City of Stormlight
Niook is a towering, ancient city. Powered by lightning harvested from the seasonal storms that sweep over the city, Niook is a megapolis of electric light and modern conveniences, as well as a center of arts and culture in the Rumorring Region.
Traditionally ruled by seven nobles houses, the government of the city is in actuality constantly evolving. Currently, the government is a network that consists of the noble houses and their many operatives, a grand governor selected by the seven noble houses, a circle of senators that draft and impose laws, magistrates and peace officers that enforce the laws, and a city council that works as a democratic body that informs and influences the grand governor.
Niook is divided into strata, each of which is in many ways its own separate city. The strata are:
- The Toes
- Causeway
- Nuabrawhlen ("Nwa-Bra-Weln" or "Nwa-Bra-El"), commonly called "Dwarfhome"
- The Understories
- Cogheart
- Verda
- Lower City
- Central City
- The Roost
- Farm Markets
- Overstory
- Storm Harvest
- Highcliff
- Upper Reach
The Toes
The Toes is a densely-populated, deeply impoverished sprawl of urban life. Over the centuries, it has spilled out across the grassy plain from which Niook arises, obliterating nature with dense urban structures of brick, stone, and wood. It mutes the plain surrounding Niook with its din of hungry, afflicted humanity. Only the high walls of Causeway and a dense presence of law enforcement check this crush of urban despair.
Causeway
Causeway is a creation of order desperate to impose itself on the unruly chaos of unchecked life that is The Toes. A joint effort between the Nuabrawheni dwarves, the aristocratic leaders of Verda, and a splinter group of Central City's Peacekeep known as The Divine Order, Causeway is a militantly-patrolled zone whose borders are constantly changing. Despite the high walls constructed to hold back the rabble, the unwashed people of The Toes are perpetually breaching Causeway in order to beg for alms or work. The Divine Order, who enforces draconian regulations and laws against "the unpermitted", are outnumbered and overworked. Slowly and relentlessly, the Causeway--meant to be a safe approach to and exit from the civilized strata of Niook for visitors and residents alike--is being eaten away by The Toes.
Nuabrawheln
Approximately 10,000 years ago, the dwarven domain of Dweorwheln, in the Shalemarch Region north of Rumorring, fell. While accounts of the Fall of Dweorwheln vary, a theme of corruption by demonic forces is central to them all.
After the Fall, in which the majority of the population of Dweorwheln suffered either death or corruption by demonic forces, a schism occurred within the survivors. Small, splintered groups of dwarves fled their shattered and sunken home.
One such group settled at the base of Nuabra, which is the name that they gave the spire of crystal and rock that would eventually become Niook. The translation of this dwarven word is "Shining". The Nuabrawhelni, as these dwarves would come to be known, delved into the roots of Nuabra, where they discovered a variety of precious metals and gems, as well as access to Durruveldt, which is called the Wonderdark in Verovaran.
The Nuabrawhelni knew the electrical-conducting properties of copper. Eventually, as Nii humans began to populate the surface of the spire of Nuabra--which they called "Nii-Shook", or "the people's home"--copper was utilized to harness the electrical energy of lightning. This was the beginning of the City of Stormlight, the union of dwarven engineering and magic with Nii human productivity and commerce. As electric light began to glow from the surfaces of the great spire, the city grew. Nuabrawheln was enriched by human commerce and demand for dwarven utility and engineering.
In the thousands of years following, the dwarves have suffered the loss of their Durruveldtan holdings to the depredations of moorlocks and the ruthless expansion of the Dessinthir sablekeen.
The Understories
Cogheart
Verda
Lower City
Central City
The Roost
Farm Markets
Overstory
Storm Harvest
Highcliff
Upper Reach
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