Quayan Warm Hills - Post Mage War.

Quayan Hills Re-Write

Quaya is one of the central regions of the continent.  I have a pair of old posts HERE and HERE about the warm hills of Quaya, but those are Pre-Mage War™ and not exactly... "current" 

For starters I'll list a few TLDR points of the region before the war ravaged through the area. And then go into detail about the changes to the region and list a few of the well known Points of Interest. 

• The Dwarven Common Grace, a half dozen villages of hill dwarves who are essentially Dwarven Calvinists. Know to worship a god of labor and humility which they dubbed Armok, God of Sweat and Blood.
  
• The Goblin Encampment of Thanorek was one of the least powerful goblin encampments in terms of its ability to wage war, but it is widely regarded as a place of pleasure and excess where those with the coin can purchase all manner of intoxicants and carnal experiences.
  
• Trystero, the City Which Never Thirsts  was surrounded by fragrant fields of hops and wheat grow alongside ginger root beds and raspberry vines which grew along the warm hillsides past the west wall of the city, the eastern wall protected the Royal Trysteran Citrus Grove, a sprawling grove with over 15 varieties of citrus trees.
  
• Salendar the city of chimes was known for it's uncountable chimes. Homeless children built chimes of broken glass and junk string, while the richest nobles and merchants build massive chimes from entire buildings. The chimes are all dedicated to the wind spirits who call Salendar home. Salendar is led by a council of sages who commune with the clouds through an esoteric practice which is half yoga half cloud watching. 

The spark which ignited the mage war began in Trystero. A meteor of unknown magical origin crashed into the tower of the Lenguamancers in Trystero. In it's wake well over half of the city was reduced to a crater. The survivors clung to life in the rubble of their once grand city. Even now the city is mostly slums and shanty towns. The regional offices of the Black Guard are located at the edge of the crater, which they use as a poignant backdrop for their various anti-mage speeches and recruitment drives. The once well maintained and treasured orchards of Trystero are now a monkeyrat infested thicket of fruit trees. Being a fruit harvester is a high risk but well payed job these days.

When the war came the Dwarven Common Grace were caught unprepared. Their militias armed with little more than repurposed farming implements and leathers. Their fields burned around them as they fled before mage fire and sword. Few lived to become refugees, fewer still survived holed up in their hillside dwellings. Rumors swirl that some of these hold outs resorted to cannibalism, (an addictive practice which leads to madness and eventually renders one into a ghoul as the weight of their sins slowly chews away at the soul) 

Millstone, the largest town of the Common Grace was destroyed. It's great millstone lies cracked in half where the mill was burned down around it. The dwarves hills were ravaged by magic during the war, earth churned into unnatural formations, blights and the lingering effects of dark magic leeching the soil etc. 

Much of the region has been reclaimed by the Church of the Plow but many are still deemed too dangerous to venture near. Thanorek is one such place. Though most goblin encampments are While most goblin hordes move from place to place the Thanorek encampment, is more permanent having been built around The Brazier; a fire pit made of rune-etched iron in which an efreeti was bound by magic. During the war it was freed (no one is sure how or why) and burned the entire encampment to the ground in a gleeful massacre of revenge. Now it slumbers in the ruins of Thanorek, surrounded by soot spirits and minor fire elementals. Few who wander close live to tell of it, but those who do have reported that the soot spirits appear to be building...

Salendar has remained relatively untouched. The Diviners college relocated to the city shortly after the war began and though the war raged on outside of the cliff side city none bothered to besiege or destroy it. Now it stands as a bastion of old magic in a dark world. Salendar is the only major city in the region to refuse any entrance to the Black Guards and has become a sanctuary for refugees of various stripes. 

