The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark - Book I (49 page)

House Ghallanda carries the Mark of Hospitality, which allows its bearers to provide shelter and sustenance. The mark first appeared among the nomadic halflings of the Talenta Plains, but the Ghallanda line has spread throughout Khorvaire and dominates the inn and tavern trade in the Five Nations.

House Jorasco carries the Mark of Healing. House Jorasco has established houses of healing in all of the major cities of Khorvaire, and during the war many nations hired Jorasco heirs to accompany their soldiers into battle. The heirs of House Jorasco are halflings.

House Kundarak carries the Mark of Warding. This mark allows its bearers to lay magical alarms and traps. By combining the powers of its mark with the vast mineral wealth of the Ironroot Mountains, House Kundarak has established itself as the greatest bank of Khorvaire. Only dwarves can hold the Mark of Warding.

House Lyrandar carries the Mark of Storm. This grants power over wind and weather, and in addition to selling their services as raincallers the Lyrandar have long dominated the shipping trade. A recent alliance with House Cannith allowed the Lyrandar to produce elemental airships. Only a storm heir can control the elemental that provides propulsion for one of these flying vessels. The ships themselves are rare and expensive, but already the airship is beginning to revolutionize transportation in Khorvaire. The heirs of the Mark of Storm are half-elves.

House Medani carries the Mark of Detection, whose bearers can sense hidden threats. Medani is a small house that sells its services to nobles and others in need of security. Where House Deneith specializes in physical protection, House Medani defends its charges from subtle attacks—poison, magic, and other hidden threats. The heirs of House Medani are half-elves.

House Orien carries the Mark of Passage, providing powers of motion—speed, flight, and even teleportation. Members of the
house serve as couriers and scouts. Orien also dominates the trade of ground transportation, including mundane caravans and the elementally charged lightning rail, a form of swift transport that links the major cities of Khorvaire. The heirs of House Orien are human.

House Phiarlan carries the Mark of Shadow, which holds powers of illusion, deception, and scrying. The house has turned these powers to the art of entertainment, and the skills of actors, musicians, and acrobats of Phiarlan are legendary. However, there are rumors that the house is involved in espionage, using its powers of shadow to move unseen and spy upon the unwary. The heirs of House Phiarlan are elves.

House Sivis carries the Mark of Scribing, with power over the written and spoken word. The gnomes of House Sivis are renowned as translators, barristers, scribes, and mediators, but their greatest achievement is the network of message stones. Imbued with precious dragonshards, these stones can carry the words of an heir across great distances, and this system is the key to long-distance communication in Khorvaire.

House Tharashk carries the Mark of Finding. Heirs of the house serve as prospectors, bounty hunters, and inquisitives, using the powers of the mark to find things that are lost or hidden. Tharashk is a young house that has recently emerged from the Shadow Marches. The house includes humans, orcs, and their halfbreed offspring. Both humans and halfbreeds can manifest the mark.

House Thuranni first appeared in 972 YK, when a group of elves split off from House Phiarlan. The fledgeling house also carries the Mark of Shadow. While its members are skilled artisans, they are also said to be deadly assassins and spies, and they are considerably more aggressive than their Phiarlan counterparts.

House Vadalis carries the Mark of Handling, which allows an heir to influence the behavior of animals. Vadalis trains and breeds all manner of creatures, from simple livestock and mounts to hippogriffs and other exotic beasts. For centuries, the heirs of Vadalis have been working to enhance mundane creatures with the power of magic. These magebred creatures are superior to their traditional counterparts in many ways. The heirs of Vadalis are human.

The City of Sharn

Sharn is the largest city in Khorvaire and one of the wonders of the modern age, a symbol of what can be accomplished with magic and skill. Little useable land exists on the edge of the Dagger River, but Sharn stretches up into the sky. The tips of its tallest spires are over a mile in height. Only magic could support the columns of Sharn, and the spells woven into the stone are unique to the city. Sharn is built on a manifest zone, where the wall between physical reality and the mystical domain of Syrania has worn thin. The energy of Syrania lends power to spells of flight and levitation, and it is this that keeps the towers from tumbling. Skycoaches, levitating disks, and flying beasts are all used to support commerce and communication within Sharn. It is truly inspiring to see the hippogriffs circling the glittering spires of Daggerwatch as the last rays of the sun fall over the towers.

