Category: Place

#Lore24 – Entry #82 – Fantasy Month #22 – The Dulcitius Attaliates Expedition to Sharmourne

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

I was rather interested in the topic of expeditions to lost cities, however when Mother specifically asked about this one, and further specified that she wanted details about the leader’s frugality when organizing this endeavor, I was less enthused.  She certainly seems to be taken with this theme she’s gotten into her head as of late.

The great city of Sharmourne was another lost to the shifting landscapes following the Great Cataclysm, seemingly devoured by the churning earth, all traces wiped away.  Always a target for treasure hunters, Sharmourne was always something of an obsession for the scholar Dulcitius Attaliates, for his ancestors originated from the fabled city.  Though at the time a rather unsuccessful treasure hunter, his obsessive study of geography and historical records nonetheless led him to believe that he had puzzled out the likely location of the lost city.  The problem, as is often the case with treasure hunts, is finding proper funding.  Attaliates was not rich, and he had only a few of the lower nobility convinced when it came to actually providing money for his proposed expedition; he wasn’t possessed of a silver tongue, either. 

And so, perhaps born of his obsession and a generally frugal upbringing, Attaliates began what has become known by some as the “Trek of the Slave Scholars”.  Though there were only a handful of slaves in the expedition party, it was the equipment chosen by Attaliates that garnered the name.  As certain magical items are generally widely available at a relatively low cost thanks to their popularity by slave-owners within the Empire, Attaliates made the decision, regarded at the time, and still to this day by some, as a ludicrous one, to employ some of the magical accessories commonly in use on slaves to lower overall costs.

Perhaps having made use of charm spells and other enchantments, Attaliates somehow convinced his party of the benefits of such items, and the expedition was officially launched, setting out approximately two-hundred-thirty years ago.  Firstly, Attaliates insisted upon all members of the party making use of feeder gags once they had gone into the wildlands beyond the Empire’s borders, for palatable food and water were never guaranteed; while unappetizing and completely flavorless, the gags nonetheless provide all the nutrition required, pride and dignity be damned.  Due to having to wear the gags for a long period for their magics to adjust to the wearer and provide needed nourishment, I imagine this likewise greatly cut down on the number of complaints he received from his party.

Secondly, Attaliates employed longstrider boots obtained second-hand from a slave courier service; though worn and seemingly impractical (these particular items were hoof boots after all, made more for visual appeal), the enchantments nonetheless proved just as capable in the wilds, providing solid footing and enhanced endurance and speed.  Of course, elite scouts in the Imperial military often make use of boots with the same enchantment, but maintaining one’s pride came with costs that Attaliates simply couldn’t afford.  Thirdly, in lieu of pack animals, Attaliates’s party made use of pack-slave harnesses, which, while rather bulky and not conducive to wearing much in the way of clothing, nonetheless provided more than ample ability for he and his team to carry all of the gear they required, with enough magically enhanced carrying ability left over for what they hoped would be plenty of treasure.  Lastly, Attaliates made use of master rings and slave collars keyed to them, not for the punishments such devices can perform (there were no confirmed accounts of this function being employed, anyway), but for the magical tracking ability, allowing him and his team leads to know exactly where all members of the party were located.

While dignity was certainly not a factor in the expedition, Attaliates managed to prove that he was not as crazy as some may have thought he was.  His obsessive research proved to be very accurate, and though it took several weeks to bear fruit, his party were ultimately successful in locating the ruins of Sharmourne, the bulk of the city’s broken remnants scattered through a heavily forested, mountainous region.  With the relics and treasures this first expedition managed to find, Attaliates was easily able to fund additional trips with much larger and more well-funded groups, and without the need for slave gear.

#Lore24 – Entry #72 – Fantasy Month #12 – Nymphanos

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

Sometimes called the Gateway to the Southern Wildlands, as it is situated on the edge of the Great Narokayo Jungle, Nymphanos is a fortified city ruled by the Elvish Dominion, one of the larger cities to exist close to the Empire’s border while remaining officially neutral, though favorable to the Empire’s goals, as long as they don’t involve harming their protected areas or encroaching upon their territory.  Nymphanos is often seen as a trade hub for exotic goods from the south, including large amounts of both elvish and dwarven crafts.

