Zion - Light of the New Moon: City of Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon
World Information, Part 2
Doen, the City of the Shining Dawn
copyright 2011 comidacomida
The Good
Doen is to the southwest of Zion and is probably the most geographically distant. The flat, level ground and relatively benign weather between the two cities, however, makes it one of the easiest journeys. Of all the city states, Doen is the most focused on visually appealing architecture, building embellishments, and city beautification. Everywhere a traveler looks are pictures, murals, bright colors, shimmering crystal inlays, celebratory decorations, and flowering plants. As the city of fertility and plenty it makes sense that things be so joyous.
Blessed with the most mild climate in the empire Doen is a sprawling city of light, airy building with skylights, wall-length windows, and open-air viewing rooms. Most city streets and lanes criss-cross the city in meandering curve, not unlike rivers or irrigation streams. Most walkways are lined with decorative features of both natural and manufactured make; flower gardens, green spaces, fruit trees, and fountains are strewn throughout the fair city. Pavilions and gazebos are located in every square, providing shelter from occasional rain, though they are rarely more than decorative since most days are filled with sun.
Buildings in Doen are made with a combination of wood, rock, and crystal. Masons and carpenters are both responsible for the framework of the buildings. Internal water and heating are the realm of metal-workers, engineers, and magicians. The most important task in construction, however, does not come until the building is structurally complete... only then is the greatest step in the creation of a building undertaken. It is then, and only then that the artisans are put to work, crafting the finishing touches-- adding mosaics, reliefs, paint, pigment, trim, and the inlaid crystals for which the city is so famous. Any minor damage or wear to the structures is identified immediately and repaired by the artisans or, if it is severe enough, the entire building is redone from scratch by masons and carpenters and new art replaces the old.
The grand spread of Doen is by no accident; the city prefers to build out rather than up, allowing it to maintain a beautiful view of the horizon every day at dawn. It is important for the faithful followers of the moon goddess to be able to see the first rays of the sun as it crests the horizon. Whether just awakening at the start of a new day or returning home, having celebrated life all night long, the citizens of Doen take great pride in the fact that they are always able to greet the dawn with the same unobstructed joy as it greets them.
The citizens of Doen work to make themselves as beautiful and inviting as the city. No expense is spared on clothing, grooming, hygiene, or personal care. First impressions are everything in Doen, and everyone takes their appearance very seriously. While individual styles may differ (and yesterday's trends become quickly out-dated), everyone has a niche they call their own. The beautiful will touch up their natural radiance with make-up and fine clothes; the rich may come smothered in the finest of jewelery; the common folk may seek to outshine their neighbor with a fancy new hairstyle or finely trimmed fur; those of immense physical strength might maintain only modest clothing so as to better show off their physique. There is no single concept of beauty in Doen-- everything has the capacity to be gorgeous.
Although wealth in Doen is dramatically uneven, the majority of the city maintains above-average living conditions. In eternal bids to constantly improve their own lives, the rich employ virtual armies of workers so those in need of more coin never have to look far for work. The middle class is wide and booming; with city-controlled prices it is easy for people to purchase what they want without having to give up buying what they need.
Although the lower class is present and widespread, Doen has numerous facilities to aid those who have trouble earning a living. These care facilities provide protection for the homeless and destitute, provide them job training, and improve their morale by helping them to locate methods to increase their own happiness even with a limited budget. Doen prides itself on being a city where even those who have little can still find fulfillment in the joy of living.
The Bad
The beauty of Doen, sadly, is mostly on the exterior. Like a prized peacock suffering from gut worms, Doen is slowly dying from within. The general residents of Doen continue their lives focused on their own pursuits, their own pleasures and interests without pausing to regard anything outside their narrow field of view. The most well-informed Doenians are, of course, the clergy, who use the overindulgent lifestyle of the citizenry to help control them. Those few individuals who do pause and look beyond the surface-beauty and celebrations of the town usually find reasons to move onward-- awakening to its shortcomings usually causes alienation.
