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.
History
The city of Malrion is a relatively young city having only existed for around 200 years. It's founding as well as its entire history is tied to its current ruler, the Magelord. Roughly 200 years ago, there lived a young wizard named, Malrion. Unlike the wizards before the Valterrian, Malrion was not formally trained with the years of study and practice that the wizards old enjoyed. In fact, during the first few centuries following the Valterrian, magic had lost its once great reputation and those who practiced it were forced into hiding. Fear drove the survivors of the Valterrian to widely shun the practice of magic and demonize its users. While some places, such as Sahova, supported and even embraced magic, so many more did not. Malrion, despite the dangers, sought out magic in hopes of at least touching on some fragment of magic’s past grandeur. With few great cities still existing or still in their early stages of growth, Malrion was, like many others at the time, a wanderer. It was a dangerous time for all, not just those who practiced magic. His family had been lost to such dangers which left Malrion to wander alone. It was during his travels that his interest in magic caught the attention of another wanderer, a reimancer whose name has been lost to history. This reimancer, a woman slightly older than Malrion, saw a kindred spirit in the young man and took him on as not only a student but also a companion.
The reimancer shared her knowledge of magic with Malrion and made him a reimancer as well. Together they explored the gifts magic offered while quickly falling in love with one another. Unfortunately, this was not a story that was destined for a happy ending. One evening, while enjoying a rare stay at an inn and taking comfort from the sturdy roof and walls the place had to offer, the two lovers were set upon by a desperate individual. A man, his hand lined with deep crimson veins, the mark of Krysus, broke into the couple’s room and assaulted them both. He managed to stun Malrion before brutally gutting the reimancer before she could unleash her magic upon him. The man turned to Malrion just as he was regaining his composure. Malrion, seeing what had happened to the only person that mattered in his life, became enraged and quickly produced a spray of molten rock directed at the source of his rage. The man’s face was coated in the lava ball and died instantly. Rushing to the reimancer’s side, Malrion cried out in vain for there was nothing he could do, she died in his arms without a word. When he was able to function, Malrion searched the small inn only to find that the murderer had killed the few others inside. Returning to the killer’s body, Malrion saw the mark on the man’s hand. Later he would discover that the man was a servant of Krysus, Goddess of Pain and Murder.
The events of that night set Malrion down a road that would forever change everything that he was. It was a symbolic event that awakened ideas and feelings that he already harbored but until that point had not given much serious thought. Malrion had always wondered why the gods had allowed the Valterrian to rain devastation upon the land as well as their followers. He had sometimes questioned why so much pain and loss was experienced by those who gave their lives to the gods. He never chose to worship or give any faith to a particular deity due mainly to that perceived hypocrisy. After that night however, his rejection grew exponentially. For the next few years, Malrion continued to wander, all the while embracing an ever greater study of magic. He thought that magic might help him discover why the gods fostered so much faith in themselves from their followers while at the same time allowing them to suffer. This hunger for magic even led him to embrace more ancient practices such as malediction as well as forbidden ones such as leeching. Yet, as his grasp of magic grew, his understanding of the gods and their mechanisms did not. Of course he learned much about the gods and their followers, the odd relationship they shared was lost to him. The obvious answer would have been to give his faith to one and seek their mark but such a thing was seen by Malrion as allowing his love to die in vain. He did however stumble across a place rumored to be overflowing with wild djed. His study of leeching had revealed the awesome potential of such a source. Perhaps with access to this source, Malrion would finally have the ability to take his practice of magic to a new level; one which could provide the answers he so desperately wanted.
Unfortunately, Malrion had already had more than his fair share of overgiving events and his mind was not quite right. His grief and anger were exacerbated by the overgiving which served to drive him in a way that was nothing short of near mindless obsession. Following the rumors of the source to the south, Malrion traveled to the desert region of Eyktol. There he spent nearly five years combing the desert for the source. By this time, his body was feeling the effects of his leeching and a man of nearly 30 years of age was physically becoming a man of over 50. His obsession would not allow him to give up his search and into his fifth year of searching, Malrion found the source.
