Caipe Ushere

[Frostwander]

Caipe Ushere
Sansar - Region 29

 

Geography

The majority of Caipe Ushere’s land consists of flat plains and gentle hills, with several branching rivers flowing through the country from the mountainous side of the southwest coast. The country is large enough that the climate is not uniform. It ranges from temperate nearer the coast toward the equator, while the south side of the country nearer to the arctic stretches into tundra with sporadic pine forests against the mountain range. In the warmer regions of the country, over half of the land is dedicated to agriculture, while the cooler regions operate a combination of fisheries and lumber operations and parks and nature preserves with a respectable tourist industry.

Several modest cities occupy key river intersections and coastal points, with numerous smaller cities and towns between them built around agricultural and manufacturing centers. The largest city by far is the capital metropolis Verglass. The City of Glass Ice is both the primary seat of government, and a center of culture, education, and art. The core of the city is built straddling the largest river a few dozen klicks from its mouth, connecting via high-speed transit to Altair Oceanport at the delta, with some smaller vessels able to sail upriver all the way to the city’s edge. On the landward side sprawls the primary spaceport of Caipe Ushere, Port Teralle, where high-orbit hoppers and space schooners handle the majority of the country’s interworld trade and passenger travel.

The center of the city itself is built across its namesake feature. Broad shelfs and bridges of pale crystal slope above the river, surfaces covered in fractal patterns of spiraling everfrost. The capital complex, several universities, numerous museums, entertainments, and high-end residences line the graceful crystal ledges, and despite their delicate appearance, these shelves seem to have no difficulty in supporting the massive weight of structures and populace placed upon them. Gliding trams cross the open air between shelves to provide easy travel and a breathtaking view.

People

The people of Caipe Ushere, commonly called Usherets, are a hardy populace of primarily human lineage. While their skin tones vary based on historical latitudes in pre-bombardment evolution, modern Usherets make no difference of status or attitude on this appearance. There is a great deal of national pride, and while visitors and tourists make a great deal of the economic income for some portions of the country, there are undertones of dissatisfaction in some groups regarding this dependence.

While a good deal of the most menial labor in the country is handled by automation, employment in some form of production or service is encouraged and beneficial to a higher standard of living. The largest divisions of labor are agricultural management, arts, sciences, service industries, technology, arcana, and the military.

The national economy is measured in Ai Telle, a tax on all property and structures based on a percentage of their production value each year. Of this collected value (which can be paid in crédite, Imperial kroiseids, or product), roughly one-third goes to the support of the military and government public projects, one-third to goes to the ruling family and administrative costs of the nation, and one-third goes to a recovery fund used to benefit the dispossessed and compensate areas during poorer harvest and production seasons.

The government of Caipe Ushere is a constitutional monarchy, led by a Queen, King, or Quing who maintains a relatively high amount of edict and law-making power, supported by five councilors who each lead one of the branches of government oversight. These five branches are the Judiciary, the Military, and the bureaus of Domestic Progress, Foreign Affinity, and Arcane Evolution. While the monarchial line is hereditary, there have been numerous changes in the power structure over the last millennia. In some cases coups (violent or otherwise) have deposed a royal family. One royal line simply ended after the last scions chose to abdicate and have no heirs. Finally, the monarch may be removed from power if all five councilors join in resolution to this effect. This last is rare, having only occurred twice in recorded history, but the most recent was just under a century ago.

The current ruling monarch is Queen Chalise Merole Ebonne d'Laforét. D’Laforét married into the lineage of the recent Ebonne rulers from one of the wealthier wine families, and after her husband died of illness has taken up the throne. She has two young children. The Ebonne family heraldry is that of a hooded black serpent, affronté on a gold and white fractal background.

 

Resource

Wine (Beverage, Luxury Good)
The most successful agricultural enterprises of Caipe Ushere are not in crops and foodstuffs, but in the refined fermented beverages produced from tens of thousands of years of viticulture expertise. While the Usherets have honed this craft since the early recovery after the War of Eternal Bombardments, popular claims indicate the original base knowledge was preserved through secreted data and oral tradition passed down from antecedent survivors. The countryside has a temperate climate with long summers and cool winters, along with a variety of soils and geothermal mineral springs. This combination provides perfect conditions for a diverse harvest of grapes and berries. The full processes and exact recipes of winemaking are jealously guarded secrets held by a number of businesses, many still run by families whose name is synonymous with their label.

