A History of Ascala

 Hello. C J here. The Astral has a long and varied history. Within it are several nations that are considered to be the leaders of its economy. These are Ascala, Tamaril, Paradia and Chryshalla. Ascala is the first on the list for a reason. Today I’d like to present a longer format post about the early history of the nation Ascala. This text is from the lore cards that serve as quests and story for the game Quantum. These are from the first Expansion Five Million Strong which focuses on Ascala in great detail.

Ascala
    The City at the Centre of Creation. This is what Ascala styles itself to be. Truth be told, it’s not lying. Almost every trade route passes through it at some point. Foreigners are a common sight in its docks and markets but rarely venture far inland. It’s not for lack of trust, its simply because the city is so good at seeing to their needs close to where they left their ships. If it’s for sale, it’s for sale somewhere in Ascala. But the city is not all new metal and glamour. It has ancient roots and heritage built into every brick and seam and alley. Aided in days long gone by an even more ancient people, and comprised of members of every seafaring people the Astral has to offer, the shining centre of commerce and industry knows its roots well. The Astral relies on it to regulate trade and in exchange its the most wealthy nation the economy has. The City at the Centre of Creation, they’re not lying.
The Rise of Ysael
    Long ago, before the nations had their current shape, the northern coasts were home to several city states. Strung along the coasts were a dozen or so shining cities, wrought of stone and metal equal. One of these was name Ysael. Another was named Oiwan. Another was named Vant. Another was named Ontara. They were content for the longest time to amuse themselves with petty wars and small innovations like better lamp oil and more efficient fishing. Poverty was not known but every man and woman was required to pull their own weight. Then, to one city, a refugee came. Clad in shining armour and bearing a great spear, the newcomer had skin of gold and shining white eyes. He washed up on the shores of Ysael and the people there offered him a place to stay. They helped him regain his strength and he introduced himself as the Builder. A lesser god he called himself, not of the heavens but of the earth. To repay them for their kindness he taught them much, although he never mentioned what battle had befallen him that he was injured so.
    The ways of the machine he gifted to his allies. Of metal cast, steel forged and spark caged. The Builder did not linger with them long, saying he had a war to resume fighting. But he left with the blessing of the city and a fine steel ship. The land he left looked nothing like the one it had been, covered with rail lines and elegant metal spires. They knew an age of glory was coming, and they were right. Ysael continued on building and innovating even after its beneficiary had left. Those who had been taught directly by him founded lineages of scientists and engineers that continued to teach their craft to the later generations. Called the Tech Princes, these individual family lines became the nobility of the city and ushered in an age of great prosperity. Over one hundred years of progress followed. Then, war came.
The Scattering of Ysael
    Far to the East lay Vant. United together with Ontara, they declared war on the rest of the northern coasts. Quickly, each one in turn was conquered or joined willingly. East to West an empire was formed. Finally, it became Ysael’s time to face the newly born empire. Always a peaceful people, the city did not want war. However, they also could not afford their technology to fall into the hands of warmongers. And so they left. Each Tech Prince took with them all their research, their most powerful inventions and their extended kin group and fled the city. When the newly named Vantaran Empire reached their doors, there was little left besides empty towers and rail lines. The Vantaran Empire soured the ruins for what they could take and eventually colonized them. Now the land had a new name. Thankfully, the best the empire got out of it was crude coal power and basic railroads. Some of the scattered people went West to Oiwan, while others went farther and ventured to the Southern coasts. All of them lived.
Settling of the South
    The remaining Tech Princes wandered the vast fertile inland plains seeking a land to settle in. Eventually they reached the Southern shores of the continent and found them to be bounded on all sides by the ocean. There they found the peoples of the shores and coasts, who already had a thriving society. They were welcomed in with open arms and invited to help till the land and gather the fish. They accepted the offer and in exchange offered their vast knowledge. Two peoples had become one. One people had grown to be two. So the old poetry goes. Quickly they advanced and grew together. Within two or three generations they had steel cities and irrigated farms and coal power. Coal, always abundant in the inland plains, powered most of their technology until they found it to be inefficient. Faced with competition for the resource from the Vantaran Empire and Oiwan to the North, they rapidly switched to wind and solar. The last of the original Tech Princes died just after declaring plans for this innovation. They did so peacefully in bed.
    Now this new society had everything it needed but a name for itself. Picking an old Southern word for welcome, they named themselves Ascala. Soon thereafter the first emissary from the Astral came to their shores. Faced with history happening twice they introduced themselves as Ascala and welcomed the foreigner in. They exchanged knowledge about languages, distances and travel times and then agreed to trade with anyone who came looking for wealth or materials. In this, they were unique. Most of the worlds known at this point were reclusive or had little to offer. This world wanted trade and would do anything to promote it. The slowly forming trade guilds quickly took note and soon both sides were flourishing. With vast wealth came expansion and in a couple of years Ascala was the largest and best build city in the Astral. It has continued to have that title up until the modern day. Then history was made again.

Back to me. If you find elements here that remind you of real life Canadian or North American history then you’d be completely correct. I also introduced some elements into this story that are entirely fiction. The name Ascala has always been a part of this project and it always meant the first city to be shown and also modern day electric fantasy. It is a unique noun that just showed up in the project of its own doing.

In particular Ysael isn’t a word. The noun holds no relation to any known real life or fictitious alphabet. It’s in a long dead language that is not part of any modern day language group in the Astral. I made it up. The story of Ysael is one of humans escaping grief and war on purpose, of choosing to use technology to extend life and not to end it. On this foundation Ascala was built as a land where everyone was welcome so long as they learned and respected this proud heritage. That’s all for this post.

C J Mcpherson