Dinurb O Lusgafn

The Holy City, a beautiful sight to behold,
of glorious history and legends told.
The Cathedral's white walls and golden roof,
makes faith stronger, a certain proof.
Standing tall on a hill,
It seems as though the Glux stands still.
The City of Light, Lusgafn truly is
A blessing upon us and a holy bliss.
Nothing can compare to the feel of wonder,
the further into the city, you wander.

The Diundad O Lusgafn is considered the holiest city in Western Agia. It contains the oldest church building in Agia, the Cathedral of Light.
The city’s and cathedral’s founding is described in the Book of Irath and is also mentioned in the Scroll of Rathias. Lusgafn is the most important city for the Church of Irath, since the city is its seat of power.

Districts

Inner Districts

There are two districts inside the inner wall and six at the outer. The cathedral, Yppwenlas' palace, and other important church buildings are in the inner districts. Only clergy members are allowed in most of the buildings unless a permit has been given. The cathedral is in theory open to all, but strict hygienic rules have been implemented so the holy ground is not touched by any filth.

The second inner district is a mixture of residential areas and commerce. Even some artisans and workers have their workshops there, although it is mainly those with wealth or those who work for the church that can afford such luxuries. The inner districts are quite expensive, and only those with immense wealth, influence, or power can afford a house or a store. One reason is the expensive maintenance to keep the building’s colours intact, otherwise, a heavy fine would be placed upon them.

These two districts are under the direct rule of the Yppwenlas and Alchus Primun, the college of certain Gwyliant and Prensaegwyliant.

Outer Districts

The six districts attempted to maintain a mono-culture image but failed because of the significant difference between the wealthy and poor districts. This caused varying stores and workshops with different qualities and prices to appear. Despite no longer being mono-cultured, the districts have still kept their names.

Market Quarters is the district close to the inner walls and westward. It still has the most variety of shops and items to purchase. Some are church-sanctioned items, such as Virda Glux.

The residents live mostly in stone, brick, or half-timber houses. They try to keep up with a white facade to mimic the inner districts. The residents closest to the outer wall are the poorest, and also those who suffer the most under the high prices in this district. Some have left their original homes to settle outside the wall near the western gate, at many merchants’ displeasure.

The western gate is one of two main gates leading directly to the inner districts. And the main streets of this district have just as nice buildings as those closer to the inner wall, in order to keep up the appearances for tourists and pilgrimages.

The Artisans Quaters is placed north of the inner walls and has many craftsmen and artisans who try to make a living. Though they have become more spread out throughout the city, the competition is high among the artisans. Some are frauds, selling unauthorised and fake church paintings and other church-related art since most tourists want to have something related to the church when visiting Lusgafn. Though the frauds and fakes tend to stay in other districts, that are poorer and less visible from the eyes of the guards.

Merchants have taken an interest in artisans, earning a lot of money on collecting art, and over time the Merchant and Artisan Quarters have merged, though not officially.

Labour Quarters is probably the district with most poor people. It is located north-west of the inner wall, and has a mismatch of buildings, though poorly quality and poorly built houses seem to take the lead.

Some of its residents work as labourers or fishers, while others live as beggars or even thieves. There is even a brothel in the vicinity, though often referred to as a “societal club” to avoid suspicion. The guards turn a blind eye to this district, especially to the brothel, which is illegal in this city, yet somehow thrives. Perhaps the Church military supports such frivolous activities to ease their stress. In either case, this is the worst place for a tourist or a pilgrim to walk around.

While there are labourers in other parts of the city, those who cannot afford better accommodation lives here. Some of the previously mentioned artisan frauds also hail from this place and try selling their art in other districts whenever they can avoid the guards.

The Barrack Quarters is, as the name suggests, the place where the Church military and the guards of the city stay. The district has been placed east, seemingly fearing an invasion from the east, where the lake and harbour are situated.

The soldiers and guards in the barrack have several important tasks to perform. Some are to keep pilgrimage and tourists safe, and ignorant of the problems within the city. Others protect the assets of the city. They keep watch on the Siwels establishment, which is also located here, though this task is not known to the public. The reason for their interest in Siwels, which is seemingly another monastic order, is unknown, but it is a secret kept by the Church of Irath. This district is probably the only district that has not merged with other districts and still keeps its strict form.

