Location [Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.

[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Crush on February 16th, 2010, 10:02 pm

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The Main Gates of Alvadas

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It does not matter what road one would travel down when approaching Alvadas, you are always greeted with the same sight. It always appears to be the only way in and out of the city yet nobody is ever seen coming or going. It is known simply as the Gaping Maw. A face in a wall of stone that watches intently for someone or something to approach. It looks real, as though the wall itself is alive. The closer one would get, the more real it would become. Its ever-watching eyes, its broad nose and its greeting smile. It stands four times taller than any man could hope to reach and the waves to either side are higher still.

There are no Guards to watch over this place, none to be seen at least. If someone were to approach the face, it would fix its gaze on them. Its eyes pierced the soul of those stood before it and it would speak in a voice that was neither overtly feminine nor masculine. “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?” Upon receiving an answer, whoever dared to stand before the face will be allowed to walk through its mouth and enter the city beyond.
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Miharu Mindi on April 6th, 2010, 4:33 pm

35th of Spring, 510 AV

I've done stupider things in my life. I'm sure of it, Miharu thought as she stepped off the boat from Syliras and began making her way up the docks towards Alvadas. I just can't think of one right now.

Huge golden eyes rose to peruse the city as she approached it, too big for her face and making her look even younger than she otherwise would have. Sixteen, perhaps seventeen, she looked to be just on the cusp of womanhood. Of course, looks were deceiving - she had, after all, only just celebrated her second birthday. Alone, in the belly of a wretched ship, seasick and bitter.

She looked haggard, as if she'd not kept anything down in the week she'd spent at sea. Dirty blond curls sagged down to her waist, and the usually-beige toga that looped over one shoulder was spotted and stained with weary travel. She would need something cooler to wear if she was heading south, but right now all she could think of was a bath, sweet gods above please let there be a bath somewhere in this city.

She padded up the road, not really paying much attention to where her newly-soled boots took her. The pack on her back was much more full than she was used to, outfitted for traveling across the whole of Mizahar, but she wanted a bath and a bed for the night, and maybe even something fresh to eat. She wasn't sure what hunting there might be in Kalea, and better to make up the weight she'd lost on the journey here than trying to catch some ridiculous creature she was unfamiliar with. Maybe two days here. But then she'd move on.

When she finally looked up at the gate she was steadily approaching, she froze suddenly, eyes wide and staring up at the stone face that stared right back. She hunched over a little, crouching slightly as if prepared to run the other way, anywhere but towards this terrifying magic.

And then it spoke.

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

Miharu growled low in her throat, eyes darting around for some sign of attack - and realized there was no one in sight. No one from the docks, no other travelers making their way through the gate. Not even a guard to check those who came and went. Just this looming face and it's questions.

She finally straightened, staring suspiciously up at the face. "I am traveling to Taloba," she said, perhaps a little too loudly, as if she wasn't sure what exactly was going on. "I stop only to resupply and rest."
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And I am dreaming of them with their kill
Tearing it all apart
Blood dripping from their lips
And teeth sinking into heart
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Crush on April 7th, 2010, 6:40 am

“Hmmm,” it was a long drawn out syllable as the face regarded the Kelvic that stood before it. Miharu could feel the massive eyes on her as the stone face took in her very being. There was a long period of silence before the face chuckled. “Welcome to Alvadas, Kelvic.” The Maw smiled at Miharu and nothing happened for another few moments.

There was a loud cracking sound, like the earth was rolling over in bed. A large crack worked its way up from the chin to the mouth and it still the jaw open. The Wolf could catch a glimpse of the inside of Alvadas as the stone began to crumble away. Eventually as more stone disappeared, it opened up in to an elaborately carved set of steps fit for a queen to enter a palace. Beyond lay an odd sight.

The streets of Alvadas looked little different to Syliras. But fresh, clear water flowed over the cobbles of the streets. It was like walking in a permanent puddle and it all seemed to flow from east to west, disappearing under buildings as it hit them. It looked good enough to drink. Once Miharu had stepped through the portal, it sealed into a solid wall behind her with only a simple wooden door labelled, rather cunningly, Exit.
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Miharu Mindi on April 7th, 2010, 7:18 am

When the stone first let out its thundering crack, Miharu ducked down, crouching low with fingertips pressed to the earth as if prepared to sprint away at any moment. She only stayed still because none of the tumbling rocks seemed destined to actually hit her.

