T H E T R I E R B I B L E , V 0 . 1 Gutenberg, eat your heart out. ;) Ante Romam Treveris Stetit Annis Mille Trecentis Perstet Et Aeterna Pace Fruatur. Amen. (Ere there was Rome, Trier had stood 1300 years, may it stand enjoying peace fore ver. Amen.) - Inscription on the Red House in the Great Market Not Bloody Likely. - Graffiti scrawled beneath aforementioned inscription Bad blood, and risky business High affairs that never see the sun Cold steel and loaded pistols Someone's got to see the work gets done When the black night moves You can taste the trouble in the air You can hear the city talkin' like it doesn't care Between the darkness and the light Somebody's will gets done tonight.... - Cats Laughing, _Black Night_ Note - I have left the details of personalities about the town out on purpose. That's what the charas are for, after all. If you wish to change something to suit your charas/story, please get in touch. :) I've also left the history of the town out of v0.1; I'm waiting to see John & Jeff's detailed World history first. 7 O 888 O 888 O EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEO N 66S N 4 5 S N 3 S N1TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT22BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBS N 22 S N R S N 9 R S N R S MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ^^^^^^^^^||^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^||^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || || 1 - Porta Nigra (black gate) M - Mosel Street 2 - Great Market T - Simeonstrasse 3 - The Three Kings S - South Promenade 4 - Cathedral E - East Promenade 5 - Prince's Palace N - North Promenade 6 - Imperial Bath Ruins B - Bread Street 7 - Amphitheatre R - Bridge Street 8 - University O - Olewig Road 9 - Franko's Tower +--------------------+ | Rough Map of Trier | +--------------------+ 1. THE LOCATION Find the country of Luxembourg on a map. Trier is a few miles due east. In our world, Luxembourg was absorbed by France and Trier stayed free; controlling territory in a rough triangle between Wittlich, Echternach, and Saarlouis. The city is located on the river Mosel, which maps like to misspell as Moselle. It's a fairly clean river, though nasty things can crop up when it enters the Dweomerwaste caused by the Great War. Trier is surrounded by rolling hills, which are almost all covered by grapevines. Trier white wine is famous for it's sweet/bitter flavor; the area does not produce red wine. Farmers and vintners turn up Roman artifacts daily; mostly just bits of pottery and coins, but occasionally rings, buckles, and more complex - and sometimes dangerous - items. 2. THE POPULATION Trier is a university town and neutral ground between two hostile powers. As a result, roughly 45% to 60% of the populations are not natives, but students, academics, diplomats, merchants, agents, scam artists, and the occasional tourist. The native population speak both German, French, and a dialect referred to as Trierisher, which is basically a blend of the first two. Many also speak English. They regard the foreigners with general disdain, but realize that they're dependent on them to maintain the economy. "Smile, act helpful, and jack up prices til they bleed" is the average attitude. Some (1%) of the natives are NACO sympathizers. Another 1% are rabidly pro-French. 3. THE GOVERNMENT Trier is ruled by a Prince-Elector, who is advised by a overcouncil composed of the city's leading citizens. The Regent of the university has a permanent seat on the overcouncil, and the others are appointed by council vote. They serve until death, retirement, or conviction of High Treason. Trier has a police force, a very small army, and a number of mages specializing in war magic at the university. The first two are enough to keep order, and the last two are enough to make other nations think twice before trying to annex the city. The city also has a secret police, known as the Black Vine. Members tend to be ruthless, efficent, and very, very deadly. They seldom act, but hear a great deal. The law code is similar to that in America, with the exception of freedom of speech to those who actively speak out against the government. 4. RELIGION AND CRIME The city has a strong Catholic presence, containing as it does several important relics. St. Matthew's, in the southwest part of the city, actually _contains_ St. Matthew - the only one of the Twelve Apostles to be buried north of the alps. Second, and arguably more important, the Cathedral contains the Holy Coat of Christ. A seamless garment worn by the Big J himself, the coat is displayed only once every 30 years; it's kept in a secure, heavily warded vault the rest of the time. The Protestant community has several churches as well. Finally, the Freemasons have several lodges in the city and it's rumored that at least one council member is not only a Mason, but a member of the Rose Croix. There are one or two synagogues scattered about the city, mostly in the Jewish quarter. Islam, Buddhism, Hindu sects, and Zorastics are present in the form of students and ambassadors from distant lands. Although there are no "churches" dedicated to them, congregations will often gather at the home of one of them to perform services together. There are a few Casinos scattered about the city; most are small, slightly shady affairs. A dog track is also to be found in the East End. Crime has risen with the sudden influx of wealthy foreigners. The East End in particular isn't a good place to be after dark, as is the Dockside. There isn't any organized crime, but the disorganized version thrives. Pickpockets in the Great Market and toughs in the East End make Trier a good place to lose money. Trier fences are renowned for their skill at identifying, pricing, and handling items of magic. 