Sonu

Nights Vengeance

System Overview: The Sonu are the forsaken people of a lone planet locked in a figure eight period, passed back and forth between a dying neutron star in the Orolo Nebula cluster and its original parent system, a diffuse, low mass yellow star with no other habitable planets in orbit. The Sonu world is dense and treacherous, kept warm primarily by high levels of volcanic activity, both naturally occurring and artificial. The planet’s long period through naked space dictates heavy industry around the preservation of frozen surface water, subterranean infrastructure and aquifer management. The world reunites with its parent star for roughly five months every three years. Much Sonu ritual and culture centers on this brief interlude before returning to the “Long Night.”
CIVILIZATION DEVELOPMENT Pre Dark Age: The initial colonizers of the world that came to be known as Sonu settled one of the most promising planets in the [Orolo Nebula Cluster], a sector known for readily inhabitable worlds, but surrounded by chaotic and debris-filled space. Sonu offered a perfect atmosphere and resources for bionic, organic and genetic manipulation—a shared scientific specialty for many parallel colonists in the sector who later came to form the [Orolo Cluster/biopunk Civ people]. Ancient Nigerian-American ancestors heavily influenced these settlers’ culture and language. Sonu research deviated from these other civilizations that survived the Dark Age, most of which eventually specialized in the breeding and industrialization of mega fauna. The Sonu instead focused on what was readily available to them: prolific bacteria and microorganisms. Their scientific development took a promising and fateful turn into metamaterial research with the biological equivalent of nanites. Tragedy befell this world when a metamaterial explosion (like a bio-nanite version of Chernobyl) rendered a northern continent uninhabitable. The fallout spread like a plague, and the central government took drastic containment measures to protect the biosphere. Entire swaths of land and air were purged by plasma bombs. Anyone showing symptoms of infection was deported to a quarantine zone, never to be seen again. The infamous research facility was devoted to developing cloaking technology through viruses. The scientists reasoned that preprogrammed mutation parameters would allow viruses to achieve a dynamic response to the visible light spectrum at a cellular level, to be used for spacecraft with living hull technology. In the aftermath, a society once devoted to blurring the line between machine and organic severely restricted all forms of metamaterial research. New Sonu technology pathways focused on developing solid-light materials and abandoned [roots of bio punk] entirely. The people confined behind the massive cloud wall became known as Sonu [Yoruba for lost] and were presumed dead. The worst thing to befall anyone within that society in that era was to be denounced as Sonu and banished behind the barrier. The world experienced a period of extreme persecution until more effective contagion detection parameters were established. Sonu society made strides despite this brush with cataclysm...until the mysterious Dark Age ensued.
Dark Age: The Dark Age rendered the same havoc on Sonu as the other worlds of the Known, with an additional development: the cloud wall consigning millions of people to their deaths was no longer powered. Personnel eventually abandoned the structure completely to fend for their families in a world reduced to a hunter-gather level of technology overnight. Surviving bands were forced to trade in the most basic goods, often pastes and breads made from the very bacteria they once manipulated so easily—along with haunting stories of vengeful spirits come to life; whispering mad words to night watchmen or enticing children to sneak away from their camps. It took years for the people of Sonu to realize the horrible truth: the plague-ridden outcasts once trapped behind the cloud wall were now free and forever changed. Those who survived the virus sweeping through their bodies made what life they could in the ruins beyond the wall, but also passed on a terrible curse to their children: any infant born beyond the wall was invisible to the naked eye. The metamaterial virus had infused cloaking technology into their genetic makeup.
