The Upright Man
Section Zero - Classified
Name: Gulamendis
Region: Unknown
System: Aegis System
Suns: 1, Oren, G2V
Orbital Position: Habitable Zone
Moons: (1) Moon
System Features: The planets in the system have been mined of anything useable and are now barren wastes honeycombed with mining tunnels and bones, this is due to the government of Gulamendis harvesting the planets until there was little in way of resources left. Vast swathes of this system is currently affected by severe asteroid belts that had once threatened Gulamendis but technology has allowed the government to quite literally blow apart any asteroid that threatens the population. Another note worthy significance is the appearance of a black hole on the fringes of the system.
Coordinates: [Link]
Rotational Period: 89 Standard Hours
Orbital Period: 425 Local Days
Class: Terrestrial
Diameter: 4,992 km
Atmosphere: Type I
Climate: Controlled
Gravity: Standard
Primary Terrain: Ecumenopolis
Native Species: N/A
Immigrated Species: (99%) Sephi (1%) Various
Primary Languages: Gula (Custom Language)
Government: Monarchy
Population: 2.3 Billion
Demonym: Gulandi
Major Imports: Technology
Major Exports: Weapons, bioengineered creatures
Affiliation: The Primeval
Major Locations:
[Source: Warhammer 40k]
Hundreds of stories below the first inhabited floors of the great spires, ziggurats, and minarets, on the floor of the planet, hundreds of millions of Sephi and other species lived and died,sometimes without ever catching a glimpse of the fabled sky. Here the light that filtered through the omnipresent gray inversion layer was wan and pallid. The rain that reached the surface was nearly always acidic, enough so at times to etch tiny channels and grooves into ferrocarbon foundations. At the very bottom of the chasms, in the variegated pulsing of phosphor lights and signs, stone mites, conduit worms, and other scavengers flourished on technological detritus. Duracrete slugs blindly masticated their way through rubble. Hawk-bats built nest near power converters to keep their eggs warm. Armored rats and spider-roaches scuttled and hunted through piles of trash two stories high.
Culture:
The Sephi follow a crude and sadistic way of life. They were cut off from other governments, becoming an isolationist culture. They came into contact with the death-worshipping Charon and adopted much of their beliefs, and likewise too did they hear of the Ssi-ruu, mixing a blend of their two cultures and their own. The Sephi worship the black hole at the edge of the star system, performing daily sacrifices in its name. They hold pain, suffering and death as the highest form of worship to this black hole, the ultimate power of death. In recent years they encountered a rogue fleet of strange worshippers, and given promise that the Sephi can speed the galactic population towards their ultimate and inevitable death. They now worship these strange and foreign Gods, with their High King deemed to be one of the Gods own Harbringers, a sentient embodiment of their black hole.
Sargon: “The Oldest One”, “The Accidental Creator”, “The Tongueless Speaker”
Sargon is depicted as dark force surrounded by dying stars. It is unseen yet is, not bound by gender or purpose, it only exists because it simply does. The most powerful being in the universe and it is believed to be the remnant of nothing. Always having been. It is the Accidental Creator, unaware of its own existence it spat out the universe and so came to be life.
Nogras: “The Loud One”, “The Inhospitable Caretaker”, “The Starmaker”
Nogras is the first creation of Sargon. A bright star with no face, Nogras was nothing more than lifeless until the boon of Sargon granted life. Bursting into fire she was born and from the ashes she became the first to speak. Her voice is said to be so loud that it ruptures the heavens and from these crevices the powers of Sargon leak and create stars. She is the only one who can get close to Sargon without being destroyed and thus is his caretaker.
Balagoth: “The Dead One”, “The Unmaker”, “The Forgotten Truth”
Balagoth was the second creation of Sargon. Given no form he was born of darkness. Unseen, unknown, and unwilling to serve. Balagoth is said to be the darkness in all things, the depth that cannot be reached. Death is simply his aftermath. All things unmade are him, all things forgotten is his truth.
Halrormalenth: “The Speaking One”, “The Name Giver, “The Broken Creator”
Halrormalenth is the third and final creation of Sargon. Sargon who only blabbered went silent, its tongue removed became he. Halrormalenth. The Speaker who gives voice to the faithful, the one who names them. Creator of the flawed creations.
Technology:
The Gulandi are up to par with much of the galaxy in terms of technology, for while they're an isolationist community, they are not the type to shy from pirating or importing technologies. While space travel is relatively modern, they show a complete lack of droids, preferring slaves. Medicine is entirely out of the question, but for the elite. They share a true self respect for survival of the fittest, and believe medicine is interfering with the natural cycle of life. The elite utilise medicine as a means of survival to continue to lead their people towards their righteous path. Aside these, the Gulandi use plasma and disruptor rifles as a priority, due to the lower rate of survival when being shot, particularly with the plasma rifles, as disruptors are given that they will kill any organic it is shot again.
History:
In the beginning stages of the Gulag Plague, a nobility family and their people moved from the capital of the Sephi species, and travelled as far as their ships could, and beyond, into the Unknown Regions. The uncharted space in the galaxy. There they found a system, and they were quick to suck the inhabitable planets bone dry for resources, turning Gulamendis into a quickly rising ecumenopolis. It was not long until the relatively small planet was covered and little room to spare. The ruling Sephi, the Sar-Sargoth family, were quickly instated as the indomitable rulers. The Gulag Plague had followed them, and death seemed to strike at every turn. Over the centuries, the Four Hundred Year Darkness, the Sephi came to an understanding of death as the primary point in the cycle of life, for all must die. They believed in their thwarted minds that the black hole was the ultimate embodiment of death, for nothing could survive entering such a thing, not even light could escape its darkness.
The Sephi of Gulamendis became twisted and insane, their culture thriving on cruelty. Those who wished to become nobility were dared to try, and the High King decreed the Rite of Suffering, and any who pass may achieve greatness, yet there were ever few that actually survived this rite of passage. Self mutilation was among some of the most extreme obstacles in this challenge. The nobility claimed to have passed these rites, but in the upper echelons it was well known that they steered clear of such a suicidal task. The only living and known member of their society, who was born noble, and participated in the Rite of Suffering is the current High King Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth. Details of what he went through were gruesome enough that people never spoke of the events. Recently a strange fleet has come from the darkest depths of the Unknown Regions, and bringing with it their religions. They were promised the Gulandi would rise and bring death to the galaxy, and they gladly fell to a knee in obedience to their new prophets, with their High King believed to be one of four Harbringers of the Gods. There are few that know of the location of Gulamendis, and even the most daring of smugglers know to make a wide berth of the Aegis System.
Notable PCs: Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth, Anja Aj'Roud, Tesar Osted, Sirak Kolar
Intent: To provide The Primeval a capital for their minor faction, and for which the epicentre of death and terror in the galaxy can be located.
