Black Rock

From Mizahar Lore

Revision as of 03:03, 17 May 2009

Black Rock is the home of Dira, Goddess of the Dead. It is believed that Tanroa also makes her home on Black Rock. A watery city of canals, it is filled with the living and the dead alike. Ghosts and living races live side-by-side in harmony in the City of the Dead Queen.

The City

Some tales say that the island off of the coast of Falyndar is an uninhabited rock, and stories of its inhabitants are simply that - stories. Some say that the island is a mirage brought on by scurvy and time at sea.

Black Rock does exist, and is as mystical, magical, and mysterious as the legends say. Its surfaces are crossed with canals and passages of water. Land is made accessible through bridges and through the Gondoliers. Black Rock is unique in that it is fluid... it is a reminder everything changes. Every hour, these changes begin. They do not take long, but can leave the face of the island completely different. The canal paths shift, thus changing the order of the buildings and bridges, and sending the inhabitants for more secure ground.

If one gets trapped, an Omen is alerted, and will usually rescue to helpless denizen.

Weather

Black Rock experiences muted variations of weather patterns. Where rain might pound the rest of Falyndar in the summer, Black Rock simply has rain. Where the main region is tropically hot, Black Rock is merely comfortably warm.

History

No one knows when Black Rock was established by Dira. Standing on the borders of Suvan and Alahea, home of a Watchtower, was a relatively small settlement. There was no flora or fauna there. Everything was black or white, from the ground on which the residents walked on to the marble structures that resembled tombs. It was simply there, and had been there for as long as any memory could recall.

The Valterrian divorced the settlement, if one could even call it that, from mainland, turning it into an island. Its reputation grew by whispers from the shadows, calling it a home of ghosts and the living that lived with them. None touched it with thoughts of war. Even the savage Myrians refused to touch it - Dira was one of their major goddesses; therefore it was not theirs for conquest. Those who have gone there and thought of taking advantage of it were never heard of again by the outside world. Some say they still dwell there... as Ashl coins.

Politics

For the most part, Black Rock is a peaceful haven. Dira, and by extension her Omens, make sure it stays that way. It is about balance and movement. The ghosts that reside in Black Rock, for the most part, understand that they are not to harm the living or ruin the peace.

Ultimate power in Black Rock indisputably belongs to Dira.

Economy

Currency

The currency used on Black Rock, and only on Black Rock, is the Ashl. An Ashl is a black coin made of a strange, smooth material that is always cool to the touch, no matter if it had been sitting by a fire, in the sun, or in a pocket. Ashl are about 1.5" in diameter, and have no markings on them whatever. An Ashl cannot be scratched, or otherwise damaged or broken. For some strange reason, an Ashl cannot be taken off of the island. Those that have tried have found the coins to not be in the pocket they were left in, but upon return, they mysteriously are with their rightful owner again.

No one truly knows exactly what an Ashl is made of, though rumours say that the Ashl coins are actually pieces of troublemakers or the irredeemably malevolent.

Industry

Culture

Architecture

Cuisine

Holidays

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Military

Black Rock has no organized military, nor does it have a need of one. Many of Dira's champions, alive and dead, reside in Black Rock, and should the need arise, would defend the city-island.

Besides... who in their right mind would attack Dira's Citadel?

Locations of Interest

Society

People of Black Rock