Inter-City Factions
Certain Factions are capable of establishing themselves across the Cities and entering the world at large. Many of these factions do not include the Mayors and the Authorities who hold the reins of the Cities by name and could even be considered the true powers that drive the currents in their respective homes.
The Hall of Transcendance
"Il Volunta de Saenctum, His Will be Done"
Headed by the Grand Temple at Saenctum, the Hall is a largely religious group that believes the fall of the Old World was caused by divine punishment. Their adherents strive to distance themselves from using Oneirum to fulfill their wishes as humanity once did, and to rely upon their own power as much as possible. As such, this places their members at odds with most other factions in the world. The life of a Transcendentalist is ascetic by most standards, sparse and lacking in amenities, for they believe that indulgence is but another of the sins that the Old World committed. Though, of the things that rose from the Cataclysm, it is Magic that they continue to permit, as a form of “blessing” granted by their deities to those who repented for their sins. The Hall’s believers often turn their hair’s color to pure white or shave themselves bald, as a statement to distance oneself from the vanity of hair coloration. The Hall often employs Inquisitions to dive into the warrens beneath the Cities, and to venture into the lands beyond the Walls in search of Oneirum artifacts for destruction.
Hall of Transcendance Patents
Hardlight Emitters - With a controlled release of light infused with Oneirum, the Hall of Transcendence is capable of turning light solid. This permits the construction and creation of objects with ease, for a simple holographic projection to become a solid construction with only a slight alteration in its usage. Though Hardlight is not a particularly durable material, only around that of hard glass.
Laser Weaponry - By focusing an immense amount of light into a single concentrated beam, it is possible to produce an intense ray that may deliver devastating damage to a target over time. Laser weapons are often prone to overheating, and require a lengthy charging time, though are considerably more accurate than plasma.
Hall of Transcendence Hierarchy
Astar, The Transcendent: As the titular head of the entire church, being both their deity and religious leader who spends his entire time hidden behind the White Curtain in the Hall's central church. He does relatively little to influence the Hall's direction, being said to have severed himself from mortal concerns, though is granted the greatest amount of respect as the being who is said to protect Saenctum and transcended mortal boundaries.
The Anointed: A group of five beings who act as the voice of the Transcendent upon minor duties, and act primarily to administrate the Hall itself. Though technically lower than the Transcendent himself in terms of their hierarchy, are effectively bestowed as a collective the highest authority, being the ones who actually move to act. The Anointed rotate each month as the chosen preacher in Saenctum.
Fathers/Mothers: Individual priest leaders of branch churches in all Cities, and are expected to hold Scripture readings, task Inquisitors and other Hall believers to various things to enact the Transcendent's will, among various others.
Seraphim: Highly-respected warriors of the Hall who are said to carry out the Transcendent's Will with all of their actions, and are given direct orders by the Anointed. The Order of the Seraphim are consisted of a group of one hundred members, each granted impressive amounts of power by their deity, most characterized by the presence of resplendant golden beams that light flame to whatever they touch. It is known that the magics that a Seraph wield cannot be extinguished by the presence of physical might or technological prowess, although such holy warriors move only to the orders of their god. The Seraphim, though all being human by birth, possess forms that seem utterly different from those of their birth, from the glowing halos over their pale-haired heads, to the wings of crystalline light that resemble feathers behind their backs, and the veins of golden light that cross over their skin.
Inquisitors: Indoctrinated members of the Hall who are expected to carry out the Will if it is ever meant to be made in force. Inquisitors act to destroy Old World artifacts and to kill their possessors. Inquisitors are bound by a strict code, and are expected to obey the Will without question. Inquisitors are tasked to man singular branches, and obey their priests' teachings and orders without question. As opposed to Believers, Inquisitors are expected to attend services daily, and pray alongside their respective priest.
Aspirants - Believers who aim to become Inquisitors. Often brought into readings with their respective branch's priest. Aspirants are treated the same as believers, although are expected to devote themselves toward the Hall to a greater degree in search of their promotion, and are expected to have memorized the entirety of the Scriptures by heart in order to ascend to become Inquisitors.
Believers - Individual civilian believers in the faith of the Hall. Are not forcibly tasked with combat duties, although may do so as they may wish to serve the Will. Children of the Hall become fully-fledged Believers after going through a rite of ceremony called the Purification, that dyes their hair a pure white. Believers of the Hall are expected to attend church meetings at least once per week, if not more.
