Tamriel:Vivec (city)

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View of the High Fane, Temple Canton

Vivec is the largest city in Vvardenfell, a floating metropolis in a lagoon, much like Venice, Italy, complete with Gondoliers in their festive uniforms offering transport. Bridges and walkways create a maze that can be intimidating for new arrivals. Water is the dominant element, ever-present in the architecture, even inside. The entire city of Vivec is considered a holy place, as it is home to the Living God Vivec himself. The city is policed by special guards drawn from the militant order of the Temple, the Ordinators. It is comprised of nine districts, each made up of a large multi-tiered floating building, known as a canton, and the size of a town in and of itself.

A canton is generally built from four tiers. Lowest, only accessible from drainage grates or trapdoors, is the Underworks, or the canton's sewer. The Underworks is located entirely underwater, and are a nest for criminals, rats, and undesirables, as Ordinators never venture into them. Above the Underworks, at the level of the main walkways and canals, are the Canalworks, where tombs, homeless paupers, storage rooms, and a few small shops can be found. The Canalworks of a canton is generally only accessible from the Waistworks, or via trapdoor from the Underworks. Above the Canalworks are the Waistworks, filled with shops, clubs, temples, and residences. The top of a canton contains a large domed plaza, with standalone buildings rather than just doors in corridor walls. Canton plazas are filled with manor-houses and fine shops, and can mostly only be accessed from the exterior. All of the space within a canton must be leased from the Temple, and the only Guards allowed to police the area are Ordinators.

The first of these cantons from the Vivec landing on Vvardenfell's mainland is the Foreign Quarter, the entrance to Vivec. Originally, this was as far as outlanders were allowed into Vivec, although this law was repealed long ago. The Foreign Quarter houses the Mages, Fighters Guilds, a cornerclub containing the Thieves Guild, a small Imperial Cult shrine, a tomb, and many shops. It is also the largest canton in the whole of Vivec, having two Waistworks levels, known as the Lower and Upper Waistworks.

Three of the next four cantons are under the control of the three Great Houses that have land on Vvardenfell: Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni. Each of these cantons represents the wealth of each Great House, and, as one might expect, house shops, services, and lodging for House members. The cantons also each have a small individual temple, and a large treasury, which contain numerous rare items, gems, and a significant stash of gold, all under heavy guard.

The fourth of this group of cantons is the Arena, where public entertainments such as comic plays or mock battles are held, along with any duels to honorably settle conflicts of interest or advancement. All fights here are special events; there are no routinely arranged fights or tournaments in the Arena. The Arena's plaza is taken over by the vast Arena Pit itself, and below the plaza are facilities for training, equipping, and lodging arena fighters, as well as a good sized storage complex.

The next two cantons are residential ones named in honor of two of the saints of the Tribunal Temple, Saint Delyn and Saint Olms. The St. Delyn Canton and St. Olms Canton provide low-cost housing to the commoners and paupers of the city, and also have nicer homes for the more affluent in their Plaza areas. Both cantons have several shops in the Waistworks, and small temples.

Behind these two cantons is the Temple Canton, unique in its construction. The Temple canton is flat atop its canalworks, which are devoted to the Halls of Wisdom and of Justice. The Hall of Wisdom contains a large library of religious books, and many low- and mid-ranking members of the Temple bureaucracy work there. The Hall of Justice houses all of the Ordinators in the city, as well as the various offices related to Ordinator activity throughout the district. Atop these halls is the cathedral of High Fane, home of the Archcanon of the Temple, Tholer Saryoni as well as many other high-ranking Temple members. Above it hovers the Ministry of Truth, a hollowed-out moon housing prison cells for dissidents of the Temple. According to lore, Vivec himself stopped the moon from falling onto the city and it will remain hovering as long as people believe in the Tribunal.

Behind the Temple canton is the Palace of Vivec, the residence of the Living God Vivec. The Palace itself is a small if grand-looking one-room affair, but it is mounted on its own canton, which is built from five levels of sewers hiding a shrine somewhere in their midst, known as the Puzzle Canal. The door to the Palace is kept locked at all times, as access is by special invitation only, and no one but the Archcanon are normally allowed to speak to Vivec himself.