Fantasy The Mystery of Greyport - Lore

[Lycanious]

(WIP - check back soon for more lore)

The Mystery of Greyport - Lore

Useful Links

IC Thread
Character Sheets
Lore
Recruitment Thread

 

[Lycanious]

Factions

Noteworthy Factions

Cerberus - Criminal Organisation
The Circle of The Willow - Witch Coven
Greyport City Watch - Hidden Monitoring & Coverup Organisation
Grimclaw Pack - Dominant Werewolf Pack
Nightshade Coven - Greyport City-based Witch Coven
Ravenwood Seethe - Vampire Seethe
Stormbringer Smugglers - Pirate-based Criminal Organisation
Triple Moon Coven - Former Witch Coven (Disbanded)

---

Greyport City Watch

An organisation established by the Hidden of Greyport City in order to manage their duty to maintaining The Facade. The Greyport City Watch has been in existence since the first day Greyport was officially declared to be a city, though individual members of it have existed and worked in similar ways for longer. It is regarded as an organisation that can hear all and see all that happens around the city, largely in thanks to its large network of seemingly benign and easily-missed stray animals and vermin that roam the city streets. Any pigeon that flies overhead, rat that scurries by, or stray dog wandering the streets in search of food has a chance of being a member of the City Watch, with only their behaviour and the occasional glow of their eyes to signal them out from the crowd.

More humanoid members of the Hidden also operate within the organisation, with some holding very publicised roles while others are employed in secret. For the most part they serve on an on-call basis, either being summoned by their boss to nearby areas or being expected to deal with any situations they happen to stumble across. The City Watch's primary concern always falls back to making sure that the existence of The Hidden is protected, and thus it has been known to turn a blind eye to members of the organisation who employ more questionable or morally ambiguous methods of covering up Hidden activities.

For this reason, some otherwise well-meaning citizens can find themselves at odds with the Greyport City Watch. Criticism of some Handlers being too calloused with the lives and safety of humans are common. Others find the use of animal Watchers as of late to feel too oppressive, complaining that it gives them a sense of paranoia while roaming around the city.

The City Watch's rebuttal is always, of course, that you should have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide.

There is no reason to fear The Greyport City Watch.

Do not fear The Greyport City Watch.

Members

Harmony

The identity of the leader of Greyport City Watch is unknown, though they have been given the code name of 'Harmony' amongst some members of the organisation that has since spread amongst other Hidden citizens. Likewise, no one is quite sure what kind of Hidden they are, though a popular theory of being some kind of druid exists due to the use of local city-based animals as their eyes and ears. Other popular theories include a powerful kind of fae or witch, or perhaps even a demon. Some say that Harmony is an entirely undocumented Hidden, unknown to history.

Orders and actions from Harmony seem to be telepathically given to a select few members of The City Watch, who are then expected to carry out said orders and coordinate with anyone else employed by the City Watch or otherwise working alongside of them. Questioning them on the matter always yields the same results, no one can really quite recall if they've ever actually seen Harmony before and what they're like, but they're always very insistent that they have, most certainly, clearly, met them at some point. They had to, to be employed, after all.

Watchers

The animals that The City Watch employs. Watchers can seemingly be of any species of animal, though they seem to predominantly consist of rodents and birds found locally in the area. On the odd occasion some animals from the Everdusk Forest may also be utilised, though this normally is reserved for incidences that happen right along the outskirts of the city. Rumours abound that the City Watch is now also stretching into the sea, and that marine animals can now be included in its ever-growing list of Watchers, though it is difficult to confirm.

Hidden that have an affinity with certain animals or can otherwise communicate or empathise with them, often report that the animals have an unsettling nature about them. They rarely, if ever, speak to others. And on the few occasions that they do the words tend to be vague and cryptic at best. Many also report that they sound as if they are in a forced calm, trance-like state.

When their eyes glow, it is believed that it is a sign that Harmony themself is watching through them. Though whether this is true is, again, an unconfirmed notion.

Handlers

Employed Hidden sapients of The City Watch. While Watchers find trouble Handlers are the ones expected to actually deal with it. Their methods can range wildly between individuals, with some taking great care to minimise stress, damages, and smooth things over with any human witnesses. Others are more calloused with said humans, finding little issue in messing with their minds to erase memories or engineer things so that no one would believe their tales. In some cases, outright disposal of the humans is not off the table for some Handlers.

