Tansha

Tansha: The Moving City

Tansha is the home city of all of the Ninja Academy World's Machinists hailing from the Kizai clan. Currently disabled, the city used to be capable of moving around the world, at the direction of the Cogmaster. Tansha is currently located deep within the northern mountain ranges of Iwa.

History

The following is an narrative of Tansha's known history, the historian wishes to remain anonymous.

Circa 1415 AA

The screech of metal being torn from metal resounded through the air. The Eight Tales had struck a decisive blow in the battle for the moving city. Tansha limped, bleeding oil and chakra onto the ground as it dragged itself deeper into the mountains of Iwagakure. The people of the moving city cried out, some in terror, some in pain, some in anguish as they felt part of their city die.

The Eight Tales growled a deep, chuckling growl as it slid back from Tansha, deciding how it would cripple the city with its next blow. Perhaps this time it would sweep some of the people from the streets, or maybe it would tear through the shield that had protected the castle in the city for the duration of the fight.

"Cogmaster, what should we do?"

Cogmaster Ikura stood on a ledge of the castle staring at the Eight Tailed demon, it had been his brother, Daisuke who had spoken. Ikura looked to his brother before nodding in solemn resignation.

"There's only one thing we can do Daisuke."

Murmurs arose from the Council of Steel, the democratic governance that ruled alongside the Cogmaster. The Kizai all knew of the super weapon that lay beneath the Castle of Tansha, they also knew of the cost of firing the super weapon. Nobody raised their voice against Ikura, nobody could damn their city to destruction at the maw and tentacles of the Eight Tales. As the Council, Ikura and Daisuke walked through the halls of the castle, several Automated attendants began to follow in their wake. The machines had no consciousness or thought process, there was no way they could have known of the impending doom of their great city. Yet still they followed their king, first ten, then thirty, then fifty. The Cogmaster lead and the Automatons followed, down, down, down, to the deepest level of the Tanshan Castle. Before the Council and the King stood a huge set of doors, giant gears and cogs comprised the barrier that stood between the pilgrims and their holy ground. Ikura raised a hand, running his fingers over the grooves and divets of a cog. The cog began to rotate, the gears to grind, the door opened as Tansha rumbled and shook under the demon's assault.

The room that the Council and the King stepped into was vast. The high vaulted ceiling was decorated with a myriad of cogs and gears that turned with the power of the King's chakra. As they turned, the room seemed to revolve, revealing portraits and panoramas of the Cogmasters of the past, the Cogmasters of the golden age. In the center of the room, a dais raised from the living floor. A pedestal in the center of the dais cradled a golden orb. The Council quietly filed from the room, they knew the price of firing the Fang of Tansha, as they left, the Automated doors closed behind them.

Ikura looked out at the sea of Automatons as he mounted the dais and stood beside the orb. It seemed fitting that things should end like this, the King of Machines, entombed with his living legacy. Daisuke followed his brother's footsteps, standing next to his King as he gazed into the swirling golden entrails of the orb.

"I should command you to leave, Daisuke, but I guess there's no point to all of that now, is there? I'm sorry brother, I'm sorry I could only give you a half life."

Ikura turned to observe Daisuke's reaction. The other man stood stalk still, his eyes fixed on the orb.

"I'm afraid I don't understand your apology, brother. I've lived a full life, you have given me the gift of humanity. It is the natural cycle that all things must end. You told me that, everyone's spark will eventually flicker out. I have no qualms about it ending here."

Ikura clasped Daisuke's shoulder. His brother's skin was cold, as usual. The King turned to the orb and placed both his hands upon it before completing the chakra circuit that would awaken Gugnir. All the air was suddenly sucked from the room. The cogs and gears began to whirl madly, serpents of energy and pure chakra twisted and shone through the air, casting ghostly shadows on the walls of the antechamber. The panoramas lit up and shone with life as the room whirled faster and faster and faster. Ikura opened his mouth to scream but no sound escaped, his back arched and light poured from every orifice on his face.

