Backlund

Biodata

Districts and Landmarks

Noted Districts

• East District — Associated with textile-worker unrest, industrial inequality, criminal activity, and evil-god influence. It is also the territory of the Blood Axe Gang and the location of an Aurora Order gathering convened by Mr. X. Trissy later occupies a cheap apartment there. 22 180 404 431
• Backlund Bridge area — Site of criminal activity and a district named in Cyril's warning of the coming disaster. 34 308
• Dock District and Factory District — Industrial districts included in the projected spread of the Great Smog crisis. 308
• Saint George District — Heavy-industry district and location of Saint Hillan Cathedral. 39 146
• Cherwood Borough — Location of 15 Minsk Street and a storm-related incident with no reported casualties. 78 118
• Queen District — Affluent district containing large estates and mansions. 24
• Hillston Borough — District visited for the Roselle Memorial Exhibition and associated with high-end dining. 150 203
• South Bridge District — Home to the Harvest Cathedral and Owen's residence. 249 309
• West Borough — Includes an area beside the Tussock River where a mysterious child considers using Backlund's increasingly chaotic Fate to conceal himself. 109
• Empress Borough outskirts — Include the barren field where Trissy appears after initially escaping Prince Edessak's butler, Finkel. She chooses to return to Backlund to evade further pursuit. 313

Institutions and Supernatural Activity

Official Beyonder Presence

• The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery maintains a major presence through Saint Hillan Cathedral and the Heart of Mechanics, whose personnel are exceptionally well-equipped compared with ordinary police. 3 43
• The Church of the Evernight Goddess, Church of Storms, and Church of Steam all operate in the city and investigate major supernatural incidents. 117 321
• The Church of Mother Earth operates the Harvest Cathedral, where Father Utravsky serves as a Dawn Knight. 46 141
• Ikanser Bernard, a Machinery Hivemind captain and deacon in the Backlund Diocese, personally oversees Cyril's protection after the appearance of a high-ranking Demoness. The protection detail also serves to investigate the Demoness's purpose in the city. 151
• The Church of Steam conducts a citywide search that forces Clarice to leave Backlund temporarily. Clarice suspects that the search relies on a Mystical Item or special Sealed Artifact, but does not know its actual mechanism. 160
• Spellsinger of God Ace Snake serves as Archbishop of the Church of Storms's Backlund Diocese before being transferred elsewhere. Cyril attributes the transfer to a great noble's complaint that Ace Snake repeatedly arrived late at crucial moments. 341
• After the Great Smog, the authorities extensively investigate unaffiliated Beyonders, and many clandestine gatherings are suspended indefinitely. Fors describes the city's apparent peace as a “peace born of tension” and warns unofficial Beyonders against visiting. 342

Beyonder Networks

• Eye of Wisdom convenes a masked, robe-clad Beyonder gathering in Backlund; private trades there may involve dangerous artifacts, potion ingredients, and Beyonder characteristics. 15 85
• Multiple secret organizations maintain activity or interests in the city, including the Aurora Order, Rose School of Thought, Psychology Alchemists, and Demoness Sect. 84 119 349
• Backlund held three known Meteorite Crystals: one each connected to the Aurora Order, the Church of Steam, and the Sanguine. 58
• Many gatherings for unaffiliated Beyonders are backed by established factions. Cyril regards gatherings connected to the Aurora Order or Rose School of Thought as potentially dangerous despite their usefulness for acquiring materials. 120
• Cyril commissions Lawrence and Verdu to build a Beyonder organization in Backlund. Because the Churches and military possess extensive influence, they propose beginning with a discreet gathering for unaffiliated Beyonders, gradually building contacts and selecting prospective members. Lawrence later invites Fors and Owen to a gathering. 201 204 275
• A high-end gathering connected to Mr. Painter and the Abraham family offers access to numerous potion formulas and Beyonder equipment. Audrey recognizes it as evidence that a new force has taken root in Backlund. 287
• The Fool's Honorific Name circulates through Backlund's Beyonder circles after a gathering begins seeking his believers and blessed. Father Utravsky identifies him as an evil god, while Cyril distinguishes the circulating rumors from genuine secret information. 283
• Backlund also attracts fugitives from secret organizations. The Artisan Bock Griffin leaves the Moses Ascetic Order, changes his identity, and takes legitimate employment in Haven's laboratory to avoid pursuit. 345
• Inquiries concerning the Abraham family later appear in both Backlund and Enmat Harbor. 431

