The lands of the south stretch from the Cloudcrystal Skyfields
to the Great Indigo Wood, and from the coast to (and including) the Shifting Lands. Beyond the Shifting Lands is a region unknown to the Gaians.
Southern Lostrei is an open plain of green grasses punctuated by dramatic, wind-swept rock formations called Earth’s Fingers by the people who live there. As one approaches the edge of the great wood, the terrain becomes rolling hills with
FAELOR
Located in the Varidraol Mountains at the very edge of the great wood, Faelor is a relatively small but odd town, even by Ninth World standards. It’s made up of small clusters of homes and other structures built on the backs of biomechanical birds of great size. These flightless, long-legged creatures
INDIGO WOOD HEARSAY
The Craft: A large metal airship recently landed in the middle of the woods, about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Aerathis. No one knows where it came from or who was inside it, but the general belief is that they are travelers from very far away.
Terror Birds: A large number of
carnivorous, flightless birds have begun showing up in the woods, attacking prey—pretty much anything that moves—singly or in small packs. These belligerent creatures are so hated by the people in the region that a bounty of 30 shins each has been placed on their heads.
THE WEIRD OF THE INDIGO WOOD
The Shifting Branch: A single red branch, veined with pulsing black vessels, has been seen on a tree in the woods. But the strange thing is, the branch appears on different trees at different times, seemingly never more than one tree at a time. Those who get too close to the branch are grasped by it, as though it were a huge wooden limb with senses and animation. The Voice: Occasionally a rumbling issues from beneath the ground in the Great Indigo Wood. Most people describe it like distant thunder, but a few say it sounds more like a voice. These latter folks claim to understand some of what it is saying, and it seems to be directing them to a particular location in the western reaches of the woods.
Nehdol: level 6, Speed defense as level 3 due to size; health 100 If the nehdol reproduce,
no one knows how. Being significantly synthetic, they seem to be virtually immortal (or extraordinarily long lived).
Juran Fermaln: level 4, all types of negotiations and climbing as level 5 Eritta Fermaln: level 5,
numenera as level 6, lore regarding the nehdol as level 7 Terror bird: level 4,
stealth as level 8, perception as level 5; health 21; Armor 1; moves a long distance; bite or kick inflicts 6 points of damage (or one of each at two different foes for 4 points of damage each); screech causes those within immediate range to freeze motionless for one round on a failed Intellect defense roll; see The Ninth World
Bestiary, page 124
Cloudcrystal Skyfields, page 174
leads toward Aerathis. The Western Gate is the third, and through it passes a road that follows the southern reaches of the Great Indigo Wood.
Twenty thousand people dwell within the walls of Cheloh, with another few thousand pilgrims in temporary camps outside. The predominant structures in the city are the Great Hall, the Guardian Womb, and the massive Kileti-fior, known as the Temple of the Wellspring.
The Great Hall: The leaders of Cheloh live and work in this elaborate building, which also serves as a meeting space for the city elders. It lies in the northern section of the city.
Fanselian Rya is the chief administrator of Cheloh. She is a tall, broad-shouldered woman who typically wears a long, pale blue robe. She is usually accompanied by her animal companion, an airborne reptilian
glok. Fanselian is serious, businesslike, and quite capable of defending herself if need be.
ever-increasing trees, both deciduous and coniferous. The plains are home to a variety of wildlife, including vast herds of wild
duronalors.
Small farming and herding villages dot the fertile landscape, but the only larger communities are on the edge of the woods or the sea. The people of Southern Lostrei have likely heard of the Steadfast to the distant south but know little of it, considering the Cloudcrystal Skyfields to be an almost impassable boundary due to angry spirits that inhabit it.
CHELOH
Known as the City of the Sacred Veil as well as the City of the Guardian Womb, Cheloh holds a place of importance among all Gaians. It is as close as they get to having a holy city, and many people make the effort to visit at least once in their lifetime.
Cheloh has a large wall around it, with three gates. One gate provides access to the piers along the Armand River. Another faces directly into the woods, where a road
Duronalor, page 227
Fanselian Rya: level 5; health 21; always carries a cypher that allows instantaneous teleportation as a last- resort defense measure Glok: level 2
body utterly obscured. She is theatrical and flamboyant. Gher remains more practical and tends to stay behind the scenes. The Kileti-fior: The structure known as the Kileti-fior rises three times as high as any other in the city. It is vaguely egglike in shape, surrounded by smaller towers and other buildings. Many call it the Temple of the Wellspring, but “Kileti-fior” means, literally, “spirit temple.” However, it means much more than just that. The Temple of the Wellspring is a structure and an organization unique in Lostrei. Although the Gaians are generally a spiritual people, most do not look to a formal temple or any sort of organized religion. The Temple of the Wellspring is a place of contemplation, peace, and study. It is, as they say, “the temple no one needs but stands all the same.” It is a spiritual luxury.
That does not mean that formal rituals and ceremonies are not conducted there. On the contrary.
The Kileti-fior interior is mostly a single chamber of grand proportions. In the middle is a deep pit around which most The Guardian Womb: The Guardian Womb
is a place of sanctuary, representing a return to one’s birth, with the womb being a metaphor for the safest place one can experience in one’s lifetime. This pyramid made of translucent synthsteel has a single entrance that is well guarded by ever-vigilant
automatons with stony exteriors. They appear to be roughly humanoid statues 30 feet (9 m) high.
The Guardian Womb is staffed by people eager to help the needy—refugees, those in need of shelter or protection, or simply those looking for food or other necessities. It is a charitable organization funded and supported by donations given by Gaian pilgrims coming to the city. Most frequently, those who take advantage of the services are pilgrims who arrive at Cheloh after a journey that was more arduous and fraught with peril than they expected.
The administrators of the Guardian Womb are Hiela Erithamal and her partner,
Gher Strohma. Hiela typically wears a long silver dress, and a visual effect makes it appear as if she is always standing in a column of white light, the lower third of her
Guardian automaton: level 6, Speed defense as level 4 due to size; health 40; Armor 4
Hiela Erithamal: level 6, all interactions as level 7; can project a variety of holographic illusions
building that appears to rest on a column of light. The chief administrator of Chayn,
Umaria, uses the hovering building, which is called the Glittering Castle, as her residence and administrative headquarters, even though it can be reached only by using flying mounts called revis. Revis are four- winged avians with wingspans of 30 feet (9 m). Each is trained to carry a decorative platform to and from a landing deck on the Glittering Castle.
More than anyone else in Lostrei, Umaria acts like a haughty noble found in the Steadfast or the Beyond. She uses her position to gather and hoard personal wealth, which she uses in turn to solidify her position with bribes and favors. She is short and rotund, but judging her by her stature would be a mistake.
The beam of light beneath the Glittering Castle is not a support but rather an emission from a generator near the bottom of the structure. The beam bathes a giant yellow crystal immediately below the castle, and the people of Chayn have rigged cables that tap into the crystal. These cables power lights that illuminate the streets and interiors of the town’s buildings, pumps and furnaces to provide hot and cold running water, and an energy wall that can be erected around the town in times of trouble.
However, the seemingly eternal energy source has a downside—Chayn has by far a greater incidence of mutation than anywhere else in Lostrei. Most of the changes are simply disfiguring, but some are deforming and debilitating. A few people come away with beneficial mutations. For the most part, mutants are accepted in Chayn, but there is always talk that they should band together and form their own tribe.