Erryl
The Erryl (adj. Ryllian) were a bird-like race who once ruled over the spheres. The most recent and arguably the most advanced ancient race known to historians, the Erryl left many traces of their great civilization across the spheres. A society filled with flying neon metropolises and ruthless mega-corporations, greed and innovation propelled their civilization to great heights. They are most well-known for their advanced cybernetics, light-speed travel, and computing--much of which is still little understood by the spheres' current inhabitants.
By the time the Erryl industrialized, they had established footholds on many spheres. As technology advanced, power in their society shifted from militaristic warlords to the merchant class. The feudal system gave way to anarcho-capitalism controlled by a small number of corporations. The shift in governance did little to stymie the Erryl's desire for expansion, in fact, the resources necessary to fund such monolothic entities only increased it. Soon, the Erryl had dominated all of the spheres through advanced technologyh and military air power.
Even at the height of their hegemony, a few contemporary civilizations managed to hold out against Ryllian occupation. Most notable were the Kitsune. While their lands fell easily, their hidden villages proved difficult to locate. As such, much of their culture and infrastructure not only survived the invasion, but benefited from it. Their wealthy and powerful occupiers made for many pockets for the mischevious foxes to pick. Many Kitsune assimiliated with Ryllian culture to get closer to their marks, while some remained in hiding--never to be found by their supposed rulers.
Another civilization that proved troublesome for the Erryl were the lobster-like Gargan. They built their cities in underwater caves and were said to have a psychic bond with water. The Erryl's traditional aerial tactics availed them little against these foes, so they turned to biologically engineering a species to dispatch them. The Ghillie were sentient globs of seaweed perpetually starve of oxygen, who were created to suck the air out of their victims' lungs through a deadly "kiss." The Ghillie proved effective at their genocidal task. Too effective, in fact as they proved equally cumbersome to remove from the fallen Gargan cities as their original inhabitants. In an ironic twist of fate, while the Erryl and Gargan are long gone, the Ghillie still run rampant across the spheres to this day.
As technology marched forward and increasingly relied on nectar as a source of energy, power consolidated into a single individual, known as the Exarch, who ruled over Source in a settlement called Sky City. Said to have gone mad with power during his rule, he cared little for his people and devoted all his great civilization's power and resources toward studying the progenitors and seeking out the orphan sphere. With growing class divisions already straining Ryllian society, the Exarch squandered what little public resources remained on expeditions to the Rim's farthest reaches and Source's deepest depths.
The Erryl soldiers never returned with news of the mythical planet their leader sought, but did bring back a deadly plague from their journeys. The Ryllian plague proved to be the deathblow for a society already teetering on the brink of collapse, and within a decade of the first outbreak, no Erryl remained on the spheres.
Anti-gravity also proved crucial to the Erryl's domination of the spheres. Their ability to fly allowed them to expand their cities in three dimensions, settling them in places that other races couldn't reach and eventually lanching them into the skies. They also used anti-gravity for personal transportation, letting them hover objects or individuals too heavy for their frail bodies to carry.
Robotics in Erryl society were also highly advanced. Drones were common household items for both security and manual labor. In tandem with these advancements came similar breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Many everyday objects were imbued with some sort of sentient personality to assist their users.
Perhaps the Erryl's greatest accomplishment was a wireless information infrastructure called the Network, that linked all of their technology and devices together. Unlike the decentralized networks of our world's internet, the Network was propogated through a series of central towers that radiated wireless signals. This allowed anyone within the towers' range to access the Network, while also letting Megacorporations access, filter, and control information disseminated on it.
As a race that industrialized on Mong Bal during a time when Source orbited Jotun, the Erryl achieved a higher level of advancement than most in the spheres before incorporating nectar into their technologies. They primarily relied on solar power, meaning many Ryllian artifacts found today do not require nectar to power so long as you can outfit them with a working solar cell.
Most early Erryl displayed strong affection and loyalty toward their government, viewing them as a source of protection. From their earliest days, most Erryl understood that they were stronger when travelling in flocks, and recognized the benefits of adhering to cultural norms. It certainly helped that dishonorable actions often met with harsh punishments.
