Runehack: Jewelstake

I have spent plenty of time thinking about a desert-based city and how to make it interesting. Whether it's Ancient Egypt in general, Las Vegas, Agrabah, Jerusalem, or any of the other desert-based cities, it's a fascinating thing to me to consider. After plenty of thought, I found a way to make my desert city that's interesting—a pillar of natural glass. Turns out that's all I needed to create what's Runehack's version of Las Vegas, which is rather lovely for a cyberpunk world to have. While the exact physics behind something like this aren't explained, there's enough hints dropped in this article to suggest how this pillar of glass came to be. I'm excited to have created something that sounds plausible when explained, but supernatural when it's not, because things like these have lead to myths and legends in our past.

A significant part of this article to me is the magicore, a magician subculture. I have been into magic tricks for years, so it's something that means a lot to me. I'm glad to have found a way, in which this premise could fit into the Jewelstake, and you can expect to see some references to real life things within that section.

With all this said, I hope you'll enjoy reading about another of my cities, and I wish you an awesome day!

Edit: After redeeming a sketch from the awesome Densetsu_VII, I'm adding it into the article with his permission.

Jewelstake

When an ancient tribe of orcs and goblins finds a pillar of gem-like crystalline material in the desert near a river, it's reasonable to assume they would build a village nearby. When they find out over the years that the stake is actually growing, they start to place bets. And once the news began spreading, people from all over the world gathered there to keep placing bets. This of course draws the attention of Lifestock, and the business starts to ponder: what if we made a couple of businesses around this city for people who like to make bets?

A historical sketch of the Jewelstake's early origins, sometime after the orc and goblin clans found out that the stake is indeed growing. I really like the idea of skull motifs in the Ironskulls' architecture, as well as the orange hues in the green stake of natural glass.
Art kindly provided by Densetsu_VII.

Geography

Jewelstake is located in the White desert that's found in southwestern New World. Since the city was built around it, the Lively river flows through it, splitting it into two halves. One of the ways in which the river is unique is its riverbed of small vibrant natural glass pebbles.

Majority of the foods that Jewelstake produces are poultry, as well as fruits and vegetables that do well in this temperate climate. Cotton is something that also fares well in this region. While this place is very poor when it comes to the natural reserves of amber, it has plenty of gold, silver, iron, and oil. One of its biggest sources of income though is tourism and gambling.

History

One of the nomadic tribes of orcs mixed with goblins has wandered the world in search for a place they could call homeland for years before they stumbled upon this sight. A pillar of natural glass rising from the ground is indeed a peculiar natural phenomenon, one could say it's unique within this world to this very spot.

Some of the goblins have made a bet that the orcs soon joined in on. "Which way will the stake fall" is something they have pondered for decades. At first, the bets started with small goods, which decayed and rotted years ago. So they looked for a substitute that wouldn't spoil, and found the pebbles of natural glass in the river. They figured these pebbles would be a good representation of goods, so they used those. Some historians speculate that this was the first instance of a fiat currency in the world.

The pillar's growth was slow, and so it turned out that the bet will likely not come to fruition within the lifetimes of the original settlers. Some of them left the village, wishing they had nothing to do with it. Rest in turn reacted by raising the stakes to entice each other to stay in the bet for generations. Eventually, they formulated a law, by which everyone invested in the bet has to add more into the bet, or leave it on the summer equinox of each year. After several attempts to knock the pillar over, another law was formulated, stating that whoever breaks the stake will be executed.

When the money grew large enough, the village attracted travelers from the entire continent, and over years grew into a city. The bets keep increasing, and with that more and more people run out of money. So, they start to bet things that grew in value over years, such as expensive imported wines, cheese, and eventually even plots of land.

The age of monsters began, and the city has surrounded itself with walls for protection. When Lifestock grew large enough to buy cities, they bought Jewelstake and inspired by its ongoing bet, came up with the gambling dens—establishments where people get to gamble in various ways with a promise of a small chance to get a lot more.

The bet is yet to be resolved. Scientists estimate that the tower could collapse at any moment, with the greatest estimate for the tower's maximum height being 530 meters. Due to the bet taking so long, many betters have sold their spots in the wager to others, and over time a market revolving only around the sale of the spots within this contest has been established.

Structure

Jewelstake is divided into 7 districts, 4 of which are now held by the major betters in the Jewelstake’s bet, and will belong to its winner. Thus, to discuss these districts properly, we need to discuss the four major players in the historical bet.

