Location [Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

[Ricky Maze]

Day 60th of Summer, 511 AV Ricky and Odis had finally made their way up to the Gaping Maw, or that's what the sailor's call it at least. Odis was all very excited about getting into the city, as was Ricky, but when they finally arrived to see a stone face looking down upon them their excitement changed to a curious paranoia that they were being watched. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” With a growl and whimper Odis cowered behind Ricky, tail in between his hind legs. Ricky would've laughed at that moment, but the voice asking him this question had snared all his attention. "My dog Odis and I are here to rest for some time, as we are on a incredible journey." Silence only followed his answer, until the mouth had somehow opened before him. So beyond this lies the city of illusions? Odis still whimpered as he followed Ricky through the statues mouth, and they found themselves inside to find complex buildings lined before them. Ricky looked around and found where the Sanity Center was located, heading there to find out more information about this foreign place.

[Victor Lark]

24 Fall, 511

Night had fallen by the time the three travellers set out from their dinner on the docks towards Alvadas herself. Victor could barely see the stone guard in the flimsy glare of crescent moonlight, but he knew what it was. The port folk had told them enough, but Victor had read about it, too—and he never read. That peculiar face and the words it said were almost familiar to him, for how many times he had thought about them. He could not imagine what stood behind the wall it guarded, but he knew that there were tricks, and fun, and somewhere in there a god lurked, his god, if only occasionally. That face which he could not see was one he had waited half a year to see. That god that twisted the tongues of Alvadas’s inhabitants had inspired his for more time than that.

But he would not allow himself to revel in the final end of his long journey from Rhysol’s oppression. There were people with him, people that were important to him. He would not be seen as an invisible entity’s humble servant; he did not even know if he was. So he set his trunk on the ground a moment—it had always been heavy and awkward to hold—and looked up at the inquiring wall with a smile. “It seems like a fun place.”

He did not lie, not entirely. Victor wondered if the wall even cared.

[Seven Xu]

24 Fall 511

A slight man no older than twenty years, wrapped in skin of alabaster and clean linen, stood behind the tired arm of the one that had referred to Alvadas as a ‘fun place’. Any descriptions wrought on parchment and placed in dusty book had done little justice to the unnerving majesty of the face, with its impossible stone gaze and a voice that Seven could not be sure was real, or in his head. Victor had certainly heard it; he’d responded, after all. Said response had encouraged a painful, close-lipped smile on Seven’s behalf.

“My name is Seven Xu; I seek knowledge.” Seven’s answer was simple, truthful, and most of all ambiguous, for he had no concrete reasoning for braving a second crossing of the treacherous Suvan Sea. A brief exchange of captured mercury on crimson fostered a more relaxed breed of grin before he turned his attention to the rest of their party to share a similar propriety. Woolspun cloth grated rough against his hands as he fingered the strap that suspended his satchel lazily against the small of his back, heavy and bulky with the weight of his belongings.

“And a room with a view,” he added; there was no need to elaborate on the unspoken joke or his playful jab at the waistline of his nearest and boldest companion. Seven’s smile turned to the wall.

[Alanys Hyacinth]

Fall 1st, 511 AV

Alanys stared through inscrutable ruby eyes at the wall that had spoken to her as though it were a common sight, which in Alvadas it perhaps was. She considered the wall for a second, her eyes scanning the stone face and feeling a familiar tinge of revulsion at the features that were so obviously not Symenestra. No where, as far as she could tell, was there a stone visage of a Symenestra’s countenance. She would have to have that remedied should she ever return to Kalinor. Maybe her aunt and uncle could be the first of their race with real statues.

