Anya Venari
Star Queen Tirathana VII
The Island of Fallen Angels
The Eagle’s Nest
Name: The Eagle’s Nest. Or officially, ‘Installation 0867’.
Image Source: https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5215/5385869798_bdbc191fdd_z.jpg
Windsor Castle Round Tower. Imagine this inside a hexagonal defence wall.
[SIZE=11pt]http://g4.img-dpreview.com/010446E353AE4A3E9480935B9E2CF84C.jpg[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Maine, photographer unknown.[/SIZE]
Intent: Everyone needs prisons, and the Eldorai need somewhere remote to hold their prisoners. This place serves as that place. It also serves as a possible place for player prisoners to be taken. Aside from that it serves to increase the lore and history of Kaeshana.
Classification: Prison.
Location: Kaeshana, on the Isle of Fallen Angels.
Affiliation: The Eldorai Matriarchy, and by extention the Kaeshana Confederation.
Population: 25 Angelii Guards, 10 Eldorai support staff, 100 prisoners max.
Defenses:
Points of Interest:
Description:
The Island of Fallen Angels, or rather less poetically, Island 1821, is one of the biggest secrets of the Eldorai Matriarchy.
The island itself is nothing special, a square kilometre of volcanic rock sticking out of the hostile sea.
Kaeshana’s great ocean surrounds the Isle, and there is nearly a thousand kilometres of open sea to land. This isolation is probably the strongest defence and deterrent imaginable. With hundreds of kilometres of stormy, monster infested water between them and freedom, few prisoners even countenance escape.
Very few know the location of the island, even those who serve there. Only the leading Angelii and the Angelii pilots have that information which is accounted one of the greatest secrets of all.
The Angelii naturally regard this island as an unpleasant and sometimes dangerous posting, but take the job because of the prospect of quick advancement and a choice of posting after their one year term is over.
The weather of the island is utterly miserable. Cold wind, rain, sleet and snow in the winter and fog are all common features. The few days of clear weather are days to savour.
The island has no vessels, either water or air left on it. Ships which land with supplies take off immediately, the same for prisoner transfers.
The remainder of the island is rocky and forested, lacking much in the way of features. Landmines have been laid off the paths, remote activation required for them to arm.
To be a prisoner at the Eagle’s Nest is an ‘accomplishment’, with only the most important, the most dangerous or the most divisive are sent there.
The cells and conditions within the prison vary depending on the status of the prisoners. Those on level 2, the political prisoners, have considerable latitude. Their rooms have proper beds, tables and are allowed decorations. These privileges can be revoked at any time however. Their cells are 3 x 3 metre cubes with durasteel on three sides and a large force field covering most of the corridor side. A metal door here restricts access.
The regular prisoner population, themselves dangerous criminals of one form or another, have smaller, more restricted cells, usually 2 x 3 metres. These have simpler furnishings and have only small windows.
The maximum security holds prisoners of profound security threats to Kaeshana. This includes slaver leaders, Dashdae Eldorai and traitors. These prisoners are severely restricted in their movements, and are surrounded on all four sides by force fields and additionally by metal bars outside the fields. All they receive is a thin mattress on the floor and an all in one refresher unit. They are not permitted to talk to each other or other prisoners and have only an hour outside their cells every day, during which they are supervised by an Angelii.
The Force-user cells are similar, except for a Ysalimiri lodged above each of the six cells. As this effects the Eldorai as well, they operate fully armed and in pairs. These cells are not usually used except where there is an exceptionally dangerous prisoner who needs to be held who can use the Force. These prisoners are only allowed outside in the presence of several Angelii and have shock collars attached to their necks permanently.
The Ysalimiri were acquired by Firemane and then sold to the Eldorai for this purpose.
All in all the prison has 65 cells and a maximum of 100 occupants, but is rarely full.
History:
The history of the Isle of Fallen Angels is one of the worst secrets of the Eldorai Matriarchy. It is a place which has seen much death and suffering in its history as well as more injustice than justice.
