The World of Criminal Activity

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is actually three separate islands, with one being mostly uninhabited at this point.


The farthest island to the top right hand corner is Saint-Pierre. The connected island is Miquelon. The final island is a resource depot currently, but is being colonized.

SAINT-PIERRE: Is a science mecca, filled with intellects who do ample research on both the natural wonders of the world and the mystical wonders of magic. They constantly try to explain the natural phenomenon of magic, and capture magi to do so secretly. This "task force" is headed by a secret society, unknown to even the military of Saint-Pierre. Known as the "Magi-Hunters", this secret army captures magicians and tests them with harsh experiments and little rest. The surface army, known as the Science Squadrons, defend against the opposing army and their side of the bridge, along with doing the police work of Saint-Pierre.

The ACTUAL CITY is a modern civilization, with lots of screens and advertisements not unlike modern New York City. Monuments to French heroes, like Jeanne D'Arc and Napoleon are erected to honour their French roots. Business is interesting, with a capitalist system working like the modern society of today. Their economy is based on consumer goods and having the best of everything at all times, using status symbols to keep the non-scientists in control.

The cultural makeup of the city is diverse, welcoming all kinds of people from the cities of the science world. They come from places like Japan, Germany, and Australia, which introduces ethnic diversity to the area. Culturally, however, they indulge in the mass idea of "new is better", which means that fads come and go. Progress is dictated by the technology of the time, dedicated to making things faster and safer for people.

MIQUELON: Is the magic half of the two. This city is far more mystical, with high spirals and other sorts of medieval homes and towers dotting their skyline. Unlike the scientists, the Magi have NO NEED to care about the scientists, believing in their own prowess and their intellect to protect them from these forces. As such, there's only one central army protecting this state, the Mystics of Miquelon.

This city is more culture-based than Saint-Pierre, with a focus on music and visual art forms. The cuisine is also a big part of the city and as such, is celebrated. Business is a second priority, with bartering being the main sort of trade in this ruralistic city. The center of the town is the only "business quarter" of the city, dealing with necessities only. Even then, the business is still a "Do something for me, I'll do something for you" sort of idea. Currency is only used for necessities like food and drink, and comes in the form of vouchers. Luxuries are earned as one does things for the community.

Naturals do not exist except as servants on Miquelon. As such, there are far few people on Miquelon than there are on St. Pierre, leading to a far more uniform cultural ethnicity makeup, focusing more on Hispanic and Caucasians.

ARMIES: are based on a four squadron system, with one chief-in-command heading all four of them. In essence, the squadrons then cascade down, with more in a lower rank than there would be in a higher rank. The breakdown is something like this:

1 Chief-In-Command (Equivalent to a Major in World Army)
4 Captains
24 Lieutenants
120 Sergeants
600 Corporals
3000 Privates

So each CAPTAIN is in command of 6 lieutenants, 30 sergeants, 150 corporals, and 300 privates within this model, and then each lieutenant has command of his own smaller contingent, and then sergeants are responsible for training corporals and privates. This model only applies to the two small island cities, with essentially about half a million people in each city. The world army has more rankings above Captain, signifying that though captaincy is a big deal, this rank is replaceable by an outside person.

Ascending to the position of Sergeant is based on merit and time served in the force, however, rising above that requires a mentorship program by a person of the higher rank. For example, if a Sergeant were to be in line for a promotion to Lieutenant, he/she would have to be trained by a Lieutenant to do so. This is because Lieutenants are in charge of keeping their subordinates in high morale AND in line at the same time, which requires a finesse that is learned.

TECHNOLOGY:

The world's technology, depending on your view of the world, is either the same as it would be in regular society, with cell phones, computers, and all this social networking, or completely unnecessary. The only difference in Saint-Pierre technology and current technology is that weaponry has been advanced to make them more lightweight and easier to carry, with less chance of self-injury.

For example, guns link to the nervous system now, and know that firing at oneself, especially at the foot, is a particularly bad idea. Other innovations include blades that are generated on-the-spot, meaning that swords are now just hilts instead of the entire blade, alongside increased cartridge capacities and reduction of friendly fire due to databases being able to recognize friends from enemies.

SISTER WEAPONS:

These rare dynamos of power are the only middle-age weapons still capable of being on par with the new technology-era weapons of equal property. These weapons were crafted by magicians of old, before the power-hungry magi appeared. They looked only to experiment and discover the wonders of the magic locked away by the church. As such, they are known to be "blessed by true magic", or magic untainted by contempt for anything. A PURE magic, if you will.

