“You fool. You’re mistaken. The Eternal Alchemy doesn’t control the reaction.The catalyst controls the reaction. The Eternal Alchemy dictates the variables”
The appropriately named Creator’s Commons is the central hub for the floating city of asura. The commons is split into four areas; the college of Dynamics, the college of Synergetics, the college of Statics, and the mercantile center. The asuran lifestyle revolves around knowledge and study and Rata Sum revolves around the Three Colleges.
Each of the colleges have their own style, each unique studies and views of the world. To put it simple, Statics can be considered the builders. They make sure everything runs smoothly. A good example is the statics krewe tasked with sealing off the thaumanova reactor site. “We may have to seal off the entire area around that ruptured reactor.” Dynamics are the alchemists, or better, the chemical engineers. They are well… dynamic. Explosions, acids and anything to do with chemicals. They do not try to work for society as much as simply understanding the way these elements work; their function is an afterthought. “You dynamics people are all the same. If you can’t attach it to a golem, you blow it up.” And lastly, the Synergetics. They have one purpose and one purpose only: to study the Eternal Alchemy. They can be considered as theoretical physicists. They don’t directly contribute to society but what they learn and understand can revolutionize the field. “If my hypotheses bear out, it could revolutionize the entire power industry.”
The Creator’s Commons will give you a great feel of the three colleges, their works, and the basic structure of asuran culture.
CC01Gatekeeper: How long have you maintained the Rata Sum gate?
Gatekeeper (2): Too long. I put in a request for a transfer to Ebonhawke or Divinity’s Reach.
Gatekeeper: You’d rather live among humans? Why?
Gatekeeper (2): Extracting gold from humans is child’s play. I could charge per catchel without complaint.
CC02Gatekeeper: So, I told him, “New regulations stipulate you must remove your boots and belt before traveling.”
Gatekeeper (2): And he fell for it?
Gatekeeper: Completely. He had to hold his pants up as he entered the gate.
CC03Mist Warrior (Asura): We’ll never get recruits. These dustbunnies have no interest in gut-wrenching, mind-blowing war. The Mists are too exclusive.
CC04Mist Warrior (Charr): C’mon, do your thing. Shout and be convincing. We need recruits! Our numbers are falling.
Mist Warrior (Asura): It’s your turn to dance and sing. I’m exhausted. The Mist War will still be there tomorrow.
Mist Warrior (Charr): (growl)
Mist Warrior (Asura): Ahem-join the Battle for the Mists! Defend our world! Geniuses and others needed to keep evil at bay! Come one, come all!
CC05Mist Warrior (Charr): I’ve fought for years in the Mist War. I know what it’s like. You know nothing.
CC06Rata Sum Protector: Move-along. Do- not- congregate!
Squik: But I’m a merchant. This is where I conduct my business.
Rata Sum Protector: You- are- in- violation- of- city- regulations. You- will- be- reported!
Squik: My councillor will hear about this. I have rights… Why am I arguing with a golem?
CC07Synergetics Apprentice: I’ve been delving into Eternal Alchemy theory.
Dynamics Apprentice: I just need to know what formulae to apply and how to account for the variables.
Synergetics Apprentice: Have you no intellectual interest in anything beyond your current project?
Dynamics Apprentice: Not remotely. Let the College of Statics find uses for my work.
CC08Traveler: Are you spending any time at the Durmand Priory during your trip?
Traveler (2): Indeed. I have several days planned to stop in and meet with Gixx.
Traveler: Could you attempt to acquire a copy of “The Unexpurgated Journals of Oola” for me?
Traveler: I misplaced my copy, and my collection just isn’t complete without it.
CC09Traveler: Greetings and salutations!
Gatekeeper: What do you mean by that? What’s your angle?
CC10Traveler: Is the gate functioning normally today?
Gatekeeper: All spatial parameters are within approved safety margins.
Traveler: You certainly know how to reassure a traveler.
CC11Traveler: What assurances do I have that I will make it safely to my expected destination?
Gatekeeper (2): If you don’t survive the transit, you’re entitled to a full refund.
Traveler: But… but… oh, fine.
CC12Traveler: Where are you traveling today?
Traveler (2): I’m off to Lion’s Arch. I have business with the Captain’s Council.
Traveler: Be careful. They may be businesspeople today, but they were all pirates not too long ago.
CC13Treveler: I heard a rumor that a human going to Divinity’s Reach ended up in Black Citadel.
Treveler (2): Can you imagine if that had happened before the charr-human truce? Hah!
College of Dynamics
CC14Dynamics Expert: You fool. You’re mistaken. The Eternal Alchemy doesn’t control the reaction.
