Editing Solace: Collapse (section)

== Prologue ==
Unlike so many cities scoured by The Great Awakening, Solace was imbued by a surplus of resources, skills, and survivors. Out of the ashes of the cataclysm, was born an efficiently designed city, with public utilities, a parliamentary governance structure, and minimal poverty, a true rarity in these times. 

As if to accentuate Solace’s singular nature, the city’s roadways were built entirely of limestone, giving everything a faint white glow. Resting atop a newly forged cliffside overlooking the Kraken’s Ocean, the largest city in the world is home to nearly a million residents. A veritable melting pot of cultures, languages, and mixed races, Solace is well-known for its modern city feel, tall buildings, expansive universities, and most notably, a floating disc of land that hovers 3000 feet in the air above the city, where temples to every deity known reside.

Dawn approaches on Elitia Kisaturna (Fourth Sunday of the Sixth Month, 6/28), and you have all completed your vigils. Only one candidate dropped out during the final night bring the total number of deserters up to a dozen. 29 of you remain. Feeling exhausted and sleep deprived, a young, beautiful human woman you recognize from the start of this vigil silently walks by each of you, touching you on the shoulder and beckoning you to follow. As it was for the previous 5 days of your vigil, everyone remains silent, but there is a tension in the air, a thick, invisible fog. It is as if you are not sure if you could make a noise even if you tried.

Your escort leads you into a towering, stone structure covered in vines and moss, capped by a turquoise dome it must reach at least a hundred feet into the air and spans a few hundred across. Following your escort, you walk down long hallways bedecked with bas-reliefs, extravagant paintings, and magically lit display cases for curios and trinkets you have barely an inkling about. You are led to a large room with a strangely convex and rough floor, the door on the far side of this 75 foot wide oddly shaped room is ornately decorated with what appears to be some ancient text inscribed over top. Those of you who know the Dwarven alphabet can read it, but the words themselves not Dwarven. Your escort walks to the far door of this strangely large antechamber, and swiftly about-faces, and as her long hair and flowing robes fan out from the spin and settle back down, an unmistakably different person, an aged, but not old, Elvish man, appears to be appraising the group. 

The old man stands stoic and hale. You can see the thousands of years of age in the lines around his mouth as he begins to speak.
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''In the year 5412 BCE, Forseti and Heironeous founded the Magistrate’s Office in this, the great city of Solace, with the sole mission of bringing light to truth, and truth to light, to carry out justice where it was needed, to bring order to a chaotic world.''

''In the year 3591 BCE, Isis, Obad-Hai, Pelor, Osiris, Boccob, Surtur, and Odin founded the Mage’s guild, to further the knowledge and application of magic in all the realms.''

''Over the millennia, these organizations became cornerstones of the world stage. Believing in our founders’ guiding principles, we carried these institutions forward. We evolved.''

''In the year 100 CE, the centennial of the Great Awakening, the Magistrate’s Offices and Mage’s Guild held the Terrapex, a joint summit in Solace during which these two ancient orders merged into one.''

''The Magistery’s founding precept is Truth from Knowledge, written in the Old Tongue above the door. De Scientia Veritas.''

''In the spirit of accepting all forms of knowledge, the Magistery has opened its doors to all who wish to join, as long as your heart remains true to our purpose, you have a home here.''

''The initiates’ primary duty is to care for this hall. For 6 days of the week your waking hours will be split between learning Magisterium teachings, various work details keeping this tower clean, stocked, and maintained. In your own time, you will embark upon 5 quests, a self-directed blending of training, funded missions, and real world investigations.'' 

''Quests are made available for you on the Quest Board. This listing is not all encompassing, and if you are so inclined, with any Master’s approval you may embark on an independent investigation and receive credit for your findings.'' 

''Five successful quests allow you to begin your Apprenticeship. Discipulation, Adeptness, and even Mastery may follow.'' 

''As survivors of the vigil, I welcome you, the 245th class of Initiates into the Magistery.''
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And with that, your escort throws open the double gilded doors behind him and light floods into this chamber, as you enter, you are in a library, too large to fit inside the building you originally entered, several stories tall, cavernous openings from balconies show you a nearly endless expanse above and below, far and wide. Off to your right, you see a collection of desks each with a placard, and you find each of you has a desk assigned to them. Behind the desks is a massive bulletin board, signed “Quests.”