Prax/Cinnabar

Cinnabar

The Cinnabar District takes up the eastern portion of Nexus beyond the Ten-Thousand Markets. Also known as the Thousand-Sword or War-Dog District, Cinnabar is home to the majority of Nexus’ mercenary companies both large and small. Aside from the mercenaries, one can also find shops that cater to the mercenary’s needs including apothecaries, forges, stables, armories, brothels and taverns.

After the Fair Folk invasion the Cinnabar District was the area least devastated by the effects of the Wyld and battle. Most of its buildings were of fairly sturdy construction and it was also the furthest from the destruction wrought around Firewander, thus during the early years of Nexus it was also where the majority of the city’s remaining population resided. As time passed the chaos of Firewander ebbed and the population increased. People then began moving from Cinnabar into other parts of the city. Cheaper homes could be found in Nightside and Sentinel’s Hill, while better homes could be found to the north in Bastion, but the mercenary companies found the large sturdy buildings to their liking and stuck around.

The oldest buildings in Cinnabar resemble fortresses, still sporting modifications made during the pre-reconstruction period meant to make the buildings more defensible from both Fair Folk, invading barbarians and the soldiers of the Realm. Newer buildings are still built with an eye towards defense even seven hundred years later. This gives the architecture of Cinnabar a distinct heavy, box-like look in contrast to some of the elegant First Age architecture found in other parts of the city.

Most of the streets are paved with stone to support the constant march of soldiers, carts of ammo and cavalry to and from the city. The Council maintains the streets. Funding for this maintenance comes from a yearly tithe from all of the mercenary companies that operate within the city limits. The well maintained roads also keep the layout of Cinnabar along a fairly strict grid-like pattern radiating from the Grand Canal that runs north to south connecting the Yellow and Gray Rivers. Seven bridges cross the Grand Canal at various points and these are often used as landmarks for the purpose of navigation. Several smaller canals radiate from the Grand Canal into other parts of the city, including the Dry Canal.

The Dry Canal

The Dry Canal runs west from the Grand Canal all the way to where the Yellow and Grey Rivers form the Yanaze. The Dry Canal was dammed centuries ago because its path runs directly into Firewander. On the Cinnabar and Sentinel’s Hill side there is now a small settlement of shacks and shops within the canal up until about three hundred yards from the edge of the Sentinel’s Wall. This crude settlement is known as the Little Canyon by the residents of Cinnabar and Sentinel’s Hill. The majority of the settlement’s residents are either poor squatters or the descendents of poor squatters. Entrances to the Undercity can be found along the entire length of the Dry Canal. The residents of the Little Canyon have sealed most of these entrances with planks, sheet metal, crates, traps and in a few cases welded steel bars.

Invasion and predation by things from the Undercity is a very real threat for the residents of Little Canyon. As a result almost all of the residents are armed. Most of them use crude home made arms constructed of whatever materials they can scrounge, but others have managed to steal or acquire decent weapons and armor. A creature known as Double-Edge has made itself the protector of Little Canyon in recent years. Double-Edge is believed to be a beastman from one of the wolf tribes in the north. At his full height he stands seven-feet tall, but he is stooped with age and typically moves in a hunched crouch. Double-Edge dresses in a dirty dark grey hood, torn bronze chain mail and a patchwork of armor pieces he has scrounged over the years. What fur is visible on his body is grey and patchy and he walks with a noticeable limp in his right leg. Despite all of this, Double-Edge can still wield his double-bladed great axe with a fair degree of skill. He also fights well enough to beat back most of the monsters that emerge from the Undercity.

The Canyon Brigade is the name of the small band of six or so men who follow Double-Edge’s example in protecting Little Canyon from threats. They typically patrol Little Canyon in three men shifts, gathering together with Double-Edge whenever a significant threat is noticed. None of the men or Double-Edge get anything in return for what they do beyond the admiration of Little Canyon’s residents.

