WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE IN SATYRINE

Characters live in the city of Satyrine. Not everyone there is a vislae, but most vislae make their home in the city. It is an ancient place of multiple districts, each with its own unique nature. Some districts do not even exist in the same world as the others. Satyrine’s natives sometimes call it the City of Notions, because nothing is more important or valuable there than an idea, a concept, a feeling, or an emotion. These are commodities that can be bought and sold in Satyrine. Why, the very currency of the city—called orbs—represent ideas.

THE PEOPLE

Besides humans, there are many other peoples that live in the city. The most common (but still far less numerous than humans) are the elderbrin. These shapeshifting beings are—by human standards—a bit flighty and prone to strange fits of fancy. Another, even more rare people are the lacuna. Lacuna exist only as apertures to elsewhere. They look like person-shaped holes in the very fabric of reality. Lacuna are secretive and reticent, and frequently motivated by entirely nonhuman rationales. There are also very small numbers of other non-humans, hailing from far-off half-worlds, each with their own unique form and outlook.

As previously stated, even among humans, not everyone in Satyrine is a vislae. However, some of the nons aren’t actually people. Instead, they are thoughtforms. These servitors are magical force shaped by sorcerous thought and given existence in the world to perform tasks. Messengers, guards, cleaners, and clerks might potentially be thoughtforms. Thoughtforms look like people, but some can see their true nature, and even a brief interaction can suggest to anyone that a thoughtform is not an actual person. Thoughtforms don’t have much in the way of emotions, original thought, or wills of their own. Once, a vislae who had recently returned from Shadow suggested that they were like magical robots, and the comparison is not far off.

And of course, some of the people in Satyrine aren’t alive. The Dead primarily live in a faraway place called the Pale, but some take up residence in Satyrine. While most of these take the form of ghosts and wraiths that haunt a great many locales, a few inhabit corporeal bodies and live—well, exist—and work alongside the living.

THE STRUCTURES

Satyrine is a sparsely populated city. Some of its streets remain quiet and empty much of the time. Others bustle with life. Almost all are twisting, strange affairs. Buildings stretch in impossible directions and streets wrap around themselves like Mobius strips. Structures move, and avenues repeat. Places trail off into seeming nothingness. Until you really know your way around, getting lost in Satyrine is practically a given.

This is not helped by the fact that much of the city is in ruins. Just a few years ago, the terrible War raged across the Actuality (and in particular Satyrine). Whole sections of the city were destroyed, with the weapons that wreaked the damage—called Hate Cysts—hidden in the Ruined Expanses, where they continue to inflict further woe. Many areas remain in their sad (and dangerous) state, providing difficult urban wildernesses to cross to get from one city district to another. Of course, (relatively) safe paths and bridges have been created to make getting around easier. If you know the way.

THE INSTITUTIONS

The rulers of Satyrine are as complicated as the city itself. Ostensibly, a group of three potentially godlike individuals called the Deathless Triumvirate rule the city. They are aloof and distant, however, which means that real power is far more local. Gerents manage districts and neighborhoods, and each employs their own personal law enforcement, emergency responders, and civil servants (a great many of these are thoughtforms).

When it comes to law enforcement, however, we would be remiss in not mentioning the Thah. This quasi-military organization is independent but nevertheless acts as one of the city’s major law enforcement and peacekeeping agencies. Thah wear gold and red uniforms and their touch is their weapon. They wield fear rather than authority.

Meanwhile, the Magisterium oversee the thirteen secret souls of all the inhabitants of the city (and in fact, all those outside as well). Thirteen is the number of mortality, and all mortal souls have a link to one of the thirteen secret souls. The Magisterium keep the secrets and maintain the power of each soul.

There are many schools and disciplines of magic, but only four are worth mentioning. The orders of magic are the Order of the Vance, the Order of Makers, the Order of Weavers, and the Order of Goetica. While all figure prominently in Satyrine, the leadership of the Orders of the Vance and Goetica meet in Satyrine in majestic cathedral-like fortresses. (Those who reject the four orders are labeled Apostate.)

Lastly, we should mention the changeries. These places use extensive and complex techniques to reshape the bodies of those who can afford their services. The changed are called the Perfected, and they are numerous in Satyrine, particularly among the upper class and the vislae. Money and time are the only limits on what the changeries can do or what forms they bestow.

THE 17 DISTRICTS

There are 17 districts in Satyrine. (Of course.) On average, each is home to about fifty thousand people. Some are more populous, but some have far fewer residents than that. It seems unlikely, for example, that Quiet Lake could have more than a thousand people.

Each district has its own flavor and feel, sometimes startlingly different from each other. Some, like the Marquis Quarter or the Strangeglass District, are not very different than they were before the War. Others, like the Reinvention, are basically new from top to bottom.

The 17 districts of Satyrine are as follows:

The Marquis Quarter: Center of the city, where all the government buildings are located and the very richest of the rich live.

The Strangeglass District: A commercial district home to all manner of businesses and shops, offering both goods and services.

Rivenhome: A mostly lower-class residential district.

Lower Taverswood: A mostly middle-class residential district.

The Brickhouse District: A mostly upper-class residential district.

The Palindrome: A district of parks, libraries, and museums.

Zardim: A mostly residential district known for its origami buildings.

The Topiary District: A mostly residential district known for its topiary sculpture and buildings.

The Reinvention: A district known for theaters and organizational headquarters.

Riveriver: A mostly residential district running along the banks of a large river.

Confederacy of Cloisters: A district filled with temples, shrines, monasteries, and other religious sites.

The Fade: A lonely, quiet district located on floating “islands” in the Abstraction.

Quiet Lake: A mostly residential district built on islands in a lake.

The Undersling: An underground district of warriors, criminals, and others dedicated to violence.

Fartown: A district catering almost exclusively to vislae.

The Celestial Bazaar: A commercial district that is essentially one large market.

The Hollows: A barely reclaimed district, home to the lowest and poorest of the city, as well as a substantial criminal element.

It’s worth noting that Fartown and the Celestial Bazaar aren’t technically in the same physical space as the rest of the city. Each is their own discrete halfworld.