Bashar. It’s a city of splendors! A glowing beacon amidst sloshing sea and dead desert. Beyond it? A wasteland riddled with pillaged tombs, booby traps and a rare village or two. Those who do make the voyage are treated to a gathering place of delights and fancies. The bazaar attracts and sells some of the finest wares in the world, as well as domestic items beyond words. It is here that new forms of magic have been unveiled as well as incredible forms of technology dubbed “magitech”.
However, life in this metropolitan hub is not what it seems. While a paradise for the discerning buyer or the exotic seller, a sinister shadow is caste upon those who live within the dusty streets and winding alleyways beyond the market. Few care or look out for each other. While backstabbing is rarely literal, there isn’t much trust between neighbors. Help is looked upon with a sense of dishonor and ascension up the social ladder is rife with self-sacrifice or betrayal.
Your ship is closing in fast to the docks ahead. Greetings traveler, welcome to the Bazaars of Bashar!
Author’s Note: I’m back at trying my hand at world building once more! And like always, I bend things away from typical pseudo-euro high fantasy and towards other genres and ideas. I’ve always been fascinated with massive urban hubs, even in fantasy fiction. One of the earlier cases of this was the setting of many Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, which provided a level of inspiration. Beyond Lankhmar, Planescape’s Sigil, Conan the Barbarian, Arabian Nights and Magic the Gather’s Ravnica have proved to be fair resources for ideas. Anyway, this is what I have so far! Enjoy!
Continue reading “Alza’um, Land of High Artifice Part 1. Bashar”
Daemons & Deathrays 