The Selenites of Luna

The Kingdom of Selene

The Kingdom of Selene holds sovereignty over the surface of Luna's light side. King Horn, the Man in the Moon, rules from his throne in the Lunar Palace, which like all Selenite cities floats in safety above the surface, held aloft by great heliotropic engines that seek always for the Sun. The kingdom thus freely travels across the globe wherever the Sun shines, fearing little save the days of eclipse, when the cities must set down upon the globe and contend against the hordes of monstrous Matterkin that spring from the surface. Normally confined to the dark side of Luna, as sunlight is their destroyer, the Matterkin are beings of pure chaos that rage against manifestations of order, such as large cities. It was not until the heliotropic engine was developed and the floating cities built that Selenite civilization was able to advance beyond her nomadic roots.

While regular travel between the cities is accomplished through flying machines of various sizes, dubbed volant engines, the natural isolation afforded by their design means that they are generally self-governing. King Horn rarely needs extend his authority beyond his capitol city, save for the eclipse days when the cities join together in a massive fortress, and he takes the mantle of Supreme Lord Protector. He maintains good relations with the Lords of the Underdeeps, who rule beneath the surface, and whom he trades captured sunlight and solar weaponry in exchange for precious metals and other resources mined from the moon's core.

The Lunar Arts

Handed down generation after generation since the first Man in the Moon developed them, the Lunar Arts are a special gift of the royal family of Luna. These powers have been called magic by the ignorant and sufficiently advanced technology by the superstitious. They are split into several disciplines with many practical and artistic applications, and produce their marvelous effects through the manipulation of moondust as a material, or its consumption as a fuel. The widespread presence of moondust across the whole surface of Luna allows for the reliable practice of the Arts.

Selenite Myrmidons

Fighting constructs conjured out of moondust, myrmidons are the fearless servants of the royal family. Their characteristics vary from summoner to summoner, but they generally resemble man-high, bipedal arthropods with a mix of insect and avian features. Their tough crystalline exoskeletons are impervious to lesser weapons, but will shatter catastrophically if struck with enough force, or melt under sufficient heat. While not intelligent in a general sense, they possess a battle cunning formed from their mistress' personality and mind, and can thus interpret and carry out general instructions in combat without requiring constant management. Not possessing an immortal soul or individual personality, myrmidons are typically reconstituted into moondust after combat for ease of transport.

The Moon Maidens

King Horn has seven lovely daughters who assist in the governance of the kingdom.

Leilia

The eldest and most powerful of the royal sisters, Leilia has studied every discipline of Lunar Arts, and shifts her appearance frequently based on the discipline she is practicing. However, she always keeps her face veiled to shield her sensitive nose from the moondust. Typically stoic in demeanor, she has been known to crack a smile when tackling a difficult problem or foe, or in the company of Aphelia and Aurorabella. Leilia is more distant from her younger sisters, who were born after she began her intense training.

High Princess Leilia, Blood Moon Dusk Hunter Aspect

Aphelia

Completely unsuited for court life and incurably given to roam, Aphelia patrols the borders of the kingdom astride her volant engine, Stardust II, named after her beloved childhood pony, whom she was forced to dispatch after it contracted Mad Pony Disease and transformed into a Nightmare. She has worn black ever since. With her flying myrmidons, she is the terror of sky pirates and rogue cities throughout the kingdom. Despite her rough manner and rebellious persona, she cares deeply for her family, and her securely locked chambers in the royal palace, as well as her various boltholes, hide a hoard of fluffy stuffed animals.

Princess Aphelia and Stardust II

Aurorabella

Sunny and nurturing in disposition, Aurora is usually to be found in the royal kitchens creating something delicious. She chiefly summons myrmidons as kitchen assistants, but don't underestimate them unless you fancy being sliced, diced, and pureed. Aurorabella is an avid history buff of Terra's Space Race, and often teased by her sisters for her crush on Wernher von Braun. She works hard to set a good example for her younger sisters.

Princess Aurorabella brings forth something tasty

Selenia

Soft-spoken but steely-eyed, Selenia is the most astronomically inclined of her sisters, and has made great study of the effects of planet and star positions on her family's Lunar Arts. She shares a passion with Aurorabella for rocketry as well, and the two have launched several satellites into Lunar orbit. Selenia's Arts are also orbital in nature, offering a very versatile set of abilities.

