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Chronopolis

Page history last edited by Chronos 14 years, 10 months ago

Chronopolis

The City of Time

 

History

 

For centuries the Glass Runners of the Obsidian Sea have skirted around the dormant volcano whose very name they had eventually come to neglect. The land was arable but not ideal, and the land was not strategically important to the nomadic peoples. The volcano, whose name was once Agnifinium, now lay harmless and dormant, its fires extinguished in the wake of the Usurpation. The land became abandoned and eventually was forgotten to the far reaches of time.

 

All that changed, however, when a man in a silver mask marched two thousand machine servitors, a hundred machine soldiers, and several extra-large automatons into the area...and began to dig. For two weeks they dug, with small mud and thatch huts cropping up around the massive excavation. Curious travelers would stop, examine the oddity, and depart. Though strange, the project seemed rather harmless.

 

That is, until the mountain awoke.

 

Having burrowed down to the magma pocket, the man in the silver mask--Chronos--performed ancient rituals to reinvest the land with power, sacrificing his own blood and the blood of another, willingly given, to the ancient god of earth and fire. The magma surged up through the mountain and with a mighty roar, the mountain god awoke to answer the call of the paired Solar Princes of the Earth. Lava flowed for miles down a deep, reinforced canal and pooled into the pit, cracking open the bottom and forming once again the Maelstrom of Fire, an incredibly powerful demense that had since dried up.

 

It is around this spot that Chronopolis grew. Slowly at first, with the deep foundations of the Infinite Spiral being erected around the Maelstrom of Fire. Then, the city grew more swiftly as the robotic servitors turned the quarried stone outwards. Laying first yards and then miles of paved streets, basements, sewers, and foundations, much of the ensuing work remained largely below ground as a city began to arise from the area surrounding the nascent manse-tower.

 

In the span of a season, Chronopolis had changed from a barren plain into a thriving town. White-stone buildings rose ever higher. First one fortress wall and then a second were constructed in rings stretching for miles across. Factories became populated by arriving colonists while wandering merchants and Guild Bankers set up shop in the empty prefabricated buildings. Then, an entire legion of Vir Sidus troops arrived with their families, servants, and support personnel to begin a new life in what people had begun to call the City of Time.

 

Chronopolis Today

 

Chronopolis is divided into three rings: Adamant, Sapphire, and Emerald.

 

The Circle of Adamant is the inner-most ring of the city; a powerfully constructed fortress of gold, white, and blue walls, it contains the city's most vital and prestigious buildings, including the Infinite Spiral itself.

 

The Orichalcum District contains the city's palatial estates, its most luxurious hotels and inns, its most exclusive clubs, and the finest dining available in the city. It also contains the Adamant Academy, along with its associated campus. This results in a large surplus of teahouses, salons, and bookstores catering the the magical elite. Foreign Embassies are located in this district, should any other powers deign to use them, but they are watched with little regard to privacy when occupied.

 

The Moonsilver District contains precision factories, workshops, research facilities, and the halls of the Machinists' Guild. The buildings tend to rise higher here, and this district also contains a large concentration of high-rise housing for 'skilled' factory workers and artisans. Special roadways allow for the hauling of bulk-ordered materials from the outer rings of the city without disrupting pedestrian or cart traffic. This district also contains the Artificer's Guild, a trade school for advanced engineering, precision smithing work, and crafting mastery.

 

The Starmetal District contains the College of Enlightenment, its associated campus, and the Orrery of the Star Ocean. This district contains the bulk of the city's primary and secondary schooling buildings, its more prestigious libraries, and its museums, featuring works of art from Chronos' personal vaults. Only the Infinite Spiral itself is more technologically advanced than this district. This district also contains towering college dorms, which are like miniature arcologies unto themselves.

