User:Kerdonkulus/sandbox

History

Being at higher altitudes permanently lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Sleep is harder at higher altitudes and digesting food is harder as well. 2,500 meters (8,200 ft[Above Sea-Level]) is the average height of adaptability. At birth people living at higher altitudes have better oxygen, enlarged lung volumes, and higher capacity for exercise. Currently 5 sages.

Before 1150 AD

1.1: General:

The Angbenders, have existed for several hundred years before the current era. They were first discovered further to the north around where the modern day Chile is. They had been there for several generations already, archeologists estimate around 400 years. In the year 1463 the Incan civilization went to war to expand its own borders. The Angbenders were unfortunately caught in this. Their leader during the time, Tupac Amari, declared unto his people that they would fight back. Records tell of the brief battle that took place here through the eyes of one of the record keepers. The following is a loose translation of what is described on the parchment:

“The Incan people came during the day. Shouting at us. We tried to surrender but our leader rallied our meager army into combat. Tupac at the head they charged at the Inca. They lasted only a few moments. Everyone began panicking and attempting to flee south. Many were cut off by the Incas. Only around a few hundred of us had survived their initial onslaught. Us that escaped fled far south. The Inca chased us for many moons, forcing us to climb mountains and traverse great valleys. After what could only be described as weeks with only a couple hundred of us left, we came to a valley surrounded by 5 mountains.

In the center of this valley wasa lake, which a few of us swam too with what little energy we had left. Hoping the island would keep us safe we few swam for our lives. But what we discovered on the island was soon to be our salvation.It was a strange stone slab in the ground. The slab had a strange crystal ‘grown’ into it in the shape of something, magical. We got down on our knees praying to any god who would listen to us, pleading for protection from the Inca. All of a sudden there was a slight rumble, almost unnatural in feeling, and the valley became shrouded in a light mist. This mist expanded further out covering the entire mountain range. Further past the mountain range, a great storm had started. The screams of the Incan army could be heard in echoes throughout the entire range as their numbers became dwindled by the storm. The mist eventually faded from the valley everywhere but the soon to be ‘Misty Prayer,’ only leaving the stormy clouds outside the mountain range. Everyone agreed, staying here was a blessing from a wind god, and we made this our home.”

(Concept art of the storm)

According to research it would’ve taken these people several weeks from their location in modern Chile to where they currently are. The strange winds and storms surrounding this mountain range they claim to be the work of god's. Shortly after declaring it their home, they erected a small tower over the stone slab and declared it sacred. In order to prevent any further unwanted actions by a single individual, such as their former leader forcing them into fighting, the established a council of five sages. The sages lived at the top of the five mountain peaks that surrounded the valley. From there the social structure dictates where on the mountain side they live. It took several decades, but their population was able to rebuild. They took up mining as a profession. They created tools such as pickaxes and a pulley system of windmills for transporting cargo and themselves into the mines.

Not wanting to risk another attack from an outside civilization the sages elected that nobody would be allowed out of the mountain range thus they do not participate in trade. The mining they do and materials they gather are strictly for creating new things for themselves. Sages have an above average lifespan in comparison to the rest of the population. Legend says it is because they can communicate with the wind gods themselves and it allows them to live longer, but it’s mostly legend.

1.2. Sages:

(Actually only 5)

The sages have to go through rigorous training to become sages. Around the age of forty, potential candidates are selected by the mysterious stone that produces the wind. Potential sages have a dream and must tell it to the sages who will begin to train them for the next ten years. It must be noted that potential sages must be current priests. The first few years are spent learning meditation, connecting with your spiritual energies, and communing with the gods. Once they have successfully passed the appropriate tests they spend the next five years traveling up to the highest points of the mountains to adjust their bodies for lower oxygen consumption. They will remain on top of the mountains for twelve hours without food or drink, only quiet contemplation and meditation. It is rare, but people will die during this portion of the tests. It is also possible to fake having the dream, and people who fake it often are the ones to fail and die. If they survive the last eight years they move onto the final two year test. They begin living in solitude on top of one of the mountains, completely secluded from the outside world. Most people who aren’t qualified or faked their way into the training of sages, die here.

Once they have completed their training they can be selected to replace a sage when one passes.

The test has grown harder and stricter overtime. Initially the test only lasted a few years, but that proved to be a poor plan as nearly anyone could get into the position of a sage and that wasn’t good for the people. Such an instance occurred when a greedy merchant decided he wanted to be a sage. So he faked having the dream and successfully passed the, at the time, three year test. After passing the test he killed one of the eldest sages and made the death appear to be an accident. As he had been quite liked by the people he was able to slip into power quite easily. Unfortunately for him the gods do not like their order being messed with and the other four sages received preminisiance about the atrocities he caused and he was imprisoned. Once a proper sage was selected they lengthened the training to ten years and made it so only people who had the potential to contact the gods, priests, could become sages.

1.3. Government Figures

Government figures were not always a thing in the society. After the mishap with the incans the people were very skeptical towards any form of political power. However, it became apparent that some form of communication was needed with the sages besides a sole messenger. Thus an order of officials was selected to hold a council in which they would meet with the sages to discuss current events, wills/concerns of the people, and any other pressing matters. the officials consists of two people from each mountain, resulting in ten total members. Meetings between the council members are held once a week, but the sages only attend the meetings once a month as the journey up and down the mountain can be long and taxing for them. Everything that happens in their meetings is written down and stored in records as they don’t want any information getting skewed along the way. Meetings take place in the ‘Lords Council’ on the Dominelum Peak.