”I am here to dance.” She said formally, her voice lyrical with the grace of a Symenos accent. Even Common spoken by a true Symenestra came off as creeping and entrancing at the same time, although Symenos itself was perhaps the most affected by the accent. ”And perhaps to investigate.” She said eventually, as though it were a secondary thought shunted aside before she was mysteriously reminded of it. She wouldn’t elaborate unless pressed to, and even then her elaboration would perhaps be a bit vague. A rather unnerving glint came to her garnet eyes as she looked up at the great stone face. ”Tell me, why are you here in Alvadas? Someone such as you should be set up in one of those boring cities, like Lhavit maybe.”

[Laszlo]

Fall 26th, 511AV Already Alvadas appeared to be living to its reputation. Laszlo had been studying the stony, carven face, which should have been as dead as the rest of the wall it belonged to. Yet it was moving, and it was watching him. Laszlo watched it in turn as he drew closer, caught in cold fascination as he wondered whether the wall was really alive, or only appeared to be. In a City of Illusions, it seemed either possibility was just as likely. Maybe it wasn’t even a wall. This was something he had already considered, the question of whether anything in Alvadas was genuine, deceiving, or truly existed at all. He had decided before setting out that these questions would ultimately serve no purpose. A philosopher would say that perception is reality, regardless of how differently everyone sees it. To Laszlo, Mizahar was a dreamworld, and nothing was truly real to him ever since he'd fallen back into the mortal plane. In Alvadas, where reality could lie to him, the only thing that changed was that the world could now be more interesting. The true illusion was understanding. This Ethaefal would be happy to get lost in the haze. Still, those eyes were no less unsettling. It was that very uneasiness, that edge of fear, which brought a dim smile to Laszlo's face. Then it spoke. Startled, Laszlo stumbled backward two or three steps, his eyes widening and his mouth falling. Quickly composing himself, he then smiled broadly and shoved his hands into his pockets. Well, well, look at that. "Strange. You know, I ask myself that every morning." The Ethaefal glanced downward at his boots, turning one foot on the road so the gravel crunched under his toe. "I've come to learn how to stop asking pointless questions. I've come Alvadas to escape this wretched reality." When the Gaping Maw opened, Laszlo's golden eyes darted away from the carven face's stony gaze. He raised his eyebrows, and for a brief moment his smile fell. Was he truly expected to walk into the mouth of a giant, disembodied head? The smile returned, renewed by adventurous fascination. Oh, he was going to like this place. Before disappearing into the Maw, he drew a hand from his pocket to wave his goodbye casually to the rocky specter. "Nice meeting you."

[Vilennia]

Fall 29th, AV 511

The sound of miniature bells would jingle as a figure made it’s way across the landscape. The grey looking shadow seemingly stopped as it came face to face with a massive head carved in to an enormous stone wall. The ghost fixated her deep stare on the giant rock face as it apparently stared straight back.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”

The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, a soft voice which at the same time boomed in to one’s very soul. Vilennia had to think for a moment, she had heard the rumors of the giant face and how it lay judgment on one’s passage. “...I'm searching for something... I'm hoping I might find part of it in Alvadas...” the ghost would reply in her slow, slightly echo-ish tone, it was the best thing she could come up with and it wasn’t far from the truth. The face seemed to hesitate for a moment, however shortly after it’s eyes reverted back to their original position and an entrance was presented to Vilennia.

[Pavani]

18th day of fall, 511 AV

Pavani had been walking along the same old path for a long time now, not seeing a living soul for miles. She did not have a purpose to why she was heading to Alvadas, perhaps pure curiosity.
She soon reached the main gate of the city. The size of it was intimidating, but the smiling face soon dismissed her worries. A booming voice echoed around her.
“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”
Pavani's eyes widened and flickered with curiosity.
"....to explore." she said simply, eyes fixated on the face.
The face's mouth opened reveling a path into the city. Pavani smiled softly and then took her first steps into this new mysterious place, wondering what she will experience.

[Jilitse]

10TH of FALL 511 AV

She came to a halt as the Gaping Maw acknowledged her. Jilitse briefly wondered if she had found a Supervisor, if the Gaping Maw was a golem of sorts. A long silence ensued before she dared answer, as if she had to reply with the correct words. It can't be real... can it?

