Alvadas
From Mizahar Lore
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This article is about a location with its own forum to roleplay in. You can find it here. |
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| Region | Kalea | ||||||
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| Notability | Home of Ionu and The Inverted | ||||||
| Population | 9,000 | ||||||
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| Languages | Common Mizaharian | ||||||
| Currency | Miza | ||||||
| Imports | Most goods (mostly a trade city) | ||||||
| Exports | Most goods | ||||||
Contents |
Long regarded as the home of the God of Illusion and Trickery, Alvadas brims with mystery and hallucinatory experiences. The City of Illusions is a dark, multi-faceted place where nothing is ever as it seems. It would be hard to explain Alvadas in a few words, as one sees Alvadas as they would like to see it. To some, it is a place of mystery where secrets lay around every corner. To others, it is a place of fear and darkness. Alvadas sits in a valley at the very beginning of the Kitrean mountain range. Its trade routes connect the Kalea region with the Suvan Sea, forming a valuable trading route that many are afraid to take.
Infrastructure
The general layout of Alvadas is simple enough - a slightly rounded rectangle surrounded by a stone wall. The wall varies in height and density around the perimeter of the city and provides little actual protection. Its presence is a symbol more than anything else. It was erected in the same place as the magical boundaries that contain illusions within the city. Should the magical limits ever fail, illusion would spill out of Alvadas, bending the nature of both the city and it surroundings. The wall is a subtle reminder of the fact.
The Gaping Maw serves as the entrance point to Alvadas. Once the traveler has passed through the stone jaws, they will find themselves in an ever-changing, intricate network of buildings and streets. Immediately to the right of Gaping Maw, one will find the Sanity Center - the only stable point of Alvadas. It's all topsy-turvy from there.
The streets of Alvadas are always moving around, shuffling the houses like a deck of cards. A left out of your house one morning might take you to the Gaping Maw. Two bells later, that same left out of your front door could drop you in a pit with some very angry Myrians. No house is ever in the same place, no street has ever looked the same twice. Two shops that had been next to each other one day could be on opposite sides of the city the next. The overall layout of Alvadas resembles a rectangle with rounded corners, but the streets themselves could be paved, water, fire, fur or some monstrosity of several different factors. Even the signs never point in the right direction.
It is said that those who readily open their minds to illusion have a greater chance of understanding this overwhelming city.
The Weather
Alvadas's weather tends toward the warmer. However, one never can tell with Ionu's moods. If the deity is greatly displeased, there might very well be a blizzard in the middle of summer. However, such occurrences are few and far between. Most of the time, the whether is pleasantly warm with a few stray breezes. Winters tend to be very bearable and cold weather doesn't last long.
Geographic Location
Alvadas is cradled in a valley at the start of the Kitrean mountain range. It sits on the edge of the Suvan Sea, providing a point of connection between the great body of water and Sultros.
Culture
Alvadas's culture is rich and exotic, with a strong emphasis placed on the arts. The people residing here often possess exemplary talents in one or more illusionary pursuits. There are cooks who mask the flavor of their food, artists who will the image move on the canvas, musicians who play notes that never sound the same way twice. Alvadas is an experiment in the extraordinary, constantly pushing the boundaries between harmless tricks and dangerous pursuits. A moving painting can entertain a crown one day and depict a deadly plague the next. The people of Alvadas are all about confusion and entertainment, but there are some who find entertainment in blood and death. An invisible line splits the Alvadas people between those who live for the sake of living a full life and those who live for the sake of creating the biggest, most dangerous illusion. In short.those who are not careful in playing with Alvadas's illusions often end up dead.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Alvadas is as varied as its people. With the large amount of trade that goes on in Alvadas, new flavors and ingredients are constantly being brought into the city. As a result, culinary elements from all over the Kalea region are incorporated into the city’s pallet. Desserts play a prominent role in Alvadas cuisine and local chefs often compete in creating the most mind-blowing (and confusing) dessert.
Dishes are usually built around a disparity between flavor and appearance. An Alvadas chef would take great pleasure in creating a meal that tastes like chocolate but looks like a vegetable stew. Very often, a meager-looking piece of bread will taste like the most delicious cake in Mizahar and a giant structure of fruit and chocolate may taste like paper. Alvadas rarely sees a shortage of food and the only time supplies run low is in the Winter, when trade routes are blown over with snow. Most of the time, people have the luxury of experimenting with an abundance of ingredients to create extravagant meals.
Holidays
Festival of Illusion
The people of Alvadas devote one week every year to celebrate the greatness of Ionu and the illusions he/she brings to the world. Known as the Festival of Illusion, the celebration usually takes place in the second week of Spring. Artisans put their most unique wares out on the street for merchants to haggle over. The Bizzare is filled up to the brim with foreign goods brought over from all over Mizahar. Inventors try to best each other by creating the strangest pieces. Artists paint optical illusions on large canvases which are hung throughout the city. Various competitions are held throughout the city to see who can best fool their spectators with an illusion or create the artwork that best confuses its viewers.
