Narcissus

Narcissus, City of Mirrors

Also called the Reflective City, the City of Mirrors. Built of obsidian, of polished brass and bronze, of silvered glass, and stranger mirrors, and everywhere full of still pools and fountains.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

History

Unknown ages ago, the Twin Cities were founded by twin sisters.

One sister discovered a piece of reflective obsidian and was enthralled by her image. She gathered a group of artists and craftsmen to design mirrors, so that she may gaze upon herself. She founded the city of Narcissus.

The other sister discovered a quartz crystal. She was fascinated by its clarity and refractive properties. She, also, gathered interested people to craft wondrous, transparent objects. She founded the city of Diaphane.

As the two cities flourished, new materials were discovered that provided the same reflective and refractive properties. The citizens coveted and gathered these materials to glorify their two cities.

Obsidian was soon replaced by polished bronze. As their comprehension of chemistry evolved, mirrors were fashioned of glass coated by tin, mercury, or silver.

Many of the older neighborhoods have not converted to glass mirrors. They still use obsidian mirrors and bronze. They face discrimination because their surfaces are not sufficiently reflective. These citizens are considered too old-fashioned or too poor to be noticed.

Narcissus has, also, utilized glass to created lenses and prisms. Buildings constructed of ice have become a current trend, but only the most pristine ice is considered fashionable.

-- by shanoxilt

The ice buildings are currently in danger of melting! The owners of these frozen building have created a task force to solve this problem. The task force is trying several methods: contacting the Invisible College for information, researching the most obscure books in the libraries, and travelling to other lands to seek information and aid.

-- by shanoxilt

Cityscape

Narcissus is at the furthest navigable part of the River Cephissus, in the foothills of the Western Mountains. The oldest portions of the city are buildings of polished, black obsidian, whereas the newer buildings are of mirrored glass where not covered by polished brass or copper, silver or gold. Mirrors and reflective surfaces are everywhere in Narcissus, and it is possible to inadvertently step through them into the Other Side, by accident or carelessness.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Mirror Towers

The first Mirror Towers were built to defend Narcissus during the Helot Revolts that preceeded the Second Shattering. These towers held arrays of mirrors that could focus burning rays of sunlight against attackers. In that time the mirror-smiths who created the Mirror Towers were military sorcerers. These military sorcerers then created mobile burning mirrors that were deployed in the total warfare of the Shadowdancer Wars.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Obsidian Foundries

The district of Narcissus known as the Obsidian Foundries is one of the oldest surviving, dating back to before all the Shatterings, almost back to the Founding itself. These were the places where the earliest attempts to exploit the Other Side were made – through blocks and sheets of smooth obsidian. The imperfections in these reflections forced the development of glass mirrors for reflective magic. They also led to the spawning of the first mirror-wraiths. As the art of mirror-fishing moved on to newer tools, the art of mirror-casting to deliberately spawn mirror-wraiths began to develop.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Mirror Fisheries

The district of Narcissus known as the Mirror Fisheries has been rebuilt and moved several times – in each Shattering, they were destroyed. The very first Mirror Fisheries were primitive, using slabs of polished metal, frozen pools of glacial ice, or sheets of reflective obsidian. Flaws and imperfections in these reflections created problems and dangers for mirror-fishing. More perfect reflections were needed, and so glass mirrors were developed.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Geography

Each of the Twin Sisters walked an equal distance away from the Thousand Flowing Waters, their original homeland, to found their cities. Narcissus at higher altitude, near the glaciers and dormant volcanos of the Western Mountains.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Culture

The city is ruled by many nobles, who convene in a body of government known as the Diet – which is one of the most ineffectual political bodies known. Effectively the city is governed by shifting cabals of the wealthiest nobles and the sorcerers in their employ. The city is defended by many towers housing artillery-mirrors that can cast deadly beams of burning light miles away. It has an army, but its officers are mainly petty nobles who accept commissions for the privilege of wearing the handsome uniforms; they rarely report for duty.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The ceremonial garb which the nobles of Narcissus wear in Flower Wars includes their mirror armor, round and highly polished metal shields, and their obsidian-edged swords.

These traditional armaments are more suited for the ceremonial combat of Flower Wars, than for in actual battle. Nonetheless, they are preferred exclusively by the nobility, for whom tradition and ostentation are more important than effectiveness. The nobles of Narcissus spend their time planning Flower Wars and sponsoring eccentric projects. Commerce, and the Guilds, are the real power in Narcissus, and they prefer to hire mercenaries rather than rely on the nobility and their odd habits of warfare.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Honorable Guild of Mirror-Casters

Mirror-casting creates mirror-wraiths from the imperfect reflection of a person. (Mirror-casting a perfect reflection calls forth the doppelganger of that person.) The art of mirror-casting influences what kind of mirror-wraith is called forth, by choosing the imperfections of the reflective tool, the illumination upon the reflective tool, the subject it is to be cast from, and what emotions and desires that the subject acts out during the casting. It is an imprecise art, and even with all these planned for, the resulting mirror-wraith may not be what was anticipated.

