Sanctheim
Overview
Sanctheim is the sovereign world and spiritual center of the Order of the One. It is both an ark of faith and a forge of character where stone and ice teach a person to endure and obey. Its sky light is clear and austere without ornament, just like the faith of its people. Its plains breathe with the rhythm of the seasons and its valleys are crossed by rivers that freeze in winter like white mirrors. In the northern seas winds break the waves into blades of ice and on the southern slopes forests hold the ancient prayers in silence.
Geography
The planet travels through the vastness of space carried on a back of ice that never melts. Its clouded nights give birth to wild winds that carve peaks and ravines chanting the sacred hymn that all things belong to the One.
Capital, Odravar
At the heart of Sanctheim rises Odravar, capital and sanctuary together. Its black metal walls were not built for defense but as a sign of promise that whoever enters leaves the disorder of the self behind. The city streets are wide paved with gray stones and they all lead to the Sanct, the Great Temple, the center of faith and authority. Here worship and law are one and all obey the High One, the supreme priest ruler, and the Council of the Veil.
Society and Faith
The people of Sanctheim live with discipline that resembles prayer. At each dawn the city kneels to the One with one voice and one breath. Children belong to the community rather than to families. Warrior priests teach them to march in formation, to fight and to swear the Great Cause. The arts are limited to praising God, to prayer and to training the soul. Joy outside discipline is considered unnecessary.
Technology and Economy
The worlds of the Order of the One do not reach the technological level of the Syndarion Union of Nations or the leading Liberal Alliance of Planets. What they lack in machines they replace with devotion. Their vessels, sturdy and simple, are extensions of their faith. The pilots and navigators of the fleet are considered the finest in all known worlds.
In the cities, technology is present in a functional way. Citizens use skaff, orivan, plex and nexo as in any advanced society. Architecture remains austere without embellishment and economic life follows divine directives.
Values and Order
The pride of the inhabitants does not come from power but from their principles. In the societies of the Order of the One there are no idols of entertainment or wealth. Glory belongs to the heroes of battle, to thinkers and to teachers. Their virtues are honesty, justice without bias, self restraint, labor and care for the weak. Above all they honor faith in promise and oath. Despite their military nature they abhor violence within their society. They boast of having the lowest crime rate among the worlds of the great powers where, as they say, corruption and decay reign.