Incidentally the name of the island and of the prison there is rather interesting. Though best known as the Isle of Fallen Angels, that is not the official name, that is the much less poetic Island 1821. It gets its name from the Eldorai belief that the Goddess Ashira made all of them in her image, and that on death they would ascend as angels. Thus, a prison was for those who had fallen from grace.
Likewise, the Eagle’s Nest has the rather dull official name of Installation 0867. The Eagle’s Nest refers to the first tower erected which was taller than the current prison building and from which guards kept watch in the rain.
The exact date for the discovery of the island is unknown, but in 1083BBY Queen Anais I founded the infamous Investigators and needed a location for them to work from. Island 1821 was put forward for its remote location and the fact it was almost unknown. In this time the only possible way to reach the island was by dangerous sea voyages, and many convoys were lost in the succeeding centuries. However for this most paranoid and fanatical of Queens it was perfect.
The initial prison was a simple wooden stockade with a single stone building for the guards and huts for the prisoners. The prisoners taken to the island were those who needed to be kept alive, usually as hostages, and so conditions were hard but not terrible. Indeed the prisoners were usually left to look after themselves whilst the guards moved to another section of the island.
Anais’ daughter Calixus, who became Anais II on coronation, was a formidable Queen and the greatest conqueror of all Eldorai monarchs save Ariane I. However, such conquests and impositions of central authority created enemies, and the Eagle’s Nest was truly founded in her reign. There were still political prisoners and hostages, but there was also disturbingly large amounts of state prisoners shipped there to be worked to death. Abuse of these marked prisoners was terrible as the isolated and resentful guards took out their fury on the captives. Even today there is an area of the island where skulls and bones once washed up which is called Shade Point.
Conditions improved briefly under Anais III and after her tragic death the regent Callidora III. However the rise of Anais IV brought the Island, like much of Kaeshana, spiralling into chaos. This is not the place to discuss Anais the Proud or the Civil Wars which followed in detail, but suffice to say that Anais IV made so many enemies she was assassinated after only 16 years. With no legitimate heirs a period of nearly a century of chaos followed. During this time the island was almost completely ignored as rival claimants fought for the throne and the Kar’zun moved at will through the Matriarchy.
It was only when the war had been ended and order restored by Vania I that an expedition was sent to the island. They found a scene of utter horror; all the prisoners and guards had long before perished, marooned and alone. Some had survived for a long time by fishing and even cannibalism, but eventually they had all perished. The Queen ordered them buried and vowed not to use the island again.
For the next six hundred years the island was left alone as the four Vanian Aristide Queens ruled. By the end of that time though the island was simply too useful as a place to store people, and so it was used to intern Kar’zun prisoners.
However, when the crisis came and Queen Silaqui was assassinated and replaced with a puppet, war came to the island for the first and only time. Learning from the Mad Cleric and his puppet Queen daughter of the location of the island, the Kar’zun used submarines to invade the island and liberate their captives. All the Eldorai defenders were massacred and their bodies fed to the sea creatures.
Ariane I’s great victory over the Kar’zun led to the island being occupied again, this time in a more permanent and systematic way. With the Kar’zun destroyed and the Matriarchy freed from external danger, the only threats came from within. Furthermore, air travel had been perfected by this time and so accessing the prison became easier.
Political prisoners were routinely sent to the Island for ‘re-education’, a grim euphemism for physical and psychological torture. Many did not survive the systematic and brutal attention of the Investigators.
Not all those sent there were destined for this fate though. Kaeshana was slowly, unwillingly becoming aware of the outside galaxy. Those who enquired in dangerous or subversive directions were sent to the island to ‘persuade’ them to see the error of their ways.
Among them was the renowned scientist and scholar Galliena Gallia had been imprisoned in this complex after proclaiming the heretical belief that planets other than Kaeshana held intelligent life. She had ended up being burnt at the stake. Centuries later the renowned biologist Charae Darwai had been locked up here for claiming that Eldorai and humans shared common traits and origins.
With the ascension of the Evora dynasty in 214ABY the factional strife in Kaeshana once again started to bubble up. The island was used to house the opponents of whichever branch of the family was Queen at that moment. This was especially true for several ‘Pretenders’ who were placed on the island for their protection. Many met unfortunate ends, including the daughter and rightful heir of Maerys II who was arrested by her cousin Ilyse after claiming that Tyra was illegitimate. The unfortunate princess was murdered by agents of the new queen in 585ABY.
