Overview
Vieux Carré, sometimes called the French Quarter, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. It's a hot, noisy town run by scoundrels; caught between the holy austerity of Jacksonia and the domineering elitists of The Royaume in Tuloya.
Culture
The common attitude in Vieux Carré is that anything goes, if you know the right people and are willing to pay the price. For the vast majority of the populace, this simply means that they can carouse and debauch without judgment: eat, drink, snort, inject, and screw what you want, dance to the music, have a fistfight and pass out. There is more to the town than endless partying, however; while other communities in the New Orleans ruins have strong Catholic (or quasi-Catholic) roots, Vieux Carré still has a connection to Voodoo; not just Obed Narcisse's theatrical Hoodoo with Voodoo trappings either. Mambo Marie DeRose oversees a Hounfour, acting as a benevolent point of contact between the faithful and the loa. She leads her congregants as a force for good in the community, though without the holier-than-thou demeanor of Jacksonia's missionaries.
Economy
Vieux Carré possesses an entertainment and vice-driven economy. Obed Narcisse keeps the community very friendly towards cabarets, brothels, dive bars, drug dens, fight clubs, freak shows, honky-tonks and anything else that draws a crowd in to spend money.
Its location makes it the southern terminus for the Mississippi Traders Union, where they can do business with townies, Rafters, and even pirates from the Gold Coast and other waters.
Government
Obed Narcisse
Vieux Carré once had many bosses, but after the rise of The Royaume; power has coalesced into the hands of a single man: Obed Narcisse. Obed presents himself as equal parts mystic and a businessman, but he's really just a charismatic gangster with a flair for the dramatic. Narcisse is an autocrat, though he is prudent enough to give powerful visitors, some leeway so as not to endanger his position.
He enforces his rule with a small army of thugs, including a number of "domesticated" Swampers. His elite guard is a band of fanatics called Chimère, true believers who think Obed is a powerful bokor. Their use of chems ("gris-gris") makes them quite dangerous.
Layout
Mambo Marie DeRose
The most common boundaries of Vieux Carré include all the land stretching along the Mississippi River from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue (12 blocks) and inland to North Rampart Street (seven to nine blocks). It equals an area of 78 square blocks.
Suggested Listening
| This has been written by OvaltinePatrol. Please contact this user before editing this article. |
| ||||||||||||