I'Cath
I’Cath is a domain torn between two realms: the bleak waking city and the golden dream city woven by its enigmatic Darklord, Tsien Chiang. To outsiders and those unwittingly drawn into its mists, I’Cath is a place of haunting emptiness, where the knotted streets wind endlessly, and every shadow whispers lost memories.
Tsien Chiang is a figure of paradox:
- In the waking world, she is a silent shadow who watches from Ping’On Tower, tolling the Nightingale Bell to bind souls to her dream.
- In the dream city, she is a regal and merciless sovereign, a master designer who reshapes reality to suit her vision.
Her power lies not only in magic but in the control of dreams and souls, weaving a web that traps the domain’s denizens between waking despair and dreamlike captivity.
The Mists of Dread carry lost souls to I’Cath, where many become trapped in the dream city’s gilded cage or hunted in the waking city’s relentless gloom. The tolling of the Nightingale Bell each night deepens the curse, pulling more victims into Tsien Chiang’s grasp.
Those who awaken find the city ever-shifting—streets twist, landmarks disappear, and dangers grow. Few find escape, and fewer still remember their lives before I’Cath.
I’Cath is a domain of dual realities: a haunted, crumbling city of hunger and fear beneath a golden dreamscape of order and beauty, ruled by the cold, enigmatic Tsien Chiang. It is a place where freedom is illusion, and every soul is bound to the cycle of waking terror and dreaming slavery.
“Sleep comes as both refuge and prison. The bell tolls, and the city calls.”
Geography
The physical I’Cath is a gray labyrinth of narrow alleys, crumbling rooftops, and shuttered windows, perpetually veiled in a thick twilight haze. Food is scarce, and the air carries the faint tang of decay and incense burned in desperation.
- The city streets echo with footsteps that never reach their destination.
- Jiangshi—the restless, hopping undead—lurk in alleys and rooftops, preying on the living.
- The few inhabitants who remain are shadows themselves, moving silently, eyes hollow with fear.
The Ping’On Tower, a monolithic spire at the city’s center, is the focus of dark rituals and haunted legends. Each evening, as night falls, the tower’s ancient bell—called the Nightingale Bell—is tolled by Tsien Chiang herself, a summons and a curse.
When the inhabitants sleep—or when the Mists claim wanderers—they are transported into Tsien Chiang’s dream city: a radiant, flawless vision of I’Cath. Here, the streets are lined with gleaming jade and polished gold, cherry blossoms bloom eternally, and all movement flows with perfect grace and order.
- This city is a place of ultimate beauty and efficiency, where every citizen plays a role perfectly orchestrated by Tsien Chiang.
- Yet beneath the surface lies a chilling rigidity, an unyielding control where free will is a forgotten notion.
- Visitors often feel both drawn to the city’s splendor and suffocated by its precision.
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