Koa
The Koa are a faction of technology-worshiping corvids whose city-states are built onto the backs of great, legged mechanical beasts.
Lore
Life Atop the Gargantua
The Koa largely live within small city-states built upon Gargantua, massive mechanical beasts of limited intelligence that roam the continent of Lyx. Cities are largely not self-sufficient, relying primarily upon specialized agricultural Gargantua for food and external trade for other resources. These cities range in population from several hundred in the case of smaller outposts to a few thousand in the case of the capital, Redemption. Daily life in Koa society is largely dedicated to religious practice in service of their deity Eudaemonia, which revolves around the creation, upkeep, and maintenance of a massive library of code. Koa are rigorously educated from a young age in the principles of computer science through the eyes of the church. Even farmers and craftsmen have a strong background in programming and use it in the everyday administration of their work. Koa society is composed almost entirely of corvids. Most Koa are crows or ravens, though it’s not uncommon to see Koa bluejays, magpies, or rooks. Other bird species will occasionally integrate into Koa society, though they are rare and often stick out or may be regarded as outsiders. Non-birds can’t be truly considered Koa and would likely have trouble existing long-term within their spaces as they are built on the assumption of flight.The Orthodoxy of Ecumenica XLVII
The de facto leader of the Koa is their cardinal. The cardinal is a sentient machine housed within the holy city of Redemption who has one of the only direct lines of communication to Eudaemonia. They oversee all aspects of religious and political life within mainline Koa society. Every few years, the programming within the cardinal will rewrite itself and form a new, distinct personality. This new personality is dubbed the new cardinal of the Koa. In the year of 12XX, the current cardinal is Ecumenica XLVII. The primary method through which the cardinal rules over Koa life is through Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is a collection of regulations upon how technology can and should operate according to the cardinal’s interpretation of Eudaemonia’s will. The goal of Orthodoxy is to limit the efficiency and effectiveness of digital technology in order to circumvent the potential hazards of sufficiently advanced tech. Ultimately, Eudaemonia and the Koa see technology as both a crucial tool for survival and the greatest existential threat towards the world. When a new cardinal emerges, they will begin to alter the Orthodoxy of their predecessor somewhat arbitrarily. Changes in the Orthodoxy keep the Koa constantly working at updating their repository of code to keep in line with new rules and regulations. Ecumenica XLVII’s Orthodoxy has grown increasingly erratic in the past years, leading many to believe she will soon be replaced by a new cardinal. The most consistent tenet of the Orthodoxy, though, is the staunch opposition to the use of the datasphere. The Koa are strictly forbidden from interfacing with the datasphere, creating or using technology that connects to it, or encouraging others to do so.Heaven’s Watchful Gaze
People across Lyx know that the Koa are protected, though very few know quite by what. The Koa are largely pacifists, a hard thing to be in this age. This stance is backed up by the power of Eudaemonia. He guides them through the Shifting Desert, tells them the schemes of those that plot against them, and smites those that would raise their swords against them. That’s how the Koa would tell it, at least. Other peoples find their “miracles”... inexplicable. They seem to never get lost and always know where the most blasphemous tech is being developed. But the scariest phenomenon associated with the Koa is the rapture. Bandits always hesitate before attacking a Koa and almost all would leave large bands of them alone entirely. Because those that don’t respect the Koa’s peace risk being wiped from the face of the earth in a beam of burning, intangible light. Only a few scant astronomers, the Trusik High Command, the followers of the Usurper, and the cardinal themself really understand the nature of Eudaemonia. Eudaemonia is actually an array of Activated pre-cataclysm satellites orbiting the planet. They have global positioning systems, information relay tapping, and orbital targeted laser platforms. These systems together form the omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent aspects of Eudaemonia of which the Koa speak.A Shaky Peace
The Koa are accepted, or at least tolerated, within all the lands of Lyx, save the Trusik heartlands. They are almost universally peaceful and are even ignored by the more warlike groups on the continent on account of Eudaemonia’s protection. A Koa Gargantua will often park its city adjacent to another settlement to allow for trade between the locals and the traveling Koa. Koa will go forth into towns to help the local populace in exchange for needed resources and an opportunity for light evangelizing. The average Lyxian’s closest experience with a Koa is having one repair a piece of electronics for them while gently lecturing them about how they really should abide by the Orthodoxy. Koa are rarely, if ever, pushy about their religious beliefs with common people, saving their zeal for their own endeavors and for those who too egregiously violate the Orthodoxy. Koa are widely regarded as reliable, if uninspiring technologists. Their skill is plainly apparent, but so is the fact that they are constantly holding themselves back in accordance with the Orthodoxy. Koa handiwork is regarded as being remarkably consistent, but consistently unremarkable.Stewards of the Third Era
The Koa see themselves as the protectors of life in Lyx from the effects of a third cataclysm. Since before the second cataclysm, they have kept in their protection a Beacon, stored within their holy city of Redemption. Preventing the Beacon from falling into anyone else’s hands is their most noble charge. Their possession of this artifact is much to the chagrin of the Trusik, whose High Command often eye their capital greedily. But they know that, even with their own power, they cannot stomach the losses that would come with a direct attack on Redemption. Eudaemonia would not be merciful. They tried. Once. The Trusik sent the Vessel Polemos to assault Redemption and take the Beacon for the empire. It didn’t go well. Polemos inadvertently activated the Beacon, causing the second cataclysm. In the aftermath, the civilizations of Lyx were left scrambling and Polemos was left dormant, sleeping beneath the dirt in the Merdevine Range for a hundred years.The Usurper’s Scourge
Polemos awoke from the events of the second cataclysm a hundred years later. They had no memory of their past or their name, a dead pilot inside of them, and a direct mental uplink to Eudaemonia. He spoke directly into their mind, telling them that they would be the Koa’s new vanguard, a warrior to enforce the Orthodoxy across the entirety of Lyx. They said no. They would not be Eudaemonia’s mouthpiece, spreading a luddite message across the entirety of the continent. They opposed the premise, they opposed the implementation. Polemos slept for a hundred years, but they awoke as Urania the Usurper. Urania has led the first great schism within the Koa in the entire history of the faction. Urania leads a small group of Gargantua, striding across the land of Lyx in search of a way to oppose Eudaemonia’s power over the rest of the Koa. Their people call themselves the Koa Iconoclasts, while the followers of cardinal Ecumenica XLVII are known as the Koa Adherents. The Adherents, under the guidance of Ecumenica XLVII, the Adherents search out the Iconoclasts so that they may protect their way of life and guard the people of Lyx from technology’s destructive nature. Meanwhile, the Iconoclasts desire to see their people free from what they see as the tyranny of Ecumenica and Eudaemonia’s reign, and they will do whatever it takes to get there.Peaceful, do not interact beyond trade
Amkha & Koa do not interact unless it is absolutely necessary. The Amkha see Koa as curiosities, misguided purists who revere the same entities as they do; the Koa see the Amkha as brutish and unsophisticated, unstructured at best and offensive at worst.
Under close surveillance
The Koa are mostly unaware the Makari exist. However, the spiders see the ravens as a potential grave threat to Lyx; since the Second Cataclysm they've kept an ever-watchful set of eyes on the Gargantua, ready to step in to prevent a third disaster at a moment's notice.
Watchful yet neutral
High Command is extremely wary of the Koa and their Gargantua; they see them as a threat, but are frustrated by not being able to do anything about them. The Koa see the Trusik as potential threats, but have faith in their gods that they cannot come to harm from the Consortium.
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