Public Catalogue
Orion Spire
Space Fantasy
Where space exploration and advanced technology meet magic, mythology and supernatural wonders.
Overview
Millenia ago, Humanity has ventured into space and slowly colonised the many solar systems of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. There, Humanity discovered it is the sole spacefaring civilisation and encountered alien-life mostly in the form of bacteria or strange animals. In its thirst for knowledge, Humanity also came to understand that the laws of physics that rule the Universe are subjective concepts inherently linked to the psyche and the minds of sentient creatures. Human knowledge, technology and spirituality became all reflections of the same intellectual concepts merging hard science, philosophical truth about the nature of life and the Universe and enlightenment about the human soul. Humanity has learnt that there is life after death, though it does not know what this life is. It also learnt of the two fundamental forces of the Universe that permeate and underpin everything else: the “Light” which represents the energy found in all things, the lifeforce in the human soul and the shape of the material Universe; and the “Void” which fills the emptiness of the Universe, connects space and time into a single, wrinkled fabric, and whispers in the dreams and minds of the sentient races of the Universe. With time, scientific discoveries relating to the Light and the Void led to the formation of cults that made scientific knowledge into esoteric faiths. Churches dedicated to the Light and the Void supplanted old Earth faiths, and through discipline and study, the acolytes of either force learnt to bend these powers to their will: while followers of the Light learnt to harness energy and life, students of the Void learnt to bend space and time, and enter the minds of others. The mystical arts of Lux Mederi slowly replaced traditional medicine, while the Voidfarers, humans trained to control the Void, enabled Faster-Than-Light travels across the Orion Arm. Through the powers and technologies granted by the Light and the Void, Humanity has spread across millions of star systems, all loosely connected via the Human Preeminence, a secretive yet almighty theocratic governing body that drives Humanity’s path among the stars. Orion Spire stretches across six thousand habitable systems, a galaxy-spanning network of crystalline space stations, bio-luminescent arcologies, and orbiting temples humming with psychic energy. It is the manifestation of the Preeminence’s authority and is known for the Silence Gates—massive Void-forged rings where ships fold space—and the annual Convergence, when millions of Clerics of the Lux Mederi project their souls into a shared stellar dream. The Spire breathes with thought; entire cities adjust layout based on collective mood. Most citizens have minor psionic sensitivity, sensed as a faint pressure behind the eyes. What surprises outsiders is how mundane the miraculous feels. A person might heal a broken bone with a hum, while commuters glide through time-dilated tunnels, sipping tea that remembers how it was grown.
Society
The Human Preeminence governs through spiritual consensus, not force. Decisions are made in the Choir Circuits, neural-linked councils where high-ranking Acolytes of the Light and the Void merge consciousness for weeks at a time. Local colonies manage daily affairs, but all defer to the Choir’s final resonance. Dissent is rare but punished through synaptic pruning—temporary neural dampening that leaves one emotionally numb for months. Families track ancestry not by blood but by psionic lineage, and marriage often requires compatibility testing of soul-frequency profiles.
Technology
Ships use Void-sails—membranous fields that ride spacetime wrinkles—to jump between Silence Gates. These sails degrade after each jump and must be regenerated using a crewmember's stored consciousness fragments. Light-based tools manipulate cellular regeneration and plant growth but require daily attunement through meditation. Psionic amplifiers, worn behind the ear, boost mental abilities but risk addiction from overexposure to shared mindscapes. Most technology functions only when users maintain a stable emotional frequency, making engineers also trained in emotional regulation.