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[Twinwolf]

Welcome, Askian Engineer.

Don’t mind the construction sounds, the testing annex is still in the works.

War is coming. It’s been a long peace, but it won’t last forever, and tensions are brewing with the despicable Etroans. As you all know, in the Treaty of Iraine, all signatories agreed to make efforts to disarm. And our leaders at the time, fools they were, actually did it! Some mad peace advocate actually burned down the R&D facility, and the funding was never fronted to rebuild it! Until now, that is. So we’re rebuilding R&D from scratch. Take inspiration from our past, and use it to design the arms of the future.

---

Ours is a long, eventful history compared to many nations. Oh the advancements we made, the wars we won and the culture we created! But even the greatest states started from nothing. We were once a people no different from the other tribes and soon-to-be-kingdoms of humanity, whether we were nomadic sailors or desert hunters or settling in an arboreal forest. But then, we changed that.

It is now the Design Phase.

There will be two designs this turn. For the first, you are asked what set your people apart from the rest? What technology defined the proto-Askians?

The second design this turn, is what unique resource was found in your lands, and nowhere else? What nearly magic (and in fact, your ancestors may well have thought it magic!) material gave your people early advantages?

While not strictly required, it is encouraged to include narrative in these designs - particularly, at this early stage, what sort of terrain your nation found itself in, as this will influence the map.

---

Core Thread

---


Preliminary Design Phase 1
Preliminary Revision Phase 1
Preliminary Design Phase 2
Preliminary Revision Phase 2
Preliminary Design Phase 3
Preliminary Revision Phase 3

[Powder Miner]

Named Askia? Well then let me just apply my knowledge of West Africa, and of the Sahara-Sahel region where Askia Mohammed's Songhai Empire was

Tu Survival
The geography of Askia is one that enforced a very particular dynamic on its people -- after all, Askians had to contend with two different types of terrain. One was the savannah that has traditionally been considered as Askia itself, a flat and open land but one that has been always quite survivable, with agriculture able to survive and often thrive, thanks to the rich river Konoo that cuts through the region and provides water with its tributaries. The other was the Desert Tu, a place named such because in the Askian language, "Tu" means to be condemned to death. As the name implies, the Desert Tu is a thoroughly lethal place. Not only is it a desert, but it is a vast one, and one that is uniquely dry and hot. Oases do exist here, and are the places where life truly congregates in the desert -- but to cross the desert, you need to be able to survive on the routes between the oases, a process which takes knowledge and experience as it can take days to get between some of these oases.

For this reason, the Askian empires, in order to be able to trade with the other civilizations of the world, had to gain that knowledge and experience, and it's something that they augmented with equipment. Tu Survival is a combination of many different small pieces of equipment and techniques -- scarves, veils and loose clothing that allow the wearer to avoid being burned by the might of the sun while at the same time not contributing to heatstroke, techniques that allow for sufficient provisioning of water, such as knowing which plants in both Askia and Tu have sufficient water, and which can be carried for compact sources of water and food, and even desperation tactics for when survival isn't a certainty. For example, one technique that Askians have been known to perform that few other peoples are able to bring themselves to do is quite literally to piss on a cloth and wrap it around the head in the most searingly hot conditions. It might be disgusting, but its evaporation will help keep the one who does it cool. As a whole, the Tu Survival techniques create a body of clothing, knowledge, and little techniques and items that have ensured the Askians have a unique proficiency in surviving the desert.

[Man of Paper]

The Askian Valleyfolk, Animal Husbandry, and the Montvise Bush

The tribes that would eventually form Askia settled in a large, fertile tract of land that was bound by mountains to it's north and south. Long before they became capable of agricultural advancements, the Askian Valleyfolk had managed to breed and tame a number of animals, most notably among them the horse, the auroch, and the wolf. These creatures provided a lot of utility, food, and companionship, for the Askian Valleyfolk as they began to settle the region.

