Haven XVII is a vast automaton city of brass, copper, and steel, built to endure through motion rather than growth. Once sustaining millions, it now persists in fragments: districts kept alive through careful rewinding, scavenged energy, and disciplined restraint. Survival here is not about expansion, but balance—knowing when to move, and when to remain still.
Miles of towers, spires, and skeletal frameworks stretch across the horizon, linked by collapsed scaffolds and frozen machinery. Most gears sit motionless, dust-packed and silent, while select mechanisms turn slowly where they are still tended. Light filters through fractured skylights and open frameworks, glinting off polished metal worn smooth by centuries of use.
At the city’s core stands the Forebearer, a colossal figure of blackened steel and burnished alloys. Silent and unmoving, it dominates the skyline, its presence shaping the city’s remaining order despite its long dormancy.
A dense urban core surrounded by sprawling outer ruins and collapsed industrial zones
Heavy vertical construction with layered platforms, catwalks, and service scaffolds
Movement concentrated in isolated pockets, separated by vast inert stretches
The Maw — The frozen ceremonial and administrative heart surrounding the Forebearer, maintained by careful Vigil oversight.
The Ledger Halls — Controlled archive-complexes where the Conservators guard knowledge and shut down entire sections to conserve energy.
The Foundry Wards — Heat-scarred industrial districts where the Emberwrights reclaim thermal motion and maintain massive machinery.
The Shambles — A chaotic, multi-level ruin of collapsed structures and interwoven walkways, dominated by Salvager trade and activity.
The Spindles — High-altitude towers and bridges where wind-driven systems are carefully managed by the Zephyrwrights.
The Skitter Warrens — An outer-ruin mechanical ecosystem ruled by Vriksel-Qaunt, where countless Skitters maintain survival through constant micro-motion.
The Vigil — Dedicated to restoring the Forebearer and preserving the city’s original purpose.
The Conservators — Archivists who trade in knowledge and memory while minimizing operational numbers.
The Emberwrights — Hierarchical industrialists reclaiming thermal motion and maintaining the Foundry Wards.
The Salvagers — A loose, city-spanning network controlling most trade through recovered parts and energy storage.
The Zephyrwrights — Wind-engineers of the Spindles, producing the city’s only consistent energy output.
Harvesters — Predatory groups who strip energy from others to sustain themselves, feared throughout the city.
Independent Operators — Isolated figures like Vriksel-Qaunt who survive outside faction control.
“A Salvager swears they traded a handful of wound springs for a faded schematic fragment at the Fallen Plaza—worthless scrap, they say, or a map to something useful.”
“Zephyrwright apprentices joke that the Crown Array has a favorite blade; one elder always checks it last—so they say.”
“Someone spotted a column of Skitters hauling odd, identical fittings toward Vriksel-Qaunt’s workshop—could be a new tool, or nothing at all.”
“Vigil logs show a recently sealed maintenance route near the Forebearer’s base; official reason: structural safety—informants whisper about a lost cache of schematics.”
“A Conservator was seen handing a sealed envelope to a Zephyrwright delegate—both left quickly and without comment.”
“A Salvager group found a shallow chamber beneath the Fallen Plaza containing intact Ticks and a locked gearbox; they hired guards, and nobody’s seen the parts since.”
“A Harvester cell is said to be stockpiling intact Ticks instead of consuming them, suggesting a long-term plan rather than survival—no one knows what they’re saving them for."
“An old Foundry index referenced an experimental alloy that stores motion far denser than ordinary springs—its recipe was broken into pieces and scattered; some say a full set exists.”
“A Zephyrwright ledger notes a Balance Well redesign that was never completed; restoring it could change how motion is routed across several Spindles.”