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Nexus
Mar 11, 2012 16:45:45 GMT -5
Post by Kenneth New on Mar 11, 2012 16:45:45 GMT -5
Larger mageborn communities often have a magical nexus to act as a meeting place and refuge from mundanes. The nexus is an extradimensional space (a small pocket plane) that can only be accessed through transdimensional travel or one of the nexus points anchoring it to the mundane world. The nexus can take any form or appearance desired by the creators.
Each nexus will be written up in this thread after it is introduced to the chronicle.
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Nexus
Mar 11, 2012 18:22:22 GMT -5
Post by Kenneth New on Mar 11, 2012 18:22:22 GMT -5
Nexus New York
New York is tied with Tyana as the largest mageborn communities in the USA with 5000 mageborn in the 1920 census. It makes sense that it would have the largest nexus.
Nexus New York is an extradimensional vault 500 meters in radius. The air is breathable and the physical laws work the same as they do in the mundane world. The ground slopes gently from the edges of the vault down towards Lake Tarn, a circular body of water 250 meters across that sits in the center of the nexus. Four slow moving canals flow from the edge of the vault into the Lake, the water somehow being transported from the bottom of the Lake and being purified before flowing back into its source. The four canals divide Nexus New York into quarters.
The sky of Nexus New York resembles a great shining dome that seems to turn overhead. If the dome is a sphere, then half of it shines with an opalescent glow as bright as sunlight on a sunny day, while the other half is a mottled black with glowing nebulas that seem to slowly change their shape over the course of many hours and give off light equivalent to a moonlit night in the mundane world. As the hours pass, the dome turned overhead. At noon, it shows only the opalescent luminosity, while at midnight it shows only the nebulous darkness.
In between, the line between light and dark moves slowly across the sky. By convention, the terminator is said to move from east to west, providing a means of telling direction in the Nexus.
A cluster of shops, offices and house sits along the western shore Lake Tarn. It is known colloquially as Nexus Town - or the Town.
A tall tower called Arcanum Tower sits in the middle of Lake Tarn, rising from the water like a mages staff. A boat takes visitors back and forth, since it is warded against unauthorized teleportation. The Arcanum Tower is where the Nexus Authority works. These are the mages who control the nexus and keep it running. The Nexus jail is also located in the tower.
Only about 500 people make a permanent home in the Nexus. It's preternatural environment and the fact that it is closed off from the mundane world make it somewhat undesirable to many.
The five anchors of the Nexus open into five distinct locations in the Nexus. These Nexus Points are open to all those who can perceive them (except for vampires). However, each has a nexus guardian who is empowered to detain anyone who seems suspicious.
Sterncastle Hotel
The Sterncastle Hotel in Harlem is an anchor. It's nexus point is located through an obfuscated door that leads directly into the Star Pavillion in the Nexus.
The Sterncastle is a colonial era mansion that has been turned into a grand hotel. Obfuscation prevents mundanes from noticing the hotel, but awakened mundanes enjoy its restaurant and the ballroom features mageborn and goblin performers. It is the ancestral seat of the Van Stern family. The nexus point is protected by hotel security.
The Star Pavillion is an outdoor musical venue that is often used for concerts and plays. It sits along the shore of Lake Tarn, just north of town.
Statue of the Thinkers
These twin bronze statues, one male and one female, sit on concrete pedastals facing one another to one side of a little used walkway in Central Park. Awakened beings (as well as some animals) can walk between the pedestals and find themselves on Fiddler's Green in the Nexus. The nexus point is guarded by security trolls who live in the copse nearby. Just inside the gate sits an MLE check point.
The Tavern on the Green is a pub run by Felice Alfwyn, a feyblood mage from an ancient family. Her pub is a meeting place for fey, awakened humans, shifters and mageborn. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the Nexus, but it is a good place to find information.
A cobblestone walkway (known as Greenway) leads from the Fiddler's Green towards town.
Callahan's Club
An unsavory looking club (a speakeasy actually) called Callahans looks across the Harlem river from the Bronx. It's run by Mick Callahan, a burly, heavyset mage with a bushy beard and a bald pate who looks more like a boxer than a scholar. His bar is a hangout for shifters and goblins, as well as the mages who associate with them.
No violence is allowed in Callahan's Club, a rule Mick Callahan is quick to enforce with his stout rod, a combination of implement and skull crusher. The food at Callahan's is typical bar and grill type fare, but the beer is extraordinary and the whiskey ranged from Irish to goblin.
The nexus point is the club itself. The guardian (currently Mick Callahan) can seal the bar so that no one get out either into the mundane world or into the nexus. Entering the nexus requires passing by twin gargoyles to get to the back door. The door leads to Dimrock Alley, a street in Nexus Town with a number of shops that cater to darker (but not illegal) magicks.
Before Callahan, this Club was called Touley's and was guarded by Alastair O'Toule. Before that, it was the Riven Room and was guarded by Clarence Riven. The club belongs to the Nexus Authority, but is granted (like a fief) to whomever is chosen to guard it. Because of its popularity with shifters, vampires and goblins, the guardian is usually a detached enforcer from the Bureau of Magical Creatures.
St. Ambrose
Located in Queens, St. Ambrose is a Mage Universalist Church (a mageborn branch of the Universal Unitarian movement). It resembles an old Georgian style church with red brick, white wood and a brick arcade. The building is obfuscated to keep mundanes out, which is important since it is the busiest mageborn house of worship in town.
A walkway through the garden leads to The Cloister Garden in Nexus Town. This nexus point is protected by the Cloister Guardian, a powerful spirit of wind and flame that assaults malefactors once they've crossed over into the Cloister Garden. The Cloisters are warded so that no one can teleport into or out of them.
The Bookstore
An old brick fronted bookstore in Brooklyn, with a simple sign in the window that reads Books is the location of the final anchor point. The bookstore sells used and new books, many of which are rare. It is run by the Rothe family, who have been Nexus Guardians since its creation.
The back room of the Bookstore contains a door that leads into Printer's Court in Nexus Town. Printer's Court holds the headquarters for Nexus Printing and for the Daily Arcane Observer.
The current Nexus Guardian is Hirriam Rothe.
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