Ayros - People and Places

The People and Places of Ayros

Races

Naelf - The colloquial term used for dark elves in general. The naelven race has skin tones ranging from deep violet or blue, black, and various shades of gray, with hair colors that include metallic silver, gold, platinum, and white (most common), and eyes of deep red, purple, blue, gray, and amber. Often reclusive, sometimes xenophobic, and duplicitous, naelves have a reputation for dealing in information, subterfuge, and assassinations. They tend to value great beauty both in flesh and craft, ambition, skill, and revelry.

Draconid - Draconids are borne of draconic parentage mixing with non-draconic. Most frequently, these are the product of a particularly deviant bard, a sorcerous suitor, or out of draconic whimsy. Draconids tend to favor their non-draconic heritage, often appearing as a normal member of their non-draconic heritage with the exception of colored skin that matches their draconic heritage, a smattering of scales—particularly at the joints, covering the ribs, sheathing the thighs, and so on—and horns reminiscent of their draconic parent. They are capable of producing magical effects associated with their draconic heritage, such as breathing fire, conjuring lightning, spraying poison, and so forth. On occasion, a draconid—or draconian—may lack these abilities and instead gain sorcerous power.

Fiendborne - Fiendborne folk are the product of mortal dalliances with denizens of the lower planes. While many may appear garish and grotesque, depending on their fiendish heritage, others will favor their non-fiendish lineage with the exception of colored skin that mimics their fiendish lineage, horns of various size and shape ranging from tiny buds at the forehead to grand curling horns framing their skull. Tails are not unheard of, nor are claws. Regardless of their heritage, a fiendborne will generally lack any discernable iris, and instead have a unique pupil framed by a colorful sclera. Fiendborne children may spawn from any individual that has fiendish descent, no matter how distant, and may also be conveyed through curse.

Giantborne - A colloquial term for those of giant or goliath heritage, the giantborne are known for their immense size and strength. Often with grayish skin, a giantborne may bear markings, runes, or skin alterations that reflect their lineage from giants of storm, stone, fire, sea, and air. Those descended from lesser giantkin, such as hill giants, ogres, and trollkin are often smaller in comparison, with gangly limbs and barrel-shaped torsos.

Stoneborne - Simply put, a stoneborne individual is descended from the union of a dwarf and a non-dwarf. Shorter and stockier than humans and human-like individuals, a stoneborne is likely to be gifted at a specific craft, be it smithing, woodworking, or even cooking and brewing. Despite the blending of race, a stoneborne is likely to take after one parent or the other—dwarf or non-dwarf, and will rarely be a true blend of the two in manner and spirit.

Places

Aesir - A small nation on the northern shores of the Northwind Sea, Aesir is home to the robust, heroic, and massive humans that claim heritage from the god Hlodyn himself. The Aesir people are ruled by three primary clans that host various lesser clans within their claimed land. The Thunderborn clan rules from Thunderstone, and is considered the most benevolent of the three clans. The Thaneborn rule from Highhorn, and are the de facto leadership of all Aesir. The Bloodstone clan are often regarded as the cruder, savage peoples of Aesir, though that is a reputation they hold in high regard. The Aesir hold honor as their highest virtue, and will rarely consider any other character trait when judging their peers.

Amethystra - An infant town that boomed into prominence shortly after its construction, Amethystra is known as a stabilizing force amongst the Free Marches, and a bulwark against the roaming chaos in the Hordelands to the south. Strongly allied with Argentmoon to the east and Rua'Corona to the west, Amethystra is a small but powerful player in the region. Built on the fortune of a now-deceased purple dragon, for whom the city is named, Amethystra is ruled by a man known as the Barbarian King, though many suspect the true power of the city is behind the throne, a dark elven woman with divine gifts. Amethystra is guarded by the Crimson Hawks, a potent and effective fighting force of specialist warriors, the Violet Scale Knights, also known as the Violet Knights or Scale Knights, and the Tower of Violet Scales, where an archmage rumored to be a dragon masquerading as a dark elf sits in command.

