Aurelia

Start-class article · First seen: s10 (forces in Umbrafall); city itself unvisited · Last seen: s23 (referenced; the DM on the Cold War, the wards and the Egg's holder)
Aurelia
the Shining Bastion · the Shining Bastion of Purity · the pale city
Portrait of Aurelia.
Location
StatusUnvisited
First seens10 (forces in Umbrafall); city itself unvisited
Last seens23 (referenced; the DM on the Cold War, the wards and the Egg's holder)
FactionAurelian forces, Pure Light

Aurelia, the Shining Bastion of Purity, is the holy capital of white stone and golden spires built in rings around the palace-cathedral-fortress of Crownspire, ruled by the sacred sovereign Seraphine and bound to the Pure Light; arcane magic is forbidden within its walls (world-brief canon). It is the campaign’s principal antagonist, though the party has never entered the city: Aurelian agents took Mira Hale out of Umbrafall, Aurelian soldiers occupied Eldwythe, killed Ruin and Mike and took The Egg, and in session 19 the party abandoned its quest in Aurelia “for now” [12]. In session 23 the DM described the city’s quarrel with Arcanthys as “kind of a Cold War, sort of” [15].

Aurelia
Aurelia

Map of Aurelia
Map of Aurelia

Overview

Aurelia, the Shining Bastion of Purity, is the marble-and-gold capital of the Pure Light’s holy empire, built in broad concentric rings around the palace-cathedral-fortress of Crownspire (world-brief canon). To its people it is proof that faith, discipline and righteous rule can raise mortal civilisation above chaos; travellers speak of its order with equal parts awe and caution. Arcane magic is forbidden within its walls, and divine magic is lawful only in the service of the goddess.

It is the campaign’s principal antagonist, though the party has never entered the city. In session 10 the party learned that Aurelian agents had taken Mira Hale out of Umbrafall; Aurelian soldiers then occupied Eldwythe (session 14), beheaded Ruin and stole The Egg (session 15), and executed Mike on the road inland (session 18). After that the party abandoned its quest in Aurelia “for now” [12].

Geography and appearance

Built in rings, with status and privilege rising towards the radiant centre (world-brief canon). At the outer edges lie the gates, docks, labour quarters and military roads that keep the capital supplied. One district is named in play, the Ashward, where the dock workers and tanners live [19]. Farther in come markets, workshops, schools, shrines and public halls, then the estates of noble families and the great institutions of church and state. At the heart rises Crownspire, enclosed in its own inner walls.

The buildings are raised from pale stone mixed with Nullstone, which most citizens count a holy protection built into the city’s bones (world-brief canon). The party has seen the city only from far off: a day inland from the coast, the fields were “worked and orderly”, with fences mended and ditches cleared [20], and on leaving the party took “one last look towards the rising white towers of Aurelia” [21].

Inhabitants

For most loyal citizens life is stable and orderly: people work, marry, worship and trade under the guidance of the Church of the Pure Light and the city’s watchful guard, and even the poorest districts are tightly managed and fed (world-brief canon). Named or referenced in play:

  • Seraphine: the sovereign, first named in session 19. Not yet seen.
  • Mira Hale: taken from the Dawn Mercy Clinic; Drew last heard that she was in a barrel on its way to Dock 13 [22]. Presumed held somewhere in the city.
  • The chain-master: the elite who killed Ruin and took the Egg in session 15.
  • The binder of session 20, “a elite fighter and magic detector of Aurelia” [23]. In session 23 the DM said the man who holds the Egg “is an Aurelian binder” [16]; whether he is this binder, the chain-master, both or neither has not been said.
  • The Aurelian Paladin the party killed in session 10.
  • Hett Varn: Phil Flowerforge’s red-haired dwarf contact, with a safe house in the Ashward.

Government / control

The city is ruled by Seraphine, the sacred sovereign and living vessel of the goddess’s will, a radiant figure in golden armour whose appearances draw reverent crowds (world-brief canon). In play she is known only by report: Gristleback said she “destroyed five Archmages by herself” in the “Arcanvian War” and is “the leader of Aurelia” [24]. The law is upheld by guards in the streets, soldiers on the walls, priests in the shrines, clerks in the record halls and inquisitors charged with rooting out hidden threats (world-brief canon). The deity of the Church is Aurelia herself [25].

