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The Quarter Underground

The Quarter Underground is an upcoming modern darkly-themed supernatural creatures site set in New Orleans, with lax activity rules and check-ins (no activity checks). We are aiming to have a soft open for buzzers, and plan to open fully around mid to late November. We are aiming for 3-3-3, premium, and have the occasional darker topics at the forefront of some canons.

Peace exists in New Orleans between the factions and families that run the city from behind the scenes. The vampires keep their grasp on the medical side of things, werewolves are the police and emergency services, the djinn take in the lost and abused, and the magi protect the humans to the best of their ability. A new wrench is being tossed at the well-oiled machine, however: nereids, angry that their world is being polluted and destroyed, are coming ashore and blending in. They’re ready for a fight, and the land-dwelling creatures don’t know what they’re up against.

Discord: https://discord.gg/eWY58MbsVB

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Premise

The Quarter Underground is an upcoming modern darkly-themed supernatural creatures site set in New Orleans, with lax activity rules and check-ins (no activity checks). We are aiming to have a soft open for buzzers, and plan to open fully around mid to late November. We are aiming for 3-3-3, premium, and have the occasional darker topics at the forefront of some canons.

Peace exists in New Orleans between the factions and families that run the city from behind the scenes. The vampires keep their grasp on the medical side of things, werewolves are the police and emergency services, the djinn take in the lost and abused, and the magi protect the humans to the best of their ability. A new wrench is being tossed at the well-oiled machine, however: nereids, angry that their world is being polluted and destroyed, are coming ashore and blending in. They’re ready for a fight, and the land-dwelling creatures don’t know what they’re up against.

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Skin Previews!

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Shifters

Old stories tell of faeries stealing away children, leaving something else in place of a human child. Those children acted different, sometimes spoke as if they'd always known the world around them was full of magic and wonder - and not in a childlike sense. They changed in subtle ways, like hair length, a subtle shade darker or lighter of their irises, or the addition of freckles or birth marks that the parents didn't recognize. These young folks, no matter where they truly came from, were blessed with a talent unlike the magus, yet touched upon the trail of the werewolf. They didn't grow claws or fur, but there was sometimes an odd air about them, even when adulthood came around. No-one alive knows anymore what caused this energy to come forth and rise up in these ways, but in current times, they generally call themselves shifters.

No lull of the moon nor the biting need to feast on blood come to shifters; they can't speak to canids, but what they lack in those areas, they are truly the masters of disguise. A mere thought pressed at the back of their mind could make their nails sharpen into points if they're feeling threatened. Slipping away from the authorities when they're trying to lie low isn't tough when they can even take on the form of another person they've encountered before. While not perfect, and it doesn't last longer than a few hours, it's a talent that can be crucial to survival.

Lives full of risk are common with shifters, but they learn their limits when they're young, careful to not overdo themselves and get stuck halfway through a change that leaves them looking like neither their true form or the one they wanted to take. Energy is required, and exhaustion is commonplace, almost chronic for a shifter who isn't taking care to restrain their shifting ability. Those who change their eye colors too often might find their vision weakening, hair turning brittle when it's been shifted from one extreme color to the next too quickly.

Despite these shortcomings, shifters are almost as commonplace as human kind, often intermingling and having children with anything else out there in the world. Their children are often beautiful and have brilliant shades of color, sometimes lacking any blemishes at all. Shifters who change their appearance a lot don't often get tattooed due to the fact that the designs just won't stay on their skin, not with how rapidly their body sheds the flesh away and adjusts on the fly. The one true weakness that can alert someone to a shifter's presence is a strong allergic reaction to the soft metal gold. It causes itching, redness, severe discomfort, and if a shifter is burned by gold, it can leave a blemish in its place for at least a few days.

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Werewolves

Werewolves are an ancient race, descended from an even more ancient people. The forefathers of werewolves were not a race of people, but instead they were humans, enchanted either by faeries, djinn, or magic-wielding humans. They could transform at will into wolves, or were enchanted to turn into wolves, only able to return to human form if they never tasted human flesh. Over time, these enchanted people sired children who were born with gifts; the ability to speak to wolves and foxes, or the ability to astral-project their sleeping selves into the world in the shape of wolves. And over time, these descendants sired a new species; they looked human, but they were not.

Contrary to popular belief, werewolves do not operate on a strict alpha/omega style hierarchy. Instead they function much like a very close extended family blended with a corporation; there is at least one, sometimes more than one leader, a CEO or a Matriarch/Patriarch if you will. The full hierarchy of the clan tends to vary depending on how strict the leader or leaders are, but are generally loose and flexible.

Werewolves have changed drastically even since becoming a unique species; they have evolved more rapidly than any other natural creature on the planet, perhaps due to the latent magic that created them in the first place. The earliest werewolves were much like their human ancestors, able to change at will and speak to their mundane counterparts. They were never a prevalent species, but their numbers have dwindled as time went on, and all that is left now are three distinct families.

