Synopsis

Polaris is a mega-terrestrial world. The extent of its size is significant enough for continents to curve beneath their own skies. The surface is divided among powerful nations whose cities scrape the heavens or pierce deep into the subterranean expanse. Polaris's approximate population is 41 billion individuals.

At the center of every civilization lies Eir, an enigmatic energy coursing through both the planet and its lifeforms. Once a mystery whispered by alchemists, Eir is extracted, refined, and weaponized. From reactors to neural networks, every piece of technology runs on Eir. Eir is also heavily present in those that practice magic (known as Eir techniques).

Genre: Neo-fantasy (magic + technology).

Locations:

Vireth Concord

An immense, concentric sprawl of tiered megacities. Each layer represents a socioeconomic class, with the capital at the core. Neon horizons and holographic skies veil the undercity slums. Technology defines life, but the human soul feels increasingly obsolete.

Geography:

• Macrostructure:

  • A nation organized in concentric "rings" that radiate outwards from Echelon Prime (the capital). Each ring is a representation of a socioeconomic stratum, from inner radiant sections to neglected fringes.

• Terrain:

  • Inner Core: Artificial plateaus, layers of megastructures and railways; a perpetual glow from holographic skylights.

  • Mid-Rings: Dense residential stacks, tangled infrastructure, vertical markets, and monolithic data towers.

  • Outer Verge: Crumbling industrial zones and vast grey wastelands punctuated by slums, cooling towers, and derelict solar arrays.

  • Natural regions: A few “preserved biomes” exist as corporate leisure parks — artificially maintained environments for the elite.

• Climate:
  Controlled microclimates within each ring, but outer areas suffer acid rain, pollution fogs, and heat inversion due to unregulated industrial output.

Military:

• Branches:

  • Concordant Guard: Vireth’s primary military. Armed to the teeth with Eir weapons and vessels.

  • Urban Peace Division (UPD):
    Paramilitary law enforcement; they patrol megacities using mech suits, drones, and predictive policing software.

  • The Data Legion:
    Cyberwarfare and network infiltration units; conduct surveillance, propaganda, and digital assassinations.

  • Exo-Corps:
    Specialized units deployed off-world or in hostile zones (e.g., The Umbral Circuit) for reclamation and containment missions. Members often possess Eir techniques.

Culture:

• Life in Vireth is defined by status through proximity — the closer one lives to the Core, the higher their wealth, privilege, and access to clean air, real food, and unfiltered light

• Social straification:

  • High: Corporate aristocracy, executives, digital clergy, nine families representatives.

  • Middle: White-collar technocrats, engineers, educators, information brokers.

  • Lower: Laborers, refugees, and black-market dwellers.

  • Substrata: Those who live below the city layers — undocumented, uncounted, and forgotten.

Capital (Echelon Prime):

• A central spiral city that rises kilometers into the atmosphere, and burrows deep underground. The spiritual heart of Vireth.

• Upper Tiers:
  Glass citadels and vertical gardens under artificial sunlight. The Board of Integration meets here in the Concordant Hall.

• Middle Layers:
  Endless residential grids and luxury plazas; cultural hubs and entertainment domes.

• Lower Levels:
  Industrial scaffolds, power conduits, the “Neon Depths” (where data markets and black networks thrive).

Arkanova

A gleaming coastal powerhouse nation of ports, markets, and floating bazaars. Eir-fueled currents and tech-driven cranes make it the hub of trade between worlds. Egalitarian on paper, but the docks and boardrooms still separate classes by their callouses or clean hands.

Geography:

• Macrostructure:

  • Sprawling coastal crescent nation, sretching across the sea, encompassing a chain of ports, reclaimed islands, and semi-submerged districts built upon artificial archipelagos.

  • The nation’s infrastructure forms a continuous urban coastline, where megacities link into one another through elevated bridges, aquaducts, and skyferries — collectively called The Sapphire Belt.

• Terrain:

  • Coastal plains and deltas dominate the mainland, gradually shifting inland into humid forests and cultivated terraced hills.

