Asthosus History Archive

Once, in Serpulos solar system, a lush planet filled with large oceans existed. Its inhabitants called their planet "Asthosus." It contained abundant life. A civilization of great power and knowledge inhabited Asthosus. These people were native to the planet and did not colonize it by landing on Asthosus from a different planet. Their life as they knew it was created on Asthosus itself. Despite their great power and knowledge, the people of Asthosus were not as advanced scientifically as other planets in the solar system. They had only just invented interplanetary travel. Asthosus had very few worries. War and diseases were but few. The only thing that put a strain on the Asthosians was the heat of the sun, as Asthosus was comparatively close to it. The only other issue the planet constantly faced was a fight for power between two political parties. The one party - called the Trumir - thought that the technological advances brought only good things. Trumir tried to advance the research in all fields further. The other party - called the Arumis - thought that life on Asthosus was better before inventing interplanetary travel and that Asthosus should return to that state. A few years after the invention of interplanetary travel, the Asthosians began experiments on terraforming. Their first test ran on Trecara, Asthosus' moon, which had been a lifeless celestial body without an atmosphere. The terraforming test was successful, and Trecara was transformed into a lush and life-friendly moon. An outpost was created on Trecara to help monitor the solar system and the state of Asthosus and its people. After a few years of this outpost existing, a powerful force generator was installed in it to deflect a major amount of the sun's heat and radiation. Furthermore, two devices were installed on Asthosus and Trecara to connect and protect both from threats other than the sun's heat. Because of the great success of terraforming Trecara, one of Asthosus' oceans was tried to be terraformed into liveable terrain for the thriving expansion of the planet's people. While this experiment was in progress, a solar wind discharge erupted from the sun. Luckily, the force generator installed on Trecara was able to deflect most of this discharge and prevent further damage. Or so the Asthosians thought... A large part of the eruption energy managed to bypass the force shield and directly hit the terraforming devices that were running. The machines went out of control and threatened to destroy a major part of the Asthosian civilization. Luckily, though, the best scientists were able to avoid this catastrophe by launching the terraforming devices into outer space last-minute where they exploded. Because of this mishap, the Arumis party managed to finally gain control and take power over Asthosus. A few hundred years went by. Asthosus and Trecara were still thriving. Because of the Arumis gaining power, the outpost on Trecara was abandoned, and the force projector that had been protecting Asthosus against the sun's threats was out of power and no longer functional. The Arumis made sure to create weapons capable of mass destruction. One day, as a result of another planet's experiments, a devastating geomagnetic storm was released from the sun. The storm hit Trecara first, disabling the final pieces of infrastructure that were still running to protect Asthosus. Scientists rushed to reinstate the devices. While working on this device, it ruptured in a disastrous explosion that took down multiple major cities nearby and also hit the storage facility for the most powerful Asthosian mass-destruction weapons. Millions of civilians died in great agony. Because of these catastrophes, Asthosus' atmosphere was almost completely destroyed. Temperatures rose slowly but constantly. At some point, all attempts at saving Asthosus were in vain. The entire population was wiped out by the extreme heat. The heat became so great that even Asthosus' oceans started to dry out. All life was destroyed at this point. Only a tiny bit of life managed to survive in small puddles of oasis water. Thus, Asthosus turned into the rough and harsh planet we know it as.

The Arumis Faction

Before the days of Asthosus' destruction, the Arumis Faction was a political party on Asthosus. Their motives were never completely revealed. All that is known is that this specific party was one of the most violent in Asthosus' government. Their main directive was to preserve the life as it was on Asthosus. Changes were frowned upon by this party. They did everything in their power to "protect" what they thought was right. In the end, it was the people of this party that caused the destruction of Asthosus through their creation of weapons of mass destruction that blew up in the cataclysm. All that is left of this faction today are their drones and machines, still programmed with the directive to "protect and preserve" the planet. These units function as your enemy on Asthosus.

The Trumir Faction

Before the days of Asthosus' destruction, the Trumir Faction was a political party on Asthosus. Their motivation was to advance research and develop new technology. This party was known as one of the most peaceful parties in the Asthosian government. Their main directive was to never be at a standstill. "Progress is key." There was a constant struggle between the Arumis and the Trumir. The Trumir constantly fended off the Arumis; sometimes in war, sometimes in politics. All that is left of this faction today are their drones and machines, still programmed to defend the planet against the Arumis' action. These units function as your own on Asthosus.

