Location [Alvadas Location] The Sanity Center

[Cadence]

The only grounded building in Alvadas, the Sanity Center serves as a point of stability for visitors and residents alike. The small, moss-covered house can be seen as soon as one walks through the Gaping Maw. A large, bright red sign hangs from the roof, proclaiming the building to be “The Welcoming/Housing/Orientation/Sanity Center” After taking a few uncertain steps on the bizarre streets of Alvadas, a visitor will soon make a beeline for the building. Nobody knows how the Sanity Center manages to stick to the ground quite so well. Scholars say it is because a long-dead magician had anchored the building with a powerful spell that he then proceeded to forget. Priests say it is due to Ionu’s blessing. Alvadas residents just grumble about their houses not being as sticky. Whatever the reason for the Center’s stability, it has long served as a source of aid for many. The Sanity Center handles all manner of Alvadas-related issues. Whether you are a traveler in need of an explanation of the city’s nature or someone wishing to acquire permanent residence, the Sanity Center staff will be willing to help. Or rather, the one and only member of the staff will do her best to help you. Not many people have the patience to explain Alvadas to uncomprehending visitors, so the duty falls onto Serenity Berel. Serenity’s office is rather small, crammed to the ceiling with piles of books, files, and knickknacks. A visitor has only to ring a small bell on Serenity’s desk to summon her, if she is not already sitting behind the desk. NPC : Serenity Berel Serenity is a tall, middle-aged woman with a ginger nest of hair, slightly crazed eyes, and a very misleading name. She has the air of someone who has been asked one question too many. Sitting behind her large oak desk, she routinely greets visitors and explains to them the principals behind Alvadas. However, once they start asking questions about nearby taverns and landmarks, Serenity sighs and counts to ten in her head. Since the streets move about so often, it is impossible for her to answer, putting her and her guests in a bad mood. She tries to appear friendly and welcoming, but sometimes the strain of the day just becomes too much. Skills Organization 50 Negotiation 30 Rhetoric 45 Writing 60 Languages Fluent: Common, Nari Passable: Isur History: Serenity grew up in Alvadas and spent her whole life living in the Sanity Center. Established, by her grandfather, the building had serves as both a home and a place of work for Serenity. Her family has always been held in high esteem by Alvadas’s people and she strives to keep the respect her predecessors had eared. She had watched her parents work at the building throughout her childhood, helping los travelers and misguided locals. After both her parents passed away, the burden of keeping up the Center fell on Serenity’s unwilling shoulders. While she loves Alvadas and its residents, she does not believe she knows nearly enough to hold such an important office in the city. Too many people rely on her guidance, making Serenity paranoid and overly cautious. OOCPlease contact Whimsy with questions and concerns regarding the Sanity Center.

[Chantilas Trevayne]

Winter, 3rd, 510 A.V. Avaldas! Finally, he was here. The enormity of being in a different region of the world was slowly coming to realization in his mind. Things had been different in Syliras but not so much to make him feel as if there were an uncrossable gap between him and home. All of the fantastical stories he'd overheard on the way to where he stood came flooding back to him. Food that tasted like something other that it appeared to be. Streets that didn't stay grounded. Paintings that moved. Even Inou's temple was rumored to vanish. No. This was not Ravok. There things were what they looked like, except talk; there was always room for suspicion in what people said. Chantilas looked around him expecting to see, well, something completely unimaginable. However everything looked normal for a city he'd never been in before. He looked down a street to his left wanting it to do something magical so badly it nearly made him verbally ask it such. Back to his right side and...something had changed. The houses were all the same, as were there colors but, something was just not right. He stared at it for a long time until he'd realized the style of windows was different. "Yes!" He exclaimed, astounded and giddy beyond belief that he'd already encountered magic. He walked towards the windows. He slowed, and then sped up again. Slowed, and sped up. The house wasn't getting any nearer. He tried to reach another building. And another. Nothing was within reach! Chantilas stopped walking all together, frowning in confusion. Fingers idly scratched the back of his head while he considered his predicament. Nothing in his studies and practice had hinted at the illusion of depth. He could change plain paper into a fake contract or proof of citizenship. A simple rock into a not so ornate metal frog figurine. He could even replicate gold mizas from copper ones, though not very well. His mentor had even turned a pencil into a flying dragonfly once that buzzed around the room. But how could one keep an object stationary relative to the viewer despite the distance they moved towards it? Chantilas studied the buildings around him, hoping to find a flaw in the illusion with which he could begin to unravel it. His eyes fell on a building covered in moss, where as none of the others had the growth creeping up it's exterior walls. Several experimental steps turned into a quick sprint as he realized the structure was getting closer, and he didn't want it sprouting legs and running away from him. Within seconds he was reaching to open the door, accidentally jamming his fingers into the wooden door with excitement. Through watering eyes he managed to open the door and hesitantly step inside. What a wonderful stuffy treasure trove of a room. Chantilas could have spent hours hopping from one book to the next trying to absorb each one in the span of a few minutes, let alone all of the doodleybobs perched everywhere. He loved doodleybobs. A shiny bell sitting importantly on the only desk in the room caught his eye to which he promptly swaggered over, plucking it with a finger. He smiled at the sound it made and plucked it again. And again. And again, "Biiiing." He reached out to pluck it a fifth time.

