- Messages
- 257
- Character Biography
- Link
Volta, the City of Lightning, was preparing for a great and grand week indeed. The city, being seated on a massive copper deposit next to the sea, was in a perpetual storm of electric activity. The soil, though it meant no crops could grow, was the secret to the city’s success. Yes, the land outside of Volta was barren for miles. To the uneducated it would seem a death trap, a land fallow and streaked in copper poison that killed whatever plant dare lay root there. Her defenses were equally as intimidating, gigantic spires of metal that rose to the sky and called down terrifying bursts of lightning. The tension was incredible, and any man or creature who wore metal on his person was soon to find himself fried to a crisp.
To the Voltese, it was a way of life. Their city was devoid of all metal. Buildings were elegant constructions of stone and wood. Glass featured heavily in construction, pulled up by Transmutation mages from the beaches and underwater sands of the coast. A glassworker’s dream of windows, hanging signs, jewelry, spectacles, spy glasses, and even in purely ornamental arrangements next to the buildings.
Volta prided itself on magic, and one only had to take to the streets to see it. Black clad mages employed by the city and identified by the yellow numbered ribbons on their cuffs, cultured light. Street lamps were lit day and night by these mages, and more astoundingly...words. Ingenious glassworkers had twisted delicate tubes into wording, which were filled with magelight to produce words that glowed. It was a wildly popular form of advertisement, and every shop that could afford the costly instrumentation did so.
This was most notable on the brothel, a towering building of over three stories with thick tube lettering down the side of one corner. Electric Dreams was it’s name, shouted loudly in bright pink magelight that had its own private mage dedicated to its upkeep. The brothel was an unusual one; mages schooled in a secretive illusion practice were kept here. One could have any desires one wanted, crafted carefully into a curated dream. The men and women inside, however, paid dearly for this talent. Each mage’s legs ended just below the ankle, often ornamented in carved wood decoration meant to draw attention away from the mutilation.
Brothels were not all on offer today.
Today was an event that Mayor Emelia Bram looked forward to. The mages of Volta worked tirelessly, and once a year, they aided in an ambitious industry for the University.
The capture and study of lightning.
Today, mages from all over Volta would gather and direct the storms to unleash their fury onto ships constructed precisely for the event. Ships with spires of copper, and copper woven into their sails. Ships meant to net lightning like other men netted fish. It took dozens of mages to contain such a ferocious force of nature, but the study of lightning was critical to the University. They wanted to know what caused Arethil to unleash such bolts of energy. They wanted to capture and touch and study what they believed were the very roots of all magic.
Consequently, the entire city was in uproar. The streets had been lined with gaily colored ribbon, and illusionists made tiny scraps of paper float from the sky to disappear harmlessly on the cobblestone. It was a veritable snow of color. The people were out in force as well. Open air restaurants flung their doors open, welcoming anyone to sit on stools and enjoy every type of cuisine. Even the infamous Sugarcane, a wildly popular confectionary, had set out a booth. Enchanted chocolate rabbits bounced around a glass case, flanked by hurricane jars taller than a troll that held every flavor of candy stick. Huge barrels of a Voltese specialty, saltwater taffy, were on display. Citizens crowded the streets, waiting for evening when the clouds would inevitably gather and the mages would aid their brave sailors. Every man who could afford a seat on the docks would be there. Every race, from the smallest halfling to hulking trolls and orcs, was welcome and embraced.
Visitors to the city would be encouraged to check in metal objects either at the various small booths dotting the border, or at the Office of Conductivity just inside the city gates to the right. The Office was happy to store any weaponry or metal items in thick wool batting, and provided leather fobs to visitors to check their items in and retrieve the correct amount. Similarly, currency could be exchanged here, so that metal coins didn’t attract electricity and zap the poor tourists. Gold was exchanged for glass, silver for dark walnut, and copper for white pine.
Volta was a city that prided itself on multiculturalism, and nothing made that so obvious as the banner flung across the entrance to the city:
No Gods or Kings, yet Knowledge.
OOC: Welcome to Volta! This event is open for all to enjoy! Please, explore the city until nightfall when the show begins. All races and creeds are welcome...just remember to strip your character of metal!
Last edited: