Rolzup
First Post
An Introduction to CITY:
--excerpted from "Talking Shi'att : Talmad Shi'atts Simple Man's History", University of Narayan Press, Monopolis Standard Year 285.
Once upon a time, a mighty empire ruled a thousand cities across the world. Modern archeologists agree that's a tad hyperbolic. A more realistic figure would be between at the most 50 and at fewest 15. The ancient peoples of what became known as the Gate Builder Empire were masters of Gate Magic; constructing and using arcane portals as easily as contemporary man uses the wheel, fire, or sarcasm. The Great Gates connected their cities into a single, ultra-metropolitan whole. Miniature gates to the far corners of the earth lit their street lamps, making it literally true that the sun never set on the Gate Builder Empire. Gates in their lavatories allowed the wealthy to relieve themselves onto volcanoes and the capitals of foreign powers. Their powerful nobles dwelt in mansions that spanned continents, often with rooms completely inaccessible by normal means. Mansions that became luxurious tombs the day the empire fell.
Not content with ruling the race of Man -or the 'Min' as the Hannu so quaintly call us in their charming child-language-the Gate Builders, thorough some lost art, opened Gates to other worlds; importing alien races wholesale. Thus came the Hannumin, Shirac, Garahjah, and the brutish Kaza-Ghul, the forefathers of the still rather brutish present-day Ruhk-Kaza race. Along with countless others who fled the Fall or where exiled to the wastelands beyond the Empire.
Throughout the Empire's rule there existed barbarous lands outside the rule of civilization. There, rivals arose to challenge the Gate Builders as the crowning height of human achievement; such as the Lassantes Empire that briefly flowered in the West 1000 years ago, only to vanish into the ashen sands from whence it came. And the Three Islands of Ajakhan in the distant East, which yet match CITY one day. If it’s inscrutable yellow-skinned denizens can ever give up their taste for self-destructive, honor-culture carnage.
For 1000 years the Gate Builder Empire reigned supreme. They fought wars by unleashing the sea onto the land, or by dropping mountains on opposing armies, or by depositing barbarian hordes onto clouds. The armies of the Gate Builder Empire could be anywhere in the blink of an eye. But every civilization eventually falls victim to its own success. All mighty things must come to an end.
Even at its height, the Gate builder Empire never had quite enough manpower to control the vast spaces between their cities. It was a simultaneous attack by the unimaginably powerful barbarian chieftains of old, possibly aided by demons and foreigners (I often wonder if there's any point in differentiating between the two) against several key Imperial cities that brought the end of the Empire. After the Breach at Crensh, barbarians poured though the gates of Eris itself, killing (and worse, in later years intermarrying with) the proud pure-blooded people of the Imperial capital.
In a final act of desperation, the last Imperial High Gate Mage sealed the Gates, bringing to an end over 1000 years of shining, if exploitive, civilization. After that, the Dark Ages.
You might ask, "What about the period of civil war within the Empire prior to the Fall?" Don't. It’s best not to talk about that. In the end, savages poured through streets of the Empire. What else do you need to know?
You might ask, "What of the CITY Empire?" To be honest, the details are sketchy. It might refer to period directly before the sack of Eris, or it might have come after the Dark Ages, but before the Pirate Times. We do know that what it lacked in size, it made up for in atrocities. The caldera city called Gallina the Beautiful was drowned, lost Berouli was tri-cimated (1 out of 3 family members, including pets, randomly put to the sword), and eventually the ancient Gates in a dozen cities were torn down by angry mobs during the Night of Broken Arches. But these are all unsightly blemishes on the skein of history. Best forgotten by historians, and left for the bards to immortalize in their bloody doggerel.
Finally, you might ask, "What of Erebus?" Well, what of him? Or them, as is more likely the case. We know three things: firstly, the Gate Builder's knew of a being called Erebus. A celestial entity who crashed to the earth at the foot of Eris, the city which draws its name from him. He provided its citizens with countless years of debate over his nature, not to mention a seemingly endless quantity of materials from the great Pit made by his Fall which were infused with his divine essences.
Secondly, history is littered with accounts of an Erebus who is said to have shaped the course of history, been the patron of half the worlds artists, created armies of undead, sailed around the world seven times, fathering no less than 1,000 children en route, and, on five separate occasions, is said to have 'eaten the sun'. Make of that what you will.
And lastly, there are a rich body of folk tales from Narayan:CITY concerning the exploits of an immortal sorcerer by that name who live there and favors mischief, food with much garlic and the drinking of gin. It is said that he makes gods, as a hobby.
But enough about him. Now we stand at the dawn of a new era. No Gate Builders, no Empire, just the ten strongest of the ancient Gate cities reunited as CITY. All that remains, all that is most pure, the gold risen above the dross.