Though Harmony supposedly prefers a more benign approach, they by no means condemn otherwise if it is deemed necessary. This guideline appears to be made more on the belief that it leads to a less messy situation to have to clean up, as opposed to any moral objections with how their Handlers sort out a situation.

Handlers can range from openly employed ones that wear the symbol of the City Watch upon their person to ones that work in secret. Actual employment for the position is an oddly enigmatic process, where the job never seems to actually be advertised or offered publicly. Instead recruitment seems to happen at random, odd occasions, even to members that gave no prior indication that they ever wanted to work for Greyport City Watch in the first place.

Affiliations

Given the wide range of ground City Watch can cover at the same time and the numerous files it keeps on its citizens, it is common for the City Watch to find itself working alongside of law enforcement and detectives in order to solve Hidden-related crimes or, on the odd occasion, regular ones that have simply perked the interest of Harmony. As of now it is currently working with detective agencies to solve the missing persons incidents, as there are rumours floating around that the City Watch has so far not witnessed any of these disappearances occurring. Such a phenomena doesn't look good on the organisation, after all. So it is in their best interests currently to solve the situation before it worsens.

While The City Watch tends to fall more on the side of law enforcement and peacekeeper-type roles, it is not unheard of it to also side with more questionable individuals or organisations if there is a common interest in mind. For this reason it can have a wavering relationship with more criminal activities that go about the city, and may help to cover the tracks of some individuals should they provide to be useful to the cause.

---

Ravenwood Seethe

A vampire seethe that has taken up residence within the Everdusk Forest within the last few centuries. The seethe is lead by both Lady Lydia Ravenwood and Lord Emmett Ravenwood, a couple that have been married for several centuries and have recruited a number of lone vampires and vampire-adjacent members within their numbers over the years.

Ravenwood Manor

The Seethe homebase is located in an old manor nestled deep in the heart of the Everdusk Forest, marked by a near-invisible, winding path through the trees. Thanks to the Nightshade Coven the seethe enjoys the protection of a ward near its grounds, which can cause humans to be overcome with an increasing sense of dread and an overwhelming urge to turn back in the direction they came from should they come close to the location of the manor. Particularly strong-willed humans, or humans made aware of the effects of this ward have been known to become unaffected though. Should they still wander into the grounds of the manor, they are typically taken inside for either a quick meal or to strike a deal of some kind with them. Gargoyles guard the entry points to the manor and along the roof of the building, springing to life whenever the manor is deemed to be under threat. The manor itself is a lavishly built building in a Victorian style, with plenty of rooms to host all of its current members and still have room for temporary guests. As per the nature of the forest very little light already makes its way into the building, but for extra safety measures all rooms are marked with large black-out style curtains. The seethe conducts many of its internal meetings within their banquet hall, and tends to prefer to invite any outsiders wishing to speak to or make a deal with them to dine with them here rather than trek all the way out to the city. Amongst the rooms exists a small menagerie of humans to feast upon, whom have reportedly all either struck a deal to be turned after a certain number of feasts or are paying off some debt or punishment to one or more of the vampires within the Seethe. Their supply is limited, and closely guarded, but members of the Seethe or other blood-drinkers that endear themselves to the group can rely on it as an emergency source of energy if needed.

Members​

Lord & Lady Ravenwood​

Both vampires are several centuries old at least, with their exact date of birth lost to time. It is known however that the two have been married for a large stretch of that time, supposedly even before their vampirism, and that to this day they are still an affectionate and supportive couple. The current Ravenwood Seethe location was not their first, but it is reportedly their current one for the foreseeable future. Little is said about what happened at the previous location, and both Lord and Lady Ravenwood have shown to become agitated and upset should anyone push the question any further beyond their initial dismissal. They are stern with the members of their Seethe, but most vampires would agree that they are still of a more diplomatic nature than many other Seethes out there. Decisions are made by vote between members rather than the rulings of a single leader with an iron first, and both Lord and Lady Ravenwood have shown to be willing to listen to members outside of the Seethe and at times side with a cause they feel passionate about. All the same, there are members who have been banished from the Seethe. Most of them seem to be for reasons of either challenging Lord and Lady for leadership or for intentionally bringing their Seethe to harm in some format. Others have been found to be in allegiance with members of the Grimclaw Pack, or suspected of it, and thus ruled as untrustworthy by the Ravenwood leaders.

