Locus Nashira
From Familia Niveum
Locus Nashira
Description
While the Chancel has existed since early prehistory, it has grown and changed significantly in the past century. Though it retains strong elements of the Renaissance City is was for many centuries, the opening of gates to a hostile chancel, the Ennoblement of a True King, the massive influx of faery and the Departing caused by a fey noble's arrival and population increase in Prosaic Earth, respectively, have all lead to grand sweeping changes.
The center of the Chancel is the Broken Tower, the ruins of the tower from which Heaven's leadership once looked upon all Cneph's works. Here is the centre of the Imperator's power and the greatest momument to her legacy. The tower is infinitely tall, yet at its paradoxical top, the tower has been shattered, cutting off an infinite span of further rise. Encircling the tower- at the precise midpoint, though none but Infinity and his Imperator may know precisely how this is determined- is a terrifying thing. A long, black ribbon of darkness encircles the tower, twisting in upon itself. It is impossible for mortals to look upon, because it has no dimensions at all, despite its great size; it is one of the greatest paradoxes in creation, a physical manifestation of the Veil of Death. This manifestation of the Veil long predates the Locus build around it, and will doubtless outlive it.
At the Tower's equally impossible base lies the Necropolis, a center of culture for a vast number of Creation's inhabitants, home to travelers, faeries, academics, explorers, philosophers, madmen, pilgrims and mourners, all gathering around the Veil of Death and the Broken Tower. Not so long ago, in the sweep of history, this stream of traffic grew so great it demanded a new transit system to replace the old cobbled road. To suit this need, Nashira created by far the youngest of her estates, the Train. Now, not only does her chancel connect to every mortal track at every switch and siding, the Ghost Train collects the souls of the dead and brings them to the Veil. Much more rarely, it runs with a load in the opposite direction.
Aside from the Great Station, the great pride of Necropolis is the University of Reason, the greatest center of learning about the natural world- until the rise of Science. Now, it lies is a stately, ivy-covered state of decay. Nonetheless, its faculty- faded is at may be- remains great in its own right. This center of learning blesses the chancel with innumerable alchemical and technological gifts which blind outsiders with envy. Many of them are even exported accross the many worlds of Creation in small numbers, though the greatest and most powerful work only in the unique environment in which they were created.
Because of the near infinite stream of souls, living and dead, who pass through the Chancel, the logistics of Locus Nashira are almost impossible. Fortunately, there is a being in the chancel capable of solving them. The Omega Theorem- a sapient and self-aware equation sprawled across one thousand, seven hundred and eighty two blackboards by the first and so far last beings qualified to call themselves Infinity's and Philosophy's Regal- assists the powers in running the Chancel... most of the time, anyway.
Despite the incredible bustle of Necropolis, the stillness which hangs over it is amazing. With protocol maintained by the winged stone statues that patrol the skies, people walk rather than use vehicles, and while horses are used, they too merely trot. The largest machines hum softly, and no voice raises above quiet conversational tones. People are strangely polite and tolerant, despite the strangest of the strange, and even the influx of fey obey these unspoken rules. To be out of place behaviourally would be to disrespect the dead, and this is the one place that should never be done. Indeed, those who would do so in the foulest manners find their task simply impossible. The blessing of Nashira lies upon her entire chancel, and no mortal magic worked with baleful intent has any effect at all; indeed, even miraculous enemies of the Locus Nashira must expend unusual effort to harm it.
Beneath the streets, beneath the infinite Tower's impossible base, lay the Catacombs. Here, in this ancient maze, lie billions of corpses, plaques, and tombs, lit eternally by candles which will never burn down. Deeper still lie the memorials to races dead and gone- the True Giants of Alagon, each the size of a small world rest here, undisturbed. At the very nadir of the Catacombs rests the Betrayer of Xathrus (though what Xathrus may ever have been, none can say). Bound by chains held by the Unmourned- animated corpses that are not undead, but instead mere shadows, animated memorials- this dread creature lies eternal. Not its death, nor its imprisonment, nor the warding of Nashira can stop its baleful dreams from wreaking mischief and grief upon the inhabitants of the Locus.
Equally inimical, but far less alien, is the grandiosely self-titled Slayer of Death. Born of the souls of those who gave their lives to the creation of the Chancel (many more than the usual Century of such were necessary to create Locus Nashira), this being realizes with clear eyed rationality what it has lost by its separation from life, but rejects with wild fear ever passing through the final Veil. Instead, it schemes and plots to bring about the end of death, a Bane on all those who understand the true power and majesty of Death. Because it is a part of the Locus itself, it too finds no obstacle in Nashira's blessing.
Outside the city, there comes a point where the statues and towers stop, and there is a border lined by more primitive graves. These mark the border of the faery woods, a place of shadow and mystery. Visitors and those few travelers strange enough to go looking on their own report hearing bears' growls, hissing snakes, howling wolves and the burble of hidden creeks. The trees are all huge, hundreds of years old, and very overgrown. The path that leads through the wood is unpaved, narrow, and very winding. Leaving the path is very dangerous - if you can't see it, you will become instantly lost. People can turn their backs to it, but they'd better be able to see it when they turn around again. Infinite is the only non-faerie individual in all Creation who's managed to find the path again by himself, and it even took him a little work. Here and there one finds ancient stone altars streaked with brownish dried blood from some unnamed eon in the past. Even the birds and squirrels look ominous. Kholashi is very fond of owls and there are hundreds in his woods - huge white barn owls, small black owls the size of a child's fist, and every kind in between.
The path through the wood is narrow, unpaved, and very winding. If you follow it without fail you eventually come out to a twisted castle in miniature. It's only about fifty feet tall at the highest point, but it looks like some ominous parody of a castle. It has tall thin spires instead of turrets, and its pennons are mostly black with highly stylized versions of Windows' design picked out in silver and gold thread. Inside it is luxurious in its own odd way - all the furniture, utensils and rooms have been designed for use by someone seven feet tall. It's also very dark - there are candles, fires, braziers and torches, but they're seemingly never enough to keep the whole place well-lit.
Properties
2 Banes (-1) The Betrayer of Xathrus, The Slayer of Death
Extra Landlord: Assertive Realm's Heart, the Omega theorem (-2 pts)
Faery Magic (2 pts) Alchemy (1 pt) High Summonings (1 pt)
Some beings with Earthly Magics (1 pt) Anchor-like resistance to Miracles (2 pts)
2-way gateway to a Chancel with allied Imperator/friendly powers (2 pts) 2-way gateway to a Chancel with allied Imeprator/indifferent powers (1 pt) Hostile forces have a gateway to the Chancel (-4 pts)
Defender's Blessing 2 (4 pts) (*Everything* in the Chancel has auctoritas 2 against anything inimical to it, including friendly Nobles whose Spirit entitles them to less. This does not give direct miracle immunity.)
Extrapolative technology (2 pts) Wierd Science- Alchemical Enhancement (1 pts)
These represent the advancements in mathamatics, medicine, historical recording techniques and judicial theory that can all be applied to Earthly technology without relying on the chancel's unique properties. Aesthetically, it looks as above, as it represents the level of technological achievement rather than the priorities and social mores of the Chancel. The magics above cover that which is rewired to work differantly or more efficiently than on Earth, and thus cannot be duplicated.
