gothwalk
Explorer
Pardel, the Painted City
Pardel is a city built in a great desert, around the shores of a complex of artificial lakes and canals, magically supplied with water. The architecture tends toward low buildings, usually no more than two stories, with many courtyards, open passageways, and communal yards. There are occasional towers which rise to ten or twelve stories, built at the centre of a complex of other buildings - these are often the working centres of the Tashem, the various guilds that run the city. Almost all the buildings are of a golden-brown sandstone, and the streets are paved with great slabs of the same, swept clean of sand and rubbish constantly by the street cleaners.
Most of the people dress in the traditional Pardelan style - bare-chested, with a long skirt in white or ivory cotton about the waist, and the upper body painted in swirling patterns in many colors. They go barefoot, and the hair is worn short, or bound up in complex braids. There are more sorcerers in Pardel than in other parts of the world, and while their power is not often great, many of them keep ocelots and other small cats as familiars. Many of the non-sorcerers of the city keep cats as well, and the nobles keep cheetahs to hunt with, and as housepets. Mirrors are a common thing throughout the city, as decoration on buildings, as jewellery, and as message senders, which have coloured glass, and flash messages from rooftop to rooftop in complex patterns of movement.
Pardel is ruled over by a Tashemon, appointed from the ranks of the Tashem every ten years. Other officials are the Talma, the guards of the city, who wear leather armour moulded to look like they too are bare chested, and the Wanae, the tax-collectors, who shave their heads except for top-knots of hair, and carry great scimitars.
There are many temples throughout the city, some large, some small, and many are dedicated to more than one god. The Pardelans build or extend temples and shrines in remembrance of the dead, and where the deceased dealt with more than one god, then the temple in memory of them does likewise.
[I came up with Pardel on the train this morning - I needed an exotic locale for tonight's game. Further suggestions will be welcome!]
Pardel is a city built in a great desert, around the shores of a complex of artificial lakes and canals, magically supplied with water. The architecture tends toward low buildings, usually no more than two stories, with many courtyards, open passageways, and communal yards. There are occasional towers which rise to ten or twelve stories, built at the centre of a complex of other buildings - these are often the working centres of the Tashem, the various guilds that run the city. Almost all the buildings are of a golden-brown sandstone, and the streets are paved with great slabs of the same, swept clean of sand and rubbish constantly by the street cleaners.
Most of the people dress in the traditional Pardelan style - bare-chested, with a long skirt in white or ivory cotton about the waist, and the upper body painted in swirling patterns in many colors. They go barefoot, and the hair is worn short, or bound up in complex braids. There are more sorcerers in Pardel than in other parts of the world, and while their power is not often great, many of them keep ocelots and other small cats as familiars. Many of the non-sorcerers of the city keep cats as well, and the nobles keep cheetahs to hunt with, and as housepets. Mirrors are a common thing throughout the city, as decoration on buildings, as jewellery, and as message senders, which have coloured glass, and flash messages from rooftop to rooftop in complex patterns of movement.
Pardel is ruled over by a Tashemon, appointed from the ranks of the Tashem every ten years. Other officials are the Talma, the guards of the city, who wear leather armour moulded to look like they too are bare chested, and the Wanae, the tax-collectors, who shave their heads except for top-knots of hair, and carry great scimitars.
There are many temples throughout the city, some large, some small, and many are dedicated to more than one god. The Pardelans build or extend temples and shrines in remembrance of the dead, and where the deceased dealt with more than one god, then the temple in memory of them does likewise.
[I came up with Pardel on the train this morning - I needed an exotic locale for tonight's game. Further suggestions will be welcome!]
