Hi, this post is an assortment of ideas I had in my head concerning Narsis, the capital of House Hlaalu. I'll speak as if being a traveling guide or a travel book, as I find that approach the most adequate for several reasons. I hope you like it and sparks your imagination. I'll post the already-done paragraphs and then edit to include the others. I do it this way to force myself through my procrastination. So, if you spot any inconsistency, tell me about it! Chances are I already have the answer but haven't got it in a coherent shape yet.
"Narsis-Where-All-Fervently-Praise-the-Prophet-Veloth"Introduction
The city of Narsis, originally called "Narsis-Where-All-Fervently-Praise-The-Prophet-Veloth", is a House Hlaalu settlement located in southeastern Morrowind, where it serves as the house’s capital and principal business center. From the big manors that enclose the Aurum Promenade to the opulent dry docks on the banks of Lake Hlaalu, Narsis stands both as a haven of commerce and new, foreign ideas in the highly xenophobic Morrowind and a staging ground for the greedy schemes of powerful nobles and miserable paupers alike. The city, below all its apparent goodness, is the scenario of countless feuds between the rich and the would-be-rich as they test their mettle against each other, engaging in a never-ending battle of intrigue, espionage, sabotage, and bad-mouthing.
Overview
Life at Narsis can be described as opulent, aloof, and shallow, its inhabitants more worried about procuring wealth and social standing than to achieve a more moral existence or to uphold the traditions of their people. It's important to press on this, Narsians go to extreme lengths to appear wealthy and witty. It's common among the rich, for example, to hire expert "book reviewers" to read vast amounts of books, which they ensure to place in big, winding bookshelves for everybody to see, to get a resume that highlighs the important moments, quotes, characters, and the general narrative. This knowledge is usually used to give an impression of being an individual of refined tastes when among peers in reunions or parties, these latter being another big part on Narsis social structure. Parties are always happening at Narsis, and a good measure of an individual relevance on the city being the amount of parties he attends on a weekly basis. Parties are excellent opportunities to show one's wealth, to seal business, and to partake in idle chatter —the three favorite things of Narsis populace.
House Hlaalu and the Commission for Narsis Life Opportunities and Correct Procedures have the most influence on Narsis inhabitants among all factions here, most people having affairs with the former and dreading the latter. Almost every outlander in Narsis is a Hlaalu retainer, though the house gives enough freedom to some to strike as freelance adventurers. Non-member Dunmer nonetheless try to have as many acquaintance inside the great house as possible. The Commission, on the other hand, would not be as important if not were for their annual publishing of the Narsis Living Permit, also called gloomily The List. The day of publishing of The List have elements of both a festivity and those of a requiem; the winners hold big parties, a welcome respite of all the stress, while the losers prepare to leave before 72 hours have passed, tears in their eyes.
Annex: The List
Each year the Commission for Narsis Life Opportunities and Correct Procedures releases a document, with the utmost approval of House Hlaalu, that determine, based on their wealth, who is permitted to reside permanently in five of the seven districts of Narsis: Old Narsis, The Waterfront, Aurum, Ebony Keep, and Wayfarer Island.
People who fail to achieve a place in the Narsis Living Permit, so-called The List, can relocate to the district of Emperor's Hand, controlled by the Empire, or to the twisted reflection of Narsis, the district of Sisran. Most Narsians, however, choose to leave the city for good, too embarrased to face their fellows. Instead, they travel in search of opportunities that would led them to big profits and a later, possible return to their city.
Religion
Narsis is one of the last bastions of pre-Tribunal Dunmer religion, the very same preached by Prophet Veloth before and after their exile from Summerset Isles. In Old Narsis, crowds come to revere the Good Daedra —Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala— and the memory of Saint Veloth the Prophet, each one possessing a temple and several shrines in their honor. The biggest influx occurs at dusk at the Temple of Saint Veloth, when it's said that the Good Daedra come there to teach the Saint in the ways of the Dunmer. Old Narsis residents come to hear the sermons of Anvos Serethi, current high priest of Veloth and esteemed of Azura, regarding several aspects of Daedra worship and proper Dunmer life.
- Cult of the Good Daedra: Most inhabitants revere the Good Daedra and strive to please them through their daily actions. Many unscrupulous merchants see their duty to fuel intrigue among people as service to Boethiah; the immorally aspects of the Daedra inspire Narsians to continue in their shadowy feuds and to scheme against others.
- Tribunal Temple: House Hlaalu declares Narsis as a city devoted to the Tribunal to avoid conflicts. Truth is, most citizens see the Tribunal as a backwards religion originating from the backwater island of Vvanderfell. Some accuse the Tribunal of depriving Dunmer of their birthright of gold skin, a fact that just adds fuel to the fire in the populace imagination. The Tribunal holds two temples here: one in the district of Aurum and one in Wayfarer Island.
- Imperial Cult: A typical Narsis citizen delights at the sight of anything Imperial, seen as new and progressive. As such, the Imperial Cult has been welcomed with open arms in the city and enjoys a priviliged place in three of its districts —The Waterfront, Emperor's Hand, and Ebony Keep—. The cult recieves a good share of money in alms from the usually stingy populace, so much, in fact, that most of it is sent to the poorer missions in the country.
Power Groups
Commerce is the lifebood of Narsis: any group of relevance controls part of it. The varnished wood docks of The Waterfront are the heart of all economic activities in the city and, as such, one can find all the power groups in the city there if one looks closely. That's not to say that the main headquarters of such groups are always in the Docks, but that every group controls a little portion of it.
- The Chimeri: The biggest criminal group in Narsis, the Chimeri are an ancient organization dating from the city's first days, the smuggling of illegal wares their utmost goal. Two things separate the Chimeri from usual criminal groups, such as the Cammona Tong: their unwillingness to spill unnecessary blood, preferring wit over might, and their willingness to accept outlanders in their ranks. Though their leaders are devot followers of the Cult of the Good Daedra, they preffer to set aside religion and race issues when doing business, an attitude that spreads to the other members of the organization and sets the latter's general attitude. As an old organization, the Chimeri have eyes and ears behind every corner of Narsis.
- House Hlaalu:
- The Commission for Narsis Life Opportunities and Correct Procedures: The Commission are the closest thing Narsis has resembling proper, permament civil authorities. Consisting of a council where each member is both very rich and very old, the only uncorruptable individuals in the city, the Commission regulate most aspects of daily life in the city such as trade permits, birth registries, health inspections, building maintenance checks, etc. The Comission also infamously publish the Narsis Living Permit, popularly called "The List", every year. Most of its members are retired Hlaalu leaders and is custom to grant the leadership of the organization to the previous Hlaalu grandmaster when it's possible. The previous Hlaalu grandmaster, Ondras Hlaalu, however, shunned this honor and went to live among criminals and other low-lives in the dark district of Sisran as surprise of everyone.
- The Cammona Tong: Few people << with the xenophobic bigotry and religious zeal rooted in this group. Some people also mock them as only beign able to do business through violence. Most Narsians see only bad business where the Cammona are involved. The Chimeri consider them shameful, vicious children and constantly drive them out of most districts. The Cammona Tong barely have a little hideout in the district of Sisran, where they're shunned by the already-shunned district's populace. Nowadays, they're constantly plotting and figuring how to gain some status in the city. Word in the street is that a noble from the Aurum district is holding secret reunions after midnight with Cammona thugs.
2014-01-11 16:53
2 months 1 week ago
Hmm, although we are still going to change stuff about it, we already have an established version of Narsis.