Kreviris is a city on Ruidus and the capital of the Imperium.[2] It is located north of the terminus of the Malleus Key in a valley set in the middle of a tall range of mountains.[3]
Description[]
From the surface, the city appears to be about half the size of Jrusar in Marquet.[4] It has one central well-guarded gate,[5] but multiple entrances through the outposts surrounding it. Its skyline has about two dozen very thin, tall, pointed towers[6] connected by rope-like leather cables or banners criss-crossing in all directions and levels[7] set among closely clustered stone buildings like piled eggs with circular windows and doorways.[8] The streets of the city above the surface are relatively empty of traffic, tangled and winding, and the buildings appear somewhat dilapidated.[9] Above the streets are rooftop platforms connected by a network of rope bridges that provide some shade for the streets below.[10] The main building materials are bone, leather, a bluish-green glass, and fungus dried and crafted into a fabric-like material.[11]
About half of the city is underground, carved into the red moon itself. Most agriculture on Ruidus is underground because of the harsh conditions on the surface, conducted by the fungal farmers. The farms are accessible only from inside the gated city.[12]
Several small outposts have been constructed on the mountains around the city proper.[13]
Points of interest[]
Outposts[]
Multiple outposts or lookout towers surround the main city, located between half a mile and a quarter of a mile from each other. Each of them has a 35-40 foot tower and a massive war horn carved into the actual rock on which they are built, pointed toward the city itself.[14] Known outposts are:
- Tyran A: currently active[15]
- Unnamed outpost in the mountains: completely destroyed by the Volition[16]
Caeluma Kreviris[]
Caeluma Kreviris is the above-ground portion of Kreviris. It is home to the lower classes.[17]
The Banners[]
The Banners is the portion of the city above the streets, a web of rope and leather walkways suspended from rooftops and the tall, thin spires dotting the city.[18]
- The Overspoke, a tall tower[19]
The Clutch[]
The Clutch is street-level of the city, made up of twisting narrow streets and massive clusters of rounded buildings.[20] The majority of the inhabitants of Caeluma Kreviris live in the Clutch.[21]
- The Dust Pit, an abandoned mine and current headquarters of the Volition[22]
- The Jagged Edge, a glassworks[23]
- Spreaky's Drip, a tavern on the edge of the Clutch and the Crumbles[24]
The Crumbles[]
The Crumbles are "the big cracks where the rougher folk live".[25] It consists of a series of crevices holding ruins and is considered dangerous.[26]
Exandrian shrine[]
In recent times multiple items from Exandria had been taken to Ruidus and used to create a public shrine-like garden with Exandrian objects, including an enchanted jar that produced one red fruit every 10 seconds. Local Ruidians visited the garden to see a vision of things to come and an opportunity to learn about things that they might encounter on the other side, and left their own offerings there.[27]
Vaterra Kreviris[]
Vaterra Kreviris is the subterranean portion of the city, the true heart and center of Kreviris. It is frequented by the upper classes, and the lower classes are not allowed to descend there.[28]
The city is built in an immense, quarter-mile high underground chamber, filled with bridges, structures, and archways in a network of caverns stretching unimaginably far and lit by thousands of glowing blue lanterns. It bustles with activity. In its center is the Prime Pillar, an immense glass spire.[29] The architectural style of the city is varied, and appears to be influenced by different Exandrian styles from different times and origins, with dwarven-looking buildings and elven-looking towers, for example. All of them, however, seem slightly different than usual, as they were recreated through fragmented glimpses in dreams.[30]
Prime Pillar[]
The pillar is the symbolic seat of power in Kreviris.[31] It is a single massive column about a quarter mile tall of faintly glowing glass around which the city is built, holding strongholds and meeting halls within it. It has many balconies. All the paths of the city are connected to it or weave around it.[32] In moments of need, as a defensive measure the Mystics of the city can make the Prime Pillar shine and produce a wave of abjurative magic that dispels many magical effects in the city, including illusions.[33]
Held within it are:
The Arx Creonum[]
A massive cathedral-like citadel built throughout and around the Prime Pillar. It is the seat of the Weave Mind,[34] and where reiloran infants are "marked" soon after birth.[35] It is a terrifying stronghold made from the glass that is the ancient remnant of Predathos' original form, displaying battlements, parapets, platforms and alcoves, pillar-lined balconies, and long narrow windows. It forms a dark spot of stone veining through the faintly glowing and pulsing blue-green glass of the Prime Pillar itself, looking like a cross between a castle and a temple as seen through alien eyes.[36]
The Colloquium of Candescense[]
The Colloquium is a group of scientists working in the Hall of Higher Learning, the towers of which rise and blend into the base of the Arx Creonum.[37][38]
The Glasshold Garrison[]
A prison on the lower end of the Arx Creonum.[41]
The Woven Music Grand Hall[]
In 843 PD, this was the hall in which Liliana Temult was gathering Ruidusborn together when Bells Hells was first in the city.[42]
Sprawlgrotto[]
The Sprawlgrotto forms the outskirts of Vaterra Kreviris and is the poorer section of the city.[43] It holds a bustling, maze-like tangle of streets, stairways, buildings constructed at odd dreamlike angles, and thriving community activity.[44]
The Villums[]
An area between the Prime Pillar and the Sprawlgrotto.[45] It is a woven residential and industrial neighborhood.[46]
Zoku Belfry[]
The three-tiered tower is located in the middle of a circular intersection, and holds a strange-looking, large, dark metal bell. It is located quite close to the Prime Pillar at the edge of the Villums.[47]
Ceramic Tower[]
One of the buildings under the surface. It resembles a fork.[48]
Society[]
Kreviris does not use money or currency, but the society operates solely on a barter system. While gold, platinum, and gems have value, it is for their intrinsic usefulness as materials rather than as coins.[49] Bells Hells discovered that freshly created (through Druidcraft) Exandrian fruit was quite valuable for trading purposes.[50]
The clothing of the civilians is patchwork, but for the most part is very flowy and usually includes a shawl bundled into a hood for easy access to protection during dust storms.[51]
Some cultures utilize the bones of their deceased ancestors to craft objects such as keepsakes, talismans, or weapons. They believe in taking what is useful from the bodies, then letting the land (or the bane worms) reclaim the rest.[52]
Demographics[]
The capital of the Imperium is inhabited by a mixture of reilorans, bormodos, and a handful of quanikkas. People from outside the city (such as the inhabitants of the plains) can visit it, but they must be escorted when they do so.[53]
Culture[]
The city has a heavily enforced class structure dominated by higher status being accorded to reiloran mystics and other psychically gifted reilora.[54]
History[]
Kreviris is the capital of the Imperium, so it was likely founded before 343 PD since the Imperium itself has existed for over 500 years.[55] It has had to be completely rebuilt at least twice, with the Prime Pillar being the only thing that survived.[56]
"Reunion & Revelation" (3x30)[]
In 843 PD, using the Veilscatter Scope Imogen Temult and Orym were able to examine the surface of the red moon, getting a glimpse of the city for the first time.
