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The average height of an artrune (Are-Troon) ranges somewhere between 5’2” to 5’6”. In rare cases, there are some artrune that are much shorter or taller than what is to be expected. Some artrune remain around 4’10”, regardless of age. They don’t grow anymore than that. But there are also artrune that are abnormally tall, some as tall as 6’5”.

Their skin color ranges from a pale peach to a very dark chocolate in color.

Artrune are average magic users. There are some specially gifted that can use powerful magic, but most prefer to stick with magic that is easier to master and won’t potentially kill them if they use it too much. Race-exclusive magic for the artrune are blood mages; those who can use and manipulate their own blood (and sometimes others). With this, they can always have a weapon on hand without needing to carry one physically and this weapon can change forms day-to-day.

The average lifespan of the artrune race is around 79 years of age. Depending on how well the artrune takes care of themselves using regular exercise and eating healthy foods, they can possibly live longer, even around 100 or more years. Riders and Dragons, should they find their partner, can live eternally unless mortally wounded and killed, regardless of their race’s lifespans.

The artrune are just one of many races that can breed together to create hybrid children. Some hybrids look more like one race than the other. Special race-exclusive magics remain race-exclusive; not even hybrids have the privilege of dipping into that kind of magic. However, what race restrictions on classes can change depending on the hybrids produced.

This hybrid shares most of their physical strength and magical attributes with their artrune parentage. Their ears, eyes, and height allow them to even pass as pure-mewah as long as they aren’t discovered through any means. The only hair that grows on them is both the hair on top of their head and down below the waistline (not including on the legs). A Half-Artrune, Half-Mewah hybrid can be either Dragon, Magulis, or Rider Class.

clanofstuff's character, Velario Murali.

This type of hybrid has two different outcomes: They will either keep their artrune parent’s height and a lack of defined muscles unless they work themselves up to that point on their own. However, they will have the stamina of an average artrune. These hybrids will inherit the skin color and ears of their sil’nyy parent, and will sport a smaller version of the father’s horns (if the hybrid is male). They do not inherit the father’s studded brows.

Not all Sil'nyy Hybrids have horns.

The other type of hybrid will look more artrune when it comes to skin color and will have a lack of horns and lack of sil’nyy shaped ears. However, they will have the height and the natural stature of a sil’nyy. This means they will be as tall as one and sport more defined muscles.

admin's character, Francis.

There are four total Artrune cities. However, one has been completely abandoned due to The Great Magical Storm, caused by war between it and a nearby mewahen city and has thus been left in ruin.

Gyllene Sand (Jeh-Len-Ay Sand) is a vast city with a mixture of artrune ranging from incredibly wealthy and living in what looks like palaces, to dirt poor and living on the streets. The entrances from the desert to this city are quite plain, with many earth-tone colored box-like buildings. These buildings often have thatched roofs, made of straw or leaves, or if the family inside has enough wealth, clay parapet roofing. Further into the city is a run-down looking marketplace. Many of the booths are made of wood with a cloth gable roof, held up by a single beam jutting out of the ground in the middle of the booth. It’s always very crowded here and thieves are quite common. The deeper in the city you go, the more exotic the architecture becomes. The buildings start to become more colorful, especially the rooftops. The roofing architecture is a mixture of domes and cupolas, with many open archways and long extravagant curtains hiding the rooms behind them. There are many gardens lining the courtyards and surrounding big, beautiful fountains. Birds of many sizes and colors like to flock to this area of the city, so wildlife is abundant.

Caer Garreg (Kai Car-Reg) is surrounded by large stone walls with turrets and a walkway connecting each of them, surrounded by parapets. Inside the city, most of the buildings are built from red brick and slate roofs that are in the cross gable architectural style. Many of these buildings have beautiful gardens, whether they are businesses or homes, with creeping vines lining the walls. Some buildings sport turrets and small towers, usually meant for studies or small bedrooms. They also have stone-brick roads for carts and carriages. There is a small park-like area with a gazebo, benches, and a beautiful fountain. In the dead-center of the city is a mansion, surrounded by gardens on all sides, with multiple fountains, ponds, and even its own personal gazebo and weeping willows.

Sungai Kelopak (Soon-Gay Kel-Oh-Pa) is a small but tranquil village nestled between two cliffs. There are a multitude of waterways circling the buildings, resulting in a lot of bridges being built to help people get from place-to-place on foot, and many small boats to transport one to two people at a time as a shortcut. The buildings themselves are mostly made of wood and bare curvy, elongated roofs with golden statues as decor. Some of the inner walls of the houses and businesses would consist of wooden frames with translucent paper, often used as sliding doors. Sometimes the outside of the building, usually if the building has a veranda, will have these as well. But what the city is most known for, is its year-round cherry blossom trees. They are always in full bloom, thanks to magic, and would often shed petals into the canals of the city.

