WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0090 0090
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‘venerable’ leader is an even-handed ruler who makes
sure that all who dwell in Syradar are treated fairly. She
is not beyond using slavery to punish those who break
the law and many outsiders discover this only after the
shackles close.
Teleris
The former City of Scholars in days long past,
Makadan-settled Teleris lost its status and goodwill
long ago. Any aware Khitans shun Telerisian scholars
and lawmakers along with their city. Teleris is the butt
of many a joke and the focus of much bile across the Old
Countries. Behind its partly fortified walls and stockades, the scholars and their ilk now cower like frightened children, reduced at best to being rumormongers
and tone-deaf bards rather than learned scholars and
sages of any worth. Outside its walls, many blame Teleris
for every ill that has come to pass, and few argue against
that assessment.
Teleris prospered greatly on the ignorance of others and the blind faith among the Old Countries. The
statesmen, laws, and order that city offered in the absence of the Dragon Kings became a comfort to many
but eventually revealed many empty promises as time
wound on. Yet for such a city of learning and understanding, dismissive of the martial tribal tradition of
the Kod, their inevitable downfall and failure should not
have come as a surprise. As Khitan lands turned savage,
many laws and the social order broke down. Without
martial strength of arms to back them, Teleris discovered that bestial nature and strength more often overwhelms keen minds.
The failures of Teleris to predict, outthink, or halt the
changes in weather patterns or the following tides of
marauders revealed the limits of their much-vaunted
minds. Many angry folk from many places who once
counted on “Telerisian wisdom and sagacity” rioted and
sacked many sectors of the city. The Grand Library fell
in flames, engulfed by anger and snuffed out by ignorance, its fires spreading and destroying more than a
fifth of the city.
Any current restorative hope for these scholars now
rests in the forgotten magic they currently unearth
and research from long-blocked deep vaults beneath
the Great Library’s ruins. While few have direct understanding of the magical knowledge they have found,
including the bearded Dramidgian wizards who’ve inserted themselves into the process, they believe it will
ignite resurgence to their rule and wisdom.
88
Torqal
Grand Torqal, the jewel of Prajalu cities, as it’s been locally
known for sixteen generations, is a great example of architectural design, flawless construction, and maze-like streets,
home to a contemplative rulership with a magic-minded
people. While not a city of sorcery and magic directly, it is
one of the few Khitan cities with strong ties to those forces.
Magic infuses a rudimentary sentience into every greywhite stone of Torqal. Since the Great Reprisals, Torqal the
city chooses its upanya rulers wisely and makes sure strongwilled and civic-minded souls receive the call to power. The
city watches over those who protect it and punishes those
who work against it. Those who find favor in Torqal—the
government and highborn lords and ladies, as well as their
Rakar sorcerer hirelings—gain the best that the city can provide for them. Their paths and travels suffer no delays; their
homes feel safer; their dreams stay placid and calm, never
disturbed. Those who dare to mock Torqal or its people find
themselves ever wandering, lost among back alleys or places
dangerous to venture. While a minority among the Torqallin, rumu poisoners and ruthless Rakar make their homes
here, ever seeking victims to pare down to useful component parts or become targets for sorcery’s wrath.
There is a sinister truth about Torqal that the city works
to keep hidden—it can only survive by the blood and will
of those who enjoy their lives within. Once the city senses
that a native body cannot survive due to age, disease, or
injury, it takes steps to ease their passing and nourish itself in the process. Often, gravel and stone slowly cover a
corpse laid out on the ground (or any surface connected
to Torqal’s stones), sealing it within a stone burial lozenge
that slides into the ground. Once subsumed, the body
and all its elements and fluids become part of Torqal and
sustain its magical semi-sentience.
There is a sealed tower in the city center known to the
locals as the Tower of the Trisaur. Many rumors suggest
incredible treasures—and even more unbelievable dangers—lie inside the tower. Unknown to any, the tower
holds what can be considered the central intellect of the
city itself. Over many years, the city has been growing a
physical body from its magic and a mix of stone and flesh.
When it succeeds in creating a viable form, it hopes to
one day rule its denizens directly as Torqal Incarnate.
Tukka Falk
This city once belonged to the Watu Pachyaur, but no
longer. None fully know what robbed an entire city of its
living people. All that is known for certain is that dawn
