by Max Barry

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The Stratocratic Empire of
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Entertainment and Culture in the Stratocratic Empire of Nyte

Common Entertainment Venues In The Stratocratic Empire of Nyte


The Intranet:
The Intranet is the Stratocratic Empire's primary home for social media platforms [think Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for example], a variety of different types of online entertainment; such as televised programming [sitcoms, movies, documentaries, infomercials, news programs, and adult entertainment just to name a few], gaming; including virtual reality experiences, online gambling sites, role playing forums, etc., online communications [both audio and video], and so on, and so forth. A deeper, more dangerous "dark web" naturally, also exists on the Intranet; one that offers the vulgar, demented, twisted, depraved, and illegal too, and for, those with the skills or knowledge to find it. Even as messed up as most of the Nyteborne are morally and ethically, it takes a real special type of unpleasant to actively seek out the "dark web" and the services it has on offer...

Bars:
Life for many in the Stratocratic Empire is, sadly, highly depressing. As such, it should come as no surprise that many a Nyteborne loves drowning their misery in all kinds of alcoholic beverages. The variety of bars within the Stratocratic Empire; running from the dirtiest, seedy little back-alley dive bars and gang infested hangout spots to the most expensive and classy establishments that cater only to the upper crust of society exemplify this love of drink among the Nyteborne perfectly. They're also typically a great place for gathering information about the local neighborhood and keeping up on all of the latest gossip and rumors, and the frequent bar fights common in some of the seedier establishments even provide a little additional free entertainment for those who've not yet gotten drunk enough to forget their own names. It should go without saying, but these venues are most certainly not for minors.

Clubs:
Clubs in the Stratocratic Empire are some of the few types of entertainment focused establishments that largely have patrons split by their age group. While in many ways the entertainment available is roughly the same in every club; typically, this includes dancing, loud music, food and drink [nonalcoholic beverages are on "tap" in establishments that cater specifically to minors], illicit hook-ups of a sexual nature in the bathrooms, and the occasional fight, brawl, or gang hit being the most common types of entertainment available to frequent club goers. Certain clubs: especially in New Halcon itself, have also gained something of a dark reputation for other less than legal entertainments being readily available to those in the know, such as the availability of cheap, designer drugs and in some cases, deviant practices of the occult variety...

Red-Light Districts:
Sex sells [and the Stratocratic Empire wants its fair share of the proceeds], and for the right price, visitors to one of the Stratocratic Empire's red-light districts can get their jollies off indulging in whatever fetishes and kinky perversions catch their interest. Just be mindful of the armed, private security forces and don't take things too far; you certainly will not enjoy the consequences if you do... Naturally, these areas are specifically for adults only, and no minors will be admitted.

Mandatory STD screening is enforced throughout all of the Stratocratic Empire's red-light districts.

Gambling Houses:
Never ones to turn down the chance at a quick Bloodmark, it should not be a surprise that gambling is not only legal within the Stratocratic Empire of Nyte, but that a large number of establishments exist to cater to the habit. The typical gambling house in the Empire offers a variety of options for the intrepid gambler to indulge in; from simple gambling machines and card games, to betting on live "sporting" events. In the past, these places even took bets on the results of larger gang wars, and other, more exotic and unusual things that most people wouldn't think of betting their hard-earned money on. The odds given by the house vary based on what is being gambled on, but an intelligent gambler can make a tidy profit with the right bet at the right time...or end up very dead in a back alley somewhere if they're not careful... Likely missing their most valuable organs and body parts as well.

Unlike what one would expect considering the atmosphere of violence that is so endemic within large parts of the Stratocratic Empire, these places are usually surprisingly safe for the most part [though this safety typically begins and ends at the doors]. Largely, this is due to the presence of heavily armed private security forces being on site all day and all night, and also the simple fact that the more successful gambling houses have long instituted policies prohibiting most weapons. In other words, if it's not part of your body, or the clothes on your back, it doesn't come in; and even that's conditional in some of these establishments...

Fighting Pits:
Highly popular in the seedier and more dangerous parts of the Stratocratic Empire, fighting pits are a dirty, bloody, and violent venue of entertainment offering a variety of different "blood sports" for the amusement of a baying, heckling, bloodthirsty crowd. Unlike the larger, classier arenas, fighting pits are mostly unregulated, and the lack of regulation; and by extension, any serious safety measures, means that just about anyone can participate, and anyone can come in and watch. The anything goes atmosphere of these places also typically results in a much higher occurrence of maiming and death; the violent and visceral nature of these injuries and deaths speaks to something intrinsic to the being of even the most "cultured" and "refined" of the Nyteborne.

Special note: Fighting pits are also a popular hangout and recruiting spot for gangs in the Stratocratic Empire especially after the somewhat recent purge of undesirables launched after the daemonic invasion that resulted in the assassination of the old Emperor Conrad Curze well prior to the Nyteborne translocation; the illegal gambling [illegal only as its not regulated by the government], and lack of rules in the matches making them a popular way for gangers to "toughen up" and also earn a few quick Bloodmarks...assuming they survive that is.

