Virtannis

### Locations

**Labor Quarter**: Concentrated industry, giant fans of steam and magic turn to power manufacturing of various products used across the land. Sailors gather in seawater soaked taverns to trade tales of their travels while criminal gangs fight for territory and extort protection money from businesses. The streets are narrow and filled to the brim with rats that feast upon waste fat from the day's catch. Huge docks are home to thousands of ships built from varying materials.

**Resident Quarter**: The more suburban dwellings of the middle and lower class. Many that live here are seasonal workers that travel to the west to be employed in agriculture or more often as working hands for the Parliament as the Cathedral Quarter requires constant renovation and maintenance to keep standing. Occasionally the residents of Virtannis begin to doubt the Parliament's ability to protect and provide for them. Typically when those tensions become high, the Department of Rejuvenation releases and new concoction of blood treatments to soothe the people's worried nerves.

**Security Quarter**: High walls of thick stone surround great open fields used for training and as a garrison for Tsayid's security forces. It's proximity to the Great Cathedral Bridge is no mistake, as it makes for a suitably high level of security for the Cathedral Quarter. Such level of security has become terribly necessary for preventing the spread of the luminous plague to the interior Quarters. It also acts as an impenetrable defense and deterrence against attacks from their rivals in the south. Who could have known invasion would come from the north? It is also said that deep beneath the Security Quarter, the impenetrable Black Spindle resides; Severian's personal bunker and reverse wizard tower.

**Cathedral Quarter**: The beating heart of Virtannis. The Grand Old Cathedral, unbeknownst to a single soul that now lives within it, was originally an Elven construction built in the time before other races had even began to exist. As the Elves retreated to their continent in the East, a sprawling modern metropolis was constructed around it. In these days, the Cathedral Quarter is the home of Tsayid's democratically elected Parliament. As the luminous plague spreads, the ill are collected by Department of Security forces and are transported to the Department of Rejuvenation's Quarantine zone for administration of blood treatments.

**The Grand Old Cathedral**: Built in the time of the Elves, the Old Cathedral is more of a small city within the Cathedral Quarter that contains the members of Parliament, their Inner Court and offices of the various departments. Little is known of what occurs within the Old Cathedral's basement or the imposing Lunarium Tower, bur rumors have long circulated of terrible sounds emanating from deep within the Cathedral.

**Lunarium Tower**: Home to the Department of Knowledge, this structure is the tallest in the whole world though it is suspected to sink deep into the earth as well. Technically part of the Grand Old Cathedral, it is separated from the Cathedral Quarter by enormous aqueducts. This separation is by design, as the Scholars of the Tower tend to prefer their own isolated company. Little is known of what goes on in it's upper reaches, but strange flashes of light can be spied during certain phases of the moon.

**Quarantine Zone**: To the north of the Cathedral Quarter lies a shanty of makeshift residences built atop a floating fishing hamlet. The Department of Rejuvenation claims that placing them on the water is to improve hygiene and proximity to the Cathedral for blood treatments, but some suspect that the true intent is darker. The borders of the Quarantine Zone are among the most heavily guarded in the entire continent as no known escapes have been accomplished.

### **Departments**

*The Departments encompass the entirety of their government, not just for the city, but for the entire Tsayid Empire.*

**Parliament**: Elected officials and representatives of the 12 Tsayid states. Functions as a judicial court and head of government for all of the Tsayid Empire. The Great Bailiff presides as the highest mediator over Parliament, the current is Great Bailiff Nas. The Bailiff Nas shows the Department of Knowledge much favor and dis-favorably treats the Department of Rejuvenation, resulting in underfunded blood treatments except in times of great need. While Parliament lives and meets in the Old Cathedral, far from the faces and voices of the common folk, Nas even further isolates himself in the top of the Lunarium.

**Department of Security**: Forces comprised of drafted/volunteer/hired military forces collected from each of the Tsayid states and Virtannis. The Department of Security resides in the Security Quarter. Estimates of numerical strength vary from 200-300 thousand, though the luminous plague may affect these figures. These forces function not only as Tsayid's primary defense forces, but also as police for the ever-growing metropolis Virtannis. The current leader is Grand Sheriff Severian. An unlikely choice for Grand Sheriff, Severian was previously second in command of the Department of Knowledge. The position of Grand Sheriff is appointed by the Great Bailiff and Severian's history leads to rumors of interior corruption between the Bailiff and the Department of Knowledge.

