Ayetua

Ayetua [ay-YEH-too-ah] is a port city on the arid reaches of the Red Wiyel in Ororr, famed as the terminus for galleys travelling upriver on the Shouft or Great Pilgrimage of the Therist faith. Despite its proximity to the holy sites of Foratuna, it is a dry, drab and dusty settlement, used only as a waystation for the unceasing movement of pilgrims.

Ayetua is in Mangasor province, nominally under the governorship of the religious authorities at Foratuna. In practice the city is self governed by its merchant council.

Ayetua lies on the north bank of the river, which at this point flows through a low gorge of red sandstone, which gives the Red Wiyel its name. The city is divided in two by a high wall, the west called the Dawn or Pilgrims' City, the east the Night or Festival City.

The Dawn City is for arriving pilgrims and other pious visitors. It is a dusty and functional place, intended to serve the needs of pilgrims transiting between the river and the overland route to Foratuna while presenting minimal temptations. Alcohol, gaming and other entertainments are strictly banned. It's largest square is called Shriever's Square, where hawkers sell trinkets, food and cloth, and so-called mystics, hedge priests and zealot confessors sell dubious services to visitors. Much of the Dawn City is taken up by storehouses, baths, stables and pilgrim dormitories, though comfortable lodging houses are advertised discreetly for wealthier independent travellers and pilgrims seeking a night's comfort before their trek across the desert. The square at the northerly Pilgrim Gate is the assembly point for groups setting off on the road to Foratuna.

Returning pilgrims arrive at the Desert Gate of the eastern Festival City, usually greeted by citizens with flower bands and cups of sweetwater. Within the gates the covered Nightsquare throngs with colourfully dressed barkers advertising comfortable beds, pillow companions, gifts, luxurious food and all manner of comforts for the pilgrim at the end of their holy journey. Pilgrims generally enter the Night Baths Pandata where they change from their pilgrim garments back into conventional clothing.

The Wall between the two contains the city's essential services, particularly the postal office, bank, city government and the Depository, where pilgrims can deposit belongings they do not wish to carry through the desert.

Boats arrive at the city via the many landings built on piers into the river. All charge docking fees so the best and most expensive are stone piers with mooring equipment, the lowliest merely rickety wooden platforms liable to ditching passengers into the river. A cart track snakes back and forth up the sloping valley wall, while wheel-powered cranes drag crates up the hillside. However, pilgrims traditionally climb the Kings' Stair.

The Stair was constructed by the Issid Kings of Seqal, when the city-state's influence spread this far south. It is a long flight of wide and very steep steps, ascending the valley wall. The Stair is flanked by two huge crowned statues of ancient kings, carved into the red rock, though their features are so weatherworn and eroded they are little more than vaguely human shapes. The steps have been subject to serious erosion by desert wind, floods, rain, and the constant tread of pilgrim feet, but the central section is maintained to enable pilgrims to climb to the top. The steps are treacherous, particularly in wet weather, and it is not unknown for pilgrims to break limbs or fall to their death.

The Prophet climbed the Stair on his legendary journey to Foratuna, so the Stair is one of the highlights of the Shouft. As such this monument is one of the Protected Treasures which has been preserved from ancient times, while many other historic pagan sites were destroyed.