"Red Rural Revelations" (3x84)[]
When Bells Hells visited Razora, Elder Barthie told them about Kreviris and its government.
"Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87)[]
Bells Hells reached the city after first exploring Tyran A, one of its outposts, and spoke to several of its inhabitants. After fighting some reiloran warriors and their avadons, they went to the Jagged Edge, meeting with Zhesh, an ally of the Volition, and learning from her how to locate the group.
"Seeking Sedition" (3x88)[]
Bells Hells hid in the basement of Zhesh's shop while reiloran troops investigated the shop utilizing trained slithers, escaping detection. The party then went to the Overspoke tower where they learned the location of the Volition safe house. Traveling there, they were questioned and admitted by Watcher Amido, and were escorted through through the tunnels by a guard. Deep underground, Rashinna of the Golden Hammer questioned them and showed them a window looking out on Vaterra Kreviris.
"True Heroism" (3x91)[]
After Bells Hells completed their missions in the city there was commotion, with citizens panicking and several soldiers and mystics moving through the streets and interrogating people. The Prime Pillar activated, dispelling potentially hostile magical effects, and the Weave Mind actively looked for the responsible of that chaos, locating the adventurers and tempting them to stay in the city, leaving them when they found resistance.
Trivia[]
- The two areas of the city, above and below the surface, have names derived from Latin terms: "Caeluma" derives from caelum (sky/heaven), and "Vaterra" derives from terra (earth).
- The Imperium has several times been referred to as the "Kreviris Imperium", so it seems likely that the capital was the origin of this political faction.
- According to a bormodo in Tyran A, talking can annoy people in Kreviris, although it wasn't clear if he was referring to out-loud communications or just keeping a low profile in general.[57] The same bormodo mentioned that Spreaky's Drip was a good place to drink.[58]
References[]
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:31:20.
- ↑ See "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84) at 0:26:31.
- ↑ See "Doorways to Darker Depths" (3x86) at 3:55:35.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:08:29.
- ↑ See "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84) at 1:16:00.
- ↑ See "Doorways to Darker Depths" (3x86) at 3:55:54.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 0:51:27.
- ↑ See "Doorways to Darker Depths" (3x86) at 3:55:54.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:37:37.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:10:55.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 0:10:50.
- ↑ See "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84) at 1:06:13.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:36:48.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:36:30.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:28:22.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:41:09.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:17:19.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:17:00.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 3:53:23.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:37:28.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 0:09:55.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 2:48:20.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:27:02.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:39:25.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:17:35.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 0:10:05.
- ↑ See "The Assembling of Legends" (3x112) at 1:18:25.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 2:16:18.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) from 3:16:17 through 3:19:59.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 3:32:14.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:46:06.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) from 3:16:17 through 3:19:59.
- ↑ See "True Heroism" (3x91) at 0:21:21.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:56:37.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:56:25.
- ↑ See "To the Arx Creonum" (3x115) from 1:59:15 through 2:00:47.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:55:42.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 0:21:55.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 2:34:39.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 1:41:47.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 1:01:27.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 1:32:21.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 0:11:59.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 0:13:19.
- ↑ See "True Heroism" (3x91) at 0:37:10.
- ↑ See "The Assembling of Legends" (3x112) at 0:34:42.
- ↑ See "To the Arx Creonum" (3x115) at 1:58:25.
- ↑ See "The Assembling of Legends" (3x112) at 2:02:12.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 1:34:06.
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 1:39:52.
- ↑ See CR Cooldown | C3 E87 on Beacon at 01:16 (Subscription required).
- ↑ See "Seeking Sedition" (3x88) at 1:36:17.
- ↑ See "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84) at 1:15:53.
- ↑ See "Mission Improbable" (3x90) at 0:17:48.
- ↑ See "Red Rural Revelations" (3x84) at 0:54:19. Barthie tells Bells Hells in 843 PD that the Imperium has been around for well over 500 years.
- ↑ See "Divisive Portents" (3x89) at 0:31:20.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:48:25.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kreviris" (3x87) at 1:39:25.
Art:
- ↑ Official art of an early concept of Kreviris, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
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