The City of Twilight was founded directly over the former location of Sundsval. Dragonkin have used powerful magics and artifacts to create a city in the sky. The city is built upon a cloud bank which is kept continuous by magic devices, and made solid by an artifact. The artifact draws the energy needed to do this from the residual effects of the Doomsday weapon which destroyed Sundsval and sank the Alphatian continent.
The city is ruled by a council called the Circle. The Circle is composed of several half-dragons who have banded together at the commands from their respective masters (many of whom are the half-dragon's biological fathers). These dragons are the real power that runs the City of Twilight, their children are simple fronts. That is not to say that the half-dragons have no power at all, this is far from the truth. The Circle is steeped in intrigue, with one member controlling the strings of several plots and schemes, either to further its own power or that of its father.
Several of the half-dragons sitting on the Circle come from Mystara and some of the other planets within the system, however not all of the dragonkin are local to this crystal sphere. A few of the half-dragons hail from surrounding spheres, mostly those spheres that were damaged in ancient times, during the battles between Blackmoor and the immortals.
The Circle has sworn allegiance to Alphatia (they have signed documents with representatives of the new Upper Alphatian governments). Many of the displaced Alphatian wizards are flocking toward the City of Twilight in order to continue their research into the new spelljamming technology. The half-dragons have also allowed an enclave of Arcane to set up shop on the cloud. The city is also open to members of any sentient species, as long as individuals follow the laws imposed by the Circle. Many of the 'civilized' monsters which escaped the destruction of Limn have also settled in the city.
The Circle is a very mysterious entity in the City of Twilight. On one hand they are signing treaties with Alphatian and encouraging a diverse spectrum of species to settle in the city, while on the other hand they themselves keep a very low profile. Officially their goal is to expand the use of spelljamming throughout the empire. Nobody knows for sure what their real goals are, though many can guess. Some believe that the Circle is trying to establish a new draconian empire on Mystara.
That last belief is not far from the truth. All of the dragon patrons of members of the Circle are renegade male dragons. In dragon society, females usually stay and rear the young creating a bond of blood between themselves and their offspring. Although this bond does not grant the females any power over their children, it does provide them with powerful allies. The Twilight Dragons, as they are called, resent this fact about draconic society. They have therefore gone against dragon taboos and mated with non-dragon species (see Dragon issue 206). At the maturity of their offspring, the Twilight Dragons return and take them into their service. Being outcasts in most societies, the half-dragons rarely refuse such service, however the Twilight Dragons (TDs) have sweetened the deal, doing something for which their very lives are forfiet. Some have even shared secrets of the Ceremony of Sublimation with their half-dragon offspring (see Dragon issue 170). The City of Twilight was founded so that the TDs could gain enough power to protect their lives during their quests for immortality. The have alligned themselves with a powerful nation of magic users. They intend to make Alphatia even more powerful by giving them access to spelljamming technology, and the ability to colonize other crystal spheres.
For more information on Twilight City and its occupants see the Twilight page.
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This page maintained by Chimpman. Last updated on 07/06/99.
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