Religion: The city is centered around a derelict car, with a legend of 'The Spark Giver,' a savior who will one day return to restart the car and save Mousedom. The religion of Lumism revolves around this prophecy. Priests wear engine parts as sacred regalia and use engine oil for baptisms. The Lumist Pope resides in the Basilica Naturalis and dons a ceremonial acorn hat. A singular manually-powered lightbulb is revered as a holy icon.
History: The city was a functioning junkyard about 20 years ago.
Materials: Scrap metal is abundant, while natural decorations are highly valued.
Threats: Rats live underground, attacking and eating mice. They wear mouse bones as armor and worship darkness. The largest rat, the Rat King, is crowned based on the number of mice consumed.
Ancient Protector: A cat named Balthazar once defended the city against rats.
Leadership: The Lumist Pope and priests define the laws.
Hope: Most mice await the return of 'The Spark Giver.' Poorer mice focus on survival, grateful for the church’s rule.
Worst Day: The Darkest Morn: A rat attack killed 'The Spark Giver,' and the body was stolen. An annual service commemorates this tragedy with a strawberry passed around.
Best Day: The Nightdawn: 'The Spark Giver' brought light to every home and used divine power to drive back the rats, planning a crusade against them. This occurred one week before 'The Darkest Morn.'
Pets: Mice keep beetles and ladybugs as companions.
City Name: The city was originally called Sparkheart.
Horrible Events: Mice deemed 'unproductive' are forced by the church to power the holy lightbulb generators, becoming Wheelers.
Success: When the food store (the car's glovebox) is full, the city hosts grand feasts.
Environment: Weeds and gravel abound, but barren soil makes agriculture difficult.
The Return of Sir Dillion: Sir Dillion returns from a crusade against the rats, bearing scars of torture and corrupted by shadow. Initially revered, he spreads anti-Lumist propaganda, sowing rebellion.
Landmark: A car jack at the city’s edge marks its boundary.
Destruction: During Sir Dillion’s coup, the sacred lightbulb is accidentally broken. Sir Dillion publicly executes the Lumist Pope, declaring a new order.
Political Shift: Sir Dillion establishes a monarchy, turning the city into a military state. The car begins to be dismantled to build defensive walls. The city is renamed Tammy’s Scrapyard after the junkyard's new owner.
Balthazar's Changing Role: Balthazar forms a family with Queenie, a Texan beauty queen’s cat, and visits the city less frequently.
Food and Drink: Energy drinks (Monster) are the mice's equivalent of alcohol. Traditional foods like berries and cheese remain staples.
10 Years Pass: A monarchy led by King Agallion is established. A strawberry bush grows in the car’s cupholder, symbolizing renewed hope.
Expansion: Tammy leaves, and the junkyard shuts down, allowing the city to expand. Balthazar's grandkids become a threat, hungering for mice.
Plague and Recession: Poison and mousetraps devastate the population, while mutant rats emerge from eating poisoned mice.
Lumism Fades: Lumist followers, led by Pope Belladonna, leave the city to start a pilgrimage.
Tibble's Rule: Tibble, a runt-turned-emperor empowered by Owl Wizard Morgana, becomes a tyrant. Taxes are introduced, and a road is built to connect the city to Tibble’s new imperial home atop a vending machine.
Technological Growth: Mice repair a solar panel, gaining access to electricity, which revitalizes food production and independence.
Cultural Shifts: A bar named Figgle's opens in the car's back footwell, frequented by the city’s poor. Mice joke about death, running a Deadpool at the bar. Classical music from the car radio becomes a popular pastime.
Betrayal and Freedom: Tibble betrays Morgana, who destroys the vending machine in retaliation, killing Tibble. The city celebrates its liberation with Freedom Day, arresting Tibble’s rat ambassador.
Shifting Landspaces: The junkyard fractures into islands after a magical war between mice and fae. The city becomes the Republic of Whisker Isle, a trading state thriving on science and magic.
Key Changes: Morgana becomes a free agent, no longer allied with the fae queen Titania. Whisker Isle prepares for potential conflict, balancing science and relics of the past with growing independence.