Onadbyr

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Imprints of the Half Goat These are two deep and giant size goat hoof-shaped indentations in the rocks near the sea cliffs. Everyone in the city has their own theory of why the other imprints of the other two hoofs are missing. In reality, these are hoofprints left by King Dasmag, who centuries ago fought a battle on this cliff against a wizard who tried to enclose him in the rocks. The satyr lord had the ability to increase his size, which helped him escape the wizard’s spell.

The Loud and Lusty A dirty and loud venue where the servers wear almost nothing, drawing those who seek the pleasures of the flesh like bugs to a lantern. The madame, Yhlsaby, is a charming and outgoing young matron who is adept at dismissing sensitive questions about guests. Yhlsaby’s confidant is a charismatic but lewd tiefling named Thymo, who is responsible for hosting the exclusive guests of the establishment.

Temple of Light and Darkness This small island houses a huge lighthouse that also serves as the Temple of Light and Darkness. The massive tower’s ground floor functions as a communal area, while the higher level rooms are occupied by the priests of the temple, with the high priest's room being on the top. Father Kalozark Solamyr, an aging tiefling with bright yellow-colored skin, maintains the huge lantern-like apparatus that focuses the bluish light of a special wood continuously burnt under the mirrors. The beam of light can be seen for miles. The temple was rebuilt on the remains of the demolished Eternal Torch, originally erected by the Order of Eternal Light almost a thousand years ago.

Sea Gate The northern seaside gate of the capital sees less traffic than any of the other gates due to the low number of residents in the Cliffs. As a result, guards are also in fewer numbers at this gate, which on rare occasions might even be closed for short periods of time due to the “other important tasks” of the few King’s Swords present.

Cheeky Mermaid This seaside inn is visited mostly by those who come for a short visit to the seaside. The inn's common room is a huge ballroom with a large bar and many tables to accommodate even the full crews of several ships at once. A curious regular is Blimbo, a witty halfling sailor with a fake eyepatch who claims to be a ship captain for hire.

The Buried Tower Only the pointy rooftop of an iron-wrought tower protrudes from an indestructible rocky surface, without any way in. No one knows how it got there, why it is buried deep into the rock, or how to enter it.

Fish Gate This gate is the busiest in the early morning hours and is mainly used by the residents and the fishermen of the Seabed, who bring their loaded wagons with their daily catch to the city.

Seafarm Fishmarket One can smell the market from several streets away. Everything the sea offers is on display here and even more. Giant frog legs, a highly sought-after delicacy is brought in by the lizardfolk of the North Bay to everyone's delight in the city.

Royal Docks These bustling docks are open to any ship that pays the associated daily docking taxes. Numerous sailors, both local river ships and many from the neighbouring Drayl City-States frequent this location, but sometimes ships from exotic far-away regions also dock here to sell their wares at the mouth of the Nanock River. The local King’s Swords are always on the lookout for pirate ships that would try to dock and masquerade as merchant vessels.

Royal Shipyard The royal shipyards are reserved for the King’s Armada and the numerous craftsmen, sailors, and clerks who work here. The largest battleship of the navy, the Wild Whale has spent the past decade in the drydocks of the shipyard as it is only lowered to water in times of war.

Short Road Large elegant houses, gardened villas, and small parks populate both sides of this wide, relatively clean road, which is the main thoroughfare through the elegant North District.

Long Road The dirtiest, busiest, and the noisiest road of the city, connecting the two main bridges in a long curve through the South District.

Skeleton Road This wide dirt road is a side road from Short Road.

Seaside Road This wide dirt road is a side road from Long Road.

New Wall The outer walls of the city were built two centuries ago. They are dotted with small watchtowers every 500 feet, which can accommodate four guards at a single time but nowadays only two guards occupy every second tower. There are signs of flooding on the northeastern sections of the wall.

Old Wall Weathered and visibly ancient, this 30-foot high wall was raised by the founders of the city during the age of the Dark Star. Its cracks and large blocks of stone could tell a million tales as can the markings that can be found here and there on the surface of the ancient stone blocks. The weathered carvings are hard to find and it’s even harder to comprehend their meaning, but anyone who searches thoroughly low and high on the wall can piece together the story of the slaves who built it and the location of their secret hideout, which they were unable to share verbally in fear of the shape-changing deva infiltrators. The ancient messages lead to a location beneath the Deep Warrens Tavern.

Crown Gate The widest gate of the city, this massive fortified gate is considered the main entry into Onadbyr where wagons and large groups can enter or leave the capital. The cobblestones on the ground are loose and worn out, leaving everything covered in mud. The gate sees heavy traffic during daytime and is always attended by a larger group of the King’s Swords.

Riverside Promenade This elevated, well-fortified riverside road presents a beautiful sight with its tall iron street lamps and shiny cobblestones. At regular intervals, flights of stairs descend from the elevated street level to piers on the river. It is a common pastime of the locals to sit on the benches by the river and watch the palace and bustling south side of the city.

Grankar's Chains This double-towered narrow bridge is held up by enormous chains. It was built by King Grankar the Brash, who expanded the city beyond the Old Wall during the Melkar Dynasty over six centuries ago. Both bridgeheads on both sides of the river feature statues of large sitting lions with open maws. Some say that the sculptor who created these lions committed suicide as the residents ridiculed him for forgetting to sculpt tongues for the beasts.

The Crossing of the Thousand Lanterns This simple but massive wide wooden bridge allows crossing over the river before entering the Crown Gate. Thousands of locals celebrate the Day of the Ancestors here every year by releasing floating lanterns onto the flowing waters below, representing the souls of lost ones. The lanterns float through the city for all to see before spreading out to the sea and disappearing from sight.

Nine Arches This flat bridge is built upon nine stone arches. The bridge was destroyed by Malzdreziret the Scaled Impostor, before being rebuilt only a decade ago by King Waldrann. Lovers often take rowboats and navigate to one of the many pillars of the bridge to write their names on the pillars.

King's Bridge This slim, walled, and roofed bridge, designed and built using magic by Master Arlen, allows only one carriage to cross at a single time. The walls of the bridge are so narrow that one can’t even open the doors of a carriage in the passage, which is also dotted with arrow slits running on both sides. It is heavily guarded at all times.

Queen's Bridge This slim bridge is almost identical to the King's Bridge, with the exception of magically movable large stone blocks in the center that can block passage on the bridge if needed.

Zhankar Plaza Few recall the tales about Zhankar, the magnificent entertainer, and his carnies who lived during the Wyltammer Period and held amazing shows at this plaza. Under his immense colorful self-folding tents, Zhankar entertained large crowds every night for a week at the start of every season. His performances of grand illusions ended abruptly but no one knows why.

Royal Gardens These beautifully kept gardens are open to the public but are always closely monitored by the Caretakers of Life and the soldiers assigned to them. The park was built over the ruins of the Cathedral of the Sun, which was razed during the rebellion against the theocracy of the Order of Eternal Light. Gorgeous plantlife from distant lands is cultivated here, while the beautiful small fields are open for picnics, and little hidden retreats with benches offer secluded havens for introspection. There is also a perfect view over the Royal Palace from hanging balconies by the Old Wall.

Rose Garden Park Bordered by beautiful villas, this park is home to a large variety of roses of all colors and sizes, making it a favorite place for romantic getaways. A few years back, a serial killer was hunting for couples in the park, leaving them in macabre displays. The Red Cloaks were unable to find the killer and the killings soon stopped. Some still fear entering the park after dark and it is heavily patrolled by the king's soldiers.

King Vacrilos II. Park The park bears the name of the "Grandfather of the Realm'', the second of the Azennar line, a beloved king from over two centuries ago with many wives, dozens of children, and scores of grandchildren. The park is known for its many food stalls and buskers, as well as the occasional pickpockets who mingle among the distracted crowds.

Platinum Peacock Park The most elegant park of the capital is decorated with beautifully polished iron statues of peacocks in majestic poses, serving as a gentle retreat to all who visit the Noble's Rest cemetery. The leader of the small team of gardeners of the park, Drefoi Trenader is a reclusive middle-aged human who is lately very concerned about the thefts of the garden’s rarest roses. He has alerted the King’s Swords on numerous occasions but they have not been able to help him and have started to neglect his calls for aid.

Dragon Plaza Formerly known as the Plaza of the People, this enormous empty plaza is dominated by the bronze statue of King Daerios Azennar, the current king's father, who defeated and chased away Malzdreziret the Scaled Impostor. The statue depicts the heroic king as he wounds the huge dragon with the Falcon Blade.

Park of Lonely Spirits This quiet park gives home to the Garden of the Sleepers, a collection of small crypts and mausoleums maintained by the families of influential residents. A mysterious half-elven wizard named Caielin sits every late afternoon on the same beautifully carved bench and stays until sunset. No one knows where he goes and why he has this almost ritualistic habit and when asked he does not respond. Some say he is mute, while others speculate that he is waiting for his lost love to return from her grave.

Monster Menagerie This garden with a lake at the center houses the king’s famous monster collection. It is a popular location, as families with children can enter for free to view the various magnificent beasts that have been captured or gifted to the King and put on display here, including a giant crocodile, a pair of triceratopses, birds of paradise with hypnotic plumes, a mated pair of griffons, giant ants, and Softplume the owlbear.

Basket of Plenty The main food market of the capital is a vast sea of colors and sounds filled with an ever-flowing mass of people and the full range of enticing aromas. One can buy almost any type of food, even from far-off exotic lands, except for meat, which is only available at the Meat Market. Long rows of tiny curtained stalls, most with only seats for two customers, line the sides of the market where one can find any type of street food at all hours of the day.

Tradersmeet A market of caravans for traders from outside of the city dominates the center of the Coin District. Special resources and handcrafted goods make up most of the merchandise sold here. The plaza is also a famous meeting place for travelers from the rest of the kingdom and residents of the city. It is also frequently visited by pity pickpockets and thieves who prey on travelers.

Ironweaver's Market The "Metal Market", as some call it, is maintained for those who sell used or mint condition household metalware, weapons, or armor. The air is constantly filled with sounds of clanking and the scraping of metal against metal, as well as the sounds of haggling and deals being struck.

Meat Market The butcher's market sells all types of meat, domesticated and wild animals, and sometimes even the meat of fantastic beasts brought in by monster hunters.

Minaret of the Speaker A tall slim tower with magical properties is used to announce important information or to raise attention to important events in the city. The voice of the High Speakers from the top of the minaret can be heard even outside the city walls when announcements are made. The commander of the small garrison stationed at the minaret is Andrue Nihols, a steadfast human minor noble Knight of the Crown with a braided ponytail, who takes pride in his late ancestor who protected the minaret during the attack of Malzdreziret.

Royal Palace Incorporates the Royal Court (services, guards, storage), the Royal Quarters (sleep, recreation, hygiene, dining), the Royal Mausoleum, the Throne Room, the Guest Quarters, and the Royal Treasury. It is a closely guarded complex where the royal family and its servants, guards, assistants, and advisors live their daily lives.

Eyrie of the Fabled The Eyrie of the Fabled is a place where nobility and the wealthy can meet to enjoy high-quality entertainment, and also show off their social status. It is a small, yet richly decorated venue built to fulfill every need of visitors from high society. The theater's auditorium and stage area is covered with darkwood, making it completely soundproof. .

Fists of Azennar Built over six centuries ago by Master Arlen the Constructor, these massive circular towers house several levels of mundane and some magical siege engines to protect the city in times of war. These siege weapons can be easily repositioned with the aid of iron rails. The bastions can also extend massive iron poles over the river on both ends to block boats from accessing the High District. The pole is operated by over a dozen soldiers and takes a bit of time to position. Damage from multiple elements is still clearly visible on both towers where they were ravaged by Malzdreziret the Scaled Impostor.

Fists of Azennar Built over six centuries ago by Master Arlen the Constructor, these massive circular towers house several levels of mundane and some magical siege engines to protect the city in times of war. These siege weapons can be easily repositioned with the aid of iron rails. The bastions can also extend massive iron poles over the river on both ends to block boats from accessing the High District. The pole is operated by over a dozen soldiers and takes a bit of time to position. Damage from multiple elements is still clearly visible on both towers where they were ravaged by Malzdreziret the Scaled Impostor.

House of the Soldier These are the barracks of the King’s Swords, the army of Aglarion. It is composed of a walled compound of six long, two-story buildings and a simple large service building built out of bricks with a slight greenish hue. The single gate is always well-guarded and the location is usually clamorous with the sounds of physical training and shouting. A regular face at the gate is Jacob Hammersmyth, a lazy and cynical old warrior who worked his way into a position where he is in charge of stamping entry and release documents. He seems weak-willed and easily fooled, but in reality, he is a fiercely loyal servant of the crown.

Dungeon of Tears The dungeons of the realm, holding prisoners both mundane and magical. Over two dozen soldiers and a captain is present at all times with numerous servants attending to their needs and taking care of the prisoners. The most famous prisoner of the institution is a crazed-looking middle-aged man called Terin Merduz, who has been accused of a series of murders that took place in the Rose Garden years ago.

King's Forge The royal smithy is where everything from metalware to gears of war is crafted when the crown requires it and the official coins of the realm are also minted here. The smithy is known for its towering chimneys and its hallways that have been painted orange by the light of the dwarf’s’ forges. It is a well-guarded location in the city with many soldiers stationed here. The most imposing figure in the swarm of crafters and workers is Somrin 'Fernidad' Ironhammer, an imposing giant of a dwarf who is over 8 feet tall. Somrin is a barbarian shaman from the edges of the Mountainfalls, a strange and abandoned land of endless mountain peaks, who crafts the most reliable weapons in the King's Forge.

