The Neutral City of Cilt

Formally named “Neutral City of Cilt”, and commonly called “Cilt”. It is a society comformed of hybrids and humans who did not agree with the radical decisions of the Metropolis, and decided to create a society on their own. Here, both species have the same rights and obligations, and live in peace and harmony, in contrast with their permanent conflict with Vortex and poachers on neutral lands. Cilt is ruled by four leaders; two humans and two hybrids, thus creating the Council of Leaders. Their society is organized in a ranks system that determines the duties of the citizens that chose to belong to one or more ranks. The citizens of Cilt live completely separated from the influence of the Metropolis, and have a relatively quiet life as they belong the only truly neutral faction, and the one that maintains the balance between the two extremist powers that are the Metropolis and the Vortex.

Its symbol is a black flag with a white-lined, black orchid in its center, surrounded by white olive garlands.

History of Cilt

It is the year 2100, the beginning of the 22nd century. The Vortex Accident has finished consuming the Metropolis, and those who managed to escape in time gathered in groups, and explored the forest in search of a place to set up a temporary camp so they could plan their trip to safer lands, where both hybrids and humans can be in peace. During their journey, the travelers found an abandoned city in the middle of the forest, and decided to turn it into a refugee camp.

The refugees settled comfortably in the city, and considered the idea of making this place their new home instead of continuing to search. Those who decided to stay began to question to themselves: Who is going to lead us?

This question caused arguments and conflicts between hybrids and humans. The hybrids wanted one of their own to rule in order to compensate for the exploitation that humans had imposed on them. And the humans wanted to put one of their own in charge, as they were still unsure about trusting a hybrid after what happened in the Vortex accident. These discussions, naturally, resulted in conflict.

During this time of social unrest, a hybrid between all refugees began to gain popularity among his kind. This hybrid was a Ferrari La Ferrari called Darius. This hybrid slowly gained the trust of both hybrids and humans due to his philosophy that favored dialogue over conflict. Despite his popularity, not everyone considered him trustworthy enough to govern an entire community.

Taking advantage of this time of political dispute, Neyzan himself saw an opportunity to try to convince Darius to join his cause, or kill him if he refused to obey him. But Neyzan made the mistake of thinking he could do it alone. After all, “He was the son of the Hybrid". But Darius was stronger, and his good will would not be corrupted by Neyzan, and he defeated the leader of the Vortex on a bloody fight, leaving him alive to send a message to every Vortex in the neutral lands.

Darius emerged victorious, and with that victory he earned the respect and loyalty of all those who ever doubted him, thus making Darius the first leader of Cilt. After that, the other three Leaders were chosen, and the ranks system was implemented, transforming that refugee camp into the place we now know as Cilt.

Rank system

Cilt is organized in a hierarchy known as "The Rank System". A "rank" is a symbol that represents the specialty, the place in the hierarchy, and the labor and responsabilities a citizen takes in this society. Ranks are optional and citizens are not forced to belong to a specific rank if they do not wish to do it. Both hybrids and humans can have more than one rank, but that also means having more responsabilities. Citizens display their ranks as tattoos in a visible part of their body. Rank tattoos can be either black, white, and some of them can be red.

Leader

The Leaders have as their main objectives the organization of all ranks, the management of Cilt's laws, external relations with other cities and alliances, decision-making in favor of the city itself, and the responsibility to guarantee safety and good quality of life to the citizens. Being a Leader is not a privilege, does not grant superior treatment to the rest of the citizens; there are simply more responsibilities.

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Hunter

They are in charge of hunting animals in the forest and bring the hunt to Cilt, so the citizens can have enough resources. They also patrol important points around the limits of the city, and explore abandoned places in search of useful things and to expand Cilt's hunting territory, always disputed by Vortex and neutral hybrids. Even though it is possible for them to encounter Vortex during their duty, it's not their job to attack them if the situation doesn't put their life at risk. It's the most popular rank due it's moderate risk and the attractive work opportunities it provides.

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Warrior

This rank is exclusively in charge of neutralizing, defeating, or killing Vortex and extremist humans and poachers, depending on the situation and the orders given by the Council of Leaders of Cilt. Is by far the most dangerous duty in Cilt, and the least popular for the same reasons. Many people on Cilt tend to despise this rank due the fact that it is the only rank that is allowed to have ex-Vortex hybrids and humans who once were exiled from Cilt, but in one way or another, the Leaders had given them a second chance as Warriors for the rest of their lives. Ex-Vortex are only allowed to have the Warrior rank, but Cilt citizens that have not been exiled before are able to have any other rank along with the Warrior rank.

