Holy City of Calm

The Holy City of Calm is the cultural and governmental capital of Jura, a small but advanced nation on the far Voideastern tip of the continent of the Lorent, in the great archipelago now known as the Broken Empire. It is a wondrous city, nestled high on the great mountain of Margulis Mons, built largely of the same grey-white stone as its environs.

Overlooking the city are the wondrous Worldsend Eyries, culminating in Esclabor, built to defend against the God of Annihilation, Elir-Otrinax, and its draconic armies during the First Dragon Wars of the Late First Age. It is from these stone-carved battlements that the Holy City first took shape, originally a pilgrimmage site celebrating the resolve of the human spirit over adversity.

Once a bustling metropolis at the heart of the great Juran Empire, it is a quiet echo of its former heights. Nonetheless, it still houses the ruling Conciliat Panharmonica, who oversee the Lorent with quiet but watchful eyes.    

Geography

   

Description

  See also: Imagery of Jura (External Link)

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The oldest parts of the city are built directly into the cliff face of Margulis Mons, in a way distantly reminiscent of Kettite architecture. Below the Old City's view are patches of stone temples and group housing, built in an often cramped and vertical manner on the narrow plateaus of Margulis's slopes. Travelers up the mountain may use spare beds free of charge (though donations are customary).  

Origin

  See also Calm's precursor: the great mountain-carved fortress of Esclabor.

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The crowning achievement of Juran—perhaps even Material—Civilization is the Holy City of Calm. Built in partnership between Emperor Olcadan of Dhund and the dwarves of Nibelheim over the near two centuries of Olcadan’s rule, Calm was built to leave religious awe on the tongues of their visitors. Simply setting eyes on the city strengthened the devotion of the Empire’s subjects and left a stone of hopelessness in the stomachs of their enemies. Now, with the Empire waning, the dwarves gone and Olcadan in his grave, the outer areas of this marvelous city crumble with disuse, though the original, ancient halls of Esclabor are still said to headquarter the ruling Conciliat Panharmonica.  

The Fade

  Author's Note: Not to be confused with the "Bleed" or "Blend", a term that describes when the strength of the Veil between Waking Materia and the Duskscape is low, resulting in bleed-over of Twilight phenomena.

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A bizarre thing happens as you ascend the many stairs towards the heart and terminus of the Holy City of Calm: colours gradually fade into greys. There’s no confirmed cause of this baffling phenomenon, and indeed represents an entire branch of scholarship, both Juran and abroad. Soil, rock, fern and grass are studied: little is different, except some changes in plants that attracted pollinators by colour. Fauna are studied and the conclusions are the same, along with changes in species that use colour to attract mates or warn off predators.

As there seems to be no physical emission, perhaps it is an effect that directly targets the mind. A proverbial flash that only seems to blind the ‘colour’ aspects of our eyes. Not brightness or sharpness. Non-humanoids are uniformly affected, which is virtually unheard-of for environmental culprits, but not for magical ones. An ancient ritual gone awry then? But not a whiff of lingering illusionary or prismatic weave. This is the crux of the resulting scholarship.

At any rate, that is (one hopes) the entire effect, and the good news in that regard is that Jurans seem to be no more prone than any other to disease, misfortune or really any type of early death. They are, however, forced by the Conciliat to venture out beyond the Effect a few times during their youth, so they do not find the colours overly sickening or stressful. Visitors, too, find the ‘greyscale’ view unsettling, though the effects are rarely as acute.