Nymphanos, as its name suggests, was once a much smaller settlement, and more traditionally elvish in nature, situated amongst the trees and hosting a much larger population of sylvan and fae creatures, with a notably large population of nymphs.  Some accounts of the earliest explorers claim it to have been a paradise, albeit one that you could only see once in your life, though if you had to have a final image burned into your head, scores of literally blindingly beautiful nymphs is certainly one to go out on.  Of course, as the Empire grew and spread its borders, the great jungles of the Narokayo were pushed back, and there were many battles fought between elf and man until a lasting peace was established and Nymphanos was made into the entry point to the Wildlands beyond.  Thus far, the wildland elves who control the city have not pushed back on their borders (though of course there is always rumor that it is being planned), and the last five hundred years or so have seen no further attempts by the Empire to expand beyond the established borders.

To this day, many of the elves native to the region share some nymph heritage, though the majority of the nymphs have moved on to the deeper and still isolated parts of the jungle.  Those that still remain in Nymphanos are actively involved in their ruling council, and are known to deal with Imperial officials directly from time to time, usually from within the Great Silver Oak within the Dewshine Meadow at the center of the city, though they tend not to display their full supernatural beauty lest a diplomatic incident occur (though there are plentiful healers within the city that are capable of curing such a malady). 

I would very much like to visit Nymphanos someday, to see the wildlands beyond, perhaps, but to at least walk amongst an elvish city and experience the culture of such a robust trade center outside of the Empire.  I can recall Felaria telling me that she has visited the city on occasion, though she remembers it being much smaller and little more than an outpost at the time, hardly the great elvish city amongst the trees or the modern-day city it would then become.  I can only imagine what it is like to live such a long life; truly such a thing is unfathomable by humanity.

#Lore24 – Entry #71 – Fantasy Month #11 – Ruins of Shinsei Daitoshi

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

A rather sad topic today, but such is the nature of history.  Once the capital city of a great Kerryn empire, Shinsei Daitoshi was destroyed following the Demonic Incursion approximately two-thousand years ago, when the sealing of the dimensional breach resulted in a terribly destructive explosion, which in turn triggered the Great Cataclysm that followed, reshaping the very face of Andyllion in the process.  The true history of the city, even its true name, and the kerryn empire that it once served, has been greatly obscured and erased by decree of the first Great Dragon Emperor during the same decree that saw the kerryns themselves perpetually enslaved, lest they be allowed to cause another calamity with their demon-summoning ways.  Or so the official history states.

As a side-note here, I feel that I must note that the Order itself was founded in the century following these decrees and the foundations of the Empire, in an attempt to preserve as much history as possible from those who would seek to bury or destroy it.  Such is the way of tyrants, I suppose.

Back to the topic at hand:  The ruins of Shinsei Daitoshi still remain, however, and lie several weeks travel to the west of Draconis Magna, beyond the Ashenvale and the Broken Spine Peaks, in the region now known as the Demon Blight, a magic-scoured wasteland filled with poisonous plants, deadly creatures, and horrible monstrosities, many of which bear the taint of demons to this day.  For those adventurers brave enough to venture into the region, the city ruins can be found roughly two-days travel beyond the start of the Blight, many of the ancient buildings still standing on the outskirts, but now crumpling ruins and just as likely to house vengeful spirits of the past as a demon-tainted monster hungry for a meal. 

Beyond the outskirts, the ruins become so much rubble, eventually leading to the center of the city, where the Gateway Crater now lies, spanning over a mile in diameter and just as deep by several accounts of those who have been there and returned alive, though later accounts state that it has since, at least partially, filled with toxic water infused with the lingering demonic essence in the area.  The entire region is likewise a wild zone for magical energies, with terrible arcane storms flaring up without warning, and spellcasting of all types becoming unreliable at best, dangerous to its wielders and their allies at worst, as the very magical essences are twisted and corrupted as they are cast, resulting in wild, unexpected outcomes, though most accounts indicate explosive results are the most common. 

And yet, there are always those foolhardy enough to risk venturing into the region and the city center, for there are still treasures to be uncovered, long lost secrets to scour from the destruction, lying buried in the rubble or in the vast underground tombs that were once the very buildings that composed the city.  The Emperor has of course decreed that such ventures are outlawed, but that has done little to stop such activities, as there are many places beyond the empire where such secrets are worth a fortune. 

