The Circle

Thrive

> *"To achieve human flourishing through cooperation and science."*
> - Mission statement
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   **The Circle**, also known as **the Collective** are the loosely-unified collection of peoples in the Eastern section of Primus. They are an expansionist tributary empire known for slow expansion by coercion and gifts rather than military conquest.

They have a centrally-controlled collectivist society that encourages rationalist philosophy and prizes intellectual innovation. They are considered a land of tinkerers, philosophers, and philanthropists

They are ruled over by the organization known as the Technocracy, the central governing body of the Circle. Though it gathers power and involves itself where it can in the world, the stated goal of the Technocracy is to help humanity flourish.

* The Circle is also the only nation that openly invites Immortals to immigrate. Few accept this offer.
* The Circle proudly claims that they make it a point to take care of everyone who joins their nation, even outsiders.
* Evidence supports that the Circle and Technocracy are sincere in their stated goals, though the world has a mixed reception to their methods.

## Economy

> *"In order to guarantee that all have some, we must first prevent some from having all."* -Technocracy economist
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The economy of the Circle is segmented into the **Inner Circle** and **Outer Circle** and both are slowly being guided by the Technocracy to embrace new technologies in the hope of one day achieving a level of technological advancement which will render scarcity an obsolete term in the Circle. In the meantime, the Technocracy does its best to utilize human labor in as humane a fashion as possible to achieve the highest level of productivity, availability of resources, and quality of life it can.

The Technocracy taxes take two forms, a tax of time and a tax of production. Their tax on time is utilized in the form of public service hours and their tax on production is utilized in the form or bullion or product depending on the industry in question.

### **Inner Circle Resource Credits**

The Circle is one of the few nations to use non-bullion-based currency within their borders. Citizens of the Inner Circle earn printed paper currency called Resource Credits to use based on a calculated need for resources by the Technocracy Division of Wealth. These Credits are guaranteed redeemable from the Technocracy for necessities such as basic clothing, food, water, and shelter. Each citizen earns a baseline amount of Credits by paying their tax of time to the government, performing labor or other work as required of them, and typically based on their skill set or what needs immediately accomplished. Further Credits can be earned by further participation in the economy of the Circle.

The Technocracy uses its income from Outer and Inner Circle production to help manage the availability of foreign goods and controls a separate bullion-based currency which is primarily used for trade interactions with foreigners. Citizens who need bullion currency are able to trade Credits for coin, but the exchange rate is subject to the Technocracy's adjustment. It is more common for the government-controlled portion of corporations to make the foreign purchases via barter agreements out of their 60% take of production and then to sell those foreign goods to the citizens and corporations that need them in return for labor and Credits.

### **Production**

#### **Inner Circle**

*"We make time pieces here. We machine the gears, the workings inside, assemble, and package them all under this roof. Ten years ago, it took twenty of us working for five hours to produce twenty time pieces. Today ten of us working for five hours can produce twenty thanks to those belt-driven drills and grinding wheels you see over there. That is what it means to reap the Technocracy's benefits when you partner with them. Without their guidance we'd likely have thirty of us working for five hours to produce five time pieces."* - Circle Value-Holder

The Inner Circle contains the vast majority of the manufacturing power of the Circle within the city of Ironspire. They primarily produce machined tools, vast quantities of low- to mid-grade steel, and specialized equipment rarely produced anywhere else such as telescopes, advanced prosthetics and miscellaneous gadgets.

The manufacturing centers of the Circle present themselves as Technocracy-owned corporations, with typically 60% of the value of the company being held nominally by the Technocracy. The other portion of the companies can only be held by private citizens in exchange for a tax of time. This tax of time typically takes the form of those paying it putting in the long hours of managerial and technical labor to keep such a production facility running. Credit payment for work of both value-holders and non-value-holders is strictly controlled by the Technocracy in an attempt to limit income inequality but at the same time incentivize hard, honest work and skilled labor. It is important to note that the position of being a value-holder cannot be inherited, and can easily be lost if one ceases to apply oneself.