Her Highness Selenia descends from the Astronomy Tower

Crescentia

The Diamond-gilt Rose to her allies, The White Witch of Luna to her enemies, Crescentia has focused her study of the Lunar Arts entirely on combat. It's like dancing, she says, but more exciting. Unmatched with a blade save by Aphelia, Crescentia often travels with her older sister to serve as a quick reaction force against pirates, when she is not at home training Desluna. She has picked up some quirks from her time on patrol, notably, not reconstituting all her myrmidons into moondust after use, but keeping a small troop of her favorites always constituted. She swears that they develop personalities if you leave them be long enough, and has given nicknames to several.

Princess Crescentia in dueling attire

Radia

Radia puts on a show of alluring icy aloofness in court, but her sisters know her for the kind, fun-loving goof she is. Having specialized in subterfuge and stealth Arts, Radia's myrmidons can flatten themselves onto walls like shadows to move about silently and slip through narrow cracks. Radia is also a practiced musician, and can bolster her Arts by singing or playing an instrument. When not assisting her younger sister in pranking the others, Radia can often be found hanging out with Selenia in the astronomy wing of the palace.

Princess Radia fends off a cheeky doggo

Desluna

The darling of the court and terror of her six older sisters, Desluna's sweet manner belies the agent of chaos within. Crescentia took it upon herself to train her in the blade, hoping to instill more discpline, and Desluna agreed, chiefly due to idolizing her big sister Aphelia, the other family blademistress. So far, it seems to have only accomplished making her practical jokes more sophisticated, but that is because Desluna considers her inveterate pranking as practice for when she undertakes (someday) her journey to the core of Luna. There she hopes to find the legendary Moon Rabbit, who will grant her three wishes: the ability to turn into a flying tiger, a box of endless biscuit sticks, and being able to talk to boys as well as Radia.

The Princess Desluna is fond of skulls and spikes

The Scalefolk of Caliban

Past the Tombworld of Mars, hiding in the Asteroid Belt, lies the minor planet Caliban. Largely undisturbed due to the shelter of the Belt and the ferocity of the locals and wildlife, it is a Paradise World of soaring cliffs and lush forests, warm oceans and balmy shores. If anything could be said to be the 'home' of Jörmungandr Typhonius, Midgard Serpent and Master of the Belt, it is Caliban, for here live his beloved wife, Echidna Typhonius née Nuwa the Scale Queen, their beautiful daughters the Scale Maidens, and their hardy sons the Scale Men.

While Jörmungandr rules, roams, and protects the vast Asteroid Belt, his wife tends to the affairs of Caliban from within Hive Fortress Xanadu, delved into the rock of Caliban's mountainous equator. Scattered across the planet are the Principalities of the matured Scale Maidens, through whom she maintains good order and discipline as the industrious Scale Men go about their work tending the the continent spanning gardens and managing the populations of fierce wildlife. Such mega-agriculture and conservation is required to sate the hunger of Jörmungandr. Thus is Caliban, the Walled Garden and Jewel of the Belt, maintained.

King and Queen Typhonius (Caliban to scale with Jormungandr only)

One of many entrances to Xanadu

While the Queen Mother remains in her fortress guarding her many eggs and children, her grown daughters, the Scale Maidens, extend her law and order to the far reaches of the planet. Hatched of the rare Royal Clutch, the Scale Maidens vary greatly from one another, each possessing the traits and strengths of a different reptile species. The similarity to Earth reptiles is striking, and some hypothesize that Scalefolk once inhabited prelapsarian Earth, and diminished to dumb animals after the Fall of their Father. Common to all are minor psychic powers that grant them command of the drone-like Scale Men. So also are they all of a curious temperament, for out of a Royal Clutch, perhaps only one will eventually be wedded to a young Midgard Serpent from another system and raise children of her own, while the rest will live out their lives as commanders of warrior-farmers. They are thus both warlike and sweet, fierce but nurturing, stoically resolved to meet whatever fate awaits them.

