Necropolis - Locations

Description - The Necropolis is a district of worship, of death and funeral rites; and of the cycle of life more broadly. It was Blackrock's first district built beyond the river, after the City Center's dead ceased to fit inside the city walls, and its mausoleums. The district was also built to commemorate the struggle between the city, and The Imperium, burying the dead of both sides together, after a peace treaty was signed between the two. As such, the hills of this district have been home to the city's dead, for a long time.

The district now is host to various monastic- and religious orders, training everything from monks to cleric and paladins. Beyond the monasteries, and the temples and other buildings closer in, lie the graveyard upon the hills of the Necropolis, where most of the citizen of Blackrock still find their eventual, and hopefully final, resting place.

The Necropolis is ever at war with itself. Both because many of its religious orders and their gods have fundamental contradictions in their world view, and are in constant conflict, that has to be mediated by the local council and the Ordo Sesteria; and because since magic has made a home in Blackrock, enabled by the works of Arken the Great, the dead have grown restless. And no other district of Blackrock is built on as large a mountain of corpses, as the Necropolis.

About the Necropolis

Main Inhabitants - Shadar-Kai, Reborn, Dhampir, Half-Elves and Humans
Reputation - The district generally has a more negative reputation, as interacting with it too much, is by many seen as bad luck. Though such interactions often prove inevitable. The district deals with death, and so does every citizen of Blackrock, and the world at large. Still, some have closer contact than others. The Dreamlands often cooperate with the district's clerics, to attempt to see beyond the veil, while it has been known for Goblintown to steal and raise corpses, to find its more hidden and forbidden arenas. The Subs and The Bubble meanwhile are in constant conflict with the district, as the living dead often escape into the depths, and into the River Muir.
Economy - Faith, funerals and burials, coffin makers and undertakers, Necromancy
Geography - And the north bank of the River Muir, squeezed in between the Hillside, and the river which turns north, alongside the district. The district spreads over several hills, that are used as burial mounds and graveyards. A narrow strip of the City Center lies across the Muir, to the south, with most of the border along the river, opposing Goblintown. Parts of The Subs extend below the district and parts of the Dreamlands float high above it, occasionally dealing with rising undead.

Temple Square

Temple Square is a grand plaza, located nearby the River Muir, and across from the City Center. At the square itself stand four grand temples, of major gods and faiths of Blackrock. While many others - more obscure ones - are located further out from the square. A grand brazier stands at the center of the square, maintaining an ever burning pyre, as a symbol of The Eternal Flame.

Every god present (and some absent) in Blackrock is in one way or another represented in this part of the district, whether that be as a shrine within the Cathedral of Unity, or in their own church or temple. With most of the latter training what warriors of faith they prefer, in the monasteries and other complexes, on the hills beyond the square. Meanwhile, the more conventional residents of this sub-district - such as morticians, coffin-makers or undertakers - have their homes closer to the river. The monasteries and the members of its orders, acting as something of a barrier between them, and the dead (and undead) beyond.

The sub-districts consists of these buildings, that cater to both worship and death, with religious services being performed here, before the dead are then carted off towards the graveyards beyond, to be buried; or to the crematoriums in the hills, to be burned.

Faiths and Organisations

The Eternal Flame - religious order that seeks to maintain the veil between life and death, the fire keeping the living safe, while the restless dead burn
Paladins of Oryx - religious order with the ultimate goal of protecting the city - and especially its humans - against outside threats (namely the Imperium)
Imperialists - worshippers of the Imperium's patron goddess Imperia, and subversives in Blackrock
Monastic Orders - with various tenets and worldviews
Other Religious Orders - worshipping various different gods, of the different residents of Blackrock

Locations

Cathedral of Unity - place of worship for all gods, holds religious services for those who lack their own temple
Temple of the Eternal Flame - and the brazier in the square. Main temple of the Flame's faithful worshippers
Dragonstone Tower - and surrounding buildings. Built of stones quarried from the Blackrock. Temple to Oryx.
Church of the Empire (Imperia) - grand church dedicated to the Matron of War. Topped by a great Spear Spire.
Monasteries & Complexes - where monks and others train

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Catacombs

Under the buildings and streets of Temple Square, under the river and the nearby districts, and some say, under the hills of the graveyards, further out - through tunnels dug to get at the dead, lie Blackrock's catacombs. A realm of the dead now tread upon by the living, who aim to relieve them of their riches, to contraband out of sight of the City Watch, or to buy and sell them, at the underground Bonemarket.

