[center][i]Emissaries in Sancta Civitas[/i][/center]

The Itztli managed to land their Magnus Pod steeds gently enough in a tall grass-field. From the skies they couldn’t believe what they saw, yet on the ground it became quite clear. Massive flowers, the size of trees, stood over them. Filling the whole plain with a gentle but pleasant smell. The tall grass grew upon very fertile ground. That wasn’t all. Grand bushes grew to the size of an Itztli, and their berries were the size of lemons. At first the lizards touched them carefully. Expecting them to explode or fall apart. They didn’t. The first lizard who took a bite was quick to share just how delicious the big, black berries tasted. To the warmblooded Itztli the colder temperature didn’t really matter but the Eloxochitli felt uncomfortable and sluggish. Everyone rested for a moment. But then, by order of the Eloxochitli they rose up and marched down south. There, just over the horizon, the great insect-city should be.


As they marched, more oversized marvels revealed themselves. The great ants, bees and red wasps who roamed the land were remarkably peaceful and sedated, showing little interest in the new arrivals other than to skitter around or buzzing over them as they went about their days. Of the mortal population only the bright red Vespian were reliably sighted, often as they caught sight of the procession and flew either south as well or moved clear of their path. The other two races were only spotted for moments by the most eagle eyed before they blended back into the long grass.


Eventually the procession caught their first sight of the ancient city, the corner of its great wall coming into view where it met a river where it flowed into the sea. Several stone based aqueducts fed off of the river a ways upstream, flowing down under the outerwall and into the land beyond. Clustered around the river mouth was a small series of wooden warphs hosting a number of sailing vessels sporting up to four dozen oars along their lengths, although most were smaller, likely fishing vessels. Oddest of all was a very small ship transporting the carcases of a large armored deer like creature coming in to dock right as the lizards watched, powered by the wing beats of a Vespian sat gripping the sides of the vessel at its back acting as what Artifex would have described to an uncomprehending audience as an air based outboard motor.


The majority of the vessels still in dock seemed to be for transporting foraging parties and their gains across the river. A glance to the west revealed the location of the docks sister, or one of them at least, found by a small town resting upstream. A glance east found a saltwater port made of and guarded by stone walls where goods would eventually end up in bulk transport.


The sailors and dock workers were goblin or Vespian, with only a smattering of the larger and bulkier Matnarin women sprinkled among them doing the heavy lifting, the last of the goods from the docked vessels being transported into the city via a small gateway in the wall. Atop these walls a crowd had gathered, brought by news born by Vespian hunters. Guards, mostly Mantarin women, were scattered around this crowd keeping order, but most seemed to be regular citizens coming to see the strange new species gracing their island’s shores. They were clad in clothing made out of furs of forest beasts, chitin, flax, and preserved giant petals, generally woven in the form of a toga. 


It was clear that the people were being moved out of the way of their arrival as the last of the ships were unloaded and the workers politely urged inside or back onto their vessels which then sailed either away or to a place they could watch. Some of these were chased further off by Vespian soldiers but it was clear that while the leadership were somewhat concerned about the risks the lizards might pose, most of the citizenry were more curious than frightened by their sudden arrival as the large numbers of onlookers watching them with anticipation could attest.


From the east came a ship far more opulent than the sturdy workships docked in the harbor. Adorned with silver trim, carved from the finest wood and sporting a figurehead carved in the image of Artifex himself, the spaciouse vessel clipped along at a steady pace until it reached the bank upon which the embassy found themselves. The deck of the ship hosted a number of individuals from all species but it was a Mantarin male clad in a toga as white as the walls of the city, who approached them, wings humming as he walked down a lowered gangplank, his arms spread wide to demonstrate his disarmed state. He paused at the end of the wooden ramp, perhaps unwilling to risk the embarrassment of his heeled feet sinking into the earth and bowed before the embassy and asked, “Greetings to you travelers, do you speak the language of our divine father Artifex?” 

The Itztli, for their part, were dressed in nothing more than loincloths. Upon their torsos and limbs painted lines traced around them. Forming crude glyphs upon their skin which had mostly aesthetic value. Meanwhile the Eloxochitli wore large mantles with edges painted bright red. It hid their mostly bulbous, toad-like body. On their belts were only stone and some few copper tools. Chisels, hammers, axes and such. The biggest weapon they carried were small copper knives. The Eloxochitli who was leading the expedition, Toltecatl, bid all his Iztli to move backwards and stand behind him as he approached the sandy banks of the river. They did as told. Though some felt an uneasy tension rise. The insect-warriors, as they appeared, seemed to be herding civilians away. With focused eyes they watched the opulent ship arrive. The few Iztli artisans that had come with meanwhile marveled at the construction. The silver trim. The figurehead! They wanted nothing more than to board the ship and observe everything upon it. While asking an endless barrage of questions. The hunters kept an eye on the guards on the ship though. Even more so when one insect walked up to their reverend leaders. Except he stopped right before he got off the ship. Perhaps it was a safety measure. So he could quickly run up the ship again and flee.

