The Old City
From FiranMUX
Contents |
Theme
The Old City is the Mos Eisley (from Star Wars), the Casablanca, the Bowery of Anarinuell and Firan society as a whole. It is the home of refugees from the war who couldn't get their lands or homes or lives back together; of thieves, deserters, slavers, Drikkists, half-Shamibelians, thugs, gladiators, gamblers, and black marketeers; of freebooting mercenaries, and even of a few downtrodden would-be heroes of freedom.
Within the Old City, the criminal organization once (allegedly) headed by Pangaros holds all of the power, power gained by brutality, viciousness, and negotiation. The Old City crime lord, in the years following the resettlement of Anarinuell, systematically beat down all opposition and forged alliances between disparate criminal elements while at the same time working out land deals with Judano and consolidating his land ownership in the flooded city. In some ways, the place is ruled with an iron fist. Crossing the Organization is a sure path to death, or worse. The Organization's lieutenants and top folks are the nobility of the Old City, and they expect to be treated with respect by the citizens therein, even if they're doing something objectionable.
By the same token, however, that rule is precarious. It's relatively obvious that if Pangaros' organization did not take care of the Old City and keep its citizens safe from the prying eyes and 'justice' of Firan's religious organizations, guards, reformer nobles, nosy or intrusive Clan Leaders or ministers, and each other, riots and rebellion would break out and the Old City would be thrown into anarchy. Thus, the citizenry within the Old City expects a lot (and usually gets it) from the criminal organization that holds sway over their lives and fortunes.
It's a common thing for Old City folks to be arrested and beaten and treated unfairly by the guards. If you're going to play an Old City character, expect this and be ready to deal with it. While the criminal organization Pangaros headed has power and respect in the Old City, inside the walls, that power is manifested only by what political sway Pangaros had and by the fear of the common citizen that they could be hurt by the criminals within. Most people in the Walls feel very little respect for the criminal organization that holds sway in the Old City (because they feel the guards will protect them), and view Old City denizens as outcasts, scum, or similar such epithets. Don't expect to get much affection from those inside the Walls, except in the case of the do-gooder reformers therein, who are all too common, are usually being nice to OCers to make themselves feel better, are trying to get you to leave the Old City, and who should be taken for all they're worth.
The Old City is viewed by its denizens as a place of freedom from whatever other things might be worse than living in a smelly, waterlogged den of poverty and criminality. For the most part, this is a general feeling of being rejected by society (as is the case with half-Shamibelians, some Bonduins, whores, thieves, gladiators and other outcasts), but it's more than just a sense of 'I'm poor, and one day I'm going to be rich and leave this place.'. It's a sense that this is the only place where people are real to one another, where a person is judged solely on who they are and what they do, and not on what Clan they are from. Old City denizens, as a whole, don't tend to think in terms of eventually leaving the Old City if they 'succeed'. It's much more likely that someone in the Old City will keep their money and build up the place where they live within the Old City than it is that they will leave the place behind to join the folks in the Walls. Those who do become 'wallerized' can expect to be shunned, ridiculed, robbed, and in some cases hunted down by their former friends and neighbors, if the information they had is deemed to valuable to lose. Very few traitors to the Old City are able to walk the line between the walls and the canals.
The area of the Old City most likely to be experienced by the average non-Old City resident would see is the Sailor's Nook, an area around the piers that is home to the Barnacle Inn, White Dove Rising, and the Opening Gambit.
History
The section of Anarinuell which is called the "Old City" is, in fact, part of the original Anarinuell, which was last held by the Clan of the Gold Dragon before the Shamibelians came. There was often bitter rivalry among clans in an effort to seize such a strategic location in Aerval. This changed during the Great War with the invasion of the Shamibelians and their subsequent capture of Anarinuell, when the clans united under Elianos to win it back.