Vertassin Academy
"Pursue the One Truth"
The Academy forms a large academic organization centralized at Illustra, and intends to restore the former glory of the Old World. With its branches across the Cities, the Academy remains one of the most widespread organizations in the world, providing education and Licenses even in this crisis. It is said that those who studied at the Academy find themselves at ease in finding jobs at various companies in their Cities, though are placed through a veritable furnace made to refine them as one did with steel. Those that faltered were only the chaff to be carelessly discarded. Their members have an open-minded outlook on Oneirum and look to continue its commercial usage, despite the depleting stores of the mystical substance. Their experimental technology is often considered some of the most advanced in the world, though rumors have questioned their methods of development many times before. Many among the Academy seek to climb its ranks by making additional publications and achieving novel results remains as the primary manner of gaining rank in the Academy, as opposed to personal wealth.
Vertassin Academy Patents
Oneirum Diffusion Field - By placing emitters that diffuse the atmospheric Oneirum in a short radius around them, it may allow for the temporary nullification of mystical powers granted by its presence. Of course, this is given that the targets are properly contained within its radius, and should outside fluctuations be too great, the field emitters may be quickly overloaded.
Vertassin Academy Hierarchy
Luminaries - The Luminaries are considered the Academy's most proficient researchers, those who excel the most in their specific field or fields of study. Though in their attempts to preserve their honored positions, it comes to mind that most Luminaries participate rarely in the actual administration of the Academy, one may note that on the off chance that they do come into presence, a Luminary's authority trumps that of any other lower-graded researcher of the Academy.
Directors - Singular administrative leaders within the Academy that handle directing the funding for research projects, commendations for various researchers in their respective fields, and various other duties. Though Directors are also expected to participate in research ventures, none are pressured to do the same to preserve their position as a Luminary may. Each Director heads a certain field across the entire Academy network aside from being leaders of their respective Branches across the Cities that accept their presence, being always present as the final verdict for passing certain publications through the Board of Review.
Professors - Renowned staff within the Academy as those who have published several papers that have passed the Academy's Board of Review whose results have been verified across various separate experiments. These people are given the station as teaching staff within the Academy to its Undergraduates before they graduate from the curriculum, as mentors for those of lower rank while working on their own research, or as full-time researchers leading projects within laboratories. In most cases, their duties may consist of a combination of the previous three.
Graduates - Those who have made their way past the rigorous trial that is the Academy and have made their first publication are granted the station of Graduate within the Academy, and are granted their first taste of its many research resources. Many among these Graduates seek out jobs in Corporations, although those who stay often find their place as researchers within its numerous laboratories.
Undergraduates - The students of the Academy who have either passed a detailed Comprehensive Merit Exam granted to all those leaving their formative years from a City's public education or been granted their position with a family's contribution of wealth are brought into their City's respective Branch of the Academy as students who delve deeper into their field of choice in a highly rigorous trial that causes even more of those who have since gained entry to drop out. Tuition for the Academy is a highly expensive thing, and as such, dreaming of going to the Academy becomes a difficult task for many residents of the Outer Districts, though in certain uncommon circumstances an exceptional student may find themselves gaining scholarship or the patronage of a higher-ranked person within the academy.
The Babylonian Library
"Our Past Anchors us All"
The Library, centralized in New Babylon, consists of a group of custodians who preserve large buildings called Archives, that house large amounts of knowledge scavenged from data banks of the Old World. The Library’s searching teams sift through the ancient ruins on their expeditions outside to find and preserve what few artifacts they may find of the Old World, unlike those of the Academy that search for new heights within their laboratories. They seek to preserve Oneirum’s technologies in their Archives and to create alternatives, believing the fickle manner demonstrated by the Stork is beyond humanity’s control. To this end, they contract many people to work with them and turn in what they find and are a central source of income for many private contractors.
Babylonian Library Patents
Experimental Legend Extraction - A prototype technology currently being worked on by the Library, this process enables for a Legend from an Aberrant or human being to be extracted after the death of its original subject. The extracted version can then be placed inside of specialized equipment to enable other people to use a subset of its original effects. The technology is known to require hefty amounts of stabilized Oneirum batteries, and as such its accompanying equipment highly expensive to maintain.