Toltecatl was determined to have peace though. Even if the strange creature spoke with clicks and clacks he couldn’t understand. He guessed that if he spoke in his own guttural tongue made mostly of short, low growls and grunts the diplomate wouldn’t understand him either. High above all of them, the colors in the skies which usually moved slow and gently like clouds became agitated. They started to twist and edgy around. Like some unknown force was twisting and churning them. Toltecatl felt the presence of his god once more. Urging him not to speak with his tongue, but with his mind. He bowed down before the insect and summoned up the visions he had of the mission. Of how he was supposed to come there and pass the great walls. He summoned up every thought he had about peace. About dropping weapons and Itztli embracing each other. His imagination added to it, replacing one Itztl with the bug-diplomat that had come before them. These thoughts he bundled. Slowly but surely he tried to reach out with his mind towards the one before him and offered up the bundled thoughts.

The insectoid diplomat gripped his head and stumbled, generating sounds of alarm from those on the ship. However the Mantarin quickly steadied himself and waved his concerned compatriots back from attempting to intervene. He looked Toltecatl in the eyes, nodded, glanced at the ground, steeled himself and then carefully stepped off of the gangplank. His foot sank a little in the mud, causing the Mantarin’s skin to flush the lightest of greens, but he pressed forwards onto firmer ground as he approached Toltecatl, arms spread wide. 

For a moment Totlecatl was afraid he had harmed the diplomat. It would seem that his companions thought that as well. At least until he waved them off. Which put the Eloxochitl at ease as well. When the bug descended the plank and sunk slightly in the mud, he even summoned a very small smile on his face. He received the bug diplomat with open arms, embracing him like he embraced his brothers. Which was a bit of an awkward sight considering his quite small arms and the carapace having insect pushed into his bulbous body. None the less, they embraced. When Totlecatl released his friend he turned to his brothers and charges. Three distinct grunts came from him. The Zasterhian word for peace. All Itztli cheered and hissed in excitement. Meanwhile Totlecatl turned back to his newly made friend.

In his own mind he brewed up the memories of a vision he himself barely understood. It were visions of bright white stone like he had never seen before. Piled high up, not like a pyramid but like a wall. Four walls, each with grand columns carrying the beams. It looked like grand wall, with a majestic vaulted ceiling. Stairs coiled around thick columns or up walls. Creating stories with which great piles of tablets laid. In his vision he could see the grant building be raised up again and again, but within the walls. He once more offered these memories and pointed at the great white walls. He uttered the Zastarhian sound for library.

The Mantarin stood stock still for a few moments as it took in this information before his skin turned a sunny yellow. He nodded, turned, and clicked something to those onboard the ship who had a similarly jubilant reaction as the Itztli, before pointing at one of them in particular, a goblin woman in black robes decorated with yellow thread wearing a similarly colored crown with two large curved antlers or horns on it. The two seemed to argue briefly before she too walked down the gangplank. As she approached she reached to her side and retrieved a hammer and chisel from a holster at her side, each carefully decorated with unknown symbols and iconography while also showing clear signs of use. Both she presented reverently upon upturned palms to the Mantarin diplomat  Mantarin diplomat who took them and in turn presented them to Totlecatl with equal care as he had received them while uttering a crude mimicry of the Zastarhian sound for Library.

Totlecatl carefully took the tools in his hand. He observed the symbols to see if they had any magical meaning. They didn’t. None the less he slowly raised the tools for all to see. Then he telekinetically raised them even higher. The Itztli behind him began to chant the Zastarhian word for Library in exhilaration. Even Totlecatl’s Eloxochitli brothers uttered the noise for library in an approving tone.
[hr]
[i]Several months and a great deal of xenolinguistic research later[/i]
The inner city of Sancta Civitas had grown a lot since the days when the Mantarin had effectively squatted in one of its gatehouses but was still far from reaching its full potential. Rather than a singular mass the construction work within the city had developed into four separate towns camped within the grand walls. The first hugged the majority of the western inner wall but clumped mainly around the gates leading out into the cordoned off farmland and managed wilderness and dealt primarily in the processing of the agricultural produce of the city. The second sat next to the gates to the seaport and was a center of commerce, ship building and the city’s military. Between these two towns and sitting away from the road connecting them was an industrial sector that was segregated away from where anyone wanted to live so that the fumes of smelters, forges, tanneries and the like wouldn't choke the life of the other districts. 

