No story works without want.  Whether the object of one's desire is a person, an object, an experience, status, power, or something as simple as to survive or to be remembered, it drives every living thing -and some things that can scarcely be called living- to action.  Of course, this isn't a revelation—in fact, it borders on asinine overcomplication.  All the same, motivations are vitally important, foundational elements of characters of all shapes and sizes.  But what if I told you there was a machine that could makes such wishes reality?

For 3000 years, a city stood on a stretch of land in the middle of the ocean, two isthmuses connecting it to the bordering countries.  More than 500 square miles across, and situated in the middle of the most ancient part of the world, it is a city that has seen it all.  It's seen empires rise and fall, felt iron grip of totalitarianism, enjoyed golden ages of trade, culture, and exploration, and been home centuries upon centuries of art.  It's a place people have gone to find fame, fortune, family, and even themselves, and millions have lived and died there.  It's a place like nowhere else on earth, a pillar of civilization whose face changes and changes but never fades away.  Yet, today its streets are empty.  The rain spatters on cars abandoned in the streets, the storefronts' lonely lights have no-one to see them, the churches once alive with song now host a silent mass, and goods sit untended in the market stalls.

Only one little islet off the shore of the mainland still stirs: the land that belongs to the Inquisitional College.  Established as a joint venture between various governments after the world's brightest city went dark, the huge institute of sends its historical scholars and seekers of truth into the place now known only as the City of Echoes to find out what happened.  Years have passed since then, and the lack of any findings coupled with the eeriness of the anomaly have conspired to make the world want to forget the city ever existed.  Not long ago, however, the College began to turn up odd objects throughout the city, culminating in a singular, fascinating discovery: a device the size of a truck, nestled inside the Old Basilica, oddly shaped and of unknown origin.  When a man possessed by curiosity placed his hand upon the dial in its center, the machine turned on, and from it issued a proclamation the scholars would never forget.

[i][b]Thirty-three souls will mark the road to granting one's greatest desire[/b][/i]

Since then, the machine has been silent, but the light bleeding from between its metal plates has never dimmed.  All attempts to breach its exterior and determine what makes it tick have failed.  In the meantime, more anomalous objects have turned up throughout the City of Echoes, including a case of thirty-two egg-shaped devices to be worn as pendants.  The College's top minds, having brainstormed in secret for weeks on what the machine could have meant, finally hatched a plan: to bring together thirty-two contestants with hearts full of desire to fight and lay claim to one another's souls, so that the winner might find out for them what this 'wishing machine' could really do.

[center][h2]Welcome to the Crucible[/h2]

[img]http://img14.deviantart.net/01c2/i/2014/240/0/0/quarter_by_ldimonl-d7wzgpc.jpg[/img][/center]

In summary, the Crucible is a tournament being held by a creepy college investigating the goings-on in an abandoned city.  The premise revolves around the use of items discovered in the city known as phylacteries.  These pendants, when worn and activated, synchronize themselves to the soul of the wearer.  When a competitor is defeated, the soul of the loser is transmitted to and stored in the phylactery of the winner, and the grand winner of the tournament -having amassed the souls of every other competitor- will have the chance to use the Machine to grant his or her wish.

The characters themselves are pivotal parts of this RP.  The title says multiversal, but do take note of the quotation marks.  In this story, you may make your own character or any character you've previously created, ever, from any universe.  You could have a character from the world of any game, movie, book, or whatever, including pre-existing RPs (this is your chance to revive an old character you liked from an RP that died).  However, this character does have to be your original creation.  There's one other way in which your character is important: in the sheet, there's a section called 'Echo' which will be explained in the sheet, that in essence I will use to create a zone in the ever-changing City of Echoes with personal significance to your character.  I hope that you will be able to enjoy the extreme freedom you have in creating your character to the fullest.  You could have a human, a dwarf, a robot, a golem, an animal, anything, from any era, whatever you please.

However, this does not mean that things will be entirely character-driven.  When you begin, your character will be randomly placed in an area in the City of Echoes along with a randomly chosen opponent.  You won't need to get to fighting immediately; there will be a lot to explore and do.  The maximum amount of players in this RP is 16, and every player can have two characters.  However, one character will have to be designated as your main character, and the other (if you make one) as a side character.  Side characters will become NPCs, and in the first round of the tournament, every player will fight an NPC.  After that, it's PvP.  College officials will be in the city to make sure that matches proceed in a proper tournament fashion; the first person to win a duel won't be able to fight again until there's another winner so that a 'Round 2' match can begin, for instance.

