Shared Cosmology on De Novo

The Dark Tapestry

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Dark Tapestry is the name given to the existential threat that presses against reality from beyond the stars. It encompasses the Great Old Ones, their servants and heralds, and the corrupting influence they exert on civilizations and individuals.

The Dark Tapestry is not an army in any conventional sense. It is more like an environmental pressure — a force that exploits cracks, corrupts from within, and turns strength into vulnerability. Its true weapon is not direct force but the ability to make civilizations destroy themselves.

The Terrans

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Terrans are the oldest known spacefaring civilization in De Novo. They operate across the Laniakea Supercluster and have existed for millennia — long enough to have survived their own near-extinction, built a stable interstellar society, and engaged in a permanent military campaign against existential threats from beyond reality.

Most worlds in De Novo have been touched by the Terrans in some way, though the inhabitants of those worlds may not understand what they encountered.

The Vanguard

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Vanguard is the Terran military campaign against the Dark Tapestry and the Great Old Ones. It operates outside the Laniakea Supercluster in the wider universe — most Terrans that outsiders encounter are Vanguard, whether Coro or Machina.

Purpose

The Vanguard exists to contain and combat existential threats from the Dark Tapestry. This includes direct military operations, intelligence gathering, containment protocols, and the development of operatives capable of handling Great Old One-level threats.

Van

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Van is a Terran Coro — the most extreme product of the Vanguard’s artificial evolution programs. He was created from the template of Arch Hunter Anacrite, the most accomplished operative the Vanguard had ever produced, with parameters pushed far beyond safe tolerances. He represents both the pinnacle and the catastrophe of Terran enhancement.

Origin

Van was created by the Homo Machina from Anacrite’s template. Anacrite was already at the extreme edge of safe parameters for Terran neurobiology. The Machina, in desperation to advance the campaign against the Dark Tapestry, created a batch of Coro based on her template with many parameters pushed further. Van was the most extreme result.