Quick Jump: ? ? ?

  Affinities

  Affinities are inherited biological traits that allow individuals to manipulate specific forms of energy. They first appeared after the colonists arrived on Aralin, but their origin remains unclear. Theories range from environmental triggers to genetic drift to symbiotic bacteria, yet none fully explain their sudden emergence.

  What is certain is that affinities are physiological: they alter the body as well as the mind. For example, Pulsers have a specialized organ (a compressible fluid sac connected to the diaphragm) that stores pressure for release. Each affinity carries unique modifications like this.

  Wave Manipulation Group – Individuals in this group can absorb and release different types of energy. Most of Aralin’s population falls into this category.

  Luminars (~90%) – Manipulate light. Their abilities vary by individual and lineage. Some use it for light projection or illusion.

  Heatsingers (~5%) – Manipulate heat. They can absorb thermal energy from their surroundings and release it as heat blasts or focused burns. Over-absorption is dangerous and potentially fatal.

  Pulsers (~5%) – Manipulate atmospheric pressure, absorbing it to release shockwaves, pressure pockets, or internal bursts of speed and strength. Running out of stored pressure leads to depletion—a painful, often fatal collapse.

  Associated Documents:

  Pulsers: (Training Manual), (Cultural Context)

  Temporals (~30 known) – Time-affinity users. Powers vary dramatically by individual. Most can glimpse into the future or past. Rarer abilities include local time-stopping, rewind loops, or time anchors. Their abilities are among the most unstable—and the most feared.

  Memorans (~300 known individuals) – Possess near-perfect recall. Two major subtypes:

  Cognitive Memorans – Recall sound or visuals with near-flawless precision.

  Kinetic Memorans (2 known full, several known hybrids) – Possess perfect kinesthetic and somatic memory. They only need to perform or observe a motion once to repeat it exactly. This makes them ideal athletes, fighters, performers…

  [Lev] – …and dangerous artists. Seriously. One violin solo, and we’re better than you forever.

  Note on Hybrids: Some Memoran lines with Kinetic potential produce mixed Cognitive–Kinetic variants, all of whom are female. Hybrids commonly display enhanced procedural or motor memory, though too few cases exist to fully characterize the inheritance pattern. Notably, all known offspring of full Kinetic Memorans are hybrids, including Pulser–Memoran combinations. Additionally, all confirmed full Kinetic Memorans to date are male.

  Speculative Note: Kinetic Modulator strains appear partially dominant, likely due to their unusually high symbiont density and affinity for motor–neural tissue. This may allow them to outcompete other Modulator clades during early embryonic development, resulting in stable inheritance across generations despite maternal cytoplasmic bias.

  Affinity inheritance follows asymmetric biological rules rooted in the behavior of Modulator Symbionts—microscopic, energy-regulating organisms passed through the cytoplasm of reproductive cells. Sometimes referred to as Bio-Modulators, these symbionts influence both energy control and developmental pathways in their human hosts.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Affinities are carried by these symbionts and transmitted via gamete cytoplasm. In same-affinity pairings, children almost always inherit the affinty of the parents (Temporal offspring being the sole exception). In mixed pairings, inheritance is typically maternal, since the egg supplies vastly more cytoplasm, and thus far more symbionts.

  Paternal transmission can occur when the father is Pulser, Heatsinger, or Memoran: his sperm may carry enough cytoplasm for those symbionts to colonize the embryo first. This is an individual-specific probability ranging from 0–50%, following a bell curve with a population mean near 20%. (Luminar paternal transmission is rare; causes are still under study.)

  However, high symbiont density in paternal gametes is thought to reduce motility and slightly lower conception rates, creating a trade-off between fertility and transmission strength. This balance varies by individual and may explain the rarity of high-transmission males. This may contribute to the lower frequency of non-Luminars within the population, though historical records show that Luminars were already disproportionately represented among the first generations born after integration. Scientists still debate the cause of this early skew.

  Temporals remain exceptional, emerging sporadically—often when competing symbiont lineages interact in unpredictable ways.

  Because many affinities breed true along maternal lines, these inheritance patterns also influence social conventions around family naming and lineage. Family names often follow the mother’s surname or “affinity line,” especially when the mother carries a dominant trait like Pulser, Heatsinger, or Memoran. This convention helps preserve recognizable affinity legacies within clans and families, where ability often determines social standing or political leverage.

  In formal records or historical references, individuals may be listed with both their current name and lineage origin. For example:

  Geran Davorn (Line: Alren)

  This indicates that while Geran currently carries the Davorn name (through marriage, adoption, or preference), his affinity line is Alren.

  This practice is especially common among government, academic, or clan records where tracking affinity transmission matters.

  Locations

  Aralin – A colonized planet with a population of ~25 million, descended from those who arrived aboard the Atalanta. While humanity has claimed the surface, Aralin wasn’t always uninhabited. The world is littered with ruins from an advanced, nonhuman civilization that mysteriously vanished long before colonization. These ruins are the focus of major excavation efforts, with both Novem and Solterra racing to uncover and control whatever knowledge, or power, they left behind.

  Atalanta – The original colony ship that brought humanity to Aralin. It remains in orbit, partially functional but heavily stripped. Life support and basic systems still operate, but the ship’s jump engines are unstable and unusable without statherium, a rare compound no longer available on the planet. Some treat the Atalanta as a historical monument. Others see it as the last, fragile hope for leaving Aralin—if they can ever get it running again.

  Haberum – A smaller, working-class city in Therina. Former home of the Davorn family before the disappearance of Geran Davorn fractured their lives.

  Jarangua – A remote city near the Torolt frontier. Closest settlement to Trevor’s excavation outpost.

  Kalin’s Bay – A bustling university town on Therina’s coast. Known for research, sports, and academic prestige. Home to Kara and Lev.

  Portilia – Cultural heart of the old Portilan families. A coastal city known for its old money, traditional customs, and clan influence.

  Soran City – The capital of Aralin. Political and administrative center. Also houses the largest Novem facilities and headquarters.

  Therina – Aralin’s southern continent and main population hub, home to 98% of the planet’s inhabitants. Most major cities, universities, and clan strongholds are located here.

  Torolt – A largely uninhabited northern continent. Treacherous terrain and EMP storms make it difficult to access, but it’s rich in ancient ruins and the focus of most archaeological excavations.

  Quick Jump: ? ? ?