Sombus is the capital of the Crimson Empire and the home of Emperor Sombra. Sombus is known as the “City of Cities”, with each of its 20 boroughs nearing the size of a city on their own right.
Sombus is known as one of the greatest cities on Abmarah, only rivaled in size by a few others such as Jamre, Sergorod, and Xijing. Just like Sergorod, it tries to claim the legacy of the former capital of mortalkind, Ikariyus, and has many architectural elements that reference the Temporal Empire. Many people call the cosmopolitan city 'the center of the world' owing to its location and grandeur.
Sombus houses the Grand Cathedral of Jakuna, where the Cardinals of Jakunism worship in Aurial. The Grand Temple serves as both the center of religion here as well as the heart of the iconic Faithkeeepers. The temple also doubles as the supreme courthouse of the empire and the home of the judiciary. Sombus also houses the Carminus Universum, one of the largest and most well-known universities in the world.
The city is situated around a small bay now known as Tricristol Bay. The major Ezael River as well as the smaller Cristol and Roslyn rivers feed into the bay, and numerous islands including Roja Island circle it. One of the smaller islands leading into the bay has a large Statue of Emperor Sombra which has become a famous landmark for the city.
The city started as a collection of smaller cities and villages in the general area of the three rivers. The northern mountains hold many cave entrances into the Underdark, and when the Drow army of the Sombre Dynasty rose to the surface in 2E620, they quickly took over and consolidated the area that has now become Sombus. Some say that Sombus was constructed as a metropolis to mirror the city of Summermeet in the Feywild.
Sombus has an extensive network of tram lines connecting the various boroughs and allowing for quicker public transportation across the large city. The trams operate via arcane power instead of electrical or steam power. The lines are generally overhead, but are ground-level or even underground in some places of the city.
The cosmopolitan city has a large immigrant population, with most immigrants coming from elsewhere in the Crimson Empire and Aurial, as well as Cinohshima, Xoenn, the Goldheim Rainforest, and the Kav'orra Desert. However, you can find someone from practically everywhere on Abmarah in the city.
Major official factions of the city include the Crimson Army and the Crimson Navy, the Jakunic Church, the Blood Sea Trading Company (BSTC), the Municipal Corporation of Sombus (MCS), the Sombus Police Department (SPD), the Sombus Archaeological Society (SAS), as well as the Department of Dungeons (DoD).
Crime is a big issue in the city, and the police are unable to curb it due to negligence or corruption. Sombus is unofficially divided into five territories by the largest crime syndicates: The Rubino Family in the east, the Ratti Family in the west, the Shinpi-Gumi in the center, the House of Rust in the center-west, and the Roja Cartel in the southeast.
Sombus is divided unofficially into the 'luxurious' and 'skyscraper-heavy' Central City, the 'industrial' and 'crowded' Western City, and the 'poor' and 'unimportant' Eastern City. The boroughs and surrounding areas of the city include:
(Art credit: MTG?)
The Scarlet Keep. The palace of Emperor Sombra, the Scarlet Keep is a beautiful castle with a mix of gothic and elven architectural styles. Surrounded by a circular wall, the keep also has an extensive garden full of red colored plants. From the grass to the shrubs to even the white-wooded-trees, the red foliage was brought from the Scarlet Moorland in Eteru. Some locations of interest within its grounds include:
The Crimson Tower, which rises high into the sky in the center of the circular palace. Emperor Sombra's personal vault and office are at the very top of the tower. Reminiscent of the Khazkaeni Tower of Ikariyus, the tower was made to be the tallest building in the city but some skyscrapers have long since matched or surprassed its height.
The Red Parliament, the house of legislature and the actual center of government in the nation. It has over 500 seats for the various representatives that gather within its halls.
(Art credit: MTG-WOTC)
Somton. The most densely populated part of the city, Somton is also the most iconic neighborhood of Sombus just southeast of the Scarlet Keep. Lined with both commercial and residential skyscrapers, it is the most modern borough of the city. The streets are laid out in a tight grid-pattern, and the spires rise tall above the central city. Some locations of interest include:
The Sombus Police Department Lawhall, the main home of the entire police force of the city. All the smaller lawhalls connect back to this primary one in Somton.
(Art credit: MTG-WOTC)
Starsworth. Featuring medium-sized buildings hidden among the skyscapers, Starsworth is a high-end borough with many expensive homes and commercial centers. It is northwest of the Scarlet Keep, and is known for its generally 'classy' atmosphere. Some locations of interest include:
The Sombus Archaeological Museum, the largest museum of archeology in eastern Aurial. It is operated by the Sombus Archaeological Society whose headquarters is just next door to the museum.
The Starsworth Theatre, the largest high-class stage theatre in the city.
