Aubeth

Ruled by Queen Antuina Sepret since her parents untimely death 20 years ago, Aubeth is the largest city on the continent of Pralün. It’s population is impossible to determine, not least because people are constantly settling themselves on the city outskirts, naturally increasing both the population and the boundaries. The edges of the city are thus vague, with the stone buildings slowly giving way to less stable wooden structures and then to open grassland.

Shortly after Antuina came to the throne, the mercenary group known as the Flaming Fists first appeared in Aubeth, likely hired as the private body guards of a noble family. In the following two decades they have grown significantly, and have almost entirely replaced the old city watch, funded primarily by various nobles. They have in fact persuaded a large number of old watch guards to come and work for them instead, promising better pay. Indeed, the city watch is know non-existent in parts of the city, and heavily outnumbered by the Flaming Fists in the rest. The Fists have been known destroy establishments do not give them preferential treatment, or speak out against them, and as such they have gained a particularly black reputation amongst much of the working class

The city was built on the mouth of the river Au, which flows from a small mountain range to the north. As such, much of the commerce of the city comes from it’s two docks, the Lord’s Harbour, and the East Harbour. The northern borders are defined by a large cliff, cut through by the river, although this hasn’t stopped hundreds of buildings from being constructed on, and sometimes in, the western cliff face, creating the area now known as The Crest. This area of the city is avoided by many, being an infamous hotspot for gangs and crime.

There are many other districts in the city, each with their own personality, residents, and landmarks. Below The Crest, and running along the river, lies Ivy Cross, an affluent area inhabited mostly by the middle class, primarily either retired or working the menial administrative tasks of the aristocracy. Stormcourt, to the west of Ivy Cross, is the largest and most varied area of Aubeth. In any other area, Stormcourt would be a city unto itself, likely surpassing some of the other large cities on the continent in both population and area. Most significantly, Stormcourt is home to Raemorth University, situated in Scholar’s Square, and generally considered to be the leading research institution in Pralün, if not the world. Travelling further west us to the area known only as West Town, a shanty town of sorts, populated primarily by travellers who have decided to settle, or farmers, attracted by the convenience of near city living.

Across the river from Ivy Cross one finds The Chapel, the walled district home to the majority of Aubeth’s upper class. At the eastern end Aubeth Castle rises above the Elven Lawn surrounding it, home to Queen Sepret and the royal council. The Chapel is surrounded on the north and east by Clearridge, housing a number of people who work in the higher classed households. Continuing around the wall, Applewater is close to the East Harbour and is home to many who work the dock and trade with the ships who make berth there. Sunrise Town marks the eastern border of the city, and is similar to West Town, in the make up of both its population and the structures in it.

Let me know if you want to know anything about Aubeth, if I know then I’ll tell you, otherwise I’ll make it up!

The world

This is the world for my D&D campaign. The current campaign (Veins of the World – I’m writing recaps for this as we play!) is based (for now at least) in the city of Aubeth on the continent of Pralün. I’ll go into more depth on Pralün and Aubeth in another post, but for now I want to talk about the world as a whole, as it exists at the start of the campaign.

There isn’t a specific name for the setting, beyond “The World”. This might change later as I develop more of the lore, but for now I like it like this. 

Pralün exists to the north of the world, on the border of the Northern Mountains – the apparently infinite mountain range that is the northern edge to the world. The edge of the mountains forms the top half of a large oval surrounding the inhabitable parts of the world. At the eastern and western most points, the mountains border the never-ending ocean that surrounds the south of the world. To the east and west, epic mountains give way to sheer cliffs and relentless sea. The common belief is that the gods reside to past these two boundless landscapes – the good gods beyond the mountains and the evil to the south, past the end of the limitless ocean. I’ll talk more about them in a future post.

If you read Coming Together, you’ll know that the sun sets in the north of the world. This is only true half the time. The sun moves over the world from north to south and then back again every two days. This means that the sun rises in the south and sets in the north on one day, and then the reverse the next. The moon moves in a similar way, though slightly out of sync with the sun, meaning sometimes both, or neither, are visible in the sky at the same time. This phenomenon, and the magic that is inherent in the world, means that there is no time difference across the world, baring slight differences in the times the sun dips below the horizon. Throughout the year, the sun also moves slowly from east to west, and back again the following year, giving rise to the seasons we are used to as the length of the day changes – longest when the sun is directly above and shorter as it gets further to the east/west. A new year is heralded on the longest night, and midsummer during the longest day. The moon does not move in this fashion, instead staying slightly to the east of centre as it moves between the poles.

No one can be certain how old the world is. Thousands of years ago (no one can be quite sure how many thousand, but six to seven is the general consensus) was a period known as The Destruction. There are many theories about what exactly The Destruction is: some say was a series of natural disasters caused by overzealous mages; others that it was a great war between the dragons that wiped them all out; and some that the gods simply grew bored of the world as it was. Many other ideas are discussed at length, but they always agree on one aspect – it changed the world in ways that can only be imagined. Entire continents were razed, and others came in their place. Civilisations, if there were any before, were destroyed, and populations wiped from existence. The Destruction was such an important event that many civilisations, independently from one another, began designating the year based on the length of time since the cataclysm – although they didn’t always agree exactly when this was. Most of the world now agrees for convenience, and the current year is 6179PD (Post Destruction).

That’s all I have to say about the world at the moment. If you have any questions about the world, leave them below! If I know the answer then I’ll tell you, if not, I’ll make it up!

Coming together

The Sun is setting in the north as we zoom in towards The Tower, the famous library of Raemorth University in the city of Aubeth, on the continent of Pralün. Four students sit at four different tables, exhibiting various levels of dedication to their late night study session. Saelle, a halfling dressed in yellows and turquoise, tells herself that she needs to find another book and decides that the best way to obtain it is climbing the along the shelf – the ladder’s just too far away. The shelf shouldn’t be hot though, and what’s that flickering light? Did someone start a fire‽ She gets her answer quickly enough. A man on fire? Not quite. Men aren’t over three times her height. Men don’t float slightly above the ground. Men aren’t made of flame.

Whatever this thing is, the fight part of fight or flight wins out in her head. She launches herself into the air, flying into the heat. The kick lands on something and somehow the creature seems…. angry? Certainly if a fire could convey anger and pain this is how it would do it. Whatever it’s trying to do with its face(?), it unleashes a torrent of flame. Even at point blank range, Saelle manages to duck, avoiding the brunt of the damage. The bookshelves either side of her are a different story.

Before Saelle can land her next punch, an arrow flies out of the creature. Looking past, she sees an elf she recognises from History class knocking a second arrow into her bow. Behind her, she hears two more voices, and learns that this creature isn’t alone. She throws her punch, ducks under a flaming fist, and narrowly avoids a second arrow.

As she lands another kick, the fire creature seems to lose its fuel. It simply fizzles out in the way that flames do. She nods her thanks to the elf, too exhausted to do it verbally, and makes off towards the stairs and the exit. She is quickly joined by the two voices she heard, a pointy eared gnome and an dark feathered owlin with a white face – more course mates. The four companions race out of The Tower, leaving the fire fighting to the more experienced.

Saelle went to bed. Anything else was an impossibility.