Avantas’tol, also known as The City of Glass and Stone and the Traveller's Window as well as occasionally spelt as Avantas Tol, is an Arkn city located on the forest/mountain border of Distalia and Mistria. Founded in the Second Age, it is a hub of commerce and trade, as well as the biggest den of underground gambling in all of the Empyrium. It is a massive city, due to the conquests undertaken by Amartas Irinith, and has become very imperialistic under the rule of the Irinith family.
Avantas'tol is the sole exception to the Thani system set up by the Eldrici, as it has negotiated with the Eldrici and gained special privileges as an dominion/major trade city for the Arkn.
History
Founding
The city was founded by Gauldrisin Vensir, a travelling Arkn merchant looking to settle down and build a hub upon which to ground his already massive trading empire. He enlisted the help of the architect Availse Astol, who helped design and construct the distinctive architecture of Avantas’tol. The city itself was named for the windows its architect helped create (the Astol windows), as well as named with the Evarith word for “Traveler,” (Avantas). Hence, the Erisian translation of Avantas’tol is “Traveler’s Window.”
Important Events
The Breaking of the Window
The Breaking of the Window was the first real siege that Avantas’tol sustained. During the rule of the recently crowned Gavreel Irinith, a faction of the Dekn Army was sent to siege Avantas’tol; the siege, known as The Breaking of the Window, lasted a year, pushing the resources of the city to their limits and angering the city’s famously pacifistic ruler. It culminated in an explosive battle between the armies known as the Astol Massacre, with the Dekn General leading the charge (Haaz’ifor Nezail, an often brash figure) facing Gavreel himself.
Gavreel not only brought reinforcements from the Distalian Thani to the battle, but also brought as his weapon, the staff that he had been crafting in secret: the Lucare’obarach, otherwise known as the Staff of Light or (as it is more often called) Gavreel’s Thorn. It is famously said that Gavreel left the Dekn General as the only living member of the faction, declaring “I leave you alive not for mercy, but so that you may tell your Master of War this: if any of you Dekn even conceive to harm my subjects again, the blood that has been spilt here will be but a fanciful dream compared to the suffering I will lay upon your people.”
Amartas’s Near-Assassination
Amartas Irinith, the Benevolent Conqueror, gained many enemies when he killed the Bard of the Black Violin. He already had angered several denizens of the cities he conquered, and this murder further inflamed tensions against him; despite the Bard's disgrace, there were still many who saw the Eld’strixa of the Black Violin as a hero.
Sure enough, an unnamed rebel later tried to assassinate Amartas in broad daylight. The youngest of Amartas’s three sons, Ryu’lough, ended up taking the blow that would have killed Amartas, giving his life to save his father. Due to the death of Ryu’lough, Amartas’s last living son, Tabbris Irinith, was crowned ruler of Avantas'tol upon Amartas’s death.
Government
Avantas'tol's government is run in the manner of an absolute monarchy, with the title of “Indazari” bestowed upon the ruler. It has been ruled by the Irinith dynasty for hundreds and hundreds of years, with others having ruled here and there. The current ruler is Sevar’khai Irinith, Franz Faust’s half-brother.
Avantas’tol is a massive enough city that delegates from Avantas’tol are sent to the court of the Distalian Thani (with some of the Thani’s men being sent over to Avantas’tol in turn), in order to keep healthy relations between the two cities. There are several nobles and merchants in the court of Avantas’tol as well, coming into the court for various reasons.
Culture
In addition to the usual Arkn holidays (Creation Day, the Arknza Feast Days), Avantas'tol has a number of unique holidays and practices.
Astol Festival
The Astol Festival is a yearly celebration, celebrating the yearly harvest and prosperity of Avantas’tol as well as the founding of the city. Usually there is the feasts of food and drink had by all, along with the sharing of a traditional drink known as Perpenthe Juice. Perpenthe Juice is essentially the equivalent of a Pumpkin Spice Latte; it is harvested from the roots of a seasonal plant, which only grows above ground around the time of the Astol Festival; these roots are distilled into a drink that is fermented with a bit of spice to make Perpenthe Juice.
