The Circinian Empire

Hypothetical fusion between Lonsdaleite-V and Lonsdaleite-H / Valravn and Halcyon.

The neon parts of their coloration are luminescent and are only visible in dark environments. They’re otherwise a very dark, semi-opaque black rust color.

Stellar Year 63,281

Nandi is a strange planet; it is beautiful, with a pristine atmosphere untouched by industrialization. The water is mildly alkali and the air is unusually dense with radon, but everything here seems to thrive despite it. I heard once it used to be a hellish place, almost venusian, until comets carrying alien spores seeded it with flora that cleansed the sky and made diverse organic life possible.

I sometimes wonder if that is how all life began; one accidental, improbable moment somewhere in the universe that created a few unicellular organisms, and those organisms got swept away and carried along stellar winds to other barren worlds, the process repeating ad infinitum. The blueprints would change over time, of course, but everything, all living things, could be traced back to one microscopic arrangement of salts and proteins somewhere out in space.

If that were true, then, in a way, organics could be considered parasitic to the worlds they infest. Without the earth below, plants could not flourish, fauna could not evolve. Organics cannot survive on their own; at the base of it, they all rely on the ground beneath their feet.

I think that makes us not so different; In the same way organics need their worlds to continue their existence, Gems need organic life to harvest energy from.  

But, yet, it is only our kind who are called monsters.

I suppose it doesn’t matter now; the civilization we came from has long since labelled us rejects. At this point I’m not even sure how many years we’ve been on the run.

My companion, Charlie, sits to my right. She’s as tired as I am. I wish with all my soul we could call this planet home; that we could stop and rest and not have to worry about being hunted down.

But they’re still tracking us; more specifically, tracking me. I know not what crime I’ve committed, only that I’ve a horde of bounty hunters on my tail, and I’ve unfortunately drug Charlie into this mess.

Some days I wonder if she hates me. But, if she does, why has she stuck with me for this long?

_______________________

Quip from the Circinus AU, and a test image.

Circinian design alterations of @exlium‘s Stibnite

Tryna figure out how she’d look in my AU’s stylization.

Lonsdaleite-H / Halcyon , a fusion between Moissanite and Boron Carbide

And;

Lonsdaleite-V / Valravn , a fusion between Pink Moissanite and Wolfram Boride

You can find their components here: [ Link  and Link ]

Both fusions are Utility Fusions, meaning their partnership is based on work arrangements, to complete a given task. Hal and Val are much taller than their component Gems, thanks to this AU’s unique property of fusion amplification, which allows a high-sync fusion to become far stronger than one would expect.

Hal is the stronger of the two. Since her component Gems get along very well, her unique personality is much more developed. She’s bubbly, curious, and a little bit of a daredevil. Her weapon is a pair of holographic wings which can break apart into guided anti-gravity missiles that deliver devastating shockwaves of power that suspend matter in mid-air. Useful for mining operations.

Val is the more sensible of the two. They’re weaker, by nature of their component Gems, but they’re more reliable and precise when it comes to using their powers. Pink Moissanite and Wolfram Boride don’t get along well, but because Wolframe Boride is an industrial Gem made specifically for this fusion, Val retains a high degree of coherence, though it does take some effort on both of their parts to remain in sync. Their weapon, like Hal’s, is their holographic wings, though rather than breaking sections away to use as missiles, they gather sunlight or starlight within the holographic panels and convert it to a high-energy anti-gravity laser beam, useful in removing linear sections of earth from mining projects.

Mossy / Moissanite and Roger / Pink Moissanite.

Both Moissanites are important characters in this blog’s AU;  Due to the canon-divergent way Gems are created within the AU, they’re the only two Moissanites within the entirety of the Circinian Empire, handcrafted by Deepdene / Gold Diamond.

Roger is the older of the two; Since his gemstone material was greatly limited in supply, Deepdene chose to use the poorer quality manganese-laced moissanite first, imbuing it with a soul to create Roger.

When he first emerged he was faithful and dependable, always eager to help wherever he could. His ability to alter gravity, and his high durability, made him invaluable in Deepdene’s mining operations, and he quickly became her right-hand lieutenant. 

Over time, he could not keep up with his increasingly difficult tasks, so Deepdene decided to create a second Moissanite from the remaining high-quality material, thus creating Mossy.

