Actual Information on The Favored
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 12:37 am
Note: contains spoilers from the Diary of Preturnatural, which is the "official" story of the founding of the Favored. This topic is mostly to be used as reference by people that have either read the Diary or don't plan to read it at all and just want the basic information on the Favored for Archipelago purposes. If you have any interest in reading the Diary, I highly suggest you do so before reading this topic.
Origin of the Favored
Project Utoptia
The Nelaga Territories, desperate to make a lasting impact to make the world a better place, began the long-running, JASO funded and designed Project Utoptia with the goal of ensuring the survival of humanity in the event of a worldwide collapse, apocalypse, disaster, or invasion. Five Bastions were conceptualized. Nelaga formed alliances with three other powers of Micras to aide in the construction of the Bastions.
The First Bastion was placed under the surface of the ocean. Shireroth’s research into the ancient Ocean Palace of Jasonia was invaluable in creating something that would withstand the immense pressures.
The Second Bastion was constructed in the highest mountains, obscured from all eyes of Micras and even satellites above by the snow, ice, and rock. Nelaga’s own antigravity technology was necessary to build this inhospitable haven.
The Third Bastion was designed in remote, cold space – far from the loving embrace of Micras. Without Natopia’s space fleet, it would have been impossible to build.
The Fourth Bastion was built upon the surface of another universe – a parallel plane, hidden because it was impossible to visit. The mighty wizards of Gralus used their powerful magic to open portals to this world and construct the city.
The Fifth Bastion was to be built in the spaces between time, forever shifting. However, even for the four allied powers, it proved too difficult to construct. It was then that the Fifth Bastion took on a new role – while the other four would survive because nobody would know they exist, the Fifth would stand in open defiance of any threat that would challenge Micras. In an unprescidented move, Shireroth, Nelaga, Natopia, and Gralus joined forces to create the Bastion Union, pseudoheadquartered at Bastion City, Istvanistan, which is roughly between the four great powers.
(this, I swear, is strangely OOC stuff predating Archipelago and even the Bastion Union. The “Five Bastions” idea were created BEFORE the Bastion Union – ari, who named the Bastion Union, no doubt chose that name because the two people that came up with the Five Bastions, myself and Andreas, were also the ones pushing for the micronational merger. I don’t know if Scott was at all inspired by the Five Bastions when he came up with the apocalyptic Micras scenario for Archipelago. Odds are not, but it seemed too good to be true given Project Utopia, so of course I had to dive on it for a statelet idea)
(the above paragraph has been discussed in replies to this thread. I'm leaving as is, but see the replies for some more of the exact details)
The First Bastion dreamworld
An unusual virtual environment that was home to close to ten thousand boys and girls. Within First Bastion, eating, sleeping, and even breathing were unnecessary and there was no way for any person to harm themselves no matter what they did.
The entire world was a fabrication designed to house the minds of the inhabitants of First Bastion, giving them an environment to explore and be educated within while their real bodies developed in the real world. AURA revealed this revelation when they were seventeen, promising to tell them more later.
If this bizarre reality ever had a name, nobody among the Favored know it.
AURA
The guardian, guide, teacher, and enforcer of the people of the First Bastion dreamworld. The only reference to this entity is Preturnatural's Diary, and she is described in vague, non-descriptive terms - it is difficult to tell if she had any physical presence to the people within. AURA powers included the ability to drastically reshape the environment, including raising and lowering the sun, as well as the ability to apparently relocate any citizen to another part of First Bastion at will.
After they became ten years old, AURA's role changed from less of a parent or friend and more into an enforcer of rituals that seemed pointless to the people within First Bastion. This broke many of the emotional ties that the people had to her as their only friend, especially after the ritual that started when they were twelve, forcing them to talk to and rely on each other more to learn tasks and further their own understanding of the First Bastion dreamworld.
AURA suffered some sort of breakdown when she was supposed to trigger the exit of the dreamworld at year 20. The inhabitants became trapped for an additional four years before they discovered a way to force restart the computer simulation from within. This triggered a number of error routines that let them escape. It also shut down the original AURA system for good.
Mountain Valley / Diamond
A particular mountain valley where AURA gathered the people of the First Bastion dreamworld every year since they were eight years old. After many of the people begin to see AURA as something to be feared, they cease traveling on their own and group together, using the mountain valley as their base, even though there are no buildings.
