At first glance, this district looks like a ruin. Huge chunks of stone are scattered around the outer streets. Statues of the gods look down upon you, but many have shattered features or missing limbs. A few buildings and bridges have collapsed, in whole or in part, and most of the surviving buildings show some amount of scarring and damage.
Fallen is the worst district in a bad ward. A century ago, it was known as Godsgate, Sharn’s first temple district. But as the city grew, the primary temples relocated to the higher wards, and the most important relics were taken to Sovereign Towers. Some of the temples remained in service, but most were converted to serve as housing for workers in the Cogs. For hundreds of years the district slowly decayed. The final blow came on 9 Olarune 918 YK. The Glass Tower broke apart as it fell, and while most of the floating citadel landed in the Dagger River, some of its spires struck the district of Godsgate, shattering buildings and killing hundreds.
The city council had no intention of pouring gold into Lower Dura, and people of the district were left to repair the damage as best as they could. Many left, but some of the people were determined to remain in their ancestral homes or maintain their family businesses. Others couldn’t afford to go anywhere else. The folk of Lower Dura also talk about that the spirits of the restless dead that haunt the worst ruins of the district, and the mysterious and apparently mad “ravers” who commune with them. Within a year, the district became known as Fallen, and ever since then the citizens of Sharn have shunned it.
The extent of the devastation varies considerably. In much of the district the original buildings remain largely intact; any gaps in walls and ceilings have been blocked off with boards or chunks of stone. A few businesses can still be found in these areas—taverns serving stew of questionable origin, crafters producing rough clothing and other necessities, merchants selling scavenged goods and materials. While the merchants of Fallen happily take any coins offered them, most are used to bartering with customers.
Where the spires of the falling Glass Tower crashed into the district, the buildings are shattered and broken, and segments of the Glass Tower jut from crushed temples and manors. The ravers inhabit these places, bloodthirsty feral folk who appeared after the disaster. Anyone who seeks the lost treasures of the Glass Tower must face the ravers—and perhaps the restless spirits of the dead. The city council also uses Fallen as a makeshift asylum, throwing the insane into the district, where they either join with the ravers or quickly die.
The Fallen district in Lower Dura was once known as Godsgate. When the first towers were raised, Godsgate was the temple district. It had shrines and statues dedicated to the Sovereigns, a proud church of the Silver Flame, even a monument to the Undying Court. But as Sharn grew and prospered, religious services were moved to grander temples in the upper wards. Godsgate became a tenement district, and the shrines and monuments were forgotten and left to decay. The final blow to this once-proud district came early in the Last War. A team of Aundairian saboteurs brought down one of Sharn’s floating towers, and the falling spire struck Godsgate. Buildings collapsed, and hundreds died. Untended corpses led to infection and disease. The City Council had no interest in sinking gold into Lower Dura to restore the area, and the district was abandoned.
Today, the district known as Fallen is strewn with the rubble of the fallen tower, mingled with shattered buildings and broken statues. Those who venture into Fallen must deal with the Ravers, feral savages that lurk in the shadows. There’s no question that the Ravers exist, but their true nature remains a subject of debate. A common hypothesis is that they’re the descendants of the original inhabitants of the district, who were possessed and driven mad by the ghosts of those who died when the tower fell. Others claim that House Vadalis has been trying to magebreed super-soldiers, and the Ravers are the result of failed experiments.
Only the most desperate people live here, and the forces of the law won’t come near it. As a result, the district has a lot of space available for any cult or secret society that needs a lair. The followers of a radiant idol, the Cult of the Dragon Below, or any other cabal could lay claim to a shattered church in Fallen.