Welcome to Gaia! ::

How do I get a character to rp?
To get your own character, you must wait until a flatsale is started. When one is, you will fill out a sheet that describes your characters physical appearance and personality, and write a response to the prompt that we post. You then send this in to the mule where it will be judged. Only a few will be chosen to be made into real characters though. If you do not win, you are free to ask Hakari or gryph why you were not chosen, and how you can improve your entry.

How much do they cost?
Flatsales will be 15k if you win. Payment will be expected promptly. If you don't have the money right then, but we really liked your entry, we will consider a payment plan of some sort.

Do you do pet trades?
A tenative yes on this. The pet you're offering should have very good art and an interesting plot to the shop though. Hakari is picky about her pets! Just pm her and see.

Do you do customs?
Well technically any character you get here via flatsale is a custom. If you mean will I do one for you even when there's no flatsale? Then that's going to be a no, unless you offer me something really absurd like an OMG hat or better.

Do I have to rp my character?
Uh yes. Rp is required for everyone. At least one post a week is expected (that is a very reasonable number folks, so get over it) If you don't do this, your character will be confiscated. We're not monsters though guys, if you give us a heads up that you're not going to be able to meet your quota because of school or work, or something, that's fine and we'll wave the requirement until you return. We understand that people have lives outside of Gaia, and sometimes things just can't be helped.

Can I be a guest artist?
Currently we are not looking for any guest artists at the moment, we will post a notice here in the thread when we are though, so keep your eyes peeled.

Can my character and someone elses have kids?
Yes, but of course there will be a fee, this fee hasn't been decided on yet though. The requirments be that both parents have reached the 'Master Mage' stage in growth, that they are both adults, and actually have a past relationship via rp. You can't just decide one day that you and someone else want your charas to hook up and randomly have babies. Thats just silly.

Can characters from different cities get married/have kids?
Tenative yes on this too, but lets not just focus on getting your characters married off and having kids though, okay? That's just boring! But yes they can, but only if their elements are complimentary. For example, a Shadow and Spirit mage could marry, or a Water and Earth mage. An example of ones that could not would be Air and Metal, or Water and Fire.
But like I said, lets not have romance be the focus of this shop, okay? That gets pretty old after awhile. Lets try to work on your characters psychological development, and interesting stuff like that!

Can my original character (one you get through FS) be of mixed blood?
-This is going to have to be a no. These are incredibly rare and I don't want to many of them running around. These will be available only through breeding, or special Auctions.

Why is the youngest age allowed for a character 10 years old?
Because any younger than that is just ridiculous. Think about it, all these begining mages are setting off into the big wide world on their own to start magic training, not even knowing where they're going. Would you let your kid do that? Personally I think 10 is on the young side for this, but everyone convinced me to bring it down from 12 to 10. THat's the absolute minimum though! Absolutely no exceptions! Well, except for kids that come from breeding.

Do these characters grow physically?
Ah, here is a very good question. The answer is yes, but only a very little bit. If your character started out at the minimum age, 10, then they would not be able to reach adult hood by their Master Stage. That means no marriage, no kids, and very little romance (which personally i don't mind, but whatever.) The oldest your character will get is about 14, maybe 15 years old, tops. However, if Hakari sees you rping a lot, even after reaching master stage, and really putting a lot of effort and thought into your rp, she might just might update your master stage art for you so that your character will look older. Don't ask me to do this though or it will never happen!

Why can't my character have tattoos?
Your character is not allowed Tattoos until their master stage, since those are the only people who ever get them amongst all the cities. The markings represent what city their from and that they have achieved mastery over their powers. I will pm you when your character advances to master stage to ask if you want them to have tattoos. They don't have to if they don't want too, it's just a privelage they have.
((more may be added later))

((Note: bear with us on the population numbers, these are subject to change a bit until we get everything straightened out))

