Revision as of 08:01, 8 May 2017

"Do you smell that? Smells like... opportunity."

Caliper Bravegear (CR 258 Kla 18 – / AO -181 Rich 2 – ) is a gnome inventor and entrepreneur. He is notable for having been the first CEO of Coldlands Weaponry, is effectively the founder of the Technological field of atomics, and was instrumental in the formation of the Corporate Congress on Ganymede.

History

Caliper was born in Sharlyik in the year CR 258. As with most gnomes of the era, he took to tinkering with gusto, and while not incredibly successful, he did earn himself some minor accolades, particularly for small innovations on firearms, a field of study that primarily interested halflings and few others.

In CR 328, he decided to strike out on his own and explore the world before settling down. Taking on something of a "gentleman explorer" aesthetic, he first ventured to Molandum, traveling through the Desert of the Unspoken and the Caurak Mountains, until he eventually came to the cities of the Magocracy in CR 336. There, in the city-state of Oronteressë (oh-ron-ter-ESS-ee), he heard rumors of a potential conflict in Ashkar, where - apparently - humans and other "shorter-lived" races were kept in effective slavery by the elves. The elves of the Magocracy found the practice distasteful, but were divided as to what to do about it, and the discussion had been started by rumors that an uprising was imminent.

Caliper decided that getting involved in such a venture would be an exciting prospect and make for a good story, and so he booked passage aboard a sailing ship soon thereafter from the city of Tiriostoldó, and left for Ashkar, arriving in Elenteressë (el-en-ter-ESS-ee) in CR 338. The imminence of an uprising was apparently spoken of in the elven sense of the word, however, as when Caliper arrived, everything seemed to be perfectly in order. While he was treated somewhat suspiciously at the port for being Technologically-inclined, the elves of Elenteressë allowed him entry, with severe warnings about sharing any sort of Technology with the shorter-lived races who lived among the elves. "Duly noted," he replied, and went on his way.

It did not take long for Caliper to find himself among the humans and other "lesser" races of Elenteressë, living in what were effectively slums. The general mood was sour, but Caliper detected a hint of optimism among them - something was in the works, he sensed, and he set out to find it. In CR 339, he found Fortang Diaclo, who was ostensibly planning a revolution against the elves, and attempting to build firearms. Caliper was impressed with the human's work, but he understood that the human was attempting to start from first principles. Having seen the horrors of life under the elves, Caliper decided to throw his lot in with the revolutionaries, and began teaching Fortang the finer arts of guncraft. Over the course of the next year, he grew increasingly incensed at the treatment of the humans and other races under the yoke of the elves, and he decided that - when the time came - he would do whatever was necessary to help them gain their freedom.

In CR 340, he decided that - if the revolution were to succeed - they would need significantly more support. To that end, Caliper left the would-be revolutionaries and went back out into the world, seeking out the flying city of Urilaulri, hoping that his gnomish brethren there would be willing to lend their support. While they refused to unilaterally and outright support the revolution, some individuals in Urilaulri did promise to provide support and supplies, though not overtly: there was little interest in getting involved in a potential war. With this understanding, Caliper left Urilaulri, and returned to Elenteressë in the winter of CR 341.

The Diaclo Revolution

Having decided that the time was right, Diaclo began his revolution in the spring of CR 342.

Once the revolution was under way, Caliper served as liaison to Urilaulri, setting up smuggling of goods and coordinating drop points for supplies. Not much of a warrior himself, Caliper devoted himself to a logistical role, though he did take up arms over the course of the revolution on more than one occasion, usually in response to elven ambushes during smuggling operations.

Finally, in the summer of CR 343, the elves in Elenteressë capitulated to Diaclo's demands, and signed a treaty in which the entirety of the Coldlands Territory was given to the revolutionaries, on the condition that they leave at once, take all of their Technology with them, and a wall be built separating the two nations. While most of the remaining members of the revolution were overjoyed with the successful resolution of their revolt, Caliper sensed a degree of recalcitrance in the elves: being long-lived himself, he suspected that they would seek vengeance, and probably sooner rather than later.

The Coldlands Territory

Once the city of Mechanicus was established, Caliper and Fortang had long discussions about the possibility of another war, and most likely not in the far future. Agreeing with the gnome, Fortang founded the Coldlands Weaponry corporation, and gave full control over to Caliper, trusting in the gnome's technical expertise as well as ability to negotiate with external entities that may be able to provide support.

Caliper took to the job with gusto, establishing multiple workshops throughout the Coldlands with the aim of automating weapons production. The goal was simple: reduce the complexity of existing weaponry so that they could be easily mass-produced, construct enough manufactories to manufact sufficient weapons to arm the populace, and begin experimenting with new weapons that would assist the greatly-outnumbered citizens of the Coldlands should the elves strike. Under Caliper's guidance, these goals were reached easily within a decade, and by CR 360, CWI manufactories were producing rifles and similar weapons in mass quantities, more than enough to keep every citizen armed to the teeth.

Once its main goal was completed, however, Caliper had bigger dreams: specifically, he had begun trawling the Blue for any hint of more powerful Technological armaments, and had found accounts of Roywyn Folkor, a seemingly-apocryphal individual from the legends of the Ronkan Empire who had designed what she called "walkers," enormous bipedal machines of war (recall that at this time in history, Kotrit Wayveri's Blue Veil was still in effect, and thus the Ronkan Empire was considered legend, not fact). In coordination with Takuro Motors, a vehicle-oriented business out of Colianth, Caliper ordered construction of significantly larger manufactories intended for the mass production of vehicles of war, on a scale that had never been seen before, and by CR 372, the Coldlands had a sizable army of the enormous machines.

However, even with mass-manufacted guns and 'walkers at his disposal, Caliper was not certain they would be able to fend off an elven invasion. His time among the elves, and his knowledge of people like Kalrios Dilark, made him very aware of the potential power of Magic, and that such powers could almost certainly overwhelm his Technologies. In CR 373, Caliper initiated a secret research project, headed by himself personally, into what Technology was truly capable of in terms of destructive force. While many avenues were explored, the one that yielded the best results was the study of radiation, and thus the Technological field of atomics was born.

In CR 387, the Coldlands' spies and informants in the elven nation returned with grave news: the elves had a plan to retake the lands they had ceded to the revolution, and were preparing for war. Fortunately, such planning would take a few years, and so the Coldlands also ramped up production of weaponry and prepared themselves for the worst. Meanwhile, Caliper and his research teams worked long hours, trying desperately to find a way to use what they had found to build a weapon with which the elves could be repelled.

In the winter of CR 388, Caliper and his hand-picked team finally cracked the secret of the atom, and in spring of CR 390, tested a nuclear weapon in a cave complex deep below the surface of the Coldlands.

After examining the destruction wrought by the atomic fire, Caliper said only this: "Oh yes... yes, I believe that will do nicely."

The elves' declaration of war came the next day.

The Coldlands War