Toive

aka: The Crystal City, The Prism City, City of Brotherhood

A hub of trade located in the desert between Draconia, Koden Kal, Rochdale, Fiebhart, and the Kingdoms Under the Mountains. The blocky buildings are of adobe and stone construction, and each is painted a bright color, different from its neighbors. Wood is a rarity.

Academy of the Arcane Arts (AAA), aka “The Academy”, “Aaaaah!”
 A magical boarding school, open to anyone with talent and ambition to learn. Where the Archmage Merlin spends most of his time.

Not just for students. A popular location for anyone seeking magical consultation and eldritch answers.

Basically Hogwarts- tuition, room, and board are provided.

All students have to do chores and essentially work for the school for a couple hours per day. There tends to be an intense focus on conjuration and transmutation, as much of the students’ work involves helping to build the city and its infrastructure. Signature spells of the AAA are Wall of Earth, Wall of Stone, and Wall of Iron.

Students wear a uniform, with the distinctive feature being a wide brimmed conical hat.

It is very competitive. You must pass certain tests to get in and advance; you cannot buy your way in.

Rules of the Academy: There are 8 Masters on the Council at the AAA, according to each school of magic. Titles: Master Evoker, Master Diviner, etc. The Archmage (Master Universalist) is above them all.
 * 1) Do not ascend into godhood.
 * 2) Do not revive dead gods or summon them into the Material Plane.
 * 3) Do not change the nature of reality.
 * 4) Do not break the laws of magic.
 * 5) Students shall maintain decorum and good behavior at all times.

History note: Nethys’ Chagrin

The nature of magic as it is available to mortals has changed in the last few decades. It was subtle at first, but now it’s undeniable. Certain spells have become much easier, certain things harder. Spells that used to be “set and forget” now require concentration to hold. The duration and efficacy of spells is shortened from days/hours to just minutes or rounds.

The cause of this change is not known for certain. Some have hypothesized that it is due to certain mortals having defied Nethys’ will so badly that the god of magic is now punishing all mortals with a tighter leash of what can be accomplished with arcana.

It is much more difficult now to create magical items of the same potency as before. However, extant items have not lost their power. The value and rarity of such items has risen dramatically, as the owners of things that used to be considered almost mundane (like a +1 sword), are now loathe to part with such irreplaceable heirlooms.

Powerful beings are likewise unaffected, and the veil between them and the material plane seems thinner. There is less interference. When a mortal cries out for Outsider help, things that use to be deaf can now hear.

Toive Community Center, aka “The Center” "The Great Kitchen"
(See here.) A defining feature of Toive is the communal food kitchen, which serves food to the whole population for free. In Toive, no one goes hungry - and everybody gets a hot meal regardless of race and religion. Modeled after the Golden Temple of Amritsar

The food is halfling cuisine - vegetarian and eaten by hand. (If you want meat, alcohol, or anything special you’ll have to buy it elsewhere.) People sit on the floor together as equals and eat the same food at the eating hall.

Toive has a very safe feeling compared to other cities - there are still thieves, but no one is desperate. No one has to steal to eat.

The Fountains, aka “The Oasis” “The Hanging Gardens”
The crowning achievement of Grand Architect Sybelle Inferi. A remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines, resembling a large green mountain constructed of bricks and stone. An endless stream of water cascades down from floor to floor, pool to pool for people to bathe and relax. There is an industry of getting the full spa treatment within the Oasis.

The procedure is similar to using an Onsen. You undress and leave your things with the attendant in the changing room, then wash yourself off with buckets. Then you can proceed to the pools.

The motto here is "We're all equal when naked."

All of the water in Toive flows out of Decanters of Endless Water, which draws from the Elemental Plane of Water. This is theorized to be the cause of the unusual number of water sorcerers and water genasi born in Toive.

The Decanters of Endless Water that the city lives off of were created before Nethys’ Chagrin. If they are damaged or stolen, it is not known if they can be replaced. They are well-guarded.

