Location [Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

[Phobius]

89th of Spring, 514 AV Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop. Araphos' hooves pounded rhythmically on the ground as he trotted. The Zavian had long since been slowed to a casual stroll once the last few hills had been cleared, and now that the terrain was calmer he could relax himself a little. Sitting comfortably on the horse's back, Phobius smiled and leaned forward to give the creature a pat on the neck. "Good horsie. Y'see, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He murmured. The horse merely snorted in response. All in all, he was right. The journey from home to this point hadn't been as bad as he'd been expecting it to be. Sure, the length was a general issue, and he'd been plagued by waves of homesickness every once in a while, but he'd been enjoying the exploration. It was nice to get out and roam the land, and it was nice to snuggle up in a tent in the middle of the woodlands with nothing but the sounds of insects and creeping critters to lull one to sleep. The rations he'd picked at weren't the best, but there were always berries or other little morsels lying around wherever he went. And Phobius had been adamant about keeping his horse friend well-fed and happy. Now it seemed that they were nearing the end of their travels. As soon as the massive wall of stone came into view, Araphos slowed to a halt with a quiet, distressed whinny. Phobius frowned, but soon saw what it was that had bothered the horse once he'd slid off of his saddle and looked ahead. In the center of the wall of stone sat a face, massive and surprisingly life-like. The young man stared up at it in awe. Could it see him? Could it...could it smell him? Could it even breathe? Curious, Phobius quieted his own breaths to listen for signs of life, but all was still, save for the upset Araphos at his side. Phobius went over to the horse and began to stroke his mane, uttering soothing words as he calmed him down. "It's okay, Ar-Ar. There's no bad stuff, here. Just a big friendly face in a big friendly wall..." That was when the "big friendly face" spoke, its rumbling voice seeming to come from deep within the rocks, themselves. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Araphos took a few steps back, spooked, but Phobius stayed put, his attention turned back to the face. It wanted to know why he was here? ...Hmm. That was funny. So did he, really. He wasn't sure. But it'd be rude not to answer the face, so he raised his voice and decided to be as truthful as he could be. "Ummm...well, I'm not really running away from home. I mean, it isn't the best of places, and I don't have many friends there...but I wanna find some here. ...Yeah! That's it!" The realization hit him, just then, and a big smile broke out on his face. It was a perfectly good reason, and an even better goal. "I came to make friends. And maybe find other important things to do, too." Silence. The Face didn't seem to know how to respond. Phobius stood and waited, one hand buried in Araphos' mane while the other held tightly onto his woolen scarf. The weather here was warm, and he'd begun to feel a bit hot, but that was alright. A moment later, the massive face's massive mouth opened up, and both the young man and his horse jumped in surprise. Were they going to get eaten...? 'No, no. That's silly. I bet this is an uhh...a...a door. Probably. A big ol' door.' To be honest, he hadn't convinced himself, but curiosity was nudging him towards the gaping hole. With a firm grip on Araphos, Phobius headed through the entryway, all the while taking his time. Then the massive mouth clamped shut behind them, and Phobius couldn't help but feel as though he'd just been swallowed up.

[Edgar]

The clouds are blocking the moon tonight. The wind is mild. Tonight is a perfect flying night.

Edgar had been camping out at the edge of the mountain range for the past three days, hunting and gathering enough food to last him and Truffles about a week. More importantly, he had been watching the city. There's no point in taking chances when your destination is known as the city of illusions and trickery.

Edgar quickly gathers his supplies up into his bag and covers the embers he used for cooking with dirt. Edgar slings his bag onto his back and gives the area on last scan, listening for any sounds that would indicate anyone was around. Some bugs chirping... couple of moles digging... Truffle's farting... nothing out of the ordinary.

Edgar walks over to Truffles and gives her a soft scratch behind her ear as he grabs her reigns. Okay girl, right this way Edgar leads the small mountain pony into a cave hidden by some brush and gives her a couple of apples. I'll be back soon, you behave yourself.

Assured that no one was around, Edgar grabs his cane before turning toward the city and breaking into a run. Straight off a cliff. As his feet leave the ground Edgar spreads out his large leathery wings. From this height and distance Edgar doesn't even need to flap his wings, he simple lets the wind fill them as he glides down to the city gates.

