Adara
The floating city of Adara is considered the heart of all arcane magic in Aasha. It is home to the The Mages' Guild governing bodies as well as the Arcane Academy of Adara.
Government
The city shares the same governing bodies as the Mages' Guild. It is comprised of the Septus, a collective of all the magic schools' directors who hold executive power for both the city and the Guild, and the Hall of Mages. This system of governance was created with the ratification of the Articles of Magic.
Defences
To defend the city (although since the Great Levitation no one has tried to attack it), the Mages' Guild has set up an air force of Griffin Knights and and Griffon-mounted battle-mages known as the Skyguard. If the fight were to ever spread to the ground, it is also the Skyguard's responsibility to man the ramparts of the city as well as police its citizens. The Skyguard is heralded by the Mages' Guild to be Aasha's most formidable air force and have used their reputation for political gain.
Industry & Trade
The Guild controls much of the commerce in Adara but the largest export of the city is the use of magic itself. The Guild takes a percentage of all paid acts of magic performed by a Guild member. These funds are used to support the city and to run Guild business.
Another popular industry is Adara's crude transportation system. Adara usually stays near a portal on the ground for a week then travels to a new portal. Merchants use the moving city to travel around the world trading goods. Others pay to get into Adara and stay until they get to their final destination. Consequently, there are always new faces and travelers in Adara. There is a robust number of taverns and inns to accommodate them, and also, of course while they are there, visitors are tested to see if they are good candidates for the Arcane Academy of Adara.
The Academy itself is a large participant of the economy. It must host, teach, feed and board hundreds of students at any given time. Almost everyone who lives in the city has some sort of working relationship with the Academy.
Infrastructure
by DreamStudio
School of Abjuration
The School of Abjuration is primarily in charge of the city's safety and security. The school has been given the task of administering the Skyguard, the city's primary military and law enforcing arm. The school is also responsible for maintaining all of the magical wards and barriers in the city including the Etheral Vault - the Mages' Guilds prison built especially to hold dangerous mages and other threats.School of Conjuration
The School of Conjuration is responsible for providing the city with its basic food and water needs. Its greatest achievement was filling the Fonterra River and getting it to flow exactly at the same way as the Trystire River which flowed through the city when it was on land. The technique, invented by the great Conjurer Iliyana the Everfont, was copied to fill the various fountains and wells around the city. To provide food, the school runs a handful of "breadhouses" that gives free meals to the poor. The School of Conjuration's other major responsibility is to maintain the Great Teleportation Circle that ferries people to and from the city to the ground. The school's Transit Authority has been authorized to levy duties and excise taxes on goods imported into the city, and to charge people for use of the circle. These duties are some of the most lucrative sources of income for the city, and vital to the general economy of Adara.School of Divination
The School of Divination is in charge of monitoring, data collection, and forecasting for the city. From the Seers' Conclave, powerful diviners monitor the city and relay that information to the people who need it most via their sophisticated network of sending stones. In a sense, the Divination school is the glue that keeps all of the other schools working together efficiently. The School of Divination is in charge of maintaining, protecting, and curating the Athenaeum Arcanum - the Mages' Guild central repository of knowledge.School of Enchantment
The School of Enchantment is primarily in charge of maintaining diplomatic relations around the world and for coordinating and administering the various global Mages' Guild halls in every major city. Often their services are used as negotiators in intra-city conflicts. The School also runs the city's counter-intelligence through an clandestine organization colloquially nicknamed the Mind Wardens. Working in conjunction with the sky guard to protect the city from foreign actors.School of Evocation
