Vai' Dana

A town built around it's massive prison. The place where most of the Golden City's serious criminals are shipped out to and end up serving their sentences from within.

Vai-Dana is a grim and infamous town built around the massive, foreboding structure of its prison, which dominates the landscape and defines the settlement’s identity. Located in a remote and desolate region of Azmith, the town used to be a military for, but after the capital of Azmith was founded, Vai-Dana is where the Golden City sends its most dangerous and unwanted individuals—those whose crimes or reputations are too vile even for Azmith's lenient standards.

The Vai-Dana Prison, often referred to simply as "The Hollow," is an immense fortress of stone and metal designed to be inescapable. Its high, spiked walls and looming watchtowers are visible from miles away, casting long shadows over the surrounding town. Inside, the prison is a labyrinth of cells, work yards, and punishment chambers, where survival is often dictated by brutality, cunning, or sheer luck. Prisoners range from notorious warlords and assassins to traitors, slavers who overstepped their bounds, and political dissenters. For many, being sent to Vai-Dana is considered a fate worse than death.

The town grew up around the prison to serve its needs. It is a place where law exists only to maintain control over the incarcerated population. The majority of the town’s residents are prison staff, guards, and their families, with a smattering of merchants, innkeepers, and other service workers who cater to the needs of the town’s harsh environment. Shanties and utilitarian buildings dominate the town, with little in the way of beauty or comfort. The air is thick with dust and the faint stench of despair carried on the hot desert winds. The economy thrives on the prison’s presence, with local businesses profiting from the supply of food, weapons, and other goods necessary to keep the institution running.