Work Text:
Lady Gotham had never been kind to those who settled on her lands. This was long known by those who had come before them. As many people have tried to conquer the land that was around her. Few would stay and put down roots if they managed to live alongside her. There had been many different villages and travelers who had passed through leaving parts that were either stolen or forgotten in her land. Lady Gotham would claim them as her own. As time passed, she truly started to allow people to settle her lands after years of battle with them. While there were few who Lady Gotham considered her own in the beginning. She did have a soft spot for the little village children, whose home lives weren't the greatest. Often would these children, missing and never reappear back in the city. If they did…they were different. To say the least, there were times in which they would try to better their situations. Most of the time, they would end up following their parents line of work. Working for one of the many rogues that called Gotham home.
The rogues have long since called Gotham their home, leaving their mark onto the village and her time. They had inspired stories surrounding their acts, it was said that their actions had influenced their bloodlines. Those who came afterwards each had a chance to fill the role of their ancestor and to continue the stories of them. While over time these stories twist and turn through each generation, at the core they had stayed the same. The goal was to cause mayhem, chaos, to try to destroy the progress that had been made by the people around them. Whether it was the anger that Lady Gotham herself had felt at the villagers who settled on her land. Or if it was the spirits of the ancestors fuelling the chaos, they never knew. What the villagers did know was their way of life. They had been dealing with these types of issues since the first Gothamite had attempted to settle upon Lady Gotham’s lands without her permission.
Lady Gotham was neither human nor a god. The people of Gotham weren’t all that religious compared to many of their counter neighbors. They were a growing kingdom without much structure. They believed in their stories that have been passed down through generations and what they can see. This had left them to be considered odd, and, strange ones. The ones who had no real structure of way of life, nor did they believe in a god or gods. The children were never the better, were often left alone, without parents, much less food on their worn tables. Many of their parents simply didn’t care or they were just too busy to notice what was happening with their children. This had led to many of the children to get mixed up in the wrong parts of Gotham where Lady Gotham wasn’t able to protect them.
It's said within the people of Gotham, that when something happens to one of her own. She mourns alongside her people. The days will be gloomier, cloudy days with no rain in sight, nor will the sun shine. The crops will die quicker and the lands will be unusable for weeks on in. The winters are harsher than the years before, yet the people of Gotham manage to deal with the grief of their Lady, and her villages as best as they can. While many of the villagers aren’t religious, when in time of need, they will ask their Lady for advice, help, guidance; on what to do. She may not respond to her people in a proper way. It doesn’t go unnoticed by the village children. It’s said that the children of Gotham have an extra sense while they’re young and often naive. They are able to tell when Lady Gotham is with them. Protecting them from the legends of the Rouges and the chaos that they bring with them. But Lady Gotham is unable to be everywhere and often the children and villagers of Gotham are hurt while her attention is away.
There had been many lords, tyrants, and different families; who struggled for power over the lands that they attempted to claim as their own. Many have failed to win the favor of Lady Gotham and her people. She had survived many wars, plagues, and power hungry families. Yet, few have won her favor for a time being. If Lady Gotham considers a family good enough to take charge of her kingdom then it usually isn’t for more than a few generations. For the people of Gotham wasn’t a kingdom that had tolerated permanence. The kingdom had been constantly shifting and changing, never truly staying still. It was hungry, it was able to devour dynasties that came and went, as they grew colder and more cruel to the people of Gotham. Some families vanished through scandal and betrayal, others through fire, disease, or mysterious disappearances whispered about only in taverns and alleyways. There were stories that Gotham chose its rulers as one might choose sacrifices, lifting them high only to watch how they would fall.
The oldest records claimed that Gotham had not always been a city of stone and shadow. Long before the great walls, before the cathedrals and black iron bridges, the land had belonged to something older. Sailors spoke of unnatural fog rolling from the harbor long before dawn, while farmers beyond the city limits claimed the earth itself rejected certain bloodlines. Whether these were superstitions or warnings depended entirely on who was telling the tale.
Every ruling house attempted to tame Gotham in its own way. The Waynes built towers and hospitals, believing the city could be healed through mercy and wealth. The Falcones ruled through trade and fear, turning Gotham into a kingdom of coin where loyalty could be bought as easily as bread. The Arkhams sought to understand the madness festering beneath the city streets, though many believed they only fed it instead. None remained untouched by Gotham for long.
There existed an old belief among the common people that every generation produced figures shaped by the city itself. Some became protectors, others monsters, but all were bound to Gotham in one way or another. They were not always born into greatness. Sometimes they were thieves, orphans, disgraced nobles, or children abandoned in the lower districts. Yet the city found them eventually. It always did.