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Aedolis [eye-DOH-lihs] is a country located primarily on Earth, and it is also the main player responsible for the Earth’s degradation. It has overtaken and controls most of the planet. Aedolis's government is a stratocracy, in which the military and the government are one and the same.
There is little poverty, and people are encouraged to indulge themselves. Hedonism and pleasure are seen as healthy, and Aedolis society believes that anything that makes you happy, gives you pleasure, and harms no one is good and should be celebrated. Then there are the Pilots, Dragons, and The Network, those three marvelous elements that ensure the nation’s safety, keep the water and power running, and maintain the protective electromagnetic domes that shelter the cities.
It's a great place—if you don’t mind giving up significant freedoms and letting the government track your every move.
- Aedolis is an ethnically diverse society. It has absorbed many other nations, and continues to do so, and so their ethnic make-up is mixed.
- Due to medical advances, citizens tend to be long-lived. And due to cosmetic advances, the effects of aging can be slowed and even masked. The average human lifespan is one-hundred and ten years.
- Psychic ability runs strong in Aedolian families, while magic does not. Psychics and mages are both uncommon, but there are far more psychics than mages. Most mages born in Aedolis have only minor power.
- Aedolis is a materialistic, hedonistic society. Pleasure is seen as a healthy pursuit, and Aedolian society believes that anything that makes you happy, gives you pleasure, and harms no one is good and should be celebrated. Prostitution is legal, as are most drugs.
- It is viewed as shockingly and morally wrong to judge others. Acceptance is a high Aedolian value. Judging others for who they are, how they choose to live, or what gives them pleasure, is considered outrageous.
- Aedolis culture is sex-positive and promiscuity (in safe, sane, and consensual expressions) is the norm. Sexual non-monogamy is also the norm. The age of consent is 16.
- The pursuit of knowledge is discouraged. The pursuit of immediate pleasure should always come first. Any books that question Aedolis values or government are contraband.
- Celebrities and pop idols are Aedolis’ gods, and media is its religion. Aedolians are kept largely uniformed about world affairs, though they are subjected to pro-Aedolis propaganda daily.
- Soldiers are seen as heroes. They are nearly worshiped in Aedolis.
- A microchip is implanted in the right wrist of all citizens at birth, or whenever they receive citizenship as in the case of immigrants. This serves as a their ID, and is required to go anywhere and do anything in Aedolis.
- Currency is in the form of credit only, accessible solely by scanning the microchip.
- Aedolis cities are arranged vertically with regards to the caste system. Higher castes live in higher strata, lower castes live in lower strata.
- The caste system is a continuum, rather than a list of defined roles.
- Citizens are born into their caste, based on where their parents live. Their caste determines where they will live, how far up or down the city they can travel, and what jobs they are eligible to hold.
- Lower caste citizens are kept poorly educated. They are provided propaganda and entertainment media, but little education beyond what they need to know to work.
- Even the lowest caste of citizens live in relative comfort. Aedolis is all about keeping its working class dumb, drugged, happy, and comfortable.
- There are two ways to raise your caste: joining the military, and becoming famous. Successfully passing Aedolis basic military training moves yourself and your immediate family to the highest caste. Becoming famous enough could attract the attention of the government, which is always looking for the next idol to entertain the masses.
- Citizens live within mega metropolises, protected from the elements and the harsh wasteland polution by electromagnetic domes.
- Aedolis cities are built to rise rather than sprawl, and buildings are rarely fewer than two hundred stories tall. Most citizens use public transportation.
- Haviah, the capital, is the largest city on Earth. The Citadel, the focal point of government in Aedolis, dominates the city as its tallest building. Haviah is a hyperactive, technological metropolis of billboards, skyways, platforms, and flying transits.
- Public transportation is everywhere and well-maintained.
- Surveillance cameras are also everywhere. They say you're never really alone in an Aedolis city.
- Vertical mobility in any city is restricted by class.
- Many Aedolians go their whole life without seeing the sky. An Aedolian looking up from the bottom level would see only a mass of skyways and platforms.
- The government controls the water, electricity and all other necessities.
- Only Pilots, military officials, and police officers may wield weapons. Possessing a weapon of any sort is illegal.
- The military is the government, and those in the military receive the best pay, education, benefits, and freedom. Anyone from sixteen to thirty years of age may join the military.
- Psychics and strong mages are drafted as soon as they are of an eligible age. Strong psychics will go into the Pilot Program, while weak psychics will be designated for other jobs.
- At the top of the military are the Pilots and above them are their dragons. Pilots are strong psychics. Only they can form the necessary psychic bond with Aedolis’ dragons.
- The leader of Aedolis is the Pilot Imperial and Dragon Imperial team.
- Below the Pilot and dragon Imperial are four other Pilot ranks. From lowest to highest they are: Cardinal, Echo, Noble, and Royal. All Pilots are addressed by subordinates as “Pilot + Last Name”. For example, Pilot Smith. To be very formal, they are addressed by their rank and full name. For example, Pilot Echo John Smith.
- The lowest ranking dragon is still higher ranked than the highest ranked Pilot. It is the dragons that are truly in control of the nation.
- Aedolis is an aggressive, conqueror nation. It conquered the Earth, has many colonies in space, and has been at war with Edanith often in the past. It covets Edanith's terraforming technology.
- All dragons are biomechanical. There are no full biological dragons left anywhere.
- Pilots are marketed as celebrities and war heroes.
- Acceptance into the Pilot Program is both an honor and a concern for most people. It is well known that the program involves intense physical and mental conditioning. The training is brutal and designed to transform individuals into loyal, dangerous military leaders.
- What many don't know is that Pilot candidates who fail the program are mentally broken and sold to TRIM as test subjects.
- The youngest a psychic can be drafted is 13 years of age, and the youngest at which they can graduate the program is 18 years of age with at least 4 years of training. The oldest a psychic can be drafted for the Pilot Candidate Program is 23 years of age, though psychics older than that will still be drafted for the military—just not as Pilots. At seventy years of age a Pilot may retire, but many continue to serve in the Citadel and ATC (often as teachers and mentors), even if they are no longer on active duty.
- There are five stages to Pilot candidacy. They are referred to by their number, with the lowest being Stage One.
- Each candidate will have a Pilot mentor, who guides them through the program and gives them individual instruction and attention.
- A Stage Five candidate becomes a Pilot when a dragon chooses them. Once the Pilot has been chosen, the two forge a powerful bond, though it is the dragon that commands the Pilot rather than the other way around.
This is all the information you need to play in Aedolis! If you'd like some more detailed information, especially about the Pilots, Dragons, and Candidates, check out Aedoli's wiki page!
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