When the steps were finally revealed, she blinked and stared up in wonder at the flooded simulacrum of Syliras. She straightened slowly, as if she didn't even mean to but couldn't help it in the face of such wonders.

No one had warned her about the City of Illusion. She'd just chosen the cheapest route, which she was told went through a city called Alvadas. Perhaps she should have been a bit smarter about her choices.

But she was here now, and no turning back. So she bent over and unlaced her boots, tying the laces together and slinging them over her shoulder, and made her way up the steps and into the city. She jumped a little as the water started sloshing across her ankles, and even splashed just a bit like a child in a fountain - and then she turned to look over her shoulder, and saw only a wooden door where the great steps and road should be.

Panic crawled up her throat and stuck behind her teeth, and if she'd been in wolf form her hackles would be up and her fur stiff along her spine. I've done worse things in my life, she repeated to herself like a mantra, and then cautiously began making her way into the city.

OOCDo we continue here or move somewhere else? It's your city, you run the show. :)
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And I am dreaming of them with their kill
Tearing it all apart
Blood dripping from their lips
And teeth sinking into heart
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Crush on April 11th, 2010, 11:28 am

Miharu

Thread continued here.
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Chantilas Trevayne on December 3rd, 2010, 8:49 pm

Winter, 3rd, 510 A.V.


    "Oh sure, ferry me from the boat to the docks in a dingy, just a swift kick in the rear to send me on my way."
    Chantilas irritatedly swept back the full locks of hair that had fallen over his ears, and were now poking in his eyes.
    "Just take any road son." he mocked, adopting the smooth baritone voice the captain had.
    "You'll get there. All roads lead to mad land from here."
    This time it was the weaselly nasal voice of the captain's first mate. He pondered where "here" was as he hiked up a small hill. Ionu's domain, that was his final answer; since he couldn't distinguish any landmarks that might have been on a map.

    The small rucksack he carried with him was tossed twenty or so passes ahead of him, and tossed forward again when he made his languorous way up the road. If he was lost, and abandoned, he might as well enjoy his time alone. This last revelation of a thought drew his attention to the sky and the clouds, in which he tried to find fantastical shapes of animals and people. Everything around him was lazily scrutinized and the rhythmic flap of his bag hitting the ground every few seconds the only noise to break the silence. Chantilas was quite caught up in studying the war between a tree and vines that grew around it when a rumbling voice erupted out of no where.
    “You have come in search of the City of Illusion. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?”

    Chantilas positively stumbled backwards several feet,
    "Whaa?"
    He spun around sure that the crew of his father's merchant ship was playing some kind of joke on him. He looked everywhere for some sign of trickery and then his eyes fell on the rockface before him. His jaw went slack. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be a real face, or creature, or any kind of magic that he thought capable. To have the power to create something animate out of inanimate... then the face blinked at him. He took a cool step backwards to try and get a full view of what was before him.
    "Whuuelll, I'm-I'm," he stammered, still in awe of the complexity of the magic working before him. Remaining as stunned as he was there wasn't the usual charismatic quip he could have mustered up.
    "I'm here to go into the city, good..uh..stone. Why are you here"
    Chantilas put his hands on his hips and leaned on one leg; vainly trying to look sophisticated in his moment of bamboozelment.


    The seconds ticked by and the face blinked again. He stepped forward with open palms at his sides, curiosity brimming in his eyes.
    Djed canoch korad abase daeq?
    Inwardly he stabbed his brains, it had been too long since he spoke the ancient language. He knew the second the words were spoken that the structure was all wrong, and maybe even a few words were mispronounced. He waited nervously hoping that speaking the ancient tongue would connect better with a magical entity, though he'd been told it had no effect on magic what so ever. The mouth of the face simply opened up to reveal passage into what looked like a truly beautiful city. Forgotten was the face in the rock and he possibility that it might snap shut and squish him in it's teeth as he sprinted through them. Nor did he take the time to revel at the magic responsible for making the stone edifice act the way it did. The city he'd been searching for throughout the past year was only meters away, nothing would hinder him from getting in now. So excited was he that he didn't even think to look at how the passage into the city closed behind him.
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Enit on December 15th, 2010, 4:39 am