[Cadence]

OOCPlease make sure to timestamp your previous post, as well your entrance post at the Gaping Maw The twinkling of the bell resonated through the stuffy office, bouncing off the bookshelves and ceiling. Just as Chantilas reached to ring the bell a fifth time, a door opened at the back of the small room and a pretty, red-haired woman appeared. She wore a ruffled white shirt and a long, sensible skirt that swayed around her legs as she hurried into the office. The woman had the air of someone who often had to hurry to get to places. She flashed Chantilas a bright smile, the corners of her lips twitching as if they had already been turned upward one too many times that day... ((Continued here))

[Vizyous Aconitum]

3rd of Winter, 510 AV

Vizyous entered the building and was immediately wanting to get out, however with a name such as the 'Sanity Center', the building was likely worth visiting just to get a grasp on what was considered 'sanity' in Alvadas. It was unclear to him what to do once he entered, the overall messiness of the building catching him off guard. However once he opened his mind a bit more and pushed his Symenestra thoughts of organization away, Vizyous realized that the single bell on the owners desk was likely the signal for help.

He approached it quickly and pushed on the bell hard, making sure that the ringing would be heard. A simple explanation of what this building was for and he would be on his way, hopefully. Unless this, too, was an illusion.

Vizyous considered that for a moment, then disregarded it. No, this building felt far too stable and clear to be an illusion.

[Cadence]

OOCPlease make sure to timestamp your post, as well your entrance post at the Gaping Maw Hurried footsteps could be heard from the backdoor leading into the office. In a few seconds, the door was flung open to reveal a harried young woman with red curls and a wide smile on her face. Her grin widened even more when she saw Vizyous, the corners of her mouth twitching unnaturally. She quickly took her seat behind the desk, her fingers mechanically ruffling through piles of papers and straightening a few paperweights that were strewn across the tabletop. She motioned for the Symenestra to sit down in the chair pulled up to the desk across from her. “Hello and welcome to the Sanity Center – the Alvadas education center for travelers, housing authority, and employment agency. My name is Serenity Berrel. How may I help you today?” she rattled of the introduction in one breath, pushing her hair out of her face multiple times. "Would you like a crash course in the illusionary state of Alvadas? Perhaps you’re here to acquire a job? Some lodgings? Are you in search of a particular person, place, or thing?”

[Enit]

5th Day of Winter, 210 AV

Happy eyes scanned the surrounding area, Enit had arrived. And she was at a complete lose on what to do, but she didn't care, she was here and that's all that mattered. She floated left, then right, then back again, looking down every street that was close enough yet not too far from the gate. On her second trip she noticed one street with grey cobble had changed to a street of red clay. Enit felt giddy and giggled loudly her shrill little bursts lingering in the air. "This is so exciting I just can't stand it!" she felt like a child with something shiny and new. The delight sprung from her toes to the top of her head, and after spinning and dancing around, she finally noticed a building that stuck out, which was odd since technically this whole city stuck out.

She ceased her turning to read, out loud, the brightly colored sign hanging high on the roof. "The Sanity Center?" Enit instantly burst into laughter once more, "Sounds rather boring compared to all this." casting a glance at the streets once more and noticing the smoke from a chimney had turned pink. This all made her feel so light and bubbly, and she realized this was the most she had ever smiled. "Maybe this Sanity Center could use alittle excitement" A feeling she had never felt before began to rise up inside her, she couldn't put her finger on it but she thought perhaps this was mischief.

She slid, then hopped and floated her way over to the large white doors and causally passed through them. After a few flighty glances around the room she approached a rather cluttered desk, and there sitting front and center was a small silver bell, she couldn't resist. "Perfect" she thought and focused intently on the task now at hand, willing her soulmist. "Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing!" went the small silver bell, unfortunately on the last ring Enit pressed abit too hard and sent the bell sliding off the desk and onto the floor below. "Clang!" Enit flinched and wondered if she was getting out of hand. "Oops" she felt slightly guilty for the mess she made and instantly began attempting to lift a few papers back onto the desk, though her accuracy seemed a tad squed, and it seemed the papers would fall back onto the floor more often than stay put. Frustrated she threw the ones she had managed to lift, high in the air and watched them float gently to the floor "Fine just stay there."

