Epitaph
The City of Auspices
Among the most populous of the great demonic nation-states is the bustling, shifting, kaleidoscopic city of Epitaph. It is ruled absolutely by its enigmatic “mayor”, John Leng, who resides in the great Singing Spire at its centre, named for the way its myriad passages hum, drone and trill.
It is known to be the safest and most cosmopolitan of the demonic city-states to Waking travelers (whose who have crossed the Veil to the Duskscape bodily and consciously) and as such has the highest population of Material humanoids. Even so, this population is only a tiny fraction of a percent of the total, most of them dwarves from the advanced, partly umbral cities of Nibelheim. That said, some wizards, demonologists or high-ranking clergy of the Duskscape Regents make their home here as well.Description
See also: Epitaph Scenery Image Gallery (External)
or: Residents of Epitaph Image Gallery (External)
or: Demonic Settlements Misc. Image Gallery (External)Epitaph's diverse, sometimes kaleidoscopic architecture bears no strong similarity to any known Waking architecture, though unlike most other demonic cities can also possess a vague sense of familiarity, as if you've visited it before, but can't remember when or how. The Umbral Encyclopedia of the Dragon Knights of Tallarax calls this feeling saudade. It can be felt in other cities like Kloster Storkenfels as well, though in the latter's case it is more fleeting and often tinged with an added sense of dread.
As is the case with many demonic cities, paths tend to curve greedily towards Epitaph's resident "Moon", the vicinity to which governs an odd sort of caste system, a system that not only provides social empowerment but, it seems, physical and mental empowerment as well. The Moon is housed somewhere within the massive Singing Spire, residence of the Mayor, John Leng.Culture
While not the biggest civilization in the Near Umbra, the City of Auspices is far and away the most cosmopolitan, bustling with a dizzying array of demons, fae and intelligent chimera. While Waking visitors (that is to say: living, non-dreaming humanoids who have crossed the Veil bodily, and not as dreaming/deceased spirits) are never common in the Near Umbra, they are most active in the trade hub of Epitaph. Here, local businesspeople are more likely to treat with Material visitors, learn their languages and have some understanding of their savage, ignorant ways. (That said, it is still a city and a very alien one, so Material guests should exercise extreme caution.) Some powerful Material wizards, Dreamshepherds, Seraphites, Demonologists and the like make their homes here.The Mayor's Tax
Merchants and other businesspeople in Epitaph are "taxed" by John Leng and irregular intervals, wherein an event occurs where they are summoned to the Singing Spire to give an offering to Leng. The more unique or novel the gift, the more favoured it tends to be, and the more favour one receives from the Mayor, the more fortune one sees in the following Cycle.Politics
Epitaph is one of the few New Umbral cities that conduct trade with the cacophonous, demonic hive cities of Dis and Kloster Storkenfels; most Near Umbral settlements boycott them due to their rejection of The Old Accords. That said, Epitaph is a signatory of the Accords and does not itself allow the creation of undead chattel.Nature
Theories on what Epitaph actually is vary; some believe it’s simply a powerful mirage, a grand whim of its odd Cenobite(?) ruler. Others believe it is a patchwork of “dead” cities, fiefdoms, provinces, neighbourhoods that existed in antiquity. Still others claim Material towns and cities are themselves organisms who are able to dream, and Epitaph is the result.
Whatever Epitaph may truly be (insofar as Waking notions of "truth" hold to the Duskscape), it is an utterly wondrous and often bewildering place, a vast source of information, items or materials one could not possibly find in even the most cosmopolitan market squares of Waking Materia.Sent to See the Mayor
There is a bizarre effect First Age Veilwalkers called "Being sent to see the Mayor": Epitaph has a certain "pull" on teleportation magic; spells that transport people across the Veil are likely to arrive closer to Epitaph than intended, and such spells that fail (say, due to random chance or interruption) will often drop them in some random location in the city. Few (perhaps only John Leng himself) know the underpinnings of this phenomenon; most deem the action sinister, that dreaming souls hold some use to Leng, but a minority note Epitaph is one of the least dangerous locations in the Duskscape to Material peoples, and therefore perhaps the "pull" helps ensure their safety.
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