The other big thing to note about this RP is the manner in which PvP will be going down.  My own experience with PvP across many roleplays hasn't been great.  Some people, wanting to avoid things like unsightly wounds or consequences for their mistakes, don't let their character get hit.  Others autohit.  Some fights progress terribly slowly, with every little thing requiring input from both parties.  All of these are problems that I hope to solve with my system.

[h3]The Combat[/h3]

When two players get into a fight, here's how it's going to go down.  Each person will write a couple paragraphs about the fight, including the scenery, the interactions, the actual battle, and so on.  This includes taking control of the other character.  Essentially, each side makes their own version of how a section of fight goes down.  Once each person posts their version of a part of the battle, all players (including the fighting players) will get the chance to vote on which one they like more using the Like feature.  The suggested criteria include quality of writing, coolness factor, handling of the opposing character, and overall flow.  After an amount of time agreed to before the battle, the votes are tallied, and the winning version becomes canon, with the losing portion being edited into a hider.  Then the next stage of the battle begins, with both players playing off what became canon, but the next portion could go either way.  The first to three rounds won is the overall winner of the fight, with that player's third round deciding the battle.  If players feel like they want to go on longer, the amount of rounds needed to win can be changed.  In terms of voting, I am able to jump in and make a decision if I feel foul play is going on.  So write well, write fairly, and judge fairly.

I mentioned before that defeating an opponent wins their soul, but the truth is a little different.  To get the opponent's soul, the easiest and fastest way is to kill the opponent.  After the loser dies, his or her soul is immediately stored in the winner's phylactery.  However, a soul can be 'extracted' from an opponent by linking two phylacteries—one is 'plugged in' to the other, and the one that's doing the plugging is the one that gets the soul.  Soul extraction, unfortunately, causes a lot of pain to the loser, and after the loser's soul is taken, the loser becomes the winner's ally, unable to view the winner as an enemy and is more inclined to do what the winner commands.  Death is a real possibility in this game for your character, but if you are so inclined, there are ways you can be revived, or you can make another character who can enter the city as a 'spectator'.  There's lots to do in the City of Echoes even if you've lost the tournament, such as find special Artifacts that the College found that will help your character (or an ally) fight, survive, or discover the place's secrets

One last thing: the phylactery has one other function.  If the wearer is in a high emotional state, usually from despair, grief, or anger, it is capable of transforming the wearer into a monstrous form if the wearer loses control.  The means of transformation and the resulting form varies immensely between wearers, but all transformations result in more power and a 'bloodlusted', insane state of mind, though the severity of the insanity can also vary.  This frenzy can only be naturally reverted by taking another contestant's soul.  If a frenzied competitor loses their soul but doesn't die, that competitor 'shrivels' down into a weakened and pitiful but still monstrous state, regaining some sanity but not all.  If your character has a transformation ability already, that ability will be locked for use with this mechanic

[h3]Rules[/h3]

1. Courtesy – treat your fellow players, and their characters, with respect.  If there's some kind of problem, try and sort it out in a rational manner, and don't hesitate to approach me.  Don't make a mockery of other peoples' characters; play them in a manner that would make the other player proud
2. Integrity – don't try to cheat the system, whether by persuading people to vote in a certain way using spurious means, or create problems by changing a vote at the last second or after a match has been decided.  Don't add powers to your character that weren't made clear in your sheet
3. Perseverance - posting every few days is highly encouraged, especially when you're interacting with somebody else.  Try not to make people wait; getting involved in an RP like this is a responsibility in its own right.  If you need absence, tell me rather than simply remaining silent and leaving me to wonder what happened.  If you don't like the way something is going, talk to me rather than dropping out.  If two weeks pass without a post, I will notify you of the beginning of a three-day probation, after which you will be kicked for inactivity--unless you have a really good excuse.  Sorry, but that's the way it has to be
4. Self-control – no usage of outside information IC.  For instance, when your character gains an artifact, I'll give you its description IC to add to your inventory, but even though you know what it does, your character has to find out.  No godmodding outside of special combat
5. Indomitable spirit – this is a competition, and you're here to win!  Write your best, go for the goal, and if you're beaten, accept loss gracefully.  The better your behavior, the likelier it is for something special to come your way—for instance, your beloved character, slain in a fight, may be brought back to life

[h3]Character Sheet[/h3]
[i]Don't forget: you can make both a main character and an NPC character.  Depending on how many NPC characters there are, I may allow more than one per character, but keep in mind that chances are you won't be able to play them.  The player cap is 16, and the NPC count is 16 as well.  If you are inclined, you can also create 'guest NPCs' which may appear in the city as companions, quest-givers, or whatever.  In this case, there will never be a Frenzy section, and delete whatever sections you don't use[/i]

