Halcyon

Halcyon


Halcyon is the city suspended above the bowl-shaped continent of the same name, situated at the very edge of the mass of chained continents, and is a considerable distance away from Licarvus and Tarsya. The continent itself is an elliptical valley rimmed with harsh, rocky mountains. Popularized by its unconventional, mechanical atmosphere and its equally avant-garde citizens, it is well-known for its frequent lavish festivities, unique and indispensable imports, and its most famous attraction: The Phlogiston.

The city is largely inhabited by the Ephemer, a race of tinkerers and mechanical engineers. The Ephemers created the city above the Halcyon Valley upon their existence, and ever since then, has been developing and improving the city's structures and society through their constant experimentation and advancement in the field of mechanical engineering. When the Anomaly Phlogiston was born out of the bottom of the Halcyon Valley, however, the lifestyle of the Ephemer changed rapidly and considerably. The Anomaly, which had been born out of the mutation of lava, killed a great amount of Ephemer that had been residing underneath the city. Despite the unfortunate mass killings of their own kind, the Ephemer grew to respect and eventually revere Phlogiston, who provided them with more opportunities to expand and create when it had gifted their mountains with a unique metal called Phlogistite.

Geography
After the appearance of Phlogiston, Halcyon's mines began to sprout a unique metal that was deemed the name Phlogistite. The metal was difficult to harvest without exacting a significant amount of strength and pressure, but when it was used in the improvement of machinery and city structures, the effort was proven to be much worth it. Phlogistite is an incredibly sturdy metal that when utilized properly, can survive within the harshest elements and resist the most persistent wear and tear. It appears to resemble a mix of brass and gold, a shade that matched well with the golden glow that perpetually enveloped the city, thanks to the glowing Phlogiston. Because the metal is so difficult to mine and use during smithing, only the Ephemer can successfully utilize it by shifting into their beast forms.

Compared to the other continents, Halcyon is rather small. It is elliptical, and eighty percent of it consists of its capital city. The center of the continent is the Phlogiston Pit, the deep valley that holds the golden Anomaly, Phlogiston. The sides of the continent is rimmed with incredibly tall, rocky, and harsh mountain ridges that are usually bore into and peppered with caves and mines. A good amount of underground facilities and structures can be found within the various caves, and the only means of exiting and entering the city itself is through a single tunnel situated at one end of the continent's round frame. Halcyon can be accessed upon traveling for a few days from Morcavus or Ingardia, but is far too distant from any other country and continent. The closest populated place to Halcyon is Meritania. Though the city has many neighbors, its citizens choose to keep to themselves and only communicate with other countries and races if the latter are the ones to initiate it.

Architecture


Halcyon city was built and suspended above the great Halcyon Valley using thick wires and metal supports. The valley is now known as the Phlogiston Pit, however, and had been named so after the birth and appearance of the Anomaly. The city's structures are consisted of meticulously manufactured mechanisms and unorthodox metal architecture. Wires, pipes, glass-encased liquids, and plated metals, and steam riddle the homes, buildings, and creations that fill the streets with the scent of oil and smoke.

The city's design was largely based on the Ephemer's love for mechanisms and the use of metals. Wheels, cogs, and wires decorate the walls, ceilings, and the exterior of their homes and buildings, and rarely do they ever produce ordinary shaped structures. A majority of the city's buildings are smithing and mechanical engineering shops and facilities, entertainment centers, as well as stalls filled with strange trinkets, tools, machinery, clothing, and colorful cuisine that could have only been born from the eccentric minds of the Ephemer.



The entire city is mostly commercial, with only a small amount of citizens taking residence in the buildings there. Halcyon was designed to look like a large machine, a huge mechanism littered with glowing glass balls and golden domes. Most of the Ephemer choose to live in the Palisade district, a tightly-knit cluster of caves carved into one side of the Halcyon's circular mountain range.

The Palisade caves are known for their beautiful stone carvings and well-decorated tunnels. The more daring Ephemers tend to prefer to live in the Haimish district, which is an incredibly small and exclusive set of homes suspended above the city through the use of thick wires, poles, and suspensions. These homes tend to have the best views of the city and throw the most exciting parties. Despite there having a large gap between the two methods of housing, both the Palisade and the Haimish district are well cared for and both possess a unique and incomarable beauty. There is no social heirarchy or poverty among the Ephemer, and all citizens are treated equally and cordially.

Government
The city of Halcyon is led by the Four Governors, a group of men who had been blessed by the demigod of time, Chrono, for their conquest in the perfection of Brume magic. The blessing allows them to resist death, illness, and aging, though leaves them able to die by succumbing to mortal wounds.

