Din'Lux: The City of Light

Din'Lux, the great City of Light, the last remaining stronghold in Atios. While most of the world has been transformed by a mysterious storm known as the Darkness, Din'Lux still stands, protected by its kinfire lighthouse. It is a beacon in the night, a symbol of hope to all who have survived.

Within this walled city, many have taken refuge: elves, dwarves, orcs, humans, and revenants. Despite their united struggle to survive, conflict still divides them. A century-long war has ended (see The Great War). The fighting is over, but the resentment and bitterness is too deeply rooted to disappear overnight. Resources are scarce and the world is a new, dangerous place.

Kinfire, a magical flame, is the only force known to hold the Darkness at bay. The Great Lighthouse contains the last pure kinfire known to still burn. It is all they have left. The secrets of kinfire creation have long been forgotten. All that remains are cryptic texts accessible only to religious leaders.

Despite this, hope remains. The hope of survival and of unity. The hope that Din'Lux will hold together. The hope that they will somehow outlast the storm.

Architecture

The city of Din'Lux was originally established thousands of years ago by a community of elves. Their sensitivity to sunlight led them to dig homes and tunnels deep into the cliffside along the shores of the Great Sea. A small collective of elves skilled in earth magic worked together to carve out a massive complex of underground passageways that are still to this day structurally stable and secure. Sadly, much of the knowledge held by this collective was lost when the majority of their members disappeared in a sudden avalanche while exploring neighboring cliffs in the hopes of expanding the growing city.

In the centuries that followed, Din'Lux continued its expansion above-ground, where they established common city areas and government buildings. Eventually, the cliffs of Din'Lux became divided into three distinct boroughs: the Coping, the Nests, and the Stumps (see The Boroughs of Din'Lux). When the Darkness returned, a fourth borough, the Horseshoe, was added in order to house the many refugees.

The boroughs of the city can also be seen as a division of the population by income and class. The highest points are almost exclusively populated by the wealthiest and most powerful of residents, while the lowest areas, near the stench of the Great Sea, are reserved for the poorest and most destitute. In the Tumbles, the most impoverished neighborhood, houses have a temporary appearance. Many are mere shacks built of reclaimed wood planks and logs, while others could be charitably referred to as tents. The homes are cramped together with no discernible sense of organization, with narrow winding paths that lead many astray.

In the Nests and the Coping, where the wealthy reside, the buildings have a distinctively elven style. Much of the architecture here was designed to honor the goddess Ziva in thanks for the gift of kinfire. Roofs swoop upward towards the heavens and many of the shapes resemble that of flames. Most of the buildings in these areas also boast roofs crafted from the extremely rare clay known as azurite, noted for its rich blue color and also its religious significance.

Azurite

There is a holy place in the shadow of a mountain not far from the town of Olander. Here, there is a large crater in the earth with high ridges and a deep, blue basin. This is believed to be the very place that Ziva stood when she gifted the world with kinfire. Within this crater is a vast deposit of clay that is so rich and blue in color that it was assumed to have been left behind by Ziva herself. It was said that the power of her presence was so great that even the ground was transformed by the touch of her feet.

Since its discovery, this brilliant blue clay, labeled "azurite" by scholars, has been carefully guarded by priests from the Temple. The clay has been collected and sold in small amounts, with the profits going to the church. Over the course of many generations, the roofs of the Coping have transformed into a shimmering sea of azurite tiles. The blue roofs have become not only a sign of wealth, but also a physical representation of Ziva’s blessing.

Once azurite became a prized material among all the city-states of the Luminated Alliance, the City Council of Din'Lux ordered that every rooftop along the central staircase leading up through the Nests and the Coping be tiled in azurite. This was out of a desire to appear wealthy and blessed by Ziva to all of the visiting emissaries and ambassadors.

Religious Imagery

In elven architecture, the design of a structure is not merely utilitarian. It is also a sign of worship and holy reverence. Swooping shapes, azurite tiles, and sacred imagery are both meant to attract the blessings of the goddess and serve as a sign of devoutness and dedication to the Temple.

