Statue Street
In 4008 AR Valtias the Redeemer, while in charge of the Office of Prisons, instituted an event called the Charge of the Gorgon. The prisons were rapidly becoming overcrowded, so to ease the population, nonviolent criminals were to be released into a closed-off street along with a gorgon. Those who survived were set free, and those who didn’t became decorations lining what came to be known as Statue Street. Over the course of seven long centuries, Absalom’s population increasingly found the event cruel, and it was finally abolished in 4714 AR after a runaway gorgon petrified many dozens of innocent spectators. The traditionalist nature of the denizens of Westgate, however, has led to a very strong movement in the district to “Bring Back the Bull.” Petitions and political initiatives to do just that have repeatedly been brought forth and dismissed. This has been the cause of some anger among the district populace, who claim that Westgate traditions are being pushed aside in favor of the comfort of criminals. An organized protest backed by wealthy citizens and several businesses has scheduled regular demonstrations to occur at the Sally Port and Mithril Hall. Leading straight into the Puddles district—from which many of the criminals who participated in the Charge came from—Statue Street is a common refuge for the destitute. While residents of Westgate have traditionally enjoyed watching impoverished citizens become statues, they’ve never enjoyed seeing them in the district for any other reason. As the residents of the neighborhoods closest to the Puddles increasingly spawn young politicians hoping to restore their district, entrenched Westgate politicians have blunted their ambitions with demands that the young activists scare away the undesirable denizens of Statue Street before the local council can even consider greater investment in the neighborhood.
Over centuries of annual Charges of the Gorgon, Statue Street filled up and left no room for new statues. Older statues would thus be removed to make room. It became traditional for Westgaters to bid on the statues and place them as decoration on their estates as a sign of wealth—the more infamous the criminal, the more valuable the statue. Since the spectacle has been canceled, some residents have taken to stealing statues or parts of statues, leaving Statue Street increasingly vandalized. The Sally Guard has increased their nightly patrols along the street, but find themselves spending more time chasing refugees from the Puddles back into their muck than stopping Westgaters from stealing a statue’s head. The district residents resent the eyesore the defaced statues represent, but firmly believe it’s the right of the citizens to acquire statues, as that has been the tradition since the Charge was instituted.
As the southern portions of Westgate begin to sink and flood—or, as the locals say, become “claimed by the Puddles”—more of Statue Street is drowned. Because of its significance to the residents of Westgate, the people have put great pressure on their leaders to save the statues. Every resident has opinions on how this should be done, ranging from retaining walls blocking off the Puddles entirely to renaming a dry street and transporting all of the statues there.
Over centuries of annual Charges of the Gorgon, Statue Street filled up and left no room for new statues. Older statues would thus be removed to make room. It became traditional for Westgaters to bid on the statues and place them as decoration on their estates as a sign of wealth—the more infamous the criminal, the more valuable the statue. Since the spectacle has been canceled, some residents have taken to stealing statues or parts of statues, leaving Statue Street increasingly vandalized. The Sally Guard has increased their nightly patrols along the street, but find themselves spending more time chasing refugees from the Puddles back into their muck than stopping Westgaters from stealing a statue’s head. The district residents resent the eyesore the defaced statues represent, but firmly believe it’s the right of the citizens to acquire statues, as that has been the tradition since the Charge was instituted.
As the southern portions of Westgate begin to sink and flood—or, as the locals say, become “claimed by the Puddles”—more of Statue Street is drowned. Because of its significance to the residents of Westgate, the people have put great pressure on their leaders to save the statues. Every resident has opinions on how this should be done, ranging from retaining walls blocking off the Puddles entirely to renaming a dry street and transporting all of the statues there.
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