Despite what one may assume from a chuuba whose domain was civilization, the Nameless One's influence on the technology of /who/ did not manifest in architecture or transportation. Though the Owl Republic's developments in the former and ambitions in the latter were noteworthy, there was nothing more inherently magical about them than normal. In fact, Hoomans did (and still do) consider it a point of pride that their structures were crafted with as little magical influence as feasible beyond courtesies like lighting (and even this was neglected or ignored on occasion, owing to Hoomans' naturally good eyesight in dim light).

Rather, the main technological innovations in the Owl Republic lied in communication. The Hoomans learned that imbuing the Nameless One's influence into objects amplified their ability to conduct sound by better maintaining vibrations that passed through them. This was eventually used to make wires that could send messages from city to city across the republic, though the only messages that could be sent for some time were comprised of clicks and pauses. Although the Hoomans sought to be able to actually speak through these wires, their inability forced them to make do with what they had. This was what led to the Owl Republic codifying a system where specific combinations of clicks, short pauses, and long pauses denoted specific letters and punctuation, allowing for near-instantaneous communication over long distances. This code, as well as the installation of a network of "telecom stations" across the Republic and utility poles connecting them via wire over these large distances, are believed to have greatly contributed to the nation's cohesion and functionality even in times of strife or drought.

A good amount of Hoomans still wanted words rather than clicks, so they conducted various forms of experimentation on sound recording. The nature of these experiments was all over the place; some were individual while others were coordinated, some mundane and some magical. The scattered nature of these experiments led to breakthroughs in other sound-based fields that saw civilian and official use. Horns that strongly intensified the voice of whoever spoke into them were carried by military units to better coordinate orders, while "music boxes" that could be engineered to play back recorded sounds were made to play hymns of the Nameless One. Some dolls started to have pull-cords that, when pulled, played back a spoken message. Yet despite these lone innovations, the ability to verbally communicate in real time from one city or town to another eluded Hoomanity.

Another invention sought out by Hoomans that they were unable to create was an alternative to balloon-based air travel. The Hooman populace has been deeply distrustful of balloons ever since the Hindenwawa Tragedy (a sentiment that continues to this day), and so many attempts were made and approved by Parliament to fund research of heavier-than-air flight. Sadly, none of the research provided favorable results, leaving non-balloon flight a pipe dream in the Owl Republic. In the flurry of legislation passed in the emergency session held after news of the Nameless One's impending apothnitosis, one was the approval of a last coordinated attempt to create a machine that could fly high without hot air. No sources have reported any success or failure on this front and salvage efforts have failed to recover any physical sign of such a machine existing, though some who claimed to have witnessed the cities raze themselves claimed that they saw shapes flying above and into the flames.

With the Nameless One's departure, Her magic faded from creations infused with it. This led to various inventions being rendered unusable for their intended purposes; the horn amplified the voice as much as a regular horn and the wires became inert. There were still some sound-based things that still worked fine though, like the music boxes and the talking dolls, and this led to hope of non-magical ways to bring the lost technology back in some way.

As things are, a foreigner visiting /who/ would be in for a bit of a shock technology-wise. Many of the common amenities provided by magic such as artificial lighting are absent, yet one could walk into a tavern and see a piano seamlessly continuing its melody even when the Hooman "playing it" walks away. Two Hoomans could be seen engaging in a conversation that cuts off in lieu of them both playing with an odd clicking device while they're eating, only for the both of them to continue talking at a different point from where they left off. The magic may be gone, but the world goes on, and the inventions of the past (even if not used for their initial purpose) can still be used to carry its people forward.

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Pub: 10 Sep 2025 13:02 UTC

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