Zelta Apdare (Zell-Tuh Ap-Duh-Ray) was once a grand city, their buildings trimmed with gold, but now it is in ruin. Its past is only known by word as no record survived, not even saved during the evacuation from Tuphiobax. The only thing left of the city, to anyone’s knowledge, are stone pillars and archways worn down by magic, weather, and time itself.

Although the artrune mostly aren’t homeless, there are quite a lot who like to move into abandoned buildings that are often avoided even by city guards. This is mostly due to the buildings being in such terrible condition that the floor or ceiling can crumble away at any moment. In many instances, these buildings are populated by a multitude of squatters. The strongest person, whether through magic or through physical strength, is often in charge of the facility. Unfortunately, they usually rule with an iron fist. A lot of the squatters that live in these conditions do their best to earn enough money to move into a real home.

Artrune believe themselves to be the most intelligent, talented race and also the most important. The probability of an artrune being racist is about fifty/fifty. Half of the artrune believe that all races are lesser and should be treated as such while the other half butt-heads with them, doing what they can to show that not all artrune are racist. These same artrune who will stand by the side of other races have also been known to fall in love and have children with them.

These hybrid children will sometimes be treated as second-class citizens, depending on the artrune they socialize with. Depending on their neighbors, even the parents of the hybrid child can face hardships. Even artrune children have a tendency to partake in racism; egging these family’s houses and leaving nasty surprises of all kinds on their front doorstep.

Similar to that of different races, Riders and Dragons would also be seen as either equal or lesser depending on the artrune that is asked. Riders are always seen as amazing but fifty percent of the artrune population will say that Dragons are beneath them. Especially by the nobles; they are known to prefer talking to a Rider over their Dragon, often treating the Dragon as non-existent. However, if a Rider wasn’t born to nobles, then they are often treated the same way as the Dragons by the nobility of the artrune.

The artrune nobility are so picky when it comes to those they socialize with that they prefer to socialize with others of nobility, or at least those who are incredibly rich with or without a nobility title, even among their own kind. Even being a Rider won’t automatically grant a chance to even gain their attention.

Even though the artrune don’t have a god, they don’t believe that anyone’s gods actually exist. They just believe that the gods, whichever race worships them, simply exist as a tale to give their people hope or to explain the unexplained. When it comes to the unexplained, even the artrune know that the mewah have the answers, even though they’d never openly admit the mewah have more answers than them.

When it comes to knowledge, the artrune are still pushing to surpass the mewah. Along with any other race (but mostly against the mewah). Despite their strong dislike and often blatant racism towards the mewah, a lot of the mewahen studies and experiments are taught in artrune households. They believe the more smart the next generation of artrune are, the higher the chances of discovering something new, before the mewah can get to it.

The one advancement they have over the mewah is the invention of the steam train. Just so that the mewah can use it, the race had offered to pay for a railroad to be built between their cities and the artrune cities, or at least the ones on the continent of Selgamed. There are three trains in all: One runs between the mewahen cities of Pagoma to Esfandell, bypassing Krymmenos entirely. Another one runs between the artrune cities of Caer Garreg and Sungai Kelopak. The third runs from the artrune city of Caer Garreg to the mewahen city of Esfandell.

The social construct of Gyllene Sand leans heavily on the aspect of riches. There’s a district for lower class, middle class, and upper class and there’s strikingly obvious differences between the three. Even though the middle class can travel mostly freely between the upper class and lower class districts, they will still receive sneers from upper class in their district and looks of suspicion from their fellow middle class citizens when visiting the lower class district.

The Ranna District is where the lower class, or those who have barely any money to their name (or even no money at all) live. It’s incredibly crowded, which says a lot about their economy and how it’s run. The Ranna District is the outer-ring of buildings within Gyllene Sand, made up mostly of buildings that are too close to each other. There are no roads save for the ones in and out of the city that lead directly to the upper class district. There is barely any space between the buildings, and there are a lot of them. There’s really no way for those who live in The Ranna to get to the middle class district as there’s a tall wall between the two, to obscure the ugliness of The Ranna from the middle class citizens. The only reason why anyone from middle or upper class would ever be seen in The Ranna would be one of two: That they are just passing through to get outside of the city or back into the middle/upper class districts, or because they are up to some really shady business.

