Group/Devilish Bars
Devilish bars are generally centers of cultural life for those who live near them. Centrally located, they attract plenty of foot traffic, with as many newcomers and visitors as there are regulars. Because of their locations and ability to attract customers, vendors often open up shop nearby, and many shopkeeps maintain close relationships with the staff of the bars. The freshest of produce and meats/products are brought and sold to these bars in exchange for equal favors-- a nice place to set up shop for a week, or perhaps one of the bar’s many offered services.
It is clear in both the architecture as well as the decor of these bars that they are deeply loved and important places to the people who build them. The architecture features many traditionally devilish and angelic patterns, often sporting gorgeous ornamental columns and colorful stained glass windows. The amount of detail put into every aspect of these buildings, from their extensive fortifications, hidden rooms, and detailed stonework exhibit the sheer amount of care and passion that are put into each one. They take quite a long time to build, however they have been known to stand for millennia, often the last buildings in ravaged cities to fall. Inside are colorful and intricate patterns etched into and painted on the walls and ceilings, the floors often either a brightly colored mosaic or polished, shining marble, or perhaps a combination of the two. Fine carpets, plush furniture and pillows, and handwoven blankets are scattered across the floors of the entertaining rooms, available to all those who wish to use them. Among the rooms that can be found in the bars, there are the entertainment rooms, built for comfort and small talk and set up for dancers to move gracefully about the room, as well as less posh rooms, set up more like bars, with tables and chairs and a stage in place for the performers that work those areas. Food and drink are bused through all of these rooms for those that order it, mostly prepared by the staff, with the occasional independent vendor milling about. With these rooms, there are also more private ones, some made specifically for the work performers and dancers do, including private dance, others intended as rooms for rent, and finally hidden through quite a maze of hallways are the rooms of the staff that choose to live in the bar, protected with potent warding magic, sigils and prayers that were designed with the building itself, etched into its walls with other decorations. These wards are in fact placed all throughout the building, fortifying it and preventing malicious intruders, their magic of course becoming more powerful the deeper into the bar one ventures. These magics also run and protect the various passageways hidden in the bars’ designs, expertly created to open only to those worthy of finding them.
Generally, there are no sets of clothes that are commonly worn in these bars-- some prefer to dress casually or comfortably, while others choose to dress up when visiting their local bar. Truly, what is worn in these bars is up to the people themselves. Even among the dancers and other staff, there is heavy variation. Some dancers prefer very old, traditional devilish and angelic wear, with flowy, translucent silks wrapped around their bodies, thin and light fabrics covering their skin and held fast by the gorgeous and shining precious metals that are so commonly found in Sheoli earth, while others prefer to wear more current devilish or vykkaen garb, which often includes thinner pieces of jewelry and less revealing and tighter silk tops and leggings. The preferred style worn usually depends on the area in which the bar is located and the prominent race in the bar and the surrounding area.
In many areas, these bars function as a replacement for inns, providing food, drink, and a bed to those who may need it, among their previously-mentioned public and private sessions. In a regular bar you will find plenty of regulars and just as many newcomers, weary travelers, soldiers, and city/townsfolk alike. Some people of the city or town the bar is located in hold long-term residence in the bars, operating in the markets and providing either coin or services to the bar to keep their living quarters. Because of this, living quarters in bars are often divided into the staff’s quarters, long-term residents’ quarters, normal inn rooms, and private rooms.
Bars are privately owned institutions, and while their owners are given quite a bit of freedom, they are still expected to follow the laws of the city they reside in, and a few guidelines expected by regulators of Sheoli origin. Many bar-owners know other owners, and are often in communication with those nearby.
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