Dynamics Expert (2): The Eternal Alchemy controls every reaction.
Dynamics Expert: The catalyst controls the reaction. The Eternal Alchemy dictates the variables.
CC15Dynamics Researcher: Have you reviewed my latest research proposal yet? What are your thoughts?
Dynamics Expert: It has potential, but I’m worried about the explosive nature of the work.
Dynamics Researcher: You believe it could revolutionize our field and make people rethink their most basic beliefs?
Dynamics Expert: I think it could blow up in your face. Add some safety protocols.
CC16Gleea: My latest invention is a process through which dust transforms into potable water.
Zorann: Technically, a process is not an invention but a discovery.
Gleea: My next invention will be a closure system for your oral orifice.
CC17Statics Expert Kepa: You dynamics people are all the same. If you can’t attach it to a golem, you blow it up.
Jekk: We work on the edge for the sake of progress. I mean, who’s ever heard of a bridge transforming society?
Statics Expert Kepa: How quickly they forget. Perhaps you remember a little event called the great exodus?
Jekk: Yes. In fact wasn’t it a statics krewe that unearthed the destroyer nest in the first place?
CC18Student: Should I choose Hydrone, Incinergen, or Opticalium?
Student (2): You don’t choose a krewe, the krewe chooses you.
Student: Well, I’m a genius and geniuses get to choose their own krewes.
Student (2): Geniuses start their own krewes, but you won’t have to worry about that either.
College of Synergetics
CC19Synergetics Apprentice: The hullaballoo around this year’s Snaff Prize is nothing compared to what occurred three years ago.
Synergetics Apprentice (2): Ooh. I was working at the Hydrone Unit that year. What happened?
Synergetics Apprentice: One entry literally melted, another was stolen, and a third disappeared into a temporal rift.
CC20Synergetics Expert: I read your treatise on thaumaturgical properties of mundane materials. Intriguing.
Synergetics Expert (2): If my hypotheses bear out, it could revolutionize the entire power industry.
Synergetics Expert: There you go, dabbling in dynamics again. Your primary focus should be the Eternal Alchemy.
CC21Synergetics Expert: May the inner machinations of the Eternal Alchemy be revealed to you. How go your calculations?
Synergetics Expert (2): I have defined all the variables and the data supports my conclusions.
Synergetics Expert: However?
Synergetics Expert (2): The calculations break down in the middle. I’m missing the linking mechanism.
CC22Synergetics Researcher: So, blown anything up lately? An experiment? Your lab? A city block?
Dynamics Researcher: Nothing my fire-suppression golems couldn’t handle. Create any unproveable theorems today?
Synergetics Researcher: Actually, we’ve been debating how many dynamics students it would take to fill the Mists.
CC23Verri: I warned them. There is a vast difference between theory and practice.
Cadiff: It was pure hubris to assume they could control all the variables on such a grand scale.
Verri: The question now is can the damage caused by the explosion be reversed?
College of Statics
CC24Krewe Recruiter: Hydrone has many opportunities for a talented student with your credentials.
Statics Apprentice Tejj: I am definitely interested. Do you have literature? I would like to research my options.
CC25Statics Expert Azzi: How’s life with your head engulfed in the clouds of utter uselessness?
Ambi: Not bad. How’s life stuck on the ground, mired in muck?
CC26Statics Expert Ceppi: I’m glad the influence of the Eternal Alchemy upon structures is so well documented.
Statics Expert Zann: I don’t know how dynamics research functions with so many alchemical variables.
Statics Expert Ceppi: Who do you think their labs are so well protected against explosions?
CC27Statics Expert: I have the largest private collection of Oola antiquities in the world.
Statics Expert (2): Your collection consists of two golem hands, a tattered journal page, a scorched leather glove… oh, and a broken specimen jar.
Statics Expert: I know. Incredible, isn’t it? They’re all exceedingly rare finds.
CC28Statics Expert: The great cogs of the Eternal Alchemy continue to turn. How are you this fine day?
Statics Expert (2): Work is proceeding apace on my next generation of earthmovers.
Statics Expert: We may need them at the reator sit soon, but don’t cut corners. Build to last, I always say.
CC29Statics Expert: We may have to seal off the entire area around that ruptured reactor.
Statics Apprentice: A dome structure? Something that could be filled with diatomaceous earth?
Statics Expert: Exactly my thinking. Excellent. Why don’t you head up the exploratory krewe?
Statics Apprentice: you’re sending me into the hot zone? I mean, yes, ma’am! Thank you for the opportunity.
Tyrian Tomes 