Vératyavár, the Divine Blood-City

Overview

• Government: Military Meritocracy.
• Exports: Leviathan meat, clay vessels, jade, iron(sand).
• Stereotypes: Battle-hardened warrior-butcher; butcher that does surgery for the criminal underground on the side; hot-headed crime lord who was rejected from the Carvers; slightly crazed Sanguine alchemist that people suspect experiments on himself with Leviathan products.

Foreign Relations

Allied Major Points: Ildovár (Trade Relationship).
Hostile Major Points: None openly hostile.
Vassal States (Minor Points): Gyermek Outposts.

Origin

Within the Bonelands food is scarce, but the people's prayers were answered when they found an oasis that turned out to be the hallowed site of the life divinity Vératya.

With the power he gained from their worship he performed an iconic miracle, later named the Shedding of Vératya. As a Divinity of Growth and Providence, his is the ability to grant life. But little can grow in this wasteland, so he cut off his own hand and left it in the oasis where it grew into a monstrous beast. This large, constantly regenerating mountain of flesh is known to the people as the Leviathan. A beast chained down by the God that created it, left to suffer a fate of constant butchery.
The people have built wooden walkways and transport lines around the beast, and an entire city has sprouted here as more and more people flock to this desert haven where food is plentiful. They have instituted a group of ritual butchers who carve up the flesh each day and the waters around the area are a pale green from the constant stream of Leviathan blood (which is yellowish-green, not red).
But there is inherent danger in the presence of the Leviathan. As it has sprouted from a God of Life it is infused with essence of life, and parts of it shed off and come to live when it isn't cut down enough. Furthermore, the flesh and blood attracts scavengers who will even brave the danger of invading a Divinity's territory briefly to scavenge bits and pieces.

Structure

Vératyavár is the largest city in the Bonelands and one of the most populous, thanks to the food being cheap and common. The limestone-paved roads and wooden walkways of Vératyavár are permanently slick with the yellowish-green blood of the Leviathan all the way from the hallow of Vératya to the very edges of the city. The great beast is constantly surrounded by the Carvers who cut away at it, and the Sanguine who direct the transportation and other logistics. Just a bit away from the walkways, in the inner district called "The Shanks" are the butcher's shops where meat is processed, cooked and either sold here or transported to the city's outer districts. The best housing is reserved for the higher-ranking members of the Carvers or the more powerful merchants and crime-lords, and can be found in the eastern district or "The Ribs". The western district "The Racks" is home to the quarters of the Sanguine where they use specific parts of the Leviathan to divine and honor Vératya.

Culture

With no sun, moon and day-night cycle, shade is not much of a concern. People here are hard-working and take shifts to continue the butchery of the Leviathan all day and night. This has led to a hardy, toiling people who are used to noise and stench at all times. This place is certainly not for the faint of heart, everywhere you can smell the stink of flesh cooking and fat boiling and melting. The inner districts are a constant cacophony of noise from men and women toiling, cutting and cursing as they work. Meanwhile the outer districts are awash with the shouting of merchants trying to sell their wares. There is never a quiet or dull moment in the Blood-City.

Fashion and Food

Fashion has adapted to the circumstances of the environment. Temperatures are generally high, but can swing wildly. People wear sandals and loose, light-weight cloth robes with a top that can be stripped down when working. They are usually bound with a sash to make sure it does not fall down when the top is stripped. Some of the Carvers have even become so accustomed to not wearing the top that they go bare-chested at all times. This is not looked upon strangely or considered indecent at all.
Unsurprisingly, the diet of most citizens is very protein-rich considering it consists almost entirely of Leviathan meat. Occasionally this is accompanied by rice and dried or pickled vegetables that they obtain from trade with the people of the southern marshlands. But travel is dangerous in these lands and thus trade is rare, which means these grains and vegetables are scarce and expensive, and only the middle and higher classes can afford them.
While meat is plentiful, clean water is also scarce. The waters of the oasis are mixed with copious amounts of Leviathan blood and hardly drinkable. Most of the water is obtained from aquifer-wells or by catching occasional rain water, but people also supply this with water from a new type of cactus that Vératya himself has sprouted fields of along the outskirts of the city. Porous clay vessels are frequently used to filter the water.

