- Tens of Millions of Inhabitants
Heras is the home of the
Elysium Protectorate
Originally a fractured planet of city-states ruled by their respective Khans, an MES storm brought a task force under
Cyrus Adonis from
Creusa. Some people believe the rumor that it was at the behest of a metadimensional will called Ares, but these reports have not been confirmed.
The Protectorate united the planet, wresting the cities and towns one by one from their ruling Khans. The planet was finally brought to heel when the Khan of Janusus was overthrown by the people and elected to join the Protectorate.
At the center of the planet, the charred remains of a giant tree mark the location of what was once the site of a titanic battle between the Khans, and a force of evil known only as The Overlord. This site was later bombarded from orbit by self-styled 'Warmaster' Cyrus Adonis, despite dozens of warnings from ship officers and army commanders. The bombardment was to no one's surprise off its mark, and the garden, Cyrus, and his grand army were atomized. Many thought the tree was entirely lost as a direct result of the bombardment, but signs of life were seen from afar in July 2670. It is rumored the Layzal and a Noctua Protectorate agent were involved in its slow restoration.
In orbit around Heras sits the station known as Heras One which is now the epicenter of the Elysium Protectorates political power. All who wish to visit the planet must seek permission on Heras One first.
Ghouls and other hostile wildlife frequent the world even with the advance of civilization across its frontiers. Those who perished on Heras prior to December 2668 needed to have their brains destroyed, lest they rise from their graves after death.
This curse- known as the Overlord Curse- was dispelled in December 2668 by a team of Protectorate agents sponsored by both the Polity and by the emergent Church of
Ognyena.
Of the cities on the surface, the following is known:
Artema- The city of Artema is a large city that has all the features of an industrial scale Motte and Bailey settlement. A walled town occupies a hilltop reached by traveling a long road up, while a second hill or specifically landscaped peak of the same very large hill features a walled causeway and a keep with a dominating view of the countryside. This old style architecture has been brought into the age of modernity with sensor towers, anti aircraft gun batteries , wall mortars , lookouts , and the occasional passing aircraft. Farms occupy the low spaces around the hill and those homesteads likewise all look to be generating their own power or getting it from the city.
Persepha- is a river city, straddling a large lake and two powerful rivers heading out to the ocean that borders the entire pangea like continent the planet is famous for. Dense woodlands surround its southern and western reaches, while the swamplands over the river to the north are a place of alleged haunting and intense spiritual activity.
The city itself is characterized by canals and streets in equal measure, with locks, walls, and brightly painted buildings being its principal features. Little thought has been given to the actual planning of its streets. As one of the very first settlements on planet, several hundred years of sprawl have created an almost organic like city where the streets have not been planned but if you follow one for long enough you will end up exactly where you were meaning to go. The locals have almost an innate knowledge of the sprawl here, and something that makes for inefficiency and crime is also the city's greatest defense in the event of an invasion, and no Khan has ever tried to reorganize the city into anything resembling modern city planning.
Janusius- is the crossroads of the southern river system and they are known for their heavy armor formations. Wide plains surround the city to the west and east dotted with many tributary villages. Those villages have their own mayors and systems of home rule which are allowed to continue so long as militias are maintained, tithes and taxes regularly come in to both the Khan and the Protectorate, and fealty is otherwise paid in the proper amounts. The city itself has many modern roadways and bridges and the city is lined with transportation infrastructure. Tall buildings overlook the roads and canal systems inside the city and warehouses occupy the river crossings all over the settlement allowing goods to be shipped both further west and east.
Its people are hard working and industrious, but the city makes little of its own goods, instead making money as a transportation and logistics hub in exchange for what it needs.
There are elements of organized crime in the city who rip off warehouses and barges, and river pirates are known to lurk in the area as well to prey on vulnerable shipping.
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