Let's Go! Pyr

Oren pyr, folks!

Welcome to the first installment of the Let's Go! series - a detailed look at the cities, communities, and regions of the planet we call Atys. Since I'm from the desert, I thought we'd make our first step the scenic, historic Imperial capital of Pyr.

Founded in 2483 almost immediately after the Fyros first appeared in these lands, Pyr towers over the Imperial Dunes region of the Burning Desert continent. It is considered the largest city on the planet. Surrounded by impregnable earthbrick walls, the city has a well-earned reputation for being a ponderous maze for newcomers and the place to go for anyone who knows anyone to get anything decent. Open-air plazas and markets juxtapose with taverns, dark alleys and hard stares from the leathery individuals that inhabit them.

Truly, it is a city of opportunity, wonder, and awe.

Cerakos Gate - an entrance fit for an Emperor

The Kitin Observer of the North at his post in Pyr

First-time visitors to Pyr generally tend to arrive at the city's main gate to the east, called Cerakos Gate. The portal is named after Fyrosian Emperor Cerakos II, whose embalmed body was burned on a natural pyre at the site of the gate after his death in 2481 in the First Great Swarming.

Local legend states that, as the body of Cerakos II was consumed by the flames, his spirit itself caught fire and infused itself into the ground surrounding what is now Pyr today.

Immediately outside the gate, prospectors can dig for low-quality amounts of Choice-grade Beng amber, which is plentiful in the immediate area around the entrance and stables. The gate is heavily guarded; however, a group of bandits known as the Dune Riders have a camp on the road heading south into Outlaw Canyon. Visitors are advised to travel with caution if taking this route.

Market District - hub of the travelers' community

Not even bad weather can dampen traffic at Cheapside

Entering the gate, visitors to Pyr will almost immediately find the first of two commercial districts in the capital - Cheapside Market.

More than just a commerce center, Cheapside Market has become one of the larger hubs of community activity in the region. All manner of vendors hawk their wares alongside myriad skills masters offering to teach new adventurers how to improve themselves. Suppliers and military recruiters alike hawk job offers to interested travelers while the Kami, one of the two Atysian "superfactions", preach their message of unity through Ma-Duk just outside the square.

Twin tunnels lead visitors west into the Highmarket District - the upscale section of the Pyr market and jewel of the Fyrosian economy. Everything from materials to finished products in every variety of color and quality can be found in one stall or another here, the walls of neighboring building echoing with the call of competing hawkers interspersed with the occasional grunt or bellow of one of the legion of pack animals accompanying them. Another set of twin tunnels leads to the city's north gate and Academy, while a small tunnel next to the heavy armor stall leads to the residential section of the capital.

Pyr Academy - part castle, part cultural center, entirely impressive

Even at night, the Imperial complex remains active

The markets make one last desperate attempt to extract a few dappers more from passersby as they emerge from the westward tunnel leading to Pyr's academy/palace complex, but the rushed, harried feeling of slogging through Pyr's massive marketplace immediately gives way once one steps into the quiet contemplation of the building's approach. Visible for miles, the colossal structure houses some of the finest military, economic, spiritual and engineering minds known to the Burning Desert as well as serving as the city's political center.

A sweeping, curved upward ramp brings visitors into the building's cavernous lobby. Here, citizens can take citizenship tests as well as interact with diplomats and ambassadors from various lands. Rumors swirl inside as if dust on the oasis wind - the Matis might be launching an attack soon, or Cerakos II could still be alive, or (most commonly) any one of a number of theories on the Great Dragon of Fyrosian lore are whispered, forgotten, and repeated anew as travelers make their way out of the lobby and into the Imperial Hall.

Some of Pyr's most influential citizens in the Imperial Hall

The Imperial Hall is home to the sharpest, strongest, most revered citizens of Pyr. It is here guilds are registered, instructors teach those willing to learn the best and strongest tactics, and the city Sage dispenses advice and trial rituals to those that request it.

(An interesting rumor heard on the way up the staircase: Is the Sage of Pyr part of the mysterious "Revealers" group? The urge to contemplate the notion quickly passed.)

So it is only fitting that here can be found some of the finest architecture and craftsmanship on all of Atys. A ring of historical reliefs depicting major events in Fyrosian history, expertly carved, encircles the entire top floor. Richly-woven tapestries of lush kiban silk drape from ceiling to floor, gently waving as if made of the freshest, purest springwater.

One could sit there and take it in forever, but we've the rest of the city to see.

South Pyr - another city of its own

The residential area of Pyr is located to the south of the Highmarket area, and is a section of town absolutely teeming with both hustle and bustle. The city's tavern is located here, as well as the bath house (a very popular spot), guild and individual housing, and Pyr's most famous feature - its massive Forge.

An urban Oasis

Citizens passing Oasis Fountain on a stormy springtime day

The center of the southern residential district is called, quite aptly, Oasis Fountain Square and lives up to its name as a pocket of calm in an otherwise chaotic city. A large fountain depicting three women bestowing water onto a pool dominates the square, while the city's tavern entrance is just to the north of the fountain.

Local lore states that Oflovak Rydon, a Fyros Patriot and one of the nation's most revered sons of history, regularly drank here and that his ghost still patronizes the establishment. A candle in a plain black brazier he originally crafted in the 2470s maintains a vigil on his favorite spot at the bar underneath the skull of a large bodoc.

The Pyr Bath House - washing off the dust in luxury

The desert is a dusty place, and Pyr is no exception. So it comes as no surprise to find Pyr's bath house to be one of the finest on the planet.

Ahhhhhhhhh...

Visitors to the bath house walk into the lobby and take the right-hand corridor down to the baths to start. Built into a hot springs cavern located just underneath Oasis Fountain Square, the baths are a testament to Fyrosian architecture and engineering. Massive polished pillars support an elegantly appointed ceiling that features a large, cleverly installed skylight to provide illumination. The smooth stone of the ledges inside the bath are surprisingly comfortable and almost yielding, offering heavenly comfort to weary travelling bones.

After a long soak, visitors adjourn upstairs via the left-hand corridor of the lobby to the baths' steam area, where Fyrosians and other inhabitants of Pyr complete their contemplative restoration after a hard day's work in the desert.

Leaving is a burden almost too heavy to bear now, but one more stop awaits on the tour - the Great Forge, pride of Pyr.

The Forge - proof of Fyrosian mastery of fire

As the Academy is Pyr's demonstration to the world of its intellectual and cultural achievements, the Great Forge is a demonstration of the Fyrosian art of fire.

The Forge's open-air roof is an achievement of art and architecture

Visitors to the Forge feel the heat of its fires breezing down the street long before they actually get to the massive structure. Towering many hundreds of meters above the cityscape, the Forge is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks from afar.

Inside, Fyros workers and freelancers alike scurry to meet the demands of the Fyrosian war machine, providing protective armor and fearsome weapons to the nation's many guards and soldiers at a tidy profit for themselves. The Forge features an innovative open-air roof structure, the interior of which is ringed with an artful depiction of infinitely-entwined twin dragon tails.

Much like its residents, Pyr is a complex city made up of various different components that becomes more than the sum of its parts thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of its people. Be you shopper, adventurer, prospective settler or simply a wandering traveler passing through, Pyr provides a refreshing, safe oasis of civilization in the midst of the harsh desert it dominates.

Let's Go! is a weekly look at the various capitals, communities and regions that make up the world of Atys. It is published each Saturday on Ryzom Compendium.