Aramis' Chapbook- Tales of a Traveller

[Aramis]

Penned in a neatly flowing script, a book begins to be filled with the recollections of places seen and places travelled. He worried that some of them might be inaccurate, as a bit too much wine muddled details, but he was fairly certain he'd gotten them (mostly) right!

The Village of Clearhollow
Civic: Council (4 members)
Population: 652 and rising
Notable Religions: Shakmeth, Goddess of the Wemics
Racial Makeup: 32% Human, 23% Elven, 17% Torian, 16% Minotaur, 7% Halfling, 5% Others
Notable Persons: Sylau (Male Sylvan Elf Mist Raider), Omalira (Female Drak Sen Healer), Tynuro (Male Catperson Thief), Hwiral (Male Wemic Priest)
Geographical Features: Clearhollow rests on the cusp of a thick forest and grasslands, at the meeting of two rivers.

Notable Features: Sen Senra Abandoned Obelisk- A large basalt obelisk carved with indecipherable words said to be the insane ravings of a dying and forgotten god. It is popularly believed that the person who can decipher this can learn the secrets of divine ascension. Its exact age is unknown, but it is believed to be thousands of years old. The Obelisk is tended to by a group that is simply known as "The Ministers", who clothe themselves in heavy hooded cloaks and never show their faces, nor do they speak.

Cultural Quirks:The Obelisk attracts people from all over the place, trying to decipher it. This has led to a healthy economy based strongly on tourism. Odd habits and strange customs are the norm for this village.

History: Clearhollow was originally settled just forty years ago, by a group of refugees, escorted by an adventuring party. The refugees were fleeing their home when it had been destroyed due to a storm, said to be a manifestation of Gaea's anger when her temple was broken into and robbed by unknown assailants. Now, the village as a whole worships Shakmeth, both in homage to the noble wemic priest who helped save them, and because they've turned their backs on the traditional gods, in anger.

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OOC Note: If anyone would like a location covered in the chapbook that they've used in a quest or storyline, please send me a PM with notable details, and I'll add it. I plan on updating this weekly with new locations, so keep an eye on it!

[Phaing]

Nice job, Phaing would like to visit it someday, and not just to look at some ancient rock.

[Aramis]

Vertedge, Walled City of the Thousandfold Mourning
Civic: Theocracy
Population: 14,893
Notable Religions: AdenVer, Jar Sinth, Sira
Racial Makeup: 43% Sheyka, 21% Human, 18% Wolven 10% Vulpine, 8% Others
Notable Persons: High Bloodspiller Azjrakan, Sheyka Priest of AdenVer
Geographical Features: This large city resides in an oasis in the western part of the Great Desert, south of the Illfirian Empire.

Notable Features: This city possesses some of the highest walls in the region, recently built and towering up to 70 feet in parts of the city, as well as internal walls dividing social classes, with the priesthood of AdenVer residing in the middle of the city.

Cultural Quirks: Insults to one's honor are swiftly dealt with with a strange and highly formalized duel, presided over by clergy of AdenVer who patrol the streets of the city, keeping the peace. Unlike in other places, these duels' severity is determined by the clergy, depending on the offense. Therefore, spitting on a person's shoes might result in the duel ending with first blood, but sleeping with another person's spouse might be allowed to progress to the death.

History: This city used to be much more populous, run by a fair tribal council, with a king leading it, until it was attacked by some people who were unlike any others seen before, coming out of the desert at the bequest of their bloody god. Unprepared for the bloodbath that was to follow, Vertedge was nearly overrun, pushed back to the innermost circle before a visiting paladin of AdenVer took command and organized the forces into an army capable of expelling the invaders with the blessings of their newly acquired god.

In gratitude, the people elevated the paladin into the position of leader, since their former council had all died previously. Many years have passed since then, as the priesthood has slowly taken over and taken effort to push all other religions out of the city, though a few cells still remain active in hiding.

Taken advantage of the city's newly available real estate, a large sheykan clan has moved in and established themselves, until they now outnumber the humans in the city, which causes more tension with every passing day.

[Aramis]

OOC Note: This was sent to me by Shogeton.

City: Iyuka
Civic: Aristocracy
Population: 29,582
Notable Religions: Alarea, Lanik, Calastra, Andronichus
Racial Make up: 62% high elves, 13% humans, 8% catpeople, 7% moriel, 10% others. (Most non-high elves are slaves.)
Notable Persons: Duke Ardinas Leranin, Lady Elvenstar Fairchild

Notable features: Imandira's Park resides in a quiet quarter of the city, a large area of wilderness, tended to by the Disciples of Imandira, a local druidic group. The park possesses many exotic and rare plants and flowers that are uniquely elven. It was originally established years ago by Imandira, a heirophant of great power who decided to give up her life to be bound to the park. Local legends say that they are waiting for her to be reborn as a nymph.

