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The Eronidas city-state, known as a Pol or sometimes Polon, is perhaps one of the best-known styles of construction and urban organization in Aloria. Whereas many cities have been built naturally, flowing along lines of geography or following the needs of its government and populace, even those which were pre-planned from the ground up could not compete with the detailed attention in city planning of the Eronidas. These cities are highly centralized and specialized, each with their own traits or focus, but if one became familiar with a Polon in the far West, the experience would not differ in Nordskag or Ashaven, due to the devotion to similar design principles. Their great uniformity stems from the centuries Eronidas had to prepare urban planning for their eventual arrival, taking lessons learned from their city ships to perfect design efficiency on land. This page explores and explains the Pols of the Eronidas, from their architecture and features, to how the politics of these city states work, and how Eronidas Characters might have experienced them. This page is considered Expanded Lore, meaning it is not required reading for a roleplay experience on MassiveCraft, but can be used to add additional depth and content to Roleplay.
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City Layout
It is important to first mention what surrounds many Pols. Eronidas agriculture is ingenious, making use of piping and complex machinery to irrigate swaths of terrain, and keeping large open fields for grazing a wide range of animals. However, all of this requires considerable labor. Estates, while to many Ailor sounding elite and wealthy, are a rather standard form of structure in these open areas beyond a Pol’s walls, and represent a small collection of dwellings with ample room for the landowner and those workers under their employ to live together, socialize, and participate in daily life. They are themselves protected by a short low-lying wall, suitable to be used as a fortification in an emergency, and are connected to the Pols by side roads leading from main avenues in and out of the great cities.
Pol structures are built in circular, concentric layers with external star-fort-like fortifications, often using a former hill and in a few cases, a small mountain, as the base for their structures. This can result in a dense undercity of tunnels, often for work but also sometimes for leisure, and also commonly, burial sites. Eronidas burials are often in the deepest part of a Pol, in long shafts where bodies are placed vertically in deep clefts, and allowed to rest surrounded by minimal possessions. This makes it difficult for any Undead who do emerge to escape, as they often have to climb up a honeycomb of other burial slots. As for above ground, each layer of an Eronidas city has a purpose, and houses facilities or workers who can fulfill said purpose. It is also important to note that due to the abilities of the Eronidas body, they approach work and life very differently in their cities. Three and a half day working weeks are the standard, and see the Eronidas inhabitants work, create, exercise, train, whatever they need to do which is essential to their lot in life, before taking a full three and a half days to relax, unwind, and benefit from the fruits of their hard labor. As a result, outsiders can come to a city and find either total tranquility, general quiet, and lethargy, or a mania of voices, clanging, and intensive work at different times. This will be expanded on further down, below follows an outlining of the Layers to an Eronidas Pol:
- Bitu Gar: Also known as the Common Layer, this is the largest portion of an Eronidas city, and features the majority of its populace. Non-Eronidas almost exclusively live here, as do many lower-class Eronidas. A great deal of trade happens here, with external sources of supply brought and bartered for, often being stored on the next Layer. For coastal Pols, this is where their ships are docked, but some especially uniquely engineered cities can raise or lower whole ships up to the Second Layer to offload special cargo as needed.
- Sararu Gar: The place for warriors, armories, and the stockpiling of resources for the city, the War Layer as it is also known sits above the common citizenry. The city’s guard populace lives here, and is able to easily access the city walls through causeways that cross over the populace below, helping to subdivide the area. Great warriors and gladiators are also given quarters here. It should be noted that not all warriors live here, as all citizens are drafted in case of war, even those on lower levels. This Layer is purely for the professional warriors.
- Suhru Gar: This is the level of leisure, celebrations, unwinding and more. Located at the rough midpoint of the city, great bathhouses, large taverns, theaters, gladiatorial arenas, centers of entertainment and more are found here. As much as half the city packs into this Layer during their period of relaxation, and they are able to walk through grand gardens and water features as well. The homes of the wealthy are commonly found here as well in larger villa formats.