The school of evocation has a few responsibilities. They are responsible for controlling the weather around Adara as well as navigation and propulsion of the city itself. They are also in charge of suppressing unwanted fires and gathering, collecting, and distributing various forms of energy on the island. To these ends, the school has created a few pieces of infrastructure: To control the weather, the school maintains a permanent ritual circle inside of the school which they have named the Aetherius Tempestas Altarum. Using forecasts from the Diviners in the Seer's Conclave, they precisely adjust the weather for what the city needs. Usually rain days and storm days are planned so the citizens of Adara can prepare for them well in advance. On a political note, the locals on the ground below the floating city complain of erratic weather - a by-product of the wizards' interference. To navigate the city, the wizards have created a system of sails (for general navigation) and magical jet thrusters (for emergency maneuvers). The helm is located at the top of the Evocation school - the tallest building in Adara. The school of evocation is also in charge of powering all of the arcane artifacts that keep the city going. The school has created a complicated system for collecting, storing, and distributing lighting, solar, and wind energy. In emergency situations, evocation wizards can power the city themselves, but it is incredibly taxing on the body.School of Illusion
The School of Illusion is the public face of the Mages' Guild for the people of Adara. The school runs the city's public announcement system and organizes many of the guild-funded public events such as festivals, carnivals, light displays, and town hall meetings. The School of Illusion maintains Concordia Amphitheatrum, a large venue with a capacity up to 20,000 that the school uses to host live entertainment and public meetings. It also maintains a system of permanent major illusions around the city. Some of the illusions are to hide locations the Guild wants to protect. Adara's public announcements are made through illusions of a fictional character the school has created named Adjutor. The citizens call him Addy and call his announcements Addies. The public announcements are pre-recorded and transferred to permanent illusion glyphs around the city.School of Transmutation
The School of Transmutation is responsible for major public constructions and for waste management. Many of the Adara's buildings are first created in wood or clay and then turned into long lasting stone building transmuters. The Transmutation school was responsible for building the great city wall that circumscribes the city to ensure that its denizens do not accidentally fall off. It also designed and maintains the city's sewage system so that waste is properly handled and transmuted into something safe for public reuse. Since there is no room to build out in Adara, the city's planners devised a system for the city to grow upwards. The construction of various towers as residences or vertical markets has made Adara the tallest city in the world, and the Adaran transmuters, engineers, and architects are some of the best in the world in creating literal skyscrapers.Districts
There are seven main districts in the city each occupied by a different school of magic. Each district is an equally shaped pie shape with a small circular central district that connects all the districts together. Each district houses a school of the Arcane Academy who is generally responsible for administering it. The city is laid out in a radial grid. Each district has a main throughway called a spoke in its center that runs for the city center all the way to the eighth ring and city wall. In addition, a spoke runs in between each district and acts as the border for each. The total number of major spokes in Adara totals 14.
To move circumferentially, the city has eight ring shaped throughways called that cut through each district. Each is named after one of the The Eight in order of their appearance in the Aashan calendar starting with spring. So in order from the first ring around the city center to the eighth ring that runs along the city wall it is: Balaam, Baedu, Ravi, Imix, Melikki, Jern, Olastra, Tsuki. Thus just as the city is subdivided into districts radially, Adarans often subdivide the city circumferentially using seasons with Spring being the parts of the city bounded by the Balaam and Ravi rings, Summer between the Ravi and Melikki rings, Fall between the Melikki and Olastra rings, and Winter anything outside of the Olastra ring.
So a common description of general location in a city could be as follows: Summer of Wardens' Roost. Which would indicate the Wardens' Roost district between the Ravi and Melikki rings.
In general, It is more favorable to live closer to the city center with the upper class and most powerful people living in the Spring and Summer of each district.
