Mentora

Mentora is the City of First Arrivals. It is designed entirely for the stranger, the novice, the one who does not know the way. The city gates are wide and unguarded. Upon entering, the traveler is not met by soldiers or tax collectors, but by "Guides" who wear simple robes and carry no weapons. The architecture of Mentora is built without sharp edges; the streets are lit by a soft, uniform light that banishes all shadows where fear might hide.

There are no locked doors in Mentora. The citizens operate on a strict code of "Psychological Safety," which mandates that no question is too foolish to ask. In the great workshops, masters work alongside apprentices, but it is forbidden for the master to hold a tool that the apprentice cannot also touch. The "Ego" is considered a contraband item, confiscated at the border and thrown into the fire. The city believes that knowledge is a fluid that must be poured from one vessel to another without spilling a drop.

However, Mentora is also a city of transit. It is not a place to stay forever. The goal of the city is to make the traveler strong enough to leave it. Once the apprentice has learned the map, they are gently pushed out the back gate, into the wilder, harsher cities beyond, carrying only the memory of a place where it was safe to be wrong.