When Warp Squad 16 travelled through the wormhole they were split into the Wanderers and thrown out into a dangerous new star system. They arrived in a place where other planets and species had already long existed, having been previously taken by the wormhole. Factions had been forged by these different inhabitants due to ideological differences, for protection, and for power, amongst other reasons.
The Wanderers will each need to choose a faction to join if they want to survive in this strange new system.
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List of Factions in the Wanderverse:
¶ The Syndicate
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When the world’s ending, it’s better to drink a beer and crack a smile than to fall to your knees and weep. At least, that’s what members of this pragmatic faction believe. The Syndicate isn’t interested in the petty interplanetary conflicts going on around them. But these guns for hire are interested in dust — and all the things that dust can buy them.
If you’ve got a grudge — and you’ve got the money — head to the back of the taverna and look for the only person wearing a smile on their face.
Can you get it done? you’ll ask.
I’m in the Syndicate, they’ll reply. I always get it done. Question is, can you afford it?
“Money makes the weed go round.”
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¶ Commonwealth of the Arachnid Queen
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All hail the great Arachnid Queen.
This ancient being burned with hunger from her journey through the wormhole. She found nourishment on a planet of peaceful traders, satiating herself on their bodies before making her nest in their remains. Buildings and ships now lie like the rotting carcasses of metallic insects, trapped eternally inside crystal-thread cocoons.
The Commonwealth worships their Queen out of fear as much as awe. They hold regular feasts for her, preparing her meals from whatever captives they can take and then delivering the food from orbit. As long as they keep her hunger at bay, they are certain she will protect them.
“We’re all insects who will one day feed the Queen.”
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¶ Union of Mandated Peace
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Thousands flock daily to the Union, praying for a better tomorrow. These worn-out peoples are dissatisfied and disillusioned by the constant fighting around them. The Union speaks to them, for it too desires an end to all war. There has been enough slaughter without reason, without achieving anything of importance.
However, peace must sometimes be encouraged with the blade of a knife or the barrel of a gun. Peace might require an end to personal freedoms. To individuality. The Union of Mandated Peace will go to whatever lengths necessary to bring about a better tomorrow. And at least blood spilled in the name of the Union is done so for the ultimate reason: peace.
“People don’t know what’s best for them. Fortunately, we do.”
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¶ Cybercore
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Cybercore believes that our weak biological shells hold us back from ultimate perfection. They are willing to push the boundaries of science and biology — regardless of risk — genetically and cybernetically enhancing their bodies for any possible advantage. Cybercore members share a linked neural-network for enhanced communication.
“We’re trapped inside these shells no longer.”
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¶ New Frontier Territories
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It’s not just living beings that arrive through the wormhole, but planets, too. Snatched from their traditional orbits these worlds arrive in states of flux, their magma-bellies churning, spewing toxicity into their atmospheres.
Most people inside the wormhole think these planets as utterly uninhabitable. And indeed for most factions they are. But members of the New Frontier Territories see them only as a challenge, as an adventure — nature to be tamed, conquered, and collected.
“What doesn’t kill you just isn’t trying hard enough.”
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¶ The Gate Keepers
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Once every cycle, the Gate Keepers hold a mystic ceremony inducting a new member into their ancient order and bestowing upon them the sacred knowledge. The ceremony is held on a sheer cliff high above the Ocean of Oblivion, where the tides are so strong even metals are rendered to dust.
This newly inducted member is both blessed and cursed by the knowledge of the Keepers, for it is explained to them what the wormhole was created for, of why they all are trapped inside this place. Of the fate of all things to come.
It is difficult to hear one’s fate. Most imbued with this knowledge choose to dive headfirst into the ocean. The circle of new Keepers grows slowly.
“Knowledge is reason, reason is life, life is death.”
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¶ Umbra Confederacy
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A coalition of spies and thieves, the Umbra Confederacy rarely wages war directly with other factions. Instead, using their preferred modus operandi, their members infiltrate enemy factions, pulling invisible strings to start wars on their behalf.
At the heart of the confederacy is the Shadow Council — eight beings of ultra-intelligence who live in a fortress of darkness and have not seen their own faces in decades, let alone those of the other members. From here, they discuss recent situations and hand out new orders.
“If you are comfortable with the darkness inside, you will be able to smile when the final darkness arrives.”
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¶ Empire of Stars
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For countless eons before the wormhole took them, the Empire of Stars ruled vast swathes of territory that spilled through multiple galaxies. They harnessed the power of fusion, directly tapping into the stars in order to run their opulent lives.
It was unthinkable that the Empire could ever fall. But not even they could find a way to prevent the wormhole devouring them.
But inside of the wormhole, multiple species that all once belonged to the Empire have found each other again and forged a new alliance.
They raise their flag and signal the rebirth of the greatest empire the universe has seen.
“It is a great responsibility to be born to rule.”
