The Province of Dust

The Province of Dust (The Golden City) is a Fansus location accessible from The Gilded Gate.

Description

The Province of Dust is the name that has come to describe the ever-growing expanse of dust that has come to denote the border of the Golden King’s domain in the Mansus. Whenever the King retreats to the Golden City, the gold that covered his fleeting domain crumbles to dust, dust that comes to accumulate around the Golden City. This desert of desolation has come to serve both as a marker of territory and a warning to the Hours, that this is where the King holds domain, and the price of challenging him. Within the Province of Dust is The Golden City, the Golden King’s center of power in the Mansus, where he sits his throne and guides his mortal followers in their actions against the rest of the Hours. The Apple-of-the-Eye did her job well, for the city is truly a paradise of unparalleled beauty and luxury. Its citizens enjoy eternal life within its borders, and are provided for enough that most are truly content.

Events

• I visited the Golden City last night, and spied a sinuous shape twined around the tallest building. The Anaconda goes where it pleases, and often it pleases to enter the Golden City, that prison it entrapped Old Tarnished within. Perhaps this is an act of mercy, for of all the Hours, the Anaconda understands its responsibility for and to the would-be-conqueror of the Mansus. Perhaps this is no mercy at all, for the Anaconda is as companionable as a moraine, and less talkative still.
  • Provides A Bitter Atmosphere
• Last night I walked the Province of Dust, the empty expanse that separates the domain of the Golden King from the rest of the Hours. I came across a caravan of dreamers making their way towards the city, with packs laden with offerings. They seemed surprised to see another traveller, and they stopped to chat a while. “Life has been unkind to me,” one confesses. “I don’t mind never leaving if I get to live forever.” The don’t stay long, but they pass over one of their offerings out of gratitude for the company on their final journey. Tonight, somewhere, someone isn’t waking up, and the Golden City has a few more citizens.
  • Provides Conqueror's Map
• The way behind the Gilded Gate was different tonight. The Golden King must be riding tonight, for the halls of the Upper House were clean, and gleaming with the color of gold. For hours I memorized the newly-made murals of the slaying of heathen gods and the glory of man. I woke only when the chamber collapsed to dust around me, and still felt the dust in my lungs.
  • Provides Dread/Fascination.