Halls of the Lawgiver The high court of the kingdom and the base of the Red Cloaks - the members of the city guards, who are also law enforcers and judges in one person. The majestic building is formed out of austere towers with wide bases that think out as they rise, strikingly resembling a fort rather than a normal building. The sides of the gates are decorated with huge statues of Red Cloaks and their Eye and Sword symbol. The most commonly encountered individual at the front desk is the insomniac Mur Seph, a disheveled human who runs a small team of scribes to manage the public office, information, and contacts. One of the most outstanding figures at the Halls is the kennel master Garin Se'eray, a looming half-giant over 8 feet tall, who breeds large dogs for the Red Cloaks to use in their pursuits and tracking.

The King's Pride The royal stables, where horses in the King’s service are kept. All these horses were bred and brought in from the Royal Stud Farm near the city.

Royal Warehouses A complex of several large warehouses where everything from resources, to documents, and confiscated contraband is kept. These huge storages are kept under close surveillance by the King’s Swords and access to any of them is granted only with an official letter of authorization.

King Boldizzar Azennar's Statue Standing on a granite pedestal, this huge iron statue rises above Dragon Plaza and depicts the late king in the moment of his victory against the invading Vordan armies.

Zephran's Ruins These are the demolished remains of a villa owned by a once-great noble house, now forgotten. The family villa was abolished by a mob of the city's civilians one night almost a century ago. It is rumored to be haunted by the resonances of the cruelty beyond imagination that took place here.

Ruins of the Cathedral of the Sun The place of worship of the old sun god, raised more than nine hundred years ago during the theocracy of the Order of Eternal Light, stands long abandoned. The vaguely recognizable structure of the ruin speaks of the imposing architecture it once displayed. The few waist-high walls that remain are only fragments of the original architecture, which once spread all over the western half of the southern section of the High District from the Angel’s Choir to the Gentlemen's Refuge. There is a royal decree in effect, forbidding any excavations in the ruins, which was left behind as a memento of the ancient history of the realm.

The Napping Giant This colossal weather-worn statue from ancient times depicts the reclining form of a green-skinned giant or a human of giant size, no one is sure. It has an unidentifiable glyph on its forehead. The findings of an earlier excavation confirm that the statue has the remains of wings on its back that have been broken off ages ago with the use of chisels. This has led the historians to the conclusion that the statue was raised in honor of the planetar Tannur, the Sorrowbringer, over two thousand years ago.

The Weeping Kobold Fountain The statue was erected to commemorate Skerg Nethercrest, renowned Court Jester and confidante of Queen Linolu the Peaceful. The statue depicts a weeping kobold, dressed in his jester’s robe, which is painted in bright colors every year. The lost notes of the song Skerg sang to the queen, and which secured his role at the court, have been sought after by many of the bards of the realm but none have yet been able to find them.

Tomb of the First King The resting place of King Razmyrel Valsyr Melkar I. is a ten feet high unworked block of granite in which his friend and ally, Archmage Alren the Constructor molded the king’s perfect likeness using magic. Engraved on the surface of the imposing rock is a single line that says “Order is our solid foundation”. The letters are hard to make out, as it is a custom to touch the engraving for good luck and the stone has been smoothed out over hundreds of years from the hands of countless visitors.

Merchant's Rest One of the largest taverns in the city has plenty of space for thirsty travelers who enter the capital, as well as a large staging ground for carriages. The crowd is a mix of mostly merchants and travelers who loudly bargain and strike lucrative deals, but it is also a favored place of the modest citizens of the North District, and a few nobles who visit from time to time to meet with merchants. The tavern is run by Rythis Balric, a blond flirty half-elf who bought the place after several other failed business ventures.

Golden Nectar The most elegant inn in the capital for those with heavy purses and a reason to stay in the High District. The food is fabulous, the rooms are spacy, the staff is kind, and the proprietor Omric Laronzo is a charismatic, discreet, and observant person with secretly whispered connections to the Golden Masks. The lavishly furnished taproom of the inn features a small, delicately carved ivory gazebo which serves as a private stage for the inn's famous performer Dorian. The smug human graduated in the College of Minstrels with a perfect score in all instruments and many recommendations from his masters, and quickly became a celebrated artist in the city, especially after joining Omric in his inn. He was left with a cut ear after an overly enthusiastic fan tried to kill him and then commit suicide during a performance.

Ratcatcher Inn The worst place to have a stay in Onadbyr but also the cheapest. The proprietor, Gibras the Meek, is a silent introvert with dark sunken eyes and an air of eerie strangeness about his person. The loudest residents at the place are always Fingle Jewelstomper, a bearded chubby gnome rogue with wizardly skills who asks way too many questions, and his friend Keeg, a charismatic carefree con-artist and steady drinker who claims to be an ex-pirate captain of the east.

Giant's Boots The entrance of this sturdy tavern building is flanked by the actual iron boots of a fire giant. The inside of the establishment is also decorated with the weapons and armor of the same fire giant, supposedly killed by the owner, Zor Nafalios, an ex-mercenary from overseas who turned the giant’s enormous shield into a table in the center of the tavern. Sitting next to it is a privilege for any guest and empty seats are very rare. Many soldiers and merchants drink here and the place is loud with physical contests, cheers, and the occasional fistfights every night. The meanest looking guest, with a permanent seat at the shield, is the mercenary Yeetarr, a fully armed hulking gnoll with a vicious set of metal teeth. Despite his deadly looks, Yeetarr is a seeker of justice and is interested only in quests involving dangerous situations and righting wrongs.

Blackhorn Owned by the Blackhorn family for generations, this is one of the oldest taverns in the city where they also brew their own special mead that is famous all over the kingdom. The family has great pride in its beverage and is in a grim competition with the monks of the Spirited Leaf Abbey. The tavern is frequented mostly by locals from the Sword and South Districts.

The Diamondback Trout This cozy tavern by the riverside features its own small docks and canopied terraces over the Nanock River. The owner, Okamirou Haristan is a knowledgeable man from a distant land to the east and a long-time friend of the current king.

The Grinning Goblin Owned and operated by the goblins of the Goldtooth noble house, this tavern is always noisy with shouting and raucous laughter. Constantly guarded by the disciplined and courteous hobgoblin house guards, the inn is considered by the locals as a safe place to get drunk. One of the loudest guests is Breesy Alebeard, a human smuggler with a purple glass eye and a jade tooth, who is always ready to bet large in a game of cards.

Silken Kiss Brothel The hosts at the Silent Kiss don't speak and everyone who visits knows that. They are clean, well behaved, and making them moan with pleasure is something only a few can brag about in the city.

Gentlemen's Refuge More of a gentleman's club than a drinking establishment, this tavern features everything from games to comfortable sofas and expensive drinks to accommodate the male elite of the capital. Access is granted only to those who pay the membership fee of the establishment.

The Deep Warrens Formed out of an abandoned and partially collapsed segment of the sewers, this tavern is run by a group of ex-convicts who turned away from a life of crime. They take care not to ruin their reputation as hard-working men and women in the eyes of the Red Cloaks. The deepest domed cellar of the tavern hides the remains of an ancient stone door that has the markings of a sun symbol on it. The massive stone block is stuck beyond repair under a dilapidated lintel that no one has dared to force open. A regular at the tavern, Cassius the Helpful is a human with a devilish bloodline and a flamboyant outfit who sells information to those who pay the right price. The staff of the tavern are not fond of his private business but look away for now.

The Green-Eyed Nymph Festhall Only green-eyed servers work at this large festhall facing the Dragon Plaza. The hall features regular group dances for locals and is frequented by many of the students of the College of Minstrels who always make sure to keep the guests and themselves entertained at all times of the day.

Angels' Choir Festhall This large elegant, domed building is home to most of the birthdays and weddings of those who can pay the hefty price for renting the establishment. Its large marble central hall is lavishly furnished and the servants are dressed almost as elegantly as the ones in the Royal Palace. The catering is exquisite and highly expensive as are the rest of the services, but Raun Surefoot, the halfling proprietor of the festhall makes sure that every occasion feels uniquely special for those who attend.

Burning Desire The brothel is run by Ravona Darkglow, the Pleasuremaster, a tall black-haired elven woman, who relishes her dominance over her pleasure servants.

Emrik's Complex Flavor Blacksoup Bar Emrik, a grumpy old half-elf, has a small bar wedged in between two other shops. It has pretty much been converted from an alleyway that has been blocked off. It's just a shop front where people order the special energizing drinks he makes for takeaway. He was a dabbler in alchemy and has a bit of arcane skill that he uses to roast special beans and to infuse them with many different flavors. His copper and bronze equipment has a myriad of dials and tubes, operating with a hiss of steam as he makes his brews that are famous throughout the city.

Triple Nine Gambling Hall This windowless block building is highly illuminated with colorful lanterns on the outside at all times. The proprietor is a bugbear named Gulfa who is known for his minimal tolerance policy, which brings relative stability to this operation. High-rollers are offered credit at a reasonable interest, but only after securing a lock of hair from the client.

Temple of the Dead A handful of black-cloaked, taciturn low-level clerics with white paint on their faces worship their god in this temple. It is a featureless block building with small windows and a few smaller entrances. They hold funerals and plant the Trees of Souls - birch trees - over the graves in the Deadwoods. Clerics of this sect refuse to use any healing or restorative magic as they consider it against their god's will. Amongst the morose grave clerics, the most charismatic figure is Kalós Poimenikós, a depressed, tall fey-realm born cleric who is most often quite inebriated and finds it hard to focus.

Temple of Knowledge A once majestic, now neglected temple that serves as a public library is currently run by Father Golvin, a half-dragon cleric from the Isles of Xantharos, who took over duties at the temple after the disappearance of his friend Father Lestor, the Archbishop of Knowledge. Books are available for reading at the temple and can be also bought for prices that are so low they seem almost symbolic.

Temple of Life A low-ceilinged sprawling building with large communal areas and a central pulpit, which can accommodate hundreds of people at once. Many of the clerics attend the hungry, wounded, sick, and downtrodden. Anyone can stay at the temple for free for an indefinite time, provided they assist in the daily labors of the acolyte clerics. The ranking cleric of the faith is Ry Kaly, a low-level cleric who does his best to attend the most serious cases. The most dedicated and active member of the clergy is Otmer Honormail, a dwarven paladin, who tends to every need of the disenfranchised in his simple dirty robes.

Temple of Nature The temple itself is a collection of small huts and a central open-air place of worship in the park dedicated to King Vacrilos II. The Caretakers of Life dedicate their service less to the citizens of the city but to its gardens and flora to compensate the land for what has been taken away from it. They are also frequent visitors to the Pantry, where they facilitate the work of the local farmers with their magic. The most revered cleric of the faith is Hularis Asporal, a venerable human who is more fond of the company of animals or plants than two-legged beings.

Temple of Competence An unremarkable-looking two-story building in the middle of the densest part of the Tool District is home to the devotees of the god of self-realization. The temple hides many small workshops where the skilled can discuss their trade or the unskilled can learn confidence from the priests of the temple. There is no formal leader of the faith because all of the priests consider each other as equals and act as independent teachers and preachers of their own experiences.

Temple of Magic Marvelous colorful sparking columns of heatless fire dominate the entrance of this temple, which is rich in detail. Its large rose glass windows seem to shift slowly as shapes form and disappear. The inside of the building features magical enchantments and imagery, which always awes visitors and faithful alike. The priests of the House of the Wondermaker welcome all who are fascinated by their god’s power and those who wish to hire their magical services. These services are usually provided by Wilm the Virtuous, an aged, stolid human priest who is all too pragmatic about the magical wonders he sells. The highest-ranking cleric of the temple is a venerable human named Polodrin of Gynleah, a foreigner from the Drayl City-States, who has been invited by King Waldrann decades ago to take the Pulpit of Wonders. His second in command is Beau Semias who is a charismatic pastor.

Temple of Strength A large, sturdy, and featureless building with small windows dominates the side of the Long Road. Its huge, massive double doors open into a wide training ground, an atrium decorated with weapons and large marble statues of the most famous muscular male and female priests of the church. The most charismatic and approachable priest of the clergy is Casimer, an ambitious half-elf with a well-built physique who capitalizes his knowledge of the body not just in training and keeping a healthy lifestyle but also when using his healing magic.

Deadwoods Cemetery Planted by the Clerics of the Dead, these tall birch trees all mark the graves of those who were buried here. Some say that the trees whisper the secrets of the dead. Nothing besides a name on a small wooden sign reminds the visitors of the deceased. Tolerated mostly out of negligence by the priests of the Inevitable, Nelhelm the Studious wanders from tree to tree, trying to find a client for his necromantic services. The grumpy gnome is quite helpful when asked about a grave as he can generally recollect the location of most of them.

Noble's Rest This enclosed section of the Platinum Peacock Park is littered with mausoleums of small to large size. They each host smaller chambers above ground and many larger vaults underground where the blue-blooded ascendants of noble families rest eternally.

Garden of the Sleepers The eternal resting place of those wealthier residents who are neither commoners nor nobles. This garden of graves and small crypts is part of the Park of Lonely Spirits, where families come to pay their respect to the deceased.

The Purple Book Worm Ransdir Falconer, a middle-aged optimist of a tiefling with purplish skin tone, collects, buys, and sells books in his cozy little bookshop. One can find many types of books from Draylish love novels to encyclopedias on his tightly packed and well-organized shelves. Ransdir also serves tea to anyone who cares to stay a bit to read in one of his two comfy armchairs.

Lucky Leap This relatively small tavern is frequented by the locals of the North District. It is usually loud with music and laughter, which Ricio Tane, the aging human owner is always ready to motivate with an extra round of free drinks if it would fade. Customers can make a jumping entry to the place anytime and are rewarded with a free drink depending on the distance they can cover.