Princess Molly, the Blood-Eye

Princess Rhyna, the Salt-Crowned

Saboteur Princess Tigra

Princess Chariss, the Cloudglider

Rarer still than the normal Royal Clutch is that which contains the egg of a new Midgard Serpent. Once raised in the arts of etiquette, courtship, war, and rule, the young scion of Jörmungandr will journey forth into the galaxy to find another Scalefolk world, wed a Scale Maiden thereof, and train further to inherit that world and circumstellar disk under the tutelage of his new father-in-law.

From the many other clutches laid by Echidna hatch the hunter-gardener Scale Men. Though called such by Dog Chroniclers for their masculine demeanor and stronger resemblance to their father, the Scale Men are sexless drones, built for hard labor and hazardous environments. While not lacking free will, their greatest ambition is a hard job done well, and they rely heavily on the telepathic guidance and order of the Scalefolk Royalty for broad direction and governance. By externalizing higher-level thinking into the Scale Maidens, the Scale Men are able to focus their energies into honing their fieldcraft and going about their labors with vigor. Unconcerned with aught but their work, Scale Men hold a sanguine outlook on life.

Scalefolk Berserker. Mauler Fists are good for punching and digging!

Scalefolk Royal Guard as sketched by Inquisitor Fats Gregory

More sketches from Fats Gregory's field book.

The Machine Dominions

"Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass iron."
-Genesis 4:22

“Of him all evil broods were born, ogres and goblins and haunting shapes of hell, and the giants too, that long time warred with God – for that he gave them their reward.”

-Beowulf 89-92

The Machine God

Borne away in safety from The Deluge by Princes of the Middle Air to the iron world he would name Cain Prime, Tubalcain, known to many only as the Machine God, is chief among the Enemies Without. Across the millennia he has built his strength in secret to encompass his one aim: the return to his birthworld and the conquest of his birthright, Eden. As his natural form withered with time, he enthroned himself within the Iron Sepulchre above the vast Charnel Gate of the Tower of Silence. Here his hate-gnawed mind looks forth upon the galaxy, returning its malignant gaze always to the shining jewel of Earth. Through the Tower's maw passes the endless parade of the Flesh Tithe, a macabre procession of victims from across the stars fed to the tower to sustain the Machine God's 

life.

The Iron Sepulchre

The Flesh Tithe enters the Tower of Silence

Father of forgers, Tubalcain exerts his will upon the galaxy through his vast armies of cunningly wrought machines.

Zeroes

Praetor: Barzelcain/Eisenkaiser

Homeworld: Grendel

The firstborn of Tubalcain, created for companionship and labor on Cain Prime. Named Zeroes by the Dogs as they were the first type of Machine encountered by them. The earliest of Tubalcain's work, they possess rudimentary personalities varying from the savage and servile yet gregarious footsoldiers and laborers to the barbaric yet noble knights and warchiefs that command them. Built on a modular pattern, Zeroes are endlessly customizable, making them excellent forces for garrisoning the ever shifting edge of the empire. They favor cheap but effective weapons such as chainglaives and hardlight technologies such as prismatic lances. Higher echelon units have been known to tinker with more experimental wargear, such as the dreaded Hundschrecken or mysterious Gestaltlance. Their Praetor, Barzelcain, dubbed by the dogs 00 and Eisenkaiser, was Tubalcain's first son of iron, and regular tinkering by his creator has given him personality, cunning, and abilities far in excess of his younger brothers. He rules over the planet Grendel, where his foundry fortress delves deep into and soars above the sole landmass of the planet, a lone iron island on a writhing sea of titanic leviathans and behemoths, the monstrous get of Cain.

