Blackwatch

In the stillness of dawn, silence is broken by the sudden spark of awakening machinery, howling and hissing as the gears stress and buckle. Gumboots splash through dirty puddles as workers carry sacks of coal to feed the machine. Industry is set in motion. Blackwatch is one of the largest and arguably most influential factions in Cier, exerting its political agenda with both industrial and military might. As a result of their industrial prosperity and ravenous appetite for resources, Blackwatch has resorted to expansionist ideals to sustain their forges and factories, employing their substantial workforce to fuel their restless war-machine. However, this is not to the dissension of the local populace. Stemming from their internal pride and nationalism, the citizens of Blackwatch work tirelessly for the good of their country, empowering their nation at an often personal cost.

Geography

Blackwatch’s geography has been altered by man in its entirety. Instead of rolling hills, Blackwatch has monolithic architecture. Instead of a jungle of lush trees and vines, it’s a jungle of concrete and wires. The geography is near non-existent save for the occasional incline, pothole, or slope, as the majority of the land has been pressed flat by machinery for ease of construction. The last bit of true nature is the mountain range in the northern borders, where Blackwatch mines the majority of its resources. However, even this has been touched by man as smokestacks and pollution create a visually bleak mountain range, dotted with mining equipment and workers.

Architecture

Early Blackwatch architecture resembled defensive structures, as Blackwatch was originally a “last stand” fortress. When it was obvious that Blackwatch would not have to fulfill such a role, they began expanding as a civilization, manifesting their destiny in a way. Structures in the early days of the expansion were incredibly numerous and built in haste, as the state believed that building upon the land “claimed” it. The infrastructure improved as Blackwatch expanded, becoming more experienced in creating sturdy, uniform structures.

Early architecture near the capital has had numerous restoration and expansion attempts, reinforcing and adding to the aging stone defensive structures. Older, more rudimentary systems were implemented in the most cost effective way, prioritizing function over looks, meaning wires and metal beams haphazardly stretch between metallic scaffolds lining the walls of buildings.

Later architecture could be described as “Eastern Bloc.” Monolithic in nature and utilitarian through and through; the rough and dull exterior is exceptionally sturdy, but bland as modern Blackwatch architecture as a whole prioritizes function over form. This can be seen around the northern borders, as these areas were of the last installments of Blackwatch’s expansionism.

Technology / Wealth / RICE

Blackwatch has by far, the most widespread use of technology. They have mastered the development, usage, and distribution of analog technologies and have gotten it down to a science. Throughout history, they claim ownership of various notable technologies such as steam power, hot air balloons, conventional firearms, and were even able to reverse engineer Aetherian technology. While Blackwatch’s previous doctrine could be described as “make it good enough, multiple times” in that they focused more so on quantity rather than quality, the production of equipment under contract and funding from the Cierian Protection Front allowed the manufacturing of both quality and quantity devices and equipment.

Wealth trickles down occasionally in Blackwatch, with government bodies, political figures, corporation owners, and defense contractors seeing much of the wealth, every so often passing it down to workers. Every so often, RICE is given to corporations to then hand out to important, essential, hard workers who can boost the company’s productivity, such as a Research and Developer or a Factory worker.

People and Culture

The people and culture of Blackwatch are heavily indoctrinated, they are led to believe that endless hard work earns merit, and that every factory built, every piece of equipment created, benefits the state in the end. They are told from the beginning that magic is an unknown evil and that technology evens the playing field against individuals who bring people to their knees with “magic.”

Government/Religion

The Blackwatch governmental system is what can be classified as a Socialist Capitalist Meritocracy where those who perform well are given handouts and incentives that urge them to work harder. The upper level of government are all easily swayed political figures and defense contractors who trickle down wealth to those below them. Blackwatch as a whole follows a flawed interpretation of Systemism where they believe that superior technology is a must that will allow them to destroy any threat that exists. This is a far departure from normal Systemism where the sharing and development of technology allows for everyone to live to their fullest despite any opposition.

History

Blackwatch started off as a military fallback for Blackgate, formerly Highgate, during the Downfall. It would have played the role as a hypothetical “last stand” for Blackgate should Allied forces lose the region to the shadow, and as a result, the majority of the personnel in Blackwatch at the time were armed forces. Once the Downfall ended, Blackwatch grew in size and declared independence from Blackgate, now rebuilt with high walls in the case of another invasion. The military population influenced how the government would be run, focusing more on armed forces and policies that would boost its military. Once Blackwatch was of competitive size to other regions with a formidable military to boot, they started interfering with other local regions through mild acts of war and aggression. The most notable cases were the Cierian War where Blackwatch sided with the Anti-cultivists, The Highgate Civil War where they aided the winning side towards the end, and the invasion of Aether. After the subjugation of Aether, Blackwatch was threatened by the Cierian Alliance to cease wartime actions against Aether, and was signed into manufacturing equipment for the newly formed Cierian Protection Front.

Blackwatch also had a period of expansionism post-Downfall where they expanded out and claimed the entire peninsula around the region as Blackwatch territory, encroaching even as far as the southern Raiteran forest.