Nekrowasps to use in their magics, each of these wyld-covens erecting strange idols made in veneration to some nameless insectoid bee-god, collecting Ambergeistens containing small ancient wasps and bees to create effigies and talismans to this unknown deity, using them to call down vicious curses and terrible disasters upon the ants and their armies and fight against the powers of their swarmlocks. In the desert, the battles between these two factions would reach such a scale that the hollow-wither of those lands would actually GROW, causing another bitter war between the deathly hollow-spirits and the organic infective necroids over control over these death-grounds and the rich bounty of corpses within.

And yet both would, when called by the Parliment of Flux, still join forces, such as when a malfunctioning desert wyld-shrine would unleash a swarm of war-daemons on the desert, both rallying their swarms to quickly and efficiently destroy and eat the intruders before returning to battle.

The grasslands surrounding Yggdrastil would see the great trees cousins attain some degree of psychic power as well, the Lesser Baobabs becoming beacons in the warp, illuminating both the savanna at night but also the Refuge of Day, creating from their dreams great grasslands to the south of the refuge, the Savannahs of Flux, whose light was bright enough to help guide ships in the warp near Teklia, acting as an alternative to the far away, rapidly dimming light termed by the Imperium as the Astronomicon, albeit a highly localized example, one mostly benefiting the various trade ships of the region.

The scraplands would ironically become more dangerous due to the various spirits of the mechanism being far more volatile and erratic. Awoken Ferrolycans would go on to become leaders of large packs of these viral metalbeasts, their psychic matriarchs capable of calling all manner of malefic psykery to hunt prey and crush rivals, while creatures such as the Cathedral of Ruin would gain finer control of its entropic powers, the Directorate having to create a no-fly zone above its nesting grounds after it mistakes a directorate ship for prey, strategically corroding key components to make it crash and allow the Cathedral to feed, the beast hosting symbiotically within itself a variety of anti-anima, namely Booug, who used the innards of the giant to conduct their Boouger Battles, wrecking machines offered to them by the Directorate in great tourneys and feeding the scrap to to the Cathedral. Briefly, for a single year, the Cathedral would disappear, travelling with the Booug to an unknown location and returning with great and titanic mounds of broken and destroyed daemonic machinery and surprisingly severe battle damage, the Cathdral feeding well that year and the Booug showing a grotesque amount of enthusiasm and cheer in the aftermath, claiming to have made pilgrimage to "THE gr8-gr8-gr8 WRECKING GROUND in thE SKYEYEYEYE for MANIAC MOTORWRECKING DESTRUCTODERBY SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!", an apparently holy ground for the Booug filled with infinite machines to smash in an infinite rampage located in an unknown region of the warp.

The jungles meanwhile would alight with all manner of psychic organism, such as the Brain-Fungus, psychic mycellium colonies that would use photokinetic manipulation to turn themselves into bubbling masses of glowing fungal bulbs, or the Pyromancer Frog, which had the ability to set animals and mortals that annoyed it on fire with its mind, and the Gemini Nymphs, shadowy humanoid gestalt-creatures formed from clouds of umbralkinetic insects that possessed telepathic bonds with the fellow gestalt that served as its pairmate, and the roar of Arcano-Tyrannosaurus Rex, titanic psychic reptiles trained by the Fossegrim visiting Yr Albain to serve as mystic powerhouses for the wyld, these titanic lizards imported to serve as the most destructive agents of the Parliment of Flux.

The next development of Yr Albain during the fold, the Yr Albain Herd Temples were created to serve as a source of lifeforce as well as to study Yr Albain's dinosaurs for use in herdtemples. Four five mile sized installations erected on a disc-shaped structure in YOART, these saurian temples would be tended to by hundreds of Shrine Keepers and Worldsingers, both collaborating to develop various genetic augmentations, both applying the discoveries and principles of the Herdtemples to the Saurians, as well as the knowledge of the Worldsingers and genetics of the saurians for the Directorate, and most critically serving as a source of lifeforce for both polities. Yr Albain would use it for both powering the Wings, using seven vast drums of it during their test sorties and allowing it to take on more daring battles, intervening during the mission during the earlier fold targeting the Imperial Titans to attack the Fleet, destroying much of it and cutting off the machines support, allowing the ship of that fold to destroy several more of these titans, ensuring they wouldn't be at the use of the Imperium for the foreseeable future and costing it several hard to replace ships. The rest would be offered to Dhia Albain or used for sorcery, with many Yr Albainites with mystical inclinations but unsuited to the strict discipline needed to be a Lorekeeper or the spiritual harmony of being a Worldsinger taking up another path, that of the Wyldruid, utilizing lifeforce and fossegrimm and other psychic beasts to perform a variety of rites instead.

Together, these would come together to produce the Shrine Herds of Yaccae, a mix of saurian, bovine, and elephantine beasts of tremendous spiritual power, the Psykers of whom would act as bridges for the Herds, allowing them to reach in dreams the expanse of the Savannahs of Flux, the bright and fierce souls of the herds many defenders protecting the region from dark vita, corrupted dreams, and terrible daemons that would attempt to stalk their way within. When awake, they would join their lifeforce together, the arcane energies flowing across the shrine-network to power alongside the rest of the infrastructure of the city not just Yaccae, but much of the Directorate shrine network on the continent, flowing to myriad spirits, gods, and devils.

This would only be one component of the Cosmic Renaissance, however.

+2 Yr Albain Reputation

Spoiler: Available Planets and Special Infrastructure

Teklia: Teklia, oh Teklia. The second planet from your star, and your homeworld. A variety of mostly hospitable climates of variable comfortability, it is covered in what can only be described as space garbage: the ecosystem has largely adapted to it and millenia of exploitation has done much to clear it away, but its undeniably a very garbage covered planet. The past few centuries had seen incredibly VAST amounts of garbage cleared away, however, and a complete revitalization of the Teklian biosphere and explosions in biological diversity as the Autorecyclers turn ecosystem choking garbage into useable materials, freeing large amounts of space for habitation, agriculture, parks and forests, the material repurposed into into the Teklian orbital space, its off world colonies, and the Arcolocubes, giant cubic self contained ecofriendly metropolis. At this point, it was estimated that 79% of the world was scrap free: at this point, most remaining scrapzones are being treated as preserves for the species who are so thoroughly adapted to garbage that removing it would neccessitate their extinction. It was also home to Yaccae, a major city designed to act as an arcolocube sized shrine complex.

Luna: A trash filled wreck, unlike Teklia Luna didn't have pesky things like an atmosphere or ecology to degrade its debris, meaning it had very well preserved trash. It was also the site of a modest metropolis consisting of a single CityBlok supplied by lunar spire allowing a high amount of traffic too and from the lunar city, as well as several AutoRecyclers absorbing large quantities of material. It would likely take many, many lifetimes to clean Luna of trash, but the AutoRecyclers had already begun to pay off thanks to the massive amount of material Luna and its colonists now had to play with, as well as the space, largely used for perpetunite and soil manufacturing. It was also the home of Mt. Wander, may he forever sleep above us and never stir, and a small sea formed from the blood of the titan, as well as the LAOC Array.

Orbital City One: An Orbital Metropolis, this space station consisted primarily of its orbital docks and a handful of city-bloks, making it a vibrant and bustling mid-point between Teklia, the Moon, and the rest of Directorate Space, frequented by a variety of residents, travellers looking to visit Wonderpark or the Orbital Parks, and asteroid miners looking to deposit their hauls and get some well deserved shore leave. It was also the location of the Fleet MegaDocks, a semi-cubic structure dedicated to manufacture of ships which had recently had AutoAssembly Berths installed to aid with manufacturing large ships and Reactor Printers designed to source power cores for said ships.

Deep Space Monitoring System: A Fleet initiative that utilizes a great deal of surplus processing power to scan the sky both to map it out as well as detect incoming threats before they arrive, giving early warning to the Directorate against hostile threats, recently expanded and upgraded to improve efficiency.

Nuclear Stockpiles: The defensive nuclear warhead stockpile, consisting of advanced perpetunite warheads, weapons capable of releasing a near-apocalyptic nuclear reaction the size of a city capable of lasting over half an hour. Most were assigned to homeworld defense, but a few had seen their way onto the ships of the Directorate and even the educational system.

Naklis: Home to an extremely extensive mining operation in the Geode Canyons near the poles, this firey planet had two cities: a massive Spire that doubled as a space elevator and Comm-Hub, host to several hundred thousand residents, primarily mining and industrial engineers, who produced vast quantities of material, primarily Rare-Teklian-Minerals and nuclear materials, and the Mega-Harvester, a mobile burrowing city-machine that extracted minerals and living metal from below the crust, as well as four Elemental Master Control Shrines dedicated to the spirits of fire, earth, metal, and gems. It also possesses an Elemental Spire, a vast facility equipped with a massive perpetunite reactor that, through GodTek holy-engineering, converted nuclear energy to arcane power, strengthening all manner of elemental manifestation on the planet. It was also home to a Wonderpark outlet and several Lumium Chip factories, as well as the Elemental Gardens.

Erichtheo: The third genuine colony of the Directorate, Erichtheo is an incredibly frigid ocean moon that was covered in a thick sheet of ice, one particular part of which was thick enough to serve as a continent of sorts. Currently, on the surface it home to one city located on the floating continent-berg as well as numerous smaller settlements dotted across the mile thick ice layer stretching over the planet, and one major orbital docking station used to transport material too and from the planet. Underwater, it had numerous cities built out of cultivated coral located in what had prior been the planets dead zones, alongside numerous artificial reefs constructed to house and be art as well as habitats for various flora and fauna.

Trove: The first real extrasolar colony of the Directorate, Trove was a planet covered in gems, a quirk of its somewhat undeveloped ecology. Biomes of interest include a series of mountains formed out of gigantic mega-gems, a large set of grasslands near the equator, and a single ocean that was host to a number of fisheries, upon the coast of which was the first city of the planet, Gleam, which had recently gained a mining district.

Tacchis: A frozen iceball that was stuck in a state of either night or perpetual evening broken up by the occasional Aurora Umbrealis caused by what little light reached the planet hitting the planets thin atmosphere. A source of ice and gems, its primary industries were therapy and server space, with the AAAA's serving as major critical points in Directorate healthcare infrastructure and the polar servers providing large amounts of network capacity. It was also home to the subterranean Nova Mechanicus temple as well as where the Testament headquarters itself.

Great Void Express: A system spanning void rail network designed to move material and personnel between worlds quickly, the Great Void Express was the most expansive piece of infrastructure the Directorate had access to.

The Gas Giants: Mongus and Meeklak. The location of the gas revolution, these gas giants had a large amount of refineries and harvesters across their atmosphere that provided the Directorate a steady stream of gasseous fuel, breathing air, medivapors, fertilizer components, and various corrosive compounds.

Station Tartus: Tartustus, or Tartus as its more colloquially known, is the highest security prison in the Directorate, used to house captured Destroyers in a manner that is humane but safe. Adaptive wards, its own Commander-Machina brigade, and every possible security feature the Directorate has available while still treating its occupants in an ethical manner.

Outback: A small continent sized eco-dome constructed to serve as a sort of artificial homeworld for the Grots, it was a sprawling mass of fungal ecosystems incorporating whatever species could successfully adapt or be adapted to be included, having several hundred towns and communities consisting of Hobbgrots, FathaShroomz, SistaBrains, and more, typically centered around Mojo Shrines.

EXPansion Points (EXP Points): 173
Nuclear Material: 0

ChronoSpoolers: An artefact of the Wheel, these structures consisted of miniaturized timefolds placed inside pocket timelines, generating chronokinetic energies through the temporal manipulation, essentially creating and then using GodTek manipulation to detonate atom-sized universes by cycling them through the entirety of their existence from big bang to big crunch. Placed at two ends of a warp-route, they should allow for various corrections to the ships temporal field, making particle barriers generally more stable. 0/50, select one Trade Route. Create ChronoSpooler Artefacts, improving Gellar Field quality on all ships on that route. Cost 1 ART.

VoidRail Shrine Train: A proposed way to make travel for spirits easier: creating a special series of void-trains, designed to consist of shrine-trains of sorts that utilized cabal mobile shrine technology to allow mobile spirits to venture abroad as they wished with only a modest loss of strength. 0/25, Void Rail upgraded with Shrine Train, increasing FTH and EXP.

Yaccae Generatoriums: The Nova Mechanica had all the designs to produce special archaeotech reactors. By agreeing to help them construct a series of electrotemples in Yaccae hosting these generatoriums, they were willing to provide the holy city vast stores of power. 0/25, Yaccae upgraded with Mechanicus Generatoriums.

Erichthean Shrine-City: Yaccae was powerful indeed, and there existed no reason that Erichtheo couldn't benefit from having a Shrine-City constructed as well to service the more aquatic spirits of that faraway moon. 0/25, Erichtheo gains Shrine-City, increasing FTH.

Mycelliometal Antennae: The mycelic metals of Naklis could likely be used for more than just point to point connections: the wide dishes of their ferrocaps could be used for wireless connection, growing the parliaments and producing more. 0/25, gain Mycelliometal Network, increasing EXP.