Great doors on four sides of the wall surrounding the Ranna District leads directly into the Mellan District. This is where the middle class live and it’s an obvious upgrade from The Ranna. There are actual roads in between buildings with very few alleyways as most of the buildings along the street are melded into each other, built into each other’s sides. The wall in-between the Mellan District and the upper class district also obscures the middle class from the upper class view. Even though it's a lot nicer than the Ranna District, the upper class still don’t want to see it as they still consider it ugly to look at. However, there is a massive marketplace lining this wall, which even the upper class will sometimes attend just for amusement. The guards of Gyllene Sand patrol the streets of the Mellan District and try to avoid stepping into The Ranna unless they’re chasing a suspect.

The final district is meant for the upper class, and open only to those outside that they personally invite, and is known as the Hogre District. Unlike the Ranna and Mellan districts, this district looks like an oasis. Colorful tiling lines the roads, there’s many trees and foliage lining the buildings, fountains of many sizes in the courtyards, and there are even exotic animals walking or flying around the place. The buildings are grand- tall, colorful, lots of patterns, and many open balconies. There are Sand Guards stationed at every building (and in many cases, outside specific rooms of the buildings) in case of emergencies which there are, thankfully, so few of. Some of the guards are used as special bodyguards for invited guests and a handful of high-class citizens. Those who live here are quite used to this, often unintentionally ignoring the guards. The small collection of high-class citizens that don’t ignore the guards are often children, who like to pull pranks and even harass guards who are on-duty, especially those stationed at their houses.

Important Note from Eerie!

Magic isn’t really welcome in the city of Caer Garreg. That isn’t to say they’re anti-magic but they would prefer not to use it or watch it be used. This even includes enchanted items or naturally occurring magic. They can’t stop magic from happening but they will get rid of any magical flora or fauna that appears within their city. Guests of the city can carry enchanted or magical items but can not use them in public. These even include potions. Should a guest have a magical based animal with them, no matter what the animal is used for, they are expected to leave them at the stables just outside the city.

Important Note from Eerie!

Riders are expected not to use any kind of magic in public and Dragons are asked not to transform. Should a Dragon or Rider be born within the city, their family will [mostly] react in one of two ways: They will allow the Dragon or Rider to transform while on their property, which often includes studying the usage of magic within their own bedrooms or practicing the transformation between artrune to dragon in their backyard, often having to build incredibly high fencing to shield them from view. Or the family will require them to train outside of the city. There is one particular reaction that isn’t as widely seen and that’s to kick the child out of the household or even abandon the child at an orphanage outside of the city the moment they were born.

There are some races that have natural magic or have come into existence because of magic. They are an exception to the rule but only because they are beings who can communicate in the same language. However, they will be looked down upon within this city and will often face hostility from the citizens. Some examples of natural magic for races include: Landare, zephyr, machali, and yangzi.

Important Note from Eerie!

Caer Garreg is where the invention of the magic study Dragon Slayer originated. It was created as anti-magic, as the citizens labeled, and is therefore the only kind of magic allowed. The magic used as a Dragon Slayer is typically protection from magic and reversal magic. I.e. if magic was directed at the Dragon Slayer, they can use a spell to bounce it back or render the spell null. This same magic study was used in mass to erase the dragon (creature, not Class) from existence.

Branding, a punishment Caer Garreg is well known for, has social consequences. Often, those who are branded will not be hired or welcome in public establishments. Relationships can also be difficult, whether it’s familial, platonic, or romantic. Most people within the city will refuse relationships with people who are branded, especially with certain brandings representing murder, political, or sacriligous acts. Even if the first brand is hidden, the guard will still spread the word and others will know. In the case of a more frowned upon race (those who can transform to a ‘human-like’ state) or class (Dragon or Rider), they will be treated more aggressively by the citizens of Caer Garreg and the guards will turn the other cheek.

Within the city of Sungai Kelopak, family comes first. And those within the family that come first? The parents. An artrune’s parents, whether the child is a parent themselves yet, will always be the child’s priority. Pleasing them and doing as they say is the backbone of the family and the backbone of society itself. This is the reason why a lot of family members live near each other, even after moving out. A lot of expectations are put on the children of Sungai Kelopak but this doesn’t stop them from reaching their dreams. Unlike what most people believe, the parents of Sungai Kelopak support their children’s dreams but most of the time they have to be convinced of the pros of reaching the dream.

But, no matter how busy a family in Sungai Kelopak gets, there’s always time for tea. Once a day, the family members will sit down for some afternoon tea. This usually includes aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents, and their children but mostly those who are related by blood. Those who joined through marriage usually go to their own family’s tea gathering. The only exceptions to this is if their family doesn’t live in Sungai Kelopak or that they are the last living member of their family. Then they are more than welcome to join their extended family for tea.