Starswirl Park, a large open garden in the middle of the borough. It was built on top of old abandoned mines in the second century of the third era.
The Serenox Plaza, situated in the southern end of the borough next to Arkwich, it is a large plaza area with a fountain that has a sculpture of the dead goddess Serenox.
(Art credit: MTG?)
Hyrden. A luxury upper-class borough northeast of the Scarlet Keep, Hyrden is full of expensive manors atop tall spires and apartment buildings. It is incredibly green, and is known for its majority elven population and lack of 'filth'. It is named after the city of Hyrdem which mysteriously vanished some decades ago.
(Art credit: Devaanshu Sainani)
Arkwich. Situated just southwest of the Scarlet Keep, much of the city's traffic passes through this borough. Arkwich has a lot of skyscrapers although not as much as neighboring Somton, although most of its skyscrapers have a darker hue with scarlet spires. It is known for its more 'arcane' nature as many magical laboratories and libraries are found here. Some locations of interest include:
Yizuko Labs, a laboratory owned and operated by the artificer Xoe Yizuko in a medium-sized building.
(Art credit: Darwin Cellis)
Lighton. Named after the old lighthouse, Lighton is the southernmost borough of the central city. It has comparatively less skyscrapers compared to the nearby Somton and Arkwich. It marks the transition of skyscrapers into waterfront buildings with amazing views. It is the only part of the central city that is more industrial in nature. Some locations of interest include:
The Old Sombus Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse of the area built before Sombus was even established as a city. It was actually rebuilt by House Hightower to be much more grander once the city began to take shape.
The Ironheart Casino, a large casino owned and operated by the warforged crime syndicate known as the House of Rust.
Hana's House of Hex, a magic shop run by a spider-like Cinohan 'Yokai'. While it is legitimate, it is known for making back-alley deals and acting as a magical fence in the west city.
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Zonham. Comparatively more middle-class than Starsworth and Hyrden, Zonham is a mostly residential borough north of Starsworth with some commercial centers. It is named after Grand General Zoan Mistgleam and has great views of the highlands north of the city.
(Art credit: Min Guen)
Faithills. A comparatively small borough consisting of small and medium residences going up into the highlands in the central city, the hilly neighborhood is generally considered to be upper-middle-class. It's the least dense part of the central city due to the hilly terrain that it is built on.
(Art credit: Patryk Stefaniak)
Oldwharf. A densely populated borough in the western city that also acts as the primary docks for the city of Sombus. It has many industrial zones as well as warehouses lining the coast. The borough is also famous for many off-the-map and shady alleys, crime-ridden dens, and tattoo parlors. Some locations of interest include:
Sewertown, which the unofficial name given to a few blocks of sewers under Oldwharf populated by downtrodden folks, thieves, pirates, and criminal gangs.
Daelen's Tattoos, a rather well known magic tattoo shop despite its 'shady' notoriety.
(Art credit: Noah Bradley)
Maromar. A shortening of its old name 'the Maroon Market', Maromar is a very small borough that is often considered to be the shopping center of the city. Its more legitimate streets are crowded with luxury shops and goods from across the world, becoming one of the largest markets in the world. Its shadier allies hidden forever in the shadows of the skyscrapers above host black markets and illegal shopfronts barely skirting by lawkeepers. Some locations of interest include:
The Laughing Skull, a famous but expensive magic shop run by Luqen Astreroxa, an undead noble. The shop exists in its own demiplane connected to the various cities of the Crimson Empire through its magical front door, including Jasiv.
(Art credit: Vincenzo Barkasy)
Dragolyn. The third-most skyscraper heavy borough after Somton and Arkwich and the tallest area of the western city, Dragolyn is a commercial and industrial center mostly populated by immigrants and middle-class citizens as compared to the richer Somton. It has some of the newest skyscrapers of the city, with an aesthetic closer to reality than fantasy. Some locations of interest include:
Dragolyn General Hospital, a large medical center in the eastern part of the borough. This is generally considered to be the largest hospital in the city.
The Aerie Spa, a luxury open-air bathhouse and spa situated on the top floor of a tall skyscraper.
The Birch Coffee House, a small coffee and sweets shop owned by two married kobold men.
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Castella. The central borough of the west city, Castella mostly consists of high-density housing for lower-middle-class families. It has become famous for its labyrinthian alleyways and somewhat chaotic structure in which a lot of crime fosters including criminal syndicates. Some locations of interest include:
The Planar Pub, a large tavern establishment on one of the main roads of the borough.
(Art credit: Artem Katalkin)
Sunfort upon Ezael. A western borough on the Ezael Riverbank, it is named after an old fort that was older than the city of Sombus. Before the city's founding, Sunfort was simply a small village on the riverbank. The village and the fort are long gone, replaced by the industrial heart of Sombus full of smokestacks and a near-unbreathable smog. Minimum-wage workers populate its many buildings amidst factories.
