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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hewligan" data-source="post: 4761454" data-attributes="member: 19688">Magnimar, City of MonumentsBuilt in the shadow of megaliths, Magnimar endlessly endeavors to surpass the overwhelming scale and grandeur of the ancient wonders that litter the Varisian landscape. A place of great opportunity, social stress, and cold beauty, the city exudes the airs of a southern metropolis, seeking to rise above its ignoble beginnings as a refuge for Korvosan outcasts to become a beacon of culture and freedom in an unforgiving land. Yet its towering monuments, elegant gardens, ostentatious architecture, and elaborate sculptures form but a cracked mask over a struggling government and a desperate people in need of heroes.Danth knows this well, for it is his home, but to the others, when its sprawling tangle of buildings first become visible from the rise in the road, they can feel their breath being snatched away.M agnimar’s sprawling slate rooftops and marble avenues stretch from the foundations of the unignorable Irespan—a ruined stone bridge of impossible size—to beyond the western banks of the Yondabakari River. A sheer cliff, the Seacleft, cuts through the city’s heart, dividing Magnimar into its two major sections: the Summit, upon the cliff’s top, and the Shore, below. A third district, the Shadow, lies beneath the Irespan, a place where the sun rarely reaches and the city’s failures and corruption hold blatant reign.It is under this looming shadow that Danth's orphanage sits, and it is here that he leads his friends. They need a base of operation, and a place to start putting their feelers out from.OOC: I 'think' that is where the orphanage was, but my memory is a bit rusty! Please correct me if I am wrong.Danth fills you in on a little bit of background on the great city:Today, more than 16,000 people make their homes in Magnimar, with the majority of that populace consisting of humans of Chelish decent. It also boasts the largest semi-settled population of Varisians in the world, with approximately 2,000 such residents— significantly fewer in the spring and summer travel months. Aside from the region’s native nomads, Magnimar hosts a second transient population: thousands of regular traders from far-flung foreign locales, particularly Absalom, Cheliax, and Osirion. Many of these merchants, emissaries, and adventurers have homes that they reside in while passing through but that otherwise remain empty. As a result, whole city blocks—particularly along the Shore—appear deserted for months out of the year. Should every homeowner coincidentally be in the city at the same time, Magnimar’s population would increase by almost half again its current number. The second largest city in Varisia, Magnimar wages an open war of coins and lies with Korvosa to the east. Both city-states vie for control over vassal communities, natural resources, and trade with the cosmopolitan south. This rivalry stretches back to a time even before the city’s founding, as droves of Korvosan dissenters, unwilling to blindly kowtow to foreign despots after the fall of the Chelaxian Empire, departed for the Lost Coast. Ever since, Magnimar has welcomed those who would shape their own fates by the sweat of their brows and keenness of their wits, regardless of race or beliefs. To this end, the city has opened its gates and harbor to all comers, encouraging traders from many lands to discover the wonders of Varisia away from the excessive taxes and regulations of Korvosa, yet in greater safety than that offered by pirate havens like Riddleport.Two architectural marvels dominate the Magnimarian landscape: the ancient Irespan and the modern Arvensoar. Visible for miles out to sea, the ancient basalt bridge known as the Irespan dominates Magnimar’s coastline. Jutting from a prominent foundation upon the Seacleft, the Giant’s Bridge, as it is sometimes called, soars more than 300 feet above the city below, giving the eclipsed area its name: the Shadow.  An obvious remnant of ancient Thassilon, few know what the Irespan once served as.The tallest structure in Magnimar and a wonder in a city of architectural feats, the Arvensoar stands approximately 400 feet tall, climbing the entire length of the Seacleft and extending nearly a hundred feet above. In the simplest senses, the great tower is the garrison of the city’s watch and small military, as well as being a quick city-controlled connection between the Shore and the Summit. Beyond these mundane uses, the tower is a symbol of the city’s unity, ambition, and history. OOC: I have a professional exam tomorrow, and then I am out on Wednesday night, so expect a slight gap. Also please read the OOC thread for a more important (holiday) update.</blockquote>

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