Magic law. The world brief says suspected casters are publicly arrested and investigated, and that what becomes of the guilty is rumour. At the table the DM has been blunter:

  • Anyone seen practising arcane magic within Aurelian borders is “rapidly executed” [15].
  • “In Aurelia the question is not did you cast a spell. It is, are you using unsanctioned arcane power” [26]. Enchanted items need a sanction, “like a gun permit” [27], and all magical equipment, healing potions included, needs a permit [28].
  • Druid magic is allowed [29], and few Aurelians have magic of their own: “No one in Aurelia is really magical” [30], though many are paladins with divine magic.
  • Tieflings are “exterminated on sight” [31].

The party knows Aurelia can detect or trace magic, but not how. In session 23 the DM mentioned “the wards in Aurelia” and said binders sense arcane usage “even more” [17]; what the wards are has not been said. Detection weakens with distance: a day out in the farmland the party did not “need to worry as much” about their magic being detected [32].

Notable features

  • Crownspire: the palace-cathedral-fortress at the centre, from which law, faith and authority radiate outward (world-brief canon).
  • Nullstone: the anti-magic mineral in the city’s masonry and on its fighters’ gear: “even normal fighters have this on” [33]. The plate Vasquez took from the session 10 paladin gives advantage on saves against arcane spells [34].
  • The Church of the Pure Light: the doctrinal arm of the state, with shrines and sanctuaries threaded through the inner rings (world-brief canon).
  • The Ashward: the outer-ring labour district, with Hett Varn’s safe house [19].
  • The Bright Gate: the entrance a patrol recommended to the party [35].
  • Old wars (world-brief canon). In the War of Fractured Heavens (582-589 A.I.) Aurelia sent its Nullstone Constructs against Arcanthys and fought to a stalemate; the peace since has been uneasy. In 631 A.I. Karvos, a city too eager to serve Aurelia, burned; dragons descended in fury, and what remained became Vhal’Zarim. The DM’s accounts of the Aurelian dragon hunts (below) have not been reconciled with each other.

History in the campaign

Session 2: The Bark, the Dryad, and the Riddle that Wasn’t a Tree

Main article: Session 2

Aurelia first appears through Cholmondeley, whose armour carried the crests of the Aurelian military; the DM said anyone would “very easily recognize” them [36]. Cholmondeley remarked that Aurelians “don’t trust any outsiders” [37]. Harvo, who said “I’ve killed many of his people” [38], eyed the insignia suspiciously [39], and Cholmondeley answered that he was “not involved in anything official anymore” [40].

Session 10: Ruin Joins, the Aurelian Conspiracy, the Plate Armour

Main article: Session 10

Aurelia became the enemy. At the Dawn Mercy Clinic the orderly Drew, frightened by Caelumn’s flames, said Aurelians “had papers” and “already had a name”, Mira Hale, who had shown magical capabilities [41]. They had taken her away; he thought she was in Aurelia by now [42]. The Broker had heard that people with magical gifts “have a tendency of going missing” there [43]. In an Umbrafall alley the party killed an Aurelian Paladin, “blessed by Aurelia” [44], and took his Nullstone plate.

Session 11: Owlbears and the Soulbinder

Main article: Session 11

Aurelia’s shadow reached the road east. A father mending a handcart warned the party that “people with magic rarely make it” near Aurelian territory [45] and disliked “what they did with those dragons back in the day” [46]. The DM added that the Aurelians had hunted nearly all chromatic dragons to near extinction together with Vhal’Zarim, which is why the party’s quest is so hard [47]. Hugo put his dragon-skull helmet away in his bag [48].

Session 12: Eldwythe and the Candy Cottage

Main article: Session 12

In Eldwythe Thomas Feld said the town stays out of the politics of Umbrafall, Arcanthys and Aurelia, since it lies between them [49]. He had seen no Aurelian soldiers with a prison carriage, as Caelumn described, but guessed that anyone shipped from Umbrafall would go by “a pretty well traveled” route to Aurelia [50]: the first pointer in the search for Mira Hale.

Session 14: The Gummy Mummy and Aurelian Eldwythe

Main article: Session 14

Eldwythe was under Aurelian banners when the party came back: white and gold on the palisade, soldiers in pale tabards with the sunburst of Aurelia, and notices at the gate describing all five of them [51][52]. Back at the clearing, the DM told them that only people from Arcanthys can get away with arcane magic near Aurelia, and that “tieflings are exterminated on sight” [53][31]. The party knew Aurelia hunts arcane users but not how.

