The Aurous Plains

Temperate and fertile, these grasslands have long thrived with a multitude of beasts and peoples ranging across the lands. The blessings of the pastoral landscape seem boundless as the cultivation of farming and herding is unmatched in the world. Storied civilizations since the beginning of the world have done battle over the region, yet it is the War of Extinction that has scarred much of the land as the divine beacon of a city, Synstasia, now holds sway.

Geography

The Alldwell Tillage. The name given to the west of the region where vast plantations, ranches, and farmsteads abound and the natural bounty of the landscape is harvested. Within this corridor of pastoral land lives the majority of the human population of the world. Clusters of settlements mark the shores of the Ryme and Norspyr rivers as ships disperse the wealth of the commodities reaped by its peoples.

The Hilted Headlands. The northern highlands of ascendant ridges and deep cut ravines where a wealth of mines and quarries lay. Many vaunted and ancient clans of Synstasia's warriors call these lands their home.

The Hosa Prairie. A grand swath of grasslands that encompass the east of the region till they meet the titanic cliffs of the Wall of the Horizon. A perpetual frontier as nature holds claims over this lush wilderness where thundering herds of aurochs and horses range across the landscape.

The Ordain Marches. The southern borderlands where the region meets the Unwavering Shore the knolls and dales carrying the swell of waters from the Osquadingen below. Rushing rivers and streams carve through the landscape where chateaus and lodges hold to the hillsides. Though numerous battlefields from the War of Extinction still scar the land.

The Plaguereached. The southeastern foothills of the region where the land fell victim to the plaguing weapon of Duemonte during the War of Extinction. The fields now corrupted, soil warped into a membranous blackened grit where grasses leached of color grow like knotty tendrils. Creatures flee this part of the region as for all the attempts of Synstasia to purify it, nothing has been able to cast away the blight. The druids of Domuq's Moot watch closely and continually ward against its spread.

Roads and Landmarks

Courium Columns. Along the roads of the region there are sealed columns of alabaster stone inlaid with sigils of celestial conjuration. Used by the Holy Orders of Synstasia to communicate with the settlements across the hierocracy. The Aquilla Courium of Litencia are summoned forth and can be seen coursing across the skies of the region as golden-azure streaks on the horizon.

The Farthingways. The name assigned to the system of roadways in the Alldwell Tillage that connect thousands of settlements and stop-offs. The "tithe" exacted by the Fellowship of the Worker's Wheel in the name of Dilig is a perpetual point of contention for merchants and other travelers that get caught up by the sheer number of roadways.

Paths of Pilgrimage. Four cardinal roads lead out from the city of Synstasia to the four shrine cities of the Holy Orders devoted to the gods of the Lighted Path.

The Path of Achonus. Leading directly north to Gardladin, the sacred city of Synstasia's military and the war shrine of Achonus Ward.

The Path of Dilig. Leading west to Tithence, upon which each merchant passing is seen as a pilgrim of Dilig to and from the cities on their blessed business.

The Path of Domuq. Leading east to Yielden, the divinity of nature sought by followers of Domuq, found within leaf and soil of this sacred expanse called the Palace of Grass.

The Path of Litencia. Leading south to the enshrined libraries of Athent, where pilgrims of Litencia seek the most holy of texts contained within the Bibliotombs.

The Riverfare. Running parallel to the Ryme and Norspyr rivers this ancient roadway still bears stones lain down by peoples enslaved by the Dragon Kings in the Age of Fire. The road runs north all the way to Twelvestone to the south ending at the eldritch ruins of Ashynnagoggha. Barrows and ruins of battles fought during the War of Extinction still mark the southerly section of the road and many travelers warn of spirits for which the war never ended.

The Threshing Trails. To the far east of the Hosa Prarie are the trails out of Yielden to the places beyond the sea of grass. The northern trails branch leading on towards the dwarven lands, the river of the Forged Run or the waters of the Haurloch. The easterly trail continues till it meets the ridges of the Wall of the Horizon. The forking southerly trail leads only to the blighted lands of the Plaguereached and are oft left untraveled.

