New Chazarre

The Cavernous City

Underground in what is known as the "Dark Elven Caves" is a vast connected network of settlements inhabited primarily by Dark Elves and other underground denizens, which has at many different times been united in one form or another, into a vast kingdom. New Chazarre, the first and largest of these cities, is considered that kingdom's capital.

Chadzar Dalarune by Jarhed

But what lies beneath the surface of Totania in the underground metropolis?

Major Locations

New Chazarre, like any city, has neighborhoods, districts, and landmarks that make it distinct from anywhere else in the world. Named after an old Elven neighborhood in Camor, Chazarre (which no longer exists, wiped clean and renamed), the many diverse and odd neighborhoods of New Chazarre hold tight to their roots and a core idea of the city's construction: group identities should be allowed to thrive in whatever way they form, and together they will form something coherent and beautiful and new. Neighborhood identities are important to New Chazarre because they know what it means to be an outspoken neighborhood under threat of violent assimilation (or the founders did, and those ideas have since been passed on).

The Temple of the Stemine

The first building constructed in New Chazarre, at the center of the city, is the Temple of the Stemine, 401 meters by 401 meters, it houses a dim, inactive stemine considered holy by the Dark Elven people. This was the flower that saved them from the hunt of the High Elven lords of Camor and transported them to the site of New Chazarre: the Sacred Stemine.

Deactivated Stemine by genuinetrickster

It is not worshiped, but it is revered, for it is a symbol of their freedom. Dark Elves line up daily to the temple, touching one of the poisonous thorns for a second to build up immunity to deadly poisons. Due to this, most Dark Elven adults cannot be poisoned. When it comes to the Under Gnome and Cave Dwarven residents of New Chazarre, it is not as common for them to follow this practice, for it the Stemine did not help them, but some do. On each corner of the temple, special chambers hold an active stemine, in case one is ever needed again. Guards are trained for 200 years to then take over the position of protecting these active, as well as the one inactive, stemine. The few times that other active stemines have teleported people to New Chazarre, the inactive plants they leave behind have been dug up and brought into the halls of the temple as well.

Central Stem

The neighborhood around the temple, Central Stem is known for housing many businesses and merchants, as it is the busiest area of the city. There are laws preventing the buildings here from reaching a certain height, as going too high would block views of the temple. The structures around the temple are known best for their bright colors, contrasting the generally dark neighborhoods in the rest of the city, as they try to evoke the feeling brought about by the stemine itself. Feelings of hope, joy, and freedom. With this, they are able to bring in more business. Those that live in this area are often from families that have had immense wealth or power for centuries, though there have been trends of moving out due to how often poorer Dark Elves enter the neighborhood for the temple, which the wealthy residents don't like to be around.

Realm of the Lord

The largest part of the city, it is however the least populated area, housing no more than ten permanent residents at any time. These residents are the purple Dragon Lord who rules over the Dark Elves, Jarrur Lord of the Dark, and his council of attendants. Technically the district known as the Realm of the Lord is not part of New Chazarre. It existed long before the Dark Elves did, an attempt from Jarrur to build a sort of anti-Zephys (though Zephys itself did not exist, the castle above it now known as the Magic College did, and Jarrur has always considered himself the intellectual opponent of its creator and original ruler), deep underground to contrast the floating city. The Realm of the Lord, also called Solothilès, is a city built for a dragon by a dragon. To anyone stepping into the streets of Solothilès, they will find themselves like ants in the magnificent architecture, hand-crafted by the cleverest of the dragons out of the very cave itself. Some believe that the place known as Solothilès is not even a naturally formed cave, but instead an extension Of course, it is not entirely open to visitors. There are no laws against entering it, but it is tied to the religious beliefs of the underground dwellers that they should remain a distance away from the Lord of the Dark so that he may make his judgements unimpeded. Visiting is a pilgrimage that must be earned, a process ultimately decided by Jarrur's attendants. Due to its proximity to New Chazarre, as well as how few people live within its limits, Solothilès is considered an extension of the Dark Elven capital rather than its own city.

