#treaty of Thronehold

[canonkiller]

The Eberron maincamp has unfortunately prematurely ended, so (with DM clearance) I'm going to share the stuff I'd had as spoilers so it can be known, for funsies.

Here's some bonus links -

Delta, Bravo, Lima (character playlist)

Renegade (bgm playlist)

writing treat 1

writing treat 2

writing treat 3

early test for characterization

crew assessments + reasonings

house lyrandar medical record, classified

- and here's some of the information about Valka Rotaeir, captain and pilot of the airship Revelation, and two more images because the read more breaks if I try to move them.

Dossier of House Lyrandar:

NAME: Valka Rotaeir AGE: 71 yrs. (b. 927yk) HEIGHT: 7 ft. 3 in. WEIGHT: 244 lbs. SPECIES: Dragonborn (Green) TITLE(S): Cpt., Ms.

EMPLOYMENT RECORD: Civilian recruited by Cpt. Adelaide Mallory in 948yk. Served well as navigator and representative until the Treaty of Thronehold ended the war in 996yk. Returned to service in 997yk as navigator aboard the Revelation after its post-war refitting. Survived the unforeseen accident that occured during the Revelation's test flights over the Endworld Mountains along with four others who retired from active duty after the incident. Following a recovery period, she was promoted to Cpt. of the Revelation as Cpt. Mallory was rendered incapable of command during the incident, for exemplary action and demonstration of skill beyond her station and duty.

Rotaeir has shown distaste for the House and the war throughout her employment, but has not publicly denounced either and remains dedicated and hardworking. Her experience is vital to the House; losing her is not an option. Cede whatever is needed to maintain her connection to the House. If this fails, take necessary measures.

Valka was formerly the ship's navigator and diplomatic representative as a knowledge domain cleric. The Revelation was in active duty during the war, and Valka was a late addition to the crew, recruited by her then-future husband, Roshan. The two of them had a strong relationship despite the war, and while both wanted to retire, Roshan's dragonmark bound him to piloting duty and Valka refused to leave him.

During the late years of the war, they had a child together. Valka entrusted her egg to a caretaker in secret, fearing it would be damaged or killed if she kept it with her on the ship. The settlement it was in was later targeted; though the two of them searched for years (and Valka never truly stopped) they were never able to find the egg or its remains in the ruins.

After the war, with Roshan kept in duty by the House, a mechanical failure in the experimental drive of the Revelation led to a catastrophic crash that killed most of her crew. Valka survived at the cost of her husband's life; Roshan, her Rose, made the choice to sacrifice himself to save her, grafting his arm and eye - and his dragonmark - to save her life in the hopes that she would be able to help whoever was left until they were rescued.

Awarded prestige and merits for her survival, and resenting all of them for praising that she had survived what her family had not, Valka suffered - and continues to suffer - lingering pain and migraines from the crash. Her grafted arm is unresponsive and is kept immobile, and her grafted eye has light sensitivities that dragonborn nervous systems are not equipped to handle, granting her night vision but requiring a cover in ordinary light. The dragonmark haunts her more than anything else; as something meant to die with its bearer, what does it mean that it transferred to her? Was Roshan able to rest in peace, or does she drag his spirit with her?

The house took advantage of her fragile state after the crash and convinced her of Roshan's continued presence as being bound to the airship, a belief that she still holds, while publicly covering up the truth of the crash and Valka's inherited dragonmark. She was bound back into service by the mark, as it allows her to pilot the ship and its experimental, secretive systems. The Revelation is her family, her love, and her airship, and she will defend it with her life - to do anything else would be to abandon Roshan.

And, in Sharn, a now-grown dragonborn named Zykr looks strangely familiar... (Hi, Andy!)

With the House bearing down on her lack of respect for their authority, she has gone rogue; drawn under the influence of the Lord of Blades and allied with warforged forces, she only seeks a way out - to take the Revelation and leave this stupid, angry war behind, at any cost.

Depending on how things went, there was a chance she would end up at Wanderstrand - that's for a post later today, because I had to keep that one REALLY secret, but it's half of the 3rd writing treat link.

Trivia:

Valka's tarot card is the three of swords.

Her character playlist title is in international maritime signal flags: Keep clear of me; I am maneuvering with difficulty / I am taking in or discharging or carrying dangerous goods. / Stop immediately.

Rotaeir is a simple combination of the valkyrie names Róta (sleet and storm) and Eir (peace, clemency, help, mercy). Valka just sounded right.

Though not on her paperwork, she took a translated version of the Revelation's name (Saksatkara) as her own surname after the crash

Receiving the dragonmark replaced her existing clerical abilities; narratively, she lost faith in the gods and her own experience that granted her a knowledge domain, and instead only had faith in the destruction and grief that the storm domain had brought her.

Roshan's dragonmark spans her whole grafted arm; it glows faintly when oh board the ship, and brightness increases with how much energy she has focused into using it. At full effort, it is bright enough to glow through the brace / sling.

Mechanically, she can strike anyone who damages her with an immediate lightning strike.

While neither of her eyes retain their original color, she had golden eyes like Zykr. They also share a heart-shaped chest marking.

Valka's physical difference from Zykr was a worldbuilding adjustment; half dragonborn would have had more humanoid body shapes, while full dragonborn more closely resembled dragons. It never came up.

After being briefly dead, Zykr began having visions of being on a boat with a person he didn't recognize; he was seeing though Valka's eyes, unknowingly looking at his own father, Roshan. Surprise, Andy! There would have been more hints about it in Sharn if we'd gotten to explore some more.

Original reference document text:

Valka is an elderly dragonborn woman, weathered by the past years of war. She is snakelike in appearance, wiry and lithe at 7'3", with a longer neck, body, and limbs. She stands slouched, leaning heavily on a polearm that doubles as a makeshift cane; often heavily bundled against the cold, her right leg is braced under her clothes and her right arm and hand are entirely covered by a black brace buckled in faded brass, kept immobile against her chest by a sling. Her scales are mottled dark greens and yellows, graying around her eyes, muzzle, and knuckles, and she has many visible scars from old battles on all visible skin. The right side of her face is badly burned, and her eye on that side is entirely covered by a large patch. Her other eye is milky white; it's uncertain whether she can see our of her visible eye or if the patch isn't opaque.

Boot on braced leg has a special hook on the heel that she can clip to the harness strap on her thigh to keep is raised / out of the way if mobility is more important than stability. Safety harness extends down the upper part of her tail; anchors to this instead of her braced leg when necessary.