Fire:
City Name: Fire
Population: 75,500
Trades with:
Architecture: The entire town is carved from obsidian, the volcanic glass that is common inside of the volcano crater in which the city is located. Shiny black towers jut up from the hot magma deep below the city, illuminating it from below. The incredible temperatures have little to no effect on the people of the city though, thanks to their scaled skin and natural resistance to extreme heat. The city mages keep the lava below the city at a steady temperature as rapid temperature changes could disrupt the fragile balance they’ve created.
There is no particular order to the location of housing inside the volcano, the only way to distinguish the wealthier residents house is by size. More housing is carved out of the Obsidian as needed to accommodate the slowly growing population.
Magic: Fire mages are capable if controlling not only fire but also radiant heat (heat in the air). Masters in glass working, fire mages use their powers to heat glass must faster than would be normally possible, which allows them to get a much clearer, stronger glass than any of the other cities are able to create. Able to control the creation of fire and its temperature, the residents of the volcano are able to withstand extreme heat that would surely kill a citizen from any other city.
Surrounding Area: Located deep within the crater of an active volcano.
Residents: Like so many reptiles the fire people are able to shed their skin, which can be ground and used for medicinal purposes or even turned into items by a skilled artisan. It is highly prized since the skin has a high resistance to heat.
In addition, mages are able to venture into hibernation like trance where rapid growth or healing can occur. Brought on by either hormonal changes such as those during puberty or severe injuries the hibernation allows the body to focus on growing or healing make the process more rapid. The only drawback to this venture in the Navintrux (the meditative state which they obtain) is there persons inability to defend themselves. After being severely hurt they might become drowsy, the body telling the person of the coming sleep, would have to either find secluded area and/or have someone trusted watch over them while in the Navintrux.
As far as appearances go, the citizens of Fire City are an interesting race. Their upper torso's look mostly human, though have the occasional patches of scales. Their legs though are anything but human. Their legs could be compared to the rear legs of a dragon in build and shape. They are covered in scales, though what color varies from person to person. Like dragons, they have long, supple tails, and spikes going down their spines and to the tip of their tail. These tails are simply straight tipped, no sort of long spikes or mace like growths. These people do not have wings.
Their torso and face skin is usually very dark in color, from tan to near black. Their eyes are usually golden or black, their hair dark in coloration, and the pair of horns on their head are usually a color similar to their scales.
Daily Life: As one might assume, the fire citizens’ diet consists mainly of insects, small mammals and their fellow reptiles. They prefer to cook their food to the point of blackened or char grilled (the kind of toast one family member always seems to like, the kind you could break a tooth on). Their stomachs are developed to break down not only ash and soot but also even some poisons; the people of the fire city don’t fear much contamination in food form. Much more concerned are they about finding enough food to feed the city without having to venture into the earth territory.

Water:
City Name: City of Water
Population: 80,000
Trades With: metal, earth, witchcraft, ice
Architecture: Water denziens use bioluminescent sea plants or bubbles as lights in their homes, creating an unearthly glow in the underwater dwellings of the elite and powerful. Luminescent sea anemones adorn the entries to homes and chandeliers of bubbles float in greater rooms. The larger the item to be enchanted, the harder it is to make it glow and effects how long it will remain lit. The magical capability of the citizen helps to decide where they live. The more powerful the mage, the further down their home is. The lower classes, which consist of non or lesser mages, live near the surface. Being able to live closer to the floor of the ocean is to show off a persons power and wealth. It is also safer during the large storms that seasonally hit that section of the continent. The architecture itself is all naturally formed caves set into the drop off located just off-shore. The size and intricacy of these caves debend on how wealthy a person is. The poorest people might live in a small one room cave susceptable to being washed out during storms, while a wealthy person might live in a veritable labyrinth system of caves at the ocean floor. People, even mages, are unable to change the physical structure of their home because their power over water doesn't allow them too, and mining them out is very hard and costly. Earth mages can't even be brought in to do the work because they are so far under the water.
Magic: The people of the city of Water are not only masters of water manipulation but can change water from liquid to vapor and back again, allowing them to purify water which they trade to the city of metal for jewelry made of precious metal. Mages are also capable of creating bioluminescent items, like rocks, bubbles, or even sea plants. The greatest of mages can enchant things to glow indefinitely. The greatest of these talents though may be their ability to control other, lesser, inhabitants of the sea through telepathy. Like everything else the power of the mage determines the size of the animal and amount of the control the mages has over the creature’s mind. This ability does not stretch to anyone of their own kind, or anything from land. Sea creatures only.
Surrounding Area: Located off the shore of the main island, the people of the water city built a large stone tower on the edge of an underwater cliff which protects the population from any would be invaders as they would have to dive far deeper than normal humans possibly could to access the sea dwellings.
Half of the tower juts out from the water, and serves serves as a beacon where trading can take place between cities. The rest of the tower is underwater and is used as the mage tower where the water mages learn and practice their craft.
Daily Life:
Shells, coral and pearls are all used to make beautiful jewelry that range from hair clips and combs, to necklaces, belt and rings. They often keep the best for themselves and only sell what is left over the rest of the cities. They are a vain people that love their shinies.
The caves where the water people dwell are decorated with coral grown and shaped to be used for furniture, woven seaweed as curtains blankets and pillows and white sand on the floors. Beds can range from rock shelves, soft sand or layers of kelp. Others weave kelp and seaweed together to make a hamoc like resting place.
People in the City of Water make a living in various ways, from being kelp farmers to coral growers, jewlery makers or Mages who make the all important bio-luminescent objects that light the homes of the wealthy.
Residents: Rather than just having 'fish' tails, the merpeople's tails can take the shape of any sea creature from a lobster to a seahorse or a tuna (sorry guys no mammals though like otters, dolphins, etc. no sharks either). Rather than the constantly open eyes of a fish, the water dwellers eyes are similar to those of a cat with pupils able to close to slits in bright light or dilate almost completely to see in the darkest depths of the ocean. Clothing is made of only materials found underwater (with the exception of precious metals, which they love), allow ease of movement but are so visually appealing since the merepeople place much importance on appearances.

