[center][color=gray][h1]ℍ𝕆ℝ𝕆𝔾𝕀[/h1][/color][/center][indent] [hider=Nyu-Taro] The central city-state of Horogi, and a neutral ground that serves as a place where all five clans can negotiate and do trade with one another, as well as hire unaffiliated Immortals for nation-spanning quests. The buildings are generally low, with tiled roofs, and lanterns are often strung from one roof to the other to provide illumination at night. As it is largely neutral, and thus lacking a military force of its own, there are few surrounding villages nearby, and Nyu-Taro depends on its status as the nexus of Horogi to entice farmers from far-off lands to bring their produce in. Thick, whitestone walls encircle Nyu-Taro, and the city-state has three gates in the North, East, and West. Within the city, the southern portion is the poorest area and sees the most guard surveillance as a result, while the northern parts of the city feature the most densely packed markets and restaurants. [hider=Notable Characters] [b]Fa Trung[/b] - A sunburnt man who is skinny, jobless, bald, and blind. Has a scraggling, white beard and often sits beside restaurants, begging for rishi. Makes most of his income from scamming new Immortals not aware of the deficiencies of his Talismans. [b]The Tsi-Lai Gang[/b] - A local gang that runs a gambling den tucked away in the wall beside one of the southern sewage rivers in Nyu-Taro. Fa Trung purportedly has beef with them. [b]The Red Ogre Smith[/b] - Two meters tall and of a muscular build, the ogre sports short white hair and red skin pockmarked by burns. Dislikes people who return her weapons. Owns Oni Smithworks. [b]The Tea Shop Owner[/b] - A clean shaven man of undeterminable age, with waist-length hair tied back into a tidy braid. Wears minimalist silk robes and enjoys kintsugi. Works at Mei Rei Tan. [b]Shirin Bihe[/b] - A blue-haired priestess of the Shin-Yu Temple. Wears a white kimono laced with silver threads. Weak against assertive people but also a very lethal practitioner of the barrier arts. [b]Taka-Ryu[/b] - A pudgy, middle-aged adherent of the Shin-Yu faith. Runs the talisman store at the temple, and enjoys origami in his spare time. [b]Tordo Bigarms[/b] - An orc with a jutting lower jaw and a receding hairline. Once a journeyman smith, he settled in Horogi and owns his own forge, Orc's Smithing. [b]The Ninja Tools Man[/b] - An incredibly attractive Immortal who runs a stall filled with plenty of ninja tools and weapons. Has a mild panic attack whenever he talks to girls. [b]The Instrument Shop Owner[/b] - A young Rien with dark green hair and an easy smile. A skilled craftsman who constructed plenty of musical instruments, and the owner of Stringless Song. [/hider][hider=Notable Locations] [b]The Keystone Plaza[/b] - An open space centered around a large boulder decorated with sacred ropes and talismans. On one end, wooden plaques are nailed to the walls of buildings, detailing plenty of quests for adventurers to pick up. [b]Mei Rei Tan[/b] - A teahouse with wonderful soundproofing, where individuals can enjoy the delicate decor and sip on well-brewed teas. Does not do take-out. [hider=Shin-Yu Temple] A squat, one story building, a stone wall doing little to deter visitors when the oaken doors were swung wide open. In the front courtyard was a Zen garden, gravel being raked into hypnotizing swirls by a bald-headed monk, while the building itself sported a bronze statue of robed man with twelve arms, each stretched out and splayed to form a knife-hand. His expression was serene as he sat cross-legged, but behind the statue, faded paper screens depicted the chaotic creation of the world, molten flame and crushing waves battling each other until the storming heavens split them apart. Further within, the chanting of dozens of acolytes could be heard, reciting mantras in a language that wasn’t translated by the system. The interior of the temple smelled of a bright, almost citrus-y aroma, and the polished wood that formed the supporting pillars of the structure was bright yellow, reflecting well the sunlight that diffused from the paper windows. Nightingale floorboards creaked melodically under foot as they moved down the hallway, passing by several rooms filled with chanting adherents. Within the depths of the temple is an open-air chamber, the floor transitioning into veinless marble. In the back of the chamber stood the weather-worn statue of a lithe woman. Though a seamless, indisctinct beauty from waist-up, her lower body flowed sinuously into the marbled ground in the image, perhaps, of a flowing river, a twisted tree, a snake’s tail. She is the Lady of Alabaster Scales, the shapeshifting deity of dynamic change. [/hider] [/hider][hider=Festivals and Events] [b]The Rinkan Annihilation Tournament[/b] - Every clan in Horogi has their own fighting pits, where clan members and Immortals duel each other to prove who's the strongest within the clan. During the annual Rinkan Annihilation Tournament though, the top five duelists of every clan convene in Nyu-Taro for a battle to decide the nationwide rankings. Often, this is to gauge how powerful the clans have become, but most of the time, it's just for entertainment. Some even say that the [i]truly[/i] strong within Horogi do not show up, so that their powers are not exposed before any war breaks out. [/hider] [/hider] [hider=Nearby Nyu-Taro] [b]Goldspun Fields[/b] - Through the eastern gate of Nyu-Taro is Goldspun Fields, a wide meadow with rolling slopes of tall, yellowed grass. Beaten dirt paths criss cross through the fields, where goblin raiders and their wargs lie in wait, hidden within their subterranean homes. Upsized wildlife and slimes also provide a threat to newbie adventurers, but otherwise, the Goldspun Fields are a rather safe place for new Immortals to find their footing. [b]Pearl Bloom River[/b] - Through the western gate of Nyu-Taro is the Pearl Bloom River, flowing from the northeast to the southwest. It is a wide, swift-flowing river flanked with plentiful cattails that hide the kappa that call the river their home. During the spring, this river becomes torrential, but the pearl-colored lotus buds remain stubbornly anchored, no matter how strong the current. [b]Thunderstruck Grove[/b] - Through the northern gate of Nyu-Taro is the Thunderstruck Grove, a forest of skeletal trees and blackened dirt. A strange fog pervades the entire area, unmoving and obscuring. Spirits and monsters move within the shadows, while savage oni roam the place, hunting and fighting for their own pleasure. Thieves and bandits too, hide in these dark places, and within the Blasphemed Tunnels lies the knowledge of necromancy. [/hider] [/indent]