When the inhabitants of First Bastion were fifteen, AURA instructed them to build a city in the valley. They also decided to name it and came up with the name Diamond without AURA's aid.
Preturnatural
The First Awoke, a title of minor importance. Preturnatural has gone down in Favored history less as the First Awoke and more as the only person that wrote a coherent (if somewhat rambling) diary of the original colonists of the Favored and their time with AURA within the First Bastion dreamworld.
During the ten years that he wrote his diary in the Real, Preturnatural got involved in politics, opposed the creation of a new AURA computer in Real Diamond, was jailed, escaped, and became an outlaw. His last diary entry has him going off to destroy the new AURA computer before it can take full control of society.
RUA
The counterpart computer to AURA that was supposed to instruct the newly-awakened people of First Bastion about what triggered the apocalypse and what their origins were. However, RUA was destroyed in a mysterious explosion some time before the inhabitants awoke and was totally useless.
The Favored Statelet
The Real
The Favored's name for Pelagia, the planet, and the universe. Everything that exists outside of the First Bastion Dreamworld is, to them, part of the Real. They recognize that others use terms like Pelagia to refer to the Real but never do so themselves. When referring to the Real, the term always is "the Real," complete with "the" and a capital "Real."
Objects that exist in the Real that are conspicuously obvious, such as anything easily visible by the naked eye, are Real, also with a capital letter. The Favored aren't quite sure how to refer to things that cannot be easily seen, such as atomic structures, advanced mathematics, or vague concepts like liberty, but they definitely do not refer to them as Real. On a subconscious level, as part of their experiences within the First Bastion dreamworld and dealing with some of the lies presented there, they distrust these invisible things, even if they have solid proof of their existence.
Real Diamond
The capital, and indeed only major settlement, in Favored territory. It was named shortly after the escape from the First Bastion dreamworld, when the first colonists of the Favored were still fascinated by everything being Real. They have since decided not to tack "Real" onto everything that exists within the Real but feel it is fitting for Real Diamond.
The city is obviously named after the original settlement of the Favored within the First Bastion dreamworld.
AURA
A new AURA computer was constructed in Real Diamond almost immediately after the foundation of the city.
Basin
The Favored Government / Society
Government Explanation
Black lines symbolize solid, healthy relationships
Blue lines are relationships that very much do exist but are not well-known to the public.
Red lines are relationships that are believed to exist but mostly do not.
Flag
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/ ... Flag50.png
Origin of the Favored
Project Utoptia
The Nelaga Territories, desperate to make a lasting impact to make the world a better place, began the long-running, JASO funded and designed Project Utoptia with the goal of ensuring the survival of humanity in the event of a worldwide collapse, apocalypse, disaster, or invasion. Five Bastions were conceptualized. Nelaga formed alliances with three other powers of Micras to aide in the construction of the Bastions.
The First Bastion was placed under the surface of the ocean. Shireroth’s research into the ancient Ocean Palace of Jasonia was invaluable in creating something that would withstand the immense pressures.
The Second Bastion was constructed in the highest mountains, obscured from all eyes of Micras and even satellites above by the snow, ice, and rock. Nelaga’s own antigravity technology was necessary to build this inhospitable haven.
The Third Bastion was designed in remote, cold space – far from the loving embrace of Micras. Without Natopia’s space fleet, it would have been impossible to build.
The Fourth Bastion was built upon the surface of another universe – a parallel plane, hidden because it was impossible to visit. The mighty wizards of Gralus used their powerful magic to open portals to this world and construct the city.
The Fifth Bastion was to be built in the spaces between time, forever shifting. However, even for the four allied powers, it proved too difficult to construct. It was then that the Fifth Bastion took on a new role – while the other four would survive because nobody would know they exist, the Fifth would stand in open defiance of any threat that would challenge Micras. In an unprescidented move, Shireroth, Nelaga, Natopia, and Gralus joined forces to create the Bastion Union, pseudoheadquartered at Bastion City, Istvanistan, which is roughly between the four great powers.
(this, I swear, is strangely OOC stuff predating Archipelago and even the Bastion Union. The “Five Bastions” idea were created BEFORE the Bastion Union – ari, who named the Bastion Union, no doubt chose that name because the two people that came up with the Five Bastions, myself and Andreas, were also the ones pushing for the micronational merger. I don’t know if Scott was at all inspired by the Five Bastions when he came up with the apocalyptic Micras scenario for Archipelago. Odds are not, but it seemed too good to be true given Project Utopia, so of course I had to dive on it for a statelet idea)
(the above paragraph has been discussed in replies to this thread. I'm leaving as is, but see the replies for some more of the exact details)
The First Bastion dreamworld
An unusual virtual environment that was home to close to ten thousand boys and girls. Within First Bastion, eating, sleeping, and even breathing were unnecessary and there was no way for any person to harm themselves no matter what they did.
