Alent (city)

This article is about the city of Alent in the Third Age. For other uses, see Alent.

Alent
Geographic Information
Alternative name(s)	City of Mages
Type	Settlement
Region	Central Libaterra
Size	Metropolis
Societal Information
Language(s)	Common Various
Race(s)	Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons
Ethnic group(s)	Sarquil (since 1017 AE) Desert Elves (since 1017 AE)
Political Information
Government	Magocracy
Ruler(s)	Archmage Jemuel Council of Mages
Faction(s)	Dwarven Triad Magicracy of Alent Nightstalkers Order of the Black Rose Sultanate of Karaganda Totenkopfs Union Workers
Historical Information
Age	Third Age
Established	1006 AE
Predecessor	Lutherin

Alent, previously known as Lutherin, is a grand city located at the heart of Libaterra in the Third Age. It serves as the seat of power for Archmage Jemuel and is the current base of operations for the Magicracy of Alent which has named the city after an ancient kingdom with the same name. The city consists of a mix of new buildings and old ruins which have risen from the ground in an earthquake, because the Reactor Core Explosion damaged the city heavily during the Great War.

History

"She always hated seeing the city in its current state, such a disturbing amalgamation of the familiar and alien, Lutherin landmarks crumbling away next to pristine Alent towers."

—Axikasha Keiran about Alent

Years before the Cataclysm, the city was named Lutherin. It served as the capital of the Locken Loyalists who supported the Locken Dynasty which ruled Libaterra until the end of the Libaterran Civil War and the subsequent Yamatian Invasion when the last known monarch, Queen Shyla Locken, went missing. After the Reactor Core Explosion damaged the city and made the ancient ruins of the Kingdom of Alent rise to the surface, the city turned into a mix of ancient buildings and newer buildings.

Jemuel and his cadre of mages took over Lutherin in the chaotic aftermath of the explosion and renamed it Alent to honour the ancient Alentian kingdom and its ideals of the greatness of humanity and pursuit of knowledge. After securing the city, the mages rebuilt parts of it and added towers and forges to the cityscape. The former House of Valour, the Locken Dynasty's ancient seat of power, was turned into a brothel, the Garden of Earthly Delights, to send a strong message to any remaining Loyalist that the old Dynasty's days had finally come to an end and that the magicracy had come to stay.

The City of Alent, the heart of what has become known as the Magicracy of Alent, has been expanding its territories steadily since the Cataclysm. New houses and towers are constantly being built in the city to accomodate more travellers and those who wish to settle in and follow the mages' pursuit of knowledge.

Cityscape

Etemenanki

At the very centre of Alent stands a grand ziggurat called Etemenanki, also known as the Temple of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth, which separates the four Great Districts from one another. The temple is larger and taller than any other building in the city, and a beacon of pure magic, known as the Beacon of Alent, shoots up in the sky through its throne room.

According to hearsay the Beacon first appeared after the Reactor Core Explosion, is a visible after effect of the explosion and has remained active because the mages couldn't find a way to shut it down without obliterating the city. However, those who spread such rumours know not to spread them to any influential mages whose egos wouldn't appreciate such unsavory remarks about their lack of competence in dealing with such a magical phenomenon.

There is a security checkpoint before the ziggurat's throne room, and elite guards stand there ever vigilant with their magical crystal spears. The throne room itself is rather barren, but it does have the throne and an intricately carved map of the world on the floor next to the throne.

Within the ziggurat near the throne room is the Lyceum, a large circular chamber with several podiums and tables, where the Council of Mages meets to have formal debates on matters related to magic, administration and warfare.

Etemenanki also holds high security jail cells on its highest floor as well as in some of the lower floors. The lower level cells are reserved for dangerous criminals whereas the higher level cells are for political prisoners holding a noble title of some sort.

The lowest levels of the ziggurat house the cryo chambers which have six floors and hundreds of rooms where bodies of the deceased are preserved in freezing magic fields for further study. The walls of the chambers are white and have crimson pictograms depicting lizard folk sacrificing hearts to a glowing figure. The chambers are rumoured to be the very chambers where the Sirithai were sleeping in before the Cataclysm woke them up.

