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Welcome to Cetus, unique among the stars! Explore the bustling market for all your practical needs! If you're looking for adventure on the Plains of Eidolon speak to Konzu. Stay a while, and come back anytime on your journeys across the Rails.

While their floating markets may ply the rails of the Origin system, Cetus is the Ostron home: a trading hub where travelers from across the system meet to exchange information, wares and plunder in safety, protected by the Unum-enforced laws of barter and parley - free from the influence of Grineer and Corpus.

Cetus (formerly known as Karifamil)[1] is an OstronSigil Ostron-built village market, located to the north of Mantle, Earth. A humble settlement, located in the south region of the Plains of Eidolon, they are guided by a secretive order named TheQuillsSigil The Quills, loyal to the ever-mysterious Unum, who constantly watches over the plains keeping her people safe from IconGrineerOn Grineer aggression.

As a city hub, players can interact with various NPCs to purchase items from shops, or accept quests or bounties to be completed out in the plains. Players can enter the plains via a large Orokin door on the town's outer wall, leading to a large room that has another door that leads to the plains beyond. The room acts as a loading screen, and players will be unable to exit out the other end until the loading is complete.

Lore & History[]

Tale of the Woman of the Earth and the Husband of the Sea[]

GlassFish

Thousand-Year Fish Statuette - A glass carving depicting the colossal Thousand-Year Fish of Ostron legend.

Main article: Fragments/Fish

After the fall of the IconOrokinOn Orokin Empire, long before the arrival of the TennoIcon Tenno, the great Ostron clade-families were scattered throughout the Origin System. During this time, two young people were in love, a woman named Er-Phryah, and a man named Mer-Sah. Er-Phryah was part of the wealthy yingbindunyai clade, while Mer-Sah, who's family was killed by the IconGrineerOn Grineer many years before, was alone. He was cetus, which meant "landless, cladeless, a body turned to dust turned to motes on a careless wind."

Mer-Sah longed for a place that he could call home, and told his beloved "I know a place, where I may be homeless no more. I have heard a voice, and it leads me there. Come with me." However, Er-Phryah's father disapproved of their love, and cast Mer-Sah out of their market. Er-Phryah followed him, and they both ran away together, as lovers often do, and were never heard from again.

Decades later, ships entering ancient Earth's orbit were called from the toxic surface by the voice of an old woman. Many traders greeted her and offered the latest news on their lives, but they never learned anything of this woman, except that she had a husband, and that they somehow happy living on poisoned surface of Earth. Whenever new travellers arrived, the woman would always ask about news regarding the yingbindunyai clade.

This woman was in fact, Er-Phryah, and when yingbindunyai junkers arrived, she instructed them to make their home around a magnificent Orokin ruin - the Tower of Unum. In their vast floating market, the yingbindunyai clade finally arrived, and constructed their new home on a ragged coastline directly across from the Tower.

The Ostrons named this village Karifamil, meaning "family and prosperity". Er-Phryah was overjoyed to see her clade again, but Mer-Sah would not enter Karifamil, for he had no family, except for Er-Phryah.

Nearing the end of his long life, Mer-Sah took a boat and sailed out across the ocean. There, he returned all of the gifts that Earth had given him, along with himself. However, this was not his death, as the deeper Mer-Sah sank, the larger he became. This is how the oceans of Earth became the home of the enormous Thousand-Year Fish; a legendary creature said to be one of the great ancient spirits of Earth.

The villagers then decided that their home would no longer be known as Karifamil. From that day forward, it would be known as Cetus, meaning "landless, of no one clade, home to any who are blown as dust on the wind". A home for anyone, regardless of clade, trade or tradition.

Present-Day[]

Now a bustling market, Cetus is the main trading hub and home of the Ostrons, and any who happen to drift by. Free from the influence of IconGrineerOn Grineer and IconCorpusOn Corpus, traders and travelers can meet to exchange information, wares and bounties in safety, protected by the Unum-enforced laws of barter and parley.[2] Often filled with the sound of children playing and the cry of scavenging seabirds, the Cetus marketplace is a sight to behold. Just as the cry of merchants can be heard filling the air, the delicate scent of the Temple blood permeates the air, a result of the Ostrons harvesting their most well-known export; the Unum's Temple-flesh.

