Overview

Founded during the times of The Drought by the undead races, the Necropolis is an imposing city built into the rocky terrain on the northeastern corner of the Dragon Maw Mountains. The heart of the city is constructed with beautiful white marble aged with time, much of which has been rebuilt since the Necropolis’ destruction in 57 AR at the hands of Barulis. Unable to procure more white marble, the rest of the city gradually is replaced with darker and darker stone. These areas are also where accommodations have been made for the living races - the city was originally designed for those who need not food nor rest. The lands surrounding the Necropolis proper are dotted with small towns and villages that house many of the living of the nation. A long, stone road leads from the city to the northeastern coast, where the port town of Sepulchre, provides the import of components and corpses needed for the Siring process. Siring, the term used for raising new Lyches and Ghouls, is an important part of keeping up with the undead population, as Lyches and Ghouls do not procreate in the traditional manner.

The Necropolis is a bureaucratic nation ruled by The Novir. The Novir are a group of masked individuals who have given up their identities through Psionic and Magical means to serve as the governing body of the country. The Novir “speak with one voice”, anointing a Voice of the Necropolis to carry out their word. The Novir rule from the Palace of Shadows at the center of the city. This was once where “The One who Sits Upon the Throne of Shadows” ruled until his mysterious disappearance when the city was destroyed by Barulis. Some say he still is in the city, locked away in the Black Spire that stands behind the palace. No one has been able to enter the Black Spire, nor know why it was locked, or what’s inside. The spire is surrounded by the Orrul - large, statue-like golems made of bone. The Orrul can also be found all over the city, with many structures built around them.

The main military strength of the nation comes from the Free Companies of the Necropolis. While the Free Companies do act in the Necropolis' interest, they are also often hired by other nations and groups, working for rare components for the city as well as gold. If the city were to go to war, all companies would be recalled to march under the banner of Black, White and Red. There are currently 27 Free Companies of varying sizes.

The nation of the Necropolis has good relationships with both of its neighbors, Caldan and Jast. The kingdom of Jast especially has deep, old historical bonds with the Necropolis. Although the city was once destroyed by Barulis, the people of the Necropolis are practical, and understand Barulis has become a very different nation since. The Necropolis and Barulis now often trade amicably. Although the nation of Corsic as a whole isn’t necessarily friendly, the Necropolis does have a good relationship with the Hold of Icklis, which is close by and boasts a very high population of undead. They also frequently send bodies to Sepulchre for Siring - often in good condition due to their cold climate.

Culture

Within the Necropolis is a large temple to Kammatt known as the Tower of Thekehm. The Tower is a grand, storied series of Temples that towers at the edge of the white marbled portion of the Necropolis; it also goes down three subterranean levels. It is the second largest building in the Necropolis, and also serves as a resurrection point in the city for any worshipers. A small shrine to Death stands nearby as a resurrection point for anyone else in the city.

A Temple to Liandra, run by a sect known as “The Hand of Liandra”, stands at the south of the city. The Hand of Liandra is a sect of worshipers who make it their mission to provide aid to those in need. They largely focus upon providing relief for cities and nations that have fallen upon hard times.

Near the temple is a company called Vipress Contractors. This company provides mindless, non-sentient undead controlled by handlers for labor and construction. This labor force is exported out of Sepulchre for use by nations around the world. In the north of the city, Caazmiri Shop of Sorcery is a large store that buys and sells magical tools. This store has several contracts with the crafters within the city, which has allowed it to grow into the Necropolis’ largest distributor of magical items.

These two businesses are representative of the primary export of the Necropolis: finished magical goods in the forms of both actual goods, swords and magical tools, and "non-sentient workers", or mindless undead that are used as labor. With the heavy needs from these crafts, their primary import is raw materials. This includes ritual components, finished material goods (non-magical swords and jewelry), and bodies. Much of this is imported through Sepulchre, but there is also a significant amount that comes by land via Caldan from the west and Jast from the south.

As much as the city appears large from the surface, one third of it exists underground in what is known as The Crypt. This is not only where bodies are stored and used for the Siring process, but where any undead inflicted with the Taint are kept locked away. The Order of Bones stands as the internal security, each sworn to protect the Necropolis from threats from within and below. They patrol the crypts and lands controlled by the city, as well as the road to Sepulchre.

