The World

This page will have a lot of the technical explanations of the world of The Threat Within. Most of this will be filled as the story progresses.

Atiid
God. After certain events took place during Humanity’s 21st century, the idea of good changed drastically. Atiid is the most prevalent religion in the galaxy, beating the Churchers by a wide margin.

Black Dragons
A criminal organization that specializes in arms dealing.  The Black Dragons are always looking to acquire restricted, military or illegal hardware and wield force and finance equally in the market.  They also engage in a number of other criminal enterprises, ranging from Shipjacking, to Smuggling to Terrorism.  For the Black Dragons, no job is too dirty for them to take on, if the benefits are good enough.  The organization is tightly run, and each Dragon swears fealty to his commander on his life.  Oath breakers are dealt with most severely, and there is no tolerance for failure.

Conviction
A nigh-fantastical power rumored to be the tool and trade of the Nevi. Few people understand it’s true nature.

Greater Humanity
The generally accepted term for all sentient humanoids in the galaxy.  Though it is common knowledge that all species evolved from a common ancestor (humans), most people still refer to themselves by race name.  Many races have a highly developed sense of racial pride, and prefer to think of themselves as being distinct from other humans.  In particular, there is some debate if even so called “True Humans” are not just some evolved sub-strain of original humanity.

The Hendrix (Race)
Named so after their colony ship, the Johnathan Hendrix are a stout, physically powerful human offshoot.  Forced to adapt to a higher gravity world, the colonists developed physically within only a couple of generations.  Unfortunately, as the world they had settled on was less hospitable to life than anticipated, they quickly thinned in numbers also.  As an unexpected side effect of their planet’s condition, Hendrix’s suffered from abnormally low birth rates and at one point the entire colony nearly perished.  Human ingenuity won the day, however, and the colony began to flourish within roughly a thousand years of settlement.  As in any hostile environment, those who were not only physically more powerful but also more mentally capable outperformed and outbred their rivals.  Consequently, the Hendrix are known not only for their remarkable physique, but also their canny demeanor.  Of course, once they were reintegrated into the Imperium, these characteristics gradually began to recede, though many Hendrix still fit the mold.

Imperium
The Imperium, also referred to as The Galactic Imperium or The Empire, is the single largest human government in the galaxy.  Comprising hundreds of successful colonies and trillions of human lives, the Imperium is the only real alternative to living in the lawless wastes of the “Fringe Colonies”.  Though nominally ruled by Emperor Indalecio Andarias, like any sufficiently large government, the actual administration of the Empire is handled by Ministries and established Local Authorities.  Many star systems have a Baron, Sheriff, Magistrate, Count, Lord or King that administers the law in the name of the Emperor.  Even in the “Sanctum Worlds” closest to the seat of power, the day to day affairs of the Empire are in the hand of the Ministries.  In order to prevent succession conflict, the Empire is always ruled by the eldest Andarias, and only the Eldest Andarias is permitted to marry or to grant the Andarias name to any offspring.  In this way, Indalecio Andarias will actually be succeeded by his sister, Cyrilla Andarias; who will then take a husband and produces heirs of her own.  Surprisingly, Indalecio Andarias has neither wife nor children, despite the urgings of his advisers.

Kohaut
Villains of legends and stories. They are said to be humans who have become demons, eating men’s souls.

Nevi
A quasi-religious group who claims to be the galactic watchdog. They are the most adamant followers of Atiid. Few Nevi are public figures with the exception of their leader, Avatar Lagretta. While movies depict the Nevi as mystics who can perform super-natural acts, this is hardly ever given grounds in reality.

New Human (Race)
Those colonists that were fortunate enough to land on planets that were quiet similar to Earth in many ways. These people, as a general whole, did not change drastically from what Humans looked like back on Earth. When found again by the True Human ships, they were dubbed ‘New Humans’. While they don’t hold as much respect as True Humans do, they enjoy being by far the most numerous of all races. They come from many different planets and continue to this day to colonize new ones.
Noted New Humans thus far: Gansatti Sandbouth

Nobunaga (Race)
White-skinned  sub-strain of humanity, these people lived for many centuries on a harsh rock-planet revolving around  a white-dwarf. The Nobunaga are known to rarely leave their home planet of Oda, and when they do have a reputation for being somber and introverted. Oda itself can barely sustain life after being stripped of it millions of years ago when its sun died. Nobunaga diet relies heavily on the molds that have again taken hold of the rocky surface. They are identifiable by their stark-white skin, black hair and pointed ears. The white of their eyes is black, while their irises are white. They are usually thin and gangly, though Kuroi defies that example.
Noted Nobunaga thus far: Kuroi Shaara.

Pinch (Space Travel)
While all space travel still happens at sub-light speeds (Sorry, but Einstein was right about certain things!), large enough ships (or crazy enough smaller ships) can create Worm Holes, or more commonly known as a pinch. Space is parted and a direct, regular-space ‘tunnel’ is created where the ship can slowly traverse the galaxy instantaneously.

As it stands right now, only very large ships can generate the energy needed to pinch safely. Smaller ships can do this, but run a much higher risk of unstable pinches and those who are reckless enough to do so are usually smugglers and pirates.

The majority of time spent in space travel is to get far enough away from any and all gravitational wells, as those and tug and pull at the pinch and the ship, tearing it to shreds.

Romani (Race)
Rich-haired sub-strain of humanity, these folk have colonized a veritable jungle. The Romani are vagabonds in nature and leave their planet when they wish. Many of them never stop traveling, always looking for the next adventure. Some Romani settle down, but will never shy away from travel or relocation. They are easily spotted due to their furry, elongated ears ending in tufts, and their customary head-scarves that help them control their naturally rich and hard-to-manage hair.
Noted Romani thus far: Skylla, Lynko Maus

True Human (Race)
Those humans who after the Exodus from earth remained in colony ships. These slow-boat colony ships simulated an earth-like environment. True Humans consider themselves as close to ‘pure’ as a Human can get. While few and far between, it was them to reintroduced galactic travel to the scattered Greater Humanity. Until a few centuries ago True Humans had no colonies of their own.

Valen (Planet)
A small, unimportant planet at the edges of explored space. A more recent New Human colony, it is a community and a spaceport all in one city. Currently it suffers from what many ports suffer from: Smuggling and crime. This is where the story begins.

Valentine (Race)
A colorful race, these galaxy-renown flirts are considered to be the most alluring of all Greater Humanity. Their planet, while a paradise for life, also developed almost every type of poisonous  flora and fauna. To adapt to this harsh environment, the Valentine have developed strong ole factories and scent extruding glands, almost like pheromones, that can have… interesting effects on other members of Greater Humanity.

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