The Astol Festival is a joyous occasion for all, with many good memories had on the festival nights. Elaborate balls and dances are normally thrown around this time. The ruling Indazari usually participates in the festivities to some capacity, throwing a Royal Avaridrin ball (which is, more often than not, a spectacular sight). The Festival is also the traditional time of the year to swear an Inkaal’sen bond with someone, or bond as Inkaal’siitr, in an elaborate celebration known as an Inkaal’galis.
Anarechol’galis
The Anarechol’galis (or Festival of Sorrows) is the annual day of mourning in Avantas'tol. Originally established to commemorate the heroic sacrifice of Ryu’lough Irinith, it has since evolved into a general day of remembrance and honor all the heroes of the past. It is marked by a solemn ceremony at his graveside memorial, at which poetry is read.
Layout
There are four main districts in Avantas'tol:
- Merchant’s District/Bazaar: Where things are sold and most of the trade that fuels Avantas’tol occurs. Contained in an enormous structure of linked buildings and tents known as the Avantas Bazaar, this place is where many go to buy imported goods or even just to purchase things for their daily life (i.e. ingredients for cooking, furniture, etc.)
- Entertainment/Food/Clothing District: A district packed to the brim with other storefronts and restaurants. One gets the sense that it holds the overflow shops from the Merchant’s District, as well as places to eat for the hungry shoppers and clothing made in Avantas’tol directly. This is where half of the underground gambling of the city takes place.
- Housing District: Holds housing of all kinds, including the housing for the richest of the merchants living in Avantas’tol.
- Manufacturing District: Surrounds the outskirts of the city, it is widely considered the “slums” of Avantas’tol. This is where the poorest of the city live.
These all meet at the center of the city, where the biggest structure resides: the Avantas’thern, or Avantas Spires. This is the citadel where the Indazari and royal family of Avantas’tol resides.
Landmarks
- Aluca’ard Dias: A landmark monument built in the honor of the first Irinith, Aluca’ard Irinith. It is surrounded by a verdant park that is filled with a carefully cultivated Arkn garden. Out of all the sights to see in Avantas'tol, it’s this one that is one of the most breathtaking in the whole city.
- The Underground: Through three main secret entrances (one in the Entertainment district, one in the Manufacturing District, and one in the Bazaar), one may enter the Underground. The Underground forms the secret hideaways and underground tunnels of the city. Once heavily fortified, they have now fallen out of memory since the city’s peace and have been overrun by gamblers and merchants looking to make a quick buck off of betting.
- Gavreel's Monument: A beautifully carved statue of Gavreel Irinith, located in the Housing District. On its base is carved in a particularly formal dialect of Evarith: “May the legacy of Indazari Gavreel Irinith be continued and may his name forever be passed down in song."
- Court of Golden Leaves: In the Merchant’s District, there is a place known as the Court of Golden Leaves, where Arkn musicians have been known to play and Arkn culture flourishes. It was said that Beteriand often debuted new stories and music here during his long tenure in Avantas'tol with Gavreel.
Technology
Defense
They are fairly advanced in warcraft for an Arkn city, having recently invested in SEEKER’s latest sigil-craft weapons like Veiledge swords and Lykator guns to help fight off any enemy that might think to harm Avantas’tol. After the Breaking of the Window, they heavily fortified themselves. During Amartas’s conquests, Avantas’tol became more fortified than it ever was; weapons were forged, a complex system of catacombs and tunnels were dug out, and buildings were fortified to be even more siege-proof. While the buildings are beautiful, they are also practical and defensive, and can go into lockdown on a moment’s notice.
Design
The architecture of the citadel, and the city itself, is known for both its beauty and its innovation. It was inspired by Celtic and Gothic architecture of Ersis, and is notable for its stained glass windows. The architect of the city, Availse Astol, helped pioneer this new form of window (known as "Astol Windows"); each pane of glass is infused with ground-up Rethryc crystals that have already been used or cannot hold a charge. Like the city's architecture, the windows are not only aesthetically pleasing, but defensive, and were designed to be bulletproof.