Founding

New Chazarre was initially founded by the first Dark Elves Chadzar Dalarune, Dresmorlin Cobath, and their group of rebellious Elves who fled Camor, the seat of the High Elven monarchy (or, at the time, the Elven monarchy, as no other type of Elf existed). Many of these rebels had previously been from the neighborhood of Camor, which was colloquially known at the time as Chazarre because of the popular Chadzar Dalarune and the movement he started in it. As the city was still new, such a figure was incredibly influential. These rebels, the first generation of free Elves born after the Holy Rebellion, rebelled against the unjust conditions and lack of rights, power, and voice they had in the city of Camor, as well as the unjust treatment of the Orcish citizens leading up to the March of the Orcs. This group was driven out of the city by Galgeon Lusisce and Captain Commander Tavzion Mossense after a major incident they had been implicated in. While some of these rebels, as well as others who fled with them or had left the city earlier, broke off to become the first Wood Elves in the Elven Forest, Chadzar led an offshoot to a plant known as a stemine, a rose that teleported those around him underground to the location that would later be known as New Chazarre. With the stemine at its center, the city was built under the conflicting leadership of Chadzar Dalarune and the wealthy Dresmorlin Cobath. Cobath was one of the old guard that Dalarune rebelled against, but had funded Chadzar for his own amusement. In those early years, the two fought as Chadzar wished to make New Chazarre a legitimate city while Dresmorlin treated it like a playground to amuse himself in. Ultimately, Dresmorlin was locked away for his crimes, and Chadzar's vision of the city was (mostly) realized. While there are many myths about how the Dragon Lord known as Jarrur, Lord of the Dark, came to power, no certain story can be told of his ascension to rule. Some say he was met by adventurers who sought to learn more about the cave system, while others say exiled citizens found him, and others still say either Chadzar found him himself or Jarrur discovered the newly built settlement, not the other way around. What is certain is that Chadzar did not consider himself a leader like the Queen of the High Elves, Meiriris Nerifir, and thus never took up an official monarchical position, instead remaining only a symbolic leader. In the interim, other systems were attempted until, inevitably, the Dark Elves stumbled upon the Lord of the Dark and, eventually, submitted to the incredibly intelligent Dragon Lord. It is under Jarrur's rule, which has very rarely been disrupted, that New Chazarre grew from a languishing settlement to a thriving city with no need for major trade with the rest of the world, and thus it is then that it gained its identity. Thanks to the combind efforts of Chadzar Dalarune, Dresmorlin Cobath, and Jarrur, Lord of the Dark.

The Visionary of the Cave

One cavernous section of the Realm of the Lord houses someone called the Visionary of the Cave. It is said that a Dark Elf lives deep within the Realm of the Lord, protected by Jarrur, and that some even seek out his guidance instead of Jarrur's. His predictions are helpful for many citizens, though some question the legitimacy of someone who won't reveal their identity, and who has lived longer than even Dark Elves should be able to. Is it the same person? Or have multiple people taken up this position under Jarrur's watch?

Sunlight District

The Sunlight District is the southeasternmost part of the city, where the largest opening to the cave is found: the sole true entrance to New Chazarre from the surface. There is still a distance from the entrance to the city proper, with a steep pathway and Dwarven guards preventing free entrance and exit for most residents and visitors. This area of the city has more immigrants than most others, as it houses those who enter into the cave and can't find another place in the city to settle down. Therefore, it houses less Dark Elves, Under Gnomes, or Cave Dwarves than the rest of the city. Goblins, Humans, Halflings, Draconians, Wood Elves, and newly resettled Mountain Dwarves make up a majority of its demographics, though it's still a small fraction of the city's population.

Surface Entrance

The opening to the outside world, this is an ominous cave entrance within the eastern border of Dwarven territory. A secondary cave entrance, leading to a small temple, is right beside this one, and a small encampment of Dwarves (which has, in time, become a medium-sized settlement of its own) is right outside the entrance. Between the entrance and the city is a long, steep inclined cave pathway that is, closest to the surface, barren and dark. The sunlight still reaches this part of the path, but it is far from as bright as it would be outside, and it is darker than most surface dwellers would ever experience, at least until they get into the city proper. Further into the tunnel, one would find signs posted over it, including one listing the population of the city, one with posters for local events (mostly in the Sunlight District), and a message from the current overseer of the entrance. It is guarded on the outside by the Dwarven military squad known as the Blue Devils, whose major goal is to prevent problems from the caves from leaking out into their lands on the surface. Their official reasoning for being there, however, is to protect the caves from outside threats, though they have almost never done this and often allow monsters or dangerous individuals into New Chazarre.