[hider=Here comes a daredevil!]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Alias:[/b] (The name your character uses in the tournament)
[b]Race:[/b] (Not ethnicity, but what your character is, per se, like 'human', 'elf', 'wallaby', and so forth)
[b]Sex:[/b]
[b]Class:[/b] (a short descriptor that summarizes your character's abilities, equipment, and fighting style, like 'swordfighter', 'pyromancer', 'sniper', 'stand user', 'grenadier', 'mech pilot', 'alchemist', etc.)
[b]Equipment:[/b] (list your character's gear, not including standard clothes and/or armor)
[b]Abilities:[/b] (include both notable natural and supernatural abilities.  If your character starts out too strong, I may request limitations)
[b]Fighting Style:[/b] (describe how your character fights.  Don't list moves or spells or anything, but give a detailed approximation. This is a big part of how your opponents will know to handle your character)
[b]Personality:[/b] (this is also a big part of how your opponents will know to handle your character, so don't get skimpy)
[b]Bio:[/b] (optional for an NPC character)
[b]Wish:[/b] (what motivates your character to risk life and limb in this insane tournament)
[b]Echo:[/b] (describe and explain a place of significance to your character, perhaps relating to the wish. Optional for an NPC character)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (image or written description are passable)
[b]Frenzy:[/b] (describe your character's frenzy-induced monstrous form, and what abilities are gained in this state.  Note that it doesn't have to specifically be 'turns into a big monster'; a mage could surround himself in an avatar of lightning, or a robot could change color scheme)
[b]Inventory:[/b] (special items you have acquired.  The only one you start out with is a phylactery)
[/hider]

[h1]The City of Echoes[/h1]

[i]A vast metropolis that's been around for over three thousand years, standing as one of the world's most cultural, industrial, and beautiful cities, but today it stands silent.  Not even its true name remains.  Its streets are inexplicably empty, save for the contestants who hope to win the Crucible and gain their wish, and for certain other parties shrouded in mystery.  At the simplest level, it can be broken into two overarching zones: uptown and downtown.[/i]

[b][h2]Uptown[/h2][/b]
[i]Spread out, laid back, and with more of a focus on the finer things in life, Uptown is the place to look for the City of Echoes' history, nature, art, and mid-to-high-class housing.  It presents a smorgasbord of fascinating locals to live in, work in, visit, or all three.  A seemingly disproportionate amount of its space is dedicated to the Park, a refuge of the untamed unknown within the massive city[/i]

[h2]Zones[/h2]
[hider=Uptown Proper]
[i]Roughly half of Uptown isn't exactly what one might call livable.  The Park is valuable in its own right, but campsites and the odd cabin in the woods or on the meadows doesn't leave most of the residential and functional duties to Uptown Proper, which is a zone far more typical of the average big city.  Especially notable is its Historical District, which provides a look into the city's past that could also once be lived and worked in[/i]

[h2]Districts[/h2]
[hider=Residential District]
[h3]Residential District[/h3]
[i]A hilly stretch of land inhabited by a sprawling suburb.  While littered with markets, small lots, and other public facilities, its best known for the great variety of houses that blanket the region.  Ranging from small homes to condos to mansions, its home to a plethora of different styles; there's truly something for everybody, if one's pocketbook is thick enough.  Once considered a great place to live and grow, it is now a wasteland with its own unique brand of desolation[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]School[/b] – rather than having multiple schools for each grade level, the City of Echoes' Residential District contains just one: the school to end all schools.  It is a gargantuan complex built in a rather futuristic style, with many layers and distinct partitions for elementary, middle, and high school.  Its separate busloops once helped to keep traffic to a minimum, and the overall design perfectly framed a place of learning and pushing boundaries.  Following the City's catastrophe, however, it has declined to a state of severe neglect.  Things are quite literally falling apart, but that's not all.  The School is full of life, though whether or not they are people is a different matter altogether.  Coming in all shapes and sizes, these creatures dress in dark, drab clothing, primarily jeans and hoodies, with the hoods up or with hats and/or bandanas on.  They have no identifying characteristics whatsoever, not even discernible gender, and they speak in a furtive murmur too low to hear.  They hang around the School in great numbers, lazing about or messing up the place, vandalizing the classrooms and public areas if they choose, and grouping up to move around or inhabit a place.  They can often be found on their phones, and they can and will communicate online with whoever they can, going out of there way to bully, pester, and otherwise annoy people.  These creatures are known simply as anons, and they will try and gang up on anyone who enters their turf

