Skawly
Local Cryptid
Off the Gold Coast and amidst the Abecean Sea sits the remote island of Stirk; once the site of forgotten Ayleid ruins and pirate activity, it has since become home to the vast and ever-expanding spires of the city Nova Maphral. Beginning as barely a concept for what it would become, Nova Maphral got its start as a refugee camp, springing up one year after The Dragon Crisis of 4E 201. In response to the ongoing Thalmor activity and aggression spreading throughout Tamriel, a woman known as The Artificer sheltered those persecuted by the Dominion. Once the site of her private workshop, The Artificer had a means to protect these people that few others had. Something that would separate her from countless others that sought to stand up to the Third Aldmeri Dominion.
Iridium.
Over the past years, The Artificer had discovered and experimented with a material she had come to name "iridium." She began to recreate her once brass, Dwarven-inspired inventions with the silvery metal, refining them as she continued her research. By the time she began to take in refugees looking to escape the cruelty of the Thalmor, she put her newly developed weaponry to good use.
As the people under her protection grew, so did the interest and animosity of the Thalmor. Many of the people she harbored were Talos worshippers fleeing Skyrim after committing heresy against the White-Gold Concordat. To combat the Dominion's onslaught, The Artificer increased her defenses, building protective fortresses augmented with her iridium technology, as well as increasing the production of her weapons.
Over the course of about 150 years, Nova Maphral rose from a place of refuge to a bustling city with unique wares and technology. With the steadily increasing demand for iridium, The Artificer bestowed her secrets onto a select few. These individuals came to be called Technomancers and were able to use iridium to its fullest capabilities, and even extract its magical essence. Working in tandem with The Artificer, the production and mining of iridium increased, though, not without its apparent repercussions.
As the city and its demand for technology grew, so did the frequencies of what could only be described as temporal anomalies. Patches of the air and sky would warp—people, places, and things would seemingly vanish and reappear again. These anomalies were, at the least, only reported to occur in and around Stirk. However, this made traversing the Abecean Sea potentially dangerous for those who sailed too close—likewise, it was becoming just as dangerous to leave.
If that weren't bad enough, come 4E 349, The Artificer vanished. Though she was prone to bouts of wandering and isolation, she left no indication where she was going, if she had even left on her own accord at all. Last seen in her tower, many theories have sprung up as to what became of her. Some say it was the Thalmor's doing, while others suspect she was swallowed up by one of the temporal anomalies. Regardless, The Artificer was gone and it left a deep wound in Nova Maphral.
As the anomalies increase in activity and the Thalmor closes in, what will become the city and its people?
I N D E X
IRIDIUM A silvery metallic substance utilized by The Artificer to craft her sophisticated inventions. Multifaceted, iridium also contains magical properties and has been used as a conductor for such. Its mining location is the most well-kept secret of Nova Maphral, known only to few, as well as how to properly use it. When ran through a forge, the metal shatters like glass.
⯀ Currently, most iridium wares are modeled after Dwarven constructs, with the addition of firearms and ammunition. Likewise, given its versatile nature, it has also been used as a conductor for magic, most commonly with electric spells.
TECHNOMANCY Mastered and known by only a select few, technomancy allows the user to manipulate iridium and anything constructed with it. Despite its name, it only affects iridium and not technology in general, such as Dwarven. It is only limited by the user’s understanding of how something works. A technomancer attempting to recreate a pistol would have to understand how one is constructed, likely with the aid of blueprints and a knowledge of engineering. Likewise, someone trained in blacksmithing would be able to create an iridium sword, or a mage may be able to tap into its magic properties and wield it as an element.
⯀ Being a technomancer isn't without its side-effects. Many have reported strange, vivid dreams of what at first appears as entirely normal, everyday life, but upon awakening, they come to realize the world they dreamed of had minor to major changes, with nearly everything being inverted to some degree. It can become difficult for some to differentiate their dreams from reality, given the usually mundane nature of them and how real they feel.
Another side-effect is what has come to be called temporal sickness. Technomancers will occasionally become disoriented and fatigued, especially in the presence of active anomalies. These feelings of disorientation have ranged between minor light-headedness to short comatose periods.