She sighed after an hour or two of debating with herself and shook her head. This wasn't what she was looking for. But what was she looking for?

I don't really know anymore.

"I came in search of a golem. Forgive my indiscretion, but do you happen to predate the Valterrian?" The Gaping Maw replied with an empty stare. "I guess not."

Half an hour more to decide if she should stay for the meantime. Or call it a day and stay forever. She needed to stop leaping from one place to another, like she was running away from something. Surely enemies couldn't follow her all the way here? She looked up. The stone face would not be stirred.

"I am in search of employment and a place to stay. To rest my weary mind."

And just before she decided that she might not be welcome, the stone opened up its great mouth, inviting the Nuit into the land of Illusions. Without a blink, Jilitse warily stepped forward. Alvadas would keep her busy in the days to come, and she will learn to live in the comfort of Ionu's embrace.

[Siofra]

Fall 20th, Midnight, 511 AV


Siofra had gazed at the face for over five chimes now in silence, pondering its speech and how it had managed such a feat when it was merely stone. A slight smile had her lips curled and in her eyes glittered, brighter than ever, a mischivious glitter that did the stars envy.

“Why am I here?” Siofra repeated eventually in a lyrical voice that left her gender decidedly feminine. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she pondered that, having not decided why she was coming to Alvadas in the first place when she had so enjoyed the sensible city of Lhavit. Yet, as she thought that over, Lhavit was exactly why she had come to Alvadas. She wouldn’t be so bored here.

“I have come to explore the illusion, wise Mouth in the Mountain.” She said in a grand voice. Her eyes twinkled with her mirth. “Maybe one day I can understand the secrets of happiness should I first discover the secrets of illusionism.”

After she spoke, there was silence. After another long chime, the mouth of the face opened and Siofra shrugged her bag higher on her shoulder before entering. She was welcome in Alvadas, apparently, and for that she was glad.

[Adareh]

The world was black and white; as it always was. Adareh found herself wondering briefly what color must look like to those who could see it as she passed another field of grey flowers off to her right side. The last town she had been to was far beyond the horizon now and she remembered that she had forgotten to ask someone for a name. Not that the name mattered much, but she figured that someday she might like to know where she was or where she was headed to. "Though...I don't think I want to go back there anytime soon..." she said softly to herself as she kicked a pebble out of the path with her bare foot.

Looking up to check the position of the sun Adareh noticed a large stone face that seemingly smiled at her and affixed its eyes with hers. For a moment Adareh thought about just continuing on straight down the path she was on and just pass by the strange face which left her stomach with an uneasy feeling, but as she returned her gaze back to the path she noticed it had changed. Now the path led right up to the face. "What the...?" she said as she tilted her head to the side puzzled. Guess I keep going then.

As she approached the gigantic face she realized how tall it was in comparison to herself. She grimaced and cursed under her breath as she suddenly felt extraordinarily small in comparison to the face and cursed again realizing there was nothing for her to stand on that would get her higher than the head.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” she heard as she looked back up from the path that disappeared under the face wondering if she had come to a dead end.

Shocked Adareh backed away a few paces from the face and looked around. There wasn't anyone around to speak. Was it the face? she wondered looking back at the face skeptically.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” the voice repeated.

"Uh...I'm looking for something." she said purposely being vague. To be honest she knew she was looking for something, but it wasn't necessarily a thing let alone a person. It was a feeling which she had long since forgotten; a feeling she hoped would cure the empty hollow feeling she lived with now.

The mouth of the face opened wide and Adareh saw the path continue for miles inside. She quickly ran through the mouth to the other side hoping the mouth wouldn't decide to crush her alive before she reached the city it had spoken of.

As it closed behind her she realized her feet were submerged several inches beneath the surface of water. "City of illusion huh? I wonder...is anything here really real?"