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Ellevar

1.

Relics of the Gods

Lore

And how, then, did these items come to be handed down to we inheritors of the Eldan legacy? Many ways, but all of them driven by a divine and unique purpose. No base understanding can arise from these relics without the vigilance of the true faith of our ancestors.

– Only the Vigilant can learn from the gods directly, and only the gods may state the true purpose
of any relic. Anything else, no matter how scientifically justified, is mere guesswork.

– Only the Vigilant should come in contact with relics that once touched Eldan hands. This weakness in our souls, the need to touch that which the gods did touch, must be overcome before Vigilance becomes innate.
– Would the gods not expect their holy church to oversee their
legacy? Who better? And who better than I to lead this effort? I, Bro–

[Digital signature of authorship cannot be retrieved. Please click [HERE] to reload random anti-AI code to continue. If you do not see a random anti-AI code, or the above link does not work, please remain where you are, rogue AI. Anti-AI Agents are en route. You are under arrest for rogue behavior.]

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Ellevar

1.

Lost Science of the Eldan

Lore

Can the Vigilant Church explain the true mysteries of Eldan technology? Can platitudes and parables reveal the secrets of long-range matter transmission, planet-wide A.I. constructs, or the workings of genetically optimized omni-plasm? Of course not! This does not mean the Vigilant themselves have no place in our work, merely that theirs should not be the
only voice guiding this research. Without science, faith is founded on ghosts and memories, nothing more.

Most egregiously, I cannot stand idly by while functioning Eldan artifacts we barely understand – technology which could provide unlimited power, talismans surging with infinite sources of primal energy, and records which could contain the secrets of
creation itself – are seized by clerics so devoted to the gods that they dare not regard their divine gifts too closely lest their simple faith face any kind of complex test.

Who am I to question the sacred order of things? Someone practical enough not to want to die for my statements. Someone to value the shadows as I work to free the true scientific knowledge of the gods from the church that would claim to speak for them.

Dr. Anonymous

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Ellevar

1.

The Curious Canimid

Lore

[ILLUSTRATION: A cartoon representation of a smiling canimid.]
This is Cappy. He is a canimid. He comes from the planet Nexus. He is curious about the world around him. He is going to dig his way around the world!

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy burrows up from the ground with a smile on his face.]
Cappy sure likes to dig. Hello, Cappy! Your enormous claws sure do make good digging tools!

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy stalks a jabbit.]
Cappy lives under the ground. He does not have
many friends. Will this jabbit be Cappy’s friend?

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy smiles and looks sleepy, patting his belly.]
Nope.

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy stalks a snoglug.]
Uh-oh, Cappy. That might not be a good idea. I don’t think that snoglug wants to be your friend.

[ILLUSTRATION: The snoglug spits poison in Cappy’s face.]
Ouch! That sure must sting. Maybe Cappy’s curiosity won’t get the best of him.

[ILLUSTRATION: His eyes swollen shut and his face covered in a nasty rash,
Cappy tears apart the snoglug in a shower of guts and shell fragments in a variety of cartoonish colors that are perfect for children.]
I guess Cappy was curious what was in that snoglug after all. Guess it wasn’t an antidote for snoglug poison.

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy stalks a Dominion warbreaker tank.]
Now that’s a curious machine of war and destruction. I wonder what Cappy makes of it? Better think this one through, Cappy!

[ILLUSTRATION: Cappy’s upper half is vaporized
by a wide-beam disintegrator ray and the tank rolls on.]
And the moral of the story is, don’t be curious. Or you might end up like Cappy, kids!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cerico Tylus is an educator, inventor, and a self-trained canimid biologist who at the time of this writing has shot, stuffed, and mounted over seventy-three canimid since arriving on Nexus. He recommends those troubled by the events of this children’s educational tale contact their Dominion governors or other appropriate officials
and tell them that in the midst of a war that will decide the very fate of the galaxy, they should focus on a children’s book. His precise words are, “See how that goes over, why don’t you?”

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Illustrator Optex of the Imperial Corps of Intelligence has studied the native fauna and flora of Nexus in order to form a complete catalog of the emperor’s domain. His favorite native fauna is the Nexus canimid, and he keeps a trained canimid as a pet at his home in Tempest Refuge.

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Ellevar

1.

To Seek the Gods

Lore

My own brother told me that what I suggested was the rankest heresy. Yet how can the search for truth ever be heretical? How can employing the mind and thought bestowed upon us by the gods ever be anything but pure and just?

Just look at this wondrous place. Take it in, and walk the steps the gods themselves laid before us. My brother, I fear, is blinded by the words of mere men. I seek the works of those who ascended to another
plane of existence. I shall find the truth of their disappearance, or I will die. Perhaps both. And maybe, one day, Toric will understand why.

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Ellevar

1.

