Editing The Endless Wilds (section)

==Settlements==
===Circle of Harmony|Circle of Harmony===
What started as an apocalyptic cult upon the onset of the Great Bloom dedicated to submission to the new world order of Wild dominance oddly enough turned into one of the biggest success stories of mankind after the Bloom. As per the namesake, the Circle was intended to bring the its devotees into harmony with the Wilds. The idea was that the harmony would prevent some of the worst effects of its influence, including the conversion to Druidism. After all the problem, the cult’s founders believed, was merely mankind’s wasting of the world’s resources - Mana included.

It started with only a handful of people from many walks of life. Humans, elves, dwarves, even an orc in the bunch took an expedition into the Wilds as Hunters and never came back to their cities. For a while, the idea started to work. They learned some of the secrets of the Wilds’ dismay at what it considered its "children" after contacting one of its Gods, a being named '''Ofnoet'''. Also under its advice, they started to better trust each other, deciding that they need the approval of everyone to make the major decisions. Harmony was soon underway. Then under the direction of their divine consul, a few in the Circle went back to the cities to spread the word. Most saw them as madmen, others denounced them as Druids, but they managed to capture the hearts and minds of some others before they either fled back to the Circle, or were executed for their heresies.

The Circle’s secretive nature continues today, only with a certain few willing to think outside the box and have compassion for the woes of the Wilds allowed to know its whereabouts. Only 20-30 people are actual members, but now with hundreds of open-minded visitors seeking to gain further knowledge of the new world around them, as well as some who find refuge in the Circle’s openness to hock wares which the cities would never allow.

* Existence: 15-20 years
* Government: True democracy
* Economy: Tourism, black market

===Frost's Grip===
Far to the north, nestled in the deep snows and ruinous mountain ranges lies Frost’s Grip. The town marks the last point before the Endless Snows and the Glittering Skysea, or at least the last point it is safe to venture. Farther north, the skies become irresistable to even the most hardened hunter, drawing him or her deeper and deeper into the icy night. Even at Frost’s Grip, the pull is often difficult to resist. Every citizen lives their days in fear of the call from the star-filled night sky. 

The town was originally a Dwarven mining town, but the unending snowfall of the Great Bloom buried the settlement. Years later, teams of Northern Dwarves and the hardiest Hunters set out to reclaim the town and begin the mining operations again as the growing Post-Bloom world needed the rare metals that once came from the northern mines to fuel the Manatech explosion. The snowfall was too deep to assemble a mana-siphon on the ground; the Consortium engineers instead built them halfway up the mountain in a sheltered cave. This cave complex became host to the new Frost’s Grip. The layout of the caves shifts in a way similar to the Dungeons, and so much of the town was built on enormous platforms that were built jutting out from the mountain. The forest of support beams and mana-tech that keeps the town from collapsing is enormous and requires hundreds of dedicated workers to keep in full condition. Most rappel down through special manholes to maintain the underside of the city. Temporary worker’s platforms have, over  time, coalesced, and now support a tiny town of their own underneath the main city. The city itself is rife with rowdy miners and aloof Consortium executives, and ruled by a '''Foreman''', who has near-absolute power for one year after he is elected. The city is beset by freezing winds and endless snows, which are plowed off the platform by Manatech plows. Houses are built as large multi-room one-story buildings, which are easier to heat than individual houses. Only the very wealthy can afford houses that have more than one floor, and none have buildings taller than three floors.

All this work is funded by the wealth of metal and minerals that emerge daily from the Frost’s Grip mines. Immense caravans pulled by specially-bred bears and dogs carry the resources to Valeria, who have the most need for raw materials. From there, the metals are shipped to other industrial towns who receive their shipments several months or even years after their initial order. Most cities have regular trade agreements to receive materials monthly. Frost’s Grip is a relatively peaceful and wealthy settlement, despite the difficult conditions they live under. They are mostly reliant on overland shipments of food, as their few greenhouses cannot produce enough food for everyone. Most miners eat at huge Consortium meal-houses that provide plentiful (if mediocre) food. Miners stake claims to sections of the mines which are mapped out on an enormous board on the wall of the city hall. Fights over jumped claims are common but rarely deadly; it’s far too cold to waste energy trying to kill someone. The Miner’s Union tries to keep the map up-to-date and represent miners in getting the best prices, but is generally considered ineffectual and bloated. Cartographers willing to risk the mines are usually heavily armed and paid very well.

* Existence: 100 years
* Government: Constitutional dictatorship
* Economy: Mining

===Kaima Noer===
Kaima Noer was, until very recently, The Swallowed Town. Forty years ago, the nearest settlement ('''Cerra Noer''') suffered one of the most one-sided Druid uprisings ever known, so bad that the few survivors spent years being grilled in the Capitals to better learn how to avoid subversion. Cerra Noer's main Manastores were vented into the livestock pens, resulting in a sudden swarm of hooved monstrosities. Communication from Kaima Noer were lost within a day's time, leading many to believe it had been swallowed in the wake of its' sister settlement.

The relatively new settlement survived, thanks to a few quick-thinking Magineers and the tenacity of its' hunters. The moment Cerra Noer was swallowed, the magineers of Kaira Noer cannibalized all non-essential magitech in order to take on the extra pressure the Wild was now putting it under. Due to a lack of coordination, this included most of it's communication equipment.

It took nearly thirty years of blood, sweat, and tears, but Kaira Noer blazed itself a trail back to greater civilization, and into the history books as the only settlement that pulled itself out of the Wild without outside help.

* Existence: 50+ years
* Government: Council
* Economy: Subsistence farming