CordwoodEschaton
Eschaton
Population: Approximately 150,000.
Government: The Triumverate, a three-person council, rules Eschaton. Each triumvir has control of a Shard, a distinct district which comprises one quarter of the city-state. They collectively control the Core, the central district of Eschaton. The Triumverate theoretically shares power with the Syndicate, a subcommittee of thirteen officials elected by the major guilds and merchant houses of Eschaton, but in practice the Syndicate is only a puppet organization.
Defense: The primary defense force of Eschaton is the Capistrates, a hooded company of militia who serve the Triumverate. They function as the police of Eschaton but are notoriously brutal and corrupt. They are protected from their numerous enemies by oaths of secrecy and the demonic masks they wear under their hoods. Each Shard has several Capistrate precincts, but the quality and number of officers varies wildly from one to another. Each triumvir has their own company of Janissaries, also, but these elite mercenaries answer only to their one master and serve mainly as bodyguards and special agents. Some guilds and merchant houses have mercenary hirelings as well, but these hirelings are not particularly known for their loyalty or expertise.
Inns and Taverns: Eschaton has a number of notable resthouses, each reflecting the character and subculture of its particular Shard. The Rusty Canakin in the Rookery is a shabby but large flophouse used by numerous transients and refugees. Jack Ketch's in the Cromlech is a well-appointed but fairly cold and grim inn that looks over a drop into the Big Empty. The Shattered Swords in the Fastness is a somewhat rough and tumble bar, but features good service and an excellent selection of drinks. The Vanner Hawk of the Core is probably the finest of several inns in the central district, being home to many friends and relations of the Syndicate.
Supplies: The major marketplace in Eschaton is the Guildhall, located near the exit from the Fastness in the Core. It is home to several stalls and shops owned and operated by the assorted guilds and houses of the city and is a miniature storehouse of artifacts from around the fading world. As a central center of commerce, it is constantly packed with an assortment of refugees, beggars, merchants, mercenaries, nobles, courtesans, and entertainers. The Rookery is home to a number of shadier marketplaces, including the Flea Market, a rooftop bazaar that specializes in slaves and blacklisted items.
Temples: The only legal temples in Eschaton are those praising the Triumverate (known as hiakals), but the abundant refugee population and state of affairs has resulted in a large number of secret temples hidden in basements, back alleys, and old crypts. These concealed shrines pay homage to a wide variety of deities and spirits, but the most common ones are those dedicated to the Cabiri, the dead gods who disappeared over a century ago.
The Shards of Eschaton
Founded 300 years ago by its current members, the Triumverate is the ruling body in Eschaton, the Vergent City. Its members are former adventurers who helped to defend the city-state from the Deadborn and the Emptiness and became elevated to the status of heroic city leaders. Rendered immortal by some side effect of the Last Morning, each of them possesses magical power, martial skills, and great political influence over the factions of the city. While they were once good friends, their relations have become cold and purely pragmatic over time, now focused only on how they can utilize one another for their own ends.
Each of them controls a Shard, a personally devised district of the city-state, and they tend to leave the other triumvirs to take care of their own. These Shards (the Cromlech, Fastness, and Rookery) reflect the interests, virtues, and vices of their respective triumvir, and they therefore attract and forbid particular kinds of inhabitants. They also jointly rule over the Shard known as the Core, the center of the city and their base of power.
The Cromlech: The Cromlech is ruled by the Thanatope and is built over a large network of above and below-ground tombs and crypts. It is home to much of the financial and academic power of Eschaton and is known to be haunted by ghosts and the undead. Most of these creatures serve the Thanatope's will but some are simply left over from his past experiments searching for the key to rejuvenation and eternal life. While it has a certain pale beauty about its classical architecture and gothic towers, it is also cold, forebidding, and eeriely quiet compared to the rest of the city. Only the wealthiest or most despondent refugees call it a permanent home and Eschatonians generally keep their distance if they can afford to. Intellectuals, artisans, and students cross the Warding Bridge from the Fastness relatively frequently, however, doing their studies in one of local workshops, schools, or libraries. The Great Bank of Eschaton has its home here, as does Eschaton University and a number of merchant houses. These have offices in Cromlech because their owners prefer the security and relative isolation offered by the grim district.
The Fastness: The Fastness was once no more than a gatehouse protecting the ancient roads into Eschaton. Now its the dominion of the Polemarch and the center of middle class power in the city. Protected on all sides by high walls and strategic towers, it is thought to be the most defensible section of the metropolis, even more so than the Core. As a result, there are many residences clustered here and a number of noble families keep second homes in the district in the case of attack. The Capistrates headquarters is located in this Shard, as are the halls of several successful mercenary guilds. More accomodating than the Rookery and warmer than the Cromlech, its downside is the strict, militaristic rule maintained by the Capistrates and the Polemarch's Janissaries. Peace and order are enforced by neighbors spying on neighbors and an atmosphere of repression mirrored in the boxy architecture and grid-like streets. Speaking against the Polemarch is forbidden and many "weakening" philosophies, religions, and sciences are also taboo. The main source of entertainment in the Fastness is the Colosseum, a bloodsport arena where ambitious mercenaries, hapless slaves, or condemned criminals fight one another and assorted creatures. There is a monthly tradition at the Colosseum of elaborate recreations of historical battles from the world's glorious past, including naval conflicts staged on a massive water tank.
The Rookery: The Rookery is the largest Shard of Eschaton by far and also the most populous. Home to roughly half of the city's inhabitants, it is a wretched industrialized slum overseen by the ironically titled Philanthropist. Spilling over with refugees, paupers, laborers, and criminal scum, its narrow streets, uneven tenements, millhouses and warehouses are the picture of urban despair. The guilds and merchant houses that do business here often do so in secret so as to not draw attention to themselves or their wares. There's a busy trade in items deemed illegal in the Core, Cromlech, or Fastness, and many Eschatonians visit the Shard when indulging their vices. Slavery is a booming business here, with numerous unfortunates finding their way into the control of cruel drivers who serve the desires and needs of Core nobility. Some are simply lured into a dark alley and abducted, some are forced into servitude by debts, but whatever the case they typically end up in lifelong drudgery. The laborers fare little better, having a poor income, few opportunities for advancement, and regular exposure to hazardous materials and machinery. Despite this, the Philanthropist is one of the more visible triumvirs, regularly visiting the Rookery with an entourage to oversee its operation and her personal plots. While things are plainly bad on the streets, her liberal attitude and calculated charity make her more popular in her Shard than either of her fellow triumvirs.
The Core: The triumvirs collectively control the Core, the central district of the city and once the sole domain of the Syndicate. They meet several times a month in the Tower of the Hagiarchy to discuss affairs that concern the entirety of Eschaton and moderate the periodic meetings of the Syndicate, the guilds, and merchant houses. Only the wealthiest and most priveleged members of Eschaton society call the Core home, living lavish, decadent lives in expansive mansions placed high on Halcyon Hill. Protected from the unpleasantness occurring in the other Shards by personal guards and the best mercenaries money can buy, they tend to have fairly remote and inaccurate views of the world. Several of the more potent nobles are able to completely isolate themselves from even the Core, creating wondrous palaces of delights meant to evoke memories of life before the Last Morning. This hedonism is often supported by shares in merchant houses, slaves from the Rookery, and baubles collected from hired expeditions into the Cromlech. High society is not all fun and games, however, as many nobles are also politically important figures who have to maneuver through the often contentious affairs of the Syndicate and the Triumverate. Behind the scenes games of intrigue, scandal mongering, and assassination can make for a life as scary as that of a beggar in the Rookery.
