Shevorth Reminder Shurors are a caste society including the nobles caste, martial caste, scholars caste, artisans caste, and explorers caste. Holyar [Holyar is reminiscent of the other two capitals of Shevorth, which share many of the same features. The capital has around 250k people at any given time.] Holyar is the capital of east Shevorth, built into the sides of the mountains. A home for humans and dwarves, the outer walls rise a hundred feet from the earth. Meanwhile, most of the city itself is built into the stone mountain-face, with roughly 75% of the city being subterranean. With an age old non-hostility agreement with the Ice Giants to the northeast, Holyar is ever vigilant for the possibility of attack. The outer gates are 50-feet tall and 30 feet wide. There are smaller doors in the stone walls to the sides of the gates meant to let single lines of people in and out. The doors and gates are made of thick wood planks reinforced with steel. Holyar has 1 main gate to the south, and 2 side gates to the east and west. Outer Holyar Outer Holyar is predominantly 3-4 story wooden buildings. All such buildings are connected via an underground street network that is used in the coldest part of winter. The streets are well organized and form a semi-circle around the main city entrance. Outer Holyar consists of residences, inns, and merchants for those who commonly leave the city gates. Shepherds, scouts, soldiers who patrol the wilds around Holyar, traveling merchants who keep a warehouse or storefront in Holyar in the summer, and other such people call Outer Holyar home. Some Shuror who prefer the cold weather to the warm subterranean city live in Outer Holyar out of person preference. Roughly 25% of the people of Holyar live in the outer area, or about 62k people. Inner Holyar Gates The Inner Gates of Holyar are set into the stone itself, with a gigantic iron portcullis barring entrance. A single, heavily guarded side-door is used for entry during times when the portcullis is down. Beyond the portcullis and side door is Main Holyar Rd. Main Holyar is 100 feet across and 50 feet tall. After a quarter mile of area filled with nothing but guard stations built into the walls, it begins descending at a 45% angle down for another quarter mile. The main area is a ramp but there are steps to each side of the street as well. Holyar Main then splits into Main Holyar Over and Main Holyar Under. Each of these then split into left and right, forming circles from where the districts are all located. Upper Holyar Upper Holyar has the palace in the center, the residential district in the northwest quarter, the artisans district in the southwest and the entertainment district in the southwest quarter. Throughout all of the quarters are residences and temples to gods (good and neutral only) as they seem relevant. The palace is a large central fortress, with stairs going to multiple stories and connecting with the streets the merge on it as a circle, the streets leading from Upper Holyar Main to the Palance Circle road. The palace itself is home to the three ruling families of East Shevorth, House Redback, House Honorhand, and House Snowborn. In addition to the ruling houses, silver dragonborn live in and around the palace. They serve as servants of Shevorth itself, as citizens of Shevorth, but not necessarily as Shuror. As a result the silver dragonborn have their own strict codes of honor and respect, but don’t consider themselves necessarily bound be the laws of the Shuror. Similarly, they have their own jails and justice system. Anything that happens inside the palace is considered under the domain of the silver dragonborn, which is currently ruled by the Serene Clutch [dragonborn clutch names are adjectives]. The residential district in the northwest quarters is full of fine houses, some built along the Holyar Main Circle and others into the side of the earth and rock. The houses on the streets are upwards of 5 stories tall, and usually built into the stone on the outside, or are large houses/mansions if built on the inner part of the circle away from the wall. Those that live here are those who are either wealthy enough they don’t have a particular profession to follow, have retired from their primary profession, or are foreigners living in Holyar. The residential area of Holyar holds roughly 9% of the total population of Holyar (24k people). The University district of Holyar has large universities for people of all ages. Those who teach there live in the universities or in nearby apartments, and the students have the option of doing the same. Most of the universities have their own libraries, but the district also has several stand alone libraries and museums. In addition to regular educations, universities exist for craft professions, professional training, magic, theology, and several bard colleges. Some of the realm’s most reputable bards retire as professors in Holyar’s bard colleges. The deans of the college include: College of Glamour: Feshar Dheiham College of Lore: Stam Clearwalker College of Satire: Shozaud Guldane College of Swords: Sefeh Cukha College of Valor: Ursi Hithyalda College of Whispers: Yei Cao The magic universities are spread throughout the university district, but are not separated into disciplines the same as the bard colleges. Instead, wizards, mages, sorcerers, and warlocks are all taught the basic arts of all arcanic studies through a curriculum that highlights arcane knowledge and historical uses of arcane, both good and bad, throughout the millennia. General universities teach various languages while more exotic planar languages can only be learned at the magic universities. The artisan district to the southwest is full of bazaars, markets, and artisan halls where master artisans craft and teach their crafts to