5th day of Winter, 210 AV

A figure flickered gently before fading into something unseen, but within a few moments the image was back, gliding purposefully in the direction of what one could only hope to be civilization. With no map or guide, Enit had been traveling for almost two days, hoping that memory would serve her well. It had been a lonely journey thus far, she had come across no travelers and only manifested herself so she could feel the breeze and smell the cold air. "What I wouldn't give to hear someone speak" Enit thought as she tried again to form a some what solid figure of herself. She had become so accustom to listening in on the conversations of her father and mother, that now without their voices the silence seemed heavy. Several times now she had contemplated turning back, and returning to the small farm, but the city still seemed much more enticing. So when these thoughts found her, Enit would quicken her pace, all would be well when she was within the walls, she was sure of it.

The sun sank lazily in the sky, casting a warm glow on the land that lay before her, and in the distance appeared a stone wall stretching wide and tall, a sight that would have caused Enit's heart to skip if it had been beating. "Praise the gods!" A smile appeared on an otherwise featureless face and stretched farther than humanly possible. She increased speed, covering short distances within the blink of an eye, an ability she had discovered and now was glad to have. Within half an hour she was almost upon the gate, and was now close enough to see something that definitely proved the city's magic.

It was massive, the stone face glaring into the distance, as if waiting for someone or something. Unnerved by the waves that slapped the rock walls on either side of it's visage. It was unbelievable, Enit couldn't help but be taken back by its size and how small it made her feel. Suddenly unblinking stone eyes snapped to meet her gaze, causing Enit's breath to catch. Of course then Enit realized she had been pretending to breath again, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. Her chuckling however did not mask her nervousness, she couldn't look away though she desperately wanted to. This was the first time since she had died that anything had looked her in the eyes and it made her want to squirm.

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

Enit's body jerked and only a small noise escaped her, it took her a few moments to recover from the shock of having stone speak to her. "Why not?" she thought "If it can see, then it can speak." The face waited silently for her answer as she took time to think about the question. "I am here to learn and experience the things I haven't" her voice came like the wind, from no general direction, each word faded out slowly and quietly. A minute went by and Enit wondered if she had been heard, "I-" before she had even finished the thunderous sound of grinding stone drowned her out and caused her to jerk once more. The face's mouth opened wide revealing a path into the city beyond, Enit flashed a smile before darting as fast as she could into the gaping maw, "Now to see if the stories are true!".
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Vizyous Aconitum on December 17th, 2010, 5:02 am

3rd of Winter, 510 AV

Vizyous walked a path that had clearly been taken by others, yet the others weren't around. He was heading to the city of Alvadas alone, unsure of what to find. He'd heard that the City of Illusions, was not something that one could prepare for. He hoped that the rumors were true.

After years of roaming, Vizyous finally ended up heading to Alvadas. Some turn to religion and order to find their inner selves. He turned to Alvadas, hoping to find answers from it's House of Broken Mirrors and everchanging illusions. Vizyous did not care whether he lived on the street or in shelter within the city.

As he approached the walls of the city that shut it in, sealing it from the outside world, Vizyous knew how he lived didn't matter as long as he was shut tight inside the illusionary world of Alvadas. This was where he belonged, for now, and he knew so even before he set foot through the entrance that appeared to not be there.

Before him was only a lone statue, it's eyes trained on him and a smile gracing it's stone lips, although he didn't mistake the look for welcoming. A smile can mean many things, and this particular one looked cruel and sadistic. Only a sadist would derive delight from creating a city which forever played with it's inhabitants minds.

"You have come in search of the City of Illusion." The voice surprised Vizyous, although his surprise was quickly replaced with delight. Surely, this experience seemed promising.
"Tell me, stranger, why are you here?"

"My name is Vizyous Aconitum," the man spoke, raising his eyes to stare the into the statues peering ones, "and I come to seal myself away inside this City of Illusions until I have found my true desires." Vizyous became quiet, watching the statue intently and waiting to see if it would acknowledge his answer.

The statue seemed to be considering his answer until a moment later, the statues mouth began to drop, rocks falling to the ground to pile on top of other rocks that had fallen in the exact same way. After the dust had settled, Vizyous saw stairs that seemed to lead to nowhere until he approached them.

"Welcome to Alvadas, Symenestra."

Without hesitation, Vizyous turned his gaze from the stairs to the statue, whose eyes still were trained on him. "I trust Alvadas will not disappoint me." He began walking towards the stairs, his stride steady and unwavering. "I expect no mercy."