Already a master or close to it in many magical disciplines, his discovery of the source indeed opened up an entirely new world to him. The source indeed was overflowing with wild djed of a sort Malrion had never before encountered. It provided him with immense amounts of excess djed in which he used to fashion himself a tower. This creation of this tower did not go unnoticed by the nomads who wandered Eyktol’s desert. Seeing these people as wanderers like himself, Malrion greeted them with welcome and kindness. He provided them with water created through the use of his reimancy and offered them protection from the dangers the desert had to offer. In turn, the nomads restored some semblance of humanity to Malrion; something he had forgotten years ago. Word of Malrion’s generosity spread quickly and more and more nomads came to him seeking water and protection which Malrion gladly provided. Eventually, the nomads became less nomadic and began a more permanent settlement around Malrion’s tower. Tents soon became huts then cottages. After a few years, Malrion realized that there was something more to it all as a small but growing village had arisen. It was then that Malrion began to realize there were other forces at work in all that was happening. The village, affectionately named Malrion by the people who lived there, was seen by Malrion the man as something far more symbolic. He provided that which the people wanted and needed and in return they provided companionship and a way for him to feel loved again.
That was it; that was the answer he had been looking for since the night his love was taken from him. It was the answer as to why the gods did what they did. It seemed so simple yet so powerful. Unknown to Malrion was the fact that the source of wild djed he built his tower upon was where an ancient god had fallen. Even in death, the god’s essence was influencing Malrion and the people who were beginning to love him. It was a subtle influence, easily dismissed as a natural evolution of society. Although he didn’t know the nature of the source and didn’t recognize its effects for what they were, he did finally understand why the gods needed the faithful. The devotion of the people fueled the gods on a spiritual level which is why they were encouraged to be faithful. The gods provided their marks as a way to foster this connection and despite whatever atrocities the gods may visit upon the faithful out of whatever divine whims they may have, they needed the people and the people needed them.
Thus it was then that Malrion fully embraced the people. However, he didn’t do so simply because he was a good person. Instead, he did so mostly out of defiance to the gods. If he, a mortal, could do what the gods did, he would display the ultimate rejection of them and show that they were not needed. He called upon the source to provide him with the djed needed to expand the village. He crafted larger buildings, roads and even a wall around the small city that was growing around him. With the support of the people, he named himself the leader of Malrion and took on the name the people had given him, Magelord. The Magelord, realizing that as powerful as he had become, could not do everything. So he went to the people and asked for them to offer up as a tribute not only to him but to the city and its collective inhabitants, their daughters. Not just any daughter would do as the Magelord wanted girls who reminded him of the woman he loved and lost; the woman whose death led him down this path. Only the prettiest, most intelligent, strong-willed and skilled were chosen. In return for their tribute, the Magelord granted those who did so greater amounts of water and more preferred housing.
The first few girls, the Magelord took on as students. He taught them reimancy along with a scattering of other magical knowledge. He encouraged their training in arts of diplomacy, politics, law and combat and showered them with fatherly love. In return, the girls now women, became completely and utterly devoted to him. This extreme devotion opened another strange doorway to the Magelord. Over time, as more of these girls grew up completely devoted to him, the Magelord began to experience something unexpected. The effects of his unparalleled amounts of leeching from the source were put in check. Although at that point he appeared and moved as a man in his late sixties though only being in his forties, the effects of leeching ceased to increase. No matter how much he leeched from the source, he grew no weaker. In fact, the Magelord ceased to age altogether. While the effects of overgiving were seriously reduced, the Magelord’s mind still continued to slowly suffer the impact. The woman became known as the Devoted and began managing the daily routines of running a small city in the name of the Magelord. The first of his students, a woman named Serati, was named Grand Prelate, head of the Devoted and the Magelord’s wife. Over the many years that have passed, the Magelord has had a number of wives, each chosen from among the Devoted and granted the title of Grand Prelate.
