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Eiren Bay is a city in the Judges of Tehom Setting and Defenders of Eiren Campaign.

History

Eiren Bay is medium-sized cosmopolis that has been experiencing substantial economic growth and cultural prosperity for the last generation. Originally settled by colonists escaping the ruins of the Novum Volsci's Reconstruction War.

Life in Eiren Bay

Holding Up One Third of Heaven: The Common Sphere and Eiren Bay

Eiren Bay is a relatively open and democratic cosmopolis where there is a shared governance model between Baselines and Archons. The Eirenian Many enjoy many freedoms (and responsibilities) that would be considered bizarre and possibly dangerous in the more traditionalist cosmopoli. The Many are entrusted with many professional and technocratic responsibilities within the city-state, helping maintain the civil and official realms. These political rights and economic responsibilities also translate into less economic inequality in Eiren Bay than some other city-states.

Eirenians call their arrangement “responsive kleocracy.” In their model, kleos is greater the more sustainable it is and the more people are inspired. Bankrupting society for a grand event is not the greatest possible glory. Creating a grand vision only a few can enjoy is not the greatest possible glory. It is still a society the desires heroes that inspires it, but those Archons and heroes must be responsive to the needs of the Many. Some of the more radical elements of Eiren Bay argue that the needs of the Many outweight the needs of the Few, but those who utter that phrase risk being viewed as potential anarchists. Through this responsiveness (which has been codified into law to an extent), the Many hold the Few accountable.

Historically, there are three basic reasons for Eiren Bay developing responsive kleocracy:

• Prosperity. A rising tide lifts all ships. As Eiren Bay became a center of global commerce, the general wealth of the population increased. As the Archons feared scarcity less, more freedoms were created.

• Archonic Pluralism. While Srimec City is controlled by cyborgs and Pinnacle is ruled by mutants, there is no single “type” that defines the Few of Eiren Bay. Some are trained or altered into becoming more than human, others were born into lineages, and still others became entangled in cosmic forces humanity barely understands. This diversity among the Few leads to less solidarity among them as a group. For example, some mystics feel a closer connected to the Many that share their religious beliefs than with secular Lineages, and one can find similar examples among all the origins. Diversity among the Few has lead to increased toleration of the Many.

• Retirement. Eiren Bay has a distinct, if not completely unique tradition of retirement: after an Archon has served the cosmopolis faithfully for many years, it is in their right to retire from public life and try to find happiness within the Common Sphere. Technological Archons may deactivate their armor, hyper-trained martial artists may give up their regimes in favor of a family life, and an altered human may find a cure to their change allowing them to live a “normal” human life. Retirement helps create a sense of there being a “revolving door” between the Many and the Few that does not exist in the other city-states.

Official Sphere of Eiren Bay

Eirenian Politics

Eiren Bay is governed primarily by a bicameral house. One body, the Public Assembly, is a democratically elected legislature comprised of the Many. The other, the Hall of Honor, is an assembly of Archons representing the interests of the Few. The Honored decide who else to include in the Hall.

The President of Eiren Bay is the head of state and is elected by the Public Assembly for a 5-year term. By custom, this is a sitting members of the Hall of Honor, and it is for a single 5-year term. These customs have no legal requirement, however, and they have occasionally (always with great controversy) been ignored.

Regarding political movements, the Anarchists have a foothold in Eiren Bay, but they are carefully watched and much of their activity is officially illegal. The Lighthouse is a political party calling for more power in the hands of the Few, while the Harmonists defend responsive kleocracy. There are several Lighthouse and Harmonist parties vying for influence in the Public Assembly (i.e., the Workers Harmonists, the Farmers Lighthouse Party, etc.). The organizational rules of the assembly encourage coalitions rather than large monolithic parties.

The Eirenian Economy

Eiren Bay enjoys a relatively diversified economy, though its electronics and manufacturing industries are the most prosperous. The cosmopolis is built upon a large natural bay, facilitating its role in global trade.

The Eirenian Civil Sphere

As a diverse city, the cultural landscape of Eiren Bay is wide.

Religion in Eiren Bay

There are a number of religious movements present in Eiren Bay. Sometimes they blend in syncretic ways, and other times there are sharp divisions that lead to tension if not direct conflict.

• Nammanism is a religion that believes that Tehom, in addition to being a planet, has a consciousness of its own, and it is actively guiding humanity toward some end. Nammanists are sometimes called Tidlings, though many view that as a derogatory name. While the Nammanists Nammanists have successfully promoted the cultic veneration of famous Archons, both past and present, within much of Tehomin society. As the practice seems to have a small but measurable positive effect, the Archons encourage the practice. However, cultic worship of Archons has, as a practice, become disconnected from Nammanism, and is much more popular than the philosophy that spawned it.

