Kingdom Grand and Environs. Tyre Castle and Red Hawk hold the wooded country to the north, Kdor keeps the eastern peaks, New Arcanum stands alone on the western plain, and Grimsby watches the far shore of the bay.
Items
Aurelian's SpireAn immaculate tower of pale sandstone streaked with gold in New Arcanum's third ring, dotted with glass windows and wearing its rooftop observation deck like a crown on a regal brow. Nominally a place of opportunity, it is the Soul Brokers' regional stronghold—"New Arcanum Sector 1"—ruled by Regional Director Elara Voss from the penthouse. Hopeful recruits queue in its lobby to be quietly enthralled in the ground-floor orientation office; above rise the maze-like management offices, the lavish glass-walled recruitment floor with its crystal-flower leaderboard, a small "professional development" room of mirrors and affirmations, and the Enlightenment Lounge, an enchanted retreat whose direct connection to Aurelian grants a full night's rest in minutes. Movement up its central spiral staircase is governed by soul tokens: golden runes on each landing read the tagged trinkets like keys, and without proper authorization the stairs simply never end.
City on the RockA warm beach community and home to the Murderdarkness family estate. It has a big, rocky cliffside and two shrines to Elina.
Dwarven MountainsAlso known as the Dwarven Peaks. These are a few days' travel to the east of Kingdom Grand. Mountains of varied heights, these peaks are home to many creatures and secrets, including the stronghold of Granith and the sealed Forge of Ash.
EvenfellA kingdom once ruled by Queen Miriel Highlance. It fell to Skotos and was occupied by Augments in Dead Wars II. A century later, it is known as a land of white sands shimmering across the sea to the south of Kingdom Grand and has become a hub for collectors of rare and sometimes stolen artifacts. The city has black-sand beaches beneath stormy skies, high walls, a lighthouse with a stone bridge connecting to the city, docks, and a guild plaza. The streets are mostly quiet, with buildings that are mostly three stories and made of stone with red tiled roofs. The city is home to the Adventurers Guild of Evenfell, led by Elrin Veymar. The city has been experiencing a decline, with strange cultist activity and an eerie silence that sometimes falls over the streets. As Holt's war escalates, many citizens evacuate while mind-controlled adventurers defend the approach to the Great Dungeon Gate.
GrimsbyA small hamlet that got attacked by Shadows. It was abandoned except for an old wizard named Gel. It has at least three houses. In the century after the Dead Wars, it serves as a port for receiving shipments of goods, like mining equipment.
KdorA snow-covered nation located to the northeast of Kingdom Grand, known for its gleaming white-and-gold spire. It is one of the major nations connected to Kingdom Grand via teleportation gates in the century after the Dead Wars. Ruled by the Goldsteil family. The city hosts an annual Festival of Rebirth, celebrating Kdor's reconstruction and the rise of the Goldsteil family. The highlight of the festival is The Gauntlet, a multi-stage challenge course that tests martial, mechanical, and magical prowess. The rules are strict: no magic on others (only yourself), stealth is encouraged, and the only way to lose is to be knocked out. The competition includes puzzles, stealth challenges, skill challenges, and a final combat footrace. Only the top three teams receive prizes, with first place earning a special item and the Medallion of the Gauntlet. The festival features various shops, food stalls, and entertainment, with gold and white banners decorating the streets.
Kingdom GrandAlso known as First City, New Kingdom Grand, or New Grand. Formerly the only major civilized city in the region as of ADW 0, it is now the bustling heart of a more interconnected world, linked to other nations via teleportation gates. Holds an annual Festival of Peace to celebrate Elina's sacrifice in Dead Wars I. The tremors from the battle beneath the city cracked streets and toppled buildings across Kingdom Grand, scattering loose magic and prompting a fresh wave of Adventurers Guild recruitment.
Mountain PassA significant canyon-like pass that serves as a travel route between Kingdom Grand and the northern nation of Kdor. The top of the pass is unsafe due to strong winds, making the canyon the preferred path, though it is prone to hazards like rockfalls.
New ArcanumA magical metropolis rising from the heart of the Western Wastes that, in the century after the Dead Wars, became the seat of power for the Arcane Registry and its nation. Perfectly circular, it is a city of towering spires and gravity-defying floating platforms, with airships passing overhead and a great floating black obelisk at its center. A shimmering protective dome cools the entire city, granting relief from the desert heat to travelers who reach its gates. It is connected to other major world powers via teleportation gates, and about a week's wagon travel from Kingdom Grand along a well-marked but perilous trade route. Its Adventurers Guild is led by Alyndor "Aly" Marvale, who joins the other guildmasters against Holt. The city is laid out on a polar grid: radial avenues named by angle, ring roads named by radius, and addresses given as a distance and an angle from the Senate Obelisk, the colossal floating stone that hovers above Origin Lake at the city's center—locals insist the system makes perfect sense. Its concentric canals, fed by the artesian well beneath the lake and drained through culverted arteries and veins, double as a vast evaporative cooling and irrigation system devised by the city's builder, Merric Goldbright, with scholars and senators in the inner rings, the educated trades in the middle rings, and merchants, students, and warehouses filling the outer rings beneath the dome.
Red HawkA mining town north of Kingdom Grand. In the century after the Dead Wars, it has become the primary headquarters for the Road Thieves Guild, under the control of its leader, Rath "The Gilded Maw". The townspeople live under the guild's shadow, denying any criminal activity to outsiders.
Tyre CastleA long-abandoned castle, also known as the Tyre Estate, that once belonged to a powerful leader of the Arcane Registry. In the current era, it has become infested with specters and spirits, and is the site of a cleansing operation by the new Church of Elina, which hopes to turn it into a home for its members.
Western WastesThe vast, scorching desert west of Kingdom Grand, with the arcane metropolis of New Arcanum rising at its heart. Most travelers avoid it, braving its heat, unpredictable weather, and unusual magical phenomena only to reach the city; the two are linked by a well-marked trade route that runs about a week by wagon. Sandstorms can swallow the horizon without warning, and the sands themselves grow crystals of solidified arcane power that warp magic around them—aging or teleporting those who pass, spoiling food, turning water to wine, and detonating for force damage when shattered. Life clusters at rare oases, where palms, figs, and desert grasses flourish around the larger crystal formations, and where burrowing predators such as Giant Scorpions lie in wait.