LostInTime/2
= Lost in Time Part II =
'The Caverns of Time' ( i know i copied it of everything that included 'time' in a film or book, but exalted hasn't done it yet )
Most people in the age of sorrows will say that none of this exists. But it does, and more than a few know of it. The great desert, at it's centre, there is a large dune, hiding a secret trapdoor into a world of twisting tunnels and caverns. Though made of the scorched red rock of the south, these caverns are a midnight blue colour, and in the roof there are iny cracks, where sand falls in like in an hourglass. but this is not normal sand, it is the remaining Sand Of Time. The only water source in these caverns is a great geyser. The water is boiling hot, but it can be cooled and drunk. This geyser is located at the centre of the underground city, a city where mortal, god-blooded and even exalts live together, the city has a population of around 10,000, of which a tenth or more have awakened essence or are god-blooded, aswell as a few dragonblooded and maybe even one or two celetial exalts. These people are not completely isolated from the rest of the world, though, as even the mortals of this place are great in terms of intellect, which is further boosted by god-blooded who live among them. They have sent scouts far and wide, and they have solved the mystery of the Sand Of Time after extensively studying the anciant time bending weapon, Time Killer. Unfortunately, they lost this wonder to what can only be described as a traitorous act of the worst kind. But from it they learned what the powers that the Sand Of Time holds, and have even used it to create their own wonders, some of which have earth shattering power. The exalts, god-blooded and mortals who have awakened their essence harvest the sand from the many tiny cracks in the roof of the cavern, and they use it for experiments and crafts. As such, most of the cities technologies are influenced by 'time bending' powers, such as lights which effectively use time as a fuel by making it repeat itself, and cooking equipment which speeds up time for the food, allowing them to barbeque a yeddim in a few seconds. They have even managed to tap the geyser, making it constantly spray and then speeding up the cooling stage, allowing them to get drinkable water to the growing population.
Most inhabitants live in the caverns that formed naturally, and near the city center the tunnels become scarce so that to travel one might have to pass through another's house. There are no slums or tramps, as all the work one needs to do is collect his water, (which the whole population collectively 'owns') and get his food, which is mostly cave mushrooms that can be grown and are very nutricious, some precious pig meat or other food wich most thaumaturgists will be happy to create. The main currency for domestic trade is Sand Of Time, which seems to never stop coming through the roof of almost every house. The sand may be handed in for experiments or crafts, where a portion will be left as payment and the rest will return as a time bending artifact, which would be worth quite a lot in other cities. Thaumaturgists and god-blooded generally demand the sand as payment for the goods they scavange or create, which they them in turn use to create artifacts for themselves. it is unusual for anyone in the city to not know a craft, as it is a traditional pastime that descends from the settlers who found the cavern hundreds of years ago. Although one would think that materials would be rare in the middle of the desert, there is plenty of rocks, sand, crystals, mushrooms and small cavern animals, aswell as a single pig farm which has been sustained over the years, which originated from one of the settlers pregnant pets. It is made sure that the pigs never run out, and 'excess' pigs are used for meat and hide. The farm takes up a large portion of the cavern, and holds somewhere around 5,000 pigs at any one time. Many citizens find their work here, the majority of which carry water to the apparently constantly thirsty pigs from the main city instead of actually looking after pigs. in terms of metalcraft and weapons, while steel may not be present, there is a certain type of crystal named by locals as xeophite. This is relatively common, but lots of it is required for crafts as much of it is burned away. It is as strong as solid rock, and as sharp as diamond, and it shines a dull blue. Weapons made of this material add 2L/3B to their damage, but cost 3 resources dots more outside the cavern, and it is not available unless a traveller from the caverns brings it to another city first. Armour made of xeophite add 2 to their soaks, with the same costs and availability outside the cavern as weapons. Many of the population practise swordplay as a hobby, and a surprising amount of its population can be placed in an army.
At the moment the people are content to stay as they are, but the highest members of the government are already preparing for when the population inevitably becomes too large for the caverns that house it, planning on migrating east and revfealing their time bending powers to creation. they know of the Solars return, and they do not treat them as anathema. They are forever intrigued by the Sand Of Time, almost crazed to find everything about it and show it's greatness to the world, and they would gladly side with the ones who originaly created them, the Solars. This fact was worked out by one of the great minds behind the city's technology, an old and wise dragonblood who came from the realm.
