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The Halls of Aentha

History

Aentha was founded at the pinnacle of the first age when the powers and arrogance of the Solars were reaching their highest. Located deep within the glacial shelf of the far north lay one of the most powerful air aspected desmenses of the day, a prize far too tempting for the Twilight solar who held dominion over the area, though it was decades before his masterpiece was completed. Carefully studying the geomancy and with the aid of magic, magitech and demons, he hollowed out a vast cavern hundreds of feet below the surface and miles from the edge which perfectly funneled the massive essences towards the centre. There he capped the power with his manse. The Throne of Empty Snow, a flawless manor set alone at within the vast expanse. And for a while it was good.

The problem came when his mate's death brought her back to him with a new face and life. Aentha, a young No Moon from the South-East, stole his heart again in a way he'd forgotten someone could, though as the months went by, the more he cherished him, the sadder she became. Her dilemma lay in that though she couldn't bear to be away from her husband for long, her love also lay with creation and it's people, and the cold emptiness beneath the ice seemed a prison. And so the Twilight went to work again. He wrought a maze of carefully considered tunnels and further caverns around the main chamber, and filled them with magitech and spirit servitors in order to maintain the climate as an imitation of her home. He shaped the roof of the cavern so that a honeycomb of ice prisms directed the sunlight down from the surface and illiminated it with natural light during the day. And he filled the new country with life and people from her home, naming the land in her honour. And for a while that too was good.

When the usurption came, Aentha fled to the wyld, and the Twilight managed to escape to his country, sealing the tunnels connecting it with creation behind him. The fury of the Dragon Blooded was no to be extinguished though, and after a century, they broke through the ice. Aentha was devastated in the battle between Solar and Blooded during which it's founder was eventually felled and its people rejoined with creation again. But as the realm gradually withered under their stewardship, an insignificantly small nation so far removed from the Blessed Isle was gradually forgotten about and Aentha's people withdrew into their Halls. Although connected to creation proper by a number of tunnels, the scourging of their home remained prominent in the memories of the people and xenophobia spread. Outsiders are no longer allowed past certain points in the tunnels and all trade with the surface is done in towns before the main chamber is reached, and shipped on from there. And the stories of Dragon Blooded dominion ensures only a handful ever leave every decade, if at all.

Major Settlements

Throne</b>
<b>Population: 40,000
Income: Farming

The Throne of Empty Snow remains, and although the subtle shifts of the glacier, the digging of new tunnels and the ravages of the Dragon Blooded attack have left it powerless, it still stands tall amoungst all else in the Main Hall, as the largest of the cavern's has come to be known. It was around here that the Twilight built a settlement for the people he brought from his wife's home and the citadel as since been made into the palace where the nations hereditary regent (the Twilight ruler, or 'Founder,' as he is remember as, is still recognised as ruler technically, even if everyone has forgotten what exactly he was) and his administration take up office. Sprawling out from the centre of the chamber, the city covers about a quarter of it's floor and, altough a dim memory of the First Age like the rest of creation, is still the same in a large number of ways. The ceiling of the chamber was made to last, and though nothing can actually be seen through the ice, it's entire surface glows as brightly as if it was the actual Sky during the day, the dense ice even giving it a slightly blue colour. It is most spectacular at evening however, as the red light of the sunset catches the glacier just right, the ceiling glows a brilliant red that bathes the entire city in pink light for as long as half an hour during the right months of the year.

The climate is also more or less as it was. Certain engines and servitors have stopped working overtime, lowering the temperature by a few degrees and certain failures can alter this even more until they are fixed. Most of the time however, it is as hot as certain parts of the South-East, and is certainly warm enough to grow the relatively exotic fruits such as pineapples and bananas that are otherwise unseen in the North. In fact, what parts of the cavern aren't taken up by the city itself are given over entirely to growing these alien plants, and the nation as a whole has become rich off exporting these products to the rest of the region.

Water is supplied to the entire cavern by a series of machinery which thaws the ice beneath the soil lining its floor which then pumps it up the walls of cave and out in three great waterfalls, one at each compass point with the exception of East, this being where the main tunnel into the Main Hall opens out. The pools at the base of each of these waterfalls then supplies an aqueduct which runs to the Throne of Hollow Snow, irrigating fields and suppling the city on the way. All of the cities waste water is filtered and fed by pipes back under the city where it once again freezes, continuing the cycle.