Cetus is also home to a rich amount of Ostron tradition; Most of the bars contain spirit- jars, which are small containers where coins are left in hopes of keeping the souls of the IconOrokinOn Orokin happy. Additionally, the money can be used to pay for the next customer who can't afford a drink.[3] Similarly, small houses called oro-kin-ka can be found, constructed to give the souls of the Orokin that once inhabited Cetus a place to reside in hopes of leaving the Ostrons in peace. Finally, urns of freshwater, known as yoong-bat, can be found outside of various Ostron doorways. They are left out for any nearby traveling monks, and it is considered rude for anyone else to drink from them, especially visiting offworlders.[4]

At nighttime, the haunting, mournful howls of Eidolons can be heard drifting through the allies and byways of the market. Their wails, an ever-present reminder of their previous nature, one that they cannot be allowed to ever return to.[5]

Invasion of the Sentients[]

AladVPortrait d
“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”
This article contains spoilers. Please complete The New War before continuing.

Earth becomes the initial site of the SentientFactionIcon Sentient invasion, and the first place to be invaded in Cetus itself. As theOstronSigil Ostron villagers look on in horror, a large Sentient Murex arrives, crashing into the Unum's Tower and destroying the main spire. As the IconGrineerOn Grineer fight a losing battle out in the Plains, the Ostron villagers are all subjugated by the Sentient. With the warship posed directly above the Unum, its begins to deactivate the Tower, draining the Unum of her Temple-Kuva.

The marketplace soon becomes a place of ruin; numerous homes are destroyed, while the bay outside of the market is littered with the debris of the Tower. A large IconNarmer Narmer All-Seeing Eye is placed in the center of the market, while all of the Ostrons are fitted with Narmer Veils, now forced into believing that the TennoIcon Tenno are starving them of resources. Additionally, a large Orphix can be found positioned next to the market, its pulse field preventing any Warframes for interfearing.

The Tenno ultimately revitalize the Unum, and Ballas recalls the Murex to join the rest of the fleet, leaving the Unum and the Ostrons in peace. After the defeat of Ballas, Cetus is finally free of Narmer's influence; the All-Seeing Eye is shattered and drained of its power, and with the Unum alive again, everything returns to relative normalcy.

The Tower of Unum[]

Gthouse+meat+i+thought+of+this+ cf1ff8d33edc9d3d7564a2453b7533d8

Concept art of the Ostrons harvesting the Unum's walls

Main article: Unum
ReclamatorBalloon

Reclamator Balloon - One of Cetus' signature sights, in miniature.

Located in the bay just outside of Cetus is the Tower of Unum, a large IconOrokinOn Orokin Tower. Since her Temple-body is made out of living flesh, the Unum permits the Ostrons to harvest it, specifying when and where to do it. In this manner, the Tower is able to consistently replenish itself, providing the villagers with numerous boons to sell and trade. On occasion, some rare discoveries may even be found, nested within the fleshy substrata of the Unum's being.[6]

To harvest these treasures, Ostron Drillers climb up great scaffolds around the Tower, punching a series of cavities within the wall. Eruptors then pack these holes with charged explosives, and call out, "Prepare to make fire!" to alert everyone boomward of the imminent harvest. Once detonated, large blanketpieces of flesh and wall are shattered free, which are then extracted from the Tower by the use of long billhooks.

These fragments are then affixed to large reclamator balloons, which are carefully steered by drop-drivers. Once in possession of a slab of Temple-flesh, they descend groundward to deliver their bounty to the butchers waiting below.[7]

Once the slab is rested against an airing board, the Flensers then use long-handled blades and hooks to carve and cut the blubbery flesh free from the wall-shell. At the end of a shift, the Retrievers then arrive to ring out any excess oil from scrubs.[8]

The retrieved Temple-flesh is then sliced up and sold within the markets, while any leftover shells of the wall are used as building materials to craft various items, such as bowls, urns and plates.

