Lumengrad

FROM MAK'TI's NOTES

Ruled by Yorok’il, Emperor of the Vedalken empire, alongside his wife, Queen Galal’il. The Vedalken have ruled a small portion of wildspace for generations, but have managed to stay out of any major wars, preferring an empire of secrecy so they can pursue their intense quest for knowledge of the cosmos. Their reign is said to have lasted so long, the first Vedalken emperor lived during the time of the legendary blue dragon Aureon, the god of Law and Knowledge, and many believe a portion of their technology was gifted from the god himself. Lumengrad is the capital city.

When it comes to knowledge of the Arcane arts and the understanding of the metaphysics of the universe itself, few cultures can match the Vedalken prowess. They are viewed as cold rationalists who organize themselves as a collection of scholars and scientists and artificers. They go through intense experimentation and log everything before they make any decisions, and are trained at a young age to suppress their emotions, for they only cloud scientific assessments. While they understand that perfection is impossible to achieve, the noble is pursuit of perfection serves as the moral compass for all Vedalken scholars.

In this Empire, prophets and divinations are not only frowned upon, but banned entirely by imperial decree. The emotional suppression techniques taught to all aid in suppressing any affinity to divination, and as a result, no Vedalken is capable of having dreams.

NOTE - Vedalken and Astral Elves DO NOT GET ALONG. Both think they are the superior race and hate being treated as inferior by the other  

AN EMPIRE OF SECRECY

Existing in a distant corner of wildpace on a planet named Vedalkos, hidden by various wards and illusions, Lumengrad can only be found by those who already know where it is. The rest of the Empire's colonies are also hidden, but are mainly mining and agricultural worlds (the Frontier), and most of the population lives on Vedalkos.

• Ancient wars and the destruction of their original home due to aberrations from the Nine-Hells made this a necessity. When their original capital, Lumengrid fell, the royal line was maintained in secret, with an heir being rescued and eventually brought to their new home to continue the Empire.
• Vedalken scouts and explorers are all armed with suicide pills to ensure if they are captured they cannot bring anyone back to Lumengrad
• Any Vedalken alliy who wishes to study and learn at Lumengrad can only do so if they agree to spend the rest of their days in the Lumengrad city. Therefore, there are few outsiders within Lumengrad.

MAINTAINING ORDER

The rule of the Empire falls to the King and Queen, currently Yorok’il and his wife Galal’il, with a small council that helps them in matters of state.

• A current notable member of the council is named Judai’aruk, a brilliant mage and quiet adversary to the King who has coveted the crown for ages. He was the one who took care of the King's heir's banishment, and enslavement on the world of Domunz. He is also the current Keeper of the Orrery of the Wanderer - story plot . Currently, following the revelation of his treachery in enslaving Mak'Ti, he fled Lumengrad with the Orrery, which shattered into 7 components. The King currently has Simic Spys out searching for Judai’aruk, realizing the danger if he should reveal their location, as well the danger of him having the Orrery, which the Vedalken had safeguarded for hundreds of years.

• Taking a page from the Azorius Senate, the Vedalken have created their own Law Mages to patrol and keep the peace on Lumengrad
• If anyone was deemed too dangerous too stay within Lumengrad or even the Empire, they were banished for a period befitting their crime, with their memories purged of the Empire's location.

SIMIC COMBINE and the GUARDIAN PROJECT

One such group of alies that was willing to stay indefinitely in Lumengrad were the scientists of the Simic Combine, specifically those of the Guardian Project

• Seizing the opportunity to operate away from the main Combine strict bureaucracy and work alongside the brilliant Vedalken, dozens of Simic scientists have founded a Guardian Project station in Lumengrad, and have already shown promising results
• Needing humanoid subjects for their experiments, many Vedalken do volunteer to become Simic Hybrids, but otherwise they often use Vedalken prisoners and people who illegal found their way into Vedalken space, offering them a choice of life in prison, or freedom as a Simic Hybrid in service to the Empire

QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE

Lumengrad had numerous colleges and one main center of Learning, the Royal University

• This is where Mak'Ti went to school
• Arcane Arts is where the Vedalken excelled the most, and were quite adept at teaching it to the next generation
• The only caveat is that they do not teach, practice, or accept any form of Divination or the practice thereof.

 

LUMENGRAD LIBRARY

Greatest library in the city, situated within the royal grounds

• There is a 3 story statue of the Great Dragon God of Knowledge Aureon standing before the Library
• It's Forbidden Wing is said to have all manner of resticted Arcane studies, including topics like Divination, the history of the original Lumengrid on Mirrodin (renamed New Phrexia), and the Phyresis process
• Phyresis (progressive generation) is the transformation of a living thing into a Phyrexian creature. After the process, the creature is considered to be compleated (state of Phyrexian maturity and perfection.). Phyresis (essentially the replacement of weak mortality with artifice) was developed by Yawgmoth many millenia ago, when he wanted to save the remnants and descendants of the phthisis-inflicted Thran. Phyresis is brought about by glistening oil (also known as Phyrexian oil or Ichor, is a viral substance engineered by the Phyrexians to spread corruption wherever it travels. It is both a contagion and a means of colonization, used to compleat creatures into Phyrexians and power Phyrexian machines as well).

AUREON - The Blue Dragon God of Knowledge

There was little to no religious contructions in Lumengrad. Their main deity was Aureon, and sovereign shrines arose where people feel the deity was close, such as a library for Aureon.

• Aureon is the Sovereign of Law and Lore. He is considered the first wizard, who shared the secrets of wizardry with the multiverse.
• Celebrants sing the songs of Aureon at weddings and special ceremonies
• However, the commoners of Lumengrad did fear The Shadow, as it was closely connected to Aureon
• The Shadow is the dark side of knowledge and ambition. It’s said to be Aureon’s shadow, given malign life when Aureon mastered magic. The Shadow is the maker of monsters and the keeper of forbidden secrets, and it offers malevolent spells to warlocks and wizards.