Blue Devils Outpost

One of the few signs of outside diplomacy in the city, the Blue Devils also have an outpost in the Sunlight District which also doubles as the Dwarven embassy whenever the Prime Minister needs to visit underground. These soldiers are hated by most residents of the city, outside enforcers who prevent them from being as free as they want to be, but there is little that can be done, as the Dark Elves do not have the military might to resist the Dwarves. At most, when things are at their worst, Jarrur steps in to stop the Dwarves, but he does not force them to leave. One reason for this is, according to him:

"If I make them afraid of me, they will stop acting out for a time, until I must remind them again when their memories fade. Thus, they will act with care. They are envoys of a foreign military, and force is their language. Speak in threats, they will go no further than to answer back in threats. Speak in force and they will answer in it. If I force them to leave, they will return again when my back is turned, and they will do whatever they can to make me regret forcing them out. If I am to protect my people, I cannot create a violent response. We must be peaceful with the Dwarves so they are peaceful in return."
— Jarrur, Lord of the Dark

Residents avoid this outpost as often as they can, for they know stepping too close could provoke a response from the Dwarves.

Sunspot Farms and Mushroom Patches

It is wrong to say all of New Chazarre is underground, as the cave system opens up at points all over the city (not just in the sunlight district) to let in small bits of sunlight. It is here that some major crops are grown, in farms that were passed down in the families that first settled the land, families that end up having more interactions with the outside world than most other underground dwellers. These are known as the Sunspot Farms, producing the closest things to surface crops that the underground is capable of. However, these sunspots are not the only farms found in New Chazarre. Mushrooms grow all over the cave system, serving as the city's major food source. These are not owned by anyone in particular, as they grow without need of maintenance, and can be harvested by any passersby. Jarrur outlawed the ownership or guarding of mushroom patches, demanding that they belong to all people, making them communal gathering places.

Little Lorev

Towering above the rest of the city, on the outskirts bordering the Realm of the Lord, is a neighborhood known as Little Lorev. It is actually part of the Realm of the Lord if one were to be technical about it, carved by Jarrur, but it was given over to Fire Giant migrants who had nowhere to stay for thousands of years following the fall of the Giant Kingdom. Most Fire Giants had wandered underground or lived in smaller settlements until New Chazarre was founded as a safe haven for them. Here, one can find large forges with some of the highest quality smiths in the world, who have access to metals from deep in the earth right in their own neighborhood. It is the most accessible land still inhabited by Giants today, and still many are afraid to enter due to how easy it is to go unnoticed and get squished by a Giant. Despite this, Little Lorev is still a rich neighborhood of unique cultural practices and lively events.

The Fanu Neighborhood

One of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, it was initially at the very edge of the city limits, far enough away to almost be its own small town, as one of the co-founders, Dresmorlin Cobath, lived here and wished to maintain a distance from the rest of the city. It is built around the edge of a cliff that leads down into... well, no one knows what's at the bottom of that cliff. People don't live in this neighborhood for long, with most of its residents being young people just moving out of their family's homes. It is a dangerous neighborhood and few can stand living in it for more than a few years before they flee to a safer part of the city. After all, anywhere is safer than this neighborhood.

House of the Hidden Sun

While most other sunspot locations have small bits of direct access to sunlight, there is a cliff on the edge of the Fanu neighborhood that gets a strange offshoot of natural light. The natural sunlight bounces around and is captured within geodes, potentially thorasite clusters or a similar mineral, which negates most of the benefits of sunlight, but lights the area with a strange, reddish glow. The sun is not visible, but even while hidden its light grants vision of the cliff and the ominous house atop it.

Dresmorlin Cobath by Jarhed

This house once belonged to the co-founder of New Chazarre, the first Elf, Dresmorlin Cobath, and while many people claim sightings of him in and around the structure every year, it has been uninhabited ever since his arrest and death in prison (if he truly did die). It remains abandoned, as there is a terrifying aura that convinces most people to maintain a distance and not approach. Those who have made it no farther than the front door, running away before entering. If anything or anyone is inside, there is no true way of knowing, as it takes more bravery than any living soul has ever had to enter the House of the Hidden Sun willingly. It gained this name not just because of its proximity to the strange sunspot, but also because of its owner, Dresmorlin Cobath, who has been known as the "Sun Hidden Beneath the Horizon" due to his role in the Holy Rebellion opposite the "Moon Emblazoned in the Sky" Meiriris Nerifir, his sister and counteracting force. He was not very well known before his alligning with Chadzar, as he had hidden himself and done much of his work in secret. However, when he stepped out of the shadow, his prominent role as the third most important rebel (after Meiriris and Amukk God Breaker) was uncovered (though the extent of what he did is still not known). Screams are heard from inside on a regular basis, though debates are had on whether anyone is actually screaming or if it's some sound from beneath the cliff or deeper in the cave, an illusion that sounds like screaming.