Factions[]

Ostron[]

Main article: Ostron
OstronSyndicateFlag


The Ostrons are the inhabitants of the Cetus settlement near the Plains of Eidolon on Earth. They are a hardy, mercantile people that dwell in the shadow of the Orokin Tower of the Unum, which they harvest for their livelihood. Kept safe from Grineer aggression by the arcane powers of the Unum herself, Cetus serves as their central trading hub in the Origin System and a refuge for all others who come to it with peaceful intentions.


The Quills[]

Main article: The Quills
TheQuillsSyndicateFlag


The Quills are a mysterious monastic order that serve the equally enigmatic Unum, a being who resides within the Orokin Tower at Cetus in the Plains of Eidolon. They have very close ties to the Ostron people who also praise the Unum, and are seemingly knowledgeable about the secrets of the Tenno. They are said to be able to divine the future, which combined with their information gathering prowess allows them to preemptively end threats to Cetus through their operatives.


Plains of Eidolon[]

Main article: Plains of Eidolon


The Plains of Eidolon is an expansive, open Landscape connected to Cetus, an Ostron settlement located on Earth. In the shadow of the Orokin Tower of the Unum lies an ancient battlefield, where an enormous Sentient was defeated during the Old War by GaraIcon272 Gara. The Grineer have set up numerous outposts and bases to study and mine the ruins in the area, observing and patrolling the plains for any threat to their operations.


Trivia[]

Untitled-5
  • In the eastern part of city outskirts hides an Easter Egg in the form of the Digital Extremes logo, easily recognizable by its emblem. Activating it will show the credits roster for the Plains of Eidolon.
    • In the roster is Hayden Tenno, the main protagonist in Digital Extremes' previous game Dark Sector.
  • Cetus is the Latinized form of κῆτος (ketos), the Ancient Greek word for "sea monster" or "huge fish", but in recent times, the word is associated with whales (i.e. cetaceans). Cetus can also refer to a constellation of the same name.
    • Interestingly, one of the stars in the Cetus constellation is Tau Ceti, one of the closest stars to the Sun and is most likely the "Tau" system the Sentients were originally sent to colonize.
      • Tau Ceti has, as of 2021, 4 confirmed planets, 4 unconfirmed planets, and 1 confirmed debris belt. Tau Ceti e, the third confirmed planet, has an orbit with a radius about half that of Earth's, and Tau Ceti f (the fourth one) has an orbit nearly a third larger than Earth's. These harsh environments, coupled with the outer debris belt, create both the need and the resources to possibly terraform a planet or two for Human colonization.
    • The people of Cetus harvest Unum's flesh in a manner similar to how whalers harvest a caught whale. 
    • Eidolons vocalize using the calls of humpback whales, as seen in Devstream 102.[9]
  • Cetus appears to be located at the top or near the Caspian Sea.
  • Cetus appears to be next to modern-day Astrakhan, which may have inspired the name of the settlers there, the Ostrons.

Media[]

References[]

  1. "The Ostrons named their village Karifamil – "family and prosperity". Er-Phryah was overjoyed to see her clade again… but Mer-Sah would not enter Karifamil, for he had no family save Er-Phryah" - Onkko, excerpt from "Tale of the Woman of the Earth and the Husband of the Sea"
  2. Cetus - Thousand-Year Fish Fragments
  3. "You'll find spirit jars at most of the bars. Order something, leave a coin. It leaves the souls of the Orokin happy, and you've paid for the next person who can't afford a drink. Sho-lah!" - Nakak
  4. The Ostrons - Thousand-Year Fish Fragments
  5. Night in Cetus - Glass Shard Fragments
  6. The Unum specifies which part of her Temple-body may be harvested, and when. In this manner her body eternally replenishes, providing her people with flesh to sell, Temple-kuva to refine and oils with which to make remarkable unguents. On occasion, nestled within the substrata of her being, a rare discovery awaits: forgotten technology. Proto-essence. Things which lure travelers from across the system, and so are a bounty for her people: Except from The Tower's Flesh - Thousand-Year Fish Fragments
  7. Harvesting the Tower - Thousand-Year Fish Fragments
  8. Tools of Harvest - Thousand-Year Fish Fragments
  9. Devstream #102 - 21:00

Patch History[]

Hotfix 34.0.1 (2023-10-18)

  • Fixed several script errors in Cetus.

