Location [Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

[Navir]

21th of Winter 510 AV Navir cursed his foolish cousin as he walked down the dirt road, he knew that alvadas was the city where the most isur went to when they wanted to trade stuff but didn't he also that the city was practicly pure chaos and insanity? navir shifted his backpack a bit, still unused to the sensation of having a backpack on. He gave a loud sigh and leaned a bit on his warhammer that he was using as a walking stick right now, sure the warriors of the coglias clan would probally cry in outrage when they saw what he was doing, but they weren't here right now so he didn't really care. Navir just continued moving, the slight sounds of the end of the warhammer hitting the ground soothing Navir's boiling temper a bit. He stopped when he saw a great face carved into the edge of the mountain carved in such a way that it looked down on any visitors that approached it. "Now that is some masterfull crafting." Interested Navir took a step closer to the statue, hoping to see some more details." “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” The statue said in a voice that didn't sound male, but wasn't female either. Thinking answering would be the best idea. "I am searching for my cousin, why is my business." Not really caring for the statues answer Navir walked through the maw hoping to find his cousin as soon as possible and find out why the hell he ran away.

[Nezuel]

30th of winter 510 AV

Nezuel walked down the dirt road to Alvadas quickly. It was his birthday and there was no better gift to give himself than a bed for the night. He had been on the ocean for a long time. And while they had given him a bed, it wasn't very comfortable. He passed strangers on the road who stared and gestured at him. he could only assume that they didn't know what he was or didn't like the way he looked. But such things were not new. Many people were wary of the zith race and although he was not full Zith he still looked like one.

HE stopped, looked up, and suddenly found himself looking into the eyes of a giant stone head. Then a loud voice echoed from the stone head “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” What should I say he thought, to see the god of the city and hopefully learn his secrets? He kept starring at the eyes of the stone head feeling as though he was looking into his very own soul. And perhaps while the guardian was looking into his, he was looking into the guardian's.

A stone head created long ago to test travelers who wished to enter what some fancy a god's domain. Always vigilant, always searching and asking those in response. But never acknowledged. "I come to find more than hope for and less than I fear," he said making his final decision. The stone mouth opened to reveal a set of step. "Welcome to Alvadas, Mixed blood." Before he stepped up the stairs to disappear he said something the the guardian had perhaps not heard in a while. "Thank you, guardian."

[Dramiana Rosenthal]

The 29th Day of Winter
501 AV



The girl was nothing to look at, mainly because she did not take to wearing makeup or fashionable clothing - choosing an introspective approach by keenly studying the craft for which she was cherished (be it only by her summons). Her hair was very long, like wisps of smoke, was jet black, and her pallor suggestive of a cadaver. Slender and frail of build, her teeth were wont to chatter. Her attire was languid and dark, just as she, and there were no breasts or hips well endowed like other women her age. She was small and fair, and any beauty upon her was hidden well beneath the bowers of brocade and organza. The only truly mesmerizing feature was the depths of her amethyst eyes, bequeathed by her supposedly long-dead mother.

The female’s strikingly disturbing appearance was enough to hinder public interaction, though it did sometimes happen through the crude usage of hypnotism that accompanies novice magic. Every day, she found that she had to use it more and more in order to survive on her quest. Would today bring more forced interaction? Interrogation? Distrust? Scorn?

These worries were dismissed soon enough with a good read. Pallid fingertips gently caressed the heavy papyrus of her open tome. Heart-pangs pricked her chest as heavy breath trilled over the cryptic text of her most cherished possession. It was so very simple in cipher that even someone as inexperienced as she could read it. For before her was a great grimoire which was attached by a silver fetter wrapped about the whole of her left side in ornate loops. Draping chains swung from her left shoulder, roundabout her left arm, wrist, and through her dainty fingers. They interwove about her waist and bent lowly down her dress until a gilded buckle attached it to her book. So enraptured by the seemingly blank pages oblivious to the world around her was she that only when she ran into the stone wall did her attention draw elsewhere.

Engrossed in the text, Dra-Miana did not catch the great stone monolith with its facial features looming over her, though she somehow knew it was there. Her large book lie ajar, she at last looking upward slowly in a daze.

Serving much like a map, the tome held scribbles of her mother's account of the city of Alvadas very near Nestran borders.

When she looked upward with wide, fully dilated amethyst eyes, her mouth went agape as the face welcomed her to the Gaping Maw.

“Dra-Miana Noire,” she proclaimed, though not without a foreshadowing sense of disappointment. The only reason she gave her true name was because her gnosis mark made it so that few believed she was whom she proclaimed to be.