The valley itself is a glacial valley carved out during an ice age eons ago. Rivers flow into the valley and allow life to flourish, with the earth covered in grasses and dotted with the occasional tree. The mountains that lined the valley were initially considered a barrier to the outside world. In the Askian Mountain Range the Askian people discovered the Montvise Bush. This tangle of vines and branches is covered in pulpy white leaves and crimson red berries. It is extremely durable, capable of growing in conditions that deterred or killed most people. Montvise berries, though tiny, were very potent, and provided those who chewed them with renewed vigor, increased stamina, and a feeling of confidence. Frequent berry usage stained teeth red.

The Montvise Bush and the animals the Askian Valleyfolk tamed allowed them to spread their population with relative ease as nomadic tribes began to settle down.

----

So as the title states, I'm proposing being mountain valley dudes, getting Animal Husbandry for our defining tech, and getting a drugsbush.

[Powder Miner]

Here's some resource ideas (admittedly built around my technology and culture concept):

The esoteric one, going for a sphere of Connection:
Brothers:
Spirituality in Askia had long existed in a totemist context -- people within villages were said to each have a very specific type of animal that was their totem, or, in other words, an animal which had a special spiritual connection with them that was thought to grant them specific powers and aptitudes. People were forbidden to harm the animals that they were said to have a special connection to, allowing for some level of sustainability in the ancient Askian villages, and creating a complete set of spiritual roles in almost any village. Though this has declined significantly in the modern era, in the ancient days of Askia it provided an easy way for the Askians to comprehend a certain something that they found in the Desert Tu -- something that they ended up calling Brothers.

Brothers were stones that were paired in a specific and rather curious way. With a given pair of stones, whatever happened to one would happen to the other.
For example, if one rock were smashed, the other would spontaneously explode into fragments in the same way. If one stone were heated, the other would grow hot as well. If a carving was made on one rock, it would be made on the other. Furthermore, it was discovered that this relationship held even at tremendously long distance, such as between Askia and Tu. Ancient Askians used this to their advantage by essentially creating a form of individual radio communication centuries upon centuries early, where they carved devices out of the rocks that could be twisted and manipulated in various ways to convey messages, allowing two people to communicate easily from anywhere in the world, even if it was just two per pair of Brothers.

Here's a (by now much refined) Biology resource.
Niilamaa Seeds:
For all of the survival prowess of the Askian people, carved by the harsh realities of the Desert Tu... at a certain point, they frankly began to cheat. Archaeologists have noted that at a certain point the behavior of the Askians changes dramatically -- routes that previously had to precariously wind across a great number of oases abruptly became far more streamlined, cutting in straighter lines across the desert and visiting fewer, farther oases along the way. These paths should not have been possible with normal human limits -- scholars therefore almost all believe that this change was precipitated directly by the Askian discovery of the Niilamaa Seeds.

Niilamaa Seeds are a very special kind of seed that come from a kind of plant found dotting the Desert Tu -- the Niilamaa plant is one that fascinates biologists worldwide to this day, as not only can it survive in essentially any condition, but it will thrive in these conditions. A Niilamaa seed can be planted somewhere, and within only a day or so it will grow into a full-sized plant that comes up to around knee height, and it will proceed to survive in that place it is planted with shocking regularity. At first the ancient Askians only believed the occurrences of the Niilamaa plant to be convenient sources of food along the journey up and down the Tu thanks to their hardiness, but later on more curious traders and healers of the Askians were shocked but very much pleased to find that grinding the Niilamaa seeds into paste and applying this paste to another living being would actually apply the effect to the beings in question, granting them more stamina and better healing as long as the paste was reapplied every few days -- something the Askians used on themselves and their animals to allow longer and easier travel in the brutal desert. Though the earliest seeds were limited to this effect, what later Askians would discover was that working with the seeds in different ways and tending the plants into different strains would allow for other effects to be granted by the seeds...

[Man of Paper]

Here's another suggestion. Once again it covers multiple fields but feel free to take it apart and use in combination with other things.

The Askian Muckmen, Biomass, and the Mending Paste

The tribes that became the Askians migrated into a land covered in vast tracts of swamp and marsh. While the flora, fauna, and terrain each provided their own obstacles to sustaining life, one aspect of these swamps proved worth every threat. Some pools in the swamps were infested by blue glowing microbial masses. If someone smeared this raw biomass on a wound it would bind the opening, clot blood, and prevent infection from occurring while the body healed. It also doubled as a surprisingly effective source of sustenance.

