Editing The Endless Wilds (section)

=The Post-Bloom World=
Ever since the Great Bloom, the very concept of geography and everything that stems from it - cartography, navigation, natural sciences, and the like - have been changed forever. In the fifty-four years since the event, it has become nigh-impossible to define the world in the ways it has been before. Instead, the world has been defined in relation to two things: the relative Mana-dead zones of the '''Capitals''' and the smaller '''settlements''', and the Mana-rich zones of the '''Cores'''. Capitals tend to stay still despite the changing features of the world around them, while the Cores drift across the world causing the changes in the first place. Some people have gone into the field of predicting the movement and behavior of the Cores, lending a very useful service to Hunters and travelers alike. As for the Capitals themselves, there are a couple important ones which are known to most of the civilized world.

==Capitals==
===Aarn===
Aarn is the rarest of settlements; a frontier town that succeeded on an unprecedented scale. What began as one of the first Hunter’s outposts is now the largest centers for Hunter activity in the Wilds. The city, though it now is large enough to support a population of one million, is still firmly rooted in its pioneer origins. Most of the streets remain muddy and unpaved while very few buildings are not made of wood. The city’s population varies from month to month; while it can swell to nearly a million during the least dangerous seasons, when hunters are in high demand the city stands empty, reduced to nearly a quarter of that. There is an informal ruling council, made up of the most experienced hunters, although their rulings are often only enforced by the arms pledged to them rather than respect for authority. The city is largely ramshackle, with tents and hastily-constructed longhouses clustered around the edges of the city. Power is often difficult to come by, with only the more permanent residences at the center of the city receiving it with any regularity. Training grounds, forges, and stables make up a large portion of the city’s industrial core. Hunters wishing to gain official certification as such can become accredited here through the rigorous '''Sevenfold Provings''', a combination of spiritual, physical, and mental tests that in theory provide the hunter with a better ability to withstand the Wilds.

'''The Aarn''', an Elven hunter from before the Bloom is the city’s unofficial king. Moreso than the ruling council, his decrees are respected out of loyalty rather than fear. He survived the Bloom while outside of a city, enduring horrors unimaginable while fighting his way back to the nearest city. However he managed this, he pledged to spend the rest of his life beating back the Wilds. When the first mana-siphon caravans set out into the Wilds, he pledged his sword to their service, founding Aarn and the '''Hunter’s Guild'''. He “rules” from the center of Aarn in an ancient stone tower that was thrust up from the Dungeons. Unlike most outcroppings, the tower has never returned to the Dungeons. How and why this is is hotly debated, but the Aarn’s decision to live there is seen as proof of his courage in his advanced years. Some say that dark things travel to speak to him in the night from the Dungeons; others dismiss this as superstitious nonsense.

As Aarn grows, some seek to civilize the frontier town, while the sizeable criminal element seeks to keep it trapped in the past. Hunters who see the town as a sign of freedom from the oppressive laws of some cities vehemently refuse attempts to move the town forward, while the Aarn stays silent on the subject. Magineers stringing up power lines have been found dead in the mud, and every night the taverns see blood spilled. Hunters trying to relax in their off-duty moments drink to excess and fight to escape the fear of the Wilds, and numerous criminal factions, headed up by Dwarven “legitimate businessman” '''Mr. Smith''' are more than happy to help Hunters waste their hard-earned coin on brothels and gambling. Rumors abound that the ruling council is building a secret army to destroy the Aarn’s tower and take the town for themselves. Pundits say that within the year, Aarn will be either burned to the ground or headed for a new future. Mr Smith, the Aarn, and the ruling council seem unlikely to cooperate for much longer; how long the tenuous peace will last is anyone’s guess.

* Existence: 40 years
* Government: Self-described "Meritocracy"
* Economy: Mercenary work, manufacture

===Aes Kalon===
Formerly a province of Osenvar, Aes Kalon straddled the border between its mother city and Sulinad to the south. Upon the fall of its mother city during the Great Bloom, Aes Kalon knew that it was on its own as the throngs of fleeing Osenvarians went right past it, the beasts of the Wilds in hot pursuit. It seemed like nothing was going to stop the encroaching force. However, at least as the mythos suggests, a large artifact of unknown origin fell from the sky between the city and the approaching Wild sprawl. This object seemed to repel the growth headed their way, actually containing its advance and protecting the city from its wrath. This artifact soon became known as the '''Wildsbane''', and its power seemed to be long-lasting throughout the years since.

