Atlas

Imarel Travel Guide - by T.A. Saunders ©2010 v1.2

Farwind Farwind (Northern Capital)

Farwind has been referred to as the Last Light of Imarel, representing the central fount of most sorcerous and mundane learning on all of Tal'Rah. While there are other schools and other schools of magic, Farwind and its school are considered the foremost in sorcerous learning. Coupled with the Great Library that covers several city blocks, this city is considered the most learned on the entire continent.

At one time, the former kingdom's government was not run within the city at all, but from nearby Illuminous Chateau, which served as a royal palace for the uth Braegon family and continues to act as their ancestral home. When the Quar'Vess originally separated from the Shar'Vaire rule, it was under the guidance of Lord Aerisaen uth Braegon the First and several other notable magi, who believed that allowing themselves as a culture to be infused with infernal taint offered by the Lords of Chaos would not increase their power as a people, but corrupt them in ways that could not be predicted. Since Aerisaen could not sway the ruling Shar'Vaire Theocrats, he and his like-minded fellows left D'Mir and headed the forgotten lands of the west, once held by the Dragons to make their new beginning. The Chateau Illuminous was built at this time, as a place for Lord uth Braegon and his supporters to live, while Farwind was constructed with the help of the Dragons they discovered still lingering in what was once the territory of Dragon Reach.

For several centuries, the uth Braegon family ruled over the Kingdom of Farwind with peace and while that peace could likely have been maintained for centuries more, the Dragons of Farwind grew more and more discontent for not having a say in the political future of the city, beyond advisers to the king. So, under the reign of Kithanis Kalyn'Vare uth Braegon II, Farwind began the transformation into a Mageocratic rule that consisted of a council of six elected individuals (all of which must be learned in the ways of sorcery, though race itself was unimportant) and those six would amongst themselves elect the Council Master (or Mistress) that would head the council. From that point on, Farwind City itself became the center of government and all matters involving the Kingdom.

With the growing corruption of the council during the Second Godswar, it was moved that there no longer be a council that elects its own speaker, but one appointed directly by the people of Farwind. Although the role of Prime Minister was initially appointed as a wartime measure, the current one remains until elections take place at the end of the first cycle.

The city of Farwind resembles ancient D'Mir in several ways, yet has some of its own unique flavor. Much of her architecture, street planning and wide open arrangement favors the Asyndi ways of old. However, Farwind is the only city on Imarel that floats above the ground, in a great testament of sorcerous power accomplished by both the Quar'Vess and the Dragons working together. The city was made to float like this, to preserve the natural habitat of the dense Kassoa Tree forests below and to give the Dragons who occupy the city a sort of aviary that allows them to simply fly in and out of the city at a whim. Additionally, Farwind is a city of three distinct tiers that float above each other, with both teleportation gates and spiraling ramps connecting all three tiers. The first tier is known as the Dragon's Quarter, the second is known as Bazaar, which contains Farwind's vast markets and businesses and finally the third tier is called the Court of Lights, where the School of Magic, the Great Library, the Council Building and other edifices dedicated to knowledge or art can be found.

Farwind is a city known for its magic, its openness and its endless quest for knowledge-seeking. People of all sorts are welcome here, regardless of race, tendency or upbringing. Everybody has equal opportunity in this city, though to sit on the council itself does require one to be learned in some form of arcane or divine art. Farwind is the only other place on Imarel that airships are manufactured, though the sorts made here are meant more for leisure and commerce than war, though an enterprising individual could likely take one of these Alantia Class airships and turn it into a proper vessel of war.