“Daughter of Dra-Salvia Noire of the Widow stock..." she went on to say her father's name, but kept her voice low and subtle as if others were wont to hear. Perhaps divulging a Symenestran heritage would allow her to be on better terms with the city populace?

"I want to get lost so that I may find my way home."

[Istril]

25th of Winter, 510 After Valterrian

She had arrived. The path he had taken, she had trekked, following in depressions that had-- no doubt-- been left by *his* feet. She had found him, had found it, had found the city for which he had left, and within her mind, already curiosity was abound. Was this city truly as confusing and illogical as everyone said, as all of the legends spoke? Nothing upon Mizahar could make that little sense. Everything had some sort of balance within it, some sort of logic. This City of Illusion, this Alvadas, had to be just the same, no matter what anyone said about it. With this decision, Istril nodded her head to herself, feeling somewhat certain.

A few more long minutes found her at the mouth of the city she had been approaching. Quite literally, the mouth. Unexpected. Little did she know, this was only a glimpse of the insanity that was to come. Was this the gate? Was it simply decoration on the wall? Was it some sort of joke, played by someone who considered themselves "humorous" or "funny"? The road led, if her eyes did not fool her, which she was certain they did not, with a quick movement of her foot along the base of the chin, straight into the mouth. This rock face was real. This was the gate. That was when it spoke to her, a deep, rumbling voice, one that penetrated through her body and shook her to her very core.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Even the gates declared it was a City of Illusion. Pah. The Gate was most likely created with animation, and programmed to ask this question of all newcomers. She had seen more advanced automaton in her home city, ones that could move, not just ask questions. None the less, she answered, her voice providing no clues, her hands by her sides as her legs were pressed stiffly together. "I come in search of those who fled their homes. They have a duty. They must return." There was a pause, most likely as the automaton considered what she had said to it. Finally, it responded, the voice just as loud and demanding as before, its lips unmoving. "Welcome to Alvadas, Isur," A curious glance confirmed that her arm was hidden, but then again, she was 4'9, and she was almost blue, and from what she had seen of humans, neither of those traits were normal.

The upper jaw of the automaton slowly rose, separating itself from the bottom lip, creating a portal in the form of a mouth. Interesting gate. Istril walked forward, her eyes gazing ahead. This city was not so "Illusion" filled. People were simply illogical.

How wrong she was.

[Yanessavhanet]

Season of Winter, Day 22, 510 AV

It was cold here. Everyone she spoke to said otherwise, but Vhanet had not felt properly warm since she departed Ahnatep. Pulling her fur lined cloak closer to herself she approached the strange looking gate on foot. The merchant she had been traveling with refused to come to Alvadas, saying that he had no desire to loose his mind, and so she had needed to walk the way. At least walking helped to keep her a little warmer.

When the face looked at her, and then spoke, Vhanet gave a soft laugh. Even before she entered Alvadas it was looking very strange. In such a strange place who would notice the occasional odd thing? She was sure there was plenty of fun to be had here, and so she declared to the face, "I am Vhanet, and I am here to have some fun."

When the gate welcomed her by race she gave a start, and quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard. It wouldn't do to be revealed already, but there was no one else about. Giving a soft sigh she glared up at the gate for a moment before proceeding through its mouth. Once she was in though she smiled and looked around. As she had told the gate, it was time to have some fun.

[Seraphin]

80th Winter, 510 AV

Seraphin wandered down the rocky path, stumbling slightly as she looked to the ground. Her wide eyes studied the rocks, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she continued walking. She still felt a bit uncomfortable in her human form, but it was the best was to travel seeing as her true form of a cat wouldn't be able to carry the bag that was strapped around her shoulder.

The young girl's cloak swayed gently in the breeze of the winter air as she followed the trail. She blinked as she sighed, looking back up to see a large wall of rocks up ahead. Her mind wandered back to memories of her former Master Xander and how he had told her about this place. It was supposedly a very strange and mysterious city, full of illusion and tricks. Xander had always wanted to travel here...but due to his passing he was unable to fufill that dream. So Seraphin had decided to go ahead and find Alvadas for her former Master and live here for a while. Her small pale hand went to her chest, her fingers wrapping around an emerald pendant, Xander's heirloom. Her bright multicolored eyes softened slightly as she reflected on the past, her fingers gripping the pendant firmly as she travelled down the path.

Her head tilted upwards as she approached the stone wall, seeing a rather terrifying face looking down at her. Her natural instincts made her pause as the face's eyes bore down on her.

