Cardboard worldbuilding - Towering citadel
Hello everyone !
I am back with another overview of a cardboard city I made as part of my fictional world (basically playing with toys in my mid 20s).
Without further ado, let’s delve directly into the lore!
This time, I want to present a vertical city that I have called Zuchron. It is the oldest and the second largest city in my world so far, that is, in the province known as Vivaria ; moreover, it boasts the highest structure of all – the Doldomen Cathedral. It is inspired by Yharnam from Bloodborne (though I lack the technical skill to make a proper gothic city like I intended, so I’m saving this idea for another time).
Zuchron is comprised of three tiers built atop a base. The base is the stone platform with flower motifs; the city catacombs are inside. The lower tier is the first row of buildings, mostly half-timbered houses, circling around the central structure ; it is inhabited by commoners. The middle tier is the second row of buildings, more elongated, tower-like, also circling around the central structure; they house the nobility and the clergy, which, in Zuchron’s own political system, are synonymous. Lastly, the upper tier is the giant tower in the center, with its extensions; that’s the Doldomen, at once a Cathedral, the ruler’s castle, and an observatory (namely, the loooong and thin turret attached to the wide tower, and rising just an inch above it).
Of all currently existing cities, Zuchron is the most… brutal place to live in. This is because it is a theocracy ruled with an iron fist by Pope Lyu (also known as Prophet Lyuraï, although his full title is way longer and more pretentious than that), who governs over the population much like a cult leader rules over his believers. He expects absolute worship of his person and blind adherence to his heretic doctrine. In the name of their salvation, people are reduced to mindless sheep, as is shown in the first image, depicting a collective prayer. The whole population is gathered once a week in the lowest tier of the city and made to kneel before Pope Lyu, whom you can see in the image of a majestic king sitting on his throne, a few slides later.
The ceremony is presided over by two prayer-leaders in the form of winged angels. One of them is chanting while the other is blowing their trumpet. I imagine it like a whimper echoing throughout the streets, emanating from its many high-perched towers, gradually joined by other whimpers, until the whole city is humming and buzzing like a giant nest of wasps (I have been to Egypt last year, and hearing the call of the muezzin, especially in the evening, under the crimson sky, made a lasting impression on me, something mystical – this is what I want you to think about. But, of course, all resemblance with existing religions, factions, and people, is purely coincidental and intended only for entertainment purposes and vibes!)
While everybody is gathered at the base, the lower and the middle tiers, which comprise most inhabited buildings, is left vacant, save for members of the clergy. A prayer-master (the man dressed in black with a hat, standing under a lantern) walks through the empty streets, from building to building, knocking at every door, to ensure that everyone is indeed taking part in the ceremony down below. Staying at home instead of participating is a serious offense that is met with harsh punishment.
When the chanting is over, a miracle is said to happen – this is the rainbow, a manifestation of an Outer God. It is said that this phenomenon is observable only here, in Zuchron, pouring its blessings upon the city and Pope Lyu.
But, the thing is, in Zuchron, nothing is as it seems. In truth, nobody really knows who they are praying to, what they are praying for, why they are even praying. There is the Pope, sure, but as all prophets do, he claims to be a mere intermediary between God and His people. Being a smart leader, he has appointed objects of worship other than himself – for example, there is the Purple-Winged Saint (the one wearing a yellow hood, standing on a balcony of the Doldomen Cathedral), devoted Sister Teifah ; there is also a stone statue representing another Saint, Mother Moraa, that you can see under some archways. In sum, Prophet Lyuraï’s religious doctrine prescribes the worship of a wide array of figures, both original and borrowed from existing religions. Lyuraï’s views have been repeatedly condemned as heretical by the prominent religious representatives of Vivaria, resulting in the seclusion of the city. Nonetheless, Pope Lyu has proved a competent leader, and Zuchron, once a backwater city built on the remnants of old Vizgorod (a topic for another time), has risen into a prosperous city-state under his reign.
But in Zuchron, nothing is as it seems. And so, even the magnificent, fair-haired king, donning his red robes and eyeing his subjects with a wilful gaze, is but a puppet. The real Lyuraï – or rather, Lolac of the Rainbow, is standing on the opposite side of the city, seemingly uninterested in the display of devotion his worshippers put on for him. He is the man draped in green, hiding behind a Venezian mask, with a parrot on his shoulder – not a faithful companion or a magic familiar, by the way, but in fact another piece of him. When Lolac arrived in Zuchron – which still went by the name of Vizgorod at the time –, he was but a humble mage without any reputation to his name. A single goal was driving him – to make the great Vedelvey of Retgepur, the greatest scholar and theologian who ever lived, acknowledge his existence.
That’s why he did everything he did. Professing a brand-new faith, turning a whole city into his personal cult, erecting the highest-standing tower in the whole of Vivaria – all with the goal of being *noticed* by the man he looks up to. In that tower – the Doldomen cathedral – there is a turret adorned with bright flowers (you can’t see it very well on these pictures sadly; I’d have attached more, but there’s a limit of 20) – this wing of the cathedral was built specifically for Vedelvey after he was officially invited to Zuchron. But Vedelvey never came.
Ah, but in Zuchron, nothing is as it seems. And so – even the wonder of architecture that is the Doldomen, towering over the whole world, piercing the very veil of the skies above, is but an illusion. There is nothing inside the tower. In fact, most of the streets of the upper tier of Zuchron are dark dead-ends. It would take the guidance of an angel to find one’s way through this maze. Most walls are illusory walls, attached to each other by the power of a single tired man’s magic. Were it to fall apart, the whole of Zuchron would revert to the dilapidated town it used to be decades ago.
Some rumours say that there is a secret ladder in the upper district, a giant scolopendra of steel creeping its way down the Doldomen – and into the void. Where does it go ? Nobody knows. Perhaps to the catacombs. Perhaps to the very heart of the city’s magic – a spell, a rune or a glyph, spanning over the whole city’s underground to keep it in place. Perhaps to a dungeon where unspeakable things are done to those who have opposed Prophet Lyuraï.
If my world was a videogame world – which it is in my imagination – then the main quest in Zuchron would involve, you guessed it, to go down said ladder and uncover the story and the secrets of Prophet Lyuraï, alias Pope Lyu, alias Lolac of the Rainbow.
But for now – I think I am done with today’s lore snippet! Thank you to everyone who made it to the end, I cannot express how much I appreciate it! Actually writing down my silly fantasies is so fun! See you next time for the next city overview I guess ~