The glowing blue pools became focal points for the Askians. Their first attempts at constructed settlement occurred near these seemingly blessed pools of raw Biomass. Tribes formed hierarchies based on access to Biomass, as more Biomass meant more Mending Paste, which meant they could afford to raid and capture other tribes more often.

----

So the three things this one has are Swamp as our nation, Biomass as a resource with a Biology sphere, and the Paste as raw resource used for teh heals

[m1895]

Janjiki Pools and Hopshish blades
The pre-Askian tribes fled into the harsh desert "Tu" in a desperate attempt to escape the Retenarians, a vicious, cruel people with weapons made of "fallen stars"; their lack of preparation cost them dearly when they first came across the Darimutu plant, a pomegranate sized melon. desperately thirsty and half mad with starvation, many of them thanked the Great Ancestors and ate of the remarkably plentiful plants. Juices running down their lips, they laughed at their good fortune, and laughed,
and laughed andlaughedandlaughedand-
*Ahem* where was I? Ah yes, their wiser kin were forced to leave them behind, still laughing. The exhausted, thirsty migrants made camp for the night, a nearly tangible aura of despair hungover them, but that night one of their Shamans had a dream that gave them hope. A dream of forgotten ancestors and their greatest work. Once they awoke in the morning, The Shaman exhorted them with half-memories of his dream, giving them just enough hope to press on against the scorching heat of day and the freezing cold of night. At his lead, they made their way towards a rocky bluff within the day. finding a cave entrance, the five remaining shamans gathered together their "Kayas", now known as Askian Thistle, thirty-six in total, thirty-six being a sacred number to some of the tribe's ancestors, and entered the jagged mouth of the cave. Inside, they found strange pools filled with a black, tarry substance, with each pool having an odd stalagmite at the south end. The Shaman who dreamed placed a Kaya in one of the pools and grasped the stalagmite. Instinctively he used it, like a man wielding a dagger, and like that man his first attempt was quite crude and sloppy, a mass of vaguely crescent shaped thorns,  but as he made one after the other, he improved quickly, and by the thirty-sixth attempt, he had made the ideal Hopshish still used as a pattern to this day. Exiting the cave, he gave out Hospishes to their finest warriors, and demonstrated their unique ability. Sticking the thorns into a Darimutu, and after a few moments took a bite out of it. This gave the tribal remnants a great shock, as they thought their only saviour had just committed the most terrible suicide, but they noticed he didn't start to laugh. The Hopshish must have absorbed the poison! They were saved! They could survive the harsh desert "Tu", But there were still Retenarians occupying their land. Thusly armed, the 34 "Zakara" began the long march back to Askia. Arriving in Askia in a month, they quickly found the Retenarians camped out in the husk of the Kashe'd village. Using the night to their advantage, they crept into the Retenarian tents and pricked select adversaries with their Hopshishes, before very quickly exiting the camp. Once the laughter began, that maddening laughter, the Retenarians flew into a frenzied terror, slaughtering their own friends in the process. Then the Zakara returned and finished off their now much less numerous enemy. This allowed the various pre-Askian tribes to return to their land, though shamans of all tribes continued to make pilgrimages to the Janjiki Pools to make Hopshishes and pay homage to the forgotten ancestors.
~~a dramatized radio broadcast by Ash Collins, Wettanican Expat and Scholar of Askian prehistory, drawn from his extensive knowledge of Askian oral tradition and personal experience with the Darimutu
Janjiki Pools are strange pools next to strange stalagmites filled with stranger liquid that can manipulate life itself. They are also quite variable in size, with the smallest being a meter or so in diameter, and the largest being the "sea pools", 100s of meters in diameter, and strangely impermeable to water. To activate one you must first place an organic object (such as Askian Thistle) and then place your hand in the stalagmite's liquid filled divet. The experience of shaping is very difficult to describe, but crudely it can be considered to require and screw with nearly all of your senses, from kinesthetic sense to taste, sight to intuition. Skilled Shaper-Shamans (or just Shapers for the irreligious types) are capable of functioning admirably in spite of this, though Initiates typically require a year of study and paying homage to the forgotten ancestors before their even allowed to begin working with a handler guiding them.
Hopshish Blades are crescent shaped blades of thorns. Typically .5-.9m long they are fairly light for their size. while they lack penetrative power, the thorns inject the Darimutu's horrific poison directly into the bloodstream of non-Askians (strangely, it doesn't seem to recognize traitors to Askia as Askian, but it does recognize people who've joined with the Askians), incapacitating them within moments and terrifying their compatriots. This however, is the lesser of it's two boons; The ability to absorb the poison out of a Darimutu has the far more notable effect of declawing one of the most notable dangers (but by no means the only) of traveling through Tu. Thusly making the Askians de facto owners of the desert, allowing them to be very cutthroat merchants.
TL;DR: Pre-Askian tribes get there asses handed to them by dudes and flee into the desert, a lot of them die horribly to poisonous plants, and then a shaman dude dreams of the special resource (Janjiki Pools). He leads the surviving Pre-Askians to where the special resource is and creates the first Hopshishes, thorn blades that can absorb the poisonous plants poison and inject it into some poor bastard, he gives most of them to their greatest warriors, and keeps the rest to feed the civvies.
The warriors kill the dudes, allowing the remaining civvies to comeback as the first Askians. Afterwards the Hopshishes let them monopolize desert trade and deal with raiders.
Janjiki pools work by the dude operating them going on a "spirit journey" of sorts to alter whatever was placed in it.

