This Realm Has Closed
At the edge of the world sits a kingdom forged of steam and quintessence, called by some the 'Queen's Jewel', and known as the Isle of Angolia. The men and women of this realm, known as Angolians, are familiar with the strange and otherworldly and would find the Dreaming to be a pleasant place where the monsters and demons have manners. Around their island is a vast sea and beyond that, a darkness in every direction. Over the decades, many expeditions to these shadow lands had been tried. Many tried and many died, however one ship did eventually return, a galleon called Fenrir's Claw. The Afflicted are among the bloodline descendants of that voyage, but you wouldn't want anyone to know this heritage; in each of these individuals lies a beast that waits to sate its appetite on living flesh.
For years, the attacks were few and far between, an urban legend to keep children behaved. But as the bloodlines grew longer and longer, the stacks of bodies grew taller. In response, the angolians used a magical substance called quintessence to create Automatons. Somewhere in the process, something went wrong (or perhaps very right) and these mechanical guardians developed a soul. The automatons served angolians for a time but then came the Robot Revolt and the monarchy was eventually forced to give them their freedom. Some chose to continue serving their former masters for a fair recompense while others came into possession of the very beasts they were forced to hunt. The afflicted found that their iron friends were quite effective at containing them in the depths of their stately manors.
For years, the attacks were few and far between, an urban legend to keep children behaved. But as the bloodlines grew longer and longer, the stacks of bodies grew taller. In response, the angolians used a magical substance called quintessence to create Automatons. Somewhere in the process, something went wrong (or perhaps very right) and these mechanical guardians developed a soul. The automatons served angolians for a time but then came the Robot Revolt and the monarchy was eventually forced to give them their freedom. Some chose to continue serving their former masters for a fair recompense while others came into possession of the very beasts they were forced to hunt. The afflicted found that their iron friends were quite effective at containing them in the depths of their stately manors.
Over time, the automatons became a cornerstone of society and shepherds of industry. They were able to easily perform tasks that would scorch flesh or break bone and could fulfill jobs without a need for light to see or air in their steely lungs. They began to create more and more of their own kind until eventually an oil shortage turned them against one another. Smaller towns began to regulate limits on their mechanical population while robot slums sprung up in the grandiose cities of steam.
Angolians (Humans)Centuries ago, the angolians were the only sentient inhabitants of Victoriana. Time and again, they have caused other beings to come into existence due to their own curiosity and hubris. While most don't concern themselves with such matters, a few have "ego's equal to that of god" as the saying goes. Angolia is controlled by a monarch, currently the Queen Camilla XI, and the Pennelegion royal family, of which none are afflicted. They oversee the courts, a parliament of representatives from across the country, and regional governors who are responsible for the order and civil services in their district.
Costume and Roleplay
Afflicted (Humans)The afflicted are indistinguishable from their human counterparts, the angolians, and they use this fact to its utmost advantage. The afflicted come from both "highborn" and "lowborn" strains of the disease and have a complex hierarchy of bloodlines and rivalries that dates back centuries. Purebloods, werewolves that only breed among themselves, are treated like royalty and they see every other wolf as a soldier and angolians as food. They embrace their hunger and look forward to the hunt every moon. Half-bloods, the nobility of afflicted culture have a keener acceptance of their disease and allow their kin to breed with angolians of noble descent to strengthen their grasp on the human government.
The third group of afflicted are known as the Flea Bitten. They are composed of those born into poverty, bastards born with angolian commoners, and wolf families that have lost their power. Flea Bitten make up the majority of the species and are among the most commonly killed or hunted because they lack the resources to disappear when discovered. Many live among the automaton slums where no one would bother to look and they can't hurt their metal neighbors. There are also lesser strains of shape-shifting that allow afflicted to transform into other predatory mammals, but these are rare and considered monsters among all wolves except the most destitute of Flea Bitten.
Costume and Roleplay
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AutomatonAutomatons are a young species in the grand scheme. Some people view them as a logical next step in evolution while others persecute them as devil's work. Automatons do not know what they are; they seek fulfillment but do not know why; they believe in a religious idol called The Grandfather Clock, but cannot fathom faith. They are an amalgamation of metal bodies and human minds that are powered by oil and quintessence. Some automatons live among the wealthy as indentured servants in exchange for shelter and fuel. The rest are public laborers who work for the angolian crown and live in oil slums. A lucky few come from the City of Sprockets, the only city almost entirely populated by automatons and overseen by a robot governor.
Automatons do not require air, but they often use it to filter some of their internal parts. Automatons can convert food to energy and require water for their boilers which helps them fit in among organic beings. Although technically they could be Immortal, the average automaton lives to be 1000 years old. Any who have survived to that advanced of an age are usually made up of a rusty framework or even just a head, and all automatons eventually suffer from an irreversible Insanity called "Binary Creep" which can set in anytime after the age of 300. Automatons need to consume oil as fuel every few days to stay in good working order.
Costume and Roleplay
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