Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-24108228-20150817004654/@comment-24924103-20150825143808

Name : Vance

Age : 23

Extra : A avid tinkerer and inventor. Has a steam powered crossbow that can fire bolts with massive velocities depending on the charging time, and a power fist he made.

I sighed as I fixed a rupture disc to the boiler of the steam 'exosuit' I had been trying to make for the past two months. It was always frustrating to think of something complicated  that sounds like it would work, and not being able to build it. Patience was virtue, a lesson I learned the hard way, by boiler explosion.

However, It still annoyed me how little progress I had made. I took a step back to look at the 'arm'. It has somehow grown even more messy since the last time I left it. I was pretty sure a arm does not need that many pistons.

Then one of the many pistons on the arm fell off, and the entire arm broke into two.

Before I could manage to fracture the arm into too many pieces, Marquis opened the door.

Marquis was my favorite assistant and apprentice, so I restrained myself from yelling at him.

"Someone wants to meet you, Vance" He said in his signature voice.

"Tell them I'm busy" I replied, annoyed that the someone clearly did not read the 'do not disturb' sign.

"It's the magistrate, he said it was urgent" He responded, His voice more urgent

That got me thinking. A magistrate summon is rare and impossible to decline. What did I do to deserve that attention?

"Tell him I'll be over" I answered as I turned to collect the arm from the floor. Maybe today won't be so monotonous after all.

BONUS : History of Magma

Discovery & Early History

An isolated island situated far away from the archipelago, magma was discovered by chance when the ancra tribe was defeated by the Collis tribe during the battle for the ownership of Plateau. The survivors fled north, the only place not blockaded by the Collis fleet. After drifting at sea for over a week, the survivors chanced on Magma  and decided to stay as there is no place for them in the rest of the archipelago.

At first, the tribe has set up shelter in the grassy lowlands beside the massive snowy plateau. However, the freezing winds, and nightly subzero temperatures caused many a tribe member to succumb to hypothermia, and the rest of the tribe had searched for a more habitable area when they found the massive cave in the belly of the plateau. The cave walls offered shelter from the wind and magma oozing from pools made the cave quite toasty, a welcome relief for the frostbitten and fevered tribe members. A portion of the massive cave was converted quickly into a shantytown.

Golden Age

The tribe had sent out explorers to map the cave, and only then did they discover the absolutely massive ore caches scattered throughout the massive cavern. Over the next few decades mines are established everywhere in the cavern, producing tons of iron, coal and sulphur every day. Pumping lava into forges allowed forging of stronger, harder, purer metals and alloys. The entirety of the massive 17km cavern was explored and torches dotted the place, keeping the cavern lit all hours of the day. Fleets of fishing boats sail each day, bring back many arctic tuna, while bruma berry plantations covered the grassed portion of magma.

Trade had opened up, and traders exchanged their expertly forged tools for food and other necessities. The steel formula was learned and many new refineries opened for the sole purpose of producing said alloy. It was also somewhere during the late golden age that the recipe for bluesteel was discovered. The alloy, although heavy, was the hardest material known yet, and was only able to be smithed in the searing magma pools of magma. However, magma traders has made very significant profits as other tribes were very eager to get their hands on the alloy.

Miner Revolts

The seventeenth leader of ancra has taken his forefather's achievements for granted, and in the first seven days since his coronation broke at least seventy guidelines meant for leaders, and cares more for his concubines instead of the issues concerning his tribe. His adviser, Aiton Averill, taking the power for himself in the leader's absence, ordered massive gilded statues of him made. Many of these statues have since been melted down for their metals. Normal forging ceased and all metals from the mines went to the creation of these statues. Long labor hours and many accidental deaths caused an uproar within the miners and laborers. When these cries went unanswered, Miners and laborers banded together to overthrow the leader. After a long and bloody month of infighting, the Revolting workers vanquished the praetorian guard and secured the throne.

Thibault Auvray was then elected as sovereign for ancra, and he promptly renamed the tribe to incendium . It is thought that Auvray was the first elected leader.

Rebuilding started, but the economy of incendium is severely affected. Soon, food and shelter shortages began showing themselves.

Cataclysm

At the opening ceremony of a new mine-shaft, a chunk of rock broke off a portion of the rocky wall and fell onto the overseer's head, killing him instantly. Thus it is widely believed that the shaft is cursed, a superstition that proved horrifically right.

While mining down the shaft, a group of workers met a group of extremely hostile felines in a underground chamber. The group has managed to kill the entire group without any casualties, but the real danger was the virus carried by the felines, harmless to the lynxes but deadly to humans. One in every three died due to the virus, a death toll totaling to a few thousand. Luckily, everyone was either immune to the virus or dead, causing the virus to simply die off itself. However, stronger workers are more susceptible to the virus, crippling most of the working class of incendium.

On the same year, disaster struck again. A mining team mining down the same shaft discovered a enormous natural gas pocket, which was ignited by the torch of the lead miner. The following explosion caused the floor of roughly one-sixth of the cavern floor to collapse, killing thousands within the first second and many more due to inhalation of poisonous gas. Homes and businesses alike were reduced to rubble by the shockwave, which was said to be felt as far away as flax. The twin disasters reduced magma's population to one-eighth of what it used to be. Nevertheless, magma has begun rebuilding, hoping to restore its former glory.

Current State:

Magma has made many technological advancements since the cataclysm. A shortage of manpower and a abundance of parts from the wrecked mining machines provoked the creation of the first steam engine, and many steam-based alternatives to normal tasks. Magma boasts many steam workshops, dedicated to the creation of tools and parts, and many forges. The raised portion of the cave is the residential area, with enough flats for everyone. Built on the lower levels are the factories and warehouses.

Almost all the debris has been cleared, and re-population has increased the population by 40% in the past few decades, however, manpower is still very scarce. Moreover, the island currently faces a food shortage and is considering opening trade routes again.