[b]Neighborhood[/b] – the City's premier place of residence.  None too complex this is the place life happened at its own pace.  Over the decades and centuries, it has been where countless people were raised, grew up, and passed on.  Its buildings have been refurbished time and time again, each generation coloring the neighborhood anew.  Even without its people, it remains a peaceful place, with green lawns, clean streets, and intermittent ponds.  Many of the [b]interiors[/b] of the houses may look identical at times, their atmosphere sorrowful and detached, as if they belonged to owners trying to live normally during some kind of worrisome happening.  There is one exception to this area's serene atmosphere: should someone enter any of the area's three children's playgrounds, an elaborate black-and-white [b]structure[/b], adorned with many banners, will fall from the clouds and attempt to crush the intruder.  It is one of the City's only hostile Echoes, and an active one at that.  It is mostly destroyed upon impact, but if left alone, it will disappear again, with the playground it annihilated repaired, so that it may try again
[/hider]

[hider=Historical District]
[h3]Historical District[/h3]
[i]Accepted as the oldest part of the City of Echoes, the Historical District is a place where the city's past can be seen, touched, and even felt.  In addition to hosting the ancient city center, is also encompasses a spot notable for its religious history over the eons[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Oldtown[/b] – the city center in ages past, Oldtown contains a plethora of age-old architectures, with some of the buildings still used today as museums, galleries, and so forth.  Of special interest, however, are the ruins on the southern side, between the village and Holy Ground.  There, grandiose structures and monoliths from an early age of columns, marble, and public baths can be explored or fought in.  Most notable is the colosseum, one of the place's most well-preserved structures.  Allegedly from the middle ages, however, there a [b]castle[/b] flanked on all sides by an idyllic garden sitting upon a nearby hill, its surface adorned by flowers.  Silent and shuttered, it is devoid of identifying features save for a single, perplexing fountain statue on the grounds.  Rumor has it that beneath Oldtown is a circuitous, labyrinthine web of dark tunnels, inexplicably filled with sand, known locally as the [b]catacombs[/b]

[b]Holy Grounds[/b] – nobody can say when or why with any certainty, but every historical text in the country points to something big happening in this spot over three thousand years ago.  The books tell of a great miracle, shocking and inspiring the masses, but while that is commonly agreed on, whose holy ground the spot is has been a subject of notable contention over the years.  Countless temples, churches, and other places of worship have been built in this, century after century, some built from the very stones torn from the bones of their predecessors.  One [b]temple[/b], however, has survived for an especially long time.  So little is known about it that it could very well be alien in origin, but the monstrous images on its walls and the energetic atmosphere of the place made it a supremely popular spot for sightseers.  However, the place's most massive structure by far is one built so long ago that only its many peaked spires protrude above ground as a sort of perimeter to the area—an impossibly gargantuan [b]monastery[/b], its secrets lost beneath the earth.
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[hider=The Park]
[i]The interior of uptown is home to a fairly massive section of land reserved for -or perhaps reclaimed by- nature.  While undoubtedly a place meant for escape, recreation, relaxation, and so forth, it is also the venue of choice for many of the city's aspiring artists.  Yet, it is only a small part of it that can be considered tamed, and much of what lies within it is a mystery.  If one is looking for adventure, The Park was said to have whatever one might want to find.[/i]

[h2]Regions[/h2]
[hider=Whispering Wood]
[h3]Whispering Wood[/h3]
[i]Roughly half of the total area of the Park, taking the shape of a thick crescent that partially surrounds the other distinct region, is occupied by a primarily deciduous forest.  With variable terrain and a lot of plant and animal life, it's got near endless variety with which to intrigue and entice city residents and tourists alike, but for the purpose of the tournament it provides a plethora of unique opportunities to fight and explore.[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Forest Depths[/b] – it's easy to get lost in the forest, and there's no telling what one may find.  An old cabin, a yawning cave, a gentle babbling [b]brook[/b], frightful creatures, and much more await any intrepid adventurers.  For the most part, it's a quiet and serene woodland, even where the canopy is so thick as to block out the sun.  A notable feature is a giant oak, planted like a forest titan amongst the trees, and a staple of the Park.  Nestled in the driest part of the wood is a old but majestic [b]shrine[/b], the plants around it verdant and blooming