The Market
The grand bazaar. If you can find a good anywhere, you can probably find it here. Piles of spices, loud hawking, bustling crowds of people in every shape and size, and the discordant sound of music from a hundred different places; it’s an overwhelming experience for outsiders. People set up stalls in neat rows outside under canopies. Carts of snacks with ringing bells and sizzling meat waft through the air.

The Wall
The outer part of the wall that surrounds Toive is smooth like glass; very difficult to climb. It was created by Merlin using many castings of Wall of Stone over the years. It is then thickened on the inside with more stone and mortar. Regular patrols walk along the top of the wall. A savvy halfling might know of the many underground channels that circumvent the wall and allow for a quick escape - not that they’d ever tell an outsider about it.

The inner side of the wall is painted and carved with murals of monsters, what they do, and how best to slay them. One scene depicts vampires sucking the blood of children and mind controlling others. The next scene is of Saintking al Ghazali holding a lamp with the sun in it and raining fire upon the vampires.

There are also depictions of common spells to be aware of. There are useful ones like Mending, where a woman is magically patching up a torn dress, to more flashy or insidious ones, like Lightning Bolt and Suggestion.

The wall is regularly expanded and remodeled by the staff and students of the Academy.

The Alchemical Plant
Now abandoned. The Alchemical Plant, originally established by Osvuld Hiems, sits now on the outskirts of the city. The walls bordering Toive have been rebuilt to exclude it. The reason for its exclusion was not only for the eyesore it caused many residents with its clashing architecture to the rest of Toive, but its darkened history and reputation as well.

Currently there is no plans for renovations or demolitions. Nowadays you can find the plant inhabited by the rebellious youth, squatters, and some say more.

Industries
Mining

Glassworks

Pottery

Tequila

Greenhouses (Hash, oranges, spices). This is all made possible after the creation of a new spell - Wall of Crystal. It is functionally identical to Wall of Stone, except it’s transparent.

Street markets

Textiles

Adventuring Guilds
There are various adventuring guilds headquartered in Toive, with various levels of reputation. They provide all levels of services: from finding missing cats, caravan security, monster hunting, investigation, mercenary work.

While the name implies mercenary activity, each has a specialty. Not all of them will take jobs that involve violence.

Legendary Heroes Adventuring Guild is the most established of the mercenary adventuring guilds. Arcane Eyes, previously named Heims Investigations, is more known for detective work. Deathsgate are swords for hire; it does exclusively hunting and mercenary jobs.

Siestas
Toive takes its leisure time very seriously. After the midday meal when the sun is highest each day, the whole city shuts down for a nap. The time varies throughout the year, but is generally between 12:00-1:30.

One Family
"It takes a village to raise a child"

The halflings of Toive are in the process of finding their own culture and healing from the scars of their enslaved past. In this way, they are trying to find a balance between the bonds of family, and the ideal that no one should have claim over another person.

Many find the nuclear family unit as too restrictive, like the parents owning the child, and move to a more inclusive family community. These large family dwellings are called hovels.

In addition to tail cropping, almost all the male halflings that have ever been in captivity have been neutered. These hovels are where they can raise children and be as a family.

Mothership and fathership is somewhat separated from biological bonds. Your father(s) are the one that raised you, your donor is the one who got your mom pregnant. Many children never learn who their donors are.

There is a strong in-group/out-group mentality. If you mess with one, you mess with everyone.

Religion
Desna, Cayden Cailean, Bahamut, Erastil, Nethys, Milani, Selûne are popular. Calistria is highly unpopular. Followers of Asmodeus are attacked on sight.

People of Toive
Demographics in descending order of population: halfling, human, tiefling, dragonborn, dwarf, half-elf, awakened animals, Few to no elves.

The first law of the land is that all sapient creatures are equal. Toive is a destination for deimos across the continent.

Notable NPCs
Percival - Half silver dragon knight. Merlin’s oldest child, slightly younger than Shana. Courageous, holding himself to a chivalrous code to help the weak, defeat evil, and behave in an honorable manner. Pen-pal with Shana.

Guinevere - Merlin’s middle child, a bright young lady. One of the first graduates of the AAA.

