Elos Vrai

Locations

Elos Vrai is one of Arx's three continents.

Dark Ascent

The Dark Ascent is a grand, sprawling structure built into the side of an ancient mountain that looms over Eos City. It was designed to represent an ascending pillar of strength, rising from the base of the mountain and carving through the rock in spiraling paths like creeping vines. The thick stone of the mountain's shell is covered in crags, cracks, and sharp peaks that make it nearly impossible to scale or climb from the outside.

Stretching upwards, the rooms entombed within the Dark Ascent are protected from scrying eyes and were built to weather aerial and artillery assaults, anything short of an orbital bombardment. The only break in this coverage presents itself at the peak of the mountain, where an expansive viewport has been laser-cut and reinforced with capital-ship grade transparisteel windows. It is from here that one can see the entirely of Eos City, and out onto the horizon of Arx and its various landmarks.

The Dark Ascent overlooks the Elos Vrai mountain ranges, which act as a natural wall to the Dark Council's back. The only way in is through a singular entrance at the base, but the Ascent itself has many secret tunnels, passageways, and a rumored escape route known only to the Grand Master's themselves.

Eos City

Constructed at the foundations of the Dark Ascent along the shoreline of the largest continent, Eos City is a well-defended testament of the Brotherhood’s industrial might. Encased within duracrete walls and erected on the west slope of a neighbouring mountain range, it is surrounded with ion cannons and turbolaser emplacements guaranteed to protect it from all but the largest capital ships.

Close to a chain of islands off the coast of the continent, Eos City is connected to a network of causeways that act as trade routes. Narrow enough to be monitored at all times, all routes leading into the gates are installed with Iron Legion checkpoints that ensure no illegal cargo is brought within the walls.

Designed in Imperial fashion, Arx’s capital follows an intuitive layout using grid designations for construction. A board of architects were appointed to oversee Arx’s construction without allowing the usage of independent contractors. This cohesion in planning has left Arx without significant design flaws or unintended hurdles to efficiency. Post occupancy, one could argue that the design was almost too efficient, leaving little in the way of creativity or inspiration.

Working in tandem with the Iron Legion’s intelligence branch in advisory roles, holocameras remain fixed on each street corner in both obvious and hidden locations to remind denizens of their safety.

Command Center

Maintaining and enforcing the laws of Arx, the Iron Legion has seated themselves at the center of Arx’s various districts. It is here that one gains access to the turbolift leading into the Dark Ascent. Establishing a network of surveillance spanning the entire metropolis, each datafeed, holocam and recorder is routed to the command center for analysis and investigation. Iron Legion security forces rest in the district's barracks until shift changes demand their presence in other districts while tacticians and data analysts watch the vidscreens of the central hub.

The command center itself is several structures in size, connected with bridges between the conservative glass-and-durasteel buildings. Not wanting to draw attention behind the curtain of Arx’s surveillance and operations, the entire district is unimposing to the average denizen. On the outside, each of the buildings making up the headquarters of the city’s guiding hands look like little more than office towers and commercial real estate. On the inside, it is abuzz with information networks and operatives linked together through neural cybernetics.

Central Market

Documented with the necessary permits to conduct business, the store-holding vendors of the Central Market are registered sellers of common household goods and services, allowing the Iron Legion’s soldiers to purchase commodities that make stationed life more comfortable. Restricted to specific brands and items, the Central Market’s store owners receive regular shipments from Arx’s factories like clockwork, stocking everything from more comfortable off-duty clothing to finer meals than military rations. Licences to import goods from off-world are rare and expensive, often incurring costly duties that affect a business’ ability to compete with sellers of domestic goods and services. All proceeds contribute to Arx’s economic gain through taxation that ensures funds are not funnelled to the coffers of individual businesses, instead serving to expand Arx’s sustainability and development in a manner dictated by the ruling Moff’s government.

Residential Suites

Arranged in tall, uniform structures are the dwellings of Arx’s residents. Efficient in design with minimal variation, the residential suites are each small, compartmentalized units that allow freedom of movement and the basics of living, but not much else. Eschewing the concept of private ownership, each of the residential buildings are managed from a single office that is answerable to the sector’s Moff. After applying for residency, one of the units is transferred to a designated individual who is permitted to live in the glass, duracrete and durasteel walls.

