A Settings Primer
Welcome to the Rosepetal
Worldbuilding and stories in this setting are focused around the near past and present day of the fictional galaxy of Rosepetal. While at least a part of humanity immigrated to the galaxy circa 3 million years ago, all that remain of them are a few archaeologic relics and perhaps a sliver of essence in the species descendent from them.
A hominin species with strong felinin resemblance that's a common sight in most galactic states. They are attributed as the first species to form a unitary civilization and achieve interstellar space travel.
A hominin species descended from humans, and compared to related subspecies have physically changed very little from their ancestry. Like the akreian, they're a common sight in most galactic states.
A myriopodan species where only the larvae are fully sapient. Though still a fairly unusual sight outside their homeworlds, they're overall viewed in a positive light as pragmatic and tolerant.
A hominin species descended from humans, infamous for their strong supremacist views. Individuals found outside the Ascendancy are very commonly exiles or descendants of such.
They trace their origin from early Eörpan explorers and settlers, and are often associated with a nomadic lifestyle.
Identifying traits have grown vaguer over time after spreading across multiple worlds, becoming multispeciest and -cultural, and with just as many groups being nomads as permanent settlers.
A transhumanist extremist group that were exiled from Thöll and instead formed their own society on the planet Llucav.
They welcome anyone who share their beliefs about the inherent weakness of flesh and shortcomings of natural evolution, and want to join their effort to overcome the mortal condition.
A superpower that's seen a decline in power and influence as younger nations caught up with their technological advancements.
Despite facing continual criticism from outsiders, the majority of its lusoyan population consider their society near utopian.
The former Atramenan Empire and surrounding worlds united as the Hextlan Accord after the Ascendancy were pressured to relinquish control over them.
Much time and effort is still dedicated to helping each other rebuilding their respective societies, and recovering their cultural history and identity.
A small but influential theocracy with the Paradigm as it's state religion. They maintain good relations with the United Worlds and Rin Sovereignty, but otherwise don't concern themselves much with the rest of the galaxy and prefer keeping a neutral stance.
The Lukariat are known to have some of the strictest laws concerning the possession and use of different technologies, such as banning cybertech, and severely limiting access to synthids and the meshverse.
When the skethal infestation arrived in their home region, the Ktlac Ktlac had no choice but to flee. The United Worlds offered them means to bioengineer a new suitable home, but despite this act of compassion they chose to remain independent and self-reliant.
Some argue it could be a case of culture shock, believing they had been the sole civilization in the galaxy up until that point, and that they might eventually warm up to their new neighbors.
A smaller stratocratic state ruled by its two top military leaders. Due to some opinional differences among the leadership, they chose to leave the United Worlds after having been one of its longest standing members.
They still maintain good relations with both the United Worlds and the Lukariat, but chose to ignore their request to attempt a diplomatic resolution first and are mobilising against the Wheel.
Another alliance of convenience that grew from primarily therännan and laocoatli populations. While the bulk of the Ascendancy's military were distracted elsewhere, underground movements and organized revolts led to a successive freeing of their occupied worlds.
It's not been an alliance without friction, but so far focusing on their mutual goal and enemy has managed to prevent major internal conflicts.
Currently only rivaled by the Ascendancy in size and population, the United Worlds is a democratic union of numerous states and nations. It was originally formed as an effort to bring its members closer together while protecting sapient rights and promoting equality.
The United Worlds have at times used their combined power and influence to fight for sapient rights outside their own borders too, and are known to provide aid to external groups and societies in need.
Named after the party that seized control of the Thöll Collective and shortly after went on military conquest. Most neighboring states were caught too off guard to mobilize a response in time, and most chose to surrender when threatened with war. They were reduced to oppressed vassals and had their wealth siphoned into the military effort.
Their march was halted when the Lukariat and Rin Sovereignty shut down all the riftgates leading into their territories. Many believe this won't fully deter the growing superpower from continuing their expansion.
As the setting is still under heavy construction, a lot of the planned content mentioned below have yet to receive their dedicated articles. This primer will have their current sample entries replaced in the future.
The Sapients
The Rosepetal is home to a surprising number of sapient species, some originating from planets within the galaxy while others trace their ancestry from extragalactic or even extradimensional origins. Below you'll find a sample description for a few of the highest population ones. All sapient species will eventually be accessible through the Sapient Species A-Ö index.Akreian
Eörpan
Ktlac Ktlac
Lusoyan
The People
The number of ethnicities are staggering, and aren't always confined within just one species, planet, or state. Some can be very widespread and diverse, while others are localized and exclusive. Below you'll find example descriptions of a few, but a comprehensive list of all of them will be collected in the Ethnicities A-Ö index.Cufosni
Llucevian
The Civilizations
Significant regions of Rosepetal's space is controlled by galactic states - either superpowers or formal alliances of independent nations. Worlds with one or more nations that have refused to ally or are simply too remote to be approached are often referred to as free or independent. Below you'll find short descriptions of the prominent galactic states, and you can also find them and the rest of the galactic states in the Galactic States category. All states and nations will also eventually be listed in the States & Nations A-Ö index.The Ascendancy
The Hextlan Accord
The Lukariat
The Qcwu Ssractxa
The Rin Sovereignty
The Twin Sun Alliance
The United Worlds
The Wheel
Tone
Despite the unrest and conflicts currently brewing in parts of the galaxy, and the looming threat of the skethal infestation, its average citizen enjoys a comfortable existence and remain hopeful of the future. In the last few centuries truly dark and desperate times have proven transitory as those who want to improve the livelihood for everyone vastly outnumber those who don't. It's been demonstrated on numerous occasions that the driving efforts of groups, sometimes even just a single individual, can lead to changes with lasting effect.Voice
The worldbuilding of this setting will be presented in the form of informational texts written, compiled, and curated by in-universe characters or organizations. This means that articles can deliberately vary in degree of formality, depth of detail, and even factualness or objectivity in order to reflect the source's knowledge and any intentional or unintentional bias they may incorporate. Whose voice and point of view an article is written from will be visually indicated with a unique color palette and in many cases also an identifying subtitle. So far, I have presented two different in-universe sources for articles and more may come to be added later.Primary
The primary voice of this site is the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís. Most of the setting's worldbuilding is presented as a part of an initiative to provide citizens of the United Worlds with an easy to access public information's database. All articles that in-universe are provided from their point of view will clearly have the subtitle 'Property of the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís'.Secondary
The secondary voice is the Jarmen Bureau of National Security Concerns. It's only been used in a few articles written during Summer Camp 2023 that are all portrayed as confidential reports for an ongoing criminal investigation on the planet of Beckinsal. All articles that in-universe are provided from their point of view will clearly have the subtitle 'Property of the Jarmen BNSC Archives, Beckinsal'.The Dreamer
Still under development, and a bit of a secret for now.Meta
Articles that are written in the author's voice, such as this one, and narratives (stories, flash fic etc), will have a Meta Content label under the title. There are no plans currently to mix voices in a single article unless necessary, excluding the author's comment field. If this changes in the future such content will likely be hidden by default and accessible through subscription. Please observe that any mature content only visible by subscribing to the mature content user group isn't necessarily meta knowledge.
