Historical Overview
The Ruins of the Decadent Sprawl Loom Over the Miralac
Founding
The first settlement on the island known as Mira's Eye began as a waystation for shipments of ore coming north to
Meridia in 23AR. As House Mira began to establish their house's seat as the home of Anhara's government in the mid-Age of Rule, their wealth grew dramatically. With their immense profits from rents, fees, and tribute from the abundant mines of the south Coquet Heights, House Mira was able to invest their growing capital on infrastructure projects, as well as a complex of palatial villas on Mira's Eye.
Rise of Recreation
As the men of Anhara grew more politically established,
Vestria distanced herself from the day-to-day affairs of government. This allowed
the Rostrum to move the nation's seat of power to the much more convenient Meridia, across the Miralac from the
Vestrial Tower. Centrally located in the Coquet Heights, Meridia's, and thus House Mira's, wealth only grew with its added importance.
"During this period, the Rhetors began to transfer their councils across the Miralac to Meridia. This led to a boom in construction around the city, and architecture began to take on more decorative aspects." - Architectural Facets of the Capital
The
Rhetors of the Rostrum, out from under the watchful gaze of the
College of Vestrial Priestesses, began establishing palatial villas across the Coquet Heights for relaxation during the
Cinquial Season. The Cinquial Season begins in Chorus and ends in Pyrae, and is dotted with festivals and rituals for the wealthy families of Anhara. Ostensibly the part of the year during which the Rostrum is in session, it has grown to be a time of decadence and recreation for the rich and powerful.
None encapsulated the Cinquial Season more than House Mira, who drew the most illustrious guests of the period to their spire in Meridia. However, as their wealth and reputation for luxury grew, they began the construction of the Decadent Sprawl, their iconic villa upon the main island of Mira's Eye.
The Golden Age
In 252AR
The Verdante Trail was completed. This massive undertaking saw troops of men spend years chopping their way through the ancient and dangerous Verdante Forest to drastically shorten the travel time from Western Anhara to the capital. With this infrastructure project came even more wealth for the capital, and thus for House Mira, who remained its unchallenged owners.
"This paper is pleased to say that the dedication of the tax payers of this city has been well-rewarded, with the Verdante Trail's completion yesterday. Trade between the West of this Nation and the Capital is expected to double." - The Whistling Observer
It is unclear whether or not it was a gradual process from their growing wealth, depraved ways, or simply a biological factor, but most historians tie the Golden Age of House Mira to their decrease in mental acuity. With the completion of the Decadent Sprawl, Mira's Eye grew both in luxury and depravity. Their grip on Meridia tightened, as poverty-stricken denizens of the lower tiers of the city found themselves snatched away to a land of wealth hitherto unimaginable to them, enslaved or released into the forests of the Agistment for House Mira's entertainment.
"The Argent Cloaks were deployed to the lower extremities of the city yesterday evening, as the immigration boom continues to bring with it an increase in undesirables." - The Whistling Observer
While stories of their depravity slowly spread through whispers amongst the average citizens of Meridia, the upper class knew all too well. Nobles of every house were to be found spending weekends at Mira's Eye, watching the games in the arena, fought between kidnapped Meridian men, or dining in the Gyrating Halls of the Decadent Sprawl. But as whispers turned to shouts, Mira's allies fell away, until their last defender abandoned them during
the Crossing Over.
Fall from Grace
As Vestria returned to the immortals during the Crossing Over, the sacrosanct aspects of society began to lose their security. That went for the original noble houses as well, and no uprising did such damage as that against House Mira. The
Shattering of House Mira came about in 3AM, as their heavy-handed rule over Meridia saw them thrust from power in a bloody war against the other noble houses and their own vassals.
"Brutal combat in the Miran Spire yesterday evening, as House Mira suffered heavy casualties in the latest step in the brutal culling of their line. Few holdouts remain in the upper levels, and the Mirans have been forced into the dregs of the city, amongst their erstwhile victims." - The Whistling Observer
Thrown from their capital by brutal urban warfare,
Maialis IV Mira negotiated a devastating peace, but one that ensured their survival. Forced from their prior holdings across the Coquet Heights, House Mira's capital was moved to their palatial island of Mira's Eye, their vassals freed from servitude, and their only remaining holdings a few scattered mining towns.
Stepping through the splintered doors, we nearly slipped on pools of blood, running down marble steps into the central chamber. This was not our work, the long-suffering impoverished victims of Mira rose up, turning men, women, and children into crimson puddles. - Argent Cloaks' Journal
Sustained by the rents from property remaining in Meridia, as well as annually-decreasing war reparations, the rulers of House Mira attempted to maintain their wealth and status through lavish affairs upon the island. However, with their former allies long gone, they turned inward, both literally and metaphorically. Relying more and more upon inbreeding and infighting, Mira's nobles became backstabbers if they were clever, and victims of the Sanatorium if they were not.
