The Empire's capital is the city of Far Water, where Mezo was raised. It is a relatively young city, still growing fast under the hands of careful urban planners. The Astral Palace sits in the center, a white building in the shape of an eight pointed star. Each point houses a tower, which looks out upon a grand avenue receding into the distance. These avenues are aligned to the cardinal points, and radiate away like the spokes of a great wheel. Far Water has no walls, since it is far from any enemies and relies on magic for protection. Besides, apart from the southern and eastern parts, the city is expanding far too rapidly to be so constrained. Even those portions of the city, up against the Sea of Stars, slowly expand onto docks and reclaimed landfill created by magical and mundane means.
The University of Far Water claims no specialty, and prides itself on exploring all areas of magic. The University is actually scattered throughout various buildings around the central palace district, all built of the same white stone and bearing the wheel token. Students do not live at the University itself, but must obtain lodging of their own elsewhere in the city. For a new student, just finding one's way from the boarding house through the maze of streets and alleys to each class is an enormous challenge. Upperclassman can earn a gold ribbon for their belts by walking their day's schedule blindfolded, with onlookers ready to punish the slightest misstep with ice water or buckets of offal. Many will even wear these with pride even years after becoming full wizards.
Shrines to Merek litter the city. These are small, simple affairs; little more than a white ledge, marked with a black or white star, with a small pile of sand. Citizens leave candles, incense, flowers, or coins as they pass, in hopes that their spells will work better. The detritus can build up rapidly, and so monks of a dedicated order clean them up regularly, using the coins to live on. They swim out into the Sea of Stars to drop off the old offerings and to gather fresh sand for the shrines.
Type: Capital
Parent: The Empire of Stars