Noak'Sha'Rhey

The Mortuary Sector

Noak'Sha'Rhey can be translated as "place of the dead. " It was once a residential district, chiefly containing homes of the poor and lower middle class. The great earthquake of 41 BC caused serious subsidence and the soil gradually became unstable. The sewers stopped working, creating a serious nuisance. Many of the building collapsed, and the bridges across the Aurora and Baetis canals had to be demolished. In AD 227, the Tossian governor ordered a large part of this sector to be completely razed and established the cleared zone as a cemetery ( "previously the Nectarians launched their dead into the canals in boats "). Rubble from the destroyed buildings was used to build up the road bed connecting the Old City with the gate. Troops keep the walls clear and the road to the gate open, but all else is left to the refugees and fugitives hiding in the ruins.

When refugees suffering Che'peech began arriving in Nectar, Prince Sitanni announced that they would not be allowed in any part of the city except the Mortuary Sector. Now the entire sector looks like a scene from a nightmare: half-ruined buildings loom crazily against each other, the damp soil bubbles with noxious gasses and hooded, disease-rotted figures lurk in the shadows.

There is no crime in the Mortuary Sector. For crime to exist there must be laws, and there are no laws. Anyone venturing into the Mortuary Sector without armed guards will surely be set upon by thugs or diseased madmen. When things get too bad and bandits hiding in the Mortuary Sector become too bold, the Prince will bombard the ruins with cannon fire.

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