After successfully defending itself from the legions of the Wilds, Aes Kalon has risen to its former glory. A vast city of luxury amidst a chaotic world. With its Wildsbane in place, space and concerns for defense are greatly lessened. As such, the citizens of the city were able to spend more time with leisurely pursuits than those of many of the other cities. This has led to an economy that relies on things such as luxury, entertainment, and manufactured goods. While this path has led to the financial well-being of the city, the reputation as a city of excess has hindered its leaders’ aspirations to become the home of a rumored '''United Front'''.

* Existence: 100 years
* Government: Oligarchy, aspiring to a federal system
* Economy: Manufacturing, luxury goods

===Halliwell Freestate===
To be fair, no-one really had expected Halliwell to survive. It is something of a shock to much of the other survivors that such a town as Halliwell managed to endure and, indeed, prosper. The river through the city made it perfect for trade and with the trade came smuggling. The smuggling attracted more of the less savory business ventures and soon enough after the founding Halliwell, for all its trade and capitalist ventures, became a drain on the economy, thanks to unsuccessful efforts to curb the rising crime. The solution was drastic: the city was almost entirely cut off, left to fend for itself except for token support.

When the Great Bloom arrived it would most likely have become as all the other settlements with limited infrastructure if not for the amazing forward planning of the local crime lords. They had, oddly enough, invested large sums into the understanding and assembling of the mana-siphons, allegedly for the construction of engines and weapons with a magic touch. Anything if not resourceful, the assorted scum of Halliwell erected the mana-siphons and quickly and purposefully secured the borders. The crime lords claimed ownership of the city and claimed it to be a “Freestate”, a city of freedom where the common man, woman, elf and dwarf could make his or her own fortune, without strong governmental control.

Attracting more of its kind, the Halliwell Freestate has become both a refuge for criminality and a forerunner in manatech. All the unsavory experiments that the more regulated - and sane - Capitals would outlaw are fair game. Yet, it remains a place where the strong and clever can cut out a significant part of the cake for themselves.

* Existence: 100 years
* Government: Republic
* Economy: Black market

===Second Osenvar===
Upon the beginning of the Great Bloom, the great magic city of Osenvar to the east was one of the first to fall to the rapidly encroaching Wilds, quickly being enveloped in the thick flora and relentless fauna attracted to the massive amounts of Mana surrounding the city. Most of the populace perished in the assault, and many of the city’s rulers and nobility were able to escape with their subjects’ left behind. Many of the escapees were able to strike it on their own, founding new cities and settlements, or settling in others they ran across along the way. But one of the escapees, then a student of the magical arts, wasn’t going to settle for becoming part of an increasingly thin diaspora.

This man, '''Kolle Mollenar''', took it upon himself to reclaim the Osenvar of his young life from the Wilds. And the key to his success would be the invention of what is now essential technology for the world at large, the '''Mana-Siphon'''. With an advanced version of this technology and a very large group of Hunters, he managed to get through the thickest of the Wilds to secure what was once the center of the magical city. From there, he and the survivors of the expedition managed to restart the city, though using the Wilds to their advantage with the modified Mana-Siphon and reinvented itself as a budding agricultural power in the land.

* Existence: 30 years
* Government: Oligarchy
* Economy: Agriculture

===The Kingdom of Sulinad===
If something isn’t broken, sometimes it is best not to fix it. The Kingdom of Sulinad was founded far before the Great Bloom after a widespread war dedicated to the pages of history. Practically from its inception, the Sulinese have become known for their warrior culture, producing many of the best-known, best-skilled, and downright most fearsome fighters in the world’s history. Discipline, bravery, and ruthlessness are the tenets of the Sulinese way of life.

Despite how much the rest of the world loathed the Sulinese, they survived the Great Bloom in spectacular fashion. Sure, it took them some time to figure out about the Wilds’ connection to the Mana (no one said that the Sulinese were adept in magic), but they were able to root the invasion forth from land from sheer might and a complete lack of fear and value for their lives. It’s not surprising that word of their success spread through the land. They settled into the world after the Bloom as a military power, running their economy through the hiring, training, and exchange of warriors. Hunters the world over know of the '''Sulinese Martial Academy''' and save up their earnings to afford the classes there. Sure, it’s expensive, but most come out of there vastly better than ever before.

* Existence: 400 years
* Government: Feudal
* Economy: Military training and personnel

===Valeria===
When the Great Bloom came it was pure luck for the Grand Duchy of Valeria to survive, maybe more so than others. '''Grand Duke Weidlig''' of Valeria was not suited for his role. He was young, merely 20 years of age and completely dependent on his advisors. A puppet, but not even a good puppet, for he chafed at the limits that had been put upon him. The city itself was more or less governed by the bosses of the factory, carefully balanced against the resentful masses of the workers and their unions.