Mirror-casters prefer to hire skilled actors as their subjects, for they better portray the emotions and desires to be cast into the reflection. Necessity or other factors often force them to rely on using apprentices or clients. The process of casting a mirror-wraith is long, and can be arduous for the subject, which adds to the imprecision of mirror-casting. There is a joke in the guild, about the journeyman who attempts to cast a mirror-wraith of lust, to use upon the object of his desire, who hires a courtesan as his subject and gives her detailed instructions to act out before his copper mirror, only to find he has called forth a mirror-wraith of confusion, all because of his muddled intent and skill.

It is, of course, easier to create random mirror-wraiths, and even possible to create accidental mirror-wraiths (particularly in Narcissus, where the mirror-world is so close). The guild scorns such things, of course. But journeymen mirror-casters often make their living dealing with and unmaking these unintended or accidental mirror-wraiths.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Worshipful Guild of Mirror-Fishers

Mirror-fishing is the art of pulling forth wonders and prodigies from deep out of the Other Side. It is an expensive undertaking – the only reliable lure is mirrorfruit from a crystal tree – and the results are essentially random. Most of the time, mirror-fishing only brings forth dross, the flotsam and jetsam of the mirror-world. Occasionally mirror entities are hauled forth, usually irritated and hostile. Rarely they bring out unique and magical things that mirror-fishers call “ephemera,” which make gambling on the expense and risk worthwhile.

Mirror-fishers use flawless glass mirrors, which must be large enough to pass whatever they bring forth. Their lures are reels of steel wire or woven steel cord on mechanical wheels and ratchets. Their lures are always baited with mirrorfruit. Mirror-fishers will cast many baited lures into mirrors at once – success takes time, and even then the results may be dubious. The lured mirror must be watched at all times. If unobserved, the mirror returns to being a mirror, the line is severed and the bait is lost. Apprentices are given the task of watching baited mirrors.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

The Munificent Guild of Mirror-Smiths

The Great Purge in the aftermath of the Second Shattering demilitarized the mirror-smiths. They formed their guild to further pursue and adapt their reflective sciences. Although they continued to design and maintain burning mirrors for use in warfare, the mage-smiths began to explore and develop other applications of reflective science. Originally they resisted cooperation with the guilds of what they saw as cruder sorceries, such as the mirror-casters and mirror-fishers. By the golden age of the Time of Clarity, however, they willingly combined their arts to create wonders of reflective magic.

The original mirrors created by mirror-smiths were polished obsidian reflectors, polished bronze and copper, and eventually sophisticated and delicate silvered glass. The basic forms of mirrors used by mirror-smiths are: flat mirrors (simple reflections), concave mirrors (reflections converge), convex mirrors (reflections diverge), and mirror arrays (combinations of mirrors). Mirror-smiths are skilled at the delicate science of creating mirrors – which is where apprentices are put to work. Other sorcerers such as mirror-fishers and mirror-casters rely on mirror-smiths to craft the tools and mirrors needed for their arts. However the true art of the mirror-smith lies in designing and installing mirrors and arrays of mirrors, to produce wonders such as the Mirror Towers and heliocamin cannons.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Founding Day

Once a year, on the anniversary of Narcissus's founding, their crystal tree darkens to a shade of obsidian black. Travelers and first-time tourists assume it is an omen of misfortune. In reality, is a confirmation from their founding Twin Sister. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people flock to the tree. If one is patient, one will glimpse her ebony reflection. The crowds hush to hear the whispered words of her ancient dialect. She typically assures the citizens that she will watch them and guard them for eternity. The stubborn antiquarians state," If obsidian is good enough for her, it should be good enough for you."

-- by shanoxilt

Colony Cities

Liriope, sapling colony city

Liriope is the daughter-city of Narcissus, a colony called the City of Women because it was founded by women. It is still governed by matriarchy, and only women are allowed to rise to the levels of guild mistress, high priestess, or city matriarch. The city was founded for caravans to depart overland to trade with the roaming tribes of the west, and it remains the trade gateway for the Narcissus hegemony. The culture of the city is very much like that of Narcissus, although more vital and less decadent. Liriopeans study reflective magic, but the city lacks the infrastructure to use advanced sciences such as mirror-fishing, and although the city has many mirrors, they remain only reflections and not gateways into the mirrorworld.

Men in Liriope are regarded as too emotionally unstable to handle important matters. Their role is in contests and war, and in demonstrating their worth to their women, and of course in pursuing women. Only women are regarded as being practical and stable enough to raise children and to rule others. Although men work in all professions, it is always women who are the rulers and leaders. Even the city’s militia is commanded by women, though it is men doing the fighting. Liriopean women claim that they are only following the path made by the Twin Sisters in this. Liriope was founded at the same time as the Seven Sisters order, and most outsiders believe the colony was founded because of a schism in the leadership of that movement; the women who left the Seven Sisters, founded Liriope.