Once the city was recaptured, the Firans realized that a drastic change in the weather at some point had flooded it, and part of the city had begun to sink as the ground softened. Partly for this reason, and partly to begin a sense of clan unity, they razed most of it to begin a new Anarinuell. However, a portion along the flooded old Grand Canal was left standing, and as the years passed many buildings began to crumble from decay and neglect. A combination of cheap rent, empty yet rickety buildings for transients, and a general disdain for the area by the upper classes have served to turn this unfortunate section of old Anarinuell into the equivalent of a slum.
Most of the occupants of the Old City are, in truth, honest people who are down on their luck or simply poor for one reason or another. They are uneasy about living side by side with criminals, and try to avoid all contact with such types. On the other hand, the crime underworld provides them with a sense of protection; most of the honest citizens harbor a fear and dislike of the Republic's guards, who in turn tend to look down on the occupants of the Old City and often ignore the fact that they are entitled to the same basic rights as the citizens of the "new" Anarinuell. The underworld tends to more or less "discourage" such encroachment in the Old City by guards.
Over the course of ten years, however, Lord Pangaros Istabannos -- the so-called "Crime Lord" or "Lord of the Old City" -- along with Moira, ever an advocate for the people of the Old City -- did much to improve the lot of its people and to renovate the city itself. Flooded city streets and dilapidated buildings were cleaned up and renovated at great cost and new buildings and businesses were built.
As well, the Old City Block Parties -- with their rat hunts, cockfighting, and the like -- tended to have a certain charm for those who tire of overly civilized "Festivals" and "Olympics". Many gladiators made their homes in the Old City, and cockfighting was a popular event run from time to time within the Old City, as well as its other pleasures. Outsiders -- known as "wallers" by Old City denizens -- were not encouraged to venture deep within the Old City; they were advised to keep to to the Sailor's Nook, which is considered neutral territory, a buffer between the Old City and the walled city of Anarinuell.
Unfortunately, during the Air Raid of 24 A.U, the Old City was all but destroyed by fire and falling griffons. The Old City folk were scattered for a long time, some living in tents on Pangaros' land across the river, some finding refuge in apartments within the walls of Anarinuell. Pangaros decided it would be too costly to clean up the Old City and began making plans to build a village on his lands in the Cockatrice clan, but before that could happen, tragedy in the name of Teddi Dilarik struck. The end result was the death of Pangaros and his lieutenant Pandarus, the shifting of power in the Old City, and recent efforts by its former occupants to rebuild the ruins of the only home they've ever known. It was during these efforts that a new crime family moved into the Old City and tried to take over, but nothing came of their efforts and before long, Pangaros' onetime lieutenant Sangreos Tabernik took over the reins and for quite a while was known as the Boss of the Old City.
Sangreos, Sang to a number of Old City denizens, handled matters well enough in the Old City for a time, but sometime in late 37 A.U. Sangreos disappared from sight. No one's seen or heard from him since. It's largely assumed that he's either dead or hiding so deep he won't be coming back. When Sangreos disappeared the Old City was left without a leader. Narin ran things in the Old City after Sangreos but each leader who stepped up to the plate after Pangaros, held the position for less and less time, the hold they had was more tenuous. Following Narin's death, there was a brief stint where a haffie named Beyzo tried to take over but he never really got the control that he needed. Beyzo's attempts came in the middle of the Old City's downward slide into a rather dark period and after Beyzo came and went, there was nobody who even attempted to call themselves the boss of the Old City; without a leader, the crime organization withered and a lot of the OCers were left to fend for themselves.
A long time passed before life started to stir in the Old City again but people started to filter back in and loosely organize. The Istems started guarding their turf again and a couple new gangs were born. The Anaems and an unnamed group have organized various parts of the Old City under strong leaders. This new organization has been done with a shift in the mindset of organized crime though. The days of a singular 'boss' have passed, nobody wants to have that boss disappear and ruin the Old City again. Each gang has a boss and they watch their turf, the gangs work with each other when they need to but overall they do their own thing and life has started to hum along in the Old City once again.
