Alent (city)

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

Alent, previously known as Lutherin, is a grand city located at the heart of Libaterra. It serves as the seat of power for Archmage Jemuel and is the current base of operations for the Magicracy of Alent. It consists of a mix of old Alentian ruins that have risen from the ground and new buildings, because the reactor core explosion damaged the city heavily during the Great War.

History

Years before the Cataclysm, the city was named Lutherin, and 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 message to any remaining loyalist that the old dynasty's days had finally come to an end.

Alent, the heart of what became known as the Magicracy of Alent, has been expanding its territories steadily since the Cataclysm, and new houses and towrs 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 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.

There is a security checkpoint before the 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 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 before the Cataclysm woke them up.

Four Great Districts

North

Apart from the city centre where Etemenanki is located in, Alent has various districts surrounding the central ziggurat.

Northern District

The north side has the mage quarters. The cityscape in that area is dominated by a multitude of mage towers.

Northeast Side

"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 the Threshold, lies between the north and east side. It 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's 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. Most Alentians avoid the Threshold due to its ominous reputation and its eerie inhabitants who are actually demons in disguise. The Thresholders are led by Jahi, a higher demoness who is an old acquaintance of the founding members of Alent.

Northwest Side

The northwest side, which is located on the border between the north's mage quarters and the west's mercantile quarters, has many inns and eateries (including the likes of the Scholarly Chef). 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 Dynasty.

East

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 live in this district since the Battle of Vanna.

South

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.

West

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, is held in the city square located in this district.

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, the city becomes eerily quiet at sunset. Not to mention that the city full of black mages has decimated the Alentian rooster population long ago.

See also

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