Three posts in three days- can you dig it?
The Canals:
Linked at the Nursery, The Canal of the Sun and the Canal of
the Moon provide a convenient way to move goods and people through the city.
Although there are only two permanent bridges (as pictured on the map) one for each canal, temporary
wooden bridges are often in service. Coil, however, has a tendency to smash
them every now and again- for reasons no one really understands.
The Nursery:
This huge artificial pool serves as a public bath, a
juncture between the Skull’s two major canal systems and as an egg bed for
Coil. On any given day dozens of gondolas (private and for hire), hundreds of swimmers and
countless nymphs frolic and cavort in the clear water at the surface, seemingly oblivious to the thousands and
thousands of fist sized translucent eggs clustered in twisted pulsating lumps,
like some unwholesome coral reef, along the uneven floor of the pool.
Birthday:
Every spring the Nursery hosts a ritual bloody enough to rival any in the Earth’s history; the eggs hatch and countless nymph-hatchlings swarm into the water of the Nursery. Thousands of slaves are forced into the pool to feed the ravenous hatchlings, earning the ritual its sobriquet, the Blood Bath. When the feeding frenzy is done, nothing remains of the sacrificed slaves but a greasy slick on the churning surface of the pool. Once the hatchlings are sated, they become torpid and sluggish. At this time Coil descends from its place atop the grand Ziggurat and rampages through the Grove eating or just killing anyone unwise (or unlucky) enough to cross its path. Upon arriving at the Nursery, Coil plunges into water and eats the vast majority of the nymphs in a second and even more violent orgy of consumption. Crowds of loyal citizens watch the entire spectacle whilst picnicking in the square to the East of the Nursery. The nymphs that survive the ritual become part of the city's population.
Every spring the Nursery hosts a ritual bloody enough to rival any in the Earth’s history; the eggs hatch and countless nymph-hatchlings swarm into the water of the Nursery. Thousands of slaves are forced into the pool to feed the ravenous hatchlings, earning the ritual its sobriquet, the Blood Bath. When the feeding frenzy is done, nothing remains of the sacrificed slaves but a greasy slick on the churning surface of the pool. Once the hatchlings are sated, they become torpid and sluggish. At this time Coil descends from its place atop the grand Ziggurat and rampages through the Grove eating or just killing anyone unwise (or unlucky) enough to cross its path. Upon arriving at the Nursery, Coil plunges into water and eats the vast majority of the nymphs in a second and even more violent orgy of consumption. Crowds of loyal citizens watch the entire spectacle whilst picnicking in the square to the East of the Nursery. The nymphs that survive the ritual become part of the city's population.
The end of all things...
As of now, this blog is entering its final year. I have given myself twelve months to finish up here and then I'm going to move on. I have decided to focus my creativity in another direction.
Too bad for us that you're going to move on! I wish you the best of luck. The Metal Earth has been an inspiration for my games.
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