The Story of Arc City

[The City]

the story of arc city

Table of Contents:

• The City Atmosphere
  
• The Arc
  
• The Keys of Power

[The City]

The city atmosphere

In terms of atmosphere, Arc city is comparable to that of large cities such as New York and Las Vegas. The portrayal of Arc is a dark and foreboding metropolis rife with crime, grime, corruption, and a deep-seated sense of urban decay in the parts of the city not rejuvenated. There is an extreme rift between the rich and the poor, possibly the only connection they have is through crime.

Most of the populace is oblivious to the supernatural, even though it plays such a big role in the entire scheme of things. Strange occurrences have been known to occur in the city, such as freak lightning storms or sightings of inhuman creatures, but these are always dismissed as urban legends.

During the 1950s, Arc evolved with the changing times, particularly in light of the paranoia perpetuated by the Cold War. Various bomb shelters were erected all throughout the city. By the 1960s, Arc City urban planners started a rejuvenation movement, which markedly only occurred in the first and central business district, leaving the second district in squalor.

The crime families managed to take such a hold unto the city, it was through their own personal machinations and dabbling in businesses both legal and illegal that the city itself survived the great depression. As a result, most of the city’s economic resources were controlled by the mafia families. The United States government was forced to pull out all its resources leaving the city otherwise in complete control of the crime families.

The architecture of the city has a very reminiscent of the Gothic Revival style of the 1740s. But because there are many factions of differing nationalities residing within the city, there is a certain sense of multi-culturalism. For the most part, Arc looks reminiscent of New York but certain sectors of the city will make you think you’re in the middle of Venice, Moscow, Shanghai, or some other foreign capital.

[The City]

THE ARC

Nobody knows what it really is, or how it came to be but the power inside it is enough to have saturated the very land, air and water of the city just by its mere presence. The fabric of reality within the borders of Arc City is so thin that dimensional travel is relatively easy, which also explains why so many supernatural entities abound in it. Chance and probability also sometimes loses its sense within the city, which cause, at the least, very unlikely things to happen or, at worst, some form of bizarre, unnatural destruction that takes place in a short amount of time, a matter of minutes or perhaps hours.

It has been foretold that whoever comes to posses all the keys of power can gain access to the power of the Arc and recreate reality however they will. The Arc is located somewhere deep beneath the city, hidden in a labyrinthine series of halls and corridors. This maze is colloquially known as The Nexus. The Nexus doesn’t appear on any radar or modern technological device, leading some to believe it might be a pocket dimension on its own. The Arc has also created a defense mechanism to protect itself from intruders; its reality warping presence has given rise to artificial forms of life, which patrol the corridors of the Nexus. The deeper into The Nexus the more powerful and violent these guardians become. The guardians before the door cannot even be overcome by the Angels of Unnum or the Demons of the 9th Circle.

[The City]

the keys of power

They are not keys in the literal sense, in fact they are essentially formless and take the form most ideal to represent their current owner. Without an owner, the keys can take almost any form imaginable, making them extremely difficult to identify without any supernatural aid.

The keys of power are already powerful artifacts all in themselves. Each one contains enough magical energy sourced from the Arc, which manipulates reality at the personal level of the owner. These keys grant their owner powers that can be considered of a deity level. The keys are also virtually indestructible and cannot be destroyed by any conventional or magical means. However, the weaknesses of the keys are each other. Each key protects the owners from the effects of the other keys.

However, usage of a key for a prolonged period of time warps the reality of an area, making it unstable and attracting more ley energies from the arc. This means that after using a key, causes supernatural and typically deadly events to occur.

The Key of Opposition – The key of opposition allows its owner to nullify any event from existence. It is extremely dangerous however to nullify events too far in the past because it will start a chain reaction that can potentially change everything about the present. This safety issue limits the user to only nullifying events immediately after they’ve happened. However, those who are in possession of the other keys will not forget about the event that was erased.

The Key of Squalor – The key of squalor is sometimes considered as the most wicked key among the set. This keys gives the power to read the deepest fear of a subject and brings that fear into a full-fledged physical manifestation. Owners of other keys still see their manifested fears but these will only be intangible images.

The Key of Entrapment – The key of entrapment is a virtual opposite of key of squalor. This keys gives the power to read the deepest desires of a subject and brings that desire into a full-fledged physical manifestation. Owners of other keys still see their manifested desires but these will only be intangible images.

The Key of Perception – The key of perception allows its owner to manipulate the principles and edicts of whoever they want. This can potentially alter a person’s entire nature, by twisting what they consider as right or wrong. The key can also cast illusions so powerful and believable that people cannot escape it even if they know they’re trapped in one. Those who possess the other keys are not affected by the power of this key, to change their perceptions of the world and they can break out of the illusion by sheer will power.

The Key of Dominion – The key of dominion allows its owner to create their own personal dimension, wherein they have complete control of the rules and laws that govern that realm. The laws of physics in this place may not necessarily follow the conventional ones. If the owner of another key is brought into this personal dimension, they are not affected by any changes and move through the realm as if it followed the normal rules of physics. Owners of other keys can use their keys to crack open the dimension and make their own way out.

The Key of Potential – The key of potential amplifies greatly the natural abilities of its owner. These include the abilities that come with the owner’s race and essentially turn them into a paragon. It also amplifies the owner’s own personal attributes that essentially make them who they are (eg. luck, determination, sense of justice, greed). If any part of the owner’s body touches another key, they lose the attributes granted to them by the key. The part of their body doesn’t necessarily have to be attached to them, and for so long as the condition stays, the key of potential is rendered useless.

The Key of Auspice – The key of auspice is also known as the ultimate shield. The barrier that this key generates is completely impenetrable by any form of attack or invasion. Even psychic attacks or similar forms of formless assault are prevented. The shield can only be penetrated by the owners of the other keys. It must be their actual physical body that crosses into the barrier's perimeter, attacks still coming from the outside are still defended against.

The Key of Lamentation – The key of lamentation has the unique and devastating power to nullify all abilities for any race. Under the influence of this key, everybody within the owner’s desired vicinity gets reduced to a being without supernatural powers or capabilities. However, the owners of the other keys are not affected and still keep their abilities.

The Key of Dependence – This key is virtually useless all by itself, however its true power lies when it is used in conjunction with any of the other keys. The key of dependence allows the user to bypass the protection of all the other keys, thus making all key owners vulnerable to each other once again. The owner of this key will be extremely worthy as an ally.

The Key of Suppression – This key has a unique ability to completely prevent any form of effective communication. Under the influence of this key, nobody would be able to understand each other in any form, whether, verbal, written, gestured, psychic, or otherwise. The owners of the other keys would not be affected, and would be able to understand other, but would still not be understood.