5. SITES OF INTEREST - CITY CENTER The heart of Trier is a long, broad street called the Simeonstrasse. It's a market, fair, shopping district, and you can even use it to get from one place to another. "...Hausfraus tramp along bearing baskets filled with groceries. Two gentlemen stand in the middle of the street exchanging pleasantries and remarking on news. A group of children, probably from the nearby school, scamper toward the bus stop with leather satchels strapped to their backs. At the sides of the street are spread rugs where vendors display jewelry, pen and ink drawings, and leather goods. Above it all stand seventeenth century buildings, ornately carved and decorated, frowning down on the marketplace. Inside one of these buildings is an Imbiss, a stand devoted to the sale of fast food. The smell of frying sausage wafts out of it as well as the muted, tangy smell of curry sauce. By the cafes tables sprout from the ground. Seated around them tourists and townsfolk alike chatter, guzzle, or sit and stare out at the street. There plays a South American band (goodness knows how they got here!); over here an organ grinder rhythmically cranks the handle of his machine while his monkey capers to the tinny music floating up through the crowd. And over everything, swelling, rising, overwhelming all else is a tide of noise -- talking, jostling, moving, laughter, shouts. At the end of the street it widens into the main square. A young man finishes his purchase at a nearby flower stall, tucking three roses into a paper holder and striding rapidly away. Dominating the square is a huge stone pillar upon which is an ornately carved stone cross. Next to it a brightly painted fountain, carved into weird and fantastic shapes and inlaid with brass, spews water in great arcs into its basin. The clamor of bells tolling brings our gaze up to the steeple of St. Gangolf's church, towering above the southern end of the square...." Or so says my journal. At one end of the Simeonstrasse towers the Porta Nigra, the Black Gate. It was built by the Romans, stands 30 meters high and 22 by 36 long. It's in perfect condition, mostly because it can't seem to be damaged. Magic? Several noted mages at the university disagree on this point. What no one disagrees with is the fact that no force known to man has been able to even _scratch_ what looks like perfectly ordinary black sandstone. A little ways down from the Black Gate is the Three Kings, a pub that caters to the foreigners living in Trier. The place is run by (Note: if your character is a barkeep, this is likely the place for him. Talk to me if you wish to change the name/location/details) Timothy, a thin, birdlike fellow with his nose stuck in a book. He seems perfectly harmless and friendly, though rumors hint that he knows more that he lets on about affairs around the city. The Three Kings is a three story affair, with the taproom on the ground floor and Timothy's apartments above. Statue of the building's namesakes face the street from the third story; a favorite student prank is to repaint them in various...interesting...ways. At the other end of the Simeonstrasse is the Great Market, where goods of all kinds and descriptions are sold to the highest bidder. An old joke holds that in the Market, the only people who outnumber the merchants are the pickpockets and con men. There's some truth to this. Along with mundane goods, the Great Market is one of the most extensive magical bazaars in the world. Old tomes, student experiments, tools and spellcasting supplies; all can be had for a price. The market contains a fountain sculpted into fantastic shapes, and a stone cross set atop a pillar. Above it rises the church of St. Gangolf. Off the marketplace and down as sidestreet is the Cathedral, a sprawling affair with double spires. Further to the south is the Prince-Elector's Palace, and the Hall of the Council. The hall is all that's left of the ancient throne-building of the Emperor Constantine. The two are surrounded by the various buildings needed to house the government. Further south is the ruins of the old Imperial Baths, now a park of sorts. A team from the University has been digging there for some time, and has uncovered numerous artifacts. They have also uncovered several entrances to the city's catacomb network. Due southwest of the Great Market is the Tower of Franko, a large, fortifed tower the serves as the headquarters for the Black Vine. People tend to avoid it, for the obvious reasons. Most of the embassies are located along the Eastern Promenade, a long, broad street lined by townhouses. 6. SITES OF INTEREST - THE UNIVERSITY The University is located outside of the city center, close to the hills and vineyards. Founded in 1623, it is world renowned as one of the finest centers of magical learning in the world. Oh, and the Basque Literature deparment is famous too. It's a walled campus. The walls themselves are sometimes stone, sometimes metal, occasionally wood, and once a concoction resembling lime jello that ate the Dean of Arts' terrier. Noone knows how or why they shift shape, and Peter isn't telling. The majority of the campus is gothic in archetecture, with ivy, gargoyles, and flying buttresses. There are a few notable exceptions. The Feng Shui (geomancy) building is done in a distinctly eastern style, with courtyards of sand and rock gardens. The Hazardous Energies Building (HEB) is a jet black sphere, throughly modern, located somewhat apart from the rest of the campus. There have been 523 of these buildings in the university's history, and none of them ever became obsolete. All of them occupied the same piece of ground, the outskirts of which resemble black glass. Students who work there (Hebbies) are generally considered to be very ambitious, very intelligent, and mildly insane. Life insurance companies avoid Hebbies like the plague. The Toxic Enchantments Studies Building is located next to the Dining Commons. Many students maintain that it's hard to tell the difference between the two. Van Der Hoortenboorgen Hall, named after the Dutch founder of the University, rises proudly from the center of campus in Faux Romanesque/Roccoco glory. Laughing at the name or the archetecture (both common reactions) are a good way to earn a punch in the mouth from upperclassmen. The university has an exceedingly second-rate rugby team. 7. SITES OF INTEREST - OTHER Karl Marx's birthplace is located on Bridge street, west from the Great Market. To the Southeast of the Prince-Elector's palace lies the Amphitheatre. Another Roman structure, it is intact but overgrown with grass and weeds. Doorways and trapdoors lead into the pits beneath it, which in turn link up to the catacombs. The amphitheatre is located fairly much out of the city proper, among the vineyards. The Dockside Quarter, to the soutwest along the river, contains a rather rough element; drunken riverboatmen, tramps, and the occasional press gang. The Mosel is spanned by two bridges...the Roman Bridge and New Bridge (only 200 years old, that makes it new). The Roman Bridge, as the name suggests, was build by the Romans, but has no trouble handling autos. - Mike Loader ===/\=====+================================================================== / \ l "For, look you, there is humour in all things, and the truest / () \ l philosophy is that which teaches us to find it and make the / \ l most of it." - Jack Point, _The Yeomen of the Guard_ -------- l mloader@scs.unr.edu ==========+================================================================== Fnord.