Rynmark
The Jewel of the Commonwealth - is a wonder of modernization and magical industrialization. Originally the capital of the orcish empire of M'ghor, the city today resides almost entirely within the
Hepheric Caldera - a long extinct volcano that has since been cut in two by the Greater Eion river. The resulting oblong depression has been continuously inhabited for tens of thousands of years. Only recently, however, has it grown into the magnificent metropolis it is today. Home to nearly 2 million daonni, jotun, and other intelligent species, Rynmark is the largest, most cosmopolitan city in all of Eryphir - perhaps the whole world
Rynmark was originally a city which sprawled across the caldera floor - which is roughly 16 miles long and 9 miles wide (covering nearly 144 square miles) with very steep walls all around it. The only reason, it is believed, the caldera is not filled entirely with water is because as some point the Greater Eion river cut through the volcanic perimeter and drained it. In the process the resulting flood brought with it rich deposits and sediments that eventually turned the caldera into a secluded paradise.
Since the creation of the Void and the industrialization of magic, Rynmark has undergone an amazing transformation, elevating skyward once it could no longer expand outward. Today, the city consists of five tiers or platforms, each higher on the valley wall. Each of these tiers is interconnected with the massive spires that have been built up from the valley floor. Access between levels can be accomplished by aeroship or through the connecting structures themselves. The largest concentration of supporting buildings are on the ground of the caldera, but rise to perhaps two or three of the tiers. Several start on an elevated tier and rise up through higher levels. Only a few spires – such as the Halycron Acres building, which peaks at an astonishing 660 meters - rise all the way from the ground to the fifth, top tier of the city. The five tiers each could be small cities unto themselves and have certain aspects for which they are individually known.
Faktorie
The ground tier, called “Faktorie” is by far the largest of the sections of the city. It spans the several miles from the steep caldera slope to the river. It is mostly known for manufacturing, processing, and high levels of poverty. It is also where many of the old government buildings are located, as well as the historic "Old M'Ghora" - the former stronghold of the orcish empire. In the years since the massive structures began on the outskirts of the cities and the first platforms emerged, many of those who could afford to do so moved up and away from the industrialized areas, leaving some of the poorest of the city to remain in the ghettos and slums. This also created large areas of barren cityscape where gangs and other unfavorables have taken up residence. This is especially true on the far side of the river where the swamps and wilderness have insidiously crept back in to the largely abandoned city infrastructure.
For Agents: Faktorie is like a collection of islands amid a sea of rubble and abandonment. Manufacturing plants take up the vast majority of active real estate on the ground floor of the city, while hovels and ghettos of those too poor to move take up much of the rest of the inhabitable space. Almost all governmental activity takes place here too. During the day, much of the Faktorie near the river is bustling with activity. At night, however, it becomes a wasteland where agents can move about freely, working contracts, seeking out opportunities, or searching for long lost riches.
The Groves
The second tier of the city, known as “The Groves” is largely populated by lower-to-middle class citizens of the city; those who could afford to get out of the slums of the Faktorie. Much like any other city, the Groves is nearly self-sufficient and has the largest working-class population in all of Rynmark. With a wide-variety of cultures blending together, the Groves are the go-to location for people of all backgrounds and social statuses when looking for the exotic or in search of new cuisines, imported goods, or other rarities.
For Agents: The Groves are also where a lot of work can be found for agents who know where to look for it. This tier is the perfect mix of legitimate business and underworld dealings. Knowing the right person or being in with the right group can prove to be quite lucrative for agents in the city.
Nubbiken Heights
The third tier was initially started and funded by the Nubbiken syndicate as their base of operations above the rest of the city. Over the last 30 years, however, the platform has greatly expanded and become a haven for the more affluent, as well as a place for many of the syndicates to establish their administrative and research offices. The work day population of NH reaches nearly 100,000, but the inhabitants number somewhere between 13,000-15,000. Nubbiken tends to think of itself as somewhat independent.
While the city itself has a mayor and is also the seat of the Commonwealth Governor, the Nubbiken tier is managed by its own council and the syndicates pay for a significant amount of hired security.