Arcolocube Resonance Broadcast Spires: A proposed iteration of Resonance Drive technology, installing in each Arcolocube specialized broadcast towers designed to transmit resonances across the entirety of the structure. 0/25, upgrade Arcolocubes with Broadcast Spires, increasing FTH.

Electrocyclical Power Bay: The Directorate needed more power, and this the Wheel could provide: they offered the Directorate access to their knowledge of cycles to engineer an upgrade to their hypermodular powerbays, one that would gradually cycle power: waxing and waning, its lows would grow taller and its heights would reach beyond what Directorate reactors would normally be capable of: to regulate the generation, these devices would in normal circumstances reroute the energy to the Demiurgist Courts for consumption by their dieties, but in times of crisis the energy could be harnessed by the ship and its parliaments for protection, offense, and other tools to survive disaster. 0/25, Hypermodular Power Bay upgraded with Electrocyclical Actuators, slowly cycling and increasing power over the course of battle.

((((())))

Meanwhile even as Yaccae ushered in spiritual revolution, the Demiurgist Courts would erect a temple to the machine-god of cycles, the Wheel. An ally of Mother, the Wheels temple existed in a constant timeloop, the dieites chosen being given eternal life in the form of repetition of a single year in one day while learning the secrets of time, weather, and network, the Demiurgists going on to aid in both the augmentation and improvement of several key bits of Directorate architecture as well as the construction of the Cage, crafting around the Seed an array of purified cursite, wards, and lumium alongside achronal godforged temporal manipulators produced by the cults Holy Crucibles, designed to imprison and siphon the malevolent energies of the Dark Seed, purifying it in order to prevent it from leaking up and down the timeline. This would, retroactively, reduce the damage caused according to the courts by preventing the energies of the present and future from leaking backwards, though it would never be undone or prevent the magic created by the Dark Seed of the past.

Beyond this, the Demiurge of Cycles would produce other gifts: the C'tek Archetype Spirits would be upgraded with arcane rebirth protocol that would manipulate the eddies of time upon destruction to resurrect them at his temple through temporal duplication, as well entropic hourglasses the entities would utilize to emulate the Demiurges abilities in other ways, giving the wraithlike spirits the ability to alter the flow of time for themselves and those they gazed at, as well as manipulating quantum fields to render them completely unobservable to the Aeldari, who found the skeletal metal clad entities deeply uncanny, their mere presence activating some vestigial instinct of alarm, ensuring that the Aeldari were fine being unable to see the story-spirits.

This would be the mere stepping stone, however, for even as the Chronotemple was built, a dozen other factors would come together to birth the Cosmic Renaissance.

Spoiler: Extant Traditions and Policies

Compulsory Education: One of the things that helped the Directorate flourish was mandatory education starting years 3 to 26. Every citizen received lessons in science, engineering, mathematics, language, history, ethics, and nuclear physics and engineering and a secondary education in whatever field they wished. Provides +2 ACD.

High Energy Research Labs Jr: Your children grow up playing with particle accelerators and build it yourself protonic reactors. Many other species might consider this insane beyond belief, but your children certainly benefitted from the intellectual stimulation, even if Schools now had to be bomb-proof. Provides +2 ACD and 1 EXP point and two network. An improvement to Nuclear Engineering For Kits.

Wonderpark Fungineering Guild: An organization headquartered at Wonderpark that specializes in novel engineering for entertainment purposes, they had helped massively expand Wonderpark by developing new rides and attractions utilizing all manner of whimsical technology to help delight guests and residents alike, and with the Nukeland attraction, help get them exited about the wonderful world of particle engineering! And on Naklis, MineWorld not only helped get people exited about Naklean culture and mining and industrial technology, but helped provide the Directorate and Wonderpark a steady stream of material. They also had an alarmingly well armed archaeology department. +2 CUL, +2 EXP, +1 ACD, Orbital Engineering improved.

Wargames: Every year Directorate Fleet's science division puts out a handful of strategy games that they promote via professional leagues and events in order to encourage developing strategic management skills and, more importantly, get people to join the Fleet. Improved strategic skill and survivability for all troops and increased Fleet recruitment, increasing the size of crew complements.

War Against Extinction: A harsh lesson learned during the Destroyer War: there existed powers in the cosmos far more powerful than your species that wished you harm. It was a grim calculus, but if the day came when your soldiers and explorers had to sacrifice themselves in order to take down an enemy that would threaten your people, they would, without hesitation. Slight bonus for all forces against superior opponents, can designate forces as Extinctionist, increasing how much damage they do to foes but moderately reducing survivability.

Moneyless Society: Currency was an outdated concept when you produced enough food and material to more than meet peoples needs. Resistance to subversion increased.

Advanced Promoted Therapy: Trauma was a major enemy to the health and wellbeing of many Tekket. To combat it, your society had an extensive network of therapists, psychiatrists and social workers, including an entire division of the Academy dedicated to the industry, as well as extensive facilities on Tacchis. Moderately increased mental resilience for all Tekket.

Meditation: The product of countless therapists and religious and spiritual leaders working to promote the practice as a method of spiritual and mental wellness maintenance, Meditation had taken off in Tekket society, both group, private, and virtual mediation. It was no replacement for actual therapy, but it served as a valuable religion agnostic tool for mental health.

HobbyBots: In this modern era, BlokBots were used for more than just manual labour: they had also found a niche in the consumer entertainment market as pets, in games, as toys, and even sports and competitions, and with increased popularity came more casual robotics hobbiests. +1 EXP, BlokBots are slightly better designed.

Zero G Sports Team: All throughout the Directorate, citizens enjoyed watching and playing Z-G sports, to the point where Wonderpark had several mega-stadiums specifically dedicated to the watching the antigravity games played professionally by the Wonderpark Sports League and most CityBloks came installed with at least one Grav-Suite for amateur or local teams and leagues. Recently, Super Battleball had become fairly popular, especially with Hobbgrots, who loved piloting the gigantic, stompy exo-vehicles. +1 Cul, improves physical fitness, can deploy Super Battlebots.

The Great Gallery: The Culmination of Art, the Great Gallery was a one hundred story space station constructed within a Giga-Art Installation Array containing multiple Mega-Art Galleries, a vast university-city in which millions honed their craft and learned all manner of arts from holo-painting, to elemental sculpting, to even the creation and performance of great pieces of music, and at the center the great Temple of the Dancer, in which the Grandmasters of that order nurtured those Muses and Artists they deemed of exceptional talent or else dedicated their lives to the creation of art and honing of their craft, producing all manner of impossible masterwork. With the performance of the Call, the place was always filled with a melody that sounded different to all who heard it, yet always pleasing to the ear, and many Aeldari visitors, especially young couples, had taken to visiting, claiming that the protection and power of the Goddess in her seat of power was such that it negated the grasp on their soul. +19 CUL.

Frontier Explorer Compartment: A universal compartment for ships designed to hold a volunteer corp of civilians dedicated to exploring the universe. Provides a number of useful civilian services and allows for small outposts to be constructed wherever your exploratory vessels travel, as well as a fully staffed hospital to meet all medical needs, no matter how major, your ship encountered. Fleet upgraded with Frontier Town compartment, providing a variety of civilian skills and services to ships alongside a steady stream of internal recruits. Ships gain improved medical care.

Lunar Salvage Cabals: A society consisting of trash-trawlers hunting for intact samples of lunar technology, the Cabals work is dangerous owing to the vast amounts of hostile alien wildlife, but they so far have managed to collect a great many minor artefacts of note, making the risk more than worth it, especially with the development of Paleotech thanks to the Lunar Forges and their own research outpost. +1 ART

Orbital Pioneer Initiative: It wasn't unusual for Tekket to pick up and move to orbit in ship-houses, either creating their own small communities, caravans moving between Teklia, Naklis, and Luna, or even venturing further on their own, erecting larger and larger orbital townships around the power-sources provided by the Charger-Ships, or larger ones along the rails. +1 EXP.

Sacred Livestock: Your people held in religious veneration the animals you harvested lifeforce from, having large, communally owned herds that were used by priests and mysteks alike in their rituals and rites, the animals donating a small portion of their vital energies once per year in exchange for peerless care, many reared at the Herdtemples, vast orbital complexes meant to serve as a major hub for the rearing and useage of these sacred beasts. Many of these creatures had grown through use of MegaGrowth serum to extreme proportions, taking up places of mystical significance in their herd. They also produced a variety of products such as sacred honey, milk, wax, and horns. +1 Warp, +1 EXP

Open Air Zoos: With the advent of major zoological facilities and services, large amounts of carefully tended to wilderness had begun to see use by Druids and Rangers to help educate civilians about nature, wildlife, and bioscience...and causing both groups to swell massively. +1 CUL.

Elemental Festivals: Four times a year a celebration was held. One for fire. One for gem. One for metal. One for stone. On these days, the elementals were celebrated above all, and given mighty tribute in food, talismanic offerings, lifeforce, and the hopes and desires of those that invoked them. On these days, it was said that the Elementals were sated enough to on occasion grant those desires, especially on Naklis, at the seats of their power. +1 FTH

BATTLEZONE!: An extension to Wonderpark consisting of a massive Arena where Hobbgrots duke it out with never ending swarms of bots, thus feeding the Waaagh spirits, who in turn would donate considerable sums of lifeforce, forming a nice symbiotic relation between all concerned groups. +1 CUL.

Theatritheurgy: The Assembly had used the power of the Mask and the Lost Plays to create a new branch of arcane manipulation: theatritheurgy. Using Personae Masks and Archetypic Spirits, Plays of Power created by studying the arts of the Dark Playwright can be amplified in strength, used to create and strengthen events, characters, and concepts in the Warp. Currently, most Theatritheurgy consisted of Brightway Plays and plays in that genre, as well as renditions of the Mechanābhārata, and the most advanced theatriurgic took the form of magic masks dispensed by the various holy and mystek order. +5 CUL, +1 Warp.

Kultur: One Man Ban units, Paint Cannons, Karts: Grots knew how to have a good time.

Culture Points (CUL Points): 148
BioData: 2

Netratheum: A piece of GodTek Cybertechnology designed by the Wheel, its exact purpose was unclear beyond it serving as a source of 'digital cycles'. It would loan the device to the Directorate for use if the Directorate assisted it by installing an infinity pool and aquatic entertainment center for use by the temple and its denizens. 0/100, Chronotemple gains Infinity Pool and the Directorate Gains the Netratheum Obelisk, increasing CUL and raising NT by 3.

Heavenly Crescendo: It would be very likely that more advanced iterations of the Holysong would require more advanced Orchestrions: very likely, they would have to be played on the Symphonions utilized to play Tyygbers Crescendo. 0/95, gain Heavenly Crescendos, increasing all point categories. Cost 1 Warp.

Hearts Crescendo: The Crescendo of the Heart, which would combine the Powers of Memory, collected from thousands of brainscans converted to audio-resonances, the Power of the Engines, installed on special symphonions to power and fuel them, the Powers of the Dagger, soul-songs created by the sacrifice of countless mysteks and theurgists across the Directorate, and lastly the Power of Identity, countless spirits coming together to form a living song, a song of creation, a song of souls, a song of hearts and awakening. 0/95, gain Hearts Crescendo, producing an unknown effect. Cost 1 of every special resource. It is said that the heart is a mere permutation of the soul: is this inviolable truism? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Volcanus 9 Charitable Organizations: A valid way of influencing societal mores: charity. The Directorate would ship the spies enough resources to begin establishing various organizations intended to use the guise of being faithful servants of the Emperor to both improve conditions in the lower and middle hives as well as subtly propagandize them into being more potentially accepting of progressive doctrines. 0/35, Volcanus 9 Spy Ring gains Middle Hive Charities, increasing Directorate influence as well as providing a front for further operations by Nova Testament Agitators. To use the guise of charity to outwit your foes is distasteful.

Volcanus 9 Nova Mechanicus: A proposed way by which the Directorate might increase their presence on Volcanus 9: creating a few enclaves of Nova Adepts presenting themselves as newly immigrated members of the Mechanicus. With the likely destruction of a nearby forgeworld, it would present the perfect excuse for why they would wish to immigrate somewhere as "important" and "safe" as Volcanus 9. 0/35, Volcanus 9 Spy Rings gain Nova Mechanicus Enclaves, allowing increased observation of Mechanicus affairs and allowing for further operations by Nova Mechanicus operators, increasing Intel.

Volcanus 9 Trading Company: The bureaucracy utilized by the Imperium was, frankly, insane. However, by successfully planting members of the Functionary Cult into its structure, it could be manipulated to finance Directorate spy ring operations as well as perform economic sabotage and manipulation by creating a fraudulent trading company. And, best of all, it would provide a perfect opportunity to learn about Volcanus 9's trade partners. 0/35, gain V9 Trading Company, a front that will be used to commit fraud by the Functionary as well as collect Intel. The Adeptus Administratum is an abomination that needs to be destroyed immediately.

