The Masial Fortalice

The Masial Fortalice is a defensive superstructure that acts as a trade hub connecting the global east to the global west, the old world of Vledath to the new world Areth. It's the first permanent structure built in the Maelstrom or the World Veil. The Maelstrom is the name for the large storming wall or curtain that bisects the world preventing global travel, which is made up of the bright. Once thought impregnable. The Masial Fortalice is the seat of power for the Amuerer House who controls and administrates it.
In the past traveling throughout the world was accomplished by the use of the Sanctum Cities connected dimensional gates/portal system part of their divine relic patterns. After the destruction of the new worlds Sanctum cities and their relic patterns and as a result, their dimensional gates/portal systems travel through the world veil became a necessity to reach Areth the new world. This came about by three means.
One way was to completely negate traveling through the world veil by the means of traversal of the paths during the season of travel. The season was marked by the opening of rifts/tears into the world creating entrances into the paths. These rifts often brought otherworldly creatures and items often weird structures and parts of ruins that spill into Essiothas. Groups take advantage of the appearance of rifts scavengers and collectors flood to new rifts hoping to discover the next big find. Though often becoming food for outer world entities and beings. This allowed some lucky and brave individuals the pathfinders to be able to traverse and navigate the paths in order to reach the other side of the world. Though many became exiled or lost in other dimensions or in the paths themselves. Many pathfinders often lost their lives in the pursuit of discovering a shortcut to the new world.
The second way was to traverse lighter areas of the bright. In modern times made easy by the use of protective equipment/suits, bright purges, and by the use of modern vehicles. Though lacking such amenities those in the first two ages had to deal with the unpredictable movement and inherent dangers of the bright. And the effects of the bright on both the mental and physical aspects of living beings. Most did not or could not make it through the world veil this way. Either dying before reaching the other side, or being made crazy by its influence. The one successful group to traverse the world veil in this way was the warlike peoples the I Kowhiria the people of the waves. Who pierced the veil and raided the old world.
The third and most successful way to traverse the Maelstrom came with the development of aeronautical vessels and technologies which traveling at high speeds allowed groups to pierce the veil. Later with the innovation in and the study and understanding of casting and weaving, caster organizations the Brightbound reverse-engineered the shield relics which were created by the divine and gifted to the mortal races in order to protect the inhabitants of the world like the Sanctum cities from the bright. Allowing them to recreate the protective patterns and with later innovations and discoveries, these patterns became small enough to place on aeronautical vessels/airships greatly increasing their survivability.
With the Amuerer House's creation of the Masial Fortalice trade and travel to the other side of the world became possible once more. Allowing for the transportation of resources and creating a global system of trade. Areths main and most sought after export is SySu Sap other exports included lumber, Metals, rare earth materials, fresh stored produce, hides, powerful beings harvestable by the essence harvesting industries, and more. Though many nations and other smaller organizations travel to Areth to settle colonies to add to their nation's imperialistic ventures.

Demographics

The Masial fortalice is a multi-cultural meeting point where the races and ethnicities that make up the mortal races come to trade. Aeronautical trade and cargo ships and others are forced to go through the Masial Fortalice and many organizations decided to capitalize on this fact and established businesses within the structure.

Government

The Amuerer House has a Geniocracy Meritocracy form of governance where the most intelligent and successful are heads of state. The guild/house has many minor factions that vie for power many influenced by organizations seeking favor among the factions.

Defences

Its main defense is its pattern system which is powered by relics the House discovered in the paths called the Corona's. These Corona's also power large cannons and the Bio-organic living defense and security system The Pendurium. This system has control of living drones which can be sent after enemy ships and vessels attaching to them before detonating. The House also has a local defense force whose biological armor is connected to the Pendurium allowing the guards and protectors to see and obtain information from the system.

Industry & Trade

The Masial Fortalice is the only Liminal space between worlds it connects the old world to the new world and has a monopoly on passage between the world. The global east and the global west would have little connection and contact due to the difficulty and danger of traversing the World veil.