The Crepuscolare Tribe

The Crepuscolare, a name which roughly translates as "Tribe of the Twilight Storm" are a tribe of nomadic halfling "barbarians" whose home territory extends across much of the Grey Mountain range. These nomads travel South each year to worship their nameless storm god under the powerful storms which form when the sea winds get caught in the southern most cliffs of the mountain range. A common coming of age ceremony for young Crepuscolae warriors is to stand atop a cliff and scream their rage at the storm in hopes that it hears them and rages back. Being struck by lightning is considered a great honor among the tribes people and a sign of divine blessing. Only those who have been blessed by lightning may become shamans and bear the mantle of leadership. (Scholars note that this shamanic order does not appear to have any policies regarding gender, and that the Crepuscolare don't seem to favor one over the other in the role, however it is noted that the role seems to involve quite a few tasks which Quayan society would consider "Matriarchal Duties" which are performed by the shamanic order. More research has been planned but never carried out)


Every 20 years or so there is a massive week long nonstop storm that rages through the Grey Mountains. While it is dangerous it is said that the rains wash away the psychological debris that builds up around sentient creatures. In essence the storm clears away the latent negative energies that human (and demi human) emotion leaves in the space between the Material Plane and the Spiritual World.

The Crepuscolare myths about this storm tell of grave outcomes if the storm does not rage through the region. This is the primary sacred duty of the shamanic order, ensuring that the Storm of Cleansing rages hard enough, and long enough to cleanse the mountains while also protecting their people from the storm and leading emotional cleansing rituals to help their kin release pent up negative emotions through a great week long festival of wardancing, feasts, and music. Whole tribes play concerts to the storm, dozens of rain sticks shaken by children and old folk alike, great drums boom out in response to each clap of thunder, wood flutes harmonizing with the whistling wind. It is through these rituals and the story tellers who speak at these great concerts (often as many as 100 halflings can be involved in major gatherings) that the histories of the tribe is passed along.

It is believed that if the Storm of Cleansing does not rage for at least 6 nights then the mountains will begin to twist under the weight of the negative emotional baggage, growing aggressive and dark. Trees that have stood a hundred years will grow a hatred for sapience overnight (the process takes weeks, but it feels like overnight to a tree) Creatures grow wicked and cruel while the folks who live in the mountains are wracked with deep anxiety. It is also believed that if the storm rages for exactly 13 nights then the people of the mountains must follow the storm where they will confront a grave threat to their continued existence. This was exploited 7 cycles (about 150 years) ago by an unknown mage who rallied the tribes against the nearby city of Salendar where they laid seige to the city with storm magic and were eventually driven away (at great loss of life and mutual loathing) by a group of adventurers leading the town militia on a counter attack. Both the tribes folk and the people of Salendar carry lingering resentment about this event.

Agate Town

Agate Town 

Named for the old vein of robust orange and red agate which lays beneath the rock of the harbor, Agate Town trades primarily in giant oysters and hardstone crafts, typically cut from agate, tho the craftsmen of the town are capable of creating practical and art objects from other semi-precious stones (jade, onyx, jasper, serpentine, etc)

The bay is deep enough for all but the largest types of sea going vessels and acts as one of the two major ports of Quaya. Because of the large sea walls and placid bay currents Agate Town is a preferred port for sailors seeking shelter from storms and is more active during the summer when the pass through the mountains allow trade caravans to carry goods directly to and from the Capital (Salendar) while the Tsankupi river is often too low for anything heavier or deeper than a barge in Summer.  During the winter months, it's little more than a stopping point before Travelers make the journey to Falador.

The docks are old here, creaking planks, slick with brine. Inexperienced sailors have been known to slip and fall into the harbor.  Massive clams, sometimes 3 feet across can be found in the sands and tide pools nearby, and one of the major exports of the town, besides its name sake, is oyster meat. Despite it's age, the town is not the first or only settlement in this place, and the ancient aquatic denizens of this place are deeply resentful of the humanoid encroachment on their traditional home. 