Hidden Threats

• A Fourth Epoch ruin beneath William Street housed an ancient evil spirit until it obtained an item that enabled it to leave the ruin. Cyril trades a Mystical Item to the spirit for the Red Priest Card of Blasphemy. 232
• During a Blood Moon, more than one terrifying gaze lingered over Backlund while the Seven Deities appeared unable to respond to prayers. 139
• Amon's presence in the city provoked divine punishment from the Lord of Storms, destroying most of Amon's local avatars. 186 210
• The city has repeatedly served as the site of conflicts involving Saints, demigods, angels, Sealed Artifacts, and the Mirror World. 117 211 328
• The Blood Axe Gang's leader, Zoila Hernandez, is a Sequence 8 Listener who goes mad after hearing a voice from the starry sky. Arrodes detects dangerous, Great Old One-like auras at the gang's headquarters but cannot reconstruct the damaged information there. 22
• The Black Demoness arrives in Backlund and wanders through the city, prompting Cyril to warn the Tarot Club and drawing the Church of Steam's attention. 119 148 151
• Cyril warns that Ouroboros, the Aurora Order's Angel of Fate and a King of Angel, may soon come to Backlund to pursue an anomaly in Fate. This is presented as a deduction rather than a confirmed sighting. 170
• Ince Zangwill accepts Panatia's invitation to cooperate with the Demoness Sect, seeking ties to the Loen royal family that could help him evade the three major Churches. 56
• Lawrence later recognizes Saint of Secrets Botis in Backlund and notices an unusually dark shadow beneath him. He reports to Cyril that Botis has arrived with another concealed Saint. 416

Intelligence Activity

Backlund serves as a center of international intelligence operations. Intis ambassador Bakerland Jean Madan also directs Intis's intelligence personnel in the Loen Kingdom, and his protection includes a Sequence 5 Beyonder from the Intis Intelligence Bureau. 83

Agents from several countries operate secretly in the city while apparently competing for Helmosuin's manuscript. Cyril later reveals that Turanivon Helmosuin himself had been in Backlund, but the manuscript diverted attention from him and allowed him to leave unnoticed. Most of the foreign agents are subsequently driven out by Loen's Intelligence Agency. 106

Major Incidents

Backlund University Incident

Cyril Gray awakens bloodied in his Backlund home after transmigrating into the city. The ensuing university incident is investigated by the Heart of Mechanics; later accounts confirm that several students died and that an Angel briefly remained at the university. 1 31 46

Cyril uses a temporary Planeswalker characteristic supplied by Adam to escape and destroy Zoila Hernandez's Painting World. He discovers Old Fells's corpse, creates a lightning disturbance to alert those nearby, and returns to his body at Backlund University, where Horamick Haydn arrives as he collapses. The Church of Steam subsequently identifies Zoila as the attacker and concludes that an unknown Angel may have intervened against the evil god's forces. 43 46

Serial Murders

A serial murder case escalates to at least eleven victims and brings pressure from Loen's upper-class nobility upon the three major Churches. Authorities expect the previously suppressed case to reach major newspapers. 107 109

Cyril tells House that a Devil Dog is responsible and that the murders form part of an advancement ritual. He orders House to remain within the Church of Steam and investigate, warning that a Devil can sense imminent fatal danger. Cyril later states that the three major Churches have prepared Sealed Artifacts capable of countering a Desire Apostle and are waiting for the culprit to reveal himself. 88 274