Session 15: The Death of Ruin and Althea Joins

Main article: Session 15

An Aurelian patrol chased Althea Stormsoro into the party’s camp. Mharos urged Vasquez to “blame the arcane on her”; Vasquez took the blame himself, and a chain tore off Ruin’s head [54]. The patrol’s archer killed Asger [55]. In the cloud of Phil Flowerforge’s smoke bomb a chain pulled Caelumn’s backpack, with the Egg in it, into the dark [56]. Phil led them into the sewers, hounds on their trail [57].

Session 16: Through the Sewers, Onto the Skiff

Main article: Session 16

The Aurelians held the end of the Eldwythe sewers and the party slipped past them [9] to a skiff. They had found a Hat of Disguise to turn Vasquez into a dwarf [58], and Terry argued that Bladesong “isn’t technically magic, it’s dancing” [59]. The session ended with the sails set “towards the pale city of Aurelia” [60].

Session 17: New Hands, the Black Mask’s Renegotiation, and the Rimeclaw

Main article: Session 17

The DM retconned the s16 ending: Vasquez and Althea had split off and been captured by the Aurelians, and the hat was destroyed [61][62]. The party met Mike and Steven on the wreck of an Aurelian ship, “chased down” and sunk [63][64]. A fisher, Nessa, who made the sign of Aurelia [65], said her husband had been taken “into the road offices” over what the officers called “unauthorized studies” [66]; who runs those offices is not said. A coastal patrol boat passed at a distance [67].

Session 18: The Wyrm Falls, the Catfish Escapes, and Mike Dies on the Road

Main article: Session 18

After the skiff was wrecked, the party swam ashore on the Aurelian coast (Aurelian coast landfall (s18)) and walked inland. A patrol of three armoured knights and a priestly figure stopped them [68]; its leader told them to register at the gate [69]. When Mike tried to cast, the priest raised a finger [70] and the lead knight beheaded him [71]. The patrol recommended the Bright Gate [35]. The DM stated Aurelian doctrine on unsanctioned arcane power [26].

Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark

Main article: Session 19

The party voted to abandon the Egg raid “for now” [12]: one small patrol had shown their limits, and all magical equipment needed a permit [28]. They gave Aurelia’s towers one last look and turned back [21]. Gristleback told Steven that Seraphine rules Aurelia [24], and Father Thomas, a Pure Light priest, said he had “taken a leave from my order” and joined the party [72].

Session 20: The Man Who Was Always Here

Main article: Session 20

An Aurelian binder, with a mastiff and two archers, visited the camp at night; Father Thomas bluffed him until a light in the sky drew him away [23][73]. The party crossed the Eldwythe Bridge checkpoint as hired guards, and once in the town the DM confirmed “You have left Aurelia” [74]. In Eldwythe the occupation had lifted: new doors, and “pale squares” where Aurelian notices had been torn down [75]. The DM also said Aurelia had nearly wiped out the chromatic dragons together with another city, since destroyed [76].

Session 22: The Dragon in the Statue

Main article: Session 22

In the ridge temple Father Thomas recognised the bolt in the silver dragon wyrmling Rime as “an Aurelian bolt” [77]. Rime said “Aurelian hunters found me” and tracked him there [78]. A History check recalled that Aurelia and Vhal’Zarim had hunted dragons to near extinction, the metallic ones too [79][80].

Session 23: The Changeling in Manacles

Main article: Session 23

Aurelia was spoken of from inside the same temple. The DM told Kole that Arcanthys and Aurelia were in “a Cold War, sort of” and that arcane casters in Aurelian borders were “rapidly executed” [15]. He said the man who holds the Egg “is an Aurelian binder” and that binders sense arcane use “even more than the wards in Aurelia” [16][17]. Whether binders may pursue people beyond the borders was left hanging [18]. The party’s plan: “We’re not going back to Aurelia until we’re strong enough” [81].

Status

As of session 23. Unvisited. The party never reached the White Lantern Shrine and has been north of Aurelian territory since session 20; The Egg and Mira Hale are both presumed to be in Aurelian hands, and the Egg’s exact location is unknown. Aurelia and Arcanthys stand in what the DM calls “kind of a Cold War, sort of” [15].

