Project Eclipse
Core Information
| Name | Alt. Name(s) | Faction Type | Home Base (if any) | Allied Factions | Rival Factions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Eclipse | =this.FactAltNames |
Military | =this.FactHome |
The Usonian Military | Project Syzygy |
Description
Before and during The Dust War Usonia was seeking their own ways to deal with dwindling Dust supplies and the sudden reliance on Almennian Dust.
Early on the efforts were unhurried and mostly theory and research, but as the Dust War kicked up Usonia needed options now. This gave birth to Project Eclipse, propelling those theories and research into practical experiments and application faster than a biplane.
The military pulled volunteers and patriots from their ranks, mostly looking at those wounded or out of action who wanted to get back in the fight and applied alchemical tinctures and powerful enchantments to them with the goal of creating soldiers who didn’t need to rely on Dust to generate magical effects.
The project was as careful as they could be under the circumstances, but mistakes and complications were inevitable, something they cautioned volunteers about. Overall around 100 volunteers were given treatments.
The earliest subjects either didn’t gain magic abilities, couldn’t control the ones they got, or even, in rare cases, mutated or died. The project did what they could to honor and care for these souls, offering care and treatment for their new state. Their sacrifices earned progress.
As the project progressed the process became more refined and defined steadily resulting in more reliable results, leading to the last dozen candidates who all exhibited abilities and powers which showed promise.
Unfortunately, only a few at the very end showed any indication of reaching the ultimate goal of Project Eclipse, those who could use magic without Dust use or a Pact. Velvet Steele was the most promising of group, being able to conjure multiple magical affects using her own blood.
While it’s likely the next group of volunteers would have been even closer to the goal, the reality of the end of The War and Prohibition put a stopper on Project Eclipse. All candidates that were still able bodied and mentally stable were allowed to go live their lives for now, but sworn to secrecy on the projects details. Those not of stable mind or with crippling mutations were taken into care at military asylums, the secret of their sacrifice granting them the best treatment the government could offer.
There are proponents of the group who want to start the project back up, but the political climate isn’t right and there isn’t a war to justify forgoing the politics of it. So for now the military keeps tabs on the volunteers and other project members, finding excuses to keep them close to each other for the opportunity to start the project back up.