Hotfix 33.6.4 (2023-08-15)

  • Fixed a crash that could occur if Host returned to a town hub before Client managed to get into the open landscape.
  • Fixed a rare crash when going from town to landscape and failing to connect.

Update 33.6 (2023-07-27)

  • Fixed the extraction timer triggering from town hub to open landscape (e.g. Cetus to Plains of Eidolon) even if Client doesn’t leave the tunnel.

Hotfix 32.3.3 (2023-02-17)

  • Fixed Cetus not displaying the proper time of day in the Plains of Eidolon, despite the Plains of Eidolon still properly cycling between Day and Night cycles.

Update 32.3 (2023-02-15)

  • Fixed the Cetus fast travel option for Fisher Hai-Lok missing a description of him.
  • Fixed a host migration issue when selecting a bounty in the Plains of Eidolon putting the player back in Cetus when that player was originally hosting the squad and had completed the New War Quest and their squadmate had not.

Hotfix 32.2.8 (2022-12-15)

  • Fixed getting indefinitely stuck in the loading tunnel when returning to a town from an open landscape (Plains of Eidolon to Cetus for example).

Update 32.2 (2022-11-30)

  • Fixed objective timer lingering on screen while returning to Cetus after abandoning a Bounty.
  • Fixed tarps hovering in the air that were originally attached to houses pre-New War Quest on Cetus.

Hotfix 31.5.8 (2022-05-11)

  • Fixed the Day/Night time countdown in the Plains of Eidolon/Cetus being paused indefinitely at "In 0 s".

Update 31.1 (2022-02-09)

  • Fixed a vehicle in Cetus having no collision.

Hotfix 31.0.2 (2021-12-16)

  • Fixed a crash related to returning to Cetus after a Quest mission in the Plains.

Update 30.7 (2021-09-08)

  • Fixed a script error related to being the Operator in the Cetus tunnel.
  • Fixed an issue where the floor in Cetus would disappear when viewed from a large distance.
  • Fixed an issue where Affinity was not retained after completing a mission in the Plains of Eidolon, returning to Cetus, and then going on a mission again.
  • Fixed the “Speak to Konzu” objective text when first entering Cetus not being capitalized.

Hotfix 30.2.1 (2021-05-13)

  • Fixed cases of Quill Onkko's cave door sometimes not opening after accessing Cetus from the Plains (and potentially other cases of doors not opening).

Hotfix 30.0.6 (2021-04-20)

  • Fixed Eidolon spawn sound continuing to play if entering Cetus while spawn / despawn is happening.

Update 29.10 (2021-03-19)

  • Added a grid backdrop to offerings at the vendors in Cetus to differentiate if their requirements are met.
  • Fixed Warframes blocking the view when speaking to vendors in Cetus.
  • Fixed a couple of context actions appearing inside of environment objects, notably Fisher Hai-Luk in Cetus.
  • Fixed Nightwave challenges that require you to go back to Cetus missing UI popups and transmissions while transitioning between open zone and hub.

Update 29.9 (2021-02-23)

  • Fixed a crash that could occur when transitioning from Cetus to the Plains.

Hotfix 29.6.8 (2021-01-25)

  • Fixed another case of Terlyast spawn sound persisting when returning to Plains of eidolon from Cetus after spawn has started.

Hotfix 29.6.6 (2021-01-12)

  • Fixed another case of Teralyst spawn sound being audible in Cetus.

Hotfix 29.6.5 (2021-01-09)

  • The Teralyst spawn sound loop will no longer play while in Cetus.

Hotfix 29.5.2 (2020-11-20)

  • Audio Mix tweaks have been added for Cetus!