Arenas:
Arenas in the Stratocratic Empire offer a variety of different types of entertainment from concerts to sporting events to violent blood sports, and as such, are a very common sight within the Empire and its sphere of influence. These arenas are considered a controlled, safe environment for a number of the more violent spectacles that the Nyteborne find so amusing and entertaining, such as 1 on 1 gladiatorial contests and wild animal fights, and on rare occasions, public executions as well.

Concert Halls:
Concert halls in the Stratocratic Empire offer a luxurious atmosphere and more frequently cater to smaller, more personal seeming, live performances. These venues typically also cater to a much wealthier and more "culturally refined" class of clientele; typically offering extremely expensive food and drink to go along with the performance happening up on the stage. Many of the more frequent patrons of these venues also like to use them for the purposes of making business related deals; taking business partners and/or prospective clients out to be wined and dined in a luxurious setting while matters of business are discussed and their details worked out while simultaneously enjoying the ambiance of a relaxing, refined, cultured environment.

Exotic Sports Within The Stratocratic Empire of Nyte



The Deathrace:
The Deathrace first gained popularity several centuries ago out on the old Interstellar Empire's earliest colonies as a combination of sport, big game hunting, and as a way to cull a burgeoning population of violent, sadistic criminals. In its earliest iteration, a number of such violent criminals would be released out onto the closed course in which the race was to take place. The drivers participating in the race would have to balance out their elapsed time, the points they gained by running down fleeing criminals, and their overall position at the end of the race to determine who the actual winner was; finishing in first place was not actually a guarantee of victory in the case of the Deathrace strangely enough.

Present day versions of the Deathrace take place on a number of locales within the Stratocratic Empire, with scheduled races taking place six times a year. These races are broadcast out over the Intranet, and have become something of a commercialized spectacle with challenging, lethally dangerous courses, exotic, heavily modified and weaponized ground vehicles [teeth, spikes, oversized chainblades, and vicious curved horns are all exceptionally popular among Deathrace enthusiasts], and violent criminals trying their best to survive for a small chance at freedom [if a criminal can actually survive an entire season of six races, their criminal records are wiped clean, and they are allowed to return to society as free Nyteborne once more].

Culture...



It has been a long time since the Nyteborne could have been considered a normal, rational, well-adjusted people. A long history of violence, pain, and suffering has left many scars on the Nyteborne psyche; largely in the form of numerous ethical, moral, and mental issues that run rampant throughout both their society and culture. The brutality of the past has created a people who are bitter and jaded towards pretty much anything else that lives, and this is also combined with a pragmatic outlook that leaves little room for concern for things such as sentient/sapient life. Nyteborne society and culture often appears to outsiders as overly violent and brutal, and the uninformed would likely deem them to be a strange mixture of sociopathic and psychopathic monsters in barely human form, and they wouldn't be entirely incorrect either as the most maladjusted Nyteborne would indeed fit this descriptor very well more often than not... The slightly more well-adjusted of the Nyteborne commonly flock away from the cities as such and set up their lives in one of the numerous little outposts or enclaves out in the wilderness where thing are a little bit more 'reasonable' as it were...

Live hard, live fast, and live free... And go out with a bang while flipping the world the bird.

Bladewetting:
Outlawed by Conrad Curze since the founding of the old Interstellar Empire that was, Bladewetting is the practice of "breaking in" a new weapon by taking it out onto the streets and randomly murdering whoever caught your fancy with it [the weapon]. The practice began among the old Assassin Guilds roughly a century or so before Conrad Curze first began to violently remove them from existence, and as such, the practice predates the founding of the old Interstellar Empire itself by more than a century. In the present day, many of the wealthier Nyteborne have adopted a pseudo variant of this practice where they utilize hunting dangerous wild animals instead of murdering their fellow Nyteborne. A bastardized form of the practice also exists within certain cliques within the Stratocratic Empire's military forces as well, but the practice is not discussed with those who are not "in the know," and getting caught doing it will see the perpetrator[s] dishonorably discharged and subject to some fairly severe criminal punishment as well.

The Things That Go Bump In The Night:
Even before recent events centered around the daemonic, the Nyteborne have had a deep-seated hatred [with a healthy dose of fear] of the "things that go bump in the night" for a VERY long time. This fact is, and always has been, one of the primary driving factors behind the paranoia that ran rampant through the old Interstellar Empire of Nyte; and still effects the Nyteborne to this day. The unusual number of psychic nulls, commonly called blanks within the Empire, serve the Nyteborne fairly well in dealing with such abominations for the most part; a good thing considering the Nyteborne's overall lack of actual psychic potential and relatively limited [at present] technological potential in combating the eldritch; aside from raw firepower and an iron will at least...

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