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¶ Venenum Republic
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Once a faction composed of traders, they were displaced from their home-planet by the great arachnid’s arrival. Although they found new planets to settle on, their wealth and their possessions had been left behind in the evacuation.
A bitterness like poison spread through their hearts, a lust for revenge not just against the Arachnid Queen, but against all the factions that had failed to help them in their hour of need.
Using their old trade connections and the bonds of trust they had once forged, they were able to get close to high-ranking members in other factions. Close enough to drop poison into a drink.
So began their change from traders to assassins. From a welcome sight to a paralysing concern.
It is rumoured that even the Guardians come to them when they need a job carried out with great subtlety.
“Death is best served in tiny, painful doses over a very long time.”
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¶ Coalition for Uncorrupted Biology
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A movement long before Cybercore was born, the Coalition united under the shared belief that only those who are pure of body and blood can be ultimately saved. They believe it is the cyber-sinners — those with cybernetically enhanced biologies — who are responsible for the wormhole. Existence has been assessed by a supreme being, marked as a failure due to our reliance on technology. They believe we have been taken by the wormhole for some form of final judgment. Perhaps if they can cleanse the corruption here, they can still be saved.
The Coalition intends to dismantle any enhanced individual, and in that way, save everyone.
“It is not murder if the victim is no longer a person.”
¶ The Lost Colonies
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An ancient race of hyper-intelligent beings who spent their entire lives on great transport vessels, travelling in pursuit of an answer to the ultimate question: Why?
As they journeyed, they terraformed and colonised planets along their path, leaving a trail like breadcrumbs for if they should ever need to turn back.
But near the edge of expanding space they came across the anomaly. Inquisitive as always, they approached. Soon they were trapped by its pull and stolen through the wormhole.
On the other side they lived alone for countless millennia. They were left by themselves for so long that time distorted their own truths into myths, and reality itself became blurred. Their minds are said to be pocked and demented.
By the time others arrived through the wormhole, the Lost Colonists had changed drastically. They believed that they were the answer to the great question. And everything and everyone else was an untruth, an incorrect answer, that needed erasing.
“To question the result is to insult the answer.”
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¶ Followers of the Singularity
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A union of religious zealots, their fervency is only rivalled by members of the Church of the Purple Flame. In the Followers’ minds, the wormhole didn’t capture them but instead it saved them. All within it have been delivered from chaos — rejoice! The wormhole, they believe, is the essence of the elder God herself, and it has chosen all within it to be its apostles. If there are people too foolish to see this obvious truth, then they must be converted.
Conversion can be as simple as renouncing false idols and freely joining the Followers, or it can be as painful as the creature that is released into the ear of the unfaithful, that burrows into the brain and pits out the frontal cortex, leaving the person as a dribbling but faithful follower.
“May the wormhole deliver us from all evils.”
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¶ Church of the Purple Flame
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There is a planet that circles the wormhole, that burns an eternal purple blaze. It is on this planet that the Church believes the spirit of essence — of life — exists.
It is said that if you drop a sacrifice into the flame, then the fire swirls high and coalesces into an image of what is soon to come. These images, that the Church summon regularly, help provide a path of righteousness for its followers.
For once you know the place that the road leads, it is only a matter of counting out the steps to reach it.
“In the ashes of fire there lies the path to enlightenment.”
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The Plunderers
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A black sea spreads out across infinity, its rough waves pounding the shores of every planet inside the wormhole. But avast! Who be that taming the untamable waves, skull and crossbones raised high above their ship’s prow, voices bellowing out the melody of a half-forgotten star-shanty?
Ah, it’s the old salty space-dogs themselves.
The Plunderers are guided by ancient maps, spinning bottles of rum for compass points. There is treasure to be uncovered inside the wormhole – although what exactly the treasure is, the maps are unclear of. Perhaps it's gold. More likely it’s secrets. Either way, it’ll surely be valuable to someone.
“Dead astronauts tell no tales.”
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¶ Alliance of Dark Matters
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It’s not what you see inside the wormhole that matters, but what skulks within the shadows. The Alliance of Dark Matters is aware of strange goings-on in the blackness beyond the planets. There is the giant eye, for example, that weaves between worlds as it watches over every faction. And there is the world of the dead that none dare even approach. Yes, there are dark matters everywhere that must be discussed.
The Alliance is made up of great thinkers, philosophers, and scientists. They are determined to understand how the wormhole works and discover the reason they have been abducted and placed here.
“We are trapped in our own mindsets far more than in this physical realm.”
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¶ Undead Rites
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Not everyone made it through the wormhole completely alive. Not that it’s a problem for the Undead. In fact, being part-zombie has its advantages: less sleep is required for a start, and then there’s little point showering if you can’t smell anything. And brains – an easy enough snack to come by inside the wormhole – suddenly taste delicious with just a little salt.
All the Undead are asking for is equal rites. Or rights. They’re not entirely sure which. Thinking beyond their immediate needs has gotten increasingly tiring since their death.
“It takes a lot of brains to be a zombie.”
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