The city of wizards and magic is built on white rocks made of ivorit, and with the surrounding picturesque world is connected by four enchanted bridges leading from the four city gates arching across the abyss. The city is surrounded by high walls and itself consists of hundreds and thousands of towers, turrets and saws connected by bridges, puddles and tunnels. Towers and castles of different sizes swell to the starry sky and shine into the surroundings with their brightness.
Central and tallest is the Tower of Light, also known as the Organ Tower or the Golden Milestone, but it does not dominate the city itself – south of it are the Five Towers, dedicated to the magic of five elements and many others (see map below). The city is tightly belted with walls and is almost as extensive in terms of height and width. The city is riddled with magic through and through, because its power is greatest here – thanks to the magical rock of ivorit, and thanks to the rare knot on the meridians of mana and thanks to the high concentration of users of magic. All of Grand’s main magical schools and various obscure sects and branches are based here.
Sairis is built not only by art of construction, but also magic, and in its walls are stored endless plaits of incantations, protective spells and blessings. But its most customy specialty is its own life and the sensitivity of the itself as such. Its rulers – called Architects – are powerful wizards, and by their power they let the city pass through constant transformations, for it is still trying to bring close to the inimitable ideal of the City, which overlooks its awakened consciousness.
Sairis is a separate city state within Sirania, and that was the time when the Empire was founded. The lords and protectors of the city are architects, of whom there are eight, each of whom is in charge of a different function. The city enjoys the status of a neutral power – not only because no one dares to do anything against the magical forces of this city, but also because without its treacherated wisdom and without its schools, the world would fall into barbarism.
The holy path, which is one of the immutable elements of the ever-changing urban plan, is the center of the city. The path follows the archetypal shape of the labyrinth, with an accurate ratio of twists and loops. People use only its individual sections for practical purposes. It is used in its entirety only in the annual magic-ritual procession, which restores the magical protection of the city. Experts know that the Holy Road is a kind of giant rune emblem that guards the city with its power.
But let’s take a closer look at the individual essential buildings in the city:
Organ Tower – It is actually a giant drúzu of hollow ivorite crystals, which are simultaneously whistled by an immense organ. The constant pull of air from the depths beneath the city passes through the whistles, thus playing constant silent music, thanks to which magical forces are reduced from the underground spring into the structures and energy that the city uses for its functioning. The organ is played partially spontaneously, but their music is always influenced by the currently reigning Architect. The Tower of Light is also called the Tower of Light, because at its top there is a charming Démant, which shines with captured sunlight, lighting up the chimanized streets between tall towers that would otherwise drown in eternal shade. The energy of the heavens captured by Demant is also one of the city’s energy sources. The third name of the tower is the Golden Milestone. This is because it is at the heart of the system of city-leading journeys to four sides, but also other routes that lead to other worlds. These magical paths are stretched between Milestones and their centerpiece is the tower in the heart of Sairis.
Five towers – Five towers dedicated to five elements – Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. Towers are both a place of worship for patrons of five elements – andals – but above all a place of study and research. Advanced students who complete their studies at The University of Sairi can follow up with a specialized study of the elements in the Five Towers. Here are also the greatest experts in the magic, and each tower has its Archmaster, who runs the school and is at the same time the High Priest of the Cult of the Andal.
Tritowers – A trio of towers dedicated to the elven magic of the sun, moon and stars. It is also the place of the Noble cult, especially Annora, Ithela and Ilphani. The trio of towers, up to the lanterns at its peak, are covered in upside plants, belonging to the green part of the city, the center of which is the Tower of The Drúvids. Where the towers are not overgrown, it is possible to see beautiful white marble décor, which itself acts as petrified and geometryd foliage ivy and wine and strains of slender beech smoothly passing into the patterns of celestial constellations.
