Geography and Psychetecture of Spire City

The Geography of Spire City

History

To understand the nature of Spire City, one must understand its history. Like most of the major cities in Adylheim its history stretches well beyond that of the Empire, it is one event which defines the city more than any other though. During the Mage Wars in 2954 as the Eiderdown campaign was drawing to a close the city was one of those who suffered through a serious battle. Much of the city was destroyed in the fighting and the fires and a particularly nasty storm took care of what was left. At the close of the Mage Wars Arion II commanded the resurrection of Spire City and sent his best architects to rebuild of the city. It had, up till that point, been used as a stronghold against barbarian invasions and he was looking to return it to using it once more to keep the coast clear of barbarian raiders.

The architects which came to Spire City decided to do something more ambitious than just restoring the city to its former glory. The ten of them, all priests of Periap-Thon decided that they would create something fitting of a stronghold. They spent months creating the layout of a city that would, once it was constructed, not be merely another city, but a prayer to the warrior god Therium made in stone and brick. As part of the sacred geometry they used to create the city, the tenth architect gave up his life for the city, and the nine others buried him alive under the foundation of the central building in Spire City. The Nine Unknown Architects as they are known built a city unlike any other, using the most modern construction techniques they created a city where the enemy would break like water on its massive walls.

Priests of Therium were sent to bless the walls, priests of Adienna the massive gates. And even back then they created the Book of the City, a lengthy three hundred page tome filled with instructions for how to continue building the city, what could be changed, what could not. The city's powerful prayer and its powerful walls were both said to guard against attackers, and throughout the Great Snake War and the later clashes with Imperial Forces the city was never taken by force. Even the mighty Naga had to bow before the power of the walls of Spire City, where every stone contained a prayer to Therium for strength.

Since that time, architects have continued to improve on Spire City from their temple to Periap-Thon in one of the five Spires that surround the city. The architects of Spire City have been noted as being among the more accomplished in Adylheim with a level of artistry and skill rarely seen elsewhere. One unforeseen consequence of their strange architecture is that the Spire City is more plagued by ghosts, shudders and similar strange phenomena than any other city in Adylheim.

It should be noted that the satellite town of Rivertown was built somewhat later, almost as an afterthought and lacks the same qualities as the rest of Spire City with the buildings largely consisting of wood and often acts as something of a playground for the more adventurous architects. Rumours even suggest that the architects are behind the fires which plague Rivertown as they inevitably end up being the ones ordained to rebuild it.

Location

Spire City is largely built on top of a shallow topsoil, beneath which lies a solid foundation of granite. This has both served as solid foundation on which to build houses and made creating basements something of a trial. It is located in a natural amphitheatre, with a large hillock surrounding the majority of the city, before it drops off into a cliff that goes almost straight into the ocean.

The ocean cliffs have been noted as being extremely treacherous for approaching ships and more than one has broken their hulls on the jagged rocks. All attempts at piloting ships among the many reefs and shoals of the cliffs have ended in disaster for the ships. The one exception is the famed pilot Harald Haldfast who managed to pilot a small cog through the jagged waters one stormy night and come out on the other side alone. There are those in Spire City who make a living climbing down the cliffs at low tide to collect treasures from the grounded ships. A competition is also held annually at the 33rd of Theriumnus, where the strongest swimmers in the city brave their lives swimming from one side of the city to the other, the winner is generally a prize by the Archduke himself.

On top of the hillock is what is called the Ridge and the Five Spires of Therium. The Five Spires of Therium are large natural rock formations that rise high into the sky and give the city its name. The five spires have been connected by a massive wall where, according to legend, every stone has been engraved with a prayer to Therium for strength.

With the blatant undesirability of the cliffs as a harbour, the city has been forced to create the smaller Rivertown, which serves as a harbour for ships where the Tharen spills out into the Great Sea. Even so, the Guild of Pilots, located in Rivertown do a brisk business in ensuring that ships make it in and out of harbour safely. Rivertown remains a satellite of Spire City though, with little connecting it except a walled road on which carts can travel. Travellers occasionally set up tents on the plains between Rivertown and the city proper.

Districts

Spire City is generally split into three obvious districts, the Ridge, the Bowl and Rivertown. Each has its own distinguishing features and serves a unique function within the city.

The Ridge

The Ridge is where the most expensive manors and palaces in Spire City can be found, unlike the rest of the city it contains an expansive collection of small parks. While most of the rich and mighty in Spire City can be found up here, they are far from the only ones who populate this hilltop. Certainly the Ridge has the lowest populace compared to the space used of anywhere in the city, it is also home to its most important temples and the Five Spires of Therium.

Connecting the Ridge to the Bowl is a steep hill on which several buildings (against all common sense) have been constructed. The hill is also home to several run offs where the sewers that have been installed among the rich run down into a series of pools in the Bowl as well as a series of staircases and paths which allow access to and from the Ridge from the Bowl.

The Bowl

The Bowl is where most of the common people of the city can be found. The various merchant districts can be found here, with artisans and merchants clumping together, leading to street names such as Tailor Street, Cobbler's Perch, Blacksmith's Alley being common. Most of the guilds in the city can be found here, as well as the majority of the building necessary for the governance of the city.

Near the edge of the Ridge only the poorest will generally be found as the open cesspits which collect the waste that is collected in the sewers among the rich will generally stink and (in strong wind) waft down onto those walking nearby.

While the Bowl is bordered to the north and east by the Ridge, the Bowl has its back to the Great Sea, with steep cliffs leading to ocean reefs to the west and the tall city walls offering a border to the south.

Rivertown

Rivertown lies south of Spire City proper, forming something of a satellite town. It is connected to the city proper by a short walled road which leads to the southern walls of Spire City. Unlike the rest of the city, Rivertown is primarily built in wood, and is generally considered to be the chink in the armour of Spire City. As such most vital industries are generally kept out of Rivertown, though situated as it is on the banks of the Tharen it serves as the harbour of Spire City and a good deal out of the outgoing and incoming trade goes through Rivertown. Unlike the rest of Spire City, Rivertown enjoys an atmosphere of relative freedom, if not free of, then certainly not as marked by the presence of the Red Guard and the city watch.

Rivertown has historically had its own magistrate and slightly more lax policing than the city proper. Of course this has not stopped the Archduke from keeping a tight eye on all goods going in and out. All of which are subject to the Archduke's taxation and a toll is paid on all outgoing and incoming goods.

Despite being saddled with the less desirable artisans and crafts, Rivertown is nevertheless home to several famed guilds. Foremost among which is without a doubt the Guild of Pilots, who are responsible for ensuring that ships make the journey to harbour without incident. An occasionally tricky procedure in the treacherous waters around Spire City. The Hammers, whose task it is to keep the harbour free of ice in the winter are another famous guild, although their actual power in the city is miniscule they are generally looked at as brave by the general populace.

Of course, Rivertown would not be Rivertown without the Fragrant Quarter, where the tanners have made their home, exiled as they are from the main city they have to ply their smelly trade in Rivertown, creating the Fragrant Quarter where precious few tread voluntarily.

The Spires

The Five Spires of Therium are without a doubt the most central feature of the city and the feature for which it has been named. The Spires are naturally occurring rock features and have through many hundred years been carefully hollowed out and reinforced to achieve their present state. As one might guess from the name there are five in total, with each one incorporated into the city wall.

The Spirehold

Central to the city and the largest fortress in the city is the fortress of the Archduke, it's located at where two of the spires, Power and Skill respectively meet and are is generally considered to be one of the strongest fortresses in Starkwater. It's guarded at all times by the Archduke's most trusted personal guard.

The Magorg Spire

The Magorgs have, with the Archduke's blessing, occupied the spire of Strength. It sits just north of the Archduke's Fortress.

The Church of Therium

The Church of Therium has always been located in the spire of Belief, it is the northernmost of the Spires and overlooks the majority of the city. The head priest there is generally considered to be the most influential religious figure in Starkwater. From the spire of Belief comes the proud Paladins of Therium, warriorpriests of such skill that they are feared throughout most of Adylheim, they are usually the ones chosen to fight at the Ice Arena every year.

The Church of Periap-Thon

The smallest of the spires is the southernmost of the spires, the spire of Honour. It is the home to the Sacred Architects, a cult of worshippers of Periap-Thon who specialise in architecture and are known across Adylheim for their skill. They are especially known for what is called the architecture of illusion, the implementation of optical illusions to make rooms look different from what they are and to hide what is really there.

They are also the keepers of the Book of the City, the tome with which the Nine Unknown Architects described what can and cannot be built in Spire City. They are the ultimate mediators in all things related to construction and it is said that no one keeps as accurate a map of the city as they do.

The City Walls

The City Walls of Spire City are among the tallest and strongest in all of Adylheim, it has weathered assaults by many armies, though most are discouraged by the mere reputation of the city. Each of the individual stone blocks used in its construction has been carefully engraved with a prayer to Therium on the side which faces away from the outside, so exposure to the elements will not wear it down. The wall itself is considered sacred to soldiers and many perform a ritual where they write their prayer on the wall in chalk and then sprinkle chicken blood on the wall before going to war.

In addition to its stout construction the wall is built on top of an incline which requires all assailants to jog up a hill to get to the wall. The city wall also integrates the Five Spires of Therium into its make up, the five of them forming secure points along the circumference. On the southern side of the city, the wall is at its weakest, with no connecting spires and having to cross a relatively flat area of land. Despite this, it remains a formidable obstacle for any army.

The wall has an even weaker section, which is generally left unguarded, which protects the eastern approach of the road to Rivertown. The wall protecting Rivertown isn't nearly as formidable as the one that protects Spire City proper, it's of medium height and lacks the natural advantages the one in Spire City has as it is located on relatively flat land.

Architecture

The architects of Spire City have continuously tweaked the city's many buildings to make sure that they are as modern and useful as possible. They have always made use of the sloped roofs, however, as dictated by the weather. The majority of the city is built so with pointed arches, ribbed vaulting and elaborate sculptures, while this is not true everywhere, the city is constantly being built and rebuilt piece by piece as new and interesting architectural techniques are discovered and utilised.

The architects of Spire City are known especially for their architecture of illusion, however, and there no other cities in Adylheim where there can be found so many hidden or secret passages and alleyways which are not visible except to the trained eye. The many strange architectural quirks of Spire City has lead it to be one of the more dangerous places to travel.

The Undercity

Situated as it is on granite, it is difficult for there to be much underground construction in Spire City. Despite this, there has been a temple to Maadrth beneath Spire City since time immemorial, the Nine Unknown Architects were said to have made a deal with them, fashioning their tunnels into an architectural prayer to the God of the Deep Earth. In return the priests that lived beneath the city allowed the construction of a sewer system, as well as the many wells and fountains that feed the city’s need for water.

Over the years many of those who wanted to have their movements go unnoticed have noted that the structure of the underground tunnels which are part of the temple of Maadrth change. The constantly shifting tunnels of the underground of Spire City are said to be impossible to map. Whatever strange influence the Priests of Maadrth have over the tunnels beneath the city seems to confuse more than just those few who dare to step into them.

The Sea of Ormund

Located deep beneath the city is the a giant cavern with the city's water supply. A large freshwater lake which is jealously guarded by the priests of Maadrth. It is said that the priests of Periap-Thon have created a vast machinery which allows the spread of the water to all the various locations in Spire City and a large statue to honour the god and his role in creating the city can be found in the middle of the sea. Apart from the Tharen, which feeds the fresh water needs of Rivertown, Spire City relies on this underground lake for their drinking water.

Club Noir

Club Noir is the definition of an underground establishment. It's not illegal by any means but its location beneath the city has a tendency to make it something of a hotspot for strange magical happenings and conspiracies. Most wizards know well enough to avoid it and its occupants.