Argentmoon - On the farthest eastern reach of the Free Marches, Argentmoon is a pinnacle of civilization, freedom, and benevolence. Ruled by a Council of Three and a Queen that serves as the voice of the city itself, Argentmoon has never known a day of civil unrest. Open to all creatures of goodly weal, all deities of the same, and a common neutral ground for political arbitration, Argentmoon is a place of magic, whimsy, peace, and prosperity. However, the Argent Knights that ride out from her gates are as dangerous as any other fighting force in the realm. Few would cross an Argent Knight alone, and their patrols that span the Free Marches are avoided by any who might deal in wickedness.

Chambressir - The glacial city of dark elves beyond the Jotun Mountain is as much stone as it is ice. With buildings carved into the dark stone beneath the glacial cavern, it is a place of deep, dark beauty, foreboding and enticing all at once. Just as its people can charm and seduce, so too does Chambressir invite the curiosity and desires of the uninitiated. However, those that know Chambressir—and its people—are not so eager to sate those curiosities. The streets of Chambresser are calm, quiet, and dark, because the naelves that lurk there do their work silently, calmly, and under the cover of blackness. Secrecy, intrigue, and subtlety are prime tenets that the naelves adhere to, though this does not imply wicked deeds. Even the most beneficent deed is done in secrecy, both to ensure pure motivations and to protect the benefactor and recipient alike.

Deepharbor - The southernmost metropolis on the Northwind Sea. Deepharbor is one of the most influential human realms, both in matters political, magical, and pedestrian. Style and fashion are dictated by the tailors of Deepharbor and their highborn customers. Coin is minted and spread from here to as far as Silvrein, across the continent. Deepharbor is ruled by a High Lord, though he or she is only a third of the true ruling powers, which include Cloaked Lords representing the high houses of Deepharbor, and the Arcane Council, which includes whoever the Archmage of the Sky Tower is at the time. Deepharbor contains too many culture to have a defined guiding tenets.

Faireweather - a hundred miles north of Deepharbor is Faireweather, renowned for its year-long good weather. It rarely rains for long in Faireweather, is almost never freezing, and the heat never exceeds comfort for most. The waters of the Northwind, the unique wind patterns, and a suspected magma chamber beneath the city combine to ensure a lack of extreme weather, making Faireweather a popular place to settle down. However, Faireweather lacks the multitude of trade routes directly connecting it to the internal trading posts of Ayros. Only by ship can traders reach Faireweather easily, thanks to the treacherous Fairemount east of the city. The only road out of Fairweather that is easily traversable runs north to Rua'Corona hard against the coast. A smaller, more dangerous road skirts the Fairemount and can allow for three riders abreast to ride to Deepharbor. River travel is impossible due to the Fairemount. More than that, Faireweather has an undesired nickname—Rumblestones—that applies to the highly arable lands between the city walls and the great Fairemount, as it is host to random earthquakes. Though they are rarely of great intensity, they lead many to believe the Fairemount is a volcano awaiting eruption.

Goldharbor - Goldharbor sits on the northernmost shore of the Northwind Sea, between the borders of Aesir and the Free Marches. It is a notable trading post for the Heimlands—Gaulheim and Vandalheim—with the contiguous Ayrosian nations, as well as a place for southern trading ships to sell their wares without sailing south, into the Northwind, to do business with the more prominent metropolises of Faireweather and Deepharbor. Goldharbor is governed by a retired adventurer known only as Bjorn and his former adventuring companions.

Jotun - The ancestral home of all giantkin, Jotun is a place of towering mountains, mountainous architecture, and people that dwarf all who visit them. While Jotun is not a hospitable place for "smallfolk," its people are generally amicable to visitors. Ruled by Storm Queen Gerle Tordendotr, Jotun is populated by giants of sea, air, and storm almost exclusively. There are conclaves of flame giants, but they largely stick to their volcanic forges and furnaces, crafting weapons, armor, jewelry, and so on. Such is their lot, after the Fire King Surtris was thrown down in ancient times, when elven empires were vast and the giants of Jotunheim waged a war of conquest against dragons and small folk. Lesser giantkin are often not welcome in Jotun, as they are seen as corrupt products of the Fire King's dabbling with the lower planes in exchange for power.

Rua'Corona - Literally translated from elvish, Rua'Corona means City of Stars, and is named as such due to the ancient, expired magical dome of protection that once cast the city in perpetual night, light by the moon above and magical "stars" that were products of that ancient, ultimate magic. Gone now, represented only in the starry motifs that decorate the city's architecture, Rua'Corona has gone from the pinnacle of elven civilization to an elven-ruled city where non-elves are relegated to the Merchant and Docks Wards.

