Penumbra

Sitting as the sole city within the Prismatic Shardlands, Penumbra is a colorful, almost gaudy city, which acts as the homeland of the Ilana. It is surrounded on all sides by an immense wall, which itself is half-buried underneath a pile of prismatic sand, and topped with an uncannily dark gem high above the city's center. Penumbra's impressive architecture and beautiful vistas make it a very alluring tourist attraction to many around Utharia.

### Architecture

Ilanan architecture is best described as compact renaissance architecture given verticality. Gaudy, overdesigned pillars uphold vast towers reaching into the sky above, each floor uniquely and especially designed and painted. The Ilana adore art, and they express themselves however they can through their architecture, leading to a cohesive chaos among the city's buildings. The gaudiness of it all comes as a natural conclusion of living in a land where colorful gemstones are all that lay beneath your feet. While ancient Ilanan buildings were composed of inert solarium, most modern buildings may be constructed of whatever materials the architect desires, their options expanded through trade.

Ilanan architecture has the unique ability to change as the sun creeps below the horizon. Given its nocturnal population, its appearance at night is as important as its appearance during the day. The Ilana make very little use of external lights, allowing the bluish-black sky to paint their architecture once more, giving it a more muted and serene aura as all darkens. What little lights there are during the nights in Penumbra are used as colorful accents to contrast the dark architecture, or so the many tourists can find their way around the city.

The hallmark ancient wall of Ortis, rendered relatively pointless thanks to the Void Gem, is constructed as a vast circle surrounding the city, its exterior inclining towards the ground, forming a triangle facing away from its center. The top of this wall is arched away from the city once more, redirecting any sharp particles that slide against it away from Penumbra. This unique design, made to combat the shardstorms, naturally resulted in a vast buildup of Solarium sand surrounding the entire city, making it appear almost subterranean. While the wall was naturally dark, as it was made from inert solarium, it has since been painted to be white with ruby and gold accents-- a common motif within Penumbra.

### Government

Penumbra is governed by a council; a collection of 12 elected individuals forming a union with few hard-set inner workings. Commonly, however, the council will hire additional external members (known as delegates) as necessary, who suggest actions to take regarding various issues regarding their domains. The scope and concern of each delegate are granted by the council as they are elected.

Notably, no delegate positions are as consistent, or important, as the Grand Scholar and the Grand Architect. These two delegates hold authority over the maintenance of the Void Gem, which makes them critical to the continued existence of the city. While these positions may be consulted for other issues, they are often considered above menial tasks not related to the Void Gem.

Elections within Penumbra are run once every 2 years. Citizens are given the ability to vote for as many individuals as they please, and the 12 individuals with the most votes are given positions on the council. Once elected, the council delegates powers to individuals it elects. The council possesses no power to act itself; it only has the ability to approve or deny the decisions of its delegates.

If the individuals in power prove themselves unworthy of their position they may be demoted a number of ways. Council members may demote their delegates with a simple majority vote, held whenever called, and the citizens may demote the council through a Grand Indictment. Votes are tallied for a Grand Indictment monthly, though many abstain from voting on one if they do not have a problem with the Council.

### Economy

As a natural result of its flashy appearance, Penumbra's main economic draw is tourism. Its location on a secluded and downright dangerous island adds to its allure almost as much as its architecture. To maintain and adapt the city's appearance, vast swathes of Penumbra's residents are hired by the Council as artists of various different sorts. One may be hired to compose buildings, mosaics, fountains, or anything one may see and appreciate within the city. In exchange for their guaranteed pay, however, the Ilanan artists possess no control over their finished works, which may be painted over or demolished on a moment's notice. Art is beautiful yet temporary in Ilanan culture, so the appearance of city continually adapts to the times.

Despite being a tourist capital, there are few dedicated entertainment hubs within Penumbra; its appeal is largely a result of its visuals, rather than its contents. Additionally, while Penumbra is largely safe due to the Void Gem, it is still subject to the whims of the prismatic shardlands. The terrain and climate can be uncomfortable for non-Ilanan individuals who wish to permanently reside within Penumbra, disregarding the fact that most of the architecture has been designed with Ilanan physiology in mind.