Silver Scale This money lending, banking business is run alone by Huran Myle, an experienced human ex-adventurer eldritch knight in his fifties. The vast treasure the calculating and cold knight has accumulated over his years serves as collateral for his business. Huran has many magical items with divining qualities that enable him to track down those who would forget to pay their dues. He stores most of his assets in a Bag of Holding which he can summon at any time from thin air.

Golden Touch Gent’s Barbershop Dallius “Finebeard” Skrazdillar, a young human with an extravagant style has opened his shop just lately, already outperforming his competitors with his marvelous skills. Nobles and those who can afford a silver piece for a masterful cut flock to Dallius, making it hard to secure an appointment with him.

Knight's Pride This large weapon and armor smithy is run by a massive hobgoblin named Bruukattyr, the Iron Grip, who served in the king's army for years. He received an honorable discharge after losing his left hand in a battle against a mob of sahuagin that attacked Ronul’s End over two decades ago. He constructed a bulky iron left arm prosthesis for himself that has a tremendous grip but is too bulky to be used for anything else but swinging a hammer.

Ronnar's Pelts and Fine Leather Ronnar, a middle-aged half-orc buys, cures, and sells the most exotic pelts and hides from all over the kingdom. Ronnar’s best supplier is an elven druid named Theduthas Ravine who uses his powers to find the best quality pelts in the King’s Forest, where he hunts illegally.

Sylvan Striker, Bows of Elven Quality Twen Foebane came to the city from an elven community in the King’s Forest to forget a tragic romantic affair. He has watched the city grow for over a century now and established a name for himself as being one of the most skilled craftsmen of the capital.

Black Flag Mercenary Company This small, old shop building is neglected from the outside and from the inside as well. The top-level functions as the small home of Trazz the Cruel, who runs the mercenary company. The storefront is decorated with weapons, shields, and the occasional trophy of some wild beasts and smaller monsters. The courtyard is fashioned into a small training ground where Trazz demands his employees to train daily and is keeping an eye on his favorite mercenary, Lendra Thread, a female no-nonsense, confident air genasi who is always ready to challenge anyone for a duel. Lendra’s fiercest competition, who’s usually sent on separate missions by Trazz, is Tempest Umbermoor, a tiefling hexblade warlock who leads the team assigned to him with no regard for their safety.

Aunt Salibra's Natural Healing Concoctions Aunt Salimbra crafts non-magical concoctions for sicknesses and to make wounds heal faster. Her husband, Old Troumbald is a silent old man who mostly only sits in the corner of the shop and observes his wife as she works.

Nail and Beam Carpentry Jovas Paltran and his team led by his three sons have built the most magnificent villas over the past years. They also do major repairs but leave the smaller, less well-paying jobs to others of their profession.

Grazilda's Apothecary Markya Marosta is a young herbalist with all smiles who runs her late grandmother's business with great skill. She dropped out of the College of Minstrels to assist her granny and became a strong devotee of the Redeemer. Being able to cast lower-level curative magics, she also distills magical potions with limited availability. In her service are Samael Volkov, a human physician and studious necromancer with a blunt attitude, and Bweltoe, the half-giant ex-barbarian delivery man from Vordan.

Music of the Spheres Instruments The venerable gnome instrument maker Master Xagim Doubletoe undoubtedly has the finest ears and most skilled hands in the capital. Most of the students and the maestros of the College of Minstrels have their instruments made and repaired by him. Even though he has slowly gone deaf he can still tune any instrument perfectly by feeling its vibrations.

Galnyr, the Master Armorer Galnyr was a member of the Vordan tribe until he realized that his armor crafting skills are valued much more in Aglarion and the capital of Onadbyr. The seasoned blacksmith has created many masterpieces, which are worn with pride by their owners.

Nulobor's Fine Locks Nulobor the gnome is an introvert who does nothing besides making and repairing locks and eating his favorite lemon pie exactly at sundown in his favorite chair overlooking his small fireplace.

Soap and Cream The only bath, sauna, and massage parlor of the capital is run by a friendly blind female merfolk named Coral. Her story is sad and closely related to that of the noble house Ronul. The establishment features four open-air hot baths of different heat levels and mineral compositions, which are located in the beautifully decorated courtyard. Each pool has a different gargoyle statue with a steady flow of water coming from its mouth.

Aunty Alania's Sewing Shop Aunty Alania was the wife of a wealthy merchant who died decades ago. She has spent her entire life sewing since she was a child and she makes the most wonderful and fashionable dresses worn by the nobility and elite of the city.

The Halfling's Treasure This pastry and candy shop is run by Taem and Gyo, a middle-aged halfling couple and their eight children who all help out. Their sweets are famous all over the capital. Their oldest daughter Byra dreams of becoming a famous adventurer.

Mug and Bottle This fine brewery is run by a goodhearted middle-aged dwarf named Guunthar who has a sad history with a red dragon. Guunthar used to be a highly skilled armorsmith and adventurer back in the days before meeting the dragon and changing to his current profession. He has a rotund cat named Pudge and a pet skunk that believes to be a cat, named Stinky.

Skeleton Gate Frequented mostly by farmers and visitors from the North, this gate sometimes sees heavy traffic jams due to long inspection times.

Mule Gate Relatively few visitors enter the city through this gate due to its close proximity to the Shanties, which is avoided by most caravans and reasonable visitors.

The Choosey Otyugh Culinary Treats Bundaro Astrizal is the most famous chef in the capital and cooks for the king regularly. His selected food products are all rare culinary treats displayed in a tantalizing fashion in his lavish store. Bundaro has a spicy rivalry with Ozar the Exquisite, the half-ogre wizard chef of the Weary Ogre, which is located in the countryside far from the capital.

Oryntar's Metallurgy Oryntar's large warehouse in the North District allows him to keep a stunningly wide selection of goods fashioned out of metals. From copper, through silver, to adamantine, one can find basically anything commonly fashioned out of the given material. He is an outgoing merchant who has been in the business for decades and is no one's fool. His apprentice, Ranith Shadesong is a cynical half-drow with green eyes and a limited magical aptitude.

Dawn of the Ages Antiquities This small and packed pawn and antiquities shop is a front of the Golden Masks smuggler and burglar operation. They resell anything they can, either refashioned into a new form or just under the table. The face of the operation is a doppelganger posing as Balantur, an old dwarf with many tales. His right hand is Meiram Landau, a half-elven smuggler with a calm demeanor.

Fiery Hooves The little shop is tucked in the outskirts of the city close to the Mule Gate. Its entrance is marked by a sign made out of a metal cut-out depicting a rider and a horse with flaming hooves. The interior of the shop is designed so that one cannot see the workbench, for a good reason. The shop is known by its customers for its high-quality harnesses, leather gear, and other equipment which seem to be extremely durable but light in weight at the same time. Rumor has it that the shopkeeper, Mordio Delons keeps a little dragon-like creature in his workshop to harden the materials.

Gorso Villa The Gorso Villa has stood uninhabited for decades because the strange Gorsos have relocated to their manor house in the village named after their family. The three-story villa in the capital has spacious balconies and flat roofs. The building and the garden are overgrown and neglected, with crumbling shutters over the large windows and glass doors. Some say they sensed a strange and unnatural coldness near the villa on more than one occasion.

Nangrath Villa The Nangrath family villa looks very much like a small fortress. The noble family, who got their title and lands through their military service as generals through the wars with the northern tribes, is a very stern and frugal house. They always adhere to military traditions, and usually serve as war councilors to the king. Arenbar Nangrath, the head of the clan, lives in the village of Nangrath, together with his firstborn son Yarik, but is in the city if the king demands his council. Odryk Nangrath, the younger son, spends most of his time here.

Goldtooth Villa The home of the only goblin noble family in town is an eclectic and confusing structure, worn down and never renovated. Roofed extensions pop out at unexpected places and in weird angles, balconies of strange shapes hang from the facades, and walls are painted in once brilliant hues. The house is nowadays loud with the cheers of goblin children as the younger Goldtooth brother, Durr has moved in with his extended family. Visitors are greeted by the family's faithful triplet butlers, secretaries and couriers, Fletch, Wheez, and Maggle, a trio of stoic goblins in matching elegant outfits.

Ronul Villa The house of the infamous Ronul family is one with lots of balconies and open spaces, akin to the helm of a ship. It is said that the center of the house was built around the mast of Ronul's original flagship, and that part of the house is underwater, catering to the merfolk in the family. Dyzag Ronul, the patriarch of the family, seldom visits since he is kept busy overseeing the pearl fishing in the north bay at Ronul's end. His only son, Premil Ronul, keeps the house in order, and stays there most of the time, secretly in love with Odrik Nangrath. From time to time, gossip goes around the black markets and rogues of the city that Ronul has hidden part of his treasure somewhere in the city, and that the clues about its location are hidden inside the house. Dyzag Ronul will tell you that this was only a bad joke that his grandfather made and regretted immediately, as since then, the Ronul family had to pay fortunes to protect the house from burglars and sometimes adventurers who believe the tale.

Wyltammer Villa The ancient and continuously renovated villa of the Wyltammer family displays the elegance and subtlety of elven designs. Intricate ornaments form seemingly natural surfaces as if the building was grown rather than built. Its large garden and the greenhouse that occupies its center are perfectly kept. The glass greenhouse features exotic flowers and some rare birds, harmless insects, as well as small rodents, which are usually found near elven settlements. The family's assistant, Xela Stormfane is a kind and warmhearted chubby human lady who graduated from the College of Minstrels.

Domiren Villa The Domiren family villa is a once majestic building now in a state of utter neglect. The iron-wrought front gates and fences are overgrown, as are its gardens. The previously majestic and highly fashionable topiary bushes have become unrecognizable, twisted forms of themselves. The few servants who can bear the family only remain in service because of the lavish payment they receive. Visitors are rare and also of the shady type most of the time.

Karramosa Villa This imposing villa is surrounded by beautiful gardens and speaks of wealth. The gratuitously decorated structure is striking amidst its surroundings, which include exquisite stables and carriage-sheds. The stone pillars of the main gate are decorated with small semi-precious stones that are deeply embedded, however, some of them have been skillfully picked before the gate guards prevented the thefts. The Starry Gate as they call it flickers in the night as moonlight shines upon it.

Monder Villa The current Crown Warden's villa is a simple yet robust structure. His family, where members have always been trained to become part of the knighthood, are living a sheltered, simple, yet generous, and socially sensitive life. All members of the extended family take part in household tasks and their wide strong gates are always open for those in need.

College of Minstrels This small three-story worn-down building is always booming with the sounds of instrumental music or singing, to the dismay of its neighbors. Many locals visit the school to witness the entertainment and the magical effects conjured by the bards in practice. The headmaster of this lively place is a cheerful, enthusiastic middle-aged half-elven gentleman named Master Conductor Fabian Ethlairn, who always dresses extravagantly and is completely devoted to teaching his pupils. The most striking figure beside the headmaster is Tallis Deepwood, the Lead Singer of Songs, who is an annoyingly cheerful and loud human bard with a great voice.

Walhem Boarding School for Young Masters This elegant and spacious school for young nobles is run by a happy halfling who is often confused for a child by first time visitors, to Walhem’s great annoyance. Despite his child-like appearance, he is a very strict yet empathetic hobbit who can speak most regional languages and enjoys teaching the children in the ways of etiquette, reading, writing, art, and so on. Unfortunately, due to the highbrow opinions of the nobles, many of them hate him and are trying to see him removed from office to be replaced by a more pliant and easily controlled and also slightly dim-witted nobleman's eldest son.

Queen's Grace Orphanage This large red brick building with elaborate ironwork is a highly regarded school and residence for young female orphans. Because of the royal patronage, conditions in the orphanage are better than in most places. The girls are raised very rigidly but in a noble demeanor and are trained by the calculating drow headmistress, Lady Nyx Malari in all the trades and duties of a lady who is the master of a house. The orphans are well regarded as good matches for younger sons of the well-to-do or even for the nobility on rare occasions. The orphans don’t have dowries, estates, or family alliances, but they will be well trained on posture, courtly dances, raising children, running a household, and many household tasks. Lady Nyx utilizes the contacts these married girls represent and keeps close contact with them with frequent visits. The headmistress’s right hand and operative is Silent Shadow, a curious catfolk rogue with extraordinary burglary skills.

The House of Clenched Fists Master Aurello teaches self-defense techniques to the youngsters of the South District for free. He has a few pupils who have become trained fighting monks over the years and live at their master's house. The house is a nicely renovated two-story building with a small courtyard at its center.

The Crooning Willow This huge tree with silvery bark and leaves has been standing in front of the Temple of Nature for centuries. Once every year, on the Holy Day of Renewal, the tree hums a tune in a soft and deep female voice.

The Bottomless Well This ancient, crumbling well looks like any other ancient well, except for the fact that no one has ever been able to reach its bottom. Lanterns on ropes of extreme length have been lowered into it until the light just slowly faded away. The brave who have tried to climb or even fly down with magic, either gave up, or never returned. Inside there’s a long stretch of ladders and handholds fabricated together and added continuously by those who dared to explore, but at one point it just stops, marking the depth where the last brave explorer gave up the descent. Legends say that a few times in the past, the corpses of strange creatures have mysteriously fallen out of the well.

The Dog Pit An arena of sophisticated duels to the first blood during the day. The place is run by a halfling named Joffer Pebblefoot who loves the fights even more than the gold he makes. The real brains of the operation is Joffer’s silent partner Ruali Oussearaheal, a reserved crafty elven rogue with sudden blazes of anger against her rivals.

Old Pharion's Remedies Jamos Pharion is the sweetest old man, always talkative, and very helpful especially when it comes to offering his herbal remedies mostly to other elderly residents. In his small shop, he also sells several plant-based poisons to those who know his secret signal.

