The Empty City

A park in the Empty City.

The Empty City is a seperate plane of existence that resembles a twisted and empty version of the material world beneath a crimson-tinged storm-tossed sky. Stillness and slow dread reign supreme there, and a profound sense of emptiness permeates every inch of its faded landscape.

At first glance, the city appears to resemble the physical components of the material world, drained of vitality and devoid of all signs of life. Vehicles, structures and plants all exist in the Empty City, faded and lifeless, but nothing moves except churning water and roiling clouds. The signs of human habitation lie scattered across the landscape, as if abandoned by humanity a moment before. Yet, despite their presence, there is an unreal and impressionistic quality to everything that becomes obvious upon closer inspection. A pile of trash appears as a mishmash of indistinct shapes and colors, while vehicles seem smeared as if caught in perpetual motion. The details of this twisted reflection are strongest in areas frequented by humans, while vague shapes and smears dominate the places where few venture.

While the City appears devoid of life, an undeniable sense of being observed permeates the air. Shadows dance with unseen eyes, lurking in every nook and cranny. The absence of movement only serves to heighten the creeping dread that crawls up one's spine. Within the abandoned buildings, a profound silence reigns, broken only by the tricks of the mind that conjure illusory motions in darkened rooms. The stillness and silence are broken only by places where mortal terror has left a deeper scar in the ephemeral nature of the city. These scars are frozen moments of nightmarish unreality, endlessly replaying the pain that caused their creation until it is consumed by the City.

Name

The true name of the plane is unknown, and each group who have faced its hollow streets have given it their own name. Those which are known are:

• The Empty City: Coined by Jack Crow when he encountered the place during the Nights of the Broken Moon.
• The Upside Down: Coined by Jane Barrows when the Children first found the place outside their shared Lair.

The Nature of the City

The City appears to be an Astral realm, connected in some way to suffering and fear on a primordial level below even the collective unconscious of humanity. It may have connections to the higher Temenos or the mysterious depths of the Anima Mundi itself, but these have not been explored.