Varchas
"The Mirrored City, where Light was always the Law..."
"They worship the sun in Varchas, and have banished darkness from the city."
"The city is a beacon against the tree-hushed, sprawling darkness of the Elder Continent. In the far distance a vast mountain glimmers."
Varchas is a city of light and mirrors on the Elder Continent. Its inhabitants all seem to be scared of the dark. They believe that darkness does something similar to stealing one's soul, in that it "joins" those exposed to it to the name-stealing god Taamas. As a result, the Varchasi worship Mihir, goddess of light, and they only let people from darker parts of the Neath stay in Varchas for one day at a time. They believe the reason they fell into the neath is because Mihir lost them. The massive amount of light they produce will also help her find them again.
The entire city is constantly illuminated by candles and mirrors. The Varchasi are well aware of the presence of the Fingerkings, who seek to escape through, well, basically any surface in Varchas. As such, it is advised that one tries not to dream or touch the mirrors (or eat meat - that's forbidden as well). For sleeping, they peddle sigil-marked snakeskin charms that either keep the Fingerkings away or prevent the dreamer from remembering them after an encounter.
When the Fingerkings do possess an individual, the poor soul is simply locked away from mirrors. They are given food and water to survive, and even kept in the light, despite the cost of this.
The people of Varchas are forbidden to tell fictional or exaggerated stories, possibly due to the Fingerkings, and the leaders wanting the people to have a firm hold on what is real.
