Ionin

Ionin was a small Nation State formed in 721, neighbouring Urushee, until its destruction during The Collapse. It primarily served as a large-scale Research Institute dedicated to the study of Arcane science, with its mission statement expressing a desire to understand the inner-workings of the flow of magic in the world.

Founding

Ionin was founded by Dremon Bryrel in Kir-721 following several years of negotiation and agreements with the nation of Urushee. At the time, a press release was made declaring the formation of a "State-wide Research Institute" that would form the small nation state of Ionin to the west of Urushee, near part of its mountainous region, in a currently uninhabitated area of grasslands. Recruiting notable scientific researchers, scholars, and Archmagi from multiple nations across Erra, the stated mission of the institute was "To learn the inner workings of the Magic that permeates our world, and how to fully unlock its potential for the future of our people".
For the first two decades, Ionin comprised of only the Ivorburn Research Institute and essential facilities for sustaining an independent society, such as residential districts and agricultural fields. Reportedly, this was done by Bryrel as a means to ensure the Institute could properly function as a separate entity to Urushee, rather than risk any unnecessary expansion efforts too early into its life span. Formal construction elements for further facilities would begin in Ith-744, with the construction of secondary and tertiary facilities, as well as converting the existing residential districts into small cities of their own.
In 807, the newly elected Head Researcher Fylson Mialar would announce plans for Ionin to open its borders for traditional residency applications, allowing foreign nationals without backgrounds in academic fields to reside in the country under immigration schemes that would allow them to perform state-sanctioned jobs "deemed important to a functioning society". These roles typically came as either manual labour tasks, such as Mining, Farming, and Transportation, or as operating small businesses for the ever-growing Residential cities, such as bakeries or amenities.
By 865, Ionin contained 5 Major Cities, 3 Research institutes, 7 Sub-Facilities, a commerce hub, and an expansive network of agricultural support.

Speculated Projects

The work performed at the Ionion Research Institutes was generally shrouded in much secrecy due to the sensitivity of the investigations they were performing. As the general mission statement was to solve the mysteries regarding the nature of Arcane arts and Magic, the nation state worked with Urushee to develop rigid security protocols at their facilities to ensure information could not be leaked. As a result, most of what we believe was worked on comes largely as speculation or rumours based on what little our ancestors were told at the time.
728 Long Range communication systems capable of penetrating physical barriers that would block Radio transmissions 733 Various enhancements to existing Arcane Propulsion systems 735 Enchantments to reduce weight of metal alloys 741 Applications of imbuing magnetism in mundane objects 747 Further improvements to Propulsion systems 756 Arcane Combustion Engine 768 Automated Cooling Systems
During the late 740s, a moratorium on public discussion of projects being worked on in Ionin was issued, with only finished projects being formally talked about. All the following projects are speculative, and have no specific dates attributed to them.
Cultivation of plant-life in suspended environments Responsive Environment Suits Arcane Radiation Detection Enhanced growth rates for natural objects Oxidiser solutions Arcane Radar capable of locating mineral deposits inside of mountains Methods of food preservation

Criticism

In 831, controversy was generated towards allegedly harsh working conditions in the recently-founded Ionion mining operations, close to the primary facility of Ivorburn Research Institute, following an anonymous whistleblower informed prominent Enphunian state-backed newspaper The Enphune Herald about a string of fatal accidents that had occurred in the years since it was opened. The coverage of this issue was soon picked up by other significant outlets, and is particularly notable as one of the few instances of officials from Ionin publicly commenting on accusations levied against their operations. They confirmed that there had been multiple incidents, however they attributed the causes of the fatalities to user error in the operation of their advanced arcane technology that powered the mining operations. While this drew further criticism, particularly from Emperor Manfred Estiefort of Enphune, who stated their response "belittled the deaths of the workers in question, and trampled over the grief of their families in order to protect their own image", no public comments were made by the families in question.
The Enphune Herald would later break headlines regarding the Institution again in 852, with allegations of projects being worked on at the secondary facilities of the nation state being "dangerous and irresponsible, playing with elements that should not be touched". Ionion Head Researcher Jyse Mialar dismissed these claims as spurious and "utter nonsense created to draw attention and sell newspaper subscriptions".

Destruction & Aftermath

Ionin was destroyed as a near-immediate after-effect of The Collapse in Rort-18, 874. A travelling merchant that had exited the radius of the destruction observed a deafening screeching noise shortly after the Arcane Engine in his transportation failed, before experiencing an earthquake-like tremor. As they turned back to face Raventown, which they had just departed from, a catastrophic opaque wave of arcane energy was observed rapidly expanding from the nearby research facility. The intensity of the blast was such that the merchant was deafened and blinded for several hours after the incident, as well as sustaining critical injuries as the shockwave threw them over 100 metres from their original position. The merchant, who wished to remain unnamed, would die in the following days from intense Arcane Irradiation Poisoning.
What were once vistas of grasslands, farming projects and a steadily growing civilisation founded upon the principles of research, today Ionin has been reduced to a barren wasteland, devoid of the traditional wildlife that once inhabited it. The majority of the land is defined by a large crater, encompassing from an area believed to be where the Ivorburn Research Institute was once located, effectively creating the effect of a large canyon that covers roughly a third of the State. Due to the intense Arcane Irradiation, exploration to this area has been impossible, and Ionin was for several centuries deemed uninhabitable by any forms of life. Starting in 1083, however, Arcana {Minor} creatures, as well as later those of the Major distinction, have been discovered as residing in the area, with theories of significant jumps in evolution being caused by the aftereffects of the intense radiation.
Conversation with these races have revealed the majority of Ionin to be a desolate, dustbowl-like biome, with ruins of previous cities and centres being re-purposed as the makeshift tribal homes for their clans. The Pit of Arrogance, as they have elected to call the crater in light of information exchange about the history of the state, remains largely unexplored as it remains far too hostile of an environment even for their adapted bodies. However, efforts to delve into the crater have begun by The Bitter Sand clan in recent decades (as of 1177). It is estimated to be 14 kilometres in diameter, and approximately 1250m deep.

721 - 874

Type

Geopolitical, State

Demonym

Ionion

Leader

Dremon Bryrel

Government System

Democracy, Parliamentary

Power Structure

Federation

Notable Members

• Dremon Bryrel

Related Species

• Dragons