Alvadas Underground
From Mizahar Lore
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.
Overview
Under the sun Alvadas is bright and cheery and lively, but beneath the stones the heavy parts of the city collect; the Underground is the slow, sad beauty of an artist starving, the mad creativity of widow grieving. It is an old place, and the stones remember joy and laughter like an old man who's forgotten how to smile.
The dark, bitter heart of Alvadas lies here, in the cold embrace of the earth. The dejected and broken wander the streets, emerging to the surface to steal a small piece of their wealth for themselves. Men and women of all races are traded as property in exchange for small baubles and mizas, and the old, powerful families of ancient Alvadas lie in their great empty halls, circling one another in a regal, deadly dance over five hundred years too old.
An open secret, none speak of the Underground in the bright streets; instead they dance and sing and laugh so loud a stranger would never guess at it. But in dark corners they whisper of it, they long for its empty sky and solemn streets in the same wary way a curious child loves the dark.
Beyond the Streets Below are places which were once palaces of peace and tranquility that now defy any order. It’s a place of pure chaos and of great danger. People say anything can happen in Alvadas. Well, in the Underground, people say anything bad can happen. The place is a regular spawning ground for the worst types of monsters, from Yukman to creatures of pure illusion, born from the fears and thoughts of those who inhabit this forgotten place. If Alvadas is indeed hiding its darker side in the Underground then it most likely has a good reason. Perhaps the city, in a way, is trying to protect itself.
Travel
Its said only those who have stepped foot in the Underground can enter the Underground. This, for the most part, is true though there have been instances of which the Underground ‘calls’ to a person, usually overriding the cities illusions and swallowing a person into its darkness. However this is a very rare occurrence. Alvadas is very reluctant to give away the existence of the Underground to anyone who doesn’t already know about it. Though there are many ways to get around this little safeguard, from following a person entering the underground to actually be shown it from another. The point is, once a person steps foot in the Underground, Alvadas stops trying to not let them there.
Connecting the Underground and the city of Alvadas are sets of stairways which lead down and up. They act as the go between and are the portal to the Underground. Even if someone knows where a staircase should be, if he/she has not stepped in the Underground before, or is not guided by a person who has, then the staircase will not show itself to the person making travel to the Underground all but impossible. If a staircase were to collapse then the entryway in the city of Alvadas would seal itself, and travel to the underground at that location will be made impossible. The staircases seem to be made of some sort of glass and while some stairs lead down, others lead up and even to the right or left. However no matter the direction one travels in he will always be going down or up depending if he started at the bottom of the staircase (then he will always be going up) or the top (then he will always be going down). There are no ‘changing directions’, even if one decides to go back up the stairs they just traveled they will still be traveling in that specific direction, up or down.