• Lifestock. As soon as they bought the city, they started to convince people to sell them their wagers, offering them money in return that would be valued more than everything they’ve bet up until the moment. Plenty of people fell for it, which is why now Lifestock owns the greatest percentage of the bets, 30%.
• Pagachi. The bet began when the Marlin Pagachi claimed that the Jewel Stake will fall northwards. The man was confident about it, making his children promise to him on his deathbed that they will insist on this fact. When others started to sell the bets, the family started to buy out anything next to the north, until it reached precisely 25% of the possible ways the stake could collapse.
• Ironskull. The orkish woman of the Ironskull clan disagreed with Marlin, and said that it will fall to the south. While her family wasn’t as busy with buying out the bets, by now they own 15% of the possible bets.
• Vilfae Rehar. The dwarven billionaire came to this city only after Lifestock bought it, seeking the opportunity of a lifetime as the newest competitor. She bought most of the remaining bets, paying generously for them. Nowadays, she owns 25% of the bets.

The remaining 5% is distributed among the commoners of the city. Parts of the bets of all parties except the Pagachi family are what the stock market around the bets is based upon. The seven districts of Jewelstake are as follows:

Pagachi Street. The oldest district of the city is populated majorly by the goblins of various clans, with the epynomous Pagachi family owning all the gambling dens and bars in it. It occupies the southern parts of the city, bordering The Wall, the Central District, the Steel District, and the Wheels District.

Steel District. Orcs of the Ironskull clan have settled in the western part of the city. Several farms can be found there, along with some inns, and a few entrances to the mines. The Steel District's neighbours are The Wall, the Central District, the Green District, and the Pagachi Street.

Central District. This part of the city is where all the corporations brought to Jewelstake by the Lifestock can be found. It borders all the districts with the exception of The Wall.

Rehar Town. The district placed into the bet by the dwarven billionaire contains majority of the mines, plenty of hotels, and a handful of gambling houses. The district is filled with various copies of world’s wonders, attracting many tourists regularly. This district borders The Wall, the Central District, the Green District, and the Wheels District.

Wheels District. The Wheels District is one of the newer parts of Jewelstake, and fortunately first of the districts to not be placed into the great bet. It’s named after the plethora of casinos, which all use wheel motifs inspired by the stake itself to place bets onto. Several small companies, as well as many residential buildings, are also found here. The Wheels District is bordered by The Wall, the Central District, the Rehar Town, and the Pagachi Street.

Green District. All the vertical farms can be found along the coastline of the Lively river in the northernmost district of Jewelstake. Green District borders The Wall, the Central District, the Steel District, and the Rehar Town.

The Wall. While it’s not a proper district per se, it keeps growing in size due to newcomers who decide this district is the best for them. It has been agreed to be a neutral ground that cannot be placed into the bet for the safety of all within it, which is why many of the people who move into Jewelstake will be drawn to choose this district over any of the ones involved in the bet. The Wall borders all districts with the exception of the Central one.

Culture

The clothes billow upon movement on purpose to keep their wearer cool by providing breeze. While common clothes are normal in the desert too ever since the cooling/warming fabrics have been invented, these outfits are still a regular sight in the Jewelstake.
Art kindly provided by Arell, a friend of mine.

It would take a daring nature to live in the desert for generations, just to see if you're right about a pillar of natural glass falling one way or another. Citizens of Jewelstake tend to be rather daring, loving competition and wagers. While some show such tendencies in physical ways, such as traversing the city over the flat rooftops by jumping the great gaps between them, others prefer to dare with their expression—be it their outfit, their speech, or their art.

However, it takes two to compete or make a bet. And while their courage is seen as normal within the city, outsiders might find it a little off-putting. Jewelstakers have thus developed a culture of hospitality towards those new to the city. It takes three days to fully welcome someone within the city, if all the traditional rites were to be performed. Each of these three days consists of five meals that consist of the best thing that those who are welcoming the outsiders can afford, and showing the city. While these rites are today a rarity, local elders still insist on doing them even for people who they wouldn't approve of.

People of Jewelstake look down on the criminals and cheaters, but everyone deserves two chances. In order for a wager to work as it should, both sides must play by the rules, which include paying the price upon losing. A century ago, it was normal for the punishment of the criminals and cheaters to be loss of an eye. It was a mark for life, and a mark that anyone who would look them in the eyes could see immediately, branding them as a swindler. Great part of the culture has thus become focus on the eyes of people when talking to others. Attempts to cover the eyes in any way seem to the local as a sign of dishonesty and potential ulterior motives.

Subculture Showcase: Magicore

Note: This section is not meant to imply that the presented subculture is in any way unique to or most represented within this city. It is just a subculture I chose to present because it felt most thematically fitting and it wasn't introduced yet.

Magician outfits serve two purposes: to draw the attention to the magician, and to draw the attention away from the magician.
Art kindly provided by Arell, a friend of mine.