Sairi University – The most famous school of magic at the Grand. He teaches all 21 magical schools. In terms of the floor plan, it is the largest building (or rather a complex of buildings) in the city. Young wizards from all over the world are heading here after graduating from their local schools to achieve the highest dedication. Sairis is therefore largely also a university town, with everything that goes with it – traveling researchers, seasonal student stay, a number of libraries and places to study and student leisure.
The Genie Airship – Genie belongs to the very essential inhabitants of Sairis. They are an arbitrary ‘tree of life’, whose members have it in common, that they can thicken and thin, hover and penetrate solid matter. The smallest genies, neri, are a kind of plankton or lichen, who process raw magic and feed on them higher genies. The genie sits in Sairis many roles, e.g. in Sairis. as carriers or as helpers of architects. The airship is their main residence, but they inhabit virtually the entire city.
Great Bazaar – Famous marketplace of everything magical. The convoluted streets on many floors of small shops and larger department stores offer the most varied selection from alchemy ingredients, through rune robes, chopsticks and sticks, equipment for artifact workshops, potions and ointments, amulets and coils, grimoars and oracle aids, enchanted building stones, magic weapons and armor, as well as tools with a general scientific focus, all sorts of approach glass and telescopes, flasks and curvatures, maps and dictionaries. The marketplace also hides a number of ‘for-only’ spaces, selling traps of demons, sphinxes, golem creatures and robots, or summoning rarashi and favor.
Drúvid tower and dryads – This tower is actually an extremely large hollow tree that chose to carry the inhabitants and allowed gardens and orchards of normally large trees and flowers to be planted on its massive branches. In return, he can bathe for days in the light of Démant and is cared for by its inhabitants. The tree itself is the center of the whole neighborhood, where most of the towers and other buildings are filled with saugs and orchards on their peaks. The neighborhood is jointly managed by the wizards of elven schools, dryads and drúvidas. The tower is also a capitulation of the Order of the Sons of The Flight Circuit in Sairis.
Stiletto towers, also known as The Towers of Architects – Osmero towers located exactly to eight sides of the world’s sides from the central tower. Every Architect has a top control of the city exactly an eighth of the day. It is usually located on the magical throne at the top of its tower at this point, because it is there that the powerful silolines controlling many aspects of the city are concentrated. If the city is in danger or facing a hostile attack, more Architects must watch their thrones at the same time. On the contrary, in times of peace and tranquility, even the incumbent Architect can walk freely through the city and may not be fully concentrated in his tower.
The House of the Pathers and the Pilgrims’ Temple – The relatively modest House of the Pathers is usually full of halas and people, in contrast to the soaking and quiet Pilgrims’ Temple is immersed in silence and remembrance. Pilgrims have mostly already left the Grand or are very rarely present, and the Pathers, out of respect for the masters, take care of the monuments they have left behind. The Pilgrims’ Temple is full of ancient documents and sealed secrets, in contrast to the House of The Pathers resembles a cheerful inn and a marketplace in one. The pathers here sleep and rest after long expeditions, or exchange travel amulets and buy new ones. It is here that a rich selection of everything related to their profession – from first-class shoes to pršischas to maps of countries and pathways – is also available for guild members.
Greenhouse herbalists – A multi-storey greenhouse tower, the highest floor of which is irradiated by the connected brightness of the sun and Démanta (and thus subject to the cycle of day and night), while the remaining lower floors are illuminated by artificial magical light independently of the time of day. The tower is part of the ‘green’ part of the city (together with e.g. with the Tower of The Drúvid) and is far more than just a herb garden. The upper floors are an extremely extensive botanical garden, where samples of all possible herbs and trees of grandu are found in separate sections with different temperatures and humidity, while the lower floors serve as a grow house of less common fruit, vegetables and herbs for the town of Sairis i for export to the tables of the rich and aristocrats of Sirania, who are willing to pay for it greasy money. While the wide fields and orchards around the city grow enough grain and other food to feed the city, greenhouse supplies exotic fruits that otherwise cannot be found in the geographical location of Sairis. In addition to food supplies, however, magic portals are also a certain insurance supply in the days of siege. Exotic fruit designed for rich people’s tables sometimes becomes a more affordable diet than ordinary bread in the time of siege.
