The city of Hriskalt is a sprawling affair sitting in a depression, sheltered by mountains on either side. It shows hints of its cosmopolitan past in the architecture-built vertically to such a height that the light on the ground is spare and shadows are long. But its glory days are past, as it was ravaged by war, so long ago that no one knows why the war was fought, or even the reasons for it. Though the mountains loom, the city sprawls within their confines, forming an endless metropolis in one direction, never seeming to escape the mountains, even as the buildings scale the rocky sides. And this is considered normal.
The war is very much not over, and forces still vie for the destruction of The City- is merely waged differently. The enemy is now more insidious, warring for the very souls of the people that reside within, and the very knowledge of the war and the toll it takes on The City would ensure Her demise. The Church and the Unseen root out Agents of the enemy by the seemingly capricious laws and Draconian enforcement, in order to enforce some semblance of order within.
Some have the unfortunate circumstance to view and recognize this truth. Whether it is because of an encounter with one of these enemies, some particular ability to witness something better left unseen, or by some other blessing or curse, these people can never go back to their prior ignorance. Sometimes, it happens quickly, and in others more slowly. They begin to see the disappearances that others miss- those people that one day just are not there. Patterns unfold in coincidental occurrences and meaningless scrawl hidden on the walls. And more importantly, they see the reasons that curfew is enforced,and no one is allowed on the streets during the Toll of the Veil.