The Clanking City by Peter Metcalph

(Editor's Note: this city located south of Heortland and God Forgot is called by many names in various articles,
it was called Zistorwal because for the experiment of artificial god, (see King of Sartar), it was also called Clanking
City for it had an mass-factory of magicalsword of Bladesharp which clanks. (see Genertela Set: Glorantha) and today it was called Machine Ruin for there were many ruins after the natives destroyed the facilities of this city before Closing, and recently, Lylket, which has known for many mentioning about Second Age Glorantha (like Uz Lore) is identified with this city. Below is Peter Metcalph's setting of current status of this city.)

Peter Metcalph:
The Clanking City is huge and full of ruined buildings much
like Pavis (except that it doesn't have a Giant Wall). The
perimeter and suburbs has been thoroughly wrecked by the Elder
Races and are infested by numerous demons and traps and is
pretty poor in terms of loot. Approaching the city by this
method is almost sheer suicide and attempted only by the bravest
and foolish. Most enter the city by the airport.

Many hold the Clanking City proper to begin in those inner
protions where the curses of the Elder Races are not to be
found. Here one can hear the infernal clanking and whines
of distant machines. The outer parts of the City are safe
for many humans to travel around in and several walled
enclaves can be found. The chief danger here is the morlocks
and the lesser Zistori.

The morlocks are the descendants of those God Learners who managed
to disengage from Zistor before he was killed. But in the magical
catalysms that followed, they were mutated into shrunken deformed
relics of humanity. They hate and curse most humans (the people of
God Forgot seem exempt) as bestial servants of the Elder Races. The
morlocks are organized into many tribes and dwell in massive fortresses
within the Inner City. Some of these tribes have been observed to
war with one another.

The morlocks do not fight but rely on the lesser Zistori. These are
automatons who mindlessly fight for the morlocks and come in many
shapes and sizes. Most are humanoid but some have no legs but wheels.
Others have no hands but tools and claws. The largest Zistori observed
(other than the God itself) are hulking monstrosities with three legs.
These have been observed to carry morlocks on occasions.

The morlocks occasionally muster raids against the human enclaves
(although the Airport has never been a target). These aim to
capture prisoners for the morlocks. Persistant rumour alleges
that the prisoners are carted to vast slave factories where they
are mentally controlled by infernal caps. By day, they toil at
mindless drudgery and at night, their very dreams are warped by
the caps to create for the morlocks.

The inner parts of the Clanking City is very magical and dangerous.
When Zistor was defeated, the remaining God Learners activated their
final defenses. First the Doomsday Bomb was activated with the
intention of destroying all Glorantha save for those safely within
the Citadel. Then a UnDoomsday Bomb was activated which would
recreate Glorantha in the God Learners Image. (The whole plan was
to have been revealed to the Elder Races to stop the war and to the
King of Seshnela to force him to abdicate). However Zistor was
killed before the ambassadors were sent). But a gremlin switched
the timing devices and the bombs detonated out of the intended
sequence. The area within the Inner City became magically huge and
full of new buildings and wonders before the Doomsday Bomb blasted
the immediate surroundings of the Citadel to nothingless and
entrapped it permanently within the void. No human has crossed the
Inner City to borders of the void and returned.


Some locations in the Clanking City:

The Airport: This is the largest enclave and is ruled by the
Talars of God Forgot. A regular autogyro service operates
between Casino Town and the Clanking City. Passage into the
City is very cheap and is free in cases of people who can't
pay their debts at Casino Town. Some people have been known
to be shanghaied into the Clanking City by the Talars if they
feel the population of the Airport is too low. The Price of
a Passage out is prohibitively high and the best method is
to search the city for an artifact to surrender to the Talars.

Zistor's remains: This well-known location lies sprawled over
many miles. It is considered by many to be the remains of the
God Zistor who was slain by Orlanth. Many gibbering morlocks
inhabit it trying to bring their god back to life. From afar
has been observed a large lightning tower placed aparently over
Zistor's Heart. It has been speculated that when Zistor reawakens,
he will then reach into the Void and bring the Citadel back to
Glorantha.

The Village: This human enclave is very insular and aloof from
everyone else. Rather than search the city for ways out, they
have listened to the words of the Prophet (who is known as Number
One) and believe that only by knowing the Forbidden Secret can
they leave the Clanking City. All Newcomers are thought to be
God Learners and are forbidden to leave unless they tell Number
Two the Forbidden Secret. Since nobody knows the Forbidden Secret,
there is a substantial minority engaging in nefarious plots trying
to leave the Village. The humans of this enclave seem to control
a special sort of Zistori which resembles large balls.

The Hall of Wonders: This is a large park full of many
of the inventions of the Zistorites. It is inhabited by
humans as the morlocks are not interested in this area.
As a result of their uninterest, many of the inventions
are quiet now for the morlocks have not troubled to repair
them. Most of the humans who live here are struggling to
understand and repair the machines. Of particular interest
is the location of the Time Machine or rather where it was.
The Traveler set out before the fall of Zistor into the
Future and did not return. A cult has sprung up around
the location of the exhibit believing that the appearance
of the Traveler is imminent and that he will lead them into
a Golden Age. Some skeptics doubt that the Traveler will
ever return for the Bombs would have pushed his Time Machine
out of the Clanking City into the Mirrorsea.

The Ibiros Crystal Factory: This was the first factory of the
Zistorites and still remains functional to this day. It is
famous for it can create crystals to order. An Ibiros sword
crystal could be attached to the hilt of the sword and confer
it a permanent Bladesharp 3. The morlocks run this factory
and use most of the crystals manufactured to power the lesser
Zistori. Daring bands of humans have entered the factory and
wrested control of the building long enough to make special
crystals of their own. The most common human usage is to create
keystones which allow them entrance into otherwise barred
buildings. The factory was severely damaged when the Bombs
exploded. Although repaired by the morlocks, the crystals are
only operational within the afterglow of the UnDoomsday Bomb
that permeates the City. Outside the City (or more properly
where the Elder Races are) they become worthless pieces of glass
and in some cases crumble into sand. For this reason, the Talars
at the airport do not accept crystals in the payment.

The Citadel: This building was ground zero for the Bombs
(there was a special null-field which prevented the destruction
of the Citadel). Since the detonation of the bombs, the City
has been is virtually unreachable. Several tribes of Morlocks
have been observed to be in contact with the God Learners of
the Citadel but details are hard to come by. No human knows
what the Citadel looks like for the details were top secret.