Hybris is an enormous, sprawling stone city set in the floor of a rocky, barren valley in a fairly desolate, nearly lifeless realm. There are ancient, petrified trees and scattered signs of ancient life, but the realm itself has obviously been barren for many, many years.
As a result, the refugees occupying Hybris have to use magic to survive. Water isn't really a problem... rains occur fairly regularly and the city has vast cisterns which collect it. But food is.
The Green Towers are the center of food production in Hybris. Inside them, mages skilled at plant magic grow fruit-bearing trees and edible plants inside pools of water. It's really a kind of magical hydroponics. The plants are kept atop towers with large, open windows and as much sunlight as possible. As a side effect of all the fertility magic going on, the towers themselves tend to be covered in thick, lush ivy, in stark contrast to the brown and bedraggled plants clinging to the other buildings.
Mages are always in demand here and it's a simple and peaceful way for a mage to pay their keep in Hybris. The "Gardeners" will readily teach mages who don't know any plant magic, provided that they'll stay and contribute to the work. Of course, a mage with the appropriate abilities can also just strike out on their own and support themselves elsewhere in the city. It's not uncommon to see a single ivy-covered shelter in one of the city's many small enclaves.
Folks are expected to compensate the Gardeners for their food, although it's often by barter or by doing work to expand their operation. Since Evander opened the city as a sanctuary to those in need, he doesn't approve of the Gardeners turning anyone away... but they don't have to save the good food for the poor. As a result, if you're willing to eat the leavings of the rest of the city (mostly rotting fruit and wilting greens), you'll never starve in Hybris.
Due to this, there's a constant problem with beggars around the Green Towers and lately the mages have been forcibly moving the beggars to the lower levels. Many of the Gardener mages don't even try to distribute the leavings evenly anymore, but merely dump bushels over the side of a balcony onto the starving crowd below. The levels below the Green Towers stink to high heaven of rotting vegetation and human refuse, but if you can't work, that's often where you end up. All of the better locations are taken by folks who are fit for work and willing to defend what they see as theirs.
Posted by Kiz at April 1, 2005 11:32 PMCommentsPost a comment