Aranea

Aranea is an extremely large and prevalent corporation based in the city of Bluebell in the country of Windrose. Following its rapid rise to power, it has become a major force in both regional and national politics.

#### History

Aranea was founded at some point in the recent past, likely in Bluebell. They originally established themselves as a kind of technology-based startup company that sold their technology to various towns in Central Windrose that needed or wanted it. It is likely that they established or had some kind of hand in establishing the first railway lines across Windrose. Even in these early ages, Aranea grew quickly as new technology became more and more profitable over the course of the late Age of Thought. It began using its riches to develop Bluebell directly, beginning both Bluebell's transformation into the vertical city it is today, and Aranea's transformation into a partially political entity.

During the One Week War, Aranea assisted the militaries of Windrose with advanced weaponry and able troops. One of its CEOs, Gwyn, founded the Red Towers to fight in the war, but it is unknown if Gwyn was a part of Aranea at this time. After the abrupt end of the war, Aranea helped fund the Windrosi government's variety of political and cultural reforms, specifically the Ars Tellum initiative. Aranea's new position after the war, coupled with a new workforce in the form of floods of migrants from Notus spilling into Bluebell, allowed it to grow and expand even further. Bluebell continued to expand upwards, and Aranea assumed effective political control over the provinces of both Central and Notus. In lieu of an actual military in Windrose, Aranea's new Security Division took up the role of the military of Central. At some point, certain figures in Aranea began experimenting with rudimentary rocket science, a scientific endeavor they still engage in in the modern day with the goal of reaching the moon. These experiments had the adverse effect of causing heavy pollution after repeated failed launches, leading to the decision to sacrifice the soon-to-be Rocket Wastes as a massive dumping ground for failed rockets.

A decent amount of time after the One Week War, Gwyn, now the head of the Finance Division, began solidifying Aranea's claim on Notus by investing heavily in the development of the city of Indigo as his first attempt at a new model for a modern "city of the future". Many factions both within and outside of Indigo attempted to impede Gwyn's plans for development. One faction, the Marigold Family, joined with the police force of Indigo around 25 AT to stage a riot that would come to be known as the Empty Night. Unfortunately for the Marigolds, the riot would end with them being exiled from the city, opening the path for Gwyn to develop Indigo even more elaborately.

Some time around 28 AT, a large portion of Aranea's forces stationed themselves in the town of Bounty to monitor some kind of unknown magical phenomena. A handful of months later, a group of thieves under the order of the Ars Tellum faction of Adderstone stole a magic item of some relevance to Aranea from the eight Tempo of Bluebell, beginning the plot of Windrose Everlasting.

#### Goals and Resources

As both a corporation and a political entity, Aranea seeks to expand and solidify both its political claims and its role as a provider of important services across Windrose. Alongside trains and rockets, Aranea develops a variety of technologies including radios, televisions, sailphones, and air conditioning, many of which are powered in part by mysterious magic items known as Silver Sails. While Aranea is mostly focused on developing Windrose, they do have a Sail set up in the capital of Lancea.

In the realm of politics and infrastructure, Aranea makes use of a large paramilitary force of trained soldiers, which can be found in many towns and cities across Windrose. They also fund construction projects in many of the cities they have a presence in, building modern housing complexes and, in the case of Indigo, paved roads and modern steel skyscrapers. Aranea also funds the establishment of schools and universities in Bluebell and possibly elsewhere, and manages important infrastructure such as water reservoirs and power plants. The company is having some difficulty getting into Snowdrop and therefore the rest of the province of Boreas due to the city's deep magical traditions, but they have established a train line into the city.

#### Structure

Aranea is headed by a mysterious figure known as Lord Aranea. Their origin or exact powers within Aranea is not understood.

Aranea itself has transformed over the decades from a small tech company to a massive multi-industry corporation involved from everything from rocketry to agricultural science. Each of these industries is worked on by a different department or division of Aranea, each of which is headed by a different CEO. These departments have grown so distinct and expansive that they're often operated more like separate companies than branches of a single corporation, often infighting with each other over various development projects and paramilitary exercises. Each department has its own security force, although the Security Department specifically concerns itself with the outfitting of Aranea's troops and maintaining military power.

The list of departments and their CEOs is as follows:

* Finance, headed by Corvo (formerly Gwyn)
* Security, headed by Harold
* Architecture, headed by an unknown CEO
* Medical, headed by an unknown CEO
* Agriculture, headed by an unknown CEO
* Transportation, headed by an unknown CEO who also goes by the title "the Launchmaster"
* Research and Development, headed by an unknown CEO

There are also two CEOs known as the "East and West Portmasters" who head an unknown division or divisions.

#### Trivia

* The name Aranea likely comes from the name of an archaic spider constellation