Usher Masts. Spread throughout the region these fortified structures are subterranean passages to the Blight Sea in the Depths. Oft caravans of merchants sanctioned by the priests of Dilig, the Fellowship of the Worker's Wheel, gather to exchange goods with the ships of the dwarven merchant fleet below. Through the worn passages, clung to the cavern ceiling like brilliant ruby beacons are the mast fortresses. Held as points of trade and sentry, they raise and lower the fortresses upon massive chained wheels to the waters near a mile below.

The Witchfire Wastes. At the southeast of the region where countless battlefields of the War of Extinction lay, there is a wound of eruptive fury that welled up against the Duemonti invasion. A druid of Domuq known as the "Flame Witch" who was boundless in her power over elemental fire, as she immolated a whole vampiric legion. The flames proved so intense that the mount upon which she stood become volcanic. Travelers still look upon it with reverence and awe at nature's power in the hands of its servants.

Settlements

Aidiem. A storied vassaldom of the Hilted Headlands that arose from the strife of the Ashbreak Rebellion. The heads of House Aideim wield an ancestral weapon, a tri-bladed sword said to have been bestowed by Hasandark the Warmaster of the Aesir, one of the great celestials of Achonus. The rulers of this venerable clan have long been held up as the height of the human warrior spirit.

Athent. In the center of the southern Aurous Plains, the city serves as a grand scholarly shrine to the goddess of Knowledge and Writing, Litencia. Soaring parapets and elegant forums define the city and marks it as a center of the collegial pilgrimages held by the Lectern of Litencia. Many seek the knowledge of the Lectern's acolytes, but others come to seek the scholars of old within the Bibliotombs. Buried within these libraries of the dead are ancient texts and their sacred authors who are said to hold secrets lost to the Ages.

Brevem. A harbor along the run of the Ryme River, the town has long served as a trade-stop for ships traveling upon the river. In the dying days of the Age of Fire, the populace stood against the rising Orders of the Lighted Path as they moved across the region enforcing their dogma upon its peoples. The populace was massacred by the Lighted zealots, and the populace of the settlement hold still the memory of this, yet now under the yoke of Synstasia.

Cellenis. A small human town at the very north of the Alldwell Tillage, a favored stop along the road of the Riverfare north from the port city of Pike's End. Known for its splendorous orchards and flowering fields the town claims spirits of nature bless their lands.

Copse Chateau. At the heart of the northern reaches, atop a wooded plateau, stands the home of the vaunted Copse family. Since the War of Extinction the family has endeavored to bring justice to Synstasian lands by their knightly union, the Order Under Saphra. Warriors and casters devoted to the celestial deity of Domuq's Moonspirit, as they see all peoples touched by her light in the north as under their protection. This outlook has won them few allies, as many in the region follow the dogma of the Holy Orders and openly persecute divifiend, vampire, or anyone deemed an enemy by blood.

Flornte. A proprietary city of brilliant artisans and craftspeople, long ruled by a powerful family of bankers with ties to the priesthood of Dilig, the House Medigi. The city is defined by it industry guilds and tenets of work, as each season passes a tally is made and those failing to reach their quotas find their assets tithed and then expelled from the city.

Gardladin. In the highlands north of Synstasia is the martial shrine city sworn to the god of War and Justice, Achonus. Imposing upon the Plains the military doctrines of divine warfare, the fortresses of the Praetori of Achonus ever ring with the hymns of battles and filled with a fiery radiance. Those who travel the city are mindful of the heights of martial reverence of the citizens, as scorhced flagellants can be seen marching in the streets, and even those who self-immolate in hopes to be resurrected stronger from their fiery death.