Silvrein - Far to the east, beyond Argentmoon and several other nations, Silvrein is the home of the Silver Princess, who has ruled for centuries by virtue of some curse that has bound her eternally to the throne. Her palace is the seat of power in the city of Silvrein, and the surrounding villages are under her protection. Silvrein has some cursory relations to the western lands, but nothing of great import.

Thunderstone - The birthplace of Hammer Thunderborn, Barbarian King of Amethystra, Thunderstone is a place of great primal magic that the Thunderborn clan and their vassals harness both in their souls and in their crafts.

Vanir - Across the Northwind Channel from Aesir lies Vanir, a forest realm formerly part of the Elladyr Empire of Rua'Corona. Its people bear a striking resemblance to the towering humans of Aesir, though they are generally duskier of skin and leaner of build. In tuned with balance of nature, the myth of the creation of the Vanir people is that they were raised from the shed blood of Hlodyn by the magic of Archfey Freyanna, who ascended to godhood at Hlodyn's side as one of his wives, in repayment for awakening him from his self-imposed slumber. Where the Aesir were violent, honorbound warriors, the Vanir were peace-loving, pacifistic, and gentle. However, when faced with war against their cousins, the Aesir, their rage-fueled violence was so intense that, eventually, the Aesir sought not to conquer the Vanir, but to forge a bond out of respect for their ferocity and valor in combat. The Vanasir Accord bound the two peoples into an everlasting peace, bound by their gods and their honor.

Winter's Gate - Far to the north of Goldharbor, Winter's Gate is aptly named. It is always winter here, and those that dwell here are accustomed to the hardships of driving snow, frozen ground, and the constant howl of wind. Only the hardiest and most intrepid ever march as far north as Winter's Gate, where the weather is mild compared to the conditions beyond, into the foothills of the Worldwyrm Mountains. The only roads here are from the heart of Aesir or Goldharbor

People

Alluvamethystra - Known to many simply as Alluva Lovedrake, Alluvamethystra is an ancient (now deceased) purple dragon, one of the last of her kind. She is the adoptive mother to Lidia and Cyra Lovedrake, and mentor to Shandramethystra. Through an ancient draconic ritual, Alluvamethystra transferred her soul into Shandramethystra, remaking the former dark elf into a fully grown purple dragon in her own right. Alluvamethystra's horde funded, and continues to support, the creation of Amethystra as a city and local power.

Analise Torvirr - The eldest daughter and second child of Hammer and Luriia Torvirr. As she reaches adolescence, she has proven her wit is as sharp as her skill with the blade. She is tutored in swordplay by Iliari Moonshadow.

Calafein Baensek and Celise Moonbow - Calafein and Celise and bound lovers, married to one another under the light of Lunaire. A former weapons master of Chambressir, he was universally accepted as the finest swordsman in all naelfkind. Celise never knew the streets of Chambressir. She was born under the moon, raised under the moon, and grew into her place as Moon Maiden of Lunaire for Argentmoon. Together, Celise and Calafein are close allies with Luriia Torvirr, and their conclave of dark elves were vital to Luriia's survival early in her adventuring career.

Caylin Del'Sade - High Priestess of Louhi, goddess of fate, in Amethystra, Caylin Del'Sade has contacts far and wide through the Church of the Black Bride and beyond. Though she is capable of great magical might, she rarely uses her gifts, focusing instead on her communion with the Lady Fate and allowing her acolytes to attend to the needs of Amethystrans.

Coira Revel - A fiendborne woman, an orphan from the southlands, Coira is a gifted alchemist and craftswoman. Though her skills have provided powerful alchemical elixirs to House Torvirr, she is commonly commissioned for the creation of elixirs and objects to aid in carnal affairs.

Cyra Lovedrake - The younger adopted daughter of Alluva Lovedrake, Cyra is a fierce warrior, known for her fondness of extremely close combat. An expert grappler and brawler, the only thing Cyra does with more passion than fighting is loving. Her heart burns as brightly as the red dragon's blood deep in her veins. Her wife, Iliari Moonshadow, is the most precious thing in her life, though she has a burning desire to become a mother herself, a need made more poignant as she served as an unlikely wetnurse for all three of Luriia Torvirr's children.