The mothling, a winged creature attracted to the magical glow of kinfire, has become a symbol of Ziva's gift to Atios. As the mothlings swarm to the flame for protection, so do the people of Din'Lux. Mothlings are also believed by some to have a direct connection to Ziva. When multiple mothlings swarm together, it is seen as a sign of an oncoming Starless Night. For followers of Ziva, this is proof of their sacred importance. For others, however, mothlings are a harbinger of Darkness and a sign of bad luck that should be avoided as much as possible.

The most obvious religious imagery can be found carved into the Great Lighthouse and the Temple of Ziva. Upon the lighthouse is the dramatic story of kinfire, gifted to Atios by Ziva in order to defeat the Darkness. Before its most recent return, many believed this Darkness to simply be symbolic of the world's greed and selfishness. But is is now widely accepted and understood that the Darkness that Ziva defeated three thousand years ago is the same as the Starless Nights that have come to Atios once again.

The walls of the Temple of Ziva illustrate a much older story: the creation of Atios. To the right of the entrance, one is greeted with a startling first image: Ziva's twin children murdering each other out of jealousy and spite. Along the side walls of the structure run the carved rivers of tears that Ziva cried in her grief. On the back walls of the Temple, Ziva can be seen joining the broken bodies of her children into a mass of clay, which she then molded and shaped into Atios. With her fiery breath, she hardened the clay into a ball of rock and wrapped it with her rivers of tears. In the last image, to the left of the Temple doors, Ziva can be seen unstopping the bottle in which she had captured her children's last breaths. By releasing this breath onto Atios, she ignited the very first spark of life.

Population

Over the millennia, the population of Din'Lux has fluctuated. When the Darkness struck three millennia ago, this part of Atios was almost exclusively populated by elves with a small portion of humans. Once kinfire came to be and was spread to neighboring lands, Din'Lux became somewhat diverse, still with a large majority of elves, but also sizable groups of humans and orcs. Once the Temple of Ziva began to take hold and the theocracy gained power, however, Din'Lux became far less welcoming to outsiders. Those who didn't worship Ziva and honor kinfire as a holy gift had a difficult time finding a place in the city.

During the decades of the Great War, Din'Lux relied heavily on mercenary forces from farming communities, the Berian Empire, and other neighboring lands. This once again increased the diversity of the city's residents.

Once the Starless Nights returned, the mostly-dwarven armies of Dwar Fell became integrated into the city's population, along with a new influx of human and orcish refugees. While elves still make up the majority, Din'Lux is now a melting pot of many peoples and cultures.

Religion in Din'Lux

Before the return of the Darkness, the majority of Din'Lux residents were followers of the Temple of Ziva. As a member of the Luminated Alliance, Din'Lux was a theocracy, governed by a religious leader known as the Hierophant. The city, in a sense, was controlled by the church of the Temple of Ziva. The laws, government, and social structure were all formed around the religious decrees of the church.

After the Darkness returned, Din'Lux became a melting pot of different peoples, all joined together in the simple hope of survival. In addition to this sudden diversity, the city's leadership changed when Vath of the Tuskrippers succeeded in ousting the Hierophant as leader of Din'Lux and head of the City Council.

The Temple of Ziva was no longer in charge of the city. As a result, a number of other religions began to flourish. Most popular in the Stumps (the poorest borough of Din'Lux) was the Great Pantheon, a religion that honored a collection of gods and goddesses (including Ziva). Flame Keepers and Temple priests have organized a campaign to dissuade these other religions from taking hold, though their efforts have mostly been in vain.

The Alliance

Before the return of the Starless Nights, Din'Lux was just one city-state among many. Together, they were known as the Luminated Alliance, a coalition formed to protect the sanctity of kinfire, which they believed to be a holy gift from the goddess Ziva. United in their religious beliefs, the alliance declared war on the people of Dwar Fell, who refused to end their desecration of kinfire through manipulation and experimentation.

Out of the alliance, Din'Lux was the city-state with the greatest defenses. In fact, it was said that the walls and fortifications of the city would never fail. And indeed, Din'Lux became one of the last standing cities of the alliance during the final days of the Great War. One-by-one, the rest of the city-states, along with their kinfire lighthouses, fell. When the Darkness returned, only the Great Lighthouse of Din'Lux still burned.