Today. the noble family of House Mira remains on the Rostrum, a shell of their former self, humored by the rest of the government. Their island remains a prison, both for themselves and their victims, as disappearances in the poverty-stricken lower districts of Meridia are tolerated for House Mira's continued passiveness.
Districts
Mira's Eye
The Eye itself holds the famed palatial complex of House Mira, as well as the other components typical to a city, or so it would seem. Never envisioned as a proper capital, each facet of Mira's Eye was instead constructed for luxury, and every district hides twisted secrets.
Supplicants' Landing
The first neighborhood of Mira's Eye to which one would arrive is Supplicants' Landing. The dock of the city, Supplicants' Landing is where those unfortunate souls snatched from Meridia first arrive, to be sorted into their new positions as Supplicants. If compliant, they will be assessed by the Dockmaster, and divvied up into their new tasks. While those outside of House Mira see this as blatant slavery, those working at Supplicants' Landing see themselves as providers of housing for the desolate youth of Meridia's lower levels.
"Flectere aut mori" - Bend or Die in Profundus, engraved upon the exit to Supplicants' Landing
The district itself is full of workshops of varying specification, in which new Supplicants can be trained in tasks in which they seem promising, before being sent off into the city itself to serve House Mira. The southern portion of Supplicants' Landing, along the cliff upon which sits the Decadent Sprawl, has fallen into disrepair. Its formerly elaborate structures, in which those Supplicants selected to serve the noble family directly were trained, are crumbling and covered in vines, and only a few remain in use.
Sureties' Barracks
The Sureties' Barracks are home to about one half of the city's Supplicant class. These slaves are lorded over by a Surety, a special position within House Mira responsible for the performance of a group of Supplicants. Sureties ensure they arrive promptly to work, remain in sufficient health to complete their tasks, and are in charge of each barrack of Supplicants.
The Sureties' Barracks are segregated by gender, with the males kept in the western half of the district. The conditions in which male Supplicants reside are tailored more towards physical fitness. The Sureties in this half of the district are tasked with making sure their Supplicants are in sufficient physical form to complete their tasks, while remaining weak enough to stay compliant.
"We have been unable to interfere with trafficking between The Promenade and Mira's Eye, as many of the same officials who authorized our work have been found partaking in the ill-gotten fruits of kidnapping upon the island." - Roland Auberge, In the Den of the Depraved
The eastern half of the Sureties' Barracks house female Supplicants, and are comparatively luxurious. This half of the district is modeled on the
Anharan Baths of
The Promenade, as House Mira began importing the expertise of
Snatchers during their Golden Age. These criminal purveyors of humans are famed for supplying many of the nation's more luxuriant baths with female staff, and while their profession has been outlawed for over a century, enforcement is ineffectual.
Champions' Quarters
One of the main attractions of Mira's Eye were the gladiatorial games in
The Drum, the arena at the center of the Champion's Quarters. This district of the city is entirely dedicated to the violent voyeurism enjoyed by the Anharan nobles that came to the island. During the Golden Age of House Mira, the Drum would hold week-long affairs in which all manner of exotic animals and people were forced to fight for spectacle.
"Called the Drum not for its shape, but rather for the beatings delivered upon its unfortunate victims, the dread arena of Mira's Eye was filled by nobles who would otherwise be unsuspected of such depravity." - Roland Auberge, In the Den of the Depraved
Nestled around the rising cylindrical form of The Drum are the homes of those Supplicants doomed to die on its sands. About one fourth of the slave population of Mira's Eye, these men are trained in the gladiatorial arts by professional fighters of House Mira. They reside in communal barracks, and are generally well-treated, as their physical fitness reflects back upon the nobles of the house in the eyes of the illustrious guests gawking at The Drum's games.
During the Golden Age of House Mira, the games at The Drum were openly advertised within Meridia, and nobles of even the most illustrious station came to watch the fighting. As slave fighting was less looked down upon than the services provided in the baths, or the sport of the Agistment, this did not prove to be a problem for the house. However, after they fell out of favor, many of the same nobles who had filled the stands cast The Drum in a barbaric light, and now very few are trained in the Champions' Quarters.
The Agistment
Given the small size of the island of Mira's Eye, room for construction is at a premium. Despite this, much of the west of the island is taken up by a dense forest. This is the infamous Agistment, the most dreaded fate for any Supplicant of House Mira. Held up as the prime example of House Mira's depravity, the most disobedient slaves or well-known prisoners are released into the Agistment to be hunted for sport by the nobles of the house.