Though not visible, the eye under the patch is unnervingly human-like (as it originally belonged to Roshan), and if her arm brace were removed, the arm underneath is also distinctly not her own; she is unable to move the replacement limb at all, and the dragonmark on it does not move to anywhere else on her body though she can utilize its power.

As a child, Valka was often drawn to the idea of traveling. She restrained her desire to leave for many years, bound by ties to her family and home, until a chance meeting with Roshan, an airship pilot, during the war. In an impulse, whirlwind romance, she joined him in his travels and quickly became an indespensible member of the crew and Roshan's partner. They were married during the war, but hesitated to start a family, fearing the kind of world they would be raising a child in while Roshan's mark kept him in duty. Over time, they found comfort in a future seemingly without children, though they pledged to do what they could to adopt or foster if the war ended with enough time for them to do so.

Valka was one of many overjoyed to see a time of peace, and hoped to start a proper life with her husband even with their age. Unfortunately, a series of malfunctions in their shared airship led to a crash that left both them and their crew grievously injured in a remote mountain range. Valka, having lost her right arm and with severe trauma to her entire right side, was barely conscious; she awoke hours later to her arm replaced and her injuries magically repaired, and to Roshan dead, having chosen to sacrifice himself to keep her alive. Most importantly to the House, his dragonmark was still present - a glowing brand on the arm grafted improperly to replace Valka's own.

Abruptly alone, dealing with the trauma of the crash and her own guilt in her survival being at Roshan's expense, she was taken to trial and found not guilty. Feeling cheated by this verdict and losing faith in both justice and the afterlife (after all, if a dragonmark was bound to a person's soul, what did it mean that she could now take power from it? Had she damned her lover to a kind of half-life, or worse, an eternal purgatory?) she threw herself into religion with a self-destructive determination, secretly hoping the gods would recognize her believed wrongdoing and judge her properly where mortal courts had failed.

When presented with an opportunity to sabotage the project that led to Roshan's death, she took it, taking control of the airship and going rogue with the intent to destroy it either by her own hand or by forcing any pursuers to take it down with her. At present, she is driving it as far from settlements as possible to achieve this goal with as little loss of life as possible, and does not know what she will do with herself when this act is complete.

For characterization purposes, her actions will be influenced by:

- Like The Back of Her Hand: even when the Revelation is being piloted by someone else, her long familiarity with it means she is incredibly difficult to catch off guard. In its current state, she would notice anything out of place on board; this will decrease as the ship is modified.

- Blindsided: her left eye, uncovered, is blind, while her right eye, covered by a patch, still functions. The patch dims light, but still allows her to see.

- Local Doctors Hate Her!: her right arm is entirely immobile on its own, but the brace can be locked into different positions (ex, she can lean on her elbow, but wouldn't be able to pick something up.). Her right leg is stiff, and she is able to strap it up so she's less likely to trip. She is used to moving around the Revelation on one or both legs, but prefers both on unfamiliar terrain.

- House, Not Home: Valka has little care for the interests of the dragonmarked Houses, and may be more likely to take actions that damage the resources or reputation of a House.

- A Ship That Loves You: Valka believes her husband's spirit is entwined with the ship's elemental, a belief that the House has intentionally used as leverage against her. If she cannot have the ship on her own terms, her alternative goal will be to destroy it and herself - but will put her life on the line to prevent others from damaging it.

- An Empty Nest: Valka has no contact with her extended family and has no reason to believe she has any living immediate relatives. She has formed few relationships since the Revelation's crash.

- The Soils of War: Valka does not want to fight, though she will if she must. Her anger is directed at herself, at the gods that failed her, and the Houses that force her into their service. She wants to escape it, to lick her wounds, and to rest; to discover what the world is becoming in a time of peace that she has not had the chance to know.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

YellowMagicalGirl's Battleship 2024 Fics

Instead of daily posts, I'm just going to give you links to all of them here. Note that you are required to have an AO3 account to view these. (If you don't, and you really like one of the premises, send me an ask and I'll upload the fic to SquidgeWorld so you can read it. I'm just low on spoons right now and don't feel like doing a lot of crossposting.)

I'm gonna sort these alphabetically by fandom and then by date posted. All of these are oneshots.

Eberron

I Don't Mind if You Say This Love is the Last Time (1040 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Thora Tavin Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Forced Marriage, Pre-Canon, (more specifically pre-Thora joining the Dark Lanterns), Aromantic, Asexual Character, Aromantic Thora Tavin (Eberron), Asexual Thora Tavin (Eberron), Social Season, debutantes, Angst, Epistolary, Diary/Journal, Title from a Breaking Benjamin Song, (because how could I not use "Diary of Jane" for a diary entry fic) Summary: Before she was a gang leader in Sharn or a superspy in a King's Citadel suicide squad, Thora Tavin was an unhappy debutante.

kiss like real people (849 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Thora Tavin/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Thora Tavin, Original Female Character(s), Original Elf Character(s) (Dungeons & Dragons) Additional Tags: Mild Injury, Background Character Death, Mild Dehumanization, Anti-Aberrant Dragonmark Prejudice, Pre-Canon, (Specifically this is set around 990 YK), First Kiss, Kissing to hide from bad guys, Kissing in the Rain, Pre-Relationship, POV Third Person Limited, POV Thora Tavin (Eberron), Title from a Hozier Song, Rated T for swearing, It's the mildest of T ratings but on rereading I realized it was better as a T than a G Summary: When fleeing the Dark Lanterns, sometimes unconventional means of escape need to be taken.

First Kill

Juliette should have considered the tensile strength of the pillow. (635 words) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Calliope Burns/Juliette Fairmont Characters: Calliope Burns (First Kill), Juliette Fairmont Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soil Scientist, Alternate Universe - Elinor Doesn't Go to Jail (First Kill), (whether or not the Fairmonts are vampires is up to the reader), Domestic Fluff, Pillow Fights, POV Calliope Burns (First Kill), POV Third Person Limited, Recursive fanfic Summary: An expansion upon the pillow fight from "Cal should have asked what a grass filter strip was." (Aka recursive fanfic of a fic I received for Battleship last year.)

Khyber Shards

all the comrades that e'er I had (1175 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Daine (Khyber Shards), Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Despair, Drinking to Cope, Grief/Mourning, The Age of Cul'Sir (Khyber Shards), This takes place halfway through the timeskip, Post-Apocalypse, Daine-centric (Khyber Shards), POV Daine (Khyber Shards), Wine, Experimental Style, No Dialogue, Title from The Parting Glass, Title from a Traditional Scottish Song, past canonical character death, Campaign Setting: Eberron (Dungeons & Dragons) Summary: On the thirteenth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold, Daine mourns.

