Discovering Qasala: a Guide to the Lost City

Do not panic, because all those destinations have this sense of déja vu, and you would not impress a Cooty with your stories. Therefore, the hip destination in Year 7 is the noble and ancient city of Qasala.

Chapter 1: What is Qasala?

Qasala was founded about two thousand years ago, by a clan of desert nomads named the Qasl clan, also known as Qasalans. Due to quarrels between the Sakhmetians and this clan, they had to leave to the East, where Sakhmet now stands.

However, it seemed like the Sakhmetians did not appreciate the presence of those bohemians, even though they only stayed around for a few months every year. Therefore, the Qasl clan had to quit their bohemian ways and settle in another territory, Qasala.

After a few months of exploration, they settled in a plain, surrounded by numerous oases to the south west of Sakhmet. Now a sedentary population, the Qasl started to grow fruits such as the ever-popular Qando fruit, as well as some Pleto Melons and Rhuby Fruits. They also started to breed some desert petpets, namely large Apis for travelling and Horus for message delivery.

The Qasalans were not the rude and violent rogues Sakhmet citizens were scared of. In fact, Qasl were known for their pacifistic nature and love of knowledge. Many ancient Qasl studies about petpets and fruits were recently found, and were, in fact, quite reliable. However, just because they were not as violent as some other nomad populations does not mean they could not defend themselves.

Chapter 2: What happened in Qasala?

According to the archaeological proofs found recently, the first centuries of the city were quite interesting. The Royal family of Qasala, namely Berniz the Second, managed to do a lot of diplomatic work with neighboring kingdoms, such as commercial deals with Sakhmet and other desert cities. Berniz the Second was also known for being the instigator of the Nomad Truces.

However, after Berniz's death, his son Razul, a powerful wizard, broke every treaty signed by his father, and the once prosperous city of Qasala became affected with illnesses, poverty, withering crops of Qando fruits and the death of numerous petpets. The death of Razul did not liberate the city from his power-hungry hands. In fact, to grant himself immortality, he cursed the once-proud Qasl population into an immortal, yet doomed, half-life. They were now cursed into the form of evil spirits, forever chained to the ruins of Qasala.

For one thousand years, most people forgot about the city of Qasala. Until, one day, someone claiming to be Prince Jazan arrived to Sakhmet, to marry the Princess of Sakhmet. This article was part of a diplomatic deal, signed by Coltzan the First from Sakhmet and Berniz the Second from Qasala. However, the crown princess of Sakhmet, Amira, refused to marry him, which made Jazan send the city of Sakhmet into a parallel universe.

The Prince of Qasala returned to the destroyed kingdom, when two pillagers, named Tomos and Nabile found the city. They later discovered the story of the beautiful city therefore, saving the city of Sakhmet, which was getting burnt to a crisp by Scordrax, with a surprising wedding. However, a couple of weeks later, the evil King Razul was freed from his cell, ready to destroy the city of Sakhmet and the rest of Neopia soon after. Finally, the evil king was sent back to the fire pits of DOOM from whence he came by Jazan, who was given the title of hero. The curse was finally broken!

Chapter 3: What can you do in Qasala?

Now freshly rebuilt, the city of Qasala is more beautiful than ever. First, stop at the Qasalan Delights, where you can taste the unique taste of Qando fruit recipes, such as the Qasalan Cone, the ultimate blend of fire and ice made from Terror Mountain imported vanilla ice cream and Qando fruit, or the yummy Spirit of the Ruins fizz, a mixture of Pleto Melon juice, Qando fruit punch, and a little fire faerie magic.

You can also test your knowledge by reading the numerous Qasalan scrolls available at the Words of Antiquity. Those scrolls are mainly transcripts of the ancient stone tablets that you can carry at home, or anywhere else. And, if you would rather Battledome than try to make sense out of old scrolls, perhaps the Qasalan armory has what you need.

Other activities involve walking around the fountains of the main market. (Did you know that the water from these fountains was drained from neighboring oasis, with phenomenal machinery? It is in fact, quite hard to install this kind of machinery into sand.) You can also pick some Qando fruits or ride Apis near the city, for a more than modest fee.

Chapter 4: Qasala inhabitants, what to do and not do with them

First, the Qasl population is a really proud society. They are proud of their city, and you should tell them how beautiful the city is. They also love to learn things (You'd love to learn stuff too, if you were cursed for a thousand years) from the other Neopian worlds. They are quite open-minded about other cultures. However, they are also a little bit *too* proud, so do not tell them than their way of doing business is incorrect.

Qasalans will usually welcome you into their tents with a bowl of Qando juice and a cup of Lemwart syrup. Normal etiquette should tell you not to drink the Lemwart juice or dip your feathers/claws/fins into the Qando juice.

And, once last thing. No jokes about swarms of undead. I mean it.

In conclusion, I hope this guide to Qasala is useful to you. Good luck, always carry a hat, and be careful around giant spyders.