Say hello to the Aspects, and say hello to their coral.
This is very much my cup of picturesque-but-insidious.
Best of all, they infest the minds of your rivals, making them better-disposed towards you.

“They don’t want this world to be safer but manipulate people for their own good.
So they are great counterpunchers, in short.
If only real-life coral reefs were this resilient.

I really like this crafty and unpleasant approach to the idea of a diplomacy faction.
But where is my faction of no-nonsense warmongering builder-bastards, I hear you cry?
Any hopes for the remaining empires?
I always liked the first game’s Roving Clans, who found their cities on massive beetles.
Perhaps the new game will harbour an equivalent who live inside whales.