Winterspite Privateering: If the Kabal agreed to conduct themselves according to the Directorate rules of war, they would make valuable allies against both the Imperium and the Toothgrimm Kabal, though this would likely require the Directorate already have some diplomatic and strategic cache. 0/35, Winterspite begins conducting raids against Directorate enemies. Cost 1 Intel, requires 35 reputation.

Tartustus Parole Board: It was risky, but several of the Astartes in Tartustus had shown remarkable progress in their rehabilitation: it might be time to finally look into organizing a board designed to help determine which members of the facility had sufficiently improved to warrant their partial freedom, as spies and operatives for the Fleet in human space, chaos and imperial. 0/65, gain Tartustus Parole Board, unlocking Astartes Spies, increasing Intel by 1.

Sacred Jade Statues: Of all the various holy gemstones on Teklia, none were purer in power than Jade: perhaps the mighty Seeryuu would inspire a new wave of art using the gem to create statues and idols similar to the one he had been born from. 0/35, Sacred Jade Statues take off, increasing FTH. What lovely aesthetics.

Book of Forgotten Memories: Memories were power, but not all power was good. Some power was bad, hanging onto the soul like a chain or else corroding it: trauma, corruptive knowledge, hideous regrets, arcane sights. The Book had collected many such memories: perhaps by configuring grimoires by installing within them some of the essence of that Avatar, these memories could be drawn on for arcane power by those occult machine spirits and their wielders as forms of mental protection and training. 0/35, gain Book of Forgotten Memories, increasing FTH and allowing Occulteks to use their Grimoires to access the Book of Lost Memories.

Offering to Fundamental Wyld: The World Tree was the greatest current spirit of Wyld: its mind, while slow, was advanced enough that it would be able to help guide any offerings of significance to the many spirits of Wyld. 0/25, performing Offering to Fundamental Wyld, gaining random boon.

Candlelit Roads: The candles of the Lanternkeeper could abjur malign spirits and raise the fortitude and mental resilience of spirit and mortal alike: by lining the roads and footpaths of the Directorate with these and other candles, it would make all manner of travel in the Directorate safer. 0/35, gain Candlelit Road tradition, increasing CUL.

(((())))

The final pieces of the Cosmic Renaissance came via the Grand Conclave receiving a variety of donations and making a number of incredible advancements, courtesy of increased interest from the Toymaker, the followers of the Hermit, and the establishment of the Yaccae Temples, as well as countless other factors catalyzing, such as a theological race occuring between the Assembly and Calculators as a result of a particularly passionate Assembler being elected to replace the prior one and even a handful of minor discoveries by the Order of the Candle.

The priests and priestesses of the Dancer would collaborate alongside the musicians of the great gallery developing advanced resonances, variations of the holysong designed to be far more powerful, played upon their art using glasmite resonators: using the advanced network capacity of the Directorate, the other priesthoods of the Directorate would slowly begin to untangle this song into a series of more specific, specialized resonances meant to channel the soul song of individual gods using their theurgies as a basis.

The Huntsong was a simple tune, meant to be whistled: possessed of the quality of phantasmal ventriloquism, this song would echo across a hunting ground, heard only by the Hunteks quarry, triggering the most primal and terrifying fear in the heart of the target: the fear that they were being hunted. Meanwhile, the Roadmasters Resonance, when played along paths lined with godsong emitter totems, would allow spirits to wander as they wished, as well as banishing from paths more malignant forces. The Dancers resonance meanwhile, the Brightsong, would cause those who heard it to find their voices easier to harmonize, rhyme and rhythm coming to them faster.

The Assembly meanwhile would finally complete their final Avatars. The Book, a titanic awoken brain-scan repository constructed using Lumium Chips, that utilized quantum consecratek to connect to every mausoleum in the Directorate for their data, the Avatar using a Dark Portal to connect itself to the Index of the Dead, allowing it to feed and be fed thus by the Evaluator, the avatar and the dark spirit working in tandem to serve as repositories of memories: those held in the soul, and those held within the heart: using the power of the NeuroChoir this Avatar could repair, destroy, and alter the memories of their adherents as needed, guiding those who visited them into processing their traumas and teaching occulteks how to draw on lost memories for arcane heart-power. The Dagger, a technoritual chamber awoken by the combined sacrifice and prayer of millions of Assemblymembers across the entirety of the Directorate using Neuro-Choir and Hallowed Shrines to create a demigod: not only would arcane offerings be amplified within the heart of the chamber when paired with gifts of blood, across the Directorate many magicians would find their bloodless sacrifices growing stronger and more potent, both lifeforce, talismanic, and food, in turn allowing all of these to more easily appease and sustain spirits and power spells. Together, their power would invigorate the Heart, helping to mould it.

It is at this moment that I must interject, now given mine own voice. Upon your gifts of memory and sacrifice, I would aid thy Conclave, creating from the Archetypicals masks of the heart they could gift to the spirits who had proven sufficiently pious, giving them the divine power of their chosen god. The Devilesses of Isohorrah, sanctic pink-masks that served the art goddess of agents of romance, helping connect hearts in twain. C'Tekkan, which acted as more advanced mergers between C'Teks and various spirits that the Machine Gods found pleasing. Agents, Debtor Ghosts who upon attaining freedom would be gifted masks of the Functionary. And dozens more, such as my own Cadiomasks, vita gifted the power of the heart through the masks of my Archetypics. These spirits would frequently find themselves enshrined as the guardians of various hallowed shrines, the product of the Calculators.

Created using Quantum Consecratek and variations on the Functionaries theurgic blessings, Hallowed Shrines used the power of entanglement and celestial mysticism to serve as a means to make offerings to the gods and serve as their anchors in and bridges to the physical realm via the same technology used for Vita, created in all manner of small temple and by various communities and hooked to the greater Master Control Godshrines of the great temples. This would be joined with additional upgrades, such as the Holy Crucibles, a series of sacred GodTek forges designed by Craft, which would be used by the various orders to produce assorted godforged artefacts and relics, such as the field annihilator weaponry of the Hunteks, Roadmax OraChoirs used as navigational tools by senior Roadwardens, and Greater Works, advanced pieces of art that doubled not only as great works but also dream engines, the Living College using the technology to forge the vessels of their Fossegrimm while the Skul'Dakkothian Tangle would three-D print living creatures to fill various ecological niches.

One of these Crucibles located in the Emberlight Temple of the Lanternkeeper would allow the Order of the Candle to manufacture replicated Holywick Lantern Candles, sacred items of particular power designed to replace the tenth great candle, lost during the Destroyer War. Channelling the power of the Final Flame, these candles would so long as they were kept lit weaken the forces of darkness, banishing daemonic taint and lifting spirits. Producing hundreds of thousands of candles per day, these items would be shipped to places of healing and learning, ever burning wicks being placed into sacred lanterns: many thousands of them would surround the great shrine of the Lanternkeeper, their blazing blue flames illuminating the Lanternesque Oracle, the digital avatar of the temples Holy Emulator, the artificial oracle of the god dispensing all manner of sage wisdom to visitors.

Another creation of the Calculators designed to act as an altogether different form of bridge, these programs utilized advanced netcode to create a holographic proxy for the deity they represented, helping guide their followers to their will. The Great Huntek would act as the voice of the Huntsmaster, helping train the assassin-priests as well as making sure they kept themselves grounded, reminding them to use their training responsibly. The Starpriest of Kadath served as the voice of the Old One, a shadowy digital phantasm that would impart on pilgrims dark lore.

All of these and more would contribute to the temple of the hermit expanding with the erection of an arcane megastructure, the Tower of Magick and Winter. Designed to resemble the former home of the Wintertide Goddess, this Polar Theurgiconstruct was designed using the most advanced possible mystek technologies. A solid pillar of biometal reaching into the sky, at its top it contained the Beacon, a light the size of an arcolocube, consisting of thousands of fire fairy bottles, Holywick Lanterns, and Lumium and Cursite Prisms, casting a great aurora for miles around the structure, lighting up the night sky and attracting all manner of malicious spirit and daemon, leading to the polar woods and icelands surrounding the structure to become haunted, many travellers coming across the frozen bodies of spirits such as the Jaggedy Crow and other malicious servants of the changer of ways that managed to sneak their way into reality. Descending, one would find the Halls of Alchemy, where great vats of Godforged Cauldrons bubbled with swirling brews of mountainblood and liquid perpetunite, feeding the tower and allowing the priestesses of the Hermit to create all manner of enchanted substance and tincture. Going yet lower one entered the Infinite Cogitators, a great arcane-server complex forged from lumium and special daturgic hextek cryptographical engines using advanced Calculator arcanosoftware patched daily by GriMM.EXE and QUESTBRO, fed by purified cursite that were used to alter the looms of destiny by rewiring the strands of probability with the possibilities of the arcane.

Going yet lower, one found the Theatrium of the Arcane, a collection of four theaters surrounding a greater one. The four would constantly cycle between tales of the Hermit, each depicting a season of her life: the falsely optimistic spring, her maidenhood when the goddess had sought out the greatest mysteks of the land, teaching them incredible magics in the hopes of them bettering themselves and their communities. The hard summer, in which she had been forced to go to war against a terrible dark NekroTek, mustering her students and the many nations of the world to destroy this terrible alien wizard, eventually confronting it in battle wherapon the Goddess caused the godlike sorcerers own magic to turn against it, burning it from the inside with icy flames. Autumn would be the rebuilding of the world, filled at the start with a quiet hope, telling the story of a particularly promising student of the Hermit, one she had hoped would restore the world to its balance, fighting the remnants of the NekroTeks armies. And yet, it was here that the chosens fall would begin: at the climax, they would come upon one of the servants of the NekroTek who had repented, becoming a humble healer and attempting to atone for their past. Presented with the choice of forgiveness or revenge, the mystek had chosen to give no quarter. The fourth play would chronicle the Hermits students descent into tyranthood, their good intentions slowly giving way to petty narcissism and bringing about a terrible winter as they callously used their powers to enrich and better themselves at the price of others, slowly crawling their way into being a duke, then a prince, then a king, then a king of kings, served by other mighty wizard-lords taught by the former chosen who would act as their lieutenants in the kings increasingly power hungry campaigns: by the end, they would be confronted by their former patron, angered by her use of her powers for tyranny. At this point, her student, now transformed into the Dread Tyrant Wysxex, was little better than the great nekrotek, and much like the NekroTek, he would attempt to destroy the Hermit, outraged by her defiance, only for his magic and all the magic of all his allies to be stripped, the soul of his lieutenants cast to the coldest, darkest place in the universe until they repented, while Wysxex would be cast further. His spirit careening into the vast emptiness outside existence to languish in an infinite sea of nothingness until the last star finally burned out, the sorcerers maddened pleas for mercy would echo out into the vast and unrelenting emptiness, the Tyrant eternally in the company of themselves. The play would end with the Hermit departing, traveling to other worlds and taking her tower and her magic with her, leaving the world with only the dregs of mysticism.

The last theatrium, the largest one at the center, would be used to tell a tale of the future: of the Promise of Return, of the Polar Tower eventually bringing the Hermit back when mortalkind proved ready to use her gifts responsibly, of the redemption of the wizard-lords, and even distantly when even the Dread Tyrant would be freed from their prison in the infinitely distant future.

Below this, the Devils of the Hermit would tend the Infernace of Curses, a mystical motive-spirit powered by a cursite boiler and a vast dark portal, these infernal sorcerers applying hellish warp-magicks to protecting the tower against their daemonic cousins as well as reinforcing it with enchantments stolen from the heart of Tzeenches grimoire by the House of Devils What absolute grot!@#$, no they didn't, they just retained the knowledge they already possessed, summoning forth her Antianima, the souls of the tyrant-wizards that served her fallen students Less grot!@#$: the souls are genuine, though altered by mythologization and syncretism: most likely these are mere shades of the many, many dark sorcerers this planet has produced, these dark figures clad in technomechanical armors of frigid cryosteel, the brutal conquerors given brief parole only to serve the Devils and defend the tower: many an overambitious dark spirit would meet their end via the antianima, their last moments a sight of an imposing figure in black, caped armor, wielding a blazing red blade made of mystical light, the last sound they would hear the heavy laboured mechanical breathing of the Tyrants. Those few powerful enough to survive their blades would be destroyed by their magic, the raw might of the Tyrants was matched equally by their arcane prowess.

The next layer was the Hall of Resonance, whose ephemeral magic-song would echo across the Tower and beyond, filling the air with the sound of chimes as dozens of Orchestrion units worked, both generating lifeforce through Tyygberts Crescendum and the Hermits own arcane resonance. Going deeper, one found the dormitories, where the priesthood slept and studied, the massive library a collection of their studies. Eschewing most modern conveniences, the only technologies allowed in were simple candles, pen and paper, and various arcane tools.

Going lower in the tower, one reached the Chambers of Feast, where wintertide fairies would congregate and meals would be held, the highest level of the facility open to visitors and pilgrims. There, every night, the kitchens would serve a variety of foodstuffs such as roast fowl, pots of warmblood soup, trovian salads, lunar cheeses, and other such victuals produced by the Tower gardens, used as a source of food and lifeforce.