The Temple of Maadrth

The majority of the tunnels beneath Spire City are said to be directly connected to the Temple of Maadrth. They stretch and tangle with other tunnels beneath the city, theoretically one could walk from one side of the city to another through the underground tunnels, but the temple is said to shift and change, no map has ever been created of the underground tunnels and no guides exist, according to those who have travelled there, the mere act of trying to map the underground tunnels is futile and bad luck to boot.

The Throne of Afterlife

The denizens of Spire City have two ways of dealing with their dead, the first and cheapest is the Throne of Afterlife, it consists of a large stone slab in a vault beneath the city itself. Bodies are left on this stone slab by and a priest of Maia generally says a few words before they leave.

Once the ceremony is done the mourners leave the vault and close the door behind themselves. Those few who have dared to stay behind after the doors close returned gibbering madly and covered in scratches, never daring to tell the tale of what happened. When the doors are opened again though, any bodies left behind are gone, leaving little but small pools of blood to suggest they had ever been there in the first place. Small collections of skulls and bones from people can be found strewn throughout the tunnels beneath Spire City, even incorporated into the stonework.

The Five Guardians

There are five statues which can be seen throughout the tunnels in Spire City, though they are never found in the same place twice. They are known collectively as the Five Guardians and seeing all of them together is supposed to be a very good omen. The Five are, the Piper, the Knight, the Lady, the Pillar and the Philosopher.

Each of the five serve different functions, with the Piper, a woman playing a set of pipes, generally being a sign that you’re on the right path, whereas the Lady, a statue of a woman without a face, can be bad luck although according to the legends she can be placated with gifts of jewellery. The Knight, a statue of a man in full armour and holding a sword, is considered to be a warning of bad things to come. The Pillar is the most ambiguous being a standing stone covered in strange, cryptic messages that no one understands, and which change between each time it’s encountered, the Pillar’s presence can be both good luck and bad, but generally shows great changes coming. The final statue, the Philosopher, is the least seen of the five and consist of a man with three heads, according to the legends, leaving him with a question will cause you to have it answered by the time you leave the city.

The Bull’s Chain

The Bull’s Chain is a giant link in a chain which can be found in one of the caves beneath Spire City. Many believe it is sacred to Maadrth and part of the chain which ties him beneath the ground. Those who stumble across it often leave small offerings at the point where the chain touches the ground. Some even dare to try to cut the chain, but while many have tried to cut the chain, nothing that has been tried has left so much as a scratch on the surface.

Ghost And Paranormal Sites

Perhaps as a result of its construction, Spire City is home to more ghost activity and powerful paranormal phenomena than any other large city.

Charnel Street

It is generally considered to be a very bad idea to walk across Charnel Street at night, as on occasion ghost hands come out of the pavement, trying vainly to pull whoever is walking down. While there are no recorded instances of anyone being pulled down through the pavement, those who have fallen have spoken of seconds turning into years as they relive their worst nightmares on the hard pavement of Spire City.

The Grey Lady

The Grey Lady is one of the more famous ghosts in Spire City, every Spirit's Night she walks out to the cliffs of the city. According to the legends surrounding her, she's looking for her lover to return from the sea. Some say she is the ghost of a noblewoman, some say she is a rich merchant's widow. Regardless of the truth of the matter, she is there every Spirit's Night, watching the sea for her lover to return.

Brave divers occasionally foray into the waters below Spire City and bring back precious grey pearls which are said to be the tears of the Grey Lady and are said to enhance the beauty of those who wear them.

The Risen Gambler

The Risen Gambler is said to be the ghost of a man who loved gambling a little too much, one day when the plague visited Spire City he found himself gambling with the recently dead and when he lost they took his life. He is said to frequent card and dice games throughout the city, and often joins games that start at midnight. Losing against the Gambler means forfeiting one's life, but the potential reward is said to be just as great as the Gambler knows the secrets of where a great many forgotten treasures in the city are hidden.

The Sanitorium

The Sanitorium is said to be the last resting place of the Nine Unknown Architects, and also where they left many of their secrets for those who would dare to find them. It is also where they did some of their most controversial work and no one has dared change this house since then. Something about the way the architecture has been applied to the house makes the whole place subtly wrong to the naked eye. Wizards, sensitives and others attuned to the stranger senses get excruciating headaches just by going near it.

The architecture seems to defy any kind of organisation, the lines do not meet where they’re supposed to, the angles go wider than one might think possible. Ghost activity is stronger near the Sanitorium than anywhere else, and few choose to live close to it if they can avoid it.

The Statues of Tharen

Standing silent vigil over the Tharen are a series of statues, some buried in the river's silt, others standing proudly on the river banks. Each statue is of a man who stands and looks into the running water of the Tharen. According to legends, the statues have been there longer than the city itself, and it is believed that leaving small offerings to the statues will keep your boat from being lost in the river currents. As such, the statues are often adorned with small necklaces and surrounded by offerings of various kinds. No one admits to sculpting new statues, though new ones do occasionally appear. They are said to be the souls of people who have drowned in the river and on the first of Maius, they move from their silent vigil and those who dare can even ask them for advice. One thing is for sure, bad luck has befallen all who have dared to move or destroy any of the statues.

The Tenth Architect

One of the most famous ghosts of Spire City is that of one of its founding fathers. The tenth architect is said to haunt the many buildings of the city, writing copious notes on the walls for improvements and alterations that need to be made. While seeing the tenth architect is said to be good luck, the buildings he haunts tend to need to be altered according to his wishes as soon as possible or bad luck will befall the house and anyone living there.

Landmarks

The Cliffside Pyre

There is, in Spire City, one way in which the rich dispose of their dead, and that way is the Cliffside Pyre. It’s a pagoda overhanging the seaside cliffs. Here the bodies are turned to ash in a blazing fire, the ashes of which are dumped into the sea. It is tended by a small cult of priests of Maia who charge a pretty penny for the use of their services.

Sanctuary of Erina

At the bottom of the sea cliffs lies a temple cut out of the very stone itself. When the weather gets bad it frequently gets flooded and lashed by the waves, but the priests of Erina who preach there retain the sanctuary regardless. It is a place of solemn worship where the priests meditate and listen to the messages parlayed by the crashing waves. The only way to get to the sanctuary is to climb down a treacherous stairway which has claimed more than one life. Inside the sanctuary though, the only justice which is accepted is that of Erina.

Despite this, criminals and the wrongly accused rarely choose to make a dash for the Sanctuary, as throwing oneself at Erina’s mercy rarely ends well. Most who claim the sanctuary of Erina for more than a few hours have ended up drowned.

The Whispering Well

Located roughly in the middle of Spire City the Whispering Well is a deep, brickfaced well, filled with small holes. It gets its name from the sound one can hear when stuck in the well. From the many small holes in the well’s sides can be heard a susurrus of voices from all across the city. Trying to single out any one conversation is near impossible, but there have been many who have tried. The Whispering Well has a tendency to flood during rainstorms, and fill up in winter, which makes it treacherous for most who would try to listen in on conversations.

Townbridge

Townbridge is a massive bridge which runs from the eastern gates of the city and down into the bowl. It’s constructed entirely out of stone and many homes and buildings have been built into and under the massive bridge. It serves the function of working as a cart path between the Bowl and the Ridge. While there are a couple of others, most of these are much more time consuming and difficult to traverse than Townbridge, making it one of the most traffic congested places in the city.

Geography of Adylheim

Adylheim is a loose confederacy of seven fiefdoms with no one fiefdom having risen to a greater level of power than any of the others. The northern fiefdoms are characterized by rugged terrain, which grows flatter in the southern areas. Each fiefdom is held by a noble of some manner who is continually striving to expand his domain at the expense of others. Given that Adylheim is encapsulated by hostile terrain this is a zero sum game, with each expansion at the cost of a neighbour.

Statistics and Information

The main staple of Adylheim is grain. The peasants who make up the majority of the population do not really care all that much for who owns the land and only really complain when increased taxes are moved their way. Taxes are generally paid in produce, which is converted into money in nearby cities.

Cities can generally be found in three sizes. Small cities have populations less than 2,000, and medium sized cities have populations between 2,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. Large cities have populations which exceed 10,000 citizens. The largest city in Adylheim is Aram, which contains almost up to 100,000 inhabitants. Cities require a steady influx of people from the rural areas to join them in order to maintain their size. This is due to the high mortality rates and poor birth rates.

The Fiefdoms in Brief

Arameia is the largest and arguably the most powerful fiefdom. Arameia is divided into two parts, the Highlands and the Heartlands. The capitol of Arameia is Aram, which is the largest city in Adylheim and one of only three to have a university. Unfortunately Arameia's leader, the Prelate of Luxor, has relatively limited control of the outskirts of his fiefdom. His military strengths are tied up in the Highlands conflict with Starkwater and protecting the immediate vicinity of the capital, leaving him relatively shaky control thoughtout the rest of the fiefdom.

The Archduchy of Starkwater is one of the Northern fiefdoms and as such is heavily militarized and known for its ambitions towards the Arameian Highlands. The Archdukes of Starkwater have been known for ruling with an iron fist, their lands are often heavily taxed and in addition to border raids peasant insurrections are a common phenomenon.

The Principality of Nevros is another northern fiefdom and remains heavily militarized, guarding its borders both against the northern raids and the Ogres. They are very isolationist in their principles, preferring not to take stands in conflicts with others. Their military is reckoned to be one of the strongest in the fiefdoms despite this stance, but it is heavily tied up in border defences. Its capital is Alden.

The Barony of Longmoor is arguably the poorest of the fiefdoms, lacking in much of any resource and prone to border raids from Ogres. They survive mainly by playing the Ogre tribes against each other. This swamp infested fiefdom has little to offer in the way of exports.

The Kingdom of Nerin is one of the wealthier fiefdoms. They are largely untroubled by border raids and though they do not trade with the Dae’vol, they enjoy an abundance of natural resources which allow them to maintain a limited military.

The Kingdom of Andragoria is the wealthiest of the two southern fiefdoms, with rich natural resources and an extensive trade with the elusive Dae’vol. The Andragorians have a supreme grasp of culture and wit. It is their capitol of Nander which is the second largest city in Adylheim, with a population of 70,000 and one of the three cities that has a university.

The Grand Barony of Teslan is the smallest of the fiefdoms and the one with the second largest naval fleet. The Teslans are nevertheless renowned for their advances and have some of the best Artificers. Teslan is generally known to have the largest library and best university in their capitol city of Salen.

Geography of Aram

This article details a lot of the architectural features of Aram and how they came to be the way they are today.

The Foundations of Aram

Aram was built on six hills, five of which are to the north of the Ellum, the river which crosses through the southern part of the city. The main city has always been north of the Ellum, with the administration and important buildings having always been located there. South of the Ellum, the Dolhum hill and the docks make up most of the markets and trade in Aram.

Aram stretches out over much more territory than the people can actually inhabit, the majority of the city is made up of ruins of ancient buildings that no one can afford to live in or maintain anymore.

History of Aram

First of all, to understand the geography of Aram, you have to understand the history of Aram. Long before Alexandrios I managed to forge the Arameian Empire from separate city states and kingdoms, it was a city. Originally it was built on the Priman hill, the northwesternmost of six nearby hills. As the kingdom built by Alexandrios forefathers grew it expanded creating the first city walls just surrounding the hill and creating the dock that is now known as the Imperial Docks north of the Ellum.

With the advent of the Arameian Empire, there was a need to expand the city to fit the new hordes of immigrants that came to be part of the capitol. Aram became a testbed for new technologies and a place for the Emperors to show their might through impressive feats of engineering. The city spread beyond Priman, being bound by the shape of the land, they expanded on the northern side of the Ellum, keeping their walls against the river, for even in his capitol an Emperor was not always safe from attack. The two hills to the east of Priman, Darmen and Ormen were now incapsulated by the new city walls and prestigious building projects started within this new city. The impressive Imperial Cistern, known as Alexandrios' Lake was built between Darmen and Priman as a place to store emergency reserves of water in case of siege.