[Man of Paper]

Three more proposals dude, one for each category. Their references to one another can obviously be edited or removed to fit something else should we want to mix things together, as always.


Background: Animist Plains Tribes
Excerpt from On the Origins of Man, p.233

While the great plains of Askia were not the birthplace of humanity, the area was vital during the migration of mankind across the continents. During an ice age millennia ago, tribes of nomads followed mammoth herds across a narrow landbridge exposed by the global climate. While most moved on to other lands, a number of tribes settled into a more sedentary hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the great plains of Askia. Coniferous forests cut through the landscape and provided sustenance and support for a wide variety of woodland creatures.

The settled tribes of Askia had a wide variety of edible plants and animals to choose from, as well as rivers rich with fish. The ancient Askians wanted for little, and only had to contend with the occasional wolf, mountain lion, or bear attack.

The Askians identified everything as having a life force, and their ancient tales and oral tradition often personified things in nature in order to teach a lesson, explain a natural phenomenon, or document a historic event. Animals were central in these stories, and a number of characters appear repeatedly. Some of these include The Father Bear, the deceptive Mountain Lion, and the friendly Wolf. Trees were often personified as wise, old guardian-types, and the earth itself was a loving, giving mother.

Totems carved from single pieces of wood were often erected to mark locations or commemorate events. The number and order of animal "faces" used was determined by the purpose of the erection(heh), as well as identify specific families or tribes. 


Technology: Animal Husbandry
Excerpt from Taming the Beast: A Comprehensive History of Man Conquering Nature, p.3

The first ever instance of mankind intentionally taming an animal occurred in the Askian Plains. The Askian Tribes were masters of the animal kingdom and were able to breed a number of animals to the point of domestication. Wolves, horses, bison, bears, and even a few species of rodent proved to fill quite a few roles, whether it be for food, utility, transport, companionship, or defense. Bears and dogs proved useful for similar roles at vastly different sizes. Horses proved to be great for carrying and pulling heavy loads - including humans. Bison also proved useful as pack animals, and a few people even rode them, but they also served as a solid source of meat - though the Askians were sure to utilize every piece of the animal.

Of note though, is that the Askians accomplished this well before any known case of animal domestication anywhere else in the world. Their aptitude with breeding, taming, and utilizing animals of all sorts proved to be unparalleled, and would define the prehistorical Askians.