When the Great Bloom began it was the factory workers who were sent out to fight. The guardsmen were a joke, under-equipped, under-manned and very soon in flight. All the while Grand Duke Weidlig refused to take appropriate action, and instead had his puppeteers hanged. But that left him a lonely duke, inside a city under siege, refusing to even come out of hiding in his chambers. All the while the working class learned their worth and learned to fight. A man named '''Anvar Kell''' took successive control over the city’s resistance, spearheaded the setting up of mana-siphons and fought for every inch of Valerian ground. Not long after, the borders stabilized and Anvar Kell ventured up to the last opposition to his people’s rulership: the Grand Duke. Weidlig was publicly hanged and the “Valerian Peoples Front” set up, to serve the interest of the common man. Now, at last, the people was ready to start rebuilding.

Or so they believed.

But loyalists of the Duke, as well as common workers, were disgusted with the execution. They took up arms in counter-rebellion and the young cousin of the Grand Duke, '''Melicia''', was hailed as the new Grand Duchess. Several mana-siphons were soon put to the torch and the forces of the Wild were once again inside the city.
Now, even fifty years later, Valeria remains a city under siege. Large parts of the city where reclaimed by royalist forces with the now 60 year old Melicia of Valeria as Grand Duchess, while the ancient Anwar Kell still tries to hold the faltering Valerian Front together as they are faced with a two-front war against forces both human and Wild.

* Existence: 200 years
* Government: Police state, unclear about future
* Economy: Manufacture and infrastructure, if any

==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

==Cores==
===The Downward Spiral===
At the center of the continent came one of the first surges of the Wilds upon the Great Bloom, literally rending the very earth around it. The land pinches downwards into an indescribably deep hole, dragging flora and fauna alike into it with a sort of supergravity. It can be assumed by some Mana researchers that one of the most powerful Cores, known as '''Hellfall''', lies there. Since its appearance during the Bloom, it has been tracked moving ever so slowly eastward toward Second Osenvar, creating an ever-growing chasm to depths unknown.

===The Glimmering Skysea===
To the northern reaches of the continent lies a perpetual show of lights in the sky, a sight so beautiful that even the most hardened Hunter is compelled to follow it to its origin. However, the closer the person gets to the lights, the stronger the winds become until the Hunter is either frozen to death, or blown away to dust, whichever comes first. Much like [[TEW - Cores - The Downward Spiral|the Downward Spiral]], people can only explain it as the dealings of '''Oculus''', one of the Cores behind the Wilds.

===The Jaws of the Dead===
To the western reaches of the continent lies a jagged mountain range... or more like a bunch of ranges smashed together. The result are rocky spires that reach from the depths of the earth to the heavens above, seemingly eating everything the spires touch. For those wanting to know more about them though, the meaning becomes terribly literal, sapping the life force out of anything that touches the spires. Another theorized location of one of the Cores, '''Nekhmet'''.

==Other Places==
===Aarn's Pass===
On the southern end of Aarn’s regional territory, near the Stygian Scar, lies a pair of statues of the Aarn on either side of the ruined road leading into the thick forests of the center of the continent. Some of Aarn’s more elite Hunters man the Pass, ensuring safe passage for caravans into its lands. However, there has been rumor of surprisingly intelligent and clever monkeys wandering into the Pass to steal the goods, tech, and sometimes the caravans themselves. And since some of these caravans indeed don’t make it to Aarn proper and beyond, perhaps these stories may have some credence to them.

===Cerra Noer===
Kaima Noer’s sister city along the Noer Sea is still enveloped deep in the Wilds’ grip. It’s furthermore isolated by one of the large chasms cracked into the land from the Downward Spiral at the center of the continent, the chasm situated between the two cities. While Kaima Noer rebuilds and recovers from the Great Bloom, terrible beasts and mutated men roam within Cerra Noer. Some rumors even say that these capture creatures are planning a coup of Kaima Noer to resume their conquest of the land.

===First Osenvar Ruins===
Though Kolle Mollenar managed to get to the core of the first Osenvar to begin reclamation of it from the Wilds, he and his crew ultimately decided to build Second Osenvar in a mountain pass just to the east of the former city. The roads through the old city still exist and are generally well-kept by Hunters assigned to protect travelers from the Wilds still trying to get a foothold in the surrounding ruins. As large as the old city was, there are obviously still locales within the old city which have not seen the presence of mankind since the Bloom. Perhaps great treasures, technologies, and secrets lie within.