Conditions took a definite turn for the better during the latter stages of the reign of Tirathana VI and the brief reign of her daughter Silaqui III. With more outsiders arriving and the realisation that perhaps brutally torturing religious dissidents was not the best way, many of the more barbaric practices were stopped.
When Anya Venari, Tirathana VII took the throne however, a comprehensive overhaul of both the practices and the prison itself. To this end, the defences and procedures described here were implemented.
In a shocking final move the Queen apologised for the past mistreatment, though without naming the location it was implied to be this Island, and laid a wreath in Santaissa.
The Island of Fallen Angels has had a dark and bloody past, but perhaps more just and humane times are coming. Either way, it will continue to hold those the Eldorai fear and remain one of their dirty secrets.
Links:
Kaeshana
Development Thread
Acquisition of Ysalimiri
The Eagle’s Nest
Name: The Eagle’s Nest. Or officially, ‘Installation 0867’.
Image Source: https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5215/5385869798_bdbc191fdd_z.jpg
Windsor Castle Round Tower. Imagine this inside a hexagonal defence wall.
[SIZE=11pt]http://g4.img-dpreview.com/010446E353AE4A3E9480935B9E2CF84C.jpg[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Maine, photographer unknown.[/SIZE]
Intent: Everyone needs prisons, and the Eldorai need somewhere remote to hold their prisoners. This place serves as that place. It also serves as a possible place for player prisoners to be taken. Aside from that it serves to increase the lore and history of Kaeshana.
Classification: Prison.
Location: Kaeshana, on the Isle of Fallen Angels.
Affiliation: The Eldorai Matriarchy, and by extention the Kaeshana Confederation.
Population: 25 Angelii Guards, 10 Eldorai support staff, 100 prisoners max.
Defenses:
- 6 x Ballista Weapon Emplacements (one in each corner of the hexagon)
- 6 x Javelin Defence Turrets (2 over the entrance gate, 2 at the entrance ramp to the tower, 2 on the roof)
- 2 x EWEB Turrets (at entrance to tower)
- Ray shield projectors at key points in the facility to prevent escape.
- Sliding blast doors
- Searchlights and detectors
- Landmines laid on the island off the main path.
- The island and surrounding sea.
Points of Interest:
- Landing Pad: Located 100 metres from the outer wall, this landing pad is there to provide supplies and move prisoners in and out. The landing pad can only support a single ship of freighter size or below.
- Outer Wall: A hexagonal outer wall surrounds the central prison. This wall is about five metres high and is made of permacrete. At each corner is a Ballista emplacement for targeting ships aircraft which might try and approach. Crucially, they are limited in fire arc so they can never be turned on the fortress. There is only one gate, and it is protected by two Javelin emplacements. The courtyard is also used for recreation and activities.
- Prison Building: At the centre of the hexagonal walls is a tower approximately eighteen metres tall divided into three levels and several sub levels. The building itself is round and has two javelin emplacements on the roof for additional anti-air support.
- Level 3: The top level is reserved for the living quarters of the guards. Three code locked turbolifts lead to the other levels.
- Level 2: This level contains the guard recreation rooms and the ‘house arrest’ prisoners, those of minimum security. Those here are mainly those who are imprisoned for political reasons. There are ten such cells.
- Level 1: This level contains the prisoner recreation, eating and administration areas. This is where the entrance stairs go.
- Ground Floor and Subfloor 1: The regular prisoners are kept here. These cells usually hold one person, but can be outfitted with bunks to double the capacity. There are 36 cells in total, capable of holding 70 prisoners in total.
- Subfloor 2: This floor has strictly controlled access and contains the maximum security and Force-user prisoners. There are 14 maximum security cells and six Force-user cells.
- Reactors: Three reactors, one large and two secondary, are maintained. They are designed so that even if two should drop the cell barriers will remain online at the expense of nearly anything else. Thus, all reactors must be shut down to close off all the cells.
