Post by 月老 on May 25, 2015 18:49:34 GMT -6
SHAM BALA
THE CAIRN
A field's length tower of smooth, white stones—each piled one atop the other, their thin gaps close enough that no light can enter or escape. The mouth is a wide opening, seamless black where the stone stairs start their descent and bound by tightly wound shrine ropes strung with cloth, bamboo threads, and a thread of hair. Agents of the Bai-shi stand at attention at either side, the entrance marked and available for use by those carrying official documentation.
THE GRAND STATION
All the steam powered trains that thread the three rings of Carneval convene in the Grand Station, a massive structure of red brick that opens to marble halls and a trimmed skylight. Windows thread the domed ceiling, casting the copper banisters and walls in gray haze. They are built in the shape of an owl with golden eyes and iron-cast feathers, and a clock—each roman numeral carved and hung individually—rings on the hour. A counter, trimmed in gold and sliding like a slot machine, changes numbers as trains arrive and depart.
KING'S TOWER
A clocktower in the center of Carneval, built long ago and laced with gargoyles and open-air windows that line sharp-tipped roofs made of red tile. Metal railings, pieces stitched together like cloth, connect the tower to the spinning gears and doorways of elevators. The whole of it is a dark mahogany, half designed in stone and in steel, and Carneval affectionately named it "Arthur" in honor of the monarch who planned its development over four centuries ago.
TOPMOST RING
Maintained and newly-created, the topmost ring is home to black-and-white theaters, radio, personal land lines, and rumbling cars made in the last decade. Nightlife and entertainment thrives in its glitzy corners, suckling on the thrill of movie stars, photography, and fashion. Beaded lights string the roofs of buildings, vein the branches of trees and bushes moved from lower Carneval, and cobblestone streets run alongside paved roads under white-brick houses.
MIDMOST RING
A circle of half-forgotten and half-modernized steam and coal technologies. Humming gears, pulleys, and sky tram decks crowd square apartment complexes made of brick and glittering, extravagant storefronts. With no sun in the sky, streetlights jut up at the end of every corner and crossroad, and it exists in a constant glow of soft, dimmed lights hidden behind stained glass. Primarily a place of business and commerce, the midmost ring houses many of Carneval's factories, engineers, and historical sites.
THE ASHES
Abandoned in the struggle that arose after the Unseelie were forced into destitution, the lowest level of Carneval begins where the stairs of the cairn end. A sheen of black and dark gray, rusted metal, and peeling paint covers structures from head-to-toe; acrid, fiery scents cloud nostrils; silence raises hairs on the back of a neck. Roads to the elevators have been marked by trails of string, rice, and paper scribbled with charms from all three nations.