Babylonian Library Hierarchy
Archive Masters - Heads of each branch Library for each City. Gathers periodically to discuss the direction and goals of the Library as a whole. Archive Masters are often equipped with an Implant affixed to their minds that automatically grants them full access to the knowledge stored within the respective Branch Library they command.
Head Librarians - Heads of Library divisions in each respective branch. Granted great authority and sway over the respective dealings of their department as administrative and elite agents. Each Head Librarian leads a single respective department called Curation, Maintenance, Data Management, Security, Shelving, and Education, in which they are additionally granted the titles Head Curator, Head Artefactor, Head Acquisitionist, Archaegis, Head Archivist, and Grand Magister.
Librarian Ream Grades - A-F, A levels are higher ranked, and F levels are lowest ranked. Typical workers, granted more clearance to use Extracted equipment as they rank up. Higher Reams gain leadership roles over their lower Ream librarians.
Firmament Corporation
"Harness the Star, Power the Future"
Firmament Corporation is a company centralized around its energy enterprise, managing the massive Central Reactors that form the most important positions in the Cities. Based in Dyon, the company hires only those who pass through its difficult screening tests and interviews that filter away all but the best among the Cities. Any information about the comings and goings within the company is heavily restricted, and those who work for it stubbornly refuse to disclose anything further than their “good working conditions.” It is still not uncommon for their employees to inexplicably disappear after signing on, though any attempts at charging them with responsibility simply fail with a message that the person was alive, safe, and sound. Firmament Corporation has also expanded itself into other industries, such as its Implant business which focuses on creating Implants that last with long battery life and energy efficiency.
Firmament Corporation Patents
Integrated Sub-battery - A small Implant typically placed into the user’s dominant hand. With its usage, one may use the sub-battery to charge the user’s handheld devices or their Implants, though it is utterly incompatible with GIB’s nerve-integrated Implants.
Plasma Weaponry - By releasing high amounts of electrical charge into a controlled structure, it is possible to produce plasma that may be employed in military applications, either in gout-launchers that spew plasma as one would bursts of flame, or contained structures that sacrifice its destructive potency for a more accurate weapon.
Charge Infusion - Allows for the usage of certain amounts of stunning electricity to be manifested on the edge of certain weapons that take upon the appearance of a lightning bolt wreathing its effector.
Overcharger - Infuse a certain Implant or device with an additional burst of energy that enhances the effect of its usage by an immense factor.
Energy Shielding - By projecting reflective fields of energy into geometric webs, incoming strikes and Storm currents may be deflected by the presence of a projected barrier.
Firmament Corporation Hierarchy
Executive Board - Group of rich leaders who guides the direction of the full company and votes to appoint new Chief Officers. Each Executive is also an officer of their own right, granted full authority over their own branch facilities so long as they remain in service of the company.
Chief Executive Officer - The figurehead leader of the whole corporation, though still holds much sway upon its movement. Think of this dynamic like a President and Congress of the US. May approve proposals made by managers and other executives or prevent them from moving on with a revocal order, although is largely restricted by the Board to ensure continued hold on the position.
Vice Heads - Second-in-commands of most Board Executives, although still hold vast influence over certain aspects of branch departments. Relay orders from higher Executive staff to lower grades.
Proctors - Managers of individual teams within the company tasked with the authority to command their underlings.
Specialists - More experienced employees with the company given tasks for the more tenured, and expected to teach their newer arrivals.
Agents - Individual employees of teams within the company handed down tasks by Proctors within a certain department.
General Implanted Bionics (GIB)
General Implanted Bionics, also known as GIB, is a prominent Implant manufacturer based in Perenost, and its inventions have remained trusted and widely used even after the Cataclysm. It was said that their company had preceded the fall of the Old World, and their neurally-linked Implants are known to have the least number of malfunctions recorded. It is said that the implants manufactured by GIB begin to feel like parts of the user’s body with enough use. Unlike Firmament Corporation, GIB is known to offer jobs to people even with lower credentials, though its Product Testers usually find themselves signing long and convoluted contracts that eventually result in a small sum of “condolence funding” for their families. The company holds many interests in objects found in the Warrens, though certain strange requests may involve retrieving Implants from corpses in the depths.
GIB Patents
Neural Subprocessor - By implanting an additional computer into the recipient’s head, the user’s thoughts may be additionally accelerated by transferring certain processes to the added hardware.
