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If ever there were a place that took "Hell on earth" literally, it was the scarred and blasted land that was "inhabited" by the folk of the Venefecusian sovereignty. A monument to arrogance, its massive mana wastes are the remnant of the bloody war of the local archmagi, one that tore not just the land but its very soul and magic asunder.
Such was the effect upon the very air itself being laced with toxic mana that were it not for the healing of the last mages left on the island, led by what one would perhaps dare to call the "victor" of the great war, the local folk would have already passed into oblivion, but those that remain are hardy and stubborn, unwilling to give up their lands or their ideals, and so even as their skin turns grey and hair falls out they march on, adamant and defiant.
What little normal life remains is tied to the islands and the very few coastal strongholds, as the mainland itself is covered in the blasted mana wastes, a place where no sane man would tread, and where no insane man would find himself treading long before dying, or becoming something far worse.
Yet there is one place among these islands that remains an anomaly to them. An old elven colony, having maintained neutrality by way of diplomatic sycophancy towards all the warring archmages, it had miraculously managed to remain unscathed, and when the winner arose from the ashes, it became clear the city would have to become more than it once was.
Rechristened from its old elven name to Union City, as it was, at least in the eyes of the merchants and local nobility, not just a symbol of unity between them and the natives, but the greatest gateway to the outside world for the Sovereignty(definitely in no way hinting at their delusions of grandeur), they had but one fly in their ointment. The mana poisoning that enveloped the city itself.
And this is where the creativity of the Rasian nobility(or perhaps just the deep pockets and ability to hire faraway arcanists) showed. The wood elves of New Ras marked their realms using special boundary stones, bearing spiritual energy that kept most wicked and dark things at bay. All that would be left was acquiring and setting up the stones, and then calibrating them up in such a manner that they would act as a dyke towards the toxic mana, keeping it out of the city and allowing the people to remain healthy, if constantly afraid of toxic mana spillage. And herein they came to an accord with the Sun Singers, a group of mage-priests that worshiped the sun, who would use their knowledge of spirit energy to calibrate the stones in a right and proper manner, so as to allow for the protection of the city.
And this is where the a common trait of cities came forth as an issue for the nobles and merchant houses. Cities grow. They expand beyond walls, and eventually, if more room becomes necessary, they must either acquire more stones and singers, or deal with plague and death as a result of overcrowding, or rebellion as a result of trying to kick the lower classes out(and quite possibly earning the archmage's ire as a result).
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And so we come upon Meira, official envoy of Union city and "proud" scion of house Dorsis of the sea elf nobility, "enjoying" the company of one of the Archmage's soldiers, sent to escort her at the city's request and thoroughly creeping her out. If she didn't know any better she'd think it was a statue meant for a town square based on the sheer bulk of the thing, not to mention how creepy Venefecusians could be when they were quiet.
"Remember sir knight, i shall do the talking in the name of my house, i will call upon you if i need your aid but you must be on your best behaviour. The Lake elves are master craftsmen and i would rather we not offend the only people capable of making the changes to the stone necessary for us to succeed in the first section of our task."
Such was the effect upon the very air itself being laced with toxic mana that were it not for the healing of the last mages left on the island, led by what one would perhaps dare to call the "victor" of the great war, the local folk would have already passed into oblivion, but those that remain are hardy and stubborn, unwilling to give up their lands or their ideals, and so even as their skin turns grey and hair falls out they march on, adamant and defiant.
What little normal life remains is tied to the islands and the very few coastal strongholds, as the mainland itself is covered in the blasted mana wastes, a place where no sane man would tread, and where no insane man would find himself treading long before dying, or becoming something far worse.
Yet there is one place among these islands that remains an anomaly to them. An old elven colony, having maintained neutrality by way of diplomatic sycophancy towards all the warring archmages, it had miraculously managed to remain unscathed, and when the winner arose from the ashes, it became clear the city would have to become more than it once was.
Rechristened from its old elven name to Union City, as it was, at least in the eyes of the merchants and local nobility, not just a symbol of unity between them and the natives, but the greatest gateway to the outside world for the Sovereignty(definitely in no way hinting at their delusions of grandeur), they had but one fly in their ointment. The mana poisoning that enveloped the city itself.
And this is where the creativity of the Rasian nobility(or perhaps just the deep pockets and ability to hire faraway arcanists) showed. The wood elves of New Ras marked their realms using special boundary stones, bearing spiritual energy that kept most wicked and dark things at bay. All that would be left was acquiring and setting up the stones, and then calibrating them up in such a manner that they would act as a dyke towards the toxic mana, keeping it out of the city and allowing the people to remain healthy, if constantly afraid of toxic mana spillage. And herein they came to an accord with the Sun Singers, a group of mage-priests that worshiped the sun, who would use their knowledge of spirit energy to calibrate the stones in a right and proper manner, so as to allow for the protection of the city.
And this is where the a common trait of cities came forth as an issue for the nobles and merchant houses. Cities grow. They expand beyond walls, and eventually, if more room becomes necessary, they must either acquire more stones and singers, or deal with plague and death as a result of overcrowding, or rebellion as a result of trying to kick the lower classes out(and quite possibly earning the archmage's ire as a result).
_____________________________________
And so we come upon Meira, official envoy of Union city and "proud" scion of house Dorsis of the sea elf nobility, "enjoying" the company of one of the Archmage's soldiers, sent to escort her at the city's request and thoroughly creeping her out. If she didn't know any better she'd think it was a statue meant for a town square based on the sheer bulk of the thing, not to mention how creepy Venefecusians could be when they were quiet.
"Remember sir knight, i shall do the talking in the name of my house, i will call upon you if i need your aid but you must be on your best behaviour. The Lake elves are master craftsmen and i would rather we not offend the only people capable of making the changes to the stone necessary for us to succeed in the first section of our task."
