Calamity's Edge
The city on the edge of calamity: a shining flagship into the unknown. Calamity's Edge, the structure on the very edge of Revaliir's native Void, used to be a badge of pride for the people of the world. It was a joint effort between mages and gods: a grand experiment meant to tame the untameable. Once a humongous city with unique architecture all its own, it held buildings unlike any seen in Revaliir before: massive metallic structures with vents the envy of Karith's creators. There was no natural earth here, no flora when they started. And yet still greenhouses were constructed with imported soil to feed the populace. The technology and magic were unlike anything seen before; and so Calamity's Edge was called the City of Tomorrow, the next great achievement and a launch pad into the next frontier.
Yet like so many before, the people of Calamity's Edge grew overconfident in their abilities. Their power source, and the pride of their city, was a world tree sapling. It was part of an "island creation" strategy in which the creators sought to continuously produce saplings and form a series of stations into the Void to extend their magical power. They didn't realize that they were only putting out bait for the larger creatures to find them. Or perhaps they simply thought themselves powerful enough to repel anything.
Either way, stories tell of the tree becoming corrupted by something foreign and subsequently destroying the town overnight. Calamity's Edge is now nothing more than a ruin, filled to the brim with abandoned towers and remnants from a bygone era. And yet there are still those foolish enough to visit, to document what remains.
Approach to Calamity’s Edge
The first thing to note about the mythical city is that there are several access points scattered throughout the closer levels of the Void. The one most documented by the authority on this place - Mad Mora - is in fact in the Midnight Mines, and it leads directly into a massive foundry on the city's borders. Inside that tall ceiling space, metallic bowls the size of galleons run along huge tracks; and they are paired with magically enhanced carts for hauling ore. These behemoths all bear the sign of Baltil craftsmanship from the era of the Great Smith, but it is clear they have not been used for many centuries.
There are other portals scattered throughout the confines of the city and all of them are of similar design: gnarled twigs of metal forming the boundaries that enclose colorful pools of mana and a gem of grisial to form their apex. It is not just any grisial either, but highly refined grisial. These crystals are the purest known samples in all of Revaliir, and they shine brightly in an otherwise dreary landscape.
City Makeup
Calamity’s Edge is a massive landscape filled with buildings tightly clustered together. There are no small houses here: only towers. And each section of the city is cordoned off by walls of iridescent metal that are surprisingly easy on the eyes.
As for key locations, first, there’s the foundry, but then there’s also the manufacturing district around said foundry. This massive district is where all of the city’s goods and building materials were made. There are arrays of enchanted sewing needles long since devoid of magic, colossal forges the size of small mountains, and anvils and molds fit for a god. With enough manpower, you could have built anything in this place, but it has long since fallen into disrepair.
Outside of the manufacturing district is the smaller marketing district. Here stores are so tightly packed together that there is nary an area without some type of old advert or advertisement vying for attention. The marketing district is a significant chunk of the city, but, unlike in its glory days, it eerily silent in the present. Most of the non-perishable goods remain, but it's as if everyone just up and left without a moment’s notice, leaving behind all their precious goods to escape from some sort of calamity.
There are more districts beyond it, but, unfortunately, most of those are residential, political and academic: places where people would have gathered. They can no longer be called by their old names, however, for whatever used to be there has been twisted into nightmarish landscapes. They can now only be referred to as nests.
The Nests
Whatever assaulted Calamity’s Edge during its prime turned the vast majority of its population centers into nests for various broods of abominations. Many of these look human in some form, which begs the question of whether the original inhabitants were killed or assimilated. They “sleep” in every nook and cranny of the districts outside marketing and manufacturing, and come out at regular intervals to hunt actual Void creatures. The Nests, as they collectively called now, are dangerous.
Unfortunately, they’re also where the city's most valuable pieces can be found. The people of Calamity’s Edge horded items of various usefulness; and the nobles, especially, held onto prizes that were custom made, never to be put up in the open market. Woe to any poor, greedy fool who tries to go after them, though, for they may find themselves joining the ranks of the twisted residents rather than striking it rich.
The Eye
If one is unlucky enough to trek beyond those horrific nests, there is yet more danger to be found in Calamity’s Edge; and also a grave price to be paid for one's curiosity. The tree that was originally the city's source of power still exists, but it has become a twisted abomination of its former self. A giant eye sits upon that fleshy trunk, pulsating, writhing along with the roots that look more like intestines than wood. This monstrosity can speak, but the words of Mad Mora warn to never listen to it. The only official expedition to make it this far into the Calamity went mad from the experience alone. Every member lost their life, save for the leader who returned to Revaliir twisted in ways reminiscent of The Eye he had beheld.
Tread lightly, adventurer, for the only thing you will find at the center of this city is madness and despair.