Tymora: Difference between revisions
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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:The Continent of Tymora}} __TOC__ Tymora is the largest continent on Carcer, a vast and varied land surrounded by countless islands and seas. Its landscapes range from fertile kingdoms and ancient forests to frozen tundra, endless grasslands, burning deserts and towering mountain ranges. It is also an old land, shaped by the many peoples who have called it home. Ancient roads cross forgotten borders, ruins lie beneath forests and deserts, and many modern..." |
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== The Kingdom of Valendor == | == The Kingdom of Valendor == | ||
Much of eastern Tymora is occupied by the [[Kingdom of Valendor]], the largest human population on the | Much of eastern Tymora is occupied by the [[Valendor|Kingdom of Valendor]], the largest human population on the | ||
continent and, according to Valendorian tradition, the homeland of the first humans of Carcer. | continent and, according to Valendorian tradition, the homeland of the first humans of Carcer. | ||
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== Vintergard == | == Vintergard == | ||
Beyond the northern reaches of Valendor lies Vintergard, the island homeland of the [[ | Beyond the northern reaches of Valendor lies Vintergard, the island homeland of the [[Thalkir]]. | ||
It is a harsh country of frozen fjords, jagged cliffs, pine forests, violent seas and long winters. The Thalkir | It is a harsh country of frozen fjords, jagged cliffs, pine forests, violent seas and long winters. The Thalkir | ||
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== The Great Grass Sea — Ötgön Tal == | == The Great Grass Sea — Ötgön Tal == | ||
West of Valendor stretches the Great Grass Sea, known to its people as Ötgön Tal. | West of Valendor stretches the Great Grass Sea, known to its people as Ötgön Tal. Tall grass rolls beneath the wind like waves upon an ocean, broken by wandering rivers, scattered oases and the paths of enormous migrating herds. | ||
These plains are home to the [[Salhichin]], nomadic herders and warriors whose lives move with the beasts they tend. The herds provide food, clothing, transport and even homes: some families live upon wooden platforms built across the broad backs of the towering Dalbukh. | |||
Across this sea of grass travels a kingdom unlike any other. Its people live both upon the land and high above it, bound together by great chains, shared trade and an uneasy dependence on one another. | |||
== Tengri-Uul — The Sky Mountain == | === Tengri-Uul — The Sky Mountain === | ||
Above the | Above the herds hangs Tengri-Uul, the Sky Mountain, an enormous floating island crowned with towers, palaces and bridges of enchanted stone. Here the [[Tengri-Kharn]], the city's ruling nobility, govern its trade, diplomacy and defences. | ||
The island maintains a constant height above sea level, bearing the weight of its city without sinking or tilting. What keeps it suspended remains a mystery, but what guides its journey is far more tangible. Three great tethers descend from the island to teams of colossal herd-beasts below. Salhichin herders guide and tend these animals, drawing the city across the plains, while wind-callers use air magic to steady its passage. | |||
The Sky Lords may choose the destination, but it is the herders and their beasts who carry them there. Along the way, the Oasis Tribes guard the freshwater springs upon which the travelling herds depend. The floating city, the nomads beneath it and the settlements along their route together sustain one of Tymora's greatest travelling trade networks. | |||
That partnership brings wealth and opportunity, but also friction. The Tengri-Kharn rule from their palaces above, while the Salhichin shoulder the work below. Neither can easily prosper without the other, even when pride, resentment and competing beliefs threaten to pull them apart. | |||
Explore [[Tengri-Uul|Tengri-Uul and the Grass Sea]] for more about the floating city, its great tethers and the creatures that make this moving kingdom possible. | |||
== The Plain of Bones == | == The Plain of Bones == | ||
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Much of the Federation remains closed to outsiders, and reliable maps of its territory are uncommon. | Much of the Federation remains closed to outsiders, and reliable maps of its territory are uncommon. | ||
== The Free | == The Free Cities == | ||
Many Free Cities can be found across Carcer, each standing apart from the kingdoms around it and proclaiming its own freedom and independence. Their cultures, surroundings and ways of governing differ, but independence does not mean an absence of power or control. Behind their public ideals lie the ambitions of guilds, influential families, hidden factions and those wealthy enough to shape the city's future. | |||
Tanyth | The largest and best-known of these is [[The Free City of Tanyth|Tanyth]]. | ||
=== Tanyth === | |||
Nestled in the sun-warmed lowlands south of the Dragonspire Mountains, the Free City of Tanyth sprawls across the river-delta plains like a jewelled serpent basking in the sun. Its spires catch the light of day, its bazaars hum with the music of a hundred tongues, and its gates are open to all. Tanyth is, at least on parchment and proclamation, a sanctuary for all the peoples of Tymora, a place where no king reigns, no duke commands, and no race or creed claims dominion. | |||
==== A City of Illusions ==== | |||
To outsiders, Tanyth is the dream of unity made real. Dworn craft wonders in forge and fire, beside Scion enchanters. Highwall scholars debate Tengri-kharn philosophers. Goblins peddle wares to Kir'Ko travellers while Fey performers draw crowds from every corner of the continent. This is the image Tanyth sells, a thriving Free City where all can find their place and fortune. | |||
But beneath its glittering mask, Tanyth is a city of half-truths and careful control. | |||
==== The Hidden Powers ==== | |||
