Marchen, Fragmented Graveyard

"Marchen stands as a beacon of hope for the entire galaxy - that even the darkest of times can be lead toward a brighter future,"
-Brin, Chancellor of Reinheightz

"There's no greater hellhole in this galaxy than Marchen. People will go to stab your back as much as look at you. Guess that's why I call it home,"
-Wulfric, Pack Leader of the Marchen Mercenaries

Government

Marchen is run by a centralized Republic, though its main area of control is only the capital city itself, Reinheightz. Much of the planet in reality is more akin to an anarchy run by sparse townships which face constant threats of banditry. Although the Republic recognizes these townships as part of the government, any form of supply or assistance directly from the capital is scarcely provided. The few interactions commoners have with the people of Reinheightz comes in the place of sponsored trade, in which representatives sell manufactured commodities, such as armor, weapons, and farming tools able to irrigate the otherwise inhospitable land, in exchange for a percentage of locally sourced products, the most popular being a popular drink known throughout the galaxy: Marchen Moonshine.
With no protection from bandits or other rampant threats, the citizenry rely on the Marchen Mercenaries, a coalition of soldiers, assassins, and many other professions who work together as an organization. "Marchen Mercs" pride themselves on their ability to solve any problem, no matter how small, given proper compensation. The group has established bases all across the planet, providing defense to the people of Marchen where the central government would turn a blind eye. Marchen Mercenaries are known throughout the galaxy as a dependable source of manpower, and have Headquarters stationed on several other planets, including Planet Candy, Loverli, and Dahlia.
The Marchen Republic and Mercenary group are often at ends with each other, rarely ever getting along. The heads of both groups, Chancellor Brin and Pack Leader Wulfric see each other more as a problem, and rarely communicate with each other. The Republic is at relative peace with the Mercenary group however, under the stipulation that no member of said group ever attempt to enter the capital city.

Defences

Marchen's greatest defense is its generous employment of Puresteel, which can be found inside nearly every weapon, armor, and defensive structure on the planet. Not only is it the only known metal capable of defending against corruption based attacks, it is incredibly durable besides. Even high pressure blasts and massive explosives are barely capable of damaging Puresteel, let alone break or otherwise compromise it.
Although the Republic's own standing army is comparatively small, due to it being centralized in a single city, the Marchen Mercenaries more than make up for their numbers, the number of active mercenaries on the planet easily surpassing one million.

Infrastructure

The capital city of Reinheightz sees a flourishing industry thanks to its many manufacturing plants. These plants prioritize the manufacturing a metal know as Puresteel. Nearly every building, appliance, and road in Reinheightz is made at least in part of Puresteel, including the 30 meter wall which surrounds the entire city, with no exits or entrances to speak of. Due to this, the soil within the city is incredibly pure, allowing for many flourishing gardens and parks to be maintained within the city walls.
The Outlands, as it is known by the inhabitants of Reinheightz, has very little land usable for agriculture by comparison. The few farmsteads that have managed to be built are sponsored by the Marchen Republic, which supply the soil, tools, and seeds necessary to grow crops, and allow inhabitants of the Outlands to run them independently, in exchange for a percentage cut of whatever crops they produce. These farmsteads also see the development of products not sanctioned by the Republic, such as the very popular Marchen Moonshine.

Assets

The greatest Export Marchen has to its name is the highly valued Puresteel, the only artificial material known to be able to resist the corruptive power of Anomalies. This metal is often forged into specialized armor and sold to various entities across the galaxy, however its greatest use is back on the planet which discovered it. Although nearly all of the land on Marchen was corrupted in ancient times when an Anomaly attacked the planet, the capital city was left unharmed by its attacks thanks to one of the heroes who fought the beast alongside his companions, thanks to an early version of Puresteel. Over the years, fear that the corruption would eventually spread to Reinheightz saw the Republic build a massive wall around the entire city, permanently keeping the encroaching corruption out, while also keeping the city safe from potential attackers infected by the Anomaly's corruption.
Marchen also sees the greatest export of mercenary services among all planets in the Trilian galaxy. This is due mostly to their sheer numbers, but also their willingness to complete any task for the right price no matter how great or small, from household chores, to protecting vessels or towns from assaults by bandits or pirates.
Perhaps the most infamous of their exports, however, would be Marchen Moonshine, a volatile drink made in part from crops infected with corruption, then distilled and processed to be safe (by a large stretch of the word) to drink. Despite its questionable production process, marchen Moonshine is a drink sold and consumed across the galaxy, and is even enjoyed by the heads of neighboring planetary governments.