The Eight Tails lunged toward Tansha, it could feel the delicious chakra building it wanted to eat, to devour it all! Suddenly the Tanshan castle erupted in a pillar of light, the beam shot towards the sky, punching a hole through the very air and clouds that stood in its way. The beam traveled higher and higher, scorching the heavens with its celestial fury. The weapon could been seen from thousands of miles away, the needle of chakra that pierced through the sky before winding around in a serpentine pattern. The flow of free energy came screaming down from the atmosphere. The Eight Tailed demon tried to move, tried to avoid that hateful energy but it was too late. The beast was engulfed by Gugnir, the chakra tore through the creature's other worldly defenses, rending and shredding every ounce of its flesh every ounce of its soul. The Eight Tales would have roared, it would have struck back, it would have devoured the energy had it not been torn atom from atom and scattered thousands of miles in every direction in less than a nano second.

The energy pulsing through Ikura suddenly stopped. The King collapsed, his eyes open and gazing towards the ceiling. The gather of energy had torn Daisuke's skin from his body, he stood gazing down on his brother. There were no vitals, Ikura was as cold as Daisuke had been every day. Daisuke bent down and gathered Ikura up in his arms, the cogs and gears that supported Daisuke's musculoservo system did not protest the light load of a human. Daisuke bore his creator, his king, and his brother up from the antechamber, and into the foyer of the castle. There he lay Ikura, so that the city of Tansha may see their savior, may see what they that day had paid in exchange for their continued survival. Daisuke knelt next to his brother, and placing his metal fingertips on his brother's eyelids, closed them once and for all. As the eyes of its King closed, the city of Tansha stumbled and fell to the ground. It was safe amongst the mountains of what would become Iwagakure and now the city would rest and grieve its loss.

In the Snow Country at the north of the world, a dark bubbling of chakra rippled through the air. The bubbles writhed and twisted until slowly one strand stretched into the night air. This strand began to divide, one became two, two became four, the four split and thrashed as Eight Tails materialized from the darkness.

Circa 2095 AA

Daisuke looked out across the courtyard of the palace of the Cogmaster. His artificial eyes filtered the sunlight that was streaming down across the country of Iwa. The lenses of his optic receptors focused in on his charge. Cogmaster Kizai Kin stood with a group of older men, the young king's face was pulled back in a boisterous laugh. Half of the group of older men that gathered around Kin wore diplomatic garb from the city of Iwagakure no Sato, the other half wore the garb of the Council of Steel. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a possible shipping arrangement between the hidden machine city and the Country of Earth. If there was one thing the Iwagakurens excelled at it was balancing their books to keep the hidden city hidden.

Cogmaster Kin finished his meeting with the diplomats, bid them a fair journey and returned to his throne. Daisuke stood next to Kin as the young Cogmaster stared off into the ether. Daisuke understood the human thought process and its need to explore the depths of the subconscious and the recesses of their cerebral ebb and flow. Kin turned to Daisuke and sighed before speaking.

"The diplomats had news of the outside."

Daisuke nodded. Kin was a wise ruler, however the news of the outside world failed to carry much impact with the Automaton. He had seen the first Tsuchikage come to power, seen the Rikudou Sennin, he had fought in the Iwa-Konoha wars, one government was just like the next. There would be talks and negotiations, audiences and tours, feasts and demonstrations. Yet everything would crumble, Kin would die with time, but the spirit of Tansha would live on forever. There would always be new governments and always be new Cogmasters, there could never be a new Machine Spirit.

"Daisuke. What were my ancestors like, what was Iruka like? Your creator."

The Automaton tilted his head towards Kin as his memory banks shuffled through the thousands of years of history until it reached the year of Daisuke's creation, 1400 AA.

"Data Recovery: Year 1400 AA, initiated."

Kin's jaw dropped open.

"Wait, what? Year 1400 AA? Daisuke, that's more than seven hundred years ago. That's even before the Rikudou..."

"You are correct, Tansha was created far before the Rikudou Sennin was even conceived. Even in the Machine Reliquary our records do not have history of Tansha's creator. Iruka created the Reliquary in the year of 1421, the only record we have before that year are my first... memories."

Cogmaster Kin stood and walked around his throne, rubbing his temples. The young king had never asked Daisuke about the history of Tansha. He had been so focused on the restoration efforts that the engineers had been making on Tansha that he hadn't even visited the Reliquary in several years.