After family always comes community. The city of Sungai Kelopak is in great condition and the people of the city make sure of it. They help build new buildings together, repair old ones, clean walkways and roads, donate for new community projects, and make sure that all citizens have food and shelter, even if it’s not permanent. They always greet everyone that they pass by, whether they are neighbor or traveler, and have been known to help when asked. They will sometimes even drop what they’re doing, even if it’s important, to help others.

Very little is known about how the artrune within Zelta Apdare socialized. Most information is written within old scrolls that the mewah have or by word of mouth from the artrune, passed down from generation to generation. They were, in fact, rivals with the mewahen neighbors as early as the establishment of the very city. They became very competitive over the most mundane things. Despite this, they often traded with their mewahen neighbors and even had hybrid children with them.

Eventually the two sides became so competitive that one of the sides, artrune or mewah, misconstrued it as an act of aggression. This started a war between the two cities. No one knows who attacked first and in the end, it didn’t matter.

When the Magic War began, hybrids and mewah alike were expelled from their city. To combat the mewahen forces, any artrune outside of the cities were requested to come back and serve time in the war. In fact, recruiters traveled between multiple artrune cities to try and get as many artrune soldiers for their side as possible. Rumors spread that there was no real winner of the war as the war itself caused an anomaly known as The Great Magical Storm, which caused everyone: artrune, mewah, and hybrid, to flee the continent. Whether or not they managed to get away remains a mystery; those who left for the war and those who had originally lived in these cities had disappeared completely.

All remaining cities of the Artrune are run by a government controlled by an elected mayor. Depending on the city, election days, location of the voting polls, voting restrictions, and length a mayor can hold the office can vary. Laws passed are typically voted on by the citizens of the city and the majority always rules. However, the Mayor can not directly release a law for voting; it must first go through the Mayoral Bench. This is a collection of people of respected status that will make amendments or completely veto laws that the mayor wrote.

Depending on the law that is broken, and depending on the city that the law is broken in, different punishments are served. Penalties can range from torture, death (and sometimes torture till death), forced labor, imprisonment, shunning, and public shaming. The amount of wealth someone has can change their punishment to one that equals a lesser crime than the one they committed.

Important Note from Eerie!

The death penalty can be given to someone even if they didn’t intentionally mean to kill others. For example, if they constructed a building and that building falls on a number of people, killing them, then after an investigation, depending on who they find is responsible for the fall (i.e. a person who inspected it either overlooked or purposely left critical errors or even the person that built it) will be given the death penalty. It’s mostly given for extreme negligence or corruption that results in many deaths. If it was a rich noble that committed a crime that resulted in any kind of death, they are mostly given a slap on the wrist. The exact opposite happens when it is someone who barely has any money to their name. In fact, if a poor man is accused of killing someone, there wouldn’t even be an investigation. He’d be given the death penalty regardless of his perceived innocence. Torturing until death usually results from a political or a sacriligous crime that results in someone’s death.

Important Note from Eerie!

Forced labor isn’t so much a given punishment as it is volunteering to get out of another punishment, but the criminal must be offered this option by a judge and it depends on the crime committed. They are given a major project to work on, most likely helping the community in doing so, and once that project is done, they are free to go and their slate is wiped clean as if they never committed a crime in the first place. These projects, depending on what they are, can last from a few months to a few years. The project given is always based on the criminal’s skill or stature. If they look strong, they will be given the task of transportation of materials for the construction of a building from the beginning of construction to the end of it. An elementalist specializing in the flame element will often be paired with a blacksmith to help create necessary components for projects such as building a new steam train or even to be used in creating weapons of war.

Violent crimes not involving death of victims will lead to imprisonment. The judge dictates for how long they must remain behind bars. These kinds of criminals are seen as fixable. They’re a threat but can be conditioned into a better person. This usually involves training them by reading the book ‘The Tragedy of Mordicus’, teaching proper manners, anger management classes, and slowly reintroducing them back into society. Sometimes they will be given the task of shadowing someone on a job, becoming their apprentice, and then eventually getting to take on the job full time when they are released from prison.

Political and sacrilegious crimes that do not result in someone’s death, like spitting in a mayor’s face or causing a public disturbance, will result in shunning. During a shunning, which can span anywhere between a few hours to an entire lifetime, the entirety of the city will pretend the shunned does not exist. They will not be served food or drink, they will be ignored by shopkeepers and merchants, and even their own family (should their family live in the same city) will pretend they’re not there. This doesn’t mean that they will be able to commit another crime without consequence- should they attempt this during their shunning, they will face another punishment equal to the new and attempted crime. The shun is lifted when the person they offended accepts their apology.