For Agents: This semi-exclusive area hides troves of information and secrets. As a result, it is one of the areas in the city with the highest security. Getting in and out of the area can prove tricky, but some of the contracts involving NH can be worth the risk. If an agent knows anyone with access to this platform, they should count themselves lucky and certainly not abuse the relationship.
Aerodyne Docking & Shipping Tier (The ADST or just “Aerodyne”)
The fourth tier of the city was built out of a need to move shipping away from the river and into the air. The Aerodyne syndicate funded the initial plans and construction, but it has since opened up to any company looking for dock space to transport goods and people in and out of the city. There are almost no permanent inhabitants here, with almost the entirety of the platform being used for warehousing, shipping, receiving, and aeroship repair.
For Agents: Almost anything that legally comes in and out of the city now comes through the ADST. For legitimate transport in and out of the city via aeroship or rail, the ADST is the way to go. There are stories of black market kingpins running operations out of ADST, but the cost of doing business there is likely very high. For most black market deals or for more discrete travel, Faktorie is often the better choice.
Sanctuary
The top tier of the city was once an elitist exclusionary zone cordoned off for all but the richest of government and syndicate personalities. However, over the last decade, Sanctuary, which is at the top of the valley wall, has grown out and over into the walls of the caldera. The new Aerodyne Arc – the first
architerrium of its kind in the Commonwealth – sits on solid ground just outside the Sanctuary platform. Sanctuary now boast the second largest population in the city, with large areas of construction still underway, expanding outward from the artificial tier. This is not without controversy, however, as many of the elite of the city have petitioned for walls or barriers separating “their” Sanctuary from the urban sprawl now outside their doorsteps.
For Agents: Some of the most lucrative contracts are often found in Sanctuary, but getting up there through security can be tricky at times. There are rumors of maintenance and duct tunnels that have enabled easier direct access to the area. Of course, with the expanding development, flying via aeroship and landing in the outskirts is also possible, if slightly more overt.
The Underworks
While certainly not a tier of the new city, worth mentioning nevertheless are the Underworks of Rynmark. In reality, it’s what was once both the above ground and carved tunnels of M'Ghora during their reign in the caldera. Today, the Underworks is a mash-up of Rynmark utilities and service tunnels combined with these ancient orc ruins. Much like an ant hill, Undercity is a confusing and seemingly random mass of tunnels that run for mile upon mile underground.
Citizens commonly find entrances to the Underworks in the basements of buildings or during construction. The most common access to Undercity is through “The Eye”, an incredibly deep hole in the ground thought to have been constructed by the orcs more than a millennia ago.
Before the orc city was razed, M’Ghora was purposefully shaped to look like an eye from above, with the hole in the ground positioned to be its pupil and it is thought most of the population used the pit to move in and out of the underground areas.
For Agents: The Underworks is a mix of bad and worse. The area is technically managed by the Ratters Guild, but they only control a very small portion of the total, massive area of the Underworks. Only the most foolhardy or courageous(perhaps both?) ever venture beyond this area of control.
For the most part, the cabals and evil groups who do reside in the Underworks keep to themselves. It is only the occasional story that surfaces regarding the kidnapping or murder of someone in the city by a hidden group in the Underworks. On those occasions, the Grey Caps or, less often, the Rynmark Constabulary take action to root them out, but quickly retreat when the job is done. Much and more about the area remains a mystery – and its all too few who would dare to seek answers there to begin with.
The Loop
Scientists have long known of the ability to transfer energy from the Void to the Prime through the use of magic. With the proper equipment, a person within a certain distance of the Loop can receive the radiation of energy and use that magical aether to power their device.
In 11 AV, a young and entrepreneurial aetherist named Ebonmeyr Halycron engineered an incredible system that enabled him to not only project energy through the Void, but also capture it on a distant end. In mere months, Halycon had converted this "receiving" of energy to the utilization of said energy in the form of light. Almost overnight,
aetherlights or
voidlights became a household name as anyone within the "Loop" could now light their homes with one of these aethertech devices.
Today, the
Loop in Rynmark represents the industrial application of Haylcron's early inventions, projecting
aether power to any location in the city that has a receiver. This includes not only lighting, but appliances, some vehicles, and even industrial equipment.