THE ARTIFICER A woman as ambitious as she is mysterious, The Artificer has been something of a figurehead to Nova Maphral. Often going into public fully cloaked and masked, many don't know what she actually looks like, save for the few that have been a part of the city's development early on. Given her longevity, she is assumed to be elven, if not partially. She has been prone to long periods of solitude and absence, though always with notice. Her recent disappearance, however, was suspicious given the lack of notice and strange happenings going on about the island. It's been assumed by those close to her that this time, her absence wasn't on her own volition.
Iridium.
Over the past years, The Artificer had discovered and experimented with a material she had come to name "iridium." She began to recreate her once brass, Dwarven-inspired inventions with the silvery metal, refining them as she continued her research. By the time she began to take in refugees looking to escape the cruelty of the Thalmor, she put her newly developed weaponry to good use.
As the people under her protection grew, so did the interest and animosity of the Thalmor. Many of the people she harbored were Talos worshippers fleeing Skyrim after committing heresy against the White-Gold Concordat. To combat the Dominion's onslaught, The Artificer increased her defenses, building protective fortresses augmented with her iridium technology, as well as increasing the production of her weapons.
Over the course of about 150 years, Nova Maphral rose from a place of refuge to a bustling city with unique wares and technology. With the steadily increasing demand for iridium, The Artificer bestowed her secrets onto a select few. These individuals came to be called Technomancers and were able to use iridium to its fullest capabilities, and even extract its magical essence. Working in tandem with The Artificer, the production and mining of iridium increased, though, not without its apparent repercussions.
As the city and its demand for technology grew, so did the frequencies of what could only be described as temporal anomalies. Patches of the air and sky would warp—people, places, and things would seemingly vanish and reappear again. These anomalies were, at the least, only reported to occur in and around Stirk. However, this made traversing the Abecean Sea potentially dangerous for those who sailed too close—likewise, it was becoming just as dangerous to leave.
If that weren't bad enough, come 4E 349, The Artificer vanished. Though she was prone to bouts of wandering and isolation, she left no indication where she was going, if she had even left on her own accord at all. Last seen in her tower, many theories have sprung up as to what became of her. Some say it was the Thalmor's doing, while others suspect she was swallowed up by one of the temporal anomalies. Regardless, The Artificer was gone and it left a deep wound in Nova Maphral.
As the anomalies increase in activity and the Thalmor closes in, what will become the city and its people?
I N D E X
IRIDIUM A silvery metallic substance utilized by The Artificer to craft her sophisticated inventions. Multifaceted, iridium also contains magical properties and has been used as a conductor for such. Its mining location is the most well-kept secret of Nova Maphral, known only to few, as well as how to properly use it. When ran through a forge, the metal shatters like glass.
⯀ Currently, most iridium wares are modeled after Dwarven constructs, with the addition of firearms and ammunition. Likewise, given its versatile nature, it has also been used as a conductor for magic, most commonly with electric spells.
TECHNOMANCY Mastered and known by only a select few, technomancy allows the user to manipulate iridium and anything constructed with it. Despite its name, it only affects iridium and not technology in general, such as Dwarven. It is only limited by the user’s understanding of how something works. A technomancer attempting to recreate a pistol would have to understand how one is constructed, likely with the aid of blueprints and a knowledge of engineering. Likewise, someone trained in blacksmithing would be able to create an iridium sword, or a mage may be able to tap into its magic properties and wield it as an element.
⯀ Being a technomancer isn't without its side-effects. Many have reported strange, vivid dreams of what at first appears as entirely normal, everyday life, but upon awakening, they come to realize the world they dreamed of had minor to major changes, with nearly everything being inverted to some degree. It can become difficult for some to differentiate their dreams from reality, given the usually mundane nature of them and how real they feel.
Another side-effect is what has come to be called temporal sickness. Technomancers will occasionally become disoriented and fatigued, especially in the presence of active anomalies. These feelings of disorientation have ranged between minor light-headedness to short comatose periods.
THE ARTIFICER A woman as ambitious as she is mysterious, The Artificer has been something of a figurehead to Nova Maphral. Often going into public fully cloaked and masked, many don't know what she actually looks like, save for the few that have been a part of the city's development early on. Given her longevity, she is assumed to be elven, if not partially. She has been prone to long periods of solitude and absence, though always with notice. Her recent disappearance, however, was suspicious given the lack of notice and strange happenings going on about the island. It's been assumed by those close to her that this time, her absence wasn't on her own volition.
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