Welcome to Gaia! ::

ENVIRONMENT:

The mesmerizing façade of this once great city still intrigues most of the travelers that pass by the small shoreline. The towering pillars, the rooftops of what once were shops and houses decorate the landscape, and most of all, the structure that dominated the whole island--an old cathedral--was a wonder in the middle of the cruel, relentless battering of the water surrounding it.

This city is located on a small island just two kilometers away from the fishing-village, southwest from the Tower.

There are no roads nor bridges that connect this island from the mainland itself. But there are remnants--piles of rubble that look so much like bricks that would tell anyone that a series of bridges did exist, that connected the mainland to this mysterious city.

Once one sets foot into the gates of the city, a strong, resonating power will be felt, but not enough to topple a person down. It would feel like submerging into water; the heat and the noise of the outside world will no longer be felt, all one would feel once inside the gates is the cool, crisp air, almost like the air of a misty morning, even if the position of the sun tells it is high noon. One can no longer hear the sound of the sea, but a deafening, unnatural silence, with not even the sound of chirping birds or any animal that might have thrived in this ancient city.

Judging from the colors of the carved walls, the thickness of the mold and plant-covered floors and pasages, this city has not seen any inhabitants for a very long time. Hundreds of centuries, maybe, as one can see ferns and mosses about three times a man's height and two times his size. But surprisingly, the vegetation that grew should have crumbled the walls in time, since the roots would weaken the structures, but the walls and beams stood strong, and it was the vegetation that had adapted to it.

Most of the city's roads were made to go against the very structure of the landscape (which was very peculiar), thus creating a chasm in between high mountains, as if a rock was cracked into two to accomodate the road. The roads turn in circles, divide into forks, into twisting and winding corridors that lead to many unknown labyrinths and dungeons, locked doors, or a dead end.

However, this city is filled with useful items scattered all over the place: healing potions, spellbooks, talismans, enchanted jewelry, staves and also items with great value such as precious stones, metals and many other things that would lure an unwary traveler to quest into the city to find something to loot.

There are walls and parts of the floor that have magical traps, which both damages and heals, depending on what the person’s innate element is. Naturally, if a person’s innate element is fire, a fire-trap will heal, if water, it will cause great damage. But there are also traps that cause damage and heal regardless of what the person’s innate element is. There are also traps that cause paralysis, inability to cast magic and blindness; and traps that improve the person’s abilities: agility, attack power and faster regeneration.

But traps are the least anyone should care about. To venture into this city, one will be foolish to go alone--because enemies of every kind, of every element, lurk beneath the closed doors and in the dark corners of the city. Some monsters also fight in bands--luck won't be an option in this place.

Inside structures and labyrinths, a stale, colder air greets your passage, and there are areas that are enveloped in complete darkness. And as one goes deeper into the city, the stench of decaying flesh would taint the stale, moist air, its intensity growing greater as one proceeds deeper. The reason on this is because deep into the city, reanimated corpses of humans, animals and even creatures like dragons lay still, waiting for prey.

And even further, the stench suddenly dissipates, even stronger foes wait ahead, for fell creatures rule this part of the island. Incubi and Succubi, Mages, and even Liches are the common enemies in this part of the city.

So far, none have reported going in any further into the city.

It has always been a mystery on what lies beyond the third section of the city, what dangers await, and what foes lurk inside closed doors and the darkness beyond.

Are you going to take the risk to find out?





There is a small city is located in the far southwest of the Tower, where trade and commerce seem to flourish. A fishing village, it seems, with people busy hauling catches of fish, sorting out precious shells and horns and teeth of various sea creatures to trade to magicians. To use for what, they don’t know, nor do they care. Residents on this area may do whatever they wished during daylight, but when the sunset bells’ shrill alarm fills the air, it is time for the day to end, regardless if transactions are unfinished.

Because to these merchants, when the sunset bells ring, their backs become weary of the impending darkness that will soon swallow them.

The mesmerizing façade of this once great city still intrigues most of the travelers that pass by the small shoreline. This city is located on a small island just two kilometers away from the fishing-village, an ancient city that once thrived with immense power at this region of the land. Its name was unknown. Legend says that this has been a haven for creatures of great power: bounty hunters, warriors, paladins, shamans, wizards, priestesses, and people who wished to train to gain power also came here. This place also offered the best healers and healing potions.

In the middle of it all, the inhabitants of this great city were unaware of the power that lurked beneath its very walls. Even the most renowned mages and priests at that time never understood the way the city was engineered, for it contained roads that were made against the very structure of the landscape, twisting and winding corridors that lead to many unknown labyrinths and dungeons, and locked doors that even the early inhabitants were not able to unlock. The city walls are magnificently made—with ornate patterns inscribed and carved on its very face, each one unlike the other.

However, a mysterious event had put this powerful civilization to a sudden stop.

Residents of the nearest fishing village had described what they had seen—or rather, felt—on that fateful night. These were passed on for generations, as if to warn any unwary intruder who tries to venture into its great gates.

“I suddenly heard a distant echo of what seemed like the sound of a hundred thousand souls crying. It sent chills not only on my
corporeal body but leeched all the way into my spirit, making me bolt up from my peaceful slumber that night. There were tears
stinging my eyes, burning my vision, while my heart was weeping and singing the song of despair.”

Those who were foolish enough to venture though the gates—wishing to loot whatever what was left of that city, or to have a great challenge, or simply out of curiosity—never returned, or if some did manage to return—were never what they once were.

With the aid of magic-wielders from all different species, years of research on this particular city had brought them into an astounding discovery. The irregularity of the roads, the placement of locked doors and twisting passages…

…the whole city was built to serve as a spell-circle. Like a spell book, a grimoire. They also realized that the ornate carvings on the walls are actually words and letters and instructions.

A huge spell for what, none could give any clear answers.

They also discovered that there are walls and parts of the floor have magical traps, which both damages and heals, depending on what the person’s innate element is. Naturally, if a person’s innate element is fire, a fire-trap will heal, if water, it will cause great damage. But there are also traps that cause damage and heal regardless of what the person’s innate element is. There are also traps that cause paralysis, inability to cast magic, blindness; and traps that improve the person’s abilities: agility, attack power and faster regeneration.

Because of the danger it imposes, residents that live on the surrounding area of this city had decided to block all passages toward it. They obliterated the stone bridges that connect the mainland to this said island, and had put strict reminders to the dwellers of the cities nearby not to venture ever again into the city, regardless of the need.

Thus, from then on, it was called the Forbidden City.