Tales of the Dispute

The Abode of Reconstruction

The team of engineers and architects sent to the Barrier to repair the Breach. Their original camp has blossomed over the centuries into a small palace, and the town of Breach-Town has grown around it. Their descendants have inherited their titles, and serve as a provisional government for Breach-Town.

No work has been done to repair the Breach.

Technically, no one is allowed to cross the Breach into the Dispute, but the Abode is authorized by ancient law and custom to issue Imperial passes (Sashes of Transit) to workers who need to work on both sides of the Barrier. In practice, these are issued to anyone who can pay a fee. It is the Abode's principal (but not only) source of income.

Sashes of Transit

A brightly colored sash (or kuşak) that allows the wearer to freely pass through the Breach to and from the Dispute. Anyone attempting to cross the Breach without a sash will be arrested.

The sashes are available for a fee from the Abode of Reconstruction, the Imperial presence in Breach-Town. The basic sash is simply colored with the seal of the Abode of Reconstruction, but more elaborate versions are available with embroidery and patterns. These more expensive sashes imbue no special rights, but are considered status symbols, often worn by those who have no intention of crossing the Breach.

The color of the sash changes twice yearly, requiring them to be repurchased from the Abode.

Older sashes, or ones owned by famous or infamous figures have become collector's items throughout the Empire Immemorial.

Ramazan VII – Chief Imperial Architect of Breach-Town

The direct living descendant of the original head of the team of architects tasked with repairing the Breach, the gap in the Barrier. Ramazan is essentially the ruler of Breach-Town.

Though basically a living symbol of the decline and corruption of the Empire Immemorial, Ramazan is generally well-liked in Breach Town. He keeps the town peaceful and the trade in Dispute artifacts flowing. He can be bribed, but always keeps his word. People say of him- “when Ramazan is bought, he stays bought”

He is a patron of the arts, especially music, and puts on various festivals.

Supposedly, in his palatial quarters in the Abode of Reconstruction, he has a vault filled with rare musical instruments collected from the Dispute, many which are sorcerous in nature.

The Cacophony of Cartographers

Space and Dimension within the Dispute has been wildly warped by ancient sorceries and technologies, making it difficult to navigate or map.

Seeking intellectual challenge and the esteem of their fellows, cartographers from across the Empire have come to Breach-Town to try and create the first reliable means of mapping the Dispute. Many scholars rely on the tales of actual Dispute travelers to make their maps. Some of the bolder map-makers actually join parties entering the Dispute, while a few foolish and suicidal cartographers enter the Dispute alone.

The map-makers regularly meet at a hall called the Abode of Exploration. There, they have long and raucous debates about the geography of the Dispute. Each scholar have their own arcane theories about how to map the Dispute, and are usually quite dismissive of any rival theories. The debates at the Abode are long, angry, and occasionally violent, giving this place its common title – The Cacophony.

Maps of the Dispute

Cartographers will often present their proposed Dispute maps that purport to allow safe and reliable navigation within the Dispute. Some are purely of academic interest, while others are intended for actual use. They come in many forms, including:

• Grand illuminated maps of vellum.
• Handbooks with arcane mathematical formulas.
• Wheel charts of sturdy paper
• Complex clockwork computers.
• Elaborate algorithms in the form of rhyming poetry.

The reliability of any of these maps are questionable.

Swift Roads

Well-paved ancient roads within the Dispute that seem to bend and compress space. A traveler walking one mile on a Swift Road may find they've actually traveled one hundred miles. Travelers on these roads can usually return in the same amount of time, but some Swift Roads seem to be one-way only.

It is assumed they were used by ancient armies to travel to and from battles quickly. Modern explorers sometimes keep the locations of these roads a secret as a competitive advantage.