Earth :
City Name: City of Earth (Terra to its residents)
Population: 90,000
Architecture: Hidden among the massive oaks and banyan trees is the Earth City, the houses literally made of the living trees. The people here almost seem to have willed the earth and it's plants to do their bidding, which their ancestors actually did (imagine Lothlorien when thinking of this city). The higher into the trees the nicer the residences become as more sunlight is required for more advanced magic such as tree manipulation, so the highest of the mages receive the highest homes and a view of the forest tree tops.
Trades with: Spirit, Witchcraft, Water
Magic: Earth mages specialize in ground and plant manipulation, as well as the ability to transform into a plant. Each mage is based off of a different kind of plant, from water lily to oak tree, to anything in between. They're coloration varies depending on what kind of plant they are, as does what they change into. The mages are able to make any sort of plant grow however they want, and bend them to their will. They cannot, however, make random plants spring up from nowhere. There have to be seeds, sufficient water, and nutrients for them to grow a plant magically. Therefore normally when they're trying to do something in a hurry, they will use plants that are already full grown and close at hand. They can also control any kind of earth, whether it be sand or granite, they are able to manipulate it. Once again though, they have to work with what's on hand. How much and how well they can control the earth depends on how powerful they are, and how much training they've had, the same with plants.
Surrounding Area: Deep within the dense forest towards the south end of the continent.
Residents: Their hair color ranges from golden blond to a deep rich chocolate brown, and sometimes even red. They also tend to have hints of green, orange, yellow, or even red, depending on the time of the year. These slight color changes reflect the state of the leaves of the forest around them. Terrans (what the people of the Earth City refer to themselves as) have long spindly fingers and tall thin bodies, adding to the graceful appearance of these people. Non-mages have leaves and sticks are interwoven in their hair, depending on which kind of tree or plant, they can range from birch branches and leafs to lilies and lily pads and cat tails. The mages though have these actually growing from them, generally from their heads. Their skin tone tends to reflect what type of plant they are based on. A mage who is a silver barked birch tree would have silvery skin, while an oak would have a greyish brown coloration.
Daily Life: The people of the City of Earth do not farm the land or raise live stock for consumption. They make meals of different kinds of earth from which their unique digestive system can extract necessary nutrients. To them, each kind of earth has it's own unique flavor. They are also able to photosynthesize for quick energy when the sun is out.
Mages of this city use their power mostly to quarry stone which they trade to different cities to be used in buildings. When they do this they always quarry stone from the land around the city that desires it so that their own land does not slowly waste away for the sake of trade. Non-mages are often sent to scout the forest for intruders. The Terrans to dot permit people to cut down their trees or hunt within their domain. Trespassers are are forcibly thrown out of the forest, and repeated offenders are punished by the God of the Forest. The God of the Forest choses a different mage of great power each spring to serve as his link to his chosen people, the Terrans. This mage conveys the will of the god to the people. He never demands much, as he loves his people like his children. Mostly he uses them to protect his sacred forest, though he rules over all forests on the continent; the forest in which the City of Earth is located his considered his sacred home. The God of the Forest, technically speaking, is not a god at all, but an immensely powerful spirit which not even the most powerful of the spirit mages can hope to control. He is the incarnation of the life force of all forests on the continent. When in physical form, the God of the Forest looks like a mix of deer, chinese dragon, and tree. He is very tall and extremely long, though his size can change according to his will. The seasons are the process of growth, death, and rebirth of the 'god'. Thus, the people of the City of Earth care for him for supporting their homes and way of life.
For clothing, the earth people tend to wear little, especially the mages. Since their forest is in the south, it is very warm, and they have no real need for extensively covering themselves except for in key places. The mages wear the least because when they shape change into tree's, any tight binding clothes would only be ruined. Their clothing is very similar to what Native Americans wore, only made from plants as they do not hunt and have no animal skins.

