Modaora

Built by: Hay - Arbiter

Modaora is a large self-contained floating city found in one of the northernmost oceans of the Shire. It was once the Luce Futura; a space ship designed for multiverse travel and exploration. Her original crash site was the Ice Region on the northern Shire border. She is now in the middle of one of the Shire's northern oceans, sending a constant, repeating signal out into the universe via her intergalactic lighthouse.

Visit at /warp Modaora.

Modaora City in the Ice Region.

The People of Modaora

Ancestry

The Modaorans are descendants of Humans from planet Xeiyre in the Cabraxte System of the Enyanedes Constellation. The Modaorans are 38th century ancestors of the first generation of Humans who traversed the invisible highways of the Multiverse. Their history dates back to Xeiyre's Chaos era but more notable history can be found in the Space Exploration Era of the Humans, beginning ~3200CE, when Xeiyre's International Space Exploration Administration developed their first space ship capable of Multiverse travel. The effort was a monumental feat, achieved in a desperate time for Humans as their planet was dying after centuries of over-population, pollution and war.

The planet of Modaora was discovered in 3242CE (Xeiyre) or "Zero Year" as Modaorans would come to know it. Roughly the size of the Milky Way's Sol System's former planet, Pluto, Modaora's atmosphere and terrain was almost identical to that of their ancestral planet at around the 1200-1600CE centuries. The Xeiyre ISEA would spend the next 90 years and three generations of astronauts exploring Modaora - mapping her continents, cataloging wildlife, testing water and doing countless missions to ensure the planet was inhabitable.

It wasn't until the year 3360CE that Humans began migrating to the new planet of Modaora. It would be the Modaoran year 118AI (Anno Inventionem).

Culture

Because of the extremely challenging selection process Humans went through to gain passage to Modaora, the vast majority of her inhabitants were the brightest, most talented and gifted of the Human race. Modaora would be inhabited by geniuses in science, medicine and the arts and their families. This created an environment for evolution and growth that noone on Xeiyre could have ever imagined. Religion had become more of a respected ancient tradition and spirituality for the Modaorans had evolved to a physiological relationship with the energy of the multiverse and a simplified ideal of being kind, fair and honest. Unlike on Xeiyre, Modaorans cooperated as a single nationality focused on maintaining the planet as a place borrowed from their children. The Modaoran race experienced an unprecedented amount of evolutionary growth over the centuries they would spend as the new caretakers of the tiny planet - looking and behaving less and less like their Xeiyreling ancestors. With a profoundly greater understanding of the multiverse, her energy and their importance, the Modaorans were able to achieve what was only dreamed of - a world of peace, prosperity and innovation.

Notable Locations

• Modaora City Main Tower: Shopping, Restaurants, Rooftop Gardens, Chapel, Courthouse, Apartments, Penthouse
• North Tower: Government agencies, Tower security, Research facilities, Hospital, Power management, Interstellar communications
• East and West Towers: Apartments
• Intergalactic Communications Lighthouse: Winner of February 2015 Build Competition

City History

The Final Voyage of the MIEA

In the chilly early morning hours of a January day, a flash streaked across the Shire skies and ended with an almost delicate thud on the edge of the world.

This flash carried the survivors of a universal time-traveling mission launched by the Modaoran Intergalactic Exploration Agency. The MIEA ship, the Luce Futura, had a course set for a newly discovered star cluster visible just past the Vela constellation of the 54th century. The brave Modaoran astronauts would leave their home planet of Modaora located in the Betelgeuse system of the Alpha Orionis constellation of the 54th century AI. The MIEA ship was only 9 days (17 Shire years) into the voyage when it was caught in a deadly electrical storm that wreaked havoc on her communication and navigation systems, shocking her 38 centuries and an untold number of universes into her past.

When the Luce Futura found stillness after the electrical storm, all systems were in surprisingly good order, save for her navigation which was hopelessly beyond repair. Over time, the crew of 92 had accepted that the day they boarded their ship was the last time they would ever see their home planet of Modaora. With renewable energy technology that would carry them indefinitely, the First 92 fell into a new routine on the Luce Futura. Days turned to months and then years to decades and generations. Luce's 12 biome labs were converted into farms, successfully bringing renewable crops to feed the growing race of 960 Modaorans who now called the endless skies their home. The Modaorans created a tiny world within the Luce's walls filled with generations of brilliant minds that all came from the First 92 brave souls who began this journey. New technologies were created to fill their unique needs and old technologies were rediscovered as the children learned history among the stars. Life on Luce Futura was good and though she had no course, no mission, Luce had a new purpose; to help life find a way.