- Musenu Gar: The level of heavy industry, the top of mineshafts, smithies and forges, the Blackcraft Level is the principal center of a Pol’s economy. Here, weapons, armor, but also crafts are manufactured or repaired from resources kept on the Second Layer. The smog produced by these activities is sent two directions, the more hazardous byproducts pushed through complex piping out to vents several miles away from a Pol, while less harmful smokes are grouped together and expelled through a central spire at or near the top of the Pol. In case of an attack, or to convey urgent, simple messages, a Pol manipulates this output through a mechanism in the smokestack to produce smoke signals.
- Sharru Gar: The Fifth Layer is the Layer of government, and sophisticated education, where statesmen, philosophers, architects, palaces, Lyceums, grand temples and more can be found. Here, the richest and most important Eronidas live or work in splendid surroundings, the Third Layer in miniature with even more complex and sophisticated gardens, statuary and more.
A final note will be made on the interactions between the different Layers, as while the Eronidas do not have a formal caste system, their Layers often provide dynamics that define a Pol-born Eronidas’ outlook. The Third Layer is the most open part of the city, with members from the lower and upper walks of life freely moving about there on their days off. Fifth Layer Eronidas, however, often avoid the Fourth, Second and First Layers except for work, commonly forcing citizens and guests to come to them, as they literally sit above the rest. Eronidas society has strongly held onto the cultural notion of pillarization and keeping the classes separated, without unrest against this division. The Eronidas claim that this is largely because of a power-based hierarchy, meaning that if a wealthy family produces only weak sons and endanger the Pol with their ineptitude or frailty, the city can impound their wealth and expel them to a lower level, and promote a new strong family to the top. This is why Eronidas society is strictly divided, but has a very high degree of social mobility, where even the poorest of Eronidas can climb the social wealth ladder from pure training and their own sweat, blood, and tears alone. It is also important to note that while all of the Layers have stairs and ramps between them, Eronidas technology has developed devices for rapid transit up and down a Pol, to save valuable time in the case of an attack, and for the sake of sanity. It could easily take six hours for even an Eronidas to walk from the First Layer, to the Fifth Layer.
Architecture and Infrastructure
Eronidas architecture is simplistic by contemporary ideals and yet familiar to outsiders as it was they who invented the necessary load-bearing arches and dome structures used in many Ailor cities that would allow the Ailor to build to massive heights. Most Ailor are not aware of this fact, but most of what the Ailor architects call Dark-Gothic architecture was only enabled by the inventions of the Eronidas and their complex weight distribution mathematics. For their own city-states, the Eronidas have adopted the pillar-based structures (which look similar to Teledden and Aetosian temple designs, but was developed independently from them). Their long, temple-like structures are built in a rectangular shape on a raised slab of thick brick, which is called a Solon. There is no real staircase entry or even a slope, and to enter such a building one must climb on top of the slab, which is often six feet off the ground (though when foreigners come in, they tend to have extendable staircases). The rectangle is surrounded by pillars which are often expertly carved in the image of either some wild creature, or an Eronidas holding up the roof. The roof itself is a beam support section without nails or fastening, an ingenious construction of interlocking wooden panels that are both flexible and yet retain their sturdiness. It is said that because of these wooden panels, Eronidas buildings are the only ones completely immune to earthquake and tremor damage, and because of their height, suffer little to no flooding damage either. They do not have any walls, windows or doors, rather, the various rooms are separated by dyed cloth suspended from metal wires spanning between the pillars. Each room has a specific color with a specific purpose. These Solon are used as public gathering places to have fun and meet new people in, or just to relax and enjoy drinks or other sustenance.