 

The Jade District is the financial heart of the city. All commerce and trade flows through the Jade District at some point, whether it be merchants seeking a license, brokers trading stock certificates for cargo waiting in the Air District, bankers issuing loans from the Central Bank of Chronopolis, or a hundred other institutions, legal firms, or investigative committees. The Jade District also contains the Halls of Assembly where the citizenry elect representatives to present proposals and appeals to the Time Lord himself. This Assembly can ratify small-scale civic works, elect special interests committees, and propose special holidays or events. But all proposals must have Chronos' personal stamp of approval before enactment.

 

The Soulsteel District is the city's detention area. A special airship dock ferries convicts from Chronopolis to the stone quarries in the nearby mountains or back into Vir Sidus for 'reassignment' or execution. Petty criminals are also stored here. This District contains the primary headquarters of the local law enforcement agency, largely mercenaries hired by Chronos for their honorable reputation and expert investigative skills. Unlike the other Districts, Soulsteel serves no other purpose.

 

The Circle of Sapphire contains most of the city's less vital industries, middle-class housing, the Airship Dockyards, the Transit Grid Hub, and the Inner Bazaar. The Circle of Sapphire is also surrounded by the second layer of the city's fortress-like walls.

 

The District of Air contains the Airship Dockyards. Vast tarmacs and rising towers make up the bulk of the District of Air, with warehouses, terminals, restaurants, and hotels making up the majority of the rest.

 

The District of Fire contains the majority of the city's smelting facilities, foundries, automated factories, and forges. Though housing does exist in this district, most people who live in the District of Fire do so voluntarily, out of a desire to be close to their place of work or to protect a privately owned forge. The District of Fire directly borders the District of Air and many pulley-cars and thoroughfares are dedicated solely to the influx of ores and the outpouring of finished products.

 

The District of Earth contains many of the crafting facilities of the city not directly related to metalworking or machinery. Textile mills, ceramics kilns, weaving houses, jewelers, glass-blowers, all can be found in the District of Earth. The Central Plaza is also located here, with its vast rings of shops surrounding the Inner Bazaar. The District of Earth connects to the District of Jade in the Circle of Adamant and the District of Marble in the Circle of Emerald. The Grand Boulevard runs from outside the city all the way to the steps of the Infinite Spiral itself.

 

The District of Water contains the city's parks, bath houses, theaters, upscale housing, art houses, and music halls. Those who live in the District of Water live there with the mandate to make the world a better place to live. This District also contains the city's water towers and the infrastructure for the aqueducts that will eventually be built to give the city a reliable source of fresh water beyond the local wells and aquifers.

 

The District of Wood is largely residential housing. From towering high-rises to comfortable upper-middle-class housing, the District of Wood is dedicated to life, living, and health. The best hospitals outside the Infinite Spiral's Medical Facility itself are located here. Preschools and nurseries are located here. An abundance of stores dedicated to the daily needs of the residents are also located here for convenience's sake. Everything needed for quality of life can be found in this District, usually at reduced rates for actual citizens.

 

The Circle of Emerald is everything beyond the first two rings of the city-fortress but before the sprawling farmlands and rural areas. This includes the vast Outer Bazaar in the District of Marble, the Auction Ring in the District of Copper, the Circus Glorious in the District of Crystal, and the Arena in the District of Obsidian. The District of Steel is dedicated solely to the maintenance and security of the Transit Grid as trains come in for loading and unloading at the Hub.

 

Life in Chronopolis

 

The weather in Chronopolis ranges from temperate and calm to balmy and breezy and any combination between them. The Infinite Spiral itself controls the weather to prevent sudden cold spells, even in the dead of winter, and all thunderstorms and rain showers are regularly scheduled ahead of time. The farmlands around the city produce crops year round due to the ideal weather conditions, and trade is never obstructed by an unexpected storm.

 

The people of Chronopolis live in luxury unseen in other parts of the world. Although many of the magical conveniences built into the city are yet unpowered, Dynasts and other Essence users can activate them with a commitment of motes, allowing for automatic lighting, easy transportation, and improved quality of living even beyond that experienced by the average citizen.

