Cevanti Lore Update 2024

[Beatrix III]

Cevanti

Content Update 2024​

Greetings, Multerrans. Today I bring to you the second update to Cevanti and the various factions on the planet. In this update we’ll be taking a look at the Pilot’s Union and The Guild. We’ll be covering how they operate, what makes up day to day activities, and more! This update also includes an update on The Guild’s planned merchant city of Mylesia, which sits to the west of Markov on a peninsula. Read on!

The Pilots Union

We all know that the Pilot’s Union is where you go if you want to pilot mechs, right? Right. This hasn’t changed. Day to day efforts inside the Union include perimeter defense of the city, providing protection for wild zoid harvest convoys, and keeping tabs on the area surrounding Markov. The southern end of the city is where the Pilot’s Union operates out of. Giant hangars litter the landscape that are capable of servicing mechs of all types. They are manned by the Union Corp of Engineers. These men and women service the mechs that come in and out of the repair bays. Each hangar has twelve repair bays capable of fitting a mech of any size. Every three bays is crewed by a team of twelve engineers, coordinated by one chief engineer. Turn around time for mech repairs is usually less than twelve hours. Less if the “All Hands on Deck” call has been given, which is a war time combined effort to provide as much support for the armed forces as possible. Not only does the Pilot’s Union service mechs, but there are smaller hangars that repair the various armored vehicles that the standing military use. These smaller hangars contain about six vehicle bays each, manned by a group six of engineers per two bays.

Where do all these engineers and mechanics come from? Good question! Cytokine Industries has developed an entire graduate course that includes hands-on experience pertaining to each field of repair. You can apply at your nearest Cytokine Industries outlet store. Trainees are paired with actual engineering teams and earn actual experience over the course of six months. The program has been carefully designed by the R&D team at Cytokine Industries.

Leadership? General Claudius Dulmare is the de facto head of the Pilot’s Union. He has been since its formation many years ago. However, while he serves as Supreme Allied Commander for Markov’s armed forces during the war with the Unmaking, Colonel Jericho Silvis has taken the reins. Under him serve four Colonel’s who each have a distinct role they manage inside the Union. Colonel Uelle Skleros is in charge of perimeter defense. Colonel Hektor Ruiz is in charge of the expeditionary missions that provide necessary information about the surrounding area, including intercepting wild zoid attacks inbound to the city. Colonel Rebekah Glendale is in charge of the engineering corp and the repair and maintenance of mechs and the mech bays. Colonel Asnabel Birall is the direct liaison to King Dulmare and provides him with the information the expeditionary forces collect, as well as information on how the day to day operations are going within the Pilot’s Union. Inside the hangar bays each engineering team is led by the Crew Captain. They are usually the most experienced member of the team and take charge in the most difficult projects that are assigned to them and their team. The hangar itself is run by a team of two Crew Chief’s. They manage day to day assignments, assisted by the automated system.

How does the repair system function so well? Each pilot is required to make a data entry when they request service to their mech using the automated ticket system installed to the OS of every Union mech, regardless of what universe it’s from. They’re required to sign and date each repair request and provide a decently detailed report of what went wrong. Don’t worry though. Humans make mistakes. This is why every mech OS is capable of recording combat data and damage received. This is automated and is viewable by every engineer that works on the specific mech by using a special holographic tablet. The engineer’s themselves are also required to sign off on every bit of work they do to a mech, leaving a paper trail for problem solving, system diagnosing, and sometimes reprimand if mistakes were made. Especially if those mistakes cost lives. All of these systems were designed and developed by Storm Motors, the mechanized development team of Cytokine Industries.

The Pilots? The Pilots are managed by both Colonel Ruiz and Colonel Skleros. Each new pilot must complete a set of simulated missions inside the test facility at Cytokine Industries. Recruits who pass are assigned their very own Veritech mech, given an operating number used for log entries, and a week's pay. Entry level pilots are usually Corporals. The ranks progress from Corporal to Sergeant, to Staff Sergeant, to Sergeant Major. Once a pilot reaches Sergeant Major they can volunteer for another series of tests and exams, that if they pass, will promote them to Lieutenant. Lieutenants are promoted to Captain and then to Major, which is the highest rank a pilot can achieve without being selected for Union leadership. Pilot’s can earn bonus pay based on performance. Each rank has a different rate of pay, but that pay can be augmented by winning commendations for specific outings or battles. Because every skirmish is logged, it’s easy for the automated system to keep track of pilot performance and when command deems it, they reward commendations to those who go above and beyond. Your pay is calculated by rank and the amount of commendations you have.

