Moon: Forterra
Forterra is an idyllic land of old growth forest and lush meadows broken up by soaring spires of weathered stone, and all shot through with towering spires of living crystal in a rainbow of colors. It is said that long ago, the land had a single crystalline heart deep beneath the earth. But when the Peacebringer joined with it, and then all of the people and other life joined with it, it began to resonate with their living energy and grew throughout the whole land.
The living spires of 'heartcrystal' are beautiful and incredibly hard (though not much tougher than granite). The Filfeex use heartcrystal in nearly all of their workings, finding it easy to harvest and work due to their natural resonance with it, non-Filfeex find it almost impossible, if not downright dangerous, to harvest any usable amount of it.
Forterra features little in the way of fauna besides the Filfeex themselves, and what there are are just as infused with the heartcrystal as they are. Because all animal life on Forterra possesses at least rudimentary resonance, there are no carnivores.
People: Filfeex
The Filfeex are a smallish race of rabbit-ear and tailed humanoids that usually range from four to five feet tall, not counting their ears. They come in a range of skin-tones and hair colors, though their skin and hair always have a slight, mineral glimmer to them, and their irises are always bright and gem-like.
Like all animal life on Forterra, the Filfeex are infused with heartcrystal. It is most notable in their bones, which are almost pure pearly-white crystal, but even their skin and hair is flecked with microscopic bits of it. While the raw physical qualities of this infusion makes them a bit glittery as well as marginally more durable than they might otherwise be, the true benefit of this is their power of
resonance.
Resonance
The most important element of resonance (to the Filfeex anyway) is the way they resonate with each other. Heartcrystal resonant creatures can feel and understand each other on an instinctive level. It is said that the giving of this gift is what earned the Peacebringer that sobriquet. This is also the reason that the Filfeex are strictly vegetarian, since all animal life on Forterra has this same resonance to some degree. (Plants have it too, but they don't feel fear or pain in a recognizable way, so it's ok.)
The other feature of resonance, and the one that's much more important to non-Filfeex, is their affinity for raw heartcrystal. Not only does this allow them to harvest and work heartcrystal with relative ease, but it also allows them to
synchronize lumps of heartcrystal with their bodies.
In it's simplest application, known as the 1st degree, synchronized heartcrystal becomes almost weightless in a Filfeex's hands (or strapped to their bodies, or whatever), matching their body's movements as though it were a part of it. This would be useful enough by itself, but is rarely used for much more than carrying around large chunks of heartcrystal, or by children and others with weak resonance. Instead, most practical applications are done at the 2nd degree, through the use of Kanta-kestos, or 'singing gloves'.
Nearly all Filfeex adults can resonate to the 2nd degree. In this application, the heartcrystal is still weightless, and still matches the Filfeex's movements, but does so as though the Filfeex was twice the size, hovering in the air as though held by an invisible giant. The most basic effect of this is that any movements made by the Filfeex are mirrored by the heartcrystal, but over twice the distance in the same time. Additionally, any force applied to the synchronized crystal is translated back to the Filfeex, but at half the strength. Filfeex do gain a vaguely expanded sense of their immediate surroundings while resonating to higher degrees, but it still takes practice to not accidentally smash things.
Every Filfeex that can achieve 2nd degree resonance has a pair of Kanta-kestos, a pair of large wooden or metal gauntlets built around a set of heartcrystal fragments. By synchronizing with the crystal 'bones' of the gauntlets, a Filfeex can effectively double their strength. The effect is even more pronounced when striking, as heavier gauntlets lend their greater mass to the blow, increasing the force even further.
More talented Filfeex can resonate to the 3rd degree, causing their synchronized crystals to mirror their movements at triple the size. Only the best can maintain the 4th degree for any length of time, and even they can't hold the 5th or 6th degree for more than a few moments at a time. As such, most Filfeex focus on improving their control of the 3rd degree over advancing to higher degrees.
Among those that practice it deliberately, skill with synchronization is rated by circle, with specific qualifications set for recognition to each:
1st Circle: Proficient with the 2nd degree (there is a test) and can maintain it under duress for an hour.
2nd Circle: Proficient with the 3rd degree, and can maintain it under duress for an hour.
3rd Circle: Expertise with the 3rd degree, and can 'split-sync' (synchronize two different resonators at two different degrees at once. This is very hard)
4th Circle: Can achieve the 4th degree and maintain it for ten minutes.
5th Circle: Can achieve the 5th degree and maintain it for one minute.
6th Circle: Can achieve the 6th degree and maintain it for ten seconds.
7th Circle: Be 6th circle and do something really, really impressive, like use two sets of kestos at the same time, or achieve the 7th degree, or who knows. 7th circle talents aren't even one in a generation.