Geffen
((OOC: warning, 4 page in ms word, long read, since it's a town, field maps will hopefully be shorter))
Elm sat in on a bench near the northen entrance to Geffen, book on lap, pen in hand an tea cup levitating in the air next to him. Geffen had suddenly seemed much larger when he walked around, ..he had ekspected a few hours..not a few days. but now it was done, he just had to start writing now
"..."
"..."
"..."
"darnnit"
he leaned back and sighed..."brains to fried to write anything....better take a rest"
He layed down on the bench, about to take a small nap, as he overheard a knight , followed by a young novice passed by.
"here's your distination kid, Geffen, the city of magic. and remember, if you want to get back, then just head straigt east and look to the south"
Elm opened his eyes widely "that's it, that's how I can start it, bette..gah...HOT" He had in his eksitement jumped up and tipped the tea cup over himself.."gark...I hate when that happens"...He quikly casted a firewall to dry himself by, and opened the book, there where more important thing to do, then worry about wet clothing. he conjured forth his pen.
First destination, right outside the door, Geffen. The city of magic and arcane wonders.
Placement: Geffen lies 4-5 sua (standard area unit) east north-east of Prontera, close to The Commonwealth of Schwarzwald southern border and 3 sau west, south west of the Ruins of Glast Hiem, on an island in the middle of Lake Geffenia, connected to the rest of the continent by bridges to the west and north, and a small strip of land to the east.
Geffen Short:
Geffen was founded on top of the Ruins of ancient Geffenia, which was founded here due to the high concentration of external arcane energy in the area, the abundance of energy have made it possible for Geffen to incorporate magic in all aspect of life in ways that no other city have done, making it the center of anything dealing with magic. Resource wise, it lies in one of the riches region, having fertile soil to the north and east, and a lake surrounding it, bountiful with fishes, and to the north lies the mineral rich mt. mjoilnor, which Geffen, unlike other cities nearby, have easier access too, due to a lesser amount of dangerous monster. This have also made Geffen strongly indepent from the rest of the world, keeping it self politically neutral to both the King of Prontera and to The Commonwealth of Schwarzwald, though they have been more open lately. But Geffen in general keeps to itself, having other things to do then power broking and politic, two of the must important being the danger of Glast Hiem and Geffenia ruins.
A tour of interesting places:
Geffen is a town known for its' magic and for the craftsmanship of it's artisans, being the center of arcane research, and the seat of the Blacksmiths' guild and in no other building is that as evident as the Great tower.
The Tower is one of the two must important building in Geffen, being the main administration building, housing Geffens' mage council, the last line of defence, academy for the training of wizards and maybe must important of all, the seal to the Ruins of Geffenia. The whole tower is primarily built as one big seal, to keep the dangers of Geffenia at bay. Originally, it was also the focal point of Geffens' old barrier to the rest of the world, but Geffen had for various reasons decided to lower those barrier, first the eastern and later the northern and western.
One of the reasons was to direct the energy used to uphold the barrier into the seal, which have charged the tower with the greatest concentration of arcane energy made by man, and at the heart of this construct is the sealing stone.
This crystal is the single must important artefact of Geffen, it's unknown what it is, rumours says that it's an Shard of Ymir, other that it's a gift from the gods giving to the founder of Geffen to keep what ever lurks in Geffenia, away and yet other says that it's no less then the greatest achievement in the history of spellcraft and that the means of creating one can still be found.
It is also unknown exactly how it works, though many theories exists, however, those theories lies outside the boundaries of this book, being far to scientifically and requiring a certain knowledge of the workings of magic, however it is clear what it does, gathering and directing of arcane energy to the towers' seal. On a side note, it also lies in the safest room in whole Geffen, being stuffed with wards and protection spell to keep the crystal safe and therefore also often used for meeting between rivals part where the risk of combat exist.
Above the crystal room lays the main office for Geffens' wizard academy, where there'll always be one or two hopeful magician. One can also always find the ever busy staff: Catherine, who'll teach the basic and the one who decide when one is ready for the 2.nd part which is handled by Laurel, one of the must powerful wizard in Geffen and the person behind the final part of the test for wizardhood and finally Maria Splodofska, student counsellor and talking dog, always ready to help despite her condition.