Synaptic Overloader - Enhancement of a user’s internal nerve firings may enhance their quick reaction speed, although the effects of usage cause strain to the user’s mind.
Limit Breaker - By suppressing the user’s innate instinctual pain avoidance, the user may exert strength that far exceeds that of before, though at the cost of needless recklessness.
Memory Replicator - By extracting certain memories from others, it is possible to transmit memories to their full extent as a digital representation, allowing for knowledge to be quickly transferred between different people.
Muscle-Assistive Fibers - With a harsh replacement surgery that removes the muscle fibers of human limbs and replaces them with an intricate system of metallic fibers carefully linked to the nervous system, Implants of this nature enable for users to exhibit feats of strength that far outmatch that of other people, though many such users have reported pain or soreness stemming from the Implant's adhesion layers to the rest of their bodies.
Arkworth Pharmaceuticals
Arkworth Pharmaceuticals is centralized around Metem and focuses on producing medicines, sedatives, and many essentials for medical treatment. The company conducts top-notch medical experiments within its facilities, funded by revenue generated from sales of its medicines and services at its hospitals. Hidden beneath lines upon lines of contractual language, those who seek treatment from their facilities also opt into medical studies involving their problem, which the company takes little responsibility for any negative outcomes following them. Arkworth primarily employs the Academy for its medical and research staff and refuses all underqualified applicants. Though they hold little interest in most artifacts from the Warrens and the outside, old storages of nanite pods or other similar objects are of great interest to the company, and sell for more at their branches than to most other companies.
Arkworth Pharmaceuticals Patents
Nanotriage - With a small injection of this substance near a recipient’s wound, it will immediately release a colony of medical nanobots to help heal the patient’s wounds to a minor degree. Given the nanobots’ low life capacity after repairing the wound, the process is quick, though will do little more than staunch the bleeding and prevent further spread on greater wounds. Despite this, it may still be key to saving one’s life in a bind.
Storm Panacea - The effects of ingesting too much of the rampant Oneirum in the atmosphere from having an extended stay beyond the Containment Fields projected by the Walls may cause negative health effects, such as an increased risk of Aberrancy or corruption, unexplained pains, or altered biology, among many other potential life-altering effects remains an issue for most caravaneers traveling beyond the Walls. The Storm Panacea is capable of suppressing such effects to the point of reversing them in the case of lesser stages of Storm Disease and is also capable of curing many other diseases that afflict the human population.
Mutagen - Though A-Corp may be a manufacturer of medicines for treating Storm Disease, it may be noted that they are also capable of creating substances that may exert a similar effect, and in a far more concentrated manner than that of continuous exposure. Mutagens are developed for this purpose, to modify the human body on a genetic level to accept certain traits that have been discovered since the wake of the Storm. Some reports have stated that injection of a Mutagen, though capable of producing far greater and more concentrated effects than that of a typical Oneirum-granted ability, has driven its users mad with usage.
Cyberkend
Another prominent Implant manufacturer based in Lind, primarily exports prosthetic replacements for humans or other modifications for Synthetics. They hold a reputation for creating durable and multi-purpose hardware, though typically, the lack of a proper neural link makes them somewhat cumbersome for most humans. Some say Synthetics are more suited for using Cyberkend’s devices, as their adaptations to electronic powering require little added cost. Aside from its products, it is also known to search for the remnants of the old robotics factories of Harkemann above anything else or buy any of its artifacts for a high price. It is said its chief executive believes strongly in transforming humanity to Synthetic forms as the next step of evolution.
Cyberkend Patents
Duralloy Manufacturing - This marvelous alloy is a product of combining regular Earth materials with a carefully regulated alteration powered by Oneirum. The result is a powerful metal many times more durable than the strongest of steel and far more resistant to heat. Though Duralloy’s mystical origins do mean that it requires an additional source of Oneirum at hand, due to its unnatural origins.
Nanorepair Modules - A reverse-engineered technology taken from the Harkemann Robotics self-repair modules on its Synthetics. Nanorepair Modules from Cyberkend can rapidly repair objects, though require a readily available supply of raw or processed materials nearby.
Motor-Assisted Skeletal Systems - By replacing several parts of the human body with motorized movement systems, it is possible to accelerate and strengthen the human body's movements such that they may bear loads that far supercede a human's typical limits.
