Erudin

Resting upon the cliffs overlooking the Vasty Deep lays Erudin, the grand, clean white city of the High Men of Odus. High white marble walls and towers surround the city which is perched on a high cliff above the magical waters of the Vasty Deep. Its people thirst for knowledge, love art and music, and detest violence. Most of the city of Erudin is surrounded by very steep, rock cliffs that the rough waters of the Vast Deep break upon the constant force.

At the tip of the peninsula in front of the castle there is a natural outcropping of large rocks that forms a safe harbor in which the Erudites have built a dock, lighthouse, and watchtower with a small walkway up the cliffs to the city towers. The docks service the two ships, the Maiden's Voyage and the Golden Mermaid, that sail between the cities of Qeynos and Erudin.

In Erudin city proper, the bustling merchants, tradesmen and High Men go about their daily business. Residing in a grand courtyard of meticulous kept stone walkways and beautiful gardens is the merchant area. Few of the buildings in this portion of the city are composed of wooden materials. Many stone paths run between the various merchant shops, the library and inn. This area is well traveled by the general population and visitors to the city.

Erudin city is sophisticated, clean and beautiful. It features cobblestone streets, numerous lampposts, baskets of flowers, exotic caged birds, public fountains, and well-landscaped park. It also contains a library, college campus, music hall and arboretum where flowers and herbs are grown. Every building is ornate and constructed from clean, smooth stone.

Across from the park is a colorful merchant area, bank and social club where chess is played, ideas are exchanged, and lofty arguments and discussions take place. This portion of the city includes the paladins and clerics of the Knights of the Deep, a temple dedicated to Prexus, the Ocean Lord. Built of cobalt and marble, this gray behemoth is as meticulous and grand as the surrounding city area, and is the primary source of Erudin's militia.

Away from the center of the city is the humble temple of Quellious where Erudin's peacemakers, who preach and follow the reaches of The Tranquil, are forged.

Ages of Norrath

A small, frail man of great intellect called Erud led this group, and he formed them into a council. They quickly became irritated, even disgusted, by their fellow man. Leaving a small network of spies behind, the remainder of Erud's followers fled the city of Qeynos and boarded a small fleet of ships. They sailed to the west and landed upon the barren coast of the island of Odus. The land was sparse and uninhabited and quite appealing to the council and their people.

They quickly built a city of their own, dissimilar in almost every way to both Qeynos and Freeport, for it was almost entirely a towering castle. Erudin it was called, and within it the scribes and scholars, who called themselves High Men, gathered and analyzed reports, captured books and scrolls, and other artifacts brought to them by their spies.

The first human mages since the Combine Empire were born wizards, sorcerers, and enchanters occupied the great halls of Erudin and grew immensely in both power and knowledge.

Source: EverQuest 1 manual

I have decided to record the events of my life, for I intend to create for myself a life worthy of note. Of all else prior to this day, the day of Erud’s passing, I shall not waste ink. My sole name, as befits my hereditary station, is Miragul. Until now, I felt determination without direction, ambition without purpose. But yesterday a man perished, one to whom I’ve been favorably compared by several other masters. This nun wore the mantle of leadership of a people, the garland of mastery of arts arcane, and a name that is now synonymous with his people and the city in which they dwell. Thousands hailed him as possessing the greatest mind the mortal world has ever known, a conceit that did not fall far short of the truth. Truly, Erud earned the world’s respect.

But now this remarkable man is but a corpse burning on a a timber raft in the city’s harbor. This great genius capable of bending trmendous forces of magic to his will, lies dead, his body now ash, possibly feeding fish descended from those I saw netted

in my youth. Where now is the mind and soul of this most accomplished of spell crafters? Resting in eternal tranquility or bathing in gold-flecked sea foam, depending on whom you ask. How utterly useless, how pussillanimous.

This ineffectuality is not unlike the tradition of practicing but one of the three branches of magic, a convention I’ve secretly defied for the course of a year now. We of Erudin hold the answers to a thousand puzzles in our vaults and the power to take advantage of them, yet we restrict ourelves to an absurd division of labor. So much waste – like the life of a great man who knew everything but how to continue living.

Interesting, then, the prospect of several of my brighter fellows … Might we not adapt the arts of conjuration to the realm of those passed on? Rather than bother with elementals scarcely more intelligent than clumps of dirt or ash, we might learn the wisdom of the dead. Or so I am told. If they are dead, how much wiser can they be? But it occurs to me now – as Erud’s remains sink finally, ignominiously beneath the waves – that my fellows may be investigating a useful line of research after all, assuming their claims of success are not exaggerated. It would be interesting enough to communicate with the dead, but what else could be achieved? Could Erud himself somehow be returned to guide the city? What powers might his spiritual presence retain from his life? Could a conjurer force spirits, like elementals, into service? The ideas riddling my mind may be fur too ambitious. I suspect little will come of it. For now, the challenge before me is simply to acquire every mote of knowledge.

A small task.

To make this acquisition of knowledge possible, I must defy the primary law: the bane of mortality. If I fail, may these words and my fish join Erud’s beneath the waves.