Edgar lands with a soft thud in front of the city's gates, or rather, in front of the city's face. Though the face was clearly made of stone it still had an animate quality to it, seeming to breath and follow you with its large stone eyes. Yeah, that's not creepy at all... Edgar mutters to himself as he steeps up to the maw, slowly turning his cane absentmindedly in his right hand.

You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here? the voice booms out from the face, much to Edgar's dismay.

You don't have to be so loud, I'm standing right here! Edgar replies as he covers his ears, I'm here to find a job, that's all. Edgar realizes that he dropped his cane while trying to spare his ears and picks it back up off of the ground and dusts it off against the side of his pant legs. Edgar looks up at the face for a while and, after deciding that it would not respond or eat him, headed inside.

What was that that father used to say? Right into the belly of the beast?

[Nanami]

The docks, with its overwhelming smell of salt and warm fish, would not be missed. Nothing about the sea was fresh and clean, no matter what the spotty Svefra captain said. On the tossing waves for the better part of a season, Nanami fought cabin fever, seasickness, and the sea itself, which filled the air with a smell that screamed poison to her sensitive nose. The sea, she decided, is the worst way to travel: one step below rolling to your destination in a barrel full of cats.
 
The Kelvic tottered off of the gangplank with her focus on the huge stone gate that marked (she assumed) the city of Alvadas. But before she could even get near enough to smell the dirt she had missed so dearly, a hand descended claw-like on her upper arm. Nanami whirld around with her teeth drawn back for cursing or bloodletting, but before she can make up her mind as to which, she comes face to face with the young Svefra captain that ferried her and a few others from Kalea to Alvadas.  
 
"Wavecatcher, darling, you'll be missed, truly", she lies mildly. "But lets not waste daylight with sappy goodbyes, or I might throw up on your shoes. Let me go." 
 
"Hold on darling", the skinny man laughed with a good-natured rattle. "I don't do this for free, and you have yet to pay me." Correctly interpreting the look of outrage on her face, the man smiles and winks in a way that he must have thought was smooth. "The first one was just for the travel. There is a docking fee too, lass. Don't be so shocked- its perfectly justified! You paid to get on, now you pay two gold or you don't get off."
 
He flipped his silvery blonde hair out of his eyes and held his unoccupied hand under her chin in a demanding way, though the laugh never left his eyes. Gangly pubescent snot that he was.
 
Arguing with leeches seemed rather redundant, her dog mind reflected. There are much speedier ways to resolve disputes. And so with lightning dexterity the Kelvic snapped her teeth down on the offered hand like a inconveniently placed bear trap.
 
The Svefra gave a very satisfying squeak and snatched his hand out of her mouth, tailing a rope of saliva and a snarl. His hand was too calloused, and her human teeth too dull, to actually draw blood, but she'd left a crescent of swelling red dents. The man looked shocked and a step away from retaliation, his jolly-heartbreaker look clouding over as she watched. She'd neglected to tell the crew that she's not human.
 
He pulled his hand up to strike her and she smiled darkly at him, hoisting her rucksack a little higher on her back. This in itself was enough to give him pause as a thin, solid line of black showed between her pink lips and white teeth. She licked her teeth very obviously then, as if putting on a show; and the healthy pink of the muscle was spotted with ugly black marks. Then she shakes off his hand and pushes past him without a word, leaving him franticly whipping his hand on his colourful shirt to rid himself of whatever disease she might've had.
 
Her relief from getting off the sea had quickly turned to a towering temper thanks to the pirate-in-training. She had half a mind to go back and see if his good looks can be improved by beating him with his own coin purse. She runs various scenarios in her head, each one getting more and more over the top and comical. And she was so absorbed in an image where she is holding the crying kid down and giving him burning noogies until he developed a bald spot in his beautiful hair, that she didn't realize the gate was there until she was almost under it. A melodic voice, neither male nor female, spoke clearly from the stone:
 
"You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”
 
There is a soft, deflating sound as Nanami's heart evacuates her throat.
 
Up close the face was surprisingly human. It stared out of stone eyes that carried of spark of something alive. It expected an answer.
 
What was her reason for being here? Her reason is dead. She didn't even let the caravan bury her son, unable to stomach the thought of her baby rotting under a suffocating layer of dirt and snow. This whole quest was to get him to a place where he could be healthy and free, but he didn't make it. Now she was trapped in a place she doesn't belong a thousand miles from home, because she knows she would never survive the trip back. Not as she is, anyway.
 
