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XIMAX,
THE
CITY
OF MAGIC |
Ximax is the famous City of Magic, capital of Santharian province of Xaramon. It is home of the mightiest beacon of sorcerous power since the time of the Chosen. Ximiax quite possibly is the greatest repository of ancient lore in history. And most definitely a place that isn't the least bit full of itself. Herein rests the definitive description of this city, written by a chronicler quite familiar with this thriving home of magic, mystery, wisdom, and intrigue.
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Description. From
afar, the city seems to be a slanted dome of buildings, surrounding the tall,
sharp points of the Eleven Towers. Up close, Ximax is
far more engaging.
The Outer City. The Outer City, built after the
Fall of 773 b.S., holds the more recent buildings. Recent being a subjective
term; as the city has stood for three millenia, so-called 'new' additions to
the city may be able to trace their construction and ownership back for sixty
generations. In any case, the Outer City holds the more conventional buildings;
farmer's markets, auctionhouses, trading posts, bars, restaurants, guard posts,
warehouses, hotels, a Thieves' Guild or two (as is rumoured), the attendant
slime, the 'lower' housing districts... the list goes on. The Inner City's wall
is as far as most casual visitors to Ximax are allowed to go, as the Outer City
is very nearly being a separate city from the Inner.
The Outer City is seperated into several districts by simple trade convenience.
Tanaman
The eastern section, called Tanaman for reasons lost in the mists of antiquity
(it's sad, but true; deed becomes story, story becomes legend, legend becomes
myth, myth becomes drinking song, etc. etc.) holds most of the housing
districts and taverns thanks to the fact that most roads to and from Ximax are
to the city's east.
Deurenshill
From north to southwest lie the working areas. From the northern district's
vast marketplace to the southeastern construction guilds, Deurenshill is
certainly the place to be if you want to get something done.
Novorhall
Then there's Novorhall, stretching from southeast to southwest on the compass.
The less said about Novorhall, the better; these streets are the slums, the bad
side of town, if you will. Incidentally, it is here that the Crimson Crescent
is located.
The Inner City.
The Inner City is often referred to as "Old Ximax",
as the vast majority of the buildings here date to the first millenium of the
School (also refered to as the Ximaxian Academy).
This portion of the city is more ornate, ancient, and more laden with the dust
of the ages. The architecture here, in sharp contrast to the Outer City, is
mostly similar, lending itself to the monolithic, big, and fortresslike, as the
original master architect of the city, Ungur Firehands, was more concerned with
the defensibility of the fledgling Magical Academy
than aesthetic pursuits. However, as the buildings grow newer, a host of other
dwarven, elven,
and even the occasional orcish architectural
influences can be seen. (The chronicler apologizes for digressing.)
The Inner City holds the more ancient, magic-oriented,
and cultural buildings of Ximax. The theatres, mageware shops, minor libraries,
particularly aged (and expensive) hotels and restaurants, the local guilds'
headquarters, massive gardens, estates of the ruling families, the guild hall,
and so on.
Noteworthy among the buildings of the Inner City are
the following:
The Wasted Wizard
The Wasted Wizard is a tavern of great renown. Located just outside the
Academy, the building's outward fortresslike mein is
belied by its interior. Purportedly built over the original camp of the
Founders, the inn is warm, comfortable, serves possibly the best
dwarven cuisine to be found aboveground, and
is an excellent spot to study, talk, or maybe just sit and enjoy the delicious
"root beer" that the owners created specifically for the magi who do not enjoy
the side effects of their ale. It also, incidentally, is a good place to write
a certain overview, despite the occasional student who feels a deep, compulsive
need to read over one of his superiors' shoulder, and may receive an unpleasant
surprise if... (The chronicler once again apologizes for digressing.)
Valgure's Magical
Emporium
Valgure's Magical Emporium is the biggest, most complete mageware shop in all
of Caelereth; or at least so the Valgures have been
claiming for the past few thousand years. The shop covers an entire city block,
and has four floors; as such the Valgures may be right. The shop's supplies are
almost all homegrown, home-harvested, or traded with nearby farmers. Among the
Emporium's wares are robes, spellbooks, reagents from all around, school
supplies, any and almost every magical
artifact that the School will let go... the chronicler could continue for
hours, but out of mercy he will stop shortly.