Your Bones an Effigy to Quixotic Hubris (1939 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Stryke Force & Thora Tavin, Daine & Thora Tavin (Khyber Shards) Characters: Thora Tavin (Khyber Shards), Original Stormreach Guard (Khyber Shards), Daine (Khyber Shards), Shade (Khyber Shards), Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Torture, Broken Bones, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Episode: e166 The Maker, Canon Disabled Character, Whump, Despair, Guilt, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV Third Person Limited, POV Thora Tavin (Khyber Shards) Summary: Thora was captured when searching Yorrick Amanatu's office. She knows that no one is coming for her.

Sun's Still Shining (776 words) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shade/Unnadavari "Ari" Smith Characters: Shade (Khyber Shards), Unnadavari "Ari" Smith Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Anti-Aberrant Discrimination, Past Violence, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Rain, Campaign Setting: Eberron (Dungeons & Dragons), Gratituous Potshots at the Ordning, Mild Angst, Established Relationship, marriage superstitions, Last-Minute Wedding Planning, No Beta We Die Like the Warden of Dreadhold, Kitsune no Yomeiri Summary: The morning before Shade and Ari's wedding, it starts to rain.

Leverage

Flower on Your Head (353 words) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alec Hardison & Eliot Spencer, Eliot Spencer & Original Child Character Characters: Eliot Spencer (Leverage), Alec Hardison Additional Tags: Flower Crowns, Implied/Refrenced Prank War Summary: A client gifted Eliot a flower crown.

The Locked Tomb

Dominicus is a Flower that Blooms For Only One Hour (623 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Camilla Hect/Dulcinea Septimus/Palamedes Sextus Characters: Dulcinea Septimus, Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Terminal Illness, Blood, coughing up blood, Pre-Gideon the Ninth (Locked Tomb Series), Post-The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex (Locked Tomb Series), Alternate Universe - All of Summer in a Day Fusion, If only my language arts teachers could see me now, deliberately referencing a short story I hated for the sake of a fanfic competition, Pre-Relationship, Cultural Differences, Epistolary Summary: Dulcinea continues her correspondence with Cam and Pal, and she thinks about the light that comes only once every seven years.

Original Fiction

inky tendrils battering away nail polish (893 words) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Desperate Superhero Whose Life is in Danger/Supervillain He Reluctantly Goes to for Help, Original Superhero/Original Supervillain, Original Male Character/Original Male Character Characters: Original Superhero Character, Original Supervillain Character(s), Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Magical Illness, Fever, Respiratory Illness, Superheroes, Supervillains, Pre-Relationship, Enemies to Lovers, Angst, Nail Polish, Soulmates, Noticeably Unwell Character, (Guess which tags were still on the board when I started writing this 😅), POV Original Male Character, POV Third Person, Ambiguous/Open Ending Summary: Marcus can't afford to hide himself from his soulmate any more.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A Cat-astrophic Away Mission (545 words) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Erica Ortegas, Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 02, Animal Transformation, Character as Cat, happy ending implied, My First Work in This Fandom, Hair care Summary: Erica can't help but feel she has the worst luck with away missions.

[eldritch-baby]

The Treaty of Thronehold

The treaty officially ended the Last War. The treaty recognized the following nations as sovereign states: Aundair, Breland, Darguun, the Eldeen Reaches, Karrnath, the Lhazaar Principalities, the Mror Holds, Q'barra, the Talenta Plains, Thrane, Valenar, and Zilargo. These nations abide by a common set of laws and maintain diplomatic relations. The Demon Wastes and Shadow Marches regions have no unified government. Droaam has declared itself a nation but has yet to be recognized by the treaty nations.

[kraytordisparity]

I believe in your cause......lead the way........ 

Ever since awakening in the creation forge I’ve called him a 

brother, known him as a leader and trusted his judgment without 

fail. Our forces grew from a grouping of recently liberated war 

forged units to an occupying army that defended the helpless and 

weak after the Day of Mourning. Many wayward forge-born came 

to seek sanctuary after the Treaty of Thronehold, giving purpose 

to those lacking such. 

As we traveled the broken, ashen ground of the Mournland, I have 

seen the untold horrors that the gray mist has dealt among the 

populace. This is one of the many benefits of being forgeborn, our 

hardened constitution renders us immune to supernatural 

maladies. Those we save have begone to call our leader the “Lord 

of Blades”, probably due to the adornment of blades implements 

attached to his form after many victories. 

[sovereignsabove]

THE TALENTA PLAINS

For millennia, the halflings of the Talenta Plains have lived in nomadic tribes ranging anywhere from 60 to 1000 clanfolk. Every adult member of a tribe is considered an equal, but there are times when the tribe needs a representative or decision maker. In those situations, they turn to their clan’s Lath.

LATHS AND HALPUM

A tribe’s Lath (the same word in the halfling language means “leader” and “grin”) decides when a tribe stays or moves, what agreements will be struck with other tribes, how the tribe’s clan functions on a day to day basis. A Lath only lasts as long as the tribe believes in their vision; often, multiple new Laths will rise in rapid succession as a tribe’s clanfolk find and agree upon a new balance.

Sometimes, a Lath will appear who is charismatic (or otherwise persuasive) enough to bring multiple tribes together under their leadership. A Lath like this is called a Lathlon (literally “big leader” or “shit-eating grin”), and it is very rare for one to rise. The most recent one was largely elevated out of necessity, as the Treaty of Thronehold required a single leader to act as Signer of Sovereignty in order for the Talenta Plains to be considered a sovereign nation. That Lathlon was a halfling barbarian named Halpum.