Air:
City Name: City of Air
Population: Approximately 45,000
Architecture: All of the buildings are made of a mysterious crystalline substance, whose origin is unknown as it has been forgotten since the city of air originally ascended into the skies. The architecture itself is all delicate arches and graceful towers with halls and elegant,
Trades With: None
Magic: The magic of the Air Mages, obviously, deals with the air. They have the ability to control the wind, and therefore, the weather. Summoning storms can take time though, depending on how large it must be. Small local storms are whipped up fairly easily, and large storms can take an entire day to conjure. It is very rare that they have a need to call up a large storm though, as they require only little ones to water the crops they keep on their island home amongst the clouds. The Air Mages use their power over the wind and air to keep their city flying. As well as controlling the wind, Air Mages can make the air harden to use as a shield, or even to walk on. How long they can do this for depends on how much training they have had. Master Mages can walk across the air all day and not break a sweat. They rarely do of course, since they have wings which they fill with wind to keep themselves afloat in the air rather than walk, as flying is faster.
Surrounding Area: The floating city drifts about wherever the wind (and wind mages) take it. During the day, the sun reflects off of the crystal city, making it visible to all. At night, the light of the moon causes it to glow prettily with an eerie blue light. The cities on the continent below often refer to this wandering city of the air as ‘The Wayward Star’, as it is constantly on the move.
Residents: The people of the floating city are distinctly avian in nature. All of them have large feathered wings that vary greatly in color and markings. They are a relatively small, thin, and lithe people, built for riding the winds. Their wing span is usually two and a half times their height as a general rule of thumb. Some are a bit larger, others a bit smaller. Their bodies are humanoid, but they have long feathered tails that serve as rudders while they are in flight. They have long windswept hair that grows down their neck and to their back where it melds with the feathers of their wings and tails, changing from hair to soft, downy feathers. Their faces are generally angular with prominent noses and sun-kissed skin. Their eyes are almond shaped and are either shades of gold, or black.
For clothing they prefer no, or very small tops that won’t get in the way of their flying. Males always go topless, and women wear the smallest possible coverage on their top as possible to keep clothing from getting in the way. The women are very small chested anyways. For pants they like loose, flowing garments that go to at least their knees, and for shoes they wear sandals that have straps that wind up around their calf.
Daily Life: The people of The City of Air are creatures of the day. They delight in the feeling of sunshine warming their backs and the wind in their wings as they fly high in the sky, rarely descending to earth. In fact the only time they ever do go down to the ground is when small groups of hunters are sent into the Earth Forest to retrieve the meat necessary to keep them alive. They don’t require much meat, as much of their diet is supplemented with fruits and vegetables they grow themselves.
There are no real classes on the City of Air, as everyone does their fair share of work, some way or another. Mages contribute to keeping the city aloft, others tend the vegetable patches and fruit groves that are located at one end of the floating island. Still others are sent down to do the hunting. Like all of the other cities, this one also has a tower where magic is taught, and it is located at the far end of the island, opposite where the food is grown.

Ice:
City Name: City of Ice
Population: 55,000
Trades with: water, spirit, shadow, earth
Architecture: The buildings of the City of Ice are all made up of ice, snow, and a composite material known as Pykrete. This substance is a mixture of snow and sawdust, valued because it melts extremely slowly. The entire city is enclosed within a twenty foot wall of ice and snow to protect them from the extreme winds that whip down the mountains and across the glacier on which they reside. Since they have to work with a limited amount of space, buildings are tiered and stacked on top of one another with bridges between different levels of the buildings.. Within the past generation the ice city denizens have started building down into the glacier itself to make room for a growing population.
Magic: Ice magic is a very artistic element; most of the time, Ice Mages are also artists. With their powers they are able to create fine jewelry, though only master mages are able to make ice jewelry that will never melt. They are also known for their finely crafted, highly reflective ice mirrors, though once again, only master mages are able to make ones that will never melt, meaning only they can afford to export them to other cities. The city of ice is known throughout the continent as one of the most beautiful cities due to it's fine ice structures and ornate building reliefs created by the ice mages. Besides all the finely crafted objects they can make, ice mages can also control large amounts of ice or snow at a time to create large structures such as the wall around their city and the buildings within. They are unable to control water, but they are able to freeze it, in which state they can then manipulate it.
Surrounding Area: The city of Ice is located on the expansive glacier that is cradled in the center of the three mountain peaks known as the Malay Mountains. Winds that come down from the mountains keep the glacier and the surrounding peaks locked in an eternal winter.
Residents: The people of the City of Ice are a very short race, the very tallest of them is only 5'4”. They are known for their cat-like features, most commonly displayed as feline ears and a long furry tail similar to a snow leopards. Like the fox based City of Spirit citizens though, some people are more cat-like than others. Eye colors are usually brown, blue or green, and their skin is always pale. The paler a person is, the more beautiful they are supposedly. Their hair is always either brown or dark blue, with light blue being the rarest and most desirable color.
For clothing, everyone wears very large, poofy coats that are lined with fur to keep them warm. The Ice citizens have a very high resistance to cold, but when they get out on the glacier, even they get a little bit nippy.
Daily Life: Since there are so many artists within the City of Ice, many people spend their day painting, sculpting, or carving works of art to trade amongst themselves, or traders that venture up the mountain from other cities. There are also hunters that scale the mountain sides to hunt for mountain goats and other such creatures to provide the city with meat. They are unable to keep live stock within their city due to a lack of food so they are forced to hunt daily. Some people though do make a business by raising Malay Beasts, creatures that are unique to the Malay Mountains. They are like a mix between a goat and a horse with thick, curly hair, long horns like an impala's, and the coloring of a moose. They are the size of a small horse, with all the surefootedness and cloven hooves of a mountain goat. These creatures are raised as riding and pack animals to make moving around the glaciers and mountains easier.