By the time of Alexandrios IV the impressive imperial palace now stretched over the majority of Priman and the old city had been swallowed up by it, becoming known now as the Imperial Quarter. A huge bridge, known as the Royal Highway was created, creating a flat, even way to the lower elevation of Darmen allowing supplies to enter the palace and the officials within.

It wasn't long before the officials were thrown out of the palace itself, moving the administration of both the city and the empire to the outlying city. Indeed, it wasn't long after that that the city itself saw fit to expand again, creating Southbridge and Eastbridge to join the hill Dolhum, to the south of the Ellum, expanding the city walls for the second time. At the height of the empire, the city of Aram held over a half a million inhabitants and the city walls had been expanded six times to fit the needs of the growing population.

Each emperor tried to bring their own touch to the city with new buildings, a tradition which continued with only the slight pause during the time of the Moon Emperors, who chose Nander as their capitol for almost 300 years. Two additional hills, Theriuman and Arthiuman, named after the twin gods of warfare, were added to the city itself.

The Ghost Town

The Ghost Town is what the inhabitants of Aram generally refer to the uninhabited parts of Aram as. It's a large part of the ancient city that is now inhabited only by crumbling ruins. For generations the citizens of Aram have gone through these buildings pillaging what they need for new building materials from these structures. This process has not helped their structural integrity much and it's generally considered dangerous to wander around in the Ghost Town. Wild packs of dogs and other more feral animals have also been known to wander these streets where humans no longer gather, making them dangerous to the idle wanderer.

Quarries

Always important to the building of the city of Aram was the limestone it was built on. While many more expensive building materials were imported from across the empire, the main building material remains limestone.

As a result of the need for limestone meant an expansive series of manmade caverns beneath the city. These tunnels are usually small, with little room for moving. These tunnels are deep beneath the city and small buildings across the city offered entrance to them via a series of ladders, in current times these ladders have often either been removed or rotted away, some have been fixed with ropes or new ladders, but most remain simply holes going down as deep as 60 metres (200 feet) below Aram, with the tunnels themselves going down much further. Often there is little more than a crawlspace connecting these tunnels, some have been expanded on later or added to and used as storage space. Others have later gone in and changed the tunnels by bricking them up to prevent access to certain portions. The constant use and alteration of these tunnels means that any map rarely stays relevant for more than a few years.

Since the decline of Aram and the fall of the Arameian Empire no one has mined limestone there though others have taken imaginative use of these old tunnels. It is, of course, dangerous to travel around in them as their maze like structure means that without a torch or other source of light the likelihood of never finding your way back is great. This has not stopped breweries, smugglers, merchants and others from using them as storage space and escape routes. It has even connected into old cellars and buildings which the city has slowly built on top of, creating pockets and accesses to this vast network all over Aram. Some of the deeper quarry tunnels have been flooded by water, requiring the use of boats or swimming to reach parts of the tunnels.

Waterworks

The Sewers

Like much of Aram, the sewers were not built all in one piece. The first sewer tunnelled off parts of the Ellum just east of Southbridge, tunneling deep beneath Priman to and feeding out north of the Imperial Docks. This sewer is generally known as the Great Sewer, and is lined with marble and limestone. Originally, parts of it was open to the air, but the need for more buildings in Aram meant that they installed arches into the sewer and placed buildings on top of it. Whereas the rest is known as the Lesser Sewer.

The Lesser Sewer stretches across much of northeastern Aram, with the sewer getting water from the Ellum just south of Ormen and heading north going around Ormen and right through Darmen in what is known as the East Close, two major lines going off the East close known as the North and South Close meet up with the Greater Sewer beneath Priman. Like the Greater Sewer parts of the Lesser Sewer was also open to the air, but as the city expanded it needed the room and these sewers became built over to make room for new buildings.

The rest of the city was not as lucky and filth and sewage was generally just thrown into the street to be washed away by the rain. On rainy days this meant that sometimes the filth would wash up into those living at ground level, the rich therefore generally ended up living in places where there were sewers or elevations to keep the filth flowing down to someone else.

The Cisterns

The sewers were far from the only way the city utilised the water of the Ellum. A series of cisterns and basins were built across the city to store and purify water which was later pumped to various bath houses and fountains and wells throughout the city all of which are completely submerged. The Priesthood of Erina are the protectors and ultimately the keepers of these sites, the three cisterns and four basins are protected and kept by them to this day when most others have forgotten their very existence.

The largest of the cisterns, Alexandrios' Lake is situated between Darmen and Priman, serving as a emergency water supply to the Imperial Quarter and what is now the centre of the city. It is rarely used these days, though the priests of Erina often make use of this vast, underground lake to hold their rituals and rites. The roof above it is supported by monstrous pillars that are always, at least partially, submerged in water. Of the two other cisterns that were built in Aram only one survives, the cistern built south of the Ellum collapsed after the fall of the Empire, bringing down the tower that had been built on top of it.

The other remaining cistern, the smallest of the three is the Symonian Cistern, built by Symon III, if it weren't feeding the public baths most of the time, it might too have been forgotten. It is still in use though, still feeding what is left of the baths and working as a water reservoir.

The Basins

The Basins are a series of four basins spread throughout Aram, one of which is no longer in use as they are part of the Ghost Town. These basins extract and purify rain water from the ground around them, ensuring that the foundation on which Aram is built remains relatively solid even during heavy rains and also serving as a water source. They are maintained by the order of Erina.

The Docks

Imperial Docks/North Docks

The Imperial Dock was the first dock that was built in Aram and it stretched from the bank of the Ellum north to the city walls. Back before Aram expanded south of the Ellum it was primarily known simply as the Docks. Compared to the later South Docks it was relatively small in size and as the city grew, it became obvious that it needed a larger dock.

As Aram grew, the importance of the North Docks dwindled and it became the Imperial Docks, holding only the most important imperial warships and was largely confined to the imperial courts' ships. When the empire fell, however, the docks largely fell out of use and these days the wooden jetties have largely rotted away and the are has fallen out of use, excepting the odd small craft needing to sneak into Aram without being seen. After the fall of the empire it is also generally referred to as the North Docks, eschewing its imperial title.

South Docks

The second dock of Aram is vastly greater than the North Docks and remains in use. This is where the city of Aram expanded after it outgrew its first docks. It stretches south of the Ellum, reaching all the way down to the ruins of the city walls, though the southern half of the docks is rarely used anymore and little maintenance is kept up on it.

Despite the decrease in traffic from the imperial days, Aram remains the busiest port in Adylheim and the traffic there outmatches that seen in any other city, with ships leaving daily. It is a hub of trading, the area near the docks also serves as the southernmost point of the inhabited parts of Aram, serving as a haven for sailors and other lowlives it is without a doubt the rowdiest and most lawless part of the city.

Landmarks

The Temple to Luxor

The Temple to Luxor is quite possibly the largest structure left intact and inhabited in Aram. It sits roughly in the middle of the better half of the current Aram with the huge temple sitting in front of an impressive courtyard lined by worn down statues of ancient emperors in various states of decay, all paying homage to Luxor. The golden dome of the temple of Luxor is known throughout Adylheim and it serves as both a show of force and as an administrative centre for Arameia.

The Temple of Luxor is actually the third temple of Luxor in Aram, each one built on the same spot, only larger and more impressive each time. The current temple was ordered constructed by Symon IX as part of his many construction projects.

The Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace was largely destroyed in the Great Winter Fire of 3896, many towers and spires are now inaccessible, as well as large parts of the Palace itself. This has not stopped a brothel from moving into its once grand halls however. The extensive palace dungeons have also fallen into disrepair, while it is believed that there is a path to enter them from the many old quarry tunnels.

The Imperial Palace itself is a maze of rooms and corridors as it's been expanded on by just about every emperor who lived in it, starting out as a relatively small castle on top of the Priman hill and expanding out across the entire hill, both boring down into the ground and building high into the air. Many of its spires and more impressive battlements have fallen into disrepair however and may be dangerous to explore around on.

The Underground Opera

Beneath the old opera house, now a crumbling ruin with little of its former grandeur left, Emperor Symon IV the Mad built a vast underground opera house where he and his closest friends could bring their slaves and courtiers for grand operatic shows that were never open to the public. No one goes there now and the wooden furniture has long since rotted away, even so the large stage and hall remains with several once opulent back rooms and corridors behind the stage. While it is usually decrepit and avoided by most, some bards still stage shows there from time to time. It doesn't come near the grand operas of imperial times, but the stage is still in use.

The Bazaar

The Bazaar is the largest market in Adylheim, it stretches out like a spiderweb from the docks, with all manner of goods and services on sale to the highest bidder. It's a large jumble of tents, stalls, carts, stores and all manner of things in between where they sell everything and anything they can get their hands on. It is said that fortunes are lost and gained every day at the Aram Bazaar and there is nothing but truth to this statement.

Bridges

The Royal Highway

The Royal Highway was a bridge built to solve a problem. The height of the Priman hill made it difficult to get carts up to the imperial palace, the solution was to make a vaulted bridge down to the relatively lower hill of Darmen, over which carts could easily be brought to the Imperial Palace.

As time went on and the city expanded around the Royal Highway, houses were built both around and on top of the bridge, causing the empty spaces beneath the vaults to become encapsulated by housing on both sides. Throughout the history of Aram these hidden vaults were often used to store less than legal items and to this day they remain largely hidden and unknown to most in Aram.

Currently the Royal Highway marks roughly part of the northern boundary of Ghost Town.

Southbridge

Southbridge was the first bridge to be built across the Ellum, it is also the westmost of the bridges and continues to be one of two bridges in active use. On both sides of the northern end of Southbridge can be seen the remnants of battlements and walls from the time when Aram's borders ended north of the Ellum. These walls fell out of use long before the fall of the Empire and the majority of the stone in them was used to build new buildings in the city. Its name was given to it for its connection to the southern city, when other bridges were built in Aram it became the northernmost of the bridges crossing the Ellum.

Eastbridge

Eastbridge was the second bridge to be built to help alleviate the traffic jams on the Southbridge. Located as it is between Ormen and Dolhum, belying its name it is the second westernmost of the bridges. It remains in use to this day.

Ormbridge

Located to the south of Ormen this bridge has fallen out of use. It was built to help move people into the new parts of the city when it expanded for the fifth time. Since then it has fallen into disrepair and is now dangerous to cross after citizen took a great deal of it for cheap building materials.

Broadbridge

Broadbridge was the last bridge to be built in Aram, it was broader than any of the other buildings and construction on the bridge itself was heavy, with now derelict stores lining the bridge. Now the bridge is mainly abandoned and no one lives or works there anymore, though it still serves to let the occasional traveller across the river.

The City Walls

The City Walls have expanded as the city needed them to expand. Originally the walls only surrounded the Priman Hill, whereas they later expanded to include Darmen and Ormen. Then crossing the Ellum to fence in Dolhum and the new Docks, before expanding no less than three more times to include Theriuman and Arthumian and new territories south of the Ellum. With each expansion the materials used in the old City Walls were usually used to build the new walls, mostly removing the old walls, though some part of them still linger. The streets that trace their paths along where the old walls were are generally named after the walls.

While Aram's walls are largely still standing, they are not guarded by any means and there are hundreds of holes in it where no one has bothered to rebuild it.

Lost Places

The Catacombs

When the Priesthood of Luxor took power after the fall of the Empire, they got rid of the priests of Maia living in the city. While the city has had and retains many cemeteries and places of interment, the priests of Maia took with them the secret location of the catacombs. The catacombs were where they placed the bones that were left over after cremation or when they needed to dig up old graves to make place for new ones. The bones of millions of dead Arameians are conserved in this deep cavern, worked into decorative patterns, but mainly just thrown behind huge walls made of femurs and skulls.

The exact location of the catacombs are unknown, but according to the legends it should be possible to access it from the old quarry tunnels.

