Undercity of Alt'Ena

Dwarven architecture often entails building new architecture over the ruins of old architecture. This has a connotation of rebirth and life and is deeply connected to the ancient faith of Dwarves. While most modern Dwarves, living in mixed communities, have mostly stopped this ancient practice, some cities still perform this tradition. The most famous one is Alt'Ena, the inofficial Dwarven capital.
Since its formation, Alt'Ena was build upon ancient ruins. Some say, that the first city over which Alt'Ena was build upon is even older. Over the centuries Alt'Ena became a mega-city of several millions of inhabitants. The city itself became indistiungishable from some of the mountains around it. But as a consequence a vast network of ruins that form the foundations of the city with several levels has formed.
Reforming ruins and rock into the foundation of a city is powerful magic, that greatly distorts the appearance of the former buildings and ruins. Thus, in the Undercity the geometry and architecture has become quite distorted. In the upper regiosn this distortions may still seem logical, like buildings forming a foundation together, and at worst like results of a strange dream. In the lower levels this appearance changes drastically. due to the century old restructuring upon restructuring, the ruins have become caves and what were open areas became claustrophic panic rooms. Up and down has no meaning in the Undercity of Alt'Ena. In some areas even gravity agrees.
The highest levels are still cleared from animals and other beings by the Domin Terran, the normal guard of Alt'Ena. At the same time herein lies the canalization system of Alt'Ena. But at the lower levels, many animals and beings have assembled to form a quite stable ecosystem. Due to the deeper parts existing for centuries

Fauna and Flora of the Undercity of Alt'Ena

Cave Bunyip - Cave Bunyip are a type of Bunyip found in the Tyr Mountain Ridge. Usually located within the deep cave system of the mountain, this type of Bunyip learned to call the Alt'Enan Undercity its home, where it developed several curious behaviours. Its usual nesting behaviour changed to what experts call "instinctive farming and trap creation" where the Bunyip create environments that are perfect for growing plants in the otherwise dark cave region.
Jeruvian Bat - The most common Bat species (of 11 alltogether) in the Jerulian Jungles. It is thus also often found in the Undercity. Their presence hint at spaces and tunnels that connect to the the Jerulian Jungles that are as of yet undiscovered. Alltough more experts claim they probably broke through the canalisation system into the Undercity and may be trapped there.
Common Rat - Rats originating from the city above. They quickly dissappear when going lower.
Deathcap Mushrooms - Mushrooms that als can be found in the Jeruvian Jungle. The often wet and nutrient poor environment of the Undercity make it so that this type of mushrooms thrives. Its spore are rather toxic, so that high growth areas are rather hazardous.
Saline Glow Algae - The origin of the algae is unknown. They seem to be related to oceanic speciment of the far north, but it is unknown how they came into the Undercity. Speculations connect them to the Cave Bunyip, who use these algae when creating mucus sacks and trap them as light sources. But the use and presence even with Cave Bunyip is entirely unknown outside the Undercity. An old document recently shown in one of the adventuring guilds claims these to be sourced from early magical experimentation when the city was still young. This document has been disputed since the dates mentioned do not fit the known history. The algae glow in the dark by passively absorbing mana (and miasma to a lesser extend) and then emitting it as light for unknown purposes.
Potatos - due to the Cave Bunyip Potatoes are reguarly encountered in the Undercity. These plants next to other crops make it possible that lost thrill seekers can survive for a while - if they do not encounter a Bunyip first.
Giant Black Acid Snail - Acid Snails have always been recorded in the Undercity. Normally not bigger than a house cat, some are told to grow to gigantic sizes. Encountering one of these giants seems to relate to luck more than anything else.
Clear Jelly Beast - This jelly beast is newly found in the Undercity. Smaller ones are still rare though giving the impression that some rather big Jelly Beasts recently migrated to the Undercity due to an unknown event.
Blind Salmon - A type of fish found in the rivers, streams and lakes of the Undercity of Alt'Ena.
Blacktooth Crocodile - Scholars are unsure whether these amphibians, yes amphibians, resembling Crocodiles have always been in the Undercity or like other mentions have migrated lately.
Rust Monster - Rare magical creatures eating metals and stones. A population residing in all areas of the Undercity makes them rather common compared to other places. Altough only small ones would appear in the upper levels.