Sharn is divided both horizontally and vertically. Along the base of the city, it is split into five regions called
quarters
. The five quarters of Sharn are Dura, Central Plateau, Tavick’s Landing, Northedge, and Menthis Plateau.

Vertically, these clusters of towers are broken into three distinct levels or
wards
. Thus a citizen of Sharn may refer to Upper Central, Middle Dura, or Lower Northedge.

Each Ward is subdivided into a cluster of neighborhoods known as
districts
. Each of these districts often caters towards a particular segment of the population or a particular field. The Bazaar of Middle Dura is a mercantile district, while the Daggerwatch district of Upper Dura is a garrison.

In addition to the system of quarters, wards, and districts, Sharn extends farther above and below. The district of Skyway actually floats above Sharn, supported by a vast disk of magical force. Below the streets of the lower wards lie the twisting tunnels of the Cogs and Khyber’s Gate, home to the sewers and foundries that maintain the city. Deeper still are the remnants of human and goblin settlements buried by shifting stone and ancient wars.

Sharn has been a center of trade and communication for centuries. When this Last War began, the population of Sharn included people of all of the Five Nations along with Zil gnomes,
Mror dwarves, Talenta halflings, goblins, and others. Many of the nationals fled and returned to their homelands, but others had been established in Sharn for generations. While they still held to the customs of their homelands, they nonetheless had deep roots in the city. Over the course of the war, many of these foreign nationals were relocated into secured districts, such as High Walls. Nonetheless, the population remained. In the wake of the destruction of Cyre, many refugees from that ruined land have traveled to Sharn in search of relatives still living in the City of Towers.

The Outer Planes

Twelve moons circle Eberron, but in addition to these physical satellites, the world has spiritual satellites—mystical shadows that move in and out of phase with physical reality. These planes are ideas made manifest, realms governed by a single concept. Death, darkness, ice, light—all have their place in the outer planes.

There are many fanciful tales of people who have managed to visit one of the outer planes, either through powerful magic or bizarre circumstances. The halfling hero Calazar Tash is said to have dived into the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon only to find himself in Fernia. But travel between Eberron and these spiritual shadows is a rarity. Instead, people typically perceive the planes through the effects their motion has on Eberron itself. Just as moons shape the tides, the strange motion of the planes influences reality. When the plane of Lamannia is remote, crops fail and animals become infertile. When it comes into close alignment with Eberron, all life seems to be more vibrant and fertile. In addition to these shifting influences, there are a few places where the spiritual walls are unusually thin. In these manifest zones, the laws of nature and magic may be twisted. One of the best-known examples of this is the city of Sharn, which is located on a manifest zone tied to Syrania. This connection to the Azure Sky enhances magic of flight and levitation, and this in turn empowers the enchantments that support the massive towers.

To date, mystics have identified thirteen distinct planes of existence.

Daavni, the Perfect Order, is a realm of absolute structure and law.

Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams, is a realm touched by mortal spirits when they sleep. It is a place of nightmares and wonders and is said to be the source of the spirits of the kalashtar.

Dolurrh, the Realm of the Dead, draws in the souls of those who die on Eberron. It is a bleak and dismal place, but in time, all memory fades. Many sages and priests believe that when memory fades away, the spirit passes on to another form of existence. The Church of the Silver Flame says that noble souls join with the Flame, increasing its power and purity. Some followers of the Sovereign Host believe that when souls pass beyond Dolurrh they join the Sovereigns in a higher realm, while others believe that the Sovereigns send souls back to Eberron to be born again. The true answer—if there is one—remains a mystery.

Fernia, the Sea of Fire, is an ocean of lava interspersed with firestorms and plates of compressed ash. Legends speak of vast cities of brass, powerful spirits formed of living flame, and glorious treasures waiting to be plucked from the depths of the fire.