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 2, line 234-240: Cholmondeley wears the crests of the Aurelian military; Harvo is suspicious.
  2. ^ Session 10, line 643-666: Drew confesses Aurelian abductions to Aurelia.
  3. ^ Session 10, line 794-1054: Aurelian Paladin ambush; Nullstone plate identified.
  4. ^ Session 11, line 841-852: A handcart father warns of Aurelia; the DM on the Aurelian hunt of the chromatic dragons.
  5. ^ Session 12, line 424-437: Thomas Feld on Eldwythe's neutrality and the shipping route from Umbrafall to Aurelia.
  6. ^ Session 14, line 1556-1561: Aurelian forces occupy Eldwythe.
  7. ^ Session 15, line 100-119: Aurelian chain-master executes Ruin.
  8. ^ Session 15, line 500-504: The Egg is stolen by an Aurelian chain.
  9. ^ Session 16, line 1603: The Aurelians hold the end of the Eldwythe sewers; the party takes a skiff.
  10. ^ Session 17, line 130-140: Retcon that Vasquez and Althea were captured by Aurelians; the wreck of an Aurelian ship.
  11. ^ Session 18, line 1988-2012: Aurelian patrol on the road inland; Mike executed (L2276).
  12. ^ Session 19, line 229: The party abandons its quest in Aurelia for now; permit rule at L242-243.
  13. ^ Session 20, line 267-295: Aurelian binder patrol visits the camp.
  14. ^ Session 22, line 901-910: An Aurelian bolt in Rime; Aurelian and Vhal'Zarim dragon hunts.
  15. ^ Session 23, line 1299: DM: Arcanthys "has been in open confrontation with Aurelia for quite a while, and now it's kind of a Cold War, sort of"; anyone "seen practicing arcane magic within Aurelian Borders" is "rapidly executed".
  16. ^ Session 23, line 1357: DM, of the man who holds the Egg: "you know that he is an Aurelian binder".
  17. ^ Session 23, line 1359: DM: binders "can sense arcane usage even more than the wards in Aurelia".
  18. ^ Session 23, line 1360-1363: A hedged exchange at the table on whether binders have "the authority to pursue people beyond Aurelian borders"; not a ruling.
  19. ^ Session 15, line 655: Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 18, line 1866: Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 19, line 1045: Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 10, line 688-692: Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 20, line 267: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 19, line 658-660: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 20, line 754: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 18, line 2176: Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 18, line 2378-2380: Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 19, line 242-243: Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 17, line 94: Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 10, line 1685: Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 14, line 1619: Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 19, line 1071: Inline citation.
  33. ^ Session 10, line 1687: Inline citation.
  34. ^ Session 10, line 1784: Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 18, line 2304: Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 2, line 240: Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 2, line 266: Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 2, line 238: Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 2, line 290: Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 2, line 288: Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 10, line 648-652: Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 10, line 666: Inline citation.
  43. ^ Session 10, line 1151-1153: Inline citation.
  44. ^ Session 10, line 836: Inline citation.
  45. ^ Session 11, line 841: Inline citation.
  46. ^ Session 11, line 850: Inline citation.
  47. ^ Session 11, line 852: Inline citation.
  48. ^ Session 11, line 853: Inline citation.
  49. ^ Session 12, line 424: Inline citation.
  50. ^ Session 12, line 437: Inline citation.
  51. ^ Session 14, line 1556: Inline citation.
  52. ^ Session 14, line 1561: Inline citation.
  53. ^ Session 14, line 1616: Inline citation.
  54. ^ Session 15, line 111-119: Inline citation.
  55. ^ Session 15, line 160-164: Inline citation.
  56. ^ Session 15, line 496-501: Inline citation.
  57. ^ Session 15, line 541: Inline citation.
  58. ^ Session 16, line 1670-1676: Inline citation.
  59. ^ Session 16, line 1685: Inline citation.
  60. ^ Session 16, line 1753: Inline citation.
  61. ^ Session 17, line 130-136: Inline citation.
  62. ^ Session 17, line 785: Inline citation.
  63. ^ Session 17, line 140: Inline citation.
  64. ^ Session 17, line 200: Inline citation.
  65. ^ Session 17, line 978: Inline citation.
  66. ^ Session 17, line 973: Inline citation.
  67. ^ Session 17, line 1187: Inline citation.
  68. ^ Session 18, line 1988: Inline citation.
  69. ^ Session 18, line 2012: Inline citation.
  70. ^ Session 18, line 2044: Inline citation.
  71. ^ Session 18, line 2276: Inline citation.
  72. ^ Session 19, line 708: Inline citation.
  73. ^ Session 20, line 295: Inline citation.
  74. ^ Session 20, line 696: Inline citation.
  75. ^ Session 20, line 553: Inline citation.
  76. ^ Session 20, line 1263: Inline citation.
  77. ^ Session 22, line 901: Inline citation.
  78. ^ Session 22, line 904: Inline citation.
  79. ^ Session 22, line 909: Inline citation.
  80. ^ Session 22, line 910: Inline citation.
  81. ^ Session 23, line 1387: Inline citation.