Marae
The commune of Marae acts as the boundary between the lands of Rongo and the rest of the kingdom. The city is built like a small fortress divided into four quadrants. The walls, which divide the city in a cross shape, are referred to by the inhabitants as "enclosures" because they are made of thick iron grates.
Each quadrant hosts a different district of the city:- In the Southwest quadrant, there is the square, with the market, the church, and the Hopu museum, where memories and relics from past editions of the tournament of the same name can be found.
- The Southeast quadrant is the residential area, where the town hall is also located.
- The Northwest quadrant is the commercial/industrial area, where you can find the blacksmith, the inn, and several warehouses where the city's supplies are stored.
- Finally, the Northeast quadrant is the military sector. Here, there are inner walls, concentric to the quadrant's enclosures, but higher and made of stone. Inside these walls live the soldiers, and at the centre of the area is a tall watchtower.
All the buildings, except for the church and the tower in the military district, are constructed with a suspension system, using wood or stone depending on the structure, allowing people to walk freely underneath them. This unusual mechanism was designed to facilitate the Hopu tournament and to minimise the damage to the structures during the event.
Being mostly a military commune, there was no space for The Church of the 4 to build a new temple. The only church is dedicated to the old gods, the Tapus.
The Hopu Tournament
The Hopu tournament is a hunting competition that takes place within the walls of Marae. Various monsters are released into the city's streets, and the participants must kill as many as possible before time runs out. The residents can watch the tournament from the elevated buildings or stroll along the walkways above the enclosures, which are open to the public for the occasion to better observe the event.
The rules of the tournament are as follows:- The tournament can only be undertaken individually.
- It is forbidden to intentionally harm other participants, under penalty of disqualification from the tournament and a punishment proportional to the damage inflicted and the condition of the other participant.
- If a participant loses consciousness or is on the verge of death, they will be assisted and immediately excluded from the tournament.
- Participants can withdraw from the challenge at any time.
- Points are awarded only to those who deliver the killing blow.
- The tournament ends when all the monsters are defeated or when all participants are removed, either forcibly or voluntarily, from the tournament.
- At the start of the tournament, each participant is assigned a starting area corresponding to one of the four quadrants, but it is still possible to move from one area to another.
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