Moon Brite is an atypical city. Usually, a city is founded, and later a University is built there. In this case, Hadar Lumo and Sama Bela chose a location from which to teach and practice magic, and the city grew around them. Hadar and Sama cooperated to build a circle of great standing stones on the Eastern shore of the Sea of Stars. There is one great pillar for each constellation of the zodiac, and a keystone in the center. At the highest point for each constellation, the light of the moon shines on its pillar through the keystone. This calendar was created to find when conditions for working great magics were perfect.
Hadar and Sama quickly fell out, and divided their followers among them. Each built groups of dwellings for their students, clustering them together into clients. The Lumo clans are named for metals: silver, tin, mercury, and lead. The Bela clans are named for gems: ruby, sapphire, pearl, and jet. The token for Lumo clans is a torch, and for Bela clans is a scale.
The city remains divided, with the Lumo Quarter and Bela Quarter divided by the Avenue of Light. The Avenue leads to the circle of stones, which still stands in the center of the University within an enormous park. Only University students and staff are allowed near the stones.
In practical terms, Lumo versus Bela is more of a friendly (if fierce) rivalry than a real grudge. Both the city and the University function mostly as a unified whole. The city is particularly fond of sports, combat, and other competitive exhibitions that give plenty of opportunities for one-upsmanship. Arenas, theaters, and stadiums are everywhere, displaying everything from gladiatorial combat to illusion contests. The pinnacle is the annual Moonbright Games, a competitive extravaganza that folk from all over the known world travel to compete in and view. More than half the city's commerce is conducted during those ten days in a frenzy of buying and selling.
Gambling is a popular vice in Moonbright. Games are an obvious option for betting, but anyone determined to part with his gold can do so through dice, cards, or countless other games of chance. All of this is perfectly legal, as long as the ruling families get their share.
Both families still live on University grounds, whether or not they are learning magic. All buildings in the University are small, built in clusters of 4 to 12 around a central square. While the originals were mud huts, today red and brown brick is the preferred material. Since the University of Moonbright is located in the city center, it cannot expand. This has made conditions more and more crowded as the Lumo and Bela families have grown, and so both family members and mages spend as much time in the countryside and woods as possible.
With a distracted ruling class consisting of largely absentees, the city of Moonbright has a particularly seedy underbelly. The area near the docks is especially bad, and strangers had best keep an eye on their purse. Taverns often recruit toughs and thieves for questionable jobs, or look for adventurers to go on excursions into the Wallen Woods. Prostitution and narcotics have become serious problems, with hallucinogenic mushrooms a particular favorite.
The city's current Lords, Prakash Lumo and Nisha Bela, aren't overly concerned. As long as the money keeps rolling in and the crooks don't get out of hand, they are inclined to turn a blind eye. Most of their attention is directed toward magical research, centered around the various planes and the creatures that inhabit them. The archmages are both experts in Conjuration, and have captured and dissected both angels and devils. What little attention they have left is focused on each other. They have been embroiled in an affair for decades that is something of an open secret.
Type: City
Parent: The Empire of Stars