Starscape

WORK IN PROGRESS

Please refrain from referring to the work below IC for now. regards Silvante

The Starscape is a mysterious realm of splendour that is both set apart from the Mortal Realm of Terra and yet an integral and important part of it. For the stars surround the world in all their splendour, every night when the skies are clear the shimmering lights and constellations of the realm of Fate and Fortune can be seen but not touched. It is the home of the Spirit Andromeda and the augurey spirits of the Zodiac, the realm of Lady Luck and the minions of Fortune and the honourable home and spirit anchor of the Moogle Race.

On the coast of Ivalice one can find the great city state of Baguba Port. It is the largest moogle run city in the world, it and the land around it for two hundred miles are governed by the Moogle Race. Centre of their culture, their ethos and their religion. It is a strange city, tall metal and glass buildings, steam-works, airship yards and mechanical shops all built in an enviromentally friendly manner. With moogle society split harmoniously between technology and nature it is only fitting that their home land blends machine and nature. Parks and green spaces, nature reserves and beauty spots mingle flawlessly with the glass, crystal and stone structures of technology.
- Near the centre of the city, spires rising into the sky is the Cathedral of Steam, a gothic portrayal of pure clockwork and steam blended with classical building architecture to produce a building that is half working machine and part place of worship. Great plumes of steam rise from the spires of the cathedral, channelling the excess waste from the mighty hot spring driven turbines far below the surface. The city wide network of water pumps, sewage systems, heating ducts and lighting systems are all run by the mighty machines hidden beneath the surface of the cathedral.
  - For religious purposes it is the High Priest of Mog who oversees the religious dedication of the cathedral. It is the Council of Kupo that runs the actual city and are based in the council chambers within the great building. Both Mog, Famfrit and Sister Ray have parts of the grand cathedral dedicated to themselves. Their are however four points in the world were passage to the Hall of Mog may be attained, for those who have moogle companions or a Moogle who will speak on their behalf any one of these points may be used, for those who lack moogle friends then a journey to the Cathedral of Steam is a must. The four locations that a portal to the Ancestral home of Moogle-Kind can be opened are the Temples of Mog in, Baguba Port, Emberstrand, Old-Archades and ??.

Casino Heights Old Archades

In old Archades, capital of the ancient and honourable empire there is a district dedicated to entertainment as one might find in any major city in the world. There are theatres, music halls and opera houses, dance troupes, street entertainers, restaurants ale-houses and all manner of entertainments can be found here. Over-seeing all of this from a building of crystal domes, marble floors, silver, gold and gems is Casino Heights, the greatest establishment of gambling and entertainment in the world!
- Inside the clink of coins changing hands is a constant companion to the hubub of voices, the bright lights and eye candy of boys and girls who serve tables, weight on customers and fill the innumerable small stages in every gaming room with their colourful, exquisite art. There is a game for everyone here and everyone is welcome as long as they have coin and an eye for fun and don't plan to cause any trouble. It is never sensible to bring trouble to this casino, beyond a staff of dedicated security it is rumoured that those who bring great trouble or stir up too much of a mess will find themselves waking up as a contestant in a game of chance of the Entrepeneur's devising that they are unlikley to enjoy the outcome of.
  - The Entrepeneur is the master of the Casino, they are the man or woman in the know, the person with the money, with the charisma and ultimate power inside Casino Heights. It is this figure that you must play if you wish to pass through the closely guarded portal and ride the Gondola to Lady Luck's casino in the star! A game of poker to be exact, the Entrepeneur's pot is 10,000gil, the game is 5 card stud and it does not end until one player is out of money with a minimum stake of 1000gil. Win and that golden ticket to Lady Luck's home is yours, good and valid for one trip for you and up to four friends whenever you are ready. Until such time as you depart the Entrepeneur will personally see to it that you are safe, secure and nothing happens to you and your ticket to the stars! Lose and if you are lucky they might offer you one final game of chance but the conditions for losing are not always in a players best interest, you can always leave with your dignity intact and try again when you've restored your funds.

