SETTING

[viveremuch]

THE WORLD The greater world the characters find themselves on is called Sygwelft, and it is a world that functions at barely a portion of its former self. A thick shell encases the planet, blocking the sky and rendering all lands within to structures of narrow caves and the occasional vast, open cavern. Only in a bare handful of places can the sky be seen from the ground, and these places are as notoriously dangerous as they are beautiful. Because the shell of Sygwelft isn't natural. It's a created thing, and the purpose it was created for is protection. Outside the shell, monsters and unknown powers lurk - far more powerful than the scraps that slip in through the gaps. And those are dangerous enough, and always, always hungry. The lights of the heavens - the sun, the three moons, and the stars - are beautiful, but you approach them at great risk. So it has been for more than eight centuries. (More information about the world at large will be available at a later date!) THE TOWN OF LAMPLIGHT Lamplight is a small town that was once part of a much larger city - a city whose ruins still surround it in any direction that one might try to adventure outwards into the rest of the large cavern. This city, Scelio, was once one of the most impressive cities in the world, not quite a New York or Shanghai, but perhaps a Los Angeles or a Paris. The shapes of skyscrapers still lean over the town on the northeastern side, a blacker black than the cavern ceiling for those with the eyesight to pick them out. However, most of Scelio lies in ruins, and there has been no attempt at reclamation. There is no point in reclamation, not when Lamplight is a town of around a thousand people who have all known each other for a very, very long time, and see little to no reason to change where they live now. The part of the town that's actually lived-in is surrounded by and brick-and-stone wall with solid gates in three places, facing directly east, southeast, and southwest. It wasn't exactly the downtown of the city in its heyday, and most of the buildings are relatively low and residential. The northern and western sides of the town are snug up against the cavern walls. There are three gate here as well, blocking off cave passages due north, northwest, and slightly south of due west. It is entirely possible to approach the cavern walls. The stone is a very dark grey that seems to soak up all light except that of the lanterns and the character's marks. It is no kind of stone that even a studied geologist can identify, and is a distinctly different material than the floor of the cavern. Touching it sends a shiver up your spine and a growing feeling of being watched by the stone and caverns themselves. The town takes its name from the magical lanterns that hang seemingly everywhere; not only off streetlights or doorsteps, but seemingly at random around the town, rendering it around as bright within the walls as a gloomy day beneath a normal sky. The lanterns are in a massive variety of colors and styles, ranging from paper lanterns in an Asianlike style to gothic-looking constructions of metal and glass. The color of the lanterns comes from the lights within, rather than any feature of the construction. Each light is a slightly wobbling orb, clearly magical rather than electronic or flame. Other than the lanterns and the stone wall, there's fairly little that's overtly magical about the town. In fact, it seems that the world was largely technological prior to whatever events caused it to take such a downturn; even with all the time that has passed, there's little things that will be familiar to characters from contemporary Earth or similar settings. Many lanterns hang from what were clearly once electrical streetlights; the worn roads are paved with asphalt under all the dust and dirt, not paving stones. Just within the limits of town on the southern border, a former cellphone tower now hangs the brightest white-and-yellow lights in town over the carefully maintained gardens and fields. Unfortunately, there's no electricity to be found in most of the town. The glory days of technology, it seems, are passed. THE PEOPLE (AND ANIMALS) OF LAMPLIGHT If all the people of the city were gathered up together in one place - not an impossible task at all, when there's under a thousand of them - one unusual trait would become immediately apparent: their ages. There are no children in Lamplight, nor any babies or pregnant women. There are very few teenagers or people who could be considered elderly. The vast majority of the population is between the ages of twenty and forty, with a small older group that tapers off rapidly after fifty-five or so. Aside from this, they don't look all that different from the population of any other small town. They tend towards medium skin colors and black hair even after centuries beneath the Shell above, though there are individuals with darker or paler skin and even few with pale hair. They favor dressing in bright colors, and their clothes are often billowing and made from sheets of fabric rather than closely tailored. And like any other relatively small town, everyone knows each other. In fact, everyone knows each other to a much greater degree than in a normal small town, and it isn't just because very few people move to or from Lamplight. (Who knows if there are even other people out there, at this point?) If asked directly, the people make no bones about it, though they likely won't think to mention it to an outsider unless prompted: The people of Lamplight are immortal, of a sort. They do not age, though they can be killed by virtually any other means a normal human can be. They very rarely get sick. Their bodies do not change. They exist outside of time. Of course, there are drawbacks to this, as well. Because their bodies do not change, the people of Lamplight cannot have children. And should they wish to step back into time's stream again, all of the years that have passed around them