Standing stubbornly in front of the immovable face, she gives it the only answer she can.
 
"I dont know."
 
The gate silently lets her pass.

[Summer Dole]

Fall of 514AV, 7th

The docks were loud and rowdy. They smelled sweetly of uncooked fish and sweat, and overwhelmed by the crowds of people. It appeared smaller than the boat to Summer, and she wouldn’t miss either of them. She’d had enough water, soup, and ‘friendly company’ to last three lives…although, she thought she might miss the soft rocking of the boat. It was comparable with her fathers flying. Throughout the voyage Summer had closed her eyes and breathed in the echo of her fathers scent. A spray of water to her eyes had tore away the image then, as it did at that moment.

Summer wiped it away and escaped the boat the like a drunk going up stairs. She didn’t look back and there were no goodbyes to hinder her. She looked straight ahead to her, literal, new start. With its high walls it struck her as Syliras. Except for the face. The face was different. New. Kindly. Made of stone but with eyes that screamed humanity that it couldn’t pull it off. Just like Summer. And it sounded like a rock would sound. If rocks talked and if Summer had bothered to imagine them talking. But she hadn’t, and it stopped her in her tracks. She only understood that the words meant something after she reclaimed motor skills.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”

For one reason or another the question bothered Summer. She pressed her lips together so hard there were freckles of blood coating them when she answered brusquely, “To live.”

While Summer contemplated why she answered, the stone had broke their staring contest. It gave her pause, enough to be curious then damn the curiosity because the stone housed an entire city in its mouth. In that moment she regretted every decision that brought her to a talking rock. Then she breathed, slouched in, and speculated about how she’d taste to a rock.

[Ila]

Winter 1st, 514AV Ila grinned slightly as she returned from her short scavenger hunt, empty handed yet again. She didn't exactly care though. She'd managed to make up plenty more stories to tell people in the streets, in the hope of earning a few extra coins. Just getting out of Alvadas and closer to the Suvan sea was enough for her. She could care less for any scraps she may have found. More money came from her stories. Sighing slightly, she skipped through the gaping maw and grabbed her house key, hoping that it would lead her to her house, like it always had done

[Lu Gavima]

20th of Summer, AV 515

The simple click of the steel staff tapped against the stone, echoing in an odd fashion as Lu approached the large stone face. He had heard of Alvadas from scholars in Lhavit, choosing to take leave of the city and find his own way in life. Promising his parents that he would return someday to finish out his days among the stars, he received permission to leave the Order. Taking only a few items and still only wearing his uniform, he had taken the great journey underfoot.

Now, here he was, standing before a stone face that was clearly looking at him. After the Djed Storm of 512, nothing was overly surprising, however. His mind was open to receive all that the City of Illusion would share with him. When the question was posed to him, Lu placed his staff on the ground before him and bowed deeply to the Maw. "I am Lu Gavima of Lhavit. I have come to the City of illusions in order to discover my true nature." Kneeling, he carefully picked up his weapon and began the ascent into the mouth and , by proxy, his fate.

[Sayana]

Summer 85, 515 AV

As Sayana led the way down the docks, with Timothy not too far behind, she looked up to see a giant stone face barring the way. Except, not really. It was strange, there seemed to be a wall erected to guard the city entrance, and yet there were no guards or anything like what Syliras had. One of the sailors had said that Alvadas was a city of illusions. Was this an illusion too? As she approached, the stone face seemed to stare down eerily at her and the way through became quite clear. A mere archway, almost like a cave entrance, beneath the face. And then it seemed to stare intensely into her soul as if seeking out the very pain that had brought her here.

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”

Sayana took a step back, somewhat startled by the voice. She knew her answer, and yet she hesitated while faced with this strange magic. Should she answer wrong would it gobble her up? Would the walls cave in on her and the ceiling fall down? Her heart tightened at the thought. She had nearly perished in such an incident.

Taking in a deep breath she spoke, “My name is Sayana and I’m here for a fresh start. A new life.”

The Eypharian eyed it skeptically after she spoke. It didn’t seem to move nor continue to look down at her so piercingly. Glancing over her shoulder she called, “Come along Timothy.” Then not wanting to get caught in a sudden dropping of rocks, she skipped quickly through the entrance. There was no falling in of a ceiling but where she arrived was far from what she expected.