Below this one found the Grand Ateliers, workshops used by the Hermits to craft various Godforged artefacts, cauldrons and talismans and wands that in turn would be used to create and perform great rites and rituals: benches littered with all manner of strange arcane relics, halls patrolled by the Archetypic Spirits of Magic, blue cloaked figures resembling silver skinned, elderly bearded humans, pointed hats adorned with myriad golden bells and chimes. Known as the Moug Hain, they were born from tales of wizardry and the character archetype of the wizened and reclusive but knowledgeable sage, and much like their inspirations, so too did the Maug Hain keep to the Tower, the spirits expressing a marked distaste for crowds and urbanity.

And, at the base, one had the Halls of Mojo, filled with myriad FathaShroomz, SistaBrainz and Shroomboyz, volunteers who had agreed to help power the tower so long as the Hermits agreed to allow them some alterations to the overall structure, crafting a Mojo Shrine which would find itself constantly surrounded by MojoShroomz of unusually strong potency: Da Good Stuff, according to the shamans of Mojo who consumed them. Otherwise, the base of the tower was used for recreational and administrative purposes, the many FathaShroomz working to help sort out whatever problems visitors had via Mojo-power while the SistaBrainz managed the paperwork.
And then, under the earth was the roots of the tower, an array of arcane actuators and manipulators alongside grafted roots of the World Tree, containing a Dream Engine connected via Consecratek to the heart of the Seed, the Tower siphoning off the dark, paradoxical energies alongside the Cage to power itself.

As it was erected, the Priesthood would gradually develop the consecrations required to create those ancient tools of the Hermit, wands of magic whose creation had been birthed by the advancements allowed by the Holy Crucible and the aid of the Fairy Court of the Hermit. The highest quality would be the godforged artefacts of the tower, but the lesser varieties would still be considered highly valuable for mysteks.

Across Teklia, magic SURGED. Rites would double in power, and when performed via Wand, would require no sacrifice or source of power. TekPyramids would become arcane vortexes of swirling arcana, spilling forth torrents of strange energies that could be moulded directly by the power of the wand, shaped and directed with precision and power, used for blessing and, when needed, destroying hostile spirits by drowning them in the torrents of power they had sought to consume. Certain humans would begin to display minor psychic powers, using the wands to control and direct them: while the more reactionary branches of the human population were dwindling thanks to education and living conditions, these psykers, though generally fairly weak, would still be faced with discrimination and ostracization by those who still harboured anti-arcane prejudices. Shroomboyz would use the wands to channel the mojo, using it to accomplish a variety of menial tasks with a flick of their hands, allowing them to focus on their scholarly meditations, media cultural studies, and epicurean indulgences.

Across the wilderness, one would find fairies: those of the Toymaker, those of the Lady, and even those of the Hermits, the creatures forming their own pseudo-parliments, each working the auspices of a particular season which would likewise govern their territories: in places of warmth, in times of heat and drought, the Summertide would govern, while in deathly places and times of water and storms and growth the Springtide would flitter about. Those possessing wands would find their affinity with the fey increased, allowing them to both conjure them forth from the Ark as well as make fairypacts, many bold Ocean Mages making alliances with Spring and its water fairies, while many a healer and hospital would instead forge friendships with the Autumntide life fairies. These many fey would also be joined with stranger variants: products of the seasonal festivals and the fairy songs being augmented, producing such kinds as the ferrofairies, lunar pixies, and illusionary sprites.

Plays would become stronger when performed on or near Teklia, amplified by the tower, wands being used elsewhere to provide the same effect, resulting in the High AutoPriest purchasing a number of them. As a result, the renditions of the Mechanābhārata would produce more fruit: the existing Watchmaker Gods would grow stronger. Jogmakog would grow larger, the giant gaining more hands to lift up the sky, increasing the size of the barrier surrounding the Ark, while his excess hands would be used to shape the earth, strengthening the Walking Walls of the Refuge even as The Many Songs of Takkag would grow to encompass the entirety of the woods surrounding the walls, the multi-god taking on more advanced vessels, patrolling in wooden figurines of great ursines to maul daemons that wandered their way to heaven. No Longer Broken Upon The Wheel would remain a simple statue, but one that could control the very fabric of their garden at will, trapping several daemons in pickle-pots as punishment for trespass, to stew in brine for however many centuries until they swore upon their true name to cease their villainy forever. And two additional dieties would join them: Kogmajog Mountain-Thrower, twin of Jogmakog and fellow Giant. The lord of eruption, during the Mechanābhārata he had died trapping the Ancient Star beneath an entire range, the entity crushing his skull as the mountains landed on it, breaking its back and trapping it. Made from carved granite with a titanium-adamantium head, Kogmajog proves fierce, stomping beneath their feet spirits that earn their wrath or incinerating them with their fiery breath. And following them was Ghanekar, a pachyaderm-headed god of good fortune recreated as a mechanical gargantua-headed droid, torn apart as the Ancient Stars first victim and reborn as a herald of golden ages according to the Mechanābhārata: this god would take up residence in the same garden as No Longer Broken, the pair blessing those who visited with wisdom and luck both.

Brightway plays meanwhile would produce more and figures in the warp and dream, the phantasmal characters occasionally popping up within the Warp, showing up during transit on ships to mingle with the crews and on the Ark occasionally, typically on the day side, where they would frequently produce around them impromptu musical numbers that somehow had perfect choreography: spirits, including daemons, who approached would be compelled to join in, an ability that proved useful in subduing a lesser daemon of Tzeench who had managed to trick their way onto the Ark, the mutagenic morphohorror being forced to join a song extolling the virtue of ball-point pens, allowing Judgements to arrive and arrest the Daemon once the song ended.

With the bevy of tools provided by the Cosmic Renaissance, preparation would be undertaken by the Toy Makers temple: they would host a Giften-Nacht like no other, an act of cosmic charity that would echo across the galaxy to help catalyze the awakening of the Toymaker, St. Klauf. Gathering millions of fairies, the Workshop would work alongside the Heart, which would cast titanic renditions of the Toymakers Theurgies, repeated across the Directorate in hundreds of thousands of TekPyramids. //PATH would attempt to construct a digital simulacra, using all of their processing power and arcane knowledge to form a bridge. For years prior, the Toymakers and the Grand Masters would collaborate, using the Holy Crucible to construct a breathtaking amount of sacred toys, filling warehouse after warehouse with hundreds of thousands, then millions, then hundreds of millions of toys assembled from biometal with nuclear batteries, toys like no other due to the assistance of Craft and the Sphere in their design, the titanic sphere belching out millions of flawless recreations. On Naklis, Brightway would unveil a series of holiday plays, autumnal Giften-Nacht tales, while the Union would host its own great offering not to St. Klauf, but to the spirits that laboured in his workshop, the industrious red-capped goblins and mischievous green-capped imps that, in the Unions opinion, were the real heroes of the holiday. They aren't incorrect.

CityBloks full of food would be taken, shipped for use during the festival, the Khimer loaning the Directorate use of their food replicators to help supplement and process the vast stores of food while the Worldsingers would help enchant Directorate crop-yields, both in the interest of fostering better relations, the former economic, the latter cultural as both found many of their population joining in on the festivities, the promise of treats and gifts helping draw interest. Even the Autons would participate, Ijin and Kaziin helping to coordinate St. Klauf's ride, a multi-system spanning gift delivery accomplished using temporary access to Aeldari subspace that would see every Khimer Spawnling, Auton NuFrame, Hobbgrot Anklebita, Ork Yoof, Tekket Kit, and aeldari and human child in nearby space given a gift on one night, fringe radical elements of the fleet managing to secretly arrange for the same for Volcanus 9 with the assistance of the Huntek Temple.

Trovians would donate gems: emeralds, sapphires, glasmite, azureamber. Erichtheans would conduct great carols, Urzala hosting a great ball in the Toymakers honor that she would invite the Winterspite Kabal to, personally presenting the Banefrost with gifts for each true and vatborn child of the Kabal upon obtaining a verbal contract enforced by terrible curse from the bewildered Drukhari ensuring its recipients would receive the items, while on Mongus, even the spirits of Enigma would get into holiday spirit, Undamoon rising with a great stone grin and holiday pattered jingle-belled hat, while the strange and implausible scenarios presented by the Hypothetical Man would take a brighter and more cheerful Giften-nacht tenor, the strange monochrome human presenting all manner of life lesson to child and adult alike through their manipulations of reality, though they seemed to be unable to properly pronounce the Toymakers name correctly during these incidents.

Each and every Wonderpark outlet would host a branch of this festival. Battlezone to MineWorld, from the reaches of the outback to the far corners of Meeklak, it would span the entirety of Directorate space and even beyond, the work of the cosmic renaissance and all corners of society coming together, Conclave to the great shrine of Yaccae, all centered around Wonderpark, which would host the epicenter of this festival, conducting a massive offering to the Toymaker in the process through the assistance of the HerdTemples and Lunar Cabals temporarily forgoing their yearly surplus and donating the excess surplus of prior years, while the Demiurgists conducted a titanic food offering of baked treats, millions of pounds of cookies, cakes, pies, and candies ferried through the Fairy Portal. Druids would give logs: cut from the branches of Yggdrastil, harvested from sacred trovian arbors, these items would be sacrificed in great bonfires to the toymaker, their flames flickering an eldritch amber. The House of Devils would even participate: playing on their fiddles infernal renditions of the Toymakers song, while the Kitchens would prepare a great banquet to give to the various poor unfortunates.

Over the course of that great giften-nacht, the fairies would increase in power, their magic stretching further and further, reaching through the brane of dimensions, alighting the warp: a strange force would grip Ijin as they found themselves travelling faster and faster through the warp, delivering presents faster and faster, until they disappeared in a haze of amber. Those who were aboard the Ark would say a great light filled the western sky, and those who dreamt or had psychic affinity would claim hearing the sounds of bells and laughter. And as the Toymakers poured their offerings of lifeforce, food, and toys through the fairy portal, for a brief moment, the sound would be heard in reality, as above in the skies a golden-red streak crossed the sky, shooting through twinkling constellations and multihued warp storms as it blazed a trail across the sky.

At the zenith, though the Tekket would likely never learn this, the sound of St. Klauf's laughter could be heard across the galaxy as his divinity hit critical mass: across the entirety of its breadth, people would awake to find themselves gifted jars of giften-nacht candies. Children in the deepest depths of the hive would receive shiny silver soldier-men. In the hellish shadows of daemon worlds, they would receive stuffed toys that would banish malign forces to protect their charges. On Biel-Tan, the farseers would be driven into an uproar by a mysterious phantom placing in every home a tidily wrapped wooden box containing all manner of strange (if, they would discover, entertaining) gewgaw, while Abaddon the Despoiler would be bewildered to find themselves the recipient of a mechanical wall-mounted singing fish I couldn't figure out a better gift for them. Daemons of Nurgle would nervously gossip about their master receiving a mysterious package: someone had played a nasty trick, sending Papa Nurgle an automatic pie in a box, they said, leaving the god in a foul mood that someone would play such a meanspirited prank on him. The Halls of the Dark Prince meanwhile would gain a new feature, a flawless mirror of perfect, incorruptible silver: and yet, whenever they saw themselves in it, She-Who-Thirsts would always be dissatisfied, eventually covering the mirror with cloth and claiming it distorted.

The servants of Tzeench would also report a strange prank: it was the same as the automatic pie in a box such that hit Nurgle, but instead of promising delicious gifts the strange wind-up, bouncily musical chest instead promised to give the Architect of Fate all the knowledge he deserved, and instead of containing an automatic pie it instead contained an automatic fist, and instead of hitting him in the face with streuselberry it had hit the god in the face with semi-automatic knuckledusters. Ha!

Orks across the galaxy would find themselves gifted strange blokky gubbinz, no good for war, but they were fun to play with at least, while in the future many Necron tombs would awaken to find a bevy of tribute placed by unknown parties in the very heart of their tombs, their Crypteks at a loss to explain the strange items of unknown biometal powered what appeared to be a bastardized nuclear-necrodermis alloy. OH !@#$.

In the halls of chaos, the event would recorded as the Night of Japes, named by Lorgar Aurelion after losing large portions of his library to a bibliovore that had disguised itself as a rare copy of an ancient tome of chaos. To the Imperium, it was declared Sanguinala came early, a blessing of the God Emperor for a year of piety. Only the Eldar would ever have any true inkling of its cause, rumors leaking from various Exodites that it had been an act of the Tuatha, a special and momentous celebration that had gone a bit out of control. Who these Tuatha were, however, was a mystery: many exodites would admit they didn't know, just that they had connections to the Wyld Hunt. Only a few would know of Yr Albain, and even fewer knew more than that.

