Setting: The City of Caras, and Sancuary of Kamu, the Owl

 

The entire drift of Caras boasts many fragments and ruins from the old world, but in no other location
can more be found than the Sanctuary City itself. Some say Caras was built “on the bones of Mythren,” and some truth to that statement can certainly be found in the architecture of the buildings. Sundered pieces from long lost structures have been incorporated into the design of the city as though Caras has somehow sprung from the ancient memory of old Mythren. Pillars from temples to forgotten gods stand in the marketplace known as the Menagerie. The Owl’s Nest, a popular tavern and inn boasts shelves of books and mounted weapons and relics rescued from the Upfall. And the Sanctuary itself contains the very cornerstones and stained glass windows from Grandel Lol, the Great Library of Delerion—a sprawling city that was once the heart of civilization and magic. Here the Maker wanders the corridors of the sanctuary and the streets of the city, himself a living whimsical and wizened memory of a time long ago.

Though not the case in all Sanctuary Cities, the bandiar of Caras are known and respected as local heroes. Their exploits (both in their current lives as well as former lives) have shaped the destiny of the drift and offered a peaceful life for those within the city. Little do the citizens of Caras know, however, is that the bandiar are themselves conflicted more than ever as figments of their touchstone lives mingle with personal aspirations that fall well beyond the designs of the Wheelhouse. And the awakening powers, stirred now from their long slumber following the Breaking of the Moon, seek to use them for their own devices. 

Kamu, the Owl, is a empathic caretaker of the Sanctuary City, but one as old as he knows there must exist a necessary balance for survival. In other words, though many would see Caras as a place of light in the darkness of the Remains, it is not without its pockets of shade. Working within the city is a powerful underground organization known as the Six Feet--a name derived from the place where their enemies are left in the ground. They own and operate many of the establishments within the Menagerie, and those that are not owned, likely have business ties of some nature to the organization. The most notorious of these is the tavern of ill-repute known as Tail Feathers. The beautiful dancers are as unaware of who their actual bosses are as they are of the dark business and unsavory deeds occurring in the back office. The Six Feet are as mysterious as they are feared, known only as Scar, Patch, and Stone. Their true names and identities remain entirely unknown, despite their reputation within the city.

But their are other forces at work within the drift that fall outside the purview of the Wheelhouse. Within Caras is the "Nijant Shop," where two lone vigilante lawmen help to maintain the peace. Their very presence lends a stabilizing gravitas to the setting and holds the expansion and corruption of the Six Feet at bay. And only a few miles beyond the city walls lies the Vale Estate which sits atop a cliff overlooking the vast Upfall. Here the master of the estate works his magic as an unlikely and enigmatic ally.  

Todd VanHooser

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