If 2022 has taught us anything, it’s that downturns are inevitable and Web3 is not immune. Markets cannot be bullish forever; all economic systems boom and bust.

But what if you could know a crash was coming in advance? What if we built an economy where stakeholders not only know when a market contraction is coming, but are even incentivized to prepare for it? What if that system learned from every crash, and improved itself with each reset? This is the promise of NOR.

In NOR, you will find no one-size-fits-all, top-down economic or governance system. Our tokenomics model is centered around enacting bottom-up policies that allow our institutions to evolve. With the end of every cycle comes the opportunity to reformulate, envision new policy, and implement stronger safeguards. We’re building a fast-paced Web3 economy that’s growth-oriented but also transparent and fair, from a model designed to mature over time.

It’s a place for Play, and, we believe, the first of its kind.

THE ETERNAL RETURN

Working hard to capitalize on emergent opportunities is the lifeblood of every economy. Min/max any market long enough, and a pattern appears: a consolidation of value followed by slow growth, then a period of explosive growth followed by the inevitable crash. This economic cycle—this Metagame—seems to repeat endlessly with minor variations. NOR is unique in the Web3 gaming world in that it embraces this cycle. It forms the backbone of our Metagame, and we call it the Eternal Return.

Within NOR and its economic hub, the City of Khora, each Eternal Return is marked by a great cataclysm that resets the state of Play. By the will of NOR’s living god Aseela, Khora is regularly scrubbed clean of all life and has to be rebuilt on its own ruins. Whenever this happens, all residents of Khora except for Aseela and her Nine Progenitors are obliterated. Their physical forms are then reborn from the Coalescent at the center of the City, spawned from their immortal souls, which we call Aspects.

This resets the balance of power in NOR. While players compete in Seasons of Play that culminate in high-stakes Permadeath Tournaments, Seasons themselves are nested within a longer period of time, the Return. Crucially, the coming of a new Eternal Return also resets the state of NOR’s economy, punishing the unwary and rewarding Citizens who planned ahead.

At the start of a Return, Citizens find a vast, empty metropolis waiting to be brought back to life. In practical terms, this destruction is really a conversion of Metagame activity into FATE, our token. When apocalypse hits the City, all assets are reduced to their value in FATE. Every part of your empire is returned to you, and you are free to do with that FATE as you please, including reinvesting it in a new empire once you reemerge from the Coalescent.

Each period of Eternal Return is an enclosed Metagame with a presumed end-date, which itself is dependent on the number of Seasons being run by Games on the NOR platform at that time. The size of the overall FATE pool and its distribution within each Return is fully in the hands of those engaging with the system. Active participation is necessary and incentivized, while chronic inaction is punished.

Here's what that looks like:

Here we go again.

At the start of the first Eternal Return, every Citizen Metagamer receives a portion of the total pool of available FATE. This percentage is based on the Citizen’s Aspect and the location of their Land. At the end of the first Return, and each ensuing one, all Citizens receive USDC based on their accumulated FATE, which is accumulated based on their active efforts and success over the course of that Return.

The End is nigh!

Citizens will need to be keenly aware when an Eternal Return is on the horizon. When Aseela’s day of reckoning arrives any FATE that exists outside the platform is irrevocably destroyed, along with any record within the NOR platform of it ever having existed.

Everything not saved is lost.

Citizens protect their assets from being destroyed during an Eternal Return by placing them in a Vault. Items in the Vault are safe from Aseela’s wrath. You’ll have ample warning. Any NFTs stored in their Vault will be left unscathed, enabling savvy Citizens to continue building their empire as a new Return dawns.

Sorry, we’re closed.

All Marketplaces and Auctions close at the end of each Eternal Return. With anything of value now locked tightly within the Vault, there is nothing left to trade with or send to auction. Only the most daring (or foolish) would forego the safety of the Vault, allowing their precious items to circulate where trouble might find them.

Players gonna Play.

Over the course of each Eternal Return, NOR’s player-athletes will compete in Seasonal Tournaments, including high-stakes Permadeath Tournaments. While Champions in the Arena are entitled to their own rewards, they require Citizens to purchase Tournament Tickets for them using FATE as a form of Sponsorship. Citizens who field the best players and teams stand to earn substantial amounts of FATE based on performance within these tournaments.

LAND

In NOR’s Eternal City of Khora, the location of Land Parcels are referred to by their relative distance from the Arena Perilous, where Permadeath Tournaments take place, and the various Stadiums that house each Game on the platform. Land Parcel addresses are not X and Y coordinates, but rather an indication of which Circle your Land Parcel resides in (your distance from the center) and your position along its circumference.

The placement of Land Parcels is also reset with every Eternal Return. As an economic period comes to a close, Landowners are given back their Land Parcels and all that’s built on them to redeploy to a new location after the wave of destruction has passed. Because of this, prospective Land barons should be careful about where they purchase Land Parcels. Owning Land near the most popular Games in NOR augments your flow of incoming FATE.

NOR’s Eternal Return cycle gives Citizens the flexibility they need to perfect their Metagame over time and a chance to move their Land Parcels or test different strategies as the platform grows to support more Games and features. This also allows Citizens to respond to NOR as it evolves, to push back, and help shape its future. Upcoming changes to Land or token flow will always be made public prior to the coming of a new Eternal Return so you can plan accordingly.

More details on Land Parcels will be released prior to our initial Land sale in 2023.

