The Even Undercity

The elven undercity (or Thestle Dorei to it's former inhabitants) refers to the subterranian remains of a once great city belonging to the Elves- a powerful race of adept magic users. Centuries ago following the The Kitham-Elven Conflict the elves were branded free reign to build underneath Gand provided that Kith and Orc territories and resources were not being jeopardised. In their construction they cultivated new magic spells to aid in building their underground metropolis- carving out large swaths of land with which to build. The Undercity was not just a functional place to live but a testament to elven culture and art through arcane magics, under careful hand it wasn't simply carved from stone but shaped by magic- molded like clay beneath their spell craft.   The elves carved out massive domed caverns supported by obsidian pillars and nestled into the natural rock formations, they often has ceilings embedded with glittering crystals to refract light. The architecture within appeared organic- some looking like petrified trees or stalagmites- reaching from floor to ceiling coiling in on itself as if grown rather than built. The entire network of chambers and cavers are connected via branching transportation tunnels designed for different purposes- some large enough to house whole towns, some designed for vehicles and steeds to pass through and some only large enough for a single person. They are called the veinways and connect people to the heart of the city as its own blood. Along the tunnels are magic sigils that light the way patched in between blankets of bioluminescent moss- watered with the moisture in th stone from the aqueducts that bring water to the city. The air tasted cool and pure and hummed with an arcane energy now mostly extinguished. Collecting the veinways to the surface to the civilasation of their sister races are reinforced stone vault doors that slide up noiselessly.   The elves were at the height of their development around 702 EoE when they contracted The Elven Plague or 'mage rot' though to be a result of their untested magic drawing from bizarre and chaotic energy- some theories it was a result of corrupted spell work in the form of Mana Recoil of a result of some anchient energy resting below the earth. The plague was highly transmissible and jumped from person to person with deadly efficency, eating away at the magic- the very souls of the elves. Death lived in the tunnels and was not merciful as the victims cried out in suffering. In a final act the elves chose to close the vault doors sealing themselves from the surface world to die in the dark, preventing their magic from seeping out, dying but in doing so saving the other races. The humans fearing the plague might jump between the races swore to leave the elves undisturbed to their tomb until they were certain it was safe.   A century later and the Kith worked to unseal the vaults, for years there were rumours of haphazard explorers entering in search of gold but this was the first endorsed expedition under the king. Initially sending in knights and scribes they began the tedious task of unearthing the city to scout for anything useful. They worked to move the bodies of the fallen elves into designated chambers but found the city simply too expansive to uncover everything. Since re-opening the lights from runes dim and flicker sporadically, moss and fungi overgrown whole passages their stems thick and cumbersome to cut through. Silence always hangs heavy and sounds only echo a short way. The scouts finding their investigation to be suffient returned to report their findings. At this time the kith had been repurposing their the elven structures poking above ground for their own settlements using the materials to be repurposed to make human cities directly a top as is the case with Zentawen the unsealing was the push needed to begin to utilise the space for expansion. The monarchy put laws in place to stop unauthorised humans from tampering with the tunnels, they feared that the citizens may contract the plague still festering behind the vault doors or may tip into a safe guarded room uleashing unstable magic or bizarre beasts. Or equal concern was the power that the undercity could bestow upon the ordinary citizen, magic artefacts like Runes or Scrolls could put untold power into someone's hands- or act as a place for citizens to congrugate or plot- leading to a political disaster. As it stands entering the undercity or being in possession of an elven artefact will directly lead to persecution and imprisonment or if the artefact is magical in nature or active in the prescience of a person they can be arrested by the Brotherhood of Tarn and taken to The Keep for reconstitution.  

Unauthorised access

The threat of persecution for entering the tunnels is a very real threat that hangs over the heads of most- persecution to the nearest Major Cities can spell turmoil but to be expedited to The Keep can be downright terrifying as all know that there is no return from there. The tunnels themselves are perilous; some may be booby trapped, or contain dangerous magic echos with ill effects. Some tunnels may harbour teritorial creatures or hazardous spores from luminous fungus. There is always the risk that the tunnels themselves could become unstable enough to collapse or so deep and twisted that a person may never find their way out to the surface again. And yet, people continue to go down there in spite of all risks. Some go seeking power or fortune, elven artefacts fetch a fair price on the black market. one are looking for adventure to unravel the mysteries of the city. But for a great number the tunnels are not a place of voluntary refuge, but one of necessity. Those who have been outlawed or are seeking to avoid arrest flock to the desolate space of the tunnels, and sorcerers hide there in fear of being discovered, in small pockets of tunnels these people thrive sequestered away from public scrutiny.  

The Veinrail

A century following the elven sealing, the kith of Gand have begun their own revolution- not one arcane like the elves, but industrial. Fueled by the minds of builder and engineers who use ingenuity to fashion new machines and science from what the undercity left behind. The core of this progress was the Veinrail project; which took the tunnels previously opened by kith scouts and repurpose it to serve the interconectivity of Gand. The purpose of this project was to create a high-speed train network that connected the country through the undercity paths thereby reducing travel time, creating a trade boom making building materials more accessible and consolidating political power. The kith entered the city fuelled by new technology including protective clothing, lighting fuelled by power crystals, hand drills and mine carts, using this the efforts have unearthed an estimated twenty percent of the undercity with only around fifteen being used to hold tracks. The longest stretch of track runs in between Wintrow and Zentawen and follows a large section of tunnel known as the artery. In order to access the tracks cities have begun to build Royal trains, mechanical marvels powered by crystalline engines. These are only for registered users who are wealthy and affluent , often acting on directions of the king, in response to this is the emergence of Bootleg Trains. The paths that are designed for trains is known as the Elven Network Trade Route as trade is it's primary purpose to ferry food and other resources around.  

