by M. J Kreyzer
This new Furo Extractor that was built on Pyre's lowest level, being the largest in the world, once again cemented Pyre's standing as the visionary and revolutionary pioneer of urban development. With its new Furo Extractor, the AAC, and Syrvo Enterprises as its centerpiece, Pyre became the icon of technological innovation and ingenuity.
The North Santarian Trade Route
Towards the end of 1480 M.E, it became increasingly evident to the residents of the newly founded town of Pyre that the Selsnik basin in which their new town was located could not provide for everything that they needed. With a dearth of life and the barren terrain of the Bremonni Badlands, the town sent out a small expeditionary force to head northwest, the direction of the last known forest for them to have encountered. In what would later be known as the Byfayne mountains, the expeditionary force, led by Charles Bannick, found that the Byfaynes were home to all the resources that Pyre could ever need. However, with Pyre already firmly established and the Byfaynes brimming with treacherous terrain, the group set up a small outpost on the edge of the Byfaynes and ran the necessary resources along a supply line between the Byfaynes and Pyre. With this outpost established, the North Santarian Trade Route was born.
Later, after the establishment of Praemon in 1495, the route extended even further to allow the new Durant/Werewolf colony to export their goods along the supply line. And with Praemon resting on a crossroads, the Santarian trade route branched off both northwest and northeast which would open up the evolving market to areas that would eventually include Styne and a route that stretched back all the way to Valhalla. The Santarian Trade Route served as a crucial avenue for exports and imports. The towns it connected in trade included Styne, Praemon, Leramato, New Eckis, and Pyre, and was the largest such route in the eastern hemisphere and, eventually, the world.
Praemon
Established 1495 M.E. by Charles Bannick, Praemon was originally settled at a major crossroads in the Byfaynes as the hub through which supplies would be shipped to Pyre. At its conception, Praemon was built up as a fort, eventually expanding into a town as capitalist sensibilities drew in hunters and traders from across northern Solara.
Over the course of the next several centuries, the predominantly Durant and Werewolf population would express itself through its unique architecture and design, echoing the aesthetic inclinations of Northwestern Werewolf found most often in Elvytican cities and Mid-Arctanican Durant. Its population would diversify, though, and Praemon would see continued expansion throughout the final years of the Medieval Epoch.
As tensions rose leading up to the start of the Relias wars in 223 M.I, the need for protection became clear. As a result, an ambitious project went underway to construct a wall running around the outskirts of Praemon, closing it off and protecting itself as well as the trade that was its ultimate livelihood.
It would experience a subtle, nearly unnoticeable change in leadership in 262 M.I. as a result of the Praemon Subversion. From this moment on Praemon would be considered a stronghold of the Darks.
Brysdal
In 1453 M.E, a small group of orthodox Durants migrated from Arctanica to north Central Marsecta where they discovered what would become known as the Brysdal Alternate Time Field. This time field, where time is accelerated nearly four times that of normal Havok time, stretched across a five mile space with 98 % of this space taken up by a sprawling plateau. After much deliberation, the Darks settled on this location to construct a new colony.
Over the next five hundred years, the Darks would carve out the center of this plateau down to below ground level using strategically placed Chargers and Decimators, leaving thick columns of rock across this manmade gorge that would eventually be carved out into sky rises. As Brysdal increased in size and population (this expansion being minimal) the need to expand beyond the edges of the Alternate Time field became necessary. Instead of expanding above ground, though, and betray the location of this secretive colony, the Darks continued to expand beneath ground until the borders of Brysdal's alternate time field were a web of caves and subterranean suburbs of Brysdal.
The implications of the Alternate Time Field had a profound effect on the cultures and lifestyles of Brysdal. Because time inside of the Alternate Time Field moved exponentially faster than the time outside, men in charge of hunting and gathering as well as those responsible for making repairs to water pipelines outside of Brysdal would be gone for months after being gone for a matter of weeks.
From the outside, the plateau that Brysdal is carved out of appears untouched. This effect is due to the fact that, from outside the Accelerated Time Field, time within its borders appears to pass normally. This gives Brysdal the appearance of being suspended in space time. It's this quality that makes it nearly impossible to find.
At the end of the Durant Revolution, Brysdal would serve as a haven for the few Durants and Darks that remained. It was here where they would rebuild, using the alternate time field to their advantage and getting back on their feet in a period of time that would have been fatal had they been anywhere else.
Demondrak
First established circa 3500 Ae.E, Demondrak would be the capitol of the Vampire civilizations in eastern Elvytica. It would stand as a monument to the courage and the ingenuity of the Vampires and their precursors in surviving and flourishing in such an inhospitable and unforgiving land.
In the 9th Century an assault by a werewolf army coming in response to massacre conducted by the vampire supremacist Syn Vyna resulted in the destruction of Demondrak while the attacking werewolves made it a point to destroy every last building in the city.
