“Sometimes I'm walkin’ on the ground and I see right through the ground. And there is no world.”
What is the city like? Defended by fading magics? People no longer defend themselves? Inhabited by ghosts of ancient cities? Not a true city itself. The center of worlds. Places are facets of multiple worlds. The dawn comes through the mist, but never arrives, in the crossroads around the Eternal City.
The tree, the crossroads, the city, and the swords are the axis of worlds. The tree and crossroads are one; the city and sword are one.
The people of the city are an ur-race of Elvish humans. They are nice people. They just don’t want to know what’s going on. They’ll be very friendly, and are proud of their city’s tradition and history.
Years are measured anno urbis conditae, from the founding of the city.
- Inspiration
- 1. Revelation 21 and 22 from the King James Bible
- The Roots of the Tree
- The roots of the tree are the road. The roots blend into the paths that join the road. The roots also blend into the River that goes to the City. Past Dentru, the roots of the tree begin to be visible alongside the road. First normal-sized, then larger and larger, until they’re as tall as a man. The tree becomes visible thirty miles out of Dentru. The tree is 76 miles out of Dentru, and 24 miles from the city. There is a new wailing in the night,…
- The Lore of the City
- Each season, the great tree Drasoli bears fruit. Before there was light, blind Aira ripened in the spring and fell upon the grass-covered plain. She immediately began spinning the threads of life. In the summer, the tree bore Edekli, who measured the threads that Aira spun, and in the autumn the tree bore Marta, who cuts the threads that Aira measures.
- The realms of the City
- See the map for more information.
- The voice of the city
- The language of the city is Latin; the script is Sumerian-like cuneiform, lots of little tees horizontally and vertically, each meaning a specific word.
- The Mananubi
- Rare: Deserts Class: Divine Moral Code: Chaotic Evil Activity Cycle: Nocturnal Diet: Carnivorous Number:
- The golems of Enki
- Crystal dragons are the servants of the abyssal gods. They live in water and on coastlines. All crystal dragons can teleport by folding into strange angles and unfolding elsewhere. It takes one round to teleport, and the dragon can teleport up to 100 yards per level. They can attack on the same round they teleport, either before or after teleporting, but not both.
- The Ruined City
- When they arrive at the crossroads, the city is not there. Just endless desert, an ancient road, crumbled gates, and a half-sunk, shattered visage in stone. Everything is covered with a thin sheet of ice and snow. Just beneath the sand, if they go digging, are scores of mananubi skeletons.
- The First City
- The City is all cities. Here wander the ghosts of the greatest cities of the worlds at their heyday: Ancient Rome, New York City, Hamokera, Cartoril, Nineva, and Babylon. The Great Pyramid of the last mighty redoubt of man in the Night Land. Through its alleys one may leave to any great city in the world. But once you leave, it is exceedingly difficult to find your way back.
- The regents of Tifa
- “You who choose to lead, must follow… but if you fall, you fall alone.”
- The Eternal City: Going home
- Going home in The Eternal City
