Elytrio
Divided Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland
Elytrio is the fourth planet orbiting an unnamed sun. Though it used to have a thriving ecosystem, with biomes ranging from rain forest to arctic tundra, as well as functioning nation-states producing advanced technology, the planet was devastated when its residents initiated a global thermonuclear war just after the end of the Gap.
Elytrio is the home world of the ghibranis, beetle-like humanoids who achieved much in the field of robotics and fully automated many of their major cities. They once worshiped an aspect of Damoritosh, which shaped the race into a strong coalition of militarized states in which religious servants of the Conqueror filled key advisory positions. About 300 years ago, while the world's leaders were still addled by the effects of the Gap, the existing tensions bubbled over into a war that engulfed the planet. Most of the Ghibrani race was destroyed in this conflagration, and only a small population survived in a city named Arkeost, protected by a dome of force.
Only a decade later, Arkeost's leaders realized the city couldn't sustain the population within, and so they concocted a dishonest plan to trick a percentage of the residents into leaving of their own volition. They invented a deity named Mother Touloo, who promised salvation to those ghibranis who gave up the luxuries of civilization. More than half of the surviving ghibranis emigrated to the nearby wastelands to court this false god's favor. The following centuries, as well as healthy doses of lingering radiation, caused a physical division to occur between the two factions of ghibranis. The ghibranis in the wastes lost the use of their wings and developed hardier exoskeletons; they became known as "husks". Those who lived within the surviving city kept their wings but became thinner and more fragile; they are now called "membranes".
Today, the husks continue to believe in the fictional Mother Touloo, while the membranes have all but forgotten their true past. The husks remain focused on survival in the harsh wastelands surrounding the city, competing against vicious fauna for survival. They view the membranes as keepers of The Vast "metal graveyard" of the old city. Meanwhile, the membranes lead a relatively privileged lifestyle, as some of the ancient technology has persisted, but centuries of indolence have made them unaware of the treacherous deeds perpetrated by their ancestors.
Two barren moons.referred to as the Companions.circle Elytrio in opposing orbits. Though ghibranis never attained full spaceflight, they were able to construct automated research facilities on both moons; after hundreds of years of disuse, only a couple of these stations are still functional, and those only barely.
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