===Grave of the Unnamed Hunter===
A solemn, yet strange place. Located north of Sulinad is a small tombstone stating, ''Here lies the Hunter who perhaps had a name in life, but has abandoned it in death.'' It was in that location a Sulinese Hunter dove in front of his fellow Hunter to save him a crushing blow from a beast. Once the Hunter lay dying, the team realized they had never asked the fellow his name. To honor him, they made a make-shift tombstone for him, expecting it to become overwhelmed by growth within a day. But it has stood untouched by The Wilds for six years now, and has become a small shrine to Hunters everywhere, symbolizing the sacrifice they will all make one day. Thousands of Hunters every year make the pilgrimage to the small stone, leaving an offering of flowers and candles.

===Mezcotal===
Even before the Great Bloom there were places which struck fear in the hearts of those who heard about them. The underground labyrinth of Mezcotal is one such place. Centuries ago, it was the project of a death cult who wished to bring themselves closer to the Underworld to resurrect their lost and loved ones. Since then, it has evolved into a subterranean civilization which eventually died out decades before the Bloom, unable to reach the promised Underworld of their lore. Once the remnants of the death cult were no longer there, expeditions were taken into the dungeon, offering a very grisly view into the mind of the desperate. Blood sacrifices, mutilation, cannibalism, Magical augmentation... all of the practices forbidden by the laws of the surface cities were all welcome in this unholy place. And this was before the Bloom...

And then there is the Mezcotal after the Bloom. Much like the Dungeons across the world, the corridors of Mezcotal seem to be alive, constantly shifting, changing its configuration under no power other than its own will. Perhaps it’s this nature that leads the most ardent Dungeon explorers to stumble across it, as if the Dungeons are bringing them to their master. Once there though, most of these unlucky explorers die in one way or another. Devoured by a monster. Crushed by a trap. Absorbed into the walls. Starved to death finding a way out. Driven insane by the Presence within.

The Presence within? There is a tale brewing out there in the Hunter community about the Presence and the Hunter who met it and came out of Mezcotal alive. Sadly enough, barely anyone who hears the tale can remember the Hunter’s name, but the Presence was a whole different matter. When the death cult which made the labyrinth died off, as the tale goes, they did not do so quietly. Their spirits were so in tune with their search for their coveted Underworld that they collectively became a Presence unto themselves. The Presence serves a bevy of unknown Gods which seem to have no alignment with either the Wilds or humanity. Perhaps the Presence has become the usher to the Underworld and the Dungeons are its River Styx.

===Rawranawrarwarn===
One of the first cities lost to The Great Bloom, it once housed a proud population of artist’s and architects. Nowadays, however, the architecture has outlived the architect far too soon. Located in what was once a sprawling swamp, Rawranawrarwarn is now found at the heart of a blistering desert. Hunter expeditions there to recover pieces of art report strange sightings. Open doors, clean streets, unfinished meals left over. Noises are said to be heard when one approaches, roaring and the sounds of clawed feet, but all this ceases when one enters the city. A strange place, better left alone.

===Veddis Stadium===
Despite all the strife of the fight against the Wilds, there are some out there looking for a good time. And leave it to the good people of Halliwell to make the best out of a difficult situation. While there is plenty of work out there for Hunters, sometimes things go so well that there’s a little extra time, even in these trying times. A rather inspired and egotistical Hunter by the name of '''Edgar Veddis''' thought it would be a great idea to set up gladiator matches in the middle of this war. And who would have thought that it would be so successful!?

Since the Stadium’s founding in the outskirts of Halliwell, the entertainment has grown from the occasional brawl between Hunters to more organized fare, such as Fireball, where teams of Magisters fling a fireball around the field into a modified Mana-Siphon to score points. It can get violent, but it always draws a crowd!

===Wildsbane===
A strangely shaped bone that fell from the sky, slowly causes all growth around it to cease and eventually die. It’s strange properties were crucial in The Defense of Aes Kalon. Since its arrival, the Wildsbane has become a treasure throughout the land. Many revere it, others covet it, even others want to incorporate it into new Manatech... or more appropriately, Anti-Manatech. The Wildsbane’s powers have also brought upon the idea - the hope, to some - that all of the world’s remaining civilization can be united against the threat of the Wilds. Many of the elders of the city have brought upon the idea of '''United Front''' against the Wilds. There is the problem of the individuality of the cities it wishes to bring together. As if the cities, nations, and kingdoms of old were distinct from another culturally before, a generation of isolation between the vast Wilds made them even more distinct and ferociously independent than before. Bringing them together under the fight for the Wilds may be possible, but to keep them there... the difficulty will be immense.

Some theorize that the Wildsbane is one of the fragments from the Jaws of the Dead upon its creation during the Great Bloom, its deadening effects thwarting the Wilds upon its arrival to Aes Kalon.