Affiliations​

Though unofficial, the Ravenwood Seethe has been known to make dealings with other Hidden in the past and may occasionally play host to others that earn their favour. Of particular note is their strong relationship with the Nightshade Coven, due to an old friendship between Lady Ravenwood and the current leader. The two groups have been known to come to the aid of the other during times of hardship, and it isn't uncommon to see a member or two lingering in the other's main haunts. Of particular note is the long-standing rivalry with the dominant werewolf pack of the city, Grimclaw Pack. Though the origins of said rivalry are not advertised to outsiders, there is an undeniable bile hatred between the two Seethe leaders and the current reigning Alpha. The two factions have come to blows before, and members have been slaughtered on both sides, with only intervention by other citizens of Greyport City being the reason why both sides are currently at an uneasy truce with each other.

---

Grimclaw Pack

A werewolf pack that frequently roams through the Everdusk Forest and has been established since the early days of Greyport City's existence. The pack has seen several leaders over the course of its lifetime, with the most recent being a werewolf known only by her first name of Sloane. Alpha Sloane is known to have a fearsome temper and no patience for fools or time-wasters, rejecting many werewolves from her close-knit pack in order to accept only those whom she thinks can be relied on to keep said pack safe from anything that would threaten it.

Grimclaw Cave​

Reportedly guarded by a rotating shift of werewolf sentries and illusionary fae magic, the exact location of Grimclaw Cave is unknown to all but the pack and its most trusted allies. As a result it is difficult to know the exact contents of the cave beyond a few wayward comments and second-hand recounts, but the general theory is that the Grimclaw pack have carved out spacious hallways and homely-decorated rooms into the cave's surface to provide them with a safe haven away from the prying eyes of humans. Reportedly here werewolves can roam freely in either form, and they have incorporated special rooms with reinforced entrances in order to contain newer werewolves who have yet to bring their full-moon transformations under control.

Members​

Alpha Sloan​

Aggressive and headstrong, Sloan is a woman who has fought her way to the rank of Alpha and shows no intentions of backing down from the role any time soon. Of all traits she demands loyalty amongst her tight-knit pack above all else, and has been known to despise anyone she sees as a traitor to the people they should call family. Werewolves that show a weak will or question her decisions are routinely banished from said pack, with some facing only a temporary exclusion while others are instructed to never show their face to her again.Paradoxically, she does however seem to pick and choose people that she considers to be an underdog or in need of protection, and has been known to order her entire pack to hunt down and main residents or visitors to the city that she has decided are of a despicable nature. Such orders are often spur of the moment and careless, which has gotten her into trouble with City Watch in the past, but given that she typically lives outside of the city grounds their influence over her is somewhat limited compared to other troublesome groups. The general consensus is that Alpha Sloan holds her fellow lycans and other Hidden to a high standard and expects them to be a formidable and unyielding force, while simultaneously dismissing other beings as weak and in need of defense regardless of how accurate that actually is.

Affiliations

Grimclaw Pack largely serves its own interests, and generally aims to be as self-sufficient as possible. Other werewolves can sometimes manage to get an audience with members of the pack or even Alpha Sloan herself, but they are often dismissed and ignored unless they can prove themselves to be on par with the fiery tempers and strengths of some of her members. As a result the pack rarely finds itself in league with other packs or organisations, and in particular has known to have a boiling hatred for the Ravenwood Seethe for a number of centuries.The one exception to this appears to be tied in with an ancient deal that Alpha Sloan made, whom has shown to make unlikely exemptions towards members of the fae. She has occasionally been seen communicating with a member of the enigmatic fae court before, but will quickly either leave or have witnesses chased off if she realises she is being observed.