Resource: Ferrogas (Sphere - Magnetism)
Excerpt from Askia's Anomalies, p.41

Ferrogas is a neutrally buoyant gas that can be identified by it's magnetic properties. It can be found in pockets beneath Askia and collected in caves and caverns. Ferrogas was discovered by Askia's settlers, though at the time the inky gas was viewed as a sign of cursed or evil ground. Ferrogas will stick to ferrous materials that pass through it, but otherwise can be treated as any other gas.

----

So above all, I want to argue for Ferrogas. It gives us a chance to mess with both liquid and solid interactions, and having a material that can be used as a magnet in whatever form it takes and do magnety things based on what we do to it could be pretty interesting. If our society was built on magnets and how they work that'd be pretty cool. Magnetism.

[Maxim_inc]

Petraignis and the Askian Cinder-men of the frozen tundra

Excerpt from the tourist pamphlet- A quick history of Askia and Petraignis!

Long ago, In a time before the Askia we know today. A large wall of ice and snow overtook the main continent and quickly spread towards the lands of the ancient Askians. Those lucky or strong enough began to move towards the heart of their lands where great plumes of smoke stretched high into the sky that many feared to travel to for the shaman's predictions of them being rampaging gods of smoke and ash. Those who where brave enough to travel found that the large smoke plumes were not the gods that the shamans told tales of, but dozens of great volcanoes that reach high into the clouds and full of immensely hot liquid rock and metal; seeing the great volcanos and their heat as form of warmth and protection from the ever encroaching frost. As the frost reached the great volcanoes the Askians quickly took shelter in the many empty lava flowtubes reaching deep into the earth that dotted the base of the volcanoes.

The Askians survived for many generations growing fungus that they and the food animals they brought with them consisted on, but the number of livable space was decreasing as more and more Askians began to fill the now crowded flowtubes. In response to this the Askians, using primitive mining tools, began to expand the flowtubes to accommodate more tribe members. While expanding a flowtube closer to the center of the great volcanoes magma where they soon discovered  a vein of glasslike metal inside the volcanic rock. Carefully extracting the ore and bringing it back too their blacksmiths they quickly found that this odd crystalline metal when getting heated stores this heat and transfers it into energy, much to the chagrin of the blacksmith who's hammer was now shattered and on the floor. Spending years the Askians mastered the use of the mineral they called Petraignis, fashioning them into speartips that release their energy into their target. After the great frost had passed the Askian people emerged from their volcano homes and began to annex or conquer the other tribes fortunate enough to survive the frost by their own means. Thus forming the tribal kingdom that, armed with their Petraignis weapons, quickly dominated the tundra surrounding the great volcanoes that sheltered them and delivered the resources of their dominance.

Modern Askian scientists now know that the, once thought mythical, metal is the product of the volcanoes ejecting the minerals from the Urth's core and creating a natural smelter where they exotic minerals form into Petraignis. Many modern practices are in place to cause the volcanoes to eject their magma onto the surface so it can cool and harvested for use as a resource for a number of things, much too many to list in this little paper! Now you are educated on the early history of the Askia we know today and how Petraignis helped shape it! We hope you enjoy your visit!

[Powder Miner]

Technology:
Tu Survival (1): Powder Miner
Animal Husbandry (0):

Resource:
Niilamaa Seeds (1): Powder Miner
Brothers (0):
Jankiji Pools (0):
Ferrogas (0):
Petraignis (0):

Both:
The Askian Valleyfolk, Animal Husbandry, and the Montvise Bush (0):
The Askian Muckmen, Biomass, and the Mending Paste (0):

[Light forger]

Chronocite(pending a better name)
" A rather unusual phenomenon located in Askian is a rare mineral named Chronocite. It's found exclusively in a number of alien looking rock spires which crop out seemly at random within the heart of the so called empire. These spires are by and large believed to be haunted or outright demonic, which is unsurprising given their habit of randomly exploding or worse. A great many alchemists and natural scientists have lost their lives trying to understand their rather baffling nature. Which makes it all the more reflective of that peculiar strain of Askian madness that they work with substance at all."
- The Britannic Field Guide 1898 edition