I must admit that even I have a desire to at least see the ruins of Shinsei Daitoshi for myself, to walk amongst the ancient kerryn buildings and witness the Gateway Crater for myself.  I can only imagine what history has yet to be uncovered there, and perhaps what secrets may be uncovered that the Emperor wishes to remain thus.  I have much training to do yet, and will also admit to having little worldly experience in adventuring, so it is unlikely that I’ll ever venture there, but still, one can dream, though it may be considered a strange and terrible dream.  As a student of history, however, I feel rather obligated to uncover as much of it as possible in the small length of time I have upon this world.

#Lore24 – Entry #62 – Fantasy Month #2 – Draconis Magna, Capital of the Empire

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

It seems Felaria has addressed my complaints about specificity and given me a simpler prompt for today:  Draconis Magna, the Imperial capitol.  Surely, I could voice complaint about specificity once again, as discussing the capital is no simple task for the fountain of knowledge overflows with the broadness of the subject, but since Mother has narrowed focus, then I shall obediently oblige.

The seat of the Great Dragon Emperor, blessed and chosen of the gods to reign over the great Imperium Draconis, the throne currently held by Luxus Drakon Raikos the Fourth; for the sake of brevity I shall not list his many, MANY titles, otherwise I would be here far longer than is required of this entry.  I feel that I must pause here in my discussion of the capital and note the insistence upon draconic imagery and naming conventions throughout the empire when true dragons have been gone from this world since times predating the Great Cataclysm two thousand years ago; it is truly astounding to me that their legends have continued to persist for so long, especially in the minds of humans, and that their nature can evoke such thoughts of power and dominance amongst the populace.  I would have thought that demonic iconography would have found greater prominence given their pervading influences since the Cataclysm and higher than average population of demon-blooded throughout the Empire than other parts of the world, but that is a mystery to discuss at another time, perhaps when Felaria feels the need to prompt me to do so.

Draconis Magna lies upon the shores of Gulf Draconum, upon the Dragon’s Breath delta at the mouth of the Great Goldenscale River, a country unto itself, really, a metropolis spanning some five-hundred square miles, the very heart of the Empire from which all power flows.  The city is well defended, housing a significant army and naval forces, as well as the Tower of the Grand Arcanum, the most powerful of arcanist orders.  All culture would seem to flow from here as well, as the city is known to be the center of the arts, filled with bards and artists of all kinds, chasing fame and fortune at the hands of the nobility, though by the time great works reach the ends of the Empire, they have long been out of fashion within the city itself.

The most powerful of the nobility reside here, vying for power and the ear of the Emperor, and perhaps, uncoincidentally, the variety of pleasures to be found is nigh unfathomable.  Supposedly if one seeks a particular form of entertainment, it can be found in Draconis Magna, no matter how vile it may be.  Having only visited the capital a handful of times myself, I have never experienced the darker side of the city’s pleasures, but the tales are too prevalent not to hold some truth.  It is the kerryn slaves I feel for the most in this regard, for they are the ones suffering the worst the city has to offer, and of course it is by the Emperor’s decree, dating back many centuries, so who would possibly argue against what happens to them?  There have been attempts to overturn the decree of course, but such protests have not lasted long, and quite often those involved have vanished under not-at-all mysterious circumstances.

There does seem to be growing unrest within the high walls of Draconis Magna by many accounts from visitors to the library.  Rumors of rebellion in the outlying regions continue to grow, and some wonder if the Emperor’s power is on the decline after the family has held power for so many generations.  Supposedly even the slaves, kerryn and otherwise, are growing discontent and starting trouble, but as yet, I have no actual proof of this.  Perhaps this is why the Emperor has begun efforts to expand the empire further, and has been seeking lost relics in the many ruins found in the wildlands, and is even looking across the seas to other lands to plunder?  It seems a time of unrest may not be far off, if history is to be repeated.  Perhaps it is even time for a new age to be born, however violently, into existence?

#Lore24 – Entry #61 – Fantasy Month #1 – Andyllion

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

Felaria continues to insist upon testing my knowledge, and so I will write, once more, upon the topic she has chosen for this day.  I am not entirely certain as to why she insists upon me keeping such a personal record recalled from my own mind when we have access to the entirety of the Imperial Archives, but so be it; I am but the apprentice and she the wizened Head Archivist, after all.  Mother knows best, as they say.

