Arga

[O Senhor Leetz]

The greatest of all the free cities, the Red City rests at the heart of Arga. An old and ancient place, modern Merluna sits on the bones of dead and forgotten cities. Great works of stone and brickwork raise the city up from the Ardent Sea and lay the foundation for stout towers, labyrinthine canals, and broad bridges. Vast arcades and promenades break up the bustling and crowded maze of shops, tenements, and halls.

The power within Merluna is held in three hands. The first is that of the Honored Matrons, the all-female 'face' of the city. More than a thousand years ago, during an era of bloody civil strife, a group of women grew tired of seeing their sons and brothers die for senseless causes and plotted a take-over of the city that took eighty-eight years to see fruition. On the Night of the Lovely Knifes - as it has become to be known - figure heads across the city were murdered by mistresses, whores, assassins, and even wives who saw this act as a means to a greater end, leaving no warring faction standing and the city in a stagnant peace.  The Honored Matrons, the secret council that plotted so meticulously for eighty-eight years soon after took power, and has ruled Merluna - at times ruthlessly and at others motherly - ever since.

The second power within the city is the Alchemists Guild, or the Fire-Eaters as they are commonly known. A cunning and at times sinister group, the Fire-Eaters have a monopoly on one little thing of great power - pyrium. An innocent looking purple liquid that smells faintly of cinnamon, a spoonful of pyrium will burn hotter, stronger, and longer than a dozen piles of timber. But pyrium is not the only thing the Alchemists control. Intelligent and calculating, the Fire-Eaters have their fingers in most if not all trade that flows in and out of Merluna. With the secrets of pyrium and near-infinite coffers, the Alchemists have found allies abroad and within, and no doubt plan to one day usurp the Honored Matrons.

The last, and most subtle, power within Merluna is that of the House of Seven. A hidden and dark sect of assassins whose skills are unmatched by any in Arga, the House not only uses articulated death to further their own shadowy goals, but they also seem to keep Merluna in a balanced state. If one faction or guild grows too strong, that organization will often and suddenly find itself short of leadership and fall back into remission. Even the Honored Matrons and Alchemists fear the poisons and daggers of the House of Seven. Rumors and urban legends abound on the topic of the House - that they worship a half-goat god that revels in death and shadows, or that they serve a sorrowful but benign goddess that uses the House to eliminate certain mortals that may upset the fragile balance of Arga. Some even say that the House of Seven is in fact only one single person at anyone time. Not doubt that whatever the House actually is, its true identity will not soon be revealed.

And while the Honored Matrons, the Alchemist Guild, and the House of Seven hold the most power within Merluna, there are dozens of smaller guilds, conclaves, cabals, and unions that each plot to increase their own influence within the city.

MORE TO COME

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[Superfluous Crow]

damn it, how do you guys find those pictures?? :p
Not much to say yet about the city. Sounds somewhat generic, although not necessarily in a bad sense; it's just a great and important city with no specific arbitrary idiosyncrasies.
the Council of Eighty Eight is a nice name though.

[O Senhor Leetz]

You're right, at work i was thinking the same thing on the lines of generic. i've gone back and edited it to something a little more unique.

[O Senhor Leetz]

ok. Merluna has become cooler and much more "Argan"

[Superfluous Crow]

Hmm, 88 years of plotting would mean that a generation (at least) had passed and that all the original plotters were dead. I think you should reduce the number of years to make it more plausible.
Pyrium is pretty sweet; not too powerful, yet interesting enough to catch one's interest.
Does the House of Seven only operate within Merluna?

[Steerpike]

I'm really loving this so far: I think we probably share some commonalities in taste (clockwork, huge cities, dying earths...).  The opening Journal is fantastic and gets me really excited.  Anything more you can tell us of Pem Poxa?  It sounds amazing.

[O Senhor Leetz]

Hmm, 88 years of plotting would mean that a generation (at least) had passed and that all the original plotters were dead. I think you should reduce the number of years to make it more plausible.
Pyrium is pretty sweet; not too powerful, yet interesting enough to catch one's interest.
Does the House of Seven only operate within Merluna?

1. I actually wanted multiple generations to pass during the plotting to show the depth of planning and conviction amongst the conspirators - telling their daughters, younger sisters, friends, etc. about that plot. It may not make sense in our world, but in Arga, who knows?

2. In a totally out of character snippit - pyrium was more or less influenced by the Byzantines Greek fire, to give you an idea of what it's capable of.

3. Yes they do. I will write about them in detail sooner than later.

[O Senhor Leetz]

all right. i found some fantastic art that matches the feel of Arga nearly perfectly.

[LD]

Nice image.

[Superfluous Crow]

I'll add a plural -s to LD's comment. (for those who didn't notice Leetz added images to many of the older posts)
Seriously, where and how did you find those? My google fu always yields me rather useless images...

[O Senhor Leetz]

why thank ya. unfortunately I was too busy finding art to write anything new. soon to come. also thinking about starting a new Arga thread that would keep all in-game things to the front.