The seven rings of Arkannen
A guide by Miles Tarantil, alchemist and historian
The fabled city of Arkannen is in truth a mighty and perilous place. A man could wander for days in its fearsome complexity and never get beyond the first of its seven rings. Even those who have lived in the city for generations know only a fraction of its secrets.
The fabled city of Arkannen is in truth a mighty and perilous place. A man could wander for days in its fearsome complexity and never get beyond the first of its seven rings. Even those who have lived in the city for generations know only a fraction of its secrets.
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A traveller approaching from the plains would enter the city through the Gate of Birth. Walking amid the bustle and trade of the first ring, he might encounter merchants from all over the world, selling all manner of exotic goods: mahogany and teak brought downriver from the Ingal States, fine fabrics carried across the desert from Parovia, spices landed by airship from the opiate fields of Sol Kardis.
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He might wander into the Night Quarter, where the brothels and bordellos offer every kind of vice. He might walk through the Floating Gardens and marvel at the rare plants, or pay a visit to one of the many smoking dens to wreathe himself in dreams.
If at last he found his way past these delights, the traveller would pass through the Gate of Flame into the second ring. |
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Here smiths and smelters, jewellers and glassblowers forge the ores of Mirrorvale's mines and the sands of its desert into leaf-thin metal and delicate glass that are prized throughout the world.
Beyond that, the Gate of Wind leads to the third ring, from which the great airships transport their cargoes to the corners of the earth; smaller balloons carry passengers to and fro. |
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It is unlikely that our traveller would penetrate much further than this. If he was lucky, he might be invited through the Gate of Wood into the fourth ring, where the houses of the city's inhabitants rise in stripes of brown and gold, their flat roofs spilling over with bright jewelled flowers. He might find his way through the Sixteen Quarters using the stripes of different colours that are paved into the streets.
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However, it is very rare for an outsider to pass through the Gates of Steel and Ice into the inner rings of the city.
The fifth ring is home to the subtle arts of combat; here the weaponmasters train their apprentices in the use of blade, staff and bow. Some of the world's most prized warriors are born through Arkannen's Gate of Steel. |
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Beyond that, in the sixth ring, the city's temples turn their gleaming faces to the sun, their delicate spires and tinkling chimes a monument to the powers we cannot see. Their bells count out the phases of each day, marking with silver voices the inevitable passing of time. The priestesses of the sixth ring are respected and honoured by every citizen of Arkannen; woe betide any visitor who trespasses unasked in their domain.
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The seventh and final gate, the Gate of Death, leads to the innermost ring. Atop the hill at its heart, a blackstone tower lifts its unbowed head to the sky: Darkhaven. As long as there are Changers within its walls, so it is said, Mirrorvale will remain unconquered.
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