Chapter of the Palladina – Fortified seat of the Order of the Palladina. The architects of Sairis do not agree far from everything with the palladin moralism, but from a pragmatic point of view, there is an alliance between the city and the order of the alliance. Each Palladian knight must be a journeyman in at least one (of the order of permitted) schools of magic, and Sairis provides the best education, so young knights spend part of their novice at Sairi University. In exchange for the initiation into the mysteries of magic, the Palladins in the city leave a permanent relatively strong crew of their knights under the command of one of the compresses of the order. At the beginning of his term, the Commander vows to protect Sairis with all his power and his knights and follow the will of the Architects in all that is not directly contrary to the publicly known statutes of the Palladin Order. Thus, the crew is not a kind of inconspicuous occupation, but rather a real exchange value for the knowledge that the knights in the city draw.
Alchemy Institute – The whole name ‘Institut alchemy and Technomagie’ is Sairi’s response to the wild development of these sectors in Xalgon, Yller and Mantrino. Alchemy has a long history in Sairis, but for thousands of years it has remained in a fixed traditional form, while there has been significant evolution in Xalgon and elsewhere. Potions and preparations of all kinds have become a daily part of the lives of The Xalgona and Ylleřans, as well as creations of technomagic. Sairis mages base themselves on ‘inner strength’, while Xalgon schools emphasize ‘external strength’, the power contained in the mass and its substances, and in machines that can be constructed from matter. In order for Sairis to face these inventions, he must understand them. The Alchemy Institute is therefore also the center of the spy network, whose agents aim to gain insights into the secret improvisation of technomagic from the competition.
The Astrologers‘ Tower – The Science of Astrology focuses not only on researching the precise movements of celestial bodies and calculations of the seasons, eclipses and other metheric phenomena, but also the study of analogous and sympathetic links between ‘the top’ and ‘the bottom’, between the macrocosm and microcosm, between the human body and the world. Astrologers register influences on the web of fate and states of human souls and societies according to the transforming music of spheres, but they also map astral planes and try to understand the Great Dance and model it. While the Xalgonts read celestial rhythms as a result of the movement of a giant machine, Astrologers see the same as dancing and singing living creatures of immense proportions. Astrologers are not only concerned with theory, but also practice: they operate the Flying Towers and Heavenly Ships, through which they explore the spaces of the sky and land at Other Shores.
Academy of Combat Magic – The Academy is divided into two separate constitutions: One serves simply as a school of practical combat magic designed for all who successfully pass entrance exams. This school is not part of the University because the University sees itself as a pacifist state dedicated to the knowledge of the deepest mysteries of magic, while the Academy does not explore any of the melting sits too much, but instead seeks to piece together the most effective combat tool from the familiar magic. The Second Institute of the Academy is essentially a training centre for all permanent sairis citizens, which trains them so that they can play the role of active advances in the event of a threat to the city. Citizens will learn the basics of combat magic there, including how to handle the Sairi Network system: how to draw energy from it or divert energy if necessary. Higher studies in this second institute of the Academy then serve for the training of specialized magical army, which, in addition to the Palladine garrison and the jin army, forms the backbone of the Sairis army.
Great convent – A semi-circular theorist with a seating area for tens of thousands of people. This area serves a number of different purposes: the annual parade of the Holy Road is completed here, the citizens of the city are convened here, or ritual, theatrical or musical events are held here. Sounds, voices of speakers or lights are amplified in such cases by magic. However, the citizens of the city, apart from exceptional – rather symbolic – situations do not need to be physically associated, because they are all telepathically connected to the Sairi Network, where at the speed of thought they vote on the issues that need to be discussed.