 

Desired Import

Metals (Ores and Alloys or Precious Minerals)
While the ground of Caipe Ushere is rich in soil, it is poor in quality metals. While there are a few small mines, most metal used in vehicles, structures, and machinery is imported. Steady and reliable sources of both hard and soft metals are greatly sought after and valued.

 

Faith

Practica Arcanai
There are numerous belief systems, faiths in deities unseen, minor cults or sects shared by the people of Caipe Ushere. These include: the Voices of Surnam, who believe in a unity of spirit shared by all living beings; the Cult of the Frozen God, who worship exclusively at a glacier in upper mountains in the south; Ul-Ping-Nai-Ophon, whose followers believe their god sleeps within the moon Aridyin and will one day awake to swallow the sun; and the worshipers of Val Bedlam, who believe the historical figure of that name was a god made flesh, and follow their teachings of kindness and artistry. There is also representation of some faiths originating outside Caipe Ushere that have taken root in the last few centuries, including among others followers of Coedd, the Progenitor, and Slingid the Parrot.

The most widespread following among Usherets, however, is the practice of magic for the development of personal and public improvement, known as Practica Arcanai. A majority of the populace follows these studies, with most being able to master a few rudimentary techniques. This magic is taught at many of the educational institutions through the country, with the most prestigious being the Lyceum Ichroma in Verglass. The campus is built on one of the largest crystal shelves, surrounding the scintillating Chroma Cathedral, a structure raised from the crystal itself that carries light through its walls into dazzling prismatic displays.

The current understanding of Practica Arcanai divides magic into three schools. Articumancy uses the spoken word to influence reality through meticulously crafted evocations. Geomancy studies the inter-relation of physical objects through complex shapes used to manipulate substance and position. Psychomancy explores the relations between life-energy, spirits, and souls via sympathetic magics.

 

Starting Techs

Arcane Amplification
Wet Navy Ships

[Frostwander]

  

Utattou - Sansar Region 28

Geography

The majority of the hill country of Utattou is covered in a thick forest canopy, which has made surveys via satellite imagery generally unproductive until recently. The bamboo forests sprawl across rolling hills, with smaller vegetation providing ground cover and variety. Numerous shallow lakes fill the lower valleys, with hundreds of acres of fresh water often no more than a meter deep. These are often traversed on foot or in small watercraft designed to easily navigate among the towering bamboos.

Mostly a peninsula, Utattou is connected to the continent of Erebuus only by a narrow stretch of land. A few small communities live nearby, with a somewhat militant outlook on watching for outsiders (a long-conjectured but often vague threat). Most population centers are further north in the two wider parts of the landmass, where cultivation of the forests provides shelter against weather and intrusion. The capital of the region is a sprawling city named Yilutre built between and over several of the lakes. Forest growth is present throughout the city, and the population tends to spread wide as well as build tall, with many multi-storied buildings supported between sturdier stands of coalesced trees. Yilutre has seen a great deal of recent change in just a few years with the arrival and negotiations of outsiders, with new technologies and amenities being introduced.

People

The Kyenrait people are human, with skin tones varying from pale (though most tan) to dark. For any educated in the sciences of genetics, it is clear their ancestors came from widely diverse parts of Sansar (and perhaps even other worlds in Tekhum). Little is known about their history since the War of Eternal Bombardments (even internally; externally even less has yet been shared). 

While borders have opened following the confederation with Caipe Ushere, there is a small group of administrators who work with outsiders on international matters and the updating of infrastructure that was part of the agreements. In most cases, these administrators present an attitude ranging from grudging cooperation to taciturn silence. Even Todds, their technical expertise welcomed, find difficulty socializing much so far. Sociologists predict it will probably be a generation or more before people begin to feel comfortable with outsiders on anything more than an outlier.

Observing the people’s interactions with each other is a stark contrast from their interactions with any outsider. The Kyenrait are friendly, preferring large family groups, and a good deal of public socializing is based around family homes. A casual family gathering may easily include thirty or more people. An important holiday or event could draw hundreds, with families tracking out to fourth and fifth cousins. 

Kyenrait often enjoy outdoor activities, with several different developed sports that are played competitively between cities. Hiking, climbing, and gardening are also popular pastimes. 

