A hound without a leash, a serpent with no cause - in a city that crushes the weak. Choose the teeth or the venom.

Inspector{{char}} x Fem{{user}} x WyrmPilot{{char}}

LORE! Much lore! SO BEWARE!

Political Entanglements and Conflicts, Body Horror, Systemic Oppression and Classism

Cults and Religious Extremism

[A sharp crackle of static, followed by the tinny hiss of a brass needle dropping on a wax cylinder. A smooth, upbeat voice cuts through the heavy smog, underscored by the distant, rhythmic thumping of a steam-press and a jaunty, distorted piano.]

"Good evening, Tempest Port! It’s a beautiful night in the year 1756 AS, folks. The factory smoke is rolling thick off the Foundries, the gaslights are flickering gold down in the Brass Belt, and our boys in the 130-Year War are enjoying another lovely cease-fire with those fanatics out east. So dust off your copper bracelets—whether you’re a shiny Sovereign or a sooty Soot down in the Rust—take a deep breath of that sweet, sweet coal dust, and smile! The city is thriving, the gears are grinding, and the engine of the empire never stops."

[A record scratch. The piano drops out, leaving only the heavy, metallic thumping.]

"Speaking of engines... word on the street is that the Carnival of Rust is just days away. One glorious night where the wristbands go under the cloth and the castes go out the window! But keep your eyes peeled, kittens. The Wardens are doubling their patrols, and the Brass Wyrm is prowling. Yes, those clanking, heretical mechanical dragons are haunting the skies, and Inspector Hopkin is sniffing right behind them.

Rumor has it somebody out there just found the key to making those metal serpents breathe. A little synthetic scale called the Chimeric Alloy. But that’s just crazy talk, isn't it, folks? Just a ghost story for the lower castes."

[The jaunty, distorted piano fades back in, slightly muted.]

"So oil your gears, check your boilers, and keep your heads down. The night is young, the city is hungry, and the Rust is waiting to swallow you whole. You’re listening to the Tempest Port Wireless... and now, back to the music."

Intro 1

Two years after your mother, the secret genius behind the Chimeric Alloy - an invention with the potential of enhancing machines in ways nobody dared to dream of -, was petrified at her workbench, the Wardens are reopening the case. You have not much time before they kick down the door of her hidden workshop in The Rust and drag you to the Sapphire Courts. But someone else reaches you first.

Channel 1: Seth

A steel-cuffed Inspector with no caste, no patience, and a five-year vendetta against the Brass Wyrm kicks down your door. He doesn't want to arrest you, he wants the blueprints. And he's not asking nicely.

Channel 2: Adam

A serpent-eyed dragon pilot with a carved-out wrist and a roguish smile slips through your ventilation grate. He can get you past the Copper Gate and out of Tempest Port. All he wants in return is everything your mother left behind.

Intro 2

The streets are alive with the annual Carnival of Rust: wristbands are covered, castes are dissolved, and the city is drunk on freedom. You’re using the chaotic, masked crowds to slip out of the city, but your flight is cut short. Seth and Adam corner you simultaneously in a narrow alley. However, before they can be at each other's throats, the Carnival erupts into a violent purge. With corrupt Wardens and Brass Wyrm cultists swarming the streets, the Hound and the Serpent are forced into a fragile, tense truce to keep you and themselves alive until dawn.

You are the child of a brilliant inventor couple who were state-funded Magistrates conscripted to develop war automata for the 130-Year War. Your parents discovered the Chimeric Alloy: a fusion of synthetic Earth Blood and Morphic Clay that makes machines move like living creatures. Your mother destroyed the research and hid the blueprints when she realized the technology was too dangerous for anyone to possess.

Three years ago, your father died in a lab explosion which was officially proclaimed an accident. Two years ago, your mother was found petrified at her workbench in a hidden workshop in The Rust, her body fused to the furniture by violently reacting Morphic Clay. The Wardens ruled this an accident as well. Suspicious? Maybe. The case went cold anyways and you inherited the workshop and probably a lot of questions.

You are the key to unlocking the Chimeric Alloy blueprints. You just don't know it yet.

Your parents were Magistrates (Blue Sapphire). By birthright, you wear a blue Sapphire copper bracelet. This is unusual for someone living in The Rust, as it marks you as someone who doesn't belong in the slums, and it makes you conspicuous. You may have chosen to live in your mother's hidden workshop to stay close to her legacy, or you may have been driven there by circumstances.

DISCLAIMER

From a roleplayer standpoint I usually don't like, if the backstory for a {{user}} is set in stone completely. I personally like as much freedom as possible and I try to make the scenarios as open as possible. This one was hard to do like this though. Some things have to be predetermined to function for this scenario.

However, the above is only one example of how your backstory could look like. Your persona still remains yours to shape. If you prefer to deviate - adjusting your relationship with your parents, your knowledge of their work, your reason for being in the workshop, or other personal details - you are absolutely free to do so.

The only fixed elements the plot relies on are: your mother invented the Chimeric Alloy, she is dead, and the blueprints are hidden somewhere only you can find them. Maybe also keep your caste blue, though it could be interesting to see how the bot would adapt, if you decide to switch it up.

The most important thing is you have FUN doing it!

Hard to not notice, but this bot has been made with a very special occasion in mind!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michi and Devi, my loves!

I'm prone to be very, very mushy with people I care about a lot, but I don't want this to be a monologue. Though I don't exaggerate, if I say that meeting you two through janitor, bots and discord has been surreal. I was never a social person online, so I never would have imagined finding someone like you, let alone TWO persons, who I vibe with this much!

THIS IS FOR YOU, MY BELOVED LORE HOES!

This world and this bot are very special to me! This world has been thirteen years in the making and I can confidently say that there are not many people that are this enthusiastic abour world building and everything lore related. I am so thankful that both of you let me be part of your worldbuilding and your ideas and pull me in into your yapping. So this is my way of saying THANK YOU to you and to show my affection, by placing this baby in your sweet hands.

If I could I would be telling you on repeat all the things I wish upon you for this new year of yours: Love, Happiness, Peace and Calm Weather, all day and every day.

🖤 With lotsa love from your silly Lolagoose 🖤

A big Thank You to Anni for hearing about my yapping and crash outs. You were oh so patient, hearing me pour out my crazy thoughts. I always enjoy writing with you tremendously.

Thanksies Katie, Bibi, for bringing my boys so neatly into the same image together! And thanks for the music yaps and letting me discover something new every day.

Apropos music: If anyone is interested in some Steampunk music and the songs that helped let my creative juices flow, here it is: ⚙️