Update 29.5 (2020-11-19)

  • Vome/Fass time indicators now appear when viewing the map inside the Necralisk hub!
    • Cetus and Fortuna have been given the same treatment.
  • Changed all vendors’ names in Fortuna and Cetus from ALL CAPS to Title Case.
  • Updated decals on the huts in Cetus to use modulate blending so that they blend in better.
  • Fixed missing motion blur on Ostrons in Cetus.

Hotfix 29.2.3 (2020-10-08)

  • Fixed inability to matchmake together when loading from a Town to a Free Roam mission.

Update 29.2 (2020-09-29)

  • Fixed Warframes overlapping the Modding UI when Modding in a Town.
  • Fixed camera alignment issues when opening the Arsenal as the Operator in a Town.

Update 29.1 (2020-09-17)

  • Fixed possible spot-loading when going into a Town.
  • Fixed a script error related to having Hildryn’s Balefire active while transitioning from Free Roam to Hub/Town.

Hotfix 29.0.8.1 (2020-09-10)

  • Fixes towards failing to match-make while in a Town/Hub.

Hotfix 29.0.8 (2020-09-10)

  • Fixed parts of the HUD breaking after attempting to open the ESC menu during a ‘Mission Complete’ animation (going from Free Roam to Town/Hub). As reported here!

Hotfix 29.0.7 (2020-09-03)

  • Fixed numerous bugs that could occur after a Host migration, including starting on a Free Roam mission, Host-migrating, returning to Town/Hub, and then returning to the Free Roam landscape.
  • Fixed Client Necramech’s not retaining their gained XP if you left the Necramech before you entered the gate/area to return to Town.

Hotfix 29.0.6 (2020-09-01)

  • Optimized Town server-code.
  • Fixed Necramech’s not retaining their gained XP if you left the Necramech before you entered the gate/area to return to Town.

Hotfix 29.0.4 (2020-08-27)

  • Fixed ghost channel members lingering behind in Towns causing confusion and server-strain.

Hotfix 29.0.3 (2020-08-26)

  • Fixed script error that can occur when trying to use the Scanner when returning to a Town.

Hotfix 29.0.2 (2020-08-26)

  • Fixes towards Town server stability and performance.
  • Fixed cases of the Town Chat channel not disappearing upon leaving said Town.

Update 29.0 (2020-08-25)

  • When returning from a Free Roam location to the respective Town (Plains -> Cetus, etc), the End of Mission screen will no longer stop player movement until after the initial animation ends.

Update 28.0 (2020-06-11)

  • Updated trade windows at merchants in Cetus to use the latest inventory UI.

Update 27.4 (2020-05-01)

  • Optimized load-times and memory footprint for Towns.
  • Fixed multiple issues with Cetus’ skybox related to fog, ambient clouds, and the weather systems.

Hotfix 27.3.13 (2020-04-14)

  • Optimized network connections to Towns for people around the world. Not only will this improve player movement but it should also help accelerate Kill Code transmission for Scarlet Spear Murex Raids that would have previously had a very high-ping to our servers.
  • Fixed a script error when quitting Warframe while in Cetus.

Hotfix 27.3.12 (2020-04-14)

  • Optimized network connectivity for Towns.

Hotfix 27.3.8 (2020-04-02)

  • Fixed a script error when transitioning from Plains to Cetus with the Synthesis Scanner equipped.

Hotfix 27.3.3 (2020-03-25)

  • Fixed several types of crashes that could occur when travelling to or from Towns.

Update 27.1 (2020-02-04)

  • Fixed being able to see outside the level from the gate in Cetus.
  • Fixed Fast Traveling to Fisher Hai-luk teleporting the player midair.

Update 25.7 (2019-08-29)

  • Fixed players watching two Warframes attempt a handshake in Cetus not actually seeing it happen. Truly the most secret of handshakes!

Update 25.5 (2019-07-31)

  • Fixed metallic looking eye textures, predominantly seen in Cetus at night.

Update 23.10 (2018-10-12)

  • Added objective marker pointing players to Konzu when entering Cetus for the first time.
  • Added more Corpus and Fortuna NPCs (undocumented).

Update 22.0 (2017-10-12)

  • Introduced.
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