The Riverside is one of two fishing districts in Lusgafn. It is located southeast of the inner wall. Those living close to the river tend to have better housing, though also more noisy from the taverns and inns.

The fishermen are not wealthy, and the fishmongers are never fair to the fishermen. The fishermen cannot find time to both sell their fish and clams and sell their fish at the market so they can only rely on the fishmongers, and the reselling happens at more than double the price a fisherman would have taken for the same fish or clam.

Only a handful of fishermen know their worth and with luck, the clams can provide a pearl which can feed a fisherman’s family for months. The common phrase “you found the thousandth clam” is a common saying in Lusgafn, meaning it takes about a thousand clams to find that one perfect pearl that will provide the family for a long time. Still, despite the low odds, the fishermen still try their clam luck. And the meat can still be sold to the fishmongers.

Closest to the outer wall are farmers and fellers. And why are fellers in the south of the city, when the forest is north, to which I have no explanation but one: housing prices. The lowest paid profession in Western Agia is that of a feller, and the most hated because of their history with the Taroths.

Fishing Quarters is southwest of the inner wall and very similar to Riverside. This district sells most of the pearls from clams because it is near the Market Quarters where tourists and jewellery makers can find them. Even the church sometimes buys pearls from this district. Riverside and Fishing Quarters have merged, and it is hard to tell one from the other unless you are part of the city council.

It should be mentioned that all districts have at least one church, and no building is allowed to be higher than that of a district church. Despite all churches have been made from the best materials such as bricks or stones, the churches in the poorer district are less well maintained because of the fear of wicked people rumoured to live there. Nothing of value is in these churches to avoid any type of theft or the commitment of sins.

Maps

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  Placeholder map for Lusgafn

Founding Date

1297 BGD

Founders

• Irath
• Lainel

Type

City

Population

~6500

Inhabitant Demonym

Lusgavens

Location under

Aistana

Owner/Ruler

Althinias III

Ruling/Owning Rank

Yppwenlas

Owning Organization

The Church of Irath

Related Traditions

• Aistanian Coronation Ceremony
• Election of a King in Aistana
• Irathian Funeral Pyres

Vehicles Present

• Yppwenlas Cerraed and Chariots in General

Related Historical Events

• 1455 BGD
  The Church of Irath

Assets

Lusgafn has many treasures and assets that can bring even the richest king to shame. It holds many collections, both art and religious relics, as well as an extensive library, all in the inner districts.

The cathedral is considered an architectural marvel and said to represent a never-setting Glux. The cathedral and the Yppwenlas' palace hold many decorations and stunning artworks such as paintings, sculptures, and tapestries. The religious relics, such as Lasfyddian figures or Hailan , are believed to still hold miracles and provide the power of faith. Some other very important relics are the dress of Irath, made of sea silk, the Footprint of Irath, the Golden Book of Irath, and the Sword of Leiran. Other relics have, through decades, been taken away from Lusgafn to be placed in the new holy city in Estain under an Estainian Yppwenlas named Yania. It has now created a struggle within the church, and no one truly knows if Lusgafn gets its treasures back from Estain.

It is up to the College of Primun Alchus to determine the amount amount of ashes or bones that should be given to churches that are to be built. It is vital for a new church that its mortar is being mixed with a Hailan physical item, such as ash or hair or bone, to make it holy.

The library has many old and valuable manuscripts, some of which are prohibited or risky for the public. But the library also keeps the inner districts as a center of knowledge and scholarship, within the limits of the Church. The University of Lusgafn is the largest in all of Aistana, perhaps in all of Agia, though it has gotten a strong competitor in Estain.

Lusgafn also has a treasury inside the inner wall, which contains the wealth of both the Church of Irath and the city itself. Some say it is unfair they are combined, but one has to remember that the church owns the city, not the other way around. Inside the treasury, there are precious metals, gemstones, and jewellery. Gold and silver items used for religious ceremonies such as elaborate altar decorations, and even some embroideries made by a church embroider can be found here as well.

