May 22nd, 761, 12:31 PM; Day 66 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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It was noon about a week after you had parted with the Camolomescro that you recieved your first sight of the Phiraz, the Desert Jewel, City of a Thousand Secrets, the Gateway of the Amber Wastes, the Home of Purity.
As you reached the top of the ridge, the entire city was spread out before you, an amazing vista the likes of which you doubted could be equalled anywhere in the world. Phiraz hugged the side of a massive lake, the sparkling blue waters a balm to the eyes after the endless dust and sand and rock of the road. The sapphire-like water was fed by a massive river, and distantly, you could see what might have been waterfalls far away.
Phiraz, however, was a city of gold beside the deep azure of the lake. A vast, irregular shape, the clay bricks and sandstone cave it a deep yellow look, interspersed by white marble facades that shone in the sunlight. Huge sandstone walls surrounded the city, and banners of crimson and verdant green and pure, blazing white hung from the walls, while even from here you could hear the bustling sounds of a living city.
Michel pulled up his horse with a slightly proprietarily smile. Aside from Fassahd, it was well possible that he was the only one here who had ever actually visited Pharazia. "Well, what do you think?"
As the silence stretched, the Dementlieuse man continued, pulling out facts from his childhood with a pleased tone in his voice. "Fifth largest city in the world, over a hundred thousand people. Visitors from all over the world come here to buy goods or study at the University of Phiraz. Also one of the great engineering marvels of the world."
"See that? It's called the Ousserd." De Angelis pointed at the huge lake, its azure waters smooth as glass. "Largest artificial lake in existence. Fed by the Simurgh river, the ancient Pharazians dammed it up, so its the heart of the entire country. You've got irrigation canals that stretch for thirty, forty miles heading south. Plus the Chakor and the Beni Massat rivers. Those are them way over there, you can't really see them because of the dams though."
"Magnificent..." Prof. Pelletier said, coughing once before continuing. "And it is here we resupply?"
"That and we need to find some good maps for crossing the desert, or else we're going to be stuck here for a long time." Samael Maleagant added.
"Those would be in the Library of Phiraz, in the Academic Quarter." Michel offered, pointing out all the sights. "Phiraz has seven Quarters, which probably shows they're not quite as good at math as they think. You've got the Academic Quarter with the University and the Library, the High Quarter where the nobles and most of the government buildings are, the Foreign Quarter where they put all the foreign merchants and such, the Merchant's Quarter for their own merchants, the Artisan's Quarter for the bulk of the population, and the Lower Quarter and the Old City for the lower classes. There's also the Necropolis, that's that little peninsula over there, between the dams, and there's the Palace of Purity where the prophet and overlord Diamabel lives, on the island there."
De Angelis paused, then added. "You guys might want to be just a bit careful in Phiraz. It's a theocracy, and they've got an extremely strict moral police, the Confessors. If you see a man in white robes and carrying a whip, be really careful. They still stone people here, occasionally."
"Cheery thought." The Borcan commented.