 

1.4. Pilots:

The pilots are the newest in terms of professions. Once the people decided they needed a faster way to get from mountain to mountain they began creating flying machines that would allow them to get from place to place. Using the various wind currents they are able to fly up and down the mountain at varying speeds. The pilots are mostly self-taught as flying was a concept relative to the current time. Pilots were uniquely gifted individuals who could actually see the wind currents. So they began creating flying machines that started off simple, yet incredibly dangerous. The first recorded designs were like giant kites in which only seated two people. One passenger and one pilot. It was unorthodox but it served as the basis for the later more personal models. Next the inventors tried a more rational approach. They created a type of bicycle that one would pedal and spin the rotors causing the device to become airborne. This allowed for more continuous flying and actually allowed them to maintain their height rather than always having to go down as the gliders had previously done. However pilots grew tired often and more casualties began occurring. Trips became shorter, only traveling from one mountain to another as long it was immediately to the left or right. Pilots had to be changed out after every flight as well, making them in high demand.

Thus a school for pilots had been born. Former pilots who managed to survive several years of flight retired to become teachers in order to train prospective pilots. It takes an intense amount of training and courage to become a pilot, as they could die at any sign or failure on their part or the devices part. For several years after the founding of the school the number of pilots began to dwindle from more failures. Then one year, seemingly out of nowhere, the number of students greatly increased. This sparked a sort of revolution in the inventors.

They remodeled the airborne bicycle that they created into a multiple passenger and multi-pilot creation. However, some veteran pilots knew this method was slow for transporting messages or responding to crimes. So a combination wingsuit and grappling hook was created. Using the grappling hook to real themselves in and launch the wings on their suit at the same time they could achieve fast travel via gliding. These were placed in the hands only of those who were most skilled as any wrong maneuvers could easily result in serious injury or death. What keeps some pilots going is living up to the legendary pilot, Vivian Fulmin, a female pilot so skilled she is said to have mastered maneuvering using the wingsuit on her first day using it. She quickly excelled through the classes and eventually was asked to join the enforcers as one of their leading officers. She was a master at attuning herself to the wind currents and was always first on the scene. She is currently retired and in charge of the pilot school.

1.4.1. Technology:

The gliders are impressive pieces of equipment, even early models. A big flaw in them was their size. They were huge, I mean absolutely gigantic. They had to be, they carried two people in some cases. The weight put upon the gliders could cause people to get hurt on landing, but overall it would be safe. They went on to create bicycle gliders next.They basically stuck the giant wings onto a bike and called it an afternoon, so to speak

.

The bicycle glider was unsafe, as the driver exhausted easily, but it allowed for a driver and two passengers which was not possible before. The bicycle was the primary source of travel for many years, it took a while for people to even consider changing the way it works. As technology began advancing they eventually changed the size of the wings. Using sturdier and more lightweight materials they were able to create more viable flying bicycles. Versions of this vehicle exist that are just bicycle on bicycle allowing for several pilots and several passengers.

(Images aren’t exact replicas of what the items look like)

Personal transportation for delivering fast messages and responding to crimes scenes was also important. Bicycle planes were not going to cut it. So wingsuits were created. They were modeled after the old hang gliders. They combined this with a Grappling hook. Those this method was used mostly between guards and messengers. Personal gliders were enhanced versions of the older hang gliders.

1.5. Apothecary:

Every person gets sick, it’s just a way of life. These people are no different. At first, treatment was often unsuccessful. If you got sick with something more than a common cold odds are, you weren’t coming out of it alive. A scientist monk, Brother Meric, began experimenting with different herbs found in the Misty Prayer. He found that by combining these herbs he could create different pastes or liquids with various effects. Some medicinal and some recreational. One of the first things he created was a special sticky paste that you applied to the chest to make breathing easier when you had fallen ill. At first he was treated as crazy and a heretic by the church, his findings were burned and he was forced out of the residential district. He fled to the Misty Prayer where he hid for years secretly expanding upon his research. Several years after his exiling he was discovered by some wandering priests. One who had fallen gravely ill with an unknown sickness. Meric had been developing many concoctions over the years and had been secretly studying the people and already knew the sickness the priest had. He called it the “Flu.” He gave the priest a dose of medicine created from various herbs and kept him under watch for several days. Surprisingly, a sickness that claimed almost everyone who got it, had been lifted from the priest. Meric’s exiling had been lifted and he was allowed to return to society. However he instead went on to create the Ward of Senitatis and started training priests and others in the art of medicine.

1.6. Priests:

There are five gods that these people worship. One for each mountain peak. The people believe that the mountain tops are sacred and hold great symbolism in their society and culture. The priests spread the word of the gods and are responsible for passing down the knowledge of religion. Priests often wander the Misty Prayer from temple to temple praying to the gods and offering sacrifices. When the people first arrived in the valley the forest area was declared as sacred as it was constantly surrounded in mists. The priests decided that it was worth putting temples for worship in the forest. Religion has developed so much that everyone follows the gods. However, priests actually hold almost no power or influence and live at the base of the mountain. The priests are responsible for baptising the children in the wind lords graces. Priests take the children around 3 years old for two weeks up to the peak of Oculintus. Here they will bathe the child in the unusually strong and potent winds. Once the child has been blessed by the wind god they bring them back down to return living with their families. Some children, when they are brought up there, are able to see the wind currents and flows after they have been baptised. These children are the ones who go on to become pilots.

Inspiration:

A lot of the inspiration from this section was drawn from various things. The pilots and technology bits were a bit of a play on Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Apothecary was based slightly off of healers of old society and the healers of WarHammer 40k. The history overall is based on how societies in games operate. Multiple leaders all who are old and wise.