As a young child, Halpum had bonded with his first dinosaurs when his tribe was killed in the Last War by Cyran big game hunters. The hunters had been after the dinosaurs, but the tribe had protected them to the last…namely, Halpum, the only nonsaurian survivor on either side. The tribe’s dinosaurs who had previously known of the boy and mostly accepted his presence, now rallied around him as the only halfling piece of their family still around. Thus, from age 6 to age 20, Halpum raised himself among dinosaurs. He interacted with other clanfolk during that time, but never showed interest in joining another tribe until he was pulled into huge and world-staggering quests with an adventuring party. After that, he decided to return to his people, more certain than ever that the rest of the world was crazy. A likable (but —perhaps more importantly— indomitable) young man, Halpum had been accepted into the rapidly growing Abraman tribe during his adventures as thanks for help his party had provided. Returning to them, he quickly rose in popularity until one day, he found himself Lath. As the Last War careened out of control, the sudden horror of the Mourning brought former members of his adventuring party to his campsite. They said there was talk of a War-ending Treaty, but that it would require one single Talenta leader’s signature in order for the nation to be recognized by the rest of Khorvaire. Halpum agreed to make his case to the rest of the tribes. After he was ultimately successful, Lathlon Halpum stepped down after signing the Treaty and remained the Lath of the Abraman Tribe, the largest tribe on the Plains. He is considered internationally as the Founder of the Talenta Plains, and locally the same way a retired sports superstar is: he still has game but you’re more likely to see him making appearances than goals. Lath Halpum, now in his early 40s, has been linked romantically to dozens of halflings across the Plains, with no discernible preference other than a mutual attraction. He has children out there ranging in age from 4 to 20, some traveling with his tribe and others either staying with their mother’s tribe or living outside the Plains altogether. Halpum also is an important voice at any Tribal Council at Gatherhold.

GATHERHOLD

Gatherhold is located on the eastern side of Lake Cyre, and is the official headquarters of House Ghallanda. Although these days, most time-sensitive meetings take place in bustling metropolises across the continent, the central leadership team and many important dragonmarked members of the House spend a large part of their year in Gatherhold: planning, filing paperwork, coordinating with the Wandering Inn and preparing for large scale events in the town itself.

Technically the largest settlement in the Plains, Gatherhold is still only a midsize town at best, at least most days. However, three times a year, its population and importance skyrocket during meetings of the Tribal Council. The Council meets to discuss intertribal issues, de-escalate cross-clan disputes/feuds, and share information about the state of the nation. These meetings usually last six days, during which Gatherhold is awash in halfling plainscrafters, berserkers, entertainers, healers, scouts, warriors, trappers, and shamans.

PLAINSCRAFTERS

Where all else fails, plainscrafters prevail (or so say House Ghallanda press releases and tourist brochures). Plainscrafters are not quite artisans, nor are they artificers. A closer parallel would be backwoods engineers; they find alternative low-magic, low-tech solutions to problems most wizards and artificers would balk at if found without their tools.

THE WANDERING INN

House Ghallanda knows that, in order to plan a party or cater an event or sell supplies to the right customers, you have to go where the clients are. For most of Khorvaire, that means showing up at a building or marketplace and decking it out or loading it up. However, in the Talenta Plains, that means traveling the Plains to visit different tribes wherever they might roam.

The Wandering Inn is a sort of mobile tent-city, a caravan with airs, an Agora on Wheels. Members of House Ghallanda make complex loops across the Plains, stopping for three days here and a week there to make their services available to every tribe willing to stay in one place long enough to barter or buy.

In recent days, mostly since the end of the Last War, the Wandering Inn has become of less financial importance to the House, which has translated to a decrease in selection and an increase in prices. It doesn’t seem to be a matter of malicious intent, just one of lack of focus. Those traveling with the Inn now tend to be less True Believer and more Retail Worker. It is, however, still the best place to get gossip about anything juicy going on anywhere on the Plains.

KREZENT

To the East, in the Blade Desert, almost to the Ironroot and Endworld Mountain ranges, lies an ancient structure spoken of only in hushed whispers on the Plains. Supposedly the only building of its kind still standing, Krezent is an enormous ziggurat built by ancient couatl. Talentan halflings avoid the site because it is said that a tribe of yuan-ti have claimed the temple as their own. Yuan-ti have a reputation for vicious and terrible responses to intruders, so the halflings of the Plains (and their dinosaurs) keep their distance.

DINOSAURS

Oh yeah! Almost forgot about them.

The Talenta Plains are home to a wide variety of dinosaur species. Talenta halflings treat different types as family, hunt them and hunt with them, and ride them or hitch carts to them. The most common are the raptor mounts, but Lake Cyre is literally swimming with ichthyosaurs and duckbills. Tyrannosaurs and their like prowl the Blade Desert’s border. And the Wandering Inn itself doubles as a practical-minded menagerie, from Inn-pulling stegosaurs to site-protecting triceratopses to messenger archaeopteryxes and everything in between.

Not for nothing, it should be noted that with this many dinosaur species roaming the Plains, there are bound to be some casualties. Not just clanfolk or tourists or the ever-optimistic big-game hunters either. Animals, beasts, and the occasional baby aberration have been known to be eaten if left unattended for long.

You know. Just saying.

[gigantic-spider]

Lantern of Turning (Day 24 of Magic Item March, a 31-day series of homebrewed magic items)

(Image source: “Elf with Bullseye Lantern” by Martin Whitfield; image description: An elf with white skin, blond hair, and a green jacket holds up a bullseye lantern emitting light in a cone.)

Wondrous item, uncommon

Once per long rest, you may use an action to turn undead (as per the cleric class feature). Each undead in a 60 foot cone must attempt a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. When you activate this item, you may expend up to 3 hit dice. Each die expended increases the Wisdom save DC by 1. This item can also be used as a spellcasting focus for clerics and paladins.

Background

Lanterns of turning were originally developed by the Church of the Silver Flame during the Last War in response to Karrnath’s use of undead soldiers. As reports of Karrnath’s horrific combatants came back from the front, the populace turned to the Silver Flame to deliver them from the mindless hordes of their enemies. A council of practical-minded templars and bishops of the Silver Flame, considering the incredible ability that holy warriors have to banish the undead from their sight, attempted to replicate this ability in a more widely available form. They eventually crafted iron lanterns inlaid with silver filigree that were blessed by the Keeper of the Flame and imbued with a portion of the eternal flame that burns within the cathedral in Flamekeep. Though not exceptionally difficult to make, the sanctity of the portions of the flame and the demands upon the Keeper’s time have kept these items in relatively short supply. More important than the actual impact of these lanterns in combat against Karrnathi forces was the subtle change in the perception of the Silver Flame in Thrane. As these lanterns were developed, people began to whisper that the church might be better equipped to lead the war effort than the royal family, and cardinals of the Silver Flame began to be more deliberately consulted in secular matters. It would be too simplistic to say that these lanterns alone shifted Thrane into a theocracy, but their development is certainly indicative of a turning point in the church’s influence in the war.