"While I had successfully evaded detection upon the island for days, I knew that if I was discovered my story would come to an end in the Agistment, hunted and hounded by my fellow man." - Roland Auberge, In the Den of the Depraved
There are few structures within the Agistment, besides the scattered ruins of homes belonging to former gamekeepers. These men maintained the forest during the Golden Age, when there were more victims to keep track of. Today, the Agistment is unused, overgrown, and the refuge of a community of escaped Supplicants who have established their own society upon the island. Unable to escape, but too numerous to be forced back into slavery, these freemen are left to their own devices deep within the forest, occasionally raiding the main city.
The Decadent Sprawl
The most famed portion of Mira's Eye, the Decadent Sprawl is the name for both the district and the palatial villa within it. Surrounding the villa complex proper are mostly the homes of servants and other staff. This villa serves as the home of most of the Mira family, at least those in the favor of the Patriarch, as well as guests.
In the Golden Age it was consistently full, but today many of the guestrooms have fallen into disuse. Many of the rooms were designed for particular purposes related to hosting, but with Mira's famous parties fewer in number and lesser in scale, those are generally shuttered as well. The structure itself is crumbling, and much of the precious artwork and filigree formerly adorning it has been sold to maintain what is left of House Mira's lifestyle.
The complex is massive, for further detail see
The Decadent Sprawl.
The Sanatorium
Often the death knell for members of House Mira, the Sanatorium takes up much of the eastern coastline of the island. Mostly consisting of crypts built into the cliff face, it serves both as a burial ground and a prison. As House Mira has grown more reclusive, its rulers have slipped towards insanity in equal measure, and control of the house has become a free-for-all.
"Snatched from his Spire in the night, the Rhetor of House Mira has once again been replaced - the fourth in as many years. Free-minded citizens continue to ask, why is so dysfunctional and barbaric a House given a vote?" - The Whistling Observer
As whichever relative is more cognizant makes a play for power, those stepped upon on the way to the throne find themselves locked away in the Sanatorium, if they survive at all. Unlike many of the other parts of Mira's Eye, the Sanatorium has seen its use grow as the fortunes of the house have decreased. While it is not as well-maintained as its days as a group of mausoleums and crypts, it has survived better than any other structures on the island.
Oldward
The largest district of Mira's Eye, the Oldward is the portion that comes closest to a normal city. While it houses about a fourth of the Supplicant population of the island, they fulfill many of the duties normal citizens fill in other cities. Blacksmiths, shops, bakeries, mills, and other requirements for normal life dot this portion of the island, and are relatively well-maintained for the area's means.
"Mangy mutts roam the streets, unfed babies cry out, and iron-boot'd thugs under the guise of soldiers maintain order at the end of a blade." - Roland Auberge, In the Den of the Depraved
The Oldward is, however, deeply crippled by the poverty of the island. While the palatial structures of House Mira's nobility have fallen into disrepair, they still see active funding by the meager revenue collected by the House. The Oldward receives no such governmental support, and is ruled through strict military occupation by the
Supervisors, House Mira's main body of soldiers. These men are allowed to do as they please, often with purposeful cruelty, so long as the Oldward continues to allow Mira's Eye to exist as a semblance of a city.
Surrounding Islets
The surrounding islets of Mira's Eye hold complexes unsuitable to the palatially-focused main island. House Mira's control over these islets has decreased steadily as their power has declined, with the islets following the trend toward democracy of other former Mira holdings.
Meridial Mint
Formerly the principle mint of the Coquet Heights, the Meridial Mint was the source of most coinage in the Age of Rule. Entrusted by the Rostrum with the right to mint and distribute currency, House Mira's control over the Meridial Mint is theorized to have played an important role in their fall.
In the definitive book on the house,
In the Den of the Depraved, the Meridial Mint and the right to produce coins were said to have provided a medium for egotistical images of Mira's rulers, as well as a privilege which quickly went to their head. The mint was destroyed during the Shattering, and has been in ruins since.
The Divingboard
The Divingboard is a lighthouse overlooking the Supplicants' Landing, and serves both as a defensive outpost and a supervisory station for the slaves being delivered to the harbor. However, it gets its name for a more gruesome reason, as supplicants who are seen to have been broken down too far to be worth the time of the house are allowed to throw themselves from the lighthouse's heights.
Others
There are a variety of other islands dotted around Mira's Eye, and these are covered in either dense trees or ruined structures. Many of these islands have been taken over by former slaves and impoverished citizens, and operate on a rather meritorious and democratic basis.
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