The order of the districts going clockwise around the city from an aerial view is Portal Quay, Wardens' Roost, Dynamo Ward, Dreamers' Haven, The Masonry, The Lights District, and Envoy Enclave. City Center is a circular district in the middle of the city that touches all the other districts. Descriptions of the eight districts are as follows:
City Center
The City Center is the most unique district of Adara as it is the only one directly administered by the Mages' Guild itself though a small governing body call the City Center Administration Council. The city center is dominated by the Praetorium Arcanae, the headquarters of the Mages' Guild and the seat of government for both the guild and the city. The Praetorium, as it is commonly referred to, is an impressive castle-like structure with seven towers of different architectural styles representing the seven schools of magic. It glows with magical wards and enchantments. Directly in front of it and in the direct center of the city is the Great Levitation Memorial and giant forty-foot high obelisk made in blood-red marble. In it is inscribed the names of Adarans and wizards lost during Blood Wars, and also are memorialized the names of the wizards that were responsible for the Great Levitation and saving the city from the Last Siege of Adara. Official government buildings are located here connected by large gardens and public spaces. These public spaces hold art, monuments to important wizards or historical figures to the city, grand fountains, and even an amphitheater. These public spaces are used by the general public to enjoy and connect with nature as well as used for city-wide festivals and markets. Everything in the city center is specifically designed to convey the feeling that magic is good, and the Mages' Guild is the responsible organization to regulate it. Other than the Mages' Guild the other important building in the City Center is the Hall of Justice which also doubles as a temple dedicated to the Justice God Ravi. The building is constructed in the Adaran style with spires pointing to the heavens made of white stone with gold inlays. The wizard-clerics that work there are masters of healing magic and actively study the art of healing magic. All who are hurt, sick, or injured are welcome to be healed by them.Wardens' Roost
Wardens' Roost or "The Roost" is administered by the School of Abjuration, and is home to the Skyguard headquarters and the Etheral Vault. Wardens' Roost is the oldest district of the city and is the location of the original keep and bailey of the first Prariemen who built the town. Using the historical fortifications as a starting point, the district is designed to be the last line of defense in case of an incursion of enemies. The original bailey wall has been modified to protect the entire wedge-shaped district with large portcullis gates for each of the rings that run through the district and the main spoke called the Wardens' Spoke. Inside the wall is a triangular bailey which is separated by an inner bailey wall. All of the district's buildings are located inside of the inner wall. The bailey is used as a public space where Skyguard run drills and train, animals are allowed to graze, and the district markets and festivals are held. As one could expect, every building in the Roost is designed to be defensible including the abjuration wards that the school inscribed in walls if each. Inside the inner wall, every building is meticulously placed to design choke points or areas for defense. The buildings in the district are made from or transmuted to the same time of titanstone quarried out of the The Divide used in the original keep. The architecture is simple and utilitarian with very little flair or color. Decorative elements show up in stone-worked carvings on the sides of the buildings. These are limited to long geometric designs that line either the top or bottom of a wall. Often these carvings hide protective abjuration glyphs used for defense of the building. There are four major landmarks in the district: The School of Abjuration - which is in the location of the original keep - now a heavily fortified tower, the Skyguard Headquarters - a keep-like building with a tall gryffin roost - located in the winter of the district, the Etheral Vault - a windowless stone cube of a building, and the temple and shrine dedicated to Tsuki. The people who reside in the district are connected to either the Abjuration school or the Skyguard in some way, and so, are deeply ingrained in the militaristic culture of the district. They include students and teachers of the school, members of the guard along with their families, as well as military support trades such as smithies, leatherworkers, and healers. When in the district, one feels more like they're on a military base rather than a city. The sounds of drills and marching can be heard from the bailey, shadows of Skyguard gryffin riders frequently fly over the district, and smells of protective incense fill the air. From Wardens' Roost the Skyguard begin and end their patrols of Adara, and a police station has been set up near the City Center to help citizens file complaints or report crimes. If the city were to be attacked all of the city's leadership would be moved to the School of Abjuration for protection.Portal Quay