Spirit:
City Name: City of Spirit
Population: Approximately 110,000
Architecture: Similar to Ancient China or Japan
Trades with: City of Shadow, City of Earth, City of Ice
Residents: The people of the City of Spirit are all fox-like in appearance. They range from being a full fledged fox, though they are larger than our foxes, that walks on their hind legs and has hand-like paws, to fox anthros that are basically human except for their ears and tail. There are various levels of fox in between the two extremes. The most tails one can have is 9. Usually, the more tails one has, the more beautiful or handsome they are considered, though not neccessarily always. Over all though, one of the two extremes is not preffered over the other as far as appearances go. Full foxes and anthros even marry and have children together, so you can see that it really doesn't make a huge difference to them.
For clothes the people of spirit prefer clothes that we would compare to ancient chinese or japanese outfits, wrap arounds, kimonos, sashes and the like. The coloration of the fur of these people varies greatly, as does their hair. Gold is the predominant eye color though, but there are a few other colors found occasionally.
Magic: Spirit Mages have power over souls of the dead, and spirits that one finds in nature. Souls of the dead can be controlled only by advanced magic students and Masters, and only Masters can control the greater dead. All levels of mages can control spirits, though the more training they’ve had, the more powerful the spirit they can control. These spirits are basically the living essences of non-sentient things that can be found in everything on the planet from trees to rocks, even water (this means no animals, as those are considered ‘souled’ creatures). Mages can also use their magic to confine spirits to objects which anyone, even a non-magic user, can use to summon the spirit in order to do a function set by the person who sealed it there. Some of these items are one use only, but ones made by Master Mages can often be used many times, or even indefinitely. For example, a housewife could buy a stone from a master mage that had a spirit in it, that when summoned, would do the dishes for her! The most expensive kinds are made only by very advanced Master Mages which secure a spirit permanently to the living world to do the bidding of a person, like a servant. It is frowned upon to force souls to do these things as they have an actual consciousness when summoned, and people who break this rule can actually be thrown in jail. Souls can be summoned for anything from advice, to actually fighting for a person in trouble, depending on the strength of said soul. Spirits have no consciousness, so Spirit Mages see no issue with using them for menial chores and servitude.
Objects used to contain spirits can range from small stones, to jewels, to wands, to just about any sort of inanimate object! To hold summoned souls though, paper lanterns are the preferred median. These lanterns are hand made and depending on the size, can hold from one to five souls at a time. These lanterns are used because it allows a spirit who really does not want to be there, leave and return to the after life at any time it likes, though most don’t mind. Many spirits actually like being summoned because it gives them a chance to experience life again until their summoner sends them away again. Many Spirit Mages have a few favorite spirits that they will always keep with them in the lanterns they carry around, for quick access.
Surrounding Area: The City of Spirit is located in the southern part of the Shadow Forest they share with the City of Shadow. This dark forest of towering spruce and birch trees
Daily Life: During the daylight hours is when the farmers of the city go to work in their fields. The rear of the city is surrounded by a large crescent of rice fields, which the farmers tend to. Just before you reach the rice fields though is where the vegetable plots are located. Some farmers decided to grow vegetables rather than rice, because they are in demand as well, though rice is still the city’s staple food.
At night though is when the city really comes to life though. It is all lit up by brightly colored lanterns and all the people come out to both shop and socialize. In the market section of the city, merchants hawk their wares, which vary from delicious foods to beautiful cloth or finely crafted paper lanterns. Of course the mages aren’t left out of all of this activity, but are fully integrated into it. Some student mages use their powers to put on shows to earn a little spending money, and others sell useful charms imbued with spirits to do simple tasks around the home. The people of The City of Spirit are very nocturnal (with the exception of the farmers, but even they come out to do some shopping each night.)
As for the city itself, it is shaped in a roughly circular shape, with the tower where magic is taught at its very center. The closer a person gets to the center of the city, the nicer the homes become. The nicest homes are large and enclosed in large, tall walls. Within these walls are beautiful, manicured gardens with ponds of coi fish and even miniature rivers. (think ancient china) The owners of these extensive homes are usually either very successful merchants, or are of the few original families to come to the city generations ago. They also tend to be led by very powerful, experienced mages, which is how they stay in power. Should a generation not turn out any mages, then they gradually lose their wealth and trade rights, leaving them to step down to a lower class, and a rising star of the middle class to take their place. The middle class is made up of fairly successful merchants and professional mages, not quite of the caliber as those who lead the elite families. They have nice, middle sized homes surrounded by lower walls and a small decorative garden. Some also have a vegetable patch so that they won’t have to buy from the farmers, saving them money. The lowest class does not lead a low life, contrary to what their title might imply. The lower class is made up entirely of the farmers, who live a well enough life as they have their own vegetable patches, and sell their highly demanded rice to the middle and elite classes. Their houses are fairly small and made of wood, where as middle and elite class homes are made of stone. Hunters also live here on the outskirts of the cities alongside the farmers. These people bring in the meat to sell to the butchers, who in turn sell it to the citizens of the city. They hunt primarily with bows and arrows; their main prey being the deer that live in the forest that surrounds their city.


