#milehighlullaby

[champagnereverie]

Mile High Lullaby: Welcome

I’m lucky enough to be part of some amazing tabletop with incredible storytelling, and it’s inspired me to try my hand at building a world for others to play in. With luck (and lots of work), maybe someday this little draft will turn into a living world of its own.

Welcome to Denver, the Mile High City. 

It’s a city in liminal space: the gateway between the mountains and the plains, where the sky meets the earth. It’s a sprawling metropolis of two million people and the capitol city of the West. 

Maybe you’re here for a job in the booming tech sector, to brew craft beer in RiNo, or just get a steady gig at the DMV (Department of Magical Vehicles). 

If you’re the adventurous type, maybe you’re here for the skiing, or to work with the Department of Wildlife to repel cryptozoological incursions from the Rockies. Maybe you’re here because weed is legal.

No matter who you are or why you’ve come, you’re guaranteed more than 300 days of sunshine a year. 

Welcome to Denver, the Seat of the Sun.

Welcome to the Holy City of Amatis: Lady of Succor, Blaze of Wrath, self-proclaimed Queen of the West. Welcome to the seat of power for one of two God-Kings of the United States. The Radiant Lady rules her domain with a mother’s tender love, and she asks only the unwavering devotion of her children in return. She prefers her devotion in the form of gold. 

Denver is a glittering gem on the front range, its roofs plated in gold, its streets dotted with golden statues and gleaming fountains. The Sun’s Children know only that which reflects back Her Shining Visage will hold her attention for long. 

There are grumblings, among the foolhardy or unwary. They wonder why the city’s coffers empty to find gold to reflect back the sun, which still shines even outside Her Capital City. 

But there are those who remember what sleeps beneath the Rockies. Some still speak of that which rent the Continental Divide and created those very mountains in its thrashing.

The Sun’s eye wanders. And deep beneath the Rockies, something stirs.  

[champagnereverie]

Mile High Lullaby: The God-Kings of America

By command of the Queen of the West, this treatise was prepared by the University of Denver in the Year of Our Sun 2019 and distributed to every institution of learning in her Kingdom (including a picture version for preschools and kindergartens). It has been translated into every tongue spoken across the three Americas, including but not limited to English, Spanish, Sylvan, Infernal, and Braille.

The Americas: The Blessed Land

Rejoice, Americans, for you are the Chosen People.

Whether you hail from New York, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Guadalajara, or the Seat of the Sun itself, you are Beloved. Beloved of the Sun, the Sea, and Victory. 

Wherever you walk, you will be warmed by your Mother, who watches over you from the sky. Your thirst will be quenched by your Father, whose tidal arms surround and embrace this continent. You will be protected by the Invincible Warrior who stands ever-vigilant. 

The Triumverate heard your cries from their heavenly thrones, and descended to the world to care for you. We came to you in your year 1875, when your distant gods and your covetous governments allowed the Primordial Evil entry to the surface world. We came to you in your hour of need, and we did not abandon you when the threat was repelled. We chose you, and we will stay with you. 

Keep your governments - they will flourish under our guidance. Keep your distant gods - we are not jealous. But know that we are always here, where they are not. You are our children, ours forever. Rejoice, Americans!

Amatis, Lady of the Sun

The Queen of the West is also named for the many blessings she gives her children: the Lady of Succor, for she can restore life to the worthy dead; the Blaze of Wrath, for she fiercely defends her chosen. She rules from the West Coast to the West banks of the Mississippi River and Eastern border of Manitoba. She is the sun: warm and life-giving. Her home, the Seat of the Sun, is in Denver, Colorado, where she keeps vigil over the Continental Divide.

Scrawled in a margin: And what a fuckin’ merciful Mother she is, too...as long as you have gold to spare. The only way to get her attention is with her own reflection - have you seen Denver? The godsdamned roofs are plated in gold just to keep her interested. She responds to exorbitant wealth and her own face. Not the pleas of her “children.” 

Vane, Lord of the Sea

The King of the East rules the tides and the oceans, and is the patron of all those who travel the seas or live beside or beneath them. He protects trade and ensures the cycles of the moon continue as they should, and he has been known to benevolently rescue air-breathers before they drown. He rules from the East Coast to the Mississippi River and the Western border of Manitoba and Hudson Bay, but the whole of the oceans are his domain. His home, and the Seat of the Sea, is in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Several lines are nearly scratched out and roughly annotated: Either he rules the oceans, which are cruel and people die and therefore he must be cruel too, or he’s benevolent and just unable to do shit because the ocean’s too powerful. I had family in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. Where was this asshole and why didn’t he command the water to stay out of "his city”? If it wasn’t for the mermaids, everyone would’ve drowned. And the mermaids have a hell of an interest rate on their services.

Kama, Lord of Victory

The Lord of Victory protects the whole of South America, from the Panama Canal to the very southern tip of Argentina. He is invincible in combat, unparalleled in tactics, and a protector beyond compare. He makes no secret that he desires the heart of Amatis, and so he is dedicated to the pursuit of perfection to prove worthy of her attention. He demands the same of his followers, and thus is deeply invested in their growth as individuals and communities. The Seat of Victory is in Caracas, Venezuela.

A skull and crossbones has been doodled next to the title, along with the jagged words BLOODTHIRSTY WARLORD.