Portal Quay is the district administered by the School of Conjuration and is home to the Great Teleportation Circle that ferries people from the city to a teleportation circle below and visa-versa. It is also the source of the Fonterra River that flows through the city and is the main source of water and power for the majority of its denizens. Portal Quay is one of the most important districts economically to the city and includes the historical riverport of Adara from which goods were ferried up and down the Trystire River before the Great Levitation. To this day, the district serves as the main hub of trade although, this time, all of the goods come and go through the Great Teleportation Circle. Large swaths of Portal Quay have been set aside as a marketplace where foreigners can set up stalls and sell their wares to Adarans. Furthermore, merchant operations have created warehouses where they can buy goods wholesale and use the natural route of the city as a trade route to move goods from country to country. All of the transient people in the district have spurred a huge industry of taverns, inns, bathhouses, and whorehouses to support them. The vast majority of the people in the district are only in town for a few months and leave when the city reaches their eventual destination. Portal Quay is also the home of Adara's effort to eliminate hunger in the city. The school of conjuration has set up various "breadhouses" inside of the district's winter rings where novice conjurers conjure up food and water for the poor. Since the establishment of these breadhouses, as well as Portal Quay's proximity to Wardens' Roost's Temple of Tsuki - Goddess of Mercy and Charity, many of the city's poor have flocked to the district. The entire culture of the district is a vibrant mix of foreigners, merchants, tourists, and the socioeconomically challenged. It displays some of the most fantastical wealth in the form of the district's merchant markets and beautiful fountains set up by the School, but it also contains the squalor and suffering of those who cannot thrive in Adara yet cannot afford to leave it. One can find buildings in the district that reflect the architecture and culture of almost every nation on the continent. Oftentimes these architectural features will mix and clash as the building passes from one owner to another and the new owner adds their unique cultural flair to the building. The district, as a whole , looks and feels disjointed and disorganized, but at the same time exciting and spontaneous. The major landmarks of the district include: The School of Conjuration - with its large terraced waterfalls and fountains, the Great Transportation Circle located inside of the Customs and Toll House, the Iliyana Fountain and Memorial whose synchronized water works dance and play, the Fonterra Riverhead, the Quay Marketplace the largest public space in the city, and the Temple dedicated to Olastra. The district is famous and legendary all over the continent and is the subject of a popular tune:T'when I was as lad
'round Aasha I'd see
best day I ever had
stole a kiss at Portal Quay
Dreamers' Haven
The Dreamers' Haven is the district of Adara administered by the School of Divination. The district's crown jewel is the Athenaeum Arcanum, the largest library in Aasha, and the largest repository for arcane text. It serves as the Mages' Guild's main repository of knowledge and research, and it also doubles as a temple dedicated to the Goddess Jern - Goddess of Knowledge and Prudence. The district itself has the most unorthodox layout of any of the 8 districts with the orientation and lengths of its roads and alleys determined by astrological auspiciousness rather than logic. Although the labyrinth of roads and alleys that branch off of the rings and spokes of the district are complicated and difficult to memorize, the design of the district itself is such that you alway find your destination and your way back even if you didn't know the way prior. In fact, those who try to use maps rather than intuition often are the ones who get lost in the district - a common mistake among newcomers and visitors of the city. The district's residents attract the members of the School of Divination as well as, astronomers, astrologers, artists (although sculptors tend to prefer the Masonry), poets and writers. The view of the sky is important to the art of divination as so, buildings are not allowed to be built too high here. In fact, the Dreamers' Haven has the shortest average building height in the city. Buildings are built with flat balcony roofs or side balconies so that residents may read the clouds by day or stargaze by night. There's a strong mural culture in the district. It seems that almost every wall in the district is covered by a mural of an abstract design. The murals are often used in divinations where people wander the district until a mural predicts their future. Other than the Athenaeum Arcanum and the Divination School, Dreamers' Haven has other important locations. The Novice Court is a small courtyard near the Divination School where novice students practice their art with the public. Nearby, the cosmic market is a small street where merchants sell telescopes, crystal balls, tarot cards, and other divination tools. Another interesting landmark is Scryers' Lake. A large forty-foot wide scrying pool made of dark stone. The water in the pool is perfectly still so it perfectly reflects the things around it under certain conditions. On a clear, new moon night, the pool perfectly reflects the stars.Envoy Enclave
