Kupopolis (city)

Kupopolis the city is peculiar as it seemingly exists in its own sublet of the universe. It is the home of many different creatures, and is divided into different districts, such as the Elven quarter and the Demon quarter.

(Lifted from the OmniNet Entry)

Introduction

The City of Kupopolis! A Guide By Cornelius Ganglehorn

If I were to ask you "What city is at the center of the Web of Worlds?" you have a very good chance of answering incorrectly. You could say Albrook, referring to the location of GAHQ. Doubtless, since the end of the Great War, Albrook has become one of the Web`s most important cities; the center of the Web`s defense and a very important travel nexus for the Core worlds. But no, it`s not quite the center. You might say Tasnicaport, or Contac, if you were maybe going for a more political angle. Tasnicaport being the capital of the Tasnica Republic, and Contac being the host of the GACA`s Alliance Congress, surely they could each justifiably qualify as the Web of World`s center in terms of politics, yes? But no, not quite what I was going for. You might also answer Centwerp (if you were thinking economically), or Wangofunk (if you were thinking funkily), or Scande (if Rumanski was doing your thinking for you), but all of these would be wrong. There is one city, and only one city, that can always and forever lay an unshakable claim on the distinction of being the center of the Web of Worlds. And that city is my home, the City of Kupopolis. The story of Kupopolis is long, and often waxing tangential, and pursuing many different viewpoints and subplots over the course of tens of years... but ultimately, as is true of all things, the story comes full circle and returns to its roots, to the City, and the trials and struggles and cares and loves and thoughts and farts and disputes and pleasant happy lives of its people. My name is Cornelius Ganglehorn. And I would be more than happy to be your guide as we travel together down the City`s humble cobbled streets.

First, here`s a layout of the city`s districts, called "Quarters." The Quarters of the City are not called such because there are four of them. Do not ask why they are called "Quarters"; if you do, a Kupopolitan is likely to box you in the nose and say bad things about your parentage. The districts are listed below, in the order they appear (first Central, then around clockwise from the Elven Quarter).

Central Quarter

Elven Quarter

Dwarven Quarter

Demon Quarter

Dead Quarter

Chocobo Quarter

Giant Quarter

Reptile Quarter

Nu Quarter

Foreword: About the City of Kupopolis

Kupopolis has always been a center of life in the Web of Worlds, in one way or another. True enough, for many years now focus has pulled away from the city due to the advent of such things as space travel, but Kupopolis is still valuable because of one thing: Doors. Kupopolis has lots of doors. Sure, every city has doors, but Kupopolis has doors that lead to other dimensions and places in the Web that would be difficult to get to otherwise. Kupopolis is the only place that has land-bound portals which lead to the Fringe -- although these are fewer in number, relatively new and suspected to be man-made.

Kupopolis has at least one (and most often many many more) portal to each dimension in the Web of Worlds. You would think, then, that this city would be vital to control for one of the Great Powers, or for the Grand Army itself. Well, it isn`t that simple.

See, Kupopolis doesn`t belong to the people who live there. It belongs to a god called UL. Most of the time no one much notices that UL`s around... but if you do something he doesn`t like, you find out about it in the worst way. Apart from UL, no god can enter Kupopolis thanks to the way UL has set up the place.

The way Kupopolis and UL fit into the Web of World`s cosmology isn`t clear. Some have suggested that the city is the nexus of the Web`s magic distribution (as the Strand and Portal system is essentially nothing more than a circulatory system of mana), but this doesn`t work because every Wangofunk and his mom knows that Aryth is the Source of the Web of World`s mana flow. Some have suggested that perhaps Kupopolis is more like the Web`s Mana Liver, but that only overly complicates the analogy (and really, when you think about it, makes very little sense).

A more plausible answer can be found in Mooglish myth and legend. Stories of the Moogles claim that all Moogles once originated in the dimension where Kupopolis lies, and say that once a planet and an entire solar system were laid out there. Some great catastrophe brought an end to this world, however, and it was only with the aid of UL that the Moogle race was able to escape. UL did this by creating an atmospherically-sealed halfway house for the fleeing Moogles, and once all the Moogles were safely atop the platform, UL created the doors and portals that took them safely to the other worlds of the Web. However, some of the Moogles didn`t leave the platform; and by the auspices of UL, they stayed and built a city. And they named the city Kupopolis.

