Species and Races > Humans > Terran’Dolm
Terran’Dolm
Terran’Dolm’s history and legacy is fragmented at best, lost entirely at worst. Before the Rift opened, the Common-speaking, human kingdom was a vast expanse of remarkably well-governed, peaceful city-states and trade regions united under a single crown. The nation was entirely self-sustaining, and likely the most powerful nation on Kerios in its entirety, housing not just humans, but some elves and merga as well. They were the leading defenders of common folk during the War of Skulls, taking up arms to defend the kingdom they had so carefully grown from undead invaders. Their mages sought to understand the spells and strategies the Lord of Skulls employed, finding ancient cities— many beneath their own— covered in runes and seeped in the same strange magics their enemy used. They brought their findings to the heads of the Inksage Orders, though this proved to be their downfall once the Lord had been defeated, after nearly a century of conflict.
When the Rift opened, the world of Kerios was torn asunder. The very spellcasters who sought to protect the lands which they’d fought for for so long had brought catastrophe in trying to prevent the Lord— or any threat of his magnitude— from assaulting Kerios again. Magic surged from the eastern hemisphere to the west, practically draining all but the dredges of the Nexus from what became known simply as “Terra.” All contact was lost between the peoples on the other side of the Rift. Strange phenomena began to occur, with Kerios’s two moons seeming to blink in and out of existence at dawn and dusk. Three cities— Inctis, Enril, and Lumna— suddenly and inexplicably raised themselves far into the sky upon the ancient ruins which past researchers had been desperately trying to understand, cutting them off from those on the surface.
With the majority of mages on the eastern hemisphere to perform the original ritual, and little energy to even draw from the Nexus, magic was quickly lost, people turning instead to technology and practical inventions. The technologic age of science that followed brought forth complex electronics, plasma-based firearms, and compact manufacturing and farming to combat the dangers of overpopulation. Without the ability to build out, the city folk built up— led by their military and powerful corporations like the Lumen Corp.— towering skyscrapers with criss-crossing walkways blotting out the sky. Now, though, even that may not be enough, as gang violence rises amidst tensions between the cities’ superpowers and strange disappearances are linked to the ruins below.
Training
Education
Every child who can afford it is given a thorough education in Terra. From ages six to eighteen Terran children are taught the conventions of math, science, grammar, the arts, and often the trades as well— not to mention basic first aid. Lessons often begin as simple basics, and then gradually become more complex as students learn more. Once a student turns 14, they’re given the opportunity to begin specializing in a field they’re interested in, or remain in a more general education until they’re 18. Unfortunately, few specialty schools are publicly funded, and the schools that are funded through taxes are often understaffed and overpopulated.
After graduation from foundational or specialty schooling, most move immediately to working as interns or looking for entry-level jobs in their fields. The most common (and often most lucrative) fields are biomedical, physics, material engineering, and software development. The arts, humanities, and social sciences are given far less focus, though historians and archeologists do find some fame and work in trying to uncover more of the past before the Rift.
While there is background knowledge of ancient history and even magic to a degree, it’s scattered and fragmented. Much of what they have is incomplete, and since very very few can use it, knowledge of that power has been left to rot. Inctis is the most renowned city in terms of its education system, the remnants of the Sages fighting to hold onto their history.
Combat
Due to the massive paradigm shift in Terra’s technological focuses, they have an incredible assortment of weapons and tools. The most notable are firearms. These guns use a pair of unusual firing systems and fire one of three types of projectiles. The first is a combination of compressed air and electromagnetic coils to fire a solidshot round, one made of metal (usually steel) at intense speeds. Due to the stress on the round, this often causes the shot to glow a dim red.
The second mechanism is one that simply uses electromagnetic coils. These fire either a condensed plasma round, or a refined plasma round condensed plasma rounds require a clear barrel, although they can be corkscrew. They’re easier to produce, and have a high energy density, but can overheat weapons more quickly. Meanwhile, the rarer refined plasma rounds often have unusually shaped barrels to mold the projectile. A refined round contains a strong electric charge as well, often causing extreme static to be emitted upon a hit. Plasma rounds are easier to see when fired, but they’re also more dangerous to tissue, and cause less collateral damage.
In addition to these weapons, they also utilize a special inlay on some blades in order to send an energized charge through it, allowing them to create heated edges to more effectively cut, or simply apply an electrical charge to the blade.
Beyond these are the armors used to defend from them. The most tried and true is neo-polymer, a material made of tiny, deceptively hard, rubbery hexagonal plates. This material disperses energy across its surface, and has even been known to sometimes cause rounds to glance off. Its primary fault is that neo-polymer is far less effective against higher powered rounds, and is known to conduct electricity.
