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[PT-1] Materials and Technology
Guilds, Orders, and SocietiesBrotherhood of Hunters: An association of skilled outdoorsmen, trackers, hunters, and frontiersmen from the Republic of Ahulili, the brotherhood is united by their shared background and love of the outdoors. Most members carry on with their daily lives, occasionally visiting the brotherhood's drinking hall in Gatavai to share stories or donate trophies, but are sometimes hired for military service where they make excellent scouts. All are skilled with sword and bow, but rarely wear or own heavy armor, which has little utility in the wild. Approximately a thousand have their names on the brotherhood's list, spread throughout Ahulili, although a few venture to the other republics.
Defenders of Asaga: The only knightly order in the Five Republics, the defenders were originally formed in the Republic of Pu'u Koa during the Anarchy, to supplement the republic's meager defenses. Pu'u Koa, the poorest and northernmost of the Five Republics was the subject of many raids both from the north and from the south before the unification of the Five Republics, and was never able afford a large standing defense force. The Defenders of Asaga arose after the slaughter of the village of Asaga by pirate raiders from those who had survived, sworn to defend the republic from her enemies. Out of necessity, female survivors of the massacre were founding members, and the order continues to admit women into its ranks. More than 2,000 defenders are known to serve the realm.
Guild of Alchemists and Apothecaries: A close-knit society of chemists, druggists, and pharmacists that dominate alchemical knowledge in the Five Republics. Several thousand strong, they carefully guard their knowledge against outsiders in order to protect their prestige and influence, a position tacitly endorsed by the government in exchange for services rendered in the development of alchemical compounds for military use. Most members set up independent practices in towns and cities, although some are employed in the state factories that produce sea fire. Some become independent wanderers, although these are rare. While most are unskilled in the martial arts, some spend some time familiarizing themselves with the blade or bow, and others study the more direct thaumaturgical arts to supplement their skills.
Monastic Order of Thaumaturgists: Dedicated to the study of the arcane arts, the thaumaturgists are an intellectual society anchored by the study of magecraft. Unlike the apprentice system of the alchemists' guild, the thaumaturgists have a university system for the teaching of basic magecraft, from which students are expected to build their initial skillset before stepping out and conducting their own research. Upon graduation, each student is given a pair of meteor hammers and a sai as their ceremonial weapons. Some choose to study on their own, while others choose to form parties and bands to explore the world. The order owns a small fleet of ships with which to carry out research missions and transport valuable artifacts. Due to the partial overlap of their professions, the thaumaturgists have a strong rivalry with the alchemists.
Noble Order of Swordsages: A somewhat loose martial brotherhood originating from Kiolaka'a, the swordsages live their lives in pursuit of their chosen martial art, bound together by their love of swordsmanship. As each member chooses a different weapon and style, the order has no real secrets, and each brother is encouraged to develop his style as he pleases. Most members of the order spend their time wandering, searching for new opponents or martial masters to study under, and the difficulty in assembling the membership means that meetings are rarely held. Some travel disguised as poor mercenary swordsmen if their style is combat oriented, while others may travel dressed as a lord or merchant if they are enamored with dueling. Although not required, many study the arcane arts as a way of supplementing their fighting style. The order is estimated to be approximately 300 members strong, but no accurate accounting of membership is known.
Local Materials
Over the centuries, a number of local commodities have supplemented the common metals of steel, copper, and bronze in armor and weapon-making. Many of these are considered the domain of the merchant upper class, who are most able to afford such luxuries, or the domain of governments who award them to those of meritorious service to the realm. Often, these weapons are further inlaid or coated with rare or valuable decorative metals, such as platinum or iridium, both prized for their resistance to rust or corrosion.
Most weapons and tools are made of forged steel, usually smithed in a waterwheel-powered smithy using iron supplies from the continent. Older implements may be made of bronze, still a common sight thanks to its resistance to rust and corrosion in the humid atmosphere of the archipelago, but the greater hardness of steel makes it more desirable in most applications. The differences between human and elven smiths can usually be discerned to the naked eye, with human-forged implements being more functional, practical, and rugged at the expense of decoration, while elven weapons are generally more lithe and designed to be used with some skill and are commonly more elaborately decorated.
Buildings are commonly built of wood, coral, and stone, with brickwork being relatively rare except in a handful of special applications, such as the great solar drying kilns of the Central Naval Arsenal. Mortar is not commonly used except in brickwork. The moist environment and tropical climate breeds large forests with a diverse assortment of both hard and softwoods, although deforestation became a problem starting approximately 200 years ago to fuel the expansion of the navy. Since that time, laws requiring the plating of new trees and the maintenance of state arboretums to breed saplings has halted the decline of the forested regions.