Early Erryl societies also embraced a certain degree of spiritualism. They viewed birds as their sacred forebears, and worshipped a pantheon called the Great Nest. Early Erryl clerics preached that various aspects of their culture came from different holy birds--the hawks teaching them to fight, the owls to hunt, and the mockingbirds to sing. As their society expanded and became more militaristic, veneration shifted from the gods of the Great Nest to the shoguns and samurai. Although, many early rulers of nest cities mythologized themselves by travelling with bird companions they claimed to have been sent by the great nest itself. As the Erryl industrialized, their spiritualism waned, and by the time they had spread across the spheres they lost their connection to the Dream World entirely.
During the later stages of Ryllian society, the flock mentality that had kept them alive in their early days had all but vanished. Automation and technology had reduced the need for communal efforts, and those in power came to view the members of Ryllian society as expendable resources. Some struck back against their corporate overlords. The Shadowcouriers were a profession that acted as free agents within the Ryllian economy, sometimes doing battle against megacorporations and sometimes enriching themselves by doing thier bidding.
Over the course of their adventures, the Party has come across many remnants of the Erryl civilization:
Artifacts--Arc Boomerang, Scout Rifle, Ryllian Feather Staff, Radial Shield, Ryllian Stealth Drone, Tojiro the Blade, Cloudboard, Jaunt Drive, Ryllian Scouter, Yoko-Sendai Deck
Ship Schema--Pulse Cannon, Solar Sail, Rail Gun
Disciplines--Shadow Courier
Notes--Milto's Plea, Shadow Courier's Chatlog
History
The Erryl first developed as a feudal militaristic society. They compensated for their frail physiology through the gift of flight, imparting a drive for expansion early in their development. Early Erryl soldiers fell into two primary castes: samurai who guarded their nest cities and ronin who wandered to expand their territorial reach. Many Erryl adhered to a strict code and placed their trust and faith over the shoguns who ruled their cities. However, overtime criminal elements motivated by personal interests seeped into their society. Early rulers were challenged by a syndicate known as the Black Talons, who introduce elements of graft and corruption that sunk deep into the fabric of Erryl society.By the time the Erryl industrialized, they had established footholds on many spheres. As technology advanced, power in their society shifted from militaristic warlords to the merchant class. The feudal system gave way to anarcho-capitalism controlled by a small number of corporations. The shift in governance did little to stymie the Erryl's desire for expansion, in fact, the resources necessary to fund such monolothic entities only increased it. Soon, the Erryl had dominated all of the spheres through advanced technologyh and military air power.
Even at the height of their hegemony, a few contemporary civilizations managed to hold out against Ryllian occupation. Most notable were the Kitsune. While their lands fell easily, their hidden villages proved difficult to locate. As such, much of their culture and infrastructure not only survived the invasion, but benefited from it. Their wealthy and powerful occupiers made for many pockets for the mischevious foxes to pick. Many Kitsune assimiliated with Ryllian culture to get closer to their marks, while some remained in hiding--never to be found by their supposed rulers.
Another civilization that proved troublesome for the Erryl were the lobster-like Gargan. They built their cities in underwater caves and were said to have a psychic bond with water. The Erryl's traditional aerial tactics availed them little against these foes, so they turned to biologically engineering a species to dispatch them. The Ghillie were sentient globs of seaweed perpetually starve of oxygen, who were created to suck the air out of their victims' lungs through a deadly "kiss." The Ghillie proved effective at their genocidal task. Too effective, in fact as they proved equally cumbersome to remove from the fallen Gargan cities as their original inhabitants. In an ironic twist of fate, while the Erryl and Gargan are long gone, the Ghillie still run rampant across the spheres to this day.
As technology marched forward and increasingly relied on nectar as a source of energy, power consolidated into a single individual, known as the Exarch, who ruled over Source in a settlement called Sky City. Said to have gone mad with power during his rule, he cared little for his people and devoted all his great civilization's power and resources toward studying the progenitors and seeking out the orphan sphere. With growing class divisions already straining Ryllian society, the Exarch squandered what little public resources remained on expeditions to the Rim's farthest reaches and Source's deepest depths.
The Erryl soldiers never returned with news of the mythical planet their leader sought, but did bring back a deadly plague from their journeys. The Ryllian plague proved to be the deathblow for a society already teetering on the brink of collapse, and within a decade of the first outbreak, no Erryl remained on the spheres.
