Ravenscar Nobleson sat in his den, toying with a knife, when a slim, almost non-existent female figure seemed to step from the shadows and drop several papers on his desk.
"Ravenscar, here are the reports you wanted. The areas have been properly scounted, though I'm not entirely sure why you wanted the information on our own headquarters."
"Simple, Notalia, if these, or you, were captured, the guards wouldn't be able to tell who they were for. They could have been for the Royals, for all they knew."
"Very well, sir. I'll be going now." The figure stepped into the shadows, disappearing as she did Ravenscar took documents and started thumbing through them.
Ravenscar smirked as he finished and returned to toying with his knife, balancing it on one finger and spinning it. Eventually, he stood up, threw it at a dart board with Krano's picture on it, and left, blowing out a small oil lamp as he went.
"Ravenscar, here are the reports you wanted. The areas have been properly scounted, though I'm not entirely sure why you wanted the information on our own headquarters."
"Simple, Notalia, if these, or you, were captured, the guards wouldn't be able to tell who they were for. They could have been for the Royals, for all they knew."
"Very well, sir. I'll be going now." The figure stepped into the shadows, disappearing as she did Ravenscar took documents and started thumbing through them.
Royal Palace: The Royal Palace is an ancient piece of architecture from before the Thirty Years of Plague, and it is made almost entirely from marble and Ivory Stone. It consists of a giant tower with a small compound near the base. Several ancient walkways, some of which have crumbled over the past two hundred years, lead to smaller towers that form a circle around it. These are the treasury, armor, barracks, sleeping quarters, kitchen, and utility rooms, and the crumbled walkways have been replaced with stone. Giant tapestries hang from the towers, different towers having different colors coming off of them.
Royal Gardens of Kala: The Royal Gardens of Kala are much less a garden and more of a town square. Flowers cover the sides of the square, and inside the square is the Grand Church of Kala, a place that even Nod's Hand dares not defile, and the Royal Corps artillerymen are told to not even fire their canons near the Royal Gardens. There are two parts of the Gardens, each having a giant half heart in the ground made of stone. One half is for preaching, demonstrating, and recruiting for causes, while the other half is an open market. While not quite as big as other city's, Kala's Royal Market has some of the finer materials in Lustrata, as the Thieve's Guild outlaws selling bootleg or counterfeit goods in the market. Pink and red decorate the gardens in tapestry, clothe, and stone in the walls.
City Itself (I apologize in advanced for references outside of this universe, but it's hard to convey a city without comparing it to other real cities): The city itself is very medieval styled with a few marble buildings. Most houses have either stone or hay roofs, and some of the more advanced housing has clay shingles. The streets have cobble on them for the most part, and there is an extensive sewer network similar to the Paris catacombs. These sewers are home to a number of outposts, headquarters, and safe houses for various factions, especially Nod's Hand and the Thieve's Guild. The city itself, though, is laid out in a T-like shape, with the left/West side of the T being a bit less fluid than rest, more jutting off. The city also has a large wall completely surrounding it, with three large gates in the city; one at both ends of the T and another at the bottom. The jutting end is a more wealthy area, the rest is moderate, and, near the split between the three areas, the Palace and the Royal Gardens lie.
Destroyers' District: The Destroyers are practically at war with the City Guard, and the area around their headquarters reflects that. The entrance to the district has a roadblock guarded twenty-four-seven by several archers, gunmen, and even a cannon. Inside of the district there are few shops and a small port, the main use of the district being used for getting the Destroyers' help, not buying anything else. There are also two large barracks buildings and an armory, and, on the Western wall, there is a large tower where the head of the Destroyers lives.
Thieves' Guild Headquarters: Instead of the entire owned district that the Destroyers have, the Thieves' Guild only has a building, and likes to keep it that way. They don't proudly display their presence, instead mostly finding thieves and taking them to the headquarters. The building is very bland, and almost unknown to all but the highest ranking Thieves, as they drug or blindfold everyone they bring in. They have a second headquarters that they make slightly more public, though. It is build underground, along the sewer canals. It is wooden and looks somewhat like a pier building, and they have a dock so that they can be accessed by the thieves. Symbols of Nod, Diandra, and Garitheme adorn the building, both inside and out, and tapestries hang from the windows.
Nod's Hand Headquarters: No one truly knows where the headquarters of Nod's Hand is, and some think they might not have one. Some reports said, though, that it is almost unnervingly close to the Palace, where as other say that it is somewhere in the wealthy district, and another claimed to be part of the Thieve's Guild headquarters. They do have safe houses, though, and they are oftentimes filled with traps and often have an insane amount of weaponry in them. Guards often have to burn the safe houses to the ground to get rid of all of the weaponry. They often find prayers and altars to Nod as well, though they often confiscate them instead of destroying them.
Wealthy District: This is where the majority of the nobles live, and it has the most marble and Ivory Stone buildings. The pure white of the buildings is both to show are "pure" the district and citizens are, but also to blind people who live in the poor district. Some of the nobles even see it as a sport in how many mirrors they can mount on their outside walls and how white they can make their buildings. This is also where, surprisingly, the Elven Despot's Home is, as the aristocrats and nobles use the magic the Elves are proficient in. The Despot's Home, however, has a surcharge that is rather high, so a few other homes for Elves have popped up throughout the city, often guarded and staffed by Crystal Clan members. The Elven Despot's Home, however, is guarded almost entirely by Elite War Guard.