Vault of Stars - Holy City of Bur-Omisace

Bur-Omisace is the great Holy City, where the temples of the major religions host their most beautiful works. It is home to the temples of all the spirits. From great and grand to just a tiny presence all have something here. It is also a city of trade, an intersection of airship routes and a favourite refuelling port. The city itself stands uopn the slopes of Mount Bur-Omisace related in myths, legends and history as the sight of many important events throughout the ages of the world.
- The Vault of Stars is a lonely temple, on a promintory far from the centre of the city, it stands out that lonely spur of land a domed silver marble building positioned to catch the rising sun each morning and big fare well when the sun sinks behind the Basilica of Alexander about mid afternoon leaving it in quiet shadow. It is reached only by taking a winding path from beneath the Grand Gondola station through the bedrock of the Holy City and out onto the secluded rocky path that arches over the world below. Clustered around the outside of the Vault is the home of the Oracle of Andromeda and her attendants, no one lives inside the Vault itself.
  - Inside the Vault is empty, pale grey marble floor stretches out from wall to wall and over-head the dome is lost to a sea of stars, the darkness of the Night Sky hangs over head glistening with a thousand, thousand stars. It is the entrance to the StarScape, always open and always out of reach unless you can fly or petition the Lady Andromeda's Oracle for aid in entering the Starscape. It is however open to all, few are ever denied entry the risk in enterring the void of the Constellations however is the difficult you are liable to have in trying to return.

Constellations

You say, "I was going to make the central area that you first arrive in/travel through be the "Constellations" me and Ivory were thinking of making the Zodiac be lesser spirits and guardians, members of Andromeda's court and it is these beings that preserve yor life whilst you drift through the star field. it is also these spirits you need to beseech for passage to the Casino or the Hall of Mog or Andromeda herself or one of the other realms that cuold be reached through the starfield" Legion nods, rather likes that idea. You say, "Woo! Now as this is the Star field I wanted to make it easy to get into. All you need to do is go to Mount Bur-Omisace and go to the temple of fate at night and walk into it! The REAL kicker is that once your there its REALLY difficult to navigate. You have to try and reach one of the constellations somehow before sunrise or you end up back in the Temple of Fate and can't try again for a month or something." Legion heehee, nod. You say, "You could spend all night flailing around and not get anywere or you could work out some means of moving be it using magic to propel yourself or wings to guide you along. I also figured it'd be pretty well recorded "Which" Constellation you had to visit to get to were you wanted to go or you could seek one of them out for advice or tarot card readings etc. Little glimpses into your fate for a price." Legion nodnod. You say, "I haven't worked out all the details yet but i was thiniking some of the constellations will be together so you can see two at once and not all of them can "Send" you someplace, some of them you would just go to for advice etc?"

Legion says, "All of the Lucavi correspond to a Zodiac constellation." You say, "Aye they do but as Ivory pointed out there are also the "Zodiac Stones" which appear later. The Lucavi are bound inside the Gemstone of each Zodiac sign" Legion says, "Right." Legion says, "But if you're looking at having living images of constellations, that's worth bearing in mind." Legion says, "If they're connected at all, and if so how... I have this idea that the Constellation spirits (Stellazzio?) are actually shades of what the Lucavi *should* have been." You say, "Ivory felt it was good to seperate the two and.. *eyes you* Get out of our heads :P" Legion says, "What, that they're called the Stellazzio?" You say, "But that is pretty much the idea I was working on, the Stellazzio are shades and reflections of what the Lucavi should have been/used to be conjured up within the hall of fate so that they are not forgotten." Legion nods, awesome then. :D You say, "They are also bound to the Hall they cannot leave it or manifest on terra. But they can speak through the stelazzio coins which will be housed at points around the world *points at Raziel quest* Hence Raziel quest finding Stelazzio Coins. We thought it was a neat way to introduce this into the game via our PC actions. Discovering these facts as they journey, revealing this long forgotten secret to the world."