A World Worth Saving

The Sun-Sheathed Vale is a radical anomaly in a universe of struggle. It is the final, perfect work of Anya, the Martyr-Saint, the Guardian Eidolon. It is the Tapestry she died to save, and into which she wove her entire being. This world is not a planet orbiting a star; it is a bespoke reality, a living sculpture of a god’s love.

The Vale is a great disk of earth and water, adrift in a silent void. Above its center hangs a single, brilliant point of light, a personal star that warms the land and cycles through day and night by her will. The great freshwater oceans of the disk are ever-replenished by mountain springs and pleasant thunderstorms that flutter about in the luminously refractive atmosphere, a fuzzy dome of light that encloses the world and protects it from the void. At the disk’s edge, these oceans cascade off into infinity, a constant, gentle thunder that is the baseline rhythm of existence.

But a perfect garden is a tempting prize in a hungry universe. The conflict of the Vale is not internal, but external. It is the story of a gentle people, nurtured by a benevolent god, confronting the terrible truth that not all worlds are like their own, and not all gods are kind.

Ideological Root

The philosophy of Anya, the Martyr-Saint, made manifest. The Arborians worldview, perfected.

• Radical Symbiosis
• Harmony as a Physical Law
• Life as a Chorus

Ruling Principle

Life thrives when it listens. The self is a note in a universal song, and its purpose is to contribute to the harmony of the whole. In the Vale, this is not a metaphor; the very physics of the world are governed by this principle.

High-Level Design Philosophy

The Sun-Sheathed Vale is a living sanctuary. Its aesthetic is one of serene, bio-luminescent beauty, a world of living architecture and singing flora, all held beneath a personal star. The player’s journey is one of discovery and protection. The core tension arises from the slow, creeping intrusion of the outside universe, forcing the player to decide whether to protect the Vale’s innocence or to teach it the hard lessons of survival.

Core Mechanical Differentiators

1. The Chorus of the Vale (The Harmony Engine)

• Mechanic: The central Fact of this Tapestry is that it is a living extension of its Guardian, Anya. The world’s well-being is a tangible, observable phenomenon, a direct reflection of the collective emotional state of its inhabitants.
  • Anya’s Heart (The Star): The singular point of light is Anya’s heart. In times of harmony, it shines with a warm, golden-white light and pulses with a slow, steady, life-giving rhythm.
  • The Dome of Light (The Atmosphere): The refractive dome that encloses the disk shifts its hues in response to the collective mood, from a warm, hopeful gold to a somber, worried lavender.
  • The Music of the Land (The Chorus): When the people are in harmony, the entire environment hums with a gentle, consonant chord. The bioluminescent flora glows brightly, and the waterfalls at the world’s edge create a peaceful, rhythmic thunder. Acts of Violence, greed, or fear introduce a literal, perceptible dissonance. The chorus becomes jarring and arrhythmic, the flora dims to sickly hues, and the star’s pulse becomes erratic.
• Design Intent: This mechanizes the core Faith diegetically. “Being good to each other” is not just a moral ideal; it is a direct act of nurturing the world’s creator and sustaining the paradise she provides.

2. Eidic Purity (The Unburdened Soul)

• Mechanic: The Vale is a Tapestry woven from a single, selfless life. Its Eidos is “pure.”
  • Trust as a Default: NPCs in the Vale do not begin with a baseline of suspicion. Deception is an alien concept.
  • Clean Resonance: The metaphysical environment is free of the psychic static of trauma. This makes psionic abilities and rituals more stable and powerful here.
• Design Intent: To create a unique social and metaphysical environment that feels startlingly different, making its potential fall all the more tragic.

3. The Vulnerability of Innocence (The Open Gate)

• Mechanic: The Vale-Folk, having known only the benevolent stewardship of Anya, are profoundly naive. This manifests as a systemic, cultural “debuff” when interacting with outsiders.
  • Narrative Exploits: An Incarnation from a more cynical Tapestry will find the Vale-Folk incredibly easy to manipulate. Their social defenses are non-existent.
• Design Intent: The player, as an outsider, is a walking cognito-hazard. Your very presence is a potential contagion. The core Quest becomes a profound moral choice: do you protect the Vale’s innocence, or do you “educate” them in the ways of the galaxy, knowing that in saving them, you will destroy the very thing that makes them special?

Player Experience & Goals

• From Sanctuary to Stewardship: The player arrives in a world that feels like a reward. The primary goal shifts from personal survival to the protection of an entire culture’s soul.
• The Moral Compass: The player is constantly faced with choices that test their own values. Do you exploit the locals’ trust for a quick profit? Do you introduce disruptive technology for their “own good”?
• A World Worth Fighting For: When an external threat arrives: a Hegemonic survey team, a Thanatech mining operation, a single follower of Nyx; the stakes are higher than anywhere else. An attack on the Vale is a direct attack on the memory and sacrifice of a saint.

Integration into the Broader Game

The Sun-Sheathed Vale is a rare and precious discovery. An Incarnation might find their way here through:

• A “golden ticket” outcome of the chaotic Glitch-Walk.
• As the end-point of a legendary Quest for a mythical paradise.
• An Eidolon can attempt to weave a similar world, but only with a palette of exceptionally pure, high-valence Eidos harvested from a life like Anya’s.

Its purpose is to serve as the game’s moral and aesthetic “control group.” It is a living reminder of what is possible when a world is built on harmony. It is a beautiful, fragile thing that asks the player not “Can you win?”, but “What is worth protecting?”