Geometry and Geology

The Undercity is a place that forms the foundation of a whole city as big as a mountain. Most of the stone material was once used for building, and it shows! But with the city growing upward, it is cheaper to magically alter the strucuture to create a new foundation. Centuries of this process have warped and altered the stone, once being simple house walls, so that strange and at times unnerving geometries would be created. This intensifies the further down one goes.
Furthermore, stalagnites and stalagtites would grow in the cave like undercity. These have rather modest growth in the upper levels, but jump at a certain point in the Undercity. This has puzzled explorers and scholars alike since the higher stalagnite/tite sizes in the lower levels would equal several thousand not hundreds of years of growth. Varying explanations have been proposed - magic, monsters or mutations. But nothing really sufficiently expains this phenomenon. Interestingly, at the same point in the Undercity, several creatures seem to appear have bigger sizes,e specially the territorial ones. But the stone also is notably different, said to be due to different buiding architectural practices.

Areas of interest

• Central Plaza Lake - This lake can be easiest reached from entraces located in the 22th district of Alt'Ena. Reformation of the ruins led to altering of what was once a plaza in Alt'Ena into a hole in the ground, buildings on the side being distorted into walls - except any "streets" left - and a column in the middle. The column appears to be weight bearing, but no hint in the architecture of Alt'Ena suggests that it actually should be. Nobody dares to find out. Sorrounding the hole is a lake from collected water that after a few metres can get suprisingly deep. The lake is mostly dead, which si attribbuted to a slime well known by explorer, Old Gnawfoot. The 50metre spanning slime is already told of in legends centuries ago. It is unknown whether that always was the same entity but around 50 years ago the entity now residing in the lake has been cited to move from another space in the Undercity. Todays explorer know to always avoid the ever hungy Old Gnawfoot.

• Save tunnels - Normally to go from one level of the Undercity to the next, on has to use simple entraces that appear like holes in the fundament. But there are rare glitches in the stone matrix, that allow to passage several of the levels at once. Due to the increase of dangerous beings, it is not advised for amateurs to use these. At the same time the position of these tunnels is kept secret by those in the known.

• Bunyip farms - in several areas the Cave Bunyip have created areas, where crops can grow. While the Undercity is usually dark, the Bunyip collected Mucussacs with glowing algae that in a chain-reaction emit enough light for plant growth. Many of these areas are abandoned, thus creating save places for travelers. But explorers are still advised to be careful, since many beings including the Buynips themselve are known to hunt in these areas.

• Sun room - These cave expansions, are awe-inspiring lit oases in the otherwise dark Undercity. The position of each Sun room is a well kept secret, due to poaching or misuse and destruction concerns by explorers that are in the known. This secret has been kept for so long, that they have shifted into the realm of Ubran Myth rather than known facts. Even more, it is sepculated that some unknown event destroyed all of these areas. But everybody that told of one, and even drawing that exist from diceased artists paint a picture of pure. Thus imagination of the masses never dies down completely. It is unknown whether these are related to the Bunyip farm, or if these are other structures, created by magic or by some other natural means. Only thing known is that the light herein is supposed to be more yellow than the blueish hue of the algae used by the Bunyips.

• Chambers of stone forests - in the lowest levels stalagnites and stalagtites would grow so immense, that they are called stone forests. In truth, they would resemble real stalactite caves.

• Tyr lakes - These lakes in the lower levels of the Undercity are known to be connected to the cave lakes of the Tyr Mountain Ridge. A suprisigingly diverse ecosystems exists here that is not very well documented due to scholars often not being able to reach herein.

Famous individuals of the Undercity

The Ancient Golem - A creature living in the lowest levels of the Undercity.
Old Gnawfoot - A slime living in the Central Plaza Lake.

Trivia:

Professor Talamunds tells of a secret chamber he discovered years ago. Doku-Chan has recently visited the deeper parts of the Undercity.