Stavenn

To understand Stavenn, one must understand the unique history that makes it what it is today. Founded by Kalika Aisling way back before The Awakening, it has ancient roots as the dominant city of Aetherius. As the first prophetess of Aesir, God of War, she had a clear vision; that of a unified and trained populace with which to control the world through military action. She fled the stagnant township of Caanae with a small group of followers, and began the work of uniting the feuding tribes of the southern region.

Among the original tribes were a mountainous folk, who tapped the resources of their mountains to produce bronze and steel instruments of war. The valley adjacent to the mountainous region housed a large village of fearsome warriors. They were a previously nomadic tribe of gypsies, hardened by generations of traveling through the lands. Upon making their home in the valley, the mountainous people waged war with them, and they adapted quickly and fiercely to a truculent existence. The modern city of Stavenn is situated on the meeting grounds of these two tribes' ancestral lands, with part of the city extending up into the adjoining mountain.

As time went on, people from distant cities flocked to the city of Stavenn, seeking refuge from the hordes that ravaged the lands. They set up just on the interior of the main gates, making their little slice of Stavenn a diverse area in both architecture and culture.

History

Stavenn's Founding, and the Generation War

In the year 500 AH, Kalika Aisling, the great-great-granddaughter of Ayva and Yaksha, had a vision of her own that led her to form the Cult of Aesir, God of War. He chose her as his first Prophetess and encouraged her to leave Caanae, travel south, and unite the tribes of the southern region under His Patronage. For centuries, Stavenn grew slowly while Caanae prospered, which would soon reach its tipping point in the year 589 AH, when Czevak harnessed the citizenry's hatred towards Caanae to gain power and authority over the military. He then kicked off the Generation War with a swift attack on Caanae that was summarily turned back by Caanae's defenders.

The war ended sometime around the year 614 AH, when Czevak was 50 years old. He personally led troops north to Caanae and engaged them in a battle that became known as the Red Siege. In this battle, Czevak personally fought Elder Nathariel and was killed, which broke the spirit of his troops and ended the Generation War.

The Rise of the Siege Machine

In the year 775 AH, the High Council of Stavenn sent scholars into Caanae under the guise of architects looking to build a temple to Avasyu. In reality, they were stealing mathematical formulas from the astronomers of the Academia Sylvalis that allowed one to calculate the trajectory of shooting stars. The scholars returned to Stavenn and turned over the formulas to Czezlo Tota, who used them to create the blueprint for a massive siege machine that could catapult boulders through the air with terrifying and deadly accuracy. Those machines would be used against Caanae in the War of Avarice, which began sometime near the year 850 AH and lasted for approximately seven years. Both Stavenn and Caanae claimed victory in this war, and both were left severely weakened and lacking supplies.

Stavenn's Dominance, and the Birth of the Noctusari

The Horde that decimated the city of Caanae in the year 100 AA did not travel further south to attack Stavenn, which ultimately led to the city's rise to dominance over Aetherius in the early Second Age. Survivors of the attack on Caanae fled to Stavenn and begrudgingly became citizens, and the city was allowed to flourish for several years with almost no outside interference; the greatest threat to Stavenn actually came from within. Underground groups of magick users alarmed Stavenn's High Council and provoked Gautier Lajos to pass a law in the year 150 AA that prohibited the use of magick within the city.

The law did not stop Ayasha and Galen Gazali from finding fellow practitioners of magick and banding together. Their sect survived underground and they developed their skills in secret, and they went unnoticed for almost five years before being discovered. When citizens of Stavenn learned of this threat lurking just beneath the shadows, a massive wave of anti-magick hysteria led to the systematic persecution and murder of anyone suspected of "witchcraft". This period of Stavenn's history became known as the Burning Times.

The few members of the sect that managed to survive vowed to avenge their fallen comrades, and formally became known as the Noctusari. They also began to worship Nemesis, Goddess of Wrath. Over time, the members of the Noctusari secretly gained power within the ruling structure of the city.

Stavenn's Imperialism

In the year 200 AA, Stavenn began to establish the imperialistic rule over the lands of Aetherius that it is still known for to this day. Scouts and exploration parties were sent to discover new lands for conquest, which is how Jaden Magnar came to discover the village of Kinsarmar in the year 207 AA. The villagers there were survivors of the fall of Caanae and were immediately hostile to the Stavennites, which incensed the city's leaders, such as Mahina Idris, and encouraged them to return in the year 209 AA to easily seize control over the growing settlement. Misae Jerica was appointed as Kinsarmar's first governor and established a series of stiff taxes and tariffs against the citizens of Kinsarmar.

Not everyone in Stavenn and Kinsarmar supported its imperialism. In the year 300 AA, a woman by the name of Lyria began a rebellion with a surprise attack upon the city guard and the Stavenn-appointed leaders. The Night of Morr's Embrace succeeded in liberating Kinsarmar, but only for a brief period of time. It was also during this time that a group of pacifists in Stavenn openly opposed the High Council and were marched out into the Shaahri Desert to die. The survivors found their way to a fertile oasis and developed a small settlement there, which would grow to become the city of Antioch.

In the year 400 AA, Kinsarmar again rose up against its oppressors and succeeded in expelling them from the city, but it did not take long for the Stavennite military to begin marching towards Kinsarmar in a quest to regain control. This time would be different, though, because as soldiers passed through the Khandava Forest, the very trees and wildlife resisted their movements and fought back against them. Very few survivors were able to return to Stavenn and quickly rumors spread of the attack being led by lithe humanoid beings with blades. When Kinsarmar learned of this, they sent people into the forest to find evidence of this phenomena, and it was then that they discovered the elves and lycaeans, led in part by Lyria, the rebel who first overthrew Stavenn rule.

Stavenn would discover its own unique race of people in the year 550 AA, when explorers in the distant jungles came across reptilian beings transformed by the power Moradeim. The kohdon became a significant part of Stavenn's military force at the time.

The Noctusari Corruption

In the year 1000 AA, a man named Asa Grady walked through the streets of the city late one night and noticed a strange gathering of the High Council and other members of the city's government. He watched from outside as the meeting proceeded to look more like a sinister blood rite, and realized that this was a meeting of the Noctusari. Grady quickly alerted the citizenry to the ritual and once they saw it for themselves, the Stavennites quickly captured the Noctusari members, including Anoki Fauve, and sentenced them to death for treason.

300 years later, Acacia Farrell became the leader of the High Council while also secretly serving as a high-ranking member of the Noctusari. The citizenry were called to the government building for an emergency meeting, where the council revealed that the city was now controlled by the Noctusari. Mordecai Vega attempted a rebellion but the newly-formed Diavlous guard quickly executed him and his allies.

Malignists and the Moon of Terror

The Malignists were an offshoot of the Noctusari, dedicated to the belief that Sukdher, the Moon of Terror, could be used to strengthen Stavenn's might. Their rituals caused Sukdher to move dangerously close to the ground, allowing rifts to open up and allow demons from the Demonic Realm to enter the Prime Material Plane. A Saboteur from Kinsarmar was tasked with infiltrating the guildhall of the Malignists and kill them, effectively ending the ritual and allowing Sukdher to return to its normal orbit. The rifts closed and all remaining demons were killed.

Stavenn's Revolution

Indica Elochai Ihsan Nessaja Spear of Nathariel Lalitana Chytovil

Notable Denizens

Landmarks

Iudicatus Castigatio

The prison and judicial branch of the Stavenn government.

Quests and Activities

A whetstone for Hilo -
Drunken Old Soldier -
Finding a lost parchment -
For the Empire -
Hooked on Hulo -
Saving a page from his master's ire -