The Final Days of the Luce Futura

It was the last days of the last member of the First 92. Captain Absolon Demarais was there when their beloved ship was christened the Luce Futura. He was there when news broke all over the world that they would brave this ambitious mission. He was there when the crew spotted the electrical storm in the distance. And he was there the day Luce Futura sputtered for the first time in almost a century.

Luce's life was leaving her. Her engineers could find nothing wrong with her. She passed every systems check and every systems recheck. Her power sources were strong and she seemed, in every way, to be in pristine condition. The last of her First 92 knew that his ship, his home, was dying with him. A sense of urgency flooded Luce's corridors that hadn't been there in decades. If the Modaorans were going to survive, they'd have to not only find a world on which to land but that world had to have the perfect conditions to support life. The task seemed impossible and time was running low. The top star navigators worked tirelessly to find a suitable planet that could be reached within days. All hope seemed lost until Luce decided for them. She would veer off any course the engineers set for her, seem to make sudden course changes and change her speed all on her own.

The last of the First 92 was dying. Luce Futura was dying. The hope of the Modaorans was dying. With his last breath, surrounded by everyone he loved, Absolon said simply, "Trust her. She will take you home."

The Crash Landing

The night of the MIEA crash landing that brought the Modaorans to The Shire was moonless and still. As the Modaoran ship, Luce Futura, tore through the Shire's atmosphere, thunderous booms echoed through valleys and blanketed over villages. The streak left in her wake was like a single brush stroke that painted over the stars. One would be challenged to call the landing a "crash" as the Modaoran MIEA ship padded down almost gracefully on the edge of a waterfall. The Modaorans scrambled to assess the damage they were sure the ship had sustained but were shocked to find only minor cosmetic damage in the form of fallen items and a some broken glass. Children were comforted by their parents as they all shuffled around, unsure of what to do next. The rest of the night was full of questions and confusion. Morning only brought more. Weeks went by as the Modaorans did their best to return life to some semblance of normalcy. None of them had ever seen a blue sky, land, birds flying. None of them had ever seen a lake or river flowing. Their lives had always been an endless black that glittered with stars and planets. A reconnaissance team was assembled to suit up and assess the atmospheric conditions of this strange planet that seemed almost too good to be true. Every day, for two weeks, the recon team went out at dawn and came back at sunset. Tests on local plant life, water and vegetation confirmed that the planet was atmospherically identical to the home planet they had never seen and only learned about in history lessons. They were saved. Many of the Modaorans feared the sudden change in their way of life. They wanted to return to the infinite black that many humans would find daunting but the Modaorans found comforting. There was a divide among the people that no one could know who was right or wrong; but no matter which side they were on, one thing was certain - The Modaorans could not be dragged away from the Luce's windows. All the things that humans barely noticed, the Modaoran's watched in awe. The flowing sway of tree branches in the wind, birds in flight, the roar and sprays of the waterfall, brilliant sunsets and sunrises. At night was when they would look to the sky and feel a longing for home. The skies were different to them now. They could understand that they were still among the stars and planets, but somehow being on one of those planets now changed everything.

This would also be the first time the Modaorans would need scouts, guards, a defense force. Their lives had all, on the same night, been divided into two parts; everything that happened before the landing and everything after. And everything after was a complete mystery; both fascinating and scary at the same time.

The Kindness of Strangers

Three months had gone by and life on The Shire had finally found a sense of normalcy for the Modaorans. In an effort to find compromise between those Modaorans who wanted to return to the skies and those who wished to make the Shire their new home, an agreement was made. They would build an Intergalactic Lighthouse using resources and parts from the Luce Futura. While mining for resources, the Modaorans had their first encounter with native Shirelings, the Flamewry. They were a large group of cave dwellers who occupied a series of caves about 10 miles from where the Modaorans were building the Intergalactic Lighthouse. The Flamewry and the Modaorans became quick friends. The Flamewry, an all-male population, were quick to share their knowledge of the Shire with the Modaorans and proved to be a valuable source of assistance and kindness. The Modaorans assessed that the Flamewry were thousands of years behind Modaoran technology. Eventually, the Modaorans invited several of the Flamewry to visit the inner walls of the city, confirming the happy friendship that had been formed between the two races. For years, the Modaorans and the Flamewry would coexist as friends and allies.