The Inner Circle is likewise responsible for developing technological advancements in resource production or gathering such as new mining techniques or labor-saving machinery. These advancements are vital for the circle to have something to offer prospective nations in payment for them joining the empire.

* The Inner Circle gets progressively larger every decade as infrastructure such as plumbing and other advancements slowly creep to the Outer Circle.
* The trade of technology to Outer Circle districts and foreign trade partners is a keystone of the Circle economy, although the return on these investments varies.
* The advanced manufacturing centers of the Inner Circle are the primary testing ground for many new machines, the mechanization of those centers helping keep production costs lowered.

#### **Outer Circle**

> *"For fifteen years I worked the mine, always watching every time the collector came by to cart away several tons of my work. Then the collector came back one day with an iron beast that hissed and spat. It pulled a cart too heavy for twenty men out of that mine and the collector proudly said, 'This, my friends, is what you have been working for." Work has been easier since. We can dig out half again as much too since we don't have to stop to team-haul carts either." - Miner from the Outer Circle*
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The Outer Circle is the farming, mining, and general resource base of the Circle. This main resource base is supplemented through trade with neighboring nations, many of which are being primed for absorption into the Circle. These areas, due to their distance from the manufacturing centers of the Circle, are often low tech areas, though this varies given the nature of each area. The Technocracy agents oversee the Outer Circle to ensure that the people are both well taken care of, and giving the proper amount of excess to the central bureau.

Due to the prevalence of direct trade with outside powers, Resource Credits are only used for baseline purposes. Further income is typically earned in the form of bullion currency which can be traded with foreign merchants.

* Both outsiders and members of the Inner Circle have commented that the final success of the Circle will lead to a lack of Outer Circle polities that can make up the Circle's agricultural deficits. The Technocracy states that is a known issue.
* Some Outer Circle industries never get phased out entirely as the Inner Circle expands, leading to rather unique mechanized industry underneath fully-developed cities such as Ironspire.
* The Outer Circle gets larger as more territories and people are assimilated into it, however they occasionally lose territory due to invasion or opting-out.

### **Trade**

The Circle is the most significant trade power in the Eastern Block of Primus by virtue of their outgoing international policies and varied economy. Due to their production of specialized materials and equipment, they attract high-paying customers from all corners of Primus that are willing to pay a hefty price for such oddities as fireless lanterns, gear watches, and music chests. Their production of cheap steel is often sold off in bulk to their northern and southern nations to be used in all manner of everyday items.

* The Circle's primary import is food and medicine from their southern border with Kushan.
* The Circle's primary imports from the Broken Kingdom consists of food, soft-metals (copper), masonry work, and military assistance.

* The Circle is one of the few known producers of rubber, and the only one to do so on an industrial level.

**Apples and Oranges**

One of the best known trade policies orchestrated by the Technology in the Eastern Block is the "Apples and Oranges" agreement.

The Circle, having ideal conditions for it, grow large quantities of oranges and other tropical fruits in their warm, northern orchards, year round. The Kushani and Broken Kingdom climates are far more suited for temperate orchards, and grow fruits like apples at the opposite times of year with respect to one another. Normally, this would mean that only a small variety of fruits would be available to the Circle, and that the Broken Kingdoms and Kushan would only have seasonal access to these foods.

After the end of the First Goran War, the Circle used their newfound power as a unified trade block to negotiate agreements with their neighbors, namely, Kushan and the Broken Kingdoms. These agreements have the Encircled facilitating a massive food trade route running from the Broken Kingdoms to the Kushani border, where fruits (and other food stuffs) are traded pound-for-pound. At times, these trades are made on future credit, against harvests that have yet to be collected.

This agreement helps keep famine out of the Eastern Block and allows the member nations to enjoy one of the most varied and spiced diets in Primus.

