Roofways of Emor
In the City Eternal, there are many ways, sometimes simply called Ways. There are the streetways (or "open ways", or "crowdways", or "coachways") that connect buildings so that people may go from one place to another. There are the waterways that supply and distribute water everywhere. There are the wasteways below the streets, that take away sewage and garbage from people's homes.
Ways come in all shapes and sizes, of different forms and different importance. Some serve multiple purposes and are called a different name during different parts of the day, like X and Y. Some look the same but are dedicated to different services, like walkways and tradeways. Some are big and unique, like the Kingsway, others small and numerous, like the catways. Some are ubiquitous, like the highways, others known by few, like the underways. And yet, there are more ways to call them still, depending on who's talking and for what purpose.
But there is one way to traverse the city that too few know about. It's the way of the most devious rogues. Of the people up to no good, the fleeting shadows in the darkness of night. Assassins pay premium coin for this knowledge, and only if they knew to seek it in the first place. Rascal kids stumble onto parts of the path, never knowing the importance of where they stand. For this is the most convenient, the most subtle, the safest, fastest way to traverse the Great City.
There from times immemorial, built by an unknown party, the origins of the roofways are shrouded in mystery. By far the most curious thing about them is that they appear to be maintained. Perhaps not every day, or every year, or perhaps change is only enacted when the need for such arises and not a moment sooner, but the fact remains that change there is. Old maps, however rare such a thing is, have been known to be inaccurate, even if not by much. For the most part, Emor is a city slow to change, but every so often, change it does. Like a living being, it ages, evolves and matures, for millennia on end yes, but the change is there nonetheless. And with it, so too change its Ways, and with them, so too do the roofways.
And while yes, persons sufficiently agile and adept could always hop from one roof to another as a means to traverse the city, that is hardly a good idea. The subtle design of the roofways, for those who know to look for it, is the very reason we know they are built and maintained. It takes barely any effort at all to hop from one roof to the next. Where you would expect a gap that takes a fantastical leap to clear, you will find a conveniently placed extension, sometimes on either side, bridging a chasm down to a casual hop. A support beam here. And extension there. A drying rack of sturdier construction than any drying rack need be. A base for a decorative statue that got mysteriously moved elsewhere, yet the base was never taken down. A flag pole with a missing flag, a trap door just to keep out the rain, and room for greenery with no greenery in sight. Leaning roofs that are closer than they should be, but nobody notices. Bricked roofs missing whole rows of bricks. A suspicious amount of chimneys and extensions on an otherwise sloped roof. Once you know what to look for, and where, the paths are as obvious in their layout and intent as the pompous marchways of the high tiers in the city.
The roofways connect every part of Emor. Every district, every tier, and even connect to the Grand Castle as well. From the outer walls to the top of the throne room itself, there is a safe path one can take, if they knew to look for it. The fact that the roofways are so widely unknown is the other sign that they were built intentionally. Through no sheer coincidence, a person traversing the roofways remains out of sight from even the most vigilant of ordinary guards. The paths snake around current guard outposts, duck from the view of watchtowers, and weave their way around areas where people would have any reasonable business looking up from their boring everyday affairs with any reliable regularity.
So, as the old saying doesn't go: If you find yourself in Emor in need of going nowhere in no time, take the roofways.
Ways come in all shapes and sizes, of different forms and different importance. Some serve multiple purposes and are called a different name during different parts of the day, like X and Y. Some look the same but are dedicated to different services, like walkways and tradeways. Some are big and unique, like the Kingsway, others small and numerous, like the catways. Some are ubiquitous, like the highways, others known by few, like the underways. And yet, there are more ways to call them still, depending on who's talking and for what purpose.
But there is one way to traverse the city that too few know about. It's the way of the most devious rogues. Of the people up to no good, the fleeting shadows in the darkness of night. Assassins pay premium coin for this knowledge, and only if they knew to seek it in the first place. Rascal kids stumble onto parts of the path, never knowing the importance of where they stand. For this is the most convenient, the most subtle, the safest, fastest way to traverse the Great City.
There from times immemorial, built by an unknown party, the origins of the roofways are shrouded in mystery. By far the most curious thing about them is that they appear to be maintained. Perhaps not every day, or every year, or perhaps change is only enacted when the need for such arises and not a moment sooner, but the fact remains that change there is. Old maps, however rare such a thing is, have been known to be inaccurate, even if not by much. For the most part, Emor is a city slow to change, but every so often, change it does. Like a living being, it ages, evolves and matures, for millennia on end yes, but the change is there nonetheless. And with it, so too change its Ways, and with them, so too do the roofways.
And while yes, persons sufficiently agile and adept could always hop from one roof to another as a means to traverse the city, that is hardly a good idea. The subtle design of the roofways, for those who know to look for it, is the very reason we know they are built and maintained. It takes barely any effort at all to hop from one roof to the next. Where you would expect a gap that takes a fantastical leap to clear, you will find a conveniently placed extension, sometimes on either side, bridging a chasm down to a casual hop. A support beam here. And extension there. A drying rack of sturdier construction than any drying rack need be. A base for a decorative statue that got mysteriously moved elsewhere, yet the base was never taken down. A flag pole with a missing flag, a trap door just to keep out the rain, and room for greenery with no greenery in sight. Leaning roofs that are closer than they should be, but nobody notices. Bricked roofs missing whole rows of bricks. A suspicious amount of chimneys and extensions on an otherwise sloped roof. Once you know what to look for, and where, the paths are as obvious in their layout and intent as the pompous marchways of the high tiers in the city.
The roofways connect every part of Emor. Every district, every tier, and even connect to the Grand Castle as well. From the outer walls to the top of the throne room itself, there is a safe path one can take, if they knew to look for it. The fact that the roofways are so widely unknown is the other sign that they were built intentionally. Through no sheer coincidence, a person traversing the roofways remains out of sight from even the most vigilant of ordinary guards. The paths snake around current guard outposts, duck from the view of watchtowers, and weave their way around areas where people would have any reasonable business looking up from their boring everyday affairs with any reliable regularity.
So, as the old saying doesn't go: If you find yourself in Emor in need of going nowhere in no time, take the roofways.
Type
Architectural Element, Rooftop
Parent Location
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