Caelari System

The Caelari System lies deep within the Shackleton Expanse, its three inhabited worlds bound together by a single faith: the Communion of Light. For centuries, the Caelarians have believed their civilisation to be the chosen stewards of cosmic harmony, guided by the will of the divine through vast monuments called the Radiant Spires. These towering crystalline structures rise from each world’s surface and for millennia bathed their skies in shifting auroras, symbols of unity, devotion, and the enduring peace that has defined Caelari society for millennia.

In 2402, coinciding with the fall of the shroud, the Spires fell dim.

Caelari System Overview

The Caelari System orbits a luminous white-yellow star encircled by a dense belt of refractive dust, giving the system’s skies their distinctive pearlescent hue. Three planets orbit the star, each are inhabited by the Caelarians and each performing a service to the others. The three worlds are linked by a network of trade routes and religious pilgrim convoys that ferry goods, people, and faith between them. The fall of the Shroud has even brought visitors and traders from other systems, who are received warmly enough, though with some surprise and confusion that they do not share the Caelari’s faith.

Caelari Prime

The capital and spiritual heart of the Communion, is a temperate world of silver-blue seas and crystalline mountains where the greatest of the Radiant Spires pierces the sky above the holy city of Varanesh. Gleaming terraces of shimmering stone span the city. Mirror sided canals weave through the city, The Miraline, the Caelari call them, living steps that took river and rain and turned them into food and music.

This is the homeworld of the Caelari and the seat of power in the system. The 'Communion of Light', the leaders of the Caelari religion and the Caelari themselves govern the system primarily from this planet, though, generally each individual planet governs local issues without the need for the Communion of Light to intervene.

Tiryn

A fertile outer world, serves as the system’s agricultural bedrock and home to millions of devout farmers and artisans. Its people are deeply conservative and view themselves as guardians of tradition.

Orran

A industrial frontier world, houses shipyards and mining colonies that have long chafed under the central clergy’s authority. Its citizens live under the same faith but see it as a chain of control rather than divine truth.

The Caelari

The Caelarians in the holy city of Varanesh, on Caelari Prime

The Caelari, or Caelarians, are tall, slender humanoids with smooth, opalescent skin that refracts light in soft colours, and silver or white eyes adapted to their bright native sun. Their hair ranges from pale blond to shimmering metallic tones. They are long-lived by human standards, with a strong cultural emphasis on composure and ceremonial grace. Caelari body language is subtle and deliberate; every movement is considered a reflection of spiritual balance.

Culturally, the Caelari revere the principle of Radiance - the belief that the soul is a vessel of divine light, strengthened through endurance. The Communion of Light binds faith, governance, and art into a single order that prizes serenity and self-mastery. From birth, Caelarians are taught that hardship tempers the spirit, that suffering borne with dignity illuminates the path to transcendence. Public ritual reinforces this doctrine: dawn recitations praising endurance, the evening Vigil of Shadows where citizens confess their failings, and the annual Festival of Purity, when penitents fast and flagellate themselves with bands of photonic light to ‘burn away’ imperfection beneath the Spires.

Though Caelari Prime’s upper clergy live amid radiant splendour, the burden of purification falls upon the outer colonies. Their labour and sacrifice are celebrated as proof of faith - yet it is they who toil in the refineries and shipyards, their suffering exalted as the system’s spiritual foundation. Over time, this dogma of strength through pain has created a serene but rigid order, one that has endured for centuries under the glow of the Radiant Spires.

The Spires fell dim months ago, ushering in a new era of uncertainty for the Caelari. Many have responded by falling back on their old traditions, while others are emboldened to raise questions once dismissed as heresy. Pilgrimages have turned into protests, and the Council of Spires on Caelari Prime struggles to keep order as truth and belief collide across the system. A splinter faction of the Communion of Light, The Children of the First Light, has gained the favour of many Caelari in the face of new and changing technology. Preferring instead a pure and traditional way of life, some protests within the system have resulted in casualties as opinions clash.

First Contact

The disappearance of the Shroud allowed space travel at greater speeds though the Shackleton Expanse. Framheim station was established in 2402 as the forward base for exploratory missions into the expanse after the stabilisation of the Vadia IX transwarp conduit in the Alpha Quadrant. Though commanded and primarily crewed by Starfleet officers, Framheim serves as a hub for joint operations between the allied forces of Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic. This became the last point of call for explorers before heading into the new unknown of the Expanse.

Caelari Convergence

An ageing Klingon bird of prey, the IKS Y’tem, under the command of L’rena daughter of Beltor, was sent from Framheim station as the first Klingon vessel to explore the Caelari System after the fall of the Shroud. There they discovered a Tri-World civilisation, bound together by faith in the ‘Radiance’. A convoy of pilgrims was caught in a dangerous situation, the Y’tem and the Federation Starship USS San Clemente were forced to work together in rescuing them. Following which both were invited to the capital city of Varanesh, both crews worked together to uncover that the great spire at the cities centre is an ancient resonant amplifier built by the Vezda. As the truth was slowly uncovered, Klingon Honour and Starfleet curiosity walked a delicate line between revealing too much and protecting a civilisation built around faith.  

Encounters

Unsurprisingly, the ‘Radiant Spires’ are the constructs of the Vezda that caused the Shroud, and the time of their dimming into inactivity coincided with the Shroud’s fall. Millennia ago, the Vezda presented themselves as gods or rulers to the Caelari, influencing them to build the Spires and leaving an indelible mark on their culture and faith. This AOR is based on an ancient faith with a sinister origin being threatened as the galaxy changes, and the cultural fallout

This AOR focuses on questions of diplomacy and faith among the ethics of interventionism, as well as the scientific intrigue of the study of the Spires themselves. The Prime Directive means Starfleet cannot fix everything - but the Vezda have already intervened, and many desperate factions may request help or mediation.

In Play

• The Caelari are not a primitive people, but one of poise, ceremony, and conviction. Their devotion to the Communion of Light is sincere and deeply ingrained, giving every interaction with outsiders a veneer of serene civility. Beneath this composure, fear and doubt run deep since the dimming of the Spires.
• The Communion of Light is not a cruel theocracy, but a faith of endurance; one that sanctifies struggle and obedience. The revelation of its Vezda origin is less about proving evil than confronting a culture built on suffering as virtue. Play up moral complexity: faith and beauty alongside exploitation and guilt.
• A splinter faction, The Children of the First Light, has gained the favour of many Caelarians in the face of new and changing technology. Preferring instead, a pure and traditional way of life.
• There is an undeniable class inequality under the surface of the Caelari, with the outer worlds feeling the harsher effects of the Communion of Light, while the homeworld benefits from the loyalty and obedience it brings.
• Starfleet officers should be treated as honoured guests, especially by the clergy of Caelari Prime, who see their arrival as a chance to reaffirm divine purpose. Reformists on Orran or Tiryn, however, may see them as messengers of truth or as tools to break centuries of control.