The Ruinic Towers
(lit : Kresczen Ryriakki)
-Translated from the RyriakkiNna by Knight Gustav, First Historian.Research Records, Vaz Czeneraz, Explorer Scholar, 14/1/658
Recovered :
- 1 Beacon
- 23 Turbines
- 11 Conductors
End of the list
Notes :
Useless junk today. Except for the beacon. Lady will be pleased. Not like it matters. Maybe less pain. Maybe more. We shall see.
Structure
The Ruinic Towers, although called and understood as a Kingdom by the Ultherians, cannot, in fact, be called that way, as the towers obey to neither king nor even a central power. In truth, the Ruinics, or Ryriakki, according to their languages, understand power through the amount of elder technology possessed, understood and used by an individual. The most powerful families live in towers they have built using said technology, around which other ones flocked, hoping to gain an insight into the family's knowledge.
The three most powerful technocratic families, leaders of the towers of Czeneraz, Dzermiek and Schrirahna, meet up for a council once every three constellars to discuss the orientation of each of their towers, but also of that of the kingdom as a whole, in terms of diplomacy, military actions, and internal affairs.
The rest of the time, the families (or rather dynasties) lead their own clusters of towers in a rather self-reliant way, using all the draconic artifacts at their disposal to prosper.
Public Agenda
Assets
Wealth
The amount of artifacts drawn from the ruins is far enough to financially supply the First Kingdom through trade, even with the embargo from the First Kingdom on Draconic artifacts. As we will see later, the internal economy of the tower doesn't actually need the support of the other currencies. In terms of food, the technology helps them grow just enough stale vegetables to survive, and variety in dishes was rare before they allowed the Serelion Emporium to travel up to their northernmost cities.Military
The Ryriakki army is probably the most efficient in the world, as beyond its endurant and low-maintenance soldiers, it is extremely well equipped, with technology exclusive to its kingdom. Draconic swords and shields, bows, crossbows, chariots are indeed stronger, sturdier, and deadlier than the average steel of the three other kingdoms.Navy
In terms of navy however, only Czeneraz has any ships to its name, thanks to its port on the western end of the Northern Crescent. These ships rarely travel, although they have seen some use since the beginning of the Draconic Alliance. They have never been used as a means of war, only official or commercial transport.Fortifications
Having to protect its inhabitants through the extremely hostile weather of the Ryriakki Mountains and the Zrennë Steppes, the Tower Clusters are built from the sturdiest known materials, and engineered as armed-to-the-teeth radiators. Indeed, if the Ririakky army is the strongest in the known world, its fortresses are also certainly the most impregnable.History
When the survivors of the great cataclysm who found themselves in the north took shelter in the ruins, it was a matter of simple survival. However, as they settled within them, they learned to somewhat control the technology from the ruins, and very quickly, possession and understanding became synonyms of power. Those who could get their hands on the artifacts flocked around those who could, and in a hundred years time, three main clusters were built across the Northern Crescent, and a few isolated towers between them. The knowledge was passed on within the families, and dynasties were established.
At first, when each of them became aware of the existence of the other two, inevitable conflicts broke, who were mostly dominated by the Czeneraz dynasty. However, after a 10 years long conflict, it became evident that war was of no use to anyone, and that adding each other's threat to that of the wilds was not in the interest of anyone. Thus, the three leading dynasties met on a no man's land, a small circle of ruins in the Zrenne Steppes, to negotiate peace. Those negotiations were successful and a confederation was born out of it, the Ruinic Towers.
More details can be fond in the ruinic recordsDemography and Population
As the territory over which the Towers spread is particularly hostile, rare are those who live outside of the Tower cluster themselves. A few isolated towers exist, and some Tribals have settled in the southernmost parts, but mostly, the entire Ryriakki population resides in the towers. Within these clusters, the lower you live, the wealthier you are, as it is considered an honor to have an easy access to the ruins. The leading dynasties reside in the entrance halls of the ruins themselves.