Finally, sitting atop a hill near the back of the city was one situated around the palace that had been built by Artifex himself. Scattered around the city’s seat of power where most of its other major civic buildings, including a modest Amphitheatre, the grandest and most gloriose temple in the city dedicated to both Artifex and Cadien, a smaller one dedicated to Tekret Et Heret who’s lack of grandeur obfuscated how integral it was to the training of the cities bureaucrats, a rudimentary hospital and the city's first public bathhouse. 

The latest addition to this was the library. After an initial bout of linguistic learning, planning and convincing the city’s bureaucrats to fund the project construction had begun. Guided by the embassy's designs and aided by their reptilian hands and telekinetic minds, numerous builder-priests and scores of laborers turned stone and wood imported via ship into art on a grand scale, raising a monument to arcane knowledge such that the world had never seen before.

It was truly a grand testament. The path leading from the main road was made of the same white stone the city was so known for. A colonnade led you towards the stairs that would carry you to the entrance. The columns were chopped far too thick to carry the simple entablature. Yet the Eloxochitly insisted upon it. For one day the columns would be chiseled down into statues of the grand mages of history, upholding not just the horizontal beams depicting the great feats of magic. The crepidoma led to the main elevated level. Which carried the cyclopean columns that upheld the large, domed roof of the main hall inside. The dome, however, was not complete. A hole in the middle of it allowed some light to pour in. Within the grand entrance hall stairs snaked around the inner columns or along the inner walls. Small openings led to long hallways. Filled with rooms, big and small. All suspiciously empty. Only a few rooms were furnished with benches, tables and the likes. It was a true labyrinth that surrounded the main hall. One that went up and down with no clear, standardized levels. Some passages led to tunnels carved into the earth and stone. Leading to deep vaults. More often than not, corridors ended abruptly. As if something was to be built at their end but the builders hadn’t gotten to it yet. Deep under the ground the tunnels stopped in the same, sudden manner. The Eloxochitli insisted that this was all per design.

Some doors led one outside. Into the large gardens. Much like the inside of the library, the outside had no care for level terrain. Small, artificially raised mounds surrounded the large, circular building. Some places were hedged, others paths led to grand terraces sitting in front of small insect-made waterfalls. Meditative rock gardens were tucked away in hidden corners and small arbors were planted with among others: alder, rowan and hawthorn. It was a gentle, soothing place.

On the day that work was deemed complete a celebration was held, with people coming from all across the city to bear witness to the latest addition to their city. The Mantarin Queen Regina herself made one of her rare appearances to take part in the ceremonial blessing of the construction, before the floor was briefly handed over to the Mantarin Diplomat Amulius, who had first welcomed the Embassy to the city.

“Thank you one and all for coming on this historic day where we celebrated not just a new addition to our city’s architecture, but also once again celebrate our latest and newest friends and members of our community, the Eloxochitli and Itztli,” a cheer went up from the crowd as the Mantarin swept a hand towards the Embassy’s people, “and a celebration of the gifts that they have brought. Magic!” the mantarin raised a theatrical hand, spoke a few words, and conjured a simple glowing sphere. It was an amateur's display of magic by most standards, but to the masses, most of whom had never who had never seen such things in their lives, it inspired first silent awe and then wild cheering. 

“Thank you, thank you. I am told that this is the least you will see today, for the structure we have built together is to be one of the centers of magic, not just on our island but on the entirety of Galbar! ” more cheering “and now, to officially open this wonder of the world I hand the stage over to my good friend: Totlecatl!” Amulius announced before bowing to the crowded and making way for the head of the Embassy.

A proud Totlecatl moved up the stage to face the crowd. The Library had been constructed as per their masters visions. As his new friend Amulius said, it would form a center for magic across all of Galbar. “Friends of all races!” He boomed across the open plaza before him. “Today will be immortalized forever. We could not have done it alone and therefore we wish to offer our thanks to Queen Regina and her countless advisors for allowing us to build this magnificent marvel here. Without them, The Library would never be made. They have our gratitude. And so do all of you have our gratitude for allowing us into your city. For helping us, teaching us and in turn letting us teach you. Maybe the gods forever bless Sancta Civitas!”

An Itztli got upon the elevation upon which The Library stood and handed over the ceremonial tools that were first offered to the Emissaries when they arrived. The three brothers of Totlecatl who had come with each closed their eyes and lifted their arms. Totlecatl, telekinetically, was raised up until he hung in front of the entablature and carved not the Zastarhian word but the Artifexian word for Library into it.

