Technological Disparity In Tairos

Miserable world, yes, weak and soft. Not a single planetary shield generator. If not for so much magic, invasion would make it ours. As below, so above.

— Musing of a Xikhani from Black Mark Acquisition

  Tairos has always been a land filled with a wide array of different kingdoms and cultures, but for most of its history The Nature of Magic has been a sort of balancing factor. For example, the Elves of Melanthris have had relatively small populations compared to those of other species, but their mastery of magic has balanced he scales of power. A single elven archmage was of equal value to an entire battalion of Balmoran soldiers. Even in modern Tairos, this example holds true, where a small school of student magicians and their teachers saved Frial from an icy disaster at the hands of Seagravia Gelt.   College of Magic was a cross-continental organization that helped maintain the balance of magical proficiency, ensuring that no one nation ever eclipsed the others in power. Critics of the College would say they were just stunting the progress of every nation's magical study, so they alone could be the arbiters of power. Whatever the truth, it's now lost along with all other organized magic thanks to The Queen's Rebuke. In the last three centuries since the aftermath of the Queen's War and the Silence of the Gods, the surviving nations of Tairos have had to develop new methods for continuing. This is where technology and the sciences have stepped in to fill the void.   Most nations had become reliant on magic entirely to function, thanks to The Autumn Queen and her gift of Manacite. With the Fae betrayal and the eventual impact of the Rebuke, magic became increasingly impossible to rely on. Many nations, such as Ghal Pelor, had infrastructure in place that utilized manacite as fuel. Things like sewer pumps, streetlights, and many more suddenly became starved for fuel. Frostmere made extensive use of magic to fuel their great tree and commune with their ancestors, and Totem. The dwarves of Ghal Ankhar used magic in their forges and to stabilize their mountain halls.   Below is a summary of all Tairos' major nations, including their general level of technology, their attitude towards it, and their rate of advancement. Most citizens are only familiar with the technology of their homeland and perhaps that of their neighbors.    

Melanthris

Technology Level: Low Attitude: Belittled Advancement Rate: Stagnant   Melanthris is generally considered the capital of all things magical. They have always shunned technological advancement and sciences in favor of mastering magic. Even today, in the face of magic's twilight, they have decided to lean into the acquisition and hoarding of manacite rather than find alternate means of survival. Rumors persist that Melanthris' dedication to maintaining its magical luxury is such that they've begun planning to "annex" regions like Tengu Town, the Dread Forge ruins near Ghal Ankhar, and even the Brisbane neighborhood in Ghal Pelor - all places flush with manacite.    

Frostmere

Technology Level: Moderate Attitude: Reluctant Advancement Rate: Slow   Survival and isolation are the pride of the Frostmerite people, but swallowing their pride, turning to technology after the Rebuke was a painful notion to embrace. While the profiteering Rylanders have offered up their Steamtech on several occasions, it has always been turned down. Instead, the Frostmerites have developed their own sciences. Crude and simple, in some cases even stolen and adapted, but theirs all the same. Thus far it has been deployed in the form of piping that runs the length of their city, supplying steam to heat their homes. A second system supplies freshly melted ice water. Furnaces burn across the city to supply the steam and pump the water, making these systems vital to the city's survival.    

Ghal Pelor

Technology Level: High Attitude: Enthusiastic Advancement Rate: Steady   Part of Ghal Pelor's success story involves embracing every culture and new idea. That includes technology. The dwarves who live here contributed their pumping technology, which kept their mountain homes dry. The young refugees from Carda carried with them some of their nation's technological legacy and the science that made them possible. The youth in Ghal Pelor refer to the city's ever-increasing technological aesthetic as "steampunk", as life increasingly adopts steamtech, invention, and innovation. The wonder of magic is still present, Ghal Pelor does have manacite reserves and manacite brokers aplenty. Yet, the reality is clear: even with the Tengu in Brisbane, magic's time is running short.    

The Stormlands

Technology Level: Low Attitude: Coveted Advancement Rate: Predatory   The Stormlands is a difficult place, devoid of all the comforts most nations enjoy. This includes the resources needed to build anything lasting or meaningful. They aren't predators by choice; they're predators because they have little other choice but to be. Magic is preferable, it's easier, and oddly, it's more understood by their people. Technology is complex, difficult, and requires expertise. As preferred as magic or manacite would be, the Stormlanders' raids are turning up less and less valuable magic. However, Tengu or Rylander is slowly spreading to all corners of the continent. Violence and cruelty is the avenue that delivers it into the hands of the Stormlanders.    