Art Curiosities: The cultural significance of witch hats that both of the performers depicted wear have been shifting over the history between a sign of scientific prowess and the knowledge of supernatural. The magicore uses brushes as implements of "magic" for their performance, because the early runes have been considered a form of magic in the era before the monsters came, and runes used to be painted with the brushes. Dark clothes can help them with hiding fish lines that could be used for tricks, in which they make it seem like they can levitate a thing wherever they wish without using runes, and red color serves to draw attention to them.

Magicore is focused on making the extraordinary seem to be real. While most forms of cheating are unacceptable here, magicians are seen as acceptable for the wonder they spark whenever they perform. There are three core tenets that the magicians must follow to keep calling themselves a magician, although as you'll see, over the years exceptions have surfaced.

1. Keep it real. You shall never reveal nor admit your tricks. To keep your magic real, you must say it is real.
2. Once per show. You shall never perform the same trick twice on a show. The more you show it, the more likely it is they'll find it out.
3. Never after reveal. If someone uncovers your trick, you cannot perform it ever again, for magic known to the commonfolk is never again wondrous.

With these tenets in mind, every show is a dare. If someone was to find out how one's trick is done, the magician is never supposed to perform it again. After the advent of Mistweb, this has lead to a culture, in which the tricks are revealed only by those who wish to be rude. Some magicians ignore this tenet, while others outright violate it themselves.

Repeats are usually not entertaining, but people who are curious enough about a trick will sooner or later ask for that same trick to be performed again. The magicore community has discussed over the years what exactly does the trick stand for here. Is it the mechanism in which the secret is performed? Is it the exact act that's performed? Is part of a trick a trick? If a magician performs a trick, in which they shuffle three cards around, making it seem like they are all the same card, is this all one trick being repeatedly performed, or is this whole performance a trick?

Finally, there have been some magicians who have donned a mask and started to reveal their own tricks online. Most famous of these has nicknamed herself "Null", and her identity is to this day unknown. Revealing one's own tricks is seem somewhat okay, but Null goes one step beyond and deconstructs the tricks of other magicians too. There are some guesses about who Null truly is, but for now most of these have no evidence that couldn't be pure coincidences.

A schism within the magicore community is whether usage of the real runes and runetech is acceptable, and whether it should be counted as part of first tenet, or even get its own. The issue with runes in a performance is that people have come to expect them, which is why some mages have accepted runes as a commonality, thus using them in their performances. The opposite end of this spectrum refuses to use runes of any kind in a performance, relying on far more traditional methods. Vast majority of mages though doesn't hesitate to use runes only to enhance the performance with extra sensations like glitters and fanfares without the runes being the real secret to a trick.

Due to all of the above, there's a minority of performers within the magicore community who have labeled themselves as "true mages". These performers take pride in following all the tenets, including no usage of runetech on their shows. These make some of the most famous magicians in the whole world, with their shows being rather costly to attend.

Relations

Jewelstake belongs to the family of city-states owned by the Lifestock. Despite the fact that Lifestock's ownership of Jewelstake is up in the air, the corporation still owns some parts of Jewelstake that are not involved in the bet.

There are two surprising partners that Jewelstake has in the other cities. One is New Prista, which is the origin of plethora of tourists who visit Jewelstake for a night or two. The other partner is Wondermire due to Jewelstake being its source of various performers.

Curiosities

Among the various points of interest that can be found in Jewelstake are the following:

• The Jewel Stake, a pillar of natural glass that grows out of the ground on the borders of the Pagachi Street, Steel District, and Central District.
• Fortunate Hall, a complex of buildings found in the Central District that's characteristic for its rentable hoverrooms, allowing its most paying customers to travel between the buildings without having to go outdoors.
• Headtemple of Boredom, a temple dedicated to scorning the deity of Boredom, that has turned into a casino over time. Regular scornages are still held once a week.
• The Vibrant Woman, a sculpture of a female humanoid without a face in the Green District that has been grown there by an unknown elf over decades. The woman is idealistic, reaching for the Sun with both hands.
• Lively Port, a port built on the Lively river. It's known all over the city for its mixed choir that has existed for nearly a century.

Important People

A few examples of the important people from the Jewelstake:

• Cataly Pagachi, goblin, female; the current elder of the Pagachi clan.
• Thalegh Ironskull, orc, male; the current elder of the Ironskull clan.
• Vilfae Rehar, dwarf, female; the billionaire who helped in the development of the Jewelstake with her investments.
• Waltward Wilmund Westford, human, male; the current President of Jewelstake.
• Jonrick Ironskull, orc, male; a famous artist and actor.
• Null, unknown, female; the masked Mistwebber who's a self-claimed magician revealing other magicians' tricks.
• Bernara "The Great" Blossomwell, fairy, female; a performer, actress, and the world's last true mage who's a fairy.