Cities and camps

Even in the inner wards, any permanent city must have its own crystal and wards. Even small storms can reshape the landscape over time; one bad storm can wipe out your yearly crops and leave you facing starvation.

Thus, permanent cities follow the ley lines. The largest cluster of these ley lines form the backbone of the Alora-Flora Highway and consequently the heart of the inner wards. Other clusters of cities form where the ley lines can be manipulated into a stable state.

You can only build so far out from a crystal. Smaller crystals protect less land, and this land must provide industry, food, and housing.

This results in a strange contradiction: Seln is a vast isle, but Kingdom settlements must build tight.

Of course, the settlement need not be a city. Monasteries and temples are common, especially in more remote locations.

Alternatively, you can build a camp. Camps have make-shift wards, and you simply move or rebuild as the storms roll through.

Travel

By land

Most of Seln is wilderness, battered by the elemental storms, and travel can be very difficult.

The Kingdom maintains three highways that provide safe and efficient travel before regions. These highways are the arteries of the Kingdom and host most of the mercantile traffic.

These roads are relatively flat

  • The Aloran-Floran Highway
    • The greatest highway, following the coastline from Seln Alora to Highbranch
    • Fully half of the entire populace lives within a few days of this highway
    • Fully paved for its entire length
    • Highway ownership is parcelled across clans; these are extremely lucrative dispensations
  • The Wehrroad
    • A new highway, still being constructed. Endpoints will be Alora and Rin
    • Mostly packed dirt and stone
    • Some portions do not yet have ward coverage
    • Managed by the Whistlers, who have established a series of caravansaries
  • The Izuno Highroad
    • A long, meandering route between Alora and Kawazu
    • Almost entirely packed dirt and stone
    • Fallen into disrepair due to the tragedy of Losthome and centauri raids
    • Formerly a major pilgrimage route
    • Notable for hosting many spirit shrines, roughly one every twenty kilometers for its entire length.
      • Most are occupied by spirits despite the disrepair
      • These spirits can provide protection, though they are often annoyed at the lack of pious travelers to praise them

Outside of the three arteries, roads belong to individual clans based on territory. Investment varies. Some proudly maintain straight roads; others abandon the roads to nature entirely.

Beyond even clan rule, there are no roads. There are trails, suitable for foot travel or perhaps a hardy wagon, but such travel is slow.

If you need to reach a remote area quickly, consult the Whistlers. The caravans know paths hidden in strange places, and these caravans can get you to remote places in a hurry for the right price.

By sea

The folk are terrible sailors for two reasons.

First, the temperamental waters of the Akashic Sea seem to delight in challenging the inexperienced sailor. These waters and the swift-racing elemental storms give you little opportunity to safely practice the art.

Second, the Sirens greatly prefer if your kind remains on land. Citizens with naval ambitions find that their boats sprout holes under mysterious circumstances.

Individual clans can negotiate right of passage with the local sirens. Fishermen, scavengers, and traders ply the waters close to shore by paying tithe to their aquatic neighbors. These tithes reflect the activity: sailors pay in fish and merchants in valuables.

All of these headwinds have long stunted the Kingdom’s ability to expand over waters.

The Aufslanders

There is a rumor of one group that have bucked this trend. Supposedly, shore-hugging traders have spotted pirates that come from Siwari and raid for all manner of good. These pirates are skilled sailors, seen and gone in a flash, and defy even the Sirens with their deeds.

Perhaps this would be cause for celebration, but these “Aufslanders” board quickly and attack any who resist. With no respect for the Kingdom or its people, these pirates are driving merchants even further from the shores.

Who exactly are these pirates?!

Grand Cities

Seln Alora, crown jewel of the Kingdom

Seln Alora – the city named for the world

By far the largest city on Seln, this city boasts six separate crystals spread in a half-circle around an inland harbor.

Capital of the Kingdom, Seln Alora is the crown jewel of geomancy and architecture. Marble columns and broad streets give the city a traditional appeal, and it boasts an unusual alliance with local Sirens that allows its folk to safely sail the waters as far as the mouth of the bay without fear.

Atop the highest hill, the royal palace surveys the world. At its center is the Queen’s Garden. At the center of the Garden, a modern marvel: a towering crystal of LightDark, floating weightless among the flowers. This is the only known LightDark crystal in all Seln, and visitors come to marvel at the subtle music it emits.

Six more hills host other important and capitalized sites:

  • The Center of Bureaucracy
    • The line is quite long
  • The Academy of the Moon
    • None in the Kingdom know more of the moon, the skies, and the wandering stars
  • The Great Vault of High Metal
  • The Grand Ambassadorship
  • The Cemetery of the Firstborn
  • Mousefolk Hill

All public services are well developed. Commoners can hire wagons to cross the city, sewage is handled by underground pipe, and the ley lines have been arranged with orchestral precision. In many ways, Seln Alora defies the isle; its statement of power the stability of its footing!

Unfortunately, these boons come with an equal degree of expense. Clan mansions, minor academies, dojos, churches, and museums choke every square meter of the city. Commoners either live in servant quarters or commute from outside the city proper.

Highbranch, heart of the garden

Highbranch, heart of the garden, is a city grown from the root out of the wood. It’s towering trees become natural skyscrapers, home to hundreds each, and its roads stretch along vast roots.

This city is the beating heart of art and entertainment. It hosts two stadiums, a dozen casinos, and restaurants stocking foods from every corner of the Kingdom. During a soccer tournament, the population of the city near doubles!

Other attractions:

  • The Grand Court of the Rose Queens
    • Florans bring their newborn children to the Court, hoping for blessings, and so the Court is often mocked as a Floran nursery
    • Most often, visitors meet a senior Crystal Swan handmaiden, but the Queens have been known to drop in from time to time to keep everyone on their toes
  • The Maiden’s Court
    • Gathering place of the Rose Thorns and the Crystal Swans; beneath the flower petals and ponds, it is actually a crucial forum for discussion of politics and concerns
  • The Academy of the Root
    • None in the Kingdom know more of the natural world or its creatures near and far
  • Teacher’s School
    • Despite being an Aloran program, the Teachers operate out of Flora. When asked why, one Teacher remarked that the “remarkable flexibility of Floran children is ideal for our needs”
  • A large variety of non-standard stadiums and casinos
    • Such as the casino suspended atop the trees where if you lose a hand of cards they drop you out a trapdoor towards the ground
    • Or the stadium built around a floating bubble of water where the contestants must hold their breath to play

Kawazu, home of spirits

Kawazu, situated at the southern tip of the Izu peninsula, hosts a remarkable fusion of two worlds: the material and the spirit.

The seven great spirits of the Izu clans live at the seven waterfalls of Kawazu; each presides over their own Realm. Despite the natural territoriality of spirits, they peacefully share borders. This is the only place in all Seln where a man can shop spirits for advice with a day’s walk!

The city is renowned for its beauty, especially during Spring. The Izu brought sakura blossoms with them from the old world, and the cherry trees have flourished since. As the weather turns, the blossoms cover the hillsides in subtle shades and colors.

Other attractions:

  • The Academy of the Sun
    • None in the Kingdom remember more of Seln’s ancient lore or the true nature of Spirits and Fae
  • Elemental onsen
    • Though found throughout Izu, the best resorts are in the hills above Kawazu
    • Here weary travelers can avail themselves of elemental balms that cure nearly any ailment…for a price
  • The Guardian Nursery
    • Here young warriors audition to pair with spirit guardians, a bond made for (the warrior’s) life
  • The shadow puppet theater
    • A mysterious theater, staffed entirely by ambulatory marionettes!
    • No one has ever seen the true owner