As he walked through the mouth of the statue, he could still feel its heavy gaze on him. He dismissed it from his mind and began his way up the stairs, ignoring the entrance that shut behind him, mind now intent on seeing what illusion lay before him. Eagerly, he climbed the steps to Alvadas.

In his sight lay a city covered by heavy fog. Even his Symenestra eyes had trouble seeing through the mist, and it was this that peaked his immediate interest. This was not a physical fog, but one of the mind that his physical body could not overcome. To the right was a building that seemed to be most important, as it wasn't touched by the heavy mist clouding the rest of the city.

He made a step towards it but paused and looked down when he moved his foot and heard a sloshing sound. Beneath him, his mind immediately registered, was mud. It creeped into his sandals and Vizyous regretted wearing them. The warm feeling wasn't comfortable at all, but he brushed it off and removed his sandals, picked them up, then continued on his way barefoot through the mud.

'The Sanity Center', the building read. Vizyous hadn't come to Alvadas exactly for sanity but decided to go in anyways.
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Stas Grigori on January 2nd, 2011, 7:50 pm

The 27th of Winter, 510 A.V.


"Weird from the get go I see." Stas was peering up at the enormous visage that was little more than half a mile away from him. He had been looking at it time and time again as he rode up the generally straight road, it was what he had learnt he was meant to look for if he wished to enter the city of madness. The face however, was not nearly as expressive from so far away as it was right now. Towering above him as it was, looking as if it had pushed itself through the stone surrounding it instead of being carved, Stas had to snort for he would swear the thing was watching him. Whether it was or it was not, he would discover soon enough.

The steady, relaxed walk of Rakel took them both up to the face, and Stas had to stop short. 'It speaks. Nonsense. At least it isn't on fire today.' was the thought that shot through his mind, for the massive mouth that he could surely ride Rakel through had just broken open and spoke to him. The voice surprised him, not merely in its simply existence, but in that it did not deafen him even with how close he was.

"I seek to enter and to stay. I am looking for aid, and learning. For there is madness and a veil that disguises and confuses what I see. I have sought my hope from too far to recount now, and will work what I must to garner the help I need if it exists here. But first, I need to enter, may I?" Stas reached an errant left hand up and drew his scraggly goatee into a cone that stretched the skin of his chin, waiting as he did to see the face respond to his answer to its question. There was none coming, instead the mouth opened, and stuck that way. He waited for a while, wondering if it would resonate once again, and when it did not he simply rode forwards and sought what was behind the stone lips, some hope swirling in him that in all the oddness, the legends, the rumours of the place, they also held some knowledge and usefulness that could help him clear the mad flames from his life.
"This colour denotes Common."
"This colour denotes Vani"
"This colour denotes Thought."
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[Alvadas Location] The Gaping Maw

Postby Malanos on January 5th, 2011, 9:25 pm

15th of Winter


Malanos had been told of the city of Alvadas since he was a small boy. He had heard legends of the city of madness, there were few Isur outside of Sultros but he had heard that if they left, it was to Alvadas that they came. So when he fled the city of his fathers he had naturally thought of the city of illusion.

Did he believe the old wives tales. Well at least part of him leaned toward belief, but his mind told him that such tales were impossible. He must wait and find which of his senses were right.

A long well trod road was his path, an easy one without doubt. He could walk miles without a pause on ground like this, good solid Kalean ground. Yes, this at least held a semblance to his home. Nothing could compare to the Pitrius hold, but having good solid earth under his feet gave Malanos hope to stand on. One day he would go home, and though that day may be far from now, it would come.

It was in an absent minded fashion that Malanos came upon the Maw. He looked up and saw the gateway rising abruptly in front of him. A huge stone face in the mountain side. "Yes, that most certailnly is a strange statue..." muttered the Isur.

Then taking a single step forward he was confronted by a powerful voice. A voice that penetrated deep into his mind and soul. It seemed to probe his very being as it posed it's question.

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

"I come here to rest. No more and no less" said Malanos calmly shutting out thoughts of fear or anger.

As soon as the words left his still open mouth, a pressure was released from him. A pressure that until it vanished he had not been aware of.

With a second glance at the giant stone head, malanos walked through the maw shaking his head as he did so...
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