【LOCATIONS】

[berriah]

Locations

Common Locations

(the general atmosphere)

There was once a normal cityscape under the crust of fantasy: High rising skyscrapers in the city, cookie-cutter houses in the suburbs, and less desirable parts of town that no one dared to acknowledge. But that recognizable modern scene is now lost under layers of magic. Trees have grown around some of the buildings, colourful gems coat the old buildings, and the city itself has nearly tripled in size since the introduction of magic.

A new arrival might first notice two things about the City of Star Sand. For one, it's very vibrant in colour. The old grey concrete buildings are now covered in magic jewels, pristine paints, and otherworldly designs. Spirits have reclaimed old structures and painted them in peoples' imaginations. If you look closely, you may see remnants of a normal city under these fantastical coverings.

Colourful lights also flicker around the city like rainbow fireflies. These are "lesser spirits," who give their magic to the city in exchange for faith. They gather around people in trouble and silently offer help, hoping for a slice of their faith in return. Most lights are powered by spirit magic, which has a rainbow quality.

Also an addition of the spirits are beautiful shrines. Shrines can be found more often than Starbucks here; They are dedicated to everything from a neighborhood's electricity, to internet connections, the growth of local gardens, good weather, fair aromas... By receiving attention from residents, the spirits of these shrines can give their specific blessings to the nearby neighborhood. It is considered polite to pause at some shrines if they benefit you, but there are honestly too many for a person to realistically attend to every shrine that they pass.

Some shrines may be a small house with a statue. Others are huge buildings with courtyards and gardens. The size affects the amount of faith gathered, but is also a product of faith. Companies will sponsor shrines or spirits, so some have an advertising advantage.

Now, as for that second thing.

You see, the City of Star Sand has been expanding. It has to! There are people from other worlds coming here daily and they cannot leave. But in order to preserve the nearby forests, the city does not expand outward. It expands upward.

The City of Star Stand could likely reach the stars at this rate! It is now five 'levels' tall and each level is a bit different. Some sections even have sky spirits emulating a sky or weather spirits controlling the area's weather.

A general rule is that the bottom layers are older, while the taller layers are new. You're going to find more fantastical things as you go higher up. The exception to this rule is the very top level; This one feels very 'normal' and is where most people live.

(the top level)

The very top level is, surprisingly, not the most fantastical. While the rule is that the newest levels are built upon the older ones, this is actually the second level. It has been pushed to the top with every magical addition to the city.

The reason? It's also the most common residential level. Humans need sunshine to stay healthy, so the spirits work hard to keep as many humans within reach of the natural sun as possible. If you don't want to live on this level, you can always visit one of the numerous public gardens or outdoor shopping district. It is a very welcoming area and generally easy to find an apartment here.

The colour scheme favors bright colours and pastels. At night, the streets are lit by the flickering of spirits. The air takes a purplish tint. If there is one downside of this level, it is that starlight gets drowned out in the bright lights of spirit magic.

(general atmosphere)

While levels are divided into 1-5 for address sake, the actual divide isn't that clean. Buildings are added on platforms and keep building upward. It would take days to travel the streets and bridges by foot, so spirit magic is employed for easy teleportation.

An easy rule of thumb is that if you need a location, it probably exists somewhere! Some sections seem like entire neighborhoods rather than induvial buildings on platforms. It's possible for places to have an artificial sky or a reflection of the real sky.

In general; Top Level (5) - Never gets built on. Residential, peaceful. Aims to acclimate Level 1 residents to the near age and slowly move them upgrade.

Level 4 - High fantasy.

Level 3 - Seems more like forests and farmland.

Level 2 - Mild fantasy.

Level 1 - Clinging to normalcy.

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