The teaching of spellcraft in the Wizard academy is founded on practical experience, self study and the encouragement of students to find the solution to a problem by them self and by doing so, tries to teach them resourcefulness, persistency and creativity, all traits that they'll need to learn and prosper by them self when they graduate.
Right outside the Tower lies the inner road, going counter-clockwise; the first building worth visiting is Geffens' pottery and glassblower workshop.
This place is known both for the high productions of jars and bottle used all over rune-midgard and for the high quality and beauty of vases and glasses, ordered from lords and nobles all over the world.
Right next to it lies the "resting wand café" a favourite place for the local population to hang out, be they students, clerks or guards and occasionally an adventure or two, though they tend to be found in the Inn by the outer road.
If you decide to visit the Café, then remember to keep your weapons sheathed and your spells hiding, it's not nicknamed the "broken wand" café for nothing and the owner is more then capable of making the café live up to that name, being a former teacher in the wizard academy. Another thing to remember is to try out one of the fish dishes, many of them caught in the nearby lake, all of them served with locally dogged potatoes, famed for the unique taste that the slightly mana filled soil around Geffen gives. It's also the place to go for local gossip and rumours, which all are more or less truthfully, but there'll always be one or two who can be interesting to hear.
West of the Café lies the Geffens armoury, specialising in equipments for mages, but it's must well known for the spell guarding sallet and mirror shield, the means of crafting it being closely guarded. So this is a place worth visiting if one is expecting to fight spell user.
Completing the circle around the tower, we now head south to the Gem spring plaza, named after the unusual water spring that, instead of having water coming out, holds a gem levitated in the middle, which act like a prism, reflecting , enhancing and altering any light that enters into a grand display of dancing colours. It's a sight that is not to be missed, and always worth visiting again and again, to see what new shapes and patterns that it forms.
The Plaza is the must often used place for gathering and visiting merchants plying their goods and the streetlights in cohesion with the gem spring keeps the place lighted enough to be used from one sunrise to the next.
Going counter clockwise again in the outer road, bring us to what unofficially is called "Blacksmith road", it used to be the centre of all freelance smiting, but nowadays, must of the trade have now been moved to Prontera, still, it's one of the few places outside of Prontera where forgers regularly can be found and the reason can be found right next to the road, where the Blacksmith guild have its' head smithy and office.
The Blacksmith guild originally didn't had office in this smithy, but the discovery of the old coalmine nearby Geffen resulted in a large increase of ores coming in, the result being the blacksmith guild following to where they where must needed. The actual smithy lies outside, but it's not one that people usually will buy weapon from, this smithy is mainly used as a place for new blacksmith to practice their skill and get some experience as part of the training.
North of the blacksmith guild, and along the eastern part of the road lies Geffens' food market, the must well known product being the freshwater fish that's caught in the surrounding lake, it's also the only place this high to the north that sells locally grown tropical fruit, the reason being mentioned further down.
Looking toward the North eastern corner of Geffen, can one find the Windsong inn.
which also double as the local mill. It was build after inspiration from the buildings in Al de Baren, which is must noticeable in the two windmills, one used to pump water up from a well, providing the inn with a constant supply of fresh water, and one used to grind grain. An interesting feature of the windmills that gives the inn its name, is the intricate holder for putting small flute like devices in the frame, that will move around and change placement with the precision of an Al de Baren clockwork, changing the melody that they'll play several times a day. The Flutes are usually replaced every 2.nd day, with melodies ranging from ancient songs filled with tradition, to the latest composition from aspiring bards. The Inn would however, still be a distinctive building without the windmills, architectonic it's an unique mix of Geffen and Al de Baren design, and it's the largest building not counting the tower. And the size it needs, like the "resting wand" café is the favoured place for the local people, is the windsong inn, the favoured place for visitors. Here young acolytes, resting from pilgrimage, comes and rub shoulder with knights who use Geffen as a staging ground for holding back the kobold threat and sages, researcher, mages and scientist from all over the world comes to debate over everything between heaven, earth and what lies beyond, in one of the Inns' meeting rooms.
The Open Arena managers also have a branch in this building and it's not uncommon that disagreements are settled through them and there'll always be somebody who'll be interesting in taking a bet or two on the outcome, be it zeny or a pint of ale.
And speaking of Ale, remember to try out the locally brewed Golden Dew ale, made with honey which give it a sweeter taste, and if that isn't to your liking then the Inn still offer a fair variety of beverage.
