| Item | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Extrapolative Tech | +2 | |
| Weird Science (Neural Interface) | +1 | |
| Convenient | +2 | |
| 4 pts of Defender's Blessing | +8 | |
| Fnordic GoodnessTM | +1 | |
| 2 Banes | -1 | |
| Enemy Gate* | -4 | |
| A Somewhat Nasty Erus in the Sky | -3 |
*Note: The PCs do NOT know this exists
Link to Known History of the Chancel and to Very Recent History. Legends and Hearsay in the Chancel can be found here.
Description:
Locus Fnord is, in a word, bizzare. The first thing people see when they enter the Chancel are the Pyramids. Hundreds of them. Everywhere. Most of them are as large as the great Egyptian marvels, but many are smaller, and a few are monstrously huge. Most are made of stone, although the colors and types of the stones vary, but a few are made of polished metal. At the apex of all the Pyramids, regardless of their material or size, is a single, unblinking eye. The pyramids are everywhere. Most are separated by thin roads clogged with vehicles and pedestrians (and occasional mixes of the two). Some pyramids appear to be slightly overgrown with vines and shrubs, like something out of a lost city. Only upon close inspection do visitors realize that the reason the plant life seems to glisten as it does, is because most of it is made of metal and gears. The degree of overgrowth does not appear to have any bearing on how much use a particular pyrimid undergoes, however - they all seem to have a continuous stream of people and other traveling in and out of the gates at their bases. The sky above the pyrmids is, quite literally, a patchwork with each pyramid having its own weather and time of day hundreds of meters above it. This can produce interesting effects as a pyramid under a patch of monsoon may be next to a pyramid with a bright clear desert day next to a pyramid with a crisp arctic night. Of course, no one pyramid is subjected to any particular weather pattern for too long - nothing seems to stay the same for long in Locus Fnord.
At a smaller level, most visitors are impressed by the variety of life in the Chancel. Most inhabitants are recognizably human, although many have undergone augmentation to their limbs, body, or head or one form or another. Occasionally, larger vehicles will pass by and turn to observe visitors with an "expression" of curiosity. Every few minutes a squad of inhabitants marches past wearing brightly colored uniforms on some official errand and the rest of the citizenry scrambles to get out of the way. On rare occasions, a squad of the Fnordic races past on some urgent task for the Chancel's masters and all the other citizens stumble over themselves to appear helpful to this elite guard. Scurrying between the legs of the pedestrians (and vehicles) and high overhead, clockwork rodents and birds zip around the chancel making minor repairs. Occasionally, flocks (or packs) swarm so thick that they obscure the ground or sky. There are no children anywhere.
Most of the inhabitants (those who do not have the privilege of bright uniforms or shiny badges of authority) are dressed similarly. These are the workers of Locus Fnord, whose daily duties further the obscure goals of the place. Many of them are responsible for maintaining the giant machines the whir and click in the heart of the pyramids. Others carry messages or materials from place to place. Many more have less explainable duties, such as observing the behaviors of the pyrimids, marking (and then erasing the markings) large empty crates, not to mention the massive work detail which appears to be in the middle of the task of shifting the entire Chancel 6 inches south. Occasionally, large shipments of random items appear, taken from the outside world for processing by Fnord. On one day it may be a flock of emu which must each be carfully described for later identification. On another day it will be a group of Chinese farmers who must all be told the joke about the hunter and the bashful polar bear before they are returned to their farms. On another day, 500 African locusts must have their right front leg replaced with a clockwork prosthetic. Sometimes the events make even less sense.
The Chancel is run by a giant eye that flys through the Chancel overseeing one task or another. It has never given its name - the Citizens simply call it The Eye, or Master when unfortunate enough to need to speak to it. It is a demanding taskmaster, even of the Chancel's most powerful residents (although it does appear to allow Cogsworth and Silas a large amount of autonomy within the Chancel). While the Eye has never given itself to small talk about the old days, it is generally known that it is quite old - no known Noble, past or present, was ever able to recall a time when the Eye was not present. Immediately below the Eye in terms of authority is Cogsworth who appears to have general authority within the Chancel to conduct his experiments and other activities. Silas stands as the head of the Chancel bureaucracy, which given him wide control of many of the day to day runnings of the Chancel. Below him are a few dozen middle management individuals, most of whom claim authority over one or more Pyramids. These individuals pursue their own goals (pursuant to the wishes of their seniors, of course) and will, on occasion, end up in power struggles with each other. Most have formed some sort of focus of research, be it better vehicles, better difference engines, more sophiticated clockworks, or better melding of man and gear. Somewhere in the power structure is the Realm's Heart of Heather Hanssen, former Noble of Influence - no one is really sure what it does or what the Eye thinks of it but it wanders around attending to its own Purposes.
The insides of the Pyramids vary wildly. Many contain massive clockwork machines whose purpose can only be guessed at. Many more contain books, or data stored on punched tape. Others may contain storage facilities containing the strangest things, or repair bays where people are fixed. Some contain entire ecosystems of clockwork fauna. And a few, contain the residences of a select few - the Nobles of Chancel Fnord. Neville's Pyramid is the largest and its location appears to change (although how something that big could move through the congested streets of the Chancel is beyond anyone) and contains his laboratories. Hu's Pyramid is filled with winding corrodors and secret passages before one reaches his living area in the Pyramid's heart. Silas keeps for himself only his offices at the top of an infinite stair. Nikita has an entire villa (albiet somewhat worse for wear) in his Pyramid, and Allegra has a pleasant flat surrounded by an expansive garden of natural and clockwork blooms, along with her impressive library. Desiree provides the exception to the rule (rules in Locus Fnord seem almost to require exceptions, but there are exceptions to that rule) as her pleasant country home is located in a large open expanse that might otherwise have held a Pyramid. It is a most pleasant place and everyone has a standing invitation to drop by.
Scattered throughout the Chancel are almost a hundred gates consisting of massive alcoves surrounded by quietly clicking machiniery. Each of these gates leads to the shadow of one of the invisible blimps constantly hovering over the earth. One enters the darkness of one of these alcoves and continues walking until gradually, one begins to exit the deep shadow and onto the general Earth. Small clockwork maps at each of the gates allow the user to see where into the world they will be exiting. To return to the chancel, one must simply find a blimp's shadow and step into its deepest darkness and one will show up in an alcove in Locus Fnord. (This is not simply a matter of standing in the deep shadow - one must "step into" the shadow. It is a trick most Nobles can perform fairly easily, but it is unlikely to be done by accident.) In emergencies, these gates can be locked from the inside. Finding a blimp's shadow is relatively easy for the family of Locus Fnord as the blimps tend to remain in specific areas. All one needs to do is travel to that area and look around using the Sight for the blimps. From there, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the shadows.