The High Veins are not a neighborhood in the traditional sense. They are a layer of the Shatterreach that exists above and between everything else. Rooftops, skybridges, fire escapes, collapsed walkways, maintenance corridors, and upper floors form a continuous hidden network that only the Neon Knives truly understand.
This area was never meant to be inhabited. Before the outbreak, it was service space—routes for technicians, security, and infrastructure maintenance. When the city fell and the streets became contested, the Knives claimed the heights instead.
If the Kennelways are the arteries and the Hollow Choir is the gut, the High Veins are the nervous system.
The High Veins are quiet, wind-scoured, and unsettlingly open.
Rooftops overtaken by vines and moss
Skybridges hanging at odd angles, partially collapsed
Flickering neon signs casting broken light through mist
Open elevator shafts and ladder-accessed floors
Tattered tarps and camouflage netting strung between buildings
From above, the Shatterreach looks different—less chaotic, more exposed. There is nowhere to hide from someone who knows how to move here.
The Needlewalk
A long chain of connected rooftops and bridges spanning several blocks. Used as a primary transit route for the Knives. Outsiders attempting to cross it rarely survive the attempt.
Ghost Floors
Upper levels of buildings stripped of furniture and debris to allow silent movement. These floors often have multiple exit points and hidden observation slits overlooking streets below.
Signal Nests
Small, concealed relay points where information is gathered and passed on—light signals, mirrors, low-power radios, or line-of-sight markers. No single Nest stays active for long.
The Dropways
Vertical escape routes—collapsed stairwells, zip-lines, ladders, and broken elevator shafts—allowing Knives to vanish downward in seconds.
The Neon Knives do not patrol. They observe.
Control is maintained through:
Surveillance from above
Targeted killings rather than intimidation
Control of safe passage routes
Strategic leaks of information
Anyone moving through the Shatterreach is potentially visible from the High Veins—even if they never realize it.
The High Veins connect every other territory:
Overwatch on Iron Dog routes
Silent infiltration of the Hollow Choir
Observation of Coalition meetings
Direct access into Spirefall’s edges
This makes the Knives indispensable—and impossible to corner.
People say:
“Don’t look up.”
“The city has eyes.”
“If the roofs are quiet, it’s already decided.”