#### **Trade war**

The ongoing silent war with the Family Hearth puts strain on the economy, threatening their trade routes with sabotage, banditry, and foreign markets with closed doors to them. On occasion Circle missionaries will be targeted as well when traveling abroad. The Technocracy responds to this with periodic raids on Family Hearth strongholds and the occasional robbing of Family Hearth caravans which are then given away to the local populace for free.

Neither nation is willing to allow it to escalate to full scale war as it would destabilize the world economy and potentially cripple both nations.

#### **Woag**

The Circle is one of the few nations that actively seeks to trade with the Woag nation. Due to their mutual feud with the Family Hearth, the Woag offer to transport Circle exports on their overseas routes for a fair share of the profits.

* This does not entirely prevent the occasional inland Woag raiding as every faction governs itself.

### **Taxes**

The governing forces within the Circle levy taxes to meet their needs, both local and external. These taxes are mandated to never interfere with basic income being guaranteed through a form of negative income tax, and higher levels of wealth-acquisition being discouraged through high taxes on particularly high earnings.

* Tax of production refers to taxes placed on the output of a corporation or individual. Taxes on earnings, government share of crop yields, and other such "back end" taxes fall under this category.
* Tax of time refers to taxes placed on the individual for which the only possible payment is in human capital and human labor. Citizens guarantee their basic necessities and quality of life by paying their tax of time. Some do opt out entirely to work solely in industry or other trades for the credit income, and this practice is neither discouraged nor encouraged but is simply a symptom of the individualistic culture of the Circle's society.

#### **Corporations**

Different parts of the Circle have different rules, but in general, the rules regarding the large multi-person businesses which about 30% of the Encircled population works for focus around the rights of workers to control their workplace and restrictions on any individual or small group owning the means of production.

The Freehold is extremely strict about this, as corporate power would be an imposition of the influence of business on the individual. The Technocracy typically owns a controlling share of each corporation or industry.

## Government

> *"By themselves, people are chaotic, short-sighted, and lost in their own small minds. With the right guidance they can become something greater. We will be the light they can follow, then someday, we will follow them."* -Immortal at the founding of the Technocracy
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### **The** **Technocracy**

Established by the Immortals early in the Circle's history, they are a meritocratic central government that controls the military, economy, and quality of life within the borders of the Circle. They seek the greatest credible expertise to lead and control each division of the government.

The Technocracy is not a government in the traditional sense of a collection of leaders. Each office is less of an individual taking on a responsibility and more of molding a human being into a machine that can perform the same processing function until they need to be replaced. The government itself is akin to a "thinking machine" that does not deviate from its programming.

* Many citizens of the Circle are perpetually in the dark about movements of the Technocracy beyond what they see in their daily interactions.
* The Technocracy favors very long-term forward-thinking policies which often seem nonsensical when viewed in a short-term scope by an outsider who is unaware of the entire picture the policies form.
* One of the primary duties of the Technocracy is to promote and advance practical application technology which will increase prosperity, quality of life, and the general effectiveness of human capital hours.
* The Technocracy's base philosophy of using technology to amplify human input is a core part of their policies for the military, economy, and humanitarian concerns.

### **Immortals**

The Circle is one of the few nations with a public policy regarding the Immortals. While Immortals are valued as advisors and ambassadors, they are barred from entering the Technocracy.

* Immortals from the Circle used to wander the world spreading the philosophy of the Circle and many of them have gone missing over the centuries. The remaining immortals have either gone into hiding or retreated within the Inner Circle.
* The Faceless Emperor and the Warden have been blamed for these disappearances.
* The Princess and the Great Engineer are nominally considered to be the only Immortals fully vested in the Circle, their involvement and guidance helping anchor and advance the mortal nation as it grows.

## Culture

The Circle has been known to have a very rationalist culture, which tends to eschew the concept of tradition in favor of practicality. The cultural aesthetic is, however, very conscious of aesthetics and the general utility of things.