**Department of Knowledge**: Comprised of mostly of Scholars within the many book-filled levels of the Lunarium, the Department of Knowledge is also Tsayid's foremost spy agency. Evidence of their work is hidden everywhere, their intent obvious: manipulate public opinion in favor of Parliament. More superstitious rumors have long circulated that the spies collect arcane knowledge and the scholars apply such sciences for evil rituals. The Department of Knowledge also operates as a barebones church, offering basic services for most large religions. The head of this office is Pontiff Wilhelm, who resides in the top of the Tower with the Bailiff Nas.

**Department of Rejuvenation**: The most well-liked and smallest of all the departments, the Department of Rejuvenation consists of 4 schools of medicine situated deep beneath the Old Cathedral. Divine (clerics and paladins), Arcane (alchemists and wizards) Physical (surgeons and clinicians) and and Blood (transfusionists). The largest of the 4 by a huge margin is the School of Blood, due to the convenience, immediacy of relief and intoxicating properties. This department has no leader and instead functions as a group of likeminded freelancers. Originally a department dedicated to preserving the basic health of the populace, the department finds itself spread thin in its attempt to contain the luminous plague and continue to deliver the blood that the populace has become so dependent on. The need for blood often is so strong that the people never stop to ask, "Where did all this blood come from.....?" [Note: Transfusionist Friede was recruited from here]

### **Night of The Long Fang**

**Origin:** Beneath the raised city of the Cathedral Quarter and the connected Residential Quarter lies an intricate system of sewers and aqueducts. Underneath are the stacked remains of each civilization that once owned the Island. So ancient are these, that most are unexplored and unmaintained by the departments. Deep within their darkest and dingiest reaches live hordes of vampiric creatures that feed on the bits of blood that end up in the waste of Virtannis. Some suspect that these vampires are the origin of the first blood treatment. Their existence matters very little but for the Night of The Long fang that occurs on each blood moon (once every 60-80 years). On this night, the vampires of deep Virtannis escape into the rainy moonlit night to destroy and consume any blood their attuned noses might sense.

**Resident response:** The history of The Nights is long and well practiced. All that live in the Residential Quarter know of it and are well versed in protecting themselves on it. The houses of Virtannis are well equipped to prevent entry of almost all Vampiric creatures. Doors have triple iron seals, the windows are heavily barred and walls reinforced. As the nights came and went, the vampires became more desperate and emboldened. The more wealthy residents move out of city in them months approaching the Night. The most poor of residents form groups building huge pyres and carry simple weapons hoping to fight off the coming invasion long enough for the night to end.  The superstitious cling to rituals or offerings such as empty coffins outside their door, that the vampires may lay in. These coffins are often used during the night, as improvised cages for those afflicted by Eldritch Madness and used again after the Night has ended to dispose of the dead *[note: bodies in Virtannis are not buried, as there is no land left. They are dumped into the sewers.*] But there is still some murmuring within the Lunarium Tower that this coming Night will be the longest and most terrible ever and worry that even the most careful of Virtannites cannot prevent the coming horde. Worse still, the vampire threat is not the only one present on this Night. In addition, the Forces of Adelion and Lictorous tug at Tsayid's borders daily, The Night of The Long Fang makes for a prime opportunity to strike. On top of that, The Blood Moon is an augur of The Great Ones and Lesser Ones, inheritors of the Eldritch truth, and thus madness of man and beast runs rampant.

**Department of Security Response:** The Department of Security long ago realized that attempting to purge the vampires was a fool's errand and thus have been given the task of preventing any living thing from entering or exiting the city during the night. Any person caught attempting to escape is executed by firing squad. The department dedicates a minimum of 15% of its forces, a duty typically considered punishment for insubordination, to protecting the Great Cathedral Bridge, patrolling the nearby waters or operating anti-air rifles. Though this coming night will have as little as 2% of the department's total forces as Grand Sheriff Severian deems the war threats on the borders to be the primary concern. Sheriff Severian has received criticism for this to which he has responded with, "The walls of Virtannis are thick, and its moat deep. We will endure, as we always have."

**Parliament Response:** All of the departments, except the Department of Security, cease all outside operations during the Night of the Long Fang. The rejuvenators retreat to their dungeons beneath the Old Cathedral and seal their secret doors, filled with tainted blood that repels the vampires. The Scholars of the Tower use mirrors to focus beams of moonlight upon any beast that would approach it. Parliament closes session and huddles within the Inner Courtroom. The only active force outside these respective bunkers are Parliament's Three Vicars, Francesco Vileblood, Leone the Beast Eater and Garocite. They function primarily as vampire hunters, killing high value targets *[which can range from Vampire Lords to political enemies of Parliament trapped within their homes]* though they have grown to become a beacon of hope for the populace *[except for Leone, who is fiercely hated]*