  • Below the surface, a vast network of underharbor tunnels and flooded ruins from earlier city foundations serve as both transit arteries and smuggler routes.

  • Offshore, Eir reefs — crystalline growths formed from mineralized energy discharge — glow beneath the tides and are carefully harvested.

• Climate:

  • Temperate to tropical along the southern coasts; humid, rain-heavy monsoon seasons are common. Constant haze of trade smog and ocean mist gives Arkanova’s skylines a bluish luminescence. Storm patterns are heavily influenced by Eir mining operations.

Military

• Branches

  • Arkanovian Naval Guard :

    Elite maritime defense and patrol force; operates aerial and submersible vessels.

  • Eir Vanguard:

    Specialized units trained in both eir weaponry and eir techniques; protect high-value Eir infrastructure.

  • Private Maritime Forces:

    Corporate or family-owned fleets operating under government charter; often stronger than official military division.

Culture

• Cities never sleep: markets and shipyards operate in rotating shifts; neon signs and holo-banners replace daylight in some districts. The population is highly urbanized, multicultural, and pragmatic — blending ritual and technology seamlessly (shrines beside vending towers, digital offerings to sea spirits).

Capital (Virella Prime):

• Located on the central coast, Virella Prime is a vertically layered port-megacity built around the Grand Spire — a colossal Eir conduit tower that regulates energy flow for the entire federation.

• Four layers of the megacity:

  • Lumin docks:
    Outer trading district; floating bazaars, sea markets, migrant quarters.

  • Tierline:

    Mid-city ring of factories, housing, and commerce zones.

  • Ascendant core:

    Elite administrative spires, corporate headquarters, and the Council Citadel.

Tiravane

Forests rise through cities here; buildings pulse with sap and circuitry. Geneticists and druidic engineers cultivate hybrid beasts and living architecture. Districts vary from lush sanctuaries to feral biotech jungles.

Geography

• Macrostructure:

  • Situated inland between the fertile equatorial belts of Polaris, Tiravane covers an immense stretch of bioengineered wilderness — a land that is half natural, half cultivated.

  • Cities are organically grown rather than built — vast living megastructures formed from engineered trees, coralstone, and hybrid mycelial matter.

• Terrain:

  • Lush rainforests and luminous wetlands dominate the surface, punctuated by towering “bio-cities” called Arboriums, where urban and natural life merge.

  • The northern frontiers are overgrown with abandoned experiments — regions where genetic matter went rogue, creating “wild zones.”

• Climate:

  • Equatorial tropical climate with high humidity, frequent rainstorms, and nearly perpetual fog in the lower biomes. Air is saturated with Eir particulates, making it both energizing and slightly mutagenic for long-term residents.

Military

• Branches

  • Rootguard :

    Conventional forces trained in jungle warfare and biological containment; use organic weaponry that regenerates or adapts mid-battle.

  • Verdant wardens:

    Elite ranger-biologists who command engineered fauna, plant symbiotes, and living drones.

  • Sporeveill:
    Covert units specializing in infiltration, chemical warfare, and parasitic control strains.

Culture

• Citizens live in close symbiosis with their environment — their homes breathe, heal, and sometimes speak. Life expectancy is high but unstable; excessive self-modification can cause Eir Bloom, a syndrome that leads to volatile mutations.

Capital (Viridion Prime):

• A sprawling jungle-city grown around a colossal bioluminescent tree, known as the Eir Spire. Airborne spores from the Eir Spire illuminate the sky in shifting green and violet hues, visible for hundreds of kilometers.

• Sections of the Eir spire:

  • Root sanctum:

    Subterranean biosphere housing archives and the Council of Growth.

  • Mid-canopy:

    Research wards, genetic markets, and citizen dwellings

  • Bloom-crown:

    Ruling chambers, laboratories.

Additional areas:

• Umbral Circuit:

  • Once a sprawling subterranean research park that bridged biotech and bleeding edge necromancy. Two decades ago, a viral outbreak from a lab resulted in the mass mutation of all residents and researchers within the park. ow an irradiated maze of sealed corridors and derelict laboratories overrun by the infected. The deeper one descends, the more the systems seem aware. Highly valuable resource and information remains, but overall the area is extremely dangerous and the vast majority of individuals are barred from entering via sealing spells.