Residual magic

Those who visit the tunnels below speak of strange happenings from the depths, areas that are preserved almost too perfectly unchanged by time- homes with food still fresh on the table- washing still damp on the line but unmarried by mildew. Here voices seem to echo off the tunnel walls but originate in one's own mind, music plays from do source and the air crackles with static as if a storm is about to pass through. There are area where time distorts and fluctuates, watches beat at half or twice speed people who emerge from the tunnels to find they've been in accounted for for days. People are put off by these events dubbed 'magic echo's' and for many is is deterrent to enter into the tunnels at all. Folk stories grow into the public consciousness reinforcing the tunnels as a place to be feared- for good reason. Those who are enlisted to work on the veinrail project do so for the financial incentive as the work is dangerous, and mentally and physically taxing it is one of the better-paying jobs, with no need for literacy or skills. Many desperate people take on the role in order to provide for their families or to escape their current situation. They enter the role knowing full well what they may be leaving on the surface.    

Beasts and Vermin

Glow rats

Glow rats are sleek vermin-like creatures with long hooked tails and pig-like snouts. They have semi-translucent skin which glows in time with the pulsing of their glowing organs they have small black eyes and sparse, fine, hairs that cover their bodies. They grow to about 14 inches tall and often travel in groups. Glowrats were originally kept as companions to the elves as they thrived in the same low-light conditions, they were kept as pest control and to help carry small weights. Since the elves perished the glow rat colonies have grown feral and uncontrolled- they have spent the last century roving in colonies eating whatever they could find. Singularly they are omnivorous scavengers that look for opportunities but in packs they can swarm and ambush prey toppling over grown adults in moments. Glowrats are said to emit small energy fields which produces a calming effect, it's useful for inducing calm in others and when not in feed they are pleasant to be around.  

Gravel yak

Gravel yaks are large ox-like beasts of burden which were central to the trade and agriculture of the Elven Undercity, they gained their name from their grey dusty coats and their role for carting large amounts of supplies begginging with loads of gravel and rocks, lthough slow moving they re incredibly stronf. Gravel yaks are broad-shouldered and have thick corded muscles they have short coats save for their long curly manes. Adults can grow large horns but will typically rub them against the stone in order to shear them off- likely to better manoeuvre around the tunnels. Gravel yaks feed of vegetation and typically eat moss, and fungi but so will lick the stone of the tunnels. When gravel yaks are confronted they undergo a freeze response where their muscles lock. And they play dead, this freeze response can last hours to even weeks. Since opening the tunnels some Gravel yaks have been recovered and brought into the above ground world. Despite their solitude the domestication behaviours still exist and so many have been able to be introduced into kith and orcish communities.  

Vermelk

Vermelk are large invetabrete livestock animals that have an oblong grub-like body with a soft chitin armour that is covered in fine fluff. They also have six legs and large stag beetle like horns on their heads. Vermelk were the cornerstone of much food and texile production; their soft fuzz could be collected and spun into fine garments, the Vermelk also spun large and soft cocoons which could be spun into silk but also could be boiled into a gelatinous protein paste used in a range of dishes. Vermelk also product a mucus trail as they leisurely slug from place to place in search of moss and slime to feed off this slime hardens and can be heated into a bio-plastic mas which can be included with magic forming alot of embellishments and magic tools. Since the deaths o the elves most Valmelk have died off without their care of their elven counterparts providing them food and keeping them safe from predators. Vermalr are non-hostile and slow moving making them a prime target for all manner of beasts from packs of glow rats to a single Shardlurker.  

Shardlurker

Shdlurkers are as long as a finger and are grublike in shape and have multiple rows of spindly legs and a shiny, reflective chitin armour which looks like the dark shards of a mirror or broken pottery. They use their legs to dig into and tether themselves into the tunnel walls, when buried they become inactive and take on a dark grey hue that cameoflages into he sorrounding area and makes them almost invisible to the naked eye. They will stay motionless and hidden until they detect movelent within the stone fro either scavenging glow rats sniffing at the walls or the footsteps of a lost adventurer. When their prey is close their bodies light up and begins to pulse with fluctuating hypnotic patterns, they stun their prey with this display before launching themselves from their hiding spot they dig into their host hooking into and burrowing int their flesh, unless extracted they will continue to use their tiny hooked mouths to cleave away strings of flesh. It's believed that they secrete some form of toxins as bizarrely the host does not seen to notice them and will no feel themselves being eater not acknowledge their prescience if untreated the latching can be fatal as wounds easily become infected. The best way to extract a Shardlurker is soffcatig them in oil and digging them out with a sharp spike or by burning any exposed tail.    

The Walking Still

Not a lot is known about the walking still it has only been recorded in second hand account an those are few and far in between, it seems to be magical in origin and may be a form of corrupted residual magic tat still seeps into the tunnels. Some believe it to be a magical defense system to protect and guard the entrance to the tunnels and some believe it to be a curse uttered by a dying elf lashing out in fury toward the other elves or even the surface dwellers. The walking still looks like a frozen tableau of corpses-elves, animals even kith all merged into one unmoving form as if a all living things are trying to occupy the same space at once. It stands still like a statue an unyielding biomass that cannot be fought or predicted- it will show up in strange places with no rhyme or reason and sighting ne is extremely rare. The walking still will appear to a person deep within the tunnels and will not move unless it is aware it is being observed, wen seen it will 'rearrange itself shifting its contents around as it shambles closer. It's movements are hypnotic but if one stares too long they will become apart of it.