Aurora, The City on the Plains - Location
Located along the rolling plains of Tellanor is a city surrounded by stone walls and the remnants of a failed demonic invasion, leaving the ground corrupted and fetid. While it has remained a major place of trade, it has also become home to demonic cultists looking to rip back open the wound that allowed demons to swarm the plains.
What is Aurora?
Aurora is a major trade city located on Eldeth, in the world of Talia. It is the capital of the Plains Federation, a loose collection of minor cities, towns, villages, and, most importantly, traveling bands of people and centaurs. Located on windswept plains, on its north-eastern side, the grass is blackened and foul leading up to the demonic rift that was sealed hundreds of years ago.
In the city are multiple districts, from the Noble Ward overflowing with upstart nobles to the East Ward filled with the sounds of yelling and cajoling merchants, an adventurer can find almost anything they need within these walls. Especially, if they are looking for anti-demonic charms sold by charlatans promising protection from any ailment or corruption.
Map of Eldeth, by Stephen Bandstra
The Plains Federation
More closely tied to their roots and traditions, the Plains Federation is often thought to be the least advanced of the nations on Talia. While Aurora is a large city, it is easily dwarfed by the many other capitals that are head and shoulders above Aurora and their industry. On the flip side, many upper-class and nobles travel to Aurora and the other cities for health reasons, often for the fresh and clean air while still enjoying the benefits of a large city.
Despite the corrupted fields on the north of the plains, strong winds blow across the plains from the south, bringing clean air and pushing out fetid clouds that cling to the grounds.
History
Founded over a millennium ago, Aurora's history is rich with tales of resilience and growth. Its location, a crossroads of paths leading to various cities across Eldeth, has always been a pivotal factor in its development. The city's resilience was tested during a demonic onslaught, that left lasting scars on the land and its people. Luckily, the army of Aurora was able to push the demons back and heroes sealed the rift, even if the scar strains to hold back the planar wound.
Map of the Plains Federation, by Stephen Bandstra
Royalty of Aurora
Aurora is ruled over by the Heinrich family, and are supported by an extensive noble system. Each noble family is given governance and control over specific regions and roles within the city. Those families who are unable to maintain control over their section are quickly dropped in their role, from great families to major nobles, major nobles to minor nobles, or even from noble to commoner.
The three great noble families are:
Aristide Family: Herold Aristide oversees trade and, secretly, the secrets of the city. His daughters, Livna and Sura, were trained from a young age to understand spycraft. Only the royal family and the other two great families know that the Aristide family is responsible for secrets.
Baldric Family: Cayden Baldric serves as the King's envoy to parliament and key political strategist. He is responsible for being the king’s voice during long ceremonies, while also ensuring that the city and the Plains Federation moves forward on specific political needs that the king wants.
Frederick Family: Duncan Frederick is the regent and a military leader, responsible for overseeing the main defense of not just the city, but the country as a whole.
Major and Minor Nobles
Aurora is also home to eleven major noble families, each with distinct responsibilities ranging from tax collection to education, and from military duties to guild management. Notable families include:
Gable Family: The head tax collector and envoy to the various merchant guilds and craftsmen of the city and region.
Kirkland Family: Responsible for the spiritual health of the royal family and various nobility, the Kirkland family are said to be powerful clerics divinely blessed by the patron deity of Eldeth, Araatan, also known as the Life-Blood.
Esmerelda Family: The master of the hunt, this halfling family is responsible for leading great hunts for important holidays and celebrations. While the families who make up Aurora are no longer nomads, their ancestral hunts are still an important part of the culture and it is on the family to ensure that these hunts, for great dire beasts that roam the plains, are successful and complete.
Additionally, there are fifteen minor noble families and eight knights, each with specific roles and titles, such as Ajax, Knight of the Pain, known for their fierce jousting skills, and Elvy, Knight of the Stars, an eldritch knight commander.
The City of Aurora
City of Aurora, b Stephen Bandstra
Heinrich Castle
The heart of Aurora is Heinrich Castle, a massive baroque-style structure made of white marble with gray swirls. It is surrounded by thick walls that stand 20 feet taller than the rest of the city's fortifications. Within the castle grounds are lush gardens and military training areas that bustle with soldiers.
The Lower Dungeons
Beneath the castle lies the Lower Dungeons, comprised of prisons, maintenance areas, and even an arcane fortified section of the prison. This magically-sealed area is, officially, empty, but guards swear they hear something on the other side that sounds like distant bellows of ancient creatures.
Wards
Aurora is divided into several wards, each with its unique charm and people who reside within. None of these wards are closed off, per se, from one another, but any who travel into the noble ward, and don’t look the part, are quickly escorted by guards to a more appropriate ward.
Noble Ward: While historically only nobles were allowed to live in this ward, it is now a high-end residential area with its own, private guard force or who keep a careful watch over every alley and street. There are multiple neighborhoods with their own small stone walls to protect themselves from the ‘horrors’ of the rest of the city. Some of these neighborhoods even include restaurants, offices, a neighborhood watch, and more so they remain fully isolated from the rest of the city.
