An Introduction To Novapolis

12 months ago subscribers to my Patreon got this, a taster of Novapolis before I posted the first TetraHedron story, Welcome To Novapolis. Now, those of you who have been following have visited Novapolis several times and the serial has had 12 out of 13 stories posted, with the finale due on 1 December. So as a belated bonus here is

A Brief Introduction To Novapolis

Novapolis is the name of the city and the name of the world. Legends tell of open water hundreds of metres across, green areas a kilometre on a side, parks and fields and forests.

Me, I don’t believe it.

Oh sure, if a building gets abandoned long enough to collapse. Maybe it’s on the border where two or three clans claim it. It will subside into a mound and plants will grow, conduits will burst and water will fill depressions. A tangled wasteland of rubble and debris overgrown with head-high grass and scrubby trees. A dangerous place, patrolled by feral beasts and scavengers, cannibals, screamers and brigands.

My world is one of alleys and corridors. The narrow pipe, hip-wide, a hundred metres up, used as an improvised bridge. The broken wall that connects a cellar to an access tunnel. The parts of the building that aren’t trafficked, the hidden rooms. We skitter across open areas during the shade hours, careful to remain undercover in the bright. High points are favoured as lookout posts, but they can also be traps. When the only way out is down those who might hunt you can cut it off. A daring escape by rappelling down a rope may lead you to being picked off by a sniper.

The lower levels are better for escape, but harder to defend. The rat-run into the sub-basement as your emergency exit can as easily become a point of attack. There is no safety in Novapolis. There is only the city. The city and the world.