Odds and Ends This is a ramshackle pawn shop where there's always a personal recommendation of "rare" goods to those whom the owner, a rude dwarf named Gywyn Talabosh, deems worthy of his time. He can procure many things one would not expect to be available in a pawn shop.

Maggot's End This building is home to many miserable wretches who live on drugs and have already forgotten what real life is. Anyone can enter and stay indefinitely if they can find a small spot to collapse. The house and its residents are not even worth robbing as they are poor, sick, and without any value to anyone.

Shimeon's Pouches Even though the king is famous for disliking magic-users, this shop is one of the most frequented places by those who wish to purchase spell components of all kinds. Shimeon, the owner, a tall bald man with deeply set dark eyes is quick to offer his spell casting services to anyone who seeks such services. He is quite a capable wizard and he is very liberal when requests cross to immoral or even forbidden uses of the arcane arts.

Totally Local Bantallyr “Wordsplasher” Stoneshield is a young dwarven self-made poet bard with limited talent, who guides entertaining tours around the city during which he recites the history and the legends of the landmarks in his uniquely rhythmic and dynamic style. He warns clients about the dangers of some of the locations in his tour, but takes no responsibility for any harm suffered.

Emporium of Magnificent Rarities The magic item shop of Master Bertio Ranberd, a renowned wizard, is famous all over the continent. Many visit him from lands afar and try to get the best deals on magic items. He is patient but very secretive and teaches his six loyal apprentices to become masterful abjurers, who are sworn to defend his valuables.

Darustil's Haberdashery This shop has the full spectrum of low-value items, trinkets, common household goods, and some toys packed on huge shelves. Darustil, the gnoll owner collects everything and is reluctant to throw or even give away anything of which he has come in possession. He charges high prices for even the most neglectable items and generally overshoots the value of his wares.

Bearded Warrior Weapons Shop Run by Kagrian Ironsinew, a gruff dwarven former adventurer with a long beard, this tightly packed weapon shop has every kind of melee weapon imaginable, even exotic and rare ones. Kagrian is most fond of axes, of which he has a large collection, even some magical ones.

The Wondermonger This messy workshop is only a small room packed with strange devices and another room in the back separated by a curtain owned by Tully Vespers. Some might consider the animated clockwork contraptions of the warm-hearted gnome artificer wizard useless or even funny, but many have great functions that make one's life easier. The always friendly and curious Tully only smiles when people belittle his automatons and clockwork tools.

Elegant Elephant The wardrobe of the High District as some call it, this shop sells perfectly made and fitted clothes for noble and wealthy ladies and gentlemen alike. A large selection of pre-made clothes are always on sale, but custom, even magical ones are also created for those who know what they are looking for. The store is run by two half-elven sisters, Hacrila and Illistra, and their half-brother Lysandr Von Schpeklestein, an uptight human artificer with a curly mustache, who enchants clothes in the most imaginative and creative ways.

Thysalonious' Stables This large stable has a good selection of horses for sale. Thysalonious is a witty middle-aged human who is in love with the animals he breeds. His favorite, personal horse is a black war stallion named Ebony. Many Knights of the Crown have paid a high price for a foal from its breed.

The Wanderer's Cartographer Rikka Stam buys maps he finds valuable and only sells copies of the originals in her lavishly furnished shop, which is decorated with exotic items. She is a capable illusionist, which helps her in copying the maps. She also has a magic scroll that stores illusionary input from spells, which she uses to build a layered world map based on the maps she acquired so far. Her most valued possession is a map of the ancient empire of the fallen angels tattooed on the cured skin of an unknown humanoid.

The Dragon's Hoard This general trading house focuses mostly on travelers coming through the Skeleton Gate. The company maintains three large warehouses by Skeleton Road and buys and sells bulk quantities of anything it can get its hands on for cheap. If you need ten shovels, a thousand feet of rope, or a ton of wood, you come to the Dragon's Hoard. The owner, Zirtan Moorewalker is a bitter old no-nonsense man who lost his son and wife many years ago. He is dedicated to earning as much money as he can.

Starbright Jewelry Visited mostly by the elite and nobility of the city, this small, well-protected jewel and gem store is owned by the Karramosa noble family. Security is provided by a massive half-dragon from the Isles of Xantharos, Draxias, who is a retired cleric of the Relentless and tells very bad dad-jokes. His favorite ones are:

• Why did the old man fall in the well? Because he couldn't see that well!
• Why did the invisible stalker turn down the job offer? He couldn't see himself doing it!
• Why don't skeletons ever go to the Lucky Leap? Because they have nobody to go with!
• Within minutes, the Red Cloak knew what the murder weapon was. It was a brief case.
• I think my wife is putting glue on my weapons. She denies it but I'm sticking to my swords!
• I once tried to tell a mummy a story. He told me to wrap it up.
• Red dragons are terrible at business. They just fire everyone.
• Sailors drink as they swim – they go down quick. Makes for a cheap date.
• Heard of a skeleton who had a bone to pick with his necromancer about a raise.

The Princess' Boudoir Parfumery While this all-female staffed business has a full stock of various perfumes, it secretly houses a side business in its back room known to few of the well-to-do and nobility. Elixirs of enchantment are sold here that would be useful to achieve the customer’s goals if their skills in persuasions have failed. Lady Nezana, a human lady of great charisma is the owner of the Perfumery.

Hill's Nectar Winery This cozy little shop offers the best wines of the kingdom and some from exotic lands. Its extensive cellar system is accessible from the street level through a long ramp and a heavy iron double door that is locked at all times. These gates are not only to serve as the protection of the wares of the Domiren family but also to keep unwanted attention away from the private bacchanalias the three sons organize in the wine cellars.

Old Man’s Road Serving first as a shortcut between the two ends of the Long Road, this road has widened over the years. It is a dirty gravel road that is quite busy during the day-time and gets flooded easily after heavy rains.

Bastion of the Knights This large building accommodates the Knights of the Crown and serves as their living quarters and training halls. A wide stairway leads to an ornate stone gate that encloses a rather dimly lit interior with narrow corridors and small cells. A fencing hall and a chapel is located on the ground floor, while the dining hall and private cells are on the next two levels of the building. Lord Cyne Monder spends most of his time with his knights in this location rather than at his ancestral villa in the High District.

Zurafkira’s Fine Footwear This small cordwainer’s workshop is the shop and home of Zurafkira Shoemaker, a cheerful lady who crafts some of the most comfortable footwear in Onadbyr.

Figurines of Wonder Vilter Kirtan, a middle-aged human maker of fine dolls and puppets, creates wonderful toys and dolls of various sizes for the delight of young and old alike. The puppet maker lost his wife and daughter, Dorotia, to a long and severe illness a few years ago.

Roundbread The Roundbread bakery is an institution by itself. Long lines of hungry shoppers wait for their turn in front of its doors every morning. People would do anything for Gallad, the stern-looking but kind airling master baker, who is a renowned and respected pillar of the community.

Varrik the Rat Catcher Varrik the Weary, a human druid, poses as a drow with the alias Enimbros in remembrance of his long-lost drow love. He lives on the fringes of society in the Shanties and makes a living by providing pest and rodent control services to anyone who knows about him. He keeps a dozen ferrets in his shabby hovel, which reeks of animal musk and filth.

Arno’s Ancient Tomes A small building with a few smaller windows is the home and store of Arno Hawkspear, a nerdy and nervous human librarian who collects rare and old tomes, which he offers for sale at reasonable prices. Some of his books date back to the times of the Order of Eternal Light, considered banned by the monarchies that followed the era.

Hall of Temerity This training hall for swordsmen is run by Temerity, an optimistic and always cheerful tiefling paladin of the god of competence, the Efficient Master, who has entirely black eyes. Temerity takes only up to four pupils at a time who he trains individually each day at the same time of the day.

The Furlough This canteen is frequented mostly by Royal Swords in their free time. The kitchen is run by Reznek Syngris, a half-elven chef who always seems rushed and behind except when in the kitchen. The proprietor is always fidgeting with something and leaves serving to his three sons.

The Curious Calligrapher Kapushek Borontyr is a halfling scribe who creates beautifully illustrated and illuminated letters, cards, and even complete copies of books.

asdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfContrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32. asd

Founded by Trazz the Cruel, a rough, aged orc bounty hunter of ill repute, this business provides mercenaries to anyone who needs protection inside or outside of the city. His prices are steep, but his dozen or so mercenaries are some of the most skilled combatants in the capital. Trazz selects the individuals he employs carefully and tests his mercenaries meticulously. He rarely accompanies them on jobs and prefers to allocate a magic-user or two to each group sent on a mission. He has no moral qualms about the commissions he takes but always makes sure not to avoid getting into any confrontation with the authorities. Trazz has a special hatred for those who underperform in his company and mar the reputation of his company. Anyone who fails on a mission can consider themselves fired and disdained by the old orc. Unknown to him, he is frequently hired by the Golden Masks to serve as protection during missions or when moving valuable goods.

Master Conductor Fabrian Ethlairn, the half-elven headmaster of the college has gathered some of the best instructors and virtuosos of the realm to teach the selected few he accepts as pupils. There are a couple of dozen aspiring bards taught at the college at a single time and even though they live outside the school, they still spend most of their time there, practicing and performing their art. The college is famous for its open and liberal approach to teaching and welcomes anyone to listen in on the performances of the pupils, who are usually also busy building their reputations in the city. Being one of the few spots for higher-education and magical training in the realm, many consider graduate minstrels as powerful individuals. The most talented graduates gain access to noble houses and even the royal court where they are welcome to perform regularly.

Established centuries ago by Master Arlen the Constructor, the Arcane Tower is the only wizard academy in the kingdom. Anyone who seeks to truly master the arcane arts, and is accepted for their acute understanding, must relocate to the secluded tower, located far from the capital. Applicants must be accomplished wizards, masters of the trade, and are heavily tested to be judged and accepted by the archmage, Master Zaophas. They then must serve the Tower for a minimum period of five years. Wizards of the Arcane Tower must pledge to protect the kingdom and can be summoned to serve as part of the King’s Army anytime if they are in Aglarion. The wizards are trained in all forms of magic within the walls of the academy and are taken on dangerous, exotic, and sometimes even on planar excursions to prove their mettle. The current archmage of the tower is Master Zaophas, a morose middle-aged gnome evoker who excels in spell-combat and coaches his students to withstand all hardships. The somewhat militaristic approach and the spartan conditions of the wizard school are not fitting to everyone, so from time to time apprentices are expelled from the institution for misbehavior or for not advancing quickly enough.

The history of the Red Cloaks is closely connected with the Azennar dynasty. The first Azennar king, King Vacrilos I, who laid down the laws that brought prosperity and equitable treatment to the Kingdom’s subjects, was also known to be wear a red cloak - to remind him of the blood that can be spilled, the pain and anguish that can be caused, if the laws are unjust and not maintained. He organized the first Lawgivers, who took the title Red Cloak to remember this outlook. The Red Cloaks are some of the most highly regarded individuals in Aglarion, usually selected from high ranking soldiers who have been in the service of the kingdom for over a decade. Some of them come from arcane or divine spellcasting backgrounds, or have served as a highly esteemed students of the College of Minstrels, while others are trusted hunters or specialized combatants, but all of them have been monitored by the Red Cloaks for years before being selected for the title. At least three Red Cloaks must approve the selected person by measuring their personality, loyalty, trustworthiness, and their skills in making fair judgments, as well as their effectiveness in combat. Selected nominees for the title are trained and tested for three years before being given the prestigious gold-trimmed red cloak and the “Eye and Sword” amulet engraved with their names, which represents their authority and title. There are about fifty Red Cloaks in Aglarion and though their methods and approach to solving situations might differ, their word is the law. They might work alone, in pairs, or form smaller groups, and can command the King’s Swords freely if needed, making their own judgment on how many soldiers they want to commandeer until a case is solved. They are allowed to use all resources available at the Halls of the Lawgiver, which serves as their base of operations, record hall, and training grounds. As their jurisdiction is not bound by the capital, Red Cloaks regularly travel to locations outside of Onadbyr to handle cases. Members are paid a reasonably high wage by the Royal Treasury every week for their highly regarded services. A Red Cloak who breaks the law, which happens only on very rare occasions, faces much harsher consequences and a much more severe sentence than usual, starting from long hard labor up to execution by the organization’s own members. There is no formal leader of the Red Cloaks as they are all considered equally influential within their ranks and in the kingdom.

Numbering only a few dozen, these pious champions of the realm swear a lifelong oath to protect the crown and the kingdom. Their training starts at a very young age and it is considered a privilege to be selected as a member of the order. During their strenuous training, aspiring squires are taught several different combat techniques and are introduced to the religious doctrines of each faith. They are free to choose their specialized weapons and the faith closest to their hearts and they are edified to be loyal and fearless, whichever deity’s ideology they follow. Knights of the Crown are held in the highest esteem throughout the realm, they serve in the front lines in times of war, and act as personal guards to the royal family and the royal palace. The current high commander of the knights is Crownwarden Cyne Monder, an aging noble of great renown who is doing his best to rebuild the reputation of his house.