Eronidas Estates, meanwhile, are usually built in a square manner, with structures laid out around a central courtyard, featuring some sort of water garden or fountain and bath. All Eronidas houses have a sizable bathroom and hygienic facilities (most even rivaling the washing rooms of the Fin’ullen), as Eronidas are extremely strict on personal cleanliness. Eronidas go to bathhouses more than any other people, and also spend the most amount of hours visiting spas and on personal grooming. The industrial level-complexity of cleaning warriors and their equipment after a battle is vast, with a quick, optimized assembly-line like process whisking people through rooms, before releasing them into the hot spring baths for relaxation. The Eronidas have also developed a great deal of water processing and cleaning facilities with complex filtrations to clean the excessive amount of bath water that turns into waste water from their clean drinking water supply. It should also be no surprise that the Eronidas have developed the world’s most complex irrigation systems, rivaling the Dewamenet Living Metal irrigation systems of ancient times. While not capable of un-desertifying sand hills as the Asha are, they have the benefit of being expandable and flexible, not relying on ancient barely understood technology to function. One last feature on what the Eronidas are notably known for in other Cultures when it concerns their buildings are their hanging gardens. These feature water cascading from higher levels to lower levels, following canals and ensuring exactly measured irrigation of exotic plants, and even greenhouses with aquatic plants thriving in tubes or tubs. This means that even if entertainment and gardens are usually reserved for the third and fifth layer, each layer has some form of greenery and water feature gardens.
Daily Life
The Eronidas have an intense workday, equally dividing their week between two entirely different modes of being, work, and rest. The working half of their week is an intense period, many Eronidas go without sleep for as much as 48 hours, and even if they do, their sleep only lasts for four hours. Forges are worked to incredible heats, and huge amounts of raw material are crafted into an array of items, warriors train ceaselessly against each other and their targets, and even entertainers spend hours of time rehearsing, exercising, or otherwise perfecting their style. When this period comes to an end, signaled by a city’s Great Bell, the process of unwinding is incomprehensible to outsiders. Whole parts of a Pol shut down, close up shop, and its Eronidas inhabitants make for the Third Layer or other places of relaxation closer to home. While the First Layer is not the Third, it still has its taverns, public squares, and more. This is also supplemented by the non-Eronidas or Half-Eronidas population, some who lack the physical ability to keep up, and are not expected to. They serve highly valued roles in filling positions the Eronidas must keep well staffed at all times, such as government and other essential services like fire fighters, rat catchers, and repair service.
City Politics
Eronidas cities, while having many hallmarks of aristocracy, often follow more democratic, or at least oligarchical, values for their leaders and rulers. Each city is divided into multiple smaller units called Demen, which might represent a district or smaller section of a city, with several Demen joining together to form a Surgi, poorly translated into “Tribe” by the Ailor. The Fifth Layer lacks any Demen or Surgi in order to remain neutral, and so anyone who lives there full time must stand for office elsewhere in the city. The Demen and Surgieach keep their own councils, with the Demen councils handling small local matters and electing representatives to stand in their Surgi, and the Surgi all meeting once every two months to discuss concerns, affairs and problems within the broader city. The Surgi also elect a range of higher positions in the government, from war leaders, to diplomats, known as Saknu followed by a suffix that is their task. The Surgi also elect the leaders of the Pol. These are known as the Lugal or “Lesser Kings”, and there are often two of them, who run on a joint ticket for the position. Their role lasts for four years, and they can serve up to three consecutive terms. Many Lugal and Surgi members are from the social elite of each Pol, as wealthy, skilled, or otherwise successful people often devote a substantial portion of their freetime to city politics in order to improve life, or deal with different affairs. As a result, family dynasties commonly hold offices as though it were hereditary, but this is not frowned upon (so long as they are competent). The city’s bureaucrats, meanwhile, are largely neutral in any election. Lower positions may serve as members of the Demen and voice support for elected officials, but they are all barred from serving in the Surgi. As for matters of political parties, bribery and corruption, Eronidas find the idea of corruption in government offensive, believing that a well working and meaningful government is the bedrock of a stable and obedient society, which they have continued to have, in some places, for over 1000 years. As a result, there are no formal political parties, and while bribery does take place, it is not as obvious as a direct transfer of funds, and if caught, risks the death penalty.
