Jack

The Nox was in front of Jack; huge and ominous its gates rose, and he knew it wouldn't be cheap to get in. The ring wall was made up of massive tree trunks, pines taken from the surrounding forest. On its top, large guards with grim faces and laser guns went patrolling back and forth. The forest was silent except for the distant cawing of crows. The skies looked as if they were about to let loose all the celestial forces at any moment.

Donning a serious face, Jack strode up to the guard post by the gate. Six hundred credits in crumpled up twenties changed hands and the doors slid open. Inside, The Nox was a weird mixture of new and old. A pine trunk ringwall around a modern city within which houses of concrete and steel shared their ground with quaint market stalls and stables full of horses. To Jack it had always seemed ominous just outside the massive city-state's gates, but he was always calmed by the charming nature of its inhabitants.

People wore clothes of synthetics and natural fabrics in equal amounts and the fashion trend seemed to lean toward a nouveau riche style, where a simple tunic could be paired with a feathered hat the size of a small child, and where a plain skirt warranted the use of a woolen jumper ornamented with golden tassels and rash, pink ribbons.

But that's what was so fascinating about this place. Nox Hospitus was physically isolated from the rest of the world, and technological as well as aesthetical development was slow. There were, in Jack's opinion, anachronisms everywhere you looked. Most noticable were the guards, the Metrolex, in their steel armours, plastic helmets, antique orders of honor and composite laser guns. The Metrolex were feared by outsiders, mostly by way of rumors and reputation, but the citizens of The Nox revered them as noble and helpful peacekeepers.

Looking around, Jack took in the hugeness of The Nox. The ring wall encircled an astonishing area of six thousand acres, which in turn was surrounded by an even larger forest on all sides. In the center of the city lay the Imperial Palace. Really the only "Empire" the "Emperor" ruled over was the surrounding forest, and Jack always snickered at the fancy titles and archaic use of language here.

As he went to bed in one of the many boarding houses of the Jutral precinct, Jack was content; tomorrow the Emperor would receive his message.

The Beginning

It is said that in The Beginning, The Elders planted Nox Hospitus. With this they marked the start of something new; a break with the former barbary and war of the olden days.

The Elders, or the Shahaz'na belonged to a generation that had fought four large scaled wars during its lifetime. The few who survived, swore to rebuild a peaceful society, and the remainders of every nation and state, of every alliance and coalition, each made their own plans for how to do this.

The ones we call the Shahaz'na decided that a peaceful society must grow from protected, yet exuberant and organic origins. Nox Hospitus was born, and as it grew, so did its people.

“Great leadership is sating the needs of future generations before they arise.”
Maxim Ren'vo of the Shahaz'na, 8 AB

During The Newborn Period, the people of The Nox lived in actual, pure peace. In two hundred years, not a single offense was commited. In The Nox, there were no leaders — the Shahaz'na had populated the area, and released responsibility to each and every individual.

The Newborn Period saw the rise of the forest, but as the environment grew darker with the shade of the trees, so did the the minds of men grow dark. Few accounts exist of the time after The Newborn Period, and most were not transcribed from word-of-mouth until several hundred years later. Suffice it to say, the people were tasked to build a civilization, not from scratch, but with both knowledge and resources from The Old World, and the pressure ate at the very soul of everyone in Nox Hospitus.

About

This is going to be Nox Hospitus. Kind of an anthology, or a gathering of stories, pertaining to a fictional universe. The thought is that every little piece will contribute to a holistic image of the universe of Nox Hospitus. I'd love to get suggestions in comments.