Occupations: Scholar, Scientist, Matriarch, Entertainer, Merchant, Sorceress, Priestess Suggested Skills (for women): Area Knowledge (Liriope), Current Affairs, Games, Leadership, Teaching, Thaumatology (reflective magic) Suggested Skills (for men): Area Knowledge (Liriope), Brawling, Carousing, Combat Art, Erotic Art, Thaumatology (reflective magic) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Narcissus), Glossa (native language), Literacy Suggested Quirks (for women): Chauvinistic, Proud, Refined* (dislikes vulgarity) Suggested Quirks (for men): Congenial, Distractible, Proud Sample Contact Groups: Matriarch Patron, Cult or Religion Suggested Spells: Hide Reflection (IQ/Average) Rumor: “The original founders of Liriope were far more radical than history portrays them, and the first generation after leaving the Seven Sisters the Liriopeans followed a heretical castration cult. Narcissus quickly suppressed the castration cult under the pretext of a flower-war, and all records of the heretics were erased by the newly-appointed matriarchs. Nonetheless the Seven Sisters still have records of that time, which could shame the city matriarchs if revealed. This is why the Seven Sisters are treated very favorably in Liriope, and why the need for this blackmail has never arisen.”

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Helot Cultures

Skops, helot client state

The Skopses are one of the helot cultures of Narcissus. They were conquered long ago, essentially enslaved for generations, but in the decline and decadence of the City of Mirrors have effectively regained their independence. In earlier eras they often had to be brutally suppressed by Narcissus, as their subversive Cult of the Flensed Man inspired bloody uprisings. Over generations that bloody cult has been supplanted by more acceptable religions, and only survives in their harvest festivals where they burn wicker effigies. Skops is a fertile land from the loess soil left behind by the retreating glaciers of the north. This provides the food that sustains the population of Narcissus, and the Skopses are also another market for the goods produced in the City of Mirrors.

Lurid stories of the Flensed Man cultists say that they wore masks and mantles of the bloody skin of their enemies, and that they could thereby assume the seeming of other people. Their shamans – who were all long ago slain or driven into the wastes – it is said could flense ghosts, and assume the seeming they had in life by wearing the spirit skin. Flensers are Skopsic revolutionaries that wear the bloody skins of beasts to hide their identities from discovery.

Occupations: Helot, Farmer, Herder, Tanner, Trader, Flenser Suggested Skills: Animal Handling, Farming, Leatherworking, Occult (spirits), Forbidden Lore (Flensed Man) Social Background: Cultural Familiarity (1 pt., Narcissus), Skopsic (native language), Glossa (accented language) Suggested Quirks: Nosy, Staid, Vulgar* Sample Contact Groups: Clan, Cult Suggested Spells: Hide Reflection (IQ/Average) Common Names: Andrew, Barbara, Thomas Rumor: “The Flensed Man still lives, and hides within Skops to ferment unrest and revolution. Its secret is that it is neither a god nor a human – it is a skinwalker that escaped from the mirrorworld long ago in the time of the ancients, and has masqueraded as either or both ever since. It hides among the Skopses now, secretly wearing the skin of a dead man that it pretends to be, while leading the Flensers in rebellion.”

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Magic

Magic in the Twin Cities is learned informally (for petty magics), or most often as an apprentice in a guild. There are schools for advanced study of magic, which confer degrees of magister, or doctor of the eikonic arts.

-- by Kakita Kojiro

Reflective Magic

Reflective sorcerers rely on mirrors and surfaces. Their magic can be used to defeat enemies by throwing agressive power back upon the attacker. Mirrors also imply detailed self-analysis. Using a magic mirror can allow one to fully understand one's own potential and focus it for maximal benefit. Their are powerful, defensive, introverted and fragile.

-- by Glyptodont

Reflective Magic deals with reflections – which, for all intents and purposes, are the equivalent of souls. It reveals insights into the self, allows entrance into the mirrorworld, and of course protects by reflecting light and magic and other forces. -- by Kakita Kojiro

mantra: “perception is redirected”

spirit-world: the Other Side

tools: mirrors

talent: Reflective Magic (10 pts/level)

spells: - escape from mirror (IQ/Average) - hide reflection (IQ/Average) - see reflected memories (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) (note: penalties if they are not your memories) - see reflected thoughts (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) (note: penalties if they are not your thoughts) - see reflections of past (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 2+, at least two other reflective spells) (note: random; no guarantee of relevance) - see reflections of future (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 3+, see into past, at least three other reflective spells) (note: random; no guarantee of relevance) - reflect magics (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 1+) - reach into reflection (IQ/Hard, req. Reflective Magic 2+, at least one other reflective spell) (note: penalties if using imperfect reflection) - enter reflection (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 3+, reach into reflection) (note: penalties if using imperfect reflection) - steal reflection (IQ/Very Hard, req. Reflective Magic 5+, enter reflection, at least three other reflective spells) (this is a BAD THING that leaves you at the sorcerer’s mercy, but I do not know why) note: it is relatively easy for reflective magic to enter the spirit-world, but what is obtained from the spirit-world tends to be random and variable. mirror-fishing pulls back random oddities. mirror-gazing sees quite unrelevant futures most of the time.

-- by Kakita Kojiro