Feytral, City of Reflection
Oh, to remember the City of Reflection, how dare the humans of Ortega think what they did an honor. They had the arrogance to stand over the graves of those who came before and try to explain what "truth" their mystics had uncovered. I remember some peers in those ages tried prying into how this "truth" came to be known, and were given only vagueness. I think at this point, many of us were simply... done... with the Ortegans. A shame their talents were not better used.In the heyday of the Ortegan empire, the mystics were founding cities faster through a greater command of resources - both natural resources and skilled labor. The City of Reflection was built seemingly to solidify the imperial influence into the heart of the territory, yet there was other reasons for the chosen location of Feytral. The mystics directed the masons and planners to choose more archaic designs with the more recent refinements to method. The idea was to celebrate the past while allowing Ortega as an empire to move forward. To this end, the mystics began compiling historical records to sent to Galuda for the archives, and they often would ask travelers from other places to stop and tell them of their travels.
Feytral was lost to the ages when the Ortegans vanished, and all the attempts to record and gather history proved to be pointless as things ended. The city seemed to pass into dim memories even amidst those who gathered information about the lost empire - all records suggested there was nothing of interest there to seek. So it was a city built to show interest in history became forgotten even by those who would otherwise remember it.
History
WARNING: This section is heavy with spoilers. Do not read if you are playing in my campaigns and wish to remain innocent!
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The Ortegan mystics were quite pleased with their results concerning the results of other great cities taking root, and experiments soon producing useful results. After Galuda was finished, the pursuit of knowledge became a focus for the next few generations to allow the new great city to serve its purpose to the fullest. Among the ideas was one which gained popularity steadily: to use divination magic to peer into the past and make an objective record of what had transpired. However, the votes to build Feytral fell short of ones to construct Validnay - so it was Feytral's founding had to wait just a little longer. This did not stop the proponents among the mystics from advancing their theories, preparing for the time when their project would become approved. Settlers and crafters traveled to the calm plains in the northern reaches of the empire, and it was not long before the city's foundations had been laid. Or so it was believed, as there was a secret which was kept carefully by the humans who built the city.
The mystics had selected this place for one reason alone, to begin investigation into the past through studies of an ancient ruin. They had discovered an ancient ruin which matched what was known of elven architecture, only worked in stone instead of living wood. A great fire had seemingly turned much of the city into slag and ruin, but there was no disputing it had been a thriving city at some point. The mystics who were building Feytral intended to pry into the fate which befell the city, and intended to use the mysteries of the city to sharpen their divination skills. As layer after layer of these mysteries was peeled away, the spells became focused and capable of laying bare the origins of any object which was the focus of the spell. Seemingly innocuous objects were able to provide windows into the past, driving the mystics to collect what artifacts they could.
Yet it was the advancement of one particular spell which proved to be the heart of Feytral's great work - the creation of the Mirror Arch. This arch was covered with runic script, and had a simple glass pane suspended in the open arch. Activating the Arch with a time and place defined by the activation incantation would open a window into the past which overlooked the place as though events were unfolding on the other side of the glass. Yet it could only reach back so far in history, prompting the mystics to continue trying to improve on the masterpiece which was their prized artifact. Nothing worked, which led to some mystics formulating a theory there was some hitherto unknown presence preventing such eras from being viewed. This would later become the foundation of a theory concerning the "Veil of Dawn", which remains remarkably difficult to prove as an immutable fact instead of "an error in the user's incantations". Despite all of this, there became a great demand for mystics and scribes to attend the Mirror Arch for hours and investigate moments in history described by visitors so they could view events as objectively as possible.
The "objective truths" uncovered were not always popular, especially if they challenged established dogma or ideas which were central to cultures. With Feytral not being very popular, and the Ortegan mystics starting to cause diplomatic rifts to open, there is no small wonder the city was promptly forgotten about once the empire fell. Treasure seekers have little interest in a city which has nothing of tangible value to those coming after, as Feytran residents chose to eschew opulence of golden or jeweled finery in favor of a more solemn air. Few scholars who try to unravel Ortegan mysteries seem very interested, despite the promise of powerful divination techniques developed by Feytran mystics.
The mystics had selected this place for one reason alone, to begin investigation into the past through studies of an ancient ruin. They had discovered an ancient ruin which matched what was known of elven architecture, only worked in stone instead of living wood. A great fire had seemingly turned much of the city into slag and ruin, but there was no disputing it had been a thriving city at some point. The mystics who were building Feytral intended to pry into the fate which befell the city, and intended to use the mysteries of the city to sharpen their divination skills. As layer after layer of these mysteries was peeled away, the spells became focused and capable of laying bare the origins of any object which was the focus of the spell. Seemingly innocuous objects were able to provide windows into the past, driving the mystics to collect what artifacts they could.
Yet it was the advancement of one particular spell which proved to be the heart of Feytral's great work - the creation of the Mirror Arch. This arch was covered with runic script, and had a simple glass pane suspended in the open arch. Activating the Arch with a time and place defined by the activation incantation would open a window into the past which overlooked the place as though events were unfolding on the other side of the glass. Yet it could only reach back so far in history, prompting the mystics to continue trying to improve on the masterpiece which was their prized artifact. Nothing worked, which led to some mystics formulating a theory there was some hitherto unknown presence preventing such eras from being viewed. This would later become the foundation of a theory concerning the "Veil of Dawn", which remains remarkably difficult to prove as an immutable fact instead of "an error in the user's incantations". Despite all of this, there became a great demand for mystics and scribes to attend the Mirror Arch for hours and investigate moments in history described by visitors so they could view events as objectively as possible.
The "objective truths" uncovered were not always popular, especially if they challenged established dogma or ideas which were central to cultures. With Feytral not being very popular, and the Ortegan mystics starting to cause diplomatic rifts to open, there is no small wonder the city was promptly forgotten about once the empire fell. Treasure seekers have little interest in a city which has nothing of tangible value to those coming after, as Feytran residents chose to eschew opulence of golden or jeweled finery in favor of a more solemn air. Few scholars who try to unravel Ortegan mysteries seem very interested, despite the promise of powerful divination techniques developed by Feytran mystics.
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