History and structure:
Dergal (an ancient civilization) created Ascension as a siege engine to break into the heavens, then the Rakash (another old race) used it to make a big portal directed to the three plates of the Abyss (hell plane).
Now the humans live in Ascension, but the basic structure of the city reminds these old functions.
The Dergal created the roads scheme, designed to gather troops in the center: two big circle and eight lines follow the radius of the city perimeter.
The Rakash created the POOL to call troops from the Abyss.
Many people know Ascension as Mosaic City because the city tiles created from Dergal mage artists defined a big mosaic. It was an enormous summoning circle. The humans build upon it, and bird’s eye view of these buildings seems another mosaic on the mosaic.
In the ancient times Ascension could fly, but now Humans can only make it floating on the lake.
Government, city movement an the Control Towers:
Four magic school control the four Control Towers. Every school can choose a counsellor: usually their chief, but it’s not mandatory. These four counsellor control the movements of the city:
- To make the city floating in the lake they need the use of three towers.
- Every drawbridge is between two towers. To activate the bridge they need the agreement of these two towers.
- Three mages can decide to block the departures or the arrivals (or both) from the POOL.
- Two mage can ban people. A banned one can’t use the POOL in any ways.
Sustain and the Warehouses:
The two warehouses, designed initially as Dergal barracks, now are public property of the city and used to stock provisions.
Two merchant share the monopolies of the city provisions and manage one warehouse for each. The city council grants these monopoly licenses every tree years and they are freely to change monopolist as they want.
The citizens use running water controlled by some water pumps; some of them are magical.
Economy and the Refuge of the Blissed:
The economy of the city is principally based on commerce and tertiary. Merchant from everywhere come with the pool to sell their goods, and Ascension offers medics, lawyers, archivists, historians, magicians and scientists.
The Refuge of the Blissed is a major hospital with a enormous reputation on many planes.
The planar trade fair and the POOL:
The pool, made of a solid material not known from the humans, is used to travel and commerce. There’s a treat that prohibit to use it for troops.
Anyone needs a mage to use the POOL for teleporting. One needs a specialized mage to teleport FROM the POOL, and needs a circle of runes made from an expert rune creator to teleport TO the POOL.
Once a year Ascension host a trade fair visited from travellers from every known plane. Here one can find every kind of luxury object.
Races and the Goblin ghetto:
Human and elves are the main race of the city, and all the races are accepted, but few of them establish permanently in the city. Humans and elves need someone to take care of the dirty jobs: the goblinoid were the cheapest labour force. But the high races don’t like to live near them, so they created the ghetto.
Internal politics:
Mage, merchants and medics are the principal factions of the city. They represent economy, science and magic. Many times they argue about who is in charge. Formally the city is ruled by a council of mages (see Government).
External rapport and the Magical Drawbridges:
The drawbridge aren’t usual bridges. On activation they became a sort of tube, a corridor made by an invisible wall of force. This corridor attaches to the land, but there’re only two little city around the lake so they’re used only few times.
Defences, and the Guardian Dragon:
The city is a peaceful one. The army isn’t well trained and the soldier career is usually avoided from the citizen. Thanks to the natural defence of the lake this isn’t a primary issue.
To avoid underwater attack the mages long time ago stipulated a pact with a dragon, that now is the secret guardian of the city, his lair is in a deep cave under the city. Many years in the past the dragon race became asleep. So now he’s dormant.
Natural Technology and the Floating Park:
The first humans found the city stranding in the lake. After years of the research some mages made it floating on the water. One of these first mages created a method to grow trees on the rocks. So he made the park of the city. Someone suggested to create cornfield and develop agriculture, but for now seems easier teleport the food from other places.
Underground:
The underground of the city is a big labyrinth.
Entrance: There are many entrance to the underground, the principals are under the towers and the the warehouses.
The furnace: “There’s no place for old bones” said the people who saw the furnace. This is a dread device, hot and chaotic. It’s the engine that move the city and sustain the pool. It’s a permanent channel between air and fire elemental planes. Inside it there’s a secret portal that took to Nodon (another city similar to this on another plane).
Prisons: the Furnace is a big magnet attracting the magic around. Dergal put it far from the surface to not interfere with their mages. Around the engine there are area of dead magic (where the spells don’t work), the Rakash used it to contain renegade wizards.
Musk room: every warehouse has a musk room in their underground. A phosphoric musk, created by condensation of Rakash magic, filled these rooms. The ability to create this musk is unknown, but seems that it can reproduce and replace the old musk when it dies. It’s spreading in other rooms, but it dies if removed from the warehouse.
Unfinished portal: there’s another portal underground, but the works seems unfinished.
Rakash Barracks: the rakash build their barracks underground, and it’s full of strange devices. They planned to fill them with water if the devils conquers it.
Ascension (name of the city)
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