[b]Hidden Settlement[/b] – the Park contains just one location where people have set up a permanent establishment.  This little hamlet, tucked away in the woods, never seems to appear twice in the same place, and it's never without a shroud of fog.  Its cozy wooden cabins and activity centers are evocative of a summer camp, but without any people to give it life, it is more of a ghost town.  Never far from the settlement is a [b]logging station[/b], its stacks of logs and old-time mill alone in the twilight.  Human remains litter the place at times, only to vanish inexplicably when left unattended, but the grisly, headless corpse of an unknown creature resting against the log pile remains the same.  No College employee who's entered this place has wanted to come back, and indeed, it gives the impression of earth that's been defiled by something not meant for humans to see
[/hider]

[hider=Grassy Expanse]
[h3]Grassy Expanse[/h3]
[i]The remainder of the Park is a rolling meadow with few to no trees, interspersed by a sizeable body of water with a name lost to time.  All sorts of activities once occurred on these grounds every day, but now it is merely the most open area in the entire City of Echoes[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Great Lake[/b] – the city's largest internal body of water, though one with an intriguing disparity.  Despite the normalcy of its surroundings, the [b]lake[/b] itself is a cold, austere affair, one affixed by a constant gloomy mist.  With a surface like glass and chilling touch, it is inhospitable to most visitors, but to those seeking to end their lives, it is a somber shared grave.  So many people have been drowned there over the centuries that even those who don't believe it to be haunted seldom take a boat out on its waters.  However, there is a portion of the lake that is completely different: a [b]waterfall[/b], lined by trees perennially embellished with the vivid shades of autumn, with an atmosphere of warmth and sweet smells that offer hope and solace against fear and loneliness.  It's common knowledge that the view from atop this waterfall of the sunrise is the best that can be found in the whole city

[b]Culture Center[/b] – as barren as the Grassy Expanse is in terms of architecture, there is one designated area that stands out.  Right in the heart of the region is an open-air [b]concert hall[/b], initially built a few centuries ago as an amphitheater but since refurbished into a major attraction, with only the main stage unchanged.  Leaders from around the world once seated themselves here to listen to the planet's best musicians, but like the rest of the City of Echoes, it is now home to silence alone.  Just outside the hall, nestled in a little windswept cleft, is a [b]cemetery[/b].   Its mournful solitude and proximity to a place of great romantic value created an association with lost love, and could the graves talk, each would have a sorrowful tale to tell
[/hider]
[/hider]

[b][h2]Downtown[/h2][/b]
[i]The true heart of the City of Echoes.  This is the 'inner city', its center stuffed with towering highrises, and between them like a vast maze of concrete and steel run the avenues.  In its heyday, the city's downtown was a constant, frenetic rush of activity, the hustle and bustle of people scrambling to live their everyday lives making some desensitized to humanity.  Crime ran more rampant here than elsewhere, and even with the people gone, it remains a treacherous and confusing place.[/i]

[h2]Zones[/h2]
[hider=East Side]
[i]Life in Downtown's east side is fast and hard.  It's crammed with so many people fighting to live and work that the highrises seem like impassable walls and the narrow, traffic-clogged streets feel suffocatingly claustrophobic.  The vanishing of the populace left the entire place frozen in time, with the streets still jam-packed.[/i]

[h2]Districts[/h2]
[hider=Commercial District]
[h3]Commercial District[/h3]
[i]The hum-drum center of attention in Downtown's East Side, the commercial center had the greatest population density and served as the biggest business center in the City of Echoes as well[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Main Street[/b] – one of the principal landmarks of the bastion of civilization that became the City of Echoes.  Flanked on all sides by buildings like mountains, it is most well known for its bizarre assortment of colors.  It is a valley paved with pale blue road, highlighted with pitch-black sidewalks, and lined by stores and businesses with brilliant fronts and eye-catching interiors.  However, its aesthetic is lost upon its current denizens.  While the place is permanently stuck in evening traffic, it remains alive as the epicenter of something resembling a zombie outbreak.  Shriveled, wizened humanoids, rabid things barely human, crawl up from the underground ceaselessly, though they are oddly confined to this area.  Tucked away in the upstairs of a deli on Main Street's corner is a large [b]room[/b] with no windows, walls adorned by chalk drawings, and a single lonely radio

