Ayeshastra

Ayeshastra is the hearthstone of the Ismat Empire, mostly because of Ismat Oil which is harvested at the Temple of Ayeshastra a liquid made from the light of the heavens that augments dev magic. The city is also in charge of distributing the oil throughout the empire. This is done by devotees of the twin deities Ashra and Bashra, the warrior and messenger gods. These devotees ride their chariots to the corners of the empire. Because ismat oil is of the highest value to devs, to offset the possibility of corruption, money has no value in Ayeshastra. It survives on other forms of tribute from the empire and runs on a coded barter system. It is also self sustaining with its own farms and food system that feeds the residents and many visitors who come to the temple to meet with their spirits. Ordinarily it takes a lot of work and expertise to converse with Spirits. People need to work with summoners who have been trained in the arts, and finding a summoner who knows the spells to call upon a spirit can be tedious and expensive. But as part of the magic that is Ayeshastra, it is possible to summon a spirit without a medium. To maintain the integrity of Ayeshastra there is a network of sorcerers who work with the cities natural magic to create an invisible shield that prevents any uninvited spirits from coming in or from being summoned. This prevents the corruption and influence of evil spirits, something that happens often enough in other places. Ayeshastra also vets visitors as an added security to make sure that no one summons evil spirits from within. In regards to physical threats there is the Simha guard. This is an odd phenomenon, especially in the city of dev culture and magic. Simha is not a deity of light who the devs have a natural relationship with, but an animal deity more suited to the qui-lahk people. Simha is a lion deity to be specific. Those who protect Ayeshastra draw their power from him. This is another guard against inner corruption. The Simha guard has no other political power aside from the protection of Ayeshastra and dev devotees effectively surrender any benefit they would otherwise get from using Ismat oil. Still corruption has many forms, but Simha has proven to be a devote protector of Ayeshastra, and is unforgiving to followers who break that trust.

Type

City

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