A type of well-known public shaming is being forced to carry a heavy object, that they are chained to, across town for an extended period of time. A stockade can also be used, and in these cases they’ll be left out in the hot sun, cold snow, or even in the rain. There have been instances where a criminal is brought to a stage and citizens and guests throw tomatoes at them. Sometimes even stripped down to their underwear and they have to parade a sign around the city that tells people of the crime they committed. Thieves and scammers often are given this punishment along with other lesser crimes.

A trial for the criminal is conducted in various ways depending on which city the criminal act was committed. Some judges are the sole arbiter in some cases. Other cases there’s a jury or even a court of multiple judges. The process of the trial can also vary when it comes to evidence collection and whether or not the artrune can be represented by another. Although bribery is frowned upon, it is legally accepted and a judge, jury, and court can be bought out.

The mayor of Gyllene Sand is an artrune by the name of Bulwark Davis. He’s very tall and his muscles are visible, signifying great strength. Even though he gets paid as mayor, he still dresses in raggedy clothing. He was originally from the Ranna District and was the first and only person from that low in the caste system to sign up. This is mostly because there are high amounts of political assassinations when running for mayor and the less gold someone has the less likely they are to be able to hire a good enough bodyguard to keep them alive throughout the election. Davis, throughout the entire election, had no bodyguard and multiple attempts had been made on his life. But he survived and won the election and now resides in the Hogre District, much to the upper class’s dismay.

There are three sets of four doors leading in and out of the city and are used as main roads. At each of these large doors, on both sides, are Sand Guards. These individuals examine goods that come and go from the city and keep the different castes of the city separated (mostly). They are incredibly harsh when it comes to those they catch committing crimes and they look down upon anyone who lives in either the Ranna or Mellan Districts.

The government of Gyllene Sand ensures that their middle and upper class citizens are safe from criminals, but don’t often care to protect those of The Ranna from crime. There is a prison within the Mellan District that Sand Guards personally patrol, both within the grounds and outside. Visitation is time-slot sensitive and monitored. It can only be done on days when there is no event (celebration, election, etc.) and must be the first or last day of the week, and can only be done midday. Anyone who enters the prison, new prisoner or visitor, is frisked for any objects that may harm or aid in the escape of a prisoner.

Gifts and packages for prisoners are accepted but there is a lengthy process and multiple hoops to jump through before they can even receive them. The giver of the package has to sign a form where they have to include, in very strict detail what the item is, who it’s for, and specific details about it (i.e. if a part opens up and how to open it should be included). After the form is processed, the package itself will be examined by a Senior Sand Guard or Warden. This part can take several weeks to several months depending if there is a celebration the city is running, an election event, or other type of important event that would require Sand Guards to protect people. This part of the process is where the Senior or Warden Sand Guard will take the object apart and examine it in full detail with magic. If the object matches the paperwork, and has nothing hidden in it (that wasn’t mentioned in the paperwork) or any other disqualifying features (sharp objects, shovel, pickaxe, etc.), then it will be given to the prisoner. Enchanted items are automatically denied entry. If it is found to have something hidden in it that was not mentioned in the paperwork, the person who filled out the form can be arrested.

Those who are imprisoned, whether artrune or other race, are served gruel and water once a day. However, through hard work and good behavior they can earn the privilege of a proper meal twice a day. They’re usually prison upkeep tasks, like cleaning or helping the guards with unruly prisoners, or even helping make the gruel. Snitching on other prisoners can earn you a single proper meal the day of but most prisoners don’t use this opportunity as the cons outweigh the pros- the other inmates will not trust snitches. However, if there is a rather cruel inmate that makes life a living hell for other prisoners, a snitch against them can lead to a better outcome.

For inmates of the prison, regardless of race, there is a special room lit by torches that hold parchment, writing utensils, and reading material. Criminals who are being rehabilitated are allowed to use this room, as this is where classes are held. They can also write letters to anyone with any subject. However, the Sand Guards will be reading the letter to ensure it’s contents are not a threat or hiring of a threat. Any letter, regardless of how innocent it may seem, can be discarded at the discretion of the Sand Guard. If family members outside can bribe the Sand Guards, the letters will be guaranteed to be sent unless it contains something threatening.