[b]The Village[/b] – so named because of its partial isolation from the rest of the Commercial District thanks to a pair of rivers, the village was the one spot in the entire East Side where people took it easy.  Its various clubs and bars made it a hotspot for night activity, though it harbored its fair share of residents as well.  The smooth notes of jazz often permeated this place, for they suited it perfectly, particularly in the evening.  Right across the street from the main bridge connecting the Village to the rest of the city is the famous bar Slow Dancer's.  Possessed of a combination of homey charm and old-world classiness, it's a joint lost to time.  So thick is the haze of convolution surrounding that building that it still contains patrons, drinking and socializing and never wanting to leave. In fact, the bar itself seems to move, inhabiting different buildings throughout the village like a wandering spirit, though it will appear to anyone looking for solace.  Even outside Slow Dancer's, though, visitors to the Village might every so often feel a chill that tells them they're not alone.  In addition, there's an [b]alley[/b] that also apparently changes position throughout the Village.  Stuffed with a strange and volatile smorgasbord of prototypes, experiments, and devices befitting some delirious tinkerer, it is a treasure trove as deadly as it is invaluable
[/hider]

[hider=Industrial District]
[h3]Industrial District[/h3]
[i]Set apart from the tenements, storefronts, and backallies mostly thanks to hundred and hundreds of feet of twelve-foot chainlink fence, the Industrial District is a place of machines, factories, warehouses, and other such heavy-duty links in the chain of production.  Given the near-constant state of construction and renovation characteristic to this zone, the ground here is dirt rather than pavement, with rough, brutish, mechanical constructs set upon them.  Contrary to one might expect, however, the air here is clean, made possible by the sheer degree of technological advancement afforded to the wealthy businessmen and barons who controlled the area.  Instead, it is one of the few places in the Industrial District in which someone can look up and see the sky or get some room to breath.[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]No-man's Land[/b] – so called not because it was uninhabited, but because of the machines that choke the almost sandy land and keep it in constant motion.  Aside form including two automated factories and a refinery, it boasts its own oil pump and even a quarry—a stony put dug into the earth long ago still being excavated today via the mechanical pillar in its center.  In absence of the city's workers, the noisy machines labor still.  One oddity stands out in this grand mechanical menagerie: a pile of [b]ruins[/b], sitting in the middle of a stretch of sandy ground, that once served as a home for the homeless who tinkered with the machines for a living, keeping them shipshape.  Now, however, the No-man's Land is home to something else: self-aware robots, industrial as their surroundings, that may be protecting something beneath the earth.  Indeed, deep below a [b]pit[/b] resides, a hellish hole soaked with blood and resonant with the screams of its denizens.  At its center is a caged arena, its floor lined with bones far too large to be human

[b]Fuel Plant[/b] – among the City's claims to fame is its own personal natural gas reservoir, sealed deep beneath the earth.  While home to all sorts of manufacturers in various factories and plants, the Industrial District is dominated by the towering Fuel Plant, a split-top cylindrical structure the size of a small skyscraper which not only harvests the gas from the bedrock but refines it and prepares it for export, as well as transforming it into electricity.  To that end, the Fuel Plant is bordered on one side by an elaborate power station, its jungle of pylons and cables once alight with electricity 24-7.  Not far away are a plethora of warehouses, very few unused, with one notable exception: an underground [b]warehouse[/b] full of emergency supplies, meant for use as a bunker should the City's power source fail, or calamity befall it
[/hider]
[/hider]

[hider=West Side]
[i]Smaller but generally cleaner, more orderly, and overall more affluent than its counterpart, the west side houses the city's world-famous harbor and its federal center, all revolving around city hall.  Being the closest to the island containing the Inquisitional College, it is the area most influenced by it, and the city hall has been converted into the tournament officials' base of operations.[/i] 

[h2]Districts[/h2]
[hider=Port District]
[h3]Port District[/h3]
[i]Unlike most harbors, the port district of the City of Echoes is less the grungy, industrial no-mans land and more the go-to tourist destination of the entire downtown area.  Many lived and worked here, but the cost of real estate has kept it in good condition.  For some, it is akin to downtown's designated entertainment district, but not all here is fun and games.[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Amusement Mile[/b] – showiness, energy, and a grand old time are the name of the game at the city's own resident amusement park, stretching across a chunk of the Port District's boardwalk as well completely covering a pier of its own.  It's got hot dog stands, facepainting booths, a house of mirrors, a roller coaster, a ferris wheel—you name it, the Amusement Mile has it all.  Perhaps most original among its attractions is the [b]Pirate Palace[/b], an elaborate structure reminiscent of castles of old, which stretches down from the pier to the sea itself with its own self-contained pirate ocean for kids and adults alike to set sail on in safety.  The only problem is the persistent rumor of the last mascot -the Sea King- who died on the premises, slain by a spoon in a mock battle.  On the boardwalk down past the amusement park, there is a short section of unadorned seawall before reaching the fishing hub.  It is in this spot that a [b]troupe[/b] of magicians once made their daily performance