Sunhawk Square

Sunhawk Square can be found in the northwest part of the Cinnabar District. Sunhawk Square is home to the seven most prominent mercenary guilds within Nexus: Yazul’s Cleavers, the Shining Stars of the Flawless Sky, the Yeddim Guards, the Winter Wolves, Starfall’s Devils, Seven Serpent Tempests and the Titan Hammers. Each company has its headquarters in one of the eight First Age buildings that comprise the square.

The layout of the square consists of a single wide street leading into it from the south known as Sunhawk Avenue. The street is flanked on either side by two large First Age buildings. There are two more First Age buildings on both the east and western side of the square. The north side of the square has three large buildings. At the very center of the square is a massive golden spire. On top of this spire is a massive golden bird that always faces south. This is the sunhawk that gives the square and Sunhawk Avenue their names.

The Sunhawk statue has watched over the square for as long as anyone can remember. This being Nexus it has occasionally disappeared for a few days, but somehow it always finds its way back atop the spire before more then a week has passed. Some people swear that they have seen blood on the statue’s talons and beak, especially after it has gone missing, but given the height of the spire, seeing any of the statue’s details from the ground is extremely difficult. As far as anyone knows the Council has never made any decree regarding the Sunhawk statue, either for its return or to extend their protection over it. The mercenary companies of Sunhawk Square see it as a good luck talisman and take it as a bad omen whenever it disappears. They also discourage anyone they catch climbing the spire with a volley of arrows from the best marksmen in the various companies.

Yazul’s Cleavers occupy the northernmost building on the eastern side of the square. Known as the Abode of Titans, it’s a sturdy three-story pyramidal structure constructed of heavy blocks of brown and grey stone. The doorway is flanked on either side, by two ten-foot tall stone warriors armed with hammers. South of this building is the Palace of Victorious Winds, a four story tall structure that looks to be all columns, arches and windows. This is the headquarters of the Shining Stars.

The Temple of Burning Stars sits to the right of Sunhawk Avenue. The Temple is a large three-story stepped pyramid constructed of dark red stone that seems to sparkle during sunrise and sunset. This building is the current headquarters of the Yeddim Guards. Across the street is the House of Midnight Ice, which appears to be constructed entirely of obsidian. Its architecture also makes it resemble an extremely large sword leafed plant, with three different spires and numerous blade edged protrusions. This is the current headquarters of the Winter Wolves.

The southernmost building on the west side is known as the Temple of the Stone Forest. It is a two-story building surrounded by dark stone columns carved to resemble the totem poles of the northeastern forests, with bases that curl and twist in imitation of ancient roots. Two massive stone bears crouch before the building’s steps, their hides worn smooth and round as river stones either by time or because they were originally carved that way. The Temple of the Stone Forest serves as the headquarters for Starfall’s Devils. The building to the north of the Temple is known as the Dragon Bone Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is a three-story building constructed of dark grey stone. A huge draconic skull is set over the doorway while the columns surrounding the entrance appear to have skeletal serpents twining about them, with fanged and hollow eyed heads leering out at the rest of the square from the top of the columns. This building serves as the headquarters for the Seven Serpent Tempests.

The westernmost building on the north side of the square is known as the Celestial House of Night. This building is two stories tall and topped with a large blue-black dome studded with gemstones to resemble stars. There are considerably less gemstones then there were when it was originally built, but over the years the Guild has worked at replacing enough of them to restore the original effect. The various mercenary companies that have occupied the building since then have also done a pretty good job at discouraging the theft of the building’s ornaments. Currently the Celestial House of Night is occupied by the mercenary company known as the Titan Hammers.

The House of the Feral Moon

The building at the easternmost end of the square’s north side is known as the House of the Feral Moon. It is a three-story structure constructed of silver and white stone. The columns appear to be gouged in places by massive claws and stone warriors with bestial features peer out from the shadows between the columns. For as long as anyone can remember the building has stood empty and the front door has always been broken allowing easy access to the interior. Folks who have been inside say the entire place is a wreck: walls are gouged by claws, the remains of broken furniture litter the floors, rafters have been torn down, holes busted in the floor and the bones of animals and men are tucked away in odd places. It is also said that at the very bottom of the House is a pit that descends into the Undercity from which strange vines grow. Over the centuries these vines have spread beyond the room with the pit into various other rooms within the house.