There are several organizations within the Necropolis that assist citizens of the nation with the Raising of Undead who lack the knowledge or means to Raise children themselves. Usually referred to as "Siring factions," these organizations were historically composed of Vampyre who were originally essential to the process of removing the Taint from newly arisen Undead. Today, these organizations usually utilize various techniques that allow the process to not be so heavily controlled by Vampyres and their natural abilities, though most Siring factions are unwilling to disclose the techniques they use. For a modest fee, they offer their services of Raising Lyches and Ghouls, as well as removing the Taint from newly arisen Undead. By law, all Undead Raised within the Necropolis must be cleansed of the Taint immediately following their Raising.

While many religions and differing opinions exist in the Necropolis, they do all share one holiday. The Dawn of Empty Graves is a state funded holiday, to supply the community with what they need to sire Undead and empower them to build the communities they want to see. During the first Rise of Terres each year, ritualists come in droves, some being hired by the state. Trained Psionicists gather to assist in the Cleansing. The Necropolis is covered in flowers of white, blue and black in representation of life, spirit and death. Large communal rites are performed all over the city for Avanti, Death, and Kammatt. Calling for new life and a chance of eternity. The majority of undead are raised, except Vampyre who are born. It is a time of great celebration with bustling street markets and public siring rituals. Songs are sung and drink is shared, and the once-living who gave their bodies to the Necropolis are honored. The festivities go through the night ending in the Voice of the Necropolis speaking at the dawn of the last day of the Rise, often to tell the new generation about the world, and inspire them to greatness. For those outside the city, many give flowers or bestow blessings to undead they see.

Sepulchre is a bustling, lively port town that has ships constantly sailing in and out of its harbor. Not only can you find many ships from Caldan, Barulis, and Singo, but also the corpse ships that haul in bodies for the Necropolis. These ships are run by a group known as the Grave Runners - Necromancers who use mindless undead to row for them. Their only competitor is the University of Barulis, who also needs bodies for their Surgery students as a practical learning tool. The largest building in the port is an Aradian temple called the Silver Shrine. The worshipers here are constantly looking for magical items of interest, and benefit from the high volume of magical trade that moves through the port.

History

In late 70 AR the clergy of Kammatt, The Horde of Tanzek, the Sullos, and Namore of Jast gathered together for a grand pilgrimage to travel north and resettle the Necropolis. When they arrived there was a lot of work to do. The rampant uncontrolled undead and rubble had been cleared, but the city was very much in disrepair. The sealed Black Spire at the center of the city was the sole structure that appeared undamaged. Surrounding the Tower stood the ancient Bone Golems, Orrul, standing at attention, unmoving.

In the same year the Novir, Advisors of the One Who Sit Upon the Throne of Shadows, returned. Each veiled and masked, as they had given up their identity to join. They quickly set up reconstruction of the city.

In 72 AR, a large amount of the city was restored. Mindless labor had rebuilt the roads, and Undead mages had returned to the city. A new Voice of the Necropolis was presented to the city, and he spoke of the Grand future of the undead and declared that the first rise of Terres would become a High Holiday of the Kingdom: The Dawn of Empty Graves.

The First Surge marked the beginning of global change, though the Necropolis was mostly unaffected as the ground shook. When they walked to the walls of the city of Undeath they found the Scorched land that would once not bear any fruit, suddenly had grass. The Infertal lands were replaced with rich soil. The Novir opened the sections around the Necropolis for villages and settlements in exchange for food deliveries for the city. Establishing the first lands outside of the city proper for farming.

As the waters rose in the Third Surge, the eastern settlements drowned as the sea expanded. The eastern shore came rising up swallowing the villages recently settled and left a few to become small trading ports, one of which would go on to become Sepulchre.

The Fourth Surge brought on the volcanic eruption that decimated Sarth and the areas around the Dragon's Maw. The Necropolis had its own chaos. In The Crypts a ritual to raise mindless undead went wrong. In one sense they succeeded, the mindless undead were made, but it was not a small labor force of 10, it was hundreds of undead that rose in the crypt - and they struck out. This was the first time the Order of Bones had to be called in force. They attempted to bring down all the mindless undead, but they were outnumbered and many escaped to the streets. The City was thrown into a night of violence, but when dawn came, all was settled.

After the incident during the Fourth Surge there was much debate about the risks of casting rituals during the fourth Rise of Terres. Many called for all rituals to be banned during that Rise, but there was also general outcry as time to complete rituals is already so limited. After several years of political debate it was decided, after 30 years passed from the previous Surge, rituals in The City would be banned during the fourth Rise of Terres until such a time that another Surge occurred, or it was deemed safe to assume the world was done shifting. The penalty for breaking this decree was death.