The Royal Army is a well-organized and structured military force, which is one of the main pillars of the realm. It is a thousand strong, consisting of several smaller and larger specialized branches run in tightly hierarchic order. The largest of these units is the Royal Swords, the regular soldiers of the army who upkeep order in times of peace throughout the kingdom and form the ranks of foot soldiers during times of war. These men and women are mostly loyal and rule-abiding warriors who are proud to be considered as the first line of the Royal Army and respected members of society. Units of twenty soldiers are led by higher ranking lieutenants, who are commanded by captains. All captains report to three generals who are under the leadership of the monarch. General Malictus Crast, is a wise and reserved male hobgoblin, the oldest of the generals, General Lycia Darkmoon is a middle-aged veteran female human who has proven herself more times in battle than anyone else in the realm, while General Brennur Starsmith, a charismatic dwarf of high honor is a devoted monk of the Efficient Master and is one of the most praised generals among the ranks of the army. The army also has smaller specialized units that are responsible for tasks requiring special training: The Royal Fists is a small group of soldiers who patrol, maintain, and occasionally operate the siege engines in the bastions of the Fists of Azennar. The Royal Harpoons are stationed on the vessels of the Royal Navy and are seasoned sailors. The Royal Riders is a mobile cavalry unit composed of experts at reconnaissance and fast travel on horseback. And the Royal Arrows is a fairly large unit of archers manning the walls of the capital, providing ranged support to other troops. The Royal Army relies on healing magic from all of the faiths publicly worshipped in the kingdom, and from the divine powers of the Knights of the Crown. The temples are bound to send as many clerics to aid the monarch’s troops as required in time of need. Some arcane spellcasters can be found in the ranks of the army itself but due to the low number of capable arcane spellcasters, there is no formal unit dedicated to them. In times of dire need, organized arcane magical support is provided by the wizards of the Arcane Tower.

The church of the god of competence is made up of those who believe in themselves to the highest degree. The faithful worship the god of competence, The Efficient Master as it is known throughout Aglarion, for the gift of self-preservation and skillfulness that it has given them. Clerics of the faith encourage others to train and use their skills to accomplish great works, to create, and to excel in something. They strongly oppose the use of magic to advance in life, seeing it as something that makes people and civilizations lazy and careless. They thus seldomly use their own magic, resorting to it only in the direst situations if nothing else can be done through one’s learned skills. They consider the vast number of achievable competencies as an infinite number of paths one can and should take to advance oneself to achieve perfection and to further the will of the Efficient Master. Clerics of the Efficient Master encourage practicing new skills, specializing in one’s chosen path, but they might not judge the use of such skills depending on its outcome, should it be used for good or evil. Every one of them is highly skilled in a chosen field, while some of them are experts in more than one competence. Their outfits don’t speak of their religion, except for the little pendant they wear with their chosen symbol of the Efficient Master, a sign of their main profession. They can be solitary experts who don’t exhibit their priestly natures or popular masters of a certain profession known by many to be followers of the Efficient Master. Some clerics of the faith believe in mastering certain skills that allow them to advance their personal agendas. These clerics of trickery and deceit are masters of manipulation, lies, stealth, and all forms of tricks through which they can gain power, wealth, and influence. Another known cult of the faith believes in completely abandoning magic and relying only on a personal endeavour. These fanatics don’t cast spells and see all magic-users as the most hated enemies of the world.

The God of Death, or the Inevitable, as it is mostly called in the civilized parts of Aglarion, is venerated by only a handful of ardent worshippers throughout the kingdom. It is an emotionless, pitiless, stern religion, and devotees of the faith carry the same demeanor. They are depressed people whose thoughts are tied up around the inevitable end, the passing of everything, the fate that can’t be argued with or be bypassed, and which will eventually consume all. They do not promote death itself, nor do they kill to collect more souls for their master, for they believe in the natural process of death and would not dare to interfere with the workings of their deity. They spread the idea of death’s inevitability and the irrelevance of its timing, demanding respect towards the force it represents. They are patiently awaiting their own demise while preparing others for its arrival, and tend to the dead after their passing not out of sorrow, but mostly to honor their favored’s power with each tree they plant over the graves of the dead. Clerics of the God of Death in Aglarion dress in simple black robes and paint their faces white. They pray for spells at sundown, which they consider as the death of each passing day. They rarely accept new acolytes, and only on the condition that the applicant understands the true meaning and concept of death and sees the inevitable passing in everything that surrounds them, giving up their worldly belongings to the families of the deceased. Those in the clergy who have had a near-death experience, or were actually dead at one time and have been returned to life with magic see this event in their life as cheating their god, requiring them to repent until their time comes. Clerics of the Inevitable live a simple life without family, friends, or attachments to any personal belongings. When they aren't engaged in their daily routines and tasks, they tend to meditate or discuss the deeper philosophy of death and how others don’t understand its true weight and meaning in nature. They refuse to use any healing or restorative magic as they consider it against their god's will. More sinister clerics who follow the religion of the God of Death sacrifice sentient beings regularly to promote the power to whom they are allied. They consider these acts of murder as a way to make peace with their own mortality and also as a divine moment where they can glimpse their god’s true nature. Some other vile believers of the faith of death seek eternal life by achieving undeath. A form of existence that they consider the perfect timeless gift from their god.

The church of the God of Life, the Redeemer as it is widely called in Aglarion, is mostly devoted to helping others and to the protection of life. Clerics consider everything that is living as the bearer of their deity’s essence. They live simple lives, sharing everything they have with those in need. Their main temple in Onadbyr is open to anyone, providing food and a place to sleep for as long as needed. The fare and the cots are simple, but seemingly abundant. The Redeemer’s immense temple can house and care for hundreds of people in times of need The clergy uses its resources and magic to heal and remove illnesses for free but under one small condition, that the recipient helps out around the temple with any task assigned to them. There are those few wicked followers of the faith who see the creation of life as a form of the divine act made available to them by their deity. These clerics breed new lifeforms in the most twisted ways, experimenting with creating creatures to achieve perfection without any moral boundaries. Yet other fanatics of the faith consider the importance of their own life essence as the most valuable above all others. They practice their faith by stealing the life force of others to achieve eternal life without resorting to continuing their existence in undeath.

Followers of the Wise One as it is mostly called in Aglarion, the God of Knowledge, live to learn and experience as many things as possible during their lifetimes and strive to share them with everyone they can. Clerics of the faith are versed in a wide spectrum of knowledge on general studies, like nature, history, geography, and algebra, but they each try to specialize in a unique field of study, usually one that none of their brethren have yet taken up. The clergy organizes regular free classes that are open for anyone to attend, and many of the priests teach at the College of Minstrels and at the Walhem Boarding School for Young Masters as well. They encourage their pupils to pass on the knowledge they have accumulated, so it is usually for even acolytes to hold lectures to the senior members of the clergy. Clerics of the faith see keeping information to themselves as a sin and a result, they refrain from lying, withholding, or obscuring information and knowledge. Many seek out the Wise One’s temples to find wisdom and knowledge, which the clerics transfer with great patience and sometimes in more detail than necessary. They are respected and are considered as one of the main pillars of Aglarion’s society. Clerics of the Wise One don’t dress in special garments during their normal everyday activities. There are occasions, like the graduation of the acolytes, or the master’s degree ceremony, where they put on a special colorful robe that represents the varied knowledge they have acquired. Clerics of the faith tend to have charismatic, outgoing, and talkative personalities. Some might be more reserved or even introverted but they also force themselves to excel at teaching, even if their delivery of the subject is a bit dull. They are people who respect skill and knowledge, or a good story with a moral lesson. Members of the clergy are adept at using divination spells, but many times they also act as healers and devote their time as physiotherapists to teach the wounded and sick how to recover quicker from their injuries or illnesses. There are some clerics of the Wise One, usually forming small sects or acting alone, who would like to keep their god’s gifts to themselves. They seek obscure, hidden, forgotten, and powerful knowledge, which gives them an advantage over others in life. They never teach or share their secrets with anyone, but rather take them to the grave, believing in a race of souls, in which those who know the most are elevated to their god’s side where they can learn the rarest and most powerful secrets.

The God of Darkness and Light encompasses both the darkness and the light of the world in one of the strongest dualities. Some of the clerics of the Shining Light preach about the warmth and the happiness brought on by light and wear bright colors with reflecting patterns woven into them. They maintain the night lights in all cities and towns, as well as all lighthouses along the coastline. They believe that the power of the sun can help expel any malign influence from one’s soul, and are called upon when people fear external effects of gloom that plague their loved ones. Some, then, believe that light is to be shone to uncover misgivings and punish those who act against the law. The infamous sect of the faith, the Church of Eternal Light, took this doctrine to the extreme with its inquisition against all other religions and free thinkers but the theocracy was toppled over 300 years ago and outlawed as a result. Some others of the faith believe in the ultimate balance between the two poles, taking it as a dogma that one does not exist without the other. They give comfort to others with the fact that light will always come back after the darkness, while some believe in just observing the world and accepting this duality. Some take this belief to the extreme and are compelled to preach about the balance of existence. Finally, some clerics of this primordial duality are more focused on the Darkness Within. They believe in the importance of darkness in people’s lives - a restful sleep, an evening talk, a starry night, and the other benefits that darkness can grant. Others of this interpretation of the faith believe that darkness is necessary to keep important secrets and things that need to be hidden. Even more extreme adherents to the Darkness Within sometimes willfully blind themselves to never see light again and to be able to contemplate the power of darkness. There are a few who secretly worship the legend of the Dark Star and the eternal night that it once brought to the Real World. They hope to claim power from this ancient avatar of the Darkness Within, in order to further their dark goals and once again bring forth the all-encompassing darkness. Aglarion has had a long and complicated relationship with the God of Light and Darkness. Although Sarath the Bright is revered for ending the Dark Star’s oppression, the Church of Eternal Light ruled Aglarion with an iron hand, and the memories of the evil deeds of the Priest Kings are still bitter even after 600 years.

Priests of the god of magic, known as the Wondermaker by most in Aglarion, are scholarly people. They venerate the true force of magic and consider it as a gift from their god to all. They believe that magic was gifted to the world to help with its problems and to advance its well-being. Clerics of the faith don’t distinguish between the sources of magic. Divine, arcane, innate, or even psionic are all seen by them as sacred powers originating from the one true source that is the Wondermaker. Priests of the faith try to use as many forms of magic as possible on all occasions and for every aspect of life. They encourage people to practice and learn spellworking and look upon those who hold innate magical abilities as carriers of a holy blessing. Clerics of the Wondermaker are usually highly intelligent individuals with a broad knowledge of the universe and its structure. They support those who are adept at the art of magic and encourage them to display their powers openly to awe people and to demonstrate their god’s magnificence. Most priests of the Wondermaker are also adept at some form of arcane themselves while some of them who lack this kind of empathy look down on the weak.

The church of Nature, or the Mother Eternal as known by most in Aglarion, is dedicated to the forces of nature, the elements it encompasses, and the flora and fauna it creates. They believe that their god’s essence is the building block of everything in existence and that it sustains everyone and everything. They venerate the elemental forces as the purest form of the particles of nature, while they look at all complex natural formations in nature as the artful creation of the Eternal Mother. They nurture and preserve nature, never interfering with its ways or acting against its will. Most clerics, many of the druids of the faith, are patient and humble, acting more as observant caretakers rather than active promoters of the expansion of Creation. They teach people to live in harmony with nature, to protect it, and though they are usually not supported for this idea by civilized folk, they teach that none should interfere with Nature’s workings. Clerics of the god of nature are most welcomed by those who make a living from agriculture as they assist in their everyday tasks by sharing their wisdom with them. The same clerics see hunting as a part of nature where the hunter feeds on its prey. There are those who worship the more destructive forces of nature. These fanatics of the faith focus their thoughts on the powerful forces of nature and the elements they can evoke. They see them as powers to be used and served and at the same time to achieve their goals. Some other radical sects of the faith fight anything that comes into conflict with nature, including those who call themselves civilized. They try to protect everything in Creation even if it means the death of those who think they are above it.

The god of strength, the Relentless as it is known by most in Aglarion, is venerated by those who believe that suffering and hardships are an indispensable component of success. Clerics of the god of strength train themselves to withstand and overcome hardships both physical and emotional. Those blessed with compassion encourage others to train and harden themselves while some of them who lack this kind of empathy look down on the weak. Clerics of the faith are usually brave and harsh individuals who face challenges with great confidence. Most of them engage in some form of self-inflicted sacrifice, or penance to prove their dedication and endurance. They train and live hard and celebrate their successes loudly, declaring their achievements as the glory of their god. Priests of the Relentless display their strength whenever they can by showing off their muscular body and their scars. They are usually wearing heavy armor and large weapons, which all add to their imposing image. There are some clerics of the faith who are restricted less by their morals and are devoted more to the forces of destruction their god represents. They venerate destructive powers and envy the fear which they evoke in others. They seek to harness forces that are hard to dominate and use them to instill fear and achieve standing in the world around them. Some others see strength as a way to dominate others. These clerics demand subjugation and teach about the dominance of their god who, according to their belief, is more powerful than any other force in the multiverse as it is power itself, being raw and unforgiving.

The silver piece is squared and is easily distinguishable from the copper and gold pieces even by touch. The coin bears the image of the Royal Palace and river Nenock.

The platinum piece is the largest of the coins, worth one hundred gold pieces, is rarely used and mostly only during larger transactions, meaning that many of the realms less wealthy subjects have never seen one in their life. The platinum bar bears the image of Aglarion's first king, Razmyrel Valsyr Melkar I.

The copper piece, the smallest of the coins, is round and it is easy to thread thanks to the hole.

The gold piece is significantly larger than the copper and silver pieces. Both sides of the coin bear the image of King Waldrann Azennar, but shortly after his disastrous passing, it is changed to the depiction of Queen Aphinah Azennar.

The Wyltammer family is an ancient one, whose banners have been flying in the kingdom since its very foundation. The current heads of the family, a middle-aged elf named Yram and his elven wife Taya are at the center of the capital's social scene. They are charismatic and well-connected, liked by almost everyone in the realm, even the common folk, for the donations they raise for the city at their annual charity fundraising ball. The Wyltammer Ball is a grand event where noble and common folk are invited as equals and everyone can enjoy the hospitality of their noble hosts. In reality, these balls are a form of sacrificial ritual, where the Wyltammers siphon a tiny fraction from the life force of every guest to feed their unnatural health and youngness for the next year to come. The guests feel mildly exhausted after the event, but who wouldn't be after so much laughter, dancing, and feasting. Taya, a masterful warlock who secretly dedicated herself to evil eldritch powers, and her former assassin-turned husband Yram have learned the ancient ritual centuries ago after slaying Taya's first and last master, the only warlock ever to dare to take the fallen solar as his patron. The Wyltammer have no children and in reality, they don’t intend to give up their standing, wealth, and immortality for centuries to come.

