A History of Greed Technology

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## **Overview**

Over the course of history there have been many iterations of alliances between Green and Red - all of which fall under the general umbrella name, "Greed". Greeds have been moments of technological expansion for both colors, Red benefiting from Green Tech, while Green benefited from unique devices and processes that only the Red Runic System can provide. This document lays out some of the unique technological advancements that both sides benefited from during each of the major time periods of history. It divides history into four major time periods, mostly classified by the level of technology that both sides achieve, Early Greeds, Classical Greeds, Modern Greeds, and Space Age Greeds.

## Early Greeds - Before the Year 500

Early forms of Greed saw the transfer of many ideas and fewer products between the two Colors. Alliances during this time were much looser, both colors being disjointed and made of many individual nations - not to mention the issue of traveling between the two continents. Through these struggles, however, some cross pollination continued to happen. From Green, more advanced material processing methods allowed for Red Arcanists to produce Rune Plates faster and more reliably. This growth saw the first development of Runic Tools - versions of normal tools, weapons, and armor - enhanced with Runic Magic. While these tools were liable to damage through use, historical data showed that they vastly improved their efficiency, and were highly valued - especially in Green Lands.

The following is a list of some runic devices found in Red and Green Territories.

### The Runic Sword

There have been many iterations of the runic sword found - it seems to be a highly desired object in Green - especially among Baschack leaders and warriors. In Red these swords seem to be much more common than in Green. Important Blood warriors with many Runic Swords were a fairly common sight - as were Units of Flame warriors mostly outfitted with these weapons. The runic alterations made to these swords often differ greatly, but most were designed to inhibit the movement of objects they come into contact with, making hits heavier and allowing for enemies weapons to be knocked aside with more ease. Other designs included focusing ambient heat into the metal of the weapon - which, while not enough to heat the metal very much on it's own, made the metal retain it's heat much better. Users would heat their swords in a fire until glowing hot before battle so that they would be able to inflict grievous wounds on their enemies during a fight. While this improvement didn't actually increase the damage of most of these swords (cauterizing the wounds on attack actually increased survival rates), the weapons were most certainly more impressive than their simpler counter parts.

### The Runic Armor

Runic Armor was another fairly common runic advancement made in early Greed relations. It served a very similar purpose to that of The Runic Sword - Runic Armor was designed to increase the effectiveness of it's typical uses. To prevent damage, Runes would typically be carved into the inside of a fully formed plate armor - most often in the main breast plate. The most common Runic system that would be added to armor serves the opposite purpose than that of the sword - Armor would be transcribed with runes to create an optimal bounce for any material that came into contact with it. This proved to be highly effective; Although being a far cry from invulnerability, it greatly lightened the blows that impacted the wearer. With proper upkeep, evidence shows that these plates could be used for many years - much longer than the average Runic Sword. High quality pieces of Runic Armor were also outfitted with a sort of climate control system, which essentially ran a slightly more advanced version of what is now called the "Hello Prometheus" Script. It takes ambient heat from inside of the armor and displays it in a small flame in a key spot on the armor (most commonly on the shoulders or mid-chest). These so called "Wyrm Plates" served dual purposes - the collection of heat from surrounding environs wicked heat from the wearer as they exerted themselves, and the display of the flame was quite the intimidating sight for the bearer's enemies. To this date there is only one full set of Historical Wyrm Plate, although many have been recreated to be displayed in various Museums around Flaria.

### Runic Tools

Runic Tools are an entirely different beast than the previously detailed Runic Weapons. Runic Tools cover a wide variety of different areas, fire starters, material processing methods, irrigation systems, cooking implements, and more. Each tool is designed specifically for it's purpose - for instance, many fire starters were simply thin rods of metal with a simple script that focused heat into a small fire at the end. This pilot flame would then be used to light whatever fuel was needed. Similar methods of heat transfer were used in many early cooking implements. Runic systems that resemble the bounce nullification and amplification used by Runic Weapons and Armor were also used to increase the effectiveness of many physical tools used in daily life. Farming tools like Hoes and Shovels could hit harder, while other tools like Pickaxes and Axes could cut with more precision. Furnaces could hold heat much more efficiently, so Runic Plates and other metal devices could be produced much faster in both lands. By modern standards, these early Runic Tools were only slightly more effective than their non-Runic counterparts, but that made quite the difference to both Red and Green users. Slight increases in efficiency like this were enough for certain tribes or clans to get the leg up on their counterparts - be that in trading, production, or combat. While these devices were much more common in Red territory, a few of them have been found in Green lands.

## Classical Greeds - The Years 500 - 1800

During the Era defined as the Classical Greeds, Trade, Technology, and Culture exploded in Green and Red. As national governments formed, fell, and reformed, many alliances between the two colors were established. This Era saw many, many technologies developed between the two colors. As travel between the two territories increased and production of Runic items grew, invention of new technology spiked greatly. From Green, new technology began to filter into red lands: Gunpowder (which lead to Cannons, Guns, and Early Rockets), Steam Power (Which lead to Locomotives near the end of the Era and water pumps earlier on), and increased material processing. From Red, the same Runic enhancements that were used in earlier techs were brought to the table. These enhancements were often used to make design and production of the technologies simpler - yet others were still used to make new tech that couldn't exist without the combination of the two.

This is a list of some of the technologies developed during the Classical Greeds.

### The Runic Cannon

Developed in the first half of the Classical Era, the Runic Cannon revolutionized warfare across both Green and Red. While not too different from normal cannons, the Runic Cannon had some noted benefits as compared to regular cannons. The most basic Runic Cannon had runes carved along the inside of the barrel, which would take the heat energy absorbed from the initial explosion and push it back into the cannonball as it left the barrel. While extremely simple, this addition was a surprisingly effective one. The extra velocity from these cannons wasn't used to simply deal more damage - the most effective use was to increase the range of the cannon by up to half of a mile. While this increase seems very slight to most, it was all the advantage needed by Greed forces. Strategic placement of Runic Cannon barrages on high ridges with clear visibility would allow enemy artillery to be dealt with with ease, and attacks using Runic cannons were at an advantage - if Greed forces could keep just out of range of enemy cannons, there was very little chance to fight back. Runic cannons were not without their drawbacks, however. The Runes that were carved into the inside of the barrel would often need to be maintained due to the explosive nature of the cannons. The initial carving and maintaining of these runes was not an easy task, however. There were a few popular designs that got around the issue of getting to the inside of the cannon's barrel. The one that came earliest was a simple mechanical device with carving tools on one end, and a simple series of levers on the other. Manipulating the levers moved the carving tools, allowing Arcanists to etch deep inside of cannon barrels with some accuracy. This method was largely abandoned later on, however, in favor of a much simpler one. Increases in the strength and reliability of parts lead to the first "Hinged Cannon" - a style of Runic Cannon that's barrel, when not in use, could be opened via a series of latches and hinges for Maintenance. This allowed for Arcanists to inspect and carve Runes into the interior of the cannon with much more accuracy and precision. This concept was one that was used well into Modern Greeds - many artillery cannons would have this hinged design as a crucial part of their maintenance, be they runic or not.