Cities and Lands
The Cities of Elanthia
The primary cities of Oakhome, Quillmore, Soarhaven, and Stal-Hagen are individually flavored to reflect the history of the inhabitants and their politics.
Quillmore
Quillmore is the last of the Old Blood cities, a fading memory of a bygone age. Its once-grand facades have suffered terribly over the years as time and the struggle to endure in post-Sundering Elanthia erode its majesty, reducing it to a ghost of its former self.
At the heart of Quillmore city is the castle of Lord Regas IV, the shrewd leader of the House of Quillmore. He and his knights -- the Order of the Clockwork Dragons -- keep the peace in and around Quillmore, focusing their efforts on Grenmeer Reach. House Quillmore is one of the many Old Blood Houses that aligned itself to the Arcanum in days past. Though this blood oath still holds true, Lord Quillmore is all too keenly aware of the growing importance of the Triumvirate. He has seen fit to install his youngest scion as an ambassador in Soarhaven.
Though Lord Regas does not officially approve of it, unofficially a large population of the infamous House of Rogues has moved into Quillmore and set up residence in its catacombs.
Once considered an outsider by the world's great power centers, Quillmore finds itself as the keystone of Elanthia's restorative efforts. The remnant citizenry of hundreds of communities call Quillmore home and look to its ruling House to provide sanctuary in the wake of the Sundering.
Like everything touched by that onerous episode, the former kingdom is not without scars.
At the dawn of its history, Quillmore was the refined and opulent seat of House Quill. Because the land surrounding it was considered too harsh and unyielding to live on, the kingdom was never bothered with hostile takeover bids and remained a relatively peaceful place. It prospered thanks to the tenacity of its rulers, who tamed the area and built a haven of Human heritage within it. Thus, what it lacked in fertile lands, it more than made up for in astute, crafty leadership and unswerving dedication to the ancient traditions of their people.
House Quill had long accepted its lot as the least favored of the Human domains when the Sundering catapulted it to the forefront of political importance. Owing to the fact that it isn't lying in a million pieces, Quillmore is now one of the most populated cities in the known world, and the only old Human city left standing. Post-Sundering, refugees poured into it from the rest of the ravaged lands in search of food, shelter and safety, swelling its numbers to unheard-of heights.
House Quill was not the only royal house to survive the shattering calamity, but it shoulders much of the burden of the territory's governance. House Wainstone settled in Quillmore Castle and supplemented House Quill's defenses with wizards and magical research, while House Trugar established a small village and barracks in the Grenmeer Lowlands from which it stages border patrols, rescue missions and sorties. The three houses together form a fragile and sometimes pithy alliance.
Lord Regas IV, shrewd leader of the House of Quill, works tirelessly to keep the peace within his domain and repel the forces that seek to destroy it. Though his family has always been aligned with the Arcanum, he recognizes the growing importance of the Triumvirate, and has installed his youngest brother (and heir until Regas sires a child) as an ambassador for House Quill in Soarhaven.
Oakhome
Established by the Kinnaes immediately before the Sundering, Oakhome is situated in the heart of the massive Velzier Forest. Built on the bones of an abandoned Dozim city, Oakhome is a sanctuary to those aligned with Nature and the home of the Kinnaes Council of Elders. It is sometimes called the "City of White Birds" because of the fluttering clouds of odd nature spirits that hover near its top.
In older times, when the Arcanum still persecuted magical orders outside its sphere of influence, Oakhome was a sanctuary to the Kinnaes. It is now the biggest city on Urgar, the Northeast Isle of Known Elanthia.
Oakhome is perpetually plagued by the Burlorg and their favorite minions, the Boneshard Clan. The Burlorg in particular seem to have a special hatred for the City of White Birds. The Lightless also dwell near Velzier Forest, near the ruins of one of the Old Blood Houses.
Soarhaven
The youngest city in Known Elanthia is also its most powerful. Soarhaven is the seat of the Triumvirate, the ruling body that keeps order in Elanthia. From the Council Seat in the northern part of the city, the ambassadors of the three major ruling bodies -- the Arcanum, the Gearsmiths, and the Kinnaes -- administer to the needs of Elanthia and its people, sending aid where it is needed most.
Soarhaven sits on Vigil Island in the middle of the Verta Sea. It has ample access to all major ports and cities in Elanthia via most standard forms of transport (ship, airwhale, and mechanical dragon).
A feature of the great city is the Kingmaker Machine, a giant tree-like machine of mysterious origin that determines which of the three factions will lead the Triumvirate next. Some believe the choosing to be completely random. Others believe it can be influenced.
Stal-Hagen
The Sundering War began when Fuir-Hagen, the center of Gearsmith culture, was destroyed by an Arcanum dragon, its inhabitants obliterated in one cruel blow. Stal-Hagen -- located on the Southern Island of Rothgar -- is that city's twin. Dangling in the middle of a vast chasm by four heavy chains, the craftsmanship that made the city has long since been lost, despite efforts of reverse-engineering.
Cluttered with the workings of the Stoneborn, Stal-Hagen is an inventor's paradise, packed full of odd golems, strange devices, and chattering machines. Overseeing the ebb and flow of the industrial city are Methit Hagener and his sister, Condena. In the inexplicable manner of the Stoneborn, Methit is a Burian and Condena a Qwi.
Stal-Hagen is a relatively peaceful city, a safehaven in the midst of hostile environs. To the northeast, the so-called "Cursed Lands" where the bones of Ashog, the Brimstone Dragon, have been assembled into a massive temple complex by the Theg-worshipping miscreants known as the Pack. Additionally, the mines near Stal-Hagen have recently begun to exhibit strange activity that may or may not be associated with the anti-magic fanatics that call themselves the "Hammers of Truth".
