Tian Xia City

Total Population: ~800,000

The glimmering capital of the eternal continent and the seat of the Almighty Shang Di, Tian Xia city was a city without compare. With sprawling business, bureaucratic, residential and entertainment districts that dwarfed all their contemporaries, Tian Xia had everything a city could hope to offer. Also known for its grand architecture with two separate, sprawling, palatial complexes, ornate cathedrals, churches and pagodas; Tian Xia City's buildings have inspired generations of rulers and poets alike. It’s grand bazaar once held exotic goods and powerful artifacts from every corner of the known world. However, in recent decades the city has become a shell of its former self as encroaching chaos and the expanding abyssal wastes has cut it off from the surrounding cities, drying up the lucrative trade and lifeblood of the city. Now the ground bazaar stands a mere fraction of its former size and the vast bureaucratic districts stand with empty offices with no businesses to manage. Only the cathedral and palace districts have remained relatively unscathed.

### The Vermillion Palace

The most magnificent palace in all the continent, nestled high up in the mountain tops, the vermillion palace is the seat of all power in the land. All but the most respected champions and high priests are barred entry to the sacred palace. From here the Vermilion Emperor, Shang Di's Red Dragon envoy, observes the mortal realms and meets with his closest advisers to set down legislation and plans for the betterment of the continent.

#### The Prime Nexus

Hidden somewhere deep within the Vermillion palace, lies the Prime Nexus: the confluence of all the world's Leylines and the center of the network of smaller leyline nexuses upon which all other major cities are built. The source of all magic power and Shang Di’s near omnipotence the power of the Prime Nexus is the only thing keeping the abyssal wastes from swallowing up the entire continent. This nexus is the literal beating heart and soul of the entire continent and was the source of the conflict between Shang Di and the forces of order and The Nameless One that rent open the lands and created the Chasm of Dis and the source of chaos that spreads through the continent.

### The Cerulean Palace

The cerulean palaces the more accessible of the two palaces in Tian Xia city where the governor of the city manages local affairs. Though lest grand in scale, it is exponentially more busy as the hustle and bustle of a literal army of officials and bureaucrats keep the massive city running. Anyone who wants anything done in the city first must visit the cerulean palace.

### The Celestial Pagoda

Part observatory and part place of worship, the Celestial Pagoda is the only religious building on the continent dedicated solely to the supreme deity Shang Di. Only the most devout and knowledgeable clerics, monks, and paladins may be allowed to call them selves champions of Shang Di. This fact makes their clergy the smallest in number among all the faiths dedicated to the major deities. The pagoda also serves as a major observatory sitting on top one of the highest peaks in Tian Xia city. Here expert astronomers observe the patterns of the stars and the celestial barrier that keeps out unfathomable cosmic chaos and horror. However, recent rumors suggest that the astrologers and astronomers have discovered some terrible truth in the stars and have sequestered themselves to ponder these ramifications.

### The Chapel of Time

While it is a place of worship on the surface, the chapel of time is actually best known as the headquarters for The Order of the Awakened, as awakening to past lives is inherently linked to the mysteries of time. Members of the Church of Time are almost exclusively awakened individuals and the services they provide help monitor and re-integrate awakened individuals into society. The church also provides these individuals with the procedures and rituals to cut ties with their past lives if the burden becomes too great to bear. Treated with equal measures of distrust and awe, The Church finds itself in a precarious position as the disgruntled inhabitants of Tian Xia city have started to blame some of their current problems on The Order and their inability to quell the forces of Chaos while also recognizing that it's only through the efforts of awakened adventures that civilizations remains standing at all. In any case, the church of time is indispensable to any awakened adventurers.

### The Grand Bazaar

Once full of all the riches the world had to offer, The Grand Bazaar used to move as much coin in a single day as a small city did in one year. However, since the closing of Tian Xia's borders, the once indisputable hub of all continental trade has been reduced to a local farmers markets and general goods stores. Much of the sprawling complex has been turned into a shanty town where refugees from the countryside were forced to relocate as their homes were swallowed up by the abyssal wastes. Additionally many travelers in immigrants who were caught in the city when it closed its borders have relocated to the bazaar district. This has made this district a hotbed of criminal activity as poverty and insufficient social support have led the much of the populace to take drastic measures to ensure their survival.

### The Jade Army

While the rest of the city may be falling on hard times, the Jade Army remains the pride of Tian Xia city. Due to their constant conflict with the demons that are pressing upon the borders of the province, the Jade Army is the most elite, well trained and well equipped army on all the continent. Each officer must undergo rigorous education in strategy and tactics as well as organization and management. This superior leadership makes the Jade Army effective, efficient and deadly. In the cities current economic downturn, enlisting in the army is one of the surest tickets to a meal provided you can stomach the discipline and training of the army. Officer Academies are always at capacity and competition for a spot in each year’s class is increasingly fierce. Armed with mighty spears and halberds atop their trusted wyvern mounts, the Jade Army is what every professional army aspires to.