 Chronocite has the property of altering time which is unsurprising given it's name. When exposed to a power source it can project a bubble of positive or negative time dilation. Causing whatever or whomever inside to experience time quicker or slower then outside. It's understood within Aksian that chronocite has a number of properties.
-Chronocite can readily absorb energy from nearly any source(heat, electric, kinetic), however it has a minimum amount of energy is needed to active it. For example a piece of chronocite will stay inactive in the noon sun but, will activate in a bonfire.
-Chronocite is either positive or negative aligned causing it to either slow or speed up time. Never allow mismatched dilation bubbles to contact each other.
-It's is extremely unstable unrefined and requires a nigh ritualistic method of harvest and refinement. On the bright side the amount need for most uses is quite low.
-The more extreme the dilation the greater the power draw so outright stopping time or progressing it at an extremely rate is effectively impossible.

A overly technical write out but I felt it was needed given the timey-whimy nature of it. Of course subject to GM alteration where needed.

Chronocite Plate:
 A heavy cuirass made from chronocite infused steel. The chronocite absorbs energy from any projectiles striking it greatly improving it's durability. In addition it will create a short lived positive time dilation field letting the user move and react faster.

[m1895]

Technology:
Tu Survival (2): Powder Miner, m1895
Animal Husbandry (0):

Resource:
Niilamaa Seeds (1): Powder Miner
Brothers (0):
Jankiji Pools and Hopshishes (1): m1895
Ferrogas (0):
Petraignis (0):

Both:
The Askian Valleyfolk, Animal Husbandry, and the Montvise Bush (0):
The Askian Muckmen, Biomass, and the Mending Paste (0):

[/quote]

[Man of Paper]

The Askians, Masters of the Desert

Part 1: The Geography
The geography of Askia is one that enforced a very particular dynamic on its people -- after all, Askians had to contend with two different types of terrain. One was the savannah that has traditionally been considered as Askia itself, a flat and open land but one that has been always quite survivable, with agriculture able to survive and often thrive, thanks to the rich river Konoo that cuts through the region and provides water with its tributaries. The other was the Desert Tu, a place named such because in the Askian language, "Tu" means to be condemned to death. As the name implies, the Desert Tu is a thoroughly lethal place. Not only is it a desert, but it is a vast one, and one that is uniquely dry and hot. Oases do exist here, and are the places where life truly congregates in the desert -- but to cross the desert, you need to be able to survive on the routes between the oases, a process which takes knowledge and experience as it can take days to get between some of these oases.

Part 2: The Technology
The ancient Askians were a cunning folk and sought to ease the process of travel and lift some of their own burdens by utilizing the local wildlife. Jackals turned to companions, camels to food, mounts, and pack animals, and caracals to vermin hunters, just to name a few. With food, transport, and furry friends at their command, survival in the unforgiving desert for the Askians was made just a little easier. It was extremely common to see a human top the shoulders of a large beast - or a small creature perched on one of theirs.

Part 3: The Resource
Besides their fondness for animal life ages before it occurs in any other tribe or civilization, the Askians also had access to quite an interesting resource: Niilamaa Seeds. Niilamaa Seeds are a very special kind of seed that come from a kind of plant found dotting the Desert Tu -- the Niilamaa plant is one that fascinates biologists worldwide to this day, as not only can it survive in essentially any condition, but it will thrive in these conditions. A Niilamaa seed can be planted somewhere, and within only a day or so it will grow into a full-sized plant that comes up to around knee height, and it will proceed to survive in that place it is planted with shocking regularity. At first the ancient Askians only believed the occurrences of the Niilamaa plant to be convenient sources of food along the journey up and down the Tu thanks to their hardiness, but later on more curious traders and healers of the Askians were shocked but very much pleased to find that grinding the Niilamaa seeds into paste and applying this paste to another living being would actually apply the effect to the beings in question, granting them more stamina and better healing as long as the paste was reapplied every few days -- something the Askians used on themselves and their animals to allow longer and easier travel in the brutal desert. Though the earliest seeds were limited to this effect, what later Askians would discover was that working with the seeds in different ways and tending the plants into different strains would allow for other effects to be granted by the seeds...


