Astrea (Endhaven Supplement)
About
Astrea was once a beautiful terrestrial city Aqsia in the land of Aq. Astreaus lifted the city into the air and made it his home. In antiquity, other Air Lords did this as well, but all of those cities have been lost or destroyed since then. Astrea is the last of those cities.
The population is predominantly human of Umma descent, with other races shown as well. They tend to be shorter than others of their kind.
The city provides shelters to young dragons. The city also boast stables of griffon, hippogriff, Dire Bat|dire bats, giant eagles, and the beautiful dragon knows as the Astrean monarch.
The city is ruled by the elite of the society: merchants, aerial spellcasters, and other men of influence. They oversee their respective governmental departments. They ally with each other against external threats, but vie with each other for internal resources. Their cut-throat politics permeates the entire character of the city.
The city produces little food. Astrea's main suppliers are the Malachite Empire and the Twelve Kingdoms. The Astreans supply several aerial wings for the forces of each of these countries in exchange for air rights and food trading rights. They reserve their Astrean monarchs for used by the Astrean Knights.
The cities maintain small forces of armed men. The elite of their forces are the Astrean Knights.
Astrea has the best air-trained practitioners in all the worlds.
On the land, the city's main opponents are those that they do not trade with, or are at odds with. The Blood Alliance, lead by Dusland have attempted to seize the city.
The people of the city vie strongly with each other. They often vie via sports. Their aerial units train in a number of aerial games. The winner of these games hold honors with the Air god, and so are favored by the gods for that year.
Astrea's main exports are aethers, rare dusts and essential winds.
History
Astrea began as a great city of Aq. In the Age of Heroes, Astreaus lifted the city into the sky, including the Great Dome of the Sun.
In recent history, Dusland attempted to seize Astrea. The Astreans fought them off and broke off their trade agreements with the entire Blood Alliance.
Religion
Astralists
The people of Astrea are descended from the Umma people of Aq. The people of Aq believe in a philosophy called "Commotionism." The Astreans also follow such as philosophy, although they have long ago abandoned the good/evil dualistic dichotomy. According to the Astralists, actions cause commotion in the ether. This causes an eddy, much like swirling a hand in a bucket. Most people do not act consistently, so their commotion is splashy and unpatterned. It is by acting in a directed and consistent pattern that commotion becomes directed, and commotion is greatly amplified. The strong eddy becomes a whirlpool, making a constant actor more and more powerful as they proceed.
One's place in the afterworld is determined by the type and power of the commotion that a person produces in life. The most powerful vortexes being the most powerful and highly placed beings in the afterlife.
One's life also has pitch. One is unhappy because your commotion causes a pitch unharmonious to you. It is only when the pitch is harmonious, and the following pitches correctly follow the previous pitches, that excellence is truly reached.
Goals
- Establish trade for food.
- Recover valuable resources before your sisters cities do.
- Protect allies.
Conflicts
The city is currently boycotting the Blood Alliance.
NPCs
- First Speaker (ruler)
Headquarters and Locations
- Temple of the Sun
- Temple of Astreus
Adventure Hooks
- Locate and explore a lost flying city.
- A character desires a flying mount.
- Astrea, needing food, has been raiding farmland.
- Broker a peace conference between the Astreans and the Great Dwarven Union.
- There are lost Astrean cities ready to be found, pilfered, and possibly returned to operation.
- Characters desire to learn an air based prestige class, but first must earn their way onto a flying city.
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