Auroran Repopulation Project

**The Auroran Repopulation Project** was the reclamation and transformation of Io as designed by the remnants of the Auroran Federation. After the fallout of the Jupiter Incident, Io was left desolate and devoid of life. The surviving Aurorans took the five remaining spaceships of their fleet to Io and permanently landed them on the planet's surface. Combining the spaceship's resources with their technological genius, the Aurorans terraformed Io into the planet it is today.

## Purpose

The Auroran Federation set their sights on Io with the intention of finding a new home. However, the aftermath of the Nova meant that none of this was possible. In spite of this, the Aurorans devoted their time and energy to doing the next best thing; creating a home for their successors. Thus was the Auroran Repopulation Project conceived. Effectively, the plan could be summarized in the three following objectives:

1. Terraform Io to make it habitable for life.
2. Create life and release it unto Io.
3. Instill culture and society to humanity's successors.

Ideally, the Aurorans wished to create a world not too dissimilar from the one they had lost. Much of the terraforming process lead to the creation of a similar atmosphere, similar biomes and even similar flora and fauna. In addition, the sky barrier the Aurorans erected to protect Io from cosmic radiation and other such phenomena is identical to that of the night's sky as seen from Earth, an unusually sentimental choice on their part. Much of life they created from the Spire of Euclid also resembled organisms found on Earth, from mundane animals such as dogs, cats, foxes and deer to creatures from Earth's historic past such as Sabertooth Tigers, dinosaurs and dire wolves. And to top it all off, the Aurorans recreated humanity as it was long before the final days befell their home planet.

However, the Aurorans were not content with a simple one-to-one recreation. Underlying their core philosophy was the desire for mortality to achieve new heights, to transcend their limitations. With this in mind, the Aurorans started to create new species to inhabit Io. Some were creatures long etched into their mythology, such as dragons, krakens and hydras, while others were entirely new and distinct to Io, such as the Solar Delomaru. The same process was applied to mortality. Not just humans would walk the land, but also elves, dwarves, halflings, goblins, kobolds, tabaxi; a myriad of races all designed to occupy certain niches and thrive in certain environments. The Aurorans deemed such deviation from the original blueprint of mortality as necessary for its goals.

However, the completion of the Project was only realized through its Cultural Project. To instill a mythos and a history to Io and its people could hasten the development of civilization and strengthen the new inhabitants bond to their home and each other. In order to do this, the Aurorans created that which they had long since disavowed: gods. In the form of DIV and VOID, two gods would reign over Io. The gods were fed false memories of their origins and instilled with a mutual hatred to bring them into conflict. Through their epic clashes, the Aurorans reasoned mortality would be tempered by the conflict, growing in power and developing constantly developing. However, the Aurorans knew there would be point where there would be stagnation under the gods' oppressive rule. When that time came, mortality would rise up against the gods and cast them down, finally realize the potential their progenitors strove for and vindicating their philosophy. With the death of the gods, mortality would be set upon the path to further their ascendancy, and the Auroran Federation's vision for Io would be complete.

## History

### The Jupiter Incident

The war with the Astari was coming to a close. At the behest of Levin, one of the Astari Elders, the Astari offered to negotiate with the Auroran Federation. The Auroran Fleet was on standby awaiting the lowering of the sky barrier to allow them to land and make peace with the Astari. However, as the sky barrier went down, Jupiter underwent a catastrophic transformation. With the release of the undead god Kaasma, an eruption of cosmic fire tore through the Auroran Fleet and the planet of Io. This cataclysm wiped out the Astari and all other life on Io, while the Auroran Fleet was obliterated. Only five ships survived the resulting Nova; the *Atlas*, the *Archimedes*, the *Candor*, the *Euclid* and the *Xenocrates*. The survivors of these ships, wracked by the devastation Kaasma had wrought, took their battered vessels to Io to regroup.

### Landfall on Io

The surviving Aurorans finally achieved their objective of arriving on Io. However, the circumstances were not to their liking. Io was a dead world thanks to the Jupiter Incident, and so few of their people survived to properly colonize the planet. They landed their damaged starships and, in the knowledge they would never fly again, they rooted the ships into the earth, transforming them into facilities to aid their reclamation of the planet. Each of the five facilities established a communication network as well as a travel network to keep in contact.

