Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-24994749-20160215224136/@comment-3965075-20160228191936

This might end up spoiling a part of one of fanfics, but eh. Not everything here is gonna be the truth.

Name of the Story: The Fall of the Clockwork Kingdom.

Place of Origin: Most records indicate that it originated from Mantle

Summary: In a time before the Kingdom of Mantle, there was another land. A place that was said to have spawned the basic pillars of Atlesian society. Though its true name has been lost to the mists of Time, many still remember it as the Clockwork Kingdom. Much like Atlas, it was said to have possessed the greatest military and scientific minds in the world. It was said to have been under the rule of an eternal king, whose mind was the mightiest weapon at the country's disposable. They say that he started out as a simple engineer, but rose to the top through genius and hard work. Then one day, it simply... vanished. Nobody has been able to figure out where it went or what happened.

Variation(s) in different cultures: While many children look at the legend with awe, the fairy-tale version omits the darker parts of the story. The original versions encountered claimed that many of its technological achievements came about through... morally questionable methods. Some claimed that the dead were recycled for resources, Human and Faunas alike. Others say that their war tactics were brutal, often ending with total eradication of their enemies. Many claim that Clockwork Kingdom was hardly a "Kingdom", and more of an aggressive empire. The ruler of the land has been coined with with many titles; The King in Iron, The Lord of Steel, the Dark Engineer. Some records indicated that he wasn't the most stable of men, others that wasn't even a member of Mankind. There have been versions claiming that the capital's automatons turned on their creators, slaughtering them. Another take on the tale is that a warlock conquered a great storm, fearful of their aggressive expansionism. Some writings even claim that the overlord brought about his people's downfall.

Impact on Remnant: Many would consider this to be the "grandfather" of Atlas or the Atlantis of Remnant. A number of folk have spent their entire lives researching it, hoping to find the birthplace of the legend. Two notable figures of Atlesian society interested in the legend are member of their Council, and (rumor has it) Mr. Schnee himself. Word within the criminal underworld is that a third man by the name of "Kehribar Volucris" is also looking into the legend. In recent times, however, the legend has been used as something of an insult towards Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company (with the head of the latter being referrred to as "a cheap knockoff of the King in Iron").

Notes: This place is the main setting for one of my fanfics, City of Rust .