Metamor City: Difference between revisions

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Metamor City is the capital of the Empire of Metamor, a mostly-benevolent superpower ruled by the [[Genius Loci]] of the valley where the city is built. The constraints of geography and the power of [[Magitek]] resulted in a [[Mega City]] where "moving up in the world" is a literal reality: the wealthy inhabit the highest levels of the massive skyscraper towers, while the ground level is a haven for criminals, feral monsters and those too poor to escape further up. Laying over the entire city is The Curse, an ancient enchantment that will randomly transform the body of anyone who stays around more than a few days, unless appropriate protective magic is used.

 

 

The series so far consists of one novel and about a dozen shorter stories ranging in length from flash fiction to novellas. The stories do not focus on a single ongoing plot, but characters from one story often pop up later in others as their interests coincide or run into conflict with each other. The head author states that there is an over-arching [[Metaplot]] that will reveal itself as the series continues.

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* [[Affably Evil]]: Malcolm ard'Valos, the vampire prince who rules [[The Syndicate]] in Metamor City.

* [[The Archmage]]: Artax.

* [[Attractive Bent Gender]]: Danni in ''Making the Cut'' is the most prominent on-screen example, though thanks to the original intention of the Curse, ''all'' androgynes tend to make for this (and have the increased libido to match).

* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: Artax has traces of (and certainly a reputation for) this; he seems overly fond of turning men into pretty women either as a joke or a lesson, but he never actually tries anything with them, and is reliable when push comes to shove.

* [[The City Narrows]]: The Street, which takes up virtually all the space at ground level.

* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]:

** In ''Make Believe'' Artax (temporarily) transfigures giant pink bunny ears, to match the newly pink uniform, onto an MCPD officer who tried to force Artax away from a police operation.

* [[Kuudere]]: Fiona in ''Making the Cut.''

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: Fiona in ''Making the Cut,'' who has no idea where her extreme fear of being helpless comes from. It turns out that's because {{spoiler|someone erased her memory to cover up their involvement in her mother's death}}.

* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: Oh yeah.

* [[No Bisexuals]]: Averted. Many times.

** ''The Case of the Golden Egg:'' A dragon is living in Metamor City in human form, posing as a member of the nobility. She is vain (of course), arrogant (of course), uses mortals as her pawns (of course), and is driven into a homicidal rage when someone dares to steal what belongs to her.

* [[Our Elves Are Better]]

* [[Our Orcs Are Different]]: The lutins are a short, hardy, green-skinned race with a deep animistic spiritual tradition. They're also superstitious and greedy and tend to end up at the bottom rungs of Metamor society.

* [[Our Souls Are Different]]: It is often said within the series that the "mortal soul" is what makes humans (and other mortal creatures) capable of exercising free will.

* [[Petting Zoo People]]: One of three versions of the Curse of Metamor.

* [[Physical God]]: Lots of them, thanks to a [[Screw Destiny]] maneuver by [[The Chosen One]]. The gods of the old pantheon (aka the Fallen Gods) were left in physical bodies with only a fraction of their former power. They gain power from the energy of mortal souls (in a [[Gods Need Prayer Badly]] way), and there are some who are stronger than others even after their fall.

* [[Polyamory]]: The Psi Collective is built around "breeding cells", which usually have one man and three to five women, all of whom have romantic relationships with each other. The Sommers Cell in ''Making the Cut'' shows both the advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement.

* [[Prophecy Twist]]: In ''Make Believe'' Artax looks into the future of Jon Tunstall, an angry and powerful young mage, and sees the young man trying to rally a group of young wizards with criminal histories, sees Tunstall standing in a room full of terrified people with power flowing from his hands as the walls crumble down around them, and lastly he sees Tunstall standing over his, Artax's, very still and prone body. Later in the story Artax gets independent confirmation of Tunstall attempting to rally the other students and realizes that his vision is already coming to pass. Turns out that {{spoiler|Tunstall was attempting to rally the students to join him in helping Artax to face the current threat; the power that Artax saw coming from Tunstall's hands was holding the walls and ceiling up long enough for the people in the collapsing room to get out; and when Artax can't redirect all of the energy that the [[Big Bad]] hurls against him and collapses, it's Tunstall who takes care of the rest, and then sees to Artax after the confrontation}}.

* [[Unfazed Everyman]]: Will Kerenson in ''The Muse''.

* [[Warrior Monk]]: The Lothanasi Order.

* [[Wizards Live Longer]]: Artax is at least a couple of centuries old, and doesn't show signs of kicking it anytime soon.