For today she has chosen…Andyllion, the world upon which we all live.  I’m not exactly sure where to start with the topic, considering it’s literally a world of possibility.  The entirety of it surely hasn’t been explored, and more of it has been lost to time and calamity than we can possibly know.  As far as known facts…the world hosts a pair of moons, Mika and Elara, a yearly length of three-hundred-seventy-five days, and a daily length of twenty-five hours.  There are at least seven known continents, Ashun, Emoris, Mizunko, Saenaphia, and Yastryka, plus the frozen north and south polar regions that have been almost entirely unexplored. Dozens of smaller island groups serve as a loose connecting tissue between them, and vast uncharted seas lie beyond those.

Should I begin detailing the flora and fauna found amongst the various continents?  Or perhaps some details of the kingdoms as well as their people?  Shall I describe the civilized races, or perhaps the more savage ones inhabiting the wildlands?  Or perhaps the civilizations we know to be long collapsed and their ruins left to crumble, forgotten and inhabited by monsters and abominations?  Or perhaps I should detail the cataclysm that nearly destroyed it some two-thousand years ago?  Simply naming the world as a topic!  Surely, she could have made it something more specific!  One could literally write volumes on Andyllion; volumes have been written on Andyllion in fact, and I’ve read most of them!

Oh, praise the gods and the Great Dragon Emperor himself!  An arcanist seeks knowledge, and the other archivists are otherwise occupied!  Felaria’s pages will have to wait until they have been served; I shall hope that they are particularly unskilled at performing their own research and require the rest of the day digging through the archives, for I must serve the people, after all!

 

 

LORE24 ENTRY #24 – Incarcerus IV

Category – Place

Incarcerus IV is a rather notorious, if mostly forgotten, planet held by the dark elves, and was once one of their largest prisons (the fourth such  planetary prison, as its name indicates).  Located in a distant and rarely traveled system, this planet was originally an uninhabitable rock that was terraformed using one of the ancient arca-tech tarraforming devices that radically changed the planet into a perfectly habitable world.  Though the records are inconclusive, it would seem that the planet was originally meant as an isolated colony world, but due to poor resource availability, was converted into a solitary prison planet once the dark elves had fully taken control of the galactic prison system.  The space around the planet itself is covered by a still-functioning security net filled with various devices that will warn ships away from the planet, and attack those that are not authorized for approach, ensuring that most will avoid coming too close, to say nothing of attempting a landing or a jailbreak. 

However, at some point, the planetary terraformer went out of control, causing a global catastrophe that destroyed much of the population and reshaped the surface of the planet, which had been left behind by the dark elf wardens when they escaped the planet.  Though most assumed the world was destroyed and left completely uninhabitable, this was not the case.  Though the world was left greatly changed during the upheaval, quite a large number of the former prison colonies survived, and once the worst of the destruction had ended, these survivors picked up the pieces and formed their own societies and began to rebuild.  Though filled with dangerous areas and sometimes radically shifting weather due to continued malfunctions from the terraformer, the planet is perfectly livable, and there are multiple large countries and peoples across its surface.

Currently, the world has reached a technological state consistent with the real-world late Victorian era, with steam-based technology, continent-spanning rail systems, dangerous frontier towns, prevalent repeating cartridge-based firearms, and smaller pockets of a more “civilized” nature.  Due to the occasional upset from the malfunctioning terraformer, it seems that most technological advances have been halted at this level, preventing the local populations from advancing to a level that would allow them to attempt to escape into space, though most have long since forgotten the original purpose of the planet and its former status as a prison.  

 

LORE24 ENTRY #13 – Demon Sector

Category – Place

The Demon Sector, as it is known, is actually a region of space that is far larger than what is typically defined as a sector, though it was discovered and thusly named in the early days of space exploration, and the name stuck.  The region is surrounded by an unnatural, and as yet unexplained, energy barrier known as the Demon Barrier which prevents any ships from entering this region of space.  

The name ‘Demon Sector’ was originally given during the first studies of the region using long-range telescopes and probes (all of which were destroyed immediately upon entry, and any ships that tried to enter were severely damaged, if not outright destroyed), in the days when only 72 stars were detected (since, many more, comparable with regions of known space, have been discovered), with a particularly large cluster near the center of the region consisting of a singular large central star surrounded by a half dozen slightly less intense stars.  The lead researcher on what would become the Demon Sector Research Project, an elf by the name of Faeranduil Quivernelle, being familiar with the historical records of the ancient times when demons were common, thought it appropriate to name the central star Bael, and proceeded to name the rest of the stars after other powerful demons.  There was some pushback on this, but given the nature of the barrier and the lack of ability to penetrate it, and the number of ships damaged in the attempts to pass through, the names stuck.