Graveyard of Ghosts

At the edge of the manor's gates, a graveyard was built. No one takes credit for it, and many assume it to be either some kind of art piece of a secret project of the city's, because the names are mostly not people who lived in New Chazarre, and the graves (at least those that have been vandalized to check) are empty. Instead, names of people like Chadzar Dalarune, Vampire Hunter and Village Chief of Waire Sinner Caerxan, and the Dwarven Prime Minister Erhmdur line these graves, almost taunting these historical figures (and individuals of lesser names with headstones beside them). To some residents of New Chazarre, this is a calming place, where one can surround themselves in the serene landscape of the cave's darkness. To others, it is a warning not to go too far in the Fanu neighborhood, for they may find their own name on a grave, and they may be the first to be buried within the chilling graveyard.

Dark Alleyways

The Fanu neighborhood's most widely known characteristic are its dark alleyways, where people are sometimes attacked while they walk through them. Some say gangs of criminals live in this neighborhood, or at least hide in it to hurt people, while others claim monsters or beasts lurk in the shadows of the sunspot's red light.

Dreis

While there is little evidence of criminal activity in the Fanu neighborhood, simply because most are too scared to investigate it, the same cannot be said for the neighborhood called Dreis. It's an open secret that this part of New Chazarre, furthest from the Sunlight District and, thus, furthest from the Blue Devil's jurisdiction, is the territory of an Under Gnome band of criminals known as "les Rois."

Les Rois Strongholds

There are strongholds and fronts for the les Rois gang all over this neighborhood, including ones where its boss, "the King" hides out. These places are marked with mocking gold decorations, as the King of les Rois wears a crown and fashions himself like a High Elven monarch to taunt the Dark Elves of New Chazarre. Les Rois gang members protect the citizens of Dreis for a fee. This makes its residents safe from things like potential cave monsters, rival gangs, interloping adventurers, or brave Blue Devils soldiers, but that is dependent on them paying their dues. If not, they are not only left unprotected, but are barred from establishments that serve as strongholds for les Rois.

The Grann Neighborhood

Home to the largest rival gang for les Rois, les Habitants des Cavernes, the Grann Neighborhood is a predominantly Cave Dwarven neighborhood. For this reason, and due to the hot springs and flow of lava around the neighborhood, many residents will say that this is the best place in the world to get authentic Dwarven cuisine, even better than surface settlements full of Dwarves.

Les Habitants des Cavernes Strongholds

As with les Rois, many places in this neighborhood serve as hideouts, fronts, or hangouts for les Habitants des Cavernes. The most prominent is the local forge, where the gang members often stand around forging or just enjoying each others company by the fires. They also protect their residents, but while the Under Gnomes are more open to the settling of anyone in their neighborhoods, les Habitants des Cavernes often push out non-Dwarven residents from this area, and are said to even have aided the Blue Devils in fighting against les Rois and other gangs in the city.

Government

Jarrur, Lord of the Dark, the Purple Dragon Lord, rules over New Chazarre from the Realm of the Lord. He issues proclamations and decrees from a distance, rarely interacting with his citizens save for the few brave or foolish individuals who trek out to meet him. Many consider him to be not just an exemplary leader, but the standard that all monarchs should strive for, as he does often take into account the struggles of even the lowest class residents of his domain, though the greatest issue with this idea is that Jarrur's intelligence and millennia of experience makes it impossible for any mortal ruler to operate at his level.

Jarrur, Lord of the Dark by somcleverusername and Jarhed

He is also not perfect. His own biggest flaw as a leader is his distance from his subjects, because while he can often infer what they may need due both to his own intellect and his own not being part of the system that he runs meaning that he cannot directly benefit from and be corrupted by it, he still rarely sees anything from up close, and therefore may come to solving certain issues late or may not understand the issue as it actually manifests, and rather as a made-up version he thought of in his mind. Therefore, his detachment and unfathomable age can cause some solutions to be a bit odd or unfavorable, but that is what his Council of Attendants is for.