Those who are caught trying to escape will result in the prisoner to be separated from their fellow inmates and moved to a smaller cell. Any privileges earned will now be lost and can not be regained until release from this cell. Their movement is heavily restricted; they can’t ever leave the cell for any reason. A single meal of gruel per day and a pitcher of water they can use throughout the week will be served to them directly. They can not leave to clean themselves and are given a cold bucket of water and a rag.

Katrina Millers is the mayor for Caer Garreg. She is very old in age but she is strong willed and healthy. She dresses for her part accordingly and even acts like she is in power. Her family has a monopoly over taverns across the artrune cities (and some in mixed cities). If you go to a tavern in one of these places, chances are you will have heard of her. She promised to uphold the traditions of Caer Garreg but that’s not why she won- she had a lot of influence and wealth to get her the win.

To get into the city, the only way is through two archways, and a drawbridge over a mote in between. They are both heavily guarded and these guards remind the visitors that magic is not to be used inside the city except for in private. Any magical creatures a guest arrives with, is to be dropped off at the stables just outside the first archway. It doesn’t matter if it’s a familiar or a mount, it needs to be left behind.

Races who have the ability to transform are told not to do so in public; they need to be in their ‘human-like’ form to enter.

Caer Garreg guards patrol the streets to ensure no crime is committed and no magic is being used. Should they catch a criminal in the act, they will be apprehended and taken to a prison that is close to the protective walls of the city. Guards pacing the top of the wall keep watch for both outside enemies and the criminals in the prison below. These guards can be called upon by the prison warden to stop a criminal that is attempting to climb the wall. Because of the lack of magic-use within the city, this usually results in death of the criminal.

Criminals, depending on the crime and if they are convicted, get branded with a specific marking representing the crime they committed before being put in prison for a certain amount of time. Their first branding can always be hidden by clothing but the next three unique brandings will often be visible (back of the hands or forehead), if they commit different criminal acts. Should they commit the same act, branding of the act will expand in design. Wardens keep record of brandings and locations on the body so that, in the case of the removal of a branding (by magic or other way), they will apprehend the ex-criminal and rebrand them, for any and all brands that are missing. Should they be covered in enough brands, they will be exiled from the city and not let back. This is the only artrune city with this immediate and severe consequence to breaking the law.

Those who are found innocent but only after they are branded, the branding gets struck from the records and is replaced with a new branding, though painful, of The Seal of the Sun which covers the original mark. Getting The Seal of the Sun can take months to years and the stigma from their original branding will follow them up until they are given this new branding. This is something that is often shown off because it essentially means ‘They have declared me innocent. You can’t treat me like that anymore.’ It is often viewed with pity by others but the guards will help in cases of unnecessary aggression directed at them.

While a prisoner is awaiting their trial, the guards are very stern but not aggressive. This can change depending on whether or not the prisoner is convicted. Prisoners get a standard of three meals per day and a pitcher of water that all the prisoners of the cell will share throughout the week, served to the cell. These meals are usually a biscuit or muffin with porridge. Those who aren’t in isolation can go to the rec yards to socialize with other inmates.

This oriental city is run by a mayor named Akihiko Oyama. He is a very tall and pale man, quite beautiful with traditional Sungai Kelopak garb. He won because he was a successful strategist in the ongoing war against the Hell Raisers, even leading an entire army against them at some point. He was hailed a hero upon his return and that’s when he signed up to be a candidate for the election. Despite winning the election because of his status, he is interested in making his people happy and healthy.

The only way into the city is through a natural river going through the continent of Selgamed. There are guards at the gate (which lowers all the way down to the bottom of the river), who will board any boats and examine all goods that are transported in and out of the city. At the other side of the gate is a man-made river, spanning almost the entirety of the city. Even goes all the way up to and around The Palace, which is where the current mayor resides. However, gates close off this portion of the city, both on land and in the water.

Important Note from Eerie!

Criminals who are caught and await trial are taken to Heya Saibo. It’s a small prison, with maybe two guards at most. Each of the cells have a single comfortable bed and wash-bin. There is also a writing desk with parchment and pen to be written with. Each of these are well lit with candle sconces just out of reach of a sil’nyy on each wall. There is a crafted system, built into the walls of the prison, to put out all of these candles at once and to relight them the next morning. The meals are served three times a day and include a bowl of rice and a cup of water.

Once a criminal has been convicted, they will be led through an underground pathway to an eight-story prison below the lake in the middle of their city. Once everyone, the prisoner and their escorts, enter the prison, the pathway will be flooded by the water elementalists via a room above. This prison can be seen from outside the lake and it looks almost like an underwater palace. Inside, depending on the status of the criminal's wealth (or their family’s wealth), they can face terrible to luxurious conditions but, no matter their cell conditions, they will always be chained to a weight. How heavy this weight is depends on the race it’s chained to.