Story Hooks

Lanterns of turning are not particularly valuable but they are especially significant to some worshippers of the Silver Flame. You recently attempted to save a traveling friar of the Silver Flame from a bandit attack, and though you were unsuccessful, she gifted you her silver-inlaid lantern in thanks for your efforts. Unfortunately, this lantern has caught the attention of a zealous worshipper of the Silver Flame who believes you unworthy to bear it, and he will stop at nothing to liberate it from your sinful grasp.

Undead horrors are emerging from the Mournland into Thrane, which wouldn’t be an especially significant problem except that they are resistant to turning. Karrnathi diplomats swear that they are not responsible for these undead, but tensions are rising between the two nations and the Treaty of Thronehold is in danger of dissolution. You have been tasked with eliminating the current incursion and to discover what is causing them to rise in the first place.

[brassrobo]

My D&D character. Commission by FaithyTree on Etsy. Balmung was among the final Warforged created during the Last War. An experiment in creating the perfect warrior, by repurposing the bones, blood and leather of a dead dragon. Balmung's creation was a success. Unfortunately, the cost of the project and the Treaty of Thronehold meant his line never went into production. Left without purpose, Balmung seeks to prove himself by defeating the greatest enemies he can find. His ultimate goal is to slay a full grown dragon. #dnd #fantasy #warforged #eberron #notmyart #commission https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ4HGARHX1e/?utm_medium=tumblr

[cepheidelta]

Eberron Pokemon #21-22 - Shadow Marches

Into the frontiers now! The next for pokemon are for nations and territories not formally recognised by the Treaty of Thronehold.

The Shadow Marches are a swampy backwater largely populated by orcs. The Marches were the front line of the invasion of the Daelkyr aberrations thousands of years ago, and their foul influence still affects many of the orcs to this day. 

A dragon called Vvaraak gifted some of the orcs with druidic magic, and with the dragon’s power these Gatekeepers sealed the daelkyr and their aberrations away as best they could. Hence, Gatekeepork evolves from Marchog when leveled up holding a dragon scale!

[hannahnh-draws]

🗡Character Update🗡

New and improved Camilla update!

Princess Aster of Aundair was the youngest and only daughter of Queen Aurala. She lived in Fairhold with her parents and older brother, Crowned Prince Wrogar, where she trained with the Captain Cato, of the Knights Arcana, in her spare time. This was an effort to prove to her father and brothers that she wasn’t the delicate princess they painted her out to be. 

Growing up in the castle, when she wasn’t training, Aster would explore the grounds with her brothers. They explored the secret passageways built into the castle grounds during the early years of the Last War and would play pranks on the royal servants to ease their boredom. Every year, Captain Cato took the princess on a hunting trip just outside the capital to hone her survival and fighting skills. Every trip was a surprise. Some years, it would be a cold winter weekend, while others would be a nice week in the summer. So, to always be prepared, she kept a go-bag ready with anything she’d need for a spontaneous adventure. The year after the Last War finally came to an end, Capt. Cato came to her in a state of thinly veiled panic claiming it was time for their annual training event. As they returned from their trip, they were met with terrible news. An assassination attempt had been thwarted the night of their departure. Though no one was killed, Aster’s father was injured defending the queen. It was rumored to be the work of a couple angry citizens who disagreed with the Treaty of Thronehold.

One night, after an argument with her brother, Aster went looking for Capt. Cato, who was off on patrol. As she walked off the castle grounds, she heard the muffled noise of a heated argument coming from a nearby shop. Curious, Aster snuck up to a window to get a better look at the situation without drawing attention to herself. She saw a small group of people from merchants to knights, discussing their plan to assassinate her parents that very night. Suddenly she was hit on the head and everything went black. She awoke to rough rope on her skin that bound her to a chair and piece of cloth covering her eyes. Someone in the room asked what to do with her and why they didn’t just kill her for eavesdropping. She tried moving her wrist to find anything that could set her free, anything she could fit with to save her family, but sadly there was nothing. 

A man whispered “Sleep” in her ear.

When she awoke a second time, Aster could smell blood all around her. The rug under her hands felt like the pelt of the bear her brother killed when they were young. Panic set in and she scrambled to get up, but her body felt heavy from the spell that was placed on her. Feeling around her, her hands wrapped around something smooth and wet. Her sword. Horror set in as the realization dawned on her. Her family was dead and they were going to frame her for it.

It took less than a week for her Uncle Aurad to take stewardship of the throne and find Aster guilty of killing her family. It was Capt. Cato that was sent to bring Aster to her execution. The night before, Aster asked to be brought to the church to prepare herself for what was to come, but as she thanked the Host for her life and all it’s fortunes, Capt. Cato pulled her readied bag out from behind a bookcase. He explained that he would help her escape because he knew the princess could never have committed those terrible deeds, much less for such petty gains. As she opened the door to the secret passageway, he brought out her sword and thrust it into his own shoulder. Handing the bloodsoaked sword to the princess, they said their goodbyes. His distraction would buy her enough time to escape out the passageway out of the city. 

After fleeing the grounds, Aster hid out in an abandoned shed the first night. In an effort to conceal her true identity, she used her sword to cut off her long blonde hair. She became a new person, Camilla sounded like a nice name, more fitting than her old one now anyways. Safer, too. Knowing the Cyran people fled to Q’Barra for refuge, she made her way to the coast to do the same. In a tavern in Otharaunt, she met a well traveled tiefling, going by the name of Onyx Spected, who offered to escort her by sea to Q’Barra. In order to further hide her identity, he changed her hair color from blonde to deep violet to match his. 

They met Indigo Gale, the Captain of The Seafaring Maiden, who offered them a job protecting the ship and its contents from the dangers of the sea. After months of traveling, the pair reach Q’Barra and start their adventure. 

Follow me on Instagram @hannahnh_draws

[indigobluealchemy]

Eberron summarized in a page and a half

A really, really brief history. (This is best if you imagine it being read by Dame Judy Dench, starting slow and stately and speeding up to a rush, as you near the end.)

Demons ruled the world but Dragons discover the Prophecy and were able to oppose their demonic overlords and with help, locked them away but they are trying to get out. The dragons retired to study the Prophecy. Next, the civilization of Giants ruled but fell driving the creatures of dreams from invading the world but they have found a way to get back in. Next civilizations of goblinoids ruled but fell driving the creatures of the realm of madness from invading the world but the seals are getting old. 

