City-States and Historical Events

City-states in Pae Halka

1. Nomand

*Low technology level, bronze age barbarians meshed with Spartan concepts.
*Tribalism as core to the social structure, no gender roles predetermined.
*Leaders are determined through ritual combat.
*Coming of age ritual: Monster Hunting (warriors) / Childraising (carers)
*Main source of income: raiding the Broken City near the Pyramid
*Main defense for the city: troops and spiked pallisades.

2. La Plancha

*Predominantly Naga emigrants (away from the Broken City).
*Sweet water proximity is a prerequisit for the Naga race to be able to survive.
*As a fast-expanding race, they are constantly low on space and supplies.
*They have underwater dwellings open to outsiders thanks to portable air bubbles (ritual).
*La Plancha itself lies deep within the Fourfold Lakes, but the Naga claim dominion from the Wetlands to the coast (North).
*Main source of income: Trading (Pearls and shedded skins worked into clothes).
*Hierarchy is based on the subjective beauty of the scales of each individual.
*Non-scaled inhabitants cannot rise high in the ranks.
*A "regression"runs through the bloodlines of the Naga, slowly turning them back human.
*Coming of Age: Pilgrimage to Earth Shrine to seek the Feathered Snake.

3. Giza

*Known to the inhabitants as Jin.
*Predominantly contains two races: Orcs and Elves.
*A massive temple built on an ancient crater.
*Pacifistic culture
*Led by the Gentil, a council of those that achieved inner peace.
*Coming of Age: Meditation and Fasting.
-This will also determine the initial place in the Hierarchy.
*Home to some of the best crafters of beer, which is a main export.
*While the general air of Giza is one of monastic poverty, food never seems scarce.
*Sometimes, people of low standing are called to the Gentil and never seen again.
*Joining the temple requires a hefty donation.

4. Las Remblas

*Markets everything it can get, legal or illegal.
*Gambling dens and brothels are a common sight.
*Led by Stargazer Michel (under the influence of the Siren)
*Lots of orphans and ill-gotten children form the youth of the city.
*Coming of Age: "Facing the gaze of the Beyond"- Tripping on Fae Shrooms.
*The Siren and the Dragon do not get along.
*A haven for those who need to get out of the public eye.
*The place for aspiring artists, actors and poets.
*"What happens in Las Remblas, stays in Las Remblas"

5. (The Ruins of) Bloom

*Tried to domesticate monsters, with actual results, before its downfall.
*Adventurer hotspot due to the likely presence of lost knowledge and treasure.
*Invaded by the State of Garrison, which destabilized the control of the mages over thedomesticated monsters. This turned into a slaughter on both sides of the battlefield.
*3/4th of Bloom is overrun by the monsters, 1/4th remains in the hands of survivalists.
*Those that dwell in Bloom still distrust magic and place their faith in Science.
*One of the largest Eksperimenta still stands in Bloom.
*Coming of Age: graduating from the Eksperimenta or surviving a year of service in the adventuring corps.

6. Garrison
*Military city in standstill, a lot of the elite troops were slain by monsters of Bloom.
*Seeking to rebuild their might by expanding into the surrounding lands.
*Supports the Sapphire Arcanum, a renown college of magical studies.
*Hosts the Ironclad, a massive warsuit belonging to the family Vir
- now inoperable - said to have been instrumental in ending the Great War.
*Still a great place for those who seek to earn their battlefield merits, as well as home to
a renown adventuring guild.
*Main source of income: weapon- and armoursmithing.
*Coming of Age ritual: graduating from any Arcanum or Eksperimenta, serving in the army.
*Both male and female warriors are known to rise through the ranks and gain high posts.

7. Bastionne (capital: Rampart)

*Pirate nation, stealing/learning tech from the dwarven kingdom
*Led by Grand Admiral Hector Sparrow, who dreams of making Rampart fly.
*Social standing based on possessions, preferably fast and/or flying vehicles, or contributions made to society. Very meritocratic.
*The mystical serpent Leviathan is bound to the very stones of Rampart.
*The Admiral never seems to age. He has been around for at least 300 years.
*There are four Captains, the Quatre, who serve the Admiral directly. They have been given control over the four islands between Bastionne and the Dwarven lands.
*Within the Bastionnic society, a deep competitive rift exists between the mages and those who study at the Eksperimenta. Two politicians, Jack Dupomme and Daniel Hu'Blancq seek to mend this rift by proposing a union between magic and science. This is not well received.

Historical Events:

1. The Great Earthquake

*An attack from Golems, Earth Elementals, Giant Worms and Orcs.
*So many souls were raided that the very Veils of both sides touched for a moment,
resulting in a cataclysmic event that sent a shockwave through the entire of Paema'ana,
trapping a large portion of the raiders in the Pae Hakla.
*This caused the downfall of the Naga Empire (causing a migration of the survivors to
what is now known as La Plancha.)
*This also caused the founding of the temple known as Giza, where the surviving Orcs sealed away the Demon and dedicated themselves to peace.

2. The Slaying of Cerberog

*A massive squid, the first true Monster, laid low by a coalition of the Cities of Pae Hakla,
its corpse decomposing into a landmass that is now known as a fertile peninsula.

3. The Battle of the Air Spire

*The Elves that lived near the Air Gate were wiped out to a man by a sudden raid of
unprecedented proportions, leaving only their diplomats and lecturing professors.
*This caused all that live near the Air Gate to have a vested interest in aircraft, with a
very obvious preference to speed of strength.
*A second city was erected a ways off where the elves that lived were able to slowly
re-establish their population and culture, though they are fewer than they would like.

4. The Creeping Bane

*A ritual enacted by a being known as 'the Lich' in Low Court in order to gain more power and obfuscate the existance of the Shulk and Halka from each other.
*Causes a mutation in body of those that dwell near the Gates.
-This makes it easier for infiltration near the Gates.
*Causes a mutation in mind of those that dwell near the Gates.
-This makes for easier soldiers and for Gate-communities to shut out outsiders.

5. The Death of Empire

*Also known as the Great War.
*Pae Halka once was divided into a set of realms, each with their respective Gate as core.
These realms fought with each other to great detriment of those that lived common lives.
*Rousing a band of powerful heroes, the City of Garrison declared itself free from the yoke
of the Emperor of Spirit. Led by the mastersmith Fermacq of the Vir, the band managed not
only to overthrow the Emperor of Spirit, but to kindle the fire of revolution in the other
realm to a fever pitch. Supporting these rebellions with the power of a massive warsuit known as the Ironclad, the Heroes defeated each of the Realms and took away the power of
those that ruled, leading to a period of anarchy and statescrafting.
*As a result, the City States have decreed that no Empire shall rise again for as long as they
can oppose it, swearing dire oaths upon this concept.
*After the War's end, Lord Fermacq bestowed his wealth and holdings onto his oldest son
and disappeared together with his band of heroes turned loyal friends.