Yorktun

Prologue Part I - The History of Yorktun

Yorktun, a sprawling metropolis, was once filled with laughter, creativity, and intellectual freedom. The town was renowned for its open markets, filled with the scents of spices and the sounds of diverse languages; its vast libraries, where scholars debated until sunrise; and its theaters, where audiences sat captivated by every new artistic performance. But now, Yorktun is on the cusp of a dark transformation. Political and economic turmoil has begun to pull at the seams, and change is coming—a change that will crush the spirit of this city under an iron grip.

The scene opens on a bustling plaza in the heart of Yorktun. Stalls with exotic fruits, artisans selling hand-woven cloth, and poets reciting verses to onlookers. A young scholar named Elora, dressed in simple but elegant robes, stands with her friend Joaquim, an artisan, watching a street performer juggle flames.

Elora: (Eyes gleaming) Can you believe it, Joaquim? We're living in an era people will remember for centuries. Look around—people from all across the continent, sharing ideas, art, and their souls. This is what I live for.

Joaquim: (Chuckling) You're always so poetic, Elora. But you're right. There's something magical here. When I carve, it's almost like the city speaks through my hands.

They laugh but then notice a shift in the atmosphere as a group of cloaked individuals move through the plaza. The crowd grows quieter, casting wary glances at them.

Elora: (Whispers) The Upbringers... I thought they were just scholars and engineers, a small group of idealists. What are they doing here?

Joaquim: I heard they're recruiting. They want to "restore order," or so they say. But to me, it sounds like they want control.

Months later, the setting shifts to a dimly lit council hall where the Upbringers convene. The founder, Marcellus, addresses his fellow members, a mixture of engineers, scientists, and former scholars.

Marcellus: Yorktun is crumbling. Corruption has become the marrow in our bones, and scarcity drives our people to madness. We, the Upbringers, must be the ones to guide this city back to strength and purity.

Fellow Upbringer: Marcellus, we must tread carefully. This city is built on diversity—on freedom. It's fragile, yes, but also alive.

Marcellus: (With cold determination) Freedom without order is chaos. Diversity without unity is a fracture. We must be the architects of a new Yorktun—one where every citizen knows their place and purpose. Art, culture... these frivolities distract from progress. Our vision will burn away the impurities.

Time passes, and Yorktun's vibrancy fades. The once-bustling markets are nearly empty, and voices that once sang freely now whisper in fear. The Upbringers' ideology, initially welcomed, has turned oppressive. Citizens are monitored and assigned roles based on assessments and "aptitude" rather than desire. Elora, now a faded version of her once-hopeful self, stands in front of a closed theater, its windows shattered and boarded up. She meets Joaquim, now a member of the resistance.

Elora: (In a calm, hollow tone) They've taken everything, Joaquim. The colors, the music, the laughter... it's all dead. They say it's for "elevated order," but it feels like poison seeping into our veins.

Joaquim: It is poison, Elora. They've rewritten what it means to be human. They've hollowed us out, made us... shells. (Pauses, eyes haunted) I heard they're even reassigning families. Children are taken from parents who aren't deemed "suitable."

Elora: (Fighting tears) I remember when Yorktun's walls vibrated with life. Now, it's like we're entombed alive, each of us in separate cells, unable to reach out.

In a hidden room, Marcellus sits surrounded by documents—blueprints for surveillance systems, detailed psychological profiles of citizens, and plans for eliminating what he calls "Elements of Chaos." He speaks to his protégé, Dahlia, a brilliant but impressionable young engineer.

Marcellus: (Quietly, with chilling conviction) Dahlia, humans are weak. When left to their own devices, they pursue selfish goals and squander their lives on trivial pursuits. We, however, have a chance to reshape Yorktun—no, to reshape humanity itself.

Dahlia: But, Master, at what cost? The people... they're suffering. They fear us.

Marcellus: Fear is the soil from which loyalty grows. They must learn to embrace discipline and trust the vision we have for them. We are saving them from themselves.

He places a hand on her shoulder, his fingers cold.

Marcellus: You are part of something greater than yourself. A purpose that justifies any sacrifice, Dahlia. Remember that.

She nods, but a flicker of doubt crosses her face.

In the depths of Yorktun, in an alley hidden from the all-seeing eyes of the Upbringers, a lone musician, Verena, sings softly. She knows the risk, but it is her last act of defiance. Her voice is raspy, a haunting echo of what it once was. A handful of citizens gather around, their faces gaunt, eyes hollow, but listening—because it feels like the old Yorktun for just a moment.

Verena: (Singing, voice trembling) ...And though they chain our hearts, our souls still burn. In shadowed corners, the fire yet yearns...

The Wardens—soldiers of the Upbringers—appear, their heavy boots echoing off the walls. The crowd disperses in terror. Verena stands alone, her voice cutting off abruptly as the Wardens approach.

Warden: Singing... do you know the penalty, girl?

Verena: (Defiant, though tears shimmer in her eyes) My song belongs to Yorktun, not you.

Warden: Yorktun is dead, girl. There is only the Unitary Code.

As the Wardens seize her, Verena closes her eyes, whispering the last line of her song under her breath, a whisper only she hears.

Back in his chamber, Marcellus watches a recording of Verena's defiance. A ghost of a smile crosses his face as he turns to Dahlia.

Marcellus: See, Dahlia? Even in defiance, they cannot resist clinging to the past. This... weakness, this indulgence in memory, must be purged precisely.

Dahlia: (Voice shaking) But... isn't it beautiful? Isn't that what made Yorktun special?

Marcellus leans in close, his gaze empty, cold.

Marcellus: Beauty is a weakness. Memory is a weakness. In the new Yorktun, there will be no more poetry and indulgence: only order, obedience, and a perfect, calculated silence.

The vibrant city of Yorktun has faded. What remains is a bleak, colorless expanse, a society drained of its spirit, its history erased, its people mere cogs in a vast, heartless machine. Only in whispers and hidden gestures does the spirit of the old Yorktun survive—a spirit that yearns, like a buried ember, for a spark that might one day bring it roaring back to life.