will come crashing back down, turning their bodies to not even bones but dust. For the most part, it is only humans that are affected by this. (The exceptions are a pair of immortal cats that live with their owner over the town's bookshop/library, Jasper and Sylo, and a huge service dog named Rerrie.) Other animals throughout the town live normal animal lives, whether they be pets or livestock. The animals of the town are extremely well cared for regardless of status. And there's one animal that can't go without special mention: the bees. Bees are, frankly, everywhere in Lamplight. They tend to collect and perch on the lanterns at all hours, and residents are always cheered to see them. Houses have screen-enclosed windows and porches in order to keep the bees out, rather than any other kind of insect. Many people keep window boxes for them. While naturally the greatest number of bees can be found on the south side of town, near the gardens and the boxes that serve as their hives, you can and will run into them everywhere if you keep your eyes open. For information on specific individuals, please see the NPCs page. LAMPLIGHT CULTURE There's a few important things the residents of the town will inform newcomers that they should know, in order to not make waves in the town. The first, and perhaps the most important: Do not intentionally put out a lantern except to save a life. Generally speaking, characters won't be entrusted with lanterns to light their own spaces with (they'll be provided candles and regular flame lights instead, if they cannot make their own lights - see the Marks and Deaths page for more details). However, they'll find that the lanterns towards the edge of town in particular are sometimes completely shuttered, so that they give off no light, rather than being put out. The residents go to great lengths to avoid killing the light inside a lantern. That said, given that the lights inside are magical, figuring out how to actually put them out is somewhat in question... The second: Do not speak the names of the dead. Residents use titles or references to refer to the dead. These start out simple - "my father" or "my old neighbor" - but can quickly grow extremely complex ("my younger brother's first college roommate's fiance's cousin who worked in the garden trying to grow pumpkins"). The residents of the town seem to have no trouble following these long chains of references, presumably because they've all had centuries to get to know each other, but outsiders can easily feel hopelessly lost. It is worth noting that this prohibition applies only to speaking the names (including sign language) - there is no prohibition on writing the names. The third: Be kind to the bees. Attempting to swat or otherwise scare off the bees will get dirty looks and may cause natives to end conversations abruptly by suddenly walking away. The bees of Lamplight rarely if ever sting, and if you should find yourself stung, the view is that you did something deserving of it. Native residents may refuse to speak to a stung character until the sting has healed. The fourth thing is something characters may not be explicitly told, but are likely to notice if they pay much attention: Give respect to the Shell. The stone wall of the cavern on the northwest side of town is one of the places where the Shell is anchored to the ground, and native residents treat it, as well as the rest of the Shell, with a great deal of respect. They do not touch it, nor do they build buildings using it as a wall or support. It isn't quite worthy of being considered 'worship' or 'veneration,' but there are a lot of taboos regarding things touching the wall. Actually damaging it is right out, and not just because doing so could affect the whole cavern you're all living inside. LIVING IN LAMPIGHT There's plenty of space and resources to go around in Lamplight. While there's certainly no end of things that need to be done, for the most part the residents have a great deal of leisure and hobby time. Characters newly arriving will be expected to pitch in in some way, but they're generally not going to be at risk of going without food, water, or shelter. Shelter, in particular, there's plenty of. Even within the town limits, there are a number of empty houses and apartments, as well as businessfronts and other buildings. Characters can choose to live alone or with others, in an apartment or a house - for the most part, the residents won't object, and are happy to have new neighbors. All the buildings have at least the potential for running water (though it might not be hooked up immediately when characters move in), though hot water is something you'll have to figure out for yourself. However, because the town is so small, it's easy to gain a reputation if you're inclined to be a layabout, and people will be distinctly less helpful and friendly if you don't contribute at least something to the community. They won't let you starve, but your ability to access other good and services might be stifled and involve more formal bartering and contract rather than casual agreements or mutual gifts. Most people walk from place to place within the town, or use bicycles or scooters if they expect to cross a great deal of it quickly. The roads are well-worn, and haven't seen cars in at least a few centuries. Bizarrely, there are still landline phones with service to be found throughout the city, no-pay payphones attached to the occasional lamppost. In an emergency, they immediately ring through to the hospital; otherwise, after a wait of about thirty seconds, they connect to Milo's. (Starting to dial a number during this pause will work normally, if you have another number you can call.) As idyllic as this seems, it's counterbalanced by a pall of tired wariness towards the outside that can be felt throughout the whole town. There's always a watch on the walls, just waiting for the next time something tries to enter and bring ruin. Strange happenings are regular