Oyster Folk: The Ostreidae

The Ostreidae (Oh-Stray-Dye) are thick stone like shelled folk with squishy grey flesh and mucous within their thick armored shells. While well armored they peek from a opening in their shell but will seal themselves if threatened. Some have bristly hair like cilia that move tiny marine plankton into their mouths. Tho their bodies and faces are heavily armored, while using their thick muscular limbs they have to extend them outside their shells to act as arms and legs. Some have quite colorful flesh but most are a green-grey, scholars have yet to understand what causes these color differences, tho some claim that it distinguishes royalty while others say it's a religious or even warrior caste differentiation. 

Typically shy and peaceful humans have killed the Ostreidae for millennia as food, for pearls or to harvest their shells. Oyster folk are wary and suspicious, especially of humans and will often retreat within their shells at the first sign of a human and hope to be left alone. Humans often kill and eat their children unaware they are in fact humanoid and intelligent. The Ostreidae have often aided other marine races in their wars against humans as they are easily convinced of the dangers of the hairless ape menace. They often dwell in reef villages living simple lives in coral huts, gathering small crustaceans and cultivating seaweed farms. They are larger than their tiny kin mollusk kin and need more substantial food. But they will often wallow in rock pools, filter feeding if they cant do better. Oyster folk who get trapped in tidal pools who can't escape on the next high tide often starve to death. 

They can be hard to see among marine rocks, as many have barnacles and weed or algae growing on them. Occasionally some are able to get along with humans but they are melancholic curmudgeons. They often use shells of fallen kin as shields or to make weapons. These are brittle but sharp and might incorporate driftwood hafts. Such weapons also blend with marine matter on coasts. 

NPCs -- 

Gunther Grubson the Dock Manager; 

An old man with a bitter temper and a grumpy attitude. His vision has degraded badly in his old age and he can no longer read. He will often tack additional "taxes" onto the mooring fees of people who irritate him. His beloved daughter Mia is the only person who can reason with him. 

Mia Grubs;

Mia is a caring woman in her late 20s with long blonde hair, who tends to take things at face value. She works the docks as her fathers assistant, but is also the local message and mail office.  She secretly worships Simurgh, the Queen of Birds, who is Thirty Birds, keeping a small shrine at the end of the docks where she frequently feeds the seagulls and ravens which roost in the cliffs. 

Analeth the 'Retired' Slaver;

A half elf with sun burnt skin and red hair. He acts tough but is quite cowardly in the end. He keeps a number of ruffians and dockhands well payed to act as his personal muscle. Quaya outlawed slavery near the end of the last mage wars around 60 years ago, and Analeth claims to have retired since then. 

Benevolence Drake, Bodyguard and Cutthroat; 

Benevolence is a woman in her mid 30s and the head of Analeths security detail and is seldom seen without her signature bronze pointed spear. She has short cropped black hair that's shaved on the left side and harsh green eyes. Her white skin is marred with visible scars and her tall and muscular build is intimidating to most, even from a distance, but she has a soft and attractive face. She quietly worships Istishia, Goddess of water, purification, and destiny and can often be seen praying near tide pools or on the sea cliffs. 

Saranel Caresta, Elven Captain;

Captain Caresta is, or at least claims to be, nearly 200 years old. He claims to have repaired his ship so often in it's near 100 years of service that not one nail or board of the original vessel remains. Lately however, he's been hesitant to go out to sea. His crew have all left for other ships and he sits in the local tavern drinking wine and telling boisterous stories of his adventures on the high seas. Whenever pressed about his plans for the future he grows moody and sour. His ship still sits in the bay, and he pays Gunther weekly, each week claiming he'll be gone again come Friday. It's been 6 months now. 

Atub Wolfripper, Orcish Sea Witch; 

Atub is an old orc, though no one is certain how old. She lives alone at the edge of town and bothers the townsfolk for little. Instead preferring to forage, even in her old age, for what supplies she may need. She's a clever old woman and the townsfolk claim she's some sort of orcish sea witch. She speaks to the ocean at length, or at least, speaks to it more than she speaks to any of the townsfolk. They often seek her advice when they're at the end of their rope, hoping for some form of magical aid no doubt, but she usually turns them down. The few she has helped will speak nothing of it.