As such, life is mostly easy for those who live close to the ground, as they have access to warmth, healthcare, and trading posts. For those who live higher however, between the risks of falling, the poor isolation and the difficulty to be reached by merchants and suppliers, the death rate is just sightly better than during the surviving days, but not by much.
Territories
The Ryriakki towers and ruins spread over the entirety of the Northern Crescent, delimited by the Archonic Mountains to the south, the Northern Esoteric Sea to the west, the The Broken Ocean to the east, and the Elder Ices (lit. Schirrak Merschren) to the North.
To the west, on the northern end of the Crescent, the greatest and most ancient cluster of towers, Czeneraz, is nested within the Ryriakki mountains. That cluster of towers is connected through a tunnel to Mirghan, a lonely tower which serves as a lighthouse and as a port to the capital. To the east of the mountains lie the icy plains of the Schirrak Merschren, and near the sea stands the tower cluster of Schrirahna . It is the northernmost settlement in the land, and in the known world. Further to its south, the icy terrain changes to the least hostile part of the land,the Zrenne Steppes, where stands the third cluster, Dzermiek, in the north, against the last of the Ryriakki mountains. Of course, even further south, we can find the Ultherian city of Serenade, but although it has been a matter of debate for a long time, it cannot be considered a part of the Ryriakki territory.
Military
As the ruins found beneath Czeneraz seemed to specialize in weaponry, the principal military force of the Ryriakki Towers is located there, under the command of the Czeneraz dynasty. They send their own forces to enforce the other cluster's laws, and, although the three are meant to be independent, Czeneraz's military remains the most efficient conviction tool during the tri-constellarly meetings of the Towers.
That army is currently being used as the spearhead of the Draconic Alliance , as has been said earlier.
Technological Level
The scientific advancement of the Towers obviously surpasses any and all other civilisations of the known and present world. The technology they use was meant to be used by the Archons, the men who came before, or people who shared blood with the dragons. As such, the technology is more advanced than anywhere else and allowed the first Ryriakki to survive in an environment that never would have welcomed them. Weapons, armors, transportation, buildings, the technology, as has been written everywhere else in this article, is omnipresent and dominant on almost every aspects.
There is however a price to this advancement. You will find more details on this aspect in the article about the Ryriakki, but the technology essentially poisons the body of those who are not meant to use it, giving the Ryriakki a short life expectancy and a deformed appearance.
Religion
The Ryriakki revere the men who came before, the First Men (un masshren), as, from their perspective, anyone who can use the Elder Technology without being harmed or going mad from using it too much must at least be demi-gods. Thus, the most popular religion by far within the Towers is definitely the Cult of the First Men (lit. Un Masshren vaghrn ). Anyone from top to bottom of the towers can find an altar, a chapel, a church or a representative of the Cult to preach about those who came before.
Worshipping Selma's church or any of the Universali is extremely frowned upon for a representative of the Men who Came Before, as it is seen as a way of renouncing your humanity. Although the Ryriakki tolerate this idea in other kingdoms, as they already see them as inferior, it is unofficially forbidden within the limits of the clusters. (Unofficially as in anyone seen worshipping it will most probably end up folded in four at the bottom of a tower).
Finally, officially forbidden for the same reasons and yet much more present, without anyone being able to understand how, is the sect of the Celestials, just like everywhere else. On the contrary of The Cult, who is present everywhere, the higher you go in the towers, the more Celestial representative you can find. It is the place in the world where they are the most public, despite their official ban.
Foreign Relations
The Ryriakki tend to see the other cultures of the world as cowards, although they don't underestimate their strength. Indeed, the general mistrust of the technology which helped them survive and thrive breeds the idea within the people that the other Kingdoms are scared to achieve a potential that always should have been human. They see themselves as mankind's highest representatives.