This explains several things at once, and appears the only logical solution to the mystery of Kupopolis` existence. It explains the seemingly impossible existence of the city (a floating disc-shaped platform in the middle of an empty expanse of black space), the proliferation of portals within the city walls, and the spread of Moogles throughout the Web of Worlds (which nobody was really in a big hurry to explain, now that you mention it).

So what is UL? Who knows? No one`s ever seen him, and some say he doesn`t even really exist. More of a phantom or a boogeyman than someone you could walk up to and identify. But at the same time, he (or his legacy) keeps the city safe. For the most part.

He doesn`t really have any worshippers, but sages acribe to him many godly feats. They say it is UL who regulates things in the Web in the absence of the Light Gods, and that it was UL that sealed the Gate Dimension`s unstable time portals and prevents things like teleportation and time travel from mucking things up in the Web. But despite all this, there is still not enough evidence to convince all the cynics of UL`s existence.

So what does UL do? Well, none are certain, BUT it is believed that UL`s existence maintains the city`s portals and keeps the city completely and totally neutral. This much most agree on: UL is the balancing influence that keeps Kupopolis free: he ensures the City remains out of the hands of Gods and Great Powers alike. Some have suggested that UL used his own body, flattened out into a disc-shape, to create the platform that Kupopolis now stands on, but that theory has got just as little proof behind it as anything else one could come up with.

So who runs the city, then? Doesn`t someone have to? Well, yes, of course. Mail must be delivered, garbage must be collected... And to that end Kupopolis does have governmental institutions of a kind. The city has three functioning governing bodies: a court, a mayoral office, a police department... but get this: each claims or seeks to be more powerful than all the others. There is no official document, charter, constitution or instruction manual which says exactly what each body can and cannot do, but recent and historic precedents tend to shape what is acceptable from current office holders. Expectation becomes what drives the actions of city officials, and these expectations translate into responsibilities.

The Courts see to the definition and interpretation of Kupopolis` laws ("law" being a fairly inappropriate term where it comes to Kupopolis... "guideline" is more like it, really), the Mayor oversees city maintenance and performs such tasks as tax collecting (ha! Good luck!) and responding directly to the public`s concerns (ever heard the expression "herding cats"?), and the Police keep order and put down the hooligans (by far the easiest job in Kupopolis` government: hit the badguy). But it ain`t that simple. While the Mayor is the nominal leader of the city, his office and those of the Court system and Police department hold their struggle only in the central region of the disc. Outside the circular central region are eight evenly divided pie-slice regions, each of which is overseen by a guildhouse. The Guilds are usually race-based, and they meet in council in the central region with the Mayor, the High Justice and the Police Chief to form the chaotic debating club that theoretically rules the city. It doesn`t work in practice.

Each of the nine districts of the city is ruled by a different race, and each race sends, from among the best and brightest of its ranks, one councilor to the City Council; this councilor is almost always the de facto leader of his home district.

Central Quarter

Most of you must be wondering by now, where`s the Mooglish Quarter? Surely, in a city founded by Moogles, there would be a Mooglish section of the city! Well, there isn`t really. Closest thing to it is the Central Quarter. Central`s the largest of the districts, and it`s a place where most of the people who don`t immediately fit into any of the other districts can mingle freely with each other. That`s the way the Moogles wanted it; they carved out the largest portion of the city for themselves, then invited others to come live with them and bask in the glory of Mooglish rule. They wanted a multi-racial utopia where they, as Moogles, would naturally rise to the top, like cream. Of course, that`s not the way it worked out. Central almost immediately was flooded with humans and other races, and soon the Moogles were marginalized. Central is the main part of the city. Central is the home of the Mayor, who is the nominal ruler of the City, and it hosts the Council, where representatives from all the other districts come to yell at each other. Central also houses the city`s Grand Army barracks, but the GA doesn`t play a large role in city politics. They`re just kinda there, because they`re everywhere. It`s UL`s neutralizing influence again; try as the GA might, it can`t exert that much power over Kupopolis. By its nature, the city remains neutral. Three people run this part of the city, as noted above: the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the High Justice. All three offices are soon to be vacant; Kupopolis hasn`t had a Mayor in nearly five years (the unexpected death of Mayor Brandt left the election reforms process he was working on in limbo, and it was only recently that the Council decided on the procedures for the next election to take place), and both Police Chief Endeberg and High Justice Kubanez are set to retire later this year.