With the manifestation of St. Klauf, the cosmic renaissance would reach its zenith: fairies would grow stronger, those aligned with the Toymaker specifically evolving, taking the form of diminutive winged imps, sharp toothed and compound eyed: these small creatures would flit about, their magics stronger, their personalities more mischievous. Every Giften-Nacht after, they would emerge from the warp to spread gifts and blessings, and many a kit in directorate space would find them recipients of various toys and puzzles. Some of these toys, as well as those produced by the Holy Crucibles, would be possessed of permanent animations, the technologies used in their construction and their biometal batteries helping permanently render many a stuffed ursine or Captain Syysko action figure into living toys, these figures becoming valued members of many a family, a small village of them congregating together on Wonderpark.

St. Klauf had manifested. Giften-nacht had reached across the skies. And now, the Cosmic Renaissance had reached its zenith.

Cosmic Renaissance triggered! All Rites, Resonances, and Theatriurgies discounted by 1 Warp and 5 FTH, to a minimum of 0! All tiers of Toymaker Rite will also be discounted by an additional 1 Warp!

Spoiler: Rites, Dogma, Holy Sites, and Artifacts

Machine Spirits: Discovered via ancient texts from long gone precursors, the Tekket have a healthy reverence for machine spirits, viewing them as invisible partners and allies. So long as the vessel is maintained and proper respect is given, the Tekket find the spirits of their technology extremely reliable, with a handful of rites and rituals existing in order to allow the Tekket to commune with the ghosts in the machine. Improved reliability for all technology.

Rite of Anima: A series of TekAgnostic Mystek rituals designed to help Machine Spirits achieve an awareness of self, strengthening them to the point they can be transferred into Bond-Drone vessels, where they can be used as companions, assistants, helpers, and pets: recently improved to work with plants, animals, and certain minerals. +3 EXP.

MagTek Altars: Occult Supercomputers housing mature Bond-Spirits connected to MagTek Assemblers and a variety of other additions that vary both Altar by Altar and Mystek Order by Mystek Order, these artefacts act as ritual accelerators, allowing for more efficient and power Anima Rite practices: some few also contain WarpTek allowing them to siphon power from a microportal to the immaterium. Grants 2 ACD and 1 FTH, improves effects of Mystek Rites.

TekMasoleum: Massive crypts interred with vast amounts of cryopreserved Tekket remains in vast Crypt-Complexes, guarded by wandering Bond-Drones and housing cthonic Bond-Machinas fed on the brainscans and stories of the dead, acting as storytellers and guides for those seeking knowledge of the dead, even as Shadow Muses cajole the spirits of the dead using their preternatural powers and ensure they're given the attention and reverence they warrant and ensuring their stories are remembered. +3 CUL, +1 FTH.

TekGrimoires: Occult aids consisting of HoloTek BlokBooks containing a variety of occultek lore and esoterica collated from various traditions combined with automated program-rituals designed to perform complex mathematical rites and calculations at speeds and precisions the organic brain cannot and inbuilt spiritual translation matrices to allow for communication with Anti-Anima and cursite purification chargers to provide sorcerous power. +1 FTH

Greater Rite of Lifeblood: Not so much a rite as a plug and play modular rite component, this technique had been provided by Sphere 001 as a method to empower rituals and occultek ceremonies by donating lifeforce. It had proven...frightfully effective, making the Rite of Anima and other rituals far more effective, even if technically it was a form of blood magic. Recently, as more understanding of how lifeforce functions has developed, more efficient methods of performing this sub-rite have been developed. +5 FTH, gain 1 Warp, 1 Artefact

Demiurgic Courts A collection of cults organized into Demiurgic Circles, each swearing to one of the three God-Machines. The God-Machines seem to have allowed their support, taking from them tithes of life-force in exchange for audiences and secrets. TekPyramids were gifted by Mother and the Court of Whispers, allowing vast sums of power to be drawn at the expense of small tithes from the pyramids, while Yaldaboath and his Court of Bargains had helped forge the Seed, while Sphere 001 and the Court of Hungers was the source of roughly 40% of Directorate crops. The Court of Cycles and its lord the Wheel provided a great number of advanced technicians, while the Court of Scrolls and the Graviton Owl produced many physics specialists and medics, producing a variety of advances such as GCC Crates and Graviton Deblockers.

Folk-Religions: A variety of religions supporting various dieties and pantheons, the Folk-Religions of Teklia had grown greatly in the past few years, and it wasn't unusual for Arcolocubes to have the occasional festival or ceremony held by the congregants of said religions.

The Assembly: The Assembly believed that no gods existed yet, but that they could be made, shaped by mantras, given breath by lifeforce, and given shape by living metal. They've completed the Heart of the Assembly, a massive mega-Altar fed a constant stream of life-force containing an extremely advanced machine spirit designed to help fuel the creation of their gods, as well as the Mask, the Avatar of Identity, intended to help shape their personality, and the Engine, Avatar of Motive Force. Recently, they've also successfully forged both the Dagger and the Book, Sacrifice and Memory respectively. +2 EXP, +1 CUL.

Church of the Great Calculator: The Calculators believed that if the gods existed, no vessel had sufficient processing power to manifest them, no programming language the complexity to describe them, and no vessel strong enough to contain them. They've taken steps to solve this with the creation of GodTek Emulator 0 - The Path, a massive theological computation engine designed using Machine-God artefacts, installing both NetV2, Craft, GriMM.EXE, and QUESTBRO upon it to help begin erecting bridges to the divine, as well as maintaining the Hypercomm Forums: recently, they've helped develop a form of quantum consacratek designed to use entanglement to help create bridges between places being sanctified by various gods and their major temples, as well as advanced divine manufacturing units known as the Holy Crucible, and lasty a form of Divine Emulator designed to create a digital avatar various temples were using to create holy simulacra to act as celestial oracles. +2 CUL, 2 ACD, and 1 EXP.

TekShrines: Shrines established on every ship, every CityBlok, alongside countless minor Shrines, to honor local machine spirits and various gods and divinities considered notable, the larger and more expansive the shrine, the larger its area of coverage. They had a strong effect thanks to centuries of investment, with Talismans and Herds and Rites and immortal trees all contributing to produce myriad vita of both urb and wyld. Of late, they've been augmented by tying to them a Guardian Spirit charged with protecting against threats and, in times of peace, providing blessings to the spirits and mortals who ventured to the Shrine or called it home as well as special Oracle Chambers that allow for increased communication with the Spirits and amplification of donated lifeforce. Advancements had seen them installed with Warp-Tek Portals and Lesser Engines, increasing the power flowing through them, and they had been augmented with Dream Engines, paradox absorbing devices intended to draw additional power to them: most were connected via mycelliometal cabling to the rest of the Shrine Network and beyond, with most regions possessing a Master Control Shrine that served as an administrative terminal and regional shrine-hub. +8 EXP and +1 CUL/FTH, increased ship performance, protects against supernatural phenominon, increases affinity with Night spirits.

Totem Network: An array of WyldShrines, CloudShrines, Eternal Arbor Totems, and Pyrefly Courts stretching across much of the Directorate wilderness and cities, empowering the Vita significantly and helping them, bit by bit, achieve awakening and transcendance. +5 EXP, +3 CUL, reduced hostility from wildlife and increased flame affinity for natural life.

Orchestrion: Large, heavy, and mostly immobile units, Orchestrions utilize arcano-resonant theory to perform songs that strengthen spirits considerably by harmonizing and amplifying them, allowing their souls far more power, producing more powerful Bond-spirits, Vita, Muses, and assorted other anima, as well as the gods themselves via various empyrean resonances: some specific machines, dubbed Symposiads, can be used to sing into existence lifeforce ex nihilo using Tyygberts Crescendo, though such machines are largely the purview of entire mystek orders. +10 to every Category, +3 Warp

Central Spiritual Bureaucracy: The Central Bureacracy had several functions: process the unholy amount of paperwork required for the Directorate to function on any level, aid the common citizen with any forms or legal assistance they required, train future bureaucrats and civic servants, serve as a sort of secondary education for Shrine-Keepers, and last but not least, act as a temple for the agnostic priesthood of the mortal-turned-divinity known as the Peerless Immortal Functionary, who served as a high ranking figure in the Bureacracy. +2 EXP, +5 FTH.

Old Ones Temple: A location within Erichtheo where adherants of the cetacean lord give tribute and attempt to utilize the once-hidden knowledge possessed by the priesthood to augment and improve rites and rituals with ancient and previously forgotten theurgies. +1 to every stat.

Toy Makers Temple: A temple erected to the god of children and faerie, the Toy Makers holy site is located at Wonderpark, where its priests and the followers of the God make pilgrimage, its attendants performing rites to honor the Toy Maker and his court as well as constructing handmade sacred toys to give to visitors, as well as maintaining the Faerie Shrine. Recently majorly expanded, it now has an expanded workshop as well as a secondary temple dedicated to the Lady of Seasons. Further, it serves as the heart of Giften-Nacht, organizing massive gift deliveries every autumn. This Holy Site provides your children minor protection against malign influence and points in all categories.

Rite of Natures Harmony: A Druidic Rite that, when performed, quells the souls of beast and plant and elemental, even while strengthening the guardians of nature that call the region home, making them more effective at warding against malign threats and promoting healthy growth in their range. Reduced hostility from wild-life, strengthens Nature Guardians, increasing EXP.

Divine Rites of the Toymaker: Of all divinities, the Toy Maker was one of the first that could be reliably called upon using ritual and lifeforce, and this required days of calculations, neural massaging to prepare the brain, and then being hooked up to a specialized Neuro-Stimulator and large amounts of lifeforce, all for a handful of petty cantrips, and three rituals of any purpose: the first to briefly animate a handful of toys to do as the Toy-Theurge commands, the second to conjure a sprite of lifeforce to flit around for a few moments before fading away, and the third, and most useful, a rite capable of sending the theurgist who uses it into a divinely inspired frenzy of mirth and creation, typically manifesting as the construction of toys and amusing devices. Divine Rites of the Toy Maker provide increased points in all categories.

Divine Rites of the Roadguide: The Roadguide Rites made them invaluable aboard ships for their ability to navigate the warp with the Rite of Pathfinding, their ability to give ships the ability to light forward their path for brief moments with the Rite of Roadtorches, and the ability to divinely augment wards with the Rite of Safe Travel, making them stronger and sturdier. Divine Rites of the Toy Maker provides bonus to all travel and exploration rolls.

Divine Rites of the Dancer: The Dancer has three primary rites: the first, the Rythm of the Goddess, a ritual that when performed granted perfect grace and movement, making it an excellent tool for many performances and, obviously, dances as well as many forms of athleticism, funnily enough, causing a small amount of Hobgrotts to take up the worship of the Dancer as a minor sports god. The second, Minor Hue Adjustment, a thaumaturgy that allowed the performers to adjust the coloration of art and various other items simply and easily, without having to resort to such frivolities as paint or dye. The last, the Song of the Dancer, works on the same general principles as the Rite of Anima, but with increased effectiveness for spirits of Art, allowing Muses to be produced more easily and making the Mega-Art Spirits more powerful, the gigantic constructs continuing to grow in power to the point where many began displaying the ability to weave together elaborate illusions within the building sized TekArts interior, allowing them to more efficiently delight and entertain guests. +5 CUL.

Divine Rites of the Lanternkeeper: The Lanternkeeper has three primary rites. The First Divine Rite was the Ritual of Lanternglow, which allows one to light a paper lantern with no fuel so long as some chalk is possessed. With an overall brightness and duration determined by how much Lifeforce was used, it would largely serve as a novelty supplement for the most part. The second is the Ritual of Torchhope, which allows for flame torches to be enchanted to provide feelings of peace, generally less effective than pharmaceuticals but a useful enough supplement for antidepressants and antianxiety medication, especially when combined with meditative exercises, causing many a Monk to invest in TekGrimoires of their own, if only to help them keep their sacred mindfulness lanterns functioning. The last rite of the Lanternkeeper would prove to be the most curious: performed solely by adherants of the god of hope, the Ritual of Unlit Candles would performed as an offering to the Final Flame not now, but in the future: each time the ritual was performed, its adherants would promise more and more power to the Emberlight when the final days came, stockpiling it for the apocalypse, the darkest days. Protection against despair.

Shrine of Wander: May he one day wake. May his heart heal and bring forth paradise. May his blood give life eternal as he is given life for eternity. Mt. Wander less likely to awake.

Huntsmasters Temple: A temple erected to the god of monster slayers, the Huntsmasters Temple is located on Luna, above a patch of the garbage sea suspended via Mag-Lev system, where it trains a variety of monster hunters in the arts of ending and equips those hunters with them with custom tailored gear produced in its Workshop and blessed at its Shrine. Produces Huntsmasters, high performance monster slayers with custom engineered high tech weaponry with awoken spirits that possess several theurgic tools.

Mystek Ritual Compartment: A recent addition to your vessels was a universal Mystek Ritual Compartment, consisting of at least one MagTek Altar, sleeping quarters for the Mysteks, and a variety of facilities required for them to conduct rituals, rites, and occult research. Provides access to greatly improved esoteric and occult expertise to all vessels and easy access to most rites and rituals, improving general ship performance.