### Cuisine

Despite the unassuming or 'cute' appearance of the Ilana, they are fiercely carnivorous. No edible plants can be grown within the shardlands, due to the lack of soil, so the only sustenance they can find is through the fish in the nearby ocean, or, more commonly, the rock-like creatures inhabiting the desert. Due to their heavy exteriors, these creatures have evolved with incredibly soft flesh underneath their shell, which often has a soft and gummy texture. The unique textural experience of these creatures, a common hallmark of Ilanan cuisine, is downright disturbing to most tourists. Notably, however, Ilana are only carnivorous out of necessity, and while food is a less-appreciated artform within Ilanan culture, Penumbra has its fair share of culinary imports, allowing chefs and customers to enjoy a variety of dishes outside of what is normally available.

### The Void Gem

Sitting in the middle of Penumbra, atop the tallest tower, looming about the council buildings below is the Void Gem, a massive spherical chunk of Solarium that appears uncannily dark, as if it was a hole within the fabric of reality itself. This massive gem is the entire reason Penumbra is allowed to exist as it is. To understand the inner workings of this gem, one must further understand the properties of Solarium.

It is obvious to most that Solarium is drawn to, and manipulated by, the sun and its energies. That much is clear to everyone who has seen the prismatic desert. However, one other notable property is that Solarium is very particular about its structure. The Solarium dust within the desert is not big enough to have its properties meaningfully affected by its structure, apart from its color. However, once you get a chunk of Solarium as big as the Void Gem, you can specifically sculpt it to manipulate its properties in various unexpected ways.

Another thing one must note about Solarium is it's chaotic, and picky. As you manipulate its shape and test the effects each shape has on a chunk of Solarium, one will learn that even the slightest change can have immense consequences on the end result. It took years and years of fine crafting to perfect the Void Gem, which means that any scrape, cut, or otherwise could compromise its integrity drastically. A number of colleges have formed within Penumbra specifically regarding the study of Solarium and its properties, particularly the Void Gem itself.

If one could see beneath its cloak of darkness, one could find that the Void Gem is an icosahedron, with each of its triangular faces recessing into itself, forming an inverse pyramid. These recessive shapes increase the draw the gem has on the surrounding solar energies, which is amplified by the depths of the pyramids. The Void Gem's depth is specifically constructed so that it takes away enough solar energy from the nearby Solarium sands to ensure it cannot form into a shardstorm, while simultaneously ensuring it doesn't take so much solar energy that the sands begin to recess and consume the thermal heat around it, freezing Penumbra.

The Grand Architect, appointed by the Council, is in charge of maintaining the Void Gem. Meanwhile, the Architect's associate, the Grand Scholar, is in charge of studying the void gem, and determining its newfound capabilities should its structure be compromised. The few individuals elected to these positions have spent years and years studying the Void Gem's architecture and inner workings in numerous post-graduate courses within Penumbra. These hefty requirements are out of necessity, as all Grand Architects AND Grand Scholars must be able to fix, or entirely recreate the Void Gem should all else fail, as the failure of the Void Gem could destroy Penumbra.

The Void Gem's status as the keystone achievement that allows Penumbra to exist makes it a common target for those that would wish to dismantle the city. While the ancient walls around Penumbra could theoretically protect it in its absence, the main concern is a partially damaged Void Gem, whose structure will undoubtedly result in a reaction that is as unpredictable as it is dangerous.

### Religion

Developing apart from the vast majority of Utharia, Penumbra was rarely exposed to many Gods. As faithless as they were, they, in turn, were ignored by the Gods as well. However, one deity-like figure in particular is immensely respected and revered within Penumbra: The One Who Rests Eternal, or The Tragic; an ancient dragon said to be composed entirely of gems, who is closely associated with the past, and the creation, of the prismatic shardlands. Despite not being an Ascended, clerics of The Tragic still manage to elicit some deific power from their worship. Unconfirmed theories suggest that the power given to worshippers of The Tragic is granted byThe Shepherd, as the religion surrounding The Tragic is largely concerned with mourning the dead.