Mossy acts like a spoiled child around Roger; she knows she’s superior to him and gloats about it when Deepdene is out of earshot. She is, however, good at her job. Really good, in-fact, and easily puts Roger to shame.

Mossy often harasses Roger, calling him ‘Pinky’ and always finding new ways to prank or degrade him. Roger can’t stand her, but forces himself to get along with her during work.

Roger is bitter about Mossy’s existence; he feels replaced, despite Deepdene assuring him he’s still valuable. He also blames Mossy’s carelessness for the shattering and death of his partner, Lucifera, a Padmaraga he had been part of a permanent fusion with.

Both Moissanites have the ability to bend gravity; They’re able to use this power to lifts huge sections of earth from planets in search of valuable materials. Mossy’s ability is far stronger, but much more unstable. Roger’s is more accurate and reliable, though he can’t affect as great of an area.

The Diamonds from this blog's AU.

Pale : A clear Paragon Diamond that's been created by artificial means. She's obviously unnatural in behaviour, as she lacks the ability to properly express emotions. She's fairly underwhelming in size and keeps to herself. She's not a Court leader and is treated as a civilian Gem. A tiny flaw mars her appearance.

Deepdene : Gold Diamond ; She's teeny-tiny in size but has a heart of, well, gold [and diamond]. She's kind and gentle and leads one of the four Circinian Courts. She's in charge of kindergarten and mining operations, as well as world restoration once her projects are completed. Has a fascination with creating new Gem types. A natural lattice of gold atoms is responsible for the color of her gemstone; this metallic mesh is hypersensetive to aural patterns and allows her to identify any Gem [or material] in the area surrounding her.

DeYoung : Rust Diamond. She's the stubborn lead-engineer for the entire Circinian Empire, and her Court is dedicated to the creation and distribution of technology and architecture. Seems to have some kind of metallic property to her due to the iron deposits in her gemstone, which gives her a pair of wrought iron horns and a ferrous mane. She vaguely resembles an auroch. Her ability allows her to change her own size while retaining proportional strength, making her the largest and physically strongest Diamond of the four Courts.

Wilson : Orange Diamond. She's an unknown Diamond created by accident. She's currently trapped in a duck-shaped body, and is cared for as a pet by a lesser Gem that doesn't realize what she is. Her real name is Boart.

Dresden : Irradiated Diamond. She's the war monarch and one of the four Circinian Court Leaders. She's responsible for battles waged against hostile races or mercenary protection contracts with allied races. Her council of advisors helps plan strategies, and her heavy combat troops are irradiated and are known to be exceptionally dangerous. While many think she is cruel and violent, she's likely the most understanding of the four leaders. The glow from her body can horrifically mutate both living things and other Gems, though it's important not to confuse this effect with true corruption.

Daria-I-Noor : Champagne Diamond. She's the head ambassador for the Circinus Homeworld, responsible for establishing relationships, alliances and trade routes with other sentient species in Circinus.  She's also responsible for biome preservation when a race allows the Circinian Empire to mine a portion of a living planet. Her ability allows her to bend the wills of organic creatures, though most are unaware they're being influenced by her as she acts outwardly kind. Erbium salt impurities in her gemstone give her her characteristic coloration.

Koh-I-Noor : Daria-I-Noor's previous title; some time in the last sixteen thousand years, she and Dresden swapped Courts. Koh-I-Noor was the original general for the Circinian Empire, and a viciously cruel one at that. Dresden challenged her for her position and won, forcing Koh-I-Noor to step down and become Daria-I-Noor.

Tavernier : Dresden's previous title, before becoming the irradiated warlord she is now. Tavernier was the original head ambassador for the Circinian Empire. She chose to take up the mantle of War Monarch after her form became distorted and unusable for interspecies communication. Tavernier was very soft-spoken and gentle-mannered boron blue diamond.

Behold, Team Dumpsterfire, AKA, Renegade Unit Epsilon, as dubbed by Deepdene / Gold Diamond.

They’re a group of Gems who are known to show up whenever something stupid happens. Deepdene’s had her eye on them for a while, though she admits she has no idea who they are.

