The Spires are what remains of the intellectual and ruling elite of the Old Dominion, but they are no longer human in any conventional sense. During the final centuries of the Dominion, certain factions turned away from traditional governance and toward biomancy, the manipulation of living matter at a fundamental level. What began as medical and agricultural innovation evolved into something far more extreme.
When the Dominion collapsed, the Spires survived not through strength of arms but through isolation and adaptation. Their strongholds, towering arcologies of living and grown material, became self-contained ecosystems. Within these structures, they refined their mastery over life itself.
Modern Spire society is rigidly hierarchical. At the top are the aristocrats, beings who have extended their lives indefinitely through continuous modification. Beneath them are layers of functionaries, many of whom are partially altered, and below them are the creations: vat-grown soldiers, labourers, and specialised organisms designed for specific purposes.
Reproduction, in the traditional sense, has largely been abandoned. Instead, life is engineered. Entire species can be designed, deployed, and discarded. This has led to a profound detachment from concepts like individuality or mortality. To the Spires, most living things are tools.
Historically, the Spires were instrumental in shaping other factions, most notably the W’adrhŭn, who were created as a controlled warrior species. This legacy continues to define how other peoples view them: as manipulative, inhuman, and fundamentally dangerous.
Despite their power, the Spires are not unified. Rivalries between noble houses are intense and often subtle, expressed through sabotage, genetic subversion, and proxy conflicts rather than open war. Their long-term goals remain unclear even within their own ranks, but they consistently act to expand their influence and acquire new biological resources.
Tags: Biomancy, aristocratic decadence, control, experimentation, post-human, hierarchy, detachment, engineered life; names are elongated, alien, and constructed, often with layered syllables or titles implying design rather than birth.