--excerpted from "Talking Shi'att : Talmad Shi'atts Simple Man's History", University of Narayan Press, Monopolis Standard Year 285.
Once upon a time, a mighty empire ruled a thousand cities across the world. Modern archeologists agree that's a tad hyperbolic. A more realistic figure would be between at the most 50 and at fewest 15. The ancient peoples of what became known as the Gate Builder Empire were masters of Gate Magic; constructing and using arcane portals as easily as contemporary man uses the wheel, fire, or sarcasm. The Great Gates connected their cities into a single, ultra-metropolitan whole. Miniature gates to the far corners of the earth lit their street lamps, making it literally true that the sun never set on the Gate Builder Empire. Gates in their lavatories allowed the wealthy to relieve themselves onto volcanoes and the capitals of foreign powers. Their powerful nobles dwelt in mansions that spanned continents, often with rooms completely inaccessible by normal means. Mansions that became luxurious tombs the day the empire fell.
Not content with ruling the race of Man -or the 'Min' as the Hannu so quaintly call us in their charming child-language-the Gate Builders, thorough some lost art, opened Gates to other worlds; importing alien races wholesale. Thus came the Hannumin, Shirac, Garahjah, and the brutish Kaza-Ghul, the forefathers of the still rather brutish present-day Ruhk-Kaza race. Along with countless others who fled the Fall or where exiled to the wastelands beyond the Empire.
Throughout the Empire's rule there existed barbarous lands outside the rule of civilization. There, rivals arose to challenge the Gate Builders as the crowning height of human achievement; such as the Lassantes Empire that briefly flowered in the West 1000 years ago, only to vanish into the ashen sands from whence it came. And the Three Islands of Ajakhan in the distant East, which yet match CITY one day. If it’s inscrutable yellow-skinned denizens can ever give up their taste for self-destructive, honor-culture carnage.
For 1000 years the Gate Builder Empire reigned supreme. They fought wars by unleashing the sea onto the land, or by dropping mountains on opposing armies, or by depositing barbarian hordes onto clouds. The armies of the Gate Builder Empire could be anywhere in the blink of an eye. But every civilization eventually falls victim to its own success. All mighty things must come to an end.
Even at its height, the Gate builder Empire never had quite enough manpower to control the vast spaces between their cities. It was a simultaneous attack by the unimaginably powerful barbarian chieftains of old, possibly aided by demons and foreigners (I often wonder if there's any point in differentiating between the two) against several key Imperial cities that brought the end of the Empire. After the Breach at Crensh, barbarians poured though the gates of Eris itself, killing (and worse, in later years intermarrying with) the proud pure-blooded people of the Imperial capital.
In a final act of desperation, the last Imperial High Gate Mage sealed the Gates, bringing to an end over 1000 years of shining, if exploitive, civilization. After that, the Dark Ages.
You might ask, "What about the period of civil war within the Empire prior to the Fall?" Don't. It’s best not to talk about that. In the end, savages poured through streets of the Empire. What else do you need to know?
You might ask, "What of the CITY Empire?" To be honest, the details are sketchy. It might refer to period directly before the sack of Eris, or it might have come after the Dark Ages, but before the Pirate Times. We do know that what it lacked in size, it made up for in atrocities. The caldera city called Gallina the Beautiful was drowned, lost Berouli was tri-cimated (1 out of 3 family members, including pets, randomly put to the sword), and eventually the ancient Gates in a dozen cities were torn down by angry mobs during the Night of Broken Arches. But these are all unsightly blemishes on the skein of history. Best forgotten by historians, and left for the bards to immortalize in their bloody doggerel.
Finally, you might ask, "What of Erebus?" Well, what of him? Or them, as is more likely the case. We know three things: firstly, the Gate Builder's knew of a being called Erebus. A celestial entity who crashed to the earth at the foot of Eris, the city which draws its name from him. He provided its citizens with countless years of debate over his nature, not to mention a seemingly endless quantity of materials from the great Pit made by his Fall which were infused with his divine essences.
Secondly, history is littered with accounts of an Erebus who is said to have shaped the course of history, been the patron of half the worlds artists, created armies of undead, sailed around the world seven times, fathering no less than 1,000 children en route, and, on five separate occasions, is said to have 'eaten the sun'. Make of that what you will.
And lastly, there are a rich body of folk tales from Narayan:CITY concerning the exploits of an immortal sorcerer by that name who live there and favors mischief, food with much garlic and the drinking of gin. It is said that he makes gods, as a hobby.
But enough about him. Now we stand at the dawn of a new era. No Gate Builders, no Empire, just the ten strongest of the ancient Gate cities reunited as CITY. All that remains, all that is most pure, the gold risen above the dross.
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