The City of Life
Nestled within and cradled by the fruit-bearing and towering trees, the City of Life, Tel'Rhea, is in perfect harmony with the nature around it. Where the trees grow thickest, the green-roofed buildings wind up and around their sturdy trunks and run across their branches. Where the trees thin, meadows of flowers cover the ground, surrounding stone or dirt walkways. Flowers are arranged around homes or adorned across the vines that cover rooftops and drift up walls. Where plants do not climb the walls or cover the roofs, the stone, marble, or wood has been carved or embellished with swirling motifs, leaves, flowers, other flora, and fauna. The people here often dress simply and many choose to go barefoot as they move across moss-cushioned paths through gardens and orchards. In the distance, one can hear the whispers, songs, and laughter of the spirits of the land, of the flowers, and of the trees. The city and the land are so entwined it is almost impossible to tell where one begins and the other ends.
The City of Life is built and organized loosely in rings, similar to the growth rings of a tree. When one approaches the City of Life from land, the scattering of trees and wind-blown grass suddenly shifts into barren, almost charred looking earth – the outermost ring of the city. Beyond that, one can see orchards, homes, windmills, and farms arranged around streets of softened, carved dirt with the largest, central street paved with arranged stonework. The barren strip that cuts through the land is the "wall", only raised when the City of Life is threatened. Nearby, a few slightly larger buildings house the druids and clerics who watch for approaching threats, entrusted by the Queen to raise the walls if danger looms.
Orchards, farms, and small clusters of buildings, often arranged around marketplaces, interlaced with gardens or public swimming spaces – primarily ponds and streams – cover much of the ring within the “walls”. The most prominent orchard belongs to the hermit, Six. Her orchard spans a large portion of this ring and is easily identifiable from the thickly packed trees and the large silhouette of a towering tree standing tall at its center. Most of the paths are made of dirt, but more and more paths of lined stone become present the closer one moves to the center of the City. Fruits and flowers are grown here in abundance, supported by the fertile lands. The golden hue of the Eltartem fruit is unmistakable, even amidst the other vibrant colors and ethereal glow from other produce.
No matter where one is within the City of Life, all creatures and plants – all the living – are sacred to the Mother Goddess, and that reverence is apparent throughout the city. Small shrines to the Mother Goddess are littered along paths, with offerings of flowers, fruits, carvings, and more. As one progresses through the city, the buildings become more ornate, with more elaborate carvings and embellishments and with more vibrant green roofs. There is also, however, a shift in how the people carry themselves and act. Closer to the “wall”, the people of Tel’Rhea hold reverence for life and communities very visibly come together to help care for and assist any who are pregnant or caring for children. The community cares for the mother and raises the child here. Moving inward, while the concepts of community involvement in family persists, this reverence shifts to exemplify the matriarchal society of the city. Women are treated with heightened reverence for their ability to bare children. It is the women who are trusted with governance and they hold the power here. Men (and those who cannot bare children) are expected to labor and work harder to support those with the most sacred gift, for they must earn the respect of the Mother Goddess.
Throughout the City of Life, there is a refusal to discuss, see, or otherwise acknowledge death. There is a sensation and belief that untimely death does not happen within the holy City of Life. There is a strong aversion to harbingers of death, despite the belief that Ah’Shal, Goddess of Death, is the lover of Tel’Rhea and but one part of the cycle of Life. This aversion, perhaps, was enhanced by the accumulation of smog over their sister city in Ah’Shal. Kept at bay by wards and magical barriers overseen by the Ladies of Life, the dark cover of death is almost always visible from the City of Life. Those from Ah’Shal must tread carefully when they move through the City of Life, for the local residents do not take kindly to them lingering long. The stench of death is foul upon them and they would hate for their little paradise to be tarnished.
Gardens, Orchards, & Other Green Spaces
As an Earth, nature, and life-giving Goddess, the region dedicated to Tel'Rhea is filled with gardens, fields of flowers, public orchards, and enclosed swimming spaces with patches of sun that streak through the treetops. It is important that residents of the City of Life are able to bask in the beauty of life all around them. While many of these green spaces are for the residents and visitors to enjoy, there are some that are restricted as they provide a home for regional fauna and flora to live free of disruptions that those in the city are destined to cause, intentionally or not.
These centers of nature within the city can be organized into three rough groupings:
- Greenhouses, Conservatories, & Public Gardens – Nature is housed within or directly alongside man-made structures. They can either be completely outdoor or a mixture of outdoor and indoor spaces. Restaurants and shops can often be found near these spaces.
- Flower Fields, Orchards, & Groves – Nature commands these spaces, but moss-covered old stone paths or maintained dirt paths allow locals and visitors to traverse within, often to swim to delight in the scents and sights of flowers and fruit alike.
- Nature Preserves – These areas can be observed from a distance, but have been untouched by any form of civilization. Flora and fauna within are allowed to thrive, occasionally emerging to delight the people of Tel'Rhea.
Notable Establishments in the City of Life
Amidst the spaces devoted purely to nature, the following notable establishments are located within the City of Life:- Six's Hoarders Den – A winding path leads through a dense orchard with a myriad of colorful fruit. If you are lucky to be allowed in, you will find a home overrun with knick-knacks and a powerful witch.
- The House of Life – A sprawling complex intertwined with nature. While its Courtyard may be open to all who wish to pay their respects to the Mother Goddess, its ornate and beautiful interior is reserved for the Ladies of Life and the Queen herself.
- The "Walls" of Tel'Rhea – Although open, the City of Life is not without its defenses and guards, clerics, and druids alike oversee the barren stretch of land... waiting.
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The Warforged
Although seemingly out of place, there are warforged in the City of Life. Common in the outermost rings, they often serve among the ranks of guards, druids, and clerics that watch over the city's borders and are called to raise the walls. The newest race of humanoids on the continent, the warforged are bleieved to be the product of an "affair" between Tel'Rhea and Nacheevi, shortly after the War of Forges. They were a gift from the God of Technology and Order to Tel'Rhea for her stated support and, in part, as reparation for the Warrior Queen's advance on the City of Life. The warforged were originally intended to be defenders of Tel'Rhea, but, over the centuries with the lack of war, they have diffused outward to the factories of Ah'Shal or the Technical Institute of Nacheevi. Yet, despite being mostly shunned from the innermost part of the City of Life, many have chosen to remain, prepared to guard and defend the city should anyone threaten the City of Life again.
Rules & Laws
The City of Life is a matriarchal society that places women (and those who can bare children) on an elevated pedestal above all other members of their society. It is those capable of bringing life into the world that are placed in positions of power, who make the rules, who oversee all religious and political affairs, and who guard the region from the looming threat of smog and death from Ah’Shal. While within the city, take heed:
- Thou Shalt Not Kill – There is no untimely death in the City of Life! If you must kill someone, please do it elsewhere? Those found guilty of murder within the City of Life are sure to incur the Ire of Tel'Rhea and banishment from her lands. Should you murder a mother, child, or The One forbid a Lady of Life, you might expect Tel'Rhea to plead with her lover to send her Executioners after you.
- All Life is Sacred – Harvest only what is needed or required. Intentional, excessive waste is considered a slight to Tel'Rhea. She has blessed these lands with fertility and life and the land itself, therefore, should be treated with the utmost respect.
- Conduits of Tel'Rhea – Those who can bare children are sacred and should be regarded as such. Insults, aggression, or violence towards these revered members of society, most notably the Ladies of Life, will be met with swift punishment.
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