A Day in the Life: Old City
Basics
The rent's not bad but the ceiling leaks and sometimes the floor does, too. Your sense of smell is, mercifully, numbed to the reek of the canal waters that occasionally rise into your basement or seep through the walls, but the dampness is often irritating.
You'll wake up to the squalling of an underfed child or baby from the next apartment over, often with a splitting headache and an empty stomach. There's never enough food, and there's never enough money, and you're certainly not going to try growing a garden in this part of town. Luckily, there's a lot of fat and healthy rats around to supplement both your income and your larder in case of emergency. But that's rarely needed, since you can usually scrape up enough stenis to grab something to eat, and if stenis are a problem, you can always bring home food from your employer's larder, especially if you have a noble sponsor.
You wear only linen, and tunics are the preferred mode of dress. You almost always have some sort of armor you've managed to scrape up, leather or something, just in case. You don't wear ornamentation; any jewelry you might once have had has usually been sold to pay for food or something else. If you do manage to make enough to have jewelry, it's rarely anything ostentatious, because it would just be stolen anyway.
Hour by Hour
After breakfast, you'll try to find some work in the Old City. You might work within the Walls, but that really isn't all that common. You may well go to the Forum or elsewhere to beg, if you're really desperate.
Unlike most commoners, you may or may not be religious, but if you are, it's usually in a suspicious fearful way. You're more likely to believe that the gods have cursed you or just forgotten you than anything else. You're probably also deeply superstitious and believe most of the wild stories that you hear. You're not likely to have had any formal education, and are probably resistant to the Ranivor's attempts for universal education and literacy -- even though you think it's a mighty kind offer.
It's likely you'll skip lunch. You need to hold onto your money, and going without food is easy--you've done it long enough. There aren't many fat Old City residents. You might spend some time sitting at the Sailor's Nook or the Dagger & Dice, or any one of a number of other dives in the Old City. You're discontented with life in general, and are likely to believe that the world has given you a bum deal. You don't go to the baths much, either, because that costs money and cleanliness is an optional thing compared to food.
You'll also want to eat an early dinner, because if you do have any social patrons, you want to go visit them before bed at least once a week. You probably can't afford to bring any gifts, but the least you can do is stop by and chat with them. They might give you money, advice or help if they can.
Social Habits
You usually avoid social betters, sneering at most of the people inside the Walls. They have a lot more power than you, power which tends to crush folks like yourself in its path. You've probably met more than a few citizens in your time who have been brought low by the wrath of a noble or wealthy family. If someone takes care of your family though, your debt of gratitude is likely to last a lifetime. You probably don't have any are specific skills or capital, and probably lack talent or drive to develop either. You like the streets of the Old City, and you like the feeling of freedom amidst the poverty. The gangs might be brutal with those who betray it, they might insist on some of your earnings from time to time, but you're rarely mugged or beaten on the streets, and you don't get messed with by nobles, guards, or anyone looking for someone to beat on. And if you get in trouble with the law, they'll usually come to your defense.
You've likely either served in an army of one sort or another in the past, or deserted and hid out in the Old City. Your opinion of military folks is basically that you'd like to stay out of their notice. You've either served your time and are through with it, or you never want to serve in the first place. While most folks fawn over the Ranivor, Viceroy, the Clan Leaders and the nobles--especially commoners--you relish your freedom. It's best to think of yourself as disenchanted with the norms of Firan society. Any suggestion that commoners are too easily swayed by charisma and not protective enough of freedom--which is true of most of them--is met with hostility. Most Old City denizens don't care about the details of government, and aren't interested in learning. They know that the Old City takes care of its own, and they could care less about most anything else.
A good many Old City denizens' habits and outlook have been shaped by servitude to the Shamibelians. The Great War had the effect of crushing their spirits rather than raising it, and they echo constant bitterness against the Shamibelians. Most of the folks in the Old City are displaced refugees from cities that have been destroyed, homes that have been burned, or from Ellish itself. They're veterans who have been wounded and could not pick up a trade or get farming work after the war. They've given of themselves to Firan society and just haven't gotten back what they feel they've deserved. They may have loyalty to a Clan, or a Ranivor, or their Family, but it's much more likely that they'll be primarily loyal to the Old City and its "freedom" from those forces and politics which used them up and cast them aside.
