Vibora Bay

Located on the Florida panhandle coast, in what was once a snake- and mosquito infested swamp, Vibora Bay is a strange blend of old and new — a modern city that clings to its old roots and old ways. It’s a place where despite the sunny, humid days, a certain darkness always seems to lurk in alleys and cellars, and there’s a mysterious chill that runs up and down one’s spine.... History Vibora Bay was first settled about three hundred years ago, toward the end of the seventeenth century, by Spanish explorers. Its broad, relatively deep bay made it an ideal place for ships to come, even if it wasn’t always the nicest place to live. More than a few settlers died of strange diseases in the early years, and the snakes that gave the place its name never seemed to diminish in number. Even today it’s not unusual for a resident to wake up and fi nd a snake warming himself on the patio... or in the house! During the years of British colonization of America, and on into the Revolutionary War, Vibora Bay grew fat and prosperous selling to both rebel and Redcoat alike. Even after the city became a part of the United States, under the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, and Americans began settling there in great numbers, it retained its own distinct culture, a blend of Spanish and the strange customs and patois of the many African slaves that lived and worked in the area. Somehow, Vibora Bay seemed to change people to fi t it, rather than changing to fi t its new inhabitants. Th e city remained a bustling and wealthy trading center until Union blockades during the Civil War brought trade screeching to a halt. Vibora Bay weathered most of the War pretty well, but in the end it suffered horribly when Major Roderick Burnham, an underling of General William T. Sherman, treated it not much differently than Sherman treated Atlanta. Th e survivors were left with a city devastated by weeks of shelling and intermittent fi res, but rather than complain they rolled up their sleeves and got to work, rebuilding wherever they could and building anew where they must. Surprisingly, few of their slaves, now free men and women, left the area — but just as surprisingly, there was little tension between former slaves and former masters, unlike many other regions of the defeated South. Before long, the trading ships and railcars were entering the city in full force once again, and life resumed along more or less the same lines as it had before. For the past century and a half, Vibora Bay has coasted along, slowly growing, but never experiencing true bursts of expansion and modernization like so many other Southern cities. Something about it seems to defeat the fast modern lifestyle, slowing people and events down to a more sedate pace. Viborans point out with pride how many of their buildings are the same ones from the Reconstruction period (or before), and how many of their customs — like the annual Easter Festival, a riot of colorful parades, excessive drinking, and lewd behavior — remain almost unchanged from the early days. In the twenty-first century, Vibora Bay has become a city of contrasts. Although not untouched by the technological revolution of the late 1900s — the city houses some important high-tech industries — its heart lies still in the past. Life there has a certain quality all its own, unlike that of any other city in the world, and the Viborans wouldn’t trade it for anything. Layout Vibora Bay originally grew along the waterfront, and that remains the oldest and most heavily developed part of town. Although the center of the business district has shifted somewhat to the north, the oddly archaic-looking and quaint waterfront buildings nevertheless hold many offices, services businesses, and even residences. Major industries, particularly shipbuilding, have spread east and west along the coast, while the rest of the city grows north from the central waterfront through what was once swamp and lowland (making parts of Vibora Bay distressingly prone to flooding). Much of the city is split along east-west lines, with the eastern part (Easton) being mainly white, and the western part (Weston) mainly black. Th e dividing line tends to be High Street, which roughly bisects the city, but this varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. Th e city’s best-known tourist attractions — Blackman’s Square, where once the slave market was held, and the High Apostolic Church, home to the strange religion of the same name — are both in Weston, as are over half of the city’s best nightclubs and entertainment spots... but so are some of its darkest alleys. Vibora Bay is noted, and often studied, for its architecture. According to some scholars, there are more buildings in the old Spanish styles in Vibora Bay than any other city in North America, and students can also fi nd evidence of Georgian and Victorian architecture in a sort of mish-mash that only a Viboran can truly understand. Th e streets, particularly near the waterfront, are often cramped and twisting, making it easy to get lost, and giving the city something of an Old World feel. More than one visitor, uncertain of his bearings, has later reported that as he wandered around trying to make heads or tails of his map, the very buildings seemed to subtly lean over and glare at him. The Superhuman World In Vibora Bay As should surprise no one familiar with the history, culture, and feel of the city, superhumans in Vibora Bay favor the mystic. Th ere are a few technology- oriented superhumans, and a mutant or two, but most superhumans in the area have mystic origins or powers. Mystics from other places — such as [[Dark Seraph]], Witchcraft , Takofanes, and Talisman — often come to Vibora Bay for reasons of their own, and DEMON is said to maintain a large Demonhame somewhere in the still-untamed swamps on the outskirts of the city. Vibora Bay has no superteam of its own, but several independent heroes call the Queen City home. They include Black Mask, the tenth hero (and first woman) to wear the mantle of America’s first costumed adventurer; Juryrig, a gadgeteer with a wicked sense of humor; Brother Thunder and [[Sister Rain]], a (possibly married) couple who have mastered many of the powers of voodoo; Redsnake, a martial artist who takes his name from that of an unusual local species of rattlesnake; and Dr. Ka, a sorcerer said to have once studied under the god Thoth, but who fell from the god’s path to seek his own way in the mystic realms. Perhaps the most unusual superhuman figure in Vibora Bay is a strange man who goes by the name Robert Caliburn. He wears simple clothes (jeans, t-shirt, a faded old Army jacket, fingerless gloves), and his face makes him seem like he’s about 25 — but his eyes have a hundred-year stare that many people find unnerving in one so young. He smokes constantly, yet never coughs... nor has anyone ever seen him use a match to light his cigarettes. A few folk have said they’ve seen him accompanied by a large lizard of some kind, though most dismiss such tales as urban legends. What is known for sure is that all the mystics of the city, superheroic and mundane, accord him wide latitude and a deep respect for reasons they will not explain. What you can also count on is that if there’s trouble in the Queen City, you’ll probably find Caliburn right at the heart of it.