Everendel

Aurborea

Aurborea provides a constant influx of food and organic resources for Grand Convergence, often bringing life to places that could otherwise not sustain it. Harvesting those resources tends to be a constant and ever-shifting challenge however, as many of the plants let alone the animals are perfectly happy to use any available resource, including blood, to supplement their diet. Wild mutations are commonplace under the ceaseless glare of Gapspace, ensuring that the creatures that evolve to flourish here continue to advance in ways that keep hunters on their toes, with their weapons sharp and guns warm.

Culture

Hardship tends to shape the people around it. The people who make their homes on Aurborea tend to be frank, no-nonsense types with a streak of fierce independence to them. These homesteaders will offer shelter and hospitality to anyone reaching their walled farming compounds and outposts, but will surely expect simple favors and repayment in good faith. Anyone can create a home out in the wilds or amongst the outposts, but are expected to contribute to the overall community. Likewise, giving a homestead guff is ill-advised, as you can be easily asked to leave.. if you don't end up being shot.

Hunters are in constant demand as the lethal nature of the district combined with evergreen efforts to cull back the shifting wilds often ends in tragedy. Particularly pernicious beasts tend to have bounties posted out of the collected money of a homesteader community. There are multiple hunting posts deeper into the shell for those wishing to indulge in big game hunting. These gathering points also serve as harvesting depots, for the Everen make a point to use every part of a creature and the wilds are also a cornucopia of fascinating flora. Many of them can be used for spices, alchemical reagents, medicine, ritual, or poison.. yet handling such things can be tricky, and an unwary Traveler may find that 'Hunting Post' does not necessarily place them on the right or..comfortable side of that struggle.

Points of Interest

The Snarl: A particularly dense tangle of growth deep in Aurborea that has become a twisting, labyrinthine warren of life. Not only is this interconnected mass of root, bramble, branch and vine particularly resistant to damage, it regenerates all too quickly, forming new and esoteric pathways each time someone attempts to damage it. The place boils and teems with life, dozens of species jostling for space and all too willing to supplement their diet with whatever happens to disturb them. Several attempts have already been made to clean the Snarl, but it always returns in a matter of days. The growth cannot be said to be malignant in nature, even after multiple cleansings, and its consistent size and changing panoply of creatures make it a common testing ground for hunters and other travelers.

Everendel

As far as most Travelers can know, Everendel is a place of pleasant, well ordered serenity. The trees are organized in neat, well manicured rows. The plants are artfully arranged. The sound of water trickles at the edge of hearing. The Everen are masters of biology and medicine, charged with the care and recuperation of the innumerable species that come through Grand Convergence. They strive towards the ideal that all who come to Everendel may leave whole again. What that means depends on the person in question, for all Everen approaches are custom tailored to the individual.

The hospitals of Everendel are themselves custom tailored. They are universally pleasant. The ambient colors and sounds are soft and soothing. The environments are strictly controlled. Everything is customized to provide a healthy environment, as long as the problem stems from biology. The technicians of Delerath have a better grasp of purely technological issues, and those of.. more exotic particulars are often driven to Charnel, who is always willing to provide what others can't.

Even radical changes to biology are amongst the services performed here. More than one inhabitant has come to the Everen in order to gain the appearance or traits of their dreams, but the prices are often exorbitant to prevent resource abuse and the process very lengthy in some cases. They will flatly refuse to make alterations that would negatively impact a patient's health, and may even find such lines of inquiry insulting.

Culture

Time moves at a different pace for the Everen. Everything is slow and laconic in Everendel, but there is an unsettling quality outside of the curated experiences most Travelers see. Only the Everen tend to stay for long, even though the Everen themselves possess a slow, disarming, pleasant if mildly mysterious demeanor. This lends to people calling them 'elves' even though they barely resemble such. The Plate of Everendel is generally mysterious and unsettling behind the 'front' presented to visitors and patients. Many tales are told of a light that blinks, or a mop that also happened to be a dog. While some of the rumors hint at malicious behaviors, the Council and it's semi-frequent inspector audits have confirmed no such behavior. The overly curious are.. politely escorted away. Those who sneak past the facade to unravel the secrets of Everen biomancy are.. less politely escorted.

Points of Interest

The Road of Recovery: A long, sprawling complex dedicated towards the healing of any disease or biological malady one can imagine and many that openly defy description. The Road of Recovery also refers to the many individual hospitals and clinics placed within it. The entire area is part of the 'front' side of the Everendel plate, carefully shaped to provide as much of a universally pleasant experience as possible. The Everen seek to take in anyone who wishes assistance in their recovery, though their methodologies are sometimes strange to those who receive them. The Everen do not coerce. That would be against the health of the patient. They do not even insist. They simply offer.

Academy of Domestic Arts: The ADA is the center of Everen dedication to their craft. It is where they develop new treatment protocols and apply the most complex of their alterations, endlessly striving to advance the depth and complexity of their knowledge of life itself. The ADA is considered the crown jewel of Everen culture, showing much of the true Everen aesthetic and displaying many of their finest achievements.