It's human's turn. Humans are the dominant race of the continent of Khorvaire at the moment. Eventually the vast unified kingdom of Galifar ruled Khorvaire but 100 years ago, split into 5 nations and each nation is convinced they are the rightful rulers of the continent. Of the original five, Karrnath is the fighter nation, Thrane is the cleric nation,  Breland is the thief nation,  Aundiar is the wizard nation and Cyre was bard nation.  For 100 years, every nation battling against or siding with, every other nation again and again to attain primacy. 

Four years ago, Cyre was being invaded by the other four and was on the verge of being the first nation to be actually conquered. Instead something horrible happened, the Day of Mourning.  On that day the entire nation of Cyre was destroyed in a holocaust of grey fog and toxic magic that stopped exactly at the edge of the current Cyran border. Almost every living thing, including the massive armies from all five nations within the boundaries of the Mourning, died. The cause of the Mourning remains a mystery and it is unknown whether it could happen more if fighting continued  The remaining nations decided to call a truce until this could solved, but even still it took two more years between The Morning and the end of the Last War to sign the Treat of Thronehold. 

Everyone has been effected by the Last War.   Most every person has lost family or friends in the fighting. Tensions are still high and rule of thumb is 45%ish of every nation is willing to start fighting to finally win, to justify the sunk cost of loss of life and treasure. They all feel that their nation was on verge of being the real nation of Khorvaire and the Mourning stole their victory from them. 

Low level cantrips and magic spells have been turned into mass produced industrial items mimicking and replacing the tech levels of approximately the 1880s to 1910s.  Most every cantrip can be purchased as a magic item. There are the mage tech equivalent of steam trains and telegraphs and dirigibles. But "In My Eberron" cast magic always is more flexible and generally better than a magic device and "In My Eberron" there are still no mundane firearms and guns but there are mage parallels in the deadly Wandslingers.

 The Eberron game system threw out alignments and explicitly threw out and stomped on racial alignments. There are nicer cultures than others, but none are automatically evil.  You can have a good vampire and an evil angel or a kind beholder running a shelter for orphaned cyran children. That squad of goblins could be revolutionary freedom fighters trying to protect their new nation of Droaam. That war party of elves from Valinor could be spoiling for a fight just because they are bullies. The kobolds in the sewers are probably maintenance teams who just want to be left alone

 People worship the gods but in Eberron, the gods have never walked the earth so they may or may not actually exist. There is a good pantheon in the Sovereign Host and an evil pantheon of the Dark Six. But a cleric can be evil and still worship and gain their powers from the Sovereign Host or be good and get their powers from one of the Dark Six.

Dragons were horrified and mystified when the insignificant mammal races started manifested “dragonmarks” that granted them magical powers that have been leveraged into the dragon marked houses that dominate whole domains of commerce. The Houses often have a near-monopoly in certain kinds of businesses. For example, House Orien controls land transportation, House Cannith control magetech manufacturing, the halfling House Jorasco carries the Mark of Healing and run the hospitals of the lands.

 There are new species and classes. Changelings are clever shapeshifters that disguise themselves as members of other species. Any medium sized humanoid could be a changeling.  Shifters are sometimes called the weretouched. They are humanoids with a bestial aspect; while they do not fully change shape like a lycanthrope, they take on cool animalistic features and powers for short periods of time.  The first warforged were dumb killing automatons sold to all nations by House Cannith during The Last War. However, repurposed schema from the continent of the Giants bestowed sentience on the Warforged. Being sentient, they were freed, no longer property of the nations that bought them, by the Treaty of Thronehold. These scary murder constructs are trying to find their place in the world.  The Kalashtar are a psionic species, human hosts of benevolent dream-spirits, who battle nightmare-monsters that creep across the shadows of society. Artificers are a new class that are masters of unlocking magic in everyday objects  They are the supreme inventor manifestation of mage tech magic users

 Eberron is a world of cold war tensions as each nation still jockeys for advantage if war resumes. The old gates keeping the bad things out, are falling into decay and could reopen. The Mournland is one nation sized dungeon to be looted.  There are Goblin ruins to searched and Giant magics to be found and Prophesy divination to be understood and manipulated. Who knows what secret research labs run by the nations or the dragon marked houses are out there, left over from the Last war. Now go be heroes. 

[occidentalavian]

I’ve been reading the Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron recently and I can’t help but think that Eberron is a much better setting for The Adventure Zone than Faerûn ever was.

The Relic Wars? The IPRE let loose the Grand Relics without knowing that Khorvaire was in the middle of The Last War, and the Relics caused the Mourning. Then Lucretia saw what happened and made everyone forget what caused it, leading to the Treaty of Thronehold.

Bureau of Balance Moon Base? Way easier to hide among the twelve other moons of Eberron.

The Rockport Limited? It’s a lightning rail engineered by Hudson d’Orien (who’s a human here) with his dragonmark on his right hand.

Lucas Miller? Nah, he’s Lucas d’Canith, who’s secretly been making more warforged while trying to figure out how to put his mother’s soul inside of one.

Battlewagon racing in Goldcliff? The City of Sharn’s just revamped the Race of Eight Winds, and now you’ve got flying chariots! OR, put Goldcliff in the Blade Deserts, and let the raptor-riding halflings in on the action!

Refuge has a dragonshard mine instead of a diamond mine! Wonderland is in Xen’drik! Klarg is from Darguun!

Really the only thing that gets muddy are the planes and deities in TAZ, since Eberron’s deities aren’t proven to exist the way most other dnd deities are, and the planes of Eberron are different than most other dnd cosmologies (although they’re somewhat similar to Eberron’s).

[isabelle-has-a-saw]

Another new #dnd character Méthair Fíon, a warforged Druid Name is a slightly adjusted translation of Gaelic meaning Mother of Vines After the Last War and the Creation forges were ordered to be destroyed, hers was forgotten and she was made post War when the forge was over grown with plant life She cared for it and made it into a sacred grove and learned to operate the forge and created herself children The enforcers of the treaty of Thronehold found it after years and destroyed it and in turn unintentionally her family and grove She now adventures for a new sense of family and deep feelings of vengeance she doesn’t entirely recognize

[masterghandalf]

Game of the Ancients Character Profile: Len

Len was one of the very first characters I imagined when the early ideas for Game of the Ancients came to me. As captain of the Wandering Blades mercenary company, she is one of the two characters I consider the main protagonists of the overall series, and one of the two main heroic POV characters in the first fic (more are added as the series goes on). In general, she’s my take on a common Eberron archetype, the soldier of the Last War looking for a new purpose in life now that the war is over, though I hope I’ve managed to give her more depth beyond just her archetype. On the surface she’s wry, snarky and jaded, but beneath it she has a strong sense of justice and is deeply protective of anyone under her command.

