seven Towers of Memory are ancient edifices that somehow maintain a pristine appearance. The cluster of tall, metallic shafts looming on the horizon makes for an impressive sight. Each tower is a slightly different color and has a diamond-shaped top that is wider than the lower portion of of the rituals of the temple take place. It is
here that the temple gets its “wellspring” name because the rituals call energies from somewhere deep underground and bring them here, like tapping into a wellspring of water. These energies are used in a variety of ways, often to power devices, heal the sick, or perform other wonders. The priests sometimes imbue crystals with power so that the energy can be transported elsewhere.
Above the pit floats a biomechanical being called the Ustiliator. The Ustiliator facilitates all the rituals conducted in Kileti- fior. It rarely speaks and is entirely devoted to the temple and its priests.
The priests of the Kileti-fior are called Veilwardens. Unlike in many religions, most of the faithful are priests. The Veilwardens take turns conducting the important rituals and ceremonies, making the entire process an egalitarian one. Veilwardens see “beyond the veil” to the truth of the world—the world as seen by the spirits. In turn, they manage and watch over that veil, ensuring the safety of both humans and spirits.
There are three orders of Veilwardens.
The Order of Griviss: These are the newest
priests. Many are pilgrims or visitors who will fulfill the role only once, never to return. This means that the Order of Griviss is the largest of the orders. Members get a glass badge to wear, proclaiming that they have served in the capacity of a priest in the temple.
The Order of Loarn: These are priests who
ascend from the Order of Griviss to take a more formal role in the business of the temple. They continue to serve as priests, but they also help with administration, supply, upkeep, and other important (but mundane) duties.
The Order of Spirr: These are the elders
of the priesthood and the only full-time Veilwardens. Spirr Veilwardens devote their lives to the maintenance and administration of the temple.
CHAYN
Chayn is a town of approximately 8,500 residents built amid the remains of an ancient structure, a gigantic hovering
Ustiliator: level 9, Speed defense as level 7 due to size and speed; Armor 5; emotion-instilling ray can target a single creature in long range, overwhelming it with one chosen emotion Umaria: level 5, interactions as level 4; has an artifact that allows her to fly through the air a long distance each round Revi: level 4; long movement when flying
and ever-changing. Barter is accepted as well as coin.
Many of the merchants of Daraneun ride gigantic reptiles known as boronts. These clumsy but strong beasts support huge palanquins on their backs and a wagon’s worth of wares strapped to either side.
Daraneun is also known for the Yuola, or “lightning struggle.” The Yuola is a ritual combat that comes about in two ways:
1. Two people (or two groups, each with an individual representative) have a disagreement that cannot be solved through compromise or diplomacy. Disagreements range from a simple slight to a feud over property rights to vengeance over a case of wrongful death. The victor is ruled to be in the right and her demands are met.
2. An individual asks for any willing challenger to struggle with him, the victor gaining prestige and favor.
Combatants are temporarily outfitted with
Yuola harnesses, which generate power in the form of crackling electricity. They are allowed to bring nothing else with them into the battle. Yuola fights offer amazing light shows of clashing, scintillating energy. the structure. All seven towers are about
1,000 feet (305 m) tall, and they are spaced about half a mile (0.8 km) apart.
Many people have entered the towers. Some have exited again. However, no one has ever been able to report what they found—all memories of what they experienced within the structures are gone when the explorers exit.
Hundreds of tetrahydras roost in the tops of the towers.
DARANEUN
A trade city used by farmers from throughout the entire region, Daraneun is home to 10,000 people, with another like amount of transients—traders, merchants, herders guiding livestock, and farmers laden with produce—at any given time.
Daraneun is known for its three-tiered market, located in the skeletal framework of an ancient structure of incredibly sturdy synth. In this infamous marketplace, all variety of strange, rare, obscure, surprising, and even unsavory things can be purchased. This includes oddities and cyphers,
although the collections are always random
Tetrahydra, page 262 Boront: level 5, Speed
defense as level 4 due to size, all tasks requiring balance or agility as level 2
Yuola harness: level 5 artifact that provides +2 to Armor and grants the wearer the ability to inflict 3 additional points of electrical damage with an unarmed attack. Depletion: 1 in 1d20, check each day worn
SOUTHERN LOSTREI HEARSAY
The Horde: Led by a blind man named Schoram, who is known for his massive horned helmet and the layer of protective ice that covers him at all times, a horde of raiders and bandits travels on the backs of nirushis, which are neon-colored insects of incredible size and speed. These mounted warriors are bloodthirsty terrors who threaten the small villages scattered throughout the region. The Conclave of the Tribes hopes to send an envoy to Schoram to attempt a diplomatic solution, but the envoy will need protection or else it is likely a suicide mission.
Spies From the South: Rumors abound of people from lands far to the south coming to gather information on Lostrei and the Gaians. These spies seem to expect to find massing armies or barbaric cultural practices. For the most part, the Gaians ignore the intruders unless they appear intent on causing trouble or doing harm. The tribal conclave in Aerathis plans to discuss this issue when it next meets.
THE WEIRD OF SOUTHERN LOSTREI
The Circles: South of the Towers of Memory, along the Armand River, the ground lies like a sheet of bare rock. The stone appears to have melted and cooled again, with concentric circles running through it here and there. The region has thirty-eight such circle sets, ranging from 15 to 80 feet (5 to 24 m) across. Some people claim to have seen glass monoliths floating in the sky above the area from time to time, blasting the stone with blue-white rays. Soon thereafter, a new set of concentric circles appears.
The Mirror Woman: A woman haunting the area around Kasistromis appears to be a normal human except that five large mirrors hover about her, moving as if in slow orbit. Each mirror reflects the woman differently, as though showing alternate versions of her—different clothing and equipment, different demeanor, different circumstances. One shows her to be a well-armed warrior, while another shows her as a simple peasant. One shows her dead. The Mirror Woman never speaks.
Schoram: level 6, attacks as level 2 due to blindness; Armor 4 Nirushi: level 3; moves a long distance in a round
a lake or grassy section with no trees underneath. Those who have witnessed the shifts firsthand believe that the sections have metallic plates and probably powerful motors underneath (although no mechanisms have ever been found). Certainly, people have dug down about 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) and found metal plates. That would mean, however, that the entire region—200 miles (322 km) across or more—sits atop flat metal plates, and that the land is a single numenera device of some kind, with an unknown purpose.
Perhaps for obvious reasons, few people or creatures live in the Shifting Lands— mostly birds and small animals. The region is free of large predators, relatively speaking, because it is free of large game for them to prey upon.