The Catacombs are a vast complex of tunnels and passageways, that start from the mausoleums under many of the district's temples, and branch out into the sewers or other tunnels dug by smugglers or others alike them. The Bonemarket lies at its center, where many of these tunnels intersect, and where a hub of illicit trade has sprung up, seemingly allowed by the city's authorities.

It is a place of few laws, rarely patrolled by the Watch, and rarely investigated by anyone but The Eternal Flame, who keep the undead at bay. As such, people here often sell stolen or otherwise illegal goods, with unclear origins. And due to its access to the dead, many of these goods will stem from them.

Faiths and Organisations

The Silent Pact - a group of people who believe in the ethical use of necromancy, and act against abuses thereof
The Shadowed Ledger - guild oversee most of the trade in the Bonemarket. Deal in necromantic artifacts and spirits
Spiritbinders - specialists in capturing, binding or negotiating with spirits

Locations

The Bonemarket - a hub, where trade occurs in the catacombs, consisting of different areas
- Crypt Bazaar - market of necromantic items and services
- Spirit Stalls - shops selling trapped spirits, enchanted bones or occult knowledge
- Vaulted Alleyways - secret paths in and out of the Bonemarket
Deepgrave - a deep part of the catacombs, thought to connect to The Subs
The Cistern - an underground alehouse and tavern. Supplied from above ground, through secret passages.

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The Graveyards

The Graveyards form the outermost parts of the Necropolis. They are a collection of burial sites, mausoleums and small chapels, built away from the main part of the district. A vast and expansive field of tombstones, draped over the rolling hills of the district. The Yards are one of the quietest parts of town, and a place for reflection and remembrance. Many of the monks of the monasteries - as well as others - come here to reflect upon life and death.

Though not all is peaceful out here. Some of the hills have attracted necromancers or grave robbers, in search of treasures the dead were buried with, or of powerful servants. And some of those buried here rest uneasy, turning into wraiths or other undead, at times plunging whole sections of the Yards into undeath with them. In addition to this, it is thought that Organised Crime at times venture out here, to discretely dispose of unwanted evidence, of the humanoid kind. And if one were to cross their path, while they were on such an endeavour, they may just choose to bury another body. Either way, it is a bad idea to visit the far out parts of this district at night.

Closer in, the various temples and churches of Temple Square have their private graveyards, where important figures of their orders are buried. These are usually walled off. Whereas further out, the sites become more open, and easily accessible. Further out yet lie monasteries tasked with maintaining the graves, and oft struggling to do so, among the threat of undead. As does the Hillside adjacent to the Yards, where those undead often escape to, and wreak havoc, until they are eventually put down by the district's rangers.

Faiths and Organisations

Gravekeepers' Conclave - maintain large parts of the graves, the tombs and mausoleums of the Graveyards
Silent Wardens - a special guard force of monks, clerics and paladins, patrolling the hills and protecting visitors from the undead
Guardians of the Restless - attempt to weave sigils onto tombs, to stave off the threat of undeath

Locations

War's Hill - ancient grave site, where the dead of skirmishes between Blackrock and the fledgling Imperium are buried. An equally ancient oak tree adorns it.
The Silent Keep - headquarters of the Wardens. An old whitewashed castle, near the River Muir, where it once guarded a ford.
The Conclave - a grand monastery, built near the border to the Hillside. Welcomes everyone and serves as a headquarters to the Gravekeepers, as well as the Guardians.

August 24th, 2026