You tend to resent charity, which is an odd sort of Old City behavior. There has been an Old City Restoration Fund run by nobles for years, and for the most part, you don't want their money. What you do want, and never got, was a chance of your own, not handouts given by nobles for their own benefit. This is why Moira's and Pangaros' work is so much more valued by the Old City than the empty feel-good charity of those who don't live here.
A player should keep in mind that the specific social habits of your character will depend more upon the traditions and culture of the clan in which you were born than the general traits of your character's social class. Thus, it is up to you to creatively blend what you know about your character's social status and what you know about your character's clan culture and background to come up with a plausible attitude for your character to have.
The Rule
All current and former residents of the Old City, as well as those who associate and spend so much time within the Old City as to be considered "one of them", know that there is no real hope to be had for justice or fair treatment for Old City residents within the Walls. Regardless of his criminal activities, Pangaros was also known to be the arbitrator of many of the disputes and daily problems that occur within the Old City, often providing an objective ear as he sat in the Barnacle Inn or on the steps of the Hall of Masons once a day, talking to the Old City residents.
Which brings us to The Rule. While crime and punishment in the Old City are more a matter of consensus than any legal code--beating someone half to death if they deserved it or provoked it is a common occurrance and doesn't get punished; sometimes even murder goes by without anyone blinking--there is one thing that is, by unwritten consensus, considered the worst crime an Old City person can commit.
The Rule is: The Old City takes care of its own. Never go to the Guards. Only cooperate as much as is absolutely unavoidable with Clan Leaders, judges, Republic guards, or the Ranivor. If you do speak to them, never implicate yourself or other Old City residents in criminal activities. Lie if you must, misdirect if you can. If you must deal with these people, be sure and tell someone in your gang or family where you're going, and if possible, gather some information on the waller before you go. Information is a powerful weapon, and no one enters a battle (particularly one of wits) empty handed if they can help it.
People don't break The Rule, even after they leave, not only out of the very real fear of punishment--which is usually in the form of an extremely painful demise not only for the person who breaks it, but for those who they care about--but also because it's been proven time and time again, at least in the minds of Old City residents, that nothing good ever comes of such cooperation.
The Rule has a new caveat now that there isn't a single crime lord. The Old City takes care of its own, which is certainly true, but the caveat is that your protection comes from one of the gangs. They can take away that protection if they think that someone has betrayed the Old City. They take care of their own and have been known to disown those that they think are traitors. The canal will take anyone, after all.
Crime in the Old City
Criminal Underworld
It is rumored, and widely believed, that the Old City portion of Anarinuell harbors a criminal element popularly referred to as the "Underworld" or "Underground". Supposedly they run a gamut of illicit activities such as gaming, racketeering and even assassinations. Once upon a time it was rumored that the leader was a man by the name of Pangaros Istabannos, a name well known to clan leaders, the Ranivor, and most of the major political figures of Anarinuell. However, no criminal activity was ever been successfully linked to him, outside of the event that led to his demise, and the Old City citizens give him grudging respect if only to make sure he somehow keeps the Republic's guards out of their city and from harassing them, and also, as far as the upper classes are concerned, somehow keep Anarinuell's criminal elements in line. After Pangaros' death, the Old City was in a bit of upheaval for awhile, lending credence to the rumors of his control. There are many rumors as to who now leads the Old City, but few speak of it.