As soon as the Ephemer were gifted with the magic of Brume, four young men, Abelard, Baldric, Caedmon, and Devante, immediately sought to perfect the art of wielding it. Their unmitigated and brotherly friendship led them to help one another and aspire for knowledge and power, in order to further help and improve the lives of their fellow Ephemer, as well as to advance their beloved city. As they grew older and wiser, they eventually discovered and polished the four disciplines of Brume magic.

Abelard focused on the Cogitation discipline, a type of Brume magic that allows him to create a mist that is capable of prying into the thoughts and knowledge of a certain person or group of people. Baldric specializes in the Paramnesia discipline, which gives him the power to create incredibly convincing illusions within the minds or in front of the eyes of a certain person or group of people. Caedmon delved into the Ciphercine discipline, a method of Brume magic that allows him to create a much more intelligent mist that is capable of relaying information through disembodied whispers. Devante worked with the Stalwarce discipline, which gave him the ability to form and create solid objects through the use of his mist.

Once they had perfected these disciplines, they were then blessed by Chrono and were deemed the infallible leaders of Halcyon. While kind, fair, and in tune with their citizens and to other races, the Four Governors value their own people over others, and thus, do not let morality and goodness stop them from using their powers with ill intent and abusing Halcyon citizens of a different race if it would somehow benefit or improve their city and the Ephemer. Even so, they are a generally peaceful council of leaders, and prefer to avoid war and conflict as much as possible.



Culture and Society
Halcyon's population largely consists of the Ephemer, a friendly, creative, and intelligent race of tinkers and mechanical engineers. While they initially appear snooty and high strung, the Ephemer are incredibly friendly and welcoming of visitors and foreigners. They prefer to keep conflict at a minimum, and thus, treat each other and everyone equally and cordially.

There is no heirarchy in Halcyon, as all of its citizens are incredibly close to one another. It is extremely rare to find two Halcyon citizens unaware of the other's existence, and at the least, they would've heard a bit about the other, or are acquaintances.

The Ephemer are incedibly social, and enjoy throwing festivals and parties. It is often that a group of Ephemer will find an excuse to celebrate an otherwise mediocre event or occasion, and when they do celebrate these parties and festivities, they tend to prepare lavish feasts and overdecorate.

While the Ephemer worship the Hesperides, they also revere the demigod of the wind, Tempest. They tend to partly attribute their Brume magic to her, and have festivities dedicated to her. They also revere the Anomaly Phlogiston, whose existence has, for the longest time, given them many more opportunities to create and advance. A majority of the festivities held in Halcyon are more for liesure than religion, however, and the most notable event is the Phenomenal Festival, a three-day celebration that ends with the viewing of the Phenomenal, a strange planet that appears only once a year, and is only visible when one climbs to the top of one of Halcyon's many mountains.

Machinery
Halcyon is run by mechanical creations and automatons powered by the Ephemer's famed Brume magic. These creations fill the streets and assist in the many activities that occur within the city. While quite similar to the steam-powered machines of Tarsya, the designs of the machinery created by the Ephemer much more strange, unique, and unconventional, usually taking on the appearance of a mechanical animal or creature. The machines of the Ephemer are also much more durable and long-lasting due to the use of Phlogistite and Brume magic.



Abbettor
The Abettors, otherwise known casually as "Golden Helpers," are small automatons that function as both a police force and a helping hand for any tourists or citizens that may need it. Formed completely out of manufactured Phlogistite and well equipped with weaponry and emergency equipment, Abettors are powered with a sufficient amount of Brume mist and are the main means of law enf orcement within the city.



Chimera
Primarily functioning as the main mode of transportation in Halcyon, Chimeras are vehicles with eight long, spider-like legs along its front, and two large wheels along its back. Chimeras are normally green and silver, with padded seats along its back that fit four people, along with a single driver's seat set at the front. The machine itself is run with the driver's Brume magic inserted into its system, which is then instructed to move either forward, backward, left or right. Most Chimeras are adorned with a carved Ephemer's beast head along the front, and the beast's eyes glow a bright blue whenever the vehicle is powered up.



Cavalier
Possibly the strangest machines that the Ephemer have ever created, the Cavaliers have a mildly humanoid appearance and are made completely out of Phlogistite metal. Their elongated arms are adorned with sharp blades, their waists are covered in projectiles that hurl explosives, and their chests have long, protuding tubes that fire ammunition at a rapid pace. They serve as the city's military force, and a significant amount of them guard the mountain ranges for any potential threats.

While appearing gruesome and dangerous, Cavaliers are often adorned with red and yellow feathers on their skull-shaped heads and tube-like chests, as well as multiple carvings that resemble parts of an Ephemer's beast form. Notable examples are the beast heads that envelop their chests, and the clawed paws that adorn their feet.

The citizens of Halcyon have a habit of denying the existence of an army of Cavaliers, preferring to keep their limited number as common knowledge. Cavaliers are kept within a secret underground facility when not in use.