Kharn's Hole

During the earlier days of the Empire, the line of succession was not as set in stone as it later would be and anyone of suitably noble blood and enough power could attempt to claim the throne. Of course, because of this the Emperor needed a powerful threat to stop any potential claimants to the throne. That threat was Kharn's Hole. It was an ancient dungeon, four floors below ground filled with the best torturers and potential claimants to the throne would spend years down here, returning to the light of day as broken shells of what they once were.

When later Emperors solidified the line of succession, tunnel leading to Kharn's Hole was broken and his priests banished from the city. Since then, the exact location of the entrance and the Hole itself has been lost to time.

The Chapel of the Blind Bull

When limestone was still being quarried in Aram, the miners carved this chapel from the very limestone they were quarrying. All the furniture and fixings in this chapel are carved from the stone, nothing can be moved in this place. In this place the priests of Maadrth passed his blessings on to the miners and allowed them to get through the day unharmed.

With the death of the last of the miners, the location of the chapel was lost. Although it is without a doubt to be found somewhere deep in the quarry tunnels that have accrued over time, the location of it can be found on no current map.

Geography of the Known World

Adylheim consists of a series of small kingdoms and fiefdoms that have banded together in a very loose alliance against outside forces. They are hilly or flat, but generally good land, mostly covered by woods and farmland. Adylheim consist of several small fiefdoms that are all independent of each other, though they use the same currency and speak the same language. Adylheim is mainly populated by humans, though other races exist on the fringes and often visit the major cities. These fiefdoms exist in ever changing alliances and borders. The peasants, which form the majority of the populace, rarely pay attention to the power struggles, unless there is active fighting nearby. The only real difference to them is who is charging them taxes and how much they are charging. Peasant revolts have caused several would-be conquerors from building their armies too large.

To the North of Adylheim is the Northern Lands, these are generally fairly hostile, with tall mountains and small, isolated valleys. It’s all but impossible and very inadvisable to try to cross the mountains without a guide as the passes often freeze up and the paths seem to change every season. Human barbarians and Ursidaen populate these mountains and often field border raids on Adylheim, though they have rarely staged anything like an efficient invasion. The Northern Lands lack anything approaching cities; there are no fortresses or castles, merely small villages and farms dotted here and there throughout the valleys. This mountain range is known as the Ribs and stretches east and towards the south, passing beyond the swamps to the east.

The east is covered by the swamps where the Ogres live. Though they are hardly any kind of combined nation, they have a nation much like that of Adylheim, except more tribal in nature with alliances and tribes appearing and disappearing every day. These also raid Adylheim, though they are often seen off by the superior armies of the fiefdoms. The Ogres are fierce fighters, but their equipment and organization is poor at best. As a result of this, the Northern and Eastern fiefdoms are always the better armed and the peasants there taxed all the harder.

To the west the Great Sea stretches on for a vast length of time, though there are several island kingdoms which are sometimes considered part of Adylheim which border the sea. These are small and dependant on trade with the other fiefdoms. What lies beyond here is unknown. According to the Maradin seafarers, the sea stretches for as far as they know.

To the south the Dae’vol live, the only race capable of surviving and thriving in the volcanic wastelands. This place is even more hostile than the Northlands, though the Dae'vol are much more peaceful neighbours than the Ursidaen and the Northmen. There is, however, a thriving trade with the Dae’vol, especially in metals and similar, leading the southern fiefdoms to often be the more prosperous. However, there is constant struggle among the fiefdoms to monopolize this trade.

Physical Map

Planes

The definition of a Plane varies according to who you ask. It covers a wide variety of alternate realms of existence and is often used interchangeably with the words realm or dimension.

The Plane of Existence

The Plane of Existence is considered to be the realm at the centre of the Multiverse. It is the Plane around which all others revolve. This coveted place at the centre of all things does not come without some measure of risk, many beings are eager to invade the Plane of Existence for the ease with which one can move through to other realms from there.

The Shifting Realms

Closest to the Plane of Existence are the Shifting Realms. There are a series of them, far from all of them known to scholars on the subject. The Shifting Realms are so close to the Plane of Existence that their existence and ours deform each other. Things occurring in the Shifting Realms may be the cause of strange events on the Plane of Existence and vice versa.

The Shifting Realms are not a single Plane and may be referred to by various names. One can interact with them without physically leaving the Plane of Existence. One of the more commonly used ones is referred to as the Spirit Realm.

The Spirit Realm: Access to the Spirit Realm may be achieved through prolonged meditation, insanity, substance use and other means. The Spirit Realm allows one to see the Spirits which act on that plane, rather than the shadows of themselves that can be seen on the Plane of Existence. It is assumed by some that those who are seen wandering the streets talking to themselves are actually talking to denizens of the Spirit Realm. The Spirit Realm is known as a bleak shadow of our own, trapped in continual twilight.

The Dreaming: A Plane close to the Plane of Existence, this plane can be accessed through dreaming and contains the many nightmares and dreams and wishes of everyone with access to it. Some have conjectured that Mefici and Dae'vol have a separate dreaming, as none of them have ever been found to have entered it. Nonetheless, access to the Dreaming can allow one to access the universal unconsciousness and some try to glean secrets from it by making themselves enter trance states wherein their bodies answer questions, while their minds roam the dreaming. While it is possible to use the Dreaming to access the mind of everyone who ever lived, doing so is difficult in the extreme and rarely returns any kind of favourable results.

The Alternate Realms

These Planes are alternate versions of the Planes of Existence. Movement to and from them is considered to be extremely hazardous, not to mention difficult. There are Planes where the only difference is reversed gender roles, Planes where the Arameian Empire never collapsed, and Planes where the laws of nature are different or where history has taken different turns. Some are so similar that there is no discernible difference; others again are so different that they may as well have spawned from another Plane. These Planes are sometimes also referred to as Alternates.

The Cosmarchy of the Naga: Stretching over no less than five alternate realities, this great empire is constantly seeking new worlds to plunder and rule. The Naga have known of this world since the Snake Wars of 3517.

The Wastelands: The Wastelands is an alternate reality that is entirely devoid of any manner of life. Nothing lives there, the only sound that can be heard is the whistling of the wind over the scorched landscape. Magi sometimes use it as a place to store things, though plants wilt there, animals quickly grow ill and even humans find any lengthy stay there very unappealing. Apart from this, the landscape is vaguely similar to that of the Mainlands, though some details are often different.

The Greater Realms

These are some of the more important and larger realms found throughout the Multiverse, they are mainly known through magical exploration and are the major focus of Summoning magic.

The Infernal Realm: This Plane is populated by demons, imps and things of a similar ilk who feed on the pain and anguish of others. The Infernal Realm is constantly shifting due to fighting and wars between the inhabitants of this plane. Nevertheless, they are one of the more popular choices for summoners as they are relatively easy to make deals with. The Infernal Realm is a place of darkness, lit only by the odd burst of fire, where the very ground itself is made up of demons constantly fighting each other. A constant shrieking sound fills the air as demons hurt and maim each other in their fight for dominance.

It is generally considered ill advised for visitors to bring with them salt, sources of light, or music.

The Elemental Realms: These Planes are constantly at war with each other. The four Elemental Realms are Fire, Water, Air and Earth, and each have their own rulers and their own inhabitants; everything from the gnomes of the Earth Plane, the Salamanders of the Fire Plane, up to the mighty Efreeti and Djinni, lords of their respective Realms. These Realms are also often used by summoners who choose to deal with these inhabitants for good or for ill.

The Angelic Plane: This Plane is a vast, silver city wherein beings of pure light live. Despite the vastness of the silver city, finding one's way is easy, with an orderly layout to the streets, to the point where it is said that Emperor Dulcimos tried to alter the layout of the streets of Aram based on drawings he saw of the silver city in his dreams. Though they are powerful, and theoretically the opposite of the demons, they are all but impossible to bargain with as magicians rarely have anything that the beings on this Plane desire.

The Lesser Realms

The Void: This Realm is a place of utter darkness. Its denizens spend whatever time they have left falling in total darkness. Whether there is actually anything to fall to or not is not known as no one is ever known to have landed. Being consigned to the Void is one of the harshest penalties known to man and those who live in the Void are usually known to be the worst of criminals. Few summoners dare to bring anything in from the void.

The Labyrinth: The Labyrinth is never the same twice; it is an ever twisting series of corridors where people have been known to get lost more than once. It can go from being a hedge maze to an underground labyrinth to a maze of mirrors and everything and anything in between. The Labyrinth stubbornly resists any kind of mapping and those few daring souls who have tried exploring it have done so in vain. It resists markings of any kind and houses nothing but travellers who are trying to find their way to the centre where a fabulous treasure is rumoured to be held. The Labyrinth is dotted with the corpses of those who have tried and failed to find their way out again. Though edible fruit does grow in the Labyrinth, finding it can be tricky and most starve to death when their supply runs out.

The Inn: The Inn has many names, some call it the Inn at the End of the World, though it carries no relation to either the end of the world in terms of time or space, it is its own place. Others call it the Inn with Wings. The plane is a giant inn, stretching to accommodate however many visitors is required, yet always appearing no larger than a simple country inn. the Inn always has enough tables, beds, food and drink to serve those who visit, though it may occasionally find itself short of waiters. The Inn is considered a place of refuge, where people may wait out bad storms and harrowing reality cracks while enjoying some good stories and some good food and ale. Those who enter the Inn enter it for all manner of reasons, but cannot use it to flee from their problems. The Inn offers safe refuge and postponement, nothing less; upon leaving the Inn everyone would be returned to the place where they left off. Nonetheless, many have stayed at the Inn for years, earning their keep by waitering before they return to their own reality. It is rumoured that one can live forever in the Inn and never age as long as one does not leave it, though given that time in the Inn is not subject to time on any other Plane, the value of doing it to prolong one's life is limited.

The Divine Realms

These realms are the homes of the Gods. They are many and different, far from all of them are known to the scholars of the Plane of Existence, some, however, are.

The Plane of Market: Elron's home plane is a giant marketplace, the exact size of which is uncertain, some say it stretches out forever. Regardless of how large it is, the Plane of Market is always filled to brimming with interplanar merchants. It has been suggested that the size of the Plane is dependant on how many are actually present in it at any given time. Elron himself is sometimes called upon to settle market disputes and can often be found wandering the marketplace, not actually purchasing anything but offering advice and aid to the merchants there. Some say that secret entrances to the Plane of Market can be found in the most successful of marketplaces and businesses and are a carefully kept secret by those merchants who know of them.

The Planes of Life and Death: No one is entirely sure if this is one Plane or two separate planes constantly revolving around each other. One is filled with life and constantly brings new things into existence, whereas the other constantly moves to encroach on this, causing life there to end, but with each moving on each other it is a manichean struggle which neither side wants to or tries to win. All that is created on the Plane of Life is eventually covered by the Plane of Death and the barren straits of the Planes of Death are eventually filled with Life in this eternal dance.

The Lost Realm: This twisted plane, filled with ruins, ghosts and other shadows of things passed is believed to be the home plane of a now deceased or lost god. Without its patron the plane is slowly crumbling and disappearing, a process which may take thousands of years to complete. It is a hostile place, where nothing living can stay for any length of time. Plants planted here cease to grow. Those unfortunate enough to chance upon this realm are advised to leave it as soon as they can.

The Farther Realms

These Planes exist far beyond the Plane of Existence and are rarely seen or interacted with. Much about them remains the stuff of myth and legend.

The Fiddler's Green: Described as a pastoral paradise, the Fiddler's Green is one of the Farther Realms. Some suggest that the only place to get to them is to die,There is hard evidence to the contrary, though people thought dead have been found in the Farther Realms.

The Akashic Library: According to the legends, this plane was once much easier to access than it is now. It takes the shape of a vast library, which goes on forever. There are many tales of those who have become lost in the library, entire ecosystems based around bookworms. Lacking any form of overseer the life in this library has long since gone wild and dangerous, with the Librarians now nothing more than faint and insubstantial shadows. The Library is said to contain knowledge on everything, which is why many try to access it. However, many who have sought knowledge have become lost among the labyrinthine shelves of the Library and are never seen again.