The
Guild Hall
The Guild Hall is one of the wiser experiments in the history of Ximax. As the
founders wanted no part in governing the city that
was developing around the Magical Academy even in its
early years, they decided to put the power of government in the hands of those
it affected the most; the city guilds.
The Guilds of Ximax deserve their own entry, but, simply put, the Guilds are
just like any other guild in a city, only with more power. There's the
Carpenter's Guild, the Innkeeper's Guild, the Fisherman's Guild, and so on,
throughout the social and economic strata of the city, from the lowly
Transportation Guild to the highbrow Messenger's Guild. All those who wish to
practice their art in the city must belong to the appropriate Guild, lest they
suffer at the hands of the Enforcer's Guild's thugs. It is a strange system, as
more than one traveler has noted. However, Ximax is, like sorcery, practical
beneath the shimmering veils of effect, and so does not eliminate a system that
still works.
The Guild Hall is where the various guild leaders (the title for each is
constantly being contested between multiple ruling families in a guild) meet to
decide city policy. However, as a preventive measure, the High Archmage is
given the power to stop any law that the Hall passes.
The
Gile's Guild
Gile's Guild is a proud, majestic building in the Inner City, offering
respectable, independent competition for the mainstream Guilds of Ximax. This
means that Gile's Guild accepts those who do not wish to be subject to the laws
of the Guild that has a rightful claim on their services, in exchange for
certain "odd jobs". A
messenger delivering packages at odd hours, a fishmonger receiving
instructions to help a few men find a place to stay outside of Novorhall... you
get the idea.
However, its outward appearance is decieving. Gile's Guild is
said to be the front for one of the two warring Thieves
Guilds in Ximax. Mind, this isn't officially known, but everyone knows it save
the most oblivious wanderer who accidentally walks into the city. Some might
wonder why the Giles haven't long since been driven out. The answer can be
given in one word: Politics...
There isn't a wizard or businessman in the Magic City who doesn't want
to know his competitors' or superiors' plans, sabotage them, or in extreme
cases, make them "disappear".
The Gile family has provided this service since approximately 1000 b.S.
The
Crimson Crescent
The Gile Guild's counterpart, the Crimson Crescent,
is a run-down tavern in the Outer City. The ale is undrinkable, a
vilerat would choke on the food, and the
ambience is best described as "badly maintained outhouse". However, order a
Silver Sickle with extra silver from the bartender, and he'll have a rather
well-armed waiter escort you to the "wine cellar" - the "vintages" there are
quite interesting.
Beneath the miserable shack of an inn is supposed to be still located a
decently maintained Thieves Guild that has been using and used by
Ximax ever since an unsuccessful scion of a
Stratanian ruling family settled
in, circa 300 b.S. The chief difference between the Crescent and the Giles,
besides the fact that the latter has been trying to get rid of the former ever
since it became a viable force on the underworld scene, is that the Crescent's
contacts are typically cheaper and worse trained... presenting opportunities
for the properly minded.
Not that any of this is based on personal experience of the chronicler, of
course; all is gathered from certain persons detained in the jails. Really.
Location. The Magical
City rests atop the Ximaxian Plateau, a wide stretch of flat land between the
Zirkumire and Magic Sickle mountain
ranges. The city walls are visible from long away, as they are the only raised
structure for fores around, save the occasional farm. It is the capital of the
Santharian province of Xaramon. From afar, the city
flashes like a massive, glassy beacon, calling travelers, traders, and other
such road-lovers to its walls.
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Map description. Location of Ximax, the famous City of Magic. Map by Artimidor. |
People. People from all
over Sarvonia come to Ximax. From the droves of
Milkengradian water-wizards, to the
elven Xeuá sorcerors, a proliferation of
Brownies, unusual in a city, to even the
occasional Kasumarii darkpriest.
Not, of course, to forget the
Volkek-Oshra, the orcish tribe given the
lion's share of the credit for the very creation of the Wizard's City. The
native Ximaxians lean towards the middle-heighted, stocky, and ruddy-skinned.
Their appearance, as with so much else in the region, is deceiving; there is a
higher rate of magic occurence in these folk
than in any other place in Santharia, and possibly
even the world.
