Dures Road

A short walk from the doors of the Ranniger took Callanad to the edge of the Dures Road, one of the three great thoroughfares of the city leading to the great Trophym Square, centre of all things governmental and official. Like the Old Tannery Quarter, the Dures Road was a site of faded glories, once the main artery of Arc's wealth, it was now a home for unlucky aristocrats who had gambled their fortunes away, eccentric scribblers and small keepsnuff money lenders, benefitting from the grand manorial houses that lined the street and which now slowly drifted into disrepair. It occurred to Callanad as he wandered through the late afternoon throng of traders, drinkers, travellers and drifters that the state of the Dures Road itself spoke volumes about Arc. Ar-Care, the city of the dawn, in parts resembled less of a glorious sunrise and had more in common with one of Callanad's early morning hangovers. The real question, he wondered, was how long the great city could continue to present itself as the shining beacon of all that Arclanders supposedly held dear? The answer to that question was simple enough.

The Darkling Academy

Jelsende Rothe established her own school of mysteries and mechanisms following the disappearance of her father fifteen years ago, establishing it in grand stone house on the corner of the Dures Road and Aelfedder Lane. The school was no different from many organisations across Arc and beyond that delved into the mysteries of the alchemical world and in particular into the strange substances that can be found across Aestis known as elements. However, Rothe and her proteges stumbled across something far more significant in the wilds beyond Arc; a force they only know as the Darkling, giving the school an unofficial name, the Darkling Academy. The Darkling energy seems to emanate from the magical weave and can copy humans and animals, creating terrifying humanoids known as Darkling Men and Darkling Beasts; Jelsende's most promising student Althan Loer came to believe that the Darkling force was not necessarily a threat to human beings however, and suspects that it is trying to communicate. Much of the work of the academy is focused on finding more evidence of the Darkling force and Rothe is desperate to keep their research a secret. She has recently had dealings with the Vowbinder Callanad Cadeir who has been drawn towards strange and seemingly inexplicable events in the Shadow Districts that sit beneath the Three Sisters. She dislikes and distrusts the him and his unpleasant familiar Ripp, but believes that he might be on the edge of a crucial discovery.

The Under Over Gang

The Dures Road is close to Arc's storm drainage system, a network of tunnels that flows from the clifftops to the sea. The Over Under Gang is a tight knit group of street children who have made this subterannean world their own. They earn their keep as the eyes and ears of various gangs and also as a secret network of couriers, taking messages across the city through the storm drains. They can often be found in the taverns and hostelries that line the Dures Road.

The Durean Guard

The watchmen who are assigned to duty of patroling and policing the bustling Dures Road are the Durean Guard. They are led by Norak Draye, whose loyatlies to crime boss Reyman Carth are common knowledge across much of the city.

Morganthoe's Chop House

Lyreman Morganthoe is one of the most successful butchers, smokers and salters of meat in the eastern part of the city. Wealthy Arcites make a special effort (or their servants do), to buy their meat from his ice house and smokery half way up the Dures Road. He is connected to the Needle Fraternity, a violent gang of enforcers. The gang uses Morganthoe to dispose of bodies and for a substantial fee he is able to use his butchery skills to make inconvenient corpses disappear. The pies and sausages that come from Morganthoes are some of the east wing's most prized delicacies.

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A Fire in the Heart of Knowing

Our debut Arclands novel is available here. Read A Fire In the Heart of Knowing, a story of desperate power struggles and a battle for survival in the dark lands of Mordikhaan.

The Dures Road

The Dures Road runs through the Eastern wing of Arc and is threads its way through the poorer mercantile districts that are in slow and steady decline. At the top end of the road is the Old Tannery District, which sits on the edge of the Trophym market square. Half way along the Dures Road is Rooke’s House of Poultices and Unguents

Type

District