Magic and Education

Despite the closest other major point in the region being Viharanyavár, where magic is used for necromantic means that would not be condoned here, magical ability is still viewed favorably within the Blood-City. This is a simple product of the environment, as magic can be an enormous boon in these arid plains. Particularly those casters who can create or manipulate water are welcomed with open arms.
Being well-learned may not be looked down upon within Vératyavár, but it is not expected of anyone or even considered all that important. While the Sanguine do try to promote further education for those who are capable, the means are not entirely there, and the most respected job and the one most aspire to is that of Carver. For which encyclopedic knowledge is not nearly as useful as combat ability and a well-trained body.

Organizations

To distribute the plentiful meat, and protect people from the constant presence of scavengers and Leviathan Spawn, two different institutions were put into place. Both have the support of Vératya, and many individuals within them carry his blessings with them.

The Sanguine

The first branch is that of the Sanguine, founded by the first Saint of Vératya, Ildico. They carefully monitor the transport of Leviathan meat and viscera, and also perform quality control. While they worship the Leviathan as a piece of Vératya, they study the materials they obtain from the beast. As parts of the divine, these too should hold some divine power and can be used as components in rituals for example. Vératya has given his blessing for these actions, and so they view this as a divine mission.

The Carvers

The second and larger branch of the two is that of the Carvers. These muscular men and women go out each day to carve up the Leviathan's meat and fight off its Spawn. For this they use giant greatswords that function as both weapon and tool. Sometimes they fashion greatswords from the Leviathan's own ivory bones, which they consider divine implements that carry the will and blessing of Vératya himself. These blades are a sign of status and only awarded to those who have survived through the full 5-year training as a Carver.
On that note, the Carvers are willing to take in anyone who shows an aptitude for butchery and combat, regardless of familial or personal status. And it is of course a desired and privileged position, but still few actually choose to follow this path. It is not only a tough life, full of toil and hard labor, but also a dangerous one. The Leviathan's Spawn are vicious and powerful creatures, and any Carver worth his salt has seen countless combats over the years.
The Carvers are led by the Saints of Slaughter, of which there are currently four. These have received the blessing of Vératya and have given up part of their humanity to receive his divine essence. They are immensely powerful individuals with supernatural abilities. Those among them who have given up most of their humanity have taken on almost ethereal properties as a kind of half-celestial. Each of them directs the butchery effort for a particular section of the Leviathan such as the loins, jowls or ribs. They also hold a position within the city council, and they oversee any trials decreed by Vératya as arbiters that have inherited his will.
The Carvers get the most choice cuts, but they also have some idiosyncrasies in regards to their eating behavior. They, and especially the Saints, do not always wait for their meat to be processed and cooked. Instead, they often eat it raw as they consider it more 'pure' and think it puts them closer to their God. As the Leviathan is a divine creature, this means the meat is also divine and this can have some peculiar effects on individuals. They may experience particular visions, or they may see the world in the way that a divine being would, which makes little sense to a mortal. These are of little practical value, but the raw consumption can also affect their bodies, for better or worse. It can grant them resistance to corrupting effects, or they may display aspects of their divinity such as unusual eye color or slight bone protrusions. These physical effects are rare and usually only occur in those who have consumed large amounts. Again, they are rarely of practical benefit.

The Spawn Guardians

A particular sub-section has recently gained in power among Vératya's worshipers. Since the Leviathan is a divine creature, it is holy. Everyone knows this. Everyone also knows that Vératya brought it into being to serve as sustenance for his people, so the slaughter is sanctioned. But the Spawn birthed from the Leviathan's flesh are a more ambiguous topic. Now the Spawn may be vicious creatures that often start killing soon after their birth, but they are also divine in nature. Thus they can be considered holy. This is the basis of the belief of the Spawn Guardians.
They think that these creatures should be protected, or even worshiped. They reason that the constant assault on the Leviathan and its Spawn would only naturally make the Spawn hostile. Perhaps if people came at them with open arms and reasoned with them, they would prove beneficial sacred wardens. So far their philosophy has brought little success as the Carvers are far too powerful to stop. But still they try, to undermine the Carvers and set up possibilities to reason or escape with a Spawn. Who knows where this will lead?

Life Through Toil.

Alternative Names

The Divine Blood-City

Demonym

Vératyavári

Location

Eltórián Bonelands

Notable Members

• Vératya