The Updates

Imperial Government Ruins

This mostly deserted district begins at the feet of the old Imperial Palace, and touches at points on the Noble district and the central commercial areas, before slowly degenerating into the slums. Indeed, in the form of squatters and thieves, the slums have already risen up to claim parts of this district. In the days of the Empire, this area was the administrative center of the known world; today Horizon's administrative needs take up only a tiny portion of the space. Several parts of this district are adapting well; they have become modest housing for what passess for the middle classes, or have been taken over by commercial ventures. In other areas, huge blocks of offices and counting rooms stand empty, as they have done in some cases for nearly a century. In the last days of the Empire, as the Emperor finally moved towards complete incoherence, the insanity latent in the vast bureaucracy he had allowed to grow was finally unleashed. Many of the offices still contain mountains of paperwork bearing officially sealed orders, information and memoranda that altered and contradicted each other by the day or even the hour. Several office blocks were burnt to the ground as employees took out their frustrations under the pretence of anarchism or anti - draft riots (both of which were common).

The noticable thing about this district is the space. Even with the new housing projects, most of the area is still made up of disused buildings. Most noticable among these are the vast barracks; huge chunks of the Imperial Legions were quartered here at one time. Today's Mayoral Legions take up just one of the old barracks. The barracks are surrounded by disused workshops from wich the soldiers were armed and armoured. The other major reminder of the Imperial Legions are the little men with quite fantastic collections of injuries that gather round some of the old barracks to swap stories while the daylight lasts. If you're walking past they'll beg you for the price of a cup of tea, but they don't put much energy into it. With all the spare space and empty buildings in this area, the mobs of horizon have come to think of it as a handy place for private business... somewhere to go for a quiet chat, where you won't be disturbed. A little bit of wilderness in the middle of the city.

Of course, the area is not entirely empty. One of the biggest reminders of the old Imperial government is the Imperial University, which still thrives in this district (in spite of the Empire being long gone, the University clings to the anachronistic name). Now funded by the all of the Four Kingdoms and several Guilds as well as the municipal government, the University is still the premier educational establishment of the True lands. At least, it is so in its own opinion, and what other opinion would be trusted? Generations of leaders and thinkers have been trained at the University, and the vast libraries it possesses are truly the boast of Horizon. Faculties include Engineering, Alchemy, Cartography, Medicine, Zoology, Natural Philosophy, and Literature and History. The University is also the home of the famous Academy of Millitary Arts; many of the world's greatest commanders have been educated here, then come back years later to join the faculty. Huge chunks of the officer classes of the Four Kingdoms are now educated here. Many prominent nobles, even royalty, also send their children to the school. It is the place to meet a lot of interesting people. The entire University is ruled over by a Chancellor and a Senate of respected professors. Running the place has been compared by a former Chancellor to herding cats.

Another municipal institute is found in this area, and one in which rather less civic pride is taken. Horizon's Asylum provides for those too mentally ill to look after themselves and too poor to get into a private 'house of rest'. Conditions here are reliably reputed to be appalling. It is well known that some of the warders will, for a small fee, take interested parties on tours of some of the more distractingly squalid wards, and some of the more amusingly insane inmates. No person of refinement would be caught engaging in such vulgar activities. Any number of melodramatic plays feature plot lines in which the virtuous but naive heroine is falsely incarcerated in the Asylum by a wicked guardian or stepparent, then driven mad by her torment, but is eventually rescued by the noble hero. Various of the great and good have talked about improving conditions, but so far no one feels like implementing the tax rises necessary to pay for them.

Rumours

Don't walk thorugh the Ruins after dark. You will be cut.

All the old workshops that used to make weapons for the Imperial Army are in this area. Must be quite a bit of interesting stuff there, if you knew where to look.

The old Imperial offices are haunted by the ghosts of clerks trying to complete the paperwork for the War. My brother told me he heard them one night.

Everyone with a senior position in the University is in the cult of Versinya. They hold grotesque ceremonies and flirt with the darkest powers.

The Faculty of Cartography is willing to pay very good money for reliable, recent maps of the Treacherous Lands. Unfortuneatly, collecting that money would mean going across the Wall to draw the maps.

The Faculty of Engineering is owned lock, stock and barrel by the Guilds of Steam and Clockwork. They fight over who gets the plum positions in the department. While they fight, the Grey Order is slowly taking over.

In the basement of the Asylum are the special cells, where they keep the special patients. In the sub-basement is just one cell, where they keep a patient who is never unchained and has to wear a mask at all times.

A lot of the Beggars' leaders are incarcerated in the Asylum. The Beggars are none too happy about it.