Negav's Underground
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Under construction
The city of Negav is undoubtedly the largest and most impressive structure built by humans in Felarya that managed to persist through time. Being famous and well known across the land, even among giant predators, it's no surprise that humanoids from all over the world are drawn to this place, to and beyond its limits of capacity. This led to the building of an entire city in its shadow, or more precisely, underneath. Slowly but surely, the city of Negav expanded underneath the grounds it rests on, like a plant taking root. Negav's underground sector is huge and covers most of the expanse of the city over several vertical layers. Most sections are bundled together with long tunnels leading to others areas in order to keep the rest of the surface city on stable grounds. Technically, there are specific areas where people are allowed to excavate more room but those regulations are seldom regarded. The deeper one goes, the more chaotic the tunnels, rooms and structures become, as less accurate maps for orientation exist and less people care about rules from above. According to official statistics, the underground population is about as large as the one in Negav's lower tier, however, this is only taking those into account, that are legal citizens of the city, and most commonly refers to inhabitants of the upper commons. The dark number of citizen, both legal and illegal, is probably several times larger, making the underground the most populated area of the city. It's not entirely impossible that more citizen live underground than in all the surface districts combined, and that's why underground folk often calls the surface area of Negav merely the tip of the iceberg. The underground is know to harbour the poorest of the poor, however, this is not entirely true. The population is extremely diverse, and ranges from everyday people, who live and work above ground in the lower or even middle tier, to people who have lost everything but their lives, seeking refugee in places nobody else would want to live. To some, the underground is a hive of scum and villainy that's best to sealed off from the world entirely, to others a fascinating place full of different cultures and people, and one could spend their entire lives in the hive, and yet not see everything it has to offer. However, there's a reason why those who can afford it, try to move above ground. Moving there is often considered to be a loss of social standing and status, merely for the reputation of the area. Crime rates are exorbitantly high, and even in the upper commons, those who do not look out for their posessions or watch their backs, regularly find themselves robbed or worse. Mercy and Morality are luxuries in a world that has little to spare, and more often than not, the cities law is barely worth the paper it is printed on.
Negav's underground is separated into different layers, which each serve very specific purposes to those who live there, and the ones above. The layers, even though not as precisely separated in reality as they are presented here, can roughly be divided into two main levels: The hive, and the depths. Their main difference is that the hive is recognized as an official part of Negav. It is relatively well kept intact, connected to Negav's multiple networks of water, power supply and sewage, mostly for those networks are actually located here. The Depths on the other hand are an inofficial part of Negav, mostly expanses of abandoned or forgotten caverns and shafts, its existance relatively unknown among the ignorant part of the surface population. To live here is a harsh and brutal existance, and many, who were born here, are likely to never see the light of day...
Surface Connections The Upper commons are the highest layer of the hive, and connect to many different staircases leading to the surface, which end in various locations of both the lower and middle tier of Negav, the latter being gated by heavy iron gates and guards, allowing to seal the entrances in case of emergencies. However, the connections between the lower tier and the upper commons are for the most part open, and rarely guarded, mostly for the convenience of travel, and to give the citizen a relative feeling of freedom, as there is always a way up that apparently cannot be closed off - serving an important role to prevent panics and keeping the underground population peaceful. It is worth noting, that there are no known connections between the upper commons and the high district, as official building regulations did prevent the underground area to spread underneath the area for stability reasons, even though rumors of secret passageways to and from important places such as the high palace persist.
Land space in Negav is expensive and hard to come by. Already, many of the poorer residents are being forced onto the streets, evicted by expansion. As Negav is the one "safe" city in Felarya, it's not surprising that most people want to live here. Thus, there is an entire other half to Negav - the Negav Underground. Generally populated by lower income persons, there are a variety of corridors and rooms carved out under the city.
The Pit
A part of Underground Negav, the pit is a large cavern that has an equally large depression in it. The pit was dug out by the inhabitants - at one time there were magnificent crystals growing across the ground - sadly they were consumed in the need for more real-estate. The Pit is a good name - it is generally accepted to be the area where the poorest of the poor live and is often nicknamed the "Skyless city". The area is a mess of shanties and tents, run by an incredible collection of brutal gangs, greedy mobs and ruthless mafias. Life is extremely hard and dangerous in the Pit, and the only law there is that of the dagger or the shotgun. People have started to nail shacks onto the walls of the cavern to give more room. The pit gets deeper as people excavate it for more room. There are even starting to be a few adventurous nekos who have built dwelling that hang from the ceiling ! The only proper "building" in the pit is a shrine to Oth, the Sun God. It's a white building with a series of golden mirrors on the top. In an act of charity, this temple magically radiates stored sunlight during the day. The priests also give donations of food and blankets to the needy, usually along with free scriptures of Oth.
On multiple occasions the government has tried to stop development of the pit, worried that the expansion of the cavern could destabilize the buildings above it. Others worry that something very bad and hungry might be dug up if the Pit is dug too deep. Already, the Pit has the highest rate of unsolved disappearances in the city. Most assume this is just regular murders or people leaving without telling anyone. Others claim that something nasty has already been awakened and when the temple of Oth turns off the light for the night, it comes out to feed on those who won't be missed...
The Lower Market
The Lower Market stands as a sort of shady reflection of the bustling Grand Market District above. It is set in a long wide tunnel, the edges crammed with stalls selling whatever wares are possible and lit by many blue and purple magic lights. The walls are pierced by countless shops and back caves selling varied, and often illegal, goods. The Lower Market is also known as having some of the best prices on Felarya for those who know where to look. The most famous shop is the Selodonna Antique Store. Owned by an elderly neko, this place looks like a junk shop on first glance, housing lots of wares that were discarded or used. However, those who know what they are looking for will find lots of the old stuff has amazing powers and comes from very ancient times. Overall, while the Lower Market may not have the... quality... of the above ground shops, it has a lot of charm and character. Smart shoppers looking for a deal tend to peruse it at regular intervals.
New Chargate Prison
New Chargate is the main prison of the city. Besides smaller holding prisons operated by various governmental groups, most prisoners will end up here, below Felarya. The prison is known as "New" Chargate as the original prison was taken down. This was simply due to the fact that, as Negav expanded, there was less room for buildings, and people thought it ridiculous that the valuable above-ground property be spent on something as unpleasant as a prison. Thus the prison was demolished and relocated underground. To prevent it from taking up too much space underground and becoming too close to other areas, the prison was built vertically - many estimate that the deepest point in the Negav underground is the lowest areas of New Chargate. The prison is essentially a giant open shaft that stretches down into the darkness. The sides are lined with the cells and walkways for the guards and wardens. It is a dark, damp and dismal place. Typically, the only people ending here are criminal that are too dangerous to be left in liberty as blinded ones, and too important to be simply expelled from the city. The lower the level of the prisoner, the more dangerous they are. The very lowest levels also have powerful magical wards on them - this is where rogue and criminal mages are kept. Rumors tell of fallen Magiocrats being held there. Perhaps due to the inmates, or pure magical residue, this lowest area is assumed by all the guards to be haunted. In fact, there is the occasional strange disappearance down here. But whatever the cause, the magical wards keep whatever it is securely below.
- credits to Jaette-troll for the Pit, New Chargate Prison, and Lower market idea.
