Difference between revisions of "Negav"

Revision as of 01:11, 27 September 2011

General content: | Felaryan fauna | Felaryan flora | Races | Characters | Locations | History and Lore | Science and Magic | Culture and Customs | List of all available articles

Negav content: | Negav main | Negav's Lower Tier | Negav's Middle Tier | Negav's Higher Tier | Negav's Underground | Negav's surrounding area | Negavian factions

A view of the Isolon University of Magic in the higher tier of Negav

Danger: Very Low
Inhabitants: humans, nekos, tinies, micrats, pteroks, mapets, shock beetles, warp roaches
Characters : Lady Lesona, Ramtov Telekline, Seliky, Shillou, Thas Voidfingers, Rev, Gunther, Fulmina

Negav

To the humans living on Felarya, Negav City is more or less their current capital. An oddity in the wilds, so far Negav city has withstood whatever dangers the jungle has thrown at it. It has been partially destroyed, rebuilt, conquered, flooded, and struck by fire, but it's still here. While most humans settlements in Felarya are hidden or discrete, Negav boldly shows itself, like a challenge to the face of Felarya and its voracious inhabitants. Due to its perceived invincibility, Negav serves as a crossroads and oasis to the many travelers arriving on Felarya, usually through the dimensional gate located next to the city. Negav is like a magnet for mysterious plane travelers, shady vagabonds, slayers of mythical beasts, scar-covered swordsmen, heroes bearing magical swords, temple defilers, ruthless thugs or intrepid explorers, who, despite its incredible dangers, are drawn to Felarya by the prospect of fabulous wealth, treasures and adventures.

The city itself is surrounded by a massive wall, a marvel of science and magic combined. It towers hundreds of feet tall and is covered with powerful cannons and other weaponry. The entrances to the city are few, and most are far too small for something like a giant naga to fit through. In addition, these entryways are heavily guarded not only by weapons, but also all manner of detection devices and identification spells, to ensure that nothing sneaks in that isn't welcome. The entryways can also be sealed off in an emergency, with massive reinforced doors able to close in the blink of an eye. The architects chose not to reveal all of the wall's secrets, but one of them is that it appears to be made from almost pure Xythium, an incredibly rare metal.

Within the walls, the city of Negav is a sight to behold. It's not an especially beautiful city, but it's swarming with life. The nearby Ascarlin mines has caused the city to rapidly grow, covering over 90 square miles. An important community of nekos live there as well as humanoid species from many worlds. The congested and busy streets, full of noises, shouts, and buzzing with thousands of conversations offer a striking contrast with the rest of Felarya and its untamed wilderness. After the Great Destruction that took place under the reign of king Tonho, Negav has been rebuilt in all of its former glory, and excesses. All manner of gleaming towers, imposing temples, bustling markets, noisy taverns, mage academies, and archives of artifacts can be found within this busy metropolis. There is even activity beneath the ground, as there are many levels of subterranean dwellings. Criminality is high in Negav. It's a harsh city and in its poorest and most violent disctricts, where streets are dark and narrow, one's life expectancy is not much higher at night than... say the calm parts of the Felaryan jungle, which means it's damn dangerous! The city is entirely protected from the local fauna though, and the only predators you will find in Negav are of the criminal type.

The Isolon Eye

In the center of the city, in the Square of Hope, on the top of a large marble tower, stands a large purple crystal, roughly 20 feet tall, known as the Isolon Eye. It was created by the Ps'isol magiocrats who currently rule the city, as a testimony to their formidable power. It's a little marvel of magic and very few understand how it works, but what matters is that it seems to keep many gargantuan monsters at bay, through some mysterious means. Some researchers have established that the Crystal effect is related both to the size of a creature, and to which degree it regards humanoids as preys. In clear, the larger and the more voracious the creature, the more pronounced the warding effect is. For example, the naga Crisis or the succubus Menyssan, both infamous for their enormous appetite for humans, would be stopped at a large distance of Negav while a smaller, less voracious pantaur could venture closer to the city. That zone of influence is not like some sort of tangible force-field though. It's gradual, and if a predator stands at the minimum limit, they would still feel very uncomfortable, and not likely to hang around for long. Moreover if, for some reasons, a predator was made immune to the Eye's effect, brought close to it, then their immunity removed, they would most likely die as a result. There is some exception to the Eye's effect though, and some rare beings seem to be much less affected than others. The reason why is a complete mystery.