Council of Attendants

The Council of Attendants is a group of mostly Dark Elves, though in recent years an Under Gnome and a Cave Dwarf have made their way onto the council. The numbers vary over the years, as it started with a group of five, but has grown to be at most nine individuals at once. Jarrur chooses these nine as he observes the goings on of the city and determines who he believes not only speaks for the different groups of the city, but also speak to present issues that need addressing. This means that, like in other nations, there are voices for the wealthy upper class, there are also often representatives of the poor, elderly, newly graduated, and even the homeless. Following the Draco-Elvish War and any other armed conflict, he has veterans fill most seats of the council to help him find the best ways to reintegrate them into society. During a crisis where it was believed the societal norms under his rule were neglecting Dark Elven mothers, he fired his council and filled a new council with mothers, allowing them to bring their babies or children to meetings if needed. It is said that Jarrur is very careful around children, and uses his powers over the mind to calm them better than any mortal can, and will do the same to any mortal, as he views all people as children.

Overseer of the Entrance

The Overseer of the Entrance is the closest thing one gets to an envoy of New Chazarre when it comes to international politics. They live in the Sunlight District, watching over the entrance, meeting with any important or dangerous people that enter, and if any diplomacy outside of the cave must be done, it is the Overseer who has to travel. For this reason, most people consider the Overseer to be the true "face" of the underground. The other reason for this is that the Overseer is chosen first by popular vote, a system they've taken from the Dwarven Prime Minister system, but what happens is candidates from each major city underground is chosen by vote, and these candidates then prove their worth in a series of challenges where the victor becomes the Overseer. Jarrur implemented this system as he believed pure democracy could result in unqualified people taking up positions of power.

Gang Leaders

Gang leaders like the King of les Rois, the Boss of les Habitants des Cavernes, and more across the city hold immense power in certain neighborhoods, with people swearing fealty to them before even Jarrur in some places. They are influential, incredibly wealthy, and even globally famous in some cases. One does not want to mess with them, for while their systems of power aren't official, they are still upheld by violent means and a threat to them could be snuffed out very quickly.

Population

The population of New Chazarre can be divided, mostly, into three groups: Dark Elves, Under Gnomes, and Cave Dwarves. Below, these will be expanded upon.

Dark Elves

The majority group in New Chazarre, the Dark Elves are long-living and make up at least 55% of the population, if not more, they migrated to the region due to the stemine and were the first to settle New Chazarre. Their cultural practices shaped the city's dominant culture and legislation, and for that reason New Chazarre is considered, first and foremost, a Dark Elven city despite the other species that live in it.

Under Gnomes

Second to the Dark Elves, Under Gnomes make up about 22%, these small folk are the shortest sapient humanoid species on Totania (except of course for Fairies), even smaller on average than the other ethnicities of Gnomes (Secci and Detser). Like Dark Elves, they have the characteristic grey skin and white hair that comes from overexposure to the radiation of the Stemine, but the lack of sunlight has made it so their bones do not grow at the same speed as other Gnomes, resulting in their naturally shorter frames. Under Gnomes come from the Gnomes that never migrated to the desert, and so their culture shares little in common with that of the surface Gnomes, being more in line with Cave Dwarves and the other Dwarves that were first in the region now known as Dwarven Territory.

Cave Dwarves

Finally, when discussing major population groups, there are the Cave Dwarves, who make up around 13% of the New Chazarre population.

Fire Giants and Slime

Two groups that come from deeper in the caves, there is a small population of Fire Giants and Slimes in New Chazarre as well. The Fire Giants can't live in too many places, as they are too large for most of the buildings in the city (especially those for Under Gnomes, Cave Dwarves, Halflings, and Goblins. Their own neighborhood on the outskirts of the Realm of the Lord is the only place they can really live, as it is the only place they fit. Slimes, on the other hand, are not welcome in some parts of the city. In some eras, they are not considered people, but instead monsters, and therefore are not granted citizenship status. Recently this has begun to change, but some still hold the old views. These groups, considered outsider populations to the rest of the city, yet still not from the surface, make up around 7% of the city's population.

Other Minority Groups

Residing mostly in the Sunlight District, there are small minority groups of Goblins, Humans, Wood Elves, Halflings, and Draconians that have made New Chazarre their home. These groups together make up less than 3% of the city's population, but no census is complete without noting their presence and contributions to the city. They have brought something new to the city that has otherwise culturally stagnated due to its isolation and lack of communication with the outside world.