Foreign Politics
The world is filled with hundreds of Pols of varying sizes, dotted across the world and serving the tens of millions of Eronidas who live within them and around them. Technically, all Pols are independent from each other, and can create trade deals with each other just as much as they can declare war. The latter situation is very rare in the modern era, however the more aggressive Polons were convinced to turn their martial hunger outward to the Allorn remnants so as not to damage Eronidas cohesion among themselves. More often than no, the Pols form confederations with one another, grouping together under a “Great King”, an Sharrulugal, who rules them like a modern nation state as part of a Kezzeret (their term for such grand unions). However, just like their political system, the Lugal meet with the Sharrulugal frequently, often sending one of their pairing (if they have two Lugal) to such gatherings. These meetings commonly shift from handling one region to the next and do not involve every Lugal from all Pols meeting in one place, but such vast gatherings can happen at critical times.
Pols are not exclusively found in Eronidas majority states. Nations such as Ashaven, Nordskag, and varying others, also feature Pols inhabited by Eronidas seemingly existing as semi autonomous city states within their sovereignty. The local Eronidas usually achieve this privilege due to a combination of selling their military service in exchange for liberties, as well as their general good natured respect towards a strong ruler. The Pols and their leaders also carve out exemptions and special land deals to benefit both parties through the manufacturing ability of the Eronidas, though most smaller nations who make deals with Pols seek their military power above anything. Eronidas diplomacy is a robust and related topic, as unlike the Regalian Empire, many great collectives of Pols seek to keep emissaries in all nations, at all times, regardless of location or distance. These figures serve to inform the Eronidas on many different points of view, and also allow them to remain in contact with wayward populations. Even the Dread Empire has Eronidas emissaries who, while worshiping Evolism, still serve the interests of Kezzeret Sabu, Artamon and Kazubasha. It should still be noted that Eronidas diplomacy can sometimes appear brutish or violent to those unfamiliar, as Eronidas are prone to settle debates either with sophisticated rhetoric, or a fist fight to let the gods decide whose arguments punch harder.
Finally, there is the subject of the Awilum or Lu Eronidas, loosely translated to Free People. The Awilum and Lu Eronidas represent those Eronidas who have taken a more drastic step towards a power-based society that is bereft of centralized authority like one might find it in Polons. Awilum and Lu Eronidas groupings are called Suburs, which are best described as tribal clans that reside in nomadic housing, and tend to move to wherever their work as mercenaries or brigands takes them. Their political structure follows a single powerful leader, usually the meanest and biggest Eronidas, who is eventually defeated and usurped by another from within the Subur, often their own children or siblings. Suburs have historically been useful both to the Pols and outsiders, because they happily fight to acquire what only outsiders can produce, sometimes leading to whole fights between Pols being fought by non-inhabitant Suburs pitched against each other. The use of Suburs as military force is frowned upon in Regalia, as they are to come considered savage and blood thirsty, but this is generally understood to be a bigoted attitude born from Eronidas warfare in the Regalian Archipelago. The Suburs pay just as much attention to their hygiene and personal grooming and honor, they just do it in rivers instead of bath houses and perform duels in wild nature instead of high fashion arenas. Suburs do differ somewhat from Polon Eronidas in that they dress far less fancy and usually do not use heavy armor, preferring hardened leather over Blacksteel. The Suburs do not obey anyone but their Chief, but can generally be relied upon to be honorable to any deal they have made.
Trivia
- The way Pols were constructed proved to be incredibly impractical for areas where the population would reach up to a third non-Eronidas. As a result, Pols were never constructed in the Regalian Archipelago, instead using Ailor city planning styles, though the Eronidas do still live in their Estate-style residences attached to Ailor road networks.
- While industrial accidents are rare, when they do happen, they happen with catastrophic damage to the Pol. Higher level industrial explosions result in shrapnel raining down on lower levels, leading to high casualties.
- Polons have a hard time existing in very dry arid areas. Though one might expect the cities in the Kezzeret states to be dry, they use underground aquifers to supply themselves with water. This inability to exist in arid lands, is the reason why the Eronidas sailed past the Suvial lands, and never tried to settle them.
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