Wrawn

Wrawn is an unintentional city located along the hullward side of the Engine of the Gods.

Background
The Architects of the Engine would never have imagined that their service machinery would, at some point in time, largely forget their original purpose, or in some cases, become self-aware and develop behaviors analogous to those of actual living creatures. Similarly, the biomechanical and robotic life of the Engine gathers in communities, with Wrawn being the largest. Highly immense in terms of scale, Wrawn can be difficult sight to take in. Each constituent cable of this “web” extends throughout the reach at a different angle, forming roads that are each crowded with module chambers and thick with entities streaming along them. These creatures often don't touch the cables but instead glide along next to them, using these lines as guides. Wrawn's architects couldn’t have imagined that their service automatons and other systems would eventually largely forget their original purpose, or in some cases become self-aware, and develop behaviors analogous to those of living creatures. And like living creatures, the biomechanical and automaton life of the Engine gathers in communities. The largest of these is Wrawn, so immense it is effectively an entire reach in its own right.

The city's population likely exceeds a billion self-aware entities, many of which consist of automatons, the rest being made up of lliran. Despite having grown out of a single maintenance pod, one like many others still scattered about the Engine, this particular pod evolved into a religious center over the course of many millennia. It was during this period that the lliran maintenance crew developed a series of rituals that were designed to propitiate the Engine, both spiritually and mechanically. Eventually, the center attracted more and more lliran, as well as any other entities living on the Engine, the Halo and, in some cases, emigrants stemming from the sun’s surface. Any and all newcomers are usually directed towards the Cathedral of Brilliance and told to find what's known as an Expounder. Hundreds of these Expounders work within the Cathedral at any given time and, if greeted with appropriate decorum and respect, will answer whatever questions they can regarding Wrawn and the godhood of the Engine.

Travel
Given its otherwise tangled density, Wrawn can be quite difficult to travel through quickly. Most creatures will move under their own power, but those willing to part with 1 unit of io can rent what's called a flet. This special vehicle comes in many different models, but every one of them generally has the shape of a sphere 30 ft. in diameter, which serves as the passenger cabin. A nest of extendible, tentacular legs, some of them jointed, with many simply articulating cords, provide physical motive power, allowing the vehicle to treat any obstacles of the city as useful grips for propelling it forward in almost any direction. A flet can either be manually controlled or simply instructed as to where to go, with general directions or, better yet, what's known as ICS. Even in a quickly moving flet, crossing Wrawn from one edge to the other could take at least several hours.

Currency
The preferred currency of Wrawn is known as Io, in the event that its citizenry doesn't simply barter. Shins are devoid of value in Wrawn. Similarly, because of the wide use of io, it's been devalued in comparison to its worth in the Ninth World. Generally, when a character has as much purchasing power in Wrawn using 1 io as they’d have with about 10 shins in the Steadfast. Io can be found embedded within most numenera objects and structures throughout the Engine. Like the word “shin,” io is a sort of catch-all term for different kinds of iotum in their basic form. As such, it can come in many forms, but each can easily be held in the palm of the hand. Examples include smooth shards of muddy crystal in which a glimmer of gold light gleams, tiny green metallic boxes with etched lines that form unusual patterns, cylindrical tubes of a soft but resilient material that sparks with static electricity, etc. (Io can also be used when crafting numenera.)

Jurisprudence of Wrawn
The city’s leadership is a group of lliran known as the Jurisprudence. There's a strong sense of the spirituality in everything the Jurisprudence does, reflecting common lliran attitudes regarding the supposedly holy nature of the Engine. Composed of approximately 254 members (including a few non-lliran), the Jurisprudence gather every 10 or so cycles within a great dome, one of several module chambers that make up the Cathedral of Brilliance. A variety of different schools exist within the Jurisprudence, each of which is concerned with making sure that their own particular interpretation of their shared doctrine is followed. This means that getting new policies enacted can be quite difficult. Anyone who wishes to address the Jurisprudence or even the Interpreter must agree to a so-called "Trial by Mending" held within the Cathedral of Brilliance. This same Trial is used to determine the fate of accused criminals, among other things.