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

Her eyes scanned her surroundings, trying to find out where the voice had come from, she shifted her weight nervously as she stood then finally looked back to the head on the stone.

"I-I'm here to find somewhere to live for a while..." she replied softly as she looked up to the face.

After a few seconds she heard ther voice speak again, "Welcome to Alvadas, Kelvic." it said loudly as it's mouth opened, revealing the entrance to the city.

Seraphin felt a rush of panic, wondering how exactly the voice, or face, had known she wasn't a normal human. Her eyes watched the face for a moment longer before she cautiously walked through the mouth to enter the city Xander had wanted to visit. She didn't know exaclty what Alvadas had to offer, but it couldn't be that bad...could it?

[Dlight]

Spring 8th, 511 AV, Being on land once again gave Dlight a feeling of almost being misplaced, the lonely beauty of the sea and sky clear of buildings and forest having easily grown on him. As uneasy as the Ethaefel had felt at first about once again being surrounded by water, he'd also felt at home. Now, that was over and he'd arrived on Kalea soil. The first thing that Dlight noticed was that the chilling wind of the Suvan Sea didn't reach Kalea, and that the coldness of Syliras when he'd left didn't exist here, the weather pleasant despite it being just the beginning of Spring. Damp as the grass and mud was from past snow, Syna was quickly drying it. His current destination was Alvadas, the port city of Kalea. The docks were nearby and it's high, stone walls were in sight but after seeing Syliras' protective castle walls, no other wall seemed high enough to intimidate him. Dlight's leg muscles were tense as he walked up one of the pathways leading to what he assumed was the entrance, and had Syna been risen his wings would have been fully outstretched, reveling in being able to take up as much space as they could. The ship hadn't exactly been comfortable. The walk to the entrance seemed to take forever, the surface of the ground still swaying as if he was on the ship. Dlight eventually regained his balance, making his way up the steep hill until he reached it's crest and the end of the path came into view. In front of him, in the near distance, was a giant statue but it was unclear to Dlight whether it was man-made or a natural formation. Hesitant but needing to enter the city and rest, he continued his steps forward. It's eyes peered down at him almost as strongly as Leth's constant gaze during the night, having the same superiority to it that his God held. The Ethaefel tensed, his body coming to a sudden halt before the statue out of the respect demanded from him. Carried along a breeze that swayed the heavy brunette hair dangling from his loincloth was a voice, loud and dominating the entire area. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Alvadas, the City of Illusion, it wasn't the first time those words had been spoken to him, but Dlight had never fully considered the illusion aspect, simply knowing that it was the best port city when traveling from Syliras. His ultimate destination was Lhavit, and Alvadas was only a temporary rest stop. "I come for rest and supplies." He held his eyes firmly ahead of him, staring into the statue's. A God he may be addressing, but it was not his God, and he would not avert his eyes for any other than Leth. "Welcome to Alvadas, child of Leth." In an impressively short amount of time, the stones composing the face's mouth dropped to the ground, showing a dark stairway extending into further darkness. Dlight nodded his head, grateful for being allowed entrance. As long as his hair was, it needed badly to be washed, strands of silver beginning to fall out and fade into a grayish lavender. His bath was long overdue. "My deepest thanks." He told the statue before continuing into it, tired legs carrying him up the impossibly long stairs.

[Aeli]

Oledrennis snorted impatiently, whipping his mane to and fro in the sunlight. The Gilding was as small as the breed comes, his palomino coat gleaming despite the poor diet he'd had as of late. He was quite sick of all this travel; it made his hooves hurt and his tail knotted, and he didn't quite see why they'd left Mura in the first place. It was change, and he didn't like it. In fact, it made him quite anxious, and when he was anxious, he rather preferred to be disobedient. "Be calm," Aeli told him in her low, soothing voice. She sensed his discontent and figured her own wasn't doing much to help the cause. "Alvadas is nearly upon us, and soon we will get you properly fed." She patted the stallion's neck, wondering herself for the hundredth time if it was a good idea to leave Mura and the Konti behind. She then decided, again for the hundredth time, that it was in her best interest to leave. All her mother had left her was a violin, insanity, and a bad reputation. She subconsciously patted the saddlebag which contained the instrument, and feeling it there, her subconscious felt a bit better about the situation. She turned her glittering eyes forward along the path, savoring the gentle wind blowing through her waist-length snowy white hair. She was very obviously Konti, and had heard stories about her race being captured and forced into slavery. The sooner she reached Avaldas, the better. A gaze had rested upon her for a few miles now, growing stronger as she neared the city. She sensed that it didn't have malevolent intent, but it made her uncomfortable all the same. The only thing she saw before her was a large wall of stone. "I hope you're not misleading me, Ole," she said playfully to the stallion. He snorted again in irritation. According to what the last traveler had told her, that wall of stone was right where the gates of Alvadas should be. "Ah, well. If it isn't, then I suppose we'll just have to keep looking. It isn't as though we have anywhere particularly important to be, anyhow." The stone wall appeared to be quite far away, but somehow Aeli found herself sitting in front of it after only a few miles. She'd heard of the illusions in and around Avaldas, and thought that this must be her first test. She realized that the face before her must have been the gaze that had pressed down on her for the better part of the last hour, and felt relieved. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Aeli was a bit taken aback by the voice, and Oledrennis shifted nervously; he wasn't a fan of the mystical. "My name is Aeli, my steed is Oledrennis. We thank you kindly for your greeting. I am here to resupply, to see the wonders of your great city, and perhaps find a traveling companion." After a moment of still silence, she was granted a response. “Welcome to Alvadas, Konti.” Its great mouth dropped, revealing the entrance to the city. Aeli smiled, dipped her head in thanks, and urged Oledrennis onward into the unknown.

