Arken

[Emora Deen]

Arroes, the Capital City of Arken

Imagine a place where the sun hardly ever shines. A place where the streets are as dark as the hearts of the people who roam it. A place where the sun only shines when the queen sleeps. A place where hope is unknown. Love is despised. Kindness slain. Arroes is a large city surrounded by a fifty foot stone wall. All gateways are closed with iron bard doors. To get in you must go through the guards, and they are not the nicest in the world. The city sits on the edge of a cliff over looking the ocean. Down bellow the cliff are the docks, built strong to withstand the waves. The palace is large made from volcanic rock taken from Mount May’em. The doors are iron, thick, large, and oppressing. In the courtyard before you get to the hundred steps that leady up to the doors, there are the statues of the queens that have ruled Arken before. Shea’s being the youngest statue. Two massive statues of greyhens sit on either side of the large steps spewing fire from there mouths. Arroes is a very dangerous place for anyone, more so if you are a pure of heart. Evil lurks around every corner. Take heed of a warning, go there only if you dare.


Darkwood

A town surrounded by a dark forest, where all the buildings are made of wood, even the wall surrounding the town. This is the place where most of the pure of hearts live in Arken. Trapped during the Queen war they reside here, waiting for a chance to get across the border unseen. They hope to one day have a life in the Kingdom of Ighten., one of peace. it’s a dream that most of the good people in Arken share, a dream that might never be fulfilled. A lot of smuggling goes on here. Most Shea’s spies and soldiers that are preparing to go over the border and into Ighten stay the night here before making the dangerous trek up the border.




Ishtassy Village

A village made from stone painted with the blood of their enemies. The first thing you are greeted with if you decide to make your unfortunate trip to the Ishtassy village is one armed guard. No, he is not heavily armed. A dagger is all he has. You think that surely you can fight this man off. However, the Ishtassy’s training is so intense and well done that fighting him would be like fighting five normal warriors. If you happen to get around him and live then you will find a world that is dark and filled with violence. Ishtassy children are taken as babies and thrown into a world of conflict and if they do not survive, then they were unworthy of being known as Ishtassy. They hate everyone and serve no one but themselves and Queen Shea. They are her most prized fighters, and if in battle her personal guard. In the center of the town there is an empty fountain. When they go to war they fill the fountain with the blood of there enemies. The night before they leave for battle the soldiers drink from the fountain, hoping to learn the secrets of there enemy through their blood.




Ra’esh Desert

Miles and miles of nothing but sand. At first the desert is a hard flat surface of cracked and dry earth. The further you get out into the desert the more sand you see until you are walking on an ocean of sand. Dunes can go as high as mountains at some points. During the day it is so hot that living sometimes becomes unbearable. At night its freezing cold and the moon causes the sand to glow white. If you happen to run out of water and wish for a drink and it begins to rain, do not drink. The Gods did not bless you with rain, for the only rain that falls in the desert is poison. In the middle of desert is a village that few women would ever willingly go too. It is a village ruled by men, who enslave women. They are called Raiths. The men, once enslaved by women, rose up against their oppressors and now have taken their places. Though, the men are far harsher to the women, remembering how they had been enslaved so wrongly, the women ruled with out magic. The men were given a gift to help over throw the women, so in a way they cheated.




Mount May’em

It rises higher than any mountain in Heirot. Fire spews from the top and it is constantly raining ash down around the base. Thousands of Fire Mages occupy houses around the base of the mountain, living in peace with the lava rivers and firestorms. Many of those who worship the Fire God Gargon make a climb each year to throw a sacrifice into the very active volcano. Around the mountain on the other side is a tower that is covered in soot and ash. The tower is the Citadel of Dark Robes, a place where sorcerers and sorceresses go to learn the ways of magic. It was the home of Shea while she was learning magic. The tower is surrounded by a magic wall to where only those who are gifted in magic can walk through. It keeps those wishing to destroy magic users out, and also any annoying little pests who were not born with talent.