Many of the first [Shade Sons] did not survive due to parents too afraid or simply unable to care for a child unable to be seen. Still others never made it past their toddler years, until desperate elders realized the maddened children were unable to close their eyes or develop a sense of self-image. Post Dark Age: This new substrain of the world’s culture learned that increased exposure to sunlight prolonged the inherited cloaking effect. Rituals grew into practice around this reality. Children born behind the wall were often wrapped to hide them from light until they were of an age to deal with their terrible gift. Parents used ceremonial marking on the faces and arms of children to tell their lineage in scars. Integration with the outside society proved daunting due to generational bitterness and distrust between the two groups. Intermingling was also discouraged due to the fear of offspring born visible or invisible depending on the group—or worse, some combination of the two. Tragedy had not yet finished with this beleagured world. An early Marajeshi gravity experiment deployed in their system drastically reduced the mass of the Sonu parent star, disrupting the planet’s orbit to be sling-shotted out of the system by a gas giant. The resourcefulness of [Shade Son] lineage increased throughout this time, with the world’s identity finally embraced as Sonu. Current Regard with Other Civilizations: The Sonu interact sparingly with the rest of the Known, and the precise location and period of their rogue planet is not known by either Cassad or New Regime forces. They currently hold no allegiance to Cassad (having never been conquered or officially discovered), but will likely not join the New Regime because of the Marajeshi influence there. Sonu go through great pains to ensure their visible denizens maintain diplomatic and trade liason positions among outposts and fleets, presenting themselves as nomads to ensure their world’s secret remains intact. Sonu captains and merchants are often accompanied by at least one [Shade Caller]. A deep hatred for the Marajesh system is a binding cultural bias. Sonu historians are divided on whether the gravity experiment was some sort of terrible error on the part of Marajeshi scientists, Cassad operatives forced the Marajeshi to test a weapon on the Sonu star, claiming it was uninhabited—or some darker truth created by the Sonu themselves. They do engage in minimal trade with other worlds of the Orolo Cluster, somewhat due to their ancient kinship and shared research in advanced organics. Speculation and lore around the lost world is thick in the Orolo Cluster; whether it ever existed at all, or is some place where demons, ghosts, or tortured, skinless men lurk. Some worlds blame disappearing items on Sonu Shades, or caution children to never make fun of a Sonu nomad talking to himself, for he may be standing in the middle of a Shade village. [Averator famed explorer] claimed to have visited Sonu itself, and brought back fantastical tales of an honorary mansion rising into place before his eyes, each block moved by invisible hands. The Cassad emperor listened to every word before having [him/her] executed in front of the entire court, the only Averator in history to ever suffer that fate. Sonu technology is weakest in regard to space flight. Metamaterial infused bacteria is used in their hull design for stealth tech, but their craft are not particularly strong, powerful or far-ranging. The ruling clans have no militarized fleet to speak of; currently relying on the sporadic nature of their planet’s orbit to protect their homeworld. They are feverishly working to replicate their biological cloaking properties within inert materials, and frequently trade mercenary favors to acquire ship building technology for the struggles that will eventually swallow the Known. They are barely considered a Tier III civilization with a population just under one billion. How to extend their reach within the Known is a constant source of debate among a chaotic political system rife with distrust. Sonu religious sects experienced a resurgence in the decades following the Marajeshi gravity experiment and comprise the belief systems of significant portions of the population. Religions center on spirits of light and dark, and texts of the Sonu suggest the world is undergoing a time of punishment for constructing the ancient cloud wall, but will be restored to greatness as a society once their chastening is complete. Mystics occupy the cloud wall ruins at the time of Interregnum.
Sonu [Shade Callers/Invokers] who venture from the homeworld find work as spies, assassins or pirates. A master Sonu [Shade Caller] is only detectable on the infrared spectrum and is armed with dark-light weaponry and traditional invisible bone knives, obtained either as intergenerational gifts or fashioned from the limbs of Sonu slain in ritual duels.
Some train [eṣo ekun,] the descendants of domesticated pets that were also infected with the cloaking virus and resemble scaled panthers; the largest can grow the size of a horse. These terrifying creatures can endure extreme environments—some even rumored to withstand interstellar vacuums for brief instances—and once hunted the Sonu in the Dark Age but now serve them once more.
Sonu forces are not as battle hardened and efficient as Arcadians, nor punishing and merciless as Marajeshi diamond reavers, but they are among the more terrifying of warriors to encounter within the Known, striking in secret, and whispering to their prey before slitting their throats. They rely heavily on surprise and a general ignorance throughout the Known of their existence, and can be detected with proper audio or infrared equipment, perceptive animals or telepathy.

created by DaVaun Sanders