The City Fragment

“Before the world fractured, cities were a common thing. They were shining things, where man lived, worked and played at the shoulder of his fellow. Land was plentiful, and thus shared without emnity. The City Stone is a testament to how far we have come to reviving that dream” - Cyrus the Bard.

Once upon a time, the people of the archipelago crafted a great city, carving its halls deep into the stone of a fragment. Their builders mapped great halls, streets and homes into the land. Their technomanscers and mages worked wonders such that light, warmth and sustenance reached even the deepest level of the great city. Their artists carved the halls with images of Union and peace, culminating in a mural depicting all the clans ringing around the outside.

The work was completed just in time for the war to begin.

With the dead buried, the question was raised. Who would live in this city? Many wanted a place, and more fighting threatened. The Union leaders came to a solution: The City would become an Envoy of the archipelago. The geomancers would set it adrift, to float out into the Broken World in search of other cultures to tell about the Union project.

That was many years ago. Now the City has returned.

It is a changed place.

The 50ft mural carved into its sides is only the beginning of the marvel that is the City Fragment. This single, massive fragment has been carved out with a network of chambers, passages and storehouses capable of housing and supporting over a thousand people in luxury.

It is in these passages that the Kings of Bone and Copper rule, vying with each other for dominance. On top of the fragment, the Surface Dwellers have built out a more rudimentary settlement around the City entrances.

“The Union wished to expand its influence, and so loaded up the city with many supplies and set it adrift to bring news of the Union to those clans who still wandered the Broken World. Its mission seems to have been a failure, however, as when it returned it was not in triumph, full of new recruits for the Union, but riven by conflict, its halls divided between the two enigmatic and fiercely opposed Kings.”

-Professor Lily Favager, College of Horizons.

Any clan is welcome to a place in the City provided, of course, they are willing to swear allegiance to one of the Lords. Without allegiance, the city is not a safe place to live, and you are best off retreating to the surface.

The shadowy King Of Bone is said to be enthroned deep within the halls of The City, rarely seen.

He is served by the people of the flesh, who devotedly tend to his every need. The king is known for his love of luxury, and his people bring all manner of entertainments, delicacies and curiosities to his table.

The King is also known for his Army of Bone - Strange Ebony monstrosities that accompany his envoys on important missions (such as fetching silken pillows).

As much as he loves pleasure, the king shares it with those he trusts. Join his ranks and enjoy all the luxuries of the Flesh.

The industrious King of Copper is often seen working alongside his people, clad in ceremonial mask and robes. The hardworking Society of Moloch are his prime subjects, and are responsible for the complicated maintenance of the City. If you ever see the copper masked clan, they will be involved in cleaning, repairing, or constructing something. 'If you ever meet a Molocian not working,' the saying goes, 'He's probably dead.'

Most importantly, the Society assures that the uniquely carved city fragment remains aloft. How they do this is unclear.

A lot is expected of clans Allied to the king of Copper. Hard work for the good of the community is essential, and copper must be part of your dress code. A loyal follower of the King can expect an army of equally diligent workers to back him up on any project, however.

There are those who live outside of the City, their cruder huts clustered around its entrances. This is a less hospitable land, but the people here serve a valuable purpose, tilling the soil and farms for those residing beneath their feet, and holding port for trade with other clans.

The people here have sworn no fealty, but enjoy the protection and aide of both kings. They barter on their behalf, and in return are guarded by the Bone King, and have their homes tended by the Copper Masks.

There is, however, a tide of resentment. Among the Dwellers are rebels, who wonder why the Kings should rule the City below. There are also Exiles, those banished from the City who disappeared among the dwellers rather than be forced from the fragment altogether.

The Surface has no rulers, though a loose council of respected elders attempt to steer the rabble.

In one of the few joint actions in the City's history, the King of Bone and the King of Copper together created the currency of the City - the ducat. Made of a small bone disc, with one side gilded in gold, the Ducat is accepted throughout the City, and the stability and luxury of the city has led to it becoming accepted by most journeying traders.

As it is located in the inside of a fragment, there is only so much space to go around. Space is assigned to a new clan when they arrive, and they keep that space until they leave the city, they are wiped out, or they lose favour with their King. A large proportion of the surface dwellers are waiting for a space inside the fragment, and every time a clan is removed from within the City each King's representatives on the surface are swarmed by clan leaders eager to show their worth to the Kings. Some surface dwellers reject this attitude, and see it as fawning and servile; instead they are committed to making the Surface a thriving community in its own right.

It is largely unclear whether the two kings are working against each other or not. On the one hand, both acknowledge the necessity of the other; All bodies are relinquished to the king of bone, and the Copper masked maintainers are allowed free access to make repairs.

On the other hand, the halls that sit on the border between the two kings' territories are unpopular and, in some cases, empty. It is rumored that people go missing from these places, and collapses are suspiciously common.

Both the King of Copper and the King of Bone have made it very clear that spirit magic will not be tolerated within the confines of the city. Their followers do not seem to require the aid of a shaman for medical ills anyway, but those that live on the surface must go to other fragments to find remedies for the more exotic maladies.

Only Mist magic is readily welcomed within the city, with tales that the City was originally formed from bare rock by a legendary Mistborn. Stormtouched and Warlocks are less welcome, the former for the danger they present to the city, the latter for the danger they present to the kings.

Even so Stormtouched and Warlocks are often found among the surface dwellers. An industry of Imbuing trinkets with small portions of Storm energy have sprung up there, and there are plenty of wise women and warlocks dispensing charms and tweaking fates.

Keeping the city afloat is the responsibility of the King of Copper and his followers. The precise methods of this are known only to residents of the City. The King of Copper is also responsible for maintaining the city, carving out new passages, and creating new facilities.

Travel Technology within the city is more limited than elsewhere around the world, and something of a mixture of inferior versions of that found in other places. The Ferrymen have little involvement within the City, as it is a single, albeit large fragment which is generally traversed by foot. Communication is still done largely by rudimentary means, such as attaching a message to a passing creature and hoping it finds its way to the intended recipient. Whilst a very basic network of message towers akin to those used by the Union exists within the city itself, they use antiquated systems with few real benefits over more basic means of relaying messages, and so many of the towers have fallen into disuse.

Whatever misgivings one might have about the City, no one could deny it is a marvel. An intricate mesh of mirror and glass reflect storm light to the deepest reaches of the city, while stone channels pump fresh water into every hall.

Most passages are intricately carved, and a man could spend his whole life admiring them all. Mushroom and livestock farms deep within the city provide a wide variety of foods even without the help of the surface dwellers, and great halls offer music, song and dance at any time of the day.

The two Kings have ruled this paradise for nearly a century.

“Yeh, we could probably squeeze you in. Hell, we could squeeze you in ten times, but then what do we say to the next ten, hundred, thousand eh? Theres always gonna be more people wanting in, and if I wasn't standing here we'd have down there the same mess you've got up here, eh?” - Arnold Fints, City Gatekeeper

Clans in the city live a hard life, but one with great reward. At the decree of the kings, the people work long days tending the city and their needs. For most its worth it.

Although rooms in the city are a precious commodity, the average clan holding is veritably sprawling, with multiple chambers for every resident. Add to that the ample storehouses and cavernous entertainment venues, and even the lowliest resident is living like a king.

Both Kings have outright refused any efforts to subdivide living space, even shedding blood to prevent the influx of people. Their philososphy is that quality of life in the city is essential, and all efforts should be made to prevent it becoming a slum.