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This episode carries content warnings for discussion of displaced and unhoused communities.

The news is sour. The revolutonaries known as Millennium Break will be no one\'s savior today. The Ashen of Saboria, of Harborview, have only each other as their protectors. And as they huddle below, sheltered in the shuddering mountain, the enemy arrives from above. The mission is clear in both objective and absurdity: Zark Vapor, Teasel Fauna, Martia H\\xe4ske, and Narmine Te\'Ketch must simply hold the Pact at bay long enough for a miracle.\\xa0

This week on the Road to PALISADE: Lancer Pt. 3

Records Recovered from the Divine, Arbitrage

Factions

Hypha & Ashen:\\xa0The former were a culture of galactic nomads, guided by a paranatural force called the Strand which they could commune with using technological devices built into their antlers. The latter are their descendants, their routes broken by the Principality\\u2019s expansions and occupations, their culture ripped from them.\\xa0

Stel Columnar:\\xa0Famously \\u201ccourted\\u201d by the growing Principality many generations ago, this nation of humanoid synthetics traded freedom for the prestige and security of the Principality. They hid behind imperial walls and pursued the Future, pushing boundaries not only in technology, but in art, commerce, and war. I suppose I can call them cousins, but not with much fondness. Today, they share righteous screeds and fight for the return of something like democracy as part of the Pact of Necessary Venture. What a comedy.\\xa0

The Curtain of Divinity:\\xa0For generations, the Curtain of Divinity operated in the shadows of the Principality, partly as intelligence agency, partly as shadow government. Now they have been dragged into the daylight, and serve as one of the two ruling factions of the whole Principality. Though there are some divisions along questions of secularity, humanism, and cultural taste, in general, leaders of the Curtain are conservative, traditionalist, and nationalistic. They seek the reunification of all five Stels and the permanence of the Divine Principality.

Led, in public at least, by Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh, the Peaceful Princept. In fact, the Curtain has five divisions, each led by a ruthless individual known only by a codename: Silk (diplomacy), Damask (research & inquisition), Lace (military), Linen (economics), and Gabardine (espionage and collaboration).

The Pact of Necessary Venture:\\xa0As their (current) name suggests, the Pact began as a cooperative exploratory committee founded in the late 14th Century of the Perfect Millennium. They sought new territory to conquer, breaking an old taboo in the process, and inviting destruction and fracture. Which is appropriate, as their vision for the future is one where each Stel is granted more autonomy and independence\\u2014some even claim that they would see the Principality utterly destroyed and replaced by a loose affiliation of free states.\\xa0

Despite this, the Pact are no radicals: While they want more independence from the Principality, they have little interest in shaking up the internal power structures of the Stels themselves. After all, their founders were all Elects, and though only two remain (Gallica, elect of the Divine Present, and Rye, elect of the divine Space), they are led by Dahlia, who serves as both Apokine and Glorious Princept.

Persons

Zark \\u201cBanjax\\u201d Vapor (he/they):\\xa0Mechanic, Harborview contractor, and pilot of the\\xa0Ill Portent

Teasel \\u201cDerby\\u201d Fauna (he/him):\\xa0Entertainer, sharpshooter, and pilot of the\\xa0Dressage.

Narmine \\u201cKetch\\u201d Te\\u2019ketch (he/him):\\xa0Former two-bit criminal, current whaler, and pilot of\\xa0The Captain.

Martilla \\u201cJourneyman\\u201d H\\xe4ske (she/her):\\xa0Professional soldier, Pact true-believer, and pilot of the\\xa0Under the Radar.

Kaliope Flow (she/her):\\xa0The de facto leader of Harborview.

Zeke Minuet (he/him) & Deanthe (they/them):\\xa0A pair of researchers into ancient Hypha culture.

Dirwin, Elaina, Stas:\\xa0Strati that had been kidnapped by the Pact of Necessary Venture from Harborview. Now rescued, and en route towards a rendezvous point.

Locations

Saboria:\\xa0A world controlled by the Columnar which they \\u201cgifted\\u201d to a group of Ashen refugees fleeing the Curtain. A fiction, of course. The city of\\xa0Harborview\\xa0where the Ashen live is under constant surveillance. I do wonder, however, whether the Columnar know the irony of the trap they think they\\u2019ve laid.

Articles

The Portcullis System & The Divine Space:\\xa0Huge, distended hexagonal gates that float at the edge of key systems throughout the Principality. Once a week\\u2014or more often, if one has the keys to the kingdom\\u2014each one connects to one other, forming a faster-than-light highway that serves as the logistical backbone of the galaxy. Built by Orion, the technology is a perversion of that used by some of the earliest Divines, tens of thousands of years.\\xa0

Miscellany

Stratus:\\xa0A poorly articulated, unanchored, catch-all term that\\u2019s far outlived its usefulness. In some eras, a \\u201cstratus\\u201d (plural: strati) is said to have special powers of empathy. In others, they have a sort of digital telepresence. There has always been debate as to the origin of these \\u201cabilities,\\u201d whether they are innate or trained or quite literally created. In one long scattered culture, the Hypha, the strati were social and logistical cornerstones, created through careful application of technological skill. Their beliefs were quaint, but one must respect the technique.

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Hosted by\\xa0(@swandre3000)\\xa0

Featuring Austin Walker (@austin_walker),\\xa0Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Sylvi Bullet (@GODSNEXTMARTYR)

Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west)

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

You can purchase Lancer\\xa0 at\\xa0https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf

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