Aryanna
Legacy Name: Aryanna

The black waters we have been sailing for the last days now opened wide before boundless cliffs, where, now and then, we could see the lights of the villages that laid under the shadow of Ozryn.

"The most magnificent city of the known world", it reserves for itself the contradiction of being, at the same time, one of the last free cities left in the kingdom, and yet a walled city for which foreigners must be invited.

We were received by a cohort of about twelve men that led us to the gate. The afternoon was far advanced, and yet the sunlight couldn't outshine the fantastic view of the city ─ chateaus with elven architecture; marble and obsidian fountains every square; the finest silks, wines and jewels displayed in the street market.

All that remained submissive, however, since the whole scenery was composed just so you could turn the corner and see by contrast the stillness of the red castle nestled between two cliffs.

While the slaves we brought to trade in Ozryn slept in the stables, we spent the night in one of the chambers of the castle. When the day dawned next morning, we were invited into the main hall.

It was incredibly wide and high, and a feeling of deep and irreparable impersonality hovered everywhere. In the middle of the hall was a long oak table where we waited seated long enough to be disturbed by that oppressive atmosphere of sumptuousness. Maybe that was the purpose of making us wait afterall.

Then a council of five men joined us, and a female figure sat on the throne before the table. She was the extension of that scenario: there was nothing unpretentious about her posture, or impressionable about her eyes. It was impossible to find out what controlled a woman like her. Maybe there was nothing inside her, and that suspicion made everyone uncertain.

We were dismissed after a short time with permission for three days of trading, then we should leave the city. And those were curious days in the streets of Ozryn, that taught me about its history ─ as much as one can be taught.

Aryanna is the name of the queen. The first queen after generations of kings, she is known to rule with an iron fist. It was her that has placed Ozryn in its state of majesty, after opening its gates for the trade between the south and east cities. The council of the five is hereditary and decorative. The rest seemed mystical and obscure to me, and referred to a time when mages ruled Ozryn. It's said Aryanna herself is a heir of a line of wizards.

The impression I had was that she was a striking figure in the popular culture of Ozryn, and there were not few who saw her with certain religious worship.

By fascination or fear, she had the power to drag the villagers rudimentary souls to a perverse magical ciranda in her honour, and to populate the foreigner souls with deep apprehensions about coming to Ozryn, because of its strict laws and severe punishments.

I myself saw her as an unapproachable figure, which fits well in the impressions that Ozryn transmits to its visitors.

"The most magnificent city of the known world" ─ I rather think at it as "The most magnificent city", because if it can be known is as dubious as its promise of enrichment at any cost. The city has realized the dreams of merchants as much as it has destroyed, and there it remains, on the cliffside ─ mystic, unattainable, unreal.

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