The Pillar: The Pillar is a giant stone (or stone-like) tower of immense proportions which looks out over the Nothingness outside Creation. It is often used by those who wish to inquire into the Nothingness, and other Planar refugees. It is considered one of the safe havens and none may carry arms or hurt anyone else there, or face the harsh punishments set down in the rules by the Wardens. Who set down the rules and who dug the original tunnels through the stone pillar is not known. The Pillar defies explanation, yet it creates food and water for those who live there. The Pillar has several windows looking out at the Nothingness, but no openings out to it. Some believe that the Pillar may be one of the fingers of Primus, certainly it stretches out beyond this Plane, though understanding exactly where the border is is hard for anyone not versed in Planar Mechanics, as it both stretches on forever and at the same time does not.

The End of All That Is: This Plane's name is fairly descriptive, and is described as where creation ends. It is the end of the Multiverse, beyond which is merely emptiness. Or rather, this Plane is the emptiness at the end of the Multiverse. Whether or not it actually is the end of the Multiverse or merely a Plane which has never been filled with anything is the subject of some debate among scholars. It is believed that anything put into this Plane will eventually cease to exist, or be transported elsewhere.

Political Map

Skyhold

Abstract description

A place of magic and mystery residing just outside of the Northern border of Starkwater and Nevros. A land which is roughly the size of 300 square kilometres floats a kilometre high in the air, just at the end of a valley, surrounded by mountain peaks on all three sides. The floating island is draped by lush green fields, while in the middle a town and a castle stands proud. Below the island a large gap gives birth to a dangerous all time night life. How such a large island floats in the air is unknown for all, perhaps except for those who live in the Skyhold castle.

History

Skyhold has existed there for as long as most can remember. There had been a few attempts to claim the land both by Nevros and Starkwater, however both faced complete defeat from what is believed to be the Skyholder's curse, a strange, vital sickness. Thus to this day Skyhold remains an independent land, answering to no fiefdom. Though there have been attempts to claim Skyhold, the island so far has not threatened or attacked any.

In 4235, two years after peace was finally settled and Skyhold was officially left as a free land, a small village rose south of it, named Heaven Stairs. The village consists of only a few families, whom all work in the village’s inn or do travelling trade to bring supplies back and forth to the village. The inn provides food and shelter for those who wish to go to Skyhold or the No-Wind Cave. A few hundred meters from the village is a large rope-ladder that leads all the way up to Skyhold. The ladder is a few meters wide and has a lot of "steps", thus it looks more like a net that is made for climbing, rather than the usual rope-ladder. This is the primary and only free way to get to Skyhold, however it is dangerous and people falling off the ladder due to slipping or a gust of wind is not unheard off.

Upper Skyhold

Roughly 300 square kilometres of floating land, which carry the name of Skyhold have eight massive chains connecting it to the surrounding mountains. The shortest chain is half a kilometre and the longest one is two kilometres long. Whether the chains serve any actual purpose is uncertain, however supposedly they keep the land from floating away or even rising too high. The land does indeed slowly but constantly shift both sideways and vertically, ranging roughly 20 meter difference.

Even though the island is so high above sea-level it is protected both from the winds and the cold. The space that goes between the island and the mountains creates extremely powerful vertical winds soaring in the gaps and leaving the island’s land and the underground practically windless. The island gives off constant heat, keeping the ground and the air pleasantly warm. Rumours circulate however that the source of the heat is lethal and everyone who ventured deeper into the island have soon died from strange illness.

The majority of the land is covered by lush pastures or farmland. In the middle of the island stands a castle surrounded by a beautiful prosperous town. The town holds 1500 people, where the majority of the population are humans. Skyholders seem to be facing two problems, one – being almost completely forbidden from expanding the town and two being less fertile than the norm. Because of that the town lets in people from the outside to live on the island in the deceased homes who no longer have any descendants. Most of the times only people who have good connections with Skyholders or those who are deemed worthy for various reasons are the ones who win such a home.

Skyholders seem to have a simple and easy life. The town supports itself easily because of lush lands and a constantly warm climate. Those who do not work the fields or livestock make a living in the town through various crafts, working a tavern or a clothes shop. The livestock seems to be facing a similar though lesser fertility problem, so it is not unheard off for Skyholders to renew their animals. The island buys most of raw materials such as wood and fabrics from outsiders as it cannot make any by itself. More or less the only thing that the island sells are filigree jewellery. The transaction is done by two resident mages.

Even though life seems to be simple all Skyholders are forbidden from entering the castle. The only ones who have access to the castle are the Wind family, which governs the town, the Sky Guards, who keep the peace in the town when necessary, Bal the alchemist and his apprentices. The castle is made of white stone, the main part being five storeys and the highest tower reaching whole nine. It supports two gardens and is surrounded by a same white stone wall.

The Castle Dwellers

Wind family - self proclaimed nobles, who pass down the right to rule Skyhold to their heirs, all take part in governing Skyhold and meddling in its politics. There are over fifty family members, however they are rarely seen outside the castle walls and even Skyholders do not know most of their faces. Who the true ruler is among them or if the whole Wind family rules in democracy is hard to say, for all the commands are passed to the town through the Sky Guards. The family has never been opposed not only due to strong walls and faithful guards, but also because so far it has not failed Skyholders and has led them to prosperity.

Sky Guards - these are the only people who use arms in Skyhold. Even though an occasional noble or a blacksmith may have weapons with them, Sky Guards are so far the only ones who use them. Their duties resolve around protecting the castle from all intruders and overseeing justice within the town, be it a dispute between two nobles or trouble with a hostile foreigner. Even though Sky Guards carry different weapons and wear different armour, they can be easily identified by black gloves and black-red helmet-masks, which hide their faces. Rumour goes that all of them have diseased skin, which shows especially on the face and the hands, furthermore some even say that Wind Guards aren't really human.

Bal - much like the Wind family, the alchemist too does not show his face too often in the town. All the strange sounds or even explosions that sometimes come from the castle are almost guaranteed to be caused by Bal or his apprentices. Most of the Skyholders believe that he is the one who sends the plague upon invaders and that he has a lot of influence in Skyhold's governance. Every few years Bal takes a new apprentice, however they are seen in public even less than the alchemist himself.

Lower Skyhold

Deeper into the depths of the No-Wind Cave (part of the land that the island hovers over) light is scarce but not nonexistent. Even though sunlight no longer reaches the deeper parts, the bottom of the island is covered by Dark Glow, a fungi that provides light much like that of a clear full-moon on a snow covered land. While darkness does spawn various beasts and other unwanted individuals, recently it was discovered that the light from the fungi allowed scarce sky blue crystals to grow upon rocks. These crystals are not only beautiful to look at but also grow in a form of a spike and are as durable as ordinary steel. Due to these qualities the crystal fetches a high price from blacksmiths who can make swords and spears from it as well as other craftsmen.

The lower Skyhold remains a dangerous and vastly unexplored place, which becomes either a fortune or a grave for many adventurers. What exactly lurks in the vast No-Wind Cave is so far undefined, some faced beasts and monsters, others have even suffered from hallucinations, while there even have been some lucky ones to get in and out without suffering. Some come for the crystals, some for pure exploring, while there are even those who come for the valuables of fallen famous adventurers.

OOC info on radiation

Skyhold is infected with a large amount of radiation, which is primary in the depths of the island. Smaller amounts are on the surface which affect the growth of plans, fertility of both animals and residents and warms the surface weather. While the amounts of radiation on the surface of Skyhold are minimum and travellers don't get contaminated, over prolonged time such radiation becomes incurable and then is even passed down to the future generations. Passive radiation isn't deadly and increases extremely slowly, however it cannot be cured. Direct contamination is a whole different matter.

Direct contamination levels

1-3: The person has taken small amounts of radiation. It does not increase and no direct ill effects are found. Only when the person gets elderly he usually feels much weaker and loses most of his hair. Can be cured only in Skyhold.

4-7: The person has taken large amounts of radiation. If nothing is done it increases by a level every two or three months. The person experiences weakness, rashes, coughing and rapid hair loss. Levels can be kept at bay or reduced to level 4 by various means throughout Adylheim or completely cured in Skyhold.

8-9: The person is infected by insane amounts of radiation. If nothing is done it increases by a level every six months or a year. The person rarely ever has a hair left or normal skin, often he may also cough blood. Unlike before though, the person feels stronger than when he was completely healthy. Mages also notice that their Numen has increased significantly. Strong hallucinations become a constant thing, sometimes even impossible to discern from reality, leading to people usually making vital mistakes and killing themselves accident. The person also becomes infectious to others at close range. Levels can be kept at bay only by top healers, alchemists or mages. Whether it can be cured in Skyhold remains unknown as it refuses people this contaminated.

10: The person has taken a lethal amount of radiation hence comes death.

The Archduchy of Starkwater

The Archduchy of Starkwater is one of the northernmost fiefdoms and one of the most militaristic. Starkwater was one of the first fiefdoms to leave the Empire and remains in fierce competition with the fiefdom of Arameia, especially over the ownership of the Arameian Highlands.

System of Government

The Archduke of Starkwater is the supreme head of the Archduchy, the heir apparent (or in cases where one such is not yet eligible, the Regent) rules roughly one half of the Archduchy from Grey Lake.

The Court of the Archduke is considered one of the more visceral in the Mainlands. Assassinations, poisonings and similar are a common occurrence. Position and appearance is everything in the court of the Archduke, and losing face is a terrible perspective for any noble to face.

When the Archduke fails to produce a heir or his line dies, a new Archduke is chosen by the Court. Often these come from the foremost families of Starkwater, though it has been that the old Archduke’s Regent or a complete outsider has managed to wrestle their way into power.

Capital city

Starkwater is unique in that it has two capitals. There is the seat of the Archduke, known as Spire City and there is the city of Grey Lake, which is where the Archduke’s son or the next in line for the position of Archduke rules.

Spire City

Spire City is named for the spires which surround it, named the Spires of Therium. These natural formations force the shape of the city into a half-moon shape. They form a natural fortification against any land based assault and have so far managed to dispatch any intruders. The city itself rests on top of a rise, and anyone assaulting it would have to travel uphill to assault the main parts of the city. To the south of the city the river of Tharen passes into the ocean and the city has built docks and a small village here to service the unloading of ships and boats passing by.

The city itself is divided into two, the Bowl and the Heights. The Heights are the parts of the city closest to the Spires of Therium. The Heights are set apart from the Bowl by a steep incline, leading many roads to change to stairs. The Bowl contains the majority of the city’s denizens, whereas the Heights usually hold the nobles and the rich, including the Archduke’s palace.

Spire City has 25,000 inhabitants.

Grey Lake

The city of Grey Lake is forever Spire City’s second. It’s smaller and considered something of a backwater when compared to Spire City or other capitals. It is nonetheless considered an important strategic city as the eastern parts of the Archduchy are too far from Spire City for any reasonable form of communication. The reason for its name is the lake which it sits by. The grey water of the lake is said to have healing properties.

Grey Lake has roughly 8,000 inhabitants.

The Barony of Longmoor

Longmoor, along with part of Nevros, forms the easternmost fronteir of the fiefdoms, and often suffers from raids launched from the Ogres' lands. Dominated in large part by moors and swamps, it is arguably the poorest of the fiefdoms, and rarely meddles in the affairs of its neighbors.