The Ronul family is a rather new addition to the major noble houses of Aglarion. The family’s first patron was Almeiro Ronul, who served in the King’s Navy as a young cadet, until he was taken captive by pirates near the Xantharos Islands. He grew to be a fearless and infamous pirate, amassing huge wealth from raiding Xantharian traders. Meeting a beautiful refugee merfolk princess named Ininnizar, Almeiro fell in love and decided to give up piracy to help Ininnizar reclaim her home, close to the Aglarion coastline. Almeiro sailed to Aglarion with his fleet, the Xantharians at his heels. Describing the Xantharians as threats of the kingdom, he struck a deal with Queen Eirammar. In return for land, title, and the northern bay’s fishing rights, he made a very generous donation to the Queen’s treasury and joined his fleet with the royal navy. He then triumphed with Eirammar over the Xantharians in a monumental naval battle involving hundreds of ships. Eventually, Almeiro settled on the coast with his crew and their families. He named the town Ronul’s End to signify concluding the life he led before. Not able to resist the call of the sea, he started his pearl fishing business, and made a fortune on it. As a famed and legendary pirate, rumors and gossip still abound about his treasures, said to be hidden in multiple locations across Aglarion. They say clues to the treasure’s whereabouts have been hidden in his house in Onadbyr. The current head of the family is Dyzag Ronul, an elderly businessman, whose sole focus is building more wealth. Together with his only living brother, he runs the business and tries to earn and get more favor with the royal family. These days, some people in Onadbyr are spreading gossip about Premil Ronul, Dyzag’s only son, and his romantic involvement with Odryk Nangrath, Hodomir Nangrath’s younger son.

The Nangrath family prides itself on a long lineage of Dwarves who made their home in the northern part of the country for centuries. They served as master builders for the fortresses and border fort systems, and mostly live in the town named after their family. They are warriors, head to toe, and are expected to be master architects of fortifications. Their family tradition is very strong and strict, where all sons of Nangrath are to serve the Crown and be the epitome of a dwarf. Arenbar Nangrath, the elder, is a venerable dwarf, who has lost his belief in this world and is slowly withering away in his family estate in the town of Nangrath. His older son, Yarik, disappeared several weeks ago when investigating rumors about some missing townsfolk. His younger son Odryk lives in Onadbyr, and has been associated in rumors with Premil Ronul, dreaming about escaping the kingdom to see other wondrous places and live through adventures with his love.

The Monders were a wealthy dwarven trading family who amassed their fortunes over the course of centuries, eventually buying their lands and title with copious amounts of gold when King Grankar, the Brash, needed funding to expand the city outside the Old Wall. With their new-found standing and access to the right to raise a personal army, they invested heavily into ships and into arming a large number of soldiers. Their secret plan was to conquer the neighboring Isles of Xantharos and carve out their own kingdom. Lord Gronjyph Monder led his formidable armada of hastily recruited mercenaries and adventurous locals against the many-colored half-dragon nomads of Xantharos, but he greatly miscalculated by thinking that his gold would be enough to win a war. The draconic onslaught of the righteously angry warriors of the Xantharos swept his fleet and army away, most of which deserted the noble’s side. Returning home beaten, his traitorous plans revealed, the king confiscated Lord Gronjyph’s lands and bound his only son and all of his heirs to serve as part of the Order of the Knights of the Crown eternally to make up for their ancestor’s sin.

The Karramosa noble family is an ancient one dating back to the early years of Aglarion. They own the north-eastern Talanar Hills and the lands around the Talanar Pond, where they support the meditating monks of the Monastery of Past Lives. Their main source of income comes from selling their swords to the king to protect the border, from farming and animals, and from a single small gem mine under the island monastery. The monastery was founded centuries ago when the prospectors of a greedy noblewoman named Luriana Karramosa found a secret earth elemental node deep under the island. The gems were an irresistible source of wealth for the Karramosa, who until then only served as military aid to the king. But the node had an unforeseen side effect - anyone who excavated the gems slowly turned into xorns with a completely different hunger for precious stones. The Karramosa’s hired miners fled the curse early on and the Karramosa soldiers whom the nobles commanded to continue the work soon deserted. Left without options the obsessed Karramosa nobles started to excavate the mine themselves. Luriana’s husband abandoned both the strenuous task and her wife before he turned fully into a hideous Xorn completely and he sought the aid of the monks who currently inhabit the island to heal his half-calcified limbs. On the other hand, Luriana could not resist the lure of the shiny treasures and soon changed into a xorn, which to this day feeds on the gems. The following generation of monks, under commands from the Karramosas, kept sneaking in from time to time to steal her leftovers and send the treasures back to the Karramosa family to be cut and sold at the Starbright Jewelry.

The late Highlady Urmissa Gorso was a proud Knight of the Crown from a bloodline of loyal paladins who served the kings and queens of the kingdom for generations. Her sudden and unexplainable death took his whole family by surprise. It had an especially harsh effect on her devastated husband Lord Ziademos, who went mad due to the changes in his family’s domestic life, which he found hard to handle. The count locked himself up in his chambers for several years, refusing to accept food, help, or anything from anyone, including his daughter and sons. It was a mystery how he sustained himself, but one day he emerged from his room stinking, naked, covered in strange sigils, and a crazed look in his eyes. He started indoctrinating his family to his newfound patron’s service, which he called the Elemental Chaos. His powers grew and his children, and later his grandchildren, have all vowed allegiance to this force that allowed them to manipulate their fortunes and those of others. The family took on strange, socially unacceptable, and foul habits, which caused half of their household to flee. They are considered weird and eccentric by most people, a mad bunch, and most try to stay away from them due to their erratic, unpredictable natures.

The Goldtooth tribe of goblins was always a witty and lucky bunch. Several centuries ago, their ancestor Bilakk Goldtooth acquired noble status from Queen Linolu the Peaceful by saving her from the grasp of a giant constrictor snake during one of her hunts deep in the Arden Forest. The grateful queen gifted the goblin and his whole, (very) extended family with title, gold, and an estate in Onadbyr. Through the generations that followed, the Goldtooths, originally from the village of Gonshar, have either been tolerated or just frowned upon in the capital, depending on the social openness of the city. Some Goldtooths have even attended Walhem Boarding School for Young Masters, but there were times when larger mobs marched on their villa and threatened to pull out their golden teeth. Nowadays, Kabok Goldtooth, the head of the noble family, does not visit the capital too often but his younger brother and his wife have moved into the Onadbyrian villa with their twelve children. The family has no real wealth or any particular source of income, but Kabok is a capable illusionist who is more than efficient in finding ways to earn gold for his whole village.

The Domiren are a loud bunch, but they were not always so. The latest generation of Domirens have lost their conservative roots mainly due to the marriage that brought the now venerable Lady Zainda, a once renowned prostitute, to the house. Lady Zaza, as her sons call her based on her “artist” name, has inherited the wealth of her late husband who sold everything he owned to King Waldrann’s father before his sickness took him. He knew that his lands would be more efficiently managed, if managed at all, by the king’s men, rather than by his lewd wife. Lady Zaza spends her unimaginable wealth on herself, her three fat and arrogant sons, and nine small silkhair dogs, each of a distinctively different color. Lady Zaza is a control freak, overseeing every small detail of her household, handling the expenses that are eating away at her treasury that but steadily diminishes each year, and having the final, very loud, and usually foul-mouthed say in all matters. Her three unmarried drunkard sons -Zajeer, Malo, and Korzen - still live with Lady Zaza and always argue with her and each other over how to enjoy their family’s wealth to the fullest. They hate her dogs as well as each other, but act according to her will and cooperate with each other for their own survival and out of fear of their mother. Many have tried to take the Domirens for fools and soon learned through personal experience about the sadistic nature of the Domiren brothers in the cellars of their winery, the Hill’s Nectar.

The numerous scattered smaller and larger isles to the east of Aglarion that make up an archipelago are collectively called the Isles of Xantharos. The scattered chain of islands clearly resembles the shape of a large dragon, which in fact is the case. The isles are formed from the remains of Xantharos, one of the two progenitor fey-dragons, the largest dragon that ever lived. It reigned in the Feyrealm long before the Dark Star and the Fallen Angels arrived, however, it was banished to Aglarion by Faeryl Myrryn. The fallen angels were immediately confronted by the dragon and their battle was a bloody clash of claws and unholy powers. The Dark Star and its angels emerged victorious, slaying the dragon into the sea and onto a plateau that supported its immense corpse. As thousands of years passed, the dragon’s body formed into the isles, surrounded by coral reefs. The isles hold a special power, which transforms some who are exposed to its powers for years, into half-dragons of random kinds. The transformation happens to only a few, but over generations, a half-dragon ruling class has emerged on the isles, which has enslaved those who don’t share their draconic powers. The half-dragons of Xantharos organize themselves into clans and mate only within their own color, in which they take great pride. These extended families elect their leaders to represent them in the meetings they call the Gathering of the True. The council is always overseen by two Council Masters, who make decisions in union. Xantharosian clans live in large households scattered throughout the islands, with only a few families occupying each. Each household has about five to ten slaves for each half-dragon present and slaves are not just considered as a commodity but also as a responsibility and investment that needs to be nurtured, getting more valuable by time. Xantharosian society is one of slowly taken, well-considered actions, wisdom, and emotionless cruelty, structured by laws and titles, which come with certain obligations and responsibilities towards the person and the community. There are only a few hundred Xantharosian half-dragons, of many colors, who are also considered as nobles by birth even if some might not necessarily have the capacity to own a fort or large lands. They live very long, comfortable, and wealthy lives during which they can focus on training themselves, most commonly in arts, academic and arcane studies, combat, or philosophy. Displaying advanced skills of any form, may they be mundane feats or magical aptitude, garners great respect on the Isles of Xantharos, even to an extent that slaves who show great skill can achieve luxurious lifestyles. The clans of Xantharos rarely trade with other countries due to their distant location and the difficulty of crossing over the realm of the archmage kraken Morgawr. Xanthorian half-dragons accept visitors and traders in their castles and villas but only for a good reason and for short periods of time. Only a few selected are allowed to settle on the isles permanently, but these individuals need to earn the trust of the half-dragons and demonstrate a high level of expertise in something that is useful for the inhabitants. The last time the half-dragon clans fought a war was against Aglarion a century ago when they chased the fleets of Almerio Ronul back to the shores of his homeland. The army of Xantharos is small and consists of only the most skilled combatants led by their powerful half-dragon masters. The currently elected Council Masters are Lord Zhoulann Fralkyn, a long-winded old half-red cleric of the Efficient Master, and Lady Yryll Wyltres, the Blue Witch, a middle aged half-blue archmage temptress with an enormous ego and matching ambitions.

When the Dark Star and its fallen angel court were defeated, a coalition of hardy mountain tribes was formed to resist the theocratic oppression of the followers of the Church of the Eternal Light. These tribes, only a handful of family clans at that time, fled higher into the mountains on the north to escape their zealous pursuers, who used divine and arcane magic to track and combat them. The tribes used the mountainous environment, with which they were so familiar to gain the advantage, and combined with their ferocious fighting prowess, they kept the armies of the cultists of the Church of Eternal Light at bay for centuries. Exposed to external threats from otherworldly beings and later being continuously assaulted by the spell-wielding theocracy, the Vordani have become hateful towards magic users and magic in general. The only magic they tolerate is the one that helps destroy magic. The Vordan people grew in numbers over the centuries and became an atheist, somewhat barbaric society, where the use of any form of magic is despised and is seen as an unreliable, untrustworthy power. The Vordani are hard-working people who rely on their skills and personal power, brandishing strength, wits, and endurance over all else. They don’t consider the afterlife as something esoteric, they face death knowing that they simply cease to exist, and death is seen as being a natural end of life. They live every day as it would be their last, trying to fill their days with meaningful tasks and challenges. Vordani society is composed of clans based on family ties, led by the most fitting member of the tribe who has already proven his or her value in a significant way. Lacking the comfort of magic-use, the Vordani have become quite advanced in technology, especially in building complex mechanical traps, war gear, and war machines. One of their most dreaded war machines, drawn by beasts, is the massive rolling battle tower, which can carry a crew of a dozen fighters and features numerous smaller and larger ballistae, as well as flame throwers. Their other famously fearsome war equipment is a hydraulic torso-mounted support with two extensions, which allows its wearer to lift heavier weights and wield extra-large weapons with great agility. The Vordani have always excelled in the domestication of various mountain beasts that they use for labor, travel, and war. Their most common mounts are giant goats and lizards, which they ride in breathtaking angles up and down the rocky mountain slopes, but they also breed massive warhorses, used for military campaigns and long-distance travel on the mountain roads. The Vordani also keep mountain panthers as their hunting pets and guardians. Owning Slaves in the Vordan tribes is considered a form of luxury, which only a few can maintain in their lifestyles. The number of slaves a Vordani owns measures their wealth to the outside world. Slaves are rarely used outside of the house of their owners, where they act as servants, guards, pleasure slaves, or work on menial tasks saving time for the wealthy Vordani to concentrate on other endeavors. Slaves are either captured outlanders or prisoners of war from raids. All Vordani slaves are marked with a tattoo of their owner on their forehead. The current king of the Vordani is Ralukkar Doomhammer VI., a descendant of the long lineage of the most powerful clan, the Doomhammers. King Ralukkar and his family have defended their position for over a century now, which they gained after the power vacuum created during the failed invasion of Aglarion. King Ralukkar’s last famous act, which had major repercussions within many Vordani tribes, was the settling of non-spellcasting priests of the Efficient Master, the god of competence, within his borders. These priests, who call themselves the Pure and who are considered as radicals even within their own religion, vowed to teach and encourage the use of manual skills and assured the king that they would not cast any spells as it is against their religious beliefs to rely on the use of magic. Under the leadership of the soft-spoken half-orc cleric named Proctor Zacchaeus Bael, a considerate man of great wisdom, the Pure don’t want to heighten tensions caused by his cult’s presence.