Lands of Elanthia
The Grenmeer Lowlands (Quillmore)
It takes a lot of food to feed the citizenry of the Quill region. Fortunately, the Grenmeer Lowlands survived the Sundering too. It is one of the few territories that actually improved with the catastrophe - changed weather patterns and diverted water sources now irrigate the once-arid plain to provide bountiful harvests with which to feed the growing population. As far as Quill's enemies are concerned, this is a bad situation. The Ukar, in particular, make it a point to levy a steady dose of destruction whenever the opportunity arises.
In an effort both to contain the Lowland's resources and protect its inhabitants, House Trugar undertook the building of a massive wall to fortify its eastern border along the Green Mirror River. Fraught with innumerable problems, not the least of which is the actual repair of the embattled barricade, it is referred to by residents as Trugar's Folly. Breached and cobbled in many places, some argue that the barrier is more trouble than it's worth. It is a constant source of political strife among the three Houses.
Although life in the Lowlands is far from bucolic, the same pioneering spirit that turned a wasteland into a thriving country still imbues the very air, and the farmers and herders of the Lowlands are as tenacious as iron-thistle and twice as tough.
The Grenmeer Lowlands is Quillmore's breadbasket, its primary source of nourishment -- which is what makes the looming threat to it all the more dire.
The Lowlands was not always so lush and verdant. Before the Sundering the earth was rocky and inhospitable, loved only by the people of Quillfain, one of the twelve Human Kingdoms known as the Twelve Crowns. It was from this unlovely earth that the people of House Quill arose: stocky, sturdy, and stubborn. Qualities once looked down upon by other Houses, Houses that perished utterly in the dark days of Elanthia's past.
The Sundering transformed the Lowlands and, in one of the rare "good" outcomes, made it lush and fertile. The people farming the land today are survivors of the same families that worked the land from the beginning, but now the forces they find themselves contending with are not drought and sandy soil, but Sundering-warped oddities and raiders hungry for gold and blood.
Grenmeer LowlandsThe Grenmeer Lowlands is surrounded by a high wall known as Trugar's Barrier or, in some circles, Trugar's Shame. Originally intended to keep out the insidious hordes of Boneshard Clan hunters and ruthless bandits, the wall has ultimately proved less effective than initially desired. The Ukar, ever adaptive, have constructed siege engines and conscripted sappers to aid their cause. Clever bandits resort to stolen spellcraft and hooks and ropes to scale the walls.
Not a day goes by in the Lowlands that a farmer does not pause to glance westward and wonder how long the Barrier will last, and who will save them if -- or when -- it finally does collapse.
Human Settlements
The environments of Hero's Journey are constructed from what we call Tile Sets. Our GameMasters use these sets of themed art elements (sometimes mixing and matching) to create all the areas that players will explore in the game. The most recent addition to our library of environmental themes is our Human Settlement.
As the Triumvirate has cleared regions of Known Elanthia, the brave and the enterprising have left the cities to reclaim farmsteads and establish villages. Human settlements in particular are known for their functionality and agricultural bent. Where Ilvari will look for the magic in the landscape, and the Stoneborn the ore, the Humans are bent on farming and cultivating the land.
The largest and oldest Human settlement is Quillmore, and most Humans can trace their lineage back within two generations to this proud city. Many Human settlements echo the Quillmore tradition of shingled roofs, whitewashed exteriors and quaint, cozy interiors. Practical and sturdy, the architecture is designed to be quickly assembled from local materials and incorporates simple machines (such as windmills, etc.) and arcana (glowstones, etc.). They can outlast anything Elanthia can throw at them - from mundane blizzards to magical ragestorms.
The Cursed Lands
The Cursed Lands - also called the Dragon Temple by some - have been the sacred ground of the Sunok since their genesis. The site has been encroached upon by the Pack within the last century, leading to an ongoing land feud and enmity between the two groups. Triumvirate research has not conclusively proven why the Pack have relentlessly pursued control of the Dragon Temple territories, though it has been noted that this aggressive push for the Cursed Lands only manifested after the Pack swore its allegiance to the Rakshaal. Certainly, there is reason to believe that the Rakshaal would have a vested interest in the Cursed Lands. No one who has visited there can deny that this is a place of malevolent power. The source of this power is still up for debate, but it cannot be coincidental that this is also the very same ground where Ashog's bones have scattered.
On some occasions, mercenaries have been employed by the Pack to aid in their long war. With the exception of those members who have been trained in infiltration and espionage, and who are accepting Pack offers for these purposes, Triumvirate inductees caught working for the Pack will be expelled and stripped of all privileges.
The Sunok will certainly also retaliate against anyone known to be in league with the Pack. Sunok Hunters are not uncommon to the Cursed Lands, and specialize in picking off the foes of their agenda to reclaim their holy ground.
The Fields of Sorrow
I will turn my milk-white steed
And travel on the morrow
To Fields where they sow only bones,
And harvest only sorrow.
- From the Cycle of the Forest Knight, by Bard Setchemos
The Fields of Sorrow were the host to a major turning point in the Great War, and the actual, physical location where the Sundering started. It was witness to a great clash between Gear and Magic, and to this day, the remnants of that war still rest there, broken and half-buried in the contaminated soil.
Nowadays, the Fields are a quiet place, but bloodshed still visits this far-flung and shunned locale. All types call this place home, from greedy bootleggers trying to dig up the artifacts of the past, to malicious Ugrek and Pack who seek the same - but for reasons other than monetary gain. There are also rumors that the Broken can be seen, shambling mindlessly around the Fields. Some of these are war victims, rising up from their slumber. Some, however, have come here, drawn by the aura of sorrow and loss, turning the rotting and rusted relics into their home.