Envoy Enclave is the district administered by the School of Enchantment. The name comes from the large private green space in the Summer Rings of the district used for diplomatic meetings, events, and negotiations. Along the Imix Ring, across the Enclave, is a row reserved for countries to build embassies for their foreign diplomats. The Enclave itself is a perfectly manicured garden built in the style of a Balaam Meditation Monastery. It once was the site of an orange orchard - most of which was left behind during the Great Levitation. Many of the original trees still exist on the grounds and are all enchanted to grow large fragrant blooms in the spring. In fact, The Orange Bloom Festival is the only time where the general public are welcome to visit the Enclave. Everything in the garden is designed to evoke the sense of peace and harmony. Enchanted chimes bellow their low, calming rings at top and the bottom of each hour. Of all the districts, Envoy Enclave is the most manicured and heavily enchanted to be spotless and flawless attracting not only foreign dignitaries, but also the city's most rich and powerful. Many wizards have chosen to build their personal towers there. It has made Envoy Enclave an important place when trying to gain influence. Other than diplomatic retreats, it's rumored that the Mages' Guild runs a clandestine counter-intelligence operation out of Envoy Enclave. Though details about it are obviously scarce. Key landmarks in the district include the School of Enchantment, the Envoy Enclave, and the Temple dedicated to Balaam.Dynamo Ward
Dynamo Ward is the district administered by the School of Evocation. The whole district is a marvelous wonder of movement and energy. Every building has strange curves or angles to help direct wind energy into giant spinning wind turbines. Located either in prominent positions in the district's skyline or on the roofs of buildings themselves. The most amazing scene can be seen during a lightning storm at night where the hundreds of lightning rods mounted to the School of Evocation attract and store the energy from the lightning itself! This tall tower is not only the largest structure in the district, it is the largest tower in the city. From its peak, the helmsmen steer Adara to its next destination. While many people live in the Dynamo Ward, the majority are attracted to the bustling moving nature of the place. It always seems that something is going on. Whether it's an unveiling of a new sculpture that dances and moves with the wind, a dance party in the gymnasium, or a display of strength put on by the monks of Imix at the Temple, the district always seems awake and alive. Professionally, other than the evokers at the school, the people tend to work with machinery or at the forges. They're millers, or workshop owners, blacksmiths, or founders. Key landmarks in the district include: The School of Evocation, the Temple dedicated to Imix, the kinetic sculpture garden, and the gymnasium.Lights District
The Lights District is the district administered by the School of Illusion. It is in effect, the city's entertainment district with the key feature of the district being the Concordia Amphitheatrum - a giant 20,000 person capacity stadium/amphitheater. In addition to the Concordia, the district is home to the Vivarium Arcanum, Adara's zoological park, and a circus grounds for traveling performers. Everyone and everything in the district seems to support the entertainment district and to try to extract as much gold from tourists as possible. In fact, many locals find the Lights District exhausting but if one thing is for sure, everytime you go, you're sure to see something completely unexpected. Everything in the district is immutable as every building has a permanent illusion glyph. Every month, the School of Illusion chooses a theme for the district and the entire district is enchanted to look to fit the theme. The Adarans still talk of the time the school chose the "Pits of Hell" as a theme - an action they have sworn to never to repeat again. Although the illusions are grand, the denizens of the district do give up a part of their individual agency on how their buildings look - an issue that come up every once and a while, but is never taken too seriously. The biggest festival in the Lights District happens for Levitation Day - the day celebrating the Great Levitation of Adara. The illusionists and the evokers in the city put on a huge sky display of lights and fire which is best observed from the Concordia Amphitheatrum. The only serious part of the district is the Temple dedicated to Meilikki which is built inside of a dense grove of trees. While Meilikki is the goddess of illusion magic, she also is the goddess of temperance and preservation. Here in the grove, are often found people looking for a little respite from the whimsical nature of the district and grounding themselves in nature itself.The Masonry
The Masonry is the district administered by the School of Transmutation, and is named after the large population of stoneworkers, sculptors, masons, bricklayers, and builders that have settled in the district. The School of Transmutation is in charge of large building projects in the city as well as managing the city's sewage and waste, so the school is always looking for artisans to help them, and in return they often offer to transmute goods as payment. Since the city is floating stone is difficult to come by and transmutors in the district are some of the best ways to get the raw material. The Masonry has an interesting architectural style that spans various stoneworking and stonecarving cultures. All of the buildings are made from stone and are intricately carved. In contrast to the very military, practical design of the stone buildings in Wardens' Roost, those in the Masonry are ornately formed with decorative pillars and arches. Many of them were carved in wood or clay then turned into marble by a transmuter later. Other than the School of Transmutation which sports an almost impossibly organic shape made of stone supported by a clever system of pillars and arches, visitors often come to see Fonterra Falls where the river falls off of the island and is collected and recycled back up to the Porta Quay. They also come to see the temple dedicated to Baeduu which is located on a small farm.Guilds and Factions
There is only one guild in Adara and that is the The Mages' Guild.
