Icons of the Engineers
The Icons
The icons are a multilayered system of memory and guidance — recording Nesoi ancestry, survival through crucibles, ecological knowledge, and cosmic origins. They are simultaneously a map of habitats, a record of matriarchal lineage, a star chart, and a spiritual covenant, suggesting the Nesoi were bio-engineered and seeded on Thalassa as part of a grand ecological experiment.
In Fires of Hina, the icons discovered near Nesoi caves are revealed to be ancient, engineered inscriptions by an unknown species—part map, part genealogy, part cosmology. Here’s a summary of their range and meaning:
Cosmic Map / Walkabout – When assembled, the icons form a pathway sequence, akin to Aboriginal songlines: Procyon → crater-fire → cave of light → clan habitats. This functions as both a cosmological story and an ecological roadmap
Clan & Habitat Symbols – Earth, wave, wind, river, ice, crater-fire, and light. These represent the seven clans and their caves, but also function as habitat markers for key ecosystems seeded on Thalassa.
Light & Crater Symbols – A “crater” or “fire” symbol and a “light/star” symbol appear before the clan branches. These are tied to the impact crater that seeded Fracs and the cave of light where bioluminescence and Frac ecosystems flourished.
Astronomical Symbols – Circles, spheres, and star clusters representing Earth, Thalassa, Hina, Procyon, and the Pleiades. These show both the Nesoi’s origins and connections to wider star systems, implying they were seeded as part of a larger cosmic plan.
Fires of Hina 