Lore

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Well done, Exile. Based on your general capacity for getting things done, the most powerful Exiles on the planet have called you up to the big leagues.

Secret Ops is the code name* for the Exiles’ collective efforts to discover the fate of the Eldan, and learn how new discoveries on the homeworld of the ancients – Nexus – will affect our society as a whole. You will work side-by-side with Exile heroes. The secrets you uncover will be gathered, studied, and analyzed by Exile Academy of Science (XAS).

Failure is not an option. Fate is handing us one last draw, and we need to make this hand count.
The very fate of all Exiles hangs in the balance. Dominion citizens believe the Eldan ascended to godhood, of course, but we’re more pragmatic. Perhaps the ancients up and got bored, departing without a trace. Maybe they had other places to be.

Or is there a threat out there powerful enough to kill the most advanced species ever seen?

Unless we can answer these questions, and soon, we might have big trouble. Until we know why the Eldan did what they did, we will never know of the dangers – or advantages – their knowledge could bring us.

This world is going to be our new home. Let’s make sure no one manages to tear it apart before we take over the lease.
And if we find a weapon or ally strong enough to drive the Dominion back into space, you will be a hero.

Here’s hoping it’s a big-ass raygun.

-Professor Wellspring

*The Secret Ops Team is aware that announcing its existence makes it considerably less than “Secret,” and does not need to be reminded again. It’s the name approved by the committee.

Lore

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Citizen-

Congratulations. Based on your bold and selfless service to the empire, the Dominion has invited you to join the inner circle.

The Enigma Chamber is the code name* for the Dominion’s collective efforts to discover the fate of the Eldan,
and learn how new discoveries on the homeworld of the gods – Nexus – will affect our society as a whole. You will work side-by-side with some of the most powerful and honored citizens of the Dominion. The secrets you uncover will be gathered, studied, and analyzed by the brightest minds of the empire, the scientists of the Royal Collegium.

And in the end, you will succeed. You must. The very fate of the Dominion hangs in the balance. The Eldan chose us to build the greatest empire the galaxy had ever known. Our church tells us they ascended to godhood, but, if so, why then? Did we fail them? Did they decide we needed to guide our own destinies?

Or, blasphemously, is there a threat out there powerful enough to eliminate a race of gods?

Unless we can answer these questions, and soon, we face grave danger. The Exiles will falter and fall, in time. The planet will be settled, knowledge will be found, hearts will be changed, and minds will be opened. But until we know why our gods did what they did,
we will never know of the dangers – or advantages – Eldan knowledge could bring to the war effort.

-Dr. Takigurian

*Please note it is also an actual chamber, one used for planning, data collection, and sometimes as sleeping quarters.

Lore

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KEY FINDINGS:

-The Eldan tower called the Stratospire has remained active for centuries, drastically altering the landscape of the Northern Wilds. Considering the complete lack of highly intelligent creatures in the area, it stands to reason it has been in operation – albeit in a malfunctioning state – since the Eldan disappeared.

-The means by which raw primal energy maintains the Stratospire’s systems is beyond known galactic technology, yet the crystals required to power and repair the Eldan machine are readily available nearby. The Eldan were known for manipulating the primal forces of the universe, and now we see how capable they had become.

-Powerful elemental creatures of primal matter appear to gather near strong sources of primal energy on Nexus. They are enormous creatures and extremely aggressive,
despite the abundance of nearby “food” for them to consume, and possess only enough intelligence to fight. The local wildlife, though themselves imbued with the effects of primal exposure, appear to give them a wide berth.

CONCLUSIONS:

The disappearance of the Eldan is the great mystery of our age, and the answer will determine who rules Nexus. Perhaps here on Nexus a great weapon lies waiting to be discovered and turned against the Dominion, or secrets that bend the laws of time,
space, and energy to help the war effort.

The Stratospire, unfortunately, is not that weapon. Nor does the XAS believe it was what caused the Eldan to vanish. However, the events following the shuttle crash in the Northern Wilds prove that the Eldan routinely manipulated raw primal power on Nexus – even for what must, to them, have been a relatively simple machine.
This leads the XAS to conclude simple exposure to primal power would not have been enough to cause them to vanish.

Furthermore, although they are strong and dangerous to ordinary sentients, all that we know about the Eldan suggest they would not have considered the gronyx of the Northern Wilds a threat.

In the future, it would be foolish not to monitor the Stratospire facility for the safety of Exile settlers, but it is no smoking mag pistol. Our search must continue.
Algoroc or Celestion must hold more answers for us.

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ADDITIONAL

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-The team recommends that NMEs (non-Mordesh Exiles) wear hyperthermal underspacewear when exposed to the elements in the Northern Wilds. These items – and this is important – should be worn UNDER your clothing.

Lore

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KEY FINDINGS:

-Everstar Grove provides definitive proof of the Eldan’s skill at manipulating the primal foundations of life. Aurin matrias believe the sentient tree designated Elderoot to be but one of many such creations.

-Elderoot also showed considerable technological modification, which may account for the ancient tree’s ability to communicate with great versatility.

-Considerable
evidence indicated Elderoot’s nanobiotic implants may not have been complete at the time of the Eldan’s disappearance.

CONCLUSIONS:

The very foundations of life were playthings to the Eldan, and living technology the stuff of toys. They manipulated technology and primal forces as easily as a Granok brews a Gnoxian bitter. To find such clear evidence of the Eldan’s skills still functioning, even thriving, confirms the Eldan were all they were rumored to be. They understood the fundamental components
of the universe and could manipulate them in ways galactic culture was only beginning to understand. However, it is also clear the Eldan did not intend to suddenly depart the Everstar Grove, let alone the planet Nexus. Elderoot was either left incomplete on purpose, or was simply an experiment never meant to live as long as he has.

The evidence for Elderoot being an incomplete experiment is largely circumstantial, but the strongest is the rampant infestation of parasitic creatures allowed to infest the
weakened tree before we discovered him. If the Eldan’s nanobiotic additions were meant to strengthen or protect Elderoot from such problems, they failed to do so.

There is another possibility: the Eldan’s technological additions were meant to weaken Elderoot’s natural defenses. This would seem a cruel experiment to perform on a being they themselves had granted sentience, but nothing we have found in Everstar Grove points to the Eldan as a kind or beneficent species.

As to the question of the
Eldan’s sudden disappearance so long ago, Everstar Grove offers sparse answers and even more questions. The Eldan were prodigious manipulators of life, but exactly how was Elderoot created – and why? Furthermore, did the old tree truly know the Eldan’s secrets? Can such a vast repository of living historical knowledge ever be replaced? Dr. Lazarin believes it may be possible, but many years will be required before we know for certain.

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ADDITIONAL

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-Dr. Lazarin and his team shall take the utmost care with and show the utmost respect for the remains, if any, of the late primal cybernetic organism known as Elderoot. They shall especially endeavor to keep anything particularly gruesome or horrifying to Aurin civilians out of view of the public until they have completed their work. Otherwise, Dr. Lazarin will need to fill out many more injury liability reports, and we are certain he doesn’t want to do that AGAIN.