Pherapher - the Divided City

‘The realm of Mirai has many places that can make one stop in his tracks with feelings of either admiration or fear towards a dwelling that lies before him, but Pherapher is without a doubt the only city that can accomplish both feelings, and many more, at the same time.’ – extract from Musings of a Chronicler

        Islír was the capital of the Menel Empire (462 – 785 YY) and - due to it being strategically shielded by the Calen Mountains and offering safe passage through them – the city was also an important trading outpost, thriving in glory and admiration from the entire realm for selling fine Elven goods, such as rare gems, aromatic oils or strong meads, that the citizens produced locally. Officially renamed as “Pherapher” [meaning “half and half” in Elvish] in 786 YY, the city found its downfall after the appearance of the Ríssarn Crystal [named so in 786 YY] that split the area into two separate sides, and created a menacing barrier around Islír, rendering it inaccessible from the outside.
        Seven moons later the barrier became a helpful acquisition, since an Elven Wizard, not native to Islír, used it to trap all residents in a temporal loop, thus saving their lives from the destruction that the shattering of the crystal would have produced.

Battle in the Underworld

          In the Underworld many races find themselves engaged in battles over territories or fortunes, but no conflict shuttered the earth quite as much as the battle between the Fey of Anor and those of Aithil.
          For decades these two fey groups have been at each other’s throats for full control over the crystal that provided them with a boost in capabilities whenever they would draw essence from it, as well as the ability to be immortal whilst inside their dwelling’s gates. Also, because of the aptitude it provided, the battle for gaining territories inside the Kilead settlement had been endless, fey waking up in the Dark Temple once they died in combat, capable of continuing the fight.
         Although their conflict seemed to have no foreseeable end, one mistake from an Aithil commander was all that it took for the tides of war to change. In an attempt to draw more power from the crystal and gain an advantage over one of the districts of Kilead, Relleceth the Vile, head of the 3rd Fey brigade, managed to crack the crystal, sending it flying through the veil of the Underworld and making it land above the city of Islír. There, it enveloped the city in another aura – only this time impenetrable and more menacing – and divided it into two very distinct halves through a massive, hard diamond wall that appeared through the center of the city. The white, marble buildings of one side were suddenly hidden from the eerie, mist-filled streets and ram shackled houses that overwhelmed the other half of the city, as the Underworld seeped through the crack in the Veil created by the Crystal.

Islír - before the crystal

          In the valley of Mirroch, shielded by the Calen Mountains in the west and bathing in the sparkling clear waters of Lake Midh in the south-east, lies Islír, a city famed for its massive and complex fortifications, which ranked among the most sophisticated defensive architecture of the time. The impenetrable defenses enclosed magnificent domes, towers, pagodas, tidy, wide avenues, lush gardens, and warm taverns - the result of prosperity Islír achieved as the gateway between two continents, Creyeusia and Sladreon. The city’s defenses proved impenetrable for nearly 700 years.
            It was the end of fall 785 YY when all the glory and strategies proved futile, as the usual serenity of the city was disrupted by a sudden, furious wind that started rushing through the streets, making any weather-beaten windows shudder and unstable roof shingles moan. The skies above Islír darkened, breaking into light rain and the earth shook violently as an enormous, slightly cracked, azure crystal appeared above the city floating amongst the clouds.
           After its sudden manifestation, the crystal started to pulse, sending waves of energy all over the city. The few who managed to resist saw the crystal forming a giant wall, of what seemed to be diamond, across the city center, destroying homes and stores without mercy, ending on one side at the edge of the mountains in the west, and across the great Lake on the other. The Northern side started decaying immediately after the wall was raised, buildings becoming tattered and broken, tiles missing from balconies and formerly white marble turned to mossy, broken, dark slate while streets transformed from well-kept and welcoming to muddy and filled with green, toxic puddles.

Stuck in Time

           Ever since the Ríssarn Crystal created the sacred aura around the city, no one managed to enter Islír or communicate with those within. Even though the barrier is translucent, the inhabitants don’t seem to notice anyone from outside its edges, meaning that no external help could be offered. The following information about the situation in Pherapher has been gathered from several written accounts of chroniclers who spent years watching the events within the barrier in an attempt to help.

          ‘ [...] Once the initial panic has subsided in the elven side, the Great Council gathers at Forloth Keep along with many other nobles, members of the clergy and what was left of the Great Thinkers, in order to plan their next strategy. Over the next few days they sent scouts to investigate the wall and the crystal, called upon the knowledge of all mages, and eventually realized the impending crisis when, on the 7th day since its arrival, the crystal started cracking a bit more.’ - extract from Musings of a Chronicler

          ‘ [...] The new fey inhabitants of the other side of the wall that were brought in Mirai through the veil, made quick assessment of their situation and proceeded to capture and enslave all of the elves that they could find, regardless of their rank or background. It took them ten days to clean the entire city and move all Islírians to the underground caves, which was surprisingly quick in my opinion considering their few numbers. I also believe the Fey presumed that the ability to be reborn was still active, seeing that one of their soldiers came out of the caves on the evening of the 10th day and, with a swift movement, buried a dagger into his own chest.
            Taking into consideration the mass panic observed later in the elven side’s Sacred Temple, I can only assume that the soldier appeared inside the establishment as he came back from the dead. The events that took place inside are unknown. A while later though, the fey soldier apparently managed to escape through a side window, made his way to a lonely side alley and once again, swiftly buried the dagger in his chest.
            I was about to give up after three time cycles of observation, since I couldn’t find him on either side, but I eventually spotted him coming out of the former praying grounds on the fey side. So, according to my notes, in Pherapher, once you die on one side of the wall, you are reborn in the other. ‘ – extract from The stories of Trim Trimble

          According to chroniclers, throughout the first three moons, the Ríssarn Crystal continued to slowly shatter, every time creating more devastating occurrences in both halves of the cities. The elves never found out about the ability that the crystal provided, but the fey used it to communicate with the elven side.
          In an attempt to slow down the crystal’s destruction, the elves used their most powerful clerics to cast an incantation that was supposed to mend the cracks in the azure stone. Unfortunately, they only managed to slow it down for the duration of four more moons when, in a desperate moment, Queneus Eronin, a wizard from the Zorean Order that was trapped inside Islír along with its inhabitants, created a time loop, concentrated inside the barrier that the crystal created, successfully managing to reset time back to the day when the crystal first appeared.

           ‘ [...] But there appears to have been a flaw in his casting of the spell, for when time was reset, all Islírians started acting exactly the same as they did previously, seemingly not remembering that they have already been through these events before. Always following the same path. Always ending up with the desperate wizard. And the time cycle begins again...over and over again...for sixty four years now it has been repeating.
          There is no hope left for Pherapher. It’s forgotten. A beautiful story to watch when you feel down so that you realize that there is more to your own life. You could have been down there after all, trapped in that God-forsaken place, doomed to repeat the same mistakes for eternity. But you’re not, so be thankful.’ – extract from The stories of Trim Trimble

Type

Large city