Negav

Danger: Very Low
Inhabitants: humans, nekos, tinies
Characters : Lady Lesona, Telekline, Seliky, Shillou, Voidfingers, Rev, Gunther, Fulmina

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 have 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 dimensionnal 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 bearers of 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 by not only 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 Micolon, 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 mean it's damn dangerous ! The city is entirely protected from the local fauna though, and the only predators you will find in Negav is of the criminal type.

The Isolon Eye

In the center of the city, on the top of a large marble tower, stands a large purple crystal, roughly 20 feet tall, known as the Isolon Eye. It was built by the Ps'isol magiocrats who currently rule the city, as a testimony to their formidable power. Very few understand how it works, but what matters is that it seems to keep many gargantuan monsters at bay, through some unknown magic. In fact, some researchers have established that the Crystal effect is related to both the size of a creature, and to if it's prone to eat humanoids or not. 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 known for their enormous appetite for humans, could hardly even cross the edge of the area protected by the Eye, while a smaller, less voracious pantaur could venture in the vinicity of the city. There is exception to this rule though, and some rare beings seems to be much less affected. 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 be potentially 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 and some of the magiocrats worry that expanding the city would be crossing the line and would doom the city to the same terrible fate that befell Ur-Sagol long ago...

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 remain 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. Police and military buildings are also found here. Besides this, it has the largest amount of inns and many taverns and is the part of Negav where adventurers usually meet and congregate. (There are also many shops here designed to capitalize on said adventurers). Some say that the number of adventurers here often surpasses the number of actual Negav citizens. The citizens who do live here rely on adventurers and explorers for their livelihood.

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

• 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 Negav. This is where the Magiocrats and Vishmitals have their headquarters and hold consul. IT is also where the mansions of the very wealthy and influential Negavians are. At it's centre is the Isolon Eye, around which are the administrative buildings of the Magiocrats.

• 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.