History
The founding of Adara pre-dates the War of Ascension. Its original location was inside the borders of modern-day Camdyn along the Whitecap River. The Circle of Sages believe that Adara much like the majority of interior parts of Aasha changed hands many times between supporters of the Old Gods and the of the New. The town was almost completely destroyed and abandoned by the war's end.
During the Reconstruction period of interior Aasha, Adara's strategic position along the Whitecap River made it a lucrative place for a settlement, and so, many refugees returned to Adara and the Whitecap River Valley to rebuild the town and farm its fertile land. It was during this time that a group of Jern-worshiping divination wizards established a small school in Adara named the Arcane Academy of Jern. The school's purpose was to teach the peaceful art of Divination and promote the worship of Jern, its patron Goddess.
The Arcane Academy of Jern soon became a political force in Adara's history. The wizards at the academy advised the town leadership though the violent and often chaotic early history of the Kingdom of Camdyn. During the First Unification War, the wizards successfully devised a way to keep Adara neutral and out of the fighting.
In 321 AA, when it was becoming clear that the Mongrue Family would unite Camdyn for the first time, the Abjuration Academy of Camdyn moved their school to Adara to escape the anti-Magic sentiment of the Mongrue Dynasty. With another school of magic in Adara local politics became increasingly more complicated. To smooth out the political process and to save the local people from the potential destructive nature of magical disagreements, the wizards of the Arcane Academy of Jern and the Abjuration Academy of Camdyn joined together to create the Mages' Guild of Adara - a governing body for just the arcane practitioners in the city the year 322 AA.
Over the next 120 years schools for the remaining schools of magic were established in Adara. The population of arcane artists vastly outgrew the population of all others. In 462, the Mages' Guild had enough power and goodwill to completely take over the town of Adara, and so the Mages' Guild was made the official governing body of the small but growing town of wizards.
In 565, it was discovered that the School of Transcendence had discovered a secret new form of magic which the Guild refers to "blood magic." News of its use and discovery shook and divided the wizards of Adara. The Guild quickly mobilized to outlaw the practice of blood magic and to exile all of its practitioners from Adara. However, exile was not a harsh enough punishment for these wizards and they formed secret factions all around the world.
Blood magic became a blight in Aasha. Although the practitioners were few, their experiments led to some of the most devastating crisis on the continent. The two largest of these crises are: the summoning of the dead heroes of the War of Ascension the impetus of the Skeleton War, and the summoning of demon Baphomet's demon army - the impetus of the Demon War.
In 822, weary of more cataclysmic blood magic-related events, the Guild issued the Eisodus - the gathering of the Wizards into Adara, and decried that Blood Magic be rooted out at any cost. This was the start of the Magi Inquisition.
Many wizards rebelled against the Eisodus who refused to relocate and live in a city of wizards. Others did not recognize the guild as the foremost body of magical power and formed rebellious splinter guilds. Many of these "Rebels" allied themselves with the Blood magicians and frustrated the plots of the Guild. The first battle between the Rebels and the Guild occurred at Bridgeton in 834 where a delegation of Guild members were ambushed by Rebels and killed. Thus began the Blood Wars.
It was during the Siege of Adara in 838 that the wizards of the School of Transmutation, Conjuration, and Evocation devised a way to lift the entire city into the air and out of harms way.
For the next 200 years, the mages in Adara spent the majority of their time adapting the new floating city to its new dynamic location. Huge infrastructure projects were completed during this time to make Adara a livable city: The city's foundations were magically strengthened; the city wall was constructed; the artificial aquifer was created and filled; and the Fonterra River was created.
Alternative Name(s)
The Floating City
Type
City
Population
10,550
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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