People attend the Temple of Ionu daily to worship the deity. It is said that Ionu is always present and watching during the sacred week. Sometimes, the god even makes themself known - choosing a form that may range from an old man to a little girl to a mouse. Those daring enough to play with the God of Illusion try to locate his chosen form among the ordinary people walking the streets of Alvadas. The person who is cunning, brave, and lucky enough to do so is rumored to receive a reward highly revered among Alvadas residents - Ionu's gnosis mark.
The Festival of Illusion is also a great time to try out new cuisine. Famous chefs from all over Mizahar vie for Ionu's attention as they attempt to create the most deceptive meal. In the past, there have been cakes made of paper and celery, as well as "meat" platters crafted entirely out of chocolate.
The highlight of the celebratory week comes at its very end when the Inverted perform one of their famous plays.
Trade
Alvadas serves as a link between the Suvan Sea and the rest of the Kalea region. Merchants travel in and out of Alvadas all the time, bringing in their own goods to the Bizarre and coming away with even more exotic items. Traders flock to the city in especially large clusters during the Festival of Illusion.
Factions
The Alvadas Government
The Alvadas Government is lead by the Triad, who in turn organize and direct the other five departments founded under them. The government is supposed to be an instrument of the people, highly influenced by data collected in the city, the government is the ultimate protector of the citizens of Alvadas and those who venture within the ever changing cities walls. They work from the shadows, most of their studies being kept under lock and key until further research is done on the subject at hand.
The Womiyu
The Womiyu are a joint organization of three equal, separate and interdependent parts that work in tandem to bring justice and peace to the wild streets of Alvadas. Hated by few and loved by many, they are instruments of the Triad's will and the instruments through which the government has influenced Alvadas since the founding of Ionu's city.
Locations of Interest
The Sanity Center
The Sanity Center remains the only grounded building in all of Alvadas. Said to have been tied to the earth with a spell from a powerful wizard, the Center serves as a a place of stability for those overwhelmed by Alvadas's ever-changing ways. Inside the Sanity Center sits Serenity Berrel - a helpful, if slightly insane woman. She is tasked with greeting visitors of Alvadas and explaining the inner workings of the city. One can also visit the Sanity Center for help in finding a job or acquiring a place of residence.
The Temple of Ionu
Probably the most important architectural structure in Alvadas, the Temple of Ionu serves as the focal point of the city. Old and weathered, the temple is a place of both worship and research. Prone to disappearing at the most inconvenient times, the temple draws a lot of interest from traveling scholars. It is run by the head priest, Cadmus, and is said to always be watched over by Ionu. There is much to be learned in the grand temple and many a scholar has entered it hoping to learn its secrets.
The temple's head priest is as much of an enigma as the temple he cares for. He is said to have a vast knowledge of Ionu, but seldom reveals any of it to those who seek it. However, most people who visit Alvadas are always eager to have a talk with him in hopes of learning something worthwhile.
Beside the temple stands a bell-tower from which a young boy observes the temple every day. Whenever the temple disappears, thee boy rings the tower bell. It serves as a warning to those unfamiliar with the temple's temporary invisibility and has become a tradition every since it was implemented some decades ago.
Alvadas' Underground
The Alvadas Underground was once the home to the citizens of Alvadas when the Valterrian struck. It sheltered them, protected them, provided for them food and water, and all at the grace of Ionu, the patron deity of the City of Illusions. It was this place, with buildings carved out of the very earth, and water running through the streets; it was out of this very hole that the Alvadas of the present was born. This was the very beginning of the city of illusions, the focal point, the origin, the heart of Alvadas. Within its streets lie the very heritage of the city and a past as rich as it is mysterious.
The Garden of No Return
Another enigma of Alvadas, the garden consists of a forever-changing maze. It is adorned with flora coming from all over Mizahar, beautiful fountains, and intricate pathways. However, once one has spent a few hours trying to get out of the maze, all those niceties don't seem so nice anymore. The Garden of No Return presents a good challenge to those seeking to test their survival and botany skills.
House of Broken Mirrors
The mirrors in the House of Broken Mirrors aren’t really broken. Some even go as far as to say that there aren’t any mirrors at all, just shadows of reality that creep behind glass and mimic the gestures of the House visitors when they feel like it. A location of foolish entertainment for some and a test of sanity for others, the House reflects the passions and horrors of human nature. Many have walked through its doors and not everyone has come out. Those brave or stupid enough to enter the worn-down building will be faced with distorted reflections of themselves and the world around them. Sometimes, there will be truth to the monstrous reflections. That is when insanity first rears its head.
The Bizarre
The Bizarre is where the majority of trading happens in Alvadas. It is here that the more freelance Isurians come from Sultros to sell their finely crafted weapons and garner work contracts to other places on Mizahar. It is here that some of the great craftsmen come to seek work and many traders seek to sell their goods. While the building in which the Bizarre is housed can look relatively small at first glance, it seems to transform when one steps inside. The space within is vast and magnificent, decorated with bright ornaments and finely-crafted carpets. The Bizarre is always brimming with exotic goods and even more exotic people.