Hammer Thunderborn - The Barbarian King, Hammer Thunderborn is one of the most prominent warriors to ever walk the northlands. With his greatsword, his rage, and the gifts of Alizarin, the Crimson Thunder, Goddess of Battle and Honor, he has carved his way from Thunderstone to Argentmoon to Amethystra. He is the chosen Paragon of Alizarin, invested with a shard of her divinity. Though he and Luriia were not close in the beginning of their time together, they grew close as friends, then became lovers, and whilst deep in the bowels of Chambressir, became much more than that. Though he and Luriia are not strictly monogamous, there is no other woman of greater import, beauty, and love to him in all the realms, mortal or otherwise.

Iliari Moonshadow - Iliari grew up in a peaceful conclave of high elves outside the influence of other elven realms, and so were unprotected when a party of mostly naelven mercenaries came upon them and slew them all, leaving Iliari as the lone survivor of the massacre. Discovered by cultists devoted to Helor, Iliari was raised amongst their dark cult to become an assassin, one that would eventually be pointed at Luriia Torvirr. It was Luriia's embodiment of Syrune's love that drew her from that path and released her from the hold of Helor's cult. She is one of Luriia's most faithful allies and closest friends, as well as the wife of Cyra Lovedrake.

Lidia Lovedrake - A black draconid and the other daughter of Alluva Lovedrake, Lidia is a morally gray woman who is as interested in her own prosperity as she is her adoptive family's. Though she spends little time in proximity to her sister, she is fiercely loyal to Cyra. Lidia is an adventurer through and through, and never stays in one place for long.

Lirafey Mourlefey Torvirr - a former enemy of Luriia Torvirr, Lirafey Mourlefey took on the Torvirr surname and became Luriia's adopted sister when Luriia showed her the error of her ways. A former servant and cleric of Sinsri, a decadent goddess that has seduced much of the naelven populace in Chambressir, Lirafey hunted Luriia for apostasy. Now, she herself is an apostate and has sworn herself to Lunaire, Goddess of the Moon, and is her Moon Maiden in Amethystra. She has taken Quilin Torvirr as a lover, much to his mother's chagrin. Lirafey once held Shandramethystra—then, simply Shandra—as her war-slave. She freed the sorceress soon after their failed hunt on Luriia Torvirr, and both women joined Luriia as allies on the surface.

Luriia Torvirr - Matron Mother Luriia Torvirr, once known only as Lura to hide her identity on the surface, is one of the most prominent dark elves to have ever left Chambressir. A queen in her own right, she quietly guides her husband, Hammer Thunderborn, as king of Amethystra. She is the mother to three children with Hammer: Quilin, Analise, and Sigur. Moreover, like her husband, she bears a shard of divinity from Syrune, Goddess of Love, patron deity of art, beauty, and grace. As such, Luriia is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful creatures in the northlands, if not the world over. She is unscrupulous with her affections, willing to share herself with those she deems worthy—or in need—of the healing balm of love, affection, and gentle grace.

Myrynda Torvirr - The youngest sister of Luriia Torvirr, Myrynda walks a delicate line between light and dark. Though she is not gifted as her sister, she is the favored champion of Rivest, God of Secrets and Shadows. Commonly seen as a wicked deity, Myrynda claims that he seeks only to preserve the world from the depredations of much darker powers, and that his followers are often caught performing dark deeds due to the gifts he grants them in effort to empower them against a coming apocalypse. Myrynda is also a lover of Hammer Thunderborn, and it was his love for her both as his wife's sister and as his lover that kept her soul from being completely consumed by shadows that suffused her soul when she allowed Rivest to fornicate with her. The Demarchess of Rivest is a skilled swordswoman, a shadowdancer, and a seductress.

Quilin Torvirr - The eldest son of Hammer and Luriia, Quilin has trained all his life to be a warrior befitting his father's name. Trained by the finest warriors in all of the north, he has much to prove.

Ravin Myraden - A half-elf from the distant land of Arabur, Ravin Myraden is one half of the Ravinwolf Guild, an organization set on hunting and killing predatory monsters throughout the world. With her partner and erstwhile lover Wolf Stormgrin, she travels the world in search of adventure and profit, though her true goal is to stabilize otherwise unstable regions by killing the evil monsters—mundane and magical alike—therein.