Post by pringerbeam on Jul 22, 2014 17:44:58 GMT -8
-=The Mageocracy of Barmaal=-
Population
-20% Human
-20% Elf
-10% Ifrits
-10% Tengu
-10% Sulis
-10% Catfolk
-10% Ratfolk
-10% Other
It is said that deep in the Burning Sands Desert on the continent of Eegis the new god Akamaar walked the earth an found a slain old god. Gripped in the old god's hands was a tome which held endless knowledge. Akamaar knew that such a find would help the fledgling reaces but also that it could not be given freely. So to safeguard the tome, he thrust his spear into the face of the tome, driving it into the sands and so was born the great library of Barmaal.
No one knows who first discovered the library but eventually a great city grew up around it which attracted magicians from across the lands seeking the knowledge within the library. Very little of the library is explored due to the nature in which its secrets are guarded. There are 12 keys, different combinations of which are required to explore the chambers of the library. Each of these keys are held by one of the 12 ruling orders of the city the heads of which sit on the city council. Each of the ruling orders corresponds to one of the 12 schools of wizardry and their rivalries prevent much exploration of the library.
Made wealthy by the magical goods which flow out of the city, the city is rife with intrigue as wealthy merchants and ambitious magi seek power and fortune. Mercenaries and thieves find plenty of work in the city as the orders are willing to pay for the best edge againt their rivals. catacombs and vaults built beneath the city or simply buried by newer construction from above over centuries has lead to a massive ungerground world beneath the already gigantic city inhabited by the cities darker elements and worse.
The city has a very diverse population. The largest groups are the elves and humans though only the Sulis and Ifrits are the true natives of the city. Their homes, built upon the same foundations as the library, form the innermost core of the city. They belive themselves to be the guardians of the library and do much to protect it secrets (and profit from the curiosity of those who want access to some of its knowledge). Grown into a wealthy elite by the commerce of the library, they administer the ruling orders and only members of their race are allowed to safeguard an order's key.
Trade to and from the city is conducted mostly through the Caravan Way, a magical construct created once knowledge of the library spread beyond the desert. The Way is a series of monoliths which extend across the sands from the library to the far northeast shores of the continent to the port city of Esharatook. The Way is a kind of extradimensional space which makes the several hundred mile across desert take a mere ten day journey along a well paved highway. Travelers must still be careful though, as the Caravan way may only be safely entered at its beginning and end, never partway through, and those who stray beyond the marker stones of the highway are rarely ever heard of again.
Population
-20% Human
-20% Elf
-10% Ifrits
-10% Tengu
-10% Sulis
-10% Catfolk
-10% Ratfolk
-10% Other
It is said that deep in the Burning Sands Desert on the continent of Eegis the new god Akamaar walked the earth an found a slain old god. Gripped in the old god's hands was a tome which held endless knowledge. Akamaar knew that such a find would help the fledgling reaces but also that it could not be given freely. So to safeguard the tome, he thrust his spear into the face of the tome, driving it into the sands and so was born the great library of Barmaal.
No one knows who first discovered the library but eventually a great city grew up around it which attracted magicians from across the lands seeking the knowledge within the library. Very little of the library is explored due to the nature in which its secrets are guarded. There are 12 keys, different combinations of which are required to explore the chambers of the library. Each of these keys are held by one of the 12 ruling orders of the city the heads of which sit on the city council. Each of the ruling orders corresponds to one of the 12 schools of wizardry and their rivalries prevent much exploration of the library.
Made wealthy by the magical goods which flow out of the city, the city is rife with intrigue as wealthy merchants and ambitious magi seek power and fortune. Mercenaries and thieves find plenty of work in the city as the orders are willing to pay for the best edge againt their rivals. catacombs and vaults built beneath the city or simply buried by newer construction from above over centuries has lead to a massive ungerground world beneath the already gigantic city inhabited by the cities darker elements and worse.
The city has a very diverse population. The largest groups are the elves and humans though only the Sulis and Ifrits are the true natives of the city. Their homes, built upon the same foundations as the library, form the innermost core of the city. They belive themselves to be the guardians of the library and do much to protect it secrets (and profit from the curiosity of those who want access to some of its knowledge). Grown into a wealthy elite by the commerce of the library, they administer the ruling orders and only members of their race are allowed to safeguard an order's key.
Trade to and from the city is conducted mostly through the Caravan Way, a magical construct created once knowledge of the library spread beyond the desert. The Way is a series of monoliths which extend across the sands from the library to the far northeast shores of the continent to the port city of Esharatook. The Way is a kind of extradimensional space which makes the several hundred mile across desert take a mere ten day journey along a well paved highway. Travelers must still be careful though, as the Caravan way may only be safely entered at its beginning and end, never partway through, and those who stray beyond the marker stones of the highway are rarely ever heard of again.