Barite Creatures

Barite creatures are a type of mutant life, commonly found in Asthosus' Barite biomes. They evolved slowly from tests of biological weapons, conducted by the Arumis faction. Their substance state is not quite solid. They are constantly in a state of melting and regrowing. Their bodies have grotesque appearances with holes covering their bodies. They are naturally neutral but react to any technology by spitting highly radioactive Barite goo onto it. Since they are, in some way, biological, they aren't created like a machine. Instead, they grow inside Barite Hives that spread their roots and substance around them in the form of Hive Tiles and Hive Walls.

The special properties of Asthosus' Barite resource

Barite on Asthosus is a lot different from the Barite we see elsewhere. It has a radiation level about 5 times as high as Radium. The radiation of Asthosus' Barite is so high that it is capable of destroying metal and metal-based objects. Some cases of this resources radiation have been seen to even corrupt a units internal chips and coding. Nevertheless, if handled properly, Barite is an invaluable resource for defence, unit creation and offense.

Vents on Asthosus' surface

Vents can be found all over the surface of Asthosus. Most of them were found to contain or produce harness able pressure. Others, like the ones in the Barite biomes, emit radiation that can be harnessed for power. The cause of creation for these vents is not entirely clear. The most logical theory is that they were created through the terraforming tests that caused pressure to build up under the planets surface. After hundreds of years, this pressure broke through the planets mantle at weaker spots to create the vents now found on Asthosus. Whatever the case may be, these vents are invaluable as they provide important resources.

Memorial Recordings

The strongest enemy of each major sector on Asthosus seems to carry a part of a story. Once defeated, hidden machines automatically transcribe this message into Memorial Recordings that are readable to us. Perhaps, if one was to defeat all major guardians and gather all transcriptions, a picture of Asthosus full story could be pieced together? The transcription devices are unfortunately unable to be located. But in the end, it has to be this way. They complete a job that we can not.

Biological properties of Kelp

Curiously, despite the extreme temperatures on Asthosus, Kelp is able to grow and survive in Oasis Water. After examination of the biological structure of these plants, a few discoveries have been made. Kelp as an organism appears to be a remnant of life from the days of old. This is the only plant that was able to take advantage of the thin atmosphere. It allowed the Kelp to collect much more sunlight. This lead to a faster photosynthesis rate that kept the species alive even in these harsh conditions. The variation of Kelp on Asthosus also seems to be lacking mitochondria, using glucose directly to allow for a production of a special heat-resistant coating goo.

Mineral concentrations in Oasis Water

Oasis Water can be found in small to medium-sized puddles all over Asthosus' surface. In order to find out why this liquid is not evaporating because of the extreme heats, experiments have been conducted. Oasis Water found on Asthosus appears to contain an abundant and abnormal amount of minerals. These minerals help to prevent evaporization. An artificial reproduction of these minerals was not possible, even after extensive testing. Their chemical structure was also as complicated as could be imagined, making a clear declaration nigh impossible.

Barite Hives

Barite Hives are immense living structures responsible for the growth and evolution of Barite Creatures. They are native to the Barite biomes of Asthosus and have slowly spread through layers of Hive Tiles and Hive Walls, forming a semi-sentient ecosystem. Originally the result of Arumis bioweapon experiments, the Hives adapted to their harsh radioactive environment by developing biological data retention and transfer systems. The Hive is not a mindless mass; it learns from every encounter. Each Barite Creature grown within a Hive is influenced by neural residue stored in biological "Neural Cysts" embedded deep in its walls. As more creatures are grown, destroyed, and regrown, the Hive accumulates experience, adapting each new generation to be more reactive and, in some cases, self-aware. While the Hive itself is not conscious in the traditional sense, it functions through a distributed network of chemical signals, nerve-like fibers, and memory cysts. This allows it to refine its creatures toward intelligence without central control, making each Hive a growing organism with long-term memory and a type of instinct. Rarely, certain Barite Creatures develop far beyond their peers - retaining memory, planning ambushes, or communicating with their Hive. Should you come across such a creature, be advised to not trigger it.

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