The strangest part of the House of the Feral Moon are the various traps that litter the premises. These traps are always cleverly hidden and never apparent on first glance. Pitfalls that drop floors away onto spikes, snares that pull people from the floor and snap them into walls, deadfalls, steel-jawed traps for catching legs and spears that jut from hidden recesses to impale unwary victims; are just a few of the lethal tricks within the House. Because of the traps people can occasionally be heard screaming from help within the interior. The lucky ones are eventually rescued by comrades, while the unlucky ones may spend days screaming for help before they finally die of blood loss, starvation or dehydration. No one knows who keeps setting these traps or why, but someone clearly removes the bodies and resets the traps. Wise folk simply stay out of the House of the Feral Moon entirely.

The Temple of Burning Swords

The Temple of Burning Swords is a large three-story building constructed of gold and white stone that stands between the House of the Feral Moon and the Celestial House of Night at the northern end of Sunhawk Square. Four twelve-foot tall statues in the form of winged warrior women stand atop each corner of the building and face outward. Each statue holds a sword that eternally burns with white flame. For most scholars it is self-evident that the building is a Manse of the Solar Aspect, but no one is ever seen entering or leaving the structure. The massive golden door that serves as the entrance to the Temple is etched with a stylized golden hawk, but has no obvious door handle or even seam.

One of the oldest laws within the Incunabulum is that none are allowed to unseal the Temple of Burning Swords upon pain of death. Those who linger too long near its door tend to attract the attention of the Emissary and typically receive a stern warning at that point to move along. Those who press their luck get to be escorted out of the square by several armed mercenaries. Repeat offenders tend to be escorted all the way to the Hill of Crows.

Cinnabar Coliseum

Cinnabar Coliseum is located in the eastern part of the district and is easily the largest structure within the Nexus city limits. The massive open-air arena has fifty different entrances around its circumference and can seat roughly five thousand people at once upon the hundred stone benches that circle the coliseum. The Coliseum is owned and operated by the Guild and they charge an entrance fee for anyone wishing to enter the Coliseum.

Most of the time it is used as another market venue exclusive to Guild affiliated merchants and specializing in showing off wares that would appeal to the various mercenary companies. However, the Coliseum is also used for the War Games, an event open to all mercenary companies that occurs year round. Events are scheduled throughout the year that allow various mercenary companies to show off their skills against one another in a variety of competitions. For the Guild it offers tremendous merchandising opportunities as well as revenue from ticket sales and concession stands. For the mercenary companies it provides an opportunity to show off their skills to potential clients as well as settle rivalries. The culmination of the War Games occurs during Calibration when the two top mercenary companies for the year compete with one another in a massive skirmish. The winner of this skirmish gains the honor of being named Champions of Nexus. Along with the bragging rights, this title also grants the company a large cash prize and typically some concessions from prominent local businesses controlled by the Guild.

Occasionally an event is also scheduled that is neither part of the War Games or the normal market activities. Such events are rare, but include the presence of a circus or traveling merchant caravans from exotic locations. The Guild might also sponsor a Festival week, during which they show case only a specific class of goods such as slaves, brothel girls, drugs, jewelry or arms. On very rare occasions the Coliseum is also used by the Guild to publicly test and display powerful First Age artifacts that it has come into the possession of.

The Lion’s Tomb

In the eastern part of the Cinnabar District is a statue of a large golden lion that faces eastward in quiet repose. Over the years time has worn at its features and a hidden stairwell has been revealed between its paws that descends beneath the statue. If one descends the stairs he will eventually reach the broken remains of a stone doorway and the entrance to what has come to be known as the Lion’s Tomb.

