Post by serephium on Dec 25, 2007 1:07:04 GMT -5
Taboo
Situated in the south west of Limbo, Taboo is one of main cities of Limbo. Unlike many of the other cities of the fragmented world, Taboo boasts a number of races. No one knows if Taboo ever had a single original race to it, or if it has always had a colorful variety. Probably one of the more well known of the Cities, Taboo is recognized as a tourist attraction (or as close to one as Limbo can get). A place where almost anything can be found, bought and sold from dresses to dreams. Pretty much anything is accepted here and recognized as normal. This could be because of Taboo's already odd composition.
While from the outside, the city looks normal - impressive yet still nothing that cannot be explained logically. Inside it is a completely different cup of tea.
Taboo is made up of three levels. All of which is nestled into the cliffs of the southern mountain range and surrounded by a large onyx wall. The wall itself towers high and is smooth and well polished. Apparently untouched by time. Along the black surface are ornate carvings of oriental dragons and scenes of what some assume are stories about the city itself in it's younger years. At the center of all of this are two large mahogany gates carved in the same fashion with far more detail, depicting similar scenes all across their surface. That gates themselves are far too large to open by mortal means and have been closed for centuries. Yet at the bottom of them, are a smaller set of gates that are more practical. These serve as the main entrance. Once past the entrance, the city itself becomes far less normal, and far more impressive.
With in the wall, the city is spread out and has far less order. Upon inspection the streets seem to make sense, but as soon as one begins to walk them, they can become lost. The only way to get anywhere in Taboo, is to focus on where you want to go. Once you have that in mind, you keep it in the forefront of your mind and eventually Taboo itself will get you there. This effectively makes maps redundant. yet it also makes it very easy to find things - or very hard. Depending on how easily you get distracted. Unfortunately distractions in taboo are abundant as the streets are lined with all sorts of oddities and fascinations. It isn't uncommon to see upside-down buildings that have no actual entrance. Or a walking shadow passing through things like a ghost. Despite all of this, Taboo is the place to go for things that you cannot find anywhere else.
Given Limbo's erratic properties, the vendors and shop owners of Taboo don't actually accept money unless it is gold, silver or jewels. This is because most people visiting come from other worlds and the money they may have is pretty much useless to them. Yet to counter this issue, it is common to exchange goods for other items. These items aren't always physical, sometimes you can sell dreams, thoughts, or even fragments of sanity (Which oddly, very few people exchange for goods nowadays) Pretty much anything can be used as currency in Taboo. It is all a matter of how creative or persuasive you can be.
The city itself sprawls out for a good distance, before running into the mountains. So it is easy to get lost there. Though most of it is shops and homes. The very top of the city is crowned by a temple. This temple is the home of one of the famous Eye of Limbo. It is suspected the eye itself is actually responsible for the unusual make up of the city
While all of this seems fascinating and usual, Taboo itself is actually separated into two parts. The Upper City and the UnderCity. The upper city is pretty much the city you see once entering through the gates. The undercity is a different story. At the bottom platform of the city is a stairwell that looks rather like a Metro-station entrance. Which leads to the UnderCity. The UnderCity is quite different from the upper City and is far more ordered. For some reason The underground doesn't seem to be effected by the same chaotic rules as it's upper half and things don't shift and change. So it is far easier to find things with a map. This half of the city focuses more on clubs, brothels and bars, than Shops. Yet a few shops do speckle this area. It is dominated by the more party-orientated buildings.
Because this half of Taboo is underground (as it's name suggests), there is no sunlight and what light that's offered here is given off by an odd fungus-like growth. This fungus emits a steady blueish glow and is often found grown in crystal spheres atop metal poles much like old English lamps. The fungus itself doesn't seem to naturally grow in the populated area of the Underground, but deeper in where very few people live. Though there is a reason for this.
As most of the occupants of Taboo know, this Fungus is toxic and rather deadly if people become exposed to it for too long. Hence why the fungus used is usually well covered to prevent spores from spreading. This is also the reason why the Fungus is not used anywhere else in Taboo or even Limbo.