Il Aluk
Il Aluk, once the shining heart of Darkon, is a city of sharp contrasts—of grandeur and decay, ritual and rot, power and paranoia. Rising above the mist-choked plains, this so-called City of Enlightenment is a gothic jewel of spires, domes, and shadowed boulevards, whose surface elegance hides the slow, inexorable rot of a society unraveling under the weight of secrets, sorcery, and fear.
Il Aluk is a city of elegance clinging to rot—a place where sophistication masks dread, and magic is as much a tool of survival as it is of power. Whether it still stands as Darkon’s crown jewel or has fallen to the bleak hush of undeath, it remains a symbol of Darkon's tragic grandeur: beautiful, brilliant, and already half a mausoleum.
Demographics
Cultured and imposing, but brittle with suspicion and dread
Il Aluk was once the epitome of Darkonian civilization—a bastion of arcane learning, literature, and political intrigue. But since the mysterious disappearance of Azalin and the rising chaos of the Fracture, the city’s veneer of refinement grows ever thinner. Academic institutions still hum, theaters still perform, and nobles still host salons, but everyone knows something is deeply wrong.
Citizens wear masks at social functions—once fashionable, now a subtle means of hiding fear and identity alike.
Necromancy is tolerated, even respected, but unlicensed use is frowned upon—unless done discreetly.
Ghost sightings are common but rarely acknowledged aloud.
Paranoia is endemic; nearly every home is fortified, every alley watched, every conversation veiled in double meanings.
Government
Institutions and Power Centers:
The University of Il Aluk: Once the foremost seat of learning in the Core, its halls now whisper with disquiet. Professors vanish, students conduct unauthorized experiments, and entire wings are cordoned off "for restoration."
The Crown’s Archive: A great stone library and magical vault, housing tomes bound in both leather and less savory materials.
The Pale Parliament: A bureaucratic body that still pretends to govern in Azalin’s absence. In truth, it’s gridlocked by fear, dominated by sorcerous aristocrats and necromantic clergy.
The Hidden Seminary: A secretive enclave of death priests and spiritualists who seek communion with the city’s dead—and its departed ruler.
Architecture
Il Aluk is a vision of Neo-Gothic majesty, its skyline pierced by cathedrals, clock towers, and faceted observatories. Nearly every rooftop is watched over by gargoyles, some decorative, some rumored to be animate. Its stone streets wind in measured rings, designed according to arcane principles of symmetry and containment—a city that believes in order, even as it decays from within.
The Grand Promenade: A central thoroughfare lined with alchemical apothecaries, bookstores, astrologers, and opera houses.
Blackspire Hill: The oldest district, where the nobility and magical elite reside in steep-walled manors draped in ivy and isolation.
The Bone Market: Il Aluk’s necromantic bazaar, discreetly tucked beneath the city’s ossuary quarter, where reagents, relics, and forbidden texts change hands behind silk curtains.
Alternative Name(s)
City of Enlightenment; The Eternal City; City of Masks; The Hollow Court
Type
City
Population
Predominantly human, with sizable numbers of half-elves, gnomes, and secretive undead in disguise
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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