A Shocking Discovery

The Flamewry went from being a solitary group of cave-dwellers to dedicating great amounts of their time and energy toward the Modaorans. The Modaorans were grateful and in exchange for their kindness, gave the Flamewry free reign throughout Modaora, often inviting them to holiday events and celebrations. The Flamewry were also invited to sit-in on scientific experiments and during testing of the new Intergalactic Lighthouse. Some of the Flamewry even attended classes with the Modaoran school children as the things they were learning were all extremely advanced in comparison to the Flamewry's current knowledge of physics and engineering. It was one history class that several of the higher ranking Flamewry were particularly interested in. They were fascinated with the history of Modaora's ancestral planet, Xeiyre. They attended every class and lecture and had many questions about the history. The Modaoran's appreciated such an enthusiasm to know their ancestrry and culture. There were many Modaoran children who overachieved in an already overachieving society. As such, many studied far beyond the current lessons, sometimes even studying into the next grade level. It was one of these children who made a discovery that would change the way the Modaorans view of the Shire and interaction with it forever.

In the child's history book, was a chapter called, "The Crash Landing of the Modaorans." The child read furiously, long into the night. Their story was being told in a history book that belonged to the Modaorans for hundreds of years before the Luce Futura was even conceived - let alone landed on The Shire. She kept this secret from her classmates, parents and teachers for days before speaking about what she discovered. She, first, showed her friends and they all poured over the new-old information in disbelief. It became obvious that this group of children were quite distracted in class, unable to focus on the current lesson and in pages of their book that weren't meant to be studied for another 6 months. Their instructor finally asked, in front of the entire class, what it was they were so engrossed in. One child walked to the front of the class and flipped to the chapter in which they had first become so obsessed. The instructor fell silent as the whole class began murmuring and also flipping through their books. It was at this point that the Flamewry who were attending the class stood up to excuse themselves, grabbing a book before heading toward the door. The instructor stopped them and asked for the book, politely - stating that there was a mistake in some pages and he needed to make sure they were fixed. Reluctantly, the Flamewry gave him the book and left, bidding the class a pleasant day. As the children began discovering the same impossible chapter, the class became a frenzy of questions, shock and even fear. The instructor quieted everyone down and collected all the books in the classroom and told the children the rest of the class period would be a study hall. No one could study. All they could do was talk about how their history book was suddenly telling their story. The instructor was bewildered by the discovery and his mind raced through all the possibilities, concluding only that this was a matter for the city's top physicists. After classes, that day, the instructor collected all the history books in the school and meticulously took inventory. He counted and recounted. He searched the school records for every history book the school would have and spent the entire night and half of the next day collecting each and every one - explaining to fellow staff, only, that there was a grave mistake in the books and he would explain everything once they were all collected. The Flamewry who attended his history classes were sent away for the day as he had canceled lessons and had the children sit in on another study hall. After the Flamewry had gone, he urged the children not to speak to them about their discovery. Phone calls started pouring in from parents of the children asking about the books and their contents. It took no time whatsoever for word of the discovery to meet the far reaches of the city. The instructor had locked every last book in his private office of the school and moved the key from his keyring onto a chain around his neck. The door would not be unlocked until the right group of trusted Modaorans were able to meet and study the books together.

The Culling of the Pages

For weeks, history was not taught in Modaora and everyone knew why. The history books, written for the history of their ancestral planet, Xeiyre, was in fact, written for the planet upon which the Luce Futura made her final landing, The Shire. Modaora's top physicists read and reread every chapter of the book from the moment of their crash on. A great paradox had been created by the electrical storm which shocked the Luce Futura 38 centuries into her own past and while they had always assumed it was also through different areas of the multiverse, they were proven wrong by the book. They had been, all this time, in the same universe - only galaxies away in the past. They had changed the history of their ancestral planet and thus, the history of the planet on which they now reside. The book had, in a day, gone from being a simple tool used for teaching to a detailed document of future events. The Modaorans were divided, once again. What was to be done with the books? Were the children supposed to just not learn about their ancestral planet's history? Many believed the books should be disposed of, that the dangers of having such knowledge could destroy the entire planet. Many believed that the books could be used for good, for avoiding disaster. While what was to be done with the books was a matter of debate, one thing was agreed upon by all Modaorans - the Flamewry could not know about the books. After weeks of long debates and studying the books, an agreement was finally made. Every single book, except one, would be stripped of every chapter from the crash landing on. It took another two weeks to cull the pages of the books and the process was highly guarded with round-the-clock security. As the books were all digital, the effort was monumental in ensuring that no copies were made of the pages being destroyed. a single copy of the approved pages was made as every other book was formatted and fitted with new memory cards to receive only the approved information. The formatted cards on which the old books were stored were physically destroyed - shredded to grains. A single book remained intact. It was to be guarded more heavily than all of the riches of Modaora.

