The Maskform Federation

 

    The Maskform Federation is a new military alliance formed by the various clans and settlements of the astral currents in Chunky Space. The Astral Currents have been settled for millennia but they have always been isolated and independent. Only Father Corp raids have pushed them together. They have created a unified force that opposes Father Corp not only in the Astral, but in the material world as well.

    The Maskform Federation has joined the Chunky Space Compact because they need allies and material support. For generations the Maskforms of Chunky Space have ignored the material world. This position is no longer tenable, as Father Corp uses the material world as a base to launch their raids into the astral currents. The Federation is boot-strapping up a real space navy and they need outside help to do so. 

    Before the Federation, Maskform societies were connected by the Caravan Houses, mechant consortiums that would travel between Astral currents. It was the caravan guards that formed the core of the Federation military. The Federation has since evolved beyond those roots, becoming estranged from the Caravan Houses’ economic interests. There is a growing pan-Maskform nationalism that some see as a threat to the traditional order. For now the common enemy of Father Corp keeps the alliance together.

    The Federation military is split into an auxiliary branch and a professional branch. The Auxiliaries are the fighting forces of the various tribes united together. They use their traditional tactics and command structures to fight in astral realms. The professional branch is a completely modern institution that focuses on real space.

    The strength of the Federation Navy lies in the psychic traditions of the Maskforms. All together, the tribes have knowledge of dozens of different psychic disciplines. There are schools for telekinesis, mind intrusion, wild empathy, techno gnosis and some applications that are so obscure they don’t have common names. What is also notable is how the Federation navy deploys these powers as part of a combined arms doctrine. Psychics are assigned to multidisciplinary fire teams with infantry support. Federation forces are powerful, flexible and unconventional.

    The Amorphous live in the cave-like current called The Squeeze. Their name comes from their custom of assuming flexible slime forms, allowing them to squeeze through any gap their mask can fit through. They live in sealed fortresses built around fixed points in the everchanging caves. Each fortress is ruled by a military leader called a Wallmaster who serves at the consent of a council of civil leaders. The Amorphous have been forced to militarize even before the emergence of Father Corp. The Squeeze is also home to the Dig Safe Empire, a militant cult of meme victims that desire only to dig and to spread their compulsion. The various settlements are all united together by ancient pacts, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t infighting. Disputes are settled through ritual one on one combat between warriors wearing tech gnostic battle panoplies 

    The Illuminated live in Siren’s Call, a layered oceanic realm. The layer you experience is dependent on your vibrational frequency, with the catch that the realm itself is always sapping energy. To avoid the dangerous low vibe layers, they carry lightstones, which they use as a  meditative focus to increase their vibes. They live in nomadic, free swimming pods. The only permanent settlement is the crawling city, made out of motile astral coral. The city is home to creches, libraries and workshops; all of the infrastructure they can’t carry with them. The city is ruled by a Headmaster, who is appointed by a council of department heads.  Their power extends only to the city; the pods have no formal leadership structure.

    The Threaded live in the everchanging wilds of the Trail. Navigation in the Trail works by sympathy and connection; by setting your intention towards a person, the Trail will take you to them (though not necessarily without incident or a detour). The Threaded sew special ceremonial fibers into their astral bodies that strengthen their connection to whoever has the other half of their fiber. They build settlements on meta-stable locations, areas where the warping effect of the trail is somewhat muted. Even these islands of apparent stability aren’t permanent, sometimes melting back into the flux of the trail. As a result the Threaded are always exploring the Trail, looking for new building sites. Settlements are typically small and are ruled by two democratically elected leaders; a “Master Sojourner” who handles external matters like diplomacy and trade and a “ Master cultivator” who handles internal matters.

    The Florid are associated with the astral current known as the digital abyss but in truth the abyss is antithetical to long term habitation. Instead, the Florid live in an “astral delta” realm where the abyss flows into the more hospitable dreamscape known as HellBloom. HellBloom is a massive virtual lake overgrown with digital lotuses. The Florid live on island settlements. Each island is dominated by a single hotel. The hotels service the Digital Devils, powerful and demented digital/astral entities who just need a place to unwind and destress sometimes. The hotels are split between worker-owned and private hereditary owners. An economic war has been going on for centuries that has seen the fortunes of the private owners, the so-called “Spa Queens”, wane considerably. They have now embraced Father Corp and rely on it for cheap resupply. The tides of war are turning once again and the unionists are turning to the Federation for help.

    Life on the Ruin Way is in constant motion. Slow moving objects get shunted to a barren oubliette dimension called the neon wastes. The Peregrine maskforms live on convoys of mobile temple complexes. The convoys travel between sacred fix points in the Ruin Way. Each of the four major convoys uses a different primary fuel source, in order to lessen competition. When there are disputes about routes, food sources or secondary fuels they engage in ceremonial conflicts known as “dust ups”, in which mounted warriors attempt to force each other down into the neon wastes. The convoys are theocracies lead by the most accomplished pilgrims.

    The nexus of Maskform civilization in Chunky Space has always been Dream Washed Ortellion. All five major currents have confluxes here, making it a major trading post. The planet’s capitol, Graz Throne, is the largest city in the Federation. All other settlements are much smaller. The nominal ruler of the planet is the Monarch of Graz, but their role is more militant than political. Trained from birth in the Questing Arts, their task is to contain and control astral influence. Graz Throne is administered by the Fool’s Parade, a body of citizens under the sway of the Jubilant Moon. The outlying settlements are ruled by democratically elected mayors. The Maskforms of Dream Washed Ortellion don’t have a collective name like the other groups. They are sometimes called the Mudbound but that is considered derogatory.