Interpreter
A title given to the speaker of the Jurisprudence, the "Interpreter" is a lliran of immense authority whose decisions can sway the entire body. The Interpreter is known by the halo-like flurry of machines that constantly surround and protect them. The current Interpreter of Wrawn believes the Engine’s present inactivity is due to divine will, in that it's content with its current state. Other schools of the Jurisprudence seek to convince the Interpreter to consider alternative narratives, such as the possibility that evil has invaded the Engine and should be thrust out it. Some of these schools even suggest that appeasing the Engine will require a return to certain ancient “repair rituals” that have long since fallen out of favor. The Interpreter could potentially be swayed by sensible arguments, if it weren't for their friend and confidant, named Denizen. As long as Denizen (who in Wrawn would go by the alias of “Pure messenger”) remains someone to whom the lliran and especially the Interpreter trust, any sort of meaningful progress put towards repairing the Engine will be quite difficult to achieve. As of late, Denizen only appears in Wrawn as an instance of herself, controlling an automaton that roughly resembles her and thus enjoying similar stats and abilities.

The Morality
the Morality is a group of lawkeepers that is both certified and empowered by the Jurisprudence. Unlike the latter, however, the Morality contains many splines that are searching for meaning. Morality officers (known colloquially as “morals”) have wide latitude when it comes to questioning random entities, whether they be naive newcomers or longtime residents. The questions are often about the subject’s recent activities as well as their attitudes regarding the Engine. Note that it's considered an offense in Wrawn to disrespect the Engine. But unless someone or something were to go out of its way to dismiss the Engine's divine qualities in the presence of a moral, there’s not much chance of a random check leading to an arrest (assuming the check doesn’t uncover any truly illicit activity). Those who find themselves under arrest are brought to the Cathedral of Brilliance for Trial by Mending. In addition to maintaining peace and order, the Morality is also charged with general maintenance and upkeep of the city. It’s not uncommon to see a group of morals working on a module chamber, power line, foundational cable, or other device, all the while chanting via machine channels some kind of sacred liturgy to the Engine itself. Whenever employed, these normally dour splines may almost seem ebullient.

The Fist
When the Morality isn’t sufficient to deal with a problem, a unit known as the Fist is called to action, made up of a squadron of augmechs featuring a couple of bloodfist models. Their controllers are located in a module chamber adjacent to the Cathedral of Brilliance, a bunker-like structure hardened against attack or even an extreme solar flare.

Points of Interest
· Port of Wrawn

· Cathedral of Brilliance

· Hypermarket

· Stacks

· Plasmar Embassy

Freedom Society Wants You:
A group of lliran, among other entities of the Engine, has set up a shop within the Hypermarket, taking any applications for membership in the Freedom Society. Some say that the Freedom Society actually abhors the religious fervor otherwise so common throughout Wrawn, believing it rots the mind, and have more than once rescued those slated for Trial by Mending, claiming that the rite is barbaric and worthy of being banned. Consequently, the Morality, once uncertain of the Freedom Society, has increasingly started to treat it as an enemy.

Drahq Hunters:
A couple of wraiths who refer to themselves as “drahq hunters” are purchasing supplies in Wrawn for what they call the "hunt of the deca". Each wraith seems to wield some kind of trophy taken from a slain “monster” of the Engine. In addition to supplies, they're also on the lookout for a group of freelance hunters to help them capture a most dangerous prize.

Hypermarket Threats:
Some sellers throughout the Hypermarket tend to be unscrupulous in their behavior, essentially running their shop by stealing from other shops and then selling the loot at a convenient discount. The more legitimate shop-owners are interested in hiring anyone who's able to find and eliminate these so-called “merch jumpers".

Alarming Vibrations:
An unmoored module chamber from some other part of the Engine has crashed into Wrawn. As of yet, no one has been able to break through its amazingly resilient walls to see what’s inside. From time to time, however, the chamber shakes and bucks, as though something large is seeking to escape from within.

Coming to Life:
One of the dead hulks encrusting the Port of Wrawn — presumably some kind of ancient spacecraft — has started revealing signs of life, as of late, displaying mysterious lights and initiating some previously unrecognized self-repair functions.

Vacuum Fungus:
Purplish spores of a never-before-seen fungus can be found growing in the shade of several of Wrawn’s module chambers. The fungus itself doesn’t seem to be too dangerous, but its growth rate is of great concern, as well as its unknown origin.

Miscellaneous
Maintenance pods can contain a variety of parts, components, iotum, and in some cases, lliran kept in hibernation (or long dead) who could potentially be activated to deal with a particular kind of Engine emergency.

"We can be sure our beloved Interpreter is standing today in the heights of the Cathedral of Brilliance, that they see us and bless us in the name of the Engine."

- Catechism of the Jurisprudence

One cycle is equal to unit of time approximately 20 hours long.