"So you're telling me that we don't even know who created this throne room, that for at least seven hundred years not a single member of the royal family has left Tansha."

"Correct."

Kin looked at his artificial guardian. The synthetic skin that covered Daisuke's frame had been improved over the years that the automaton had served the royal family. Looking at Daisuke there was no way to tell that the taller, dark haired, twenty something man is in fact several hundred years old. Kin sighed before speaking again.

"I have a job for you, Daisuke. My son, Seiji, today is his fourth month in this world. I want you to take him to Konoha, find him a good family there. I will not keep my bloodline in isolation any longer."

The automaton nodded before walking out of the throne room. He followed one of the many staircases up to Kin's chambers. As Daisuke entered, he turned to a mechanical rose that hung on the wall. The petals opened and closed throughout the day as the sun would rise and set. Daisuke knelt before the rose, although the human expression of fealty may have seemed lost on the other automatons, Daisuke still payed homage to his lost queen. Kin had crafted the rose after he lost his wife during Seiji's birth. The Automaton stood and walked over to a nanny who sat with a bundle of cloth held in her arms. Daisuke reached out and took the infant, before turning and leaving the room.

Daisuke left Tansha, setting out into the mountains of Iwa. As he stepped, the synthetic joints in his legs surged with the power Iruka had left him with, the life force that his brother, his king, had infused within Daisuke with a simple touch on the shoulder so many years ago. Daisuke took a leap into the air, the blast of chakra from his servo-joints carried Daisuke several miles. The Automaton landed with no impact, only a slight cloud of dust rose around Daisuke's boots. Several leaps later, Daisuke found himself in the forests of Konohagakure no sato. Seiji had stayed quiet throughout the journey. Daisuke looked at the small bundle of skin and blankets. It was the end of his journey to Konoha, but the beginning of Seiji's journey through life. The last memory that Daisuke filed away in his databanks of Seiji was a simple sentence.

"Grow strong, my prince."

Demographics

Tansha sports a robust population of 30,000 people, and an additional 32,000 automatons. The employment rate is an astonishing 98% almost every citizen works hard to maintain the city and facilitate its repair. The city of Tansha's main exports are various mechanical tools and knowledge. Tansha's main imports are ores and other minerals. Poverty is rare, and crime is even rarer, because of the standing military and general inability to leave the city, most criminals are quickly persecuted. Almost all of Tansha's raw labor is mechanized, each Tanshan controls an automaton which allows for easy division of labor. Dangerous or extremely strenuous tasks are left to the automated workers while their human counterparts manage logistical and administrative duties.

Important Figures

Cogmaster Kizai Ikura

Considered by many to be the greatest Cogmaster of all time, Ikura established the Machine Reliquary, which records the history of the Tanshan people. He also established the Council of Steel, and ultimately saved the city from certain destruction by sacrificing his life to fire the Gugnir against the Eight Tails.

Daisuke

The oldest and original "living" automaton, Daisuke has served as an advisor to each Cogmaster since Ikura's reign. Possessing unparalleled speed, agility, strength, and cunning, Daisuke has also led the Tanshan army in several battles. His sentience and semblance of emotions is the subject of speculations, particularly from the Engineering College, Daisuke is the only automaton that has continued to function after his master's death and is indistinguishable from a normal human. He has been known to occasionally leave the city for long periods of time, no explanation for these absences has been offered.

Cogmaster Kizai Kin

The current Cogmaster and ruler of Tansha, Kin is a driven and hard working man. Under his leadership and vision, the repair efforts on Tansha have been moving in leap and bounds. Kin's wife died in childbirth, but successfully delivered Kin's only offspring, Seiji. Kin ordered Daisuke to take Seiji away from the city so that he may grow to be a worldly ruler. Recently, Kin has fallen very ill, but still continues to direct the reconstruction effort with strength and wisdom.

Cogprince Kizai Seiji

A young mercenary who has worked for various Ninja nations, Seiji is unaware of his royal history. A prodigal creator, Seiji's automaton is second sentient and perpetually animate model to be created. Known for his cheer, gusto, and tomfoolery, Seiji is a natural leader, if a bit goofy at times.