From left to right:

Torbernite / Toby - She’s a powerful Irradiated Torbernite who seldom speaks. She’s serious, aggressive, and has zero patience for tomfoolery. She’s never spoken of her past and doesn’t want to, but her training indicates her as someone with great military prowess. Her weapon is a warhead launcher; it’s not a Gem weapon, obviously, but a real-world weapon she stores in her gemstone, alongside a few hundred mini-nuke charges.

Cinnabar / Sally - He’s on the short side for a Cinnabarite, good-natured despite being a bit of a coward. Offends easily but is quick to forgive. Is the most joyful of the group, trying his hardest to keep his friends’ spirits up, often through humor. Has a distinctive accent; His weapon’s a boomerang so you can probably guess what kind of accent it is.

Chalcanthite / Charlie - She’s the leader of the group, focused and determined. Can be incredibly standoffish when first met, but warms to honest people quickly. Has a good sense of right and wrong, though often struggles with moral choices. Is surprisingly tactical in combat, and uses her tiny size to her advantage. Her weapon is an arcuballista, a type of crossbow that can crystallize its targets with inert chalchanthite crystals, or deliver a nasty electric zap.

Wilson - Wilson is Charlie’s pet duck, found abandoned on an old Circinian Kindergarten world. Wilson has a gemstone embedded on his chest, making it obvious he’s actually an unfinished Circinian Gem that’s trapped in a default basic form, but Charlie has no idea what kind of Gem he is. Small and flappy, completely harmless.

Asbestos / Abbie - A very unpredictable Gem. She appears to be some sort of pseudo-cluster, and breaks apart into six moths whenever her form is disrupted. Despite that, she seems fairly coherent. As her gemstone is inside her throat in place of her vocal cords, she cannot speak, and she relies on a modified version of sign language to communicate. Her weapon is her wings, and she can whip up a raging storm of glass dust to blind her opponents.

Two Erythrites, Bloom and Ochre, and their semi-permanent fusion, Verge, a Strongite. An updated version of their designs.

They’re a pair of acrobatic Gems who tutor other Circinian Gems on how to properly sync their fusions. While they technically belong to Deepdene / Gold Diamond’s court [part of the Authority of this blog], they don’t wear her insignia.

In their downtime they put on acrobatic displays, mostly to show off their prowess, but also to inspire others.

Ochre is the stronger of the two; She’s stocky, serious, and uses her strength to amaze audiences with feats of power. She throws Bloom into the air during performances and is always there to catch her when she comes back down.

Bloom is the more agile of the two; She’s limber, flexible, and aggressive. Her surprising flexibility gives her the chance to perform insane aerial stunts, and her ability to leap several meters into the air makes her vault routines extra entertaining.

Verge is, predictably, a combination of her two component Gems. Feisty, fierce, and very precise in her movements, she’s a flawless gymnast and acrobat. Ochre and Bloom have perfect synchronicity, but choose to keep Verge’s four-armed configuration as it allows them to pull off ridiculous stunts that would otherwise be impossible.

Despite being made up of two identical gem types, Verge is a higher class of mineral due to a quirk in this blog’s AU, which allows high-sync fusion partners to amplify their power, making fusions stronger the better paired the partners are.

Tetrabor / Boron Carbide and Wolbor / Wolfram Boride, two important characters from this blog’s storyline.

Both are industrial-class Circinian Gems, and the only two of their type, created specifically to fill the role of fusion partners for two ultra-durable Moissanites. Both of them are very small, less than the size of a common Ruby.

They have properties quite unlike that of other Circinian Gems, namely, both are metallic in nature, and borderline impervious to anything you can throw at them. However, besides being nigh-impossible to shatter, they have no abilities of their own, existing only to amplify their respective partner’s powers when fused.

Tetrabor / Tet is the bubbly, happy-go-lucky one of the two. She’s Mossy / Moissanite’s assigned partner. Mossy took to her quickly, and the two have bonded well over time. Their fusion, Lonsdaleite-H, is fully coherent, and the two can easily slip into their fused state on command. Tet is on the naive side, much like Mossy, and has trouble taking things seriously. However, Tet’s kind at heart, to the point they’ve even fostered a duckling as a pet. Tet tends to shy away from larger Gems, but once they get to know someone they’ll climb all over them.