The location is, to put it mildly, exceptionally alien to most Travelers. The entire building is alive, crafted from products sourced by the different disciplines of their craft. Gold and ivory feature prominently in sweeping, organic arcs, many ridges built up over decades of careful husbandry. The strange and valued creations of the Everen are commonplace here, and those who are greatly trusted and show an aptitude may, in time, even be able to secure an invitation to begin learning alongside them, though such things are extremely rare.

Apiaxtlan

The base of the Everendel Spire belongs not to the Everen or the wilds of Aurborea, but another race entirely. On the Third Shell, the Spire opens onto a complex series of water terraces and ornate stonework, carved columns and cascading fountains. One exit takes you into the city proper, the skyline dominated by the Apiaxtlan Hive. In the city, the streets are clean and drones travel through them regularly to remove any buildup or detritus. The walls are peppered with small holes built with signs next to them, attended by workers that provide trade or assistance when called upon.

Many small courts and physical training areas have been worked into the local structure, for the Apiax are fond of sports and the display of physical prowess. These are cross-caste places of good natured competition, with all involved working to keep themselves in good shape. These alcoves are often colorfully decorated, with the Apiax occasionally indulging in much more riotous displays of color, flair and sculpture than the more sedate Everen above them.

Lower Apiaxtlan has a much more varied environment than the orderly city hive thanks to the extensive ports built out of Thousand Tears Lake. The docks are raucous and filled with the laughter and pranks of sailors, though Apiax warriors keep things from spiraling out of control. The leaning shanty huts of the transient population are rapidly rebuilt into small but sturdy shelters by Apiax workers, contributing to the comfort of sailors for whom bunkhouses are plentiful and cheap. There are only a few rules that draw Apiaxian ire, and littering is amongst them. Because Thousand Tears Lake is the primary freshwater source of Grand Convergence, it also happens to be the cleanest dock in the ever-shifting cosmos. Throwing trash on the ground in careless haste, or Queen forbid, into the water is expressly forbidden.

Culture

Apiaxtlan consists of two adjacent cultures. The Apiax themselves are an insectoid hivemind ruled by a Queen, though the boundaries of independence may be redrawn by elements willing to disassociate themselves from the Hive or limit their connection in various ways, some of them necessary for those who perform in the higher castes or leave Grand Convergence. That said, whatever is said or done to a single member of the Apiax tends to become common knowledge within the entire hive quite quickly, making for some very efficient policing.

In general, the Apiax thrive on building and engineering efforts, always happy to assist in any challenge requiring their expertise. They enjoy an orderly life, but unlike many hive systems, also see the benefits of individualism and flexibility. This is perhaps due to the Queen and the method used by the Apiax to select them.

Outside of the hive city, the lower levels of Apiaxtlan are a constant mishmash of cultures. It is a vibrant, ever shifting affair of a hundred maritime traditions and all the dozens of Worlds that have come into contact due to the deep water connection, which inevitably leads to an interesting time. Although it is no Drasin in size and scope, there are few places in Grand Convergence who remain so lively and hopeful. One day pirates might be docking next to hated merchant rivals, the next docking next to warships or privateers. All collectively agree to keep their politics and histories on the shelf, though despite this there are always a few black eyes, broken tails, missing teeth and new additions to Apiax General Corrections every couple days.

Points of Interest

The Apiaxtlan City-Hive: While Apiax follow their interests and can be found everywhere in GC, they are most strongly associated with their nexus in Apiaxtlan. While friendly and welcoming, few outsiders ever visit the inner reaches of the city, considered very unpleasant for anyone who isn't an Apiax. The tunnels are disorienting, pitch black and terribly hot. They are extremely wide but a little too short for a normal human to travel, following a logic only the Apiax can understand.

Apiax General Corrections: While the Oubliette in Bin Agal is reserved for dangerous prisoners, AGC is generally intended for the standard population. Apiax prisons run a rehabilitation program to ensure prisoners are doing something beneficial during their stay. Their primary, and most notorious, job is to help clean the sewer pipes and waste treatment systems alongside the drones. As one might expect, this greatly dampens the recidivism rate. 'Down the Pipes' is often used in GC slang for describing such a sticky and unpleasant fate.

Thousand Tears Lake: One of the greatest engineering feats of the Apiax at large was to design a method to capture freshwater throughout the surrounding Plates and collect it in a central reservoir. This large artificial lake is the result, connected directly to the Spire to allow aquatic beings and ships to travel as they please. A wide circle of different ports allow ships of different sizes and styles to dock. The collection system above results in what appears to be eternal rain falling into the reservoir, lending itself to the name. The lower levels of Apiaxtlan form the support structures for the docking area, lending a much more open feel thanks to the inevitable mingling of cultures and maritime traditions. Aquatic races are allowed to build homes in the lake if they wish, though bureaucratic measures are heavy and residents are monitored quite carefully to make sure they do not contaminate the waters.

Water Treatment & Pipeworks: While natural water sources are found in many places around GC, the central water network begins and ends here. This massive complex treats wastewater, purifies fresh, and pipes it away to every corner of GC. These pipes use the Spires to access the various plates and the Pipeworks are run almost entirely by Apiax drones, who also design and install new pipes over time, leading the system to be a byzantine nightmare to anyone else trying to decipher the flow of piping. The caretakers are extremely efficient at maintaining the system though, leading few to disturb their careful work.