Old Collora
The Fallen Kingdom, Restored
After the Colloran Civil War, the greatest capital city in all of Crudilex, Collora, fell in devastating fashion. Two red meteors obliterated the Hillcastle, seat of the throne of Collora, and the Arcane Academy. Today, the Staian Empire, once vassals of Collora, have begun their ascent to claim the ruins as their own. Reconstruction has been slow, and the city remains filled with unknowns. Monsters and secrets from before the fall are uncovered every day. Yet slowly, the people have returned, and a new city rises from the rubble of the old.
Battlemaps set in this location
Foomil's Orphanage
Wayward children of the capital invariably find themselves living at or visiting Foomil's Orphanage at some point. The old man who runs it, everyone calls “Uncle Foomil,” is a gentle soul who spent every coin he could to create a place for the lost children of Old Collora. He is a somewhat mysterious figure, keeping mostly to himself.
The orphanage holds a secret, one Foomil is careful to keep as concealed as possible. Inside is a record player with an unassuming record, a recording of a song Foomil made while traveling in his youth. The song was performed by a mysterious singing creature in the mountains of the Northlend Tundra, in a place called “The Loom.”
This secret record, when played for the right person, can awaken something latent within them. It stirs power that lies buried deep, unlocking a hidden part of the soul. These gifts Foomil offers to the children he fosters, in the hope of giving them a chance at a better life.
Castle Fontaine
The northern skyline of the city of Old Collora is dominated by the domed palace of the Empress, with its tired battlements and high, imposing walls. The Stai people claim there are one thousand cannons protecting the castle, and at its very pinnacle stands “Dragon,” the legendary, massive, rotating three-barreled artillery cannon. It is able to swivel in any direction, including upward toward the higher tiers of Old Collora, protecting the city from threats, even those that rise from within its own walls.
The castle is intended as the future seat of the empire and stands largely empty during the ongoing rebuilding effort. Currently, only a small portion is in use, facilitating logistics under the direction of the city's occupying mayor, Nigada Fontaine. He had the building commissioned and named in honor of his father, the historic Stai general Fontaine.
Greyguard Plaza
Home of the guild of retired heroes, the Grey Guard is made up exclusively of those who have dedicated their lives to protecting the world. They have shown time and time again that their honor and morals are beyond reproach, and their virtue is unchallengeable.
The plaza is a raised section of the city between the first and second tiers. It is a large, open, paved space with the guild hall on the western end and an exclusive tavern on the eastern. Between the two, where citizens pass through daily, stand twelve large statues arranged in a grid. Each one honors a member of the Guard who gave their life in service to the world, the ultimate sacrifice.
Their legacies are etched into the bases of their marble effigies. All Grey Guards hope to one day be counted among them, the most noble and final achievement of a life of heroics.
Inagara Graveyard
The final resting place of a large portion of the population of Collora, lost during its cataclysmic fall. The Stai people, who have since come to rebuild the city, have transformed this graveyard into a gathering place for the abandoned and desiccated remains left behind by the monsters that once ravaged the ruins. A circle of Dioten Church clerics and members of the Grey Guard have taken up permanent residence here, working tirelessly to identify the fallen and provide proper burials and funeral rites according to each individual's faith. They rely on the census documents recovered from the old Colloran Halls of Record.
Many of the dead have been gone for far too long, and so little remains of them that mass interment has become
necessary. Their bones now rest in large, repurposed stone quarries beneath the city, which serve as its catacombs.
As brave adventurers push toward the two highest tiers and attempt to drive out the lingering beasts, more structures are uncovered, restored, or torn down. With each passing day, more skeletons are unearthed and brought to Inagara Graveyard to be laid to rest.
The Church of Dioten
twice-daily declarations of intent and faith, and annual proselytization journeys for all children over the age of seventeen.
This oppressive religion was woven into every facet of Colloran life. The theocratic royalists, who declared the queen the rightful ruler by divine authority, fell with their government during the devastating loss of the Civil War. At the time, none of these extremes were openly questioned, as doubt in the faith was considered heresy. Such an offense was punishable by ten years of military service or life imprisonment.
It is little wonder that, without governmental support, fear, or propaganda, the Church has struggled to maintain its power under the new regime of Empress Elephaine Trice.
Granted a full quarter all its own, the Church of Dioten is a large grey stone building lined with statues of famous paladins and devout members of the faith. Many of the statues have fallen into disrepair or were damaged during the city’s collapse. At the front of the primary chapel stands a statue depicting a small woman, her body almost entirely composed of gauge, holding a flower and a baby lamb. This is the figure of Frea Morton, the leader and Exalt of the church. Her statue is the only one still maintained by the dwindling congregation that continues to live in this otherwise abandoned cathedral.