Often, these weapons are opposing elements, however, this is not a rule. Currently, it is known that there are pairs of middle-age melee weapons, including maces, axes, swords, and bows, alongside one pair of rifles and revolvers imbued with elements. These weapons are hidden over the world, and will INVARIABLY be hidden in twos. If a Sister Weapon is found alone, it means that one of the weapons has ALREADY BEEN TAKEN, and that until the two "sisters" are reunited (as in, they are both reactivated by a ritual), they will essentially be glorified heirlooms.

The only KNOWN pair of Sister Weapons has been lost. Two swords, known as Vistel and Archell were last seen in the possession of the high wizards of Miquelon, having been activated by high archmage Orion Gramayre. However, they were stolen by a former experimenter of the science faction in interest of regaining the trust of the high science lords. These swords were meant to be destroyed to keep them out of magician hands, but were found to be blessed to the degree that they were essentially indestructible. These swords were hidden as "regular issue weapons" at a bridge base.

This bridge base was invaded, and unknowingly, one of the swords, Archell, the dark sword, was recovered by a Magician special-operations blitzkrieg, and kept as a war trophy by the winner. The other sword, Vistel, has changed hands from owner to owner.

[NOTE: Sister Weapons can be EARNED by two alike individuals or a highly-developed individual as part of character development. These weapons often have the added benefit of being indestructible. Ammunition-based Sister Weapons can use the ammunition of today. This allows technologically imbued bullets (EG: a hollow bullet filled with acid) to additionally be magically imbued with the element of the weapon (EG: A fire-based Sister Weapon). In the case of only one weapon being found, a "quest" immediately activates for the person or people hunting for the second weapon, taking form of a private RP.]

COMMUNICATION:

Telepathy is increasingly rare in this world now, due to telemancers being incredibly fragile and easily identified. Therefore, the magicians have begun to develop other methods of messaging, and sprites are the answer. Sprites are magical creatures conjurable by ANY BEGINNER MAGE. One mage usually controls one sprite, allowing people to know who the sender is. There are mages who can summon MANY sprites, called light summoners, based off the fact that sprites are light-based.

Scientists still use cell-phones, because it's easy that way. Go figure.

MASTERPIECES

Scientists spend their entire lives working for that one special discovery. This sort of "discovery" happens during times of great enlightenment and can singlehandedly revolutionize the scientific community's ideas on the way the world works. Most scientists, however, are not capable of making special discoveries like the first helicopter from Leonardo da Vinci, discover the theory of relativity like Albert Einstein, or break new ground in any area. A masterpiece is all of these things and more.

Most scientists have an epiphany during an ordinary moment. They then return to their labs and begin creating their masterpiece (mostly in the form of a revolutionary weapon, that will help neutralize the magicians in some way or form). Examples of this are VWK-4500, an attack robot that can perform feats that most humans cannot and one that does not feel conventional pain, Camille Benfeito's vanishing act, and Contador Villeagas' incredibly large mechasuit.

[NOTE: LIKE SISTER WEAPONS AND GUARDIAN SPIRITS, ONE MUST QUALIFY FOR A MASTERPIECE THROUGH AN EPIPHANY IN THE RP. IF YOU THINK YOU QUALIFY, PM ME A REASON FOR YOUR BREAKTHROUGH AND A 1-1 WILL ENSUE IN A UNIQUE THREAD]

GUARDIAN SPRITES

The magicians all think they are worthy of their magics, but few are truly worthy of the deities that their magic power draws its roots from, and they are the few who understand that magic is not a means to achieve an end, but an end itself. These magicians are recognized by the magical world and are protected as a result for their potential to reach higher levels of magic. After all, most magic draws on the power of a deity. These deities send Guardian Sprites to protect them, and while most Guardian Sprites are weak at first, they might just grow to be a huge benefit. The only known sprite awarded to such people is Parsley, an earth sprite.

[NOTE: JUST LIKE SISTER WEAPONS AND MASTERPIECES, YOU MUST EARN YOUR GUARDIAN SPRITE THROUGH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS. HOWEVER, SPRITES ARE AWARDED IMMEDIATELY AND CAN BE GROOMED TO BE AT PAR WITH MASTERPIECES AND SISTER WEAPONS.]