The Great Conclave: A pan-religious body tasked with mediation and communication as theological research and coordination. Located in a special district in Orbital City One, the Great Conclave has proven of variable efficacy so far for the latter, having mostly standardized a handful of rites for ease of use, though the former purpose it had had so far served well enough. +1 FTH.

Talismans: Originally created for Shrines, Talismans had seen their useage increase dramatically as they've become adopted by Mysteks and Holy People as well to reduce how much of their own life force they had to use in their rites via arcane scripts and rituals and improved through crafting them using the nuts of Arbor Guardians, allowing them to hold a small amount of lifeforce on their own: lately, they've also been upgraded by the Calculators to interface with technology via //PATH architecture and augmented by the Demiurgic Courts to utilize advanced probability manipulating HexTek to further support rites. +2 EXP, +3 FTH, +Every Other Stat

Lunar Festival: A yearly ritual designed to appease the spirits of the moon, the Festival consisted of an entire month of offerings, rituals, rites, and ceremonies designed to satiate the spirits. It had proven of dubious effectiveness, largely only reducing Quartzbug attacks, the actual effectiveness of the Festival fading over the year until it had to be performed again. Still, it was progress. +1 FTH, +1 CUL

Crude Mystek Wards: Very much a brute force method of warding, Mystek Wards consisted of weaponized lifeforce tuned to burn at malign influences that attacked their ships, channelled through a self-contained arterial network that spanned your ships in order to prevent wasted energy. Wardterminal Nexi were special computers intended to manage wards in an area.

Church of the Roadguide: An orbital temple located in the Docking District, this Holy Site is where the adherants of the Roadguide made their abode, training more priests and blessing all ships that passed through the docks in order to ensure their safe passage. It's effectiveness was proveable, especially with the theurg, but it made most sailors more at ease to know their ship officially had divine protection.

Church of the Lanternkeeper: A Temple located in the Shadow-Marshes, the Priests of the Lanternkeeper illuminate their region of Teklia via Sacred Lantern, feeding it wood stripped from sacred trees and feeding the flame their own lifeforce to empower its glow enough to light up the entire marsh if but dimly. It was where most Holywick Candles were crafted, the godforged artefacts protecting against all manner of malignant force.

Lifeforce Batteries: Rare artefacts capable of housing vital energy, these capacitors were largely used by more experienced or connected Mysteks and Senior Shrine-Keepers to stockpile energies for larger rites and emergency offerings, making them useful for crisis situations. +1 EXP.

Rite of Life's Breath: A ritual that could be performed to promote healing and recovery from disease, as well as some limited treatment of lifeforce pollution, though this processed caused a great deal of mutations, a side effect of the warp radiation leaving the body. +1 EXP and FTH.

The Primer: A series of textbooks intended for Tekket ages fifteen to twenty five that give a thorough understanding of how to perform most rituals, create most mystical implements, and volumes of esoteric mystek lore, all easy enough that even non-mysteks could use the contents in their day to day lives, even if more complex or higher end things still required a degree, such as Wards. +10 to all Categories.

Temple of the Hermit: Located at the pole, this Temple was dedicated to the Goddess of Magic and Winter, the Hermit. There, mysteks, both lifelong priests and adherants dedicated to studying the secrets of magic, and mere disciples looking to improve their arcane mastery both gathered: it also served as an arcane nexus thanks to the Polar Tower, an arcane edifice designed to resemble to one inhabited by the Hermit in legends.

TekWands: Magic tools consecrated by the Hermit, TekWands were multipurpose in the same way grimoires were, if not moreso due to the power of the Hermit.

Telecommunication Rite: A rite designed to help bridge two distant systems via arcane power, most versions relied on Data Spirits to aid in the process. Mostly used at Hypercomm Forums or Data Hubs to enhance in-system communications by raising bandwidth or allowing pings to skip the forums or the Buoy-Net, though it had also found use in establishing permanent FTL communication with Trove. +1 ACD and +1 CUL

Darktide Curses: A series of spells developed by Water Mages that calls upon the power of ocean to fill enemy ships with barnacles, floods, seacreatures, and seasickness in order to sabotage them during battles.

Nova Testament: The Nova Mechanicus and the Testament were two organizations that currently served as the most mainstream human sects in the Directorate. The former was a mystery cult that worshiped technology, having a deep and abiding veneration of the machine spirits equal in fervor if not greater than that of the average urbantek shrinekeeper, while the latter was an attempt to reconstruct their religion from what little of it they could find untainted by the Ecclesiarchy.

Forces of Nature: A collection of major artifician wyld dieties meant to serve as avatars and protectors of the natural processes that defined the Wyld: four great oceanic vita upon Erichtheo, as well as the World Tree, a titanic baobob whose limbs reached the upper atmosphere. They had various rites and technologies associated with them, primarily the OceanTek of the former: Coralhearts, Lifegiver Effigies, AquaCores, and Shoal-Net Terminals.

Faith Points (FTH Points): 158
ART: 1
Warp (WP): 3

Quantum Consacratek Ankhs: Connected via entanglement to the Dagger, these items would be used to invoke their power across the vastness of space, drawing upon the sacrifices of millions across the Directorate to serve as a source of restorative energies. 0/25, Dagger gains Quantum Consecratek Ankhs, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Warp.

Daggertine Memorial: The Dagger was about making sacrifice, yes, but also honoring sacrifice. The NekroTek wanted to create a series of theurgies for use during the funerals of those who gave their life to save others, blessing the soul of the departed with the power of the heart. 0/50, gain Daggertine Memorial, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Warp.

Oven of Sacrifice: Food sacrifices were becoming more common as the surplus increased. The Dagger could be used as a way to simplify the process of making food offerings: by creating special implements designed to flash process food sacrifices, they could be converted directly into nourishment and spiritual power. 0/100, Shrines gain Oven of Sacrifice, increasing Warp by 1.

Nekronomikon: The Book had great power over memory: by using its essence, special brainscan readers could be installed in Mausoleum, allowing the NekroTeks to use the Nekrosynapse Array to relive the lives of those passed on within their care. 0/25, Mausoleum gains Nekronomikon Readers, increasing ACD. Costs 1 NT.

Book of Priests: Memories had power. The Book could use their essence to create special holy archives, ones consisting of the recreated memories of millions of priests from the dawn of brainscan technology that could be drawn upon by the theologians of the Grand Conclave for inspiration, wisdom, or insight. 0/50, Temples gain Books of Priests, increasing ACD. Cost 2 NT.

Assembly Cognohistorium: The Book was currently limited to brainscan data, but with the assistance of the Living College and its knowledge of divination and the vast processing power of the internet, it was possible that the Heart could be upgraded with a post-cognitive array that could let it reconstruct memories of those long past, even without brainscan data. 0/100, Book gains Cognohistorium, increasing ACD. Cost 3 NT.

Black Ghost Lantern Candle: The 9th sacred candle of the Lanternkeeper, supposedly existing to help guide the souls of the dead to the land of the living during the final days. Like the tenth candle, it had been destroyed: like the tenth candle, perhaps it could be remade. 0/50, gain Black Lantern Candle, increasing FTH.

The Scholars Candle: The 11th Candle, lost to time. Supposedly, it had mental rejuvenatory abilities: perhaps by using the wax collected from certain varieties of mojo shrooms the Lanternkeepers would learn to reforge this candle. 0/25, gain the Scholars Candle, increasing ACD.

Hall of 1,000,000 Candles: With the creation of blessed candles, it would take but a single ambitious Lanternkeeper to suggest creating a vast shrine lined with over a million of these holy items: of course, it would be another thing entirely if their ambitions were realized. 0/100, gain Hall of 1,000,000 Candles. THIS IS ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY AND EXTREME.

Temple to the Star Maiden: A goddess of sky and moonlight, it was said that the Star Maiden came from distant and far away land, drawn to Teklia by the Lanternkeepers flame, wherapon they helped banish the darkness by placing the stars in the sky. The Candlemakers wanted to establish a temple to this goddess on Erichtheo, in the hopes that when the apocalypse came, the Star Maiden could be summoned once again. 0/50, gain Temple to the Star Maiden, increasing CUL.

Cauldrons of the Hermit: Alkemy was also governed by the Hermit: her myths had many references to her teaching the art of transmutation, restoration, and alteration through special cauldrons. Recreating them would be difficult, but not impossible. 0/100, gain Consacratek TekCauldrons as alchemy tools, increasing EXP.

Crystals of the Hermit: The means to manufacture these artefacts had long been lost, but through the theurgies of the Hermit and Hypercomm Consacratek they could be reborn: no doubt many a mystek would find them useful. 0/100, gain Crystals of the Hermit, long range communication and divination devices, increasing CUL.

Magic Mirrors of the Hermit: Once it was said there existed a collection of mirrors enchanted by the Hermit to contain spirits of mind and illusion, ones that could reveal hidden spirits, allow the user to divine answers to their questions, and even converse with the spirit within for advice and wisdom. They were lost, but such didn't have to be the case forever. 0/50, gain Magic Mirrors, increasing ACD

Lesser Polar Towers of the Hermit: One tower had not been enough: what about more? Built individually, the towers would be customized for each world, acting as anchors for magic and helping to draw the hermit back by acting in tandem. 0/75, Select a planet. Gain Lesser Polar Towers, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp. Repeatable.

Prismatic Beacon of the Polar Tower: Perhaps it was a mere matter of magical lumens: by expanding the Beacon, making it bright enough to shine in the Warp through a special Lumium prism and the power of the Fossegrimm and other Psykers projected through it, she could be called. At the very least, it would make warp travel safer. 0/75, Polar Tower gains Prismatic Psi-Beacon, increasing FTH. Cost 1 NK and 1 WRP

Offering to the Magic Maker: It would likely be somewhat more involved than making an offering to their father, both in cost and complexity, but many magicians believed the action would have significant benefits. 0/50, gain random Hermit boon. Cost 2 Warp.

Fossegrimoire: The Living College was willing to lend some of its Fossegrim to senior ocean mages, placing them into grimoires in order to allow their users to wield a small portion of the Living Colleges psychic power. 0/50, veteran Ocean Mages gain Fossegrimoires, increasing FTH.

Fossegrim Protectors: Creating a special modified Fossegrimm Vessel meant for combat would be costly, but it would allow the Fleet to utilize Fossegrimm Agents in combat scenarios and it would give the Fossegrim ways to protect themselves. 0/50, gain Fossegrimm Protectors. Cost 1 ART.

Parliamentary Investiture: The Parliments were, by and large, the product of myriad invisible, immobile, inanimate, or unawakened spirits communing together to pool power. While together they could enact their will, this was effectively by brute forcing the situation, or else by involving a Shrine-Keeper. Giving them the ability to elect a spirit to act as their agent and investituring them with their power would help solve this issue perhaps, though it would require at least some expense. 0/25, Parliaments gain the ability to empower other spirits as their officials, agents, and representatives, increasing CUL and EXP. Cost 1 Warp.

Parliamentary Halls: As seen with the Biocity, certain locations could achieve spiritual significance to certain Spirits: perhaps it would be possible to develop a series of rites that could be used to consecrate these locations such that they could serve as a place of power for whichever Parliment the space was dedicated to. 0/25, certain locations become Parlimentary Nexi, increasing FTH and CUL. Cost 1 ART.

Parliamentary Terminals: A proposed modification of Shoal-Net Terminals that could be installed on totems, these upgrades would be given to the Parliments as a way of ensuring even the lesser, unmanifested spirits of the land could act with intelligence. 0/50, gain Parlimentary Terminals, increasing CUL and ACD. Cost 1 NT.

Sacred Dragon Magatama: Yaccae was the home of the Guardian Dragon Seeryu, whose scales would occasionally shed, showering the city below in rains of precious (if occasionally injurious due to speed of fall and material properties) jade, of a particularly pure variety. Perhaps an enterprising Shrine-Keeper would learn a way to use these scales in a way that wasn't purely decorative. 0/35, gain Shrine-Keepers gain Sacred Jade Guardian Dragon Magatamas, increasing FTH and ART.

Yaccae Greater Cogitorium: The Nova Mechanicus always needed more processing power, and so did the Directorate. They were offering to construct for the Shrine-Keepers a Greater Cogitorium, so long as the resources were provided for them. 0/35, Yaccae gains Greater Cogitorium, increasing ACD and NT.

Yaccae Pantheocropolis: The city was mostly dedicated to other shrines, but by expanding the White Lantern district with additional temples, arranged around a singular shrine dedicated to all the gods of the Directorate, it would increase the influence of the Conclave and the gods considerably. 0/45, Yaccae gains Pantheocropolis, increasing FTH.

Temple Jewels: While Sacred Jade was the most universally popular Teklian jewel, there existed a great deal of interest in others by the various religious traditions. It would take only a few factors for the Directorate to learn how to utilize these more effectively… 0/35, Temples begin enshrining special jewels as holy treasures, increasing FTH.