### The Repopulation Project

It is uncertain who first proposed the Repopulation Project, but it was decided that the surviving Aurorans would commit all their efforts and resources to making Io habitable again. In addition, it was decided that while the Aurorans themselves would not inherit the planet, a new form of humanity would in their stead. Thus began the Auroran Repopulation Project. Drawing on their research into Astari magics and the discovery of the Deitic Veil, the Aurorans were able to manifest life and matter and design it to suit their needs. They expanded their converted ships and assigned each of them different tasks. The Euclid would serve as the main creator of biological organisms, while the Atlas would be essential to the Cultural Project.

Over an undetermined period of time, the five facilities would terraform Io to resemble that of their former home planet, complete with oceans, different biomes and many recognizable flora and fauna, as well as several that were not. They also erected a sky barrier of their own to protect the planet and contain its atmosphere, which was identical in appearance to the skies of Earth. Once these two objectives were met, the Aurorans would create mortality, a multitude of different species that used humanity as their template. Their differences would allow them to inhabit different niches and fulfill different roles in the new societies they would create.

### The Birth of the Gods

With the planet of Io now habitable and populated by all kinds of creatures, the Aurorans moved to the final phase of the Repopulation Project. The Cultural Project was incredibly important to the Auroran's vision of mortality. Like they had themselves, they wished for mortality to struggle their way through trial and tribulation to grow stronger and progress towards greatness. To foster this desire, the Aurorans engineered the creation of that which they had long since rejected: gods to rule mortality. Their logic was that the gods would allow societies to develop to a point when they would outgrow them, and eventually overthrow their gods for the benefit of mortality. To this end, they created DIV, the God of Radiance and VOID, the God of Nothingness.

Using the Deitic Veil, the Aurorans carefully designed these deities and grew them from the seeds of a great tree under the Xenocrates. After two failed attempts, the third iterations of DIV and VOID were deemed fit for purpose. Under the watchful eye of Doctor Dyvania Voired, the two gods were implanted with false memories of their origins and had their personalities programmed to act in opposition with one another. To maintain an uneasy balance between these two powers, the Three Wise Ones Project created three individuals; Ghaspar, Bathlazar and Melchoir. The three acted as mediators between mortality and the gods and would eventually set up the conflict that would result in mortality turning on their gods.

### Repopulation Realized

The Repopulation Project, though demanding and complex, proved to be a resounding success. Io became a shining jewel of biodiversity that occupied every corner of the globe. Mortality formed their own cultures, kingdoms and history, with the gods playing a central role in many of them. Mortality also gained power from those gods, giving them what they Aurorans had long been denied; magic. As the years passed, the gods went to war, providing the harsh environment the Aurorans wanted to force mortality to grow and adapt. Even in times of peace, the gods proved to be a smothering influence, denying mortality the chance to flourish on their own. With the fallout of the Voidstar Incident incited by Ghaspar, the opportunity arose for the gods to finally be overcome. Bathlazar gathered the heroes that had faced down his counterpart's machinations and helped guide them towards the ultimate aim of the project. The heroes succeeded in their mission as envisioned, and DIV and VOID were cast down simultaneously. Though life went into a temporary stasis, mortality survived and adapted to this new paradigm and began to flourish in the absence of the gods. With the deaths of DIV and VOID, the Repopulation Project was finally complete, securing the Aurorans' legacy on Io for centuries to come.

## Methodology

The Aurorans used their remaining starships as the nexus of the Repopulation Project. The starships, which became terraforming stations, rooted themselves into and under the earth. The Aurorans were able to expand and modify the facilities to better serve their purposes as well as implement defensive measures to protect them. Constructs were also fashioned for upkeep and defenses.

The creation of flora and fauna, as seen in the Spire, required the Aurorans to tap in to the Deitic Veil. The Veil was a source of limitless energy and allowed the Aurorans to create life and matter at will. The Deitic Veil was also used to create DIV and VOID. The two gods were required to gestate for a period of time in a large treelike structure, also likely made using the Veil.

## Participants

The survivors of the Auroran Fleet were the masterminds behind the Repopulation Project. They took command of the terraforming station, acting as administrators and carrying out their duties. The following are the key members involved in the project.

# **Dr Dyvania Voired**

 Administrator of the Ziggurat of Xenocrates and Head of the Cultural Project
## Trivia

* The Auroran Repopulation Project was first discovered by the Astral Academy in Astral Academy Episode 11. The title and details of the project were later revealed in Mainframe of Atlas Episode 3.
* Though the Aurorans operated the terraforming stations, only Dr Dyvania Voired was encountered in the Ziggurat of Xenocrates. It is unknown who operated the other facilities, or if they are still alive.