Thermal Baths
... before venturing into the cool wilds, relax in a hot bath! It'll beautify and fortify!
" Water coursed over thick white shelves of porous pumice as steam enveloped bathing bodies, floating peacefully in shallow mineral pools. Aelven attendants, hair wrapped in bottan towels, drifted among the patrons, serving swiftly in silken sashes, walking upon water.
Bede cupped warm water in her palms, turning to splash her Aelven companion. Balma teased her hair of water, their laughter as swan song on the terrace of mineral shelves. Beyond the skyline lay the frozen lands, stealing Bede's attention for a moment.
An Aelven Maiden filled Bede's cup, and she drank thankfully. Blood red wine rivulets coursed from her lips, splashing against her neck and mixing with her crimson-pink hair. She tossed her head back, until the draught was empty and her cheeks flushed.
Across the vast cities and villages of early Mystomythia, settlers often built their homes near sources of warmth or water. If they were lucky, they found both. These areas formed temperate biomes with hot springs, mud pits, and warm mineral pools, creating natural oases in the frozen landscape.
Ruins of ancient Thermal Baths still dot regions where these settlers thrived, with many baths surviving thanks to meticulous maintenance. The Aelves and Mystomythiansconstructed grand, inspiring Thermal Baths, later influencing the impressive aqueducts and bathhouses of subsequent cultures.
Exploring these ancient Thermal Baths, one can imagine the laughter and relaxation that once filled these warm, steamy havens. Misty bodies bathing in slippery soap and water, waving and splashing against the cold air surrounding them, their defiant laughter resonating down frozen halls as their breath exhales and joins the communal fog. Today, they continue to serve as popular spots for both locals and adventurers seeking respite from the cold, offering a glimpse into the vibrant life of early Mystomythia.
Aelven Architecture & Customs
Aelven Bath Houses & Sacred Rituals
The Aelves, early city builders, constructed their communities in the warmest geothermal Micro-Climates of the Ice Age. Thermal Baths were common, reflecting their outward concern for appearance. Nudity was common amongst the communal islands of Magical Ice; this practice developed by observing Mystomythian customs of using Ice in their structures.
These bathhouses evolved into multi-chambered, high-rising structures with elevated levels dedicated to various societal roles. The highest chambers were for elder members and nobility, while the lowest were for more youthful Aelven families. Outsiders were permitted to use the commune Thermal Baths if they were accompanied by an Aelven attendant.
Aelven Nobles used these Thermal Baths for leisure, politics and social status. Bathing Contests attracted contestants from various social ranks, ready to apply shampoo surgeries and promote mineral lotions, while private bathing rituals were reserved for the elite, using aromatic Blood Amber.
The middle grounds were reserved for sacred rituals. Beauty Contests defined several courtship rituals, and many legends begin in the hothouses of Thermal Baths. Legends and stories surrounding the Aelven Deities are often shared in these places, where the Deities themselves have once bathed.
Public Wedding ceremonies and Divorce procedures were often handled at the Thermal Baths. This practice would later change, as the Aelven Court system developed. Still, Thermal Baths are often regarded as places for leisure and romance for the Aelves due in part to the Architecture which melds the natural terrain.
Baptisms dedicated to the Immortal Blood were held in the deepest chambers of Aelven Courts, where the Aelves were said to perform divinations and rituals dedicated to the aberrant Eidolon. Aelven Warlocks took great care to hide these dens from the upper World. Formal baptisms in service to the Aelven Pantheon may still be held.
Aelven Maiden, Aeflheim
Aelves lack natural resistances to cold. The first settlers of Aeflheim immediately built the Thermal Baths next to their palace.
Aelven Hunters bath before going on a Hunt. While Thermal Baths were communal, the Aelven Oracles maintained sacred pools for bathing rituals.
Aelven Hunters bath before going on a Hunt. While Thermal Baths were communal, the Aelven Oracles maintained sacred pools for bathing rituals.
Mystomythian
Architecture & Customs
Architecture & Customs
Magical Ice & the Mystomythians
The Mystomythians frequently used Magic Ice for its hydrophobic and temperature-regulating properties, a practice that the Aelves quickly adopted. When Magic Ice was scarce, they created their own habitats for thermal baths, known as "Laisidomi" or Ice Pits.
As migratory people, the Mystomythians left behind these Thermal Baths with rotating patrols of Guards and Wardens. Inside a Laisidomi, they generated and maintained Magical Ice, fortifying themselves against the cold. Baths within these structures are said to enhance the Myst & Myth Folk natural resistance to Cold Source. These baths were considered sacred, reserved for the most trusted Tribe members, but as long as they were guarded, sojourners could often find respite.