The first floor of the prison is not only where the entrance and exit (to the underground tunnel system) are located, but also the rehabilitation room. This room is for those who are believed to be able to reintegrate into society. It’s similar to that of the prison in Gyllene Sand, where there is lots of reading and writing materials. Again, the guards will read over any letters written before mailing it. Unlike the Sand Guards, these guys will always send them unless the letters contain a threat of some sort. There is also a visitation room, for those detained on the sixth and seventh floors.

The second floor is where the guards' sleeping quarters are. Each room is decorated by the guard on duty to their own standards and usually includes their favorite books, photos and images of their family, perhaps even a pet or familiar. This is also where the kitchen is located, used both personally by the guards and other workers of the prison, and used to create dishes for the prisoners. There are even several dining tables and chairs and multiple sofas to use as a break room. Despite how nice it sounds, there are actually stacks of crates and barrels throughout this floor.

The next floor, the third floor, is for criminals of political status. This would include military or mayoral (ex or current) or even foreigners of political status that have been convicted. These people are served three nutritious and large meals per day, the dinner having a side of sake or a dessert (their choice). A new pitcher of water is given to them every day. Each of the rooms have a comfortable king-sized bed, a wash-bin, a hot-bath built into the floor, a writing desk and chair, and a sofa with a coffee table. There is plenty of plant life and lighting, all within reach of the prisoner as they are the most trusted. They are allowed to have visitors whenever they want and can even decline visitation if they so choose. Visitors will get to meet them within their cells. They have full privacy.

The fourth floor is known as the regal floor, for children of the political elite that get in trouble with the law. They can be of any age, ranging from a rambunctious kid that’s hard to control, to an adult who committed a crime. They have the same amenities as the political floor but none of the lighting or plants are within reach and they don’t get a dessert or sake with their final meal. Not unless they are on their best behavior while staying at the prison. They don’t get to choose whether or not they can be visited by anyone, family or other.

The wealthy-noble criminals with no political power stay on the fifth floor. They get treated much the same as the criminals on the regal floor but with one exception: They don’t have an option for sake or dessert even if they’ve been on their best behavior.

The sixth floor is for first-time or infrequent criminals that are neither wealthy nor have any political status. They have a single comfortable bed, a wash-bin, and a writing desk and chair. Much like Heya Saibo, their lighting is out of reach and there’s no plant life. They receive a single bowl of rice for their first two meals and have a nutritional meal for their last meal. They are also served a new pitcher of water once a week. Those who come to visit will meet them in the Visitation Room on the first floor. Like the last five floors, these cells are private.

The seventh floor is for frequent offenders that are neither wealthy nor have any political status. Each cell is shared between six people, though it’s barely big enough to hold four. There are two beds hanging from chains on the walls, and the other four are made from tattered sheets located on the floor. They are served one bowl of rice and a bread roll per day and one pitcher of water a week and not per person- it’s per cell. This often results in in-fighting between cell mates. The prison guards do not care enough about these people to the point where this floor is always unkempt. These cells are not private but they still get to have visitors in the Visitation Room on the first floor supervised. They are the only floor that can visit the Rehabilitation Room on the first floor but under serious supervision.

The eighth and final floor is for those that can not be released back to society; usually those who are a danger to themselves or to others. A lot of death-row inmates are located here as well. These cells are either not private and have a single bed and wash-bin, often for solitary confinement, or they are heavily padded with a metal door, which is used for those who are a danger to themselves. These people are fed a bread roll once a week and often go long periods without water because the guards have a habit of forgetting to refill their pitchers. They’re not allowed visitors and they’re not allowed to leave their cells under any circumstance other than to be punished by death (which is usually drowning).

It is unknown whether or not the city of Zelta Apdare was run by a mayor. There is more documentation on their mewahen neighbors than on Zelta Apdare itself. Stories passed from person to person, often resulting in information being skewed. Because of this, many artrune and mewah insist that Zelta Apdares' government was run one way and not the other, though interviews showed that the story varies. The only thing that everyone can agree on was that, when the Magic War began, the city became closed off to mewah and half-breeds, regardless of relation to the citizens.

One artrune believes it was easy to enter the city, unlike the city of Mageia. Instead of filling out forms, people were just simply interrogated regardless of their relation to anyone in the city. Once approved by the guards of the city, they’d be let in. It didn’t matter if they were another race, a merchant, or someone who was visiting for vacation, anyone would be allowed in. Exiles only happened if you broke the law there, but the guards were quite lenient.

