The Old City
The Occupation of Oð ended in 55 DR with the crowning of Dryryn I. People returning to the City of Oð found decades of rebuilding before them. Following directions from Kyrm Oryroð, the ruins of their Dekàlan past were soon covered by roadways and new buildings, built atop the old. As the old city was entombed beneath the new, the region known as Visháshun emerged from the Third City.
“The first layer is called Visháshun, an old name on the tongues of the Uren. It is the name of the border Nether, where the demons scream the names of the damned and the dead float between the Here and the unknowable. This is the first layer, the Lower Streets that men know and whisper of. Here live the outcasts and the thieves, the damned Poisoners and their kin. Here live the waste and the trash of this drear place in dim shadows and lightless corridors.
“Like most of the Lower Streets, Visháshun is a ruin of a place long forgotten. Though sunless and stone, it is most unlike the pleasing tunnels of Dwürden construction. This is the city of your ancestors, perhaps the city whose streets they walked in their time. There are those that suggest that the sun once touched those lower streets, but I cannot see how that is possible. But these are ways and stories of your people, not mine. I can only tell you what I have seen and heard.
“Of the people that live there, there are many more than you might guess. They gather together for protection and to share scarce food and supplies. Not all that came there, came there as thieves, but most that remain undergo the transformation; to resist is to starve and perish. In my time among the Vishàna, I came to know many of the groups. Beware them, and do not approach or ask favors without offerings, for they can offer you nothing and accept the same and worse from strangers.
“The most prevalent are the Poisoners. You will know their places by the symbol of a coiled snake. Stay clear of their places for they are evil, and always in search of more bodies to test their concoctions. Many visitors believe the Poisoners rule the Hole, but this is not true. Although their control of many areas may seem absolute, these is far more to the dark passages than they can or would want to know. It is my guess that most Poisoners are visitors, for rarely have I seen them in the lower layers.
“Perhaps the largest group within the Visháshun is the Ordòn Nul, the Black Order. It would be my guess that their group is the most numerous, and I have seen their numbers in each of the three regions I have visited. Most visitors have never heard of them because unlike the Poisoners, they rarely surface. Some dwell and trade in the shadowed canyon of the Run Dul, but most remain in darker places where their strange gods protect them. They are denizens mostly, having lived for many years in the Forgotten Places. They have adapted to the heartless dark in more ways than you might imagine. I have never seen the Ordòn Nul deal with the Poisoners. This is important, for the Poisoners deal with everyone else.
“There are smaller groups as well. Enclaves exist in the spaces between, bandit groups, and bands of obscene and monstrous things. Do not believe that all that dwells is Uren, or similar to your kind. There are creatures that wait in the dark, things that know nothing but hunger. Faceless, shapeless things that have crawled from the world’s tangled depths with the taste of blood on their tongues. I have seen and felt their distant movements, and know that the Yrūn and their kin are not the only things to fear.
“There are the Hūdū. Stay far from them if you can, for it is said they are immortal hunters, and can be found throughout the Lower Streets. The Cuzrul stay to themselves, which is good, for they deal in unnatural arts and are friends of none save the Bulud and Thriss. The Thriss are marvelous creatures that dwell in the deepest places. Should you find a Thriss be kind and hospitable, for they are weavers of Good and their magics are feared by the unkind without exception. The Bulud are also kind in their way but they are cursed with a horrible hunger for all but the Thriss. Pity the Bulud, at a distance.
“Beyond all of these, live the Craw. The Craw are voracious creatures that will appear as birds and live in the northern reaches of the Visháshun. It is said by those visitors who have returned from their ‘lands’ that the vultures of the Upper world bring offerings to the Craw and worship those beings as the Yrūn worship gods. I have never seen such creatures but know that their magics are feared throughout the Hole.
“Living in the Visháshun are the Tribes of the Moon, the Werrid. Few bother the Werrid for they bother no denizens in the lower places. They hunt only on the surface, returning to the shadows in morning for fear of losing their Blessing. They claim that the moon-shadows extend forever in the Lower Streets and I am given reason to believe this…”
Landmarks
- The Headless Hag. The Headless Hag is named for the decapitated ghost that occasionally wanders the premises. The ghost is mostly benign but supposedly, through gratitude or some unknown pact, acts to the benefit of the proprietor Tommun Headless. Those who cross the innkeeper are said to face her wrath. Another attraction of the Headless Hag is a column of water that falls in the center of the dining area. The sparkling clean water is carried to the inn by a series of ancient underground aqueducts that draw from the Run Mèrdus. It is not clear what happens to the water between the river and the inn, but ladled cups give off a faint glow. The Headless Hag is surrounded by a murky canal which can be crossed by drawbridge at the “front” door. The inn may also be accessed by a series of concealed spiral-staircases that open into the surface City of Oð.