The second major armor type is a much more recent addition, made by Roman Raystar, the C.O.O. and former R&D head for Lumen Corp., one of the most powerful organizations in Terra. This new protective garb, known as kinetic armor, is capable of receiving, dissipating, and negating incoming energy including primarily kinetic and electrical. This is achieved through evenly distributing the force of an impact across the entire surface of the armor, whether just a chest piece, or a whole body suit in the form of heat. The armor is known to be susceptible to sustained fire, high impacts, and overheating due to this, as well it has a reputation for being bulkier than neo-polymer. Despite these weaknesses, Lumen is continuing to devote time and money to this product due to its promising results so far. Further developments promise to bring faster heat reduction, and increased resilience.
Terra also has access to an array of vehicles and explosive devices, although they still have relatively limited access to any kind of digital information network, as signals are hard to manage.
All of this is possible through a mix of oil and batteries. These high efficiency batteries are utilized in all manner of devices, including guns to supply power, and are one of the most valued resources in the cities.
Medicine
At its peak, Terran medicine is quite advanced, as they’re able to replace body parts with highly responsive cybernetics, even capable of increasing the strength of that limb. Another boon of their technology are subdermal implants that interact with certain other devices, allowing limited interfacing, such as letting one use a set of mechanical gauntlets that increase strength.
These modifications can even extend to partially repairing the nerve connection along areas like the spine. Though it usually continues to lack some feeling, this kind of treatment allows the patient to still exert control over their muscles via translating and retransmitting the complex electrical pulses of the brain to specific (still intact) nerve clusters and back. Other surgery techniques and procedures exist that allow one to reinforce their skeletal structure through internal cybernetics. A similar nerve link is used in order to replace or enhance eyes, making these a popular if somewhat expensive prosthetic. Top of the line limb prosthesis can also implement nerve links to return a limited degree of feeling to the extremity
Chemical agents like morphine, adrenaline, ibuprofen, and more are used in field-medicine, along with disinfectants. Their most advanced medicines special implants that modify hormones to accelerate recovery, healing, muscle growth, and boost the immune system. These implants are usually short lived, but some more recent (and extremely pricy) ones can last for months or even years.
Medicine in Terra has become extremely refined thanks to the advent of modern technology. Doctors regularly perform sanitary surgical procedures in hospitals. Unfortunately, much of this is locked behind high costs and demand for highly specialized equipment, so it is rarely available to folks who are not well-off economically. Some clinics running off of charitable donations do exist to assist those who would be unable to afford treatment otherwise, but they are often understaffed and undersupplied. Thus, plenty of average people understand basic first aid— as it is taught in school— and simply attempt to treat themselves at home using over-the-counter medication.
Daily Life
Daily life in modern Terra is methodic, dictated by work and economic status. Routine surrounds a common set of working hours, with most people walking to commute to work or school. Heavy use of technology among the middle and upper classes combined with an inability to easily travel allows online networks and forums to flourish. This has facilitated a greater distribution of knowledge, especially news, entertainment and educational content. Alongside it all, political and social conflicts grow in scope and severity as cultural rifts divide the cities, and the people within them.
The biggest divides comes in the forms of food and energy security. Limited growing space and extremely technical, vertical, hydroponic gardening has made agriculture a semi-private industry rife with logistical issues. Animal products are almost unheard of beyond lab-grown meats and more space efficient livestock, like fish and chicken. Despite— or perhaps because of— all the technologic advances regarding agriculture and farming, food is an extremely expensive necessity.
Similarly, for all the electrical needs of the cities to run, power production has been forced into high efficiency, mostly developed by government-sponsored, private firms. Methods of renewable energy capture include kinetic tiles on walkways, translucent solar cells lining buildings, and hydroelectric turbines powered by sewage draining from and being funneled out of the cities. Small, nuclear power plants are also used especially in manufacturing buildings, and there are also small reserves of natural gas and oils for specific purposes. Despite the variety, the electrical grid in the poorer parts of the cities isn’t well maintained, leading to frequent blackouts.
