[i]additions to lore by Odium[/i]

[hider=Ghilros]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gchHnpz.png[/img][/center]
[b]Ghilros[/b] - a large town nestled in the foothills between the forests and the [i]Iron Table[/i] (see Other). Ghilros has historically been a thriving and industrious town, well-placed along the serpentine curve of the [i]Yanvin[/i], the river that peeks out between ancient glades and the mesetas of the Iron Table just north of the sea. Currently one of the eminent free cities of the [i]Yanvin Constellation[/i].

One of the earliest settlements to arise from an alliance between humans and fae, Ghilros' menroh borough delimits the farmlands of the Yanvin Valley and a furnace town at the southern foot of the Iron Table, where the guilds are funding a mining operation that promises to delve far deeper than any before into the abandoned dwarven manses below the earth. 

The faeroh of Ghilros is styled after the silvan architecture of elfkind, amid the primeval treetops; historically, there has been a decidedly classist element in Ghilros society with local aristocracy and activity centering itself more around this neighborhood and neglecting the human and crow quarters.[/hider]

[hider=The Sidereal Sisterhood, or the Court of the Veil]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/J1p0h1a.png[/img][/center]

[b]The Sidereal Sisterhood, Court of the Veil, and many other names[/b] - attributed to a number of groups throughout the ages and variously described as a matriarchal coven of witches and a diverse cabal of heretical sorcerers, the Sidereal Sisterhood are a common element in folklore throughout the lands of Skara. A tribe of magelings whose stories loom large in the earliest works of great fable magic, they were worshipped as minor deities at one point among hedge wizards and the smallfolk. 

Their relevance has dwindled with the passing of centuries and it is said that their stories are but withered husks of the legends.

Common iconography depicts these witches and warlocks with ornate and personalized hats identifying the distinct members of the Court of the Veil, though their names and titles vary greatly between tales and folkloric traditions. Opinion differs about which of these sagely figures are of the wise and grandmotherly persuasion and which are eaters of daughters, demanding of sacrifice... and many conclude both are true, particularly in the earliest stories of the Sisters' origins.[/hider]

[hider=Other]
[i]Yanvin River & Valley[/i] - the river curving out of the ancient forest between the sea and the Iron Table; historically a prosperous breadbasket region

[i]The Iron Table[/i] - a cluster of freestanding terraced mountains located directly to the south of Lundros. Ancient myth says the Iron Table was raised in the Age of the Broken God by a nameless power lost to that antique era.

[i]The Yanvin Constellation[/i] - also called the Free Cities, the Yanvin Constellation is a network of city-states throughout the lands around Lundros. Until recently informally linked by trade, the merchant guilds and minor aristocracy have been moving to formalize their coalition and sue for diplomatic recognition from Lundros.

[i]The Deepfolk[/i] - apocryphal culture said to have dwelt beneath the earth in times prior to the dwarven kingdoms, and allegedly said to inhabit the underworld.[/hider]

[i]characters played by Odium[/i]

[hider=Ykka & Nadira]
[center][b]Ykka & Nadira the Red, or the Solstice Sorceress[/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/pufYdYD.png[/img][/center]
[b]Ykka[/b] is a harpy eagle that likes to wear hats.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/elhVpB7.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/fxHPrEE.png[/img][/center]

[b]Nadira the Red[/b] is an ancient member of the Court of the Veil, her power but a flickering ember of its once great flame. 

A shapeshifter, she is said to variously appear as a fox person with red or arctic white fur and a human woman, her age and beauty in rough correspondence with her power. She is called the Solstice Sorceress and the Witch of Midwinter, among other names, and symbolically associated with transformation and transitional periods in the extinct mystery cults from the bygone days when the Sidereal Sisters had greater relevance in Skaran religion.

To Nadira they are practically memories of another life. For a long time she has wandered the countryside as a mendicant healer and knower of lore, collecting cantrips and other trifling magic, and the tales of the Red Witch are largely forgotten even to her... but prophetic dreams have demanded her attention with the nearing of the Breaking.[/hider]

[hider=Cérenir]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/sxOVbUz.png[/img][/center]

[b]Cérenir il Andramson[/b] is the half-elven son of a powerful Ghilrosan merchant. His father is one of the primary investors in the mining operation in the foothills of the Iron Table. Recently Cérenir, always an ambitious and politicking sort, has become even more devoted to expanding the wealth and power of his family. He has been selected to journey to Lundros for the Festival of the Breaking as part of a Ghilrosan delegation. 

There he has another objective in strongarming Lundros into accepting the free cities of the Yanvin Constellation as a sovereign power, among other goals related to his own ambitions. His abilities are related to bloodline magic and his extensive education compared to most Skaran folk, and his failings are largely related to the arrogance and xenophobia carved into him by his surroundings.

[b]Cérenir is accompanied by an NPC I haven't designed yet. I haven't decided if he will be a bodyguard or the actual diplomat, as Cérenir is probably too much of an asshole to accomplish much on that front[/b]. They are travelling with a group of merchants and smallfolk from Ghilros and surrounding villages.[/hider]