Dirkkatael

City of Rebirth

Urla surveyed her team's progress for the day, her first efforts at repeating the building methods of Janikk's former people pulling together surprisingly well. She'd been skeptical of the nikklub trees Janikk had insisted her people had used, but after Urla's efforts to learn the technique and apply it to the small grove Janikk had recommended she'd finally admitted the trees were surprisingly easy to work with.
They'd named their first city Dirkkatael, or "Rebirth" in Janikk's ancient language. It had seemed an appropriate way to commemorate the beginning of this new phase of their life.

— Book 3: Ambitions of Atonement

The first and largest Mordena city on Janikk, Dirkkatael serves as the capital for both the civilian and military arms of the mercenary organization, as well as the home of the Mordena Security Council's main office. The city is as alive as its inhabitants, the trees and plants forming its primary structure well tended by the Jorrael.

Demographics

The citizens of Dirkkatael are as diverse and unique as the Mordena themselves. The first and largest city on Janikk, Dirkkatael serves as the capital and very much an embodyment of the Mordena's eager adoption of anyone who shares their ideals. The city also houses a large, rotating population of active duty mercenaries on temporary assignment to the city.

Government

The seat of power of the Mordena, Dirkkatael is ruled directly by the Grand Navarch, with assistance from The Inner Bastion and the Navarch of the Mordena Security Council. Not that much governing is needed.
Maintenance requests are forwarded through Veris Asik and his team, while Urla's teams of Jorrael see to the health of the city's current structures and the addition of new ones. As with everywhere else on Janikk, there is no money and therefore no taxation.

Defences

The more hostile wildlife of Janikk keeps their distance from Dirkkatael and the other official settlements of the Mordena, possibly due to an agreement with the planet itself. Originally the city relied solely upon Janikk's protections, both from the wildlife and also the planetary shield enveloping the planet, but due to an assassination attempt against Jake Cartwright Lawrence in his own bedroom military patrols have now been set up not only at Dirkkatael but other cities across the planet as well. The large hangar of Blades in the upper levels of the city is also able to mobilize at a moment's notice, with or without their Dancers.

Industry & Trade

The city boasts an assortment of businesses, from restaurants and entertainment to tailors and other manufacturing. Materials from Janikk are brought in from the other towns and villages agress Janikk, with those not native to the Mordena homeworld most commonly procured through the protection contracts negotiated with The Freeholds by Mordena Public Relations, or specially procured from the Vardan through the Mordena's agreement with the Ferrik Clan.
Citizens choose their careers and daily activities based upon their skills and interests, with an eye to what is needed to support the city and the planet. All contributions are valued, from the most skilled and specialized jobs to the lowly everyday needs that keep the city running.

Infrastructure

Housing

Personal housing is provided and maintained by Mordena leadership, although once a location is claimed the inhabitants are welcome to do whatever they wish with the space as long as they do not harm the nikklub trees. Citizens are welcome to move to new housing and business spaces as they become available, and even request larger alterations or custom new spaces from the Jorrael growing and maintaining the city.

Utilities

Power for the magical conveniences built into Dirkkatael is provided by the planet itself, an assortment of Tyrellium cables spread throughout the city and coiled within the living walls providing the needed currents. This provides power for the lighting, water, and environmental controls spread throughout not only the public spaces but businesses and private residences. Machinery and equipment not built into the city itself is powered separately, most commonly through the use of Dynapothix runes.
Metal pipes weave throughout Dirkkatael as well, providing for both fresh water and waste management. Telekinesis carved into the pipes draws groundwater up to large reservoirs in the heights of the city where the water can then flow naturally via gravity to wherever it is needed. Applications requiring higher pressures contain their own telekinetic pipes to augment the forces of natural gravity.
Wastewater is filtered through a complex purification system based upon methods developed by the original inhabitants of the planet, periodically updated as new effective methods are discovered. Clean water is added back into the system, while the wastes filtered from the water are recycled whenever possible.

Travel

Transportation throughout Dirkkatael and across Janikk is provided through the Portal Transit System, a collection of Portal Travel nodes specially programmed to allow the user to alter their intended destination, based upon the standard system used across the capital ships used within the Sparnell Armed Forces. Smaller portals allow for easy travel throughout Dirkkatael itself and its closest neighbors, while two larger portal hubs allow travelers to reach any other major portal hub across Janikk.
As the capital, Dirkkatael also houses a third larger hub controlled by the Grand Armada, allowing for easy transport to the ships in orbit above the planet. Those arriving on the planet are screened by members of the Grand Armada to verify their ties to Janikk and membership within the Mordena.

Guilds and Factions

Dirkkatael hosts the headquarters for both the Grand Armada, the Mordena Security Council, and the Mordena Civilian Corps, as well as the office of the Grand Navarch at the helm of the Mordena. As such the city serves as the seat of power for the entirety of the mercenary organization, in addition to the civilians of Janikk.

History

The city of Dirkkatael was the first residence built on Janikk, construction beginning shortly after the Mordena received permission to colonize, utilizing methods Urla uncovered from the ancient former inhabitants of the planet. Originally containing only the basic infrastructure required to claim the planet as home, with offices for key administrative efforts and a collection of barracks to allow as many people to claim space on the planet as possible, the city has since morphed and changed with the Mordena as they have grown into their new home. Many of the barracks have since been modified and regrow into personal living quarters, although members of the Grand Armada will still find ample public housing available during temporary relocations to the city for training or other official business.

Architecture

The city itself is grown by skilled Jorrael from a large grove of nikklub trees, with new trees periodically planted at the outskirts to allow the city to continue to expand. The trees are specially altered with Agrokinesis to allow for carefully accelerated growth into controlled shapes to form the many rooms and structures of the city, with metal pipes and coiled strands of Tyrellium providing conduits for water and power within the city, as well as additional structure for the trees. Towering many times higher than the nikklub would grow naturally, the many open spaces of the city provide stunning views of the surrounding wilds. Rooms and buildings contain no windows, instead serving as personal space for citizenry seeking privacy.
Large balconies surround the outskirts of the city and cut through the structures within, most covered and naturally lit with bioluminescent plants, the internal passages augmented with carefully controlled magical spells drawing from the power of the planet itself. Most external balconies are also shielded, protecting from weather and wildlife but also falls from the breathtaking heights of Dirkkatael.

Dirkkatael Balcony by Astron

Founders

• Urla

Alternative Name(s)

Rebirth

Type

Large city

Inhabitant Demonym

Mordena

Location under

Janikk

Included Locations

• Dirkkatael's Primary Blade Hangar
• Ekkil Turikk
• Fresh Start Cafe
• Shane's Office
• Yelb Yekkarit

Characters in Location

• Catherine Ekkirt
• Devin Tark

Further Reading

The katanoj smiled, and this time his portal led to the large public balcony outside Jake's private quarters, the bright colors of the dawning sun peeked from behind the distant mountain range, painting their way across the skyline and the tangled forest flanking the river below. The room was just as he'd left it, aside from the fresh sheets on the double bed and a minor reorganization of the seating cushions on the large rug in the corner, its weaving revealing a scene of a distant fleet of gromdornox flying against the exact scene outside his door.
"Welcome to Janikk." The awe across Lira's face was everything Jake had hoped for. "I trust these accommodations will be to your liking?"
Lira managed to tear her gaze away from the Janikk sky to peek into the room. It looked as though it had been carefully shaped out of a still-living tree, with soft curves and walls of smooth warm wood. To be honest, it could have been a hovel with a mattress on the floor and it would have been worth it for the view outside.

— Hands of Destinee, Book 1: A Date with Destinee