As is the case though with any city, not all was perfect. Not everyone living in Malrion loved the Magelord. Many saw him as a necessary evil; a powerful figure who provided for them yet still allowed some amounts of pain and suffering to occur. Sadly, the irony of this was lost to the Magelord. In an effort to combat small pockets of discourse and the potential for uprising among these displeased individuals, the Magelord began enacting laws meant to foster security. To many, these laws are just and deserved while to equally as many the laws are alien and dangerous. Nevertheless, the city of Malrion has existed for nearly 200 years and though it has slowed in its physical growth, the city continues to prosper as a whole and stands as a symbol, at least in the Magelord’s twisted mind, as the ultimate defiance to the gods.
Politics
At the top of everything that is Malrion, there is the Magelord. Beneath him there is the city government.
Malrion's government is set up into four small, separate organizations. Each of these governing bodies is named after one of the elements; reflecting the Magelord's fondness for Reimancy. Each is referred to as a House and is made up of a number of Devoted along with some of their Chosen and a collection of specialized slaves and free citizens. The House of Earth is responsible for operating/maintaining the cactus farms, water ration disbursement, city roads, festivals and tax collection. They are also responsible for the management of slave labor. The House of Fire is responsible for the initial training of the Devoted and their Chosen in the art of combat. They also have a hand in the operation of the Arena. The House of Water is responsible for enforcing the Magelord's laws and administering justice. They are also responsible for managing movement into and out of the city gates, business licenses, trade operations and property. The House of Air is responsible for training the Devoted in their unique use of magic. They are also responsible for the acquisition of any Pre-Valterrian texts and or artifacts and research associated with said finds. Each of these Houses is overseen by a high ranking Devoted who answers to the High Prelate. The High Prelate is responsible for keeping a watchful eye on each House with her Chosen informing of her of any suspicious/outrageous behavior that is deemed intolerable.
Each of the four Devoted who run the four Houses of Government advise the Grand Prelate on city operations/happenings. These four Devoted are known as the High Devoted. Each of the High Devoted rule over other lesser Devoted who help operate each House.
Each Devoted, from the Grand Prelate to the High Devoted to the rest, have what they call, Chosen. The Chosen are selected from slaves as well as free citizens to serve the Devoted in whatever way seems appropriate to the particular Devoted. The Chosen usually serve as enforcers, bodyguards or advisors with lesser duties performed by slaves or the occasional favored free citizen. Becoming the Chosen of a Devoted is considered the ultimate prize of anyone fighting in the arena. The Chosen, while not having nearly the power and influence of the Devoted, do maintain a somewhat protected status in the daily operations of the city. In the end however, they live only to serve the Devoted.
Economy
Malrion remains, as it has been since its founding, a source of trade within the Eyktol region. Outside trade comes mainly from the various desert nomads and caravans that are able to make there way through the harsh desert environment. In addition, there are occasional caravans that travel to and from the coast of the South Suvan Sea. These caravans bring goods from the lands outside of Eyktol including fish, fruits, vegetables and many other unique items into the city. Although trade and barter remain a part of Malrion's economy, the Miza has been adopted as the city's primary form of currency.
