Wraith - Stygia
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Stygia
Stygia, city of the Western Dead. It is a massive city of pure contradiction, both poetically beautiful and nightmarishly ugly. Capital city of the living dead. You stare from the bow of a large ship bobbing in the treacherous waters of the Sea of Shadows, awaiting port authorization. Soldiers clad in heavy armor man the rails, watching for bands of roving specters looking to pick off strays and tear them to shreds like a shark feeding frenzy.
There are dozens of other ships waiting to dock before the great sea wall, battered by millennia of specter attacks but still holding strong. Squads of Legions and Doomslayers patrol the perimeter, armed in ancient and modern weaponry and armor, and ever vigilant of the threat of the next massive, dreaded storm.. a Maelstrom.
From your vantage point, the city is already over crowded, making the worst living conditions ever described by the Industrial Revolution seem like luxury mansions. Ancient Roman temples sit melded into modern office buildings, which though rudimentary steel rods and platforms, have Medieval Castle towers stretching far into the sky. The widest streets are barely more than alleys, twisting and turning in random paths, where ever there is room between structures. Markets are intermixed with pedestrians, souls braying their trades for Oboli. As they shuffle along, packed shoulder to shoulder, you begin to wonder why you chose to come here.
Over the waves and wind, you hear a continual clinking sound, that is recognizable of the Artificer's hammers. A chorus of metal on corpus on metal, accompanied by the low droll of pained screams all coming together and rising in a perpetual cacophony of forging. Trains run constantly in and out of Nuhdri's Alley, entering jam packed full of drones and hapless souls, and always leaving empty.
It is the home of the Death Lords, sitting high in Charon's Tower, busied with their own affairs and scheming. Home of the now outlawed Guilds, who still operate underground, save for the few who are still of benefit to the City. Pardoner lanterns light the streets and city outskirts, a snaking line of lamps keeping vile specters at bay.
A ship ahead of you begins to move forward, given permission to dock, when suddenly a soul piercing wail erupts. A large wave falls in, formed of ghoulish specters with gnashing teeth and sharp claws. It crashes over the ship, which rolls sideways and sinks. Screams expand from the doomed craft as the passengers are pulled into the air or plucked under the water to be carried away to the Labyrinth, and fates best left unsaid. The Legions and Doomslayers jump into action without hesitation, blasts of cannon fire, machine guns, and arcanoi are fired off into the mass of nightmare as a melee ensues. Some innocents are rescued, most aren't. Soon, the bay is quiet again, save for the ever present clang of hammers, echoing into the distance. your ship lurches forward. It's been given permission to dock. This is it. This.. is Stygia.