### **Collectivism**

The Circle is one of the two most collectivist nations on the planet (the other being the Goran). The Circle, especially in the Inner Circle, has been known to eschew concepts of individualism which seem natural to other peoples. Concepts of privacy, modesty, and private property (not to be confused with *personal* property) are minimized to the point that many Encircled live in communal spaces with communal facilities. Many in the Inner Circle do not even raise their own children personally, leaving them in the care of specially-trained experts. This, of course, means that there are effectively no orphaned, neglected, or abused children in the Circle, but also no strong parental relationships.

This behavior has shocked outsiders, especially in the Ashed and the Broken Kingdoms, and has even lead to the misleading colloquial name, "the Collective", but it should be noted that there is also a strong focus on the worth of the individual. Encircled society works to serve the individual, and the people are guided by the Technocracy to support each other.

### **Specialization**

The Encircled believe that everyone has a passion, which they both enjoy and excel at. Most citizens spend their entire lives training and working in the field of their passion. For instance, someone with a passion for farming fruit might receive special training, be given jobs in various orchards, and eventually be given their own orchard to manage, spending their entire life working with that one thing. The abnormal side of this is that, once someone develops a passion, they generally stop pursuing any other skills or ventures. Said fruit farmer might have no idea how to build houses or construct tools, or anything not related to orchards, and may not even know how to run any sort of farm other than an orchard. A significant number of Encircled, especially in the Inner Circle, do not even know how to find and prepare their own food.

### **Names**

The Encircled are known to have odd names which seem to talk about who they are and what they do. Their first name is a personal name based on some notable trait about the individual, such as appearance, abilities, and notable personality traits. The last is more of a title, or "common name", which is given later in life based on their psychological profile. For example, Checkmate the Thinker was named "Checkmate" for his aptitude for strategy gaming at a young age, and was determined to have a "Thinker" type personality. This tradition was developed early on in order to create a sense of familiarity between strangers; common names can create automatic associations based on personalities.

Encircled from the Outer Circle and immigrants may also have other, more localized names, such as the Kushani names of Mother's Gate, or from other traditions.

### **Religion and Spirituality**

The Circle is officially a secular power, with atheism accounting for 70% of the population, and deists of native or foreign faiths account for the other 30%; mostly in the Outer Circle. The Technocracy has an open policy of opposing Immortal Worship, which has been seen as not only contrary to everything the society has stood for since the League of Eastern Nations, but adverse to any given Immortal's mental health.

The Technocracy does not provide legal exceptions for religious traditions, and the scholars of Kallipolis University have been known to outright reject and even show animosity towards religious belief. While the Technocracy-run general education system of the Circle does not typically teach that religion itself is false, it does teach many concepts of rationality, science, and multiculturalism which tend to discourage religious thought simply through being learned.

There is an occult movement in which some atheistic groups have formed churches of their own within the Circle; the most notable being the Temple of Science in Ironspire from which the movement began. The movement cites the positive effects of religious behaviors on mental health, and has been closely studied by Kallipolis University's Occult Department.

The Encircled are known to be a very rational people and tend to reject superstition to a point, having been taught in school that everything has an explanation, even if that explanation hasn't been discovered yet. Thus superstition and belief in that which cannot be shown is very uncommon. The Circle does, however, believe in things like Immortals and biomorphs, which have been directly observed and are taught about in school.

### **Cuisine**

> *"Never eat that which can fear being eaten"* -The Great Engineer)
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The Circle has a large and varied diet, which consists mainly of a wide variety fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fungi, which are farmed in massive quantities both inside and outside of the Circle's borders, wherever conditions are most suitable, and are transported en masse by flatroad wagons.

Unlike most other nations, the Circle eschews the mass farming of livestock for meat. Most mammals are only farmed for milk, and chickens are primarily farmed for eggs. Fish are the most common source of meat, but only at the rate which they can be sustainably fished from the maintained fisheries of the Gulf of Embrace. Beasts of burden aren't bred for food, and are considered "contributing members of society" under the question of treatment.