 

[Lycanious]

Locations

Main Locations
Greyport City
Everdusk Forest
Stormwatch Beach

Greyport City
Hidden Gems - Potion Shop
Morningstar Theatre - Burlesque Theatre
The Full Moon - Werewolf-run Nightclub
The Literary Brew Cafe and Book Shop - Bookshop, Cafe
The Quill Collective - Library

Everdusk Forest
Crescent Lake - Lake
Grimclaw Cave - Grimclaw Pack Hangout
Ravenwood Manor - Ravenwood Seethe Haunt

Stormwatch Beach

---

Greyport City

Geography
Greyport City is situated between the Everdusk Forest to the North and East and Stormwatch Beach to it's West and South. Though not the largest city in it's region it is nonetheless a sizable one, with all the locations, careers, facilities, and troubles one can expect of any modern-day city. At its heart it is bustling at all times of the day and night, with many citizens and visitors taking up residence in tall apartment buildings that line the streets. Towards the outskirts residents can find a more peaceful living with individual housing available and, for The Hidden, many of the secluded haunts that have been carved out for their kind. Likewise, in the city, one can find many such places underground. These are often marked with warding spells and strange symbols, inviting those welcome back filling those who are not with an uneasy sense of dread and an urge to flee the area. Other Hidden opt for far more mundane measures, and simply place a lock on their door or a guard outside of it to keep an eye on anyone who wanders by.

History

Greyport City is believed to have been established around 400 years ago, though there were many who passed through the area before then. Prior to its establishment it was little more than a stretch of bare and grassy plains, bordered by the thriving forest to the North and East, and the winding coast line to the West and South.The first to make their home in this location were the last remaining members of The Triple Moon Coven, having of narrowly fled the persecution of humans that have uncovered their practices within their former hometown. They arrived by shore aided in their travels by The Stormbringers, a pirate crew consisting of various outcast and lost Hidden who struggled to find a living or a place to call home anywhere else. From here the coven and crew began to establish a new home for themselves, carving out hidden spaces in the cliff-faces along the shore for their magical practices and building more benign looking homes further up from the shore to protect them from high tides. For a time, it was just the two groups. Then The Stormbringers started to bring like-minded smugglers and dealers to the shore, and the newly-named Nightshade Coven began to find customers that would sell them ingredients for their potions and buy their wares. The place soon became the village of Greyport, named for its forever-dreary skies, as more like-minded individuals started to settle into the area, finding peace away from the prying eyes of humans, and begin to start families of their own.

Eventually, humans started to find their way to the newly-rising settlement. Such a thing was inevitable, when the coven no longer had the power nor numbers to attempt to cloak their new home forever. But there was a difference, this time. A village established from the ground-up by only the Hidden gave them far more control and sway over their survival, even as the numbers of humans started to rise beyond their own. They had their secluded haunts in the cliffs and the underground passages already established, with strange runes and warding spells woven into the architecture itself to keep unwanted visitors at bay. They had the chance to establish safe hideaways and encoded messages, symbols, anything that would let a Hidden know where to find others of their kind right under the noses of the humans surrounding them. On the same day that the village of Greyport was officially upgraded to the name and claim of Greyport City, so too was the day that the Greyport City Watch was established. Utilising the eyes and ears of Hidden that could travel unnoticed about the city, Greyport City Watch both protects and governs the Hidden citizens of the city in the hopes of maintaining the façade that keeps them all safe. In the present day Greyport is far from perfect, but it is home nonetheless for many Hidden that would otherwise struggle to find a place that, at least sometimes, can be somewhere that they feel they belong to.

Inner Locations

The Literary Brew Cafe and Book Shop
A small coffee shop and book store/library owned and, seemingly, singlehandedly run by Shaldrani the dragon. Open 24/7, and doubles as a place for Hidden to meet up in secret or in private from time to time. Appears to have a rivalry with an ice cream store directly across the street from it.

 

[Lycanious]

Hidden Species

The Greyport City Watch has compiled a handy reference for known species of Hidden that roam about the city. Please refer to this guide for information on how to identify and interact with them.

Registered Sapients of Greyport

Sapients are defined as any species with sufficient enough intelligence to demonstrate self-awareness. They are considered to have the same rights and accountability as humans, regardless of how humanoid they appear to be.

Angels
The Cerberus
Corvindrels
Demons
Dragons
Fairies
Familiars
Humans
Kelpies
Kitsunes
Lycans
The Mothman
Onis
Unicorns
Vampires
Witches

Registered Creatures of Greyport

Creatures are defined as any species that would be considered to have an animal intelligence, and can not perform complex or rational thinking. By Hidden law, any creature that is uplifted due to magical intervention such as Familiars, or can otherwise demonstrate higher intelligence, should be considered a sentient and protected by the same rights individually even if other members of their species would not be.

Ordinary Animals
Thylarctos plummetus
Wolpertinger

 

[Lycanious]

Characters

(WIP - check back soon)