In all the world of Ard there is only one city: The First City. But few call it that anymore. To the tribes and peoples of Ard, it is The Darke City. None claim to know when it was founded, but all know how it came to be. The god Lo-thor and the goddess An'Draal built it as their refuge. A place where they could live together as partners wedded. It was here that their children were born, Aggrik and Seraphine. And it was to here that their followers were attracted. And it was here, over time, that the Aggrikan Cult and Seraphine Cult were born and grew. To this day, as long as no one threatens their bliss, An'Draal and Lo-thor seem content to leave it be. This is much to the consternation of Lo-thor's priesthood. But one does not question one's god or slander his partner.
Thus, for over a thousand years, the Fist City sat at the mouth of the River San. To its south lies the trackless marshes and swamps of the San Delta which rise into the Drakeshome Mountains. To its north lies the Frozen Sea. Which, despite its name, is open water seven months out of fourteen and sees considerable trade in that time. The First City has walls of marbles ebon and alabaster that appear indestructible with the only entrance being via The Docks or the Dawn and Dusk gates. Within the city, the only law is "Do not disturb the Opaline Palace at the city's heart. Not hard to do as the massive wall, marble alabaster and ebon again, is twice the height of the outer walls and has no known gates. This is the home of the gods and the central figure of the city. No one knowns what is inside though many prophets over the centuries have claimed to.
Within the city, it is carved loosely into unofficial districts. Though not codified by edifice or law, the borders of these districts have not changed in hundreds of years and play home to the various factions of the City. These districts are, briefly: The Night District, The Docks, The Quarters, The Grand Arena, The Sanctum, and The Nest. The Spice Dens serve as an unofficial seventh district and are the newest division of the City at three hundred years old. Within each district different factions have control and their rule is law. However, you can do whatever you can get away with.
To this city, over the course of its history, many people have come and thus populations of most of the world's tribes and peoples can be found. This includes, but is not limited to: the Eldar, the Dwarrow, Pale Men, Night Men, Wildborne, and Thernk. Meanwhile, living in the swamps around it are ancient populations of Dusk Men, Dawn Men, and more Thernks. Some prophets have claimed there were other strange gods and peoples beyond the knowledge of the City, but most scoff at the idea of anything beyond the City's influence.
| Gods of Ard | Purview | Worshippers | Active Cults | Description |
|---|
| Aggrik | Tempest | Warriors, Mercenaries, Gladiators | Cult of the Gladiator, various mercenary bands and wild tribes | Aggrik appears in most depictions as a Eldin of considerable musculature adorned in spiked armor and wielding a warpick shaped like an eye. |
| An'Draal | Life | Prostitutes, gamblers, thieves | Cult of The Mother, The Red Hands, The Rouged Eye, The Sinistrous | The goddess of carnality is never depicted and more than a pair lips full lips smirking. No living souls claims to have seen her and lives long as it is considered blasphemous to describe her. Hysteric mobs almost always descend on them. Stil, each person hold the ideal fo the most beautiful of women in their mind when they think of her. |
| Lo-thor | Light | Healers, Protectors, Dwarrow | Cult of the Forge, Knights Praetori, Band of the Light | Lo-thor is always depicted as a short, heavy-set Dusk Man with violet eyes and pale hair. Though fat, his arms are corded and his legs shapely. The only variant on this is among Dwarrow cults which depict him as a stout Dwarrow with a hammer across his shoulders. |
| Seraphine | Trickery | The Feminine, Torturers, and Merchants | The Dens of Spice, Sapphire Order, The Incarnations of The Twisted | The goddess of beauty is depicted as a Dusk Woman with pure emerald skin and ruby eyes. The shape often changes based on local aesthetics, but the emerald and ruby are constant. |
| Taron | ????? | Lovers, revelers, children | Cult of Undying Love | Taron has never been depicted but is described as a being of unearthly and androgynous beauty. His symbol is a white flame above a black hand. |
