Details

Category: Empire of Stars

The Empire's capital is the city of Far Water, where Mezo was raised. It is a relatively young city, still growing fast under the hands of careful urban planners. The Astral Palace sits in the center, a white building in the shape of an eight pointed star. Each point houses a tower, which looks out upon a grand avenue receding into the distance. These avenues are aligned to the cardinal points, and radiate away like the spokes of a great wheel. Far Water has no walls, since it is far from any enemies and relies on magic for protection. Besides, apart from the southern and eastern parts, the city is expanding far too rapidly to be so constrained. Even those portions of the city, up against the Sea of Stars, slowly expand onto docks and reclaimed landfill created by magical and mundane means.

The University of Far Water claims no specialty, and prides itself on exploring all areas of magic. The University is actually scattered throughout various buildings around the central palace district, all built of the same white stone and bearing the wheel token. Students do not live at the University itself, but must obtain lodging of their own elsewhere in the city. For a new student, just finding one's way from the boarding house through the maze of streets and alleys to each class is an enormous challenge. Upperclassman can earn a gold ribbon for their belts by walking their day's schedule blindfolded, with onlookers ready to punish the slightest misstep with ice water or buckets of offal. Many will even wear these with pride even years after becoming full wizards.

Shrines to Merek litter the city. These are small, simple affairs; little more than a white ledge, marked with a black or white star, with a small pile of sand. Citizens leave candles, incense, flowers, or coins as they pass, in hopes that their spells will work better. The detritus can build up rapidly, and so monks of a dedicated order clean them up regularly, using the coins to live on. They swim out into the Sea of Stars to drop off the old offerings and to gather fresh sand for the shrines.

Type: Capital

Parent: The Empire of Stars

Details

Category: Empire of Stars

Longstone is an old city, and the source of much of the Empire's mineral resources. The Rego family have long since gained control of the area along the Dragon Peaks, and founded the city to make trading the products of their mines easier. Raka Rego has a reputation for being generous, but then again, she can afford to be. Her family is likely the wealthiest in the Empire, and has been going back centuries.

The Rego Guard are some of the most disciplined and battle-hardened troops around. They are tasked with defending mines against trolls, ogres, giants, dragonborn, and occasionally even a real dragon. The Rego family currently provides the Emperor with an elite guard in lieu of taxes. There is no question that no more skilled bodyguards exist, but some wonder where the troops' real loyalties lie. Luckily, it has yet to become an issue.

The Rego family has occupied a series of castles and palaces over time, which remain scattered in and around the city. The first is the Old Keep, a square, ugly tower of black and gray stone. It is cold, dark, and imposing, and has long since been converted into a prison for the condemned and for political enemies. Oddly, Raka Rego insisted on having apartments installed, and sometimes stays here rather than the family's Crystal Palace in the countryside. Rumors persist that she is taking a personal interest in the torture of prisoners.

Whatever the Lord's tastes, the Crystal Palace is beautiful. It is built of grey stone, but every possible inch set with enormous cut glass windows. These sheets were made by master mages, cut by skilled artists, and fracture light into countless rays and splinters. The palace is shaped like an H, with a huge lawn out front and front extensive gardens out back, all carefully tended by a small army of halfling gardeners and groundskeepers.

Facing the palace is Longstone University. The buildings are mirror images of each other, although the University lacks the dramatic windows and replaces the gardens with dormitories. The Rego family generously endows the University, and expects mages to serve in the Rego Guard for two years on graduation. The wizards are noted for talents in Abjuration and in Necromancy. Sorcerers of all types are welcome here. The token is a thigh bone crossed with a pick.

The name of the city actually comes from the Rego Necropolis, carved into the rock around the city. Grey stone is exposed in long, twisting formations resembling snakes or waves. Centuries of Rego remains are laid to rest within this stone, and most other families have created similar tombs.

The easy availability of this Greystone makes it the preferred building material in the city. Even the wooden buildings have solid, stone foundations. The streets are paved with crushed Greystone from the mines, and any statues and monuments are also made of Greystone. The necropolis has influenced the city's aesthetic, and skull or bone motifs are popular. The overall effect can be creepy and oppressive, especially at night when the streets are lit by pale magic lights, rather than torches.

This obsession culminates in a huge, citywide festival every year worshiping the death goddess Elyse. At the beginning of winter, as crops and trees begin to die, the population builds huge bonfires and burns any refuse. They wear disguises, often in bright colors, to confuse the Pale Harvester in case she comes for them; the most popular disguise being of the goddess herself. Drinking to excess is encouraged, the thought being if you can't remember who you are, neither will the goddess. Symbols of death and time are used as decorations everywhere, in an attempt to make Elyse feel more comfortable, and avoid angering her with trickery. This festival, called Frazi, lasts three days and ironically always results in several deaths among the revelry.

Halflings in Longstone are treated exceptionally well, with generous contract terms and respectful relationships with the big folk. They live mostly in the wooded areas around the necropolis, and this seems to have affected them. They are pale and quiet, with large eyes. They seem able to communicate with only a glance, and lack the typical Burrowman boisterousness. Several work closely with members of the Rego guard, which some humans find extremely distasteful. However, the guard has found that they make incomparable spies and assassins.

Type: City

Parent: The Empire of Stars

Details

Category: Empire of Stars

Moon Brite is an atypical city. Usually, a city is founded, and later a University is built there. In this case, Hadar Lumo and Sama Bela chose a location from which to teach and practice magic, and the city grew around them. Hadar and Sama cooperated to build a circle of great standing stones on the Eastern shore of the Sea of Stars. There is one great pillar for each constellation of the zodiac, and a keystone in the center. At the highest point for each constellation, the light of the moon shines on its pillar through the keystone. This calendar was created to find when conditions for working great magics were perfect.

