Spirals
Spirals are the great, immense building that the people of this plain call home. They get the name from the shape of their structure, and they were built millennia ago out of necessity when the world on the surface became flooded, toxic, and hostile. The world in the skies offered safety, and while millions died in an effort to construct these buildings, the generations that went on afterward in the safety of these structures were well worth the sacrifice.
History
At one point in time, the people of Spiralyss lived in excess. Everything that was created was consumed, and any refuse from that consumption was discarded with little regard to people or the environment. While a number of voices urged caution for these practices, the warnings were never heeded. And soon, the world that had been building full of the garbage the people left behind decided one day to fight back. That was when the rains began. It had been long since many of the people had seen the sun. Green smog had long rested on the ground of this world, and only those who lived in very tall highrises could ever enjoy the bright comfortable world that was above. Rain was commonplace along with the smog, but no one had ever seen rains like this before.
These were heavy, unending downpours that after a month, a number of people who lived in smog level housing faced the real possibility of drowning. The water combined with the garbage and the waste left behind created even an even more toxic environment. Anyone who dared to try to face the rapidly accumulating waters without proper protection would, over time, died of disease or poisoning. The world before them was deadly with no sign of becoming less so anytime soon. Panicked by the idea of extinction and the regret of their way of life, the people soon realized that they needed to quickly come together to find a solution.
It was time to look up above the smog and find safety there, just like those who lived and worked in comfort already. And so, the first Spiral was created. Soon, more and more land was staked out to create more of these structures, completely sealed from the harsh environment under the smog layer, and open towards the cloud and sun levels all in a coil-like structure. People migrated into the towers, and once they held enough people to have a sustainable population, they were sealed shut to forever protect the people from the dangers on the ground. As time drifted on, history began to fade. The technologies that created the poison rain was banned and lost and replaced with only technology that is helpful for the thriving survival of the Spirals and the people within. Communication between Spirals decayed, and it wasn't until the first airship was built that commerce between Spirals was restored. This world with cities in the sky is now the only one anyone knows
The Factions
Currently, there are two major factions; the Viroran Empire and the Great Opposition. A third collection of Spirals that choose to independently operate from either faction are called Free Spirals, and each one of these Spirals has its own individually run government. Both the Empire and the Opposition are at a Cold War with one another, and both seek out to bring more and more of the Free Spirals into their folds. Currently, the Viroran Empire has 120 Spirals within its territory and under its protection, and the Opposition has 80.
The Types of Spirals
While each and every Spiral has a little bit of all of these types of businesses and basic necessities to keep them surviving on their own, the Spirals who have collectively started to work together, discovered that dedicating more resources to a particular industry on each Spiral and then trading with each other allowed for a greater sense of unity, and it kept commerce as well as the exchange of information and news between Spirals alive. These are the types of Specializations:
Agricultural: produces food in Spiral top farms that are exposed to the exterior OR in various greenhouses throughout the Spiral. A vast majority of the people here are farmers or caretakers of the plants and animals of some sort.
Fuel and Energy Generators: Wind and Sun collectors which are then converted into stored energy via crystalline batteries. The interior of the Spiral have large workshops dedicated to the manufacturing of energy batteries for homes, businesses, and ships (not all ships run on this fuel source alone, but some can. See section on ship modifications)
Educational: Universities, archives, historical museums, and researchers. While there are some schools in every Spiral these Spirals are particularly dedicated to the preservation of old knowledge and Education. These are the second most rare of the Spirals. Even the Empire only has about a handful of the hundred of Spirals under their leadership
Cultural Hubs: dedicated to arts, theater, performance, and entertainment. Also news gathering and distributing. Journals/publications buildings, radio towers, news broadcasts, and other media are often located on these Spirals as well. This was the last specialty to be dedicated to a type of Spiral as it took a very long time to reestablish means of communication between the Spirals at all.
Capital: Where the Imperator/Great Opposition Council reside (depending on faction) as well as the houses dedicated to the legislation of those factions. Often the biggest and most elaborate Spiral is considered a capital Spiral. There are typically embassies for each Free Spiral as well as diplomatic buildings that call this Spiral home.
Militaristic: Military things: training academies, shipbuilders, weapons, armor, defense based stuff. Airships of all sizes commissioned by the Imperator/Opposition Council are built on these Spirals via their extensive navy airfield docks. These are the only commissioned ships. Freelance and privateer, often much smaller and more hastily built, are sometimes built here as well because it is easier for these private organizations to share and scavenge what was leftover from building the bigger and more impressive ships.
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