The city is Aentha's capital and contains roughly half of it's population

Skyvault</b>
<b>Population: 20,000
Income: Trade

The second largest settlement in Aentha, Skyvault lies at the point where the three mile long tunnels, leading from the edge of the glacier to the South-West of crystal, converge into the single 15 miles passage that runs the rest of the distance in to the Main Hall. The smallest of the three access tunnels is 30ft in radius, and each of them is blocked by a gated wall which extends roughly halfway up the height of the tunnels. These walls are patrolled by the majority of the few men and women who make up any standing armed forces in Aentha. The largest tunnel, that which extends to the main hall, is walled up entirely, with a number of gates set in it's base the only way from Skyvault further into Aentha (at least that ayone knows of).

Skyvault has grown up between the four walls at the end of each tunnel and now extends a short way beyond each as well. It has grown rich as the laws of Aentha prevent any outsiders from passing through the Ice Gates, the four in the wall preventing access to the largest tunnel, without special dispensation from the government which is rarely given. As a result, all trade for the entire nation passes through Skyvault on its way into the deeper caverns. It is also an important diplomatic centre as all dealings with the representatives from the rest of Creation are conducted her. The wealthiest district, immediatly to the base of the wall blocking off the main tunnel is as such dominated by three buildings. The Chambers of Commerce, containing the offices of the nations trade and commercial departments, as well as a large area set aside for the Guilds presence. The Palace of Representatives, not a palace as such, but it still contains the quarters allocated to visiting diplomats (Aentha's diplomats tend to own their own properties not far from the building rather than staying there themselves) and the meeting rooms for the business to be conducted with them. Finally, the Import and External Resources Office, as a single story building which stretches the length of the main tunnel infront of the Ice Gates. Acting as the customs offices, all good entering further into Aentha must be checked here, and all citizens are required to show identification in order to be allowed back into the caves.

Whilst the main tunnel can be travelled by foot or other such mundane means, and the poorer and less important are required to do so, it was decided by the Twilight that to do so was impractical and more importantly, less impressive. Essence engine driven carriages run on rails the 15 mile journey from a terminal on the Aentha side of the Ice Gates down into Throne itself. The First Age devices are only working still by the merit of the spirt servitors the Twilight created in order to maintain the devices he installed in his home. Unfortunaty, while extremely efficient at fixing the machinery, they are incapable of repairing themselves, and the art of their maintainence is now lost to the majority of the citizens of Aentha. As such, only a fraction of their original number are left and the majority of the First Age devices have become useless and fallen into disrepair, or fallen apart altogether. Only those essential to Aentha's survival, the water pumps, heating systems and carriages still run. Even then the spirit servitor's duties have to be complemented by the efforts of talented mortals who are trained to do what little they are capable of.

Idald</b>
<b>Population: 6,000
Income: Icesmithing

Set aside in one of the larger caves (Halls) that branch off from the Main Hall, Idald's atmospheric and temperature regulators function less efficiently than the rest of those in Aentha. This results in a striking change in the relatively short passage beween the Main Hall and the Idald Hall, the immitation southern heat giving way to the chill common in most northern towns within the space of a few hundred yards. Inside the Idald Hall, the town of Idald has been forced to adapt over the years to the colder temperature and now looks like a common northern town. Idald's most notable trait however is the trade known as Icesmithing that has become established there. Taking chunks of the extremely dense ice at the centre of the glacier, they then chip away at it like sculpters before treating it with a special coating used to keep the walls of the caverns from heating up and melting by the Twilight. The items created range from statuettes, to swords and even things such as cutlery. As no-one is allowed in to Aentha, the secret of their creation, and the ice they're made from remain kept by it's people, making them rare items that fetch a high price outside of the caverns.

Aentha's Nest</b>
<b>Population: 1,000
Income: None significant

Built inside another sub-chamber, the hall known as Aentha's Nest was fashioned by the Twilight as the personal retreat of the lunar Aentha within the halls. A dedicated No-Moon martial artist, the area was converted so that Aentha could fully exploit the space for both meditate and practice styles, formost being her favoured Mantis Style. In the Age of Sorrows, the original purpose is retained to a degree by the Artificers Order. Set up over time as the machines an servitors that kept Aentha running began to fail, the old dojo has been converted into a workshop. The order is as much a monastic one as a guild of engineers however, as they attempt to promote mental wellbeing and it's members try and gain the clarity to perform mental tasks beyond them through the use of exercises and katas. Time has obscured the origins of these, simpling being derivatives of Mantis Style that were taught to mortal's, incapable of using essence or the full version of the form, by the Lunar martial artist.

The order itself numbers roughly 250, the rest of the population of Aentha's Nest is comprised of various acolytes, trainees and servants. Though incapable of fixing anything but the most rudimentary of the machinery, the Order do their best and have had some success in repairing the servitors when they break of go offline. The majority of the network of tunnels and caves that surrounds the entire nation of Aentha remains off limits to all but full members of the order and the lifespan for one working in these less well maintain and less carefully made tunnels can be low. In many places the artifical lights (powered by what little essence is still collected by the manse that sits at the nations heart, that light the rest of the country) fail, and in even more the structural integrity of the tunnels is compromised as enchantments fade over time. And that doesn't even include the machinery they deal with. As a result, full memebers of the order are highly trained and tend to work in teams to minimise the dangers.

