#igneous nation

[selkra-souza]

@spacequeerz420 Rutan didn't start the internet god phenomena :) Other zrai rarely engage with the AI gods since most zrai either live on their homeworld or in space colonies alongside (usually) the nedal. Rutan is a rare case with access to the AI god servers.

The AI gods were first built by masakas centuries ago to help manage manufacturing, agriculture, trade, diplomacy and other functions of civilization. As they became more reliant on their increasingly more advanced AI servers, their animistic cultures synchronized the AI into their spiritualities as provider deities. The masaka space age started with their AI gods leading them to mine space bodies for more resources.

These AI gods tend to prioritize resource acquisition and distribution, and often bud new AI to help carry out this agenda. Zonnark is a rare budded AI that deviated from its parent AI. Instead of doing what it was made to do, it instead chooses to scour the intragalactic internet to haunt users by glitching their programs, distorting UI and corrupting files in spooky ways.

So the masaka do have a handle on the nitty gritty of science but eventually ended up worshiping the fruits of their science anyway. Meanwhile zrai like Rutan who were raised in a rural village without most space alien technology is more inclined to anthropomorphize (xenopomorphieze) it :v

[selkra-souza]

Doodle of a masaka about to enjoy some imported GMO worm slices on a pike.

[selkra-souza]

One of the most prominent results of the work of masaka and delorix agricultural scientists is the staple crop of sessile worms. These are genetically engineered oligochaete-like worms from the masaka taxonomic tree that have been modified for lifelong stationary lives. Their neurological systems have been removed, their mouths have been converted to mycilia-like tendrils for absorbing nutrients, and they're designed to easily regrow after being cut into pieces as long as their tendrils are still rooted. These worm crops have been developed to make farming meat for masakas less resource intensive, as they are obligate carnivores. Nowadays these crops are common among masaka colonies across the galaxy, present in communities from factory farms in metropolis cities to logs in rural communities like in the above picture. All they require to grow is a damp, minimally ventilated moist environment, and scraps of vegetation to feed off of. They can be processed in a variety of ways, including as stuffing in baked or fried dough, grilled, sauteed, pickled, dried in salt, as well as eaten raw. As widespread as these GMO crops are, there are masaka planet colonies (or smaller communities) who choose to abstain from producing these crops, preferring instead to continue to cultivate their traditional farm animals.

[selkra-souza]

This solar system is the main setting for the spaceship alien roommates Rutan, Vertex and Donelja. This is a draft I've been working on the past few months that's set in stone for the most part, but potentially could get some future adjustments. The planets don't quite have names yet.

To put the image summary in text: The Spectrum Solar System is the home to Rutan, Vertex and Donelja. It orbits a main sequence star that’s a bit larger and hotter than Earth’s Sun, and exists within the nebula where both galaxies of Broken Yolk impact. It’s a colony system with a higher population and sophant diversity than the average system due to having two Goldilocks zone planets, easily terraformable moons, and an abundance of metals to mine from two asteroid belts. Many immigrate here from neighboring systems into terrestrial or space colonies to enjoy the system’s abundant resources and rich multicultural societies.

A Rhodo Nation-inhabited sol system rich in resources often has continentoids, which are dwarf planet sized supermegafauna bioengineered by Rhodo scientists, because populating the universe with as much life as possible is a common and prominent core value of theirs. They are mostly found in the Goldilocks zone orbit or closer, in order to maximize access to starlight for photosynthesis. There are unique species in this system, and they’re the charismatic face of this system to the wider galactic community :)

For the trio of roommates, they usually take their ship to and from the Rhodo Nation colony to one of the Igneous Nation moons for Donelja's masaka taxon environmental conservation work. They also make trips to the Aurora Nation for reasons I'm not totally sure of besides Rutan likes traveling in it's metropolitan cities. Vertex mostly tags along complaining the whole time and wanting to hoard knick knacks.

[selkra-souza]

Very old art from 2017 that I dug up that includes outdated fingers but here's a common eating utensil traditionally used by masakas for skewering food. These pikes come in countless qualities and styles, some being more luxurious than others. Historically, they've also been used as combat tools, and despite modern laser guns being more viable weapons, to this day recreational combat lessons for ancient fighting styles are still taught by cultured mentors.

[selkra-souza]

@austintrashman

The most notable characteristic of the delorix homeworld: Rhodo, named after their red plants, is that it's tidally locked, normally this would mean extreme temperature difference across the planet, but an active atmosphere with heavy winds manages to distribute their stars' heat enough to harbor a wide diversity of organisms.

The masaka homeworld: Igneous (I misspelled it on the image), is a very warm world named after its volcanic activity and rocks used in blacksmithing. It's notably dry throughout most its surface, save for a single large ocean on one side, a region humid enough for rain forests to naturally grow around it. Another notable characteristic is the north side temperate and arctic red desert, which gets chilly at the lowest during winter.

The colder planet of the nedal homeworld: Aurora, named after the magnetic field activity seen widely from the temperate to polar regions, is primarily surfaced with oceans and continents carpeted in blue grasslands, with pockets of forest.

I wanted the zrai homeworld: Venous, named after the rivers that many zrai populate that look vein-like from an ariel view, to have continent-sized lagoons but that would probably require planet-busting levels of volcanic activity, so I'm now opting for an ocean planet speckled in normal-sized islands and lagoons.

The smazel homeworld was blown up at the climactic end of a religious crusade centuries before they encountered the other alien nations, and since they kept no empirical records of their "sinful" planet, scientists and historians from the other alien species can only infer what it was like based on smazel physiology and their mythologies recounting what it was like, which was apparently violently volcanic and desolate.

I still don't know what kind of stars they orbit yet, and these planets may get adjustments as I gain a better understanding of geology and cosmology.

[selkra-souza]

A kwiip in their native desert environment, where the rocks and sands shine white, strong winds carve the plateaus, and there are plenty of succulent pollen pods to stay hydrated with as long as you run fast and far. I want to practice backgrounds more, so here’s a quick practice. I feel my biggest challenge is shading with enough values.