Shadow:
City Name: City of Shadow
Population: Approximately 65,000
Trades with: City of Spirits, City of Metal, City of Ice
Architecture: The homes and buildings here are like large black metal towers with giant domes on top that are made of a strange black substance that does not seem to be metal. These domes are actually made of solidified and shaped shadow courtesy of the local mages.
Trades With: City of Spirit, City of Metal
Magic: Shadow Mages powers allow them to bring shadows to life and even reshape them into creatures or objects of their own design. Their other power allows them the traverse through, and influence, the dreams and nightmares of others who do not have the same power, unless they are weaker than them. When the take a shadow for use in their magic, and do not replace it again (meaning they made it into something permanent), it takes that shadow a full 24 hours before it regenerates. Sounds impossible, I know, but it’s true! That’s just shadow magic for you.
Surrounding Area: The City of Shadow is located in the Shadow Forest, more precisely, the part of the forest located at the base of the Ice Mountains. The city itself actually has the odd habit of moving to a different location within that area each night as the sun sets. This is done so that the city is located in a fresh area of shadow for the mages to draw on.
Residents: The people of The City of Shadow are dark and mysterious. They all seem to have odd physical quirks about them. Some have small wings on their backs, others hooves, others tails…they are a strange and varied race. The only things that all the residents have in common are their horns, their dusky grey skin, and bright red eyes; they also tend to have darker hair. For clothes, they prefer things in dark, muted colors; dark purples, greens, browns, and reds, as well as black are the norm around this city. Their clothing is always made up of several layers, the first being tight fitting with layers of jackets, scarves, and the like over it. They are usually highly decorated with little touches of detail varying from extra belts, to fancy lace.
Daily Life: Like the people from The City of Spirit, the people from The City of Shadows spend their entire day inside their odd homes doing any number of things, but mostly sleeping, as they are nocturnal. Before their Mage Teacher disappeared, this was also when Mages in training would go to school in the tower at the center of their city, until about noon. When the sun sets and the city had changed places for another night, the doors to the towers that hold businesses are opened and the citizens go shopping, or visit friends, or whatever else people do when they’re out and about. Some towers have restaurants, others have clothing stores, each business has its own tower. The homes of the wealthiest citizens are also the largest. Like all the homes, they have a black tower made of metal, which supports a dome on top. These domes tend to be larger for the rich, and some can even afford to have branches built jutting out of their original tower in order to support extra domes for more space. The result is something like a strange, alien forest made all of black metal and shadows.
The City of Spirit provides most of the food for The City of Shadow, because the Shadow City is constantly moving, and would be unable to keep up with any fields it planted. The City of Metal provides all the metal for the towers that make up the Shadow City. Once the shell of the tower is built though, the Shadow mages take over from their.