In turn, Arx’s citizens are answerable to the Brotherhood, who collect and manage the taxes and finances that are recycled into Arx’s infrastructure in a streamlined process. Wealthier citizens who can afford higher taxes might request a transfer to a larger unit or a conversion to one, provided the adjacent properties are vacant.

Entertainment District

Home to the few luxuries Arx living has to offer, the entertainment district is a monitored, but otherwise unregulated part of the metropolis. Sharing much in common with the aesthetic of Nar Shaddaa, albeit cleaner, security forces are careful to maintain the crafted illusion of a society where off-duty military personnel are free to pursue their tastes and desires. Undercover, and lurking just around the corner, the law and order on Arx watches and waits for the next spice dealer or illegal gambling ring to fall for the bait.

Vidscreens, bright advertisements and the promise of thrill and excitement draw those looking to blow off some steam to spend their hard-earned credits on the clubs, cantinas and fine dining experiences not found elsewhere, all contributing taxes to the ever-growing development of Arx and maintaining a balance between the credit accounts of stationed personnel.

Iron Legion Headquarters

Doubling as the training facilities where the Iron Legion’s recruits are stationed, the Iron Legion’s Headquarters is located between Eos City and Antares Consolidated Armourers. Taking up a larger landmass than Eos City, the Iron Legion’s facilities are further spread across the continent with large swaths of forestation and causeways connecting the isolated outposts. The main structure itself is home to the office of the Fist, when he is not assigned to duties at the Dark Ascent.

Imperial architecture is standard throughout, but differing from the norm in that the main structure is constructed like a rhombus on the outside with transparisteel windows angled towards the skies. Transitioning to the interior, the building is, in fact, entirely level and a marvel of efficient layout.

Fist Office

Located at the northeast end of the main structure, the Fist Office sits at ground level and features not one, but two windowed walls in addition to the slanted transparisteel ceiling. Collecting rain on each of the three surfaces, the noise that is generated can be filtered out using an extendable durasteel shield that can cover the office from the outside. Potted plants are gathered near the windows that are low-maintenance due to the abundance of sunlight and moisture that is occasionally channeled into them from the outside. A desk with a low-backed chair sits at the intersecting corner of the two feature windowed walls, allowing the Fist ample sunlight, if he so chooses.

Barracks

An external building close to the main headquarters, the barracks are meant to house the Iron Legion’s garrison and prepare soldiers for eventual assignments off-world. Lined with compartmentalized bunks on the inside, each of the beds can be pulled out to allow easier access without the concern of head injuries. This also saves room whenever a garrisoned soldier is to perform the daily ritual of donning his or her armour after a night’s rest, without need for additional facilities.

Lockers and storage cabinets face the opposite wall of bed compartments, containing the essentials a soldier needs, with refreshers to the end of each corridor. Firearms are prohibited inside the barracks’ living quarters. Instead they are located in an isolated ready-room at the entrance.

Administrative Offices

The leadership in the Iron Legion’s chain of command make their homes in offices within the same hall as the Fist’s. With beds built into the walls, desks shoved against a transparisteel feature wall and medals encased in glass cases, each of the administrative offices are afforded to the top personnel. Generals, high-ranking officers and even admirals might be seen in designated offices when they are not called to serve elsewhere off-world.

Atrophos Military Academy

The Atrophos Military Academy is a training institute that develops officers and soldiers for combat and organizing them into effective units that specialize in specific types of missions. The facilities feature state of the art training mirrored after the Imperial Academy. The natural terrain of Elos Vrai makes for a versatile range of training.

Antares Consolidated Armourers

One of the first facilities that an Iron Legion cadet will ever visit is Antares Consolidated Armourers. Producing the betaplast armour that Iron Legion soldiers are trained to treat as a second skin, each cadet and soldier’s measurements are stored and used in onsite databanks that ensure each soldier receives a comfortable fit. To maintain appearances, Antares Consolidated Armourers is the sole branch within the industrial sector to not use civilian workers. Instead, most armour is produced and distributed as kits that a soldier can be trained to don in mere minutes.

Other lines of armour and clothing are, more often than not, imported, refitted, and resold to clients with specific orders to be filled. However, the net loss is minimal and is offset through the export profits of Arx’s other businesses.