Wolbor / Wol is the reserved, somber one of the two. While Tet and Mossy had gotten along great from the start, Wol’s assigned partner, Roger / Pink Moissanite, outright rejected her at first. Roger had been previously part of a permanent fusion, and he saw his newly assigned fusion partner as an insulting substitution for the partner he had lost. It took several years for Roger and Wol’s fusion, Lonsdaleite-V, to gain any sort of proper coherence. Wol and Roger currently maintain a polite, if cold, work relationship. While she’d never admit it, she’s rather jealous of the warm friendship Tet and Mossy share, since she’s stuck with a grouch.

Buster / Bustamite, a permanent fusion between Roger / Pink Moissanite and Nucifera / Padmaraga.

Buster was a compact, but powerful, fusion with near full-coherence between his component Gems. Roger’s gravikinesis combined with Nucifera’s aerokinesis gave their fusion incredible flight abilities. They were physically strong, often throwing themselves around to fight an opponent mid-air; they had enough force in their kicks to split mountains in half.

Deepdene / Gold Diamond, their court leader, often had Buster utilize their power to carve out swathes of land for future kindergarten/mining operations.

Buster himself was quite unlike his component Gems; Gone were Roger’s napoleon complex and Nucifera’s cold manners, Buster was confident and happy with himself, proud of who he was and almost bubbly from the strong bonds of friendship and love that held him together.

Apricot Zircon, Daria-I-Noor’s Commandship’s communicator. Works with the navigator to plot courses throughout the Circinus Galaxy.

She’s earned the nickname Zerk because she’s absolutely berserk about being on-time and following schedules.

Style test for future artwork. [Full size here]

A Circinian Xenotime, nicknamed Phoenix.

He’s a rather monstrous Gem, very large in size. His weapon is a pair of searing holographic wings which he uses to melt and weld metal. He works under DeYoung / Rust Diamond’s court as a mid-rank engineer.

He’s very polite and is constantly worried about accidentally injuring someone, so he tends to keep to himself.

Two Circinian Calcites; Cali on the left, Celia on the right.

Both work for Deepdene / Gold Diamond, and act as the Deck Officers for the lapidary ward on Deepdene’s flagship. Their ward is in charge of repairing and recutting Gems who’ve been damaged in combat.

While I won’t explain much on this post; The Circinian Gem Empire has a distinct lack of Gems who possess the ability to magically heal others. As such, they’ve found work-arounds to salvage and fix Gems who have been cracked or chipped, using mechanical methods usually involving molten glazes or  amalgamation.  These two Calcites oversee the processes involved in that, as well as look after recovering Gems while they regain the use of their senses.

Cali is prim and proper, very strict and rigid when it comes to protocols.

Celia is lax and gentle, always trying her best to ensure comfort, even if it’s against guidelines.

Doodle of Deepdene / Gold Diamond, from this blog’s AU.

Probably the nicest Diamond you’ll ever meet. Also the smallest. Really, she’s maybe, hip-high to a normal human at best.

She’s asymmetrical and wonky and altogether a complete mess who’s got the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders but she tries to be a good leader as well as she can.

She’s been mistaken for a citrine more times than she can count. Drives her absolutely bonkers. Doesn’t help that she doesn’t have the characteristic diamond-shaped pupils of her class.

She wears glasses; they’re actually a telecom device that constantly reads off information about her flagship’s status.

Gets stepped on a lot by some of her bigger gems but it’s FINE, she’s durable.

The emblem of the Circinian Court ; Rather than the common square insignia of other Authorities, the Circinian Court’s emblem is composed of imperfect diamond shapes arranged over a silver hexagon to form a four-point star.

The Circinian Empire is themed with a compass-inspired aesthetic, as are each of the four courts. [The Circinus Galaxy itself is otherwise known as the Compass Galaxy.]

At the North point is Deepdene’s court; she’s the spearhead and leader for the whole of the empire, and is seen as the guide for the other three courts. She is the solid earth, undaunted and reasonable.

At the West point is Dresden’s court; she’s the conqueror, the harbinger sent to explore dangerous, violent worlds to rid the galaxy of its evildoers. She is the winds of war, tempestuous and unstoppable.

At the East point is Daria-I-Noor’s court; she’s the ambassador, the gentle mediator whose words lay the path for alliances and partnerships. She is the sea of light, welcoming and alluring.

At the South point is DeYoung’s Court; she’s the inventor and engineer, tasked with maintaining and overseeing the Empire’s ever-growing need for tech and starships. She is the fiery forge, imaginative and effusive.