Another artrune believes that entry to the city varied between the guards on duty. Some days the guards would be very lax when it came to requirements to enter, other days the guards would be super strict or even imcompentent. Sometimes you had to be an artrune to enter and nothing else, other times you had to be a merchant or someone related to a citizen of the city. Sometimes anyone would be let in, regardless of race. When it came to lawbreaking, guards often looked the other way and let crime run rampant. However, and this is the one exception, if the crime was supposedly committed by a race other than pure artrune, they’d be kicked out of the city and never allowed back.

A hybrid between an artrune and a mewah believes that there was paperwork involved. Similar to the city of Mageia, a person had to fill out forms prior to their visits and get them approved. However, as long as the approval isn’t revoked (in cases of criminal activity or suspicion of), they can reuse the same paperwork each time to enter the city. Only those who are artrune or have artrune running through their blood were allowed in.

Artrune names don’t have a single origin. Whatever name a person can have (in real life), they can be given regardless of whether or not another race’s name comes from the same origin. Sometimes they’ll name their own children after another race’s more unique naming system like the Landare or the Sil’nyy.

Some last names are shared between artrune families but this doesn’t mean the families are related to each other. The more rich folk often have a tapestry or painting keeping track of their family’s lineage so that they would know who they’re related to or not. However, some people do slip through the cracks and end up being related regardless. This is usually due to an illegitimate child being born outside of wedlock, often through a cheating spouse. These children’s existences are often covered up by the parents or grandparents and they’ll take that secret to the grave. For those children, there is no way to prove that they are related to the rich family unless a confession is made by one of the family members that created the coverup.

A woman's surname will change to that of their husband’s once they are married. However, they can choose to keep their last name instead. Sometimes an agreement can be made between husband and wife where they can both keep their surnames, just separating them via a hyphen (wife’s surname, then husband's surname). The surname of children, no matter the case, will always legally be the husband’s original last name. They can change it when they become an adult.

Depending on how much wealth an artrune has, they will gain a following title, in ascending order:

Baron or Baroness
Viscount or Viscountess (Vai-Count or Vai-Countess)
Earl or Countess
Marquess or Marchioness (Mar-Quess or Mar-Shuh-Niss)
Duke or Duchess

Or they can just use Lord or Lady, depending on their preference, no matter the level of wealth they have (as long as they have enough to be a Baron or Baroness).

These titles always come before the first name or, if only their last name is to be used, then it comes before the last name. It’s very important to use the full name in reference to the individual when there are multiple people in the vicinity with the same or similar sounding last names. This is to avoid confusion.

Unlike other races, the artrune don’t worship a god, nor do they believe in any. Rather than put their faith in a god, the majority have selected to follow a tale of a hero and use it as an example on how to properly act around others. The tale comes in two forms: A children’s book by the title ‘The Hero Mordicus’ and a novel by the title ‘The Tragedy of Mordicus’. The artrune know he isn’t real and the story is made up, but since Mordicus’ ideals align with artrune values, the majority of artrune favor him as a figurehead.

The story follows what is known as the first Dragon-Slayer, an artrune by the name of Mordicus. He hails from the city of Caer Garreg and sets out on an adventure to free the world of the fear of the most powerful creature at the time: Dragons. In order to do this, he travels the world of Nouva and gathers companions from the many races: Pursa, Sil’nyy, Coxayli, Zephyr, Tambi Hatari, Yangzi, Mewah, and Machali (this story was created prior to the existence of the race of Landare and the Rider/Dragon Classes).

Despite these companions, if anyone were to give ‘The Tragedy of Mordicus’ a proper read, they would realize that he wasn’t all that great of a person. He constantly talked down to his companions and sometimes even belittled them over the simplest mistakes that any artrune can make themselves. He would also cut down any who got in his way, especially a faction of the Tambi Hatari race that worshiped dragons. The well-known Dragon-Slayer also had a bit of a drinking problem (this wasn’t mentioned in the ‘The Hero Mordicus’ children’s story).

Regardless of his many flaws, there was a lot to admire about him. This included his strong will to fight for what is right (in his eyes) and the lines he set for himself with his personal morals that he didn’t want to cross. When he wasn’t drunk or angry, he was kind and caring. He saved a pursa kitten from a horde of magma slugs and freed people from enslavement, even temporarily lending a hand to the Seraph to do so.

However, if an artrune were to ask any of the races or even bring up the tale, regardless of intent, that person may scoff. None of the other races think the tales are any good, and whether or not the artrune believes them to be true, the races would go out of their way to say the books are just a bunch of hogwash. Untrue and unfounded.