 Create a City Contest, crosspost
| Idabrius |
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Master of the Ten Thousand Secrets
Group: Incarna
Posts: 80
Member No.: 1
Joined: 5-May 08
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I will be crossposting all entries to the Create a City Contest in this thread.
The first:
| QUOTE (Rogue_Epitah;16079022) | Grandma says that Beladora is going the way of Ker’yis. Mum says they’re going to keep it in the sky for thousands more years. Dad says it’ll crumble and the griffons will go extinct. The High Mistcaller says that Melora (a servant of the Reed Queen for those of you who happen to be out of the know) will hold Beladora on her strong shoulders forever. It must be pretty heavy. I wonder if she ever gets a break.
Beladora
Hundreds of years ago, not long after the forgotten city of Ker’yis saw its final light, the city of Beladora was found. It was originally a small and comfortable fishing village, but grew until it became possibly the largest port city among the coasts of Demat. But, like Key’ris before it, Beladora was bound to sink beneath the waves.
The halflings, however, were prepared now. Their valued city could not simply get up and move so the Council of Demat agreed that magic was in order. It wasn’t without its risks though. In fact, thousands died as the borders of Beladora ripped from its earthly bindings and hurtled towards the sky. At least once a week reports of a person falling of the metropolis’ edges are filed.
Why do we have those railings anyways? It’s not like people don’t fall or jump off them. Especially the big folk, as smart as they say they are. The railings are nearly taller than me and they manage to find their way into tripping over them! They’re klutzes and idiots, that’s what they are.
Population: 80, 670; an additional 900 or so live at Bell’s Port, a small town at the base that mainly just breeds and farms the griffons and watches over the airships that bring people to and from Beladora. Beladora is a halfling city but is home to many humans, elves, and dwarves as well. Tieflings, eladrin, and dragonborn are rarer, as are the more exotic races, but their presence is definitely there.
Beladora’s big. Mum says it just might be the biggest city in the world. It has everything, she says, for those brave enough to get on the back of a griffon. I’m not sure if it has everything; I’ve never been past the fence (nor do I ever plan to). Too much water too far down. Bell’s Port is supposed to be a nice little place, away from the big folk and the bustling streets.
Government: Beladora is run by the High Mistwalker Beladore (not her actual name, simply named after the founder). The Council of Dermat meets in Beladora once a month to discuss issues in Dermat (not necessarily Beladora itself). As such, the government holds quite a sway over the floating city.
Defence: Beladora’s nature is its defence. The metropolis floats. Many would argue that Beladora has no need for any more defence. However, due to its metropolis nature, it possibly hosts the most crime in all of Dermat. The city guard is exclusively halflings and almost exclusively male (it is above a female to do such dirty work). The guard, dubbed ‘the Shorts’ by the big folk (and caught on among the halflings as well), is fairly strict in its ways, but is often more lenient with halflings.
Mum says that I’m going to join the guard when I’m older. She says that since I’m a girl I’ll start out really high and I’ll be able to tell people what to do. She says my screaming voice will serve me well and I will catch lots of criminals. I don’t think I want to be a guard though. I always wanted to be Beladore.
It's not much, but it's not nothing. |
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| Idabrius |
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Master of the Ten Thousand Secrets
Group: Incarna
Posts: 80
Member No.: 1
Joined: 5-May 08
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| QUOTE ("Thinkhard") | Alkeim
Believed to be the first part of the world to be created, Alkeim contains the most advanced civilization known. It is located on the northnern pole, within a massive crater. At the bottom of this crater is an abyss rumored to lead to the center of the earth.
The city itself takes its name from the massive floating crystal eternally suspended in the middle of the crater above the abyss. With its many cut facets, the Alkeim looks virbrant and pure where the sunlight strikes, and obsidian and foreboding where it is in shadow.
As the sun moves around the sky (never completely below the horizon due to the polar location), the reflections and shadows cast from Alkeim have unusual effects. Any place hit by reflected light becomes likened unto the Feywild; powerful magic, lucky occurrences, and springing life fill that region. Farmers toward the outer rim of the crater harvest crops daily during the period that their plot of land is most strongly bathed in reflected. Important social events, local commerce, and arcane rituals in the more urban centers further down the crater follow a similar timing.
An area in shadow becomes cold and restrictive, snuffing out weaker life that stays too long in the area. Ghostly apparitions and unexplainable misfortune plague these areas while they become closely associated with the Shadowfell. Because of the daily shifting between light and dark within the crater, sometimes Alkeim is referred to as the “Clock of Creation.”
Though most commoners wouldn’t understand this fact outside of experiencing its effects, the poles of the world are tilted in relationship to the sun. This causes Alkeim’s reflections to be broader and more intense on the eastern half of the crater, while shadows having a stronger presence in the western half. “Night” (being in shadow) on the eastern half can still be risky, but if beings stay indoors and take minor precautions, they rarely come to harm. This allows those who stay on this side of the crater to reap the immense benefits of Alkem’s reflections during “Day” with little risk otherwise, so the majority of beings occupy that region.
The West becomes safe during its “Day” period. The positive energy of the light only strong enough to drive back the powers of darkness that persist while it’s in shadow. Denizens of the night—Drow, Shadar, undead—sometimes take up residence in this region. Sometimes, even some of the common races find that they don’t quite fit in, through extreme poverty or antisocial tendencies, and find themselves with nowhere else to go. There are vast ruins with an architecture style incredibly different than that found in the East, leading many to wonder if there were two opposing societies surrounding Alkeim in the past.
Below the Alkeim lies the crystal abyss that leads directly to the center of the world. It is mostly unaffected by the changes of light occurring in the crater, and is rich with precious metals and unique crystals that can be ground into residuum. There are constant mining operations being run by the wealthy, but of course the depths of the Crystal Abyss has never been explored, and workers are always shocked with the ruins and lurking monsers they periodically discover as their mining moves further and further down.
Adventuring in Alkeim
The booming East is full of intrigue. It is over-populated, but by no means does it have a struggling economy. Different social groups are constantly competing for control, sending out personal agents willing to risk the dark to do their dirty work. Adventurers can allow themselves to be drawn into the intrigue; they can try to put a stop to the underhandedness or cash in on the numerous crime opportunities.
The ruins in the West are rumored to have forgotten treasures, rituals, and supposedly even unique artifacts. It’s quite common that swords for hire explore it during the “Day” and try to beat the shadows back to the safety of the light in the East. Sometimes Drow or other unsavory beings open up limited trade relationships with Easterners, giving opportunity for those foolhardy enough to take up the job as trade escorts.
The Crystal Abyss is an excellent opportunity for adventure. Beyond the reward of precious metals and residuum to be harvested, there are constant wars between independent mining operations competing over territory. While merchants may maintain the appearance of civility up in the crater, they let their workers resort to barbarous tactics down in the mines. Ruins of previous battles can be plundered, or adventurers can sell their allegiance to a specific mining company and aide it in the fierce fights that flare up. The most daring will explore uncharted depths, establishing claims on new mining sites or just seeing how deep they can go. |
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