Baragibra
Baragibra is well known as a home of sages and scholars, archivists and alchemists. Over the millennia, they have expanded the scope of the information they seek, from coveting all the knowledge of Jaati, to that of all of Libynos, to that of the entire world. Upkeep of the city tends to be a bit on the sloppy side, in part because the supervisors are more interested in their own personal research than maintenance, and also because the laborers themselves prefer to attend to projects of their own. This lack of attention extends to other mundane tasks as well; two eating houses have closed recently after patrons became severely ill, in one case because the cook tried an unsuccessful (and unwise) experiment with the food, and in the other because the cook failed to notice that the food being served was rotten.
However, the city takes fire very seriously. With so much valuable knowledge stored as paper or in other flammable forms, any out-of-control fire — even briefly — is a threat to everyone. Anyone who causes an accidental fire once is prohibited from future use of flames. The penalty for a second offense is exile. A third, should one ever occur, means death. Purposely setting an uncontrolled fire is punished by a long imprisonment; in that situation, death is the sentence for a second offense. Anyone with a treasured collection tries to get a magical fire suppressant of some type to protect their possessions in a worst-case scenario.
This fear of flames makes Baragibra’s culture somewhat different than that of other Jaati cities. Businesses such as bakeries, blacksmiths, or laundries that use fire are all located in the “Stone Circle” — a district surrounded by stone walls where all the buildings are stone or brick and even the streets are paved. No trees or other plants are grown in the area. People who need to cook usually put something together in an iron pot and then pay a small amount to have it put in the side of the bakery’s oven for the day. If one cannot afford the launderer’s fee, one can at least rent a tub of heated water for an hour and so not need one’s own fire. In another approach, some of the best inns for scholars have magical candles or stones that continually produce light or heat — one more way to avoid the risk of flames. In addition, for activities that might cause an explosion or have a strong risk of fire, a section of the ocean beach has been set aside. Small huts, constructed of stone transported for this purpose, offer experimenters a distant location as fire-resistant as possible.
The knowledgeable people of Baragibra worship many deities, but in general, a few are particularly revered by most of the population. One is Thindawl, a guardian who is the god of truth. Others are Jengpata, a noble deity who is the goddess of speech and wisdom, and the Istaflumina god Yenomesh, said to be the inventor of the written word, which is so important to the scholars of Baragibra.
The Academy of the Nine Great Wizards once stood inside the walls of Baragibra. The preeminent school of magic in the entire region, its training is restricted to those of the Great Wizard caste. It is run by a council of nine masters who hold chairs named for the academy’s founders. It was not long after its establishment before the practice of certain spells and experimentation brought the masters and their students into conflict with the archivists and collectors of Baragibra. For several hundred years now, the academy has rejoiced in the ownership of an excellent, large stone building with surrounding gravel fields and stone walkways located just over two miles outside the west gate of Baragibra.
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