In the modern era, after thousands of years of waiting, the Demon Sector was finally breached in a completely unexpected manner by an unexpected source, namely the kerryn explorer Lila Darius the 34th and her crew.  With the aid of her friend, Releana Veylani and her company, Veylani Transport, Darius had somehow managed to develop a new iteration of the TK-Drive that would become known as the Advanced TK-Drive, or A-TK, which would combine modern technology with what was, until this event, powerful, lost magic that would allow them to successfully traverse the Demon Barrier and come out in one piece on the far side.  Since then, thousands have rushed to the region and began exploring the nearest systems, and the first permanent settlements have been created in the Valefar system, the nearest of the Demon Sector stars to the Barrier and the nearest world, Sentinel Prime.

 

LORE24 ENTRY #10 – Paradise City

Category – Place

Located in the Valfar system, on the planet Valefar V, Paradise City is the first major settlement to appear on the frontier that was opened up when the Demon Sector was breached.  Originally meant as a mining settlement, Paradise City, as it was later renamed, quickly exploded into much more, becoming the first stop for many explorers once they had left Aphelion Station at the edge of the Demon Barrier.  Located near enough to several mining operations and good farm lands to promote visits by the newly established locals, Paradise City was already a busy local hub by the time anyone realized it had become a major stop among the space lanes.

Still very rustic compared to the civilized settlements outside the Demon Sector, the “spaceport” is more or less a collection of a handful of landing pads and the larger part of a sizeable plain, and parking a ship there requires some amount of skill given the lack of proper guided approaches.  Still, explorers consider it worth it for the chance to set foot on the first settled world in the Demon Sector, and to experience the wild and (mostly) corporation-free atmosphere.  Trade is open and free, with more than a few black markets appearing within the maze of the local bazaar.  

In the “downtown” area of Paradise City, one can find a more refined and modern setting, as those who arrived early have solidified their hold on their claims and have gone through great lengths to draw the crowds to their businesses.  Gambling halls, bars, and various other forms of entertainment can be found here, “anything you could dream of” as the saying goes.  Amongst the largest and most well-traveled of these is the Devil’s Watering Hole (so named for the owners, Vanessa Hellion and Savory Delight, succubi siblings with strong ties to various criminal groups beyond the Demon Barrier), which started off as a simple bar, but has rapidly grown into a multi-story bar, nightclub, gambling hall, and “exotic entertainment hub”, with an established and still-growing reputation for their more risqué forms of entertainment and methods for punishing those who wind up owing them a debt.

LORE24 ENTRY #7 – Sentinel Prime

Category – Place

Sentinel Prime was once a massive space-defense fortification built during the war-filled waning decades of the Great Elvish Dominion.  Through the use of a combination of wondrous and long-lost magic and then cutting edge technology, the Dominion was able to make an entire planetary body into a moveable battle station, even allowing it to travel through hyperspace.  Meant as a final deterrent (for who could conceivably conquer a planet-sized weapon platform with full support facilities for the elvish fleets and troops that were carried aboard this behemoth?) against the growing number of systems who were fighting against elvish rule, the station, for a time, served as the Emperor’s personal stronghold.

Unable to foresee his own demise through an act of betrayal from within, the Emperor’s overthrow was likewise the beginning of the end for Sentinel Prime.  During the final battle of this period, the remaining defenders of the Great Elvish Dominion fled with the station to the furthest reaches of known space at the time, a small system on the edge of the great, mysterious region of space known as the Demon Sector.  Here they would mount their last stand, and much of Sentinel Prime would be devastated during the ensuing battles.

Over the centuries since, Sentinel Prime was scavenged by countless spacers, and was eventually rebuilt in some form and colonized, growing up from small spacer communities into a massive planet-spanning city which, in the modern era, serves as rather infamous port of call, known for the local government bucking the influence of the controlling megacorps, allowing its citizens to live a mostly free, if dangerous, existence.  As such, Sentinel is known as a place one goes to find illicit goods, perform shady dealings, and to disappear should one be on the wrong side of the law; just be sure to pack your rubber rain gear during the rainy season, though, because that acid rain is a real pain.

Since the Demon Barrier was pierced, and travel into the Demon Sector has become commonplace, Sentinel has seen a rise in population and headache, trying to remain as neutral as possible to the powers that be in the galaxy while reaping all the profits they can for those explorers diving into the unknown regions beyond the Barrier.