Before the Age of Dark Angels, primitive tribes of various races roamed these lands that were once plains and forests, spreading over great distances in the center of the known lands. These tribes were scattered and small, with local clan elders, and no recorded history. Only oral legends tell of the day of the Mountainfall, when the darkness itself descended upon them. Burning mountains fell from the sky, thousands of them, and each carried the life essence of an angel cast off from its plane of existence. These mountains crashed unmercifully upon the many smaller civilizations of primitive mortals living in this territory, killing off almost every form of life, be it intelligent or bestial. From these mountains the fallen angels rose, led by the Dark Star, and quickly conquered all of the known lands around their place of impact, subjugating every intelligent lifeform to rule over them and to cut them off from the divine powers they venerated. The Dark Star led its army of ageless celestials against mortals with the exception of one planetar named Zaphaos, which the Dark Satr foresaw to be a traitor in the future. The Dark Star forbade the planetar to leave its mountain shell and turned it into its prison for eternity, also binding its deva servitors to stay by their master’s side. The dust from the impact did not settle for centuries, over the boulders upon boulders that tore the landscape to create the peaks and valleys of the Mountainfall. The few mortals who survived the apocalypse stayed hidden for generations and only slowly emerged in hope of a new life. They struggled to sustain themselves on the barren peaks of the Mountainfall and adapted to the harsh and relentless environment. It wasn’t long before they discovered the outcast devas in the central mountain and learned that they were ruthless, vengeful beings who could not be matched in power. The mountain barbarian tribes grew in number but made sure to avoid the flying outsiders that hunted the region for slaves around the mountain, which they named the Summit of the Corrupted Immortals. For centuries the devas tried everything to release their planetar master from its rocky prison, but to no avail. No ritual, sacrifice, or magic could break the curse of the Dark Star upon its prophesied adversary. The fury of the devas grew with every failed attempt but they did not cease to end their bloody rituals. They vented their frustration upon the slaves they captured from the different mortal races around the mountain and soon started breeding with them to create a race of slaves that would serve them in their never-ending endeavor. And so the dark aasimar, a race of fearless unholy descendants of the fallen angels, was born. Their hearts were infected with the hatred and cruelty inherited from their immortal ascendants, and infused with utter devotion to them. Even those who do not care about religion or laws still consider them as their holy and mighty protectors and serve the community with unquestionable obedience. During the past two millennia, the mortals were kept at the level of a savage civilization by the devas, who regularly performed the sacrificial ceremonies in their honor to gather enough souls to one day free Zaphaos. They have chiseled the planetar’s mountain prison into the form of a colossal ziggurat that features levels as high as sixty feet and serves as a city for the over thirty thousand aasimar and double that in slaves who live around it today. Each level of the city has a myriad smaller or larger dwellings carved into them and a never-ending wide stairway connecting the bottom and top-level on every four sides. The top of the ziggurat is a holy place for the vicious aasimar where they conduct their dark rituals and where the dark devas nest. A mighty shaft was cut into the middle of the mountain revealing the actual huge black crystal that encloses the planetar within. A dark beam shoots from the shaft into the sky that is visible during daytime and even on some clear nights for hundreds of miles. The rigorously religious aasimar are led by a fanatic named Cadmael the Flenser, the high priest of Light and Darkness, who focuses all his power on serving the devas and their imprisoned master. The ziggurat city of Xapto’wa’ttykal, the Rock of the Descendants, is unapproachable, as it is surrounded by several hundred miles of barren mountains from every direction. The aasimar herd mountain goats and live on the scarce shrubby vegetation that grows on the mountains. Their unique style of fashion and crafting is unlike anything in the known world as is their language, a simplified version of celestial speech. They are active at night and rest during the day when only their slaves are working. Only a handful have seen the hidden city of the dark aasimar and no one is known to have lived to tell their tale or the fate of the imprisoned planetar within the city.

The Kingdom in the Deep, as it is known to land dwellers, dates back to long before the reign of the Fallen Angels and the Dark Star. For thousands of years, it served as a central hub for merfolk and sea elves who lived together in harmony in several smaller and larger settlements. Their tribal society was based on family connections and led by family elders who organized trade and all other relations with one another in a mostly peaceful manner, except for a few minor disputes that were usually settled without major bloodshed. With the aid of their ancient gargantuan dragon turtle ally Gulantraxio, they formed a collective force against the invading sahuagin slaver armies to the east, whipped into a frenzy by the Dark Star who wanted to dominate and exploit these settlements. These sahuagin, who took many prisoners and turned them into their slaves, were led by the shape-changed deva commanders who could never conquer the Kingdom in the Deep. The merfolk, the sea elves, and their allies withdrew into an undersea trench to avoid further confrontation and created their united city, A’rvanshy, a city of beautiful coral and giant shell formations, hidden behind a massive forest of various underwater plants and fungi above a massive and extended crevice. Centuries passed before the ancient green dragon, a seeker of secret lore, Ossiazzxontyr found the city. The green dragon was cautious to attack the city alone to harvest its riches, and instead, she awakened an ancient sleeping titan, the legendary kraken archmage Morgawr, offering the whole city as a sacrifice to feed the colossal beast’s hunger. The dragon miscalculated as Morgawr did not feed on the tiny merfolk and sea elves, but rather, it enslaved them with its spells and mind weakening ink. The ancient dragon turtle was slain and set to guard the city as an undead minion. Ossiazzxontyr retreated to the mainland, while the kraken ruled over the city as it does even today through its vicious merrow enforcers. Currently A’rvanshy is home to many depraved and oppressed merfolk and sea elves who either struggle to survive, or serve the kraken by betraying their own kin. Morgawr is working on achieving immortality and even more power by turning itself into a lich. It has amassed knowledge and a stunning amount of resources to achieve its unnatural goal. The city has no trade or any relations with the mainland or the outside world, where one can only hear about it from long forgotten tales.

After the defeat of the fallen angels, the separatist community of the southern people refused to accept the rulership of the Church of Eternal Light and revolted against their expansionist in the region. The armed conflict took decades to settle and forged the southerners into unity. They elected their first general Kalaman Drayl, a human with sorcerous powers, as their first king long before Aglarion became a monarchy. King Kalaman the First fought two major wars against the theocracy and successfully protected his kingdom throughout his long reign. He was a devout promoter of personal freedom and ruled according to his libertarian views, interfering in the least possible manner in his subjects’ lives. During his long reign, he sired sixteen children from various wives and he gave each of them land and title. One day, the old king mysteriously disappeared from his private quarters and his heirs could not agree on the inheritance of the country. They blamed each other for their father’s disappearance, even though none of them had real evidence or even the slightest idea where their king had vanished. Each heir already amassed a smaller or larger military force within their own settlements and none of them wanted to move against the others without the consent and support of the majority of the other cities. Small wars were inevitable between the more blooded heirs and some even conquered a few other cities, which they rule even today. They soon realized that none of them were large enough to conquer the whole realm and none of them were willing to give up their freedom without a fight. To solve their issues and to avoid bloodshed, the Drayl heirs decided to hold a grand council. They gathered in a mass rally of their forces, over twenty thousand soldiers in a hill in the center of the realm, and the eleven heirs that remained on the council decided that it was time to end the war and to form an alliance of city-states where every heir rules over their own city. The Council of the Heirs is still held every year on top of Ancestor Hill. This is where all of the heads of the city-states, descendants of the Drayl dynasty, meet to discuss their issues and plans. The incursions from the armies of the theocracy intensified after the disappearance of King Drayl, but the forces of the Drayl heirs fought in unity every time. The war with their northern neighbours continued until the fall of the Church of Eternal Light, which was partly achieved with the aid and intervention of the descendants of the Drayl dynasty who discovered the resistance growing within the ranks of their enemies and supported Razmyrel Valsyr Melkar I the True, in his successful rebellion against the oppressive church. Each Drayl city-state has its own traditions and unique style. Their accents, customs, foods, fashion, and architecture differ slightly but also combine the elements of their shared culture. Some city-states are richer or more populous than the others and some are specialized in certain trades or activities depending on their geographic location. Most Drayl city-states have about five to ten thousand citizens, while Highmoor, the largest of the city-states has about twenty thousand residents. Current life in Drayl doesn’t differ much from life in Aglarion, with whom the city-states each trade separately. Drayl is a colorful, orderly realm with a happy population who usually seem stubborn at first, keeping to themselves, but are mostly good-hearted people if they open up to someone. Eldorn is a sizable river-side city, best known for its well-stocked trade houses. Jorar Drayl, a seasoned half-orc adventurer and monster-hunter taxes his subjects heavily, but much of the money is spent on innovation, infrastructure, and services. Seven Gates is a large cross-town in the junction of many roads and has become a regular spot for large fairs that happen once in every season of the year. Arusta Drayl, an elderly human noblewoman of ill reputation runs the city with the help of her numerous sons and daughters. Kostryl is a small city founded on precious stone working and mining. It has a large population of deep gnomes who mixed with the human and half-human Drayl population over the years. Pattoonia Drayl, a brash young noblewoman with love for gems runs the traditional family business, taking great care of the deep gnomes and their underground operations. Brinecoast is the largest coastal city with a sizable shipyard, which hosts mostly fishing boats, with a small fleet of sailing ships. The city is famous for its skilled sailors and captains as well as its abundant resources of seafood. Lord Captain Samiel Drayl, the soft speaking middle-aged human who rules over the city is rumored to have merfolk blood running through his veins. Highmoor is the largest city-state of the Drayl region, a vibrant city with flourishing trade and agriculture in the surrounding valleys. The city also has an ill reputation from the past when it annexed two other nearby cities by force during the Battle of the Heirs. Residents of these two smaller cities, Aesthor and Willowpark, have mostly migrated to Highmoor over the centuries, leaving them as abandoned hollow husks with few residents. Bareon Rudd Drayl, the current ruler of the region, has kept his family’s tradition of being able to muster an army of convincing size. Gynleah is one of the smaller city-states that relies mostly on farming and cultivating the rare Night Rose, a magical and beautiful rose of black color, which can be turned into an addictive drug that takes its user to the dreamlands. The city’s leader is Amdastrah Drayl, an ambitious female warlock with ties to the powers of the dreamlands and a monk assassin’s guild from a land far away. Zammastra is a small city-state that relies on farming. Valsyrio Drayl, an elderly half-elven druid of the Eternal Mother, leads the city with a firm hand and makes sure that his church nourishes the land for the benefit of the locals. The Domain of the Sovereign is ruled by High King Alcemyr Drayl, as the mad heir refers to himself. The city-state also governs the two smaller cities Lakrian and Tallgate on the isle, and oversees the ruins of Ulantra, a third city that was completely demolished by Alcemyr’s ancestors centuries ago. The island is a self-sustaining kingdom that does not trade with or rely on any of the other Drayl city-states since the ascension of the High King to his throne. Zolt is a city of warriors and smiths that sits on a plentiful deposit of ore. The current ruler of the city is Wiley Drayl, a bitter, aging, fat, half-elven aristocrat who knows the value of his wares. Zolt has an impressive number of trained warriors and rumors say that Wiley is only a puppet of a sinister force hiding in his mines. Ysmarys, the smallest of all the city-states, is home to the most pompous temples of the continent. Being a city of deeply religious folk, life within its walls revolves around the temples and their services, which it lends to the rest of the realm. The city is led by Zoqul Drayl, the Holy Hand of the Redeemer, an elderly high priest with numerous children. Yellowkeep is a small city with a large castle and a network of underground tunnels. Poorest of all the Drayl cities, Yellowkeep is home to only those who can’t afford to leave it. The dirty and mostly deserted city, having seen some better days, has numerous uninhabited residential and commercial buildings. The citizens do their best to survive while their ruler, Balansyr Drayl, is a dull drunkard in his fifties, who is living up the rest of the treasury he inherited from his predecessors.

Quellar Ausstyl, a drow house led by a circle of druids who venerate dark entities from far realms, rules the Bleak Mire from their underground fortress in the Dark Below and through their aberration-infused champion Krasnar on the surface of the plane. Since their return to their ancestral home from their otherworldly exile, House Ausstyl has had a single purpose: ripping the fabric of the Bleak Mire so it can become host to the Far Realms, summoning unspeakable dimensions to devour the fabric of reality of the Feyrealm domain. Welvynn Ausstyl, the leader of the Inheritors of the Unbegotten has succeeded in capturing two of the hags - Tyke and Splinter - to set the circle’s plan in motion, and has tasked the aberration-infused Krasnar with laying the tainted ground for the grand ritual on the path of his Gibbering Fort around the Chasm, under which the druids have planted the Elder Cortex to infect the plane with its web of tentacled roots. The drow number a dozen druids who command scores of fleshwarped barbarians and a sect of monks dedicated to the ways of the tentacle. They are masters of infusing aberrant energies into living flesh and summoning alien entities to do their bidding. The drow patrol the main tunnels of the Dark Below and only rarely venture to the surface to collect rare components and oversee the progress of the Gibbering Fort.

