AMB Important Terms

[Mizagium]

Tlalaxontyle (Tla-la-zen-tile) – The only city in the world. Home to over a hundred thousand people, Tlalaxontyle is protected from the miasma by the Reality Lanterns, especially those along the Wall of Sanity, which separates the order of the city from the Chaos of the Beyond. The city is governed by the Senate, which is headed by the Speaker. Senators are elected by their districts and the Speaker is appointed by the Senators. In theory the elections are fair, but in practice, it’s much darker. Many senators serve their position for life.

Reality Lanterns – Devices powered by reality crystals that hold the miasma at bay. Tlalaxontyle is littered with hundreds of stable Lanterns along streets. Many buildings are fitted with smaller Lanterns, and the tallest usually have some on top, to prevent the miasma from creeping in from above. Smaller, handheld Lanterns are available and all citizens are advised to keep several, in the event of an incursion. Lantern tech is only held by the Lamplighters Guild, which is closely allied with the Crysteria.

Reality Crystals – Enigmatic crystals found exclusively in the Ghotijaqu mines. The crystals naturally emit a bright light, called realight. Depending on their size and shape, they eventually “run out” of light. By themselves, they only create a spherical anti-miasma space, but when enhanced via the Lantern tech, that sphere can be expanded or molded into a beam. Naturally, this causes them to run out of light much faster.

Ghotijaqu (Go-zhe-ku) Mines – The only known source of reality crystals, accessed via a single tunnel deep underground. Criminals are routinely shipped to the mines in lieu of prison time. The mines are large, caverns that extend for miles in many directions. Possibly because of the naturally-occurring reality crystals, the mines are completely miasma-free. Train tracks extend deep into those caverns, but beyond a certain point the only way forward is on horseback. The mining camps beyond the tracks are reserved for those with the heaviest sentences, such as murders, rapists, and chaos cultists.

Miasma – A heavy, dark fog that covers the world. Of mysterious origin, the fog poisons and corrupts anything it touches. Extended exposure causes madness in humans. Terrible creatures seem to spawn in the miasma. The light of reality crystals will banish miasma, but not necessarily that which call it home.

The Crysteria – The dominant religion of Tlalaxontyle. The Crysteria is based around the Reality Crystals, heralding them as either a gift of a god, or gods themselves, depending on which division you ask. Although united by their common worship, the High Crysteria revere an unseen god which granted humans the Reality Crystals in order to survive. The Multitude Crysteria, by contrast, revere the Crystals themselves as numerous gods who were trapped by Chaos in stone; by mining them, they are saved from eternal imprisonment and, in return, expend their energy combating Chaos.

Lamplighter Guild – A mercantile collective that controls all technology related to the creation and maintenance of the Lanterns. They alone understand how the devices amplify realight into enough to protect the city. Lamplighters are the only ones, by law, allowed to touch the Lanterns that stand protectively in the city, and the only ones allowed to replace Reality Crystals when they die.

Chaos Cultists – Individuals who worship the Chaos Beyond in the form of various anthropomorphized (or not) deities. They are the primary cause for incursions and any affiliation with Chaos cultists grants you an automatic sentence in the deepest parts of the Ghotijaqu Mines. Identified cultists don’t usually get a trial. Rituals typically involve difficult to pronounce incantations directed at even harder to pronounce deities.

[Mizagium]

Harland Corporation – Born out of the former Mining Guild, the Harland Corporation controls the flow of materials to and from the Mines, including the prisoners who work off their sentence down there, effectively granting them an unlimited supply of labor. They’ve begun buying up factories across the city and produce a wide variety of goods. Their most ambitious project is nearly completed: the Cavern Cities.

Railroad Guilds – These small groups control the railways that crisscross Tlalaxontyle. Each line is owned by a different guild, and so the lines don’t ever cross, meaning each line has its own rail stations and stop schedule. Certain guilds don’t run through certain parts of the city, and some places they all run through. They despise each other and often “turf wars” erupt between them, usually consisting of sabotage and tearing up railroads, but occasionally leading to actual violence.

The Cavern Cities – Deep within the Ghotijaqu Mines, where even the rail tracks don’t reach, are great structures carved from the stone, cities ready to be inhabited by citizens tired of living in the shadow of madness. They are not yet ready for habitation, but the Harland Corporation insists that they will be soon. All interested parties are encouraged to enter into a lottery, from which the first batch of colonists will be selected.