in the town, and the townsfolk have had to learn to be adaptable as a result. The people of Lamplight have known a great deal of loss, and many of them have kept smiling through sheer stubbornness. They haven't given up on hope because they cling to it tooth and nail. LAMPLIGHT LOCATIONS Although most locations can be handwaved, there are a few worth noting. This section of the page may be updated or moved to a new page as time goes on. THE LIBRARY/THE BOOKSHOP: Technically, this is two buildings, though both are watched over by the same person, Licorrio, and his two cats. (The wide-banded tabby is Jasper; the black with one white paw is Sylo.) The original library building is across the street from Licorrio's bookshop, and contains primarily nonfiction and research materials on a wide variety of subjects. It's a beautiful, three-story building, crammed to brimming with books. The "bookshop" is almost as extensive, and houses the fiction collection; careful inspection will make it obvious that it's actually a converted grocery store on the lower floor, though the upper floor is more traditional narrow bookcases in a trio of converted apartments. All of the town's children's books are kept in the back, in what was once a walk-in freezer. Both buildings are free to access, aside from the stairs up to the third story of the bookshop where Licorrio lives. THE GARDENS: The majority of the southern third of town is greenhouses, raised beds, and orchards for the purpose of growing food, and a small number of carefully-maintained fields for livestock. (Most of the meat eaten in town is chicken, dove, and rabbit; anything else is saved for special occasions.) This is probably also the part of the town that retains the most of the city's former technology level, and the only place one can regularly find electric lighting. At any given time, somewhere around two dozen residents can be found operating the generators here on modified bicycle seats and chatting. THE STATION: You might be forgiven for thinking this refers to a train station, or perhaps a fire station. No, this refers to a pair of former gas stations in the town, across the street from each other and now emptied of their pumps. Instead, they have been turned into a general purposes assembly place for the townsfolk, on the rare occasions that they all need to gather together. The overhead lights in the gas station rain shelters still work, for the most part, but need to be charged for about an hour on the three-person bicycle generators before they'll kick on. THE LOGGER'S HARDWARE: The sign over this large store says only "Hardware," but everyone refers to the place as the Logger's. When you need something for hardware or home repair, you go to the Logger's. If they don't have what you need, you write your request on the clipboard that sits with the only cash register, and eventually the Logger will get it to you, whether it's freshly cut timber or new plumbing. The key here, however, is eventually. The Logger works as she pleases, and given how frequently she comes and goes from the town, that's not always in a timely manner. Also, you're building it yourself or with help from your friends; if you don't put in at least some work with whatever you get delivered, the Logger won't do business with you again. FLYCA'S: The town teashop. (She also knows how to brew coffee, but it's kind of hard to find these days.) Come here to kill some time and have a warm drink and a pastry. Please have a pastry. The rest of the town is mostly over Flyca's sometimes... experimental tastes. (Don't worry, there's also normal food.) They do not do delivery. MILO'S: They do do delivery. In fact, that's all they do: Delivery and pick-up, with not a table in sight, just a window and a kitchen. Milo doesn't care where you eat it, as long as it isn't here. It is, however, the only delivery place in town, so it sees plenty of business, especially because the menu changes every day of the week. (There is, however, always pizza. On Fridays, there's only pizza.) Always packaged in reusable containers, which can be returned to the slot on the back side of the kitchen labelled THANKS or traded for your next order. Milo's younger brothers, Nico and Evano, do the actual delivery. THE BEACH: Located in the north of the city, tucked up against the edge of the stone wall, this is only a beach on the technicality of possessing both water and sand. It's actually mostly a well-decayed pier, and ancient beams and slabs of concrete still stick out of the sand in numerous places. But it is, indisputably, attached to the ocean in some way, as the tides rise and fall in some kind of cycle based on the three moons outside the Shell. The smell is pretty distinctive, too. The town's border goes only out to a line of posts with hanging lanterns; Scelio Bay continues beyond, out into the darkness. You can swim or fish here, if you're so inclined, but be careful about going beyond the lantern-line. THE NEW COURTHOUSE: This elegant building stretches the definition of 'new,' but one can only assume that it's new relative to the other buildings in town or something of the sort. Often referred to as just "the court," this building serves as a discussion hall and a place for locals to sort out their disputes to relatively neutral third parties. There's no particular judge and juries are "whoever happens to be around at the moment." The old docketboard serves as a community news board, with information posted for public knowledge. Old postings that aren't needed anymore disappear by mysterious means; no one is able to finger who, exactly, takes them down. Player characters can post things to the docket as well; they're residents of the town, after all. (DOCKET will be a header on monthly roundup posts.) THE OLD COURTHOUSE: In the basement of the new courthouse is the remains of the old courthouse and the jail. There are no lantern lights here, nor any apparent lights at all save what characters might bring with