[Severn]

83rd Spring, 511

A band of mercenaries talked loudly as they approached the city gates. A colorful bunch, these mercenaries. Men of different peoples and races, coming to seek their fortune in this faraway, fabled city. They carried an assortment of weapons, from swords to battleaxes, bows and crossbows, daggers, pikes, throwing knives, maces and a lot more other contraptions that mercenaries have. Some of them wore armor, old and rusted, or patched up with parts from other armor suits. Overall, they did not look like a good or experienced mercenary band, more like a ragtag bunch of rogues and thugs.

One of them, a Benshira spoke to one of his colleagues in a badly accented common. "So, this is city of illusions? Heard of it when I was young." The Benshira spoke, his hand resting on the hilt of an old, worn scimitar. "Who hasn't heard of it?" Another human from the group spoke. "We all know the stories about it. But what's important, there's mizas to be made here. There's bound to be someone to pay some hired blades to guard his skin. Or to kill someone. There's work to be done here, that's for sure." The second mercenary spoke, toying with a large spiked mace.

The Benshira nodded and readjusted the shroud that covered his face, his cold blue eyes staring at the city itself. "You know, you should really lose that shroud of yours." A third mercenary said. "That scar makes you look more fierce." This one was an older man who had a missing eye and a large moustache. He held his hand on the hilt of an old, battered bastardsword as he spoke and walked with an air of confidence.

The mercenaries continued to talk loudly and tell eachother vulgar jokes as they walked through the gates of the city. But soon, even their loud voices were lost in the crowd. Yet another bunch of adventurers with illusions of fame and fortune seeking their next pay. Another illusion in a city of illusions.

[Emizal Silverden]

Time stamp: 83rd day of spring, 511 A.V. Like always Javi lead the way, white in color and quite large the Great Dane galloped in front of the Red Bay stallion, Sevian. Emizal's hair bounced with every movement, her long bow strapped to the side of her stallion. She had one hand on the leads, and both feet wrapped around the Large Strider. "Javi!' The dog glanced back as Emizal used Grassland sign to direct the dog to the right. Javi followed her command, jerking to the right. Sevian turned with out being told, he knew where she wanted to go. Being a Drykas woman she was born to be atop of a Strider, and being from the diamond clan, she was born to be a warrior, and a leader. Emizal was on her way to the city of Illusions, it was one more stop on her way home to Endrykas. What came into view was startling, it was a large face, who eyes followed the three. Javi stopped short, fur raising on her back as she growled lowly at the gate. Emizal slowed down Sevian, and soon stopped him by his companion. Emizal smiled, this was quite a gate. She slid off her strider with ease, patting the side of Sevian, as she fixed the leads. She walked over to Javi, shushing her. She looked back up to the gate and made her way up. "You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” She heard a voice ask, she couldnt tell if it was male nor female, all she knew it came from the gate. "I am Emizal Windsong, member of the Diamond clan, I've come to rest and explore, before heading to my home land." It was siliant as the gate watched her, its eyes never leaving hers, it felt as if the thing could see within her own soul. Finally it spoke again. "Welcome, Dryakas." Its mouth opened, and the passage way was opened with it. Emizal walked back to Sevian, grabbing his leads as she walked forward. Javi stayed there in till Emizal whistled, the dog slowly followed the Strider and her master, tail tucked and whimpering.