Geisbaden. A human township in the very west of the region at the edge of the bifurcation of Ryme River, where it becomes the Norspyr and the Dregsys rivers split by the mountain range of the Citadels. The port town serves as a vital passage of trade for the settlements of the Depths on the Blight Sea, as an underport known as Geiswerft lay beneath the town. Dominated by graves sites surrounding the town from the earliest battle of the War of Extinction, the catacombs of Geisbaden are a continual source of terror and peril for the acolytes of the goddess of Healing and Death, the Sepulturian of Soel.

Halisteade. A pronounced village of the Hosa Prairie renowned for their artful animal husbandry, as they combine druidic knowledge to foster livestock who take active part in their stewardship. It is said of the animals in the village "they are as wise as any that wander."

Istenhass. A human settlement in the far northeast of the region near the shores of the Forged Run, that has taken on a distinctly dwarven influence. The forested hills and rolling fields that surround the hamlet have long been home to marauding giants that always seem to return across centuries.

Karthas. Directly northeast of Synstasia, a proverbial city of ranches regarded across the world for its superior war horses and other equine arts centered within its grand rangeland.

Omenthas. An enshrined village in the southern reaches of the Hilted Headlands home to numerous families of Celehim lineage. Since the founding of the Hierocracy of Synstasia it has been believed in prophetic celehim children would be born as speakers for the gods of the Lighted Path.

Pike's End. A pivotal river town at the most easterly point of the Ryme River's course, it serves as a harbor for those who dare to expedition into the dangerous regions across the river. The Everblades and the Faemark draw the adventurous for the promise of the hunt and to be hunted make many that board the river ships to cross likely never to return.

Tenderbranch. A town in the center of blessed and bounteous orchards to the east of Synstasia. A site of pilgrimage for followers of Domuq, where a Tenderbranch tree grows, said to be planted by the perfect form of the beasts of the lands, the Animuse of Domuq.

Tithence. A grandiose shrine city devoted to the Industry and Order of the god Dilig where mercantilist pilgrimages bring wealth to the city unseen anywhere in the world. Flawlessly made, like a great wheel the roadways guide, as if by divine instinct, its residents and visitors through the sprawling markets and towering temples dedicated to work. At the center of the city stands the Vaults of Tithence, the twin mounts of gilded iron that are faultlessly etched to echo that of the plane of Dilig. Within the priests of the Fellowship of the Worker's Wheel account for each duty apportioned by the Tithe of Synstasia.

Topor. On the eastern edge of the region where it meets the Windward Steppes, the city is set into the cliff faces of the Wall of the Horizon. Marked by wondrous hanging gardens that trail along the verticality of city's terraced abodes, given a brilliant balance of wind, water, and light so that flowers unlike any in the world flourish solely within the city.

Yielden. Known as the Palace of Grass, the city acts as an immense commune of druidic circles enshrined to the god-dess of Nature and Fertility, Domuq. Woven from the plains to cover the ancient caverns below the city, said to hold celestial seeds borne from the Wyldlands, the plane of Domuq. Pilgrims that journey to the city find a place of nature's resplendence where animals and plants grow and move amongst those that live and work towards nature's perfection.

Ruins and Subterrane

The Aurous Plains being above the Blight Sea has limited cave systems or openings to the Depths. Few ruins remain as the Hierocracy of Synstasia chose to utterly destroy most remnants of draconic tyranny or eldritch corruption.

Ayharna. An abandoned human city left to ruin at the southeasterly edge of the region where it meets the Air Elemental Divide. Once a holy city to rival Synstasia, it was during the War of Extinction a planar weapon was unleashed upon it by Synstasia as it fell to Vampiric forces. The warped ruins now hold host to strange undead creatures shaped by the energies that still course through the city.

Yddraig Goch. A draconic ruin that once expanded across the highlands of the north of the region, but fell during the Ashbreak Rebellion as its red dragon king was slain. Felled at the center of the ruins, many say his heart still burns away within a noxious sinkhole, his horde trapped in the halls below.