Resource

Bamboo (Flora, Construction Materials)
Bamboo are a type of rapidly growing grasses, larger specimens of which can tower into trees up to approximately 50 meters in height. These are some of the fastest-growing plants on Sansar, with the fastest strains able to achieve several meters of growth within a single day in optimal conditions. This makes for a significantly replenishable resource with even minimal maintenance and replanting efforts, and the Utattou people have developed a regular harvesting cycle to maximize this production.

In addition to the sturdiness and general use for tools and construction, with certain enzymes applied to their surface, separate bamboo plants will fuse together with multiple pieces becoming a single intergrown surface. With the proper sculpting and sealant, the wood has become the primary material in the region for building homes, vehicle bodies, and even armor.

Bamboo flowers are also often used as decoration.

Desired Import

Specialists
With the recent opening to their neighbors, and the realizations of the opportunities for technological improvement, there is suddenly a significant demand for subject matter experts to lead the way in both implementation and education on more modern lifestyles.

Faith

Militant Xenophobia

The Utattou people, until recently, have been devout isolationists. The Rain of Fire brought about the end of the Old Ways, and was brought upon them by the folly of outsiders. For two thousand years, the Kyenrait have forsworn any interest or involvement in the outside world, lest they invite the wrath of the skies once again. A large vocal set of the population still predicts disaster from accepting the invitation to join Caipe Ushere. The potential for advancement, and the lack of devastation (along with the warnings being two millennia old) has contributed to what exposure they allow.

Still, most people are constantly harried by these fears in any outsider dealings, and will require more convincing interaction before they are willing to open themselves to welcoming foreign synergy.

[Frostwander]

  

Space Habitat Ouvriead - Sansar Orbit, Region 111

Layout

In orbit above Sansar’s southern hemisphere is Space Habitat Ouvriead. This city-sized station is built in two sections. 

The upper section is a thick ring approximately two kilometers in diameter, and thirty-six levels high. This ring contains habitation, production, agriculture, manufacturing, and command areas. Viewports on the outer and top faces of the ring provide stellar observation areas as the station rotates slowly, offering views of Sansar, Firmament, Aridyin, and space beyond depending on the current position.

The lower section consists of three U-shaped segments at one-hundred-twenty degree angles, horizontally aligned to the ring above. The arms of each U are equipped with hundreds of mechanical manipulators and facilities for docking spacecraft, and extend nearly a kilometer beyond the outer edge of the ring. One of these sections is oriented for receiving planetary launches of personnel and supplies; the second for docking small and mid-sized spacecraft and shuttles, with visitors from other countries in mind as well as military craft. The third is currently planned as a shipyard, for construction and servicing of vessels.

Visual Inspirations

Ring (image credit Dmitry Vishnevsky):

Arms (image credit SmirnovArtem):

 

People

The staff and leadership of Ouvriead are primarily Usheret. Though the habitat has vast living quarters for visitors, workers, and families, most of the habitation ring is vacant, awaiting future migration and settlement programs. The current population is largely administrative personnel and construction and maintenance workers. Approximately one-third of the initial staff are military and government employees. The remainder are contractors.

Resource

Recon Corvettes (Spacecraft, Information and Data)
A large portion of the exterior of the space platform is dedicated to a zero-g shipyard. The premise is that some assembly difficulties that occur in planetary conditions can be bypassed by launching separate fabricated components from the surface to undergo final assembly in vacuum. When fully staffed, machine shops and robotics bays on the station will allow for smaller craft to be fully assembled from start to finish without depending on launches from the surface. 
The signature vessel to be assembled in this shipyard is dubbed the Arestoir-class Recon Corvette. It is a small vessel meant to be crewed by twenty to thirty humans (or equivalent), sporting a narrow body section for living and operations, with a broadening prow that culminates in a powerful array of sensors meant for picking up and analyzing spacial motion and telemetry data. 

Desired Import

Luxury Goods 
While the production areas of the station provide basic agriculture for sustenance and manufacturing facilities for textiles, tools, and medical necessities, the station does not produce significant amenities to meet the recreational needs of a larger population. Most luxuries and entertainment must be imported. 

Faith

Practica Arcanai (Minority)
As the station is primarily staffed by Usherets, it is to be expected that the popular disciplines of Practica Arcanai are common here. Day-to-day tasks like first aid, supply management, and station maintenance are made easier with the application of Articumancy and Geomancy. While there are not yet active centers for higher education here, there are plans and spaces allocated to provide schooling and learning centers for inhabitants and visitors.