Raverie does not conceptualize danger as singular enemies. Instead, threats are understood as deviations from alignment—mechanical, social, or ideological. The city expects small failures and absorbs them routinely. True danger arises when such failures are ignored, misattributed, or deliberately cultivated.
As a result, many threats are officially categorized as incidents rather than crimes, and malfunctions rather than attacks. This cultural framing allows instability to persist beneath the surface of daily life.
Gremlins are an endemic presence within Under-Raverie. The city’s subterranean layers were never designed for humanoid habitation, but rather for narrow-bodied maintenance species and autonomous systems. Gremlins thrive in this environment.
Much gremlin behavior is tolerated or dismissed as nuisance rather than threat:
Graffiti Artist Gremlins deface notices as cultural mockery.
Shiny-Snatchers pursue reflective objects and retreat when confronted.
Pickpocket Gremlins employ magnets and strings to steal unattended valuables.
These acts rarely result in violence, but contribute to civic disorder and misattribution of deeper sabotage.
Gremlins become dangerous primarily when embedded within organized sabotage structures, most notably the Grinding Gears. Their ability to traverse vents, ducts, and pressure corridors grants them access to systems unreachable by standard authorities.
Malfunctions are the most frequent and visible threat to Raverie. They range from minor annoyances to city-wide disruptions.
Clockwork sputtering in street lanterns.
Automatons repeating tasks or pausing mid-motion.
Decorative drones drifting off-course.
Modus Desynchronization: A domino effect of failing subsystems, often triggered by the Modus Primus or Noel Modus.
Automaton Rampancy: Malfunctioning units such as Cello Automatons, Nutcrackers, or Dough Automatons becoming physically hazardous.
Environmental Failure: Systems like the Frostloom Snowmaker producing dangerous weather.
Such events require Modus Winders or Horonasius Duelists to intervene before civic trust erodes.
The Grinding Gears are Raverie’s most persistent internal threat—a faction born from professional grievance that has evolved into ideological sabotage.
Subtle Misalignments: Gears slightly offset, calibration teeth removed, harmonic plates swapped.
Bastallikus Corruption: Deliberate rewiring of automaton cores to induce erratic behavior.
Gremlin Coordination: Using gremlin labor to infiltrate sealed mechanical spaces.
To prove that Raverie’s joy and order are mechanically enforced illusions. Their attacks are designed to be deniable, delayed, and psychologically unsettling.
Raverie’s reliance on seasonal Modi introduces unique cyclical threats.
Over-tensioned Nutcrackers becoming aggressive.
Reindeer Courier Networks misrouting or displaying territorial behavior.
Decorative Drones malfunctioning into hazardous spinning displays.
Frostloom Snowmaker producing jagged or dangerously cold snow.
Atmospheric Guidance Arrays malfunctioning, affecting flight paths and climate zones.
Many of Raverie’s automatons are programmed for public service—but when their Bastallikus Modus fails, they become threats.
Cello Automatons charging crowds to “play” them.
Percussive Automatons hammering rhythms without regard for injury.
Lantern Drones blinding and colliding with citizens.
The Clockguard Workshop and Automaton Tuning Workshop are tasked with de-escalation and repair. In severe cases, Combat Automatons or Horonasius Duelists are deployed.
Silentia is a distant ideological movement that rejects mechanization entirely. They view Raverie as an abomination—a city that has replaced soul with gearwork.
Philosophical Infiltration: Silentia agents sometimes enter Raverie to preach against the Modi.
Symbolic Sabotage: They target culturally significant mechanisms, such as the Rhotra Modus exhibit.
Information Warfare: Distributing pamphlets and whispers that question the sustainability of clockwork life.
They are not yet a militarized threat, but their influence grows in times of mechanical failure.
Raverie handles threats through a tiered response system:
Tier 1: Minor malfunctions → Handled by local Mechanics or Utility Automatons.
Tier 2: District-wide issues → Modus Winders and City Guard intervene.
Tier 3: City-wide or ideological threats → Horonasius Duelists, Combat Automatons, and Grand Winders mobilized.
Officially, many threats are blamed on gremlin mischief or Winder error. This protects civic morale but allows groups like the Grinding Gears to operate in the shadows.
Horonasius Duelists and select Modus Winders are granted investigative authority to address systemic threats. They operate with:
Neutrality mandates
Access to restricted mechanical areas
Authority to sanction duels as means of conflict resolution
Their presence is both a deterrent and a symbol of Raverie’s commitment to ordered response.
Summary: Raverie’s greatest threats are not monsters or armies—they are misalignments, malfunctions, and the quiet sabotage of those who reject the city’s mechanical heart. From gremlin mischief to ideological factions, danger here is systemic, subtle, and woven into the very gears that keep Raverie alive.