Since the beginning of the Draconic Alliance however, of which they are the spearhead, the Ryriakki have found something to distract them from their contempt : dragons. Indeed it is a matter of racial pride to eradicate those whose technology they have made theirs, to prove to themselves and the world that their positions they have earned. This way, although the relationships between their soldiers and the other kingdom's are cold at best, they receive constant orders to get along as best they can, and obey the orders of the Ultherian Commanders.
Agriculture & Industry
The food which is necessary to the Ryriakki's survival is mostly grown in interior and artificial greenhouses, powered by the power of the artifacts. Those greenhouses give nutritious yet disgusting fruits and vegetables which taste is only tolerated within the Towers themselves. Only Dzermiek has a few outside farms, and the color in those fruit is material for legend in the other clusters.
Of course, the forges and factories of Czeneraz are the most proficient in the Crescent, and their production of weapons, armors, refined artifacts (understand artifacts made ready for use), vehicles and more are what keeps the Towers economy going, with Schrirahna's resources being put in research, and Dzermiek's efforts focusing on diplomacy and trade.
Trade & Transport
Transport within and between the towers themselves is mostly made through tunnels between the ruins, as to avoid walking through the very cold and hostile biomes of the north. Those tunnels, be they pedestrians, or equipped with railways, are the fastest and safest way of travelling in the entire Crescent, although it tends to be closed to the other Kingdoms, even those with some ruins within the limits of their territory. The only region being exempt from this rule of the Towers territory is the Zrenne Steppes, as it is practicable enough to travel through on foot or on animal's back.
The navy however remains, as has previously been said, the poorest aspect of the Clusters. Beyond the three or four ships anchored at Mirghan, who mostly travel to Vale-Harbour to unofficially trade artifacts with the The Serelion Emporium, and only one dedicated to the naval defense of the Towers, the Ryriakki are far from being a maritime people. The main trade center of the Towers, if it can be called that way, is the cluster of Dzermiek, as it is the first bastion reachable by foot by the land traders of the Crescent.
Thus, within the borders of the Northern Crescent, the Ryriakki use these tunnels to trade food, troops, artifacts, and anything needed in the cooperation between the three clusters.
Education
Only the children that bear the blood of the dynasties are allowed access to education, and that education is highly controlled by the Dynasties themselves, depending on their local laws. Those children who are educated learn about the engineering and history of the ruins, the functioning of the artifacts, how to use them, how to survive the broken biology of their own bodies, and, in some cases, how to command and lead armies or large groups of people. Except in Dzermiek, they are taught very little about the outside world, and what little they do learn is often learned through the prism of Ryriakki perception.
The poorest children, those who live high in the towers and belong to no dynasties, are not state-educated at all. If they do not die of hunger, illness, or falling from the towers, what they do learn in their childhood is either how to survive, steal, or, if they're lucky, repair the damage in the tower's engineering. Most of those who reach adult age enlist either in Czeneraz's army, or end up as criminals in smuggler's circles.
Infrastructure
The Towers, that have been built in many years using the technology from the ruins, usually respect a similar scheme : The base, founded directly in the ruins entrances themselves, are very strong as they use the direct technology to protect their inhabitants from the cold, the wind, and the outsiders, be they human or animal. Then, what they gain in height, they proportionally lose in sturdiness, as the ruin's engineering becomes more and more recycled and less and less understood. Once the summit is reached, the walls are full of holes, the pollution of the artificial oxygen is omnipresent, and collapsing get extremely frequent.
The Towers, of different height, cluster together in and around the ruins. Between them are, in altitude, bridges, unprotected and fragile, upon which children tend to play, and on the ground the aforementioned tunnels, built within the ruins themselves, within and between the Clusters. Those tunnels can be pedestrians, especially inside of the clusters, or equipped with railways, creating a subway network over most of the Federation.
"Dzyrrengh tiYr Vazzra, Dvyrrengh tiYr Pevvra, Tkerennk tiYr Djevvra"
(lit : Master days past ; Own days present ; Earn Days future = Master the past to own the present and earn the future)
Outside of the territory, nothing comes out except artifacts, as nothing except those can really be envied by the other kingdoms
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