The Return of the Darkness

When the Starless Nights returned, the Great Lighthouse was the last flame of pure kinfire still burning. The world shifted in a matter of moments. The desire for survival united opposing sides. A war that had raged for nearly a century suddenly fell by the wayside. Din'Lux became a refuge for all against the Starless Nights. Hierophant Selen, the leader of Din'Lux, agreed to a hasty peace treaty and opened the gates to their enemies.

Outside the reach of the Great Lighthouse, the Darkness changed everything. The world was a new strange place full of unexpected dangers and few were brave enough to venture into it. But life within the city walls had changed as well. A surge of magical energy brought sorcery to the fingertips of anyone disciplined enough to learn it. A coup in the days after the first Starless Night transferred leadership of the city to Vath of the Tuskrippers. In the wake of the coup and with her power and life under threat, the Hierophant reluctantly agreed to allow kinfire to be manipulated and experimented on in the hopes of increasing the city's defenses against the Starless Nights. The city transformed from the iconic and wealthy centerpiece of the Luminated Alliance to the sole-surviving settlement in a new and dangerous world.

Politics

Before the return of the Darkness, the Hierophant was in charge of running the Temple of Ziva as well as governing the city-state of Din'Lux. Although the position of Hierophant is most often taken by a woman, others have been honored with the role throughout the years. The Hierophant is selected by the goddess Ziva who communicates her chosen leader to the current Hierophant. If a Hierophant dies before announcing the successor, the head Flame Keeper proclaims the choice instead.

During the Great War, the Hierophant's responsibilities grew more complicated. For this reason, a small City Council was established to aid in decision-making and to delegate tasks and oversight. Members of this council were traditionally highly-respected residents of the city, often wealthy benefactors or highly-ranked Flame Keepers. Neither the position of Hierophant nor any seat on the council has ever been held by a non-elf. Until, that is, the return of the Darkness, when everything changed.

Many months before the Starless Nights returned, a fleet of ships arrived in the port of Din'Lux. These ships belonged to the Moonsickle Company, an organized and tightly-knit group of mostly orcish smugglers. The orcs among their crew claimed to have sensed something coming, some kind of storm, and they were here in Din'Lux seeking refuge. The Hierophant did not publicly give credence to these claims of a powerful storm, but she granted refuge to the company before disappearing for several weeks. It was said that during that time, she locked herself in the inner sanctum of the Temple with the sacred texts that had been handed down from Hierophant to Hierophant.

The orcs of the Moonsickle Company urged the city leaders to prepare, to gather food stores, to shore up defenses, and to warn other cities. But the council refused, claiming that there was no cause for panic. When the Darkness did finally strike, the city was not ready. Everything turned to chaos. Refugees poured into the city walls, resources were stretched thin, and panic was spreading. Vath of the Tuskrippers decided to take a stand, first winning the leadership of the Moonsickle Company, and then orchestrating a coup in order to take control of Din'Lux. He held no trust in the elven leaders of the city and knew that the welfare of his people would only be secure if he was in charge. (See The Coup.)

After a violent coup, Vath stripped the Hierophant of her role as leader of the city and dissolved the current council. In its place, he established himself as leader and elected council members that represented the new diverse population of Din'Lux (see City Council). In order to avoid retaliation from the original (and mostly elven) residents of the city, Vath granted the Hierophant a place on the council and allowed her to retain her position as head of the Temple of Ziva. While a few violent outbursts occurred in response to the coup, eventually the city stabilized and began a new era.

History

See History of Din'Lux.

Commerce & Trade

See Commerce and Trade.

Maps

The City of Din'Lux
The walled city of Din'Lux, the last refuge in Atios.
The Districts of Din'Lux
The four boroughs of Din'Lux—the Coping, the Nests, the Stumps, and the Horseshoe.

Current Leader
Vath of the Tuskrippers

Other Leaders
Hierophant Selen

Ruling Organizations
City Council

Other Organizations
Seekers' Guild
Scholars' Circle
Flame Keepers
City Guard

Din'Lux: The City of Light