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[Lore] Longri-La


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Longri-La - Paradise Amongst The Clouds

 

Among the many stories and legends in Long Guo, one tale stands above the rest in the minds of adventurers and treasure seekers alike. A place shrouded in myth due to the Long's secretive nature and the measures taken to prevent outsiders from seeing the city proper, Longri-La nevertheless exists. It is situated deep within The Ancient's Abode, a dangerous range of mountains in and of itself, atop the peak of Mount Suncrest, thought to be impossible to scale beyond Lake Huahuo. Even the lowest slopes of Mount Suncrest pierce the clouds and offer breathtaking views, sometimes literally, as the air grows thinner, but for those brave, foolish, and lucky enough to reach Longri-La, there is no comparison.

 

The cloud-forged city floats around what was once a humble keep of cirrus clouds assembled near the summit of the mountain. It was founded in ages past by the first Serpent King Ao Shenlong and his first Serpent Council, five like-minded wyrms who desired to keep Lake Huahuo and the land of the Long Sun safe, as a nameless refuge in the sky. As more and more dragons flocked to the fledgeling fortress to share knowledge and expertise, it grew into a small city, and kept expanding into what it is today.

 

Serpents sculpted elaborate gardens and patterns in the clouds sprawling as far as the eye can see surrounding the keep, creating the city of Longri-La. The dragons often incorporated gaps and breaks in the cloud layer below the city to create unmatched views of the Abode or to allow for the light of the rising or setting sun to pierce into the haven before it crests the cloud-cover. This creates stunning displays of light and colour on carefully arranged walls, pillars, and even vegetation cultivated over hundreds of years. At night, the Long have crystallized the rainbows themselves to cast omnicolored light over the hidden city. The city is so high up, the only weather manipulation needed is air compression to allow residents to breathe, and a becalming of the winds so that the elaborate structures are not disturbed.

 

The keep, now known as the Dragon’s Heart, has since expanded into a temple presided over by the Serpent King that is barred to all but the wisest and most ancient of the Long and those they deem worthy. Though they had many claws aiding them in their tasks, the Council was neither omnipresent nor omniscient. It was decided that in order to expand their awareness, water would be taken from sacred Lake Huahuo and made into a pool endowed with preternatural stillness and clarity. The Dragons use this pool, named Tianlong's Eye after Ao Shenlong's father, to allow them to scry on the goings-on of the world to keep their musings relevant, and so that when somepony is fortunate enough as to be able to reach Longri-La, they can dispense wise, and more importantly accurate, advice.

 

Even with its sprawling, open design, there are homes and buildings everywhere, ranging from humble hermitages to elaborate palaces constructed from clouds. All of the larger structures have delicate tracers of a type of ivy growing freely from them, creating curtains of flowers in the spring and cloaks of fiery color in the autumn.

 

Just west from the keep are a series of humble buildings overgrown with ivy. This is the Mu Xinzang nursery, where the wise Matron oversees the first years of the lives of Long whose parents have entered a deep meditation, or been lost. Unlike large sections of the city, outsiders are completely forbidden from entering this area. The Long are patient and kind about many things, but trespassers found in or found to have been in the Nurseries are not tolerated in any way. The Matron herself only oversees this section when she is not granting her blessings and wisdom upon new and prospective mothers, or fulfilling the Pact to apprentice Imperial foals.

 

Clockwise, the next section is the Fenghuang Gardens. This sprawling district is covered in ornately decorated paths lined with short fences meant more to keep the plants in than visitors out. Here and there dragons are permitted to operate small shops, studios, and restaurants to pursue their passions, so long as they do not interrupt but enhance the gardens in some way. Many of these are open air cafes, where even the heating surfaces are exposed to the elements, or outright disguised. Small dens dot some of the longer streets, where the Long who tend the gardens live. Every remaining inch of the district is covered with flora from every corner of the world. From shrubs and cactuses imported from Saddle Arabia, to Neighponese bonsai trees, to Unyasi grasses and baobabs, and even rare flowers and shrubs from Equestria. The primary contributing factor to where each plant is situated seems to be aesthetic rather than native homes, though the soil each plant requires has had at least some token attention. Where this district meets the central temple, there is a bath-house where the Luminary lives and prepares the advice he dispenses to those seeking or following their passions.

 

The Suncrest Landing is as far as most guests are allowed to visit, and is the area immediately surrounding the mountain. It is here where all non-Long crest the summit of the mountain and gain a view of the city that is unmatched outside of the Temple itself thanks to the subtle incline leading away from this point that allows the water to collect in the Shuǐguī District. Coincidentally, the Long's Heart also blocks the Mu Xinzang nursery from view. A temple has been set aside here for adherents of the Harmonious Path, who are collectively some of the more frequent guests of the Long. The Steward maintains this demesne while not revealing painful truths to supplicants at Lake Huahuo.

 

The Zhingzhue Workshops are where the Long artisans live and perform their most important duties. They're tasked not only with the maintenance and expansion of Longri-La, but also with the creation of tools, building materials, containers, vehicles, and harnesses required to keep the city running, and more importantly this is where the Artificer oversees the creation of the material components for the charms, bells, spell tags, and Long Pearls that are then transported to the Shuǐguī district to be imbued with their remarkable powers. material components for the charms, bells, spell tags, and Long Pearls that are then transported to the Shuǐguī Athenaeum to be imbued with their remarkable powers.

 

Finally, the Shuǐguī Lyceum mainly houses the Shuǐguī Athenaeum. However, to say that it mainly houses the Athenaeum is not unlike saying a restaurant mainly serves food and drink. The Athenaeum is the single largest repository of Long, Longma, and Qillin knowledge in the world, housing hundreds of thousands of scrolls, books, murals, tapestries, screens, pamphlets, folders, paintings, folios, friezes, frescoes, tablets, and notes relating to Long Guo lore, habits, history, architecture, and philosophy. The Archivist oversees its maintenance and expansion, and is generally the one who enchants the Long Pearls, charms, and bells provided by the Zhingzhue district.

 

Longri-La is the hidden jewel in the crown of the tallest mountain in the world. No other place is as distinctly Long as this city, and no other place matches its serene majesty, or the wealth of knowledge and wisdom housed within it. To be allowed to see even a fleeting glimpse is an honor few have attained outside of the citizens themselves, who speak of it only sparingly. And so its mystery remains indelible.

~Excerpt from Legends of the Long by Ao Gōngkāi Zhìhuì

~Journey to the Dragon Lands

Ashley ‘Ash’ Ravencrest

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