Description:
The Island of Fallen Angels, or rather less poetically, Island 1821, is one of the biggest secrets of the Eldorai Matriarchy.
The island itself is nothing special, a square kilometre of volcanic rock sticking out of the hostile sea.
Kaeshana’s great ocean surrounds the Isle, and there is nearly a thousand kilometres of open sea to land. This isolation is probably the strongest defence and deterrent imaginable. With hundreds of kilometres of stormy, monster infested water between them and freedom, few prisoners even countenance escape.
Very few know the location of the island, even those who serve there. Only the leading Angelii and the Angelii pilots have that information which is accounted one of the greatest secrets of all.
The Angelii naturally regard this island as an unpleasant and sometimes dangerous posting, but take the job because of the prospect of quick advancement and a choice of posting after their one year term is over.
The weather of the island is utterly miserable. Cold wind, rain, sleet and snow in the winter and fog are all common features. The few days of clear weather are days to savour.
The island has no vessels, either water or air left on it. Ships which land with supplies take off immediately, the same for prisoner transfers.
The remainder of the island is rocky and forested, lacking much in the way of features. Landmines have been laid off the paths, remote activation required for them to arm.
To be a prisoner at the Eagle’s Nest is an ‘accomplishment’, with only the most important, the most dangerous or the most divisive are sent there.
The cells and conditions within the prison vary depending on the status of the prisoners. Those on level 2, the political prisoners, have considerable latitude. Their rooms have proper beds, tables and are allowed decorations. These privileges can be revoked at any time however. Their cells are 3 x 3 metre cubes with durasteel on three sides and a large force field covering most of the corridor side. A metal door here restricts access.
The regular prisoner population, themselves dangerous criminals of one form or another, have smaller, more restricted cells, usually 2 x 3 metres. These have simpler furnishings and have only small windows.
The maximum security holds prisoners of profound security threats to Kaeshana. This includes slaver leaders, Dashdae Eldorai and traitors. These prisoners are severely restricted in their movements, and are surrounded on all four sides by force fields and additionally by metal bars outside the fields. All they receive is a thin mattress on the floor and an all in one refresher unit. They are not permitted to talk to each other or other prisoners and have only an hour outside their cells every day, during which they are supervised by an Angelii.
The Force-user cells are similar, except for a Ysalimiri lodged above each of the six cells. As this effects the Eldorai as well, they operate fully armed and in pairs. These cells are not usually used except where there is an exceptionally dangerous prisoner who needs to be held who can use the Force. These prisoners are only allowed outside in the presence of several Angelii and have shock collars attached to their necks permanently.
The Ysalimiri were acquired by Firemane and then sold to the Eldorai for this purpose.
All in all the prison has 65 cells and a maximum of 100 occupants, but is rarely full.
History:
The history of the Isle of Fallen Angels is one of the worst secrets of the Eldorai Matriarchy. It is a place which has seen much death and suffering in its history as well as more injustice than justice.
Incidentally the name of the island and of the prison there is rather interesting. Though best known as the Isle of Fallen Angels, that is not the official name, that is the much less poetic Island 1821. It gets its name from the Eldorai belief that the Goddess Ashira made all of them in her image, and that on death they would ascend as angels. Thus, a prison was for those who had fallen from grace.
Likewise, the Eagle’s Nest has the rather dull official name of Installation 0867. The Eagle’s Nest refers to the first tower erected which was taller than the current prison building and from which guards kept watch in the rain.
The exact date for the discovery of the island is unknown, but in 1083BBY Queen Anais I founded the infamous Investigators and needed a location for them to work from. Island 1821 was put forward for its remote location and the fact it was almost unknown. In this time the only possible way to reach the island was by dangerous sea voyages, and many convoys were lost in the succeeding centuries. However for this most paranoid and fanatical of Queens it was perfect.
The initial prison was a simple wooden stockade with a single stone building for the guards and huts for the prisoners. The prisoners taken to the island were those who needed to be kept alive, usually as hostages, and so conditions were hard but not terrible. Indeed the prisoners were usually left to look after themselves whilst the guards moved to another section of the island.