Early werewolves also lacked any ability to transform others into werewolves; this ability first started showing up in the late 1700s, and is thought to have been an evolution directly linked to their slow descent into an endangered species.

Modern werewolves shapeshift during the three nights of the full moon, and rather than being mindlessly bloodthirsty, their behaviour is more in line with real wolves; they're apex predators, dangerous, but shy towards humans. They spend their nights in the wilderness, hunting big game in groups of 8-12, and their weeks as humans doing all the same sorts of things humans do. Their senses in their human forms are superior to humans, probably on par with vampires, but there are no outward signs that they're inhuman. Tall, bi-pedal creatures with large fangs designed for shredding meat and getting the best parts of a kill, these aren't your neighborhood-friendly dogs. Some werewolves are naturally more aggressive, and those who are bitten and turned are often more out of control than one born with the curse of lycanthropy.

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Vampires

Vampires. We all have 'em, who needs 'em?

Vampires are one of the most infamous supernatural entities in the world, and frankly, the word is kind of an umbrella term that can be attributed to numerous different myths and creatures. But, that's complicated and annoying, so let's simplify things: we're talking about a particular "brand" of vampire, something akin to what most of the western world thinks of when they think of vampires. They used to be human, they're not anymore, and they need blood to survive.

Vampirism can be caused by a variety of things, but in this case, it's a demonic curse manifested as a very contagious disease. No one knows the whole story of how it started, but allegedly, the first of this race were men and women cursed by the Devil himself. They died, and 48 hours later came back to life, but they only looked human now; they were cursed to walk the land in the dark of night, feeding on human blood. Animal blood, in fact, doesn't actually do anything, because that would be far too easy.

A vampire is difficult to notice; they're pale, but not deathly so, and their fangs are not distinct unless they're feeding. Their eyes are the giveaway, jewel coloured and bright, they can be passed off as coloured contacts, or disguised by actual coloured contacts. Their shadows are the really scary part of them though, and most humans never notice them; a vampire's shadow is always there, even when no shadow should be visible, because their shadow is their familiar, a manifestation of themselves, frightful, but ultimately unable to harm anyone but another vampire or its shadow.

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Nereids

The truth behind every myth is simpler than you think. Nereids are the truth behind mermaids, sea serpents, kelpies, and myriad other aquatic entities. Nereids are shape-shifters, able to take any form they desire, as long as they are fully submerged in water; they can survive on land perfectly well, but they're locked to whatever form they've taken. Their "true form" if you will, is exactly what you might imagine a mermaid to be: the upper body is mostly human, turning into a long, powerful tail around the lower waist and hips. This tail is more serpentine than it is fishy, usually covered in soft scales and fins, and ending in wide, flowing fins as well. Their "human" half sports webbed hands, gills, and large dark eyes.

Nereids originated in and around the Mediterranean sea, but they can be found all over the world; they can be found mainly in seas and coastal ocean water, but they make their homes in rivers, lakes, and streams as well. Many Nereids spend their lives disguised as more mundane creatures to avoid detection, shape-shifting only in hidden places where no one might witness it. Many also have taken to living among humans, also keeping their aquatic natures secret.

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The Magi

Have you ever watched the water swirl in your glass after drawing it free from the tap, catching the way the movement continues after the surface calms? It isn't a moment of shock or anxiety, but one that pulls your attention in a quiet, curious way, like you've always known it was there, just waiting to show you its power and playfulness. This is exactly how the magi come to the world, aware that they have something else in them, but not always knowing the words that fit the situation. It's not terrifying, it's part of who they are, and from the outside, nobody would ever guess that the city has a surplus of gifted, magical folk.

As varied as personalities and countries, powers and weaknesses tend to show themselves in strange ways. Some magi are able to control water, the ebb and flow of it around them, and could even make it boil if they sit and focus on it long enough. Others can force flames to come to life from seemingly nothing, or can put them out with a deep breath that soothes all the way through to the soul. Some can make the earth tremble in their wake to cause fear, and others can pull the very air from another's lungs without blinking. Others can use their magic to bend spoons, tell the future, or even talk to the dead, but one thing is for certain: don't count the magi out, no matter how dangerous the road ahead.

While human-adjacent, all magi come from magic - from the proud djinn, carefree nereids, wildly dangerous shifters, the loyal werewolves, and even egotistical vampires as their parents. Only a fragment of them are human, and their powers often reflect their lineage. Some talk to canines at the zoo, others could call upon a short rainfall when they're feeling down, while others can drop the temperature around them; all in all, the magi are as varied as the world around them.

