The City of Bridges

The City of Bridges was one of the City States on the Plane of Bridges, considered by many to be it's crowning jewel or capital. It was the primary nexus and area of questing for The Hydra's Head.

## **Description**

The City was a four tiered structure, similar in construction to a massive ziggurat or mesoamerican step-pyramind. Each of these terraces was claimed by and named for one of four of the Tiered Iyari families proceeding up in the order of: Terran, Nythan, Aerran, Gnisan. Each of these tiers had a distinct flavour developed by the cooking pot of people that settled there during the centuries following the Birth of Bridges.

### Terran

The lowest terrace was watched over by the down-to-earth and friendly Terran Iyari whose values of fairness, freedom and family pushed the citizens toward the formation of their raucous, community focused lives. Terran was a place of closely packed buildings and streets that sat atop each other, trade and residential districts mingling without boundaries and markets popped-up everywhere and anywhere they could.

Terran was dominated by the Terran Circular, a large road that rings through the whole tier and connects each and every road, path and alley into one easily accessible route.

Notable locations in Terran were:

* The Yawning Portal
* The Hydra's Head
* The Old Diviner
* The Terran Assembly
* The Obscura

### Nythan

The second tier was governed by the business minded Nythan Iyari. The tier itself was marked by a labyrinthine system of canals and locks used by merchants and guilds to move products in and out of the city. Similar in regards to Terran in that most people who lived there valued individuality and a simple life but different in regards to the quality of life achieved, Nythan folk were usually quite well off and could afford to live luxurious lives compared to the tier below them.

Notable locations in Nythan were:

* The Sleeping Docks
* Nythan Assembly

### Aerran

The black sheep of the tiers was Aerran. The Aerran Iyari inspired an almost religious fervour towards the sciences and advancement of technology and it quickly became home to many of the planes greatest minds. Aerran was home of the airship and the gun, medical science and magics advanced there and from there more of the newly formed planar system was mapped.

With this focus towards technology and cleanliness, the streets of Aerran were clear and simple. Buildings were geared towards the ergonomic rather than the aesthetic, with most buildings looking more like warehouses than homes. The streets were wide to allow for the movement of big projects.

Notable locations in Aerran were:

* The Airdocks
* Aerran Assembly

### Gnisan

The topmost tier was controlled by the Gnisan Iyari and was the home of the Iyari themselves, as well as the Bridges Gates. The proximity to the gates to the other planes forged Gnisan into a multicultural landscape of different buildings and ideas of different styles, this was egged on by the Iyari's own love of a wide range of cultures.

Most of the Iyari who lived in the City found homes in Gnisan amid their own kind. This drove prices up meaning that only the richest citizens of the planes could afford to live here. This lead to Gnisan to being known for its social life, something was always happening there. Balls, parties and meetings happened almost every night.

Notable locations in Gnisan were:

* Bridges Gates
* Gnisan Assembly

## **History**

After The Convergence and the Birth of Bridges the wandering Iyari founded a small encampment, in which they planned to figure out exactly who they are and what they were doing there. As their powers grew so did the city.

By the time the people of the Material Planes ventured on the demiplane the City was fully formed in preparation for them, divided into its famed tiered quadrants. From these initial explorers many returned home to their planes but some stayed behind with the Iyari having been wooed by their utopic dream. As years progressed news of the affluence of the City spread far and wide and attracted all sorts to its gates. As this continued the City became a favourite for guilds and merchants due to it's close proximity to all conceivable materials from all conceivable planes.

Within the first century both the Council of Guilds and the Embassy of Heroics were formed by the Iyari. Business boomed. People flocked. The City prospered over centuries.

In it's five hundredth year the City was introduced to the group of heroes that would change the face of the city forever. During the Terran leg of the four hundredth annual Trials of Bridges a group was formed under the banner of the Terran Brewers Guild, consisting of four Chosen Heroes named Ansel Alestorm, Llygoden, Garrick and Raul. These men from the Brewers would go onto find ways to circumvent expectation on all four of the trials and go on to achieve one of the highest scores ever seen in the City, eventually form their own Guild named The Hydra's Head and open a bar under the same name on the Terran Circular.

### The Bastard Bridges

History is a fickle thing and prone to change. Such a thing happened to the City due to two planar beings who altered the timeline of the planes to save (or reintroduce) a single life. This new Bridges is the one you read about on this page but the one before is now known (in meta knowledge) as the Bastard Bridges. Of all things that changed the two most notable were the introduction of gunpowder driven weaponry and the loss of the entire Warforged population, including the original fourth member of The Hydra's Head Theseus.

## **Location**

The City of Bridges sat at the very centre of the demiplane, as if a hub on a wheel. Due to the position of it's founding many of the other city states radiated out from it and considered it their primary partner in trading and military dealings.

The City is bordered on the north, south and west by the Wandered Plains and bordered on the east by the Sleeping Sea. It is easily accessible by most forms of transport and is fitted with both sea and air docks.