Guilds and Factions

The Amuerer House: Is the ruling organization of Masial Fortalice. Who themselves were part of the original members of The Supreme Ministry of higher pursuits. Before they were lost in the paths/warrens during one of many expeditions. Returning to the world changed and altered in some manner.
Brightbound Guilds: Various brightbound guilds have settled into the Masial Fortalice seeking to influence the future direction of the superstructure.
Arte Sreni Cambio banking guild: Originally called the golden order established in the continent of Xovjurasesh and having a substantial role in trade in the region. It became the largest and most powerful banking guild in the area having hands in much of the regions economic ventures. They created their guild house in the Sanctum city of Adhbah Ash Shamalivah before the merchant lord's conquest and capture of the city. After which they moved to the reconstructing Sanctum city of Karvend after the Persone dimenticate uprising in which they funded the rebuilding of the city and changed their name. They are now one of if not the cities largest banking guild. The discovery of the Resonance Sphere is a demiplane or manifold that surrounds Essiothas and intersects and interacts with our dimension/realm. The Resonance Sphere is a realm of thought, information, ideals, and knowledge. Believed to be created by the divine as a means to communicate with other divines and their followers. It's there where it is believed the god's realms or the gates to them are held and where their warbodies materialize from. Normally connecting to the realm is dangerous due to the beings that reside within it the most dangerous ones being the Whispering Remnants the remaining consciousnesses of dead divines. With the creation of the Enlightenment system controlled by large marionette units structures throughout the world, a small portion of the Resonance Sphere was quarantined and walled from the rest of the realm now used as a network in which information is sent. Arte Sreni Cambio banking guild using their wealth to construct their own marionette units to control and administrate information and creating a global banking guild system. They have set up their infrastructure in the Masial Fortalice being the center of the world where they control their global enterprise. Now, much of the world's banking information goes through the Enlightenment system and is controlled by the Arte Sreni Cambio banking guild.
World Powers: seeking control and supremacy over the new world. And as a result, securing all its abundant natural resources. Various intelligence organizations such as the Eidolon, The Royal Directorate of Propaganda and Domestic Security, and others of the world powers have set up numerous fronts in order to monitor and influence the Masial Fortalice.
The Supreme Ministry of higher pursuits: The organization's agenda is to bring about The New renaissance the age of innovation and reason. This age also known as the age of illumination is a speculative future age the organization hopes to create which would bring about a near-perfect world. They employ some of the world's most brilliant and ingenious minds in order to reach their golden age. They seek to bring the Amuerer House's/guild back into the fold and hope in doing so to receive and adopt the guilds technologies and knowledge.
The Higher Industrial Consortium: The ruling body of the Sanctum City of Haddon the industrial capital led by the Greyson family. The consortium is made up of large industries seeking control over the resources of the new world and the development of its lands. They seek to build factories, mines, and logging sites to harvest the resources from the largely untouched continent. Many of the representatives of these industries such as the essence harvesting industries are also influenced and founded by Arnarfells Builders foundation also having a substantial investment in the consortium and in other business dealings. Which would benefit from the opening up and development of Areth.
AMD The agency of manifold defense: A global institution dedicated to defending and investigating otherworldly entities and events. Their assignment in the Masial Fortalice is to monitor the Everbright and the world veil for the presence of otherworldly entities or for the opening of rifts. Outside their public mission statement, nothing more is known about the AMD.
Lesser guilds and organizations: Many smaller insignificant guilds, organizations, and companies call the Masial Fortalice home. Seeking to gain more capital and influence by trading, transporting, and harvesting goods and resources of Areth.

History

Throughout the first two ages the Age of Blinding Radiance and The Age of Divine Awakening the world was connected through The Celestial Legions' creation of dimensional gates which allow for instantaneous travel between the Sanctum Cities. Though with the destruction of the Sanctum Cities of Uliast, Dast Sahwan, Glaenarm, and Makwakwa the new world the global west was completely cut off from the rest of the world. On top of that, the Divinity wars caused many great wounds and scars on to the world one of the greatest being the World Vail a rift/scar in the Prime Weave which protected the world from the worse of the Everbright, the mass of energies that surround the world bathing it in an ever-present glow. But the damage in the Prime Weave allowed the bright to flood into the world from the Everbright creating the World Veil.

Tourism

The Masial Fortalice is awe-striking even to those that have witnessed even the most beautiful natural wonders. It's a technological marvel a masterpiece of engineering and construction unlike anything seen before. Its scale alone is impressive being the size of a small nation. The fact that it spans the whole length of the shrouded continent connecting the two divided parts of the world just adds to its wonder. It attracts explorers, adventures, pathfinders, and industry and government groups looking to claim a part of the new world and exploit its abundant resources. It also receives revolutionaries, free folk, and religiously persecuted groups who are seeking new lands and homes away from the authoritarian rule and control of the central nations and The Celestial Legion and The Hierarchy of Divinities the single universal and largest religion throughout the world. Being that they are the successors of the divinity and ascension wars and subjugated or eliminated other pantheons or divines refusing to be absorbed or incorporated within them before ascending.

Architecture

The whole of the superstructure seems to be made of some type of ossified material. This living or once-living material can be shaped creating complex structures. All of the infrastructures of the Masial Fortalice are created from this living material. The structures living material can perform all of the necessary functions needed. The ossified bone-like building material has many color variations and allows for the engineers to create anything needed. The Masial Fortalice is controlled and monitored by the Pendurium a living intelligent system

Geography

The lands outside the walls are alien, made weird by the influence of the bright. Though do to the impossibility of exploration it's unknown what the terrain is like. Though likely broken barren lands covered by mutated and aberrant life.

Type

Citadel

Location under

Maelstrom or the World Veil.