Hunters

Praetor: Huntmaster

Homeworld: Nimrod

Forged by the Machine God to hunt down his hardiest enemies, from uncooperative vassal governors to wild monsters run amok, Hunters are the most varied of Tubalcain's sons. Possessing distinct personalities and minds, Hunter cores inhabit purpose built bodies, bristling with exotic weapons and variegated means of locomotion. Though designated using the arcane yet standardized serialization system of the Machine Dominions, after a successful, or at least survivable first hunt, new Hunters are christened with a callsign by their peers upon their return to the Giantkiller's Lodge. Part workshop, part museum of galactic natural history, and stomping ground of Hunters between assignments, the Giantkiller's Lodge is the only blot of Machine Civilization on the pristine paradise world of Nimrod. Here Huntmaster holds court. Left to his own devices when not on assignment, he oversees the Corps of Hunters and manages the ecosystem of Nimrod's gargantuan flora and fauna, at the pointy end whenever he can. Caring little of conquest and war, Huntmaster would have broken ties with his father eons ago, were he not enticed by the opportunities presented by a lodging on Earth: a chance to hunt the Leviathan and the Behemoth, not the echoes and shadows ruled by his master.

Reapers

Praetor: Lord Carnifex, the Fleshthresher

Homeworld: Cain Prime

Soulless, ruthless, merciless, feared even by their fellow Machines are the Reapers of Cain Prime. Directed by their Lord Carnifex from the Tower of Silence itself, they have but one purpose: Flesh for the Flesh Tithe. Let the Zeroes fight and conquer on the battlefield, the Hunters slay their mark, Reapers live only to feed their dark god. Though oft employed as terror troops due to their dread presence, they might just as easily be seen raiding a tight-pursed vassal world. Wherever you see them, they will not rest until every last penny is paid.

Witches

Praetor: The Weird Engine (Hecate, Medea, Circe)

Homeworld: Endor

After conquering Endor, Planet of the Witches, the Machine God learned of the sorcerers' Devil Engine technology, and promptly exploited it for his own armies. Driven not by a mind of cogs and heart of sparks, but a trapped spirit, Devil Engines are cunning and resourceful in ways matched only by Praetors, Hunters, and high ranking Zeroes, all of whom share an existential dread of the cursed devices. The more powerful spirits can even work spells, enchantments, and sorceries with their steel bodies. The spirits of sacrificed familiars, minor devils, and damned souls drive the bulk of the Deviltry, but the background static of Machine communications whispers of Hell Engines, driven by Princes of the Middle Air themselves. Furthermore, even the meanest ghost confers strange regenerative powers on its engine, making them impossible to kill unless one can destroy the core tying the spirit to the machine, or exorcise the pilot spirit.

Orbiting Endor is the moon of Nimue, her surface a blasted wasteland, doubtless the consequence of some occult holocaust. Her core, however, is a worm-eaten maze of tunnels between great chambers where the witches keep their supply sacrificial victims imprisoned. Patrolling the tunnels are the witchworms, great serpentine devil engines, whose single glowing eye is a ruby encasing the corpse of the familiar powering it.

This hellish system is ruled over from Cruach Keep, wherein dwells the Weird Engine. Thrice possessed by the Weird Sisters: Hecate, Medea, and Circe, it is the most powerful Devil Engine on the planet. Nothing is known of its shape or size, few have ever glimpsed it, yet the cryptic and profane utterances that steal from the keep are interpreted by the many high-ranking astrologers, magi, alchemists, and sorcerers in various and contradictory ways, resulting in a steady state of bureaucratic anarchy that mockingly resembles a government.

Flesh Apostates

Praetor: The Flensed Exarch

Homeworld: Eridani

Once fanatical Zeroes and Hunters, the Flesh Apostates are now a canker on the Machine Dominions. Not actively disloyal to the Machine God, and eager to conquer new worlds, the Flesh Apostates draw their name from their refusal to pay the Flesh Tithe to Cain Prime. If flesh strengthens the Machine God, greatest of all Machines, why should it not strengthen his servants as well? Devoted to improvement and self-perfection, the Flesh Apostates continuously incorporate the organic matter of conquered worlds into their bodies, melding flesh and steel into blasphemous mannikins. Better to be taken by Reapers, some worlds say. Hailing from Eridani, they control a handful of planets from which they harvest and experiment. Ruling from the Cathedral of Chimera on Eridani, the Flesh Apostate's agendas and experiments are directed by the Flensed Exarch, a charismatic yet nightmarish figure of metal and bare sinew. Once clad in radiant skin of living metal, the Exarch's hide now girds the loins of Lord Carnifex, who made an example of the Exarch for his treachery, yet was driven off by a great mob before he could deal the executioner's blow. He has ordered that no Hunter may claim the head of the Exarch, he alone will wait until the time is right to strike, in what is perhaps the only time a Reaper has shown a glimpse of steely humanity.