One of the more famous native Ximaxians to ever grace the pages of history was
the (later) Archmagus of Ximax Cale Perim, assistant to the
Lady Jenefra and Katya Dragonseeker during
the Vardýnnian Atonement.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
Ximax's coat of arms consists of two concentric circles. The outer is split into
white, black, red, blue, brown, and grey, representing the six chief forces of
the cár'áll (the four elements, xeuá and
ecuá). The center is transparent,
with an eleven-pointed star laid over it.
Climate. The
temperature here varies immensely with the seasons. From the blistering inferno
of the summer, to the chill breezes of autumn, to the frigid, icy winters, and
to the unceasing deluge that is spring; Ximax is never entirely comfortable.
Still, a certain peace is always present. Though some of the guilds maintain
boats for the typical spring downpours, there is a rare calmness in falling rain
in Ximax. Likewise, in oppressive heat or cold, the mind almost literally flees
to higher thought. And though the weather in autumn is not particularly
pleasant, the unique beauty of the ripening fields and orchards cannot be
denied... (The chronicler apologizes for rambling on.)
Flora. Ximax would not
be Ximax without the region's dominant crop, surpassing even the ubiquitous
golden rain in farming preference:
wizardleaf. Running third are grapes,
for a wizard cannot be found who fails to enjoy a bit of the finer drink. Native
plants tend towards the more hardy; a wild
lorahough or sahnrix pine can't
be found within miles. General hypotheses towards the reason always tend to
involve something about "student-induced error" or "thaumic discharge." In plain
Tharian, hardy or propagative plants are needed to survive the not infrequent
minor sorcerous cataclysms.
Fauna. Where to begin!
Domestic and symbolic animals from all over Santharia
are brought as familiars or pets, rats and
vilerats are most definitely the dominant
species belowground, Ximax cats prowl
the city at all times of day and night, the occasional
zombie or
golem can be found doing some errand for its master,
chimaera sightings are frequent, and some
of the more... shall we say, intriguing animals can be found wandering the
countryside as a result of a miscast summon. It may indeed be a shorter list
what animals aren't findable nearby.
Resources. Ximax
relies on its one predominant resource: magic.
The Orb of Ximax is sufficient to provide the city with all that the wizards
need, and enough extra for the more commercially minded to extract from the
air, concentrate into potions, and sell to
any wizard who cares to buy it.
The soil around the wizards' city is rich, allowing for good harvests of most
crops; some of this may be attributable to the local custom of using a fourth of
the money got by the harvest to enrich the fields, usually with manure or
sickened meat. Some have questioned this practice, considering it little more
than superstition, but somehow their fields never turn out quite as good a yield
in a few years.
Myth/Lore. One of
the frequent sayings of the Magical City is that it is half industry and half
mythology. Legend is as much a part of the city as stone or brick, from the
tales of Ximan and the Founding to the story of Gamzan the Fallen. The stories
of Ximax could (and do) fill a tome the size of a small boulder, and it is the
chronicler's humble belief that even trying to reproduce the table of contents
would inflate this description beyond all reasonable size. However, there is one
tale that the chronicler can't help inserting... the tale of the Discovery.
It is written in the most ancient tome in the city, the Logbook of Wengerim Dun.
(later Wengerim Icetouch, Blue Archmagus.) The story, as pieced together through
the veil of three thousand years of retelling, goes something like so. It is
retold roughly as the Archmagus wrote it, but first, to set the scene.
The Circle of Magic, a small group of magi composed of Ximan, his teacher, and
several others, had been exiled from a city for the second time in their
history. Slowly, they had wandered through the forest that would become the
Shivering Woods, and had made their way onto
what would later be termed the Ximaxian Plateau; Wengerim termed it the Blast
Plain. Then, the semi-leader of the group, Ximan, wandered off, claiming only
that "he needed to be alone."
The Circle stayed roughly in the same area for about a week, and then...
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"Entry 783.
Weather: Sunny, growing clouded and warmer as the day progressed. |
(Chronicler's note: This makes as good a stopping point for this little sampler
of a tale than any... the tale of Ximan and Venora's a great deal longer than
the mere Discovery, itself a mere chapter in the tale of the Founding, itself a
mere chapter in the lore of the city. You now may have a bit more understanding
of the accuracy of the 'half-industry, half-mythology' saying.)
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Information
provided by
Xarl
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