Land Around Atanlia: The land around Atanlia is somewhat swampy, but it also connects to a large river that has helped the city thrive from trade. Though not quite as big as other trade cities, what made Atanlia so enticing was that it was a large, flat plain just a small while away from the river that allowed for easy access for boats, and easy access for land travel. A series of underground canals run under the land, and they lead straight to this river. Recently, official paths have been made in these caverns, and this has led to fewer accidents and increased trade. It has also led to several paths being used more for crime. As for the countryside, it is mostly damp, flat land that's slightly raised above the river, meaning minimal flooding and decent, cheap farmland. This has led to a prevalence of farmers and other laborers inside the city, and the Royals have more or less ignored these things.
Royal Gardens of Kala: The Royal Gardens of Kala are much less a garden and more of a town square. Flowers cover the sides of the square, and inside the square is the Grand Church of Kala, a place that even Nod's Hand dares not defile, and the Royal Corps artillerymen are told to not even fire their canons near the Royal Gardens. There are two parts of the Gardens, each having a giant half heart in the ground made of stone. One half is for preaching, demonstrating, and recruiting for causes, while the other half is an open market. While not quite as big as other city's, Kala's Royal Market has some of the finer materials in Lustrata, as the Thieve's Guild outlaws selling bootleg or counterfeit goods in the market. Pink and red decorate the gardens in tapestry, clothe, and stone in the walls.
City Itself (I apologize in advanced for references outside of this universe, but it's hard to convey a city without comparing it to other real cities): The city itself is very medieval styled with a few marble buildings. Most houses have either stone or hay roofs, and some of the more advanced housing has clay shingles. The streets have cobble on them for the most part, and there is an extensive sewer network similar to the Paris catacombs. These sewers are home to a number of outposts, headquarters, and safe houses for various factions, especially Nod's Hand and the Thieve's Guild. The city itself, though, is laid out in a T-like shape, with the left/West side of the T being a bit less fluid than rest, more jutting off. The city also has a large wall completely surrounding it, with three large gates in the city; one at both ends of the T and another at the bottom. The jutting end is a more wealthy area, the rest is moderate, and, near the split between the three areas, the Palace and the Royal Gardens lie.
Destroyers' District: The Destroyers are practically at war with the City Guard, and the area around their headquarters reflects that. The entrance to the district has a roadblock guarded twenty-four-seven by several archers, gunmen, and even a cannon. Inside of the district there are few shops and a small port, the main use of the district being used for getting the Destroyers' help, not buying anything else. There are also two large barracks buildings and an armory, and, on the Western wall, there is a large tower where the head of the Destroyers lives.
Thieves' Guild Headquarters: Instead of the entire owned district that the Destroyers have, the Thieves' Guild only has a building, and likes to keep it that way. They don't proudly display their presence, instead mostly finding thieves and taking them to the headquarters. The building is very bland, and almost unknown to all but the highest ranking Thieves, as they drug or blindfold everyone they bring in. They have a second headquarters that they make slightly more public, though. It is build underground, along the sewer canals. It is wooden and looks somewhat like a pier building, and they have a dock so that they can be accessed by the thieves. Symbols of Nod, Diandra, and Garitheme adorn the building, both inside and out, and tapestries hang from the windows.
Nod's Hand Headquarters: No one truly knows where the headquarters of Nod's Hand is, and some think they might not have one. Some reports said, though, that it is almost unnervingly close to the Palace, where as other say that it is somewhere in the wealthy district, and another claimed to be part of the Thieve's Guild headquarters. They do have safe houses, though, and they are oftentimes filled with traps and often have an insane amount of weaponry in them. Guards often have to burn the safe houses to the ground to get rid of all of the weaponry. They often find prayers and altars to Nod as well, though they often confiscate them instead of destroying them.
Wealthy District: This is where the majority of the nobles live, and it has the most marble and Ivory Stone buildings. The pure white of the buildings is both to show are "pure" the district and citizens are, but also to blind people who live in the poor district. Some of the nobles even see it as a sport in how many mirrors they can mount on their outside walls and how white they can make their buildings. This is also where, surprisingly, the Elven Despot's Home is, as the aristocrats and nobles use the magic the Elves are proficient in. The Despot's Home, however, has a surcharge that is rather high, so a few other homes for Elves have popped up throughout the city, often guarded and staffed by Crystal Clan members. The Elven Despot's Home, however, is guarded almost entirely by Elite War Guard.
Land Around Atanlia: The land around Atanlia is somewhat swampy, but it also connects to a large river that has helped the city thrive from trade. Though not quite as big as other trade cities, what made Atanlia so enticing was that it was a large, flat plain just a small while away from the river that allowed for easy access for boats, and easy access for land travel. A series of underground canals run under the land, and they lead straight to this river. Recently, official paths have been made in these caverns, and this has led to fewer accidents and increased trade. It has also led to several paths being used more for crime. As for the countryside, it is mostly damp, flat land that's slightly raised above the river, meaning minimal flooding and decent, cheap farmland. This has led to a prevalence of farmers and other laborers inside the city, and the Royals have more or less ignored these things.
Ravenscar smirked as he finished and returned to toying with his knife, balancing it on one finger and spinning it. Eventually, he stood up, threw it at a dart board with Krano's picture on it, and left, blowing out a small oil lamp as he went.
