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The Hidden City of Mayac Choro (details of which can be found in this file and in the attendent "GM's Secrets" file) was my attempt to do the whole "Indiana Jones" thing in Fading Suns. The quest for the lost city had started half a continent away with some vague rumours about pre-first contact Eyrti heiroglyphs found in the mountains of Rampart (the Eyrti were native only to Grail before human contact). My gaming group being well-trained at spotting adventure hooks and all, this instantly led into an immense cross-country quest to find these heiroglyphs via Gibbling horde migrations, old Li-Halan death camps, some local socio-political trouble, search and rescue efforts, Yeti attacks, murder and conspiracy in the Kisen Do Monastery, and more. I hope you have as much fun with this forsaken hellhole as I did. :-)

The Lower City
Mayac Choro is built on an artificially terraced mountain-top plateau and is divided into a series of suburbs by the level of the plateau and the surrounding areas (see the map for more information). Water is supplied by a still-standing aquaduct, the only other apparent access-way is a twisting and heavily eroded road up the mountain-side. The rockface by the side of this road was once carved with the tale of the city's construction and, unlike many of the carvings within the city, these carvings have not been entirely destroyed by the hand of time, or those of vandals. Anyone with any scupting knowledge, or a hint of aesthetic sense, can tell they are of exceptional quality, even given the centuries of weathering. The climb to the city is a long and tiring one, and it takes the better part of a day to reach the city gates.

The gates of Mayac Choro in the south-east wall are vast constructions of elaborately decorated bronze (the material can be assessed from the pale green colour they have tarnished). A character with Lore:Art History, Archaeology or Second Republic can estimate that they date from the 3800s (the height of the Second Republic). The gates are either locked or jammed and cannot be shifted without the aid of explosives, heavy machinery or an act of God. For reference purposes, the natives regard the gates as taboo and enter and leave the city to hunt via parts of the old sewer works! How the PCs get into the city depends upon their initiative - using the sewer network is one option, climbing the walls is another.

The architecture within the city is a somehow harmonious mixture of pre-Columbian Mayan and Incan, Classic Greco-Roman and generic pseudo-Egyptian 'City of the Ancients' styles. The architecture, even in the less luxurious habitation areas, implies a healthy outdoor-oriented life with houses used mainly for sleeping and storage. The public areas are monumental and spacious, and become moreso towards the centre of the city (see The Upper City below). Although the buildings and streets all appear very open there are many areas which block clear lines of sight either due to their design (rows of pillars, overhangs) or due to the prevailing lighting conditions (heavy shadows are common, especially between buildings and late in the day).

Individual buildings in the suburbs have several stories, with relatively small windows (for aesthetic reasons or climate control?) and large balconies/elevated veranda areas on the higher levels. The interiors, often built of less durable materials than the structural walls, are largely bare and open: what remaining items there are are in refuse heaps. Some evidence of frescoes or mosaic remain although many appear to have been deliberately smashed (possibly during an earlier iconoclastic period).

The Necropolis
This north-western suburb of the city is, although the visitors may not initially realize it, entirely composed of tombs. These tombs take two types: either mausolea; be they crypts, mini-pyramids, statues, whatever, or altars. Many of the mausolea are open to access from the outside world, and appear to be dedicated to families, neighbourhoods or other associative groups. The altars, despite the quality of their carvings and craftsmanship, appear to be largely interchangable and are scattered throughout the Necropolis.

In stark contrast with the iconoclastic fury meted out to the decoration in the remainder of the city there are a great number of undefaced statues and heiroglyphs here (this suburb alone is enough to make the career of any aspiring archaeologist). For those who have an interest in such things the heiroglyphs are a non-alphabetic (possibly syllabaric?) notation for an Urthish dialect so archaic and esoteric in form as to be almost incomprehensible to the auditor (Urthish test w. complementary Lore checks to decipher and translate to modern Urthish). The sculpted decorations - which date from around 3800 to the early 4300s - have been embelished with much more recent votive offerings - bones, skins, tools and items looted from the rest of the city. For some reason the wind ever-present in Mayac Choro does not appear to affect this suburb.

The Upper City
The scale of the buildings in this section of the city are almost an order of magnitude greater than those in any other area of the city, with the possible exception of some of the more extravagant buildings in the Necropolis. Obviously once the socio-political and religious centre of the city the immense buildings here are reminiscent of Luxor, Aswan, the ruined cities of Ancient Persia/Central Asia or Angkor Wat (in fact insert any ancient lost city of monolithic hugeness you fancy).

It is obvious that before these buildings were stripped of their decorations, by persons or entities unknown, they were once richly ornamented; even now their Ozymandian grandeur is little less than awe-inspiring. Little can be assessed of the function of many of these empty shells. Some appear to have been meeting or address halls, others museums or theatres. Several of the buildings consist of scores of small chambers whose purpose can only be guessed at (loose scraps of potsherd or parchment could be dropped as clues here).

The Great Pyramid
Impressive as many of the buildings in Mayac Choro are, by far the largest structure, and the apparent focus of the city, is the Great Pyramid on the south-western side of the central plaza of the upper city. This great construction is a step-pyramid in what would appear to be a pseudo-Meso-American style (an architecture which was fashionable during the middle years of the Old Republic). The pyramid is over 300 feet in height and is faced with Sunstone, a photoreactive rock quarried on a world lost during the Fall of the Old Republic. In contrast to the remainder of the city the pyramid does not appear to have any figurative carvings upon it.

The base of the pyramid is surrounded by small cairns 3-6 feet in height, the rocks of which would appear to have been smashed off buildings or statuary elsewhere in the city. Each rock cairn is surmounted by a fetish or icon crafted of bone, skin, feathers, etc. (think West Indian Juju, old European corn dollies, etc...). The number of cairns is quite remarkable, and their varied states of repair indicate that whoever has been building them has been doing so for decades. The newest cairns would appear to have been constructed quite recently, as there is still some evidence of rotted meat atop them.

The pyramid itself is composed of 10 'steps', each about 30 feet in height. On the side of the pyramid facing the central plaza is a processional stairway 20+ feet wide, which appears to ascend directly to the summit of the pyramid (cue those Endurance + Vigour checks people). The summit of the pyramid, which is very exposed and windy, forms a ceremonial area about 50 feet square. Each corner of this area is decorated with a 20 feet high obelisk carved of obsidian and decorated with heiroglyphs (GM's call as to what these carvings say, and in what alphabet and language). The centre is dominated by a raised platform which is carved with some form of esoteric calendary circle or zodiac.