Electricity:
City Name: City of Electricity
Population: 170,000
Architecture: The City of Electricity is similar to their neighbors, the City of Metal, only instead of tall sky scrapers, the people of the Electric City live in a series of low lying metal domes built for them by the Metal Mages. These domes are very efficient both for cooling as heating since they are so exposed to the sun on top of the four pillars. The heating is important because the temperature drops to near freezing at night. There is a single large dome per pillar, inside of which are the homes of the Electric City citizens.
Trades with: City of Metal
Magic: The power of the Electric Mages lies in electricity. Master mages are able to control it freely in its pure form, or even imbue objects with this energy source. The objects are only able to hold this power for about a week though, and those are the most powerful ones; which is why the City of Metal is the only city they really trade with, as any batteries they made would no doubt fade before reaching most other cities. When they come into their power, Electric Mages, like Metal mages, undergo a transformation. Their hair becomes pure electricity, and their physical eyes fade, replaced by glowing orbs of pure energy, like their hair. The electricity that they control differs in color from mage to mage, and their hair and eyes reflect this color. Master Mages are actually able to shoot lighting straight from their eyes, something that requires much training to do or else they could injure themselves or others. I guess what the old saying says is true: Looks can kill! ((ha ha, pun!))
Surrounding Area: The City of Electricity is located under four metal domes, one on each of the four natural pillars that surround the City of Metal. Long suspension bridges span these large gaps, made long ago by Metal Mages when they first came there to the desert with the Electricity Mages. There is no plant growth here, and very little down on the ground. What little there is, is small and scrubby. Water is imported by the City of Metal to keep them all alive, and their hydroponics tanks alive.
Residents: The citizens of Electric City are similar to those of Metal city in that they also have dark skin. Their hair is usually a kind of blue tinged silver or white, once again, there are no dark haired people amongst these two cities. If one happened to visit either of these cities, they’d probably get stared at rather openly. Their eyes, except for the mages, are either silver, blue, or even purple on occasion. Their taste in clothing is the same as the Metal City’s, tight, functional body suits, they also tend to keep their hair cut short so that it doesn’t get in the way of their work.
Daily Life:Their work entails maintenance of all kinds, and other various jobs that one would normally find in a large, bustling city; restaurants, clothes shops, writers and the like. Mages always work in the energy plants with the metal mages, though, keeping the two cities running. They are paid very well for this task, as it is they who keep the cities alive and well.


Metal:
City Name: City of Metal
Population: Approximately 175,000
Architecture: The city of metal is all futuristic sky scraper type buildings with the occasional dome. Almost everything here is made of metal. The streets are lined with street lamps that glow to light the way, and peoples homes are lit by electric lights.
Trades With: City of Shadow, City of Electricity
Magic: The people of The City of Metal have the ability to control metal in all of its forms, whether it is solid, or superheated liquid. They can make it go to either of these stages through their magic, skipping the long heating process that most people would have to go through. Years ago when they first came to where their city would be built, they found a great abundance of metal in the ground, and so settled there. They do not mine as much as they used to, as now when a building is no longer used, they rip out its interior and reuse the metal in the structure itself in order to make a new, better building.
Surrounding Area: the City of Metal is located in a dry, desert like section of the continent, and is surrounded by four naturally formed pillars of red desert stone. Divided into four sections, one on top of each pillar, is the City of Electricity, the Metal City’s closest trading partner. Needless to say, the two intermingle frequently, and rely on each other to continue their way of life.
Residents: The people of the Metal City are usually dark skinned from living out in the desert. Their hair is commonly white, or some form of pale blonde, no one is ever born with dark hair. Blue or silver are the typical color for their eyes, which are surrounded by very thick lashes. The mages differ somewhat from normal citizens. When they come into their powers, their arms become solid living metal from finger tip to shoulder. (they still work like normal arms, just…metal XD) Their backs also gain metallic protrusions, which when they gain more control of their power, can change the shape of. The same goes for their arms. When they reach the Novice level in their training, they are able to shape their metallic body parts into whatever they like. This metal can not be separated from their bodies though. Doing that would be the same as losing a finger or something to us. It cannot be replaced.
For clothes, futuristic, functional body suits are favored. Mages never wear gloves though, as that would get in the way if they were to try and change their limbs in a hurry.
Daily Life: People of The City of Metal carry out all of their business during the day, and sleep at night. In the mid-afternoon though, they retreat indoors to escape the intense heat of the desert sun, and don’t come out again until later in the afternoon when some of the heat has dissipated. Compared to all of the other cities, The City of Metal (as well as electricity) is extremely advanced. They have electric lights thanks to their metal wires and the Electric Mages magic, they have small, motorcycle like vehicles on which they ride, and grow their own food in hydroponics tanks with water they import from the City of Water. Their buildings are all tall and made of metal, nearly rivaling the City of Air in how brightly it shines in the sunlight. They are not, though, so advanced as we are. They don’t have computers or TV or anything like that. Also they rarely bring their ‘bikes’ out of the city unless an Electric Mage is accompanying them, otherwise it would eventually just run out of power and die.