Over the years many would-be treasure hunters have descended into the tomb seeking treasure. It is easy enough to get past the first set of traps: simply walk upon the tiles marked with a sunburst rather then step upon the tiles marked with arrowheads. Failing to do so, gets one quickly impaled by the spears that jut from the wall to punish a misstep. The room after that is more difficult to navigate as there are three doors, one marked with a crane, one marked with a serpent and one marked with a mantis. At this point details become sketchier, but the doors can clearly be opened by pressing certain wall panels in sequence. The wrong sequence causes none of the doors to open and the door out of the chamber to seal shut. After that most people guess that the ceiling descends and crushes whoever is in the room. This theory is based upon the crushed condition of the remains within the room when the door unseals again.

There are conflicting tales about what happens after one actually manages to open one of the three doors, but it is believed that two of the doors are actually traps, while the third leads deeper into the tomb. Which door is which is a matter of debate among most Scavengers as there are tales about all three doors being correct and the traps that lie behind them, but there are very few tales about people getting any further inside.

The Clock Tower

If the Cinnabar Coliseum is the largest structure in Nexus, the Clock Tower is believed to be the tallest, towering fifteen stories into the sky. The Clock Tower is located about a mile directly south of Sunhawk Square in its own private pavilion, where judging by the twelve massive runed monoliths that surround the circular pavilion, the tower serves as the centerpiece of some sort of massive sun dial. The confluence of dragon lines in the area also points to the Clock Tower as being a powerful Manse of some sort.

The Tower is constructed entirely of a strange black stone that is somewhat translucent. Those who walk up to the tower are able to see gemstones suspended within the stone. These gemstones, which range from the size of a human head to the size of a thumbnail, seem to shine with their own inner light at irregular intervals. The base of the tower has fifteen entrances that seem to correspond with the various months of the year based upon the motifs carved into their surface. Except during Calibration, when all of the entrances open at the same time, only the entrance corresponding to the current month opens and then only from the hours of sunrise to sunset.

The Choir of the Resplendent Arcana claims the Clock Tower as its sanctum. The Choir concerns itself primarily with astrology, claiming to have derived enormous wisdom about the patterns revealed within the stars from the knowledge contained with the ancient tower. Most folks think of them as a cult of some sort. The members of the Choir rank themselves by obscure titles that reference the number of floors they are allowed to ascend within the tower, which is also supposed to represent a given Choir member’s level of enlightenment and wisdom. Most members of the Choir dress in dark blue rubes trimmed in violet. The higher a rank a member possesses within the Choir, typically the fancier his or her robes look.

Initiates are only allowed to enter the first five levels of the Tower. Initiates are also the ones that most folks in Nexus interact with on a daily basis as they run errands for their more enlightened elders and serve as guardians for the lower levels of the Tower. Acolytes can ascend anywhere from one to three stories beyond the fifth floor, while Masters can ascend to the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. Beyond the tenth floor is the domain of the Archons, some of whom are Dragon-Blooded sorcerers. The fifteenth floor of the Clock Tower is the exclusive domain of the one who leads the Choir known only as the Seneschal. The Seneschal is rarely seen outside of the tower.

The few times that the Seneschal has been seen in public the individual wore an elaborate dark blue, purple and black cloak that draped entirely around the figure’s body, obscuring its proportions. The hood remained pulled over the hood and a black mask was worn over the face, the top of the mask decorated with a golden sunburst pattern, while the lower half was decorated with flowing silver sigils like ripples upon a pond, the entire design resembling a stylized sunset.

In public the Seneschal is almost always accompanied by two or three Archons who speak for their leader, apparently guided by mere gestures of the Seneschal’s velvet gloved hand. In addition to the Archons, several creatures that resemble flying mirrors with six pairs of feathery wings also accompany the Seneschal. According to the stories, the few times someone has been foolish enough to attack the Seneschal, the mirrors have acted as guardians, interposing themselves between the members of the Seneschal’s party and oncoming attackers with the speed of thought. Apparently they then deflect the physical force of an attacker’s blow back upon that individual. If that doesn’t seem to discourage someone, they also have the ability to inflict dementia as anyone who continues an assault soon runs off screaming and clawing their own eyes out after staring into the mirrors a second time.