“Ashuri” means “exile” in the Gaian tongue, so it’s not surprising that
the island is a place of criminals, exiles, and mutants. It also
has a fair number of self- imposed exiles who do not wish to be part of
Gaian society for whatever reason.
telepathically, it announced its dominion over the city. Then it produced spawn- warriors that attacked and subjugated much of the populace. Many of those not captured fled. A few stayed to fight.
Surprisingly, after a while, the subjugated people were released and allowed to go back to their normal lives, which they did. They all—reluctantly, in many cases— proclaim Ochramaris as their leader and god. The creature remains in the now- unsealed vault where it was found, ruling from that location as though it were a palace.
Today, the city that used to have 50,000 residents is down to about 15,000 and dwindling as more people flee. The wide streets of Seavel seem eerily quiet most of the time, and many of the buildings are abandoned. There is an underground resistance to Ochramaris, but the spawn- warriors constantly work to root them out. The leader of the resistance is Relae Tahare, a woman with numenera implants that allow her to become invisible—to both sight and psychic senses—when needed. She is a short woman who typically carries a variety of weapons, all of which are deadly in her hands. Without this cause to fight against, Relae might be a violent criminal, but
Relae Tahare: level 4; attacks, deception, and stealth as level 5; Armor 3; inflicts 6 points of damage with any weapon, 8 points if attacking with surprise; has implants that make her invisible as an action Berith: level 6, numenera as level 7; Armor 4 thanks to a repulsor field emitter; possesses a holographic image projector that creates realistic images of anything she wants, including herself, within short range Spawn-warrior, page 244
brisk trade and contact with the outside world—including both the Steadfast and Lostrei— the people of Phalura have more access to and familiarity with the numenera than many other places do. Technicians and nanos frequent the city, looking for devices or knowledge. Many settle there and join in the merchant trade, developing their own discoveries and advances.
Thanks to such discoveries, all of the city guards in Phalura wear sophisticated
armor that includes large black, round helmets with 2-inch (5 cm) diameter studs all around the outside, but no faceplate or conventional openings for eyes or mouth. These helmets allow the guards to see all around them. The downside is that the armor requires surgical bonding, so it cannot be removed without killing the wearer.
ELLINI
Ellini is built on the top and sides of a rocky seastack that rises above the water near the shore. The structures around the stack rest on wide wooden platforms that form a gentle spiral that rises from a series of docks and piers at sea level to the upper portion high above. A single bridge connects the city at the center of the spiral to the cliffs along the shore. Other than the bridge, Ellini can be approached only by boat.
About 5,000 people live in Ellini, and they are interested primarily in protection, as the region around them is riddled with abhumans and bandits. They spend most of their time focused on the sea, getting much of what they need from its waters.
Two hulking reptiles trained as guardians
watch over the bridge. They attack at the command of any of the town’s guards, who use wooden whistles to direct the beasts.
THEOSIS
On the cliffs high above the sea lies
Theosis, a city of 35,000 merchants, sailors, fisherfolk, and herders.
The Grey Seer: The ruler of Theosis is a woman named Timura, but everyone simply calls her the Grey Seer. She has three additional eyes across her forehead above Ashuri, however, is not a prison. There are
no guards or walls. But the shoals around the island are very difficult to navigate without precise charts possessed by only a few ship captains on the coast. Ashuri is surrounded by shipwrecks, which means some of its residents are really castaways, not exiles. So getting to the island is tricky, and getting off is far harder.
Ashuri has no cities, just small villages and single homes. Those who live there— and to be sure, most people are content to stay, not trying to get off the island— lead peaceful lives as farmers, herders, or craftspeople. A few criminals have tried to set themselves up as warlords through violence and strength of arms, but they’re usually defeated with violence in kind.
For the most part, Ashuri has no government and no laws. It’s an anarchist state, kept relatively peaceful through threats of violence. People do as they please but generally don’t cross others because most of their neighbors are dangerous. The fact that so many are mutants makes this doubly true.
PHALURA
Technically, Phalura is not a part of Lostrei or Gaian society. The people who settled it pay no homage to the Gaian tribes, although many Gaians live and work in the city. Phalura is an independent city-state under the rule of the Telluram.
The Telluram is a human able to switch genders at will. The Telluram identifies as one or the other based on complex criteria only the Telluram truly understands, although members of the court of the Telluram’s lovers also claim to understand. The Telluram wields incredible powers, like unto the greatest of nanos. Able to reshape matter and wield energy as a tool, the Telluram might be one of the more powerful beings in the Ninth World. The origins of the Telluram and the Telluram’s abilities are unknown.
The 30,000 or so people who live within the walls of Phalura are mostly sailors and merchants. Around the city, another 20,000 farmers and herders dwell, also owing fealty to the Telluram. Thanks to
The Telluram: level 10; Armor 5; able to create, destroy, and alter matter and energy within long range Guardian dinosaur: level 4, attacks as level 6, Speed defense as level 3 due to size; health 25; Armor 2; bite inflicts 8 points of damage
Timura, the Grey Seer: level 4, perception as level 7, all other Intellect- based tasks as level 6 Phaluran guard
Rew has been under assault of late from abhuman sathosh. The abhumans follow a leader, their king, Nyarurli. The sathosh seem bent on the destruction of Rew, attacking it from land or by sea in black longboats of crechewood, which reeks of rot and death.