East Ward: Home to guildmasters and professionals like lawyers and architects, the East Ward is where those who want to be seen in the Noble Ward, but can’t afford it, live or spend most of their time.
The Square: The main marketplace and a venue for entertainment and holidays, featuring a central obelisk with ancient runes that glisten with protective magic. The last time it was activated, it conjured a globe of force that acted as a shield when demons tried to storm the city, though it’s power seems to have long been drained from it and no one has gotten it to work since then.
Temple Ward: The traditional location for Aurora's religious buildings, including the Temple of Love dedicated to Milil.
Gate Ward: Military housing and command offices, this ward also contains stables for horses, griffons, and other mounts.
Winter Ward: Originally for grain storage, hence its name, this ward is now a residential area for the lower class. In some areas, the ancient warehouses still stand, but are used as the home for hundreds who have nowhere else to go.
Metal Ward: Home to craftsmen, the forge, and the Tinkerer's Guild, this ward is as loud as it is smelly. The smell of sulfur and thick smog cling to this ward like ash sticks to the clothes of those who work here.
Center Ward: Warehouses, small shops, and homes, this ward is home to anything and everyone in the city.
South Ward: The least developed of all the wards, farmers often come in through the gates located here to sell their wares without making their way all the way up to the Center Ward.
Outside the City
Beyond Aurora's walls, the Tellanor Plains stretch out, dotted with farms and remnants of old battles. The land is fertile yet tainted by the demonic invasion, which is why Aurora offers free land to any who are willing to farm the land, settle on it, or do anything with it.
Corrupted
A hundred miles away to the north east, between Aurora and Reis, is the central part of the Corrupted lands. Hundreds of years ago, demons poured forth from the lower levels of the Abyss and attempted to swarm over the land, and ultimately the world.
Had the demons been able to gain a foothold on Talia, it could very well have happened that the entire world would’ve been dragged into the Abyss as a new level of terrible evil.
Nowadays, few people beyond knights and cultists choose to delve into the Corrupted. What is here is very little. The closer one gets to the central location of Corrupted, the worse the land becomes. What scraggly grass grows is filled with poison and an evil that makes even druids wary of trusting it.
There are a few buildings, notably a central, large cathedral that sits over where the planar portal had existed. In an attempt to sanctify the location, Aurora placed a table to Araatan, a chaotic good deity focused on life, light, and nature, to protect this land and return it back to the fertile plains it once was.
Notable People
While just about anyone can be found in the city, there are several individuals with an outsized role in who the city is.
Ghost
As the most recent leader of the Night Masks gang, a powerful gang within Aurora, Ghost is more than what he appears to be. A tall man with white hair and pockmarked face, this supposed human is actually an oni who is seeking to create devastation and torment in the city.
His quick rise in the Night Masks is thanks to the brutal elimination of several high-ranking officers within the gang that have left many fearful of his ruthless approach to getting his way.
Lady Illiana
A powerful succubus who disguises herself as a dark-skinned woman with long braids and gold clasps. She owns numerous bars, houses of pleasure, and other upscale establishments throughout Aurora where she has her fingers in almost every licit and illicit activity.
Lady Illiana uses her allure to control her businesses and influence the city's nightlife, keeping her true nature as a succubus hidden from almost everyone.
Madam of Sins
The owner of Dark Tragedies, Madam of Sins is an elderly woman who offers card readings and tea readings. Her establishment is located in the Forge, one of the less savory parts of Aurora. Wise and mysterious, the Madam of Sins has a reputation for her accurate and often unsettling predictions. Her calm demeanor and deep knowledge of the occult attract a steady stream of clients seeking guidance, despite her shop being located deep in the Forge.
Mr. Frederick
Known for his shop, "The Fantastic Finds of Mr. Frederick," this Eladrin constantly changes his form depending on what mood strikes him each morning. As a former adventurer, Frederick now sells treasures from his past adventures and those brought to him by others.
With his powerful magic, he is happy to put on performances when selling to new patrons at his shop, especially new adventurers who he knows will be wow’d by a bit of magic or trickery.
Tribulation "Trib" Quick
Tribulation, often referred to as "Trib," is a half-deranged human bounty hunter. Known for his unpredictable behavior and his tendency to misinterpret conversations, he is both feared and pitied by the people of Aurora. He enjoys inflicting pain on others, while claiming he abhors such violence.
Encounters
Demonic Cults - No matter that the demons were defeated hundreds of years ago, they have not stopped their goal of regaining a foothold on Talia and devouring the world. To the end, demon cults exist in secret within the city, always hoping to find a way to rip open the planar scar.
Death Streak - Ever since the Night Masks were taken over by Ghost, deaths have been rising in frequency all across the city. Just recently, a noble family fell victim to a vicious attack that left three maids and half a family killed in a gruesome scene. Some believe it was the work of the Night Masks, others believe it was the work of Trib.
Spring Games - Every year, Aurora puts on big tournaments where adventurers can prove their skill and ability in games of sword, lance, and magic. Those who win the tournament are given a boon from the king, some have used it to gain titles of nobility, one used it to pardon themselves of a crime, while others have used the boon to gain new power they couldn’t access before.
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