History

Lainel walked around for a bit and found a stone where a footprint was. The surface of the stone was glowing brightly golden, so none doubted that this was Irath’s footprint. He told his people to build the settlement here, which they did. The settlement took shape, but a holy church and other buildings needed to be built as well.

— Book of Irath, The Holy City

The Book of Irath clearly states that the city and its cathedral were built by Lainel when he found Irath’s first footprint on Agia. First, it only had one wall, but it became harder to build buildings inside the wall and thus began the inhabitants to build outside the wall. As the city grew, so did the demand for more protection, and the church sanctioned another defensive wall that had to be built.

The church also expanded through the centuries, slowly pushing out other residents from the inner wall districts, until the clergy and the wealthy inhabitants were the only ones left who could afford to live there.

Architecture

Within the Inner Wall

The architecture inside the inner wall is far more notable than outside. There is a law stating no buildings can have any other colours than white, yellow, and gold. The cathedral in the middle is the most notable building in all of Lusgafn, where the roof tiles are made of fire-gilt copper tiles. Thousand upon thousand tiles have been used to make the roof and might be one of the most expensive roofs in all of Agia.
Aside from the golden roof, the cathedral is primarily made from sandstone, and only the whitest have been selected to be used. The mortar is said to contain a few strains of Irath's hair to maintain its holy status.

The other buildings surrounding the cathedral try to mimic the colours. The roof tiles proved to be the most difficult to replicate. Some of the wealthiest buildings have ceramic tiles, while others use painted clay tiles to make them more yellow.

Within the Outer Wall

The architecture outside the inner wall is more random. There are buildings made of wood, stones and bricks. Although the further away from the inner wall, the poorer the architecture seems to be.

Geography

Lusgafn is built on a hill, with its cathedral on top of it. It is not part of the Flooded Scarsbut still has traces of the flooding that once surrounded it. How the river kept the city from being flooded is still a miracle, but then again, it was Irath who caused the flood, and said to spare the city from destruction.

The river that runs through the city only does so in three outer wall districts. The inner wall districts have a tiny lake placed in front of the cathedral where a small stream runs into the river.

The area was once surrounded by forest, but deforestation became severe because of the constant need for wood for construction, fires, and funeral pyres. People are still scared to go into the forest because of a massacre that once happened to the Taroths. It is now called the Red Forest because of the blood that came out.

Just outside the city, there is a major lake with a river meeting the sea. The lake has a harbour to travel faster to Lusgafn from the sea.

Natural Ressources

The river provides trout and clams. Clams are extremely valuable both for their meat and for their pearls, both inside Lusgafn and in the rest of Western Agia. The pearls are said to have a faint glow of yellow while still maintaining their whiteness, and the rounder they are, the rarer and more expensive they become.

The lake contains far smaller fish, notable for their delicacy, although few can afford it because of the size of the lake and the risk of overfishing. Besides, it is only the wealthy merchants inside the inner wall who can afford to sponsor fishermen fishing for them because of restrictions from the church. Of course, the larger lake outside Lusgafn also provides fish that is exported to other places in Western Agia.

While the forest is on the decline, it still produces wood like chestnut, hornbeam, oak, ash, pine, and poplar. Most of which are used for the funeral pyre. The ash and oak are in particular of higher quality for pyre builders, making them a more expensive tier within the Undertaker Guild.

Lusgafn has access to different stones such as sandstone, chalk, alabaster, sapphires, amethysts, and garnets. Of ores, it has access to lead, iron, copper, and tin. Despite there have been reports of other stones, they are far rarer and therefore not mentioned.

Of all the crops and plants Lusgafn produces, the most notable are rye, wheat, barley, and oats. Spinach, cabbage, and brussel sprout are also fairly large produce. Strawberries are also produced, but considered a delicacy enjoyed in summer, and therefore not a primary source of food.

Lusgafn’s primary livestock is sheep and cattle. The poorest districts seem to have chickens as well, as a small way to gain little money on eggs and meat. Though often those families who can afford their own chickens tend to keep them for themselves.