Demondrak would be rebuilt on its overgrown ruins, though it would be much smaller and much less populated than its predecessor. Over the centuries leading up to its reconstruction, Demondrak would become the subject of religious superstition, alleged to be a gateway to hell. This superstition would result in a general aversion to not only Demondrak, but to the Elvytican continent.
Elysium
In 223 M.I, Durants fled central Arctanica as the Relias Wars escalated. Led by Miles Scarsborough, the Durant immigrants arrived at the edge of a sprawling lake fed by several major Arctanican rivers located near the Aliyan coast. As they moved further along the lakes edge they discovered an incredible series of waterfalls at the edge of this lake. These waterfalls would pour off into the four mile basin below, the majority of this basin being enclosed by the lake located above it. What resulted was a massive basin formed by three hundred foot waterfalls. After reaching the basin's roughly uneven floor, the water would run towards the narrow opening at the southern end of the basin in a twisting series of rivers.
On the northern end of Elysium is a large outcropping that juts out from the waterfalls just fifty feet below the lake's edge. Located on the edge of this outcropping was the first Durant Temple, a pure white castle-like structure surrounded by battlements which ran a circle around the entire complex. It served as a place of worship where only the most worthy and faithful Durants were allowed to visit. This structure, reflecting light in a way that caused its pure exterior to glow, would serve as the focal point of Elysium and established the city as the unofficial capitol of the Durants.
Buildings would be build up throughout the entire city, the largest and tallest being located at the center of the basin while smaller buildings were constructed as the grouping of buildings stretched outward, giving it a rough, conical shape. On many of the dozens of rocky platforms located at various levels along the edges of the basin, smaller buildings were constructed, giving way to shopping malls, restaurants, and prime real estate. To access these various levels, a complex infrastructure was put in place, running along the edges of the basin behind, in front of, and through the massive waterfall that formed the Elysium basin.
Elysium's population grew slowly,
Elysium would be abandoned in 253 M.I as a result of the Elysium Invasion, the first major act of aggression on part of the Commune to eliminate the Durant race.
Following its abandonment, Elysium was bombed and ransacked. The Elysium temple was left standing, though, as a visual testament to the downfall of the Durant race and would slowly deteriorate over decades of neglect. Over the years Elysium would become an overgrown ruin, its rubble being consumed by the tropical overgrowth of the surrounding jungle.
Diamide
Being one of the oldest cities in central Arctanica, Diamide would eventually become the capitol of the Arctanican Empire, slowly evolving into a large alpine city built around the surrounding mountains, valleys and ravines. Originally built around 5th century M.E, Diamide would serve as the hub from which Ayker Blacktree would launch the Arctanican Conquest. With a population of over two million, Diamide would be one of the most populous cities in the world leading up to the eventual plague of Halzetti's Disease, reaching the pinnacle of its onslaught in 228 M.I.
Olsgrad
Olsgrad is an ancient civilization built around the temple carved into the cliffs at the end of Olsgrad Canyon in central Marsecta. With the temple carved into the cliffs on one end, a small town was built into the smaller cliffs at the Temple's base and on the ground below that. A thick, granite reinforced wall would be built around the city for defensive purposes, while secret tunnels would be carved into the cliffs on either side of the canyon serving as the only entrances and exits into the sacred city. Estimated to have been built circa 1300 Ae.E as asserted by ancient stone tablets recovered from archaeological digs in south-central Marsecta around 115 M.I, Olsgrad served as a home to Durant priests and priestesses who lived in convents built around the temple. According to the ancient stone tablets, referred to as the Supernal Tablets, Olsgrad is one of seven ancient Durant temples. Its population of priests and priestesses would mysteriously disappear in an event believed to coincide with the same cataclysmic event that wiped the Marsectan Empire from the face of the globe.
Olsgrad would be forgotten and wasn't rediscovered until the discovery of the Supernal Tablets by a group of Durant Archaeologists. Following their discovery, it was decided to be in the best interest of the site to keep the existence of this temple from being widely known as it was all too apparent that a discovery such as this might spark aggression, particularly on part of the Arctanican Empire. As such, the existence of Olsgrad was kept quiet with only family and close friends of the archaeologists being told of it.
Durants would eventually return to Olsgrad, using it as the last stop before migration to Brysdal following the invention of Furo Radar and the merciless onslaught of the Durant Relocation Act. Being designed as a fortress, Olsgrad would stand up well even to the advanced weaponry of the First Legionnaire. After being forced to make a final stand, some of the last living Durants would die here along with the Darks that had tried to defend them. Olsgrad would become a tomb, a symbol of the eradication of the Durant race.
