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2. World Almanac/Factions/Belters/Belter Overview.md

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+**Type:** Political Party  
+**Region:** Jessergate  
+**Support Base:** Lower and some middle class
+
+## Ideology & Goals
+
+- **Anti-automatons:** Opposes automation in favor of worker rights.
+- **Pro-workers:** Strongly advocates for labor interests.
+- **Local Governance:** Favors creating localized governing bodies, but with intent to allow central Belter leadership to control and exploit these structures.
+- **Political Ambition:** Seeks to supplant the current elite by any means necessary.
+
+## Influence
+
+- Holds ~45% of Jessergate’s parliament and political offices.
+
+## Notes
+
+While presented as champions of the worker, the party manipulates local institutions to strengthen its own centralized power.

2. World Almanac/Factions/Belters/Hofta's Rally.md

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+
+**BALDWIN:**  
+“Brothers and sisters of [[Voxiu]]!  
+Look around you! These hands—these _real_, born‑to‑work hands—built this harbor, this market, this very city. You carved wealth from mud and brine while the [[Vexen Overview|Vexen]] lords took the coin and called it progress!”
+
+_(Applause, shouts of “Aye!”)_
+
+“Progress, they say! Progress that steals your craft and feeds steel men on your bread! Machines that do not tire, do not think, do not _care!_ Tell me—how can a soul forged from gears understand the worth of a single heartbeat?”
+
+_(Crowd chants: “It can’t! It can’t!”)_
+
+“They say I’m a dreamer of the past. I say I’m a reminder of what’s _real._ You feel pain when you work—ache in the back, sweat on the brow. That pain is proof you’re _alive!_ It’s the song of creation singing through flesh and bone!”
+
+_(Wild cheering)_
+
+“Now, election day nears. The Vexen man, Von Hesten, speaks of harmony between worker and contraption, of law and machine walking hand in hand! But if you trust him, soon no one will walk—only _march_ at the clank of an iron drum.”
+
+_(Baldwin raises one fist; the noise swells.)_
+
+“When you cast your vote, you choose whether your children will craft with hands—or rust in the shadow of engines! I promise you this: once your voices crown me, Voxiu will set the pattern for every city of [[Jessergate]]. We will make **ourselves** safe again, by removing what should never have been among us!”
+
+_(Crowd begins a rhythmic chant. Baldwin lowers his tone, conspiratorial.)_
+
+“Yes… there is something _special_ waiting beyond that victory night.  
+A cleansing of the gears, a return of the true heartbeat of labor.  
+A place for every worker, and for the others—well… the reclamation furnaces have gone too long without purpose. Soon, my friends, they shall blaze again, not for profit, but for _purity._”
+
+_(Murmurs become thunder. He turns toward the [[Automatons|automaton]] on stage.)_
+
+“But words are wind. Proof is power.”  
+_(He gestures; aides roll the automaton (SIX) forward.)_
+
+“This one served down at the Bastion cranes. Loyal, they said. Useful. But crazed, this automaton has killed one of our own! [[Yanna Blackreed - Obsidian Archives|Yanna]] was slain in the night by this clanker in cold blood. This shall not stand in our city. In our world. Watch now as I show you who truly holds the spark of life in this city.”
+
+_(He produces a rune‑etched rod, speaks a sharp incantation. A sigil ignites along the automaton’s chest—then backfires, flaring blue‑white. For a heartbeat the construct glows from within, projecting fragments of Ancient glyphs into the air. The crowd gasps.)_
+
+**BALDWIN (voice cracking slightly):**  
+“No—stand back! The spell is—”
+
+_(A thunderous pulse erupts outward. Lamps shatter. The automaton convulses, light spilling from seams like molten glass. A surge of unstable energy ripples across the square, knocking bystanders off their feet.)_
+
+_(When the light fades, the automaton lies inert—smoke drifting from its shell. Baldwin staggers, sweat on his brow, gripping the podium.)_
+
+**BALDWIN (hoarse, forcing confidence):**  
+“You see… even their false spark bows to the will of Voxiu! Even the Ancients that built them cannot defy _us!_”
+
+_(Mixed reaction—cheers, fear, awe. The crowd presses closer; guards rush to steady the stage. The magic residue still crackles, faint blue lines crawling across nearby metal as if remembering the blast.)_
+
+_(Baldwin raises his arm, voice trembling but defiant.)_
+
+“Remember this sight, people of Voxiu! Remember who freed you this day! Vote [[Belter Overview|Belter]], and together we’ll reclaim our city from the hollow‑hearted clanks that stole it!”
+
+_(He slams the rune‑rod onto the podium; sparks leap skyward as the crowd erupts once more, oblivious to the faint twitch of light rekindling in the automaton’s eye behind him.)_