Laisidomi, Exterior
As migratory people, the Mystomythians left behind these Thermal Baths with rotating patrols of Guards and Wardens. Inside a Laisidomi, they generated and maintained Magical Ice, fortifying themselves against the cold. Baths within these structures are said to enhance the Myst & Myth Folk natural resistance to Cold Source. These baths were considered sacred, reserved for the most trusted Tribe members, but as long as they were guarded, sojourners could often find respite.
Within a Laisidomi, a vault of Ice kept the environment at a comfortable temperature. Condensation of Magical Ice exposed to warm geothermal sources creates Myst, a property of Magical Ice bonded to water in the atmosphere, to create a cycle of constant Ice generation. Columns of Magical Ice were broken down and reformed in a matter of Time. Guards ensured the sanctum and purity of Magical Ice, and laborers hauled it away in Bede Sleds as carved bricks or cubes.
Constructed from a special clay mixture of mud, Bottan-Wood fibers, seed husks, and Folk hairs, Mystomythian Thermal Baths were designed to withstand freezing temperatures and avalanches. Their ancient city baths, featured saunas, spas, and communal mineral pools that blended natural and Mortal-made structures. Stoneshapers, skilled in Earth magic, were crucial to these engineering feats.
Many locations became holy sources for Mystomythians, as Unagi of the Mysts was said to rise from a misty crater basin, while Vavaya of the Myths learned the secret of Pottery, Mythic Pots & Urns, at the banks of a great geothermal hotsprings. Sacred divining pools are well-kept structures, open to the public, especially during communes with the Deities. Day and night rituals are often reserved for members of specific roles in Mystomythian societies.
Constructed from a special clay mixture of mud, Bottan-Wood fibers, seed husks, and Folk hairs, Mystomythian Thermal Baths were designed to withstand freezing temperatures and avalanches. Their ancient city baths, featured saunas, spas, and communal mineral pools that blended natural and Mortal-made structures. Stoneshapers, skilled in Earth magic, were crucial to these engineering feats.
Many locations became holy sources for Mystomythians, as Unagi of the Mysts was said to rise from a misty crater basin, while Vavaya of the Myths learned the secret of Pottery, Mythic Pots & Urns, at the banks of a great geothermal hotsprings. Sacred divining pools are well-kept structures, open to the public, especially during communes with the Deities. Day and night rituals are often reserved for members of specific roles in Mystomythian societies.
Myst Folk favored placing their Thermal Baths near Fjords, caverns of Magical Ice, or near geothermal salt-marshes, where they could farm T-Bottan. Mariners would perform baths in Magical Ice to fortify their skin against the Cold before sailing into the open sea.
Myth Folk preferred warmer regions with regular geothermal activity, volcanic mounds, or mud pits. Oracles of the Folk Pantheon would exfoliate their skin in sinter springs and mineral pools. Many owe the glow of their flushed skin to the waters of hotsprings and geothermal lakes.
Mystomythians
Sky Pillar Hot Springs
The Water is Fine!
Mythic Maidens
Construction
All Thermal Baths have a similar construction, but vary by Culture.
Foundation
The site is excavated to create pools and canals, often using Magic to shape the land. A foundation is laid near hotsprings or geysers.
Copper piping is installed to control water temperature. Filters are employed to remove detritus.
Copper piping is installed to control water temperature. Filters are employed to remove detritus.
Structure
Canals lead to pools. Depending on the surrounding landscape, the Thermal Baths can be built on varying elevations, creating beautiful fountains or waterfalls cascading into mineral pools.
Extra rooms include massage parlors, hot saunas, islands for communal gathering, private chambers, and supply rooms for storing precious minerals.
Extra rooms include massage parlors, hot saunas, islands for communal gathering, private chambers, and supply rooms for storing precious minerals.
Operations
Attendants of the springs maintain the Thermal Baths by keeping them clean, and protecting the mineral supplies that give the springs their healing properties.
Each Thermal Bath differs in its' specific needs. Hygiene and sanitation, mineral balance, and water management are all important tasks. Hosts receive payment from patrons for service, redistributing their wealth into wages to the attendants.
Each Thermal Bath differs in its' specific needs. Hygiene and sanitation, mineral balance, and water management are all important tasks. Hosts receive payment from patrons for service, redistributing their wealth into wages to the attendants.
A beautiful description of a luxurious atmosphere. Consider introducing a history and cultural context earlier, to set the stage before diving into greater sensory details of the baths.
Cool deal! I've reread this a few times, thinking it was lacking- something! I think you're right though! It would benefit more from a little more Historical context! As soon as we can edit, I'll put in some work on that! Thank you for the excellent feedback!