Miscellaneous Knowledge
Certain terms and information that may be widely known in the Cities may not be as easily categorized into other forms. As such, certain bits of otherwise unrelated information known by many City residents have been collected into one repository to ensure better organization.
The Storm and the Cataclysm
The Cataclysm represents the terrible events of nearly fifty years past that ended the Old World. From a yet-unknown cause that caused the destabilization of the many commercial-grade earthside Oneirum containment facilities, the resulting sudden release of concentrated Oneirum recreated the world according to the many latent “wishes” that were strewn across its hundreds of thousands of years of history. All of those wishes, legends, myths, and stories were exacted across the world’s surface at once and caused the fall of the civilization that once had reached into the stars. The following events created the Storm, which refers to the world-spanning cloud of Oneirum that manifests itself as the impenetrable clouds that have blotted away the sun’s rays. The Storm is the remnant of the Cataclysm, and their altering effects are largely the same, although one may note that the Storm that continues to rage now has far decreased in its raging power than that of the Cataclysm.
The Storm's altering effects on a living body and their symptoms thereof are termed as an affliction by the name of Storm Disease, in which prolonged or heightened exposure to the escaped Oneirum that suffuses much of the world beyond City Walls bring irreversible changes to the bodies affected by them. Oftentimes, such changes are mutations of bodies as a result of a mythical entity manifesting into existence with a living body as a medium, where in many cases, one may note that such mutations result in biologically-integrated crystalline growths that manifest on or within the body. Mutations caused by advanced cases of Storm Disease are often fatal, for such mutations cause such great changes to one's physiology that it becomes impossible for one's body to work around. Cases of Storm Disease are different when considering Aberrants or Synthetics, where Aberrants may find themselves feeling severely uncomfortable when exposed for long periods of time, although may not obtain mutations Human would.
The Warrens
Though the surface of the world has changed the most since the inception of the Storm, its depths remain riddled with the remnants of the ancient cities. The Warrens are no less affected by the rampant Oneirum that rushes through the sky, despite being underground, for the only surface that Oneirum may not penetrate is that of the Containment Fields projected by the Walls. Most scavenging Contractors prefer to search the Warrens, rather than the great wilderness and blasted landscape of the Outside beyond the Walls, though statistics from the Library’s publicized research have stated that Caravaneers and Dive Contractors have rather similar death rates in the field. Though the Warrens may not contain beasts of proportions as titanic or insurmountable as those of the Outside, it is not a place of peace either. Much like the land above, the Warrens are also heavily altered by the Storm’s passage, and between those rusting girders crawl beasts no less sinister, hunting for the lives of those who dared intrude into their land. The Warrens, with their decaying floors and the forgotten remnants of the ancient era, are no less hostile themselves to their intruders, as accidents ranging from collapsing floors to rogue automated defense systems remain common for Dive Contractors. Despite these myriad dangers, people continue to search its depths, searching for the few valuable artifacts that may turn even the poorest man into a wealthy tycoon, or for unspeakable power never before seen in the world. They say that those who survive its deepest levels come back forever changed.
The Walls and the Gates
The Walls are the sole protection against the wrath of the Storm that wreathes the Outside in an endless cycle of chaotic rebirth. It is the shield that protects the populace from the dangers of Storm Disease, and from the terrible beings that walk the blasted lands of an Earth no longer ruled by people. The Walls are constructed of the remains of many ancient structures, and as some may see, these ramshackle constructions have been crafted of the bits and pieces of ancient towers and great structures, and not as a singular entity. Some say that the bulk of Dyon’s Walls were constructed from the hull plating of a mothballed starship. The Walls are equipped with powerful Containment Fields salvaged from ancient Oneirum storage facilities that project a dome of protection that protects against the Storm, though despite continued maintenance efforts by the Bureau of Civic Maintenance, it is clear that they have slowly been failing; those that live close to the edges of the Cities have reportedly been at far greater risk of Storm Disease. The Gates are the entrances to and from the Outside. These entrances are heavily guarded by the Bureau of Security’s soldiers, and so too are the heights of the Walls. Certain large towers may be visible from looking at the Walls from within, within which house the Bureau of Security’s soldiers who guard the Cities from Outside invaders, or those who have succumbed to the Storm Disease.
Contractors and Diving
Contractors are those who venture into the Warrens, typically those in search of riches and lost artifacts from the Old World, though some Contractor jobs have included accompanying Caravaneer trains to the Outside and hunts for specific dangerous entities within the Warrens. They are largely composed of a poorer sort, those desperate enough to risk their lives in search of the promise of treasure. Many Contractors organize themselves into Associations, which provide numerous benefits to those who align with them, which may include things ranging from weaponry, lodging, necessities, and insurance in case of death. However, some continue to act as individual Contractors, preferring their freedom of contractual decisions rather than leaving it to their managers. Death is a common sight for those who work such jobs, as even the Outer Districts themselves preserve a modicum of protection from the inexplicable phenomena that may happen beyond the protection of the Walls. Many Contractors commonly refer to their exploits in the Warrens as “Dives.”
The Network
A relic of the ancient age that persists in the current one, the Network is a medium that resembles the ancient Internet. It is where information is primarily circulated and can be easily accessed so long as one remains within the bounds of the City. The birth-given Oneirum regulation unit for Humans is usually outfitted with a connection with the Network, allowing many people to access it with a flick of their mind’s desire, while for Synthetics, the connection to the Network is also built into their systems as a small and barely visible antenna that may be spotted on the right side of their heads if one looks closely. Aberrants, however, are not typically born with such easy access to the Network, though such concerns are quickly alleviated with the existence of Network Terminals that enable tactile access so long as one holds a registered citizenship status within one of the Cities.