The Sanctuary

The **Moons of Osiva**, collectively known as The Sanctuary, are found in the orbit of Alpha Centauri A. They are the ancestral home of the Valati, the nearest native intelligent life to the Solar System. Osiva was first observed in 2021, taking the name Candidate 1. It would not be for another 242 years that the existence of it's moons were discovered.

## Makeup

The Sanctuary comprises of the host planet, Osiva, and it's five major moons: The habitable **Valos**, **Tygros**, and **Auros**, as well as the less inhabitable moons of **Carros** and **Skaros**.

From Osiva, the closest moon is Tygros (pronounced Tie-gros), a habitable moon with **significant tectonic activity**, owing to a historic collision with another of Osiva's moons. The second, Skaros (pronounced Scare-ros), is a moon **not dissimilar from the Jovian moon of Io**. It is the moon most likely to have been involved in the collision with Tygros, though it is also theorised that the collision was instead with another unknown body, which may have destroyed by the impact. The **most central, and largest moon**, Valos (pronounced Val-os), is the **moon which the Valati initially descend from**, prior to their scattering by the Domolaki. It is the **most habitable, and most Earth-like of all the Sanctuary Moons**. The smaller Auros (pronounced Ore-ros) is **much more arid**, owing to a lower amount of water, in comparison to Valos and Tygros. The furthest moon from Osiva, Carros (pronounced Ca-ros), is very much like our own Moon. Though due to it's composition, is notably darker, and as such, it is **only visible with the naked eye from Auros**.

## Expeditions

So far, two expeditions have been made to the sanctuary, by the Hagall IV, and later by it's relief effort

### Hagall Interstellar Vessel

Following a failed landing on Proxima B, and a few years based on Proxima E, The 17 strong Hagall made for the Moons of Osiva, having first observed their existence from the latter planet, seeking refuge from the perceived danger of the inner Proxima System. They successfully landed on the Moon of Valos in 2261. From here, they explored their immediate surroundings, encountering the Valati nation of Nestara. They set about translating the Nestaran language as a basis for communication, before using their newfound channel to learn of the existence of a further 2 Valati Nations in their vicinity, as well as making strides in the understanding of Valati biology and culture.

This would initiate a period of expedition across the Sanctuary, as The Hagall would seek to understand the varying civilisations across the three habitable moons, and it's plight with the Domolaki.

### Hagall Relief Effort

Following an attack on the Hagall by the Domolaki, that captured The Hagall's captain, Ingvar Hauge, and lead to the death of the groups only surviving woman, Heidi Turéll, A relief effort was established. Comprising five ships, three of which transit vessels in the same class as the Hagall (Kaun IV, Oss IV, Noudr IV) and Two retrofitted Military vessels (NMV Sentyr, PMV Volturi), the group were well prepared for the second voyage to the Centauri systems. En route, they encountered A pair of Domolaki ships, which engaged them in a battle, destroying the Noudr. The remaining four ships made a successful, but difficult landing on Valos, aided by the Hagall and the Valati coalition. The landing would herald the beginnings of open conflict between Humanity and the Domolaki, and starting a war for The Liberation of the Sanctuary.

## Geography

### Valos

Valos is very Earth like, hosting a similar range of climates. It's land is divided amongst a few major continents, although it is over 70% water.

### Auros

Auros is notably more arid than Valos and Tygros, having less water than either. As a result, it has one supercontinent, with a number of smaller oceans, found in the moon's Basins. Oceans make up around 45% of the moon's surface.

### Tygros

Tygros is climactically similar to Valos, if not slightly warmer. Tygros is very volcanic, and as a result, has many island chains. This also gives Tygros a significant amount of Mountains, including the tallest of The Sanctuary, Mount Volturi. This splits the Tygros' continents between the lush coastal areas, and the dryer mountain plateaus. Tygros has a surface area of around 70% water.

## Flora and Fauna

Each of the moons have their own native biologies, although a number of species exist across all three, owing to Domolaki influence.

### The Valati

The most notable Fauna of the three moons, the Valati, although native to Valos, can be found on all of Osiva's habitable moons. They are humanoid, and are considered to be relatively mammalian, although they are part of an entirely removed evolutionary line. The Valati bear **bioluminescent markings**, that emit light in a wavelength range of 720nm - 300nm, falling slightly closer to the Ultraviolet spectrum than Human eyesight, and thus, their natural colouration looks slightly purple to humans, as opposed to pure white. The Valati can themselves see roughly this spectrum, meaning that they can see some frequencies of UV light as visible light, although cannot see particularly Red shades. The Valati dye their markings with a **tattoo-like pigment** that filters for certain wavelengths of light, **giving each Valati nation a distinctive hue**. That being said, Valati found on Tygros and Auros, that are younger than Domolaki influence will have markings of a slightly different colour than those initiated before contact with the Domolaki, as the pigments they used were unavailable on Tygros and Auros. For example, the Tambaran silver is very similar to the Stygaran White, with the Tambaran's colour having changed as a result of the pigments available on Auros. The Valati are dark skinned, making their markings notably visible, even in daylight. They are **divided amongst two sexes**, being incredibly similar in function to that of humans. In some circles, the male Valati population significantly outnumbers the female population, due to a number of cullings of the female population, especially in Domolaki influenced areas. However, further from Domolaki influence, the population is more evenly split.

### The Mekifa

The species most closely related to the Valati, the Mekifa share many core traits, though are noticeably missing Bioluminescence, yet retain markings similar to that of their relatives. Furthermore, they are on average around three feet shorter than the Valati, living somewhat shorter lives as well, at around 180 years. The Mekifa are found mainly on Valos, though with a notable population on Tygros. Like their more advanced cousins, they descend from the larger moon, and thus, their introduction to Tygros was almost certainly a result of the Domolaki. Interestingly, the exchange was believed to be accidental, though the exact circumstances by which it happened are unknown. It is hypothesised that a number of the species may have stowed away on a Domolaki transport, extrapolating from similar occurrences in human history, although it has also been proposed that a group of Mekifa were mistaken for young Valati at some point.

## Domolaki Colonies

The largest Domolaki colony is found on Valos, which acts as a forwards expedition base for the nearby moons of Tygros and Auros. It is closest to the Ctharans, to whom, have developed a very hierarchical relationship, with the Ctharans paying the Domolaki a 'tribute', usually consisting of a number of live Valati, often their own. The Domolaki settlement is quite depopulated, with them having an eversion to the lower gravity environment of even the largest moon of The Sanctuary.

## Human Colonies

The largest Human colony is also found on Valos, serving a similar, but more peaceful purpose than it's Domolaki counterpart. It is significantly smaller at the present than the Domolaki, only housing it's founders, the crew of the Hagall. Amongst them, there are 15 crew, growing from the 8 survivors of their failed landing on Proxima B; as well as two prisoners, originating from the Neo-European Space Cruiser Hayat. They are under the influence of the Domolaki, and this is partly known by the Hagall crew. They have established a close relationship with the Valati, particularly the Nestarans.