Anais’ daughter Calixus, who became Anais II on coronation, was a formidable Queen and the greatest conqueror of all Eldorai monarchs save Ariane I. However, such conquests and impositions of central authority created enemies, and the Eagle’s Nest was truly founded in her reign. There were still political prisoners and hostages, but there was also disturbingly large amounts of state prisoners shipped there to be worked to death. Abuse of these marked prisoners was terrible as the isolated and resentful guards took out their fury on the captives. Even today there is an area of the island where skulls and bones once washed up which is called Shade Point.
Conditions improved briefly under Anais III and after her tragic death the regent Callidora III. However the rise of Anais IV brought the Island, like much of Kaeshana, spiralling into chaos. This is not the place to discuss Anais the Proud or the Civil Wars which followed in detail, but suffice to say that Anais IV made so many enemies she was assassinated after only 16 years. With no legitimate heirs a period of nearly a century of chaos followed. During this time the island was almost completely ignored as rival claimants fought for the throne and the Kar’zun moved at will through the Matriarchy.
It was only when the war had been ended and order restored by Vania I that an expedition was sent to the island. They found a scene of utter horror; all the prisoners and guards had long before perished, marooned and alone. Some had survived for a long time by fishing and even cannibalism, but eventually they had all perished. The Queen ordered them buried and vowed not to use the island again.
For the next six hundred years the island was left alone as the four Vanian Aristide Queens ruled. By the end of that time though the island was simply too useful as a place to store people, and so it was used to intern Kar’zun prisoners.
However, when the crisis came and Queen Silaqui was assassinated and replaced with a puppet, war came to the island for the first and only time. Learning from the Mad Cleric and his puppet Queen daughter of the location of the island, the Kar’zun used submarines to invade the island and liberate their captives. All the Eldorai defenders were massacred and their bodies fed to the sea creatures.
Ariane I’s great victory over the Kar’zun led to the island being occupied again, this time in a more permanent and systematic way. With the Kar’zun destroyed and the Matriarchy freed from external danger, the only threats came from within. Furthermore, air travel had been perfected by this time and so accessing the prison became easier.
Political prisoners were routinely sent to the Island for ‘re-education’, a grim euphemism for physical and psychological torture. Many did not survive the systematic and brutal attention of the Investigators.
Not all those sent there were destined for this fate though. Kaeshana was slowly, unwillingly becoming aware of the outside galaxy. Those who enquired in dangerous or subversive directions were sent to the island to ‘persuade’ them to see the error of their ways.
Among them was the renowned scientist and scholar Galliena Gallia had been imprisoned in this complex after proclaiming the heretical belief that planets other than Kaeshana held intelligent life. She had ended up being burnt at the stake. Centuries later the renowned biologist Charae Darwai had been locked up here for claiming that Eldorai and humans shared common traits and origins.
With the ascension of the Evora dynasty in 214ABY the factional strife in Kaeshana once again started to bubble up. The island was used to house the opponents of whichever branch of the family was Queen at that moment. This was especially true for several ‘Pretenders’ who were placed on the island for their protection. Many met unfortunate ends, including the daughter and rightful heir of Maerys II who was arrested by her cousin Ilyse after claiming that Tyra was illegitimate. The unfortunate princess was murdered by agents of the new queen in 585ABY.
Conditions took a definite turn for the better during the latter stages of the reign of Tirathana VI and the brief reign of her daughter Silaqui III. With more outsiders arriving and the realisation that perhaps brutally torturing religious dissidents was not the best way, many of the more barbaric practices were stopped.
When Anya Venari, Tirathana VII took the throne however, a comprehensive overhaul of both the practices and the prison itself. To this end, the defences and procedures described here were implemented.
In a shocking final move the Queen apologised for the past mistreatment, though without naming the location it was implied to be this Island, and laid a wreath in Santaissa.
The Island of Fallen Angels has had a dark and bloody past, but perhaps more just and humane times are coming. Either way, it will continue to hold those the Eldorai fear and remain one of their dirty secrets.
Links:
Kaeshana
Development Thread
Acquisition of Ysalimiri