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Humans

Most people in New Orleans know that their city isn't normal. There's always an air of excitement, of danger, and of hard-won battles leaving a tinge of blood on one's tongue. Humans have been around for a long time, but not as long as the things that go bump in the night. Some people know a lot about what exists in their beloved home, while others new to the area have a lot to discover. With the police and firefighters being mainly werewolves, shifters working hard to please their clients in the entertainment industry, and djinn trying to corner the market and get as many allies as possible on their side, this city is a little crowded.

By far the softest species in New Orleans, they're also the deadliest on record. People have been known to rat out anything that isn't human over the years, and once upon a time, it was a death sentence if proven right. These days, humans still see themselves as the top of the food chain, run the city with little care for the fact their gardener is a werewolf who loves nothing less than to run its fingers through some dirt without being obvious. A wary and scary bunch, humans are a gold mine for being able to be turned into many other species.

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Powers of the Djinn

Djinn are wish makers, talented in ways that any magi would be jealous of. A token is what holds the catalyst to the djinn's power, almost always something that the djinn owned before they turned seventeen to twenty-two years of age. The item is generally small and can still be used as it's intended purpose, but from the moment a djinn reaches maturity, the token will change color. Gold, silver, bronze; the color signifies nothing more than the bond it holds with the djinn who will have a pair of small marks appear on the insides of their wrists. The design, intricate yet subtle, will repeat over the token and shine brilliantly off of the djinn's inner wrists. After the connection is created, the color fades down (more so with time) and only glows again when the djinn is accessing their magic. Long gone are the days when their ancestors had massive wraps around their wrists gave away what they were to those hunting them down. Nowadays, the marks mostly resemble tattoos, and can be covered and hidden by artwork needled into skin.

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Djinn Lore

Wealth and beauty have always been cherished, and those who knew of the djinn and their gifts could spend their entire lives searching. Humanity's greed often turned the djinn sour, uncomfortable at being nothing more than an extension of their items and magic. Exploited and treated as if they were trinkets to send down family lines for centuries, some djinn starting taking their lives into their own hands. While they held a bond with the one who held the tie to their full magical abilities, not all who they served were worthy of the proud djinn who wanted freedom and peace for their own selves and to be reunited with their families that often were broken up and handed out like antiques to the next heirs in line.

Unable to disobey their masters, so long as nothing was said aloud quickly enough, a djinn could get the upper hand and remove their master from the living world. A quick death, awash with mercy and the instinct to be their own people, they began becoming scarcer and harder to find. Over the centuries, a few djinn families found their paths leading to big cities- and two families of djinn have done more than just taken roots in New Orleans. In fact, they're damn determined to show that they're much more than their history.

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Come Meet the Locals!

Alongside humanity, the city is occupied by branches of the three clans of werewolves, many families of djinn, countless vampires and their cults, shifters, and magi. While these do not account for all the otherfolk that live among humans, they're five of the most common. Alongside their ranks are the nereids, new to living among humans and found only in coastal cities and cities alongside major rivers and lakes.

The people of the city keep to their own for the most part, but tacitly agree to work around each other peacefully, and together when they must. They each do their part to keep the city running, keep it prosperous, and keep it under their secret rule.

The werewolves split their tasks among their clans, handling the law, meat and agriculture, and education. The vampires have their hands in the hospitals and medical supply, and run cults and drug rings to lure in easy prey. The magi, being at least part human, protect humans from over-hunting and rogue predation; they also work alongside the djinn and werewolves. Shifters are typically involved in the criminal underworld, working for vampires, djinn, and anyone else who wants their skills. The djinn, tired of centuries of enslavement, tend to the poor, unloved, and abused. The nereids are a wrench in everything, a wild people from the seas, shape-shifters with an ax to grind over the poisoned state of the world. Never much for socializing outside their own people, the nereids are angry and afraid.

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Welcome to New Orleans

New Orleans is an old city, an early settlement of America, and an ideal home to the peoples of the world. It's got a reputation for voodoo and vampires, and the otherfolk have leaned into that for as long as it's existed. It's a beautiful city, easy to get lost in, easy to find the lost in; close proximity to water makes it a great hub of travel and export, its beauty, reputation, and annual celebrations make it a popular tourist destination.

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Our Story So Far

The world of The Quarter Underground is an alternative Earth where all the creatures of your dreams and nightmares exist. Certain cities are full of them, dominated and controlled by them for their own ends. In these cities, humans are on the edge of awareness, most know something is different about this city, they sense the otherfolk, and some are fully involved. Others are blissfully unaware, usually tourists and new residents who moved from more mundane areas.

Not all the strange creatures in the world occupy human cities; some choose solitude, some cannot thrive in that environment. The ones that share our space with us are the most numerous, the ones that cannot hide; they live with us because it is the only way for any of us to live in peace. There are creatures that could never pass for humans, and creatures so ancient they slumber under mountains. The shadows of forests walk the old gods, and in the deep, sirens sink ships.