Where Brassveil Moves in the Dark
The Cinderways are not a single district but a sprawling network beneath and between Brassveil’s streets. Old rail lines, steam tunnels, collapsed service corridors, and illegal platforms form a second city—hot, wet, and half-forgotten. Here, transport never truly stopped; it simply went unseen.
An abandoned freight rail still warm to the touch.
Truth: It carries unregistered cargo between districts beyond official oversight.
A massive underground steam convergence chamber.
Truth: Pressure here can be redirected to black out entire neighborhoods.
Illegal passenger platforms servicing ghost trains.
Truth: People disappear onto trains with no published destination.
A sprawling black market built along inactive tracks.
Truth: Stolen patents, parts, and people change hands here.
A burial ground of derailed engines and crushed cars.
Truth: Some engines were deliberately sabotaged during past unrest.
A communal steam-control hub operated by locals.
Truth: The “music” they produce is a coded warning system.
A narrow pedestrian route suspended above active pipes.
Truth: It bypasses surveillance grids entirely.
A hidden service stop disguised as a leisure house.
Truth: Couriers, smugglers, and informants rotate through constantly.
A submerged rail branch used during high-pressure cycles.
Truth: Evidence and unwanted cargo vanish here permanently.
A sealed locomotive wired into city infrastructure.
Truth: It can override routing protocols across Brassveil—for a price.
Movement here is communal and negotiated. People barter passage, repair engines together, and memorize pressure cycles instead of schedules. Steam burns and crushed limbs are common, but so is mutual aid.
Unlike Gearcross, no one controls time here—only momentum.
The Cinderways reveal the city’s nervous system. They prove that Brassveil’s control is powerful—but not total. The old rails still remember how to move without permission.
The lesson of the Cinderways is simple:
The city can be watched.
It cannot be fully owned.