Plodpod


Plodpods, or "Crawlers," are insect-like machines with a long body and twelve legs. Its two front legs, however, are much larger and are capable of clinging onto things and scaling incredibly steep surfaces. Plodpods have a storage unit attached to their backs that can carry tools, parts, and objects. Their main body is run on Brume magic given to it by its owner. Most Plodpods are made of steel and iron, but on rare occasions, can also have a bit of Phlogistite in them.

They are primarily used as an aid in household chores, smithing, mechanical engineering, and make great companions, as they are also able of defending its owner with its sharp claws and small blades that line the cover of its storage unit. Plodpods are expensive, as they are difficult to create. They are primarily run with the Brume mist of its owner, their artificial intelligence frame programmed to function based on the orders of the mist. When manufactured, however, they can be programmed to specialize in either cooking, smithing, engineering, defense, or a little bit of everything. The more skills a Plodpod has installed into its artificial intelligence frame, the more expensive it is. Most Ephemer find it cheaper to purchase multiple Plodpods that specialize in one skill respectively.

The Mist Theatre
Located somewhere at the heart of Halcyon, the Mist Theatre is one of the city's main attractions. Popular for their mist plays, musicals, and shows, it is hardly ever empty or lacking of an audience.

Lit up by fuschia tinted Brume mist, the theatre has a musical organ and a wide, semicircular stage that showcases a colorful line of actors, actresses, and skilled Brume mist wielders.



The Junkyard
A home to many mechanical nicknacks, materials, and tools, the Junkyard is a large, hollow cave filled to the brim with abandoned materials left by departed tinkers and engineers. The place is run by a group of Ephemer who make a living out of selling scraps and parts that can be found within the area.

The Echelon
Located at the southernmost region of the city, the Echelon is a tower whos height is unknown to all the citizens of Halcyon. The top of the building is perpetually covered in thick Brume mist that is commonly attributed to the fact that it houses the Four Governors, and is also the primary location for Brume magic research.

Tourists are not allowed inside the tower, and most Ephemers are only permitted to stay until the third floor. The rest of the tower is unknown to the citizens of Halcyon.

There are many rumors that circle around the tower's contents. Apart from it being the main manufacturer of Cavaliers and Abettors, it has also been speculated to be housing weapons of mass destruction.

All tourists and foreignors who are interested in living in Halcyon must apply for citizenship at the Echelon lobby. Anyone who would like to purchase housing or any building structures should also take to the Echelon for application and purchase. Government-related occupations are also occasionally available upon request.



The Internal Cavern
Unknown to all citizens to Halcyon, yet restricted nonetheless, the Internal Cavern houses the Anomaly Opalence, a pair of twin dragons with insect-like wings that, while appear separate, exist as a single entity. The Opalence survives through the heat of the Phlogiston, and are asleep and suspended within a thick mass of green liquid. Not much is known about them, but there are rumors among the knowledgeable that the liquid that they secrete is being used for something particularly sinister...



The Grandiose
Filled with a million stalls selling the finest goods and wares, the Grandiose is the market that has practically everything and anything. From shops that sell peculiar trinkets, to the usual restaurants and food stores, the Grand Market is every Halcyon citizen's go-to place for whatever supplies they may need for their home, or for their machinery.



Tavern of Euphoria
Agruably the best place to mingle, drink, and hear the latest gossip, the Tavern of Euphoria welcomes and serves all races, be it a Halcyon citizen or a tourist. They have many amenities, including an inn, a wide open space for parties, shows, and dancing, as well as a fully-equipped bar that serves both food and drink. The Ephemer who run the place have close contacts with almost everybody in the city, and that makes every word from them incredibly valuable.



The Habiliments Habilitation
An incredibly large facility that houses and manufactures the Chimera that fill the streets and the Plodpods that assist their owners, The Habiliments Habilitation is every machinist's dream. Those who work within the building strive to create new automatons and develop pre-existing ones, and later on, sell them.

While most tinkers and engineers create their own machines, some take a liking for the ones manufactured by the Habiliments, especially those who aren't as good in smithing and crafting.

Tourists are prohibited from purchasing anything, however, but are allowed to enter and view the machines on sale. The Habiliments takes in a lot of contributers, and as an organization, hardly ever disallows Ephemer from entering the building and making good use of their facilities. Ephemers who do not have their own workstations tend to come to the Habiliments in order to produce their own Chimera or Plodpods, or other odd mechanisms of their liking. The Habiliments have been rumored to have created dozens of other mechanisms with the help of the Ephemers of Halcyon, yet, none of them have ever been showcased above ground. An underground portion of the city has been speculated to exist due to this, but the rumor has never been delved upon by the citizens.