Len doesn’t much talk about her past before joining the Brelish army, and if pressed will make it clear that it’s a touch subject. During the war she was a successful and decorated soldier, but like a lot of people in her position, she ended up discharged following the Mourning and the Treaty of Thronehold; shortly afterwards, she started the Wandering Blades together with her best friend Ghazaan and her lover Yhani. The team recruited some new members over the years, and were moderately successful in various odd jobs, but still tended to be strapped for cash… until a girl named Thyra Entarro came into their lives with a high-risk job that nonetheless seemed too good to be true…

Mild spoilers for Game of the Ancients: Volume I follow:

Though she pretends to be human, in truth Len is a changeling, a member of a race of shapeshifting humanoids in the Eberron setting. Though this detail isn’t revealed to the reader partway through Volume I, it was something I knew about the character back from when I first imagined her, and it informs every aspect of her characterization (down to her monosyllabic, gender-neutral name and lack of surname, both of which fit changeling naming conventions). An outsider all her life, she doesn’t view her human form as a means of disguise so much as a deep expression of the person she wishes she was, and only shows her changeling face rarely and then only to those she trusts implicitly (which basically means Yhani and Ghazaan, and then only in moments of great vulnerability). In truth, some part of Len fears that her entire persona is artifice, and that everything she is amounts to layer on layer of lies and that deep down there is no “real” Len. These sorts of struggles with identity are part of what attracted me to making a changeling MC in the first place, aside from the fact that I just think changelings are cool. Len’s character portrait, of course, depicts her human appearance.

Profile

Note: Game of the Ancients is not based on an actual D&D game, but since it is based on a D&D setting I keep some (rough) stats for the characters to let me keep their abilities straight. Especially important for spellcasters! Some of these will be included below:

Name: Len

Race: Changeling (presents as human)

Gender: Female (technically, female-leaning nonbinary, using she/her pronouns most often but also cool with they/them; changelings make gender kinda complicated)

Sexuality: Bisexual (Len herself might say that she’s attracted to people, not genders, or just that she’s flexible)

Significant Other: Yhani Eshenali

Alignment: Neutral Good

Class: Magus (based on the Pathfinder class of the same name; the Pathfinder magus is a sort of mix of fighter and wizard that I thought suited both the “wide magic” nature of Eberron and the way I envisioned Len as a sort of jack-of-all-trades. If I was making D&D 5E stats for her, she’d probably be a fighter with the eldritch knight archetype.)

Level: As of the beginning of Volume I, 6.

Age: Approx. 32; Len herself isn’t quite sure.

Nationality: Breland

Religion: Sovereign Host. Like most followers of the Sovereigns, she’ll pray to any of the gods (including the Dark Six) as needed, but considers her particular patron deities to be Dol Arrah and the Traveler. Which is kind of an eclectic pair of gods, but then, Len is kind of an eclectic person.

Hair Color: Black (human form), white (changeling form)

Eye Color: Brown (human form), blank white without pupils (changeling form)

Fun Fact: Len loves mystery novels, and is currently following several serials in the Korranberg Chronicle and other papers. She can get testy if she doesn’t get her fix regularly.

I sometimes fancast actors (or, more often, voice actors) as my characters while writing them. In my head, Len is voiced by Jennifer Hale.

[eldritch-baby]

The Five Nations

In the modern age, the greatest power was the Kingdom of Galifar, which covered most of the continent of Khorvaire. The Five Nations--Aundair, Breland, Karrnath, Thrane, and Cyre--formed the heart of the kingdom. Although each has a unique cultural identity, they share this unified foundation. Families are spread across the Five Nations; the rulers of the Five Nations descend from the Wynarns, the royal bloodline of Galifar. Despite their differences, an Aundairian has more in common with a Thrane than with a Zil gnome or a Lhazaar pirate.

A century ago Galifar collapsed into civil war, and the Five Nations became separate countries at odds with their neighbors. The Last War came to an end after Cyre was destroyed in a cataclysm known as the Mourning. The Five Natios remain divided today, competing against each other in every means possible, sharing Khorvaire with the new nations established by the Treaty of Thronehold. The remaining Five Nations remain the largest and most powerful countries in Khorvaire.

[enddaysengine]

Pathfinder Clerics in Eberron

Journal of Kuduth Raeys, Cleric of the Sovereign Host

Therendor 2, 998 YK

This wasn’t the way I liked to travel. I wanted sun and blue sky. Instead, I got the bleak insides of a ship, grimy and stinking of pitch. Instead of Aundairian bread and Karrn ale, I had salted fish and bitter grog. If that wasn’t a metaphor for what happened to the Empire of Galifer, I don’t know what was.

That rotting carcass of a nation, now quartered and sold off at the butcher's market for copper crowns on the kilo. I'd sworn that I had left Galifer forever and that I was never going back. Just when I thought I was out, they reeled me back in. I could tell by the sick feeling in my stomach the last few months that something wasn't right in New Galifer. Officially, the Treaty of Thronehold had granted sovereignty to the city. Unofficially, all the petty, greedy financiers nobility that had torn the empire apart are now trying to stick their fingers back into our pie.

So that's how we ended up with a cleric, a warforged, a halfling, and a dinosaur huddling in the dank hold of an elven pirate ship, bound to Sharn. Straight into the dragon's den we go. I pass the time but playing Conquerer with Dox and Corrash. Dox is better at predicting his opponent and coming up with clever strategies, but Corrash often hides his canny ambushes behind blunt force attacks. These two are as good as a sharp sword and a stiff drink when the fighting breaks out, which at this point is an inevitability.

I left Galifer because the Last War was morally bankrupt to the core. I lost one homeland to these greedy bastards whole gloat in their towers amongst the clouds. I won't lose another. Let them send their goons and goombas. War never changes. If they think they can take my home for me again, I'll show them how a priest of Dol Arrah wages wars!

Today, I'm going back to the base 12 classes and talked about clerics.  Somewhere, in the fog of my memory, I remember Eberron’s clerics being a sort of warrior priest in 3.5. I don't think that's the same in Pathfinder.  The cleric goes through some changes in the transition between the two editions. For one, they lost their proficiency with heavy armour,  which makes it harder for them to fulfil the role of a holy warrior. Turn undead is no longer a feature of the class, having been replaced with channel energy.  Domain powers became more varied and more potent. The number of spells the cleric can cast per day also decreased slightly, all that matters much more on the crunchy side of things as opposed to the world building. So what does that all mean?