• Marducists is another philosophy that is older than Nammanism. Like Nammanism, it believes that The Tide's Eye is a god-like consciousness controlling events on Tehom. Unlike the other world-mind religion, however, the Marducism has a maltheistic view of the Tide's Eye, viewing it as manipulating humanity for ends that are not beneficial for humanity. A common fear is that the Tide's Eye orchestrates devastation for its own entertainment. Marducism has always been controversial, as the Few cannot help but in some ways be representatives of the Tide's power. Nevertheless, there have been the occasional mystic who has argued humanity must turn the tools of the Tide against it to achieve freedom. Marducist rituals involve attempts to satiate or “blind” the Tide’s Eye in various ways. An austere variant of Marducism, the Wind of Hills, has become popular within the Dundainian Anarchy. Marducists can be found among disaffected Many throughout the Set, though one can find factions of the Few in both Thaimbase and Novum Volsci who are practicing Marducists.

• Iterationists reject that the Tide's Eye is in any way conscious. Rather, they argue the planet somehow serves as a psychic feedback loop, responding to the collective dreams and fears of humanity. As humanity's desire for survival became increasingly its sole concern, Heroes emerged, and as humanity began to understand what Heroes were supposed to be, the nature of the Few stabilized. With varying degrees of cynicism, Iterationists often try to experiment to see if they can manipulate the Tide's Eye to maximize desirable effects. There have been some successes, but many more failures. Pinnacle promotes a “soft” form of iterationism, that downplays the idea of manipulating the Tide’s Eye, while the version promoted by Srimec City is deeply invested studying the Tide’s Eye in an attempt to control it.

• The Remnant Church claims to be the religion of the Garden. More accurately, it is a synthetic faith that combines the beliefs and practices known to be within the Garden when Tehom was colonized and terraformed. The result is a religion that appears to either be polytheistic or transtheistic in its character, often talking in terms of myths that they view as important metaphors rather than literally true. In its most elite forms, it is a religion of scholars and mystics. Paradoxically, its common forms are incredibly diverse, as local variation is actually encouraged as long as it fits certain parameters. Because of this, the Remainers discuss the Tide’s Eye in a way that sounds both like the Iterationists and the Marducists: the Tide’s eye can be thought of either as a force or as a being, just as all things in this world can be. Beacon is a center of Remnant thought.

Education in Eiren Bay

Thanks to the types of industry in Eiren, the Kairos Covenant, and the increased voice given to the many, the population of Eiren Bay enjoys a relatively high degree of formal education. Schools generally begin at age six and continue in various forms until age twenty, though the later years become increasingly vocational in focus. Additional education may take the form of apprenticeship programs for skilled trades, or the University of Eiren for academic and professional pursuits.

The Arts in Eiren Bay

The Central Museum is a new facility that attempts to have a wide variety of topics for public display. It also coordinates activities with various departments at the University of Eiren. Additionally, there is an opera arena, as well as several galleries. If Eiren Bay's star continues on it current path, it will have a very strong cultural community within half a generation.

Notable Locations

• Chalice Memorial Hospital is a modern medical facility found near the Eirenian agora. It offers a wide variety of services, and conducts a large amount of medical research as well.
• The Tower is a high security prison located in the mountains outside Eiren Bay. The vast majority of its inmates are members of the Few.

The Kairos Covenant

The Wasting War and the establishment of the Duidainian Anarchy deeply disturbed many across Tehom, many among both the Few and the Many worried that social collapse was just over the horizon. Toward that end, many cosmopoli came together to create the Kairos Covenant, a diplomatic alliance of sorts created in the name of establishing and maintaining stability throughout the Set Islands. Originally an agreement between Pinnacle and Srimec, the Kairos Covenant has grown to almost two dozen cosmopoli of various levels of power.

The Council Proper

The Council Proper is the assembly of member states. All active diplomatic activity occurs through the Council Proper.

The Dynaton Initiative

The actual must always be moved toward the possible, and the responsibility for that movement falls in the hands of the Dynaton Initiative. The Dynaton Initiative is an organization with responsibilities regarding police, defense, and espionage within the Covenant city-states, defending them against outside forces (non-Covenant city-states and inhuman monsters) as well as helping them maintain order as best it can. While not a military as such, it has many highly trained individuals and members of the Few at its disposal.

The Agonist Arbiters

When diplomatic efforts fail, an elaborate set of laws regarding ritualized warfare activates. In the interest of stability, warfare often takes the form of formal duels between Archons. The exact details on what sort of duels are required for what situations, their rules, and their stakes are partly determined ahead of time and partly determined as a negotiation between the Archons championing the interests of their respective cosmopoli.