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SCARLET HAVEN

A city of 10,000 people, Scarlet Haven was built almost entirely using the Charms of the Dragon-Blooded, and it shows. Ujiro was fortunate enough to have a single sorcerer survive the devastation wrought on his officers, and among his few spells was Raising The Earth's Bones. Using it, day by day, stone buildings were raised from the earth, and others used their own magics to help the fields grow and to create defenses against Fair Folk intrusions.

The Centre

The only original structure in the city is the Reality Engine, a tower six stories tall in the exact centre of Scarlet Haven, crafted of nearly impenetrable white jade, covered in moonsilver glyphs, and with a great starmetal rod affixed to the roof. Orichalcum traces the moonsilver, and the entire structure is majestic to look at. The Reality Engine projects its effects out over five miles in every direction, protecting its citizens from Wyld incursions. The effects gradually fade farther out from the city.

It is also impossible to enter. None of Ujiro's staff could figure out a way into the building, which lacks doors or windows, and Ujiro refused to allow anything that might potentially damage the device, rightly considering it too valuable to risk. Presumably, the Engine is constructed on top of a mighty manse, but if it has a hearthstone at all, it is not one that the people of Scarlet Haven can activate.

The area directly around the Reality Engine is a thriving garden, which provides an absurd amount of fruit and appears to be ready to harvest monthly.

The Inner Ring

The Inner Ring is a squat, gray stone building, completely surrounding the Engine to a distance of 200 yards and standing two stories tall, with at least two basements. Used as the primary stockpile for weapons, artifacts, and foodstuffs, it is the most defensible location in Scarlet Haven. The Inner Ring is also where Ujiro (and now his successor)'s office and personal quarters lay, along with those of the council that governs the city.

The Western City (The Shield)

By tradition, the Shield is the area of the city in which the defenders of the city live. Because Scarlet Haven was once a Realm legion, and because of the hostile nature of the surrounding area, the Shield boasts a population of 5,000 - generally around 2,500 soldiers, plus their familes. Technically, the Shield covers not only the western part of the city, but a large segment of the southern portion plus a bit of the north - nearly half the city, all told.

Because the Western City is reserved for soldiers, the many houses here have a 'barracks' feel to them. Each is of solid gray stone, with little differentiation beyond address, and there are few trees. A few small gardens exist here and there, especially in the homes of officers (who have proportionally larger houses than the rank and file), but a soldier may be transferred from one home to another often, as he marries, has children, and is promoted through the ranks. Rank can be told by how ornate a house is, while the size of a home denotes both rank and family size.

The Northern City (The Forge)

The next-largest area of the city, the Forge is the traditionally home of the artisans, thaumaturges, and metalworkers that supply the city with its products. The Forge is also where many of the war machines and siege artifacts of the city are stored, in large warehouses. Finally, the Forge is where the lesser-off townsfolk live; while many artisans work there, those who can afford to go home to the Crown. Because of this, although the daytime population of the Forge is slightly over 2,500, the night-time population is a mere 1,500.

The Eastern City (The Crown)

The smallest area of town, the Crown is so-called because it is the home of the government and the Dragon-Blooded; it also serves as the home for those people in town who are wealthier than their fellows. The Crown is based around the homes of the Dragon-Blooded, near the Pillar, with the rest of the district's people radiating outwards. There are few markets or shops in the Crown; most are in the Forge and the Shield. The Crown's population tends to be around 1,000.

The Farms

The farms that surround Scarlet Haven take advantage of thaumaturgy, the blessings of the soil, and the apparant power of the Reality Engine to feed the city; in fact, the city's size is a required amount based on Ujiro's opinions of how much food could be grown and still leave stockpiles in case of attacks. Because of the power of the Manse and the skill of its thaumaturges, Scarlet Haven can feed nearly four hundred people off each square mile of farmland; the twenty-five square miles that surround the city (slightly under four miles out in any direction from the city proper) extend to the outer forts, and are the main farming source. They are also the first thing destroyed when Fair Folk break through the outer forts, so food rationing is not uncommon. There are approximately 2,500 farmers in the fields and the surrounding area. Farmers are usually the poorest of the city's functional population.

The Northern Wyld

Northwards from the city, the land rapidly dissolves into the chaos of the Middlemarches. The snows become quicksilver, and the unwary can quickly drown. Ice turns to water, while still being subzero in temperature, and flows sluggishly up hills and over trees. Wolves, their fur frozen to them, lope across the clouds, using the rivers as leaping points, and strange calls echo through the skies. Thunder flashes at times, and the stars seem to dance around one another, making navigation impossible.

The Northern Wyld is the home of Kizen Thrice-Masked, whose freehold sits not far from the reality engine. Kizen, a relatively young Imperial Raksha (he is no more than three or four centuries old), has no particular antipathy towards Creation as a whole, but he enjoys seeing how people react to various situations, and pushes anyone who strays into his domain to their limits if they wish to survive. Bizarre puzzles, strange beasts, and hopeless mazes are hallmarks of his realm, and those mortals he chooses not to release spend their lives fruitlessly trying to escape, before succumbing to despair and perishing. Once, Kizen's realm surrounded the engine completely, but just under half of it was recently wiped away, and no one as yet knows why.

The Southern Taint

Southwards from the Engine lies the Taint; a stretch of land that was once pure Wyld. Now freed from the grip of chaos, scouts have reported that some traces of Kizen's influence still remain, and his hobgoblins roam freely across its landscape. The Taint extends at least ten miles southwards, and is perhaps half a mile wide, passing into the mountains that were not visible before the change; what lies beyond it is unknown. Unlike most areas bordering the Wyld, it is clear where the Taint ends (at least, near the Engine this is so) - the natural fabric of Creation unravels within steps of the cleared area, transforming directly into the Middlemarches without passing through an intermediary stage.