## Technology

> *"It seems like a normal enough land, until of course you see the your first flying cart. If you ever get the chance, go see their iron city, truly a wonder to behold."*
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   The culture of the Circle is known for their heavy focus on applied science and technology, using entire sections of their civilization for experimentation at any one time. Most formal research and documentation is done in Kallipolis and Ironspire, where large teams of researchers work together to constantly improve social and technical fields, respectively. Unlike the Academy, Circle technology is developed with the intention for mass-distribution, and is perfected in lab conditions before being dispersed to areas where it appears to be most appropriate. For instance, lektrik is commonplace in Ironspire, but networks also exist in Kallipolis and Stoneport, and the underlying technology has been deployed as far as Mother's Gate.

## Expansionism

> *"The farther we spread, the less suffering there is in the world."* -Circle missionary
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The Technocracy considers it their moral imperative to expand; they are attempting to build a utopian society, and to not expand this effort would be selfish. The Encircled are also in constant need of resources, as they expend much of it in order to raise their standard of living and expand into neighboring regions, and a large, ever-growing population and region of influence is necessary in order to keep up with demand.

The Circle is one of the great Immortal civilizations of Primus and unique among the expansionist nations in the sense that it favors non-violent tactics of expansion and conquest. Using the funds and resources normally allocated for warfare, the Encircled often attempt to uplift unclaimed civilizations to higher standards of living with education and building of infrastructure, turning them into ideal trading partners, before eventually attempting to absorb them into the Outer Circle. They often build schools within other nations, educating the children of a nation in reading, arithmetic, history, and science, which eventually shows the usefulness of the Encircled way of life, slowly converting the young minds who will eventually replace the old.

The ultimate stated goal of the Circle is to convert and assimilate every human being on the surface of Primus so that the world may one day have not only peace, but "universal human flourishing through friendship and science."

## Military

> *"We fight when we need to, when we have to. End the fight quickly and protect the people. There is no room for honor in warfare, only effectiveness. Go, be effective and let the enemy bemoan that we won't follow their lopsided rules of engagement designed to favor only them."* -Circle General
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The Circle military is primarily a defensive one, and relies on reservists to bolster its numbers in times of active conflict. The favored approach of the military is the use of force-amplifying tactics and technology. Personal combative skill is considered secondary to the quality of equipment and weapons being used. The Circle's military heavily favors the use of mobile artillery, small unit tactics, and utilization of set defensive structures. The tools of the Circle's military include, but are not limited to, wagon mounted steam-guns, krak-powder weapons, mass-firing scatter-ballista, multi-shot crossbows, stationary cannons and steam-guns, and the controversial Dust. Favored tactics include rolling-retreat lines to maximize time before melee combat is entered, small-group ambushes, guerrilla warfare, and generally any approach which keeps the enemy too far away to cause casualties.

### **The Circle of Shields**

The Circle of Shields comprises the bulk of the standing army, which defends the borders and assists in internal policing operations.

### **The Unbound Forces**

The Circle believes fully in each individual fully utilizing their talents and fulfilling their potential. Unfortunately, not everyone's talents are pro-social and not all anti-social individuals agree to therapy or rehabilitation. Fortunately, the Circle has a place for them to display such tendencies without harming members of the Circle: the Unbound Forces. The Unbound Forces are a violent, aggressive, low-tech, fast response force for dealing with threats outside of the Circle's existing borders. Examples of Unbound operations range from rooting out bandits to repelling Tallet footholds in strategic areas. They were originally established and are thus mostly specialized for crippling Tallet forces, and excel at moving into an area quietly and running counter-recon operations and officer assassinations. Observers have questioned what the Unbound Forces will do once all external enemies have been quelled. The Technocracy has stated that this is a known issue.

### **Experimentals**

Due to their relatively small population size and large territory, the Circle military needs to maintain a technologically- or tactically-superior edge to maintain their borders. Projects organized by the Technocracy or individual inventors will compete for reward resources and future research grants to produce truly devastating battlefield weaponry.

These projects are usually prototypes that get immediately deployed into the field. The expensive nature of these projects mean that they are rarely reproduced, however the schematics are kept in order if a project one day becomes cost effective.