Off course, the main reason for must people to visit the Inn in the first place is for having a place to stay for the nights, must commonly used is the shared rooms that goes for 10 zeny a night, though better rooms are available for better money. How ever, if you're looking for a nice place to eat and don't mind paying extra, then head a little further down the road, and you'll reach the Blue Sky, open air diner.
The dishes here lie on the higher end of the price scale, but so is the quality, the cook is, very literally, a wizard with his cooking and don't worry about weather, the owner have a deal with the neighbouring mage, who'll cast a small weather screen spell for a dinner.
Going further, we now reach the western part of Geffen, and the first building of notice, and the other, of the 2 must important building is Geffens mage academy.
This place is always buzzing with life, rivalised only by the gem plaza. Hundreds, if not thousands, of practitioners and students of the arcane art visit this place over a year to learn about magic, an almost one hundred man large staffs works everyday in shift, coordinating spell research in Geffen with researchers on the rest of the continent and beyond and Geffens' own researchers are concentrated here, the latest major achievement being the creation of the energy coat spell.
Off course, such a high concentration of untrained spell user and experimental use of magic isn't completely safe and the building and its inhabitant are therefore protected by a modified version of the safety wall spell, based on this Gem.
It's been made out from theories based on the study of the sealing crystal in Geffens' Tower, and though it's even less then a faint shadow, compared to that, it still does a good job in minimising the damage that's bound to happen.. So far, nobody in the academy have died because of spell casting accidents. The Academy also work as a contact bureau for people seeking to hire spellcaster for various job and for a fee offer the expertise of the sages regarding just about any question related to magic.
To the south of the Academy and nearly completing the circle, can the "Glittering Gem" Tool Shop, be found.
Named so, for being only places with a steady supply of blue gemstones, for being one of the few places that sells arcanely treated stone for various uses and for the great crystal behind the shop which is said to be the basis of its' crystal trade.
Continuing on, brings us back to the Gem Plaza, hereby ending this short tour of Geffen.
Other things, worth mentioning.
As mentioned in the tour, Geffen is one of the few places that sells locally grown tropical fruit, and the reason for this, lies in the trees that decorate the town.
The Saplings where originally brought to Geffen several generations ago, by a wizard wanting to find out if they had any magical attribute, and though he didn't find any, the unusual shape of the tree, for the people of Geffen, and the taste of the fruits, convinced the city planner to replace Geffens old trees, that crewed right out side the city anyway, with the saplings, and under the roots of each, was placed a small gem that would give them the optimal condition for growth.
An interesting thing, for those interested in architecture, is the great emphasis on octagon and hexagon forms, and one can find the shapes all over the city. The circular design is also the basis for the cities defences, having 3 rings of defence structure surrounding tower, from wich long range spell can be used all over the city. The basis of the defensive walls within the city lies in these towers.
Who in peace times are open public place for relaxation and meeting, and in times of war, turns into battle stations for the cities mages with the use of icewall to create walls.
Final thing to note, is the fact that Geffen lies in the middle of a valley, which might appear as merely an oddity at first, but indicates that what ever took down Geffenia, which Geffen is build on top on, is a destructive force capable of levelling nad creating a crate covering an area the size of a city. It is therefore no wonder that Geffen puts so much effort into the sealing of Geffenia.
Here ends the first entry in the travel guide, sorry for the long windiness some of the places. Anyway, I hope you, the reader will one day come visit Geffen, to see the sights and experience firsthand, why Geffen is called the city of magic.
next, the Geffen region.
*leans back* "phew..it's done" *ponders optimistically* "maybe this projekt isn't as farfetch..." *gets interrupted by the rumbling from his stomach* "gah..hunger..had completly forgot to eat" *pulls out loaf of bread and is about to brite from it, as a smll blop of milk jumps up and swallows it* "..." *stares at his empty hand* "..." *stares after the blop* "..." *stares at his empty hand* "..." *stares after the blop* "KILL!" *runs after the blop*
((ooc notes and explinations: 1 sau is the sice of a field from one end to the other, couldn't come up with a better sounding name, so took the scintific naming approach, any large distance will be giving in sau, untill another unit, or unit name is found. The Entry might also be edited, if I come up with something good enough to warrent a change, or hears a suggestion that can be used, so don't hold yourself back. not all images have been added, and doesn't show up un some browser, if anybody know a good image hosting, then please let me know.))