Local History

In the early days, before the Empire, the area that would come to be known as Longmoor was little more than an extension of the Ogre lands, with only a small population of hardy human settlers in the western portions - predominantly made up of the outcast and the desperate from the areas that would become known as Arameia and Nerin. With the rise of the Empire, however, came grand ambitions, and one of them was the subjugation and settlement of the Ogre territories. The lure of colonization was always strong, but Longmoor seemed especially tempting because at the time it was theorized that the area's substantial rainfall and supposedly fertile soil would, once drained and tilled, allow the cultivation of exotic spices and foodstuffs that otherwise had to be imported from the island kingdoms at great expense. Whether this would ever have been possible seems unlikely, and the question soon became academic. The costs of converting the marshes into farms stacked up quickly, and the reports trickling back from Longmoor indicated that small-scale attempts to produce foreign foodstuffs there resulted in anemic, low-quality crops at best. The failure of the Eastern Campaign to wipe out the Ogres sapped much of the remaining political will in Aram to see the project through to its completion. When the Empire began its decline, Longmoor was forced to shoulder the burden of protecting itself from predation by neighboring kingdoms and, especially, the Ogre tribes. In the end, Longmoor did not rebel against the Empire, so much as the Empire abandoned Longmoor.

System of Government

The country is officially run by the Baron of Longmoor, whose court is based in the city of Aspiration. The Barons claim descent from prominent families of Arameian ancestry, who were granted Longmoor as a fief when the Empire converted to a feudal system. In practice, however, the inhospitable terrain and independent streak of the local nobility make for a tenuous level of control for the Baron, particularly in the areas more remote from Aspiration. He is entitled to extract a small tithe from the regional nobles, and maintains a small but battle-hardened army in Aspiration and Blightwatch, but for the most part, he is forced to rely on coalition-building to gain the support of his nobles for major endeavors. Longmoor is not known for complex social institutions; aside from the Baron, its nobility comes in only a single type, simply called "lords", each of whom rules a small portion of Longmoor however he or she sees fit. Though the exact size, military and political strength of each lord's domain varies greatly, they are all nominally of the same rank.

Geography

In the west, Longmoor is covered with forests and heather, and as one heads east, the bogs and fens rapidly become larger and more frequent until wetlands dominate the landscape. Irrigation and agriculture still exist, but as time wore on, increasing pressure from the Ogres has forced many farmers to abandon their land, allowing their farms, hard-earned with Arameian blood and gold, to slowly return to the swamps they once were. The remaining cultivatable land tends to be concentrated around the Elum and Raisthill rivers. Longmoor's population is low and diffuse, with only a handful of major population centers. The nobility is mostly of Arameian extraction, while the blood of the peasants is a mixture of Arameian and Soilien.

Cities

Aspiration

The capital of Longmoor was built at the source of the Raisthill river, where coveted fresh water bubbles up from underground, spilling out of a crack in a hill now known as Sweetwater. The tiny river is quickly fouled by the fetid marshes it flows through, so the people of Aspiration have to draw their water from the spring itself. The city was built deep in the marshes and intended as a base from which to launch further conquest of the wetlands and the Ogres that inhabited it; however, with the collapse of the Eastern Campaign and the eventual disintegration of the Longmoor farming boom, it became obvious that the weakened agriculture of the surrounding area could no longer support the population that had settled it, and as hunger set in many left for greener pastures. Today, the city consists of a wooden palisade surrounding Sweetwater Hill, with a tangle of wooden buildings scattered across the area inside and the Baron's keep - one of Longmoor's rare stone structures - perched in a commanding position on the hill itself. The unhealthy climate causes the wooden buildings to decay quickly, and old ones are often torn down and new ones erected, giving the city a permanently mutable character. One local saying says is that the only reason Aspiration still exists is because the Baron requires it to. The usual retort is that the real reason Aspiration still exists is because the mosquitoes have sucked the sense out of everyone living there. The city does offer one other advantage besides clean water, however - it is close to the border. This gives the Baron a good position from which to keep an eye on the affairs of the Ogre chiefs. Indeed, another local saying claims that the Baron is deaf to his subjects, but hears every Ogre's sneeze.

Aspiration has a population of approximately 6,000.

Blightwatch

Blightwatch is a small fort-city in the south of Longmoor that is under the authority of the Baron and his troops. Although small, isolated, and quite uncomfortable, the post comes with a good deal of responsibility, and therefore a certain amount of prestige: it is the task of the Castillan of Blightwatch to monitor the activities of the Ogres in the southern regions, as they are too far from Aspiration for the Baron to do so himself. The Castillan is authorized to act in the Baron's name to deal with any threat that emerges in the south, through diplomacy, force, or any combination, as he sees fit, and he must do this with very little input from the Baron himself because communication between Blightwatch and Aspiration is so difficult across such broad stretches of inhospitable terrain. Therefore, the Baron will typically appoint one of his most trusted relatives, court officials, or toadies to the position. Given the disagreeable nature of the post, it is not uncommon for it to be refused. Blightwatch is the closest thing to an urban center in the south of Longmoor, and therefore sees a certain amount of trade as well, although its inaccessibility by water necessitates that any trade be at the local level only.

Blightwatch has a population of approximately 2,000.

Jelart

Jelart is located where the Raisthill and Elum rivers meet, where the water is clean enough to be drinkable and in one of the few areas where Arameian drainage and irrigation systems are still common. Its position on the rivers and in the middle of Longmoor makes it the country's main trade hub, and its agricultural and economic prosperity has made it Longmoor's largest city. Jelart is in many ways the heart of Longmoor - in times of necessity, it is the preferred place where lords will meet to discuss common goals and solutions. In an attempt to prevent the relatively powerful city from challenging his authority, the previous Baron put it under the charge of four lords instead of just one. Each lord is responsible for protecting a portion of the city wall, and they divvy up tasks and management duties among themselves. Presumably, the Baron intended this to be a recipe for squabbling and discord; if so, the plan worked like a charm. The lords band together when the city is threatened, but otherwise rarely agree on anything, leading to a sort of legal paralysis. Most of the time, the city runs itself with little enforcement of laws or regulations, and the central market of Jelart is rapidly becoming famous for its "anything goes" atmosphere.

Jelart has a population of just over 10,000.

Economy

Longmoor is poor, sparsely populated, and lacking in most resources and trade goods. Outside of the area around Jelart and the Elum and Raisthill rivers, most of the peasants survive by hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and subsistence-level agriculture. The relatively developed agriculture around the rivers produces surplus food of a variety of types, including rice, sweet potatoes, and leeks, most of which are consumed in the cities of Jelart and Aspiration. The only major agricultural export of Longmoor is sugar beets. Other exports include bog iron and, ironically, peat - the ruined fields of Longmoor providing fuel and fertilizer for the other nations. Beer is a popular import. There is almost no manufacturing, and so more refined items, when they can be found, are invariably imported as well.

Life in Longmoor

The peasants of Longmoor for the most part survive on what they can make themselves, or trade with their neighbors. Near the rivers and the larger towns, money changes hands and manufactured items can be purchased, but for most of the people, if you want it you have to find it, catch it, or make it yourself. Shrimp is a staple of almost everyone's diet, and alcohol is often brewed from swamp herbs and sweet potatoes or sugar beets. Still, Longmoor has been a refuge for the desperate and unwanted since long before Jelart got its reputation for lawlessness. Suspicious of strangers they may be, but among the citizens it's considered rude to ask any foreigner about their life outside of Longmoor - the only thing worth caring about is whether you're a decent neighbor here. Just so long as you're human, of course, and don't take it personally if someone touches you with that iron ring of theirs.

In most places, even the nobles' keeps are modest affairs, typically made of wood and built on a small hill or some other dry and stable feature, with few or no servants, only a handful of guards, and possibly a smith. When danger comes, it is the noble's responsibility to lead the peasants to either safety or victory. Because any particular lord's peasants are widely dispersed, gathering them can be difficult. The most popular method is to make a large peat fire. For non-emergency purposes a normal fire is used, and if there is an emergency, an herb called Pogwart is added in copious quantities, causing the smoke to billow blue (and become very smelly). Regardless, a good deal of luck is involved in how many of the peasants see or hear about the summons and come, but most know that it's a bad idea to miss one, especially if the stench of Pogwart is in the air: Pogwart usually means that it's time to fight or run, and either way you don't want to be left by yourself to the enemy's mercy.

Throughout most of Longmoor, the most important skill is to simply know about the area you're in: which paths are safe to walk, which plants are safe to eat, and what water is safe to drink. Such things are often held as secret knowledge by locals, both because the knowledge makes them valuable as guides, and because it gives them defense against attackers. Indeed, hiring a guide is considered a necessity in order to travel anywhere in Longmoor away from the rivers, although the usefulness of any particular guide is typically limited to the areas they're personally familiar with. Still, doing without them is a bad idea, as falling into a bog will give anyone a bad day, and drinking bad water is a sure-fire way to give yourself dysentery, or worse. Natives of Longmoor usually have a little bit more resistance to whatever foul things are in the water there, but even they don't drink the swamp-water unless they have no choice. But there are fresh springs and creeks, here and there, if you know where to look.

The one group of people who always seem to know their way around are the Elves. When the swamps came back, the Elves came with them. It wouldn't be fair to blame the return of the swamps on the Elves - the reasons they came back are well understood, and have nothing to do with Elves and everything to do with Ogres and Economics - but that doesn't stop people from blaming them anyway. They seem to have profited from humankind's loss, and that's enough for the people of Longmoor. The Elves, for their part, remain nomadic and widely-dispersed, and usually try to avoid humans when possible - though they are not above causing trouble when they feel they've been slighted. The two races are not friendly here. The phrase "I've got my [iron] ring," has come to mean "I'm ready to go" among the suspicious people of the Longmoor countryside.

Still, everyone knows that the real enemy is the Ogres. Very few places in Longmoor are truly safe from them - the Baron tries to keep them out, but Ogres are good at slipping through the cracks. Besides, everywhere you go, there's usually water nearby, and anywhere there's water, there could be Ogres. The people of Longmoor pride themselves on always being ready to fight off an Ogre attack at a moment's notice, but most would vastly prefer to stop them from ever attacking in the first place. Indeed, many lords prefer to befriend any known nearby Ogre chiefs rather than risk facing them as enemies. This often involves bribery, but the peasants of Longmoor understand - sometimes peace is well worth the price of a few woven baskets and a copious amount of shrimp. The Baron is well-known for playing Ogre chieftains against each other, but the minor lords aren't above dabbling in Ogre politics either, up to and including allying with one tribe against another, or even hiring Ogre mercenaries if the resources are available. In fact, most of the nobility of Longmoor is fluent in Ogran, and one of their favorite sayings is "The enemy of my enemy is my weapon." Still, some things are off limits: any human lord who makes common cause with Ogres against another human lord will quickly find themselves branded an apostate if word gets out. Such alliances, however, are often difficult to prove, and if rumors can be believed, are more common than they appear.

Very important to the people here is the knowledge of the spirits and foul creatures that live in the wetlands. Some may laugh them away as superstition, but the locals are convinced: the swamps are haunted. The stories vary from missing ghost-children to howling banshees, but in each locality, the people will have their own methods of avoiding or warding away the particular ghosts and monsters that infest their corner of the moors. About the only superstition that's widely believed by all is that of the Ghost Legion: an entire army of Imperial soldiers that marched into the marshes one day as part of the Eastern Campaign. No one ever heard from them again. An entire army, swallowed by the bogs. Preposterous? Perhaps. But the records are quite clear, and if the locals know anything, it's that you don't underestimate the bogs. To this day, when the wind blows from the east, people seem to hear, occasionally, faintly, as if from far away, the clink of mail, or the snort of a horse. People shutter their windows and bar their doors when the wind blows from the east.

Religion is similarly fragmented out on the moors and marshes. The most exposure to mainstream religion that most citizens get is when a wandering priest arrives at a lord's keep and accepts prayers and sacrifices on his god's behalf. The people of Longmoor tend to have a special fondness for Adienna and Thissies, believing them to be especially well-suited to protect them from the dangers they face, but most citizens are happy to worship whatever god happens to send an emissary to them. Those emissaries are rare, however, because of the meager life of a begging priest supported by Longmoor's destitute peasantry, and because wandering the countryside is dangerous. Then there are the other gods. The ones that some people claim they meet when out on the moors alone. Sometimes they do nothing. Sometimes they give commands or reveal secrets. Sometimes they demand worship or sacrifices. Almost never does more than one person see the same one. The nobles and mendicant priests sneer at these "bog gods" and the delusional peasants that produce them, but it's hard to convince the peasantry that they don't exist when the true priests are so few, and there always seems to be someone else who's seen one.