Guilds and Factions

The two leading parties of Marchen, the Republic and Mercenaries, have rarely seen eye to eye, even at the beginning of their inception. Despite the Mercenaries protecting most of the planet's inhabitants from assailants, the Republic oversees all intergalactic relations, the mercenary group often being seen as an entirely different entity.
The Republic, for their part, is much more invested in maintaining the purity of the planet's only standing city, and as such mandates that no individuals from the Outlands be allowed inside the city's walls. The Mercenaries are eager to oblige, so long as the Republic keeps its nose out of their business, and in that way an unofficial truce has stood between the two parties for thousands of years, despite their limited communications with one another.

History

In ancient times, Marchen was a simple agricultural planet, living off the fat of the land with limited knowledge of the outside world. At some point in time, Marchen became under siege by an Anomaly, who sought to corrupt and ultimately destroy the entire planet. With no outside help, the strongest hands of Marchen banded together in order to protect their home. This ragtag group of fighters battled with all their might against the Anomalous creature, and were able to successfully fell it against all odds.
However, as the Anomaly's corpse plummeted to the planet's surface, its corruptive essence began to infect the landscape, and even the inhabitants. A cloud of dark mist spread across the entire planet in the wake of the Anomaly's death, destroying everything and everyone it came into contact with, leaving a barely hospitable wasteland behind. The warriors who had defeated the Anomaly retreated to the capital city, in hopes of devising a plan to stop the spread of corruption. As the cloud of noxious corruption was just about to engulf the city, one of the leaders of the band, Fuscia, used her final gambit to protect the city, and cast a spell that surrounded it in a mystical sheet of pure energy. To everyone's surprise, the wall held, and the cloud of smoke went no further.
In the coming days, as the corruptive dust began to settle around the city, fellow leader of the band of warriors, and best friend to Fuscia, Fin, raised concerns for the possibility of survivors in the wasteland, and suggested they send a party out to try and save whoever they could. Fuscia adamantly refused the idea, not wanting to compromise the safety of those within the city's walls. What followed was a heated argument between members of the band, resulting in Fin and Fuscia ultimately parting ways.
Fin lead his group of warriors into the wasteland in search for survivors, traversing all across the planet and saving an estimated hundred thousand people. Meanwhile, Fuscia stayed behind with her party, defending the city from assailants maddened by corruption, and keeping the occupants of the city safe. Fin and Fuscia would never see each other again in their lifetime, and inevitably founded The Marchen Mercenaries and Marchen Republic, which their descendants Wulfric and Brin still manage to this day.
Over the centuries, the Republic's obsession which keeping Reinheightz, the last beacon of hope on the planet safe, lead them to blocking out all contact with those living in the Outlands, and ultimately creating an impenetrable wall around the city with no entrances or exits to speak of. Likewise, the Marchen Mercs were more than happy to ignore the capital's existence entirely, focusing instead on the rampant threats which plague the Outlands. There are many who worship the Anomaly's graveyard, seduced by its corruptive essence to kill and destroy anything and everything. As a result, settlements established in the Outlands are constantly in danger of utter destruction. One town in particular was discovered by Wulfric with every occupant slaughtered in their homes, except for a single girl who was covered in life-threatening lacerations, yet did not bleed a drop.
In recent years, Marchen has seen several of their inhabitants be enrolled in Star Seasons Academy, including Wulfric's own daughter: Winry. Winry was among the first class in the school to graduate, and joined the then established Team Alpha, a group of Academy graduates who act as an independent task force for the entire galaxy.
More recently, Brin's daughter Anna had been enrolled in the school, whom, out of spite for her father has chosen to disguise herself so that no one at the Academy would recognize her, adopting the name Panda.

Architecture

While the structures in the Outlands of Marchen consist mainly of wood built huts and farms, Reinheightz holds a great pride for its architecture. The city sports many thin alabaster spires, with white aimed toward the sky, allowing the spires to shine any time of day and thus earning the city the nickname "Beacon City".

Geography

The Marchen Outlands consist mainly of lifeless deserts, swamps and plains, the soil itself a poisonous purple, thick and bubbling with corruption. The few trees that manage to grow in this landscape do so without developing a single leaf on their branches. The water itself is practically undrinkable, it too dark and full of corruption. The water required intense purification and distillation in order to make survival in the Outlands even remotely possible. This process was in fact what started the creation of Marchen Moonshine, one of the few drinks sourced from the Outlands which was at least somewhat safe to drink.

Alternative Name(s)

• The Lone Beacon

• Hunter's Haven

Type

Ecumenopolis

Population

Eighteen Million

Inhabitant Demonym

• Orinn

• Ulkan

• Shadon

• Human

Owner/Ruler

Brin, Chancellor of Marchen

Related Materials

• Puresteel