This ongoing research has yielded weaponry like an iron ship capable of traveling beneath the waves and punching holes through enemy ship hulls.

* Most of these projects only produce one of each weapon.

### **The Vault**

In a compound dug directly into the side of the Slate mountain range in the Inner Circle resides a vault guarded and maintained at all times by the heads of the Technocracy. This vault supposedly contains a copy of every experimental war engine or tech employed by the Circle military arm. In the case the leadership is threatened, the vault will be opened to mount a truly terrifying defense.

## Foreign Affairs

 Friendly
* Woag
* Mamutok
 Neutral
 Hostile
* Tallet (War)

### **Outreach**

The Circle is best known through their missionary program.

### **Military Intervention**

The Circle military is primarily a defensive one, however, the Unbound Forces and Pirate Corps have been known to travel far outside the Circle's borders to intervene in existing conflicts. Most often, this is to keep peace in the other areas of the Eastern Block, but they have been known to move further to interfere with Tallet operations and to prevent them from taking areas of tactical importance.

### **Military Alliances**

By the strictures of the alliance between the Broken Kingdom and Circle, a small army of six thousand Armored Riders is kept reserved for assisting the Encircled forces in turning back incursions by major nations in the Eastern Block area. The leader of this force (typically a Royal Heir, the specific one dependent on the month it is deployed) is under specific orders from the Council of Royals to never interfere with battles between lesser nations nor to enter battle unless the commander of the Circle forces joins the front lines (either with their own men or with the Riders is acceptable). In the event of mass incursions, the full might of the Armored Riders is brought to bear arms, however mustering the entirety of the Riders takes significant amounts of time.

## Reactions to Other Nations

The Encircled are generally easygoing and peaceful, and would rather everyone just work together and get along.

### **Kushan**

> *"They're great, but they'd be better off joining us."*
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The Encircled and the Kushani people see each other as misguided, but good people. The Circle is the primary trading partner and military ally.

### **Stone Kingdom**

> *"Nice people, but a little bit primitive for my tastes. Still, if you're into that rough sort of celebration."*
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The Stone Kingdom is the second-largest trading partner of the Circle of Friends, and a trusted ally of the Technocracy. There are some problems with cultural differences, particularly following the Great War, and they generally do not like the culture and tech level that the Truest King has pushed on his people. The Technocracy however has no problems benefiting from the honor-laden culture the Truest has forged, which guarantees the Kingdom will maintain its obligations to the Circle.

### **Eastern Block Unclaimed**

> *"Well, if you don't want to join us, do you at least want to be friends?"*
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The unclaimed are the third-largest singular group that the Encircled trade with. They generally have positive relations with the Technocracy, which often sends people to help them.

### **Tallet**

> *"The greatest threat to humanity is unification under the wrong cause. Their eventual destruction is the number one long-term military priority."*
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The Technocracy has been at war with the Tallet Empire virtually since contact. They are polar opposites, and their goals are mutually unacceptable to each other. The Technocracy exists to serve humanity, while humanity exists to serve the Tallet Empire.

### **Ashed**

> *"Good work ethic, good technology, decent culture too, but your government is worse than democracy."*
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The Encircled use the Ashed as an example of how society should not be run, and Encircled and Ashed . They think of the Ashed as one of the great travesties of Immortal rule and hope that one day the Ashed will become more like them. The Ashed being far away, this is not possible, so they've resigned to just send missionaries and treat them as an ally for now. The Encircled and the Ashed have never been at war, or even much more than skirmishes between Unbounded and mercenaries.

### **Goran**

> *"They have a truly rich culture and in some ways a beautiful vision for the world. However, we are on a fundamental level, incompatible."*
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The Technocracy has repeatedly pushed for peace with the Goran, even after the Goran-Circle Genocide Campaigns. At times, they've been allies, and at other times, they have been at war. The Encircled do not want to fight the Goran, and would actually appreciate them as a fighting force against the Tallet, but the Goran are nigh-impossible to negotiate with. At their current point, the Technocracy considers the Goran's existence to be contrary to the very existence of modern civilization. They are actively working to change this, and see the Bard as their greatest potential ally in this endeavor, and have been known to send her gifts.

