Ishaela Parts I and II (Past Chronicle 2015 & 2016)

City of North Reach - by T.A. Saunders ©2015 v1.0

Capital District

Capital Building

A large, hexagonal shaped structure that matches the outer walls of the city, the North Reach Capital Building is an architectural advancement not seen on Imarel, with each wall of the structure honeycombed and set with Parthyte crystal (a strong, clear crystal native to Ishaela, but otherwise unfound on Imarel), to allow a panoramic view of the city from the inside, while giving the building a glittering appearance from the outside.

Much of the day to day business of the Republic is handled here, which includes Chancellor Armonis Cayne's personal offices. As can be expected, given the secretive nature of the Chancellor, aforementioned offices are not open to the public.

North Reach School of Magic

In the flavor of the Schools of Magic on Imarel, North Reach has established its own school of magic, and is a part of the collegiate fellowship the various schools share, as to level of standards, educational practice and the like, this is a particularly large victory for the Lord-General's fledgling government, as such a school doesn't exist in Sengaard (the King-Priests of recent decades wouldn't hear of it).

The structure is a simple five level tower, that overlooks the city at large. Fashioned from the same Parthyte crystal that the Capital Building is, the magi took a little effort to have some fun with the clear, tough crystal and enchanted it so it has a blue sheen to it at dawn, pale yellow at midday, and finally transcends to lavender by evening, completing the same cycle. So accurate is this enchantment, one can tell the time of day by it.

Because of the limited facilities of so young a school, only a select group of Magi are selected each year, with many of the professors either visiting from Imarel, or volunteering their time. The government pays the instructors a stipend and provides free food and lodging, but can provide little else. It's not a lack of funds in the government, but rather a policy Channcellor Armonis chooses to employ, as means to “keep the school from becoming bloated, and filled with mediocrity.”

Gambler's District

North Reach Theater House

While not exactly known for the quality of their theater and arts, North Reach does host a small, but upscale theater house that caters more to visitors to the city than its residents. Having everything from copper pence shows, to five gold-a-head full dinner theater presentations, the tall, domed building boasts four balconies, one thousand, five hundred chairs and accommodations for an entire acting troupe, their costumes and their stage props.

Often used as a social venue for clandestine meetings between visitors to the city and the Riverway Rogues, who control the portion of the city that the theater house is located at. Madame Pahcheeka can often be found here as well, enjoying various shows, her love of acting well known amongst both the thespians and her own clientele.

Pahcheeka's Parlor of Plenty

Modeled after the architectural styles popular in Sundown and Brookshire, on Imarel, Pahcheeka's Parlor is a four floor structure, with a wine cellar. The first floor contains the foyer, the lobby, private viewing rooms and the main parlor itself, where guests and the ladies (and gentlemen) of the evening mingle. This area also doubles as the billiards and gaming room, which is off to the left side of the main parlor.

Drinks are served at a bar that's situated between the main parlor and the billiards room. Clientele can pick the doxy that interests them, where a room is arranged and the ‘rules' are explained. These are common sense rules, that include ‘inspection' of the client's condition, the ‘there is no tab, you pay' rule, and the ‘you bruise ours, we bruise yours' rule. The last of course, being the most important rule, that more than person has been removed from the parlor for breaking in less than stellar condition.

The second, third and fourth floors are all rooms for clientele, and the occasional guest that Pahcheeka allows to stay. Of these, many are people attempting to lay low to avoid notice from the city or just wayward sorts the Quivynite Madame has taken pity upon. The fourth floor however, is off limits to everybody but Pahcheeka, her employees and their personal guests.

Enforcing these rules is a doorman named Duke, along with his cadre of enforcers, that include Half-Giant twins, Kimjo and Jimko, a Voraath named Thegas. Duke often serves as Pahcheeka's personal escort through the city.

Riverman Rhoan's Ship of Chance

 The crown jewel of attractions in the Gambler's District, Riverman Rhoan's Ship of Chance is a three deck steam boat that travels up and down the Ututowman River, as it flows through the city. While a popular tourist attraction, and certainly a hit with those whom are loose with their coin purses, the well-to-do of the city often comment that the ship floats with the rest of the refuse and waste that sputters from the sewers, to be taken out to sea. And while the ship, (named the “Jewel of North Reach,”) is certainly a beauty of a steam boat, referring to many of the sorts who linger aboard as social refuse certainly wouldn't be out of order. All but the top deck of the vessel, that is.

The first deck of the ship is for tourists, light gamblers and the thieves who con and often, rob them. Security is loose here, with purpose, as tailoring to the sticky-fingered of the city helps keep the the second and third floors relatively pest free.

The second deck is for higher stakes games, that require five hundred gold for a minimum bet. This can be anything from games of chance, card games, or betting on the bare-knuckled boxing that takes place at the center of this particular floor. Security is noticeably tighter here, and the local criminal element is discouraged from disrupting the gaming here, though most will just get roughed up, and cleaned out if caught.

The third floor is for special exceedingly high stakes games, often organized by Rhoan Sivhan himself, and are by invitation, or a minimum 1,500 gold minimum bet. Fights between champion boxers, gladiators and the occasional down on their luck hero are waged here, along with special gambling tournaments. The latter has seen purses reach over 40,000 gold for an invitational game of King's Ransom, a popular card game that decides its winner out of a hand containing as close to a complete suit of a particular type as possible (ex. a Jack, Queen, King and Ace of Hearts is a winning hand). Mixed suits can also win, numerical cards aiding the hand, the higher their numerical value (ex. a hand with an Ace of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds and a Ten of Spades, will beat a hand that as a Jack of Clubs, a King of Diamonds, a Six of Hearts and a two of Spades).