You have all chosen to follow the Path of the Philosopher. Not for you the warrior Path of the Battlemage, fighter for justice, nor the Path of the Healer, worthy though it may be to heal the sick. Equally you have rejected the Path of the Artificer, the tinkerers, who work on devices and techniques, as well as the Path of the Loremaster, who merely delves and catalogues the knowledge of the past. No, you have decided upon the Path of the Philosopher, the highest calling, the way of true enquiry, where you will probe the realms of higher mathematics, ponder the meaning of truth itself and tease out the deepest secrets of nature and the workings of the world.

A depiction of a island society and it compares that land's unusual political ideas with the contemporary politics of the Known World. The book is a collection of letters between a known minister and a king of a few centuries ago. They discuss the state of things there and the known world. It is sometimes a biting discussion/ condemnation that has caused the book to be disavowed in many places.

This was the magnum opus of Dougus RecordSmith d'Archerous who had written a number of lesser historical pieces. In this work he recounted history of The Known World and Imperium from mythic and pre-imperial times to his present (a mere 130 years ago).

The Encyclopedia Geographica is the seminal work of Civilization. The Geographic Green books include maps of every place in the known world and articles about the things in those places. One can honestly say, you are holding the known world in your hand when holding this book.

This is a listing of every Ring thought of and put to submissions here at Strolens. For a far better solution to finding what your looking for.

Penned by a famed artist/naturalist who was known for his wide travels is a series of illustrated books detailing vegetation, animals, and insects that he had studied. Each manuscript has a very detailed picture of the subject with appropriate labelings accompanied by a recourse on the observations and/or uses of the subject.

If you travel North from city's main gate, you will have traveled some of the great and grandest elements of Antioch. Then you will enter the most common and humble. The NorthWard is classic Antioch. It serves as the 'average' that all other quarters are measured by.

It was supposed to be the district of hearth and home: the domestic soul in a city of industry and trade. It has been the quiet ward for most of the city's recent history. It is still the 'soul' of the city, but now that soul is changing.

Originally planned to be a green area, where an Elventi community would thrive, this area has become the ward where the rich and powerful live. It is neat, orderly, and practically invitation only.

Every city needs a place for building things. These places often have pompous names that nobody ever uses, except those in the City Offices. The Maker's Ward is just such a place.

There are always places between other places. The Alley District is sandwiched between the Temple Ward and the Docks Ward. Of all the wards, this one has the most ways in and out, thus is one of the most heavily traveled areas in all of Antioch.

The ArchStreet, leading from the main gate, spills out into the DiPlaza - The center of Antioch. Each of the five other districts of Antioch have a gateway at the plaza. Each of the triangular districts has one corner nipped off, creating the hexagonal shape of the central DiPlaza. A fitting plaza for a (nearly) hexagonal shaped city.

These well crafted Dwarventi stairs lead down into one of the three main passages of Undertown. The underfolk have cleverly made it look like a short surface streets. Some of the branching passages look like streets as well, but it is all just a facade, soon they become more mine or hall like. The streets are 'lit' (dimly by any topsider's opinion) by mage lights and a few ancient amber Dwarventi Lights.

There is only one path to divinity in Antioch. There is only one street with temples. It reaches from the DiPlaza to the end of the Ward, to the temple of Beginnings and Endings.

The work is being done on the largest temple of Stryfe ever constructed. So massive is this project, that it could not have been placed within the city's walls without displacing a large portion of Gnopolis's inhabitants.

The Taymour district is tucked between two other distinct districts in the city. It is a transitional district. It is where the newly rich or noble (or the formerly rich and tarnished noble) tend to live. It is also a place with a deep history with the city.

The Antioch river is slow and broad in most places. Due to some quirks of biome geography, the best place for riverside docks between the headlands and the sea is Antioch. Given the biome's convient access to a number of other biomes (and paths to said biomes), it is only natural that a trade city with a dock would thrive here.

Many people would assume that this main stree is called ArchStreet because of the arches across it. In the local language (See the Arth Threads), Arch is a prefix of importance. More than main street, ArchStreet is the Street of all Streets... an egotistical naming of the street, proclaiming that all the streets in the world are a shallow copy of ArchStreet. It is a name of hubris and pride for the locals. It is a bone of contention in certain circles of the Imperial court and the other city states of ThirdLand. Given Antioch's pivotal and growing role in the Imperial in recent centuries, it may be well named after all.

Horses and Livestock are brought in to civilization every day. Here is the where they arrive. What started as a slight convience has made The City prosperous.

Surrounded by a massive wall 10 Imperial strides tall, there are only two ways into The City. One is accessible only from the River. The Other is the Massive Gate that leads into the Gateway Plaza.