The Church of Dioten, god of Order and Justice, is struggling to remain relevant. Its rules and doctrine, written into its followers' lives in both great and small ways, are incredibly strict. The capital city of Collora was once constructed to function as a single, unified congregation. Before the fall, all its people were subject to state-sanctioned prayer, prescribed subjects for worship,
Highdock
Hanging high over the sheer side faces of the second ring, abandoned warehouses and dangling wooden docks sit where, many years ago, Old Collora met the sea. Since the receding of the tide, these old docks, once the heart of the capital, have become a forgotten reminder of what the world used to be. Just another page in the long and fraught history of the place many still consider the capital city of the world.
After the seas withdrew, the city pressed on. It expanded downward, building into what had once been the seafloor, extending miles outward into a newly formed lower tier. But Highdock is no longer abandoned. Airships now use the aging infrastructure originally designed for sea vessels. Stai ironclad warships regularly fly between Staian and Old Collora, using these docks to bring in materials as the empire continues its effort to rebuild.
Noctrite Crater
Shattered stone and crumbled moon rock are all that remain of the highest reach of the tired city of Old Collora. This is the place where Highcastle, the throne of the world and seat of the greatest imperial power ever mustered in the history of Crudilex, stood before it was devastated. A meteor struck the royal palace during the peak of the civil war, obliterating it and sending the royalist military government into chaos. Many saw the fall of the city as an omen, a warning of the madness that would befall the queen in her final days as the war drew to a close.
Today, the high-reach areas around the crater remain locked off. Creatures hold domain there, Lunarcs and lunar dragons roam the ruins of the old royal palace and the courtyards that once surrounded it. They never leave, and that section of the city is inaccessible to civilians.
Slowly, the area is being explored in expeditions by the Stai Silah Miarha. These Walking tanks, giant mechanical armored knights, alongside the Grey Guard conduct short scouting missions, collecting relics and uncovering what they can about the many dangerous creatures inhabiting the old palace ruins. Yet they have not made it very far, as even with all their defenses the creatures never seem to slow, tire, or die.
Za Dosión Prison
Originally constructed by the Chains of Elxiem, an extragovernmental police force dedicated to hunting those who barter with forces beyond Crudilex, intent on the world’s destruction. They were found in every corner of the world, declaring themselves beyond mortal law, as their cause was the protection of all regardless of banner. Their organization maintains many keeps worldwide, but the most publicly known is located in the heart of the Old Colloran Capital.
Inside Za Dosión are prisoners such as cultists of the Eldar, worshipers of the Ras, or the Hallowed, those who seek to bring about the end of the world. These prisoners are sentenced to death but are offered a slim chance at redemption through forced service in the Undercroft. The Undercroft lies beneath the ruins of Hillcastle and the base of the giant Noctrite meteor that destroyed the city. It is a shattered, collapsing network of tunnels, home to nearly one hundred alien species from the red moon Noctra, all fed and empowered by the giant red crystal embedded hundreds, maybe thousands, of feet below.
Prisoner expeditions are sent down with orders to build railways, establish basecamps, collect samples, gather information, and retrieve relics from below before returning to the surface. Although unbelievably dangerous, many have succeeded and been granted leave and a second chance at life.
New University of Arcana
On the eastern end of the busy second tier lie two plazas connected by a bridge. The outer edges of the plazas are lined with many blue-roofed buildings, frequented by students of all kinds. Scholars of magic study here, either enrolled in state programs or researching the Noctrite that looms over the city above.
The Empire of Staian views magic as a responsibility owed to the Empress. Every citizen undergoes a minimum of five years of schooling upon coming of age. Among the many subjects is the study of how Ley Lines function. The curriculum tests students for aptitudes across six magical disciplines. Those who show promise may be offered scholarships that provide their families with a governmental stipend while they pursue arcana here in Old Collora. These imperial-backed mages receive cutting-edge research and training in the latest magical understanding. Graduates can even continue on to advanced education in politics and industry, helping the empire grow. Some alumni even serve as advisors on Empress Elephaine’s inner council in Staian.
Red Rugs Cantina
Built on the scenic hill rise district of the lowest ring, the popular entertainment hall known as the Red Rugs Cantina opens its doors to all when the twin suns set. It is regularly filled with merry, drunken mage students from the nearby New University of Arcana. This beautiful venue combines indoor and outdoor garden spaces with flowing fountains and statues.