People and Culture

Technology: The technological status of Aentha is dictated, like almost everything else, is dictated by its isolation. Between the work of the Artificers Order and the relatively common sight of servitors, people from Aentha would be considered experts on these aspects of First Age technology by most of the rest of Creation. Likewise the specific skills learnt in trades such as Icesmithing, or engineers tasked with maintaining the aqueducts and drainage would be treasured outside. However, they remain backwards in many other respects, having never encountered certain metals and materials they would have no means or knowledge of how to use them. Firedust for example is now utterly unheard of, and any attempt by an outsider to introduce the exotic southern resource would likely result in some eager but unfortunate savant bringing down a few tunnels on everyone's heads.

Military: Of the 80,000 or so people who live in Aentha only a very small portion take up military service. The tunnels and walls that block them mean that Aentha hasn't been attacked since it's original ruler was slain due to making it so easily defendable, no-one has been stupid enough to try. More importantly all the nearby powers realise that any successful attack against Skyvault would simply cause the Icegates to be sealed and Aentha to isolate itself for decades, possibly centuries, decimating links with a lucrative trading partner. As a result Aentha only has approximatly 400 troops at any given time. Of these, roughly 250 are stationed to Skyvault and the walls there. The rest make up the guards in palace of the Throne of Empty Snow. Aentha has another set of guards which act as a police force, notably comprising of a division which mans the Import and External Resources Offices and act as customs officers alongside the bureacrats also on duty there.

Holidays: Aentha has adopted a large number of the holidays observed by the nations outside of the glacier, but the largest and most widely celebrated are those which remain unique to the city. First is Founding Day, the largest national holiday of the year in which the people give thanks to the figure known as 'The Founder,' and the blessing he bestowed by creating their home for them. Any reincarnation of his might be suprised at just how extensive his cult extends. This day was originally known by a different name and held annually by the Twilight founder in celebration of the lunar Aentha's birthday. Over time the person Aentha became forgotten. and the celebration became one of the entire nation. The other important event is the day on which new members are initiated into the Artificers Order. Though the initiation itself is a low key affair viewable by none outside the order, a parade is thrown afterwards where the Order marches from Aentha's Nest to Throne. Crowds flock not to see the Order so much as the automata and machines they bring with them.

Religion: Their's no official state religion in Aentha, though obviously, a large portion of worship goes on local air spirits, as well as the gods of the caverns and cities themselves. A form of Immaculate worship remains from the Low First Age, altough this is independant and isolated from the Order proper and has diverged from it over the years slightly, ending up in a form more compatible with the local customs. Conversly, almost all traces of sun worship was stamped out when the Dragon Blooded slew the Founder and maintained persecution of it, which hangs over to the present. Word of anathema beginning to appear in the world again has the people of Aentha scared, but confident that by keeping outsiders out they can be kept safe from it. Lastely, without knowing it, elements of prayers and rituals to Luna are still performed by the Artificers Order as parts of their own rituals which are derived from those practiced by the Lunar Aentha in addition to her martial arts.

Laws: The isolation of Aentha has had a strong bearing on its laws. Execution or long term imprisonment aren't needed in a country where banishment can be enforced so effectively. All criminals guilty of major crimes such as rape and murder are branded on both cheeks and ejected from the tunnels with nothing but a set of standard issue clothing. Any possessions are taken by the government and sold to gain reparations for the victims or their families. Those who do not have any personal wealth may be made to work on public projects in order to raise these funds before being banished. They are immediatly taken into custody if ever seen within the tunnels, even if they are found on the surface side of Skyvault's gates. Aentha's harshest punishment is reserved for those attempting to return from banishment. Rather than being thrown out of the country, they are thrown into a section of condemned service tunnels. The sentance is tantamount to death as environmental controls in the tunnel long since failed, resulting in certain areas being horrifically cold, and others blisteringly hot, some fluctuate between the two almost instantaneously. On top of this numerous hazards and pitfalls from failed machinery. The lucky die painlessly, though the majority find themselves freezing to death slowly, or painfully burnt or electrocuted. The only others who suffer this fate are those who commit the highest crime in Aentha, attacking or intentionally damaging an automata or piece of essential machinery. As the entire of the nation depends on these constructs, breaking them is seen as an attack against every person in the tunnels.

Slavery is not illegal, but is almost unheard of. Even though the numbers of automata are pitiful compared to what they were in the First Age, they did ensure that the trend never caught on.

Andrix

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