Though no monarch sits on its throne, Tanyth is far from leaderless. On the surface, the city is governed by ''The Rule of Three'': the '''Regent''', who commands the city's official guard and enforces its laws; the '''Seer''', who interprets omens and advises on foreign policy and arcane threats; and the '''Oracle''', who speaks for the spirit of the city itself, often delivering cryptic proclamations believed to be divinely inspired. Together, they present a façade of unity and structured governance, a triumvirate said to balance military strength, arcane foresight, and spiritual wisdom. | |||
But these are merely the visible gears in a machine far more complex. | |||
In truth, power flows in whispers and gold. The city's lifeblood is pumped through '''the Veiled Syndicate''', an ancient network of crime families and merchant princes who operate behind layers of shell organisations and secret oaths. Trade guilds hold veto power in council chambers, assassin cults enforce political will in the shadows, and forbidden magical cabals shape policy through manipulation and blackmail. | |||
The so-called ''freedom'' of Tanyth is regulated with careful intent. Markets thrive, but tariffs, taxes, and bribes are expected at every tier. Laws exist, but their enforcement bends with the weight of coin and favour. Justice is dispensed by '''''The Veil''''', a faceless tribunal said to be impartial but suspected to be handpicked by the powers they pretend to restrain. Few know their identities. Fewer still survive challenging them. | |||
==== The People of Tanyth ==== | |||
Tanythians are shaped not by shared ancestry, but by shared ambition. They are cunning, charismatic, and endlessly adaptable. Most are not born here; they arrive by caravan, ship, or secret paths, bringing with them old wounds and new schemes. Some seek reinvention. Others seek escape. All seek something they believe Tanyth can offer. | |||
The city is a tapestry of cultures stitched along fault lines. Each district is a world unto itself, and while the city boasts a banner of unity, integration is surface-deep. Tensions simmer in alleyways. Fistfights become arson. Petty rivalries bloom into full-blown turf wars. The Watch turns a blind eye or, more often than not, closes both of them for the right price. | |||
==== A Haven and a Trap ==== | |||
Tanyth is a sanctuary only for those who know how to survive it. Outlaws find anonymity. Refugees find opportunity. Exiles find space to rebuild. But every safe harbour comes with strings, and in Tanyth, those strings are often one step away from being a noose. | |||
The city offers endless potential, but at a cost few understand. The longer one stays, the deeper the roots of obligation grow, to a guild, a patron, a cartel, a cause. Favours are currency, and debt is more binding than chains. What seems like freedom is often just the space between one leash and the next. | |||
Those who rise too fast attract envy. Those who trust too easily disappear. And those who try to change the system from within are swallowed by it, repurposed or erased. | |||
Tanyth is a city of paradox. It is free, yet shackled. Welcoming, yet wary. A paradise for those who know how to play its game, and a graveyard for those who do not. | |||
==== A City of Power ==== | |||
Tanyth is not merely built upon power, it is fed by it. Beneath its streets, vast and ancient ley lines converge, their energies drawn upward into the stone, the air, and the flesh of those who dwell within its walls. The city drinks deeply, and in doing so twists the natural order of the world. Long ago, the founders of Tanyth bound immense spells into the city itself, wards of preservation and resurrection meant to prevent collapse and ensure the city could never truly bleed out. Life is harder to extinguish here, death less absolute, but not without consequence. | |||
Mana gathers and circulates through Tanyth like a second bloodstream, saturating spellcasters and priests alike, making magic easier, faster, and dangerously tempting. Spells answer more readily. Prayers are heard more often. Yet the power is not free. Each casting leaves an echo, each resurrection a debt. The city remembers every life it returns, every soul it refuses to release. In Tanyth, death is delayed, negotiated, or redirected, but never denied. The longer one remains, the more tightly the city coils around them, until even survival feels like an obligation owed to something vast, ancient, and patient beneath the stone. | |||
=== Other Free Cities of Tymora === | |||
Tanyth is not the only Free City in Tymora. Scattered across the continent are several others, each presenting its own unique face to the world, shaped by different cultures, landscapes, and histories. Their façades may differ, and their surroundings may vary, but beneath it all, the same gears turn. Behind their banners of freedom and independence lie familiar patterns of manipulation, hidden powers, and shadowed deals. Though each city tells a different story, their core machinery of influence, ambition, and control operates in much the same way. | |||
Two of the more well-known among these are: | |||
==== Vireaux ==== | |||
''The City of Masks and Marble'' | |||
Perched atop coastal cliffs and built from gleaming white stone, Vireaux presents itself as a centre of enlightenment and refined culture. It is celebrated for its grand theatres, respected philosophers, and endless festivals that draw travellers from across Tymora. Yet beneath this beauty lies a ruthless society shaped by espionage, social control, and hidden debts. Noble houses and artistic guilds wage silent wars behind painted masks, using charm and scandal as weapons in a never-ending game of status and survival. | |||
==== Kaer’Shaad ==== | |||
''The City of Stone and Silence'' | |||
Carved deep into the western badlands, Kaer’Shaad is a city of silence, shadows, and secrets. Its towering temples and rune-carved halls are home to stoic monks and scholars of the old ways. To outsiders, it seems a place of peace and reflection, but beneath that calm exterior, dark forces stir. Relic-hunters, blood cults, and power-hungry archivists vie for dominance in the buried ruins below. Order is maintained through ancient oaths and the silent enforcement of robed assassins, whose names are never spoken. | |||
== The Draken Lands == | == The Draken Lands == | ||