Technology
The Erryl are known for mastering powerful technologies, and finding an Erryl artifact usually proves a great boon to any people who come across them. As a people intrinsically linked to the skies and gifted with great vision, no other civilization acquired a mastery of light greater than that of the Erryl. Their jaunt technologies allowed them to move people and cargo short distances at the speed of light. They also incorporated hard light panels into their infrastructure, capable of turning entire highways and skyscrapers on and off with the flip of a switch.Anti-gravity also proved crucial to the Erryl's domination of the spheres. Their ability to fly allowed them to expand their cities in three dimensions, settling them in places that other races couldn't reach and eventually lanching them into the skies. They also used anti-gravity for personal transportation, letting them hover objects or individuals too heavy for their frail bodies to carry.
Robotics in Erryl society were also highly advanced. Drones were common household items for both security and manual labor. In tandem with these advancements came similar breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Many everyday objects were imbued with some sort of sentient personality to assist their users.
Perhaps the Erryl's greatest accomplishment was a wireless information infrastructure called the Network, that linked all of their technology and devices together. Unlike the decentralized networks of our world's internet, the Network was propogated through a series of central towers that radiated wireless signals. This allowed anyone within the towers' range to access the Network, while also letting Megacorporations access, filter, and control information disseminated on it.
As a race that industrialized on Mong Bal during a time when Source orbited Jotun, the Erryl achieved a higher level of advancement than most in the spheres before incorporating nectar into their technologies. They primarily relied on solar power, meaning many Ryllian artifacts found today do not require nectar to power so long as you can outfit them with a working solar cell.
Culture
Developing from feudalism straight into anarcho-capitalism, Ryllian society has always ahered to a pecking order. The gap between the haves and have-nots widened as their civilization developed, increasing the number of dissafected citizens while their technology and supremacy soared to greater and greater heights.Most early Erryl displayed strong affection and loyalty toward their government, viewing them as a source of protection. From their earliest days, most Erryl understood that they were stronger when travelling in flocks, and recognized the benefits of adhering to cultural norms. It certainly helped that dishonorable actions often met with harsh punishments.
Early Erryl societies also embraced a certain degree of spiritualism. They viewed birds as their sacred forebears, and worshipped a pantheon called the Great Nest. Early Erryl clerics preached that various aspects of their culture came from different holy birds--the hawks teaching them to fight, the owls to hunt, and the mockingbirds to sing. As their society expanded and became more militaristic, veneration shifted from the gods of the Great Nest to the shoguns and samurai. Although, many early rulers of nest cities mythologized themselves by travelling with bird companions they claimed to have been sent by the great nest itself. As the Erryl industrialized, their spiritualism waned, and by the time they had spread across the spheres they lost their connection to the Dream World entirely.
During the later stages of Ryllian society, the flock mentality that had kept them alive in their early days had all but vanished. Automation and technology had reduced the need for communal efforts, and those in power came to view the members of Ryllian society as expendable resources. Some struck back against their corporate overlords. The Shadowcouriers were a profession that acted as free agents within the Ryllian economy, sometimes doing battle against megacorporations and sometimes enriching themselves by doing thier bidding.
Artifacts and Legacy
Ryllian artifacts and disciplines remain common on the spheres, particularly in Mong Bal and the Rim. Mong Bal warlords often rely on their powerful artifacts to shape the terrain around their cities, both to survive their spheres' harsh desert climate and to rule over their people as de facto technological gods. Pirate factions on the Rim place great value on Erryl ship parts, as their utilization of solar energy often provides substantial benefit to ships travelling in naught gravity.Over the course of their adventures, the Party has come across many remnants of the Erryl civilization:
Artifacts--Arc Boomerang, Scout Rifle, Ryllian Feather Staff, Radial Shield, Ryllian Stealth Drone, Tojiro the Blade, Cloudboard, Jaunt Drive, Ryllian Scouter, Yoko-Sendai Deck
Ship Schema--Pulse Cannon, Solar Sail, Rail Gun
Disciplines--Shadow Courier
Notes--Milto's Plea, Shadow Courier's Chatlog
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