 

Women tend towards tube tops or light blouses and short skirts, with the occasional cloak or robe for particularly breezy days. Men tend towards tunics and vests with loose pants. Colors range across the rainbow, but blues, golds, and whites are the majority. Magic users often mix in purple, while smiths and engineers tend towards green. Financiers and bankers favor gold and silver.

 

Most citizens of Chronopolis enjoy Resources 4 standards of living: health care is excellent, while poverty is extremely low. Food staples are universally available while more exotic foods are common and even rare spices are not unheard of at the average citizen's table. Luxuries are rarely more than fifteen minutes away.

 

Law

 

The laws of Chronopolis closely mirror those of Nexus. This is no accident. Though Chronos is far less brutal in his enforcement of the law, his patience does not last long when good faith attempts to bring a dispute to a close are rebuffed. The Vir Sidus Fourth Legion and the Hundred Soldiers deal with day-to-day concerns while Chronos himself only appears for the most serious infractions or the largest disruptions. To date, there haven't been many.

 

Military

 

The Hundred Soldiers are the personal bodyguards of Lord Chronos and the police force of the city. They are unbribable and incorruptible. They are augmented to a limited degree by the two thousand machine servitors spread through the city. Chronos himself is a powerful sorcerer with a retinue of demons and the ability to call upon Hounds of the Five Winds at a moment's notice.

 

The Fourth Legion of the Vir Sidus is also stationed in Chronopolis, along with their support crew and personnel.

 

Chronopolis features 150 Siege Slings and 25 Trebuchets. There are five trebuchets per Emerald Circle District and 10 Siege Slings in every District. These are mounted on rotating platforms, and can be controlled from the Infinite Spiral or turned manually. They still require manual cocking.

 

Currency

 

Chronopolis accepts Jade at standard rates, while allowing Silver special purchasing power when used to purchase city services, pay off city taxes, and take special loans. Chronopolis also provides an 'in house' currency called the Orichalcum Standard. These notes entitle the bearer to a set amount of pure orichalcum, and is only legal tender in Chronopolis. Backed by Chronos himself, Orichalcum Script is given purchasing power similar to that of Silver--except that it applies to all city services.

 

The Terrestrial Sphere Corporation

 

Built from the remnants of the Guild, the Terrestrial Sphere Corporation is a Creation-wide trading syndicate, centralized in Chronopolis and built upon the Central Bank of Chronopolis, the Forge of Aeons, the Transit Grid, and the Skyfleet. Those trading with 'the Company' tend to get better rates, lower taxes, and higher quality products than those who deal with independent traders and caravans. The laws of the Company ensure a stronger structural integrity than the Guild's loose confederation, and its swift transport and magically enchanted containers ensure rapid transfer of goods and currency about the East and beyond.

 

Creation Ruling Mandate

 

Quality 4, Magitude 2, Military 2(3), Power 2. +3 Talents from Sky Mantis Tower.

 

Chronopolis has reduced Military to improve the quality of the soldiers. Citizens enjoy a Resources 4 lifestyle. Sky Mantis Tower ensures bountiful harvests year round. Chronopolis is a powerful industrial base and commercial apparatus.

 

Other Notes

 

Time flows differently in the Infinite Spiral and the Agnifinium. In some areas time flows up to three times normal speed. In other areas it flows three times more slowly. Most areas open to guests run at 'normal' time.

 

The Infinite Spiral features ten bound Harpists of Malfeas. Their hauntingly beautiful song also keeps perfect track of time outside the Spiral, regardless of temporal distortions within.

 

Chronos keeps a herd of Furnace Rhinos on three floors in the upper reaches of the Infinite Spiral. These are fed a constant diet of tailings, scraps, and leftovers from the smelting done in the Agnifinium and the Forge of Aeons. They started at eight beasts, but Chronos keeps time sped up in their 'pastures' by x3.

