Paradox

*"The pen is mightier than the sword, yes. But where does the wand come into that metonymic adage, my acquaintances."*

-*Regis Castamere, Luminary of Principle House Castamere*

## Paradox

### Racial Ratio

35% Human, 20% Elf, 15% Half-Elf, 10% Gnome, 20% Other

### Theme

Common, Elvish, Draconic

Home to Orbis’s greatest magical school, the Lux-Umbra School of the Arcane Arts. This city lies in the middle of the ocean a few miles away from the Shadowlight Spire. Its economy and society are built around Lux-Umbra, with many esteemed magic users and students, scholars and the like living in its districts. And it’s a diplomatic forum for the world, where debates and conflicts are held in the court. Its streets are wide and often intersect with waterways coming in from the sea. Large wizard towers loom over the city, watching and keeping a vigil eye over it. At the very centre of the world, Paradox gets an influx of almost every culture known to Orbis, as potential students are always brought in by the League and those who seek higher education and knowledge.

## Economy and Resources

While Paradox hosts a stable and substantial flow of economics, its not known for its variety or consideration for what we call "the middle class". You won't see a common merchant here selling their woven wares or farmer their grown crops. Only the finest of tailers of Nehekaran and Sen silks and cotton trade here. Only the most exotic of meats and fruits are bought here. Rare materials are imported by all sorts of master craftsmen to be made into the most exquisite of decorations or armaments. A city ruled by mages, one can only expect it to be above the rest and a bit eccentric. Being the gateway city to the Shadowlight Spire, many esteemed mages pay a tidy sum to have their towers constructed here, as well as paying the national reserve levels of tolls if they dare wish to venture into the Shadowlight Spire.

## Culture and Climate

The mishmash of cultures and people here can be seen in its architecture unlike anywhere else in the world. Estates and towers built in the Sanctun styles all the way down to the paper styles of the Sen. The colourful dress of its denizens, who are mostly professors, academic students, mages or the cultural elite of the societies of the world, can be seen all over the city. However, with practically all that live here are pompous, arrogant or obnoxious in some way or another. Because only the best of the best, wealthiest of the wealthiest and brilliant of the brilliant can call this place their home. Being only a few miles from the Shadowlight Spire, the weather and time of day change all the time. You could go weeks with light rain and constant twilight, or perhaps alternating seasons every few hours.

## Politics and Government

While the Lux-Umbra School of the Arcane Arts is the ruling location of the League of Mages, the city itself is governed by entirely independent families and groups of magic users, deemed The Principle Houses. They control the various districts of the city as they see fit. These Principle Houses often don't share the same goals or ideals for whats best for the city, making the policies and laws somewhat redundant and traditional or tedious due to all the bureaucracy that occurs for anything meaningful to happen. Apart from its slow government, Paradox hosts the Orbis Forum that was established after the War of the Realms, where Sanctus conquered all of central Magnus Terra in 3,017 D.E. This Forum was created to discuss matters of extreme importance in terms of diplomacy between the nations that would accept this form of discussion. Its only been used twice since its creation. When the Gith first appeared through the Shadowlight Spire and at the time of Melchor's Insurrection.