Bronzewood: A durable, hard yet buoyant wood found in tropical regions where direct morning sunlight can be found. It can be cut, shaped, and sanded like hardwood, but when heated releases a series of oils that rapidly harden it to a steel-like consistency while still retaining its buoyancy and immunity to rust or corrosion. Despite its usefulness, its slow growth rate and relatively small band of acceptable temperatures, elevations, and moisture levels means it is used only for certain ship fittings and luxury uses. Bronzewood armor is prized by sailors as it can be worn in combat without the risk of drowning if thrown overboard, and local carpenters in the Five Republics are known for their skill in sculpting the wood into nearly any form. As it does not rust or corrode, a properly-maintained suit of armor can be used for generations.
Bronzewood in its natural state is somewhat fire resistant, taking some time in contact with a flame to combust, but once tempered it becomes much more fire resistant. Finished products are often lacquered with even more fire-proof compounds, making the wood nearly immune to combustion, although prolonged contact sufficient to burn away these chemicals and raise the wood's temperature will still ignite it. When finally ignited, however, bronzewood burns at a very high temperature, making it useful for forging applications involving extremely high heat. Such forges are often fueled in part with waste wood from bronzewood mills.
Driftmetal: A rare metal found in regions with underwater volcanic activity, driftmetal is similar to but stronger than bronzewood and requires only a simple heat tempering process to harden. Released by underwater volcanoes, its buoyancy causes it to float to the surface, where it is often found drifting in the seas or washed up on the shore like driftwood, hence its name. Rarer than bronzewood, it is commonly used only for armor and protective purposes where its great hardness and buoyancy can be put to best use and is a very expensive material. Very little driftmetal found in the Five Republics is exported, as it is commonly purchased immediately by a wealthy merchant or the Army whenever any is found.
Driftmetal can be combined with certain compounds including pure iron to produce a weaker but magically-resistant alloy. Due to the relative weakness of this alloy, it is used in its pure form only for non-combat applications, and is popular with mages for protection during magical experiments. For combat troops, it is commonly extruded and woven either directly into a piece of armor or as a stand-alone layer.
Firebane: Firebane is a type of iron compounded with alchemic powders to increase its resistance to fire. While it is possible to create Firebane using steel or sturdier metals, the effect of the process makes it immune to melting and fire, requiring manual working to properly shape. Thus, malleable iron is the preferred base metal, although this reduces its combat utility. It is commonly used by the alchemists that produce seafire to protect them from mishaps, and fire lance operators will often carry at least one suit with them for protection when servicing their weapon. Due to its weight yet lack of protection, it is almost never used in combat except in absolute emergencies.
Red Glass: The rare product of a volcanic eruption that has been laced with alchemic compounds, red glass is an ultra-hard form of glass used in high-end weapon-making. In its polished form, it appears as a slightly grey form of glass laced with red streaks and in most applications is thin enough to remain translucent. While much less brittle than conventional glass, red glass is still prone to shattering and is less malleable than skysteel, requiring a very skilled wielder to avoid shattering it with an improper swing. Unlike steel, a broken glass sword cannot be reforged and must either be re-cut to a smaller size with the remaining pieces or discarded. A properly-honed red glass blade is extremely sharp, holds its edge well, and is relatively light, making it better suited to slashing and cutting attacks rather than piercing or stabbing attacks.
Due to their rarity, many such weapons are enchanted in some way to increase their combat utility, as most able to afford such a weapon are able to afford such enchanting services. The specific type of magic varies, from bathing the sword in flames to simply increasing its durability, popular among wealthier but less skilled merchant swordsmen looking to protect their investment.
Skysteel: At great expense, driftmetal can be further refined into skysteel. To forge it, first rutile and coke must be combined at high heat, with the resulting compound being mixed with salt at even higher temperatures to produce manaccanite. The high heat required for this process requires the use of expensive bronzewood, while rutile itself is relatively rare. The resulting manaccanite is then combined with a quantity of purified driftmetal to create alloyed skysteel, named for the soft blue tint it takes on after cooling and hardening.
It is harder and lighter than pure driftmetal, and its aesthetically-pleasing blue color makes it a popular display piece. Its lightness lends itself well to armor while skysteel weapons are relatively rare but do exist, often weighted with heavier metal furniture to increase their practicality. It is well-suited toward holding an edge and a shape and is difficult to dent or rend in combat. Its high cost and rarity make it a favorite of rich merchant princes or high-placed soldiers, and a suit of skysteel armor is considered a treasured family heirloom, with only a handful of families having more than a single suit in their entire armory.
Technology
In addition to the technologies commonly found throughout the world, a few are more commonly and occasionally exclusively found in the Five Republics. Some, such as Hawika's Gyro, Seafire, and the Wheel of Haumea are secrets zealously guarded by the guilds that produce them as well as the state as a matter of strategic interest. Others such as bug light are relatively common, made by apothecaries and alchemists throughout the land and available cheaply to anyone with coin.