Reliquary Vaults: The Imperial practice of treating the pieces of their dead saints and holy people as sacred talismans was, while ghoulish, likely highly effective if their literature was anything to go by. A few (typically human) priests of various religions had begun donating their bodies to their faiths, and it wouldn't take much for the Temples to begin expanding their shrines to accommodate these relics. 0/45, Temples begin enshrining some of their more pious dead in Reliquary Vaults, increasing FTH. I do not understand this, this obsession with death. Let the dead be dead, yes?

Planetary Genetorium: In the Imperium, Genetoriums (not to be confused with Generatoriums) acted as bio-administration centers, where all life on a world was cataloged, indexed, and studied, as well as where the general health of the population was monitored for public health purposes, as well as several less savory processes (largely eugenics). The Nova Bioadepts wished to establish more such facilities, though without the eugenics, across the Directorate to study the myriad lifeforms found within. 0/35, select an inhabited planet: gain an ACD and BioData generating Nova Mechanicus Genetorium.

Toy Village: The location on Wonderpark was a residential area whose inhabitants were entirely sacred toys granted permanent awakening. While currently they were largely just a curious novelty, the Toymakers wanted to upgrade and improve the area with its own Master Shrine and other mytek alterations. 0/35, Toy Village upgraded, increasing prominence of Toy Spirits in the Directorate and acting as a Toymaker Holy Site, increasing CUL. Ah, this, this is good, yes, a small city for ze tinkentoys.

Jingling Magic Toymaker Caps: A proposal would be augmenting certain caps worn by the order: modify the festive bells with glasmite resonators, install a NeuroChoir, consecrate it in the name of the Toymaker, and it might be possible to turn them into tools capable of streamlining the creation of sacred toys as well as quality. 0/35, Toymaker Priests gain Jingling Magic Caps, increasing CUL. Zis is also good. Ze jingling is ver gut.

Mystek Compartment Curseworks: So far the greatest weapon the Directorate had against the Deconstructing Spiders was the SeaWarp curse. If the Mystek Compartment was expanded with a Cursite workshop, it might be possible to strengthen not just the SeaWarp, but all curses that were used in combat. 0/30, Fleet vessels upgraded with Curseworks, improving the potency of all Curses used in theater. Cost 1 NK.

Mystek Compartment Shadowgate: Alternatively, while riskier, installing Warp-Gates that could be utilized to actually power these curses might prove more prudent: it could be used for more than just offense, for one thing. 0/30, Mystek Compartments upgraded with Shadowgate Array, improving all naval rites and rites performed aboard ships. Cost 1 Warp.


((((()))))

Spoiler: Technology and Academic Traditions

Directorate Academy: The Directorate required a vast number of skilled professionals to operate, even in this era of increasing automation. To meet this need, the Directorate Academy was established, growing steadily until its reach encompassed the globe. The Academy effectively WAS the place to get an advanced education. Thankfully, it provided online courses for free, though there were a number of lucky students who received invitations to attend directly: those were the ones who would get drafted into the Academies own personal labs. Provides 6 ACD Points.

Bond-Drone Technology: Some machine spirits are particularly lively and strong, given power through generations of veneration, extreme age, or, in rare cases, through the love and care of their owner. These awoken machine spirits are typically given new vessels to inhabit, thus birthing Bond-Drones, ensouled, somewhat intelligent automata that serve as warrior, protector, and even family. Provides 1 EXP Point.

Bond-Machina: Advanced psychoactive Bond Machine-Spirits who through ritual and sufficient processing power have evolved into more advanced, powerful forms, capable of generating energy as if from nowhere and using it to influence and empower other machinery as well as provide power to rituals. They served as guardian, guide, and friend and, when using the Commander class combat platform as a vessel, superheavy infantry. Provides 1 EXP Point and 1 FTH Point.

Mind-Machine Interface: A implantless technology that allows for wireless interface between Tekket mind and machine mind, allowing for easier control of technology and communication with machine spirits. +1 FTH Point and +1 ACD Point.

BlokTek: Hypermodular tek designed to be plug and play, BlokTek was the basis of most TekketTek. Every component could be, if you knew the schematic, used for a different machine. The same components that would be used to make a blaster could also be used to build a microwave: the battery as the power source, the optical lens to irradiate the thing, all you needed was a few bloks to make a box: it could even perform self repair, either through magnetic assembly or replication. Provides ultimate lego technology: all parts interchangeable and universal and self repairing. Provides 2 EXP Points.

Living Metal: GodTek, or something derived from it: the Destroyers had managed to occasionally lightly injure the God-Machines, leaving small samples of an advanced proto-metal around. Researching it produced a room temperature regenerative semi-conductor. Another cornerstone of your tek: it meant that components could essentially be infinitely reused. Maintenance costs reduced to zero.

ShieldBloks: A countermeasure developed to reduce the effectiveness of Destroyer Laser Weapons, ShieldTek generators could power energy barriers around fortifications, hardening positions against lasfire and even some kinetic damage. Recent advances had managed to produce ShieldBloks, which applies BlokTek principles to the technology, creating a modular barrier generator that could be freely installed in vehicles, satellites, and inside buildings. Advances in capacitor technology had improved their overall improvement across the board. Vehicles and fortifications effectiveness against LasFire increased, as well as slight improvements against kinetic projectiles.

BlokBots: BotTek had advanced to the point a variety of simple menial tasks and labours can be automated. Golem Class BlokBots come in a variety of forms with a variety of peripherals, from childcare assistant nannybots to industrial digbots to food-crate hauling cargobots, Mammoths could perform heavy labour and transport, and Gnomes could do light maintenance work and act as couriers and pets. Increase EXP by 3.

Gravity Engines: Next generation gravity manipulators that served to give your ships increased manueverability and very slightly increased speed, at very slightly lower power cost than previous models. Improved ship maneuverability.

MagTek Assemblers: Specialized MagTek pads that, when paired with a computer or tablet to act as a design station, could be used to instantly snap together bloks to assemble whole machines and devices once a suitable schematic was chosen, simplying the process to just a push of a button. Increase EXP by 1.

MagTek Binding Fields: Electromagnetic fields that help hold together Bloks, increasing whole machines ability to resist kinetic force, improving their overall structural durability, and increasing the conditions your machines could operate under. BlokTek is more damage resistant.

Q-Blok Processors: Small mass produced Quantum Computers, Q-Bloks are generally a few feet in size, containing complex tek that allows for processing power formerly reserved for rare government held supercomputers to be used for every day use both in religious practices, entertainment, Sythetic Intelligence useage, and industrial tasks. Alongside these devices one typically found A-Chips and Self-Optimizing Chipsets used for high level computational tasks. +1 CUL and +3 ACD

Cyberbrains: Graphical rendering units that come equipped with both advanced cortex stack to serve as an advanced physics engine and a quantum lobe for memory, most major planetary server complexes had at least one or two installed to help make cyberspace somewhat more tangible. +3 ACD.

Daturgy Engines: Large drum-sized technoprocessors derived from studying the Organocide Fragment, these devices act as reactcode enhancers for computers, massively increasing their effective processing power. Somewhat liable to drive synthetics insane if used carelessly. +2 ACD.

OmniWrench Manipulator: MagTek installed on specialized OmniWrenches to allow for magnetic lifting and movement of Bloks in order to allow for easier on site building of simple structures and vehicles: all an engineer has to do is wave their wrench to get things done. +1 EXP

Revelation Scanner: A new-model Ship Scanner designed using reverse engineered GodTek that gives more detailed and precise readings far quicker than older models at greater range and power. It should allow your ships to locate most anomalies quickly. Further, much of the technology had been miniaturized to make Tricorders. Gain 4 Scan Levels when scanning planets. +1 ACD and +1 EXP.

Perpetunite Engines: Ship scale torch engines that utilized the ships reactor to generate constant and large amounts of forward thrust, making your ships far speedier. Ships faster.

PowerBlok: Miniaturized nuclear reactors, PowerBloks are intended for use in vehicles and weaponry, allowing them to utilize increased amounts of power in order to allow for both larger size, more space for other components, or more powerful components that previously required larger vehicle reactors to run. They were also a component of Fusion Weaponry, typically used as artillery or on vehicles. Increased Vehicle performance. Can deploy Perpetunite Fusion Rockets and Fusion Cannons as vehicle and artillery scale weapons.

Extremely Advanced NukeTek: A series of techniques and technologies, from magnetic plasma corridors to perpetunite regenerative stimulation to even gravitic toroidal shells, that allowed Directorate nuclear weapons to hit further, harder, and longer, making them extremely frightening when deployed.

Academy Fleet Compartments: Modular and standardized Academy facilities that could be quickly added to ships, they provided a wealth of scientific expertise to captains and allowed for exiting field research opportunities: they contained both fairly advanced biolabs and, more recently, high energy physics lab that doubled as auxillary power. +1 ACD, improves Fleet technical ability and providing access to advanced scientific tools.

Grot-Tek Eco-Pods: These modest sized Eco-Pods consisted of a combat chamber, four different tanks of enzymes, two 'mojo shrines' as Stizlak called them, and a Sacred Herd on the floor above to help provide lifeforce for rituals, these chambers, when utilized alongside a specific ritual allowed for the mutated fungus produced by Stizlaks spores to produce grots. A small number of these pods had been installed across the Directorate with Stizlaks permission, though the ritual required Stizlaks participation at the moment.

Toxel Doctrine: The first rule of Toxel doctrine: never be afraid to improvise. Improved engineer ability to problem solve on the fly.

Megaflora Serum: The effects of this serum were very potent indeed: rapidly accelerated plant growth and size, providing massive improvements to crop production. A variant was used by Beastie Boyz to grow bigger Squogs and by every other Hobbgrot to help produce MegaSnots. +EXP

Next-Gen Armor: Living metal plating designed to absorb damage and be capable of self-repair between engagements, this Armor had already proven its metal at Iron Shores, being able to absorb at least some laser-fire and a direct hit from a torpedo, meaning its survivability was not in doubt. Ships are more durable.

Virus Busters: A series of advanced programs designed to delete malware and protect against viruses. In the hands of an automated program, they were useful. In the hands of a gifted hacker, they were invaluable for digital infiltration and defense. In the hands of a Bond-Machina, they were almost frightening in their ability to subvert machines and protect against infection. Improved E-War capabilities.

Q-Band Compression: A novel data transmission technology, while still in its infancy, Q-Band Compression allows for instantaneous communication across the entirety of the system with absolute zero lag using specialized Q-Bit particles that were designed to be cheap sources of synchronization. +2 CUL

Directorate Medicine: The Directorate had a variety of high quality pharmaceuticals and advanced surgery technology that, when supplemented by Mystek Healing, ensured that every citizen and guest of the Directorate received peerless health care. Of note were a series of crude anti-mutagenic medications, frontier bioboosters designed to train the immune system to be more capable of handling contact with alien biomes, and highly advanced anti-radiation medicine. +2 EXP.

Warp Space Topography: Directorate ships now had the capability to navigate warp-space via measuring out deformations in its fabric: essentially, a topographical mapper. Using it, traversing Warp-Space has proven significantly more efficient as ships are able to route out less hazardous and quicker paths thanks to the improved precision.

Graviton Compression: A field of technology enabled by the assistance of the Graviton Owl, Graviton Compression was used for deblocker machines used to treat blood and brain clots and some digestive disorders as well as in GCC Crates used to ship goods across the Directorate. +1 EXP.

Hobbfamily: Structured after two different familial figures typically found in other species, the Hobbfamily are a collection of engineered orkoid organisms or mojotronic synthetics: FathaShroomz, who psychically reinforce the Mojo and serve as a source of advice and guidance for Hobbs, while SistaBrainz made Hobbgrots more intellektual and let Tekniks mimic orkoid subconscious genetic memory using the knowledge of other Tekniks in range as a basis.

Mountain Blood: A still generally poorly understood substance, recent efforts to distil it had allowed the Directorate to harness the strange energies contained within for alchemy and artifice.

Symbiotic Arcology: A collection of organisms modified or created to act in sybiosis with Arcolocubes, these organisms ran the gamut from genegeneered algaes to assorted library fungi.

Academy Points (ACD Points): 125
Living Metal: 1
Network: 6

Morphogenic Countermeasures: The Deconstructing Spiders, though no longer as immediately lethal to non-organic matter, still possessed enough matter manipulation abilities to infest ships, survive most weaponry, and unless overwhelming energy was used would eventually reconstitute themselves anyways. More work was needed to develop better protections. 0/200, gain Crude Morphogenic Countermeasures. Cost 1 ART. Don't bother rushing this one: they're coming for you, but you have more practical tools at your immediate disposal, you just need to focus on them. Who the !@#$ are you? No one you need to concern yourself with, Squidboy.

Lesser Emulators: While the primary emulators were progress, not everyone could make the trip to the various temples. The Calculators proposal: creating lesser emulators that could be installed in local community shrines and temples. 0/40, upgrade Hallowed Shrines with Lesser Emulators, increasing FTH.

Cosmic Netscape: The Ark Simulacra was the main means by which digital and Ark interacted: perhaps the Calculators would develop a means by which the Temples could forge their own netscapes, in the hopes of creating their bridge. 0/35, Temples gain Cosmic Netscapes. Cost 1 NT.