Valhalla
Valhalla was the first city to be built on Solara and was the landing point for Benedict Solago and his crew in 1307 M.E. It would serve the role of a shipping yard for several decades and was an epicenter of industry on the Solarian Continent.
By 240 M.I, Valhalla became a premier tourist destination, establishing itself as the archetypal paradisiacal vacationing spot while its popularity would reach its peak in 245 M.I. Its development would explode following government subsidies provided by the Commune in 252 M.I. This move is largely considered to have taken place as an attempt by the Commune to divert attention away from the Durant Relocation Act and the Durant Revolution and perpetuate the idea of a utopian society.
New Eckis
In 1510 M.E, a small colony known as Fort Eckis was constructed as a halfway point between Pyre and Praemon. Its primary purpose was to provide supplies to travelers and traders while also playing the role of a national guard. The culture of Fort Eckis was rugged, as its leadership would be extremely selective in the men who were allowed to work and, consequently, live there. These men were required to work in some of the most dangerous and extreme conditions. If traders or settlers required assistance then these men, referred to as 'Ecksins' would deploy immediately and be on the scene in a matter of days. Because of the unforgiving nature of the Bremmonni Badlands and the surrounding terrain, there was a 35% fatality rate among the Ecksins. Their role, though, and the dangers that their job entailed became a source of pride for the Ecksins. Many historians will argue that, were it not for the Ecksins, travel along the North Santarian Trade Route would have been plagued by natural dangers and lawlessness resulting in the collapse of the Pyrian civilization and the consequential non-existence of the modern world as it was known.
Fort Eckis would eventually be torn down and rebuilt in an attempt to modernize. With its humble beginnings as a small, one street town, this New Eckis would expand into the second largest city in the Pretoratan, second only behind Pyre in its population. Like all other cities in the Pretoratan, the necessity of a protective outer wall was undeniable, and much like Leramato, several districts exist beyond the borders of walls built before the city's expansion.
The culture of New Eckis is that of self-sufficiency and efficiency. With the characteristics and actions of the Ecksins resonating through its development, New Eckis and its population are resilient and hard-headed and it stands as a city that demonstrates a blatant disapproval of the Commune and the First Legionnaire. While they are blatantly anti-government, their existence works to the benefit of the Commune who uses New Eckis as a foil while its geographical adjacency to Pyre create a stark and effective contrast between the old world and the new.
Leramato
Starting out as a small encampment in 1520 M.E and based along the North Santarian Trade Route, Leramato was a haven for thieves and smugglers who were refused access to Fort Eckis. It became a getaway of sorts with an economy based around dishonest and theft that, surprisingly, was very successful. Over the years Leramato would expand into a small town that was generally avoided by traders and settlers who would often fall victim to the men who used Leramato as a base of operations.
Kept in check for the most part by the Ecksins, Leramato acquired the resources it needed to expand and gained popularity amongst even some settlers on their way to Pyre and later Kyrsec. Around the end of the Modern Medieval Epoch and the advent of the Modern Industrial Epoch, Leramato would become a parody of itself, gladly relishing in its less than reputable history. It would evolve into a gambling destination as advancements in personal travel and infrastructure made tourism possible.
At the foundation of the Union, Leramato was known for its carefree, liberally viewed culture. It became a destination synonymous with fame and celebrity with its glitzy lights, contemporarily styled architecture and booming nightlife.
Styne
Following the establishment of a thriving national community based in the Pretoratan Region, Styne, then a very small, tightly confined community, became home to werewolves, vampires, and humans shunned and cast out by the establishment for their demonic beliefs. First built in 1705 M.E, Styne became what was considered to be a blight on the region. As time passed and its dark beliefs became more of an afterthought, Styne became home to commercial industry, doing business with both cities based along the North Santarian Trade Route and limited trade with the Argintic Front.
Styne, due to its adjacency with Pyre, would eventually become the capitol city of the Dakuya crime syndicate, having already been established in Elvytica, Arctanica, and southern Solara. During the Relias Wars, Vladmir Frenz would travel to Styne where he would gain support for the Dakuya and recruit members. His efforts were met with great enthusiasm not only due to Frenz's irrefutable appeal but the fact that he was generally viewed by devil worshippers to be a human incarnation of the devil himself. As such, the Dakuya members of Styne became his most loyal and effective supporters. The Dakuya would later take advantage of its adjacency with several important trade routes to perpetuate its weapons, drug, and human trafficking.
Styne eventually became the thi
rd largest city in the Pretoratan, behind New Eckis and Pyre. Following the establishment of the Union, Styne became home to the International Army and the First Legionnaire. As such, Styne's industry and economy is more oriented towards the military as it is towards commercial trade. Better serving its purpose as a trailblazer in military development, Styne is home to the largest shipyard in the world. It would eventually come to be known as the sister city of Pyre.