This group of traveling carnies is an extended family with some outsiders mingled within its ranks with around a hundred members, most of whom are young and spirited. Many of the Vagabonds are expert musicians, which is their only legal form of income. They make a living mostly by thieving and illicit practices like scams, counterfeiting, drug trade, and illegal hunting and fishing. They prefer to prey on the rich as they travel the countryside on their caravan of wagons, or when they spend some time in the capital, but they rarely keep their colorful tents up at one place for longer than a season. Members of the Uncanny Vagabonds are a very tight-knit organization, not just because of their family bonds but also because of the survival code they follow. No Vagabond will steal from another member of the group or snitch on them, even if this means giving up personal freedoms or even their lives. They are beholden to their own rules and laws, and not those of the general society, living according to the rulings of the elders of the closed community. The Vagabonds speak their own secret language, which they never teach to outsiders. True family members are taught to awaken mystical innate magical abilities that run through their bloodline, enabling them to cast a single, carefully practiced cantrip once per day. The leader of the Uncanny Vagabonds is always the most successful member who has proven his intellectual and physical skills to the community through example. This person is currently a young human in his early twenties, named Gren, whom the whole family knows to be a bastard son of King Waldrann. Everyone in the family knows the details of the secret affair between Gren’s mother and the king, but the outside world considers it as a fabrication. Nevertheless, the Uncanny Vagabonds always boast about their royal connections.

The Matrons of Malice have long set their dark minds towards the kingdom of Aglarion. Their first step was to enthrall and recruit those with the most hatred in their hearts and a desire for power. They approached these individuals, commoners, craftsmen, warriors, and others, with promises of magical abilities in return for serving their agenda. These men and women took the midnight hag coven as their patron and served the hags willingly as warlock minions. Members of the Children of the Coven, a couple of dozen at most, know each other’s identities and come together to perform foul rituals from time to time. They do whatever they are commanded to do by their patrons and otherwise blend into society unnoticed. In many cases, even their families are unaware of their mystic powers and vile affiliation. They come from every segment of society, from all genders and races, and fanatically work towards the goals set forth by the Matrons of Malice in unity. Most of the time they don’t even comprehend the true goals of their missions, or the big picture, which is only known to the hags. They murder, steal, and lie without remorse and relish in the otherworldly powers they gain in return after years of servitude.

The secretive Golden Masks is the most successful and only real criminal organization in the realm, with an extended network of informants and hidden agents in all corners of Aglarion’s society. The guild is led by a group of shapechangers who operate from behind the scenes, using their anonymity to hide from the watchful eyes of the Red Cloaks. For the past century, the leader of the Golden Masks has been a rakshasa named Samsadur, who trusts only its closest ally, the lamia Yhlsaby. Most of the agents of the Golden Masks are doppelgangers with very few non-shapechangers who have earned the trust of the crime lord and have been introduced to the inner circles. Members of the organization are very secretive about their identity and protect it ruthlessly. They command, manipulate, or hire smaller individual groups of criminals who are usually not aware of the nature of their masters, or don’t even know of each other’s involvement with the Golden Masks. The organization is involved mostly in non-violent and high-value illicit activities, such as smuggling, theft of rare items, racketeering, lending money, information brokering, and spying. They avoid raising unwanted attention with petty crimes and during their operations, they leave the dirty work mostly to their minions. They don’t tolerate any interference in their business and efficiently root out any initiative to step into their domain. The Golden Masks identify themselves with a special gold coin that looks exactly like a normal gold piece, except for a mask symbol instead of the royal insignia.

The Queen’s Grace Orphanage, funded by the royal family, was established over a century ago to help young orphaned ladies and Lady Thuila has been the appointed headmistress ever since. Under the leadership of the now venerable halfling, the orphaned ladies are trained to become the perfect housewives to nobles and the wealthy. They are highly educated, well mannered, and trained to be skilled in many forms of craftsmanship required in a household. Behind the scenes, Lady Thuila puts heavy emphasis on educating the younglings in diplomacy, negotiation, deception, persuasion, and all forms of social skills. She convinces them over the course of their training that they can only rely on each other, successfully forging a ruthless sisterhood of calculating mistresses who work together to gain wealth and influence within the kingdom. They live to serve their community, referred to it by them as the Ring, and with that to serve their own personal benefit. Their bond is so strong that some have even sacrificed themselves to keep their sisterhood a secret. These ladies, once married out to the most influential men of the realm, use their newfound status to deliver information to the sisterhood that can help them accumulate as much wealth as possible. Within their secret dungeon vaults, they hoard treasures of enviable proportions, which they spend on their lavish lifestyle and on necessary “investments” that help their agenda. They are not trained combatants, but they don’t refrain even from murder by poisoning, though hired assassins, or other subtle means if necessary to achieve their goals. The Ringmaidens never remove their simple iron ring engraved with the insignia of the orphanage, which they consider as their common bond and identifier.

Originally called the Seven Flowers, this druid order is as old as the history of the Realm. It was founded by feyrealm-born gnomes, who were all committed to nurturing the natural order of things. They acted as spirit guides and shamans to the humanoids of ancient times for millennia, until the Dark Star and its fallen angels descended upon the land. Escaping from the ruthless angels, they fled into the Feyrealm and hid there for two thousand years. They retained scouts on the material plane, who joined with Sarath and helped forge an alliance with them. From the seclusion of the Feyrealm, they helped Sarath complete her ritual to banish the Dark Star and the oppressors. In the ensuing period, the druids helped to heal the wounds on nature caused by the Eternal Night, and the majority of them migrated back to the Real World, took up new apprentices, and settled permanently. However, after Sarath’s death, the quick rise of Rodnar, the Priest-King caused concern to the order, and rightly so, for Rodnar rounded up almost every member of the Seven Flowers in a single night and had them executed for not venerating the Order of the Light. A group of survivors, led by Zilmop Snakeroot, the fey-realm-born gnome, fled and hid in an ancient sanctuary in the forest now known as the Thornwoods. He renamed the order the Seven Thorns, and vowed to never let anyone in the woods and hunt down everyone who would harm his land. Over the centuries his lineage carried on, and when their numbers dwindled, gnome women and babies were kidnapped, forced into marriage, never to see their families again. The Seven Thorns have enchanted many areas of the forest, and worked to create a legend about a haunted forest, with no one knowing they are responsible for the missing people and the scary stories. There have always been seven masters of the order called the Thorns. They are served by their initiates and animal companions, and their close family either willingly or forced by binding magic.

... "It took long decades to gather allies and to build a force that could match those of their enemies in both worlds. In the Feyrealm, the druids invested their powers into Dasmag, a great satyr hero, who over years of hardships and sacrifices assembled and recruited the largest standing army of fey ever seen - composed of centaur cavarlies, squadrons of sprites, legions of satyrs, magically adept feyrealm-born elves riding giant owls, and an infantry of thousands of feyrealm-born creatures." ... "The battle lasted for a year on the Feyrealm and in the Dark Below, and eventually the Seven Flowers and Dasmag’s fey army defeated the drow vampire overlord. Dasmag was crowned as the first king of the fey and he slowly reformed the realm to his own image and renamed it Swigglegard. The emergence of the new ruler meant endless festivities and revelry in the king’s glorious courts and halls, an ongoing celebration of his victory over their former oppressors." ..."However, King Dasmag’s unceasing festivities turned into debauchery over the years and they soon took their toll on the once-mighty satyr warrior. A coven of midnight hags, the Matrons of Malice, who were originally banished by the fey-dragons to Hell and who later resisted the drow summoner's call to the Feyrealm and bid their time, took notice of the king’s weakened state."

In the beginning, the Gods created the World and the Mortals, and agreed to let their creation play out without their direct intervention. For eons the mortals lived in prehistoric, tribal societies, waging deadly battles against other humanoids and fighting for the survival of their various species. Few legends remain from this time, as most traces of the precursor civilizations of the time had vanished long ago. The first legends that are collaborated by written records related to the age of the Dark Angels, whose reign was terrifying, brutal, and long-lasting, and one that brought some level of civilization, magic use, and cultural advancement. All the gods of Aglarion encompass varying interpretations of their dogmas and portfolios, but the God of Light and Darkness embodied the strongest polarity. Its positive aspects, the Shining Light, wanted to see the mortals of the world flourish, with hope and opportunity, and it fought eternally with its other side, the Darkness Within. This darker aspect wanted power over the other gods, to rule and to torment mortals, not believing them worthy of the gift of life given by the other gods. The continuous struggle between them resulted in the rebellion of the Darkness Within. It broke away from its other half and channeled its will into a solar of immense power, the Dark Star, and an army of angels who descended upon the mortal realms. Engravings and runes left from this time recall the “Mountainfall”, when the Dark Star and its dark angelic army crashed into the land from their plane of existence encased in boulders the size of mountains, creating the mountains known by this name. The Dark Star’s landing is said to have created the tallest mountain at the very center of Aglarion, now called Cloud Peak. As its first act of defiance of the gods, the Dark Star magically pulled the Moon in front of the Sun, shrouding everything in an unending solar eclipse and allowing the Dark Star to draw enormous power from the darkness. The angels set out to dominate all mortal beings, enslaving and torturing them for thousands of years. Their aim was to cut off all the other gods from their followers, and so they banned every religion and murdered everyone who wouldn’t comply. They built a society based on fear, pain, and hopelessness. The shape-changing angels almost always found out if someone was plotting against them, could see through all lies, and ruthlessly crushed any seeds of rebellion. Those select mortals who devoted themselves to the evil angels were rewarded with wealth, knowledge, magic, and in some cases even unnaturally long lives and half-celestial heirs. The rest served as slaves and toys for the powerful outsiders. The three planetar generals of the Dark Star were called Tannur (Sorrow), Morkiel (Fear) and Zaphaos (Hopelessness). The Dark Star foresaw betrayal by Zaphaos and entombed it in its own mountain when they arrived, never to see the prime material plane nor the mortals of the realm. Tannur and Morkiel conquered and ruled the lands by blood, fire, and steel in the name of the Dark Star, continuously expecting their ruthless leader to turn on them. Their names spread across the world and became known in all languages for the dark emotions they personified.

After the Dark Star’s demise and the banishment of its army of angels, Sarath, and her followers quickly stepped into the power vacuum, but had to first oppose the remaining devotees of the Dark Star. In this campaign, they had the help of the rebellion of all who suffered from the Angels, including the Seven Flowers. Sarath’s first initiate was Rodnar, a cunning priest whose role for decades was to isolate and kill remaining Dark Angels and their followers. Rodnar was ruthless, so much so that he allowed the sacrifice of his whole family in their plan to take down the Dark Star. After the demise of the Angels, Rodnar led the Fists of the Sun, a militant group whose job was to find and exact vengeance on every living being who supported the fallen angels. Rodnar was highly ambitious, and as Sarath got older and more fragile, he slowly acquired more and more power. After Sarath’s death, he renamed the church to the Order of the Eternal Light, and took the title of Archpriest. As his power grew, Rodnar slowly agitated the populace to religious fervor, and turned the Fists of the Sun into an inquisition that supported the removal of all of his real and potential enemies, or whoever spoke out against the Order of the Eternal Light. These people were deemed collaborators or believers of the Dark Star, and executed. His most infamous betrayal was finding and murdering every known member of the Seven Flowers in a single night of carnage, with just a few gnomes who escaped, never to be seen again in these realms. In less than a decade, Rodnar the All-Seeing crowned himself Priest-King, and the Order of Eternal Light became the only organization that governed his theocracy, with priests of the order serving as judges, governors, historians, and military leaders. The order viciously suppressed all free thought and other religions. They built lights that continuously bore down on every population center in shining sunlight, even during the night. The order also started to strictly regulate magic use and catalog all magic users, who could only work as part of the Order. As time went on, the order became more and more entrenched in society and increasingly bureaucratic, with a long line of Priest-Kings who were always chosen from within the ranks of the clergy by fierce and deadly competition. For three hundred years, the Order of the Eternal Light ruled supreme. Many times did parts of the realms revolt, trying to shake off the grip of the order, and many times did the Order crush these, quickly eradicating these voices of opposition from history by erasing all traces of their life and existence.

Time flowed briskly over the sounds of never-ending cheers and delight of the surface-dwellers of the Feyrealm but in the shadows evil extended its dark roots. The Dark Below bred creatures with wicked intentions and they soon found a way to make contact with those who were banished by the fey-dragons. One of the banished, or rather one who managed to escape the purge, was Faeryl Myrryn, a mighty drow conjurer matron of her drow house, who found refuge and patronage for all of her extended family and servants in the Abyss. She waited for the right moment to rally the vengeful fey against the fey-dragons and their allies. Their time came when the Dark Star and its fallen angels crashed into the Real World, a cataclysm that also tore a massive chasm into the co-existent plane of the Feyrealm and covered everything in utter darkness. The apocalypse killed many of the fey, including Xolenthas in her slumber, and left Xantharos mortally wounded. Faeryl Myrryn offered her services to Orcus, who recruited her into his army as a vampire and in exchange for her life and eternal service, she was given almost unlimited access to the hordes of the demon lord, tasked with spreading chaos into the Feyrealm. The arch-summoner opened planar gates for demons to enter and also gathered all of the exiled creatures from the Dark Below that were thirsty for revenge, shaping them into a massive army. Under a magically darkened sky, the drow matron’s forces swept over a large section of the Feyrealm, and through her genius military tactics, the armies at her command, and the weakened state of the resistance, she soon took over a large section of the lands of the fey. During the final battle between the vampire lord Faeryl and Xantharos, she banished the fey-dragon to the Real World with a spell and enslaved the rest of the surviving fey. She then took to reshaping her conquered domain, which she named the Bloodgarden, where her name was worshiped by her living and undead minions as a goddess, and where her dark and bloody reign saw endless suffering.