The wiki mentioned a rivalry with The Guild? Each year The Guild and the Pilot’s Union vie for majority control of the market stalls in the Bazaar district of the city. While The Guild uses these stalls as a means to generate income and sell various goods and services, the Pilot’s Union takes this chance to reach out to the people for volunteers willing to join. They also do a giant bake sale providing low cost provisions to those in need of them. The competition is pretty fierce. To the point that Thelonious Rex likes to buy out everything the Pilot’s Union sells and resell it at a higher cost much to the dismay of General Claudius. In return, the Pilot’s Union sometimes steals a shipment of Coin headed for The Guild and puts it to use repairing various facilities or paying bonus wages to the engineers and pilots. This infuriates Thelonius Rex much to the joy of the Union.

The Guild

We all know that The Guild is run by Thelonious Rex (never call him Rex). We also know that he values Coin above anything else in the Crossroads. Even if that meant the destruction of Markov. King Dulmare tolerates him, because he provides a more magical approach to warfare than the mechanized and modern Pilot’s Union. The Guild is made up of mages, sorcerers, wizards, witches, warlocks, merchants, assassins, and everything else in that vein. If the Pilot’s Union controls the southern end of the city then it’s safe to say that The Guild controls the northern quarter.

What are the day to day operations like? The Guild operates like a crime syndicate. You have the Godfather himself, Thelonious Rex, and then you have his various enforcers, mob bosses, bodyguards, and various thugs. While most of its activities are strictly legal, those seeking the underbelly of Markov go to The Guild. A typical day for The Guild involves magical research, providing funds to the crown, and paying off various officials so that Thelonious Rex can keep his empire greased. The Guild operates many nightclubs and strip clubs in the city of Markov, most of which are VIP only. They’re only in it to make Coin and they’re always willing to pay for good information.

Leadership? Thelonious Rex handles the more serious affairs leaving Palaxia and her selection of confidants to run everything else. The golden dragon is perhaps the only person Thelonius trusts as much as himself. While also serving as advisor to King Dulmare, Palaxia is the information broker of The Guild. Under her are three underbosses who each manage three capos. Juliet Grimes, Nikki Stark, and Jerome Vasquez serve as underboss. Their job is to coordinate guild affairs in the city based on the intel that Palaxia receives. This includes bribing officials, fire bombing a store front, running merchant stalls, collecting Coin from various brokers, etc etc. You might think, “Wow this really sounds like they do illegal shit.” Yeah, they do. However, because of his major contribution to the development of Markov and the Kingdom’s coffers, King Dulmare tends to look the other way and let the local police handle it. That way they’re still being enforced by some kind of law enforcement, but not officially denounced by the crown. Of course, Thelonius Rex just assumes he has the run of the place.

Tell me about the magic. Merlin (yes that Merlin) oversees the magical affairs of The Guild and reports directly to Palaxia who in turn reports to Thelonious Rex. Merlin is in charge of the vast library of magical artifacts and tomes that Palaxia has acquired over her many years working for The Guild. Magic users seeking to improve their skills or looking for work are sent to the College of Silestria, located on the north side of the city with everything else. Inside this college you’ll find powerful magic users capable of teaching you any sort of spell or power you wish. This is also where the Jedi Temple for Cevanti is located. The magical district also has a market where you can buy and peruse the various magical artifacts that The Guild has deemed they’d like to sell to individuals.

Tell me about the merchants. You said they were merchants. The main priority for Thelonius Rex is trade and the procurement of Coin. Be it information brokering or the transaction of goods and services. He is always looking to make a profit. His entire empire is about making profit. If you can convince him and his lackeys that you are worth their time, they’ll listen to you. The biggest source of income is Thelonius Rex’s import and export business run out of the Markov spaceport. Importing goods from the other planets of the Crossroads and exporting the technology of Markov. Because The Guild owns the section of the city the spaceport is in, Aria has begrudgingly allowed Thelonius Rex to sell her goods offworld. The same goes for the Pilot’s Union and any and all of the technology they possess.