them, but somehow the shadows of the bars on the jail cells on the lower levels (this basement has a basement!) are always distinct. It's perfectly easy to enter the old courthouse, but leaving it requires permission, or the door will remain locked no matter what you do. Unless one is accompanied by law enforcement (a loose term which includes the town watch and any character who could qualify based on their job on their home world), you must plead your case before the bench. Which bench? Well, that's easy enough to figure out - except for the courtroom closest to the stairs back up to the new courthouse, every judge's bench in the old courthouse has been smashed to fragments. YTERIC MEDICAL CENTER: (CW: mention of needles.) The hospital's symbol, a bright red mark in the shape of two squares joined at a diagonal corner, glows consistently over the rest of the buildings; it's the second tallest structure in the part of the city that became Lamplight, after the cell-and-radio tower standing over the Gardens. The cost of treatment is the same whether you come in with a papercut or a broken back; a thimbleful or so of blood, collected by an incredibly anonymous doctor whose skill at finding veins is supernatural and whose face you can never recall afterwards. And that's genuinely supernatural; even characters who have skin that cannot be punctured or who don't have blood will pay the same price in fluid. There's never a long wait time to see the Doc, even if their bedside manner could use some work. No receptionist; the Doc calls patients by injury over the intercom in the waiting room. Their treatment is modern, sterile (in every sense of the word), and incredibly effective. Overnight stays can be found on the second floor; all hours are visiting hours. If you call an ambulance, it appears almost immediately, but there's no driver and you won't remember anything of the ride. THE SCHURCH: Originally a church with an attached private school; over time, the name blended into "the school church" and eventually just "the schurch." (There are both other school buildings and other churches in the town, but this is the only one that was both.) Native residents avoid the schurch, avoid talking about the schurch, and don't put lanterns near the schurch. It occupies an entire block by itself, and no one will live in the block immediately around it. From the outside, it looks fine, if perhaps a little better cared-for than its status as architecture-non-grata would incline you to believe. Even looking through the windows will reveal a perfectly normal building. Actually enter the schurch, however, and you'll discover that the whole thing is burned out on the inside, and the smell of burnt flesh hangs in the air even now. OUTSIDE THE WALLS Beyond the concrete walls of the town lies the rest of the city. Things are generally relatively peaceful until you get about four or five miles outside the walls, at which point you'll reach the "old walls" - the original, similar set of concrete and brick walls that used to serve as the town's border, back when there were more people in it. The Old Walls have seen better days, and are crumbling with gaps in many places, but other places are solid enough. Both new and old walls tend to run down the centers of wide streets with the occasional sharp corner. In the space between the inner and outer walls, it's clear that people salvaged as much as they could before they left, and that they left quite a while ago. The buildings aren't exactly ruins, but they've obviously decayed and been left to the elements quite a bit. The yards have gone wild, as wild as it's possible to go with so little light; unsettling, tall, almost-white grass shoots up from the ground in numerous places, and there's mushrooms and lichen everywhere. No matter how confident you normally are, you get a growing sense of anxiety the longer you're out here. When you pass beyond the Old Walls, then you're into the city ruin proper, and, bizarrely, the sense of constant anxiety eases. What has and hasn't decayed in the city is hit and miss; some buildings will have collapsed entirely, while others look pristine. The pristine-looking ones, though, are somehow the more ominous; the shadows around them are always somehow darker and deeper. There might be something worth scavenging in them, especially as you get further away from the walls. The downtown between the skyscrapers, in particular, is very well-kept... But the shadows here, conversely, definitely move on their own. Meanwhile, up north at the harbor, the ocean has nearly reclaimed the port and the docks. Massive rusted cranes creak in the ocean breeze - but how is there a breeze, so strongly smelling of salt, when the wall of the Shell locks Scelio Bay away from the rest of the world? Either way, there are always things washing up on the shoreline on the other side of the docks - the part that was actually beach and park when the city was lively. You can see the lights of the town's beach lanterns over the waves... But those might not be the only lights you see over the water, and hopefully you know the difference. And going back the other way... There are three gaps in the wall that supports the Shell that are accessible from Lamplight (plus another one between the town border and the Old Walls). Two of them lead uphill; the one closest to the water leads down. The townsfolk report that no one has gone that way in years, although in theory those passages were once roads leading to other towns. One of the younger-looking residents, Jiacke, reports that her fiancee and a number of others have gone off exploring them and found that the tunnels they thought they had well-mapped were sometimes completely changed. The last time Jiacke saw her, her fiancee said that she was going to walk along the shore through the northernmost tunnel and never returned. If you would like to explore beyond the borders of the town outside of an event, please contact a mod. Back to Navigation