The Grand Barony of Teslan

The Grand Barony of Teslan is sandwiched between the two feuding fiefdoms of Starkwater and Arameia. The Grand Barons of Teslan have long been known for supporting the spread of knowledge, to the point where the capital has the most prestigious university in Adylheim.

System of Government

Teslan is run on system of a ruling council, where the four most powerful Barons (collectively known as the Grand Barons) and four of the most powerful Magi, known as the Lords Temporal and the Lords Magical respectively, convene and deliberate on important matters of policy. Usually one of the four Grand Barons is elected to lead the council for a set period, in which time he deals with most of the day to day affairs of ruling a fiefdom.

The Lords Temporal are usually selected from among the most powerful houses in a process which is not quite electoral, not quite by choice. Mostly those who manage to gain enough recognition will end up as the Lords Temporal for the time being. If a noble house were to lose significant standing within the noble community, their Lord Temporal would be quickly seized on by the next in line. The Lords Magical are selected via the University in Salen. They consist of the foremost among the mage lords of Teslan and are generally a more stable governmental party than the Lords Temporal.

Unlike most of the other fiefdoms, the nobles of Teslan seldom have all their lands in one place, often they will have a manor both on Meduc and Nikol, thus increasing their interest in keeping the fiefdom whole and preventing anyone from deserting Teslan and granting their lands to some other fiefdom.

Geography

Teslan consists of two main parts one of which is the largest island in Adylheim, Meduc, the other is a large piece of the mainland, sandwiched between Starkwater and Arameia, known as Nikol. In addition to Nikol and Meduc there are a series of smaller islands which also come under the dominion of the Grand Baron. The canal between these two parts of Teslan is controlled by Teslan’s impressive fleet and the toll traders must pay for using it is a great boon to the Teslan economy.

Nikol is much like its neighbour, Starkwater. Characterised by tall hills and mountains. It is the least developed part of Teslan and has no real cities of note. Even those nobles who have much of their holdings in Nikol spend the majority of their time in Salen or on Meduc.

Meduc is a the largest of the islands in Teslan and the largest in Adylheim as a whole. It houses some of the largest shipyards in Adylheim. As a whole though, Meduc is prone to quick changes in weather, it is not particularly warm though snow rarely lingers for long in the winter and the summers are hotter than on the mainland. Much of the island is settled leaving very few areas to be covered in forests, though rumours of mysterious isolated ruins at the top of the mountains in Meduc abound. The capital of Teslan, Salen is located on the southern side of Meduc.

Apart from these two territories, Teslan also covers a vast array of islands, though their allegiance to Teslan is often loose and shifting at the best of times, their autonomy depending on the current ruler. Many of these islands consider themselves to be autonomous from Teslan with only the slightest of alliances keeping them on the same side. These islands often become havens for pirates as likely to prey on Teslan ships as any other.

Places of Interest

Salen

The city of Salen, population 18 000, is the largest settlement in Teslan. It is the home to the University of Salen, the most renowned teaching institution in Adylheim which also includes the only true Academy for Magi and the Library of Salen, the greatest repository of knowledge throughout all of Adylheim.

Salen is home to some of the best Artificers in Adylheim and is a city of marvels and possibly the most advanced city in all of Adylheim.

Dhowtown

Dhowtown is a floating settlement of Maradin, a huge constantly changing mess of boats which have been tied up next to each other. Dhowtown is a lively place to trade and is rarely found in the same place twice, mapping it in any meaningful way is impossible as boats are constantly coming and going, changing the size and shape of Dhowtown as they do so.

Inhabitants

Teslan consists of an eclectic mix of Threakians, Arameians and Maradin. While Threakians reside primarily in Nikol, whereas Maradin live primarily on Meduc and the surrounding islands. Nobles are primarily Maradin, however.

Culture

Perhaps one of the more unusual traits of noble culture within Teslan is the acceptance which magic has. For most nobles, sons and daughters who do not stand to inherit titles may be given jobs among the clergy, as scholars, or in the army. In Teslan most nobles will have at least a passing knowledge of low magic and any noble with high magic talent is sent off to the university to learn their trade there rather than continue on as mere administrators. Some of the most skilled mages in Adylheim come from Teslan.

Teslan is highly influenced by the seafaring culture of the Maradin.

History

Teslan is unique in that it never constituted the domain of a single noble prior or during its time in the Empire, unlike so many of the other fiefdoms which formed the Arameian Empire. Teslan was first formed as a coalition of lesser nobles who grew weary of the heavy taxes which were being levied off them by the Emperors to pay for their armies and warfare.

In 3751 the unofficial alliance of nobles which formed Teslan formally separated themselves from the Empire and their superior nobles. Their charter, which they partially worked out with the Arameian Emperor, who could not afford to fight on yet another front, involved a treaty of non-aggression, wherein the nobles of Teslan would not interfere with struggles between the Emperor and any rebellious fiefdoms.

As the Empire continued to decline, Teslan did little but watch it happen. Though they were, according to the treaty made with the Empire earlier, technically still subservient to the Empire, but they were to all intents and purposes autonomous and as the Imperial institutions died down there were no one to ensure that the tribute Teslan had set out to pay was still being paid. Slowly but surely the Treaty of Teslan lost importance not so much through being replaced by newer treaties as it was simply ignored.

By 3974 the Priesthood of Luxor had managed to take back at least part of the lands belonging to what had been the Empire and were turning their eyes towards Starkwater and Teslan. With the Prelate fearing an alliance of the two fiefdoms against Arameia and the Archduke of Starkwater fearing the same, both fiefdoms signed pacts of non-agression with Teslan that year. This time Teslan had achieved full autonomy. And even though the Archduke of Starkwater pleaded with the Teslans for aid during the Highlands Acquisition the nobles of Teslan took no part in the conflict.

The Kingdom of Andragoria

Andragoria occupies the southwest corner of the civilized lands of Adylheim. By consequence of its position, the younger of the Twin Kingdoms occupies what many consider the most fertile farmland in the entire of Adylheim as well as prime position for trade with the secretive Dae’vol. The money generated by these twin sources of revenue allow the King to fund two bodies long lost elsewhere during the fall of the Arameian Empire: a unified bureaucracy and a standing army.

Local History

Andragoria and Nerin both trace their roots to a loose confederation of tribes and city that deemed itself, quite precociously, the Great Kingdom Under Heaven. One king—his name erased from the histories by his contemporaries—died without appointing a proper heir. Two sons fought a great war over the country; their armies staining the fertile ground with the blood of a thousand tribes. It fell upon the priests of Therium and Arthium to eventually broker a peace treaty between the two brothers lest the Great Kingdom destroy itself in an orgy of violence. The border of the kingdoms was fixed by a line running through the center of Moon Lake, a demarcation that, more or less, has remained constant ever since.

This internal strife allowed easy conquest by the Arameian Empire during the years of conquest. With the legions to guard their borders and old feuds stilled by the might of the Empire, the people of Andragoria turned their energies to trade, crafts, and agriculture. It was during this golden age that the first merchants blazed a trail into the land of the Dae’vol. With the Naga invasion looming in 3517, most of the legions stationed in Andragoria returned to defend the capitol of Aram. A significant secondary force attacked Nander and laid waste to the ancient city. The people of Andragoria never forgave their fellow citizens for allowing the snake-men to ravage their homeland and, when the northern and western fiefdoms declared their independence, the Golden Kingdom soon followed.

Independence brought a revival of ancient traditions and ancient feuds. Tensions with Nerin escalated as the strength of the Empire waned; skirmishes becoming an almost weekly occurrence on the eastern border.

Government

The core of the Andragorian government is the ancient system of government-sponsored civil servants. Every citizen of the Kingdom—regardless of birth—is allowed to take the entrance exam. While on paper this might seem an excellent opportunity for social advancement, the exams are offered only during the harvest and exceedingly difficult to pass. Successful applicants are trained in all the subjects necessary for administering the lands of a nobleman such as accounting, record keeping, and proper diplomacy. They are, furthermore, encouraged to become eunuchs. Upon graduation, the King assigns the servants to the various governors of the realm who, in turn, dole them out to their liege-lords.

Military

The Kingdom of Andragoria maintains the largest standing military formations in Adylheim. Soldiers are primarily recruited from the younger sons of noblemen and the landed gentry though, in times of trouble, the Kingdom’s overflowing treasuries allow the hiring of mercenaries. Arms and armor is subsidized by the state. While they engage in constant drills and exercises, the vast majority of the army lacks combat experience. The King maintains five standing armies:

• First Army: Based on the border of Nerin and combats cross-border raids. Maintains a small boat navy on the Moon Lake.
• Second Army: Based on the northern border. Occasionally skirmishes with Arameian noblemen.
• Third Army: Based on the southern border. Sees only occasional action.
• Fourth Army: Based on the western coast. Also provides soldiers for the Andragorian navy.
• Fifth Army: A ‘mobile reserve’ of sorts, the fifth army alternates between the northern and eastern borders.

Places of Interest

Nander

The razing of the Golden City was a terrible event; the flames consuming the ancient buildings igniting hatred in the southerners against the Empire at large. The reigning King, however, considered the destruction a blessing in disguise. From the ashes, he crafted a new capitol fit for the ancient traditions of the Soilien people. The streets of the capitol are laid straight and square, the main roads paved with white cobblestone. Nander possesses a deep natural harbor that provides secure anchorage for the country’s merchant fleets and navy.

Population: 70,000.

Zinder

Zinder is the southernmost city in Adylheim. Perched on the narrow desert separating the fertile lands of Andragoria from the ash wastes of the Dae’vol, the fortified city provides the main point of meeting between the Soilien and Dae’vol traders. The Third Army maintains its headquarters within the sandstone walls of the citadel.

Population: 7,000.

Night and Day

The twin fortresses of Night and Day occupy a pair of rocky plateaus on the border between Arameia and Andragoria. Built shortly after the dissolution of the Empire, the two fortresses have always been the point of much contention between the Kingdom and the Priesthood of Luxor. The Fortress of Day holds the bulk of the Second Army.

The Fortress of Night lies ruined and destroyed; ramparts and towers ruined by a great host commanded by the Archbishop of Luxor almost three hundred years before the present time. Faced with their destruction and dishonor, the surviving hundred and twelve soldiers bound themselves with a great oath and committed their souls to the care of the only surviving sorceress. With a terrible spell powered by a hundred and thirteen deaths, Mia the Ever-dreaming bound the soldiers as wraiths and spirits to forever guard the fortress against the foes of Andragoria. Against the death-wish spells the sorcerers and paladins of Luxor proved powerless and their armies soon dispersed. The ghosts now serve the Kingdom forever as members of the Eternal Guard; spies and spymasters without concern for mortal flesh. Only the mortals of the Black Watch inhabit the ruins now.

Mirror of the Moon

The Mirror of the Moon guards a great steel chain stretched across the exit of Moon Lake. In addition to headquartering the First and Fifth armies, the sprawling fortress houses the fresh water boats designed to counter the forces of Nerin.

The Prelarchy of Arameia

Arameia is the largest and most central fiefdom. It consists of two parts, the Heartlands and the Highlands, with the Highlands being a separate piece of land, which requires crossing the Archduchy of Starkwater. The Heartlands mainly consists of flat lands without any good natural borders and as such are often assaulted by the neighbouring fiefdoms. A great deal of food is created here. Arameia often sees itself as the most important nation in the Adylheim Alliance and the city of Aram often refers to itself as the capital of Adlyheim.

Arameia takes its name after the Arameians, the by name of the Emperors of old. It is a nation guided principally by the Priestly caste, the Prelate Luxor guiding every aspect of the fiefdom, ensuring his position with the idea that he rules by holy will.