Hadar and Sama quickly fell out, and divided their followers among them. Each built groups of dwellings for their students, clustering them together into clients. The Lumo clans are named for metals: silver, tin, mercury, and lead. The Bela clans are named for gems: ruby, sapphire, pearl, and jet. The token for Lumo clans is a torch, and for Bela clans is a scale.

The city remains divided, with the Lumo Quarter and Bela Quarter divided by the Avenue of Light. The Avenue leads to the circle of stones, which still stands in the center of the University within an enormous park. Only University students and staff are allowed near the stones.

In practical terms, Lumo versus Bela is more of a friendly (if fierce) rivalry than a real grudge. Both the city and the University function mostly as a unified whole. The city is particularly fond of sports, combat, and other competitive exhibitions that give plenty of opportunities for one-upsmanship. Arenas, theaters, and stadiums are everywhere, displaying everything from gladiatorial combat to illusion contests. The pinnacle is the annual Moonbright Games, a competitive extravaganza that folk from all over the known world travel to compete in and view. More than half the city's commerce is conducted during those ten days in a frenzy of buying and selling.

Gambling is a popular vice in Moonbright. Games are an obvious option for betting, but anyone determined to part with his gold can do so through dice, cards, or countless other games of chance. All of this is perfectly legal, as long as the ruling families get their share.

Both families still live on University grounds, whether or not they are learning magic. All buildings in the University are small, built in clusters of 4 to 12 around a central square. While the originals were mud huts, today red and brown brick is the preferred material. Since the University of Moonbright is located in the city center, it cannot expand. This has made conditions more and more crowded as the Lumo and Bela families have grown, and so both family members and mages spend as much time in the countryside and woods as possible.

With a distracted ruling class consisting of largely absentees, the city of Moonbright has a particularly seedy underbelly. The area near the docks is especially bad, and strangers had best keep an eye on their purse. Taverns often recruit toughs and thieves for questionable jobs, or look for adventurers to go on excursions into the Wallen Woods. Prostitution and narcotics have become serious problems, with hallucinogenic mushrooms a particular favorite.

The city's current Lords, Prakash Lumo and Nisha Bela, aren't overly concerned. As long as the money keeps rolling in and the crooks don't get out of hand, they are inclined to turn a blind eye. Most of their attention is directed toward magical research, centered around the various planes and the creatures that inhabit them. The archmages are both experts in Conjuration, and have captured and dissected both angels and devils. What little attention they have left is focused on each other. They have been embroiled in an affair for decades that is something of an open secret.

Type: City

Parent: The Empire of Stars

Details

Category: Empire of Stars

The City of Whitebridge has been an important trading port for centuries. It was founded where the first bridge was built over the Singing River, and was a Free City until very recently. The Pavo family spent decades making trade agreements, exchanging artisans, supporting the arts, and generally building trust and relationships. A few years ago, in exchange for the promise to build the University, the Pavo brought Whitebridge into the Empire of Stars. This brought them wealth, power, and prestige. It also shook the other city states in the region to their foundations, as the Four Free Cities became three.

The city is ruled by a Grand Duke, a hereditary title. The Emperor, Mayura Pavo, agreed to leave the family's title intact. She also married her granddaughter to the grandson of Grand Duke Rett Cemizo. It's an open question whether the other families will allow the Pavo family to rule Whitebridge once they take the throne.

In the meantime, the city is thriving. Whitebridge serves as a point of contact between the Free Cities and the Empire, allowing the inland Empire of Stars access to Orcish trade without exposing it to raiding. Wealthy merchant houses send out trading parties to Dwarven, Elven, and other lands, bringing back rare commodities much in demand throughout the Empire.

Set very near to the shores of beautiful Rosedale Lake, Whitebridge is a picturesque city. The city proper is largely constructed of the local honey colored stone. The streets are wide and clean, and the buildings separated by plenty of open spaces, including parks. Many of these are home to beautiful statues and sculpture, the result of the many artists supported by wealthy patrons. These patrons often have apartments and offices in the city, and enormous country houses on the shores of the lake.

The original bridge is long since gone. In its place is one of the wonders of the known world. The Great Bridge spans not only the river, but also far into the banks on either side. It is tall enough that even the tallest ships can pass beneath it, with room to spare. The foundations on each bank are sunk right down into the bedrock by powerful magic, and the enormous stones that make up its span were lifted into place by the arms of giants. Shops, markets, merchants, artisans, and moneylenders have set up under the bridge on each bank. The Grand Duke periodically hands out commissions to artists, asking them to carve friezes into the bridge. A commission might be for the scene of a great battle, a portrait of a family member, or simply something beautiful and unique.

The Ducal Residence is nearby, on the South bank. It's a fairly old-fashioned castle, square and solid, of honey colored stone. Many outbuildings have been added over time, connected to each other by gravel pathways or arching overhead bridges. The grounds include extensive gardens full of pools, grottoes, statuary, and outdoor theaters. Different types of roses are everywhere, and are grown in special buildings even during winter months. Cut, fresh roses are always found throughout the residence, sometimes kept fresh by magic.

Whitebridge University is still in the planning stages. The Grand Duke and Mayura Pavo have been purchasing land to build a campus. The Pavo family are skilled Illusionists, so that school will likely be a specialty. The Grand Duke has made it known that Bardic and Divine Colleges are a priority for him, and the city already has large resident populations of Enchanters and Favored Soul Sorcerers. The University's token will be a rose.

Type: City

Parent: The Empire of Stars