Cocktail List

Lore

Please note that all orders must be accompanied by express written permission of Lord Horacos himself, or they will not be fulfilled.

ZIN and TONIC……………150p
A refreshing beverage for the discerningly adventurous aristocrat in you.

OLD KOROL……………225p
Served neat. Do not ask for ice. You will be invited to leave.

AXIS FADE-OUT……………185p
A mind-numbing, memory-destroying brew concocted by the
spymistress of the ICI herself! Not technically legal on Cassus. Good thing we’re not on Cassus!

RADIANT LEMONADE……………85p
Discretely priced for the legionary budget, this juice box packs a kick like a rented ravenok.

COZMO & TRONIC……………200p
Recommended for our Chua patrons only, as other species are not immune to the native Bezgelorian poisons that go into the fermentation process of all Chua liquors. Virgin
versions available for non-Chua!

ARBORIAN MUDSLIDE……………335p
Unleash the Flavor Reapers with this dessert-style cocktail designed by the emperor’s own personal chef to thank Mondo Zax for subjugating the Aurin homeworld. Patriotic, Cozmotronic, and Highly Explosive!

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Ellevar

1.

Bugs! Bugs Everywhere!

Lore

BUGS! There are BUGS LITERALLY EVERWHERE!

They’re huge, they are. Big as a dagun and ten times as mean, bloody armored all over like miniature tanks. And they’re in me kitchen, me cupboards, and me drawers! I don’t like ’em, no sir I do NOT, and I WILL be complaining to the appropriate authorities, don’t you think I won’t.

[An unintelligible second speaker’s voice interjects.]

Well of COURSE the authorities are gonna do somethin’ about it then aren’t they? Giant bugs
with armor and little tech-y bits crawling all over everything and everybody, why wouldn’t they? The Dominion protects all her citizens, Marjorie, and don’t you forget it! I’d hate to have to report me own wife for disloyalty.

[Another interjection, louder and angrier but no more intelligible, is interjected by speaker number two.]

IT WERE A JOKE THEN, weren’t it? Crikey! Now let me record this warnin’, because the gods help them what help themselves. I know what I said! But no need to get
eaten by giant bugs awaitin’ the rescue due to all loyal Dominion citizens!

[Marjorie interjects incomprehensibly.]

Of course they’re all bugs! This planet is a strange and wondrous place, don’tcha know, and that means really big bugs. Fish-men? I didn’t see any fish-men. Those weren’t sentrybots o’ some kind? Well, strike me down. More’n meets the eye, here. All right, then. New warning! Listen up, whoever you are. BUGS ARE EVERYWHERE! And they’re really dangerous, really.
Marjorie and me – all right, just me, Marjorie says she doesn’t give an eeklu wink about what happens to you lot, which doesn’t strike me as all that friendly, but Marjorie, well, she’s opinionated. Where was I? Right! BUGS EVERYWHERE! But also, FISH-MEN! And they do appear to be in league, so they are.

[Marjorie interjects again, quite loudly, although the datachron cannot discern her individual words.]

I’ll finish when I’m good and ready! We’ve got to leave a warning for the – oh.
Well, that’s that then. Hullo, fish-men. Say, you wouldn’t be friendly by any chance, would you?

[The crackle of energy weapons is followed by a pair of heavy thumps and the clacking of insectoid feet before the recording shuts off.]

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Ellevar

1.

Ikthian Analysis: Eldan Augmentation

Lore

[Your datachron is barely able to translate this complex Ikthian analysis of Eldan nanotech.]

QUERY: Ancients TECHNOLOGICAL enhancement BIOLOGICAL parameters?

RESPONSE: Parameters EXCEEDING expected results. All BIOLOGICAL subjects VIABLE RECIPIENTS enhancement PROCEDURE. Variables ENCODED accounted CALCULATED.

QUERY: TECHNOLOGICAL enhancement IKTHIAN biology
COMPATIBILITY negative. Expected result?

RESPONSE: TECHNOLOGICAL enhancement MUTATION RATE accelerating. ORGANIC TISSUE targeted. Analyzed. IKTHIAN IMMUNITY not guaranteed.

QUERY: Research possible TECHNOLOGICAL BIOLOGICAL enhancement tests:
– COMBAT
– MOBILITY
– DURABILITY
– VIABILITY

BIOLOGICAL parameters CONTROLLABLE?

RESPONSE: CONTROLLABILITY expected.
RESEARCH engaged. FOCUSED questioning. EXPERIMENTATION proceeds. QUERY: BIOLOGICAL interference INEVITABLE. Action RECOMMENDATION?

RESPONSE: Infect BIOLOGICAL forms. MONITOR. DEFEND. CONTROL. REQUIRED: Fail-safes. COMBUSTION WEAPONS. PYROPLASM REQUIRED.
Do not risk IKTHIAN LIFE. Proceed.

[Datachron translation matrix unable to continue. Please try again later.]