Shield Emitters: The improved capacitors were one thing, but it might be possible to upgrade the emitters in order to increase the overall RANGE of shields while neither reducing power efficiency or durability. 0/35, gain Shield Emitters, increasing shield coverage.

Multilayered Shields: If one was willing to go power efficiency, a way to upgrade ships would be by developing the methodologies to layer shield-fields atop one another to provide them some degree of ablative resistance. 0/45, gain Multilayered Shields, increasing shield durability.

Multiphasic Shielding: Alternatively, some brilliant engineer or scientist might stumble on the means to modulate shield wavelengths, allowing them to more easily resist various forms of attack. 0/45, gain Multiphasic Shielding, increasing shield durability.

Academy Compartment Electrostatic Armor: An idea that had been used to help slow down the spread of Spiders during the battle, the Toxel had used their high energy lab to electrify the outer hull, frying and damaging spiders and slowing them down long enough for Hunteks to respond. 0/35, Academy Compartments upgraded to electrify armor to harm borders.

Academy Compartment Particle Manipulators: The Academy was interested in performing even more advanced physics research, and this brand might be able to help the Directorate in a variety of ways: by installing specialized particle manipulator labs, they could work to optimize various subsystems: gravitics, nuclear, quantum… 0/35, Academy Compartments upgraded to improve all Particle based systems and weaponry on ships.

MegaMutagen Serum: A hobbgrot specialist variety would have to be designed separately due to biological factors, but conventional MegaSerums could otherwise be upgraded universally by including various minor mutagens designed to encourage beneficial adaptations in the host organisms. 0/20, gain MegaMutagen, improving crop yields and accelerating ShrineBeast evolution.

((((()))))

Alrighty! And with that, Yaldaboathsmas has ended! We had some ups, we had some downs, we had some laughs and even cries, but now we get to go back to normal time, but hey, at least we ended it in a season appropriate manner! And hey, you might have eaten shit against the spiders, but you managed to get Tzeench suckerpunched, and for that I award thee the Captain Sisko Award for Antidivine Pugilism. Anyhoo eight hour moratorium.

Anyhoo lemme know if I made any mistakes. Gonna go eat some pizza now though, so not gonna see it for a few hours.

 

[Aliya]

Hey, good update! Pranking the Chaos gods is always worth it, and everyone elsebgetting legir presents is nice. And the rite bonus is sick too.
However, our recent defeat against spiders tells me one thing: we are severely lacking military wise. As such, it is time to present the work from your good frieds at admiralty, the plan: That Is No Moon.

CPU MOON ASSAULT

Please do not vandalize the plan, non-admiral people. [] Plan: That’s No Moon - [] Fleet: –[] TKK MothaShip —[] Three Brothers Xenoscience Monitors –[] Valiant, Accomplishment (first assignment), Delivery (first assignment), Spirit of Toxel (first assignment), Emissary (first assignment), Endeav...

docs.google.com

 

[The Laurent]

Hey, good update! Pranking the Chaos gods is always worth it, and everyone elsebgetting legir presents is nice. And the rite bonus is sick too.
However, our recent defeat against spiders tells me one thing: we are severely lacking military wise. As such, it is time to present the work from your good frieds at admiralty, the plan: That Is No Moon.

CPU MOON ASSAULT

Please do not vandalize the plan, non-admiral people. [] Plan: That’s No Moon - [] Fleet: –[] TKK MothaShip —[] Three Brothers Xenoscience Monitors –[] Valiant, Accomplishment (first assignment), Delivery (first assignment), Spirit of Toxel (first assignment), Emissary (first assignment), Endeav...

docs.google.com

Click to shrink...

If you can find the room in FTH, you could gain 10 Khimer Rep ahead of the renegotiations, as well as fulfill one of the two required Khimer actions the environmental) with the now /20 Rite of Life's Renewal.

This would also allow you to have 20 more ACD to play around with for military purposes there.

 

[Aliya]

If you can find the room in FTH, you could gain 10 Khimer Rep ahead of the renegotiations, as well as fulfill one of the two required Khimer actions the environmental) with the now /20 Rite of Life's Renewal.

This would also allow you to have 20 more ACD to play around with for military purposes there.

Click to shrink...

I have forwarded this idea to.other admirals. Will probably take off ShipMind Shrines and get ZwergBot, adsuming we go with the suggestion, unless another society wants to help me fund CyberGrimoires.

 

[death & gravitas]

I wish to vote for a plan that features this technology

Toroidal Particle Reactron: By utilizing quantum particle manipulation, the nuclear reaction at the heart of Directorate perpetunite weaponry could be catalyzed, increasing the size of reactions as well as their duration, creating stronger rockets, warheads, and fusion cannons, making them even more terrifying when deployed. 0/20, upgrades Advanced NukeTek to Particle NukeTek, increasing yield and power. Cost 2 Nuclear Material

This is a fundamental upgrade to our entire Techbase, which has been sitting there for, I do not know how long now, and it would improve absolutely everything compounding on every other advancement we've made with our power and energy technology.

Other projects I'd like to see bought forward, include Sanguin catalyst, Lifeforce enrichment cores and greater Lifeforce batteries. Again, because I believe they constitute a fundamental improvement in our Techbase. I believe that if these latter three technologies were actualised, the gains in efficiency of use, potency, and lack of waste energies from our batteries no longer leaking would perhaps allow for another drop in usage of the WARP strategic resource in several projects, or at least a drop in FTH costs.

 

[The Laurent]

I have forwarded this idea to.other admirals. Will probably take off ShipMind Shrines and get ZwergBot, adsuming we go with the suggestion, unless another society wants to help me fund CyberGrimoires.

Click to shrink...

ZwergBot is cool, though if we had the NK materials, we really should take one of the NK-Tek. Actually what can we do to get some?

 

[Woltaire]

----

 

[Aliya]

ZwergBot is cool, though if we had the NK materials, we really should take one of the NK-Tek. Actually what can we do to get some?

Click to shrink...

I'd been outvoted on the plan, unfortunately. Other admirals want desert project specifically.

 

[Citrakayah]

Hey, the god comments are back! I've been missing those; glad to see their feedback.

Dark red text is the Heart, right?

 

[Citrakayah]

ZwergBot is cool, though if we had the NK materials, we really should take one of the NK-Tek. Actually what can we do to get some?

Click to shrink...

We want it because the biosphere is already suffering due to the lack of desert organisms; the Khimer are having to expend a lot of effort to keep the ecology stable and that's a problem when they're preparing for war.

 

[Loremaster]

Sweet merciful crap!! Did we just shook the galaxy with the power of Christmas!?!?.....*sniff* I frickin love this quest*sniff*

 

[sansoo949]

Sweet merciful crap!! Did we just shook the galaxy with the power of Christmas!?!?.....*sniff* I frickin love this quest*sniff*

Click to shrink...

We also made a local version of the astronomicon, oh god the local navigator houses must be going nuts.

 

[Romv]

Hall of 1,000,000 Candles: With the creation of blessed candles, it would take but a single ambitious Lanternkeeper to suggest creating a vast shrine lined with over a million of these holy items: of course, it would be another thing entirely if their ambitions were realized. 0/100, gain Hall of 1,000,000 Candles. THIS IS ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY AND EXTREME.

Click to shrink...

Au contraire, dear disembodied voice, this sounds like an amazing and most of all appropriate pursuit.

 

[aceraptor]

So, @The Bird has given permission to share this: We got really lucky with the Severity roll of the Polar Tower of the Hermit Hazardtek. If the severity had been high a daemon of Tzeentch would have eaten the nascent Hermit.

Spoiler

 

[KingCrimson1081]

So did the Emperor get a present for Christmas the giy could use a magic nose scratcher if you know what I mean.

Besides that I do wonder if the Star Maiden has any connection to the Star Child, or if the human priests will just say they do.

 

[StarSingerBlue]

Besides that I do wonder if the Star Maiden has any connection to the Star Child, or if the human priests will just say they do.

Click to shrink...

I don't think so.
She's a figure of the Tekket past and the stories of the Imperium don't have a lot of women in them.

 

[DragonParadox]

I don't think so.
She's a figure of the Tekket past and the stories of the Imperium don't have a lot of women in them.

Click to shrink...

To play devil's advocate the Emperor is strong enough in Biomancy that changing his gender would be trivial and if he had done it you can bet the Imperial Cult would not spread the tale, if they ever learned of it.

But yeah, probably no link.

 

[Phylonemios]

I hope the Emperor got a gift hah ! Would make him grin on his throne that even Him can't escape Christmas !

 

[Lord4StarCommand]

The only plan I'm gonna vote is one with Winterspitec Outpost Guard because we need them to guard our Outposts from Toothgrimm and others and you know, hire them for ACTUAL jobs and to get Winterspite Privateering which we have to up our reps because we have a lot of enemies and we can't be everywhere.


Illusion Matrix we definitely need to have if we don't want our enemies caught our spies.


After doing CPU Moon we should go for the Devourerforms see if we can stop them and Khimer to wage war at each other.


While doing CPU Moon we should send at least a valinat to the H'k in case Toothgrimm or Gruggo return.

Yr Albian we should do their bioship cruiser and sell Bloks to them to get the heat off them in their secret war against Imperium

If pur battle with Spidercide proven anything, we should strenghten our military for the next few turns particularly curse weapons because they have proven many times effective against overwhelming armies(Cursite Cannon, SeaWarp Mutation, Mystek Compartment Curseworks, Black Pyramid...) because our military bluntly is shitty, and more Vailiants and Endeavors.

At least we severy weakned the Spiders and with their curse and likely Mechanicus sending a hunting party after them they will take some time before they replinish their forces.

Oh we we have a House of Devils club and dinosaurs now! Nice!

Did we...just created Kaijus? Because if so I hope we deploy them in war

Here is a canon example of how rad is to have kaijus as counteracts to Titans

https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/n2zs5d/excerptbattle_of_the_archaeosaurs_the_exodites/

Before everyone moaning that Tzeentch is after us, need I remind you we create gods, made Warp Mafia and created an Eldar god? Frankly I'm surprised Chaos hasn't turned their attention on us sooner. Though we should get Lanterkeeper and the Fool to counteract shitsquid along with more AntiChaos stuffs like VaccineWar and his doc Green's garden as we need to get Green Doc before we lose him because we were too slow to act and that Star Child Testement thing that able priests to subvert Imperial sigil to our cause.


Holy shit we created our own Mini-Astronomicons!


By this point, our worlds are turning into Death Worlds comparable to Catachan and Fenris, anyone who dares attack them would have a very bad time.


I think we should at least do one Nova Mechanica project like Alchemical Archeotect Awakening which gives reps for all Mechanicus factions


Dunkrad would give 5 reps for all our allies if you want to higher our reps to all our allies.

Volcanus 9 Nova Mechanicus and Volcanus 9 Trading Company we should definitely take, with the destruction of the forgeworld we have the perfect excuse to put Mechanica agents to get more intel on Mechanicus and exploite Imperium's abysmal bureaucracy furthering our goal in sabotaging Imperium's activities and gaining more intel.

Ooooh siiiick we created Space Santa man!


Oh BWAHAHAHA! WE EVEN GIFT THE MOTHERFUCKING ABBY!😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣 I bet the Biel-Tan Farseers are running around like headless chickens🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂 oh shit this is pure gold!
I bet Orikan is probably throwing a pissy fit how all this happened, I wonder what gifts Trazyn got.

Oh I wished to see Lorgar's face what that happened!

I wonder how the Tau are doing receiving strange gifts

 

[wrecksalot]

I hope the Emperor got a gift hah ! Would make him grin on his throne that even Him can't escape Christmas !

Click to shrink...

I think he would burst a blood vessel if he were still capable of that. He outlawed superstition extemely hard.

I am imagining any gift from Santa would be like getting a calling card from a guy you thought you killed.

 

[nintendoplayer96]

Think we need to do military and defense upgrades for a few turns… got bitchslapped by the spiders.

I KNEW these things were dangerous and it sucks we lost two ships… really gonna cut our planning for CPUMoon.

 

[SteelWriter77]

Think we need to do military and defense upgrades for a few turns… got bitchslapped by the spiders.

I KNEW these things were dangerous and it sucks we lost two ships… really gonna cut our planning for CPUMoon.

Click to shrink...

The Curse of Darktide put in the work with that whole event, but yes we need to up our actual military tech very quickly, i do not have faith in our ground troops against those spiders if our ships were torn into like that.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Remember we need to get this project done this turn or we lose it.

Iron Shores Bioengine: Koptu had his own rather urgent request: he believed that he has the means to create not only a universal genekey, but one capable of mimicking the highest possible level security codes. This would massively simplify the AutoVessels to bypass large swathes of security. He just needed Directorate assistance to build the means to craft it: the BioEngine. 0/20, AutoVessels gain BioEngine. This turn only.

 

[szymonmolitoris2]

We have to hit the cpu moon that plan has my vote