Overview
Madinat Erudit is a city of scholars in the Alsahraa desert region of Honor of Kings: World's worldview. The Honor of Kings worldview portal dedicates a full region page to it. The city's tagline is "Civilization is like a flame, and these caves are its protection." It is nicknamed the "Thousand Caves" because scholars of the past fled into the desert to escape war and carved grottoes into the cliffside to store knowledge. Madinat Erudit is the ancestral home of Jialuo's family, and Jialuo herself inherits the title of its Castellan.
Portal Overview Text
From the Madinat Erudit region page: "A city of scholars who gather knowledge and pass on civilization, a sanctuary for learning amidst the sands of Alsahraa. Scholars of the past fled deep into the desert to escape the threat of war, carving grottoes into the cliffside to store knowledge and ancient texts, thus giving the city its nickname, the 'Thousand Caves.' This precious place, admired by all the nations of Alsahraa, brought together erudite knowledge seekers and housed an eclectic collection of books, scrolls, and antiques, until it was nearly completely destroyed by the feralis in a raging inferno. However, survivors remained who rebuilt Madinat Erudit under the guidance of the Great Scholars. The city's inhabitants have always adhered to neutrality as they guarded the flame of civilization, sheltered safely within the Thousand Caves."
Named Locations
Location | Description |
|---|---|
Fresco Corridor | Inside the Grotto of Origins |
Walls of Origins | Inside the Grotto of Origins |
Cave of Ten Thousand Scrolls | Overseen by a Great Scholar and, "under the auspices of Garo's ancestors," containing copies from all over the world |
Path to the Conscience | Part of the trial for becoming a scholar or Great Scholar |
Cave of the Inquiring Conscience | Trial cave for Great Scholar candidates, uses the "Soul Guardian" artifact |
Pavilion of Discernment | Part of the scholarly trial path |
Stairs of Time | Ten thousand steps leading from the inner cave to the outer city; destroyed during the ferali raid to stop the surge |
Sage Chronicles Plaza | Named plaza |
Research District | Centered on Crescent Academy and the Erudine Research Institute |
Crescent Academy | Educational institution in the Research District |
Erudine Research Institute | Research center in the Research District |
Erudine Tree | At the center of the Research District; "legend has it that it was planted by a superbeing and that it has protected Madinat Erudit ever since" |
Desert Poplar Forest | Named forest in the Madinat Erudit area |
Stone Forest | Created hundreds of years ago when the Firefly tribe chief triggered the "Earth Vein" spell to shelter from war |
Firefly Valley / Madinat Firefly | An ancient country that faded into history; its prince Sakeer preserved in a fresco can be entered by resonance |
Myporia Tree | The heavenly mulberry tree the Firefly tribe settled under |
Governance
Madinat Erudit is led by a Castellan whose position "descends from an enforcer under Nuwa." The current Castellan is Garo (the portal's localized name for Jialuo). Garo's father fell during "the tragic ferali raid" while protecting the relics, which is why the title passed to Garo. The city is also guided by Great Scholars, of whom there can be no more than ten at a time. Candidates for Great Scholar status must pass the trial at the Cave of the Inquiring Conscience, which uses the Soul Guardian artifact as the testing instrument. Traveling Scholars also operate under Madinat Erudit's auspices.
Jialuo's Heritage
Per the Madinat Erudit region page, Jialuo "hails from the family in charge of managing the collection of books kept in Madinat Erudit." Her family has been the hereditary keeper of the Cave of Ten Thousand Scrolls, and she is now the Castellan of the city following her father's death in the ferali raid. Her S0 launch tagline "千页纷飞处，文脉自可追" ("Where a thousand pages fly, the threads of civilization can be traced") directly references the scholar identity of her home city.
The Feralis Raid
At some point in the past, the feralis launched a catastrophic raid on Madinat Erudit, described in the portal as "a raging inferno" that "nearly completely destroyed" the city. During the raid, the Stairs of Time were destroyed to stop the surge of feralis, and Garo's father fell while protecting the relics. Survivors rebuilt the city under the guidance of the Great Scholars, and the city has since adhered to a policy of strict neutrality. The feralis raid is also tied to the broader narrative of the feralis and the superbeings: after the raid, the Erudine Tree stopped producing its pearly fruits, which have only recently reappeared.
Sources
Madinat Erudit region page: https://world.honorofkings.com/ipworld/en/region-detail-qianku.html .