Chronicler

A Chronicler is an Akuparian job that involves exploration and studying the world.

History
When the Akupara seperated from the mainland and set sail for the east, Chroniclers were volunteers in comunities who set out to map out their new island. Since no one was aware that the reason for the islands to split was because their island was actually atop a giant turtle, it was up to Chroniclers to go out and map the portion of land that "fell off" and try and come up for an explanation for it falling off.

The name Chronicler came from the fact that Chroniclers had to keep the chronicles of their travels written down along with their research since there was no way of covering the distance of Akupara in less than a year. Since the advent of flight on Akupara this has changed and it is now just about possible to cover the distance in under a day but back when the original Chroniclers set out to map out Akupara, they either had to travel on foot or mounted on the back of an animal such as a horse, buffalo or Basan. Not only did Chroniclers have to draw up a map of the new island but they also had to try and get an approximate count of the number of people living on the island.

Many Chroniclers met grewsome deaths since they were unaware that when the Akupara split from the mainland; strange, dangerous new creatures and giant monsters﻿ emerged from nowhere and started roaming the land. Unfamiliar with how to handle the new fauna and flora, the Chroniclers attacked the beasts in a bid to escape but in doing so angered them further. Those who managed to escape these creatures also noted them down in their chronicles and brought back exciting stories of dancing with death in the face of hideous entities. This unfortunately made a demand for Chroniclers who specifically went in search of dangerous beasts to study. Hundreds died in this line of work so that modern Akuparians can live in relative comfort along side the creatures.

Modern Chroniclers
The original Chroniclers were required to be amazing survival artists who could remain in uncharted, hostile territory for as long as a month with minimal assets. They were also required to be very athletic and healthy so as to have the endurance to travel through all kinds of terrain for ﻿several days. Modern Chroniclers, whilst they still do require these feats, require them to a lesser extent since they now have a wide variety of modes of transport available to them. A modern Chroniclers job no longer concerns plotting out Akupara Island and its wildlife since this was achieved thousands of years ago.

Since the mechanical revolution, with the advent of ocean going vessels and long ranged airships, Akupara Island has started to communicate with the outside world. For thousands of years the people of Akupara were confined to their island but now it turns out that there is a whole other world which needs cataloging. Unlike the original Chroniclers who wrote their findings down in a journal, many modern Chroniclers carry with them either a still image camera or a moving picture camera which allows them to show their findings when they get back. Moving picture Chroniclers are often hired by Akuparian film makers to help them make documentaries about the outside world which are very popular in cinemas all over Akupara. Needless to say, these Chroniclers are paid very well and not without good reason. Chroniclers of all types are still required to spend years away from their families because of the amount of land they need to cover. Furthermore, whilst their job has gotten easier in many respects it has gotten harder for other reasons. The dangers involved by being a Chronicler have not gone away but have merely changed.

With a wide variety of new technology available to them, the modern Chronicler comes with a new skill set that makes his or her job just a little bit easier. Most Chroniclers are avid aviators and mechanics with many being members of the respective societies. As such, it is not uncommon for Chroniclers to own an autogyro or an ocean going vessel of some description. A very small number of Chroniclers even own submarines in an effort to map the undersea world. Chroniclers who use cameras are often members of film societies. Being members of these societies helps cover the cost for their equipment since most Chroniclers are still required to cover their expenses themselves.