The cantina, constructed in the Staian style, is a favorite haunt for regional politicians and nobles, even those from across the river. This makes it an excellent place for backdoor deal-making. While the drinks and Stai food are appealing, the Red Rugs also offers a more private service to select clientele.
Politics, position, and social status are the usual topics of conversation, and the owner, Wakiba, is a Deliniator. She and her team of courtesans are hired at a high price to elevate the social status of those who employ them. Their services include tailoring, courtship, and training in manners and etiquette.
Grandma Nani's Noodles
A small, quiet noodle shop run by an aging Oku woman, easily missed along the main thoroughfare from the gates to the Church of Dioten, deep in the residential bottom ring. But Grandma Nani is far more than she appears. She is secretly a black-market weapons dealer, supplying revolutionaries, smugglers, and criminals whose arms have been confiscated at the city gates. Those she arms believe no empire should hold the city and that Old Collora should be a free city-state, quietly resisting the Staian empire’s reconstruction efforts.
Her exorbitantly priced off-menu noodles are actually coded messages. Ordering a 200-gold bowl of spicy pork noodles will get you firearms. A box of chicken and rice grants entry into the Undercroft, allowing passage beneath the city to avoid prying eyes or Imperial soldiers who ask difficult questions. Though old, Nani is the best smuggler in Old Collora.
Laboratory of Doctor Eldor Morton
The home base of the once-feared secret society in Collora known as “The Unit.” Doctor Eldor Morton, inventor of Gauge, led the Unit’s operations before the Civil War. He controlled the city’s religious population by installing his own daughter, Frea Morton, as Exalt of the god Dioten. Using this influence, he gained more and more unchecked power up until the Royalists’ defeat and the fall of Collora.
Today, his whereabouts are unknown. However, the discovery of his laboratory and its technology sparked the Gauge boom, which has since spread to every corner of the Plains of Avarice.
The statue of Trice, father of the Empress and center of the Church of Staian. The first Emperor of Staian was believed by his subjects to be a god. During their defeat in the War of Red Sands seventy years ago, he was slain at the mouth of the Caspian Volcano. His devotees say he ascended, becoming one with the soil as his mortal form burned away.
Today, his daughter Elephaine rules the throne. While she has publicly renounced the religion surrounding her family, she honors her history with this great statue of her father, Saint Trice.
In Staian’s defeat, they became vassals of Collora under its king. After the fall of the Collora empire, the Stai claimed the city. This statue stands as a clear message: Trice remembers, and now that Elephaine is empress, the world will acknowledge her as such.
Statue of Old Saint Trice
House Del Rose
Colloran imperial houses were similar to guilds or clans, families united by honor, marriage, and political alignment. Del Rose is the only such house remaining in Old Collora. The others joined the Royalist remnants in the nearby fortress city of Thom.
Del Rose were once soldiers, generals, and industrialists of the old kingdom. Today, they act less like a political party and more like a corporation. They are non-aligned arms manufacturers and military contractors, maintaining a small mercenary army loaned to the Empress during the city’s reconstruction. In exchange, they receive social and political protection from the Royalists, who view them as traitors, and independence from any particular government or faction. This allows them to maintain their pre-Civil War holdings even as the city is reborn.
Among Del Rose’s mercenary forces are soldiers fitted with Gauge-linked armor mech suits akin to the Soldat Mayari of Collora but refitted for the Empress’s needs. These walking tanks, giant mechanical armored knights, have men inside who have surrendered their humanity to her. They possess supernatural strength, regeneration, and near-impossible endurance. Known as the “Silah Miarha,” they are sworn to defend the Empress and her interests.
The Bridge to Staian
Built of sturdy sandstone and sculpted with bas-reliefs by artisans and craftsmen, the Bridge to Staian is a work of art and a wonder of Crudilex. It is a statement to the power of the Staian Empire.
The wide, strong bridge crosses the great Birch River, so vast it appears more like a lake than a river. It is regularly crowded with traffic, as it is the only easy crossing between the two cities. Soldiers and laborers commute across it daily to work on Old Collora’s restoration, returning in the evening. A few lucky travelers book passage on the ironclad airships that make twice-daily trips between the cities, but most must deal with the congested bridge at dawn and sunset.
Staian, the current seat of the empire, sits across the river. Empress Elephaine rules there until Old Collora is fully restored and ready to resume its place as a planar empire’s seat.
Constructed using a combination of Nostridinian Arcanotechs and Stai Tremor Sculptors, both the city and the bridge were built quickly and effectively. The Empress is said to be using this technique to perfect a power that can create enormous, fortifiable structures in days rather than years. Some predict she will use this power for nefarious ends once Old Collora is the center of her empire.