[Vizyous Aconitum]

3rd of Winter, 510 AV,

"Nice to meet you Serenity," Vizyous greeted in return, quickly looking over Serenity Berrel. Her smile was as warm and genuine as the stone statue's. "I'll be staying long and need housing. Then I suppose I'll be on my way." Vizyous wasn't sure what else to say. His words had been hesitant and unsure; he hadn't spoken to another being aside from the statue in over a week and it was hard not to slip into his usual prying mindset. This woman appeared far too interesting, but that was for another time, not now.

Vizyous took the seat offered to him and forced his eyes to keep from looking through the papers in front of him. Even though none of them were likely to be personal, he would get distracted. "Vizyous Aconitum," he finally told her, eyes focused on her strained ones. He smiled just barely although it wasn't entirely genuine and remained quiet, not ready to tell anyone other than the statue his motivations of living in this city.

[Cadence]

Enit Serenity might have been used to hearing the shrill tinkling of the bell, but she certainly wasn’t used to the hard clanging sound that followed the customary ringing. The woman flung open the door, eyes scanning the cluttered office with practiced accuracy. The bell lay on the floor, still vibrating from its impact with the ground. A few of her papers lay scattered beside it. Serenity could always tell what was out of place in her office. In a cluttered workspace lived a meticulously organized mind. And floating over and around the fallen papers were tendrils of mist. Serenity squinted at the foggy substance. Certainly, this couldn’t be some sort of illusion. No illusion could penetrate the walls of the Sanity Center. Which meant… ((Continued here)) Vizyous Aconitum “Perfect! Perfect! We’re always happy to provide housing,” Serenity chirped. “We have quite a lot of cottages available for sale. Most of them have been built at around the same time and are similar in layout. They come fully furnished with all the necessities and cover about 400 square feet of floor space. The address of the cottage has no bearing on the price, seeing as you can be living next to the Gaping Maw one day and at the heart of the city the next. The total price of the cottage is 500 gold mizas. If you decide to purchase one, I will give you a key with a Djed aura that is unique to the cottage. That way, all you would have to do is follow they cottage’s pull and the key and you will always be able to find its location.” “So, Mr. Aconitum, will you be buying a house today?” she asked, already rummaging in one of the desk drawers for a key.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

3rd of Winter, 510 AV

"Yes, I will." Vizyous answered simply before shrugging his nearly empty shoulder pack off. It hit the floor with barely a rustle and he opened it, retrieved the required amount of gold mizas, then put them on Serenity's already cluttered desk. He watched as she rummaged through the drawer, eager to get the key so he could drop his bag off and begin exploring the city.

He wasn't entirely sure if he needed a house, but it was probably better to have back up just in case the weather, no matter how illusionary, became too severe. At least he wouldn't get lost all the time looking for it.

[Cadence]

Vizyous After a lot of clattering coming from the drawer, Serenity finally retrieved the key. She held it up triumphantly and passed it over to Vizyous, scooping up the pile of gold mizas in the same motion. She did not make a show of counting them. She simply glanced over them with a practiced eye and tucked them away in another drawer. The key in Vizyous’s hand was copper and looked to be brand new. It wasn’t crudely made, but it didn’t look particularly special either. Its teeth were slightly curved and wouldn’t even remotely fit into anything but an Alvadas lock. If Vizyous had been an aurist, he would have seen a pale, blue aura emanating from the key. To an unpracticed eye, however, the key looked perfectly normal. As soon as Vizyous clasped the key in his hand, he would feel a subtle tugging on it, as if an invisible string was pulling it forward. “Do you feel the key twitching a little?” Serenity inquired. “It’s the house pulling it. As long as you simply follow the key where it is being pulled, you’ll always be able to find your cottage. Will there be anything else?” Mod Note : You have acquired a cottage in Alvadas! Since the house is yours, you can do whatever you wish to it. Feel free to describe it and the furniture within as you see fit, as long as you don’t go overboard. Remember, the house is only 400 square feet and is sparsely furnished. Here is a general floorplan of how the cottage would look. Feel free to tweak the details. You may also create a location thread for your house. Something like “[Alvadas Location] Vizyous Residence”. That way, you’ll be able to keep the description of your house in one place (should you choose to write one) and any visitors will know where to drop by. I would also add it to the private residence category in the Alvadas Linkmap. Again, this is completely optional. Enjoy .