The Secret of The Book

Once again, life went back to normal for the Modaorans. History classes resumed and talk of the book died down to whispers at dinner tables as some continued to imagine what must be on the pages. Those studied in Modaora's ancestral history could confirm that much of what they already knew was still recorded in the new book - but much was also changed. The Flamewry had many questions about why history was not taught for almost two months and asked why changes had been made to the books. The answer was always the same. The books contained a grave error that would contradict their ancestral planet's real history. The Flamewry attended fewer and fewer history classes until one day, attending no more - a stark difference to their, once, religious attendance. Questions arose about whether or not the Flamewry recognized the history to be their own and wanted to learn about their future. Whatever the case, they would not receive answers to those questions from the Modaorans.

An Attack in the Night

On a still, spring night in Modaora, hundreds were ripped from their sleep by the sounds of screaming Flamewry outside - shooting weapons into the darkness, fending off an attack that was hidden behind the veil of night. Flamewry guards burst into the ground level of Modaora's main tower, bleeding, injured. They urged Modaoran security to secure the city immediately as it was under attack. Modaorans scrambled to secure all entrances of the city and powered on her enormous lights to cut through the darkness that surrounded her. The enemy hid behind the many mountains that surrounded the city and continued their attack on the Flamewry guards. The Flamewry guard commanded that Modaoran security stay within the city walls as they were too inexperienced to fend off this enemy that hid in the night. The injured Flamewry were taken to Modaora's hospital for healing as the fight continued outside. Modaoran guards posted at all the entrances of the city and took position to protect citizens who were told to stay in their homes, lock all doors and stay away from windows. The battle raged on through the night as the Flamewry fought tirelessly to protect the city. By dawn, there came a stillness accompanied by fear and confusion throughout Modaora. Top Flamewry militants met with the heads of Modaoran security to discuss the attack and how the city could be better protected in the inevitable return. The Flamewry disclosed that the attackers were long-time enemies to their people and must have discovered their new-found alliance with the Modaorans. They further disclosed that these enemies had war tactics that the Flamewry knew all too well and were trained, since childhood, to defeat. They concluded that they would call upon other clans of the Flamewry to assist them in protecting Modaora around the clock as they were certain the foe would return with more power to attack again. As the Modaorans had no idea what they were up against, they reluctantly agreed to allow the Flamewry to post military operations around the entire city as a means of protection. The city would be under close guard by the flamewry and the Modaoran security would be in charge of keeping the inner city walls safe.

Peace? A question.

There was yet another way of life to which the Modaorans would be accustomed. No matter where in the city one stood, Flamewry guards would be seen patroling. There was a Flamewry base posted at each compass direction around Modaora and they walked the corridors of the city on patrol. It was an uneasy sense of safety the Modaorans felt with their new friends protecting them so heavily. They learned a new sense of nervousness they hadn't felt before - the peace and safety they felt among the stars, they feared, would be lost forever. Despite this, the Modaorans continued to thrive on The Shire, learning new ways to use their alien technology on a planet that was thousands of years behind it. They thrived by pushing their ingenuity to the limits and learning how to utilize new resources.

The Unthinkable

Years had passed without incident at Modaora. The unthinkable, however, eventually found its way to the city. The rest of Modaoran history would be held by the people of Laurelian.

Build History

Hay began construction on Modaora in Mid-January 2015 immediately after ranking to Duke. An open plot of land on the northern border was terraformed into a massive lake by Nebbers and framework soon followed. Hay built obsessively, completing The Modaora City build roughly 3 weeks later. Framework proved to be the most time-consuming and challenging portion of the build as Hay completed the cylindrical towers and complex upper garden layouts block-by-block. With the help of staff members filling floors and walls with worldedit, construction sped up significantly and interiors were ready to be placed within a week of finalizing Modaora's framework. Upon completion of the build, Hay was awarded the rank of Viceroy. Continued terraforming around Modaora City became a group project involving several staff members and Architects turning the region into the Shire's well-known Ice Region that it is today.

Updates

Find out what caused the Modaorans to move their great city from her landing position to the middle of the ocean and how The Laurelian Nation's heritage can be directly linked to Modaora by visiting Laurelian.

References

Hay