Gangs
Before fire swept through the Old City during the Shamibelian Air Raids of 24 A.U., gangs would rule different neighborhoods. They would collect protection fees from the people that lived there and protect them from any rival gangs. The last two of the remainging gangs in the old city were the Raniviks and the Istems. The Raniviks started to unravel around the time their leader, Divina, was forced to leave the Old City for a time and by 24 A.U., due to either deaths or abandonments or disappearances, only Divina was left. The Istems are basically the only major gang left. They, since the burning down of the old city, have been finding their role changing as well. Since they lost their neighborhood, they have no turf. Since they lost their major rival, they have no squabble.
Still, the protection business is ever evolving and with it, those with the keen sense to follow the stenis will find that while the face of the Old City is changing, the needs remain the same.
The resurgence of life in the Old City has brought the Istems back into a place of power in the Old City but in addition to them, The Anaems and another unnamed group have stepped up to help run the Old City as well.
Dirty Deeds
So why do the Wallers, the authorities, the nobles and aristocrats put up with the Old City and its criminal denizens? It's not just because cleaning it up would cost lives and money and cause troubles. It's because they provide a valuable service. The Old City, and specifically Pangaros' organization, is known to be able to provide just about any service one might need for a price. Contacting them has to be done very delicately -- a whiff of entrapment and who knows what might happen -- but once you've made that contact, just about anything can be yours. Material goods can be provided (either 'fell off the back of a wagon' or something specific stolen), enemies can be hindered or assassinated, secrets can be ferretted out and sold, Clan Leaders and nobles can be influenced, and just about anything else can be done.
For a price.
That price is not always handled in stenis. A brisk trade in favors is done within the Old City, and if you manage to get an Old City criminal in your debt, they will often go to great lengths to relieve the obligation. One must also be careful, when dealing with the Old City, not to tread on their sense of honor, as few of them think of themselves as "criminals" so much as they view themselves above the concerns of Firan law.
Criminal Life
Being a criminal in the Old City is a tough and unglamorous role to play. Choosing a criminal character -- a thief or a thug, for instance -- with the expectation of constantly stealing and robbing folks, or attacking them, is unrealistic within the scope of the game. While there are opportunities to "do dirty deeds", there is a large guard population, and it can be extremely difficult to pull off crimes outside of the Old City unless you're very, very good and very, very careful. For the most part, the life of a criminal is much like the life of any other Old City resident, except from time to time you Do Bad Things.
When you take an Old City character off the roster, other Old City residents and criminals will be glad to help you out with code instruction and some general guidelines on how to handle crime. Please don't choose an Old City criminal-type character just for the opportunity to twink out and run randomly through the city, breaking into rooms and stealing things; or in order to attack folks. These characters and the Old City as a whole tend to be well-developed, not simply hack-and-slashers or thieves.
One other thing. If you're a criminal -- by which we mean prostitute, thief, thug, assassin, smuggler, and the like -- and you don't live in the Old City, it's probably a good idea to contact whoever the reigning crime lord is, if there is one, or one of his lieutenants. Rumor has it they get jealous of competition.
Please note that if you play an Old City character and you are a criminal, the odds are that you will spend some time in jail. You will likely be beaten by the guards. This may occur even if you did nothing wrong. It is a good idea to have alts and resign yourself to this situation (or just don't go in the Walls. Ever.).
Navigation
Getting around the Old City is not an easy task. Very few people outside of its residents know the byways of the Old City, and its people tend to guard the secrets of getting around the place quite well. It's quite easy to get lost and fall into a Canal, or meet a worse fate, wandering around the Old City by yourself.
That being said, the Old City Faction Head or other Old City characters will be glad to help a new Old City character learn how to get around the place. However, it is important to note that knowledge of getting around the Old City is not knowledge that is common, nor should it be considered to be shared knowledge between your different alts. Non-residents should be prepared to justify their knowledge of how to get around the Old City properly and ICly (and this especially includes guards).
The Old City can be seen along the western side of the city in the Anarinuell grid map.
Old City Newsletters
The Old City, Staff and You!
Staff has some nifty guidelines for getting the criminal types back up to the feared state they should be in and to facilitate that, check out the Old City Progress page to see staff's goals and what the players need to do to fulfill them.