Model 54241-1 a.k.a. SARAH

The second "living" automaton, SARAH accompanies Seiji on his various adventures. She is level-headed and calm, some would even say withdrawn. Her physical strength is impressive for a relatively un-modified and un-upgraded automaton. Her attention to detail is second to none and has saved Seiji's life several times. It is rumored in Konohagakure no Sato that Seiji and SARAH are involved in a love affair.

Geography

Tansha is nestled between two peaks of a mountain. The mountain sports four large bronze-ish legs, that can be used to propel it across the land. Tansha itself sits at an elevation of around 11,000 feet. The interior of the mountain has mostly been hollowed out, large gears and cogs power the city's legs while the huge copper pipes of the aquapumps and steamworks criss-cross the empty guts of the mountain. In a much grander time, Tansha was free to move about the world as the Cogmaster pleased, but for now it remains nestled in one of Iwa's northern most mountain ranges, safe from the outside world.

Points of Interest

The Market District

Located around the center fountain of Tansha, the market is the busiest place in the city. Different inventors, farmers, bakers, and other craftsmen ply their wares in various city owned stalls. The premium payed to rent a stall generates revenue for the city while the local products encourage independent invention, and a circulation of currency.

The Skimmer Docks

The skimmer docks are located in the north east outer most circle of Tansha. The main hanger watches over mechanized docks, almost every sky skimmer in the city is kept on the multiple layers of storage within the docking facility. The actual docks themselves extend off the top of the city, the constant buzz of different skimmers taking off and landing permeates the air, day or night, around the docks. Several Machinists have become local celebrities around the docks for their aptitude at handling a skimmer.

The Machine Palace

The machine palace, located in the south eastern outer circle, is home to the Cogmasters. The large dome like structure sports a giant gear above the entrance to the mechanical halls. Two towers, capable of projecting a protective shield of chakra around the palace in a time of need, stand on either side of the grand palace. The center most chamber of the palace holds the ornate throne, designed for an unknown Cogmaster in a lost past. Above the throne room, are the chambers where the Council of Steel and the Cogmaster hold private meetings. The eastern wing of the palace is where the Cogmaster and his family live, while the western wing is dedicated to the Council and their families.

The Fields

The fields are located in the south-western outer circle, these large tracts of land are reserved for growing food for the Tanshan people. In the winter months, a large glass dome in constructed around the fields to allow year-round food production.

The Engineering College

The engineering college is located next to the palace. This large building is home to the Machine Reliquary, where all known history of Tansha is recorded, as well as copies of every book in the city. The engineering college instructs Tanshans of all ages in a large spread of topics, everything from automaton combat to agricultural strategies is practiced, taught, and learned in the engineering college. It is here where mosts machinists spend the majority of their time, diagramming, planning, and prototyping their latest inventions and attending lectures and classes on just about everything under the sun.

Tanshan Society

Political Structure

The political structure of Tansha is two-pronged. The Cogmaster makes the laws and addresses the public, while the Council of Steel approves the laws and is present for all diplomatic discussions. The Council was put in place to ensure that the Cogmasters would not have too much power over the city. The Council has the option to veto a law or motion made by the Cogmaster, via a vote. This structure of government allows for a balance between personal and professional influences, which the Tanshan people believe are necessary in equal measure for effective laws.

Council members are elected by the general public, and serve terms of six years. A Council member may be re-elected to an infinite amount of terms, and may only be released from service if they violate the city's laws. The Cogmaster is not an elected, but an inherited position. The royal Tanshan family have been shown to possess unique powers and powerful leadership, a Cogmaster is still bound by the laws of the people, however, and if they are found in violation of several laws are asked to pass the title to a more suitable member of the royal family. In the event of a death, without an heir, in the royal family the Council of Steel are sworn to elect a new leader for the city.

The Castes

Machinist

Machinists are simply members of the Kizai clan. Machinist is usually used to refer to one of the members of the clan who left Tansha to spread the art of Automation. The title of Machinist is not looked down upon by the Kizai but it does hold slightly less sway than a simple citizen.

Citizen

The citizens of Tansha are the average machinist, they know basic engineering and algorithms necessary for creating and maintaining machinations. All machinists consider being at least a citizen of their grand city an honor.

