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− | These are setting essays by Nick the Nevermet for the [[The_Wyzard_Setting_Essays|Wyzard's fantasy setting]] | + | These are setting essays by Nick the Nevermet for the [[The_Wyzard_Setting_Essays|Wyzard's fantasy setting]]. It is currently written "in character" from one standpoint. Over time, I hope to write from other standpoints. |
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− | | + | [[Welcome_to_Freedom|Welcome to the Thracian Hegemony. Welcome to Freedom]] |
− | == Welcome to the Thracian Hegemony. ==
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− | Welcome to the Thracian Hegemony. Welcome to freedom. | |
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− | Long ago, humanity did not dream of freedom. Rather, its leaders
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− | dreamed of power. This hubris caused the downfall of the Amaranthan
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− | Empire, a downfall that was as inevitable as it was disasterous.
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− | The sorcerer-kings were replaced by Vampire Princes, demonic patrons,
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− | and alien intelligences who erected the Dark Kingdoms on the backs of
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− | humanity. The Dark Kingdoms were the natural conclusion to the
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− | vicious pursuit of power began by the Amaranthans: sectarian, war,
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− | suffering, alienations, and hopelessness reigned supreme. Humanity
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− | dreamed of little beyond survival.
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− | | |
− | The rise of the Thracian Hegemony was a successful rejection of this
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− | social order. There was no revolution creating a new kingdom, as that
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− | would merely continue the cycle of oppression. The Hegemony was
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− | something new and distinctly, wonderfully human.
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− | | |
− | The Hegemony can be thought of as a web, though not for prey like a
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− | spider’s web. Freedom is a product of the Hegemony’s collective
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− | effort, and through integration into the Hegemony a nation’s people
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− | gain access to freedom in ways it could not have dreamed of before.
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− | The Hegemony can be thought of as fabric that clothes humanity,
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− | helping to protect it from a hostile world.
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− | | |
− | The Hegemony it is a network of organizations and institutions
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− | dedicated to helping humanity transcend the provincialism. The
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− | Hegemony is composed of combines, formal organizations with specific
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− | missions (“threads”) in accordance with the Hegemonic worldview. Some
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− | promote particular industries, others general economic growth, or a
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− | political concern, a form of government, or any number of countless
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− | other matters. However, each combine is defined by an interest it
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− | promotes in the name of the Hegemony: humanity shall be free to have a
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− | full life of opportunity to be assembled as they see fit.
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− | The Hegemony is not a government, and it does not serve governments.
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− | It is not the market, nor does it serve the market. It serves
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− | humanity in all its infinite possibilities. Markets and governments
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− | are inevitable and necessary, but they must serve humanity, rather
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− | than force humanity to serve them. The Hegemony calls its attitude
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− | toward governments and markets “parameterism:” a few key ideals
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− | regarding universal human rights must be recognized by all nations
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− | within the Hegemony. Beyond these core ideals (“The Parameters”),
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− | humanity is allowed to self-organize as it sees fit. Two of the most
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− | basic are democracy, the will of the people directs the nation’s
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− | course, and functionalism, societies are to be sustainable and
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− | efficient. The Hegemony sees these as interrelated, and offers
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− | assistance in the form of experts and technocrats to ensure integrated
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− | nations can be maintained within the acceptable parameters.
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− | | |
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− | === Life in the Sunrise. ===
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− | The Sunrise Realms, also known as the Selvaged Realms or
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− | (derogatorily) the Salvaged Realms, are those nations which have been
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− | newly integrated into the Hegemony. They exist in a thick, long arc
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− | beyond which the Dark Kingdoms still stand, dominated by dark and
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− | inhuman rulers.
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− | | |
− | More than in the Core, the people in the Selvaged feel the continuing
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− | threat of the Dark Kingdoms. The Vampire Princes range from
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− | inscrutable to alien to mad, and the general populace thus finds their
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− | attacks and plots utterly beyond comphrehension. Hegemony technocrats
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− | manage the situation best they can, but perfect security is simply not
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− | possible.
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− | | |
− | The technocrats do everything they can to keep the Dark Kingdoms at
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− | bay. Intelligence operatives track and predict attacks. Military
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− | officers constantly adjust forces to repel the enemy where they can.
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− | Not all threats, however, can be correctly met by cold, impersonal
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− | efficiency. For all others, the Sunrise turns to heroes.
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− | | |
− | | |
− | == Heroes ==
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− | “Hero” is a generic term for individuals who, through whatever means,
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− | have amassed a great deal of power attached to their person and
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− | personality. Some have powered armor. Some are wizards. Some are
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− | even genetically modified. All, however, are spectacular: powerful in
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− | a way that demands attention.
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− | | |
− | There are a number of descriptive categories heroes can fall into. If
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− | a hero is employed or sponsored by a nation, the hero is a magistrate
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− | or a magisterial hero. If, however, a hero is primarily attached to a
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− | Combine or combines, then the hero is a champion.
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− | | |
− | Most heroes are retained or attached to a particular government or
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− | Combine. The Free City of Ion retains the Maul of Comets to defend
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− | their city from whatever demonic monsters come its way. Jessica the
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− | Windguilder, on the other hand, is attached to the OVDA, the Outer
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− | Valley Development Authority, a Combine organized to re-populate and
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− | develop a region decimated by the Dark Kingdoms. They are well funded
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− | and have a predictable mission. Retained heroes are very different
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− | than freelance, or less politely, mercenary heroes, who move from one
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− | patronizing entity to another.
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− | | |
− | Eccentric heroes are those who do not fit cleanly onto the retained –
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− | mercenary spectrum. Lord Rail funds his personal vendetta against the
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− | Dark through the spoils of war. Brother Break, on the other hand,
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− | primarily makes draws his wealth from his exclusive sponsorship deals
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− | and his regular video specials. There are even a few, like Faithful
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− | William, who scrape together enough resources through amassing
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− | Hegemonic development grants.
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− | ===Magistrates===
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− | | |
− | Magistrates are heroes associated with a particular nation’s
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− | government, a situation that creates certain inevitable tensions. On
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− | the one side, there are faceless, expert technocrats keeping society
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− | running. On the other, there are the heroes, walking spectacles that
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− | defy formalization by their very nature. And in between, there is the
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− | public. The public may want many things, but more often than not, it
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− | rejects the idea that there is an irreducible tension between heroism
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− | and technocracy. This dynamic exists throughout the Sunrise.
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− | Meanwhile, the Technocrats constantly attempt to minimize the role
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− | heroes play within ‘real’ government matters, and the heroes in turn
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− | are constantly fighting for either more freedom in their actions, more
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− | influence over the government, or both.
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− | | |
− | Different nations have attempted to balance this tension with various
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− | political institutions. One nation may have a select group of
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− | magistrates with life-long terms selected by its parliament. In
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− | another, they are the cream of the military, given a chance to become
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− | more than human in the name of the nation. One nation is even ruled
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− | by an aristocracy of genetically enhanced humans who form various
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− | political parties which are then elected by the voting normal
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− | population.
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− | Magistrates generally have a “built in audience” in their homeland.
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− | Simply by representing the nation, they are worthy of adoration.
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− | | |
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− | ===Champions===
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− | Champions are, if anything, even more diverse than the Magistrates.
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− | All champions are defined in part by two questions: what is the thread
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− | of their Combine, and how much autonomy they have from the Combine.
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− | Some Champions are nothing but agents of the Combine, others are
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− | part-time agents, and part-time supporters of the public good (often
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− | in the name of good public relations). The popularity of a Champion
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− | varies widely depending on what its Combine’s interests are.
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