While the Loop has helped modernize the city, it is not a ubiquitous service and unfortunately does not serve everyone in Rynmark equally. For those in upper crust of the city, power is ubiquitos and readily available, but as one ventures down through the levels, access to wireless energy becomes more unreliable. By the time one gets to Faktorie, most are reliant upon cables that extend down from the upper city in order to power anything. The one exception are the government district near the river. These buildings have a direct line from Sanctuary in order to power their buildings.
As one might imagine, this access to energy has revolutionized industry and even day-to-day life within Rynmark proper. No longer does work stop when the sun goes down; production for many every day product has gone from individually crafted to mass produced and readily available.
Nearly everything in Rynmark revolves around Halycron's Loop and the convenience it provides. While the Halycron syndicate is working to expand their reach out across the Commonwealth, currently the
aether energy that flows through Rynmark is wholly unique on such a scale.
Government
Rynmark is the capital of the Commonwealth of Greater Eryphir (the CGE). As such it has several tiers of government at work to make life better for all of its citizens. Most of the government quarter lies near the river at the bottom of the caldera. These are some of the oldest and most monolithic buildings in the city. The system of government is a mix between an oligarchy and democracy, in that some groups in power are there because of their station in society, while other groups are voted into office to represent the various states of the Commonwealth.
The Charter of the Commonwealth is the document by and through which all laws are applied and created within the government. These include basic rights and rules on the governing body and its limits to impose laws upon the people of the Commonwealth. The ability to Amend the Charter goes to the House of Lords, but the Commonwealth Courts determine whether or not it can legally be included within the document. While the Commonwealth as a whole has a litany of rules and regulations, ultimately the laws codified within the Charter are the only absolute when it comes to the law of the land.
Prime Minister.
Title: Prime Minister (PM). The Kingdom of Belos once ruled the region that is now Rynmark and considered the seat of the Commonwealth. After the monarchy was overthrown, the oligarchy that formed in its place sought a more democratic way of selecting their leader. Today the House of Lords elects their leader from within the collective, putting that person in the position of Prime Minister. The PM is the head of state and manages the overall direction of the Commonwealth, but can be removed by a vote from the House of Lords if the direction is deemed unsatisfactory.
House of Lords.
Title: Lord. A group of unelected leaders who come from the most affluent parts of the Commonwealth. The true number within the House is never finite as the group can nominate new members and remove troublesome members with an 80% vote within the House. Thus far this system has kept that number around roughly 50 members. Each state within the Commonwealth is, however, guaranteed at least one member within the House of Lords. The House elects their own leader who becomes the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth. The House is the final step in the decisions and laws that regulate commerce and trade, manage wealth, and the defense of the Commonwealth and its territories.
Council of Innovation.
Title: Counselor. A relatively new, but exceedingly influential part of the government. The Council of Innovation are leaders from each of the major syndicates within the Commonwealth. Originally established to provide advise to the government, the Council has slowly been delegated more and more authority over the last decade or so as the House and the Assembly rely more and more upon them for their technology and innovations in magic.
The Assembly.
Title: Assemblist. The officials within the Commonwealth who are voted into power by their states make up the Assembly. A large body of over 500 members, the Assembly takes desires, greivances, protests, and other requests from the people of their state and brings it to the Assembly for vote. Those requests that pass the vote in the Assembly are passed to the House of Lords for a final decision and the creation of new laws (if necessary).
While the House of Lords decides on issues like funding for the military or the making of new laws, the Assembly is responsible for managing the implementation of these decisions. The Assemblists, through their offices in their state, advise the local and regional governments on new laws, distribution of funds, placement and composition of military forces, and so on.
Commonwealth Courts.
Title: Judge. The highest courts in the government are the CCs or Commonwealth Courts. They typically hear cases on the legality of new Amendments within the Charter, but will also preside over cases that are meant to interpret the laws and Amendments within the Charter as well. The Commonwealth Courts is structured much like a military organization in that the High Commonwealth Court is located in Rynmark, but each Judge is responsible for smaller CCs throughout the Commonwealth itself. A Judge will typically delegate their ability to decide on smaller cases to regional Magistrates or district Prefects.
Worth noting that each state within the Commonwealth also has its own court system. Since the CGE is made up of so many historically different governments, no two state systems are identical, but most have at least a passing resemblance to another. Those who feel they are not being treated fairly within their state system can petition the local Prefect for judgement on their case.
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