 

The factories and workshops of Chronopolis are currently producing Boxcars for the Transit Grid. This takes two Seasons (starting in May 09) and will be done July of 09.

 

Desc Update

 

Circle of Sapphire (room (Sa) leads from Chr to Ada)

 

The Middle Ring of Chronopolis circles the entire circumference of the city and is sandwiched by two towering white walls. Slightly elevated above the Circle of Emerald and slightly under the Circle of Adamant, this section of the city contains most of the city's industry, residential areas, parks, shops, and other essentials to daily life. Purple banners fly in the sky from hundreds of onagers in addition to siege slings here, and traffic along the city streets tends to be heavier.

 

The Circle of Sapphire is divided into the Districts of Air, Fire, Wood, Water, and Earth. The District of Air is a vast tarmac of airship docking facilities, warehouses, and observation towers. The District of Fire contains the bulk of the city's forges, factories, fabrication plants, and smithing workshops. The District of Earth contains the Inner Bazaar, a heavy concentration of crafting workshops, specialized shoppes and cafes, and the city's middle class hotels. The District of Water contains many of the city's parks, theaters, art houses, and studios. The District of Wood contains several hospitals, many apartment towers, farmers' markets, and middle-class schools.

 

Circle of Adamant (room (Ada) leads from Sa to Spiral)

 

The Circle of Adamant is the core of Chronopolis, and provides the iconic skyline often used to describe this city from another Age. Gleaming white towers rise in all districts, dominated by the blue crystal spire of the Adamant Academy, the glowing golden accents on the towering central hall of the College of Enlightenment, and the vast Artificer's Guild complex. Dominating the three 25-story manse-towers is the Infinite Spiral itself, which curves and twists hypnotically eight hundred and eighty eight feet into the air on impossible geometry of adamant, orichalcum, white stone, and mirror-blue glass.

 

The Circle of Adamant is divided into the Districts of Orichalcum, Moonsilver, Starmetal, Jade, and Soulsteel. The District of Orichalcum contains the Adamant Academy, along with the most prestigious housing, the finest luxuries, the diplomatic sector, elite salons, and blue crystal dormitories for the Academy. The District of Moonsilver contains the Artificer's Guild, with its sprawling complex of extremely advanced industrial factories, fabricator and engineer housing, and a dedicated skyship dock and Transit Grid station. The District of Starmetal contains the College of Enlightenment, several libraries and museums, housing for the academic elite, dorms for the physicians, doctors, and alchemists, and performing halls, art galleries, theaters, and music halls. The District of Jade is the financial and economic heart of Chronopolis, which contains the Central Bank of Chronopolis, accounting forms, investigative forms, judicial services, court houses, and the Halls of Assembly. The District of Soulsteel is a small section set aside for the detainment and transport of criminals out of Chronopolis to stone quarries or the Vir Sidus Empire.

 

The Infinite Spiral (room Spiral leads from Ada)

 

The Infinite Spiral. Magical, geomantic energy pulses regularly through orichalcum circuitry set subtly into the walls, floors, and ceilings of every perfectly measured and designed room. Fifty-five floors, divided into three layers, arranged in twenty-five blocks each, each block containing hundreds of rooms. To say that the Spiral is vast is to say that Time is long. Only the Outer Ring is available to the public, but even that 'confined' space is incredibly spacious, able to accomodate palatial estates, sublime residences, lake-sized pools, and superior facilities of all kinds.

 

The Outer Ring is what most mortals think of when the Spiral is described to them, for the Inner Ring contains the Forge of Aeons--the heart of the city. The Middle Ring is never spoken of except in whispers. Crystal and glass elevators carry passengers to all corners of the Outer Ring, often allowing for a dizzying view of the city and landscape below the further one rises into the Upper Reaches. At the very top of the Infinite Spiral, on the 55th Floor, sits the Office of the Time Lord, accessible only via appointment.

 

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