Hermes Transportation Solutions
Centered around Pallantium, Hermes Transportation Solutions provides and maintains crucial systems that bind together the Cities, from the Teleportation Pads to inter-city hover ships and hyperrail services. The company also sells armored vehicles for expeditions to the Outside and is also known for its advancements in Containment Field technology only rivaled by the Old World’s projection screens behind which the Cities cower from the Storm. Despite its large reach, its employees for the large part consist of public transportation operators, and it shows little interest in delving into the Old World, though many companies do business with them to venture beyond the Walls.
Hermes Transportation Solutions Patents
Integrated Thruster Modules - By applying small, micro-sized, thruster modules into a body, it is possible to accelerate a person’s movements with a thruster’s assistance.
Integrated Fuelpods - A set of small and high-efficiency batteries that provide enhanced energy storage best for usage with the energy-consuming thrusters used by H-Corp’s Implants.
Hovership Manufacturing - What one may consider a car that flies, the Hovership is a versatile mobile unit that may fly up to thirty feet off of the ground and continue to retain its typical horizontal velocity.
Hyperrail Train Systems - For the facilitation of fast travel within sprawling Cities, Hyperrail systems enable extremely quick travel between specific stations spread across them.
Teleportation Modules - Powerful devices capable of facilitating instantaneous travel between two specific locations marked by Teleportation Anchors. Though the risks are relatively low, there have been certain incidents involving faulty transports that have either resulted in a vanished passenger or a far more gruesome result.
Titan Courier Services
Centered around Satria Majori, Titan Courier Services enables the transportation of goods quickly and efficiently across the sprawling landscapes of the Cities. The company seems to enable its own manners of vehicles, employing large hoverships of their own construction, said to be a modernized version of the archaic blimp once employed in the ancient days that predated even the Old World. Many of their administrative and warehouse services are held in the midst of the sky in a given City’s Central districts, where deliveries are sent by drone carriers. Their drones seem to follow a similar design pattern as those of Iris Association, implying a close connection between the companies for the Patent Office to not have stepped in between yet.
Titan Courier Services Patents
Levitator Field Emitter - By projecting a series of overlapping energy fields, these handy objects are capable of lifting even the heaviest objects into the air with a minuscule expenditure of power, enabling for easy travel through the air without height restriction. Although, one notes that such objects are typically not very maneuverable.
Carrier Drone - A large, yet agile, flying drone capable of transporting packages placed inside kept in complete stasis to ensure that all transported objects are transferred in pristine condition. As such, one may note that they hold technologies that can preserve an object’s condition perfectly.
Stasis Prism - A small prism of an object that can capture a target and hold it in complete suspended animation. Outside effects may not affect the imprisoned object until either the Prism runs out of energy, or its outer container is damaged, which remains to be rather difficult due to the Prism itself’s permanence. Individuals trapped within the Prism continue to experience time, though are utterly unable to do anything while inside its confines. As such, this technology is employed well with numerous Authority security forces in the case of particularly dangerous individuals. The Stasis Prisms require a large apparatus for use, typically in the shape of a heavy levitator ship equipped with state-of-the-art energy generation mediums, due to its massive size and immense energy cost.
Onelight Soft Systems
As Yangshan's headquartered corporation, this company provides much of the software services and Network maintenance across the Cities. With their main servers placed in Yangshan, the company also maintains various broadcasting systems to maintain connection across the Cities, and has been granted a significant amount of power due to its control over the remnants of the worldwide Network. Onelight also involves itself deeply into the entertainment industry through its subsidiary companies, managing many news distribution channels, live broadcasting, online gaming, and various other services.
Onelight Soft Systems Patents
Terminal - With a Terminal, it provides a connection to the Network for Aberrants, and offers greater computing power than a typical birth Implant or built in Synthetic processor. Terminals act much like a portable computer, consisting of a small device that projects a larger screen into a holographic interactive device.
Metatransmitter - A series of Metatransmitter relays may rapidly transfer information from one endpoint to another. Each relay is large, and requires a significant amount of space and maintenance to ensure continued transmission efficiency, although these constructions enable the continued speed and integrity of the Network.
Neurointerface Pod - Constructed in a joint venture with GIB’s neurally-integrated Implantation technology, this kind of pod enables for a person’s senses to be converted entirely into a digital avatar, enabling for complete immersion into digital spaces for training purposes, or for high-end entertainment experiences.