Soldier

The soldiers of Tansha are machinists who have received formal training in Automaton command. They protect the city, performing duties from police force to acting as a military force if the city is threatened. Tansha is largely a peaceful city, and being hidden. Due to this, very few machinists actually become soldiers.

Engineer

By far the largest caste within Tansha, the Engineers have attended formal schooling to pursue advanced knowledge of Automatons and other machinery. The Engineers of Tansha are almost exclusively dedicated to restoration of the damaged city.

Gear Lord

The Gear Lords are the members of society who are extraordinarily gifted with Automaton command. The Gear Lords are the aristocrats of society. Not only are they the most skilled warriors but they also usually posses large family fortunes or claims to natural resources around Tansha.

Cogprince/Cogprincess

The next in line to the title of Cogmaster. If the Cogmaster dies without an heir, the Council will call a vote to elect a new Cogmaster.

Cogmaster

The monarchal position held by the eldest member of the Tanshan royal family. The Cogmaster is not only the public face of Tansha but also the main power behind the bureaucracy. To ensure a fair division of power, any laws or decisions made by the Cogmaster may be overturned by the Council. The Cogmaster does have certain powers that may only be used in times of war or dire circumstances that do not require a Council vote, but may still be prevented by the Council acting as a single entity.

Notable Tanshan Creations

The Automaton

The automaton is Tansha's signature invention. Often crafted to resemble humans, these chakra powered machinations accompany their machinist counterparts through most of their lives. The automaton takes chakra pulse signals from its creator, these pulses of energy send commands and deliver the fuel for the command to be executed. Automatons are soldiers, workers, and companions and Tansha would not exist in such comfort without them.

A female style automaton.

The Sky Skimmer

The sky skimmers are a unique form of transportation born from the same technology as the automaton. Skimmers are designed for anywhere between one and thirty people, each Machinist passenger contributes to keeping the skimmer airborne. For a skimmer to maintain flight, a Machinist channels their chakra through the skimmer, this flow of energy creates a buffer around the vehicle that can be channeled and directed to propel the skimmer through the air. Skimmer jockeys normally have large chakra reserves since keeping a craft airborne by oneself can be extraordinarily taxing.

Sky skimmers are used for everything between aerial combat, scouting, map making, industrial transport and simple transport of large groups of people around the area surrounding Tansha. Aside from the IAF, the skimmers are the only other known form of mechanized aerial transport.

The Fields

The Fields are fully automated. Crops are grown, harvested, and then replanted by automatons a different machines. The fields are a marvel of engineering, sustaining the people of Tansha year after year. Rainfall and irrigation ensure that the crops always have enough water to grow and proper cycling of different crops ensures that the soil stays fertile. Since the machines use chakra as their fuel, the food is free from any form of pollution that would originate from conventional fuel. The Fields enable the Tanshan people to live without fear of famine, enabling them to stay within Tansha almost indefinitely.

The Aquapumps

Another marvel of Tanshan engineering, the aquapumps extend far down into the center of the mountain that Tansha is perched upon. These pumps draw from a large aquifer and run to every house in Tansha, providing the people with clean and cool water whenever they desire. The aquapumps are powered by a group of engineers that channel their chakra over shifts to keep the pumps powered constantly. The aquapumps allow the Tanshan people an unheard of level of comfort, and are one of the many powerful tools to have been born from the Engineering College.

The Steamworks

The steamworks are opposite of the aquapumps. The steamworks' functions are twofold: The first of which is to purify rainwater and dirty water that come from the used product of the aquapumps. This is accomplished by a powerful filter, the central drain of Tansha funnels all the water used by the city that is non-septic into a large pipe. This pipe has several layers of chakra-imbued stone that the dirty water must sift through. These stones pull pollutants out of the used water and trap them to the rocks. A team of automatons change the rocks out regularly to ensure that the filters stay clean.

The second function of the steamworks is to heat some of the purified water through massive chakra-powered furnaces. This hot water is then pumped along different lines that the cold water from the aquapumps into people's homes, where the water is used as a combination of method of heating a house, and as a household commodity. The luxury of the steamworks makes the Tanshan life enviable, especially in the cold months of winter.