Ravensport
The city of Ravensport is an inaccessible, ruined city of the Lily Civilization.
Contents |
Ancient times
Ravensport, located in a sheltered harbor on the north side of Yuriba, was the capitol (and possibly only) city of the Lily Civilization. At its height, Ravensport likely had a population of over 10,000.
The most commonly accepted view among scholars is that Ravensport was founded around 6000 BCE as a fishing village, only later expanding into a minor hub of trade in the ancient Pacific: artifacts of Muvian and proto-Japanese origin have been found in the city.
Modern times
| OOC: Hidden? |
| Yes, "hidden". Like the springs that haven't been released yet. Ravensport does not exist on the MUSH yet, and it probably never will. Characters should probably not claim to have visited the place. |
The ruins of Ravensport are remarkably well-preserved: although the Lily Civilization fell five thousand years ago, the city could be mistaken for no more than five hundred years old. Currently, Ravensport is inaccessible; all paths to it are hidden, presumably to protect it from tourists and other destructive entities, and all attempts to approach it from the air or enter it magically simply fail.
Approaching Ravensport
Despite all evidence and reports that Ravensport is inaccessible, people still attempt it occasionally. However, each and every one of these attempts has, and will likely continue to fail. Most commonly, people attempt to point themselves in the compass direction and walk in a straight line, only to find themselves to the north or further southwest. Boaters and swimmers have tried to travel around the coast, only to find themselves in again familiar waters without realizing that they have swam past where the port has to be. Those who can fly risk the most danger, finding themselves fatigued and weakening should they attempt to fly there by pointing themselves in the 'right' direction, often saying they've passed out, or abruptly found themselves on the other side of the island. Powerful vision abilities or binoculars and spyglasses, to use them from a height such as the peak of Akibimi-san and looking into the proper direction will see nothing special, simply the western wilds and no specific sign that a city exists on the island's shore.
The name
The original name of the city appears to have been written as an onomatoglyph (see Old Yuriban), and as such its pronunciation is not known. The name "Ravensport" is a modern coinage: it derives from the black marble prominent in much Lilian architecture (apparently either magically created or imported at much expense, as marble does not arise naturally on a volcanic island), and the fact that the glyph does vaguely resemble a bird.
The most common Underhill name for the city translates, roughly, to 'Ravenswing', a very minor divergence from the name common in the modern village. This one is based upon a famous poem that is purported to date to the decades shortly before the city's fall, which opens with the following lines (translated to modern English):
- The city opens before me,
- a warren of deep shadows and
- the bloody-black gleam of the
- dying sun on marble, a shining
- raven's wing curled over the
- lapping waters of the sea.
Why is it sealed?
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the city is its sealing off from the rest of the island. No one on the island seems to know exactly why, or when, this was done; those that may are very tight-lipped about the reason. What is known, however, is that currently the once-proud city is sealed within a pocket dimension somewhere on the isle, not just to keep curious locals out, but possibly to keep something in.
One theory, a paper recently written and published by local witch and Rinkei Gakuen student Mirabelle O'Shea, suggests that this was done because of the liberal use of black marble in the city's construction, referring to a series of experiments she conducted on a sample of the rock revealing that the marble can develop an affinity for positive or negative energies the more it is exposed to them. Given that, at the time of the city's decline and the destruction of the Lilian civilization that sealed its fate, Inishie's cult had a very powerful influence over the entire isle, and the daily ritual sacrifice demands must have instilled much fear and loathing in the citizens, Mirabelle claims it is possible the sealing and hiding of the city was done either to keep Inishie in check and prevent another volcanic eruption of the caliber that destroyed the Lilians, or to keep the negativity that must have seeped into the marble and the earth from adversely affecting the environment of the island over time. In her paper, however, Mirabelle admits this may not be the truth; the only real way for the public to know would involve a visit to the city's ruins itself, which is not likely to be allowed for any motive.
Whatever the reason, those who may know something about the city's secrets and the reason it is kept hidden are not liable to talk about them, and it is extremely unlikely they would tolerate anyone thinking of attempting to open the seals keeping the city hidden.