Feirefiz - Merlin’s youngest child. Aasimar kid, feather wings, divine soul sorcerer. Very naive, happy-go-lucky, trusting, playful, outgoing. Basically the really popular charismatic rich kid who takes his friends on vacations in Nirvana on his dad’s transdimensional vacht so everyone goes out of their way to be nice to him. Starting to learn how to fly. Good at taking off, bad at landing. Loves to talk to strangers and give tours of Toive. Believes that all people are good. Merlin is concerned that he would be an easy target for kidnapping.

Sybelle Inferi - Grand Architect of Toive, her designs touch upon every wall and major building in the city. One of the most well-respected tieflings on the continent. An inspiration to tieflings everywhere.

Food Language
In Toive, you never want to put another person in a situation where they feel they are pressured or compelled to do something. When you need something, it’s generally in the form of a question.

For important matters, you need to “ask without asking”. Like a proposal - you need to know the answer to your question will be an enthusiastic “Yes!” before you ask it aloud, especially in front of other people. There is little privacy in Toive. For outsiders, this can be difficult to do without offending.

But to those who know the Halfling language, there is a component to the language in the food you serve to another person, much like floriography. There are messages in the ingredients and presentation of a dish. This leads to dishes that are very bizarre to outsiders, giving the impression that halflings have strange tastes. The higher the ratio of food:plate, the more important the message. A plate with half or more of the surface showing is like a suggestion, if it’s overflowing over the sides, it is a desperate plea.

For yes/no questions, how much of it you eat is your answer. If you receive such an offer of food and you refuse it, then your answer is hell no. A single bite is normal no. If you eat the whole thing and lick the plate clean, then the answer is an enthusiastic yes.

Examples:

-A snack-sized plate with corn on the cob wrapped in an aloe leaf means “Would you like to move in with me? / You can stay here as long as you need.”

-A mixture of 1-part long grain rice and 2 parts peas means fertility. A sausage with two eggs sunny-side up also means fertility. A plate served with these 4 ingredients in those ratios means “I would like a child with you. / Would you give me a child?” Combined in a different way, like a bread bun filled with rice and peas, means “Would you like to have sex?”

-Thin apple slices baked and arranged in a circle around the core with cinnamon means “I can’t take it anymore. / Get me out of here.”

It is an imprecise language.

The Wolves of Toive
There is a curious law in the region - it is illegal to attack the wolves.

The Council of Toive is steadfast in its decision about what to do about the packs of howling wolves around Toive - absolutely nothing.

The Nocturne Pact - the wolf-riding halflings that patrol Toive and the surrounding area at night.

Fashion of Toive
Conical hats with a large circular brim are a part of a student's uniform at the AAA, but the trend has spread to the general populace.

With the discovery of particularly high quality quartz in the region, artisans in Toive are able to create particularly clear glass. This has led to advancements in ocular technology - giving us the profoundly important invention of sunglasses. Toive is the only place to get these fashionable specs.

Having a tail is a mark of pride. Always accessorize it with a bright bow. Bells are for special occasions.

Political Tensions
Toive is a vassal state to Koden Kal, under the lordship of Merlin Boffin. Many of the citizens want independence from Koden Kal. Others think it would leave Toive vulnerable to attacks.

As a vassal state, Toive is expected to provide troops and taxes to Koden Kal. Many people feel their needs are not represented in Koden Kal and resent this tribute.

Bordering Rochdale and Fiebhart, these kingdoms would be well enriched if they gained control of this gem of the desert.

Food sourcing is becoming more delicate as more people inhabit the city. If any of the lands around Toive embargo it, there will be food shortages. Food negotiations are becoming tense as the other kingdoms demand more and more unbalanced trade deals.

Traditions
-People are very careful about what they say out loud. The word "wish" is treated as a swear word. Example, "I wish it wasn't so hot." is bad, as wishing for something out loud invites outside influence upon yourself and others and you don't know who or what might grant your wish.

-All dead are cremated and scattered to the winds. Ain't no necromancy happening here.