City of Night and Shade

by Xavier Balderas Cejudo

City of Night
and Shade

This city is almost perpetually shaded; over 70% of it exists in endless darkness. The massive cliff face that Degrunda's Capital city is nestled against provides ample protection against the sun; so much so that some may consider the city to be quite dreary and depressing. However, the citizens don't seem to mind.

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Degrunda's dark capital

In the winter months of endless dark, and the summer months of a never setting sun, this city remains mostly the same; protected under the cover of darkness. A massive behemoth of a cliff stretches along the southern half of the City of Night and Shade, called the Great Embrace -- it stands nearly 1,000m tall and cantilevers out a full 100m away from its almost vertical base, enshrouding the city in a great and awe-inspiring shadow. The already dark stone foundations of Degrunda's capital city are painted an even deeper shade of black, and obsidian glass detailing glints in the sparkling artificial lights that emblazon the street corners. Steam, smoke, and fog billow in as a luscious weighted blanket, comforting and quieting this secluded urban center.
Long ago, some time after The Seven Day War, Degrundans were forced into the dark -- through illness and crop failure, fate demanded the people of Cathedris's north find a new home, far from the now harsh and unforgiving sun. Within the welcoming dark arms of the Great Embrace, life in the frigid mountains restarted again, and a new northern hub of civilization grew strong. The name for it, perhaps overly descriptive when compared to other settlements in the region, came from the endless darkness this home provided -- night during the winter, and shade during the summer.
The city these days has become one of the world's foremost "University cities", thanks to the notorious Veiled Academy being located somewhere within its urban heart. The population skews to the younger side, thanks to all the students that call the city home, and overall it has become an innovative hub for research and technology. Thanks to close proximity to countless coal, copper, iron, and other metallurgical mines, many industrial startups begin here, manufacturing new inventions almost before they're even done being designed. All of this combines to of course make the City of Night and Shade one of the wealthiest settlements as well -- though the majority of that wealth is hoarded by a select few, living within Night's Grasp.