Madinat Alsafaad, the shining gem of the desert, is a breathtaking sight to behold. The impressive architecture and bright colors of the markets would captivate the thoughts of any onlookers if not for the city's dark reputation. The city is known for its infernally owned denizens colloquially known as “The Damned.'' Unfortunate souls who struck a bargain with devils in exchange for something in a time of great greed or desperation. The Damned would trade control of their flesh in exchange for whatever they sought, and as the people around them discovered these dark pacts, the Damned were chased out of their native lands. Madinat Alsafaad quickly sprung up as a refugee camp for these persecuted people, but with the unmatched ambition of the devils it developed into a full city designed to lure in the unsuspecting, the ambitious, and the greedy.
The outskirts of the city are populated primarily by the Damned who have very little, and whose devilish counterparts have little power or sway. They often attempt to swindle and make deals with newcomers to the city. There are a few bars, with small gambling dens nearby, however, they are on the lower end, and have much seedier clientele. It is not uncommon for brawls to break out in these bars. Higher ranking people and devil’s care little for what goes on in the outskirts of the city, to them the people living there serve little purpose outside of fodder and pawns for grander schemes.
Moving further into the city just past the outskirts is the market district. The stalls and booths here contain anything the average person could want, from extravagant jewelry to cabbage stands. However, with a bit of effort, you can find more “specialized” goods and services such as poisons, illicit drugs, or even assassins. The damned from the outskirts will sometimes even be found attempting to rent their bodies out to other devils for limited amounts of time in exchange for money to make ends meet. The casinos and taverns found in this section are higher-end and enforce rules much more heavily to prevent fights from breaking out, after all, they have a reputation to uphold. The market district also houses the prison, wherein the prisoners are available for sale to anyone with enough coin to pay.
The inner city is where the wealthiest and most powerful damned and devils reside, including The Twins. The inner city is one of the only areas in the city with a heavy guard presence, this is due to the rich and powerful wanting to protect themselves from any conflicts that may break out. This area also houses the palace from which the city is ruled. It is heavily fortified and anyone attempting to enter without written permission is thrown into the city prison. The casinos here are incredibly high-end, well protected, and high stakes. Thousands of gold are routinely thrown at the tables, and weeks or even months in bodies are up for grabs.
Presently, a strange calm falls over the town square of Madinat as people shuffle away or are ushered away by the puppets of the powerful devils within the city. An area is cleared away and a singular humanoid figure walks forward, slicing open their arm and walking about, drawing a powerful inscription in their blood trail before succumbing to the wounds and being ushered off. Five individuals are brought to stand in designated areas on the edges of the ritual while two figures step forwards. They begin the chanting, echoed by all the denizens of Madinat nearby. Finally a solitary cloaked figure moves forwards near the center and brings up a wicked looking dagger, with which he will impale his chest and rip himself open. Though the cut does not stop with him as a 20ft gash appears through the air above where he stood, blood red as if Embris itself had been cut. This gash slowly expands outward as the chanting continues until a large, clawed hand reaches out of the portal as the first devil pulls itself through...
The rulers of Madinat Alsafaad are Aila and Ayluin, more commonly referred to as the twins. Little is known of their lives before their rise to power other than that they made a dark pact with the devil Binjak. They rule from a palace located in the inner city and seldom venture outside of the palace. They have never been seen apart from one another, and tend to travel with an elite group of Hellions as protection.
Hylok is the head advisor to the twins and Binjak. He is very private and rarely leaves the inner city, but can sometimes be seen attending to business around the inner city and market district. He is always seen in a wheelchair being pushed by a Hellion.
The name Xannoth is often whispered of, particularly among those of the lower city, as an urban legend to scare children into behaving. He’s said to be an ancient devil who brings ruin and destruction to anyone foolish enough to deal with him.
The Hells (The place where the devils who make deals with the Damned reside)