Intis Ambassador's Assassination

Bakerland is murdered at his own banquet. The Tussock Daily reports that the Aurora Order claims responsibility, and Haven cites the assassination as evidence that Backlund's environment is becoming increasingly chaotic. 99

Phantom Thief, Black Emperor

The appearance of the Phantom Thief, Black Emperor becomes a topic of discussion among Backlund's Beyonders and the Tarot Club. Authorities rescue young women from Capim's dungeon after the Phantom Thief leaves Tarot Cards at the scene. The Fool identifies the calling-card practice as something begun by his blessed. 210 211

The Great Smog

Cyril warns that danger will spread from the Dock and Factory Districts through the East District and Backlund Bridge area, with deeper corrupt forces gathering in secret. 308

The disaster erupts sooner than expected: a white-robed figure causes the city smog to thicken rapidly, leaving residents coughing and collapsing. 311 321

The crisis involves a Demoness of Despair spreading plague to support the Aurora Order's ritual for the True Creator's descent and the Primordial Demoness's awakening and descent. Backlund's accumulated despair, pain, hatred, and numbness are also drawn toward the ritual's altar as sacrifices. 312 321

• Newspaper statistics later report more than 15,000 direct deaths and more than 30,000 additional plague deaths. 320
• Cyril, Klein, and Audrey contribute to warning the Churches and responding to the crisis. 321
• Cyril uses a Recorded demigod-level ability to create a hurricane that disperses the polluted haze. When his Spirituality runs low, a Church of Storms archbishop takes control of the wind, strengthens it, and drives the haze downstream along the Tussock River. Klein credits the hurricane with saving at least 10,000 innocent lives. 312 321
• The discovery of Trissy Cheek's secret allows the Church of Evernight to react quickly, eliminate the Demoness of Despair, prevent the Primordial Demoness's awakening, and help bring the smog and plague under control. Audrey and Cyril pass warnings to the Churches of Evernight and Steam. 321
• Queen Mystic Bernadette intends to use the prevention of a high-level catastrophe for her Sequence 2 Sage advancement ritual. After the crisis, she has completed the ritual and announces her intention to leave Backlund while official forces remain on heightened alert. 308 316
• Afterward, outsiders begin flowing into the East District as it gradually returns to its former state. 331

Attacks on the Aurora Order

A gathering convened by Mr. X in the East District is interrupted and followed by an explosion. Mr. X subsequently ceases appearing in Backlund. Fors reports that the explosion's crimson flames nearly illuminate the entire East District and dispel some of the night's cold, yet cause neither casualties nor damage to buildings. 431

The following day, the authorities discover and destroy the Workers' Mutual Aid Association, a secret Aurora Order base whose building has reportedly been turned around. Alger interprets the incidents as evidence that someone is deliberately targeting the Aurora Order, while the Tarot Club members suspect the involvement of the Fool's blessed without receiving confirmation. 431

Trivia

• Cyril initially regards Backlund as “disaster-prone,” reflecting the city’s frequent supernatural crises. 1
• A public explanation attributed citywide divine lightning to non-compliant building materials and a massive static-electricity outbreak. 210
• Despite its dangers, Backlund remains a crucial place to acquire low- and mid-sequence Beyonder materials, information, and contacts. 58 265
• Backlund is described as the “City of Cities” and the “capital of capitals,” emphasizing its scale and importance. 116 265
• Its dense population and numerous concealed factions make it useful for fugitives seeking anonymity, but also create the risk of unexpectedly encountering demigods or angels. Both Ince Zangwill and Trissy consider these conditions when seeking refuge in the city. 55 56 313
• Air pollution remains severe even after the Great Smog. On returning from Constant City, Lawrence coughs at the station and remarks that Backlund's pollution-control efforts are far less effective than newspaper reports claim. 416

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