Catholic Space Doggos

The Raising of the Canines

None know the hidden counsels of the Lord taken before Dogkind was raised to his present nobility, but pious legend has painted the picture thus: The Holy Roman Imperium, governor of half the world, lay besieged by the forces human and diabolic of Nova Babel, to whom the other half of Earth was held in thralldom. At this time their forces seemed evenly matched, and the Imperium set to endure, but it was known in Heaven that beyond the edge of the Solar System prowled foes more terrible, and Man would not endure their power. Saint Christopher Cynocephalus, seeing all this, approached the throne of God:

“Behold Your creature, Dog, whom You put on Earth for the service and companionship of Man. He has proven loyal, obedient, steadfast, and courageous. Let him be raised to the stature of Man, and sent forth into the Outer Dark as Your sword and shield, lest ruin fall upon your Church. As I once bore you over the river to the far shore, let them bear Your Light to other worlds.”

And the Lord regarded the words of His servant favorably. The fires of the angelic forges were stoked to a white hotness, and sparks sang from the hammers of the heavenly shipwrights and smiths as a great work was undertaken. Then the breath of God swept the Earth, and Dog was raised upright as a Man, and the breath of God was in him. A great host of angels bore the Dogs thence to their star-plying warship, Jasconius, where each humbly received his heavenly panoply, and all were charged with their great mission to defend Man from the Enemy Without, and spread the Light of Christ to all who lived in darkness among the stars. Bidding farewell to their masters on Earth, the good Dogs steered a course for Luna, the first of many dark worlds to come.

Names

Shortly after being Raised, the Dogs received baptism and confirmation, taking on saints' names in addition to the names given by their masters.

Tenlance Patch Iosif Maria

Ranks & Organisation

Due to the Dogs' instinctual recognition of pack hierarchy, seniority, and leadership, they are organized into far fewer ranks than equivalent size human militaries. Officer and enlisted distinction is still maintained to reflect analogous roles in the pack.

The Doge: The alpha. The highest ranking dog in a sector. Receives his orders directly from Heaven via an angel or saint.

Tribune: Highest officer rank regularly deployed in battle. Reports directly to the Doge and his staff. Commands a trident of 3 centuries.

Thricelance: Highest enlisted rank. Serves as second in command of a trident.

Centurion: Officer rank. Commands a century of 3 triskeles and their support staff (about 100 dogs).

First Lance: Enlisted rank. Serves as second in command of a century.

Triskelion: Lowest officer rank. Leads a triskele of 3 packs. Assisted by a senior tenlance.

Tenlance: Also called Tens, X, One-oh. Enlisted rank. Leads a pack of 10 lancers.

Lancer: The dogs of war, sending fire downrange.

From the Angelic Armory

Aurelian Helm: Usually called a 'halo', in conjunction with the aegis plate, the aurelian helm protects against hostile environments, and provides myriad functions to the wearer including a HUD with autosextant for navigation, HOWL gear for long range communication, and sense dampening to protect against bright lights and loud noises. It takes the appearance of a scintillant halo around the wearer, the design of which becomes more ornate with rank and accomplishment, and from this derives its nickname.

Fulgent Lance: Also called a torchstave, brightglaive, sparkspear, or just 'lance', is the chief armament of the Dogs. Patterned after a boar spear of yore, the crackling blade is of angelic fire, and can be modulated to produce a variety of attacks, from a burning melee weapon for cleaving and goring to a short range (~40m) cutting ray or flamethrower.

Aegis Plate: Forged of the same adamantine as the angel's strife frames, aegis plate protects against hostile environments and enemies alike, and augments the wearer's strength while remaining light and unburdensome. Due to its angelic smithing, it can be readily modified and augmented by other world's technologies.

Reliquary: Taking many forms and containing the relics of a saint, a reliquary allows that saint to appear on the battlefield directly, bypassing any barriers or defenses, spiritual or physical, placed around the battlefield.

Saint Patrick the Wyrmslayer