The Heartlands

The Heartlands is the major area of Arameia. It consists primarily of farm- and woodlands, with the occasional hill, getting flatter the further south and east it goes.

Aram

Aram is the largest city in the Mainlands with almost 100,000 inhabitants. It is a spread out metropolis, with the past trappings of the Empire all around it. The majority of the great buildings are destroyed, their stones used to make new buildings. The remaining buildings are mainly the large temple to Luxor and parts of what was the Imperial Palace, which is now used as a administration centre for Arameia.

The basis for Aram is that of a once great, now decayed city, Aram is full of history and the majority of it is ignored. Beggars sleep in the ruined halls of palaces and the rich cluster together in the centre of the city. Outside this very small centre of the city, prices for buildings are very, very low and most just take the room they need. Good housing, as opposed to the ruins that make up the majority of Aram is in high demand.

Fort Resolve

Fort Resolve is a medium sized fortified city on the border between Arameia and Starkwater. It has a large garrison and is often called on to protect the borders and provide support to the Highlands.

The Slivers

A series of islands along the rim of the Arameian Sea, mainly inhabited by fishermen. The largest is called Green Isle, from the strange green mountain which is the central point on the island.

The White Castle

A castle built out of white stone, residing on the plains of Arameia. It has been unstuck from time by a powerful Encloser.

The Highlands

The Highlands are in a hilly part of the Mainlands and are valued for its two mines, one giving the Arameians silver, the other giving them iron. For this reason the Arameians defend the Highlands to the death and have long worked to re-establish a corridor between the Highlands and the Heartlands through the Archduchy of Starkwater.

The Mines

The mines are the main source of the wealth of the Arameians. They are heavily guarded by Arameian troops, and often fought over with the Archduchy of Starkwater. The most seasoned troops in Arameia are usually found here.

The Principality of Nevros

The Principality of Nevros is one of the northernmost fiefdoms and easily one of the most exposed to barbarian assaults. The terrain is dominated by hills and mountains to the north with the lands growing flatter as they stretch south.

System of Government

The Principality of Nevros is led by the Prince of Nevros. The Prince is chosen by the Council of Dukes, which are the leading nobles in Nevros and act as an assembly in times of crisis, though they have no power beyond the selection of the next Prince. The title may sometimes be granted to the same family for several generations, though this depends on the standing and ability of the members of the family.

The Princes of Nevros are renowned for their iron-fisted rule. Few lands are as heavily taxed as Nevros and their peasant populace is poorer than in other fiefdoms. With this money the nobles of Nevros have standing armies that are the envy of most other fiefdoms. Despite this, raids from Ogres, Northmen and Ursidaen are a constant disruptive influence on the affairs of Nevros.

As a reaction to this the Principality of Nevros rarely takes an interest in the affairs of other fiefdoms, despite the ongoing feud between Arameia and Starkwater, both of which Nevros shares a border with. Nevros has not once taken a side in their squabbling.

Capital

Also known as the Prince’s Seat, the city of Alden houses approximately 12,000 inhabitants. With its impressive fortifications it is one of the best defended cities in the fiefdoms. The layout of the city has been created and maintained specifically to throw off invaders, with very few streets following a straight path. Corners and narrow streets with many overhanging buildings are prominent features of Alden.

Inhabitants

Nevros’ inhabitants are primarily Threakians, though Arameians hold some of the minor positions of nobility and usually work as officials.

Geography

The northern parts of Nevros are marked by hills and deep woods. The terrain is fairly unpredictable and it is easy to get lost in the twisting valleys. During the spring the many rivers running through these valleys become flooded due to snowmelt coming down from the north.

As one goes further south the landscape becomes flatter to the point where it begins to border on swamps towards the south. As a result of the frequent border raids, even the most basic farmhouses near the borders are often fortified and equipped with secret entrances and escape tunnels in case of raids.

History

Nevros was the second of the fiefdoms to declare its independence from the Arameian Empire. Under the command of General Rok Famn the newly independent forces of Nevros kept the Empire at bay while its resources crumbled. As soon as the pressure relented, Rok Famn set about consolidating his rule over the nobles of Nevros.

While the other fiefdoms treated the imperial delegates that arrived in 3704 with courtesy but turned them down, Rok Famn was the only one to strike a deal with them, granting the Principality of Nevros limited autonomy in the future Empire.

Unbeknownst to then Emperor Alexandrios XIV however, Rok Famn also struck a deal with the Archduke of Starkwater and with Famn’s men in strategic locations, they butchered the Imperial army in 3712. After this major victory, Prince Famn and his men took control of what is now the southern parts of Nevros, as well as parts of what is the Arameian Heartlands today. The position of Prince was held by the family of Famn for several generations before passing to other hands, and the Famn dukes remain a strong influence on the politics of the Principality even when they are not in power.

With the power of the Arameians growing Nevros lost its hold on the southern part of their principality, losing it to the Arameians in 3970 and settling on the border negotiations in 3971.

The Realm of Faerie

The realm of Faerie is located within the greater realms; travel between faerie and Adylheim's plane is fairly common, both intentionally and unintentionally. Things that happen in Faerie can potentially effect Adylheim and vice versa; in some extreme cases it seems that the planes overlap and merge. This phenomenon is noted in particular in the village of Gate, deep in the Arameia Highlands.

The Seelie and Unseelie Courts

Things however, get more complicated, as Faerie itself is divided into two ever overlapping and touching planes, making things often confusing and misleading; the village that was there yesterday may not be there today. The two planes are called the Plane of the King and the Plane of the Queen, or more simply, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Despite the overlapping, or perhaps because of it, similarities to Adylheim can often be perceived, such as geographic locations, and villages in the same place in all three planes, though the inhabitants are different. However, as mentioned before, things do not tend to stay in the same place for long. The exception to this rule is the very centre, or core of the two places, which house the Halls of the King and Queen. These two places are constant, and are where the rulers of Faerie hold court.

Geographically, Faerie is similar to Adylheim, if Adylheim were warped and bizarre. Night can last for several days in Faerie, and weather can take turns for the strange, with things like rains of frogs being common. Giant, grotesque mushrooms are often the occupancy of choice for many of the planes' inhabitants. Trees die and come back to life, all in the space of several hours. The moon and the sun have been known to be in the sky at the same time, perhaps due to the overlapping of Seelie and Unseelie.

Denizens of Faerie

Contrary to popular opinion, there is no such thing as a faerie, that is to say, in a physical sense. Calling someone a faerie merely means that they live in or originate from the realm of Faerie. Types of faeries are many and mostly undocumented, ranging from sprites to brownies to nixes, both malevolent and helpful. Unicorns are also said to have originated from the faerie realms, and tales of their liberation from it are wide and varied; they are often a favourite of bards and storytellers.

The king and queen of the faeries are two of the Walkers. The king is often known as the Hunter, whilst the queen is vary rarely referred to as anything but the Lady. To call her by her true name is considered extremely bad luck. Despite being married, there is no love lost between the king and queen. They both hold separate courts, and rarely meet. In fact, their apparent feud has divided the whole of Faerie in two. Every inhabitant makes themselves known as a member of the Seelie or Unseelie court; or as they call it, a friend of the king or a friend of the queen. The differences between the two courts are little; they both contain benevolent and substantially less savoury members.

It is said that the elves are the bastard children of Faerie, lost on the plains of Adylheim for all eternity. One piece of evidence to suggest this is the faerie reaction to iron. With elves, it merely removes their glamour, but with faeries, iron numbs all their senses and renders them weak and helpless. Many faeries are also capable of casting glamour, though their skill with it is not necessarily that of an experienced elf; every subject has different strengths and weaknesses.

The Hall of the Hunt

The Hall of the Hunt is the core of the Seelie Court, where the king of Faerie and his courtiers reside. However, due to the nature of the Hunter, the court is not very often contained within is hall, as hunting parties and venturing out into the woods of Seelie are more suited to the lifestyle of the king that sitting at home. The hall itself is a wood longhall, with a huge fire roaring at one end and a crude table and chairs spanning the centre of the building, for feasting upon the wealth of the hunt. Stuffed heads of many different beasts, both mundane and legendary line the walls, and at the head of the table stands a throne of wood that actually seems to grow, tree-like, out of the ground.

The Hunter is generally considered the more benevolent of the two faerie sovereigns by outsiders of the plane, but the distinction between the king and queen is slim at best. One thing that is clear however, is that the king prefers to stay well out of the concerns of humans and inhabitants of other planes unless it is absolutely vital for him to intervene. Those who worship the Hunter often dedicate their kills to him. More elaborate worship, both by faeries and men can involve shrines decorated with tokens of dead animals, such as teeth, horns, bones and intestines. It is speculated that the Hunter and the Green Man were once closely related or perhaps even the same person, but this is only a belief, the truth of which is unlikely to be revealed.

The Palace of Märchen

The core of the Unseelie Court and the residence of the queen is the Palace of Märchen. Unlike her husband, the Lady spends the majority of her time at her court. On the rare times she is not there, it may be concluded that she is out causing mischief and havoc in the realm of Adylheim. The palace itself is hard to describe, since the structure and appearance of it changes with the whim and mood of its ruler. Sometimes it is a fairy-tale palace, made of white stone with icing sugar turrets, towers and pinnacles. Other times, it can change itself into a spider-infested, crumbling ruin of a castle, or even a sprawling thatched cottage. The interior is just as changeable, and usually matches its outer appearance. Many friends of the queen are seen hanging around at court; the wrath of the Lady is much more widely known and feared than that of her husband, and many seek to wheedle their way into her good graces.

The queen of the faeries is never called by her true name, indeed no one actually knows what it is. If she has to be called something, she is simply referred to as the Lady. Unlike her husband, she is whimsical and temperamental, and delights in making trouble for others. Being the ruler of the Unseelie court she is perceived as the leader of the more evil and malevolent beings of the realm, regardless of where their alliance lies. Worship of the Queen is not widely observed. It is said that sacrificing the still-beating heart of captured prey unto her pleases her, an act that seems to reflect on the worship practices of her husband somewhat. Also like the Hunter, the Lady is another of the thirteen Walkers, and her origins are even more shrouded in mystery than those of her king.

Other Phenomenon

It is said that the king and queen can be summoned in an elaborate ritual to grant wishes for the summoner, but this is naturally very risky and very likely to backfire. The couple do not like being disturbed - particularly the queen. Details of the rituals are scarce, but it is generally considered that one needs to know the true name of the sovereigns in order to summon them.

Like their offspring the elves, faeries are vulnerable to iron. However, unlike elves, upon whom it merely breaks their illusions, faeries are physically and mentally harmed by the metal. It can cause burns to the skin and numbs their senses to the point where they can become deaf, dumb and blind. The transportation of iron into Faerie is strictly prohibited and all but impossible. Inhabitants of Adylheim often hang horseshoes over the front door of their houses in order to ward off faeries. However, in times of dire need or distress, peasants will also often place a bowl of milk outside their house, hoping that a faerie will look kindly upon them and help them out in return for the sustenance.

Various customs are observed when entering the faerie realm, either accidentally or on purpose. As aforementioned, bringing iron into the realms is forbidden. Food should be refused completely; it is believed that eating the food of faerie grants the denizens power over the eater, who can then be held in faerie against their will. There have also been reports that men spending only one night in faerie have found themselves back in their own village years later, facing the fact that their children are grown and their wife has become old and decrepit.

Changelings - faeries and humans switched at birth - are a common legend. It is believed that faeries will sneak into a farmstead at night and switch the human child with a faerie one, though it is generally impossible to see the faerie blood in the switched child. Often people accused of being changelings show fear or discomfort in front of iron, and exhibit strange behavior and habits. The stolen human child however, will often grow up privileged in the court of Faerie, fawned and adored by everyone, whilst the changeling will be feared and hated. It is usually accepted that minions of the Queen are those who perform the switch, since the Hunter takes little interest in happenings outside his own realm.