The crystal is, of course, guarded constantly, because should it be damaged, destroyed, or stolen, then the entire city could potentially be overrun by ravenous predators, especially flying ones such as harpies. So far, plans to expand the city toward the Ascarlin mountains to the west have been constantly delayed, as the ground is crumbly in this area. Projects have also been made of implanting a few smaller versions of the eyes around Negav, in order to increase the zone of safety around it. It raises some problems though, both practical as creating an eye is an incredibly long and complex process, and political as some of the magiocrats are nervous at the idea of over-expansion, worrying the city could suffer the same terrible fate that befell Ur-Sagol long ago. The Eye is the key foundation of the Magiocrats' power. They rule will remain essentially unchallenged as long as it exists. Should a better substitute be created, it would seriously put it into question.

Negavian People

Negavians form a very cosmopolitan people, coming from worlds from all around the universe. Curious adventurers, greedy treasure hunters, foolhardy warriors, ruthless thugs, stranded travelers, self-proclaimed heroes... they all came there with the prospect of becoming fabulously rich, retrieving legendary artefacts, becoming stronger, living a peaceful and eternal life, or simply by accident. Even with so many varied origins however, living in a world such as Felarya gave Negavians some commonly shared traits. They are a hardened and rather fatalistic people. They tend to be a quite egotistical and cynical lot, not very easy to impress and difficult to cow. Wise Magiocrats know their rules on Negav cannot be too tough and must remain bearable, unless they want to have their heads on a pike. Negavians have revolted many times in the past, and have gone trough many catastrophes but, like their city, they are still there. Negavians tend to complain a lot about life on Felarya, but in at same time they have a sort of pride in being there, on what is widely recognized as one of the most dangerous known worlds for humans. Moreover being in Negav feels like being in the center of things, with so many different people passing through, carrying with them rumors, epic tales and, sometimes, fantastic treasures. Negav is the city where adventures and legends are born. Many people who have lived in Negav for several years but decided one day to leave Felarya find themselves irresistibly drawn back to the city a few years later. They say that life does not have the same flavor outside Negav. As the saying goes: "Once a Negavian, always a Negavian."

Negavians are naturally cautious of non-humans. With so many beings coming from other worlds, they have developed at least a certain tolerance toward them, but they aren't welcoming them with open arms either. For example many taverns and bars would refuse entry to creatures with too many arms or inhuman features. The situation is even worse for tauric beings. Simply entering Negav would be very difficult for them, and the few who are admitted feel an acute latent hostility around them.

History

Policing

The city is currently governed by the Ps'isol magiocracy, a council of very powerful mages. An intricate power struggle exists however, between them and a part of the military which remains in the hands of the Vishmitals, an advanced race that arrived in Negav shortly after the Great Destruction. For more, read the list of the different Factions and groups of Negav competing for power.

Districts
Negav can be divided as such :

• Negav's Lower Tier : The lower tier of Negav is the one closest to the walls. It thus has many buildings and constructions designed for defense, as well as Police and military buildings. It has also the largest number of inns and taverns and is the part of Negav where adventurers usually meet and congregate. Some say that the number of adventurers here often surpasses the number of actual Negav citizens. Negavians who do live here rely mostly on adventurers and explorers for their livelihood, with many shops selling weapons, magical scrolls, artefacts, and various items an adventurer may -or may not- need in their quest.

• Negav's Middle Tier : Slightly higher than the lower tier, the Middle Tier is where the majority of actual Negavians live. The markets, banks, temples and most other such public buildings can be found in this tier, as well as public squares, parks, and entertainment places.

• Negav's Higher Tier : The Higher Tier is smaller than the other two, though significantly elevated, having been built on a hill in the centre of the city. This is where the Magiocrats and Vishmitals have their headquarters and hold council. It is also where the mansions of the very wealthy and influential Negavians are built. At its centre is the Isolon Eye, around which are the administrative buildings of the Magiocrats, and their university.

• Negav's Underground : The "other" area of Negav. This includes houses for some of the more lower class citizens, as well as cheaper markets and shops. Those too poor to even afford an underground house live in the Pit, the slum of Negav. Lots of the functions of Negav, like handling of the dead, sewage and water, electricity, magical leylines etc. are managed in facilities in the underground.

• Negav's surrounding area : The immediate surroundings of Negav, within the Isolon eye range.

• credits to Servomoore, Jaette-troll, and Veeshan 123 for their ideas to develop Negav.