Storybook - History of Pandaemonium
When the Cataclysm rent Atreia in twain, Asmodae was wracked by tremors, powerful storms, and strong waves. Thousands perished.
After the turbulence, the survivors found themselves in a terrible new world. The light of Aion was gone, indeed, it seemed all light had gone.
The world grew cold, bitter and hostile. So did the Asmodians.
Lord Azphel knew that the people needed shelter and hope, lest they become no more than animals clawing at each other.
He ordered a new city built, one to overshadow the glory of Siela, the old city of Atreia.
With bitter irony, he named it Pandaemonium, after the mythical City of Endless Troubles.
Concerned about threatening Sapiens and the lurking Balaur in the shadows, Lord Azphel placed Pandaemonium where no enemy could easily reach it.
On a rough, rocky island in the middle of a turbulent sea, the Shedim Lords cleared a patch of forest to serve as its base.
None could reach the island, save from the air. It would be an impenetrable fortress.
Daevas of Architecture and Construction planned stone walls thicker than any built before, riddled with secret passages and guard posts. Walls carved from the mountains of the island itself, cut with the raw power of Aether.
As stonecutters and carpenters worked, Lord Azphel brought beauty and life to the island. He laid a gentle darkness rich in Aether over the city, growing the native plants into a verdant jungle.
Human workers came to the island in ships, a permanent population never intending to leave. The neighbourhood that they built for themselves is today known as the Crandale District.
The Daeva chose Vanahal, and today it is the most scenically historic district in Pandaemonium, an example of the Fine Classical style of Serbetu.
The most impressive of Serbetu's works is the Capital Building. His divine military style deftly combines temple spires with fortress crenellations.
While Serbetu designed the colossal frame of the city, Morone, Daeva of Gardening created detailed landscape work. Using plants grown in Lord Azphel's protective shadow, Pandaemonium became as much garden as city.
The Aetherfall in the Great Temple is his design, as is the colonnade in front of the Capital Building. The "Arms of Lord Azphel" were built to offset what Morone perceived as the coldness of Serbetu's architecture.
Lord Azphel recognised that the people of Asmodae would draw inspiration from a city reflecting the dark beauty of the Shedim Lords.
He approached all living Human craftsmen and made them an offer: "Lend your talents to decorating Pandaemonium, and become honourary Daeva."
The blue Aetheric lights giving Pandaemonium nights their distinct soft glow are the work a Human engineer now immortalized as the Daeva of Luminescence.
Once Pandaemonium was completed, the purification ceremony and celebration lasted nearly a fortnight.
Daevas flew through every corner of Asmodae, announcing the completion of the glorious city and raining blessings down upon the land.
It is said that when Aion heard the city was completed, he blessed the people of Asmodae by casting a gentle twilight over the land that lasted for days.
Pandaemonium became the centre of Asmodae just as Siela was the centre of Atreia. With the invention of the airship, all Asmodians could come and go from the city in peace.
The growing Human and Daeva populations required immense amounts of work to expand the city into the surrounding mountains.
Three times it has grown such--now the permanent population is tightly controlled.
Pandaemonium's architecture and design far overshadow those of Sanctum, Elysea's garish revival of ancient Siela.
Spies from Elysea report that the city is excessively baroque and gaudy, with no heed paid to proper urban planning.
Truly Pandaemonium is the chosen city of Aion!
