Two Fang

Two Fang (sometimes referred to as Twofang, two-fang, 2f, or simply 'w') is an underground city located in the Eastern outskirts of the Glass Desert. Its inhabitants are all warforged, and is not welcome to outside visitors.

Early Years

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A Refuge for the Needy

With the death of the merchant lord of Ushad, warforged who had long been wanting to abandon their post see the opportunity to flee, and grouped together far away from Ushad and past the harsh winds of the Glass Desert to ensure that no one would follow them. They succeeded in their escape, because the death of such a figure caused a monumental uproar in conflict over the ownership of important assets such as land or trade goods. These warforged have gained quite a negative reputation meaning that these warforged would not be accepted elsewhere in any pre-established settlements. Instead of going to other places for help, they created and fostered their own community with the goal of helping each other thrive in a freer society where their own humanity would not be squandered by an oppressive oligarch. Leading this movement was Dart, who still leads Two Fang alongside The Gutter Snakes in the present day.

Humble Beginnings

Before Two Fang became the tangled mess it is today, it was a settlement which had not much else other than distinctive ultramarine coloured flags that would be used to bring about a sense of pride for these refugees. Much of the mine had not been fully excavated yet, and so, many warforged who were able to do the work would dig out more to prepare for the big plans they had.

Present Day

Social Hierarchy

Residents of Two Fang are divided into two social groups: Gutter Snakes and Gutter Rats. Gutter Snakes are warforged who have the guts to be assertive about their presence among the Rats of their community. Naturally, this caused these more aggressive and violent warforged to create a distinct class divide between them and the Rats. Within Two Fang, the most valuable sign of status a warforged could have is a large property. This is due to the increasingly high demand for available space to build on. With a large property, that means that the owner is likely to have more things that they've acquired through being a Gutter Snake, and is likely an important individual because being able to claim excess space can only be done if they have a lot of power and influence. Luxury items that take up a large amount of room AND are useful in staving off boredom (a common cause of insanity for severely understimulated warforged) are the most sought after.

Gang Activity

The Gutter Snakes are an established gang within Two Fang. They run all of the large businesses in Two Fang, and make all the connections to the outside world for trade and bounties. Their influence outside of the city is extremely limited compared to other groups, but they hold the citizens of Two Fang in an iron grip due to the ruthless punishments they dole out to misbehaving or unlucky Gutter Rats. This control is further maintained by their role in providing resources to the city so more infrastructure can be built. Effectively, this conditions all the warforged inhabiting Two Fang to believe that The Gutter Snakes are a necessary part of making a living outside of the rule of their former masters.

Economics

Standard forms of currency like gold pieces are not the most frequently used in two fang. While it is exchanged occassionally depending on what the situation calls for, most of the time, the most effective good for trade is owned cubic volume of spaces. This manifested in place of buying and selling with gold when Two Fang began to see a shortage in space to live and build.

Environmental Features

Two Fang was built in the depths of an abandoned lapis lazuli mine that was formerly used to harvest materials for the Wizarding University, to the east of Ushad. Before much of the city became developed, warforged were able to recover the last bit of lapis lazuli to be used in commemorative memorabillia, such as flags, clothing, or anything dyeable to represent their distinction from their past. Two Fang in its current state has an overwhelmingly "heavy" feel in the air, and is said to immediately weigh down on whoever steps inside of it. This thick air also reeks intensely of oil, metal, and smoke. Despite being located in the Glass Desert, the humidity is very high because of how far underground it is. Conditions tend to get even damper as you descend further down-- so much that the lower levels do typically have some level of flooding. Due to the high moisture in the air, it condensates quite a lot on surfaces to the extent that gutters are needed to direct pouring water. In certain spots, it almost seems to "rain" from the excessive moisture dripping down from the overhangs above. Contrasting with its former blue glory, Two Fang is a wash of grey and brown. Lapis lazuli as a dye needs to be maintained, and most of the standards from the past have faded into unrecognisable grey-brown rags. the pops of colour within the city are reserved for certain social hotspots and the dens of rich Gutter Snakes.

Ecosystem

Many stray cats have taken a liking to Two Fang. No one knows how exactly cats got in it in the first place, but they are universally welcomed in their homes. The cramped and maze-like environment is good for them and the constant feline presence brings joy to most warforged. These cats mostly rely on the generosity of the warforged who live here for food, but small desert rodents and reptiles have also been known to inhabit the area which are preyed on by these cats on occasion.
The constant flooding has caused a build-up of algae, bacteria, and mould to grow rapidly in the lower levels of Two Fang. Warforged do make an effort to remedy this by scraping the walls and surface of the water but the colonies persist anyway, as its impossible to remove all the moisture they thrive off of. Some of the smaller animals use the build-up as a food source.
Animals that would not otherwise survive out in the Glass Desert do well in Two Fang because the temperature is fairly cool, especially in comparison to its sun-baked surroundings. A significant population of these animals are not native to the area and were brought into the city walls for various reasons, such as for keeping as a pet, unintentionally bringing them in through cargo transports, or occasionally just to help deal with the algal problem in the lower levels.

Music

Two Fang is constantly bustling with activity and noise. Music constantly plays from various sources and brings people together, no matter if they're a rat or a snake. Someone trapped in a 2x2x2m box home is just as able to listen to and appreciate music as someone in a larger one with huge cubic volume. The music that has propogated within two fang is brought in from outside sources, so its based on what these warforged know from their travels. The three main subcultures are similar to what would be called korean style pop music, djenty progressive metal, and russian phonk/memphis rap.