In a courtyard overlooked by the Dawn Tower sits the Basilika. Previous years have showed it empty, the staircase leading from the Tower to its smooth-white floors and its gilded gate long-since closed. Like a breath of air, life has recently returned to this courtyard, and the Basilika has reopened. The caretakers, now aged, have likewise returned to this place of knowledge, art, and words in order to make it great again.
With the rise of the morning sun, the Basilika begins to also rise with the voices of the educated. A center for sharing and knowledge, this grand hall quickly becomes crowded on the busier mornings, inviting a vast array of travelers and residents both to come share. The Basilika is a place of liberal knowledge, where new ideas are shared in sections of the open area to those who will stop and listen. Open booths are ready for use by anyone with an idea in their head and a need to share it. Philosophy, religion, politics, science, many ideas are discussed freely in the Basilika for any to hear.
Once the sun falls and night reigns, the Basilika becomes a place of art and paintings. During the day, sculptures and paintings are merely atmosphere and aesthetic for the discussions. But at night, the Basilika comes alive as an art gallery and auction house, where those same works of art move from the background into the foreground. The speakers and thinkers of the day are replaced with artists and sculptors at night, and the well-lit building seems to inspire every artist to create. A mix of the curves of the room brightening the moonlight, as well as firelight spotlights beaming from the sides, brighten the room to a comfortable glow, making it easy to see every aspect of an artist's well crafted piece. Art that isn't sold simply becomes a new piece to the rooms changing decor.
The Basilika itself is a huge skyglass room with a strange curved roof, rather than the domed tops of many Lhavitian buildings. The walls themselves are made at angles bending inward, created to nurture the sunlight inward for as long as possible. The grand hall is split into many booths and areas, most of which have stools in a semi-circle to allow ease of listening to the latest speaker or marveling over the current work of a rising artist. There are no walls separating the sectioned off speaking areas, but sculptures are displayed between each one, leading to little niches of speaking or art and splitting the hall into dozens of tiny informal 'rooms'.
The design of the rooms was a natural progression, stemming from practicality rather than from any purposeful design. Some of the centers of the stool-surrounded chambers include small sand gardens, the sand usually rifled with drawings from previous speakers getting their ideas out in a more visual fashion, or sketching out their latest masterpiece. Overall, the Basilika is a beautiful part of the city, one many are glad to see reopened and alive.
Name: Mattias Barnes
Race: Human
Birthdate: 456 AV
Birthplace: Lhavit
Occupation: Scholar at the Basilika
Skills: Intelligence - 43, Interrogation - 30, Philosophy - 55, Politics - 42, Rhetoric - 70
Languages: Common (Fluent), Myrian (Poor)
Mattias is an elderly scholar, and the closest you could say to being the leader of the Basilika, aside from his wife. They both are static fixtures of the Basilika, just like any pillar or wall, the only things unchanging in this room of changing ideas. Mattias is a human, whose graying hair still shows signs of the dark color it was in youth, and who often has a sly and playful smile beneath his crooked nose. His eyes are fierce and fiery, shinning bronze and gold in the morning light. He tends to wear loose and plain robes, favouring simple colours and designs as he travels to and fro. He moves at a leisurely pace, content to follow the stream of ideas.
Mattias spends several hours a day wandering the Basilika, and while he sometimes will spend time at the Basilika after dark, he's much more likely to be seen when the sun is out. He loves to take part in discussions, and is known for being a fierce competitor in a debate. Ideas and opinions seem to excite him and bring back some kind of youthful vigor with every encounter. He's known to be clever and quick-witted, bringing troublemakers and arguments that get too heated down with just a few words.
Name: Skara Barnes
Race: Myrian
Birthdate: 461 AV
Birthplace: Taloba
Occupation: Artist at the Basilika
Skills: Drawing - 30, Painting - 55, Sculpting - 26, Teaching - 35, Tracking - 10, Weapon (Kukri) - 28
Languages: Common (Fluent), Myrian (Fluent)
Mattias' counterpart and loving spouse, Skara is an older Myrian who gave up her roots a long time ago. An artist with a passion for creative works, she is most often seen around the Basilika at night, but will make the odd appearance during the day as well; alongside her husband, she serves as an unofficial leader of sorts in the Basilika, and is deeply respected by all who know her.
Skara doesn't hold herself like most older people; her steps are strong, and have an inner power. With fair white hair down to the center of her back, often kept in either a bun or braid, few would guess that this woman used to be a fierce warrior, or that the scars on her arms and shoulders are from battles long ago conquered. Her eyes are a deep shade of brown, dark and mysterious. The only hint of her Myrian past that's still visible is her tanned skin and the tattoos all over her hands and neck, which are usually hidden by the bright and colorful, patterned robes she herself finds appealing.
Skara seems a quiet woman at first, but she's merely contemplative. She loves art and has a passion for painting, and she loves seeing what people create. Her opinions and words seem to come out slowly, and often have to be wrestled from her before she'll give them. She seems to enjoy being the devil's advocate as well; when her opinion is given it often isn't kind, pointing out mistakes or flaws. Skara is much more content to listen to someone explain their work and then tell them what she thinks. Often known for her kind eyes but fierce attitude, Skara's the quiet tiger watching the night.