Irian, the Eternal Day, is a realm of pure light. A brilliant white sun bathes a crystalline landscape broken by rivers of liquid glass and mountains of quartz. Healing energies suffuse this realm, and when it is close to Eberron the world is filled with color and life.

Kythri, the Churning Chaos, is a realm in constant flux. All things can be found there but nothing remains stable.

Lamannia, the Twilight Forest, is the plane of primal nature. Elemental spirits, exotic animals, werewolves, and strange creatures inhabit the primordial groves and plains of Lamannia, and when it touches Eberron nature reaches its peak.

Mabar, the Endless Night, is a region of pure darkness. It devours the life and light of anyone unfortunate enough to be drawn in. When it touches Eberron the nights grow long and cold, and the forces of darkness reach the height of their powers.

Risia, the Plain of Ice, is an endless field of ice and snow. Stories speak of giants, dragons, and fantastic treasures buried beneath the ice, frozen and trapped until the end of time.

Shavarath, the Eternal Battlefield, is the embodiment of war. Armies of fiends and celestials engage in endless battles over these barren plains. Whirling storms of blades sweep across the region, deadly manifestations of pure violence. When the realm draws close to Eberron, these blades can spill into areas of great violence. During the Last War, a few battles were ended by the whirling blades of Shavarath.

Syrania, the Azure Sky, is a realm of silver towers floating in an endless sky. It is a place of perfect peace and beauty, as well as being the plane that gives strength to the magic of Sharn.

Thelanis, the Faerie Court, is a sylvan realm filled with all manner of mischievous and elemental spirits. Naiads, dryads, and sylphs watch visitors with curious eyes, while in the great citadels the fey lords engage in eternal revels and cunning games. It is a place of powerful magic, but bargaining with the fey can be dangerous for mortals.

Xoriat, the Realm of Madness, cannot be tied to a single description. Each visitor sees it differently, and it is the rare traveler who looks upon Xoriat and returns with his sanity. It is the home of the Daelkyr, malevolent spirits who destroyed the goblin empire of Khorvaire and sought to shatter the world itself. The Gatekeeper druids stopped these fiends, and those trapped on Eberron were bound in the depths of Khyber. The magic of the Gatekeepers prevents Xoriat from moving into alignment with Eberron, but the Cults of the Dragon Below have long sought to counter the druidic magic and pull this realm back toward reality.

The Religions of Eberron

The primary religions of Eberron draw on a system of shared beliefs. The creation myth of the three dragons forms a common foundation for all of the common religions. Both the Sovereigns and the Silver Flame arose after the world was created, as opposed to shaping the universe through divine power. Likewise, few people question that the souls of the dead go to the plane of
Dolurrh, but spirits only remain in Dolurrh for a few decades, and there is a considerable difference of opinion as to what lies beyond. The Church of the Silver Flame believes that true followers join with the flame beyond Dolurrh, while those who worship the Blood of Vol claim that oblivion is all that waits after the plane of death.

The most influential religions on Khorvaire are the Church of the Silver Flame and the Sovereign Host.

The Sovereign Host and the Dark Six

The worship of the Sovereign Host and the Dark Six is the oldest known religion in Khorvaire. Each of the Sovereigns embodies a particular concept, and slight variations of the Sovereigns can be found among many different races and cultures. Some say that even the dragons worship the Nine, and in some of the oldest images the Sovereigns are depicted as dragons themselves.

Worship of the Sovereigns varies by culture. While there are churches and shrines dedicated to each deity, it is largely a matter of personal devotion. A merchant will call upon Kol Korran to guide him through a trade, offer a prayer to Olladra when he goes to gamble with the proceeds, and beg Dol Dorn to guide his hands when he’s mugged later that night.

There are a total of fifteen deities associated with this mythology. The nine Sovereigns embody positive and benevolent ideas and are called upon for guidance and protection. The Dark Six are sinister and malevolent, and their names are not spoken. The followers of the Host rely on the Sovereigns to shield them from the powers of the Six. Different races often have different names for the Sovereigns. The names presented here are those used by the people of Galifar.