Four Great Districts

In addition to the city centre where Etemenanki is located in, Alent also has what are known as the Four Great Districts surrounding the central ziggurat from all cardinal directions. These Four Great Districts are named North Side, East Side, South Side and West Side.

North Side

The North Side has the mage quarters. The cityscape in that area is dominated by a multitude of impressive mage towers. Apart from North Side proper, the district also has two sub-districts known as the Northeast Side and the Northwest Side.

Northeast

"The truth is that the only real darkness in this place is the darkness you bring in it yourself. Every sin, every repressed memory, every stray fear and blind rage. Everything people want to ignore about themselves. What's in here was always there, it's just a bit more...insistent in its existence in Threshold."

—Javan al-Kassis about Threshold

The Northeast Side, commonly known as Threshold, lies between the wealthy North Side and the poor East Side and acts as a clear marker separating the two from one another. The district has labyrinthine alleys, shacks and an almost oppressive aura of magic. The aura tends to drive most trespassers either suicidal or insane as the denizens' magic accesses the trespassers' memories and twists them into perversions of themselves.

In the middle of the Threshold lies an ancient, crumbling Alentian tower which has survived from the First Age and which has emerged from the ground along with other old buildings after the Reactor Core Explosion. Most Alentians avoid the Threshold due to its ominous reputation and its eerie inhabitants who are actually demons in disguise who have hidden themselves from other Alentians in order to not cause panic. The Thresholders are led by Jahi Gallu, a higher demon who is an old acquaintance of the founding members of Alent and whose people helped contain the Reactor Core Explosion which once engulfed Lutherin.

The Thresholders' true nature has been made known to the rest of the Alentian populace in 1017 AE.

Northwest

The Northwest Side, which is located on the border between the North Side's mage quarters and the West Side's mercantile quarters, has many inns and eateries (including the likes of the Scholarly Chef and the Bookworm's Inn). It also houses the city's brothels. The most notable brothel is the Garden of Earthly Delights, a white manor which used to be the House of Valour, the former seat of power for the overthrown Locken Monarchy.

East Side

The East Side has barracks, Anti Mage Police headquarters, some farms and homes of the lower class. It is largely underdeveloped and more open than the rest of the city. The Sarquil refugees have settled into one of its ethnic subdistricts, informally known as the Sarquil Downs, after the Battle of Vanna.

South Side

The South Side has the engineer's quarter, and it is dominated by several large, nondescript buildings with very high security. It also houses Alent's airship armada which is currently under construction within the grand engineering halls.

West Side

The West Side has the mercantile district, the forges and the docks. It has a busy market with many exotic items brought from the far corners of the Libaterran continent. Many festivals, most notably the Feast of Paedün, are held in the city square located in this district.

Landmarks

• Anti Mage Police Headquarters - located in the East Side
• Catacombs - ancient passageways underneath Alent
• Engineer's Quarter - a high-security facility and factory located in the South Side
• Etemenanki - a grand ziggurat which stands in the very centre of Alent and acts as the seat of power for the Council of Mages, dividing the city into the Four Great Districts
• Garden of Earthly Delights - the former House of Valour which has been turned into a high-class brothel after the Reactor Core Explosion
• Matron's Tower - a crumbling, ancient tower located in the middle of the Threshold district in the Northeast Side
• Scholarly Chef - an inn secretly financed by the Union Workers located in the Northwest Side

Miscellaneous

The Anti Mage Police patrol the streets to keep things in relative order among the mages. They possess great magical powers with which they can subdue even the strongest mages if needed. They can even arrest a councillor if they have enough evidence for his or her crimes although this has rarely happened.

After the creation of the sound-suppressor spell, Alent becomes eerily quiet at sunset. Not to mention that the city's black mages have decimated the Alentian rooster population long ago.

See also

• Alent (nation)
• Anti Mage Police
• Garden of Earthly Delights
• Lutherin
• Magicracy of Alent
• Reactor Core Explosion
• World Map (Godslayer Era)