Lore - Realms of Bosom / Fortress Cities

“You are a brick in this wall, one of many! You do not shift, you do not hesitate! You only serve given purpose – to be the wall!”

The Realms of Bosom maintain permanent armed forces, or better said: they maintain a society of perpetual war. It is a defensive army of a size that cannot be rapidly mustered by the other Great Nations for their own defense, even if united. An army of ninety million citizens, majority of which is trained, prepared, and equipped to fight the malevolent swarms of the Deathless Devourer. For generations, they endure the pestilent presence of Its horrific creations so that the rest of us can live in the calm and bliss that Meora wanted for us.

Like bastions, around the entire Southern Continent were erected Fortress Cities, or Grad-guardians, – self-sufficient artificial mountains of Molokoncrete, populated by hundreds of thousands of people. Impenetrable walls white as chalk but as everlasting as diamonds, with towers made of turrets and hammers, they are surrounded by the dead roads of war and murrain. Numbering nearly four hundred, some are ancient cities repurposed to embrace a new cause, grown over time into the giants they are today, close to be retired from this duty as the line of defense already advanced forward; and others are novel achievements of Bosomian engineering, constructed as impenetrable gates along the most active and common Envasion routs, ready to stand for centuries to come. Sometimes besieged for mere days, sometimes for countless months, they attract Jealous Beastiary, appealing to their low-rationality and deep hunger, distracting them from marching deeper into the continent. And those lone creatures or small hordes that traverse irregular routes will not be able escape for long.

People are not simply garrisoned in Fortress Cities, they are their citizens – they are born, work and fight there, but in the end they all die with glory – for the Queens, for the Allmother. Royal Duches and Munele Matronas preside as General-Governors, their families become officers, or, if Engifted, are conferred the right to swear the Oath of Bossotuhr – the privilege of heroically marching into the jaws of darkness when sirens howl, and standing as bulwarks of Her Light. Yeomams are trained to be Knights and cannoneers from childhood, never wasting a day in firing. And even Planks, forbidden to bear arms, still contribute to the common cause, by maintaining and cleaning the Molokoncrete walls, by restlessly churning out never-ending crates of ammo and turret shells in the heat of the factories, by polishing the magnificent armor of the superior Ladies and preparing their armaments for future battles. Every citizen here is united by a single goal – and it is not a simple survival nor victory, it is something more…

Outside of the Envasional Besiegement, every Fortress City act like a normal city would: with schools, factories and offices to commit, with groceries, libraries and theaters for a respite. The fields are plowed and harvested many leagues from the City walls, where Envasions will not bother them; and the railways always ready to deliver support from distant lands when needed. Yet, even in times of peace, a reflex resides within every citizen, sleeping until the sirens howl again.

***

Over the past nine centuries, most of the new Grad-guardians have been built inside the Kozarian (Her Western Hair) and Kohavian (Her Eastern Hair) states neighboring the Realms of Bosom, to prevent the Umbral Horrors from sinking their claws too deeply into Her Gorgeousness, and to protect these small nations from a threat they can no longer face on their own – an alliance, for which Kozarians and Kohavians willingly contribute resources and new Fortress-citizens (although some believe that the Realms are intentionally using this opportunity to expand the rule of the Brestocracy).

In general, the construction of new Fortress Cities is a thoughtful decision – one that takes into consideration not only their proposed location and associated logistics, but also the enormous expense of resources and prospects of future benefits: as re-purposing of modern Fortress Cities and their infrastructure would be virtually impossible once they are completed, the decision to construct one would be final, and its intended purpose will be everlasting, preventing the construction of other Fortress Cities beyond this line of defense for centuries to come.

Particular attention is given to identifying malicious Heretical spies, especially after… known incidents: non-citizens are not even considered to be near Fortress Cities without direct authorization from the General-Governors or the Herquisition, which reduces communication with the outside world to a minimum; and anyone who works with outsiders, whether they are drivers of large goods vehicles, Farmers, or even Herquisition official, must be a native-born citizen.

To prevent over-populations, the City may permit certain qualified families, selected based on various factors, to leave and never return. Alternatively, some of those who survive until their age becomes an impediment will be granted the prerogative of retiring inside Milkland, to finally witness the results of their lives – the peace and prosperity of the Realms of Bosom they have defended all this time… or, rather, to seek the Extinguisher, and complete their honorable lives with honorable deaths, at last able to rest without guilt, knowing that Meora is proud to see Her expectations being fulfilled.

Citizens of the Yeomam and Plank classes born in the Milkland are not meant to serve in the Fortress Cities unless they are conscripted as a part of a lifetime punishment, or are Engifted – after all, to see the malignant nightmares born from the Evil is to be tainted by the Evil, and the citizens of the Fortress Cities sacrifice their own purity to preserve the purity of others. However, every Milkland’s Munele is drafted to serve inside the Grad-guardians for a minimum of four years, in the name of the Realms and the Queens: to learn of the hardship and sacrifices made by her Fortress-abide peers and to understand the horrors sent upon us by the Envy of Existence, so that after returning home she could focus on the prosperity of the Realms and its lasting ability to support the Grad-guardians – for it is the duty of the higher society that has the power to do so – to protect and prosper those they rule, sacrifice themselves if needed.