[b]Shoreline[/b] – the boardwalk, with its piers full of sailboats and fishing schooners, and lined with various shops and restaurants, gives way to a stretch of beach perfect for idling the day away.  Offshore, however, things are less of a paradise.  Years after appearing out of nowhere, the [b]half-sunk ship[/b], purportedly used and abandoned by a terrorist organization, still looms over the bay like a perched owl.  That isn't the half of it, however; even while the city was still populated, nobody can recount the day that a bizarre portion of some [b]lost city[/b], befuddling in its unreal geometry and dangerously mind-bending in its physical eccentricity, rose from beneath the waves.  Enough would-be explorers died trying to navigate it, particularly its unknowable insides, to spur the city to forbid any kind of public access.  On the bright side, there's another structure offshore that's significantly more enjoyable, if even less accessible: a kind of open-air circus suspended in the air over the waves between a couple sea pillars, acting as a sort of obstacle course for anyone brave and foolhardy enough to go over
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[hider=Administrative Block]
[h3]Administrative Block[/h3]
[i]Compared to the rest of downtown, this region is not just spick and span, but grand and authoritative.  It's all polished steel, glass windows, intricate colonnades, and eye-catching public centerpieces like fountains and statues—the citizens' tax dollars hard at work.  Even so, it's a place not meant for the common man, from its highly official federal buildings to the variety of military and police facilities throughout it[/i]

[h3]Areas[/h3]
[b]Justice Hub[/b] - the southwestern border of the City of Echoes plays host not just to the city's infamous prison, but a sprawling complex wrapped in ambiguity.  Few can attest as to whether this place's facilities are for use by the police, the military, or something else altogether, but few want to delve in and find out, for the only people concerned with the goings-on of this place are either those consigned to imprisonment there or those sworn to both duty and secrecy.  Its defining feature is the great [b]fort[/b] constructed along the border in an earlier age and massively expanded upon in modern times, nearly tripling its size, particularly underground.  From turret-protected helipads all the way down to the deepest armories, this base is the very definition of the word 'secure' even without soldiers patrolling its walls.  Even still, the mystery of what is said to sleep within the fort's depths could rouse any curious adventurer to brave its defenses and find the answer.

[b]Governance Hub[/b] – including the city hall, the governance hub contains all of the administrative facilities that helped improve and regulate the metropolis before it became barren.  In its current state, it's the College's base of operations in the city, and kept under guard.  Surveillance drones and College personnel are dispatched from here.  A notable feature of the Governance Hub is one that no previous records support the existence of: a tall tower of almost medieval construction.  In the storms that frequent the area, and even in the dark of night, it somehow relocates as often as twice per day.  Whenever a rumble is heard and felt in the Hub, one can be sure that this [b]tower[/b] is rising anew.  Investigation has proven that it's full of monsters, but after taking a helicopter straight to the library at the top, College personnel renovated it into the 'announcer's box' for tournament use, manned by the a certain cheeky, cunning individual and kept stocked with up-to-date information about happenings in the City, including competitor locations
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[h1]Discovered items[/h1]
[hider=Any technology advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic]
[i]Your character does not automatically know how to use items he or she is given, or what they do.  Experimentation or appraisal is required[/i]

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1. [url=https://content.ebgames.com.au/website/images/detail/220477_detail_02.jpg][b]Ledger[/b][/url]
[i]Chronicler of conflict[/i]
Moved by an unseen hand, identifies and records those who will fight for their one wish

[url=http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzQ3WDUwMA==/z/zJMAAOxyUylTRRNI/$_32.JPG][b]Lantern[/b][/url]
2. [i]A candle to light your way[/i]
Based on intent, facilitates warped space through ambient visual obstruction, such as rain, fog, snow, dust, or darkness

3. [b][url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f1/61/bd/f161bd36e24cdf1a2ea3f512c651b2cf.jpg]Phylactery[/url][/b]
[i]The window to the soul[/i]
Draws out and binds to the soul of the holder, and can absorb the souls of the newly dead.  Returns to the holder if taken or lost.  If pierced by another, cedes the gathered souls to the piercer at the cost of great pain, and even 'shriveling'.  If one is within range of another that belongs to someone who's been robbed of the ability or will to fight, it will beat rapidly, and the afflicted one will beat fitfully.  Forcibly stimulates the soul of a holder under intense physical and emotional duress, causing a Frenzy.  Very hard to destroy

9. [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/88/4d/38/884d38b904c4f664855908815cf59756.jpg]Feather[/url]
[i]Rage against the dying of the light[/i]
Revives a dead person in a shower of light, but is consumed

