Recreational Space (South District)

DISTRICT LEADER VOMAS
Vampire Territory

When the Oligarchy was divided up and the city ripe for the taking, Vomas leapt at the chance to control and dominate the cultural mecca that is the southern part of the city. With such things in his area as the municipal library, the museum and the city's biggest parklands in his district, it could be said that Vomas was waiting for a moment like this in order to pounce.

Unfortunately, he has a thorn in his side with his familial and blood brother Halwyn, who was once the figurehead for an anarchistic movement that had all the supernaturals outed some ten years prior. There is also his other rival, the ancient Lazarus, who he once did physical battle with in his sacred museum - tearing two sections of it apart.

Vomas has been quite the fixture in this city, and his decisions have impacted on the city's past and present. With a regal air and a commanding tone, he has managed to shape the city - or at least his district - into a place where he can command over all from the top of his tower. Not one to take unnecessary risks, he has managed to lure an Ancient vampire family to his territory, though he has discovered this particular decision has some bittersweet side effects.

Beacon Towers
Vomas' Headquarters Built in 1932, the building has an unmistakable art deco facade. With three reserved underground parking levels only accessable from the service elevator, the valets have no shortage of where to park guest cars.

The lobby is both modern and stark, with an intense splash of colour from the wall art reflected off the tiles. It makes for a stunning entrance. The floor above holds the casino. Above that is the reception hall and ballroom, while more entertainment can be found in the comedy club and theatre. On the levels further up dominantly for hotel guest use, there is a fitness club, spa and pool and restaurant and bar. Above these levels are the pristine rooms for guests to stay at the Towers, including the mortal donor residences (for vampiric guests). On the topmost levels there are meeting rooms, the District Leader's office and personal library, and of course the penthouse on the topmost floor, where Vomas makes his home.

Bojangles Cineplex
Glamour and Goth

Constructed in the late sixties, the Bojangles began life as a small theater,  under the name of Sepulchre, where plays of tragedy would be staged on a weekly  basis – Friday and Saturday nights. As the popularity of the theater located in the narrow two story building waned, it was transformed into a movie house, the stage holding nothing more than a giant white screen where black and white art house movies would be shown.

Now under new management, the current owner is determined to bring the old building back into the public eye, and screens a variety of hard-to-find as well as popular movies (some of which are ‘private’ screenings of banned films). The Bojangles has finally picked up a following that can support it, and so it hangs  on grimly, keeping a head above bankruptcy. It is dressed in typical cinematic style – red swirly carpet and curtains, gold trim, pastel walls the colour of  dust between the dark wood panelling. A creaking staircase leads to the smaller and cosier upper seating area, and rows of vinyl covered chairs, the type that flip up.

Theatre chairs are paired in two, with a slighty curved bannister front that repeats in a shell-like pattern all along the upper back wall. Curtains and a  short carpeted wall separate one couple from another, so that privacy can be found here.

Municipal Library
Book Lovers Paradise

A commanding and extensive piece of architecture, this modern building is  built of predominantly steel, concrete and glass. Lots and lots of large black plate glass windows.

The library is one that is available to the public 24/7, and has extensive  collections of books, magazines, newspapers and a digital archive area, where  banks upon banks of computers line the walls of one of the inner rooms for  internal records as well as the internet.

There are many various armchairs and sofas gathered around in squares tucked  away in various corners between the bookshelves or at the ends of them, for  quietly spoken discussions among booklovers, or in single chairs and lamps for  those who wish to just read on their own.

The shelves are either a rich dark wood that house the more expensive texts,  or freestanding double-sided metal library shelving to display as many books as  possible in the vast space that is filled with glorious works of fiction and  non-fiction, and smells as a library should.

Complete with a beautiful garden and fountain, statues both abstract and of  cultural importance, lines the library front, and many of the public have been  known to loiter here and be at peace in the atmosphere, reading the books that  they just checked out. Small and unobtrusive lights give the garden a  multi-colored hue at night, giving everything a rather lovely ethereal presence. Rows of ferny plants and flowering shrubs line the paved path that leads to the  two sets of huge glass double doors of the building itself.

The Museum
History of the World

It is an impossible for one to see and properly take in all exhibits in a single day. Seven stories of magnificence, directly opposite the Municipal Library.

The first floor has dinosaur models and history, with skeletal remains put together in a manner to awe, inspire and even frighten those that enter.

The second and third floors are where the annals of mankind can be discovered. From humble beginnings of neanderthal man, plunging into the dark ages and emerging to the golden ages, as well as touching on medieval, renaissance and industrial eras.

The fourth floor holds the natural resource exhibitions, such as geological history, minerals, precious stones and even a meteorite section. There is also a wing of the museum on this floor dedicated to temporary exhibitions - such as the internationally recognised Egyptian Culture, Peruvian Gold and Glory of Space exhibitions.

The fifth and sixth floors are where the items of natural history are kept - mostly species of plants, animals and insects from the local region. There are also rooms for travelling exhibitions here too, though the rooms are smaller and usually free to the public. They tend to swap more often also, but can be a delight to those with specific interests.

The seventh floor showcases the history of music and art.

Pisky Memorial Park
Greenbelt of the First Founders

Pisky Memorial Park is the largest piece of greenery in the city.

