A slim pamphlet with a cracked leather cover, clearly well-traveled. The title is printed in bold letters across the front.
They said we would die in the desert. They were wrong.
In the year 1056 of the Solaran calendar, a group of scholars, merchants, freethinkers, and dreamers left the Kingdom of Solara. Some were fleeing persecution. Others simply wanted to breathe air that wasn’t heavy with incense and royal decree. They traveled east, beyond the Pale Mountains, into the vast wasteland called the Deadlands.
King Marcus II declared them traitors. The Church called them heretics. Military expeditions were sent to bring them back in chains.
Every expedition failed. The desert, it seemed, favored those who chose freedom.
The founders built their city where ancient springs rose from the rock, creating an oasis in the waste. They named it Lusteris—a word meaning “luminous” in the old tongue—because they believed wisdom was its own kind of light, one that didn’t require a single goddess to bestow it.
From the beginning, Lusteris rejected the model of king and church that dominated Solara. Instead, the city is governed by a council of five guilds, each representing a vital aspect of civic life:
The Marble Academy represents learning and magic. Founded by the scholars who led the original exodus, the Academy remains the intellectual heart of Lusteris, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge without religious restriction.
The Silver Chair represents the nobility and merchant elite. Yes, Lusteris has wealthy families and powerful traders—we are pragmatic about such things. The difference is that here, anyone can rise to wealth through skill and effort, not merely through birth.
The Sapphire Temple represents spirituality. Unlike Solara, we do not mandate a single faith. The Temple welcomes worshippers of all gods, maintaining shrines to the entire pantheon. Elandria’s light shines here alongside Seraphis’s wisdom and even Vaelith’s solemn guidance.
The Obsidian Army represents defense. Make no mistake: our freedom must be protected. The Army stands ready to repel any who would take what we have built.
The Emerald Bank represents commerce and economy. The Bank manages the city’s wealth, ensuring fair taxation and stable currency. Trade flows through Lusteris from a dozen nations, making us prosperous despite our harsh surroundings.
Each guild elects representatives to the Council. Decisions require consensus among the five. It is slow, sometimes frustrating, occasionally chaotic—but it is ours.
Today, two centuries after our founding, Lusteris thrives. The desert blooms around us. Our markets bustle with goods from across the known world. Our Academy produces mages and scholars who rival any in Solara. And visitors from the kingdom—even those who once called us traitors—find themselves amazed by what freedom can build.
We do not hate Solara. Many of us still have family there, and we trade freely despite old grievances. But we will never return to a land where one church dictates truth and one bloodline dictates law.
The desert made us strong. Freedom made us wise. Lusteris endures.
—Distributed by the Lusteris Visitor’s Bureau