Elven Quarter

This district is run by a mishmash of Elven races: Elves, Sprites, Sylphs, Half-Elves, Hylians, Faeries and even Dark Elves. Despite tensions which would normally cause discord between the various sub-races, all of the Elves tend to get along just fine in Kupopolis. The Elves are lead by a fencing guild run out of the Sworddancer Academy. Here they teach anyone with Elven blood classical Elven swordstyles for free (non-elves may take classes for exorbitant lesson fees, though it is not uncommon for prospective students to barter things the Elves would want, like or need in exchange for a few lessons). The area around the Sworddancer Academy is dotted with silversmithies, magic shops, and small parks and gardens. Homes in the Elven Quarter are broken up into several distinct neighborhoods. The main commercial sector of the Quarter abuts a quaint shingled-roof village known as Little Shigramar, a Hylia-dominated neighborhood. Hylian craftsman dominate the commercial zone, with only a few modern retailers and services able to infiltrate the largely traditionalist Elven markets. Elves tend to cluster in the forested vale hidden behind the Academy; they are by far the most isolated of all the Elven peoples, separating themselves even from their pointy-eared cousins within their own Quarter. The main residential neighborhood is one of the nicest neighborhoods in all the City. Not only Elves live here: anyone with a bit of money to drop can get himself a real swank flat on the main boulevard of the Elven Quarter`s main residential district. Finally, a sub-level of the city exists one floor down. In these Elven Warrens and tunnels dwell the Dark Elves and the Sylphs, living the subterranean lifestyles that are most comfortable for them. The Elven Warrens is also home to the Quarter`s main trading square, where the Dark Elven trading houses oversee the barter of local and outside goods among the various Elven peoples. The current Councilor from the Elven Quarter is the president of the Academy, Kil`Eareth Sworddancer.

Dwarven Quarter

The Dwarven Quarter is built in three layers, with two additional sections of the district built underground (the Dwarves are afraid to dig any further, for fear of punching through the other side of the disc). All manner of dwarves dwell here: Magma Dwarves, Mana Dwarves, Sea Dwarves, Swamp Dwarves, Desert Dwarves and Hill Dwarves all. When the Dwarves first moved in, the six subraces all waged political war on each other for dominance of the District. Each race thought of itself as the truest, most pure breed of Dwarf, and that all the others were abominations. Eventually, the hardy Magma Dwarves won out, and so they sent the first Dwarven Councilor to the City Council. Every Councilor after that, however, has had to fight his way to the top, beating back other candidates from the other subraces. Presently, the Hill Dwarves have a Councilor installed, a grizzled old Ticonderan expatriate who was a veteran Grenadier in the Great War. Garmon Stonetooth is an archetypal stubborn, abbrassive old dwarf who knows that the Dwarven way is better off in the city with ol` Stonetooth fighting for them in the Council. Stonetooth makes his home on the topmost layer of the Dwarven District in the Hill Dwarf neighborhoods. His rivals are likewise split up into neighborhoods: on the topmost layer, the Hill, Desert and Magma dwarves make their homes. The Hill Dwarf neighborhoods are tidy and well-cared for, with meticulously cobbled streets. Local businesses include taverns, jewelers and blacksmiths. The Magma Dwarf neighborhoods, however, are hot and sweltering. The Magma Dwarves operate smithies, foundries and heavy industry that send off smoke and soot almost constantly, and while the Magma Dwarves seem comfortable enough under a heavy black cloud, their Hill Dwarf neighbors are wont to complain. The Desert Dwarves move between the Hill and Magma Dwarf parts of the district, true to their nomadic heritage. They even leave the Dwarf Quarter on occassion, moving between the districts friendly to their kind and setting up their travelling marketplaces. The only permanent Desert Dwarf settlement in the Dwarven Quarter is a tent-tavern in Hillgully Square called "The Bottomless Tankard." The tent is, surprisingly, a fully functioning and very popular watering hole for people just passing through the City (although, obviously, there is no running water; the Tankard has to draw up water from a nearby well in the Square). The Tankard is run by a Desert Dwarf named Najir al Shaham and his Hill Dwarf wife, Rulia. Together, the pair retains a staff of twenty well-paid Desert Dwarf workers, most of whom are fanatically loyal to the prosperous Najir. Were it not for Najir`s strong and stout reputation as a businessman within the city, the couple`s mixed marriage would not be tolerated by the Dwarven population at large (although a number of the elder Dwarves make no bones about not liking the idea).