During the daytime it is a nice walk through tended lawns, wending and narrow sandstone footpaths take the stroller through rolling hills, and to central points in the park, the Great Old Oak which is many centuries old, the Japanese Bridge that leads to the Japanese Rock Gardens, and the Gazebo, a covered white lattice area that can comfortably seat six.

At night the park is well known as a dangerous place to visit, though some areas of the park are worse than others. The paths tend to be well lit, and many of the benches are bathed in the light of old fashioned (but modern-lit by electricity) lamp posts. However, there are a number of dark and scary places at Pisky, though the unwary newcomer to the city, those who have something to prove about their bravery or those who like to lurk in shadows, can be found.

The Old Oak Tree: Heritage listed by the City Mayor, the Great Old Oak is an icon. A magnificent tree that has survived the years and is still a meeting point or a place for people to gather.

The Japanese Bridge: An arched red-painted wooden bridge that is wide enough for three people to pass with linked arms, and a bannister wide enough for a person to climb up and stand on, the pond below is large and covered with lillies. There are goldfish in these murky waters, and the rest of the pond swans out to become quite a nice place to picnic beside, with the Japanese Bridge in the distance looking postcard picturesque.

The Gazebo: An octagonal structure, with an open wall on one side, and three built-in benches across three of the others, adjacent to each other. Two people can sit upon a bench, facing another two, and if there were two more friends, they could sit facing the entrance, with room to stretch out legs, if you don\'t mind a bit of lower leg brushing and touching. There is creeping ivy climbing up the lattice, like a trellis, which finished the English Garden look to the white painted gazebo, that has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times.

The Pompeii
Gentleman's Club

The Pompeii is the newest gentlemen’s club to hit the city. The building itself has a stone face and reaches about three stories high. Four stone pillars support the overhanging roof on which the club’s title is engraved in Romanesque letters. Guests must enter the club by a set of wide stone stairs which lead up to the landing under the great stone roof. The building gives any passerby the impression of a legal court building (like that of New York City, but on a much smaller scale). Double doors of black wood lead the guests inside the club, where things have a wonderful mixture of modern technology and ancient construct. The Pompeii is the place where a gentleman can come to access strippers and drag queens – prostitution is not permitted in the club (though it does occur).

Upon walking into The Pompeii it becomes increasingly evident that there is a theme of ancient Rome decorated with rich purples, reds, blacks, and accented with gold. A short foyer brings the guest into the main room. The floor of the main room is a rich red carpet with gold accents weaved in. Clusters of purple and gold chairs and dark wood tables dot the room for patrons to sit away from the blare of the speakers, which pump bass onto the stages in the form of techno music.

On the left wall there is a bar made of the same dark wood as the stages, with five or six stools and a bountiful selection of liquors; imports and domestics. The bar is an extension of the left stage so the dancers have access to all patrons here as well, though it is uncommon for the dancers to walk on the bar. Between the main stage and the bar is the left stage. It is smaller than the main stage but serves its purpose to the men who sit there.

The center stage extends well into the audience, similar to a wide runway. Ornate purple chairs sit at a low bar at the stages and viewers can watch the dancers at an upward angle. Red stairs allow the dancers to descend into the audience for more opportunity to give pleasures.

Venture
Vampire Club

Originally an unused commerical offices building, the outer facade has kept it's stark modern and anonymous face. The windows have been tinted an extremely dark black, so even when there are lights inside, the building doesn't glow unnecessarily brightly. The queue posts come out at dusk and are brought back in at dawn by their non-vampire staff. The security folk on the outside are the younger vampires with basic mind-scanning and communication skills, only there to disallow mortals who don't know what's going on to come in, but are happy to let in those who merely suspect. Vampires are immediately allowed into the club. The bouncers at the door are mostly head-counters, to let in three mortals for every vampire that's in there. If the mortals are early, they'll let them in en masse, until the club is a quarter full, to allow for movement later and to attract early vampires.

There are a few parking spaces out the front of the building, on the property. There are enough to cater for roughly thirty cars, which aren't many spaces at all. Getting a park later in the night is a  miraculous occurrence. Public transport is much better here than it had ever been at Risk, as there is a taxi rank a short walk away, and another couple of minutes walk beyond that, a subway station.

There are two entrances to the public. The main one is through the main doors of the rounded section of the building, which lets customers in for the nightclub (upstairs) or lounge (downstairs). A spiral staircase greets them ahead to the right of the main doors as soon as they walk in. Moving forward, past the staircase, they'll enter the lounge bar that takes up a large portion of the lower floor.

Feeding rooms on the right behind a curtained doorway (down a corridor), cinema and games rooms on the left behind an open hallway. Private cinemas to the left, private games rooms on the right - all high roller rooms, playing poker, blackjack and baccarat.

The upper floor feeding rooms are a great deal different to the conservatively designed rooms found downstairs. The back wall (opposite the dancefloor and DJ booth, not seen in the above photograph, as it is to the left of it) is made up entirely of mirrored glass. There are several mirrored glass sliding doors that break it up, always open. Within these glass rooms is a place to feed from. The glass doors can be shut. They are two-way mirrors. To the occupants within, they can see the club, and there is an exhibitionist quality to these rooms, due to the fact the occupants will feel like they can be seen by those walking past (though those on the other side will only be able to see their reflections).