Then the eternal faith of the Eloxochitli was answered. They had insisted at every moment it came up that the Library should be almost entirely empty. For a blessing would fill it. As Totlecatl was lowered back down the colors in the skies became agitated again. Just like the first time the Emissaries arrived at Sancta Civitas. Yet now it came closer and closer. The Itztli and Eloxochitli were calm and content. It was their god who came down, after all. The Winds of Magic entered The Library through the oculus in the dome and filled the main hall almost entirely. Light flashes a hundred times within. Then the Winds ascended back towards the heavens. Leaving behind tiny wisps of blue energy floating everywhere in the main hall.

“Enter The Library, friend. Call for wisps.” Totlecatl said to Amulius. The first Vessel would be filled with the most humble display of magic.

The Mantarin ambassador nodded slowly and then walked towards the library, his carapace tinged with black, which Totlecatl now recognised as the Mantarin color for awe. It was an emotion reflected by the gathered crowd, who held their collective breath as they craned their necks to see inside. Just past the doors of the Library Amulius raised his hands to the wisps and spoke the incantation for the same light spell he had demonstrated to the crowd.

One wisp shot off straight to Amulius. It stopped in between his hand and began to glow brightly. The otherwise gaseous looking wisp began to solidify as the glow vanished. Creating a rectangular tablet in between his hands. Upon it was written, in Artifexian, the incantation for the spell and the specific instructions towards the mana it carried. It fell into Amulius’ hands once the tablet was fully formed. The diplomat stared disbelievingly at it for a few moments before raising it up for all to see “First spell recorded!” Boomed an excited Totlecatl over the cheering of the amazed crowd, “Endless more to eternalize!”
[hider=summary]
The Emissaries from Xal-Zastarha come to Sancta Civitas via Magnus Pod with the goal of building a grand library of the arcane arts, landing a ways north of the city. They are greeted by the Mantarin ambassador Amulius and his entourage who arrive via ship to intercept their journey to the city proper inorder to gauge their intentions. Qael grants his Emissaries the ability to transmit ideas and images telepathically, which allows their leader Totlecatl to first communicate friendship and then their desire to build a library, both of which Sancta Civitas’ Ambassador accepts.

The narrative then jumps forwards to the opening of the great library, skipping us past all the xenolinguistics and arguing over planning and funding. There the queen and priests of the city bless the building’s structure, Amulius shows off some basic magic he has learned from the Emissaries to the crowd gathered to witness the opening and then Totlecatl formally names The Library, at which point Qael blesses it. After the winds of magic rush into the building it becomes filled with wisps (named Vessels). Totlecatl has Amulius demonstrate the ability of The Library’s wisps to form recordings of spells onto stone tablets. He then announces their intention to record as many spells as possible so that they may be stored and learned from for all eternity, much to the delight of the city who are enamored with this new and exciting thing known as magic.

There's also a lot of scenery building depicting the layout and workings of modern Sancta Civitas in there.
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Artifex
Start mp/dp: 4/2
Used 1 dp at some point in the past to teach the people of Sancta Civitas how to make good bronze age [url=https://i.imgur.com/rvCkkpz.jpg]boats[/url]

Used 1 dp to grant the Library the title: Marvel of Construction. 

2/5 towards stoneworking

3/5 towards ships

End mp/dp: 4/0

Qael’Naath
Start: 4MP/4DP
- 2MP >> Grant Emissaries the ability Mindcasters II - The Emissaries are naturally able to connect to minds and share visions, thoughts and even the products of imagination with those connected. This allows them to rudimentary ‘talk’ to races and factions whose language is utterly foreign. However this sharing of thoughts can only be done across a very short distance. Generally no more than across 3 meter. It also requires at the very least a neutral relationship between the two sides in the conversation. Should one prefer not to be talked through in their own mind, they can almost instantly and subconsciously shutdown the stream of thoughts. It is also important to note that this is a one-to-one connection and cannot create a “web of thoughts”.
- 2 DP >> Consecrate The Library
[hider=The Library]
Transformable Vessels II – The Vessels that store this information are able to alter their shape depending upon what information must be stored. For mana spells they will generally take the shape of clay tablets, scrolls or books (depending on the age and general knowledge of the world). Druidic ceremonies would be stored as mosaics or tapestries showing the event with all the appropriate required context written on it. Spiritsinging’s uniqueness makes it impossible to replicate, however the songs and poems used to quicken the Worldsong are still stored with the appropriate context upon tablets. Telluric magic is impossible to record, as is the use of Deepspeak.
Marvel of Construction I - The Library is built with an unparalleled degree of complexity and skill for it’s day and age, with high ceiling, many splendid columns and immaculately decorated gardens outside. These advanced features will also be found when the planned expansions to the building are undergone at a later date. 
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End: 2MP/2DP

[b]Prestige[/b]
10K+ Post length
+5 Prestige >> Emissaries (Total 8)
+5 Prestige >> Sancta Civitas (Total 10)
+5 Prestige >> The Library (Total 5)
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