With the rise of the morning sun, the Basilika begins to also rise with the voices of the educated. A center for sharing and knowledge, this grand hall quickly becomes crowded on the busier mornings, inviting a vast array of travelers and residents both to come share. The Basilika is a place of liberal knowledge, where new ideas are shared in sections of the open area to those who will stop and listen. Open booths are ready for use by anyone with an idea in their head and a need to share it. Philosophy, religion, politics, science, many ideas are discussed freely in the Basilika for any to hear.
Once the sun falls and night reigns, the Basilika becomes a place of art and paintings. During the day, sculptures and paintings are merely atmosphere and aesthetic for the discussions. But at night, the Basilika comes alive as an art gallery and auction house, where those same works of art move from the background into the foreground. The speakers and thinkers of the day are replaced with artists and sculptors at night, and the well-lit building seems to inspire every artist to create. A mix of the curves of the room brightening the moonlight, as well as firelight spotlights beaming from the sides, brighten the room to a comfortable glow, making it easy to see every aspect of an artist's well crafted piece. Art that isn't sold simply becomes a new piece to the rooms changing decor.
The Basilika itself is a huge skyglass room with a strange curved roof, rather than the domed tops of many Lhavitian buildings. The walls themselves are made at angles bending inward, created to nurture the sunlight inward for as long as possible. The grand hall is split into many booths and areas, most of which have stools in a semi-circle to allow ease of listening to the latest speaker or marveling over the current work of a rising artist. There are no walls separating the sectioned off speaking areas, but sculptures are displayed between each one, leading to little niches of speaking or art and splitting the hall into dozens of tiny informal 'rooms'.
The design of the rooms was a natural progression, stemming from practicality rather than from any purposeful design. Some of the centers of the stool-surrounded chambers include small sand gardens, the sand usually rifled with drawings from previous speakers getting their ideas out in a more visual fashion, or sketching out their latest masterpiece. Overall, the Basilika is a beautiful part of the city, one many are glad to see reopened and alive.
Mattias Barnes
Race: Human
Birthdate: 456 AV
Birthplace: Lhavit
Occupation: Scholar at the Basilika
Skills: Intelligence - 43, Interrogation - 30, Philosophy - 55, Politics - 42, Rhetoric - 70
Languages: Common (Fluent), Myrian (Poor)
Mattias is an elderly scholar, and the closest you could say to being the leader of the Basilika, aside from his wife. They both are static fixtures of the Basilika, just like any pillar or wall, the only things unchanging in this room of changing ideas. Mattias is a human, whose graying hair still shows signs of the dark color it was in youth, and who often has a sly and playful smile beneath his crooked nose. His eyes are fierce and fiery, shinning bronze and gold in the morning light. He tends to wear loose and plain robes, favouring simple colours and designs as he travels to and fro. He moves at a leisurely pace, content to follow the stream of ideas.
Mattias spends several hours a day wandering the Basilika, and while he sometimes will spend time at the Basilika after dark, he's much more likely to be seen when the sun is out. He loves to take part in discussions, and is known for being a fierce competitor in a debate. Ideas and opinions seem to excite him and bring back some kind of youthful vigor with every encounter. He's known to be clever and quick-witted, bringing troublemakers and arguments that get too heated down with just a few words.
Skara Barnes
Race: Myrian
Birthdate: 461 AV
Birthplace: Taloba
Occupation: Artist at the Basilika
Skills: Drawing - 30, Painting - 55, Sculpting - 26, Teaching - 35, Tracking - 10, Weapon (Kukri) - 28
Languages: Common (Fluent), Myrian (Fluent)
Mattias' counterpart and loving spouse, Skara is an older Myrian who gave up her roots a long time ago. An artist with a passion for creative works, she is most often seen around the Basilika at night, but will make the odd appearance during the day as well; alongside her husband, she serves as an unofficial leader of sorts in the Basilika, and is deeply respected by all who know her.
Skara doesn't hold herself like most older people; her steps are strong, and have an inner power. With fair white hair down to the center of her back, often kept in either a bun or braid, few would guess that this woman used to be a fierce warrior, or that the scars on her arms and shoulders are from battles long ago conquered. Her eyes are a deep shade of brown, dark and mysterious. The only hint of her Myrian past that's still visible is her tanned skin and the tattoos all over her hands and neck, which are usually hidden by the bright and colorful, patterned robes she herself finds appealing.
Skara seems a quiet woman at first, but she's merely contemplative. She loves art and has a passion for painting, and she loves seeing what people create. Her opinions and words seem to come out slowly, and often have to be wrestled from her before she'll give them. She seems to enjoy being the devil's advocate as well; when her opinion is given it often isn't kind, pointing out mistakes or flaws. Skara is much more content to listen to someone explain their work and then tell them what she thinks. Often known for her kind eyes but fierce attitude, Skara's the quiet tiger watching the night.
