Collected Lore II, cont'd
![[Image: 66efc7d131bbaf77a8cf18deb851e6e6.jpg]](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/66/ef/c7/66efc7d131bbaf77a8cf18deb851e6e6.jpg)
By all appearances, Astyan civilian life was a peaceful and productive one. Long millenia of stability and progress had created a people of great advancement; crude perhaps in the technological sense by today's standards, they were nevertheless highly advanced for their time and the people benefited from this in many ways. Standards of hygiene, education, and magical learning* were quite high, particularly by the Astyan 'Golden Age' in the Middle Mythic Era*.
Much of Astya's great might came due to their great capacity for magic of all varieties, and several long-standing programs that encouraged the magical arts to flourish in all avenues of society. Their coinage system was an interesting one; early skill in empowering objects with energy allowed them to use only a single type of coin; and then grant it greater value by enchanting it permanently with a tiny fraction of their own power. By the Late Mythic Era, startling advancements in both runecasting and forging had allowed them to embed an enchantable mesh* into their coins and gemstones - and, later, armor and weapons - which gave rise to an incredibly wealthy elite society of Archmagi.
Magic was such a part of life and the early flow of magic so strong, that non-Magi were a relative rarity in such times. Despite that, the Astyans treated non-Magi well, and many were given prominent places in society -- but only when subsidized by an Archmage. For small, private sales, generally the barter system was used, with a flourishing trade in homemade magical artifacts used as trading objects. While trinkets by Astyan standards, today these relics are highly valued and extremely rare.
The Astyans were skilled smiths and artisans, with high-quality forges typically using plasma-based magic*. While their artwork, engineering, and construction were perhaps uncreative by Essharan standards, their extremely high standard of quality allowed their creations to last long after regular maintenance stopped. Typically of highest value to today's historians and explorers are indoor ruins; these have usually been shielded from the elements and typically are avoided by superstitious locals and thus aren't as badly looted as more modern abandoned areas.
While contemporary descriptions in some other cultures depict the Astyans as a relatively dour and humorless people, numerous recovered artifacts, scriptures, and stonecarvings depict otherwise; they held a great love of oratory debate, theatre, and artwork. Indeed, may other cultures 'inherited' numerous Astyan traits; their use of the mysterious spiral motif is similar to some Gehennan* artwork, suggesting an early cultural exchange.
*Magical Learning: See 'The Flying University; the Astyan Education Model' Vol I, 1543AC
*Middle Mythic Era: Scholars are divided as to when the peak of the Astyan Golden Age began and ended. Generally the start of the Astyan Decline corresponds with the end of the Middle Mythic; usually agreed on around the War of Nightmares.
*Enchantable Mesh: See: 'Academy Archives Script #44881: Astyan Rune-Wiring'; see also 'Osronan Times c.1672 : Fenossi Orchilacum Wiring Patent Declared Illegitimate By Crown, Citing Astyan Historical Origin'
*Plasma Forges: The Astyans had extremely efficient forges, though today's melting temperatures have since surpassed them. Several Astyan methods are still unknown to us, such as the alloying of Nyeshk and Mythril, though today's metals are both lighter and stronger than Astyan equivalents due to better modern impurity removal methods.
*Gehennan Artwork: There are many examples of modern and historical art that lends credence to an Astyan origin, though none is quite as obvious as the Gehennan spiral. Astyan relics carried this design many millenia before it appeared in Gehennan architecture, though its original purpose or meaning is still a mystery.
Much of Astya's great might came due to their great capacity for magic of all varieties, and several long-standing programs that encouraged the magical arts to flourish in all avenues of society. Their coinage system was an interesting one; early skill in empowering objects with energy allowed them to use only a single type of coin; and then grant it greater value by enchanting it permanently with a tiny fraction of their own power. By the Late Mythic Era, startling advancements in both runecasting and forging had allowed them to embed an enchantable mesh* into their coins and gemstones - and, later, armor and weapons - which gave rise to an incredibly wealthy elite society of Archmagi.
Magic was such a part of life and the early flow of magic so strong, that non-Magi were a relative rarity in such times. Despite that, the Astyans treated non-Magi well, and many were given prominent places in society -- but only when subsidized by an Archmage. For small, private sales, generally the barter system was used, with a flourishing trade in homemade magical artifacts used as trading objects. While trinkets by Astyan standards, today these relics are highly valued and extremely rare.
The Astyans were skilled smiths and artisans, with high-quality forges typically using plasma-based magic*. While their artwork, engineering, and construction were perhaps uncreative by Essharan standards, their extremely high standard of quality allowed their creations to last long after regular maintenance stopped. Typically of highest value to today's historians and explorers are indoor ruins; these have usually been shielded from the elements and typically are avoided by superstitious locals and thus aren't as badly looted as more modern abandoned areas.
While contemporary descriptions in some other cultures depict the Astyans as a relatively dour and humorless people, numerous recovered artifacts, scriptures, and stonecarvings depict otherwise; they held a great love of oratory debate, theatre, and artwork. Indeed, may other cultures 'inherited' numerous Astyan traits; their use of the mysterious spiral motif is similar to some Gehennan* artwork, suggesting an early cultural exchange.
*Magical Learning: See 'The Flying University; the Astyan Education Model' Vol I, 1543AC
*Middle Mythic Era: Scholars are divided as to when the peak of the Astyan Golden Age began and ended. Generally the start of the Astyan Decline corresponds with the end of the Middle Mythic; usually agreed on around the War of Nightmares.
*Enchantable Mesh: See: 'Academy Archives Script #44881: Astyan Rune-Wiring'; see also 'Osronan Times c.1672 : Fenossi Orchilacum Wiring Patent Declared Illegitimate By Crown, Citing Astyan Historical Origin'
*Plasma Forges: The Astyans had extremely efficient forges, though today's melting temperatures have since surpassed them. Several Astyan methods are still unknown to us, such as the alloying of Nyeshk and Mythril, though today's metals are both lighter and stronger than Astyan equivalents due to better modern impurity removal methods.
*Gehennan Artwork: There are many examples of modern and historical art that lends credence to an Astyan origin, though none is quite as obvious as the Gehennan spiral. Astyan relics carried this design many millenia before it appeared in Gehennan architecture, though its original purpose or meaning is still a mystery.