Personal freedoms in Doen are the most represented and wide-reaching out of any of the city-states, but the end result is that many 'personal freedoms' are trampled under the 'personal freedoms' of others. Rape is not a crime; only select kinds of thievery are considered illegal; intimidation and coercion are not considered illegal; bribery and blackmail are generally not tried. What crimes ARE addressed? Vandalism and assault that causes lasting physical damage are considered some of the most severe crimes, second only to murder or profaning the goddess. While the latter result in execution, the former may expect to be exiled, never to return to the 'most wonderful city under the moon'.
Commerce in Doen, despite what most think at casual glance, is kept under control by the clergy, who maintain a strangle-hold on merchants and craftsmen. With a limit cap on the prices merchants may charge for 'necessary goods', very few businesses can operate at a profit. The end result is that the temple is usually in charge of the sales of basic necessities, most often in the form of businesses and storefronts 'owned' by someone who acts as the proprietor. Appearances, after all, must be up kept, and it would seem improper if the temple were running everything.
One of the most booming sources of trade within Doen are luxury goods. These range from expensive foods, pricey clothing, art, and decor to the much more hedonistic varieties of goods such as drugs and prostitution. The general consensus is that if you want it then you can find it. Since personal freedoms are given so much sway there are no black-market goods in Doen, thus anyone can find anything if someone wants it. This, sadly, has also given rise to other undesirable elements... such as slavery.
Although the price of luxury goods is usually quite low, there are certain dealers who tend to oust the competition, maintaining a monopoly on their services and products. These 'specialists' usually carry the more addictive 'luxury goods' and tend to raise the prices on the most needy. This usually ends up resulting in complete and total servitude of the client to the merchant or, in the most basic sense: willing slavery. It's all completely legal, of course... but that doesn't make it any less undesirable. Ever-concerned with the appearance of the city, the clergy make certain that Slave-Dens, as they are called, remain far from the public eye... some suspect that one or more of the dens are actually church run!
Although Doen is strong on personal freedoms, the church does mandate that all of the citizens worship the Pregnant (3/4 full) Moon aspect of Tah'aveen. Nobody is banned from worshiping other aspects of the moon goddess, but they must always include prayers to the aspect that governs abundance, birth, fertility, and, of course, the city of Doen. Prayers are simple and straight-forward: joyous living, partaking of pleasures, and 'living it up' thus the city does not consider it an imposition, but for those who get burned out it can be quite an ordeal.
To this end, Doen can be a place of plenty where too much is never enough. It can be a city where complete freedom means being trapped in a gilded cage. The end result for many of those who fall into the lifestyle is that they become lost somewhere between their own needs and the desires others have for them to fulfill. It is scary to think that the greatest fear for the average Doenian is that, at some point, they might have to give up 'want' for 'need'.
The Ugly
The clergy of Doen are even more hedonistic than the populace. The greatest concentration of wealth within the city lays within the temple. Since self-fulfillment is the holiest prayer it is left to the priests and priestesses to 'pray' the most. The average day for the clergy begins with a banquet followed by an orgy. At some point the temple administrators (those with the real power) complete business for the day see to the standard operations of the temple. Lower level temple functionaries (those yet to gain the clout to become true priests or priestesses) see to the spiritual needs of the people and provide guidance for the town's rulership, who are usually just figureheads (and too blitzed, exhausted, drunk, or all three to make any decisions).
While all of the above might often be assumed or guessed at by anyone who can see past the glitz and glamor of Doen, there is an even darker secret found within the city. The clergy has long-since lost much of its focus, having given in to their own wants. The highest ranking members are all but thoughtless automatons, driven on by their most basic desires. While there are still truly faithful members within the church, they purposefully maintain lower ranks so as to avoid the same hedonistic trap as the highest ranking clergy. Worse yet, the truth behind this haze of indifference is not mortal in nature... far from it.
Over 100 years past, the priests of Doen imprisoned a great demon within their hallowed halls. This creature, drained of its power, was left broken, restrained, and trapped within a prison made of the same crystals that now line every building within the city. While most think that the crystals are purely for aesthetic purposes they are, in fact, barriers placed to increase the strength of the prison that holds the demon... a prison that grows weaker as more and more clergy succumb to the madness of desire. And the reason for the clergy's downfall? The demon is, in fact, a demon of lust and though its powers are drained, its very presence still putrefies the purity of the moon goddess' aspect of fertility and plenty. It is a shame, however, that so few people know of this truth and those that do are too far lost to seek aid.