Government
On paper, the cities are officially run under a capitalist stratocracy, led by the Terran Battalions' Regime (TBR), of which there are three branches: the United Enrillian Taskforce (UET), Civilian Protection Operations (CPO), and the Urban Communications Commission (UCC). However, in practice, the Battalions’ Regime really only holds power within Enril and parts of Inctis, working to maintain some semblance of order and seeking permanent solutions to the cities’ overcrowding and class divides. Following the Rift, the TBR’s eventual rise to power also gave way to two major factions in Terra: the Autocrats and the Militant
The Autocrats are a group formed of the leaders of various powerful for-profit companies. Notable members include Zarove Leytongue, the main beneficiary of the Celestial Hand Hotel and Casinos and the Lumen Family along with their close associate Roman Raystar. The Lumens’ wealth and power allows them to basically run the Autocrats. Their primary goals center around ensuring their continued economic superiority as well as monitoring trade and exchanges between their companies. The Autocrats hold the most authority over Lumna, effectively running the city. They wish to exploit the issues within the cities, and leverage them for profit in order to maintain control over the population through skirting regulations and strengthening class divides.
The Militants are a faction opposed to the rule of the Autocrats, they are heavily invested in maintaining order, and enforcing laws as opposed to the way that their adversaries seek to circumvent or take advantage of those regulations. Led primarily by the TBR and its branches, they work with the goal of bringing the three cities under a consistent set of laws and creating a more unified society across them. As opposed to the strictly high class makeup of the Autocrats, the Militants have a large contingent of middle and even low class citizens, being far more accepting and less discriminatory as their interests aren’t centered around power, but around unification and regulation. They hold the most influence in Enril, where they face little opposition from even the high class, having cemented their place in the city.
Both factions have a limited presence in Inctis, the tenuous coexistence balanced by the Sages, as well as the populace’s unwillingness to support the conflict. The Sages in Terra are known as a sect of historians and scientists working to uncover what was lost to time after the Rift and subsequent Raising. Their knowledge of the surface wilds, the ruins below the cities, and the lost art of magic is unparalleled. They maintain a safe haven for the rich and poor alike, declaring the city a veritable no-conflict zone and providing charitable resources for those who need them-- especially within the realm of education.
Religion & Holidays
The citizenry of Terra is markedly less religious due to their long separation from magic and other divine powers. However, they do bear respect towards their ancestors (especially those before the Rift) as well as a select few deities including Artificis, Oetheus, and Zek. Another large, though much less public contingent of their religious landscape is the worship of an entity known as “the Promiser.” This Promiser appears mostly in dreams as a masked figure who tells those who listen of worlds beyond the Rift, and brings visions of utopias, encouraging them to dig into the past to find it. The followers of the Promiser frequently utilize psychedelics or sleep-inducing drugs as part of their worship.
All-Terrans Day
A holiday across all three cities, All-Terrans Day is a celebration of the end of the War of Skulls. Though not many are familiar with the true meaning behind the revelry, they’re nonetheless content to enjoy the chance to spend time with loved ones with food and small gifts exchanged.
Lumenia
A week long celebration of Lumen Corp., this occasion is celebrated in Inctis and Lumna exclusively. In fact it’s a corporate strategy in order to increase worker productivity and motivation directly before key production periods. There are also short term increased distribution and small sales on their excess inventory in order to encourage more buying, and increase the demand for when workers return.
Wishnight
A Holiday that marks the start of the Terran new year, every year, on the advent of the Rift’s creation, there’s a day of remembrance, and hopes, encouragement and mourning. Many take this time to think about the future and prepare or reflect on the past. Most think of this as a day of wishing for reunification. All cities celebrate this, but it’s particularly important in Inctis and Enril. For an unknown reason, many followers of the Promiser claim that this day is one of the best to commune with their strange patron.
Architecture
Buildings are primarily constructed using steel and reinforced concrete, though higher quantities of glass and other metals are found higher up. The lower levels are mostly made up of stacked buildings, whether homes, businesses or otherwise. Those that aren’t, are large bland structures. Only a few higher quality establishments can be found here, and it’s often dirty. Little, if any light from the sky reached these areas thanks to the litany of criss-crossing paths in the levels above running between buildings. They are instead artificially lit by various electronic or oil lamps.
The middle levels of the cities are dominated by steel siding and a mix of brickwork and more concrete. Here the streets are more clear for travel, and the buildings stand alone, or atop steel or concrete supports, holding them above the lower city. Some daylight is able to come through, but it is often dim or through windows, so electronic lamps are still relatively common even during waking hours.
The upper city is composed of super-structures that rise from the lower city, or reinforced parts of the mid city. These include walkways and artistically designed skyscrapers (with more secure lower sections). The architecture here is centered around dazzling geometric shapes and classy, well curated lighting to keep the area beautiful and lit, but lacking the flashy, hot, overbearing feeling of neon signs and lights found in other sections. These structures often have miniature sections within them that practically function as whole other buildings.