(Art credit: Magnus Norén)
Circyria. Named after Pontiffess Circyra II, Circyria is the northwesternmost borough of the western city's limits. It is centered on the Grand Temple itself, but it also features the ruins of the now-demolished old walls of the city. Some locations of interest include:
The Grand Cathedral of Jakuna, the largest temple devoted to the goddess of justice, Jakuna. It also doubles as the supreme courthouse of the Crimson Empire, and houses many members of the judiciary. It is surrounded by a circular garden mirroring the Scarlet Keep, and the circular walls also house the barracks and headquarters of the Faithkeepers and much of the police force.
West Sombus Train Terminal, which is the primary railway station of the city. It is situated just north of the Grand Temple, something the clergy has often opposed to due to the amount of noise created by the locomotives.
(Art credit: Vertigo Studios)
Ulbridge. A small middle-class borough in the northeastern part of the western city, it houses many small industries and offices for the nearby population. It is one of the less chaotic and more cleaner parts of the western city, although it is often in the shadow of Dragolyn as well as the central city.
(Art credit: Ahmed Khaled Raslan)
Topham. Built into the foothills of the highlands in the northernmost part of the western city, Topham is a spread-out borough full of middle-class residential homes and small businesses going up into the hilly terrain. Its many streets are deceptively inclined as its structure gives off the impression of a flat area.
(Art credit: Vladimir Manyukhin)
Fayshine. Formerly its own independent city, Fayshine was incorporated into Sombus as its easternmost borough after the metropolitan area's growth. It is the largest part of the eastern city, and mostly houses low to middle class families. It has a reputation of filth and poverty despite being the same as the western city, and is known for its high crime rates. It used to be a forest grove full of fey, but its transformation into a cheap industrial steel city has made most of the resident fey move out. Some locations of interest include:
Fayshine Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Sombus built into the hills east of the city.
The Ruby Knightclub, a cabaret club owned by the Rubino family and frequented by many criminals and mafiosos.
The Lirio Orphanage, a poor home for orphaned children that went out of business due to a lack of government funding many years ago, but has recently reopened due to some investments by the criminal Rubino family.
Tempest Artificery, a mechanic shop in southern Fayshine owned by a married dwarf and gnome couple.
(Art credit: Della Olimdo)
Noxham. A tiny borough north of Fayshine in the eastern city, it was built by immigrants setting up homes within the forested foothills of the highlands. As such, it lacks a lot of the deliberate design featured in the rest of Sombus, and although Noxham has a small population of permanent residents, its notorious for its crime and dark elements. Noxham also has one of the cave entrances into the Underdark, as well as many Drow residents.
(Art credit: Eliz Roxs)
Sigton. The 'newest' mainland borough of Sombus within the eastern city, Sigton was a small fishing hamlet before it grew to become an industrial dock with many fisheries. It has the second major dockyards of Sombus although it is seen as a cheaper and more pirate-friendly as compared to Oldwharf.
(Art credit: Tyler Edlin)
Roja Island. A small borough just off the coast of the eastern city, Roja Island (pronounced Roha) houses a small permanent population but is mostly famous for tourism and good views of Sombus. Over the past few centuries, the Seven's Carnival has set up their carnival here once every eight years. In recent years, the island was given an underground road and tram connection to the mainland via an underwater tunnel. Some locations of interest include:
The Carnival Ground, a field near the tram stop that serves as a makeshift market and amusement ground for seven years out of eight, and hosts the Seven's Carnival once every eight years.
(Art credit: WOTC)
(Art credit: Jacob Knyff)
Ezael Island. A large isle within the mouth of the Ezael River, it separates the river into two distinct outflows. Although it looks like a delta, it is actually a small hill carving the river into two. While it is officially the twentieth borough, no one treats it like one. It only has two places of interest:
The Carminus Universum is situated on the north side of the island. The large campus is the centerpoint of knowledge within the Empire and has a major road that leads out into the western empire.
Fort Everbloom is a large military-industrial complex situated on the south side of the island. Said to be the headquarters of the Crimson Army and the Navy, it has special military docks built on the outside of a large fort.
(Art credit: stayinwonderland)
Wallton. Not counted as a borough because of its position outside the historical walls of the city, Wallton is a borough in all but name. It is a small farming and fishing settlement on the banks of the Ezael River west of the city. A lot poorer than the rest of Sombus, it was formerly known as Shadetown although the name was changed as to not promote stereotypes. Some locations of interest include:
HMP Wallshade, the largest prison of the city. His Majesty's Prison Wallshade, also known as Sombus General Prison, is the oldest and largest correctional facility in the region. It used to be under the shade of the city's outer walls, but after the deconstruction of the walls it still maintains its old name.