| Volinar | Forge | Craftsmen, Dwarrow, Kobolds | The Trade Association | Depicted as either a Dwarrow holding an open tome or a kobold wielding a crossbow, there are as many versions of his appearance as stories of his inventions. |
| The Wildheart | Nature | Wild Tribes, Rangers, Sailors | N/A | In every story, the Wildheart is a shapechanger. Protean. As such, he is typically depicted as a red heart on a green field. |
| Ard Race | Primary God | Descriptions | D&D Equivalent |
|---|
| Dawn Men | None | Dark eyes, swarthy skin, tend to be hirsute. Dawn Men are the primary race of Ard and considered the eldest of the races. Most wild tribes are Dawn Men and about 50% of the population of the City. Though they vary considerably in appearance, especially in the City, they tend to dusky colored skin and black eyes predominantly. They stand rough a foot or two taller that Dwarrow | Human (standard) |
| Dusk Men | Volinar or Seraphine | Credited as one of Volinars creations, Dusk Men are claimed to have been made by shaping Dawn Men with raw elemental earth. Dusk Men have darker skins, dark greens, blacks, and browns, and have light colored eyes but otherwise follow Dawn Men in proportions. To date, no know wild tribes contain Dusk Men but the entirety of the race exists within the City. There, a not insignificant portion of them have come to worship Seraphine as members of the Sapphire Order. | Earth Genasi |
| The Dwarrow | Lo-thor or Volinar | Only the Dwarrow dispute Dawn Men's claims to be the eldest race. They have lived in the Drakeshome Mountains for all of recalled history and are considered the children of Lo-Thor. Still, most think the Dawn Men came first. The dwarrow who have made a home in the City are much more cosmopolitan and congenial than their mountainous cousins and more likely to believe that they came second. | Mountain Dwarves or Hill Dwarves (City only) |
| The Eldin | Aggrik | The first Eldin were said to be Aggrik's children from a mortal mistress. If this is true, likely it was a series of mistresses. They appear in all ways like Dawn Men except that each has, somewhere on their person, the Unblinking Eye of Aggrik which marks them. Eldin are not a populous race= and they guard their lineages jealously as they can reproduce with Dawn Men but such offspring never bear the mark. Still, every generation grows smaller and many speak of trying to find a way to get Aggrik to make more bloodlines. | Mark of Handling Human (Ebberon) |
| Pale Men | An'Draal | Pale Men are occasionally born to human women who worship An'Draal but they also breed true with one another. The offspring of a Pale Man and a Dawn Man has a bout a 50/50 chance of being a Pale Man. After that, there are no know cases of Pale Men being born to Dawn Men parents. Pale Men have alabaster skin and solid blue eyes with no pupil or sclera and tend to be tall and thin with light colored hair. | Air Genasi |
| Thernks | The Wildheart | With fiery red hides, sharp minds, and a penchant for simple living, Thernks have lived in the San Delta for a long time. No one recalls how long. Most agree they were not there at the founding of the city. Thernks say nothing or mutter "We're just good at hiding, is all." Shorter than humans but a bit taller than dwarrow, Thernks rarely make livings inside the City and prefer to live in the swamps in wild tribes. Still, they enter and trade with the City frequently. | Hobgoblins |
| Wild Men | The Wildheart | No one is sure when or where the Wild Men were made, but all Wild Men claim to be descended from The Wildheart itself. They rarely make homes in the City but rather live out on the islands north of the city in the Frozen Sea or on the ice packs during the long winters. They come to the City only to trade and occasionally interact with Wildborne or Thernks whom they consider kindred. | Water Genasi |
| Wildborne | The Wildheart | If Dawn Men make up roughly 50% of Ard's population, then Wildborne are roughly 20% of it. Populous and fecund, they are often found traveling with Dawn Men tribes or in wild tribes of their own. Whichever the case, the tribes are always nomadic in nature. Wildborne make excellent trackers, survivalists, and riders. That said, a small community has settled in the City and have grown strange and distant from their cousins. These city halfings are wild, boisterous, and adventurous where their cousins are shy and retiring. Their hair varies wildly in share while they tend to ducky complexions with gem colored eyes. They are the shortest of races at under three feet in height and bearing slight, thin frames. | Ghost wise or Lightfoot (City only) halflings |