The entire world was a fabrication designed to house the minds of the inhabitants of First Bastion, giving them an environment to explore and be educated within while their real bodies developed in the real world. AURA revealed this revelation when they were seventeen, promising to tell them more later.
If this bizarre reality ever had a name, nobody among the Favored know it.
AURA
The guardian, guide, teacher, and enforcer of the people of the First Bastion dreamworld. The only reference to this entity is Preturnatural's Diary, and she is described in vague, non-descriptive terms - it is difficult to tell if she had any physical presence to the people within. AURA powers included the ability to drastically reshape the environment, including raising and lowering the sun, as well as the ability to apparently relocate any citizen to another part of First Bastion at will.
After they became ten years old, AURA's role changed from less of a parent or friend and more into an enforcer of rituals that seemed pointless to the people within First Bastion. This broke many of the emotional ties that the people had to her as their only friend, especially after the ritual that started when they were twelve, forcing them to talk to and rely on each other more to learn tasks and further their own understanding of the First Bastion dreamworld.
AURA suffered some sort of breakdown when she was supposed to trigger the exit of the dreamworld at year 20. The inhabitants became trapped for an additional four years before they discovered a way to force restart the computer simulation from within. This triggered a number of error routines that let them escape. It also shut down the original AURA system for good.
Mountain Valley / Diamond
A particular mountain valley where AURA gathered the people of the First Bastion dreamworld every year since they were eight years old. After many of the people begin to see AURA as something to be feared, they cease traveling on their own and group together, using the mountain valley as their base, even though there are no buildings.
When the inhabitants of First Bastion were fifteen, AURA instructed them to build a city in the valley. They also decided to name it and came up with the name Diamond without AURA's aid.
Preturnatural
The First Awoke, a title of minor importance. Preturnatural has gone down in Favored history less as the First Awoke and more as the only person that wrote a coherent (if somewhat rambling) diary of the original colonists of the Favored and their time with AURA within the First Bastion dreamworld.
During the ten years that he wrote his diary in the Real, Preturnatural got involved in politics, opposed the creation of a new AURA computer in Real Diamond, was jailed, escaped, and became an outlaw. His last diary entry has him going off to destroy the new AURA computer before it can take full control of society.
RUA
The counterpart computer to AURA that was supposed to instruct the newly-awakened people of First Bastion about what triggered the apocalypse and what their origins were. However, RUA was destroyed in a mysterious explosion some time before the inhabitants awoke and was totally useless.
The Favored Statelet
The Real
The Favored's name for Pelagia, the planet, and the universe. Everything that exists outside of the First Bastion Dreamworld is, to them, part of the Real. They recognize that others use terms like Pelagia to refer to the Real but never do so themselves. When referring to the Real, the term always is "the Real," complete with "the" and a capital "Real."
Objects that exist in the Real that are conspicuously obvious, such as anything easily visible by the naked eye, are Real, also with a capital letter. The Favored aren't quite sure how to refer to things that cannot be easily seen, such as atomic structures, advanced mathematics, or vague concepts like liberty, but they definitely do not refer to them as Real. On a subconscious level, as part of their experiences within the First Bastion dreamworld and dealing with some of the lies presented there, they distrust these invisible things, even if they have solid proof of their existence.
Real Diamond
The capital, and indeed only major settlement, in Favored territory. It was named shortly after the escape from the First Bastion dreamworld, when the first colonists of the Favored were still fascinated by everything being Real. They have since decided not to tack "Real" onto everything that exists within the Real but feel it is fitting for Real Diamond.
The city is obviously named after the original settlement of the Favored within the First Bastion dreamworld.
AURA
A new AURA computer was constructed in Real Diamond almost immediately after the foundation of the city.
Basin
The Favored Government / Society
Government Explanation
Black lines symbolize solid, healthy relationships
Blue lines are relationships that very much do exist but are not well-known to the public.
Red lines are relationships that are believed to exist but mostly do not.
Flag
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/ ... Flag50.png