Rasia City

Rasia [RAH-zee-uh]], sometimes called Rasia City to distinguish it from the eponymous Grand Academy of Rasia, is a city on the south coast of Lake Ondrere in the Anrel Isles. Once a vibrant metropolis and a centre of culture, in 236 ME it was burned to the ground by Anretian forces during the Long War.

After the war it was left as a viridplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigVirid

Referring to the Virid Kingdom of flora and fauna, toxic to human life.-haunted ruin with a handful of scattered villages. Today it is once again a significant town, though a shadow of its former glory.

The city was named after the Rasee, an old name for Lake Ondrere. Since Rasia became synonymous with the city and Academy, over time the lake changed its name with time to avoid confusion.

The region around the Rasee has been inhabited for countless generations from prehistory. Even at the height of Rasia the region around Iron Hill was considered an ancient site, though it was likely only a hill fort from the Celadon Epoch.

At it's peak of prosperity around 150 BME it was the largest, wealthiest and most populous city in Anrelplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnrel Isles

Anrel [ANN-rel], or the Anrel Isles, is the most northerly island group in the Natorn Archipelago. It consists of three major islands and numerous smaller ones. The largest, colloquially if infrequently called Mainland, is divided between the kingdoms of Trésard and Narette. The island, the cultural capital of the North. The city became synonymous with the Grand Acadamy of Rasia, more commonly known as the Rasian Academy, although the Academy in fact lay in a valley just south of the city proper.

In 236 ME the city was sacked and burned by the Anretian army during the Long War, and although most of the Academy survived unscathed, the population fled and the city itself was never rebuilt. Deprived of the city which supported it, the Academy fell into terminal decline.

Today, much of the area has been inundated and eroded by the encroaching waters of the lake, so all that remains of the once grand city is a treacherous bog, strewn with ruins and rubble. The Academy continues but in a much reduced form: a few hundred members, along with wives, servants and children, eking out an existence amongst the rubble of past glory.

Some time after the foundation of the Rasian Academy, an agreement between the town and academy banned the practice of thaumaturgy within the environs of the city, unless formaly authorised by both the Grand Master and the Burgrave of the city.

The ban was routinely flouted by students and masters alike. At the beginning of the Magisteriate era, academy masters created a magical interdiction, which actively suppressed use of magicplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMagic

In common terms, magic is the art of producing a desired outcome through occult means. Various arts are described as magical, from common street illusionists, village herbalists, and rituals for the intercession of deities. However, true magic is the art and science of elemental mastery, harnessing elemental creatures and instructing them to perform simple or complex tasks. within the city. This was enacted using a powerful earth elemental, rooted in the base of the city's clock tower. It warded away elementals from the city centre.

During the Long War, the Interdiction had catastrophic effects. Academics were unable to use magic to defend the city. Furthermore, the Magisteriate banned the use of battle magic and collared magicians, preventing them from causing harm. This led to academics throwing up wards to defend the Academy campus, while the city below burned.