Aurevaine

Aurevaine – The Upper City of the Amesti Dukedom

High above the endless waves of the eastern coast lies Aurevaine, the crown of the Amesti Dukedom and one of the most exquisite cities in the Lucent Realm. Built into and above the jagged cliffside, it exists as a miracle of magic and control; a place where gravity is denied, dirt is sanitized, and every breath of air feels filtered by design. This is where the noble families of the Amesti reside, their manors carved into pale stone and glassy crystal, their towers reaching skyward like the spires of a forgotten god’s palace.

At the heart of it all floats the Amaranth Hold, a semi-suspended estate tethered to the cliff only by anchored strands of arcane force. It is both palace and symbol: the ruling seat of House Amesti and a constant reminder of their telekinetic legacy. The hold slowly rotates according to the patterns of the stars, its orientation changing each season in a silent display of magical refinement. Around it, noble estates cluster like petals of a flower, each one tailored with aesthetic perfection and never too close, never unbalanced, always in harmony with the whole.

Cleanliness, and Control

In Aurevaine, walking is something the poor do. The streets, such as they exist, are narrow platforms and skybridges, carefully arranged to accommodate the city’s true method of transport are the arcane transit currents. These invisible pathways of energy allow residents to float gracefully from terrace to terrace. Soft lights appear underfoot as one steps into them, and the system quietly carries each passenger to their next destination, adjusting speed, orientation, and flow to avoid crowding. To walk by foot outside these pathways is frowned upon, if not so quietly mocked.

Cleanliness is law. The city enforces an unrelenting standard of purity, maintained by magical constructs and alchemical vapors. Stone paths are scrubbed by unseen brushes, facades glisten from self-repairing enchantments, and fountains constantly recycle crystal-clear water that smells faintly of lavender and mint. Visitors must pass through cleansing arches known as Aether Gates to enter the city. These shimmering thresholds remove physical grime, neutralize odors, and, it is said, even ease unsavory thoughts. Those who fail to meet the city's aesthetic expectations are quietly redirected to public cleansing atriums and invited to “compose themselves” before continuing.

If they still fail in that design, they are shuffled off to the southern gateway and brought to the lower city, for they are not welcome in such a wonderful place like Aurevaine.

Polished Prestige

Aurevaine’s daily life is slow, poised, and saturated with judgment. The noble class lives in quiet competition, where every gesture, every outfit, and every minor enchantment signals status and refinement. The upper city is filled with private salons, bookshops that trade in first-edition spellbooks, and tea parlors where conversation is as curated as the menu. There are no markets in the traditional sense — instead, Aurevaine’s famed Ward Domes serve as enclosed environments for shopping, leisure, and arcane display. Each dome is tuned to a distinct atmosphere: one replicates the still twilight of a mountaintop; another mimics the calm of a drifting cloud isle; a third hums with the warmth of a lost garden-world. Within these domes, artisans sell clothing that changes color with the wearer’s voice, glassware that sings when touched, and books that whisper secrets to those deemed worthy.

It is also home to the Mirrorwalk; a long, terraced promenade lined with enchanted crystalline mirrors. These mirrors show not just a person’s reflection, but the shimmer and shape of their magical potential. It is here that the city’s elite gather not to socialize, but to silently assess. Young scions are judged by the sharpness of their aura. Guests from foreign realms are paraded, weighed, and whispered about. It is not uncommon for one’s future to be decided in a single turn of the heel before a reflective pane.

While beauty and etiquette are the face of Aurevaine, magic is its soul. Arcane excellence is the true currency of status here; noble houses compete not with armies, but with patents, rituals, and new theorems. The city boasts more magical engineers, artificers, and elemental sculptors per capita than any other in the Lucent Realm. Most of these talents are trained within the great Amesti Academy, a structure built farther down the cliffside, though still within reach of the currents. Though technically not part of Aurevaine proper, the Academy’s influence weaves through every aspect of the city’s culture.

Noble houses fund research, hoard discoveries, and secretly steal ideas from rivals. Whispered rumors speak of arcane surveillance webs hidden in the transit currents and memory-laced ink traded in exclusive salons. Rival families sometimes hire dimension-traveling scholars to subtly ruin a rival’s enchantments or reveal their magical inadequacies in a moment of public performance. In Aurevaine, the blade is rarely drawn

Instead a single whispered flaw in one’s casting technique can be just as lethal.

Despite all its refinement, Aurevaine is a city closed off from the rest of the world. Its residents do not mix with the lower docks unless required. Foreigners are welcomed only under sponsorship, and even then are rarely allowed to stay long.