A secondary and somewhat nefarious form of currency also exists within Malrion in the form of Water Keys. A Water Key is a special magecraft item crafted by the Magelord and the Devoted that looks like a moderately ornate copper key with a small clear quartz crystal embedded in it. The magic of the key is activated when a person places their thumb on the crystal and says, "I give of myself". The key will then activate and leech a small amount of djed from the person as long as they hold their bare, uncovered thumb on the crystal. The maximum amount taken is not enough to truly harm the person but it may leave them feeling tired and/or unfocused for a short time. The crystal in the key will glow blue; its intensity depending on the amount of djed given. The key may then be used at the Water Dispensary; the elaborately carved stone statue of the Magelord located in the Southern Plaza. The empowered key may be put into a receiving keyhole in the base of the statue and turned. When this is done, the statue pours fresh water from its open hands; enough water to fill a five gallon bucket if the key is fully charged. When the key is removed from the keyhole, the crystal will return to being clear, the key no longer charged with djed. Each key may only be charged once per day. While the keys themselves are forged by the Devoted, the crystals are made by the Magelord and transfer the collected djed to special glyphed "batteries" within the Dispensary which are collected and presented to the Magelord. Water Keys cost 100 gold mizas and are distributed by the House of Earth although they are strict in how many are sold. These keys have however managed to wind up on the black market where they can be purchased for 300 gold mizas but without the scrutiny of the House of Earth. Black market deals involving Water Keys has become a rather lucrative business for some.
The city exports a special cactus wine made only in Malrion. It is a prized delicacy that has begun to spread to places outside of Malrion and provides a nice boost to the economy. Also, jewelry made from the shells of a unique species of giant desert beetle is growing in popularity and serves as another growing export.
Culture
The culture within Malrion is heavily influenced by the Magelord as well as the desert that surrounds it. As a small and relatively young city mostly isolated from the influences of the outside world, various cultural elements can seem somewhat alien to outsiders.
Buildings
Most of the core buildings and infrastructure of Malrion have been constructed by the Magelord and the Devoted through the use of Reimancy. As such they are made of a mixture of desert sandstone mixed with djed solidified into stone. Buildings that have been built in recent decades are built from sandstone and clay. The average free citizen home is built with sandstone walls and ceramic roofing tiles. Floors are usually made of baked clay bricks with furnishings being quite modest. Mercantile buildings such as the average shops and merchant homes are built of the same materials as the free citizen homes but are usually a bit sturdier with more robust furnishings and overall interior design. Curtains and tapestries made from cactus silk adorn homes and businesses alike and is a common material for building adornments and furnishings. Although the quality varies depending on social-economic status, cactus silk is available to all. The villas that house the Devoted and the buildings that directly serve them are luxurious in comparison to the merchants and free citizens. They are crafted from a mixture of desert stone as well as reimancy and usually take the form of granite. These buildings are often have marbleized patterns inside and out. Pillars and domes are popular architectural elements and often incorporate polished copper in their design. These buildings are adorned with the finest interior elements and furnishings and tend to remain cooler in the heat of the day and a bit warmer on cool nights. The main roads throughout the city are made from sandstone and reimancy as are the city walls. There is usually some uniform pattern to the design of the city with the various sectors setup in mostly grid-like patterns.
Diet
Certain types of food enjoyed by those outside of the desert are either rare, uncommon or simply not found in Malrion. Most of the food available to the average free citizen of the city comes from the plentiful numbers of cacti that grow inside and out of the city. Cactus juice, cactus wine, cactus fruit and any other edible part of the plant makes up a large part of a person's diet in Malrion. Livestock are not plentiful and hunting for meat is not easy or productive on a large enough scale to serve most people. As an alternative, the people have come to rely on a species of giant desert beetle common in the region around Malrion. Known as dewbugs, these beetles grow to be as large as a large dog or even small pony. They survive by collecting moisture from the occasional desert fog that forms at night (thus the name, dewbug) and feeding on dead plants and animals. The dewbugs are quite common around the outskirts of Malrion although most vary in size from that of a rat to a mid-size dog. Their shells are good for making jewelry, weapons and armor as well as tools and utensils. The rest of the beetle is used in various dishes such as soups and stews and can even been roasted. For those who can afford it, various imports are also enjoyed. The most common and widely available are foods made from grain as it is the most easily imported. Dried fish, fruits and vegetables are also available as are the occasional dried exotic meats.