Witchcraft:
City Name: City of Witchcraft
Population: 150,000
Architecture: This city is comprised of narrow, winding streets that form a veritable labyrinth to anyone who doesn't know their way around. The streets are packed with two to three story buildings so close together that there is little to no space between them. The buildings themselves are made of stone with arched doorways with intricate reliefs incorporated into their structure. What type of relief varies from building to building by the tastes of the original creator. A river cuts through the city, dividing into two pieces, one side smaller than the other. The smaller side is referred to as the 'upper district' where all the wealthy live. These homes are very grand indeed. They are much larger than the middle and lower classes homes, though for lack of space they tend to be built upwards more than out.
Arched stone bridges of various sizes span the width of the river as it flows all the way down to the ocean, some miles away. Along the river front is the market place. It bustles with activity every day with people from pickpockets to wealthy merchants. Boats move up and down the river, some of them going all the way out to the ocean to hug the coast and end up in the bay where the City of Water is located.
There is the occasional small park located within the city, something the witches of the city deem necessary to keep in touch with nature. These areas are left more or less wild with the occasional dirt path, but mostly trees, grass, and other wild plants.
((For this city, think Venice, but with less water and more trees))
Trades with: Water, Earth
Magic: Unlike in other cities, the people who wield magic in the City of Witchcraft are not referred to as mages, rather they are called Witches, whether male or female. Where this tradition stemmed from is unknown, but it seems to have always been that way.
Even the magic itself here is a little strange compared to the rest of the cities. Witchcraft is actually divided into several different sub-categories of magic. These are spell casting, potion making, necromancy, transfiguration, and influential magic.
Spell casting is the most commonly practiced type of magic. The way that one does this varies from witch to witch. Some perform a ritual, others a chant. Types of spells vary as well. There are spells to mend things, destroy things, and summon things. Potion making entails the mixing of certain key ingredients to get a desired affect. These affects can be to heal, help one sleep, poison, forcefully tell the truth, and temporarily fall in love. Necromancy is the ability to raise the dead. These bodies have no souls nor any will of their own. They basically act as puppets for their master. This type of magic is generally frowned upon in the witching community. It's users are often outcasts of society. Transfiguration is the ability of a witch to transform themselves into an animal, or even transform one non-living thing into another. (meaning a person couldn't turn a candle into a squirrel or something, but they could turn the candle into spoon.) Influential magic is the ability to influence the mind of another. Most of the time this is used to help people overcome traumatic experiences. This magic is almost impossible to use against the others will though. Only the most powerful of mages are able to use this magic to control people.
Witches of the City of witchcraft are able to use only one of these four types of magic. It is incredibly rare for any one w itch to be able to control more than one. The current mage teacher is the only known witch that is able to use all four magic sub-categories.
Surrounding Area: The area outside of the city is a wide spread forest. Unlike the dense, dark forest in which the cities of shadow and spirit are located, the forest in which this city is placed is a much brighter place, it's trees further apart, letting more light in. The land here has a few hills, and lots of grass with flowers that bloom spectacularly during the spring and summer.
Residents: The residents of the City of Witchcraft are some of the most normal looking ones compared to the other cities. They look completely human, their hair color is generally different shades of brown or black. Their eyes are what is truly interesting though, as the key trait that makes them stick out is there rather amazing metallic purple eyes. No other race on the continent has purple eyes. The shade of purple varies from person to person. From pale lavender to the deepest indigo. Their style of dress would be what we call Regency period or Victorian era clothing. There is also a rising trend in rennaissance style dress.
Daily Life: Like most cities the wealthiest residents of the city are either successful merchants, powerful witches, or very old families that have inherited wealth from when they first came from the metropolis generations before. They trade with the city of water to get important ingredients for their potions that can be found only in the ocean, beyond their reach. They trade with the city of earth for the cut stone that makes up their homes and nearly all the other buildings within the city.
The city is a peaceful one, despite it's size. Most wake at dawn and go to bed not long after the sun sets below the distant horizon. Some of the forest just beyond the city was cleared in order to make room for farm land which lower class workers use to supply t he cities food.

[more coming soon]

-Black List-
Caitlyn Hellstorm (private reasons)
Lockesly L'Crit (private reasons)