----


tl;dr I smashed Powder's desert and healberries up with animal sexing

[Powder Miner]

Technology:
Tu Survival (1): m1895
Animal Husbandry (0):
Animal Husbandry (Desert)(1): Powder Miner

Resource:
Niilamaa Seeds (1): Powder Miner
Brothers (0):
Jankiji Pools and Hopshishes (1): m1895
Ferrogas (0):
Petraignis (0):

Both:
The Askian Valleyfolk, Animal Husbandry, and the Montvise Bush (0):
The Askian Muckmen, Biomass, and the Mending Paste (0):

[KhazintheDark]

People: Askian
Nation: Askia
Primary holdings: Aski Mountains and foothills.

Specialist weapon: Lyura - once a workman’s knife it underwent a modification in the century of -1300 under the General Zafrin who wished to increase the efficiency of his soldier’s holdout weapons. The blade is thin and relatively tall, made to pierce the weak points of armour and hack through flesh, however unlike a stiletto it retains its cutting edge, the knife was again modified in -800 to give it a distinctive curved blade more easily allowing assassinations during infiltration by staying in the victim’s blind spot by a General Wexin who defected from a now absorbed nation to the north. The final modification aside from material and production methods was in 500 when a learned woman, Kirnali of Niafxao, tested variations of the design to find one that worked the ‘best’ and presented said findings to the General’s council. Much debate occurred but this early study dictacted the changing of the blade’s height along its length in accordance with a formula Kirnali had derived.

Resource: Tohwon - the changer
Sphere: Genetics
Form: Symbiotic nano/micro-scale biological organism
Appearance: A still pool of stuff.
Location: In a pool somewhere near the bottom of the cave system (LORE)

Expansion: Samples are retrieved and examined. Upon discovery that Tohwon is a biological organism experimental data was gathered as to its requirements for life. It was discovered through great difficulty (for the time) and much trial and error (more than you’d think) that Tohwon only thrives in a relatively narrow environmental band and is highly photosensitive by itself. Namely there is only one place it can exist and one place that it is known to exist. Creating such a place in a laboratory was difficult but not impossible. Creating a container to transport samples even more-so. But it was done. Tohwon is laboratory breed-able, though slowly, and facilities for such require a seed stock from other such repositories to startup. For secrecy’s sake however such expansions must remain limited lest our nation’s enemies steal the mythological substance.

Tohwon is what causes the changes, or to be more precise the conditions at which a strain of Tohwon is created can be precisely controlled to change the mutation, similar to a crocodile’s gender and temperature. In nature different conditions vary throughout an environment. The monsters were due to multiple strains attempting to make conflicting changes. In laboratory conditions known, selected strains can be purposefully grown.

Strains are gathered from different areas in the pool based on records of the priesthood that watched over it and worshiped it in times past. Modern methods and instrumentation allow us to lower sensors into the pools and take readings, likewise modern equipment allows us to discern the minute differences between types of Tohwon. Once a sufficiently pure, >97% commonality sample is identified, the conditions at its location are used to create a breeding chamber for its continued growth.

Historically the priesthood recorded the changes people underwent along with the location within the pool, time submerged, time of year and many other factors of supposed importance. Over centuries they had managed to build an extremely tough picture of when the pools were ‘safe’ to enter and when doing so would result in becoming a monster.

Resource Design: Tohwon Blessing of Strength (fluffy lore, it's not actually gods) the gods have blessed this part of the pool with granting strength every few months. This is one of the first places where the priests have noticed replicable results. Boosts the strength of the user.

[Man of Paper]

Technology:
Tu Survival (1): m1895
Animal Husbandry (0):
Animal Husbandry (Desert)(2): Powder Miner, MoP

Resource:
Niilamaa Seeds (2): Powder Miner, MoP
Brothers (0):
Jankiji Pools and Hopshishes (1): m1895
Ferrogas (0):
Petraignis (0):

Both:
The Askian Valleyfolk, Animal Husbandry, and the Montvise Bush (0):
The Askian Muckmen, Biomass, and the Mending Paste (0):