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Scientist

The Scientist rank is maybe one of the most complex just after the Leader rank. It covers all kind of tecnological, medical, and ambiental research, and work along with the Hunters in the search of documents and books that can help them with their investigations, along with field research outside of Cilt when needed. Inside the Scientist's facilities is a huge command room in charge to track and give support to all Hunters and Warriors on duty and also the ubication of the Vortex that have been seen wandering near to Cilt's territory.

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Medic

The Medics, as it's name says, are in charge of the medical attention on Cilt available for hybrid and human citizens, and also for people who don't share Cilt's ideologies and stays as refugees for a brief period of time until they continue their trip. Medics needs to be comfortable attending to both hybrids and humans, because knowing both different anatomies is an essentiial part of the training. This rank, along with the Scientist rank, are in charge of the genetic bank, which stores DNA samples of every hybrid on Cilt with the purpose of one day developing a so needed technology to create hybrid embryos in the laboratory and increasing the hybrid's population, which has started to decrease considerably after the Vortex Accident.

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Levels of training

All ranks (except the Leader rank) are obtained in levels, each level being represented as an individual part of the design of each rank. Once the citizen has completed the required training, they will obtain the full rank. Every rank has different levels, and one must reach the maximum level of such rank to be able to fullfil their duties.

Hunter: 4 levels
Warrior: 2 levels
Scientist: 5 levels
Medic: 5 levels

High ranks (rank leaders and sub-leaders)

Aside from the levels of each rank, there is a visual indicator of the authority of some individuals with a higher status and responsability inside their own individual rank structure. These indicators are two horizontal stripes placed on top of a rank. One stripe indicates that this individual is a sub-leader and has a higher position in the hierarchy than normal ranked individuals, and there can be multiple sub-leaders. Two stripes indicates this individual is a rank leader (not to confuse with the Leaders of Cilt) There can only be one leader for each rank, and they are the maximum authority of the rank they belong to.

Special ranks (Red ranks)

There exists some ranks that are just obtained on very specific ways, or have a special function inside their own organization. These are the special ranks, AKA the red ranks, because these are the only ranks that uses red ink aside from red Vortex marks. Currently there are only two special ranks:

Squad Captain: Given to a Hunter who belongs to a full squad and serves as the head of such squad, they are also the most skilled individual on the team.
Honorary Warrior: Obtained when a citizen who is not currently a Warrior makes an extraordinary effort to preserve the peace and defend Cilt and its citizens in difficult times, sacrificing their well being for the greater good.

Hierarchy tree

Council of Leaders: Comformed by a human male, a human female, a hybrid male, and a hybrid female. Only 4 individuals can hold the Leader rank at the same time, forming the Council of Leaders of Cilt. When a Leader dies, or is unable to fulfill their role, a new Leader is chosen to take their place.
Rank Leaders: They are the heads of each rank. The rank leaders make sure the sub-leaders are doing their job correctly, as they report directly to the Council of Leaders. There can only be one rank leader for each rank.
Rank sub-leaders: They make sure the working teams of each rank are doing their job correctly, and they report their activities to the rank leaders. There can be multiple sub-leaders on each rank, depending on the number of citizens currently active on each rank. There is approximately one sub-leader for every twenty ranked citizens.
Red ranks: The only two red variants of ranks are those belonging to the Hunter Squad Captain, and the Honorary Warrior titles. Captains are those who lead their own hunting teams on their missions on neutral lands, while Honorary Warriors are functionally the same as normal Warriors, with the difference that this individual has done something worth the admiration of other Warriors, gaining status and respect from their comrades as a way to thank for their service, making it more likely for them to lead a team of Warriors in the future, or even become a sub-leader.
Full rank: Citizens who has finished their training succesfully get to wear the full ranks on their skin, and are formally introduced to the duties of each rank.
Trainees: Citizens who are in process of training for a rank. They serve as assistants for the full ranked individuals in the meantime.
Unranked citizens: They comform the bast majority of Cilt's population with around 60% of citizens being unranked. Unranked citizens are the main working force of Cilt, as they keep the population well fed and taken care of. Despite being at the bottom of the hierarchy, they are the backbone of Cilt's social structure, and without them all the ranks system would colapse.

The Vortex mark

This symbol is known as "The Vortex Mark". It isn't a rank, but shares some qualities with these, such as the way they are displayed as tattoos, and that they use the same special ink. However, this tattoo in only given to those who are considered too dangerous to live in the city, and have been given the maximum penalty Cilt can force into those who put others in danger; the dreaded exile, and the permanent marking. Those who wear the mark are called Vortex, and cannot expect respect from Cilt citizens. Both hybrids and humans can be branded with the Vortex mark if required. Hybrids are marked on the head and sides of the body, and humans get both hands tattooed with the unmistakable symbol of the Vortex.