Organizations

Ecliptic Assembly (EA):

• A massive intergovernmental organization composed between the largest nations.

• Semi-neutral global council formed after the First Eir Wars to regulate international Eir trade and mining zones.

• Based in Caelura Ascendancy’s lower spire.

• Deploys “Observers” — magically and cybernetically augmented auditors who enforce sanctions.

Polaris Cartographic Union (PCU):

• A large intergovernmental organization.

• Neutral scientific-exploration body mapping uncharted or unstable Eir zones.

• Operates autonomous drones and leyline skiffs.

Null front:

• Large scale revolutionary movement.

• Anti-Eir extremists who believe Eir itself is a planetary parasite consuming human will.

• Operate in urban slums and derelict Eir refineries.

• Their symbol: a black circle swallowing a white flame. It's a symbol that's censored in the vast majority of nations.

Undercurrent:

• Medium to large scale insurgency movement.

• A decentralized network of smugglers, hackers, and information brokers originating from Arkanova.

• Functions both as resistance and organized crime syndicate.

• Known for leaking classified Eir research and sabotaging monopolies.

Heliant Systems:

• Megacorporation

• The largest Eir-tech conglomerate on Polaris; designs reactors, weapons, and urban infrastructure.

• Operates across all major nations; effectively a sovereign megacorp.

• Maintains private “security divisions” larger than some militaries.

• Rumored to be experimenting with “synthetic bloodline” technology.

Virex Bioforge Consortium:

• Megacorporation

• Biotech giant headquartered in Tiravane; specializes in genetic patents, symbiotic cybernetics, and adaptive Eir compounds.

• Rumors suggest human experimentation facilities beneath their seed-vaults.

Aegir Front:

• Large international watchdog organization

• Coalition task force specialized in Eir-based monster containment — a joint effort between Tiravane, and Arkanova.

• Track, study, and neutralize Eir beasts and mutated creatures due to Eir overexposure.

• Their sanctums double as prisons and laboratories.

Drowned Ones:

• Large underworld syndicate

• Arkanovian criminal cartel dealing in contraband Eir, narcotics, and organ modifications.

• Operate out of submerged cities below the Sapphire Belt.

• Known for cybernetic smugglers called “Tidejacks.”

• Maintain an uneasy truce with the Undercurrent.

Crimson Vein:

• Medium to large sized criminal syndicate

• Bloodline-linked black market dealing in unregulated Eir extraction.

• Often linked to missing person's cases due to forced Eir extraction from individuals.

• Supply illicit Eir injections to thrill-seekers and mercenaries.

The Hollow Hand:

• Medium sized criminal syndicate

• Mercenary-turned-elite assassin guild spanning multiple nations.

• Each member undergoes Eir branding to prevent betrayal. The branding tracks their location and is notoriously difficult to remove.

Power System

Eir:

• Eir is a primordial substance native to Polaris. A naturally occurring, self-replicating energy native to the planet. It flows through every ecosystem, every creature, and even the atmosphere itself, manifesting as both vital essence and power source.

• It is generated deep within Polaris’s core, Eir seeps upward through the planet’s crust in crystalline veins and vaporous geysers, suffusing all organic life

• Every native being carries Eir in some capacity. This ranges from microscopic traces in flora to immense concentrations within the bloodlines of the Nine Families.

• Forms of Eir:

  • Solid: Crystalline deposits, mined as “Eirstone,” a potent conduit for energy storage and spellcraft.

  • Aqueous: Dissolved within groundwater and bloodstreams; the lifeforce medium of living organisms.

  • Gaseous: Found in “Eir Mists” and atmospheric anomalies; unstable but immensely powerful.

Eir Manipulation

• Eir manipulation is the ability to sense, shape and project Eir.

• Eir can exists in its pure form, but it can also exist with a quality depending on its source (organism or environment). Each organism or environment imprints unique qualities onto the energy it produces. Qualities span from electrical, thermal, psychoactive, botanical, etc.

