Steam Realm
| Region | Crescent Bay and its surroundings |
|---|---|
| Age | Steam Age (the time of steam-powered machines embodying industrial progress) |
| Locations | Smoky Marsh, Haze Hills |
| Climate | Subtropical |
| Founding | Founded 500 years before Fork II (Fulminis Solis) |
| Cults | Fraternity of the Gilded Cog, Hermetic Order of the Eel |
Geography and Climate
Crescent Bay is an enigmatic and vibrant city nestled within the swampy region of Smoky Marsh. The city is a unique blend of marshlands, waterways, and lush vegetation. The bayou's intricate network of canals serves as the primary mode of transportation for the critters.
The climate of Crescent Bay is subtropical, characterized by warm and humid summers, mild winters, and frequent precipitation. The region's unique ecosystem supports a wide variety of flora and fauna, including some rare and exotic species found nowhere else in the Log.
Pre-Fork History
Crescent Bay's history is deeply intertwined with the presence of secret societies and cults, which have played a significant role in shaping its development. The city was founded centuries before Fork II by the Fraternity of the Gilded Cog, an enigmatic order of inventors and engineers dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of technology.
The Fraternity's experiments with magnetism and steam technology led to the creation of innovative machinery and devices that revolutionized life in Crescent Bay. The city's aesthetic is a testament to the influence of these technological advancements, which are seamlessly integrated into its infrastructure and daily life through the presence of devices like steam-powered gondolas, magnetic levitation chairs, submarines, and automated mechanical bridges.
In the city's workshops and factories, automated production lines manufacture everything from daily essentials to intricate mechanical devices, powered by the city's extensive network of steam pipes and magnetic rails.
One of the most remarkable technological marvels of the city is the ~Grand Orrery,~ a gigantic astronomical clock tower in the city center, which accurately tracks celestial movements and has become the symbol of the city's technological prowess. In the years closest to Fork II, Crescent Bay was considered the most technologically advanced city ever known.
The Fraternity managed to keep its inventions protected with a complex system of patents and secrecy1, which allowed them to maintain a monopoly on the city's technology. Another significant group, the Hermetic Order of the Eel, has a different vision for the future of Crescent Bay. The Order believes that the Fraternity's technology should be shared with the world and that critterkind should not lose their connection with the occult. The pioneering use of electricity was seen by the Order as a pivotal point in history, and a chance to surpass the Fraternity's well-guarded monopoly.
Opposed to these scientific cults was the Diggers, a group founded on the principles of manual labor and economic equality. They derived their name from their emphasis on digging and farming as a means to build a fair and equitable society.
As part of their belief system, the Diggers viewed technological advances with suspicion, labeling them as heretical. They believed that electrical discoveries would ultimately lead the world toward an apocalypse and that the ~Steam God~ and the new ~Electricity God~ should never be objects of worship.
Notable Pre-Fork Events
A series of significant events leading up to Fork II profoundly shaped the history of Crescent Bay and its surrounding regions. The most notable of these was the infamous ~Glow Theft.~
The Glow Theft
The Glow, an engineering marvel constructed entirely of porcelain and devoid of visible screws or conventional mechanical elements, was the centerpiece of the XXXVIII Universal Fair. The Fraternity of the Gilded Cog, who unveiled the artifact, touted it as the pinnacle of their era's engineering prowess.
The Universal Fair marked the first occasion when event illumination was to be provided by electric lamps. However, the Diggers sabotaged the fair, plunging the entire fair into darkness. Amid the chaos of the blackout, the Glow was stolen by an unknown group of masked individuals. The crime was initially attributed to the Diggers, who accepted responsibility for the sabotage of the electricity but denied involvement in the theft.
Despite considerable efforts, the Glow was never recovered, and it took the Fraternity of the Gilded Cog two years to build a similar machine. It was later revealed that the actual culprits behind the theft were members of the Hermetic Order of the Eel. The Order had been intrigued by the Glow's ability to manipulate electricity, granted by its porcelain body, and aimed to harness its power for their clandestine experiments.
The Maelstrom Incident
The main propeller of steam technology was the naval industry, which was the primary source of income for Crescent Bay. Both the Fraternity of the Gilded Cog and the Hermetic Order of the Eel had their fleets of naval vehicles, which were used for military, commercial, scientific, and spiritual purposes. The Hermetic Order of the Eel focused on the development of submarines, which were used to explore water depths and conduct clandestine operations. The Eel exploration fleet was led by pioneering submarines and the expertise of sat divers, the highest rank within the Order.
During an expedition, eighty days before Fork II, one of the Sat Divers was assigned to explore a newly discovered underwater chasm in the heart of the bay. Deeper and darker than any ocean trench they had encountered before, it was a place where sunlight was a distant memory and strange, luminescent sea creatures thrived. Unfortunately, the Sat Diver was caught in a maelstrom and dragged into the abyss. After Fork II, this incident will later repeat in the Steam Realm, and the maelstrom will lead to this critter being known as the Dive.
- In the years before Fork II, members of the Fraternity of the Gilded Cog registered 97% of patents in Crescent Bay, from a ~Drinking Hat System to Watch Cricket~ to a ~Fidget Spinning Toy.~↩