Devices & Technology¶
Supplementary to WorldbuildingSynthesis. Detailed information on Devices, weapons, and the technological landscape.
Devices¶
Discrete objects that use Exousia in conjunction with runes. A Device consists of four essential components:
- Germ: The core — a container forged from exousium (refined crystalline material) that holds and channels raw Exousia.
- Source (Spark): A charge of pure Exousia imparted by a Conduit.
- Set: The "brain" — an intricate arrangement of runic symbols that guide the flow of power.
- Form: The physical shell that houses the mystical components.
Touchstone: Danger Beast Items (Akame ga Kill)
Named Devices¶
Weapons: - Asura (Assurance): A blade forged to battle monsters consumed by magic. A thin, black blade shrouded in a veil that distorts the air in a magic-consuming vortex. Darkest at the tip, lightest at the hilt. Forged in an eastern city-state by a madman driven to steal the powers of magicians. The blade is corrupted by his desires. - Abe (Aberration/Ability): (Details TBD)
Objects: - Skin of the Chosen: Carved from the hide of a legendary beast, this skin shapes itself to the wearer. - Altesh, The Reaver - Wreth, The Luce - Cruin, The Wave - Ioril, The Silence - Rukar, The Listener - Shannis, The Shooter - Lilsanis, The Ocean - Urithil, The Serpent - Kuth, The Slayer - Cirith, The Kite
(Most of these are names only — descriptions needed.)
Ampoules¶
Exousia batteries. Became necessary after the Disruption because the altered Exousia landscape made traditional Device charging unreliable. First created by Kadmos (Adam), who also used them to prolong his own life.
Ampoules are charged by spending time in the Forest, where ambient Exousia is plentiful. They serve as portable power sources for Devices in the post-Disruption world.
Runic Builders¶
A pre-Disruption profession combining elements of programming and mechanical engineering. Runic Builders harnessed Exousia by way of Runes — a system of symbols intrinsic to nature, following a structure of formal logic.
Ergastiri (lit. "Workshop"): The foundries out of which Runic Builders operated, largely privately owned.
In the post-Disruption world, this knowledge has been largely lost. Cyrus is one of the few surviving practitioners.
Technology Tiers¶
The world has a stark technological divide:
Public (Kuklos Anankes): - Primitive metalworked weapons (swords, bows, crossbows) - Pottery, textile production, basic agriculture - Devices stigmatized as demonic (Collective propaganda)
Adventurers/Scouts: - Railguns (powered by ampoules) — carry heavy social stigma - Salvaged Devices — functional but unreliable in terraformed zones
The Collective (secret): - Combustive armaments (gunpowder-based firearms — 300 years of secret development) - Beam weapons (known only to highest echelons, developed by Kadmos/Adam) - Augmentation technology (biomechanical enhancement) - Adaptive armor, cloaking tech - Dropship aircraft (Osprey-type)
Black Market: - Bubble shots (trap targets) - Energy cannons - Wresters (drain life force) - Sparktakers (steal energy from other Devices)
The Disruption's Effect on Technology¶
Pre-Disruption Devices were built for the old Exousia landscape. The terraforming has changed the land's Exousia signature, meaning: - Old Devices may not function or may function unpredictably - New Devices must account for the altered Exousia - Ampoules bridge the gap by providing portable, pre-charged Exousia - Only the Collective has the resources and knowledge to develop new technology at scale