• All lifeforms are born with some innate reserve of Eir. Even at minimal levels, Eir grants enhanced longevity and mild supraphysiological resilience. This grants the average citizens an average lifespan of ~500 years.

• A rare 20% of the population possess internal Eir concentrations that meet the threshold for active and directed usage. These individuals are classified as Eirsa, being able to project Eir externally and use it as a tool or weapon.

• Eir is capable of being embedded into tools, weapons, machinery, relics and living constructs.

Eir Blessings

• Eir blessings are inherent attributes or "buffs" assigned upon birth to an individual.

• They are extremely rare among the population.

• Approximately 0.5% of Eirsa have an Eir blessing

• Multiple blessings are possible but each additional blessing becomes exponentially rarer

Power Quantification

Eirsa (Human) Rankings:

• Crude (5th percentile)

  • Barely above threshold to be considered an Eirsa.

  • Minor enhancements: improved vitality, slower aging, mild pain resistance.

  • Unreliable Eir projection or weaponization

• Proto (25th percentile)

  • Lowest functional tier of Eir manipulators

  • Can influence their own physiology (strength, reflexes, endurance).

  • May produce small external effects (sparks, static, temperature shifts).

• Intermediate (50th percentile)

  • Competent Eirsa capable of controlled projection.

  • Can manipulate Eir consistently

  • Suitable for combat roles, industry, or specialized tasks.

  • Form the backbone of most national Eir-based professions.

• Advanced (75th Percentile)

  • Highly calibrated Eir output.

  • Can wield Eir extensively in combat or large-scale tasks.

  • Capable of shaping field-level effects (barriers, localized storms, terrain manipulation).

  • Often serve in elite units or high-tier research posts.

• Exalted (95th Percentile)

  • Among the strongest individuals in their nation.

  • Produce massive Eir output with high purity.

  • Capable of multi-quality manipulation and rapid regeneration.

  • Frequently emerge from the Nine Families.

• Preeminent (99th Percentile)

  • Legendary-tier individuals whose Eir manifests with near-mythic force.

  • Influence large areas; distort local Eir fields; capable of feats bordering on supernatural.

  • Rare enough that each is monitored or politically leveraged.

• Zenith (Unquantifiable)

  • Individuals whose output surpasses measurable thresholds.

  • Eir output is self-escalating or reality-reactive.

  • Considered planetary-level anomalies.

  • Only a handful exist and are active

  • Typically exist beyond conventional laws

Note: The ranking conventions above also apply in a relatively similar manner to Eir beasts, spirits, tools, and weapons.

Terminology

9 families

• The 9 families are essentially the ruling class of Polaris. They are associated with the founding of civilization within Polaris and have a controlling interest in a large number of corporations. Though not written in law, members of the 9 families typically experience elevated treatment or exemptions. Members of the 9 families are typically more powerful than ordinary residents of Polaris due to inherited Eir characteristics and techniques. Each family has a specific Eir quality attributed to them, though the exact qualities of descendants may diverge or vary.

• The 9 families & their Eir Qualities:

  • Vosner -> Lightning

  • Baek-Seung -> Hemal

  • Volkov -> Bestial

  • Sørvik -> physical enhancement

  • Blackwell -> Ferric

  • Chenji -> Gale

  • Di Angelo-> Psychoactive/dream

  • Moretti -> Spatial

  • Thornewood -> Verdancy

Founding Father/Mother

• The 9 individuals associated with establishing the 9 families and a large majority of civilization in Polaris. They are essentially the patriarch or matriarch within each family and hold the highest rank, holding absolute control over all matters. They are overwhelmingly powerful individuals, all being Zenith ranked and hold a vital role in maintaining balance between the families.

• The founding fathers/mothers:

  • Monika Vosner

  • Hana Baek-Seung

  • Leonidas Volkov

  • William Sørvik

  • Elaine Blackwell

  • Fang Chenji

  • Xavier Di Angelo

  • Julie Moretti

  • Alexander Thornewood

Eir Beast/Spirit

• Essentially fauna that have supraphysiological properties due to Eir, spirits are a more humanoid class.