Current State of the Galaxy
Below is a sample of current events that are likely to become used as basic beats for future fiction writing.
A Dimming Sun
The advanced technologies that were crucial for the Ascendancy's early expansion and gave them the advantage needed to enforce their will as law over 'lesser cultures', is no longer under their exclusive control. The younger galactic states didn't hesitate to take advantage of this evened playing field to pressure them into giving back control of occupied territories to the cultures they rightfully belonged to. Between refusing and risking war at their doorstep, or wounding their collective pride by acceding, the Ascendancy ultimately chose the latter. Yet, for some, this was far from enough to atone for past atrocities. There are powers at play, both external and internal, that are set on going one step further and want to elicit more profound changes in what they perceive as a stagnant society deeply mired in antiquated values.A Turning Wheel
Though the wealthy Thöll Collective was already rife with political unrest, it came as a shock to everyone when its people willingly gave up on democracy and put their faith in the Wheel during the last election. The Wheel soon after seized absolute rulership, and immediately sank a large portion of the state treasury into its military. Through a deliberate information control and manipulation they invaded several unsuspecting systems and made them quickly surrender purely through the use of intimidation tactics. It wasn't until they were closing in on the borders of the Rin Sovereignty and Lukariat space that the momentum of surprise reached diminishing returns and the wider galaxy became aware. The two galactic states shut down all riftgates connecting their territories to the region of space adjacent to the Wheel. Many of the worlds situated in the intermediate space between them and the Wheel felt like they were abandoned.Fear & Fascination of the Unknown
Though crucial for advanced interstellar space travel, it's well-known that the Darkverse is a very dangerous place that still to this day remain largely unknown and unexplained. The renewed, heavy interest in scientific study of this verse continues to be met with heavy resistance. It's widely agreed that learning to understand it, and its native life, would aid in dealing with its hazards and prevent future disasters like the Tasivian Scourge, the Evanesced Fleet, or Destruction of Ghete. But, exploring and studying it - at least with the means available today - would also mean deliberately putting the entire galaxy at peril in the process.The Threat from Beyond
The skethal infestation, comprised of a collection of invasive alien organisms all stemming from the same source of microbes and bacteria - the marrowblight - have long been thought to be successfully quarantined. Recent findings hint at the marrowblight being native to Darkverse and not to the Skethas Companions. There's a growing fear that the skethal infestation thus isn't at all as contained as first thought, and that its spread may truly be impossible to control.From Magic to Science
Why and how some individuals are born with the ability to perform feats that seemingly defy the laws of physics and causality has in the past been considered questions impossible to answer scientifically. And most attempts of properly study it were dismissed as fringe or pseudoscience. In the last two decades, the number of people discovered to have the ability rose significantly. As a side-effect of increased galactic globalization awareness of the condition heightened, and the aptitude in recognizing people with the ability grew along with the available sources of reports. This has led to a renewed effort in developing a field of science focused on the formal study of 'magic'.
by Nimin N.
This is wonderfully laid out, a glut of information, yet not overwhelming or excessive feeling at all, a good primer is like a sample plate, and you've done that here. A taste of the various bits and bobs we would eventually dive deeper into in a story writing or roleplaying or game design viewpoint, but never drowning the reader with too much or too specific and detailed points on any subject. The layout itself is also smooth, functional, pleasing to the eye, and easy to navigate. I never suggest visuals as a matter of principle because that is a matter of personal taste, but what I will say is I found it popped very well visually just with how you've sectioned it off, the way you've laid out headers and titles for the various sections, and how you've utilized sidebars, different containers and just the general layout tools you have at your disposal. :)
Thank you so much for the feedback. I was struggling a lot with judging how much/little to include and how to present it in a way that hopefully made sense to someone coming here for the very first time. Makes me super happy to hear that you found it to fulfill basically every point I hoped for!
Thank you for this great introduction, which is fascinating and makes you want to find out more. I also like how you described the individual "voices" for the type of article tones and the simple layout. Miau ;-)
Happy to hear you liked it! It felt like a good idea to introduce the voices right away as to not confuse newer readers when the color palette and writing style changes due to a shift in point of view. :)