Soft Light: Formulated from a mixture of olive oil, salt, the bioluminescent extract of several insect species, and other ingredients, so-called soft light is commonly used as a substitute for fire when lighting is desired without the generation of heat. When used, it is applied to a wooden object, commonly a simple sphere whereupon reaction with the atmosphere causes the emission of light along the 2,800 K color spectrum. Unlike a flame, soft light is both brighter and more stable while generating almost no heat. To douse the light, a simple covering is placed over the lamp, whereupon the light will rapidly consume available nitrogen within the covering and become inert. When the cover is removed, the light will reignite and a normal application will last several days. For a particularly long-lasting use, wood can be soaked in the substance to increase saturation, potentially allowing for weeks of use.
Soft light is not particularly expensive and can be found in many middle class houses and all upper class abodes. Lower classes and those doing little work at night may elect not to purchase soft light in favor of using simpler candles. It is particularly favored by those working on seafire or with incendiary chemicals, as it removes the need for a fire-based lantern or lamp, and provides a steadier, brighter illumination. Shipboard use is also common in signaling lamps and belowdecks illumination as it poses no fire hazard and is also resistant to dousing.
Hawika's Gyro: A compact metal disc inlaid with inscriptions, a gyro acts as a long-term energy storage device. When outside rotational force is applied to the gyro, it will progressively store this force and begin to release it once this force is removed, similar to a conventional gyro. However, Hawika's Gyro is capable of storing a nigh-unlimited amount of energy. It is limited, however, by its relatively small maximum size and rotation speed, which is fixed at the time of its creation. As a result, it is most useful as a power source for small, precise machines, in particular clocks and time pieces. When acted upon by an outside force, it will spin as fast as the force allows, but when released it will stabilize at its fixed rotation speed.
Hawika's Gyro derives its name from the story of its origin, as it is claimed Hawika the Strong himself invented the device as a way of guiding his fleet to the Hanalui Archipelago. This is considered unlikely as stories of its use to not appear until the later reign of King Makana the Quick. They are common as an aid in training young navigators, although most ships prefer to rely on the guidance of a celestial navigator. Gyros are not particularly common on merchant vessels due to the amount of time they spend at sea, limiting their opportunities to charge the gyro, but are a standard feature on warships and are commonly used by the wealthy to power time pieces.
Seafire: One of the signature compounds of the Five Republics, and the source of many japes about the irony of a seafaring state specializing in fire, seafire is composed of a pair of hypergolic compounds that burn at a high temperature when ignited. Independently, each compound is inert and non-combustible, but will ignite violently on contact. It is the standard filler for fire lance batteries, usually housed in separate ceramic jars that break on impact and stored in separate caissons outside of combat. On warships equipped with fire lances, jars are stored in separate compartments in the orlop, with lance boys assembling the projectiles for firing before use by battery crews.
Seafire derives its name from its ability to burn even on water, and cannot be doused with water unless completely submerged. In its normal state it has the consistency of water and both compounds have a slight blue tint. As a flame weapon it is still subject to being smothered, and most units operating with useful quantities of seafire carry woolen fire blankets, especially warships. Its formulation is a tightly-guarded secret of the Guild of Alchemists and Apothecaries and produced only in state-sanctioned workshops, each making only a portion of the mixture to compartmentalize knowledge and avoid accidents. Among the rumored ingredients are driftmetal dust and bronzewood shavings, but no confirmation has ever been given, and attempts to replicate the exact mixture by private individuals have ended in failure.
Wheel of Haumea: The Wheels of Haumea serve as an energy-transmission device in the Five Republics, allowing power generated remotely to be used domestically and in locations more convenient to their role. By using an array of local crystals set within a pair of forged steel wheels and imbued with alchemical compounds and magic, the wheels become matched in their rotation, allowing rotational force exerted on one wheel to be transferred between them. One wheel, the power wheel, is then usually embedded in a turbine or water wheel and placed in a strategic water way while its twin is equipped with a gearing system to provide power to machinery elsewhere. Due to the expense involved, these wheels are used only for location-critical purposes and most mills use conventional local turbines for power. Transmitted power also decreases with distance, with efficiencies of above 95% within 100 kilometers, but sharply declining beyond that.
The largest installation of wheels is in and around Haumea's Tears, the largest waterfall near the capital of Keikaimanaokalani. A series of over 120 wheels located above, on, and below the falls provide remote power for the Central Naval Arsenal's wood-drying kilns, sawmills, forges, blast furnaces, and other engines of production to maintain the arsenal's output. Other wheels power the city's manufactories, with wheels located in more powerful rivers and attached to stronger turbines capable of powering large numbers of individual mills.