The second layer is peopled by the Mana and Swamp Dwarves -- but it`s the Mana Dwarves who run the place. The Mana Dwarves run smithies and tend vast gardens of underground fungi in a massive city of stone buildings and smooth, paved streets. The Swamp Dwarves live in small ghettos throughout Layer 2`s city; the Mana Dwarves who run the place will only tolerate this subrace in very small doses, seeing them as only marginally more desirable as neighbors over the Sea Dwarves. Layer 2 has two major factions vying for control. On one side is the successful tavernkeeper, Archie Bullaxe, who owns and operates the Miner`s Brew. On its own, the Brew wouldn`t be very profitable at all; the fortune Bullaxe has garnered for himself over the years is due more to the illicit activities he engages in (such as working as a smuggling middle-man for Core and Fringe concerns alike). Bullaxe`s main competition comes from across town on the westside from a burly Mana Dwarf named Leif Gulhammar. Gulhammar runs the Layer 2 Emporium, out of which operates Gulhammar`s import/export business (which basically means he does the same kind of stuff Bullaxe does, except he advertises it). Old Leif would really like to be rid of Bullaxe so that he can become the only outfit in town.

The last layer of the District is peopled by Sea and Swamp Dwarves, who have partially flooded their layer and doused the marshy water in salt. These Dwarves produce almost nothing from their layer, save inbred dwarven berserkers who can only ever find work as hired thugs and mercenaries. During the Leviathan War, incidences of violence on the street (between gangs of Desert and Sea Dwarf youths) were common, as these two subraces felt some form of racial fealty to either the Fascists or the Communists. These displays of racial violence have since abated, but were the Communists and Fascists to go at it again tensions would certainly flare again.

Demon Quarter

This district is peopled by a menagerie of monstrous, hateful creatures lumped together under the label "Demon." Originally founded by the Demons of Ticondera, who were banished by religious zealots ages ago, the district is now peopled by several races of monstrous misfits. Intelligent beasts and humanoid races of all wondrous, monstrous variety live here, where they can be free from persecution. Of course, being demonic (of appearance, if not origin), these creatures are at their best when they are engaged in violent, bloody conflict. They select their Councilor in gruesome battles at the Devil`s Arena, which draws many non-demons into the district to watch the shows. The current Councilor-Champion is the legendary Phunbaba, the ancient and immortal demon of Esperian legend and lore. Anyone looking for a fast buck can cut a deal with Phunbaba: he`ll let you fight for his stable in exchange for a cut of the profit. Small price to pay for a sponsor to get you onto the Arena floor... but mind what they say about dealing with devils.

