So mapping the city is troublesome, we know that much; but what of the Echo Bazaar? Perched at the center of the city, on the south bank of the Stolen River, it has become the commercial heart of Fallen London. Yet we still have only a very vague understanding of what the Bazaar is, exactly, within the structure of the city - is it simply the Spires and the area directly beneath them? The collection of ramshackle collection of workshops and stores around it being referred to as "The Bazaar"? Something else entirely?
From a few notable storylettes, including some like the more recent Penstock’s Wicket and the Nemesis option of the Noman, I’ve surmised that the Bazaar is composed thusly:
Firstly, the Spires. From the map art of the actual game as well as various location banners and the four different doors mentioned in the Unsigned Letter card, there seem to be four of them - each a massive, towering thing, each inscribed with Correspondence letters and multisected by "vanes" (which can also display Correspondence sigils on them). These spires are large enough to host the private quarters of the Masters, hordes of neddy men and clerks, and massive treasure vaults - as well as personal Emporiums for a selected few individuals. It would seem that members of citizenry can walk around and beneath the Spires without being troubled (so long as they don’t look up at the burning runes), but access to the interior is guarded by Special Constables and/or neddy men via Iron Gates. The larger Doors, made of special materials, seem to lead from the exterior directly into the heart of each Spire, but they are not guarded - presumably because they are monolithic, immobile, and never truly open.
As an aside, it is also possible that there are smaller spires, host either to a reduced number of chambers or so diminutive in size that they are basically "decorative". However, none are described as thus, and this is merely speculation on my part.
Around the area of the Spires there seems to be a round area of clear space; again, this is surmised from a few storylettes as well as the game map. This being the commercial heart of London I would assume this space serves as a major thoroughfare in the heart of the city - a sizable round-a-bout where carts, velocipedes and pedestrians go about their business. It also serves as a means to keep some distance between the city proper and the Spires; the menace of the alien edifices and their effects on people should not be underestimated,
Now we come to the interesting bit - where trade happens; The Bazaar. The Noman has been instrumental in this deduction - describing a wall of a shop laden street as part of the Bazaar proper (and privy to its unique qualities; for the spoiler-ish specifics, check the wiki), means that at last, an image can be composed. I believe that "The Bazaar" - that is, where one may attain residence and a storefront, where one goes to buy and sell all manner of goods - is, in fact, a formation of arches and enclaves composed of the same matter as the skin of the Spires. In these spaces, people may build shops, stores, entire buildings composed of ordinary materials, but all within these sturdy enclosures. In your minds eye, you may imagine it as a Levantian Souq - busy and narrow and full of the bustle of trade. Below I’ve added some pictures, obtained through Google, which I think give off the "feel" of the Bazaar, at least as I understand it.
Finally, we come to the Bazaar Side-Streets - these areas are not truly part of the Bazaar in that the materials and structures of the Bazaar are not present in them. Instead, they are cramped structures and streets around the periphery of the Bazaar, emulating if not the status and grandeur of those within it, than at least its ts tight quarters and its fervor for trade.
Well, that’s it for my rambling, long winded theory. And now, picture time[li]
http://imgur.com/OZds3s4
http://imgur.com/r9XTBWP[/li][li]
edited by IHNIWTR on 1/25/2014
