Coursier Station
These buildings serve as relay stations for long distance communication and are manned by Coursiers, who are Soulstriders trained to use their teleportation abilities to send and receive messages.
Purpose / Function
The purpose of these buildings is to store messages that are in transit, receive messages that are to be shiped out and streamlining message exchanges if needed. Beyond the strictly work related use, Coursier stations are also the perfect place for Coursier to stop at if they want to rest or sleep. Food is also offered here and the large communal room offers a place to socialize between coursier or with non-coursier messengers.
Architecture
Overview
Most of these stations buildings have been constructed by following a similar interior and exterior, using a standardized floor plan. This means that most stations largely look alike and are built with similar material, minus for some minor details. To prevent confusion amongs coursiers, the name of the destination is written prominently all around the station. The building is divided into 4 floors, from the basement to the last floor, which is where the coursier "land" when they arrive to their destination. Each of these floors is connected to eachother by stairs and metal polls, allowing for quick travel between them.Basement: Storage and Archives
Nothing too interesting here. Storage for various items and food. Some Coursier station also have a room dedicated to store old messages or copies of those messages.Ground Floor: Main Hall and reception
Regular civilians are allowed to enter the building and stay within this level, but not any other. They can deliver messages to the reception, which will then be delivered to the third floor by other coursiers or even non-mage messengers, depending on the circumstance. Coursiers can also rarely come down to the ground floor before and after work or to leave the building.Second Floor: Living Quarters
The second floor is reserved as a living space for the people working in the building, whether they are Coursiers or not. Bedrooms, toilets and showers, communal rooms and even the kitchen are all situated on the second level. Some Bedrooms have bunk beds, others dont.Third Floor: Wayline landing and Exchange station
The third floor is left mostly vacant in order to minimise the chances of arriving coursier from colliding with objects they would not be able to see or evade in time. The floor on this level is made of steel, which prevents the soulstriders from overshooting and landing further down into the building. This works because waylines cannot penetrate iron or steel. The exchange stations are small boots situated on either side of the level, and are accessable by messengers working on the ground level. They give the messages they receive from clients to Coursier while the coursier give them the messages that are to be delivered in the city or region.Defenses
Most Coursier stations are within major cities, so they enjoy the protection of their large walls and constant presence of soldiers and guards.
Type
Transportation station
Owning Organization
The coursier station seems like a vital component to your world! It's made me curious about how your world might work, and who the Soulstriders might be. I wonder if there is standardised food at these stations, despite its various locations, or if the coursier stations adapt a little depending where they are. I also am curious about what the security might be like. I hope you are having a great time at Worldember! All the best, Sailing Ocelot
Thanks for your comment! They are indeed very vital and without them, many things would go wrong very quickly. Depending on the region, food served inside varies, since coursier do shop locally for produce. The stations are also guarded by soldiers posted outside, who can be either mages or not. I am indeed having a great World Ember and hope to reach 25K by the end! Thanks again for your comment and wishing you all the best, and a merry Christmas if you celebrate!