ARSORRA
The climate is warm and humid around Arsorra. The community of about 1,000 people is located on the beach, surrounded by lush, junglelike growth. Not far inland lies a deep chasm called the Stone Hatchery. Around that smoky rift, chunks of the earth tear free and rise slowly up into the air, as if shedding the burden of gravity. These floating islands rise 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) in the first year that they are “born,” and then ten times that for a few years. When the masses of earth—often with a great deal of vegetation still growing on them—reach a height of about 1,500 feet (457 m), they simply disappear, fading away as if they never existed. Faded islands take whatever is upon them along when they vanish.
those in the normal position on her face. Timura can see random bursts into possible futures. Thus, she sometimes recognizes people she’s never seen before.
Merchant Fleet: The Gaian merchant fleet is headquartered in Theosis, making it an extremely busy port. Hundreds of warehouses, full of all sorts of goods, can be found here.
Creature Tenders: One of the things that make Theosis unique is the creature tenders selling animals trained for companion status. For 50 shins, one can purchase a
thuman, and for 30 shins, a trained seskii
or a feline puar. In addition, trained birds and small mammals and reptiles can be purchased for 20 shins. These include a flying reptilian glok, an avian thakra, and a rodentlike norl.
REW
The administrator of Rew is Garlan Feragnal, a short, rotund man. He is generally regarded as being fairly incompetent, if well meaning.
Puar: level 3, stealth as level 5 Glok: level 2 Thakra: level 2, perception as level 3 Norl: level 1
Garlan Feragnal: level 3, most interactions as level 2 Nyarurli: level 6 Thuman, page 262 Seskii, page 258 Sathosh, page 256
THE COAST HEARSAY
The Squealing Murden:
Telepathic squeals and screams have been “heard” along the coast road between Ellini and Magon Tower. The locals can attest that the specific locations are known to be murden
haunts, but what could cause the creatures’ characteristic telepathic “static” to become screams of fear and pain is unknown.
Pirate Serpents: Pirates riding giant sea snakes have been attacking merchant ships along the northern coast. The pirates wear water-breathing gear that allows them to travel with their mounts beneath the waves and then rise up for a surprise attack. Merchants are looking for a way to defend against these attacks.
Lost Lore: One of the floating islands high above Arsorra, likely to soon fade away, holds a preserved cache of
books on various topics of science and technology. Rumors vary as to how this happened and which island is the one in question.
THE WEIRD OF THE COAST
Trapped Man: In the hills near Rew, within the mouth of a cave, a sphere of energy holds a human. He has four fingers on one hand and six on the other, and he appears to be held in stasis.
Living Waves: Noma Island is said to have a “green tide” when creatures resembling living waves come to shore as the water levels rise. These liquid creatures prey upon crustaceans and seem unintelligent, but they respond to music, particularly pipes, with hypnotic motions for as long as it plays.
Murden, page 247
Giant sea snake: level 5, Speed defense as level 4 due to size; health 28; Armor 2; bite delivers venom that inflicts 5 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) on a failed Might defense roll
above a small lake. The narrow, 800-foot- tall (244 m) edifice hovers perpetually not thanks to some numenera engines, but due to the fact that within its limited locality, the rules of physics have been rewritten.
First and foremost, gravity pulls normally on organic solids but differently on
inorganic solids. Most stone is very light (depending on mineral types), most metals are entirely weightless, and synth and other entirely artificial compounds are repelled by the force. Liquids are affected normally by gravity while the sun shines upon them, but in the dark, they float slowly away from the Earth. This means that at night, the lake rains upward in very slowly moving drops and streams. It never gets higher than about 1,500 feet (457 m) before sunrise the next morning. Living creatures, being both organic and liquid, tend to feel queasy in the area after dark.
The effects on gasses in this limited locality are the strangest of all. Time itself stutters, stops, and starts again for gasses, seemingly randomly. Wind gusts stop and start unpredictably. A cloud of mist might hang in the air for days and then dissipate. Sometimes gasses become so frozen in time that the air becomes breathable only in limited pockets.
A few people have chosen to live in Narayan’s shadow around the shores of the lake (also called Narayan). By staying on the edges, they remain mostly unaffected by the changes to the physical laws around the structure. However, all of these people have—without exception—received the same glimmer multiple times in their The people of Arsorra are a simple folk,
fishing, hunting birds, and gathering fruit for food. Most of the buildings are little more than huts made of bamboo. Almost as many thumans live in Arsorra as people, serving as companions and helpers.
The leaders of Arsorra are a married couple named Jai and Mol. Jai is tall, strikingly handsome, and talkative. Mol is quiet, extremely intelligent, and very practical.
Occasionally, a criminal is forced upon a section around the rift that clearly is going to move skyward soon. Although the exile might survive there for a few years, alone, eventually the hovering isle will disappear with him on it.