Sugarpine Nine

Sugarpine Nine is one of nine sister Shardlettes collectively known as the Sugarpines, each sharing a common foundation of culture and ability while maintaining their own distinct elemental identity. All nine produce Fatewrights, individuals whose powers derive from ancient Relics carved from special rocks, gems, and minerals harvested from the foundational bedrock of their respective Shard in ages long past. These Relics are generally held within and passed down through influential families, though a Relic may choose to bond with someone outside of any established bloodline entirely of its own accord. Beyond the Fatewright abilities, each Sugarpine grants its people a secondary elemental powerset unique to that Shard. For Sugarpine Nine, that secondary ability is weather manipulation.

The full breakdown of secondary abilities across the nine is as follows:

Sugarpine One: Cold

Sugarpine Two: Stellar

Sugarpine Three: Electricity

Sugarpine Four: Fire

Sugarpine Five: Infernal

Sugarpine Six: Nuclear

Sugarpine Seven: Radiant

Sugarpine Eight: Sonic

Sugarpine Nine: Weather

The culture of the Sugarpines grew historically out of festivals and holidays, which were originally developed as large scale communal frameworks for making predictions and divining futures. Offworlders once traveled significant distances specifically to attend these events and have their fates read. Over time, as Fatewright abilities became less common across the broader population, the predictive function faded, but the festivals and holidays themselves never did. They remained, deepened, and became the beating heart of Sugarpine Nine's identity rather than simply a tool of it.

There is no formal governmental body on Sugarpine Nine beyond a Mayor, who holds some degree of local authority but primarily serves a ceremonial and community-facing role. True jurisdiction over the Shard belongs to the IEOU, which maintains a permanent orbital base positioned between the nine Shardlettes to oversee the entire cluster. Most Fatewright Shards produce ability sets of relatively limited scope and their populations are permitted to move through the Expanse freely, provided they are properly registered and licensed. The Sugarpines are a different matter entirely.

The IEOU has designated the Sugarpine population as the highest possible threat classification, placing them in the same category as Cursed Shards like Zol despite the considerably more pleasant surface appearance of their home. The population is kept under strict oversight and is not permitted to leave except by special dispensation, and even then only under full EV escort for the duration of the visit. Tourism to Sugarpine Nine is not only permitted but actively encouraged, though under tightly controlled conditions. Visitors may only enter and exit during a single holiday cycle and are never permitted to remain long enough to cross from one holiday into the next. The official reasoning given by the IEOU for these restrictions is simply listed as being for the visitor's own safety and that of the Expanse at large, with no further elaboration provided.

The exceptions to all of this are Sugarpines Two, Five, Six, and Seven. No one is permitted on or off those four Shardlettes under any circumstances. Information about their populations and what they are capable of exists only within the upper tiers of IEOU leadership and has never been made public.

The culture of Sugarpine Nine itself stands in striking contrast to the iron grip the IEOU keeps around it. It is warm, open, and deeply communal, welcoming to locals and offworlders alike without distinction. There is no formal economy. Commerce operates entirely on favors and a broadly shared social understanding that kindness given is kindness that will find its way back eventually. Every shop tends to be a cozy hybrid of several businesses at once, the kind of place where you can get a coat mended, a cup of something hot, and your fortune hinted at all in the same visit.

Sugarpine Nine is the only one of the nine Shardlettes that functions as a major tourist destination, and visitation rights are among the most sought after in the Expanse. The appeal is threefold: the idyllic culture, the Fatewright abilities of the native population, and the matter of children. Offspring born between a native and an offworlder carry significantly diluted Fatewright essence compared to full blooded natives, which places them outside the threshold that triggers the IEOU's strictest containment classifications. After completing the proper registration and paperwork process, these children are eventually permitted to leave the Shard permanently, making them something genuinely rare in the Expanse: people who grew up in the Sugarpines and got out.