17. [url=https://lparchive.org/Bayonetta/Update%2025/8-evil_harvest_rosary.jpg]Rosary[/url]
[i]How do you shoot the devil in the back?  What if you miss?[/i]
Rewards a last-second evasion by launching a magical wave-motion counterattack against the wearer's assailant

18. [url=http://johnlewis.scene7.com/is/image/JohnLewis/000198629alt2?$prod_main$]Egg Timer[/url]
[i]Rules were meant to be broken[/i]
Changes the direction of gravity for the holder based on the turn of the timer

19. [url=http://media.carddit.com/a/jCBGNVlfL.gif]Device[/url]
[i]He giveth, and he taketh away[/i]
Steals and replaces lights from a distance, completely containing them within the device

20. [url=http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/6/6a/3_Gravity_Falls.png/revision/latest?cb=20130310021122]Journal[/url]
[i]Knowledge is power[/i]
Provides a readout of the behavior and abilities of a nearby organism when opened, generating a new permanent page each time

22. [url=http://68.media.tumblr.com/23c6c73484ebb0467d6a7c58f83bc442/tumblr_inline_muo0yz8HDz1raqpn3.jpg]Polaroid[/url]
[i]Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second[/i]
Creates a protective shield of light around a holder who would have been killed by an incoming attack, and lasts for five seconds

25. [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b9/97/21/b997213d5bc01eab9d9521198e166690.jpg]Globe[/url]
[i]The world in the palm of your hand[/i]
Projects a holographic map of the entire city.  Also usable as a key for a certain machine

27. [url=http://www.psychalive.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Red-Pill-Blue-Pill.jpg]Blister Pack[/url]
[i]The choice is yours[/i]
Grants forbidden insight if the red is consumed or limited consequence dismissal if the blue is consumed.  Caused brain death if both are consumed

28. [url=http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/evil/images/3/3f/The_Behelit.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151110185922]Egg[/url]
[i]It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all[/i]
Messily consumes a loved one of the owner to grant the owner's one wish

29. [url=http://orig15.deviantart.net/002f/f/2010/227/0/0/stein__s_screw_1_by_themagicpie.jpg]Screw[/url]
[i]It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right[/i]
Induces extreme mental acuity, including perception, memory, calculation, and coordination, once painlessly jammed into one's head, and once it's been adjusted to feel just right

30. [url=http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JjUAAOSwsTxXkPyx/s-l300.jpg]Cardboard Box[/url]
[i]Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides[/i]
Completely masks the presence of anyone or anything hidden inside

35. [url=http://68.media.tumblr.com/28975a86cd6e7dd16c2375344dfcf50c/tumblr_nbjlo4lqm21tcalwro1_1280.jpg]Vessel[/url]
[i]You are the light of the world.  Your light must shine before all[/i]
Compels souls to manifest as wispy orbs, which can be physical stored in its pearls, or absorbed by a phylactery.  Adds new pearls as the originals are filled, up to thirty-two

36. [url=http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/portable_hole_small.jpg]Hole[/url]
[i]Whither will you wander?[/i]
Opens a hole or tunnel through a surface its placed on, and can be peeled off, picked up, or thrown

44. [url=http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/8/82/PotofGreed-TF04-JP-VG.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120829225457]Pot[/url]
[i]He who is greedy is always in want[/i]
Looks empty, but sounds like it's full of money.  If upended and shaken, will generate two random coins at a time, of any kind of value.  Anything that goes inside, however, becomes cursed and will reconstitute into money over the course of a few minutes, after which it will fall apart into the low-value coins and bills that compose it

46. [url=http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDI2NA==/z/hMEAAOxySoJTViN2/$_3.JPG?set_id=2]Watch[/url]
[i]A clock of many faces[/i]
Creates an internal database of organisms by scanning ones in proximity.  Selects an organism when the wearer turns the watch face.  Transforms the wearer into the selected organism's species when the wearer presses down the watch face.  Reverts a transformed wearer when he or she represses the watch face

50. [url=http://i.imgur.com/RvmPxO0.jpg]Visor[/url]
[i]You can run, but you can't hide[/i]
When worn, and after witnessing enough damage dealt in the course of a fight, can be activated by a button to makes every projectile from the user perfectly home in on a target for a short period

53. [url=http://cmzone.vzbqbxhynotw9ion96xv.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Back-to-the-Future-Hoverboard-1.jpg]Board[/url]
[i]Fly away to the danger zone[/i]
Provides speedy horizontal transportation and long jumps (provided enough speed has been reached) for the rider
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