[Nythis Drawne]

1'st of Summer 515 AV

“You have come in search of the City of Illusion once again. Tell me, why have you returned?”

Nythis considered his answer under the piercing stone gaze.

Because if he had stayed where he had been, he would have ended up on the executioner’s block for Sithyn’s crimes. Because it was impossible to go back in time, to undo the choices he had made and the things he had done. Because even if illusions couldn't change the truth, it could cover it with a lie.

And if you lived a lie long enough you started to believe it.

“For a new beginning.” He answered in his quiet, rasping voice. Or as close as one could come to truly starting over. It was the same answer he had given almost ninety years ago.

The statue’s immense mouth stretched open and Nythis entered without hesitation, entering a city consisting of caves and caverns, the sky a narrow strip of blue far above him. A smile tugged at the unburnt half of his face, despite himself as a warm rush of affection for Ionu and her whimsical city swept over him.

[Jay Darkcrest]

Fall 3, 515 AV


Up from the docks came a man, still walking the oddly rounded walk of those who had just left a ship, his copper hair bleached and skin slightly tanned from the Suvan sun. A backpack was slung over his shoulders, with a small bundle of cloth and fishing net tied to it. He was wearing a white tunic, dark pants and vest combination, although the boots seemed strangely misplaced on his feet.

Squinting, he walked up to the impressive wall and what seemed to be the gate. Other travelers had arrived with his ship, but Jay Darkcrest was the first to leave the docks and wander up the short path. Unlike them, he could carry all his belongings on his back. Surprisingly, there were no guards, but someone still greeted him. The voice was rumbling in his chest, asking why he had come.

Blinking, Jay looked up at the face and opened himself to those piercing eyes. If Alvadas had a face of stone instead of guards, so be it. He didn’t only accept that fact, he found it original and exciting. A good sign! “I’m looking for new experiences and acquaintances. I’m not sure where to go from here, so I’ll probably stay for some time. You certainly won’t regret letting me in.”

Frowning, he wondered why he was arguing with a stone face in a wall, but the maw was already opening. With a lopsided little grin, Jay walked into the mouth of that extraordinary guardian and entered Alvadas, eaten and digested by stone.

[Keene Ward]

The eighty-fifth day of Fall, 515 from A Sample of Stewardship

When they reached the cities "gate", Keene stared up at the stone face with a mix of surprise and suspicion, especially when it stared back at him. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”

Barthum stepped forward first, grinning up at the wall while Keene stood still, eyes flicking over the structure to find the mobile pieces which might allow the golem to function as it did. "You know me, Brickface. Barthum Babbas, merchant prince of the Babbas family and first heir to-" There was a rumbling shifting of stone, one that was flawlessly executed if there were mechanical parts at all, something that Keene could only frown at as the mouth fell open to provide Barthum passage.

"Enough. You may pass." Barthum grumbled under his breath and he stepped onto the stone tongue.

Turning, he offered Keene a grin, "Thanks for getting me this far. You can pick up your payment from the Sanity Center." With that, the mouth closed behind him and he disappeared from view.

The stone eyes turned to stare at Keene expectantly, the question still standing. Keene, however, stepped up the wall's face, fingers gently pressing against the fluidity of the stone. From what he could tell, there were no underlying mechanics. The stone was stone, nothing else. Yet, it moved so easily, and Keene took a few uncertain steps back. "Tell me, stranger, why are you here?" The same question. He supposed it was possible the the stone had been transmuted through alchemy, like Master Rayage's cloaks, and then animated with an advance script like the TAR. Whatever the case, Keene found there were no clues outside of the strange construct's mouth. If there was anything to be learned, he reasoned, it would be within.

"I am Keene Ward. I search for more than a city; I search for purpose. What more would you ask, Golem?" His voice was raised only slightly, cool and clear as the gentle breezes that drifted about his feet.

"Stormwarden. Your search is only just begun." The face stared down at him, its mouth moving only to speak not to allow passage. "I ask again: why are you here?"

He drew a breath, the crisp fall air filling his lungs as he calm the buzz of thoughts in his mind. Whatever the magic that had gone into the automaton, it bordered on what Thomas Cosa had explained animation to be capable of. Raising his gaze to meet with the stone face's, Keene next words were much softer, more quiet. "To run away."

There was a rumbling as the stone fell to allow him passage, and the golem's voice sounded once more. "Tread lightly, Keene Ward."