Archon embassy in White City

The Archon embassy is the seat of the Archon Academy in the capital, White City, in the campaign Raphael Efsanesi ("The Legend of Raphael"). It stands in the inner ring of the city among the political missions of other peoples, and its head is the old wizard Siyah.^{1 2}

Outside

The building is a rectangle with no windows to be seen apart from its entrance, glowing with strange lights and surrounded by transparent purple water. A stone Raphael threw into the water sank to the bottom unharmed. On a later visit the building had turned pitch black, its colour changing over time. Crossing the narrow moat brings a shiver, and after the door is knocked it opens on its own.^{1 3}

Picolo, who had once been inside, told Raphael that he would need a real and lawful reason to enter. There are no visible guards, he said, but the mages within are quick, and if they read a visitor's mind any plan will come to light, so he advised thorough disguise and a harmless manner. He also pointed to the merchant Sirius, keeper of a shop of wonders, as someone with access to the embassy.^{4 5 6}

Inside

The entrance hall is round, with a white marble floor, obsidian walls, and a table and chair floating in the air without legs. A robed attendant sitting there greeted Raphael by name: he had learned it as Raphael passed the door, he said, but could not learn where and when he was born. The attendant took the blade Raphael had brought for approval and sent him to wait.^{7 8}

The waiting room holds a hearth of green fire and a dozen or so small tables. Doors open by themselves as one approaches, and hot tea and biscuits keep appearing beside whichever table a visitor sits at, renewed in a different colour once eaten. High windows look out not on the city but on a flat green meadow with birdsong.^{9 10}

Behind one door a mechanical whirring led to a great room where belts and pulleys carry small cages through holes in the walls, ceiling and floor. A crystal sits at the centre of the machinery, and there is no sign of fuel or steam.^{11 12}

Beyond lies a broad corridor lined with suits of armour gripping swords, a dead end whose wall a hand can pass through, and a circular gallery of glass cases holding staffs, scrolls, necklaces and other precious-looking objects. At the end is Siyah's study, with a great table, papers, a large book and two orbs set on holders shaped like dragon claws and vines, one glowing purple. Siyah told Raphael that he had passed through the right doors by luck, and that someone who wanders the building may be lost and never found.^{13 14 15}

Siyah stressed that he was the only one living in the building, leaving open what the other attendants are.¹⁶

Later visits

On a later visit the attendant again offered tea, the hearth fire turned green, and Raphael found himself speaking with Siyah through the flames although the wizard was not in the room. A week after that, crossing the moat brought on a fierce itching for about a minute, and the attendant reported that Siyah was not available to see him.^{17 18 19}