Grand Hollow
She scoffed, and waved a hand dismissively. "Everything is for sale at the Grand Hollow." "Even a night with you?" I replied with a smirk. "Even the still warm heart of a fool who doesn't know his place." Her eyes gave me the impression that it was a transaction she had experience with.The Grand Hollow is the massive, labyrinthine city that the goddess Seyrin calls her home. It is said to be a place of great beauty and inspiring architecture, hidden deep underground. It is inhabited by Seyrin's followers, a multitude of powerful and well connected entities, and revelers. Few are permitted entrance to the city, and those that do tend to find themselves deeply indebted to whoever gained them entry - whether coin, favors, or information - sometimes extracted in the form of memory stones. For those who do manage to find their way into the city, it is a place of wonder and magic, where mundane life feels like a distant memory.
Demographics
The population of the Grand Hollow is staggeringly varied, and sourced from across dozens of different planes. Though no official censuses exist for the metropolis, it's estimated that a scant tenth of the population are humans. Indeed, all sorts are welcome in the Grand Hollow, provided they do not stir up too much trouble.
Living in the city is exorbitantly expensive, and gold has far reduced value to the powerful creatures who control much of the city. Tavern stays could easily be twenty times what they are on the surface, and renting a building even more. However, even the greedy of the city know that favors and interesting people have their own value - gifting a home to an interesting person is more common than one might expect.
Government
The Grand Hollow is operated by Seyrin's devout, who maintain the peace and expel any who cause trouble to the day to day.
Infrastructure
One of the most famous features of the Grand Hollow is Shukron's Circle, an incredibly powerful teleportation circle capable of sending beings to nearly anywhere in the multiverse. It is used freely by Seyrin's disciples, and by the powerful creatures of the Grand Hollow in exchange for unknown favors.
Shukron's Circle was named after Do Shukron, who laid the powerful enchantments. Very little is known about the circle's creator, other than that he is still alive somewhere.
Architecture
The buildings and structures of the Grand Hollow are new, with a variety of different styles from the many cultures who call the city home. It is split into several districts:
At the far edge of the city is the imposing Temple of Seyrin, the first of the buildings to make the Grand Hollow. It is as much a place of worship as it is a puzzle to be solved, there are some that doubt even the priests who live here have discovered all of its secrets. Dangerous traps lay for those who pry where they are not meant to be - but for those who act respectfully the Disciples of Seyrin are sources of great knowledge... for a price.
Below the city is its burning heart, the Molten Well, a churning lake of liquid stone and metal that provides life sustaining warmth in the cold underground. Here, demons and fire elementals frolick in blistering heat enough to kill a mere mortal. Luckily for those mortals, many of its passages are enchanted to remain a relatively bearable temperature - a full waterskin is all that is required for a brief jaunt to the many artificers and crafters that make their home here.
If the Molten Well is the heart of the city, the Aurorum is its soul put on display. It holds beauty and horror in equal measures, providing every worldly delight that can be imagined. Whether it be bloody arenas, the gentle caress of a brothel, or the dulcet tones of renowned singers, the Aurorum has it in spades. Many have lost themselves in its splendor, and many hope to do the same one day.
Any city worth living in has those who seek to control it. Those who crave connections, power, and to flaunt what they have flock to be as close to the temple as possible - this ring of opulence is known as the Court District.
Founders
Type
City
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