apprentices. Combining the methodical nature of their dwarven ancestors with the magical inclinations of their human ancestry, the artisan district of Holyar is an splendid as it is expensive. Some artisans make their wares in this district, but their items are of such rarity that they are only given to those Shuror (or their allies) who demonstrate their value and worth to Shuror society. The southwest quarter, the entertainment district is one that is possibly most strange for outsiders. Since the Shuror do not believe in servitude (paid or not), they do not have traditional taverns and brothels. Instead the entertainment district is full of gardens (grown using magical sunlight), serve-yourself taverns, community cooking areas, hostels (instead of inns), hot-spring baths, and performance stages where musicians can get up and showcase their musical talents. In addition to baths, there are “relaxation chambers” where people go to relax and flirt with those they fancy. There are donation jars throughout the entertainment district to help upkeep the facilities, and also lists of chores that people can do in each given location. Lower Holyar Lower Holyar is for laborers. Since every Shuror helps do everything else, a lot of the housing in Lower Holyar temporary housing for those who spend their “labor days” working in the mines, doing ore processing, working stone, or doing any number of other duties. A lot of the livestock is kept in the lower area as well during the winter. The southern half of lower Holyar is the livestock district on the outer side of Lower Main Holyar Circle, military district. The livestock district is where people go to feed, groom, and butcher animals. Many animal caretakers, messengers, cavaliers, and those who rely on livestock and mounts for their professions live in this area. Just to the north in the south-central area of lower Holyar are temporary homes for those taking their labor days. In the center of lower Holyar is ore processing, rough metalworking, and an entrance to the mines. Those who spend their lives mining (usually those in their late adolescent years) spend their time in the deeper sections of the mines. Since Holyar has been there so long, their city relies more on their artisans, universities, and markets to bring them income, their mines no longer being a fruitful as they were a thousand years ago. The north half of lower Holyar is where the military district can be found where troops train, are outfitted, and sleep. This is also where the entrances to the under-roads can be found. To the south of the military district, in buildings on Lower Holyar Main stretching to the central mines are the slums, where Shuror and visitors alike can find more traditional taverns, inns, brothels, markets, general stores, etc. The Party’s Arrival in Holyar Escorted by Thokoli and Gillia, now dubbed “The Survivors” enter the capital. Word of Asher and Ailaise have spread as quickly as knowledge of Helios, Bardman, Ughragog and Nikon. There are people in the streets who say things like, “Where’s the dragonborn?” and “Where’s the half-giant?” Thokoli has obviously been there several times and while mentions his full name a few times the name Lighthorn doesn’t seem to carry much weight in Holyar, if any would. You see obviously well outfitted knights shoveling horse dung, nobles carrying firewood, guards picking up trash and the like. Everyone here does everything that needs to be done. As you walk through the outer city because Thokoli, by second nature, often offers to help the elderly with their chores and whatnot. If you don’t assist he’ll look back and say, “Help. What’s wrong with ya’ll? Don’t you get us yet?” You move a bit slowly doing this but no task seems to take you more than 30 minutes if you all pitch in. By the time you get to the inner city gates you’ve all had a good workout for the day. While you haven’t gotten any tips for your work, you all have had plenty of food and extra fur cloaks given to you, especially Asher. Everyone seems quite worried about him walking about so scantily dressed and are constantly trying to cover him up, regardless of his objections. Some of the fur cloaks he are given are of pretty fine make (a total of 100gp worth of furs if he keeps them and does the work). Thokoli leads you all into inner Holyar. You are met by members of the Holyar nobility. They great you sternly, but fairly. After a short time you realize that despite their claims of egalitarianism, the Shuror do have a sense of elitism that run through their culture. Thokoli and his family are largely regarded as backwoods nobles of a small estate, and the summoning of Auril to the prime material plane is considered to be some amatuer mistake caused by mismanagement of resources on the behalf of the Lighthorns. However, the royal families of Holyar (House Redback, House Honorhand, and House Snowborn) seem committed to helping solve the problem. Order of the Phoenix After several days of study, you manage to uncover information about the Order of the Phoenix. They are a monk order, and their people seem to be to the north of Shevorth in the swampland of Kaleth, just a couple weeks travel (if done correctly). [For the record, the Order of the Phoenix monks were pre existing in this setting in this exact geographic location]. Kaleth, claimed by the bronze dragon Kaleth, is a swamp realm where brigands, pirates, warriors, and murderers go to finally make peace with their pasts and help refugees from any who can make it there. Across the harsh swamp realms, warriors have come to give up their arms and learn from those willing to teach. While several monk orders exist in Kaleth, none is more esteemed than the Order of the Phoenix who teach renewal, tranquility, and rebirth. If the party is to seek any guidance, it would be there.