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Folklore and Traditions

The Spring Flowers Festival

As soon as the first wild flowers defeat the snow and start to bloom, Cilt celebrates the end of Winter and the beginning of the long awaited Spring. Flowers are very appreciated in Cilt, (for its own flag displays one) they are a symbol of hope and resilience, and citizens celebrate this crafting elaborated ornaments and crowns made of the wild flowers that infest the neutral lands every Spring. It is common practice to gift a flower crown/ornament to every person you are thankful for, and not giving away any flower is considered rude. Aside from gifting flowers, citizens can also be seen exchanging goods and food with their neighbors, spending time outdoors, and is also around the time single hybrids start their search for a partner to spend the Summer with.

Art by: Squishy-Lambo (DA) Winner of the Spring Festival 2021

The Summer Zeingen

This celebration takes place at the beginning of each Summer and normally has a duration of one month, tho the event can hold on longer if citizens are still participating for so long. The beginning of Summer is celebrated in the form of a festival with many different games where both hybrids and humans can participate. But the jewel of the crown is the fight tournament, where citizens engage in friendly fighting rounds to determine who is the best. The tournament takes place at the fittingly-called "Zeingen pit", an open arena specifically dug out to hold the annual fighting tournament. The champion of The Zeingen gets to hold their title for the rest of the year, and a feast is celebrated in their honor.

The recruitment

Around the months of August and September takes place a gathering at downtown Cilt where representatives of each rank holds a demostration of their jobs with the porpuse of attracting new trainees to joing their rank, for this period of time is the only time on the year they can acept new trainees. Once applications are closed, new trainees are presented in front of the whole population of Cilt at the Stone Podium, and citizens who has completed their training on that year will leave their mark at the pillars of the Podium.

Art by: Hakken-R (DA) Beta reader of canon material

The Winter Zeingen

Just like the Summer Zeingen, this event has the duration of one month, and aside from having the usual battle tournament at the Zeingen pit, now citizens are able to play a variety of winter-themed games and activities, as well as the proper holiday celebrations.

Snow storms can be ruthless, and for that reason Cilt citizens organize to donate food and medicine, and even offer temporal shelter to neutral hybrids and travelers who knock at the doors of the city in search of help. Aside from that, the Warriors also make an effort to bring food to different clans of hybrids in the vast neutral lands, including Vortex, who are too debilitated by Winter that do not represent a danger to those Warriors. These acts of kindness has kept a relative peace between independent Vortex clans and Cilt for years, so that's why they keep doing it.

Economy

Cilt's fragile economy sustains itself by the help of the European Metropolis, thanks to the called "Accords of Cilt", a document that estipulates that the E.M. must provide Cilt with food, medicine and the required technology to hold their society, and in exchange, Cilt would dedicate half of its military forces to protect the E.M.'s borders from Vortex attacks, all of this while E.M. citizens are unaware of these accords, and Cilt is seen by "just a variant of the Vortex" by those living in the Metropolis. The way Cilt is still able to hold its economy despite all of this, depends on several factors:

The work tax: Every Cilt citizen has access to free food, housing, medical care and access to information, but they must earn this, and for that reason, it has been estipulated that a work tax must be fulfilled by every citizen in order for them to obtain the free benefits the city provides. This work tax can either be fullfilled by belonging to a rank, or working as an unranked citizen on everyday jobs that can keep the city well fed and taken care of.

E.M.'s Units: The currency of the European Metropolis is called a Unit, and it's value has decreased since the Vortex Accident. Despite Cilt being away from the E.M. many citizens still use Units to buy and sell stuff inside Cilt, tho it isn't an usual practice. Units are trully useful when "messengers" are sent to the E.M. to infiltrate in the city and obtain things that are not sent in the usual shipments. A messenger is a human Hunter or Warrior who is sent under cover to the E.M. to deliver letters, buy things that are ordered by citizens using their saved Units, and being informants of the situation of the E.M.

Barter market: In downtown Cilt there is a place where citizens are able to showcase different items they have up for sale in order to exchange them for other items, food, services or Units. There you can find almost anything, since useless trinkets to pieces of art and technology, tho the products sold there are usually low quality, and you would be lucky if you can find exactly what you need. Citizens who are able to get out of the city and explore ruins in search of new items are the most benefited by selling those in the barter market.

Outside business: It's not a surprise to know that the Council of Leaders has made business with outsiders who has provided Cilt with equipment and weapons in exchange of favors. Despite the best efforts of the Leaders to keep these exchanges at a minimum, sometimes they dont have another option, other than keeping a good business relationship intead of letting them sell that same equipment to Cilt's enemies.

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