Cultural Quirks: The city is widely known for both its dedication to the arts, as well as a deeply rooted public prudishness. Indecency laws are strict, and there is a great social taboo on discussing sexuality in public. While having pleasure slaves is common, especially to the nobles, using them in public is a major faux pas. Foreigners are held to a less strict standard, the rather chauvinistic high elves considering it further 'evidence' of other people's barbarity. Of course, behind close doors, many a family might indulge in enough decadence to make a moriel blush, but it is simply never spoken off in public.

History: Iyuka's history spans several elven generations, having been established three thousand years ago as a military outpost against a moriel presence there. It's founders were a brotherhood of Knights sworn to chastity, and they had a large influence on the city from the start, many of the cities ancient buildings praising the strenght that comes from purity. Initially, it was much more militaristic, as the city's ancient walls show.

However, moriel politics reduced the threat, as vicious infighting paralyzed the Nethergloom cousins. Not caring to mount an attack in the Nethergloom itself, the high elves considered this a victory, and proudly turned their attention to higher callings. A great academy to the arts was founded, and particularly poetry was celebrated as an art to glorify the history of the High Elves and Iyuka in particular. Naturally, the other past time, political games between the Great Families took a large amount of time as well.

Recently however, the moriel have recovered, and slaver raids are common, and a few battles were fought. The elven city is slow to react though, their own political feuds slowing them down.

[Phaing]

(Most non-high elves are slaves.)

Bummer.
I wonder how they would react to a High-Elf/Moriel cross.

Before she started cussing them out for not striking while the Moriel were weak, I mean.

[Aramis]

The Shroud Ruins (Formerly, the town of Toko)
Civic: Monarchy (Ghost King Lennoth)
Population: Roughly 7,500 ghosts, 500 cultists living just outside the town in a tent city.
Notable Religions: Sazera and Maedel, Sheara, Kirva
Racial Makeup: 53% Torian (ghosts), 37% Chirot (ghosts), 10% others (living)
Notable Persons: King Lennoth (Torian Ghost), General Vladimar "the Demon" Dlarketh (Chirot Ghost), The Mad Prophet Octavian (Human cult leader)
Geographical Features: Located two weeks outside of Nanthalion, to the northeast, the Ruins rest circled by hills, which do more to channel the ghostly screams which emerge from the Ruins every night, than to muffle them.

Notable Features: The Ruins, a literal ghost town, remains untouched by time. You could walk into one of the taverns to find full tankards of ale, with the foam still atop, looking as if it had just been poured minutes before. Nothing in the town spoils, dulls, rusts, or rots, even stuff brought in by looters and treasure seekers. It's not unusual to find empty clothes and full packs resting in the middle of the street, as if they had just been discarded. Also, the Cult of Ehrized maintains a camp just outside the city walls, dedicated to some mad prophet who believes that the only ways to rid the city are by feeding the ghosts within a steady stream of sacrifices (willing or not), and by self-induced suffering, believing that they can channel the spirits' pain through themselves.

Cultural Quirks: Toko is continuously filled with roaming ghosts of restless souls, but every night, they simply disappear from wherever they are when the sun sets, reappearing wherever they were when the battle that sparked the town's mysterious doom began, reliving the conflict every night in a ghostly war that ends only when a strange green explosion rips through the town, killing all present. Should any living creatures be inside the town's walls (and lucky enough to not have been killed by the ghosts) at that point, they die as well, adding themselves permanently to the town's population.

History: Two hundred years ago, Toko was originally a Torian town that was quite prosperous, thanks to a local mining boom, the town saw its population beginning to swell rapidly, though they maintained strict rules that only allowed torians to permanently inhabit the town. Everyone else lived in a tent city that rested just a short horse ride outside of town. This sudden influx of wealth gained them the attention of the Chirot, whose lands were but a few hundred miles away, prompting them to attack the town, wanting its riches for their own. To this day, nobody knows exactly what had happened to end the fight, but according to local legend, a strange bright burst of green light erupted through the city, originating from the mine district, killing everyone inside town instantly, regardless of where they were trying to hide, what powerful magics they had protecting them, or who they were.

WARNING: To this day, only one person has ever stepped foot inside the town's walls and lived to tell the tale, and that is the Mad Prophet Octavian, whose mind was shattered by the incident. All that is known is that he falls into insane ramblings about something that was hidden in the mines by a far older and more powerful civilization, and something or someone named "Crithian." Even necromancer archmages and powerful shamans have been recorded as having the ghosts laugh at them shortly before shredding them and making a gory explosion of blood and bone. (A favorite tactic of the spirits, it seems.)

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OOC Note: I thought this might make for an interesting quest location, should anyone be interested.