SEASONS

Every Game in NOR will host Seasons of competition that culminate in a final Permadeath Tournament held at the Arena Perilous. While a Game’s Season is ongoing, Citizens can engage in many kinds of economic Metagames: Sponsoring individual player-Athletes, building and fielding teams, bidding for exclusive Streaming Rights, exploring branding opportunities, playing the marketplaces and auction houses, and much more.

Multiple Seasons fit within a period of Eternal Return, and each Return begins with Citizens receiving their portion of the FATE available at the start of every Eternal Return. This is quickly followed by the opening of Khora’s marketplaces, representing fresh opportunities for Citizens to build—or rebuild—their empires. Economic events will also befall Khora, meaning that auction houses for each Game may be variously opened or closed throughout the course of a Season.

We think of a Game Season in NOR as equivalent to a season of any real-world sport. These play out within the bounds of an Eternal Return, a gamified version of the broader cycle of boom and bust that defines the motion of the global sports economy as a whole.

FATE

All transactions within NOR run on FATE. Any purchase of Tickets, Land, Buildings, Items, etc., will take place via our FATE token.

At the start of every Eternal Return, a fixed amount of FATE becomes available, backed 1-to-1 by USDC. By “backed,” we mean that every FATE token in the NOR economy is tracked and we have an equal amount of USDC on hand. This USDC is untouchable except through redemption of the FATE it backs.

FATE circulates through the sale and purchase of items in the marketplaces and auction houses, as well as through many other forms of activity within NOR, and as it does so its backing grows. That’s because with each purchase from the NOR platform, the FATE involved is not removed from the system, but instead put back up for purchase. When a user purchases this recycled FATE with more USDC, they are increasing the amount of USDC that backs all the FATE in the economy.

The amount of FATE available at the start of an Eternal Return is based on the number of active Games on the platform, with each new Game added requiring an addition of USDC, which contributes to the overall FATE supply. A large percentage of this FATE supply pool is then distributed to all Citizens at the start of an Eternal Return, who use it to engage with the Metagame. Someone becoming a Citizen of Khora in the middle of an Eternal Return will not be part of its initial FATE distribution, but will still be able to play in NOR’s economy by purchasing FATE, becoming part of a Governance Quorum, acquiring Land Parcels, and through various other activities.

The FATE supply in any given Eternal Return is limited, meaning that the more Citizens play Khora’s economy and contribute USDC, the more USDC is represented by each token. This increase in backing value within each Eternal Return Season applies to all FATE in circulation, so all Citizens benefit the more Khora thrives. As far as we are aware, FATE will be the first Web3 token that dynamically changes to reflect its own evolving value. With purchases made over the course of an Eternal Return, what started as a 1:1 backing soon becomes 2:1, 4:1, or much more based on the rate of economic engagement.

Just as real-world sports have dramatic shifts throughout each season, every Eternal Return will also feature dynamic events that change the state of play in Khora. One Return might see FATE hitting 4:1 backing, causing it to begin seeking out other FATE from other wallets, placing users in large scale clans throughout the Metagame. Perhaps a day of celebration is declared when FATE backing hits 5:1, and Citizens are sent Party Hats and Cake Tokens, redeemable for in-game cake, which their players must carry to the finish line without dropping. The scope and nature of these events will be unique, and will no doubt be further improved by NOR’s Governance Quorums as the Metagame develops.

At the end of each Return active Citizens will see any FATE stored in their Vault converted into USDC and distributed back to them. Through this the world of NOR sustains, and as long as it sustains, the cycle then begins again: every Citizen’s unprotected assets are destroyed, their remaining holdings converted into FATE and returned to them, and they receive a percentage of the next Return’s FATE pool proportional to their relative success over the course of the last one. Success will be based on accomplishments and active efforts with NOR, and the metrics for measuring success may adjust with each new Return. This also allows us to alter and improve the FATE token itself between Eternal Returns.

FEAR NOT DEATH

NOR’s economy, manifested in the City of Khora, not only anticipates crashes but welcomes them. With each reset comes change, and a shift in the meta led by the most passionate and engaged Citizens. New players enter, new strategies form, and the entire platform becomes stronger for it. With every Eternal Return, the Metagame evolves and matures. As new Games are added to the platform, new Citizens arrive, and purchases are made, the FATE supply grows along with our economic potential. The functions outlined here represent just a small fraction of our future plans for the platform, and we look forward to partnering with our community to constantly improve, complexify, and safeguard NOR’s economic Metagame as it grows.

DISCLAIMER

The information in this document should not be construed as a promise or guarantee by Consortium9 Labs, Inc. (“C9”) in connection with the release or development of any future products, services or any related digital tokens or other digital assets. The information in this document is provided strictly for informational purposes only, and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to sell shares or securities. It does not constitute, and should not be construed as, any offer for sale or subscription of or any invitation to buy or subscribe for any securities not should it or any part of it form the basis of or be relied upon in any connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever.

All information in this document is provided on an “as is” basis without any representation or warranty of any kind, and C9 and its parents, affiliates, related companies, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, partners, and licensors (the “Company Entities”) disclaim all warranties and conditions, whether express or implied, of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement in connection with the information in this material, or the underlying products or services described herein. The Company Entities make no warranty or representation and disclaim all responsibility and liability for the completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the information in this document.

All references to USDC in this document are relevant for as long as USDC is an available stablecoin, but C9 reserves the right to adjust to a different U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin to comply with applicable law or if a new industry-standard stablecoin emerges.