Malrion
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 | Eyktol | ||||
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| Notability | The Magelord and the Devoted | ||||
| Leader | The Magelord | ||||
| Population | 3,200 | ||||
| Races |
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| Languages | Common Tongue | ||||
| Currency | Miza | ||||
| Imports | Meats, Vegetables, Grains | ||||
| Exports | Cactus Wine, Jewelry | ||||
Contents |
City Overview
To visitors from the outside, Malrion looks rather intimidating. A twenty-foot tall stone wall surrounds the city with only three gates offering entry. It is said that the wall was raised from the desert floor to surround and protect the city from the harshness of the desert environment. The land around the city is flat, rocky and is covered in all manner of cactus. The gates leading into the city are open during the day and closed after sunset. Inside, three main roads offer access to six different city sectors. A handful of plazas, two large ones and a handful of smaller ones, act as both intersections between roads as well as gathering points for various city events, celebrations and addresses. The Main Road, Eastgate Road and Lord's Road, the three main roads in the city as well as the plazas, are made of sandstone shaped by the Magelord's magic. The six city sectors are not separated by any sort of wall or barrier save for the Devoted Sector which is sectioned off by bronze fences and gates. Most of the city lacks any real natural plant-life. The ground is sandy and littered with stones. There is a scattering of cacti growing here and there with some smaller ones in pots outside of homes and businesses. Oddly enough, there are few if any wells found in most of the common parts of the city.
Most who enter the city will arrive through the East Gate. The Eastgate Road runs east to west and from the Gate leads first through the Merchant Sector. This is where one will find a variety of businesses dealing in all manner of goods and services. The majority of the city's storage areas and warehouses can be found here as well. The most prominent businesses are located around a central market. The East Road leads from the East Gate to the Central Plaza where it intersects with the Main Road. The central market of the Merchant Sector is located north of the Central Plaza along the Main Road. Along with the various businesses that surround it, the market contains several booths, tents and stands where people peddle their wares. At night, lanterns hanging from posts line the primary roads, plazas and secondary paths, providing illumination.
The Eastgate Road extends west from the Central Plaza into the Housing Sector. This is where the majority of the city's inhabitants live. Houses built with clay bricks and ceramic tiled roofs, though small, offer shelter from the desert heat. The houses are neatly aligned with one another forming narrow alleyways. Lanterns hanging from posts illuminate some of the larger alleys while others remain dark at night. During the day, the sector is relatively safe and secure thanks to the Devoted. However, some amount of crime; petty theft and the occasional fight does occur outside of the Devoted's watchful eye. Close to the center of the Housing Sector is a small plaza that hosts a number of small gatherings.
From the central plaza, the Main Road runs north and south. North of the Central Plaza is the North Gate. South of the Plaza leads one past the Devoted Sector to the East and the Arena Sector to the West before finally meeting the Southern Plaza.
The Devoted Sector is where those who directly serve the Magelord and who manage the daily operations of the city itself live. It is sectioned off from the rest of the city by a ten-foot high bronze fence. A number of equally tall bronze gates offer entry. The Devoted live in villas surrounded by grassy lawns and separated from one another with more bronze fencing. The various estates owned by the Devoted differ in size and luxury depending on the status the Devoted maintains within the city and with the Magelord himself. Many have their own sources of fresh water, flowers and even trees. This sector appears almost alien compared to the rest of the city.
Across the Main Road from the Devoted Sector is the Arena Sector. As the name suggests, this sector is home to the city's Arena. The Arena serves as the primary source of entertainment for the entire city. It also has the rather convenient side-effect of being the primary diversion for the people; distracting them from the various difficulties involved with living under the Magelord's rule. Criminals, slaves and Champions of the Devoted all fight in the Arena for anything from glory to freedom with most doing so as punishment for crimes or status in the case of slaves. Also located in the sector is a training facility where slaves and criminals are turned into gladiators. There is also a housing compound for these gladiators and a cemetery for those who fall in the arena. There is even a tavern and brothel for both spectators as well as victorious gladiators.
South of the Southern Plaza is the Farming Sector. This is the smallest sector in the city and is where cactus farming takes place. The prickly pear cactus is farmed in this sector with juice made from it used in the creation of cactus wine, the city's primary export. The sector is owned by the Magelord, supervised by the Devoted and tended to by people specifically selected by the Devoted for service to the Magelord. These people are paid with a small supply of cactus wine which they may consume or sell as they see fit.
The Lord's Sector is located east of the Southern Plaza and is accessed via the Lord's Road. This sector is dominated by the Magelord's Palace, a luxurious structure adorned with marble pillars, floors and walls topped with a golden dome. The Palace is surrounded by grass with a scattering of small trees and fountains. The Palace overlooks a small plaza containing a central founding in the shape of the Magelord. The Magelord as well as the Grand Prelate, the greatest of the Devoted, live in the Palace
The Weather
Malrion's weather is, not surprisingly, hot and dry for the majority of the year. Cloud cover is almost non-existent.
The Winter offers slightly more comfortable daytime temperatures topping out in the upper 50s °F with nighttime lows in the mid to upper 30s. As with the rest of the Seasons, there is barely three inches of rain average for the entire season.
Spring brings warmer temperatures but not real increase in rainfall with the average for the season remaining at around three inches. The daytime temperatures reach between 65 and 85 °F with nighttime lows of 40 to 55 °F.
Summer temperatures are between 90 and 100 °F during the day and get as low as 65 to 75 °F. There is no humidity to speak of and rainfall for the entire season is, at best, half an inch. The heat is oppressive and dangerous to be out in uncovered.
Autumn is relatively moderate with daytime highs between 65 and 90 °F and lows during the night of 45 and 65 °F. Rainfall is around one and a half inches for the season.
Year-round there are occasional dry, hot windstorms that can reach gusts of 50 mph and carry great clouds of sand, dust and pebbles. It is these storms that the city wall was mainly meant to protect against.