We know that the cleric is not just another priest. That expert occupies that archetype, who can have knowledge skills, be good talking to people, and can offer counsel to those having a crisis of faith. The cleric can do all of those things, but they do so much more. The cleric is a miracle worker. In a world that is agnostic to the existence of deities, the cleric is a living, breathing symbol of the divine. They aren't necessarily warriors anymore, especially since the warpriest also exists as a class, but clerics still have raw spellcasting power.

That does raise the question of what makes a cleric different from an oracle. In my mind, the key factor is self-determination. While faith is not something that can be taught, you can seek it out through scripture, through education, through philosophy, through meditation, and through community involvement. On their own, none of these spontaneously generate faith, but they cultivate it, so a person on the path to becoming a cleric in Eberron would likely be someone who sought to nurture their faith through these methods. An oracle, on the other hand, is either born holy or is chosen to become a divine conduit with no formal training.  I like to think of it this way: Moses, as he is presented in Abrahamic Scripture, would likely be an oracle. Moses did not ask to be God's prophet, but he was the prophet of the time.  Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, on the other hand, seems more like a cleric to me. (Aside: does that mean I would make him one in Planescape? No. I'm just using him as a convenient reference point and trying to vary the religions from which I'm drawing my examples.) Siddhartha  was highly educated, then became a holy man through meditation and reflection. He cultivated his spirituality instead of having its thrust upon him.

Also worth noting, and maybe this stands out to me just because I love to talk about planes,  but Pathfinder clerics strike me as having a tighter connection to Irian and Mabar then their 3.5 counterparts.  Turn and rebuke undead seemed much more like spiritual power over the on living, where channel energy feels more like directly happening in the power of those two planes. It's a subtle change, but I like it. That implies that clerics might know a little bit more about the planes than your average person (or priest for that matter). Frankly, that makes sense to me. If we compare our history to Eberron, priests were the ones who thought about metaphysics a lot, so that seems appropriate.

Much like their western cousins, the orcs of the Mror Holds are a deeply religious people to whom faith comes easily. Unlike the orcs of the Marches, the Jhorash'tar have channelled their faith into the worship of the gods. In particular, the Devourer is favoured alongside Balinor and Dol Dorn. Jhorash'tar clerics of the Devourer each emulate a specific type of natural disaster, with avalanches, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, and volcanos being the most common. These mystics are only very loosely organized, but they frequently share their insights and philosophy with other travellers. As a result, there are small but growing sects of the Devourer growing amongst all of the Dwarven clans.

The clergy of the Sovereign Host has a very loose hierarchy, so priestly training is diverse. One of the newest devotional movements following the end of the Last War focuses on economics. Primarily the members of this movement are drawn from the ranks of the Dragonmarked Houses (particularly House Orien), the Aurum, and industrialists. Extrapolating from the doctrine of the Sovereign’s presence in the world, they believe that every monetary transaction is a manifestation of Kol Korran and thus the study of economics is the study of the god. Most of these devotees are ordinary people, but some of them do develop divine powers and become clerics, despite their utter lack of “normal” ecclesiastical education.

Clerics of the Undying Court are not what most people think of as a priest. While they certainly versed in religious or philosophical matters, the core of the Undying Court’s clerical training revolves around the planes of Eberron. Meditation in manifest zones, metaphysical debates, and exposure to positive energy give the Soungral the perspective required to guide the souls of elves through their long lives. Not all clerics go through this formal process, however. Aerenal is rife with Irian manifest zones, so on occasion, pious elves (or more rarely half-elves) will spontaneously develop cleric abilities due to the planar forces that surround them.

Note: Want more? Go check out @dailycharacteroption !

[sovereignsabove]

Aundair & Breland

During the Last War and as part of the Treaty of Thronehold, Aundair lost 2/3 of its country, specifically a swath of western Khorvaire now known as the Eldeen Reaches.

Meanwhile, Breland, at various points throughout the Last War, lost 2/3 of its confidence in other countries. Every trust was betrayed. Every ally showed itself to be extremist or unreasonable. Every unshakable truth was revealed to be a fabrication on top of shameful conspiracies and dirty dealings. 

Breland’s King Boranel went from being a bleeding-heart to a broken-heart to now…a lion-heart. He believes in people over countries. Which is why he has dedicated his postwar reign to making people’s lives better. Those people will one day become the vox populi that solidifies Breland’s call for common sense and common decency. 

He just also believes that the only way to truly know who is right and who is wrong is to see what they do when they don’t know you’re watching. Because countries like to present themselves as just big groups of people, and King Boranel believes that’s, like, 90% bullshit. Countries, from King Boranel’s point of view, are enormous complex fusions of magic and machine that could totally power cities, heal the sick, and feed the poor…but that are only one Big Red Button Push away from self-destructing and taking out half the countryside with them.

King Boranel doesn’t want to be The Finger on the Button; he wants to be the one who cuts all those Fingers —and only those Fingers— off.

Which brings us back to Aundair. Aundair is Khorvaire’s seat of magic and learning. It is the continental hub of transportation. Its people have the power, the intelligence, and the maneuverability to drastically affect Peace in Our Time. And King Boranel knows it.

He has built the King’s Citadel up to the point where wealthy, important people don’t use just any protection. When it counts, they use The King’s Shields. When a hostage situation is going down, if the Watch is out of their depth, the King’s Swords will get the job done. If a student mage releases…Things Better Left Unspelled, the fastest and most direct solution is to call in the King’s Wands. 

And Aundair’s people host so many special functions in its beautiful villas and wedding destinations and magical museum exhibits etc etc etc, that it only made sense for the Citadel to have satellite headquarters inside Aundair’s borders. 

Aundair’s people love the services that King Boranel has extended to them. 

Aundair, the country? Less so. 

Because what the people don’t know (and the royals can’t prove) is that the King’s Dark Lanterns are also out there, scattered across the Five Nations, watching. Just watching. ...And also preventing war...which, to the untrained eye, might look like international espionage. But it isn’t. Usually. 

There is a famous political cartoon that shows a dragonhawk waltzing with a bear at a diplomatic function with the caption:

“Breland, you seem to be overstepping again”

“Aundair, only when you trip over your feet.”

Zing.