The Rivalry with the Pilot’s Union. You’ve heard their side of the story, but Thelonius Rex knows the truth. He secretly believes that the Pilot’s Union wishes to take over his section of the city and steal all of his income to fund their various R&D projects, as well as pay for an expansion of their hangar system. This isn’t true in the slightest, but he believes it nonetheless. As previously explained they vie for a section of the Bazaar quarter. However, Thelonius Rex would have you know that he only sells his goods at reasonable prices so that everyone may have a fair shake at what he has to offer. This is propaganda of course and The Guild just wants the market stalls so they can sell the surplus offworld goods they’ve acquired.

The City of Mylesia

The newly founded merchant fortress city sits to the west of Markov on a peninsula overlooking a vast ocean. In the time since the last update, the fortress proper has been set up and the perimeter defenses have been erected. A new subway transit system has been installed at the Markov spaceport that takes travelers to Mylesia via underground tram. This protects those who wish to visit from the wild zoids and provides cheap and easy transport between both cities. Four giant newly erected apartment complexes await tenants, while various Guild businesses set up shop. Cytokine Industries has two outlet stores in the city and is currently constructing a harbor that will allow those willing to brave the seas a means to explore other parts of the planet. The perimeter wall, as previously stated, is up and running with advanced auto-turrets running off a series of new-age radar towers. Nothing but the best for The Guild. If money can buy it, they’ll acquire it. The Guild has begun offering various jobs to those willing to relocate to Mylesia. The Pilot’s Union, just like it protects Markov, has been tasked by King Dulmare with providing perimeter defense and advanced scouting missions to keep the city safe. However, because Markov sits in-between it and the wilds of Cevanti, very few zoids ever make it to the outer wall. As a bonus, Mylesia promises to have new housing available in the coming months for refugees of the Unmaking seeking a place to call home that isn’t within Markov. The primary reason for building the city is the harvesting of deep sea metal deposits that The Guild can then sell to the Pilot’s Union or offworld. Once the harbor is completed, underwater expeditions will commence. Those seeking to work as an undersea miner must apply at the field office in Mylesia in the coming months. The Guild promises fair pay, including hazard pay, for good performance. ‘

Layout of the city? The city is currently divided into distinct districts. The western end is where the giant apartment complexes are being built or have been built. The harbor is being built on the southern end which will facilitate deep sea mining as well as travel to other parts of the planet via boat or submarine. The city is surrounded by a similar energy barrier to the one Markov uses. Defense towers are placed every four hundred yards. There is a bazaar quarter where shopping stalls and stores are currently located. The residential district surrounding the living quarters has schools and various public amenities like fire departments and police stations. The local police are run by the crown not by The Guild. However an active enforcement squad is also present within the city to maintain the interests of The Guild. Everything is centered around the giant fortress in the middle of the city where the local government is housed. The citadel is also a fall back point for citizens should they need to escape danger.

Life in the city? Mylesia is a mix of technology and old world design. You’ll find swords and you’ll find energy weapons. Sometimes both combined! Mylesia is a merchant utopia. Everything is brand new and meticulously well taken care of by hosts of AI controlled city sweepers designed by Cytokine Industries. Groceries and daily amenities can be ordered via holo terminal and delivered straight to your doorstep. Or if you’re old fashioned you can visit the various stores in the Bazaar quarter and get them yourself. Carriages and hover cars alike litter the bustling streets. The city has an early warning system for zoid attacks and has designated bunkers for people to take shelter in case the defense wall was ever breached. Because of the state of Markov and the overwhelming funding from The Guild, inflation is low and employment is easy to come by. Various cultures inhabit the city. In the magic districts you can find various floating objects like brooms, keeping the streets clean, or floating lanterns that light up the streets at night. Because of the proximity to the ocean the weather is a bit warmer and more humid than Markov with the sea being a warmer body of water than the other oceans.

Anything else? Of course! Because of the location of the city and its distance to Markov, there is a mini star port in the north eastern bloc. The supplies and various goods required to keep the city running are imported directly from Markov using heavily armored aircraft that continuously transport back and forth between the two cities. Mylesia is powered by two fusion reactors built beneath the central citadel. All of the city's power lines and power cables are buried beneath the city. Several large satellite dishes provide internet and information transmissions to other worlds for its residents. The mayor of the city is Yvette Dawson. She lives in the citadel and manages the day to day for the government. This includes city ordinances, local laws, and keeping in favor with King Dulmare.