Dead Quarter

This district is the least visited by non-residents. It is comprised of a number of run-down buildings, with the menacing minarets of Castle Zarovich and its courtyard cemetery right in the center. This district is inhabited entirely by Undead, from shambling animate corpses to wailing, groaning spirits and the thinking evil dead. There is no Councilor from the Dead Quarter, and most in the City would like to keep it that way (the Dead are easiest to live with when they are leaderless). Most point to the Dead Quarter when any proof of UL`s power to keep the city neutral is needed. Surely, the walking dead have tried on numerous occassions to take the city for themselves, to consume all living things in Kupopolis and draw them into their shambling, rotting ranks. And yet, they remain within the borders of their decripit, ruined sector of the city. It is believed that, at one time, the Dead Quarter was, in fact, the Human Quarter; a place where a territorial and seperatist ethnic group of humanity made a grab for its own piece of the Kupopolitan pie. It is from these humans (or, rather, their corpses) that the first of the Dead are supposed to have arisen. Why, or how, did the Human Quarter then become the Dead Quarter? Perhaps the men of this Quarter were too greedy, too ambitious; perhaps they waged war too openly and too often on their neighbors. Popular myth contends something of this sort went on, and UL`s punishment was swift and severe: he took their lives and shrouded the Quarter in the ambient mist that now engulfs it. And so the whole Quarter died, and to this day no living thing dwells there (or sets foot within its borders for very long before finding the closest way out).

Chocobo Quarter

Yes. Chocobos have their own district in the city. Obviously, though, these birds are not sentient intellects, possessing, at best, animal intelligence. The district is maintained and represented by a rare race of humanoid known as the Chocotaur. Similar in concept to a Centaur, the Chocotaur is simply a Chocobo with a human`s torso, head and arms. The Chocobo Quarter`s main local business is in liveries. The Chocotaurs breed and train Chocobos like no other people in all the Web, and for a price a mount accustomed to travel in the city streets (automobiles and other such modern conveyances are prohibited within the city) can be rented for a time. The current Councilor from the Chocobo Quarter is a white-feathered Chocotaur shaman named Seehr. Seehr`s primary duties among his people are the defense of the district`s borders against incursions by the undead. More than a few Chocobos and Chocotaurs have been captured and made into meals or zombies by the Dead Quarter`s residents, and so Seehr sends whole flocks of white and red feathered Chocobos and Chocotaurs to patrol the borders with the Dead Quarter, using healing and fire magics to harm invading Undead creatures.

Giant Quarter

This district is peopled mostly by Gigases from the Mana dimension, but Ogres from Crystal, Moblins from Light, Gants and Armataurs from Dragon and Alter-Dragon and other such large, muscle-bound brutes also find a home here. The Giants who dwell in the City live in buildings built for their slightly-bigger-than-humans scale, and their stock in trade tends to be in the heavy manual labor area. Due to ancient racial feuds, the Giants will not work for Dwarves; rather, they will more often than not attack the smaller race on sight. Presently, there is no Councilor from the Giant Quarter. The last Giant Councilor (an eccentric Fire Gigas named Harry) took ill and died, and the various Giant races have descended into bickering and in-fighting over which race will send the next Councilor into the Central Quarter.

Reptile Quarter

The Reptile Quarter was founded by a mass exodus of Reptites, Cerrans and Winged Apes ages ago, fleeing from the ice age that was sweeping the Gate Dimension after the Fall of Lavos. Now, sentient reptiles of all sorts make their homes here, though the Reptites still control pretty much everything. The current Councilor from this district is a Reptite named Zerrdor, a priest who has taken up worship of the Mana Elemental Salamando. Befitting his element of fire, Zerrdor is passionate and fiesty. In a debate he exhibits a hot temper, and he has taken up artistic pursuits as a means of expressing himself. In painting, sculpture and music, he throws the whole of himself into simply creating, forging masterworks in the fires of his passion. Some of his stuff is actually pretty good... and good thing, too, because he doesn`t take criticism very maturely.

Nu Quarter

The Nu live here. Their dwellings are simple, stone houses and storefronts, and like the Nu, nothing much about this district stands out. Their Councilor changes at least once a month, though whether or not the Nu hold public elections is unclear (in fact, I believe they don`t. Nu Councilors are selected by the Nu collective mind; the Nu simply "know" who their next Councilor will be, and how long he will serve for). In the City, the Nu have few enemies and few strong allies. They are perfectly neutral, and perhaps they are UL`s idea of a perfect citizenry for Kupopolis. It would explain why Nu gardens grow faster and produce better fruits and vegetables, and why the Nu Quarter gets better weather than most of the other parts of the city.