Tengu Town

Technology Level: Extreme Attitude: Necessity Advancement Rate: Cataclysmic   Tengu have been in Tairos for less than a century, and in that time, they've filled (some say exploited) a hole that's been vacant since the time of the fae. Tengu possess an acumen for blending the arcane and science together, and one of the fruits of that labor is Reaping (Artificial Manacite Creation). Tengu sciences have all benefited from their harnessing of electricity as well. This power fuels their city, their creations, and their weaponry. While the Tengue continue to advance their sciences and worm their way into the good graces of the other nations, they're hiding a terrible secret. Their technology is toxic, highly toxic, especially Reaping. Where The Autumn Queen was able to convert Tairos' leylines into manacite the Tengu convert living matter into manacite all while spreading radioactive devastation. Even if the other nations knew the truth, it's uncertain whether they would care. Many would prefer to return to manacite reliance rather then forge a new way forward. The Tengu are happy to accommodate this continued and destructive addiction.    

Ghal Ankhar

Technology Level: Moderate Attitude: Conservative Advancement Rate: Withering   The mountain dwarves are a people who have been in a steady state of decay for centuries. The war with the fae shattered their kingdom and caused a schism within their culture. Many of the best and brightest left seeking prosperity in Ghal Pelor. Others dedicated themselves to the ideals of Cinderstone and became the Duergar. What remained in the mountain were those who valued the old traditions. This includes smithing, metallurgy, stonework, chemistry, and a simplified version of steam technology and machinery similar to that of Rylan. Their mountain home is filled with massive boilers, furnaces, forge complexes, and chemistry labs. As effective as their sciences are, they lack a desire to innovate. Tradition forces their hand, and changes that would impact their culture are frowned upon. Ultimately, they believe their old ways are best and that for their people to survive, they must return to them, not stray further.    

Talbot

Technology Level: Low Attitude: Fearful Advancement Rate: Shunned   Once, technology was as appreciated as art or magic here. The Talboti even explored blending the two, forming a respectful tradition of artificers here. Thanks to their closeness with the gnomes of Carda, they even managed a level of clockwork dabbling. This all changed after the Rebuke and the warping effect it had on Talbot. Their passions, including that for technology, all crumbled and were quickly replaced with fear of anything from the outside world. Technology is shunned and believed to be as likely a source of doom as anything from the Queen's Scar Woods    

Baradrad

Technology Level: Low Attitude: Indifferent Advancement Rate: Desireless   Baradrad, since its inception, has been fully dedicated to magic. While the perils of this path are ever-present (the destruction of Skyrir, the Plague of Undeath, and of course the Queen's Rebuke), the Baradradi have committed themselves to a future with magic. Especially that of their chosen mastery - Necromancy. They have no particular aversion to it or those who embrace it, but they have no desire to explore it either. Aside from the complex system of aqueducts they use to deliver fresh water to the city, technology is an afterthought here.    

Rylan

Technology Level: Extreme Attitude: Cherished Advancement Rate: Prolific   If technology has a temple, it's Rylan. While not truly venerated like a religion, it is the center of Rylander culture. Everything about their existence is centered around progress, prosperity, and, most of all, profit. The companies that dominate Rylan's leadership are in a constant race against each other for advancement. Their drive to spread their technology to different cultures, thereby tethering them to its necessity, is a core part of Rylan's innovation and drive. They seek to dominate the whole of Tairos, not with blades or war, but by economics and assimilation. Their specialty is Steamtech, medicine, and biology, but that is only a skimming of the surface. After all, Rylan was able to kill an immortal totem spirit. They view other technologically advanced civilizations as competitors. They have little interest in Tengu's Reaping tech, but their electricity could have wonderful applications. The Clankers of the old Clockwork Empire of the gnomes fascinates them as well. Having a labor force of thinking machines would accelerate their progress toward continental control.    

The Bitter Depths

Technology Level: Cosmic Attitude: Exploitative Advancement Rate: Cruel   Below Tairos' surface, the saga of an entirely different world unfolds. Beings from other worlds mingle with the exiled elven ancestors from Melanthris, forming the Drekhian culture. One of dramatic extremes focused on pain and domination. The sciences here are not naturally, not by any stretch of a Tairosian's imagination. Here, flesh is stretched and twisted for the sake of art. Here, the atom is sundered regularly for power. Here, there are bridges to other worlds. Here, Black Mark Acquisitions has turned life into a commodity to be bought and sold. Sha'Hidun is built among the sleeping remnants of structures dedicated to the Grand Work. All of this unfolds miles beneath the feet of blissfully unaware surface dwellers, for whom this horrible truth might drive mad.