Praetor Cato (placeholder name)
“They do not steward their environment. They do not even care for their own. And now they metastasise in colonisation. Clearly this society is a chancre upon the land. Therefore I submit: The Republic must be destroyed!”
Praetor Cato (placeholder name) is first among equals in the Assembly (Curia?) of the Magistaerium. Thus he combines in his person the Head of government and, through the Viridian Canticles, the Head of Religion.
Under his leadership, the expansion of the Refugia “wildlife sanctuary zones” has dramatically accelerated. For centuries, these regions only protected regions with unique biomes. Then there followed a period where the radius of each expanded, with some merging, until they reached a limit determined by the number of gifted mages being born in each generation with the skills to maintain each Refugium. At that time, they spanned most of the landscape of the Magistaerium Protectorate with small regions left over for human habitation and food production.
Since the rise of Praetor Cato, there has been aggressive “salvation” of Republic territories by the expansion of Refugia radii. He has made this possible by researching and deploying the drug “Dreamsong”, which can induce mage talents in those born without. The cost being that users of Dreamsong develop Shadowing, a disability similar to juvenile-onset dementia. In rare cases, Shadowing leads to psychotic behaviour which has necessitated an increase in law enforcement personnel. There are now large numbers of “burnt up” individuals afflicted by the Shadowing: It is a growing social problem.
Cato’s Dreamsong programme was made possible by another of his controversial innovations: The active research of useful substances and materials preserved within Refugia. Whereas the traditional Protectorate doctrine was “stewardship with minimal intervention”, Cato believes that stewardship entitles access to renewable resources. But this risks transforming traditional stewardship into farming. Specific villages have been organised to each pursue production of particular resources, Dreamsong and Gloomsilk among them.
Praetor Cato (placeholder name) is first among equals in the Assembly (Curia?) of the Magistaerium. Thus he combines in his person the Head of government and, through the Viridian Canticles, the Head of Religion.
Under his leadership, the expansion of the Refugia “wildlife sanctuary zones” has dramatically accelerated. For centuries, these regions only protected regions with unique biomes. Then there followed a period where the radius of each expanded, with some merging, until they reached a limit determined by the number of gifted mages being born in each generation with the skills to maintain each Refugium. At that time, they spanned most of the landscape of the Magistaerium Protectorate with small regions left over for human habitation and food production.
Since the rise of Praetor Cato, there has been aggressive “salvation” of Republic territories by the expansion of Refugia radii. He has made this possible by researching and deploying the drug “Dreamsong”, which can induce mage talents in those born without. The cost being that users of Dreamsong develop Shadowing, a disability similar to juvenile-onset dementia. In rare cases, Shadowing leads to psychotic behaviour which has necessitated an increase in law enforcement personnel. There are now large numbers of “burnt up” individuals afflicted by the Shadowing: It is a growing social problem.
Cato’s Dreamsong programme was made possible by another of his controversial innovations: The active research of useful substances and materials preserved within Refugia. Whereas the traditional Protectorate doctrine was “stewardship with minimal intervention”, Cato believes that stewardship entitles access to renewable resources. But this risks transforming traditional stewardship into farming. Specific villages have been organised to each pursue production of particular resources, Dreamsong and Gloomsilk among them.
Children
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