Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #243

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #243 

September 1st, 2023 

• Number: 243 

• Name:  Deep Dive on a Site of Interest: The Borderlands – Part 5 

• Location: In the Borderlands southwest of Ulono Atu and southeast of South Plains Tar 

• Population (approx.): 30 

• Brief:  Years, after Ta’arna’s fall, ago a “Dirt Devil” (a minor magician dealing in earth magicks) followed a ley line across the Borderlands. She stumbled into a spherical cavern where a loop in the magicks formed a whirling mass of stone and rock. The magician managed to convince other stone singers of Pala, the Earth God, to come to the site and behold what she had found. 

• Years later, the Cult of Shattered Stone, a remnant of forces involved in the fall of the Empire, maintains its headquarters in this hidden cavern. Working together, the earth enchanters managed to tap the ley line, slow and stabilize the swirling masses and formed an organized structure. It is an Orrery of a sort, with an altar at its center. The magicians meet to wield the magicks of the ley line in various rituals, usually of construction and destruction. 

• Micarva 'Mic' Tinn, 78, female “Drow” (Night Elf), is a