### **Woag**

> *"A barbaric culture of villages in the north. Not really a threat, or even a major faction, but their more destructive interests can be channeled to productive means."*
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The Technocracy doesn't think much of the Woag. They show up, trade, engage in revelry, and contribute to the local economy, and they don't typically attack. The Technocracy does have regulations against the trade of goods stolen from non-enemy factions, but the Tallet, NorthGuard, and often the Goran are not protected by this regulation.

It is not worth noting that Woag ships leaving Circle ports have a high propensity for immediately striking on supply lines and other weak points that the Tallet believed to be unknown to them. This has both hindered Tallet expansion and means that the Woag are distracted from other nations. Nobody has really commented on this, so it's not worth noting.

### **Inisfall Confederacy**

> *"Like the Freehold? I'd say they should join us, but they're too far away."*
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The Technocracy has shown a passive interest in Inisfall, namely as a potential ally against the oppressive Tallet, but is too far away to have much official policy on it. Unofficially, Technocracy scholars have both commended them for their mutual interest in freedom, and criticized their idea of what "freedom" actually is.

### The Family Hearth

> *"Their single-minded tenacity and constant sabotage is possibly the reason we are still confined to the eastern regions of this world. Without them, humanity may have already been united under one true cause."*
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The average Encircled doesn't think much of the Family Hearth, and the Technocracy has very little in the way of stated policy on them. To them, they are just another faction which sometimes conflicts with them. They are considered to be a negative influence long-term, but not a major problem.

## History

### **The Rationalist Immortal Nations**

#### **The Shining Kingdom**

A now-lost Immortal established a military power in what is now the Inner Circle, establishing the capital city of Kallipolis around the year 0, intending it to be a "shining city on a hill". The Shining Kingdom was founded upon the notion that humanity, then primarily nomadic and effectively without science, was in a "dark cave of ignorance", and that they would be "the light of the sun which shines in to lead them out". Their insignia, of course, was a white sun on a dark background.

#### **Ironspire**

It was during this period that the Great Engineer began work on Ironspire, under the premise of creating the most advanced city in the known world. The city was built upward and downward, and to this day sports many unique features, utilities, and creations within its walls.

#### **The Whitewood Republic**

The Woodwalker formed a group of her own in what is now known as the Whitewood Republic. This civilization stressed the importance of individuality and pursuit of knowledge while living in harmony with the natural world. Civilization could not exist forever, if it did not adapt itself to its environment rather than adapt its environment to itself.

### **The Gulf Coalition**

During the First Goran War, the nations rushed to band together in what is known today as the Circle. At the time, however, the various states in what would become the Inner Circle first had to join military forces to survive the invasion.

Kushan and the Stone Kingdom were also invited to the Coalition, but declined along with several other nations. A number of the declining nations were later absorbed or fell during the Great War.

### **Rise of the Technocracy**

Following the First Goran War, and the dependency of mortal leaders to rise up and preserve the minor nations of the Inner Circle, it was deemed that the foreseen time had come for the Immortals to surrender control of their nations. The group known as the Technocracy was established with its hidden rules and code of conduct. The individual nations formalized their Coalition into the Cicle and became unified in the truest sense under this mortal organization.

### **The Great War**

The Great Immortal War is the singular event in the history of the world which has delayed and derailed the development of the Circle into the power that it was envisioned to be. While the Circle has mostly recuperated over the last two hundred years, that is two hundred years wasted rebuilding what already had been accomplished. While some progress has been made, the Circle now more than ever diverts resources into the outside world, doing its best to help prevent the coming of a second conflict of such magnitude. Part of this recovery was the building of the Great Wall, a number of production and economic readjustments, an increase in defensive structures, a near doubling of military expenditure, and an increase in professionalism among their armies.