Oxresh

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Oxresh is a major city located on the southern coast of the continent.

It is considered the capital of the Timberlands, and home to the Academy of Erudition.

## History

A few decades after Atralran was refounded by King Eldarion I Goldlor, it was noted by residents of the Greater Greensong that a pentad spired citadel had appeared upon the banks of the River Lan, its origin seemingly unknown. Within a few months of their arrival, it was noted that the surrounding lands seemed to be infused and otherwise bolstered by the citadel's arrival, encouraging many of the local populace to forgo their established fishing and hunting grounds in favour with those along the banks of the River Lan. With growing attention set upon them, the doors of the citadel were thrown wide, and so the Academy of Erudition was formally founded.

Unlike that of the Crimson College, the Academy of Erudition holds a higher standard of its acolytes, demanding from them a series of entry examinations before enrollment can take place. Some, typically those that have graduated from the Academy itself, use this truth as reasoning for a sense of superiority over those trained at the Crimson College of Redbloom, an attitude that is largely condoned and oft times replicated by Academy's staff.

## Government

Ongoing management of the Academy of Erudition and matters city-wide falls at the feet of the Exegetes, five individuals of notable magical prowess. Not all Exegetes share in the minutiae of city management, and so a sprawling bureaucratic system stretches beneath them. The Presbyters are second-highest in this hierarchy, each responsible for one of the city's wards, formally known as constituencies. Along with the Deacons, the rank immediately beneath them, Presbyters also possess a notable level of competence with the arcane, though those lesser stations and offices such as Liturgists and Notaries are not held to the same expectations, and are amongst those most readily available to the general populace. Liturgists hold rank over much of the mundane city watch, whereas Notaries take leading positions in dealings with merchants, guilds and other groups operating in the city not directly related to the Academy.

### The Offices of the Exegetes

The Exegetes, conversely, are generally rarely seen by much of the populace, focusing instead on their own studies and specialties. These lines of research form the main offices, or ministries, associated with teaching at the Academy of Erudition. Acolytes undertake a mandatory education in magic understanding and competency that can take anywhere between months and decades depending on the individual, after which those showing the most potential are selected by one of the Ministries to continue their education to further heights of competency over the course of many years longer still.

#### Ministry of the Curio

Focusing on the study of artifacts, relics and other objects of virtu, members of the Ministry of the Curio are vastly knowledgeable, but usually highly insular and isolationist, keeping to themselves and their research. The Ashenvale proves to be the ongoing primary focus of the Ministry and the Exegete that leads it, as well as magics outside the conventional Schools of Magic.

The Exegete of the Curio is Vehramot Amastacia.

#### Ministry of the Expedient

The Ministry through which most of the city's defences came to be and continue to be maintained, the Ministry of the Expedient focuses on the study of mundane, military and magical skill and strategy. Most enchanted items produced by the city are created by graduates of the Ministry, and those sent to apprentice beneath them. All Ministries often send their students beyond the walls of the Academy, but few send their students further afield than the Ministry of the Expedient.

The Exegete of the Expedient is Dorzivan Enbeden.

#### Ministry of Obnubilation

In an unusual departure from conventional teaching, the Ministry of Obnubilation focuses on hiding magical potential in its students, teaching that their gifts are most valuable when used sparingly and with particularly impactful tact. Naturally tending towards use of illusion and enchantment magics, advanced study of this Ministry includes forays into use of psionic magics.

The Exegete of Obnubilation is Balamus Zostel.

#### Ministry of the Preternatural

Pertaining to investigations and observation of the Planes of Existence beyond the Prime Material Plane, the Ministry of the Preternatural teaches and counsels the needs for vigilance in its pupils against threats beyond the comprehension and imagination of most mortal minds. Harnessing, manipulating or otherwise conjuring these connections is a cautioned but continued art to those trained by this Ministry, as is use of abjuration magics.

The Exegete of the Preternatural is Vuruzum Zelnolar.

#### Ministry of Sortilege

Focused on the gifts of divination magic, the Ministry of Sortilege looks for patterns and trends in terrestrial and heavenly occurrences historical and present to make predictions, estimates or other forms of conjecture. Individuals trained predominantly by the Ministry of Sortilege place particular focus on gathering information before proceeding, as well as cautioning others against blind beliefs in prophecies lacking meaningful merit.

The Exegete of Sortilege is Azhuzat Veldria.

## Crime

No city is without crime, despite every effort by those with dominion over the populace. Oxresh is no exception, and many minor factions and guilds have found steady coin smuggling enchanted items from the city to market elsewhere, deigning not to pay proper export tariffs and taxes on such objects. Some less scrupulous individuals deal in more questionable arcane components, but the primary source of criminal interest comes from the production of Iviniuum, with caches awaiting transport a common target for theft, despite high levels of associated security.

The high-density of magic users in Oxresh has resulted in a number of specific laws pertaining specifically to the arcane arts. Archives of magic items are kept by the Ministry of the Expedient, detailing their designated owner, onto which the responsibility of its safekeeping is expected. Upon the sale of any enchanted object, it is expected that the seller and purchaser between them must ensure these details are updated, or fines may be levied on each. Likewise, teleportation or elsewise use of magical transportation into the city must occur through one of four teleportation circles, save for those with defined permits stating otherwise.

## Geography

Oxresh started initially as a central citadel with five towers of varying scope, but has since expanded into a walled city of multistoried brick buildings on the eastern banks of the River Lan's estuary. Roads connect the settlement to Velbalt and the settlements of Atralran and beyond to the west, Penumbra to the north and Enderford to the east. The city itself is split into three constituencies, arranged around the Pentadel like spokes on a wheel, with the roads elevated above the common populace on viaducts that bisect the settlement and arc in radial routes.

Come nightfall, the domes of the Pentadel and the watchtowers on each of the city's extremities emit a soft silver-white light, akin to starlight overhead, granting the city the appearance of a vast eye made up of five stars when viewed from on high by approaching aerships bound for the Aerodrome on the west of the city.

### The Riverbreak

The Riverbreak constituency is the largest of the three, making up near to half of the city's extent. Straining against the borders of the northwestern and southwestern stretches of the outer walls, the Riverbreak is the major site of activity for the majority of the populace. The border between the more residential northern edge of the Riverbreak and the commercial southern stretch is defined by the Advent Ingress, a pair of viaducts that cross mark the city, the Pentadel at their point of intersection.

With ships calling port on the quaysides of the estuary and the shores of Inve's Bay on the southern fringe of the city and the Melody Walk from the lands to the west meeting in this part of the city, it has become a hub for trade and other mercantile interests, with numerous emporiums, bazaars, stalls and workshops competing for resources and customers alike. Housed within a domed belfry at the water's edge is the Myriad Market, most famous for its auction halls which facilitate the sale of items mundane and magical alike.

#### Notable Locations:

* Myriad Market
* Platinum & Palaver
* The Shooting Star
* Splendid's Splendiferous Splendactory (formerly the Golden Bull)

### Limpid Lost

A smaller port adjoins the constituency of Limpid Lost, defined as the southeastern quarter of the city, as well as the constructions that sprawl from the city wall's onto the shores of Inve's Bay, of which the city overlooks. Limpid Lost specialises in manufacturing, with many more industrial efforts being concentrated within its borders. Warehouses and storage halls are common in place of residential buildings, though in time some investors have purchased the deeds to old depositories within the Myriad Market, converting them into small and cramped homes tending towards squalor. Many of the most skilled artisans and artificers operate out of Limpid Lost, preferring the relative quiet of the constituency compared to the cacophonous clamour of the heavily-populated Riverbreak, though most still travel to the latter's markets to peddle their wares, whether finely-faceted gemstones, tools of wood, stone and metal, filleted selections of meat, fish and squid, or more wondrous items enchanted with magic minor or elsewise.

Many outside organisations seeking to make business or otherwise maintain a presence in the city do so via properties in Limpid Lost. Patrols of guards grow increasingly frequently upon approach to the Pentadel, and so this perceived increase in security drives up the price of nearby properties, the value of land likewise diminishing as one strolls on a southeastern trajectory.

### Mirror Ward

Further subdivided by a secondary radial viaduct that connects the north and east reaching extents of the Advent Ingress by means of an arcing curve in parallel to the city's outer walls, the Mirror Ward acts in many respects as an extension of the Pentadel, and is home to many buildings associated with the Academy of Erudition. Students compete for residencies closest to the city's centre, contesting with higher prices for room and board for such a luxury, and many of the academics associated with the Academy also make their home in the Mirror Ward in outwardly modest abodes. The northern edge of the Mirror Ward contains the primary barracks of the city watch, as well as ateliers in which the constructed golem sentinels of the city are stored, maintained and otherwise repaired when indicated. The crackle of the shooting yards used by the city watch to practice with their rifles, a novel form of ballistic weaponry reverse engineered by the Exegete of the Ministry of the Curio following excursions into the Ashenvale recovered several caches of Astedian munitions. Though these armaments are growing in usage throughout the continent, it is within Oxresh that they are most commonplace, with around two hundred carabiniers in active duty within the city.

Though most business is made elsewhere in the city, a few vendors have found a steady source of income selling supplies to the students, whether fine arcane paper and inks, magical components or other provisions required for their ongoing studies.

### The Pentadel

Built around a central primary tower flanked by four other major towers of varying diameter and height, the Pentadel is the core of the city, with all roads and routes leading to its gates. Despite this checkpoints exist at the point of entry to the Pentadel's grounds, and those without reason or merit to approach are sent back in the direction of their approach, or guided towards the viaduct atop the inner walls to continue in an alternative direction. Immediately within this inner wall are a number of greenhouses and conservatories tended to by an army of botanists, as well as a few manses owned by high-ranking members of the Academy, which dominates much of the first six floors of the five-towered citadel itself. Each of the Exegetes claims one of these tower's for the interests of their own Ministry, its interior designed and dictated by their needs and preferences for a place of teaching, learning, investigation and study.

Iviniuum, a fine white-grey powder that can be used in a wide range of magical applications is a major export of the city and produced by means of unknown processes by tightly-guarded laboratories somewhere within the Pentadel. Attempts to steal such secrets have thus far proved for naught, for no such laboratories have ever been located by those tasked with such matters of subterfuge, but it can nonetheless not be denied that vast quantities of seemingly mundane silt and sediment from the River Lan is delivered daily to the doors of the Pentadel, with a steady flow of Iviniuum appearing henceforth.

The substance is most commonly used to replace or act as any other spell component, offering simplicity to spellcasters that would otherwise require countless components, some far rarer than others. Consumed in the same manner as conventional spell components, Iviniuum can also be used in place of objects not conventionally consumed by the act of spellcasting, although doing so carries a small risk of the Iviniuum's depletion nonetheless, with increasing likelihood with more strenuous and energy-draining spells. Arcane tattoos that grant spellcasting abilities rely on inks laced with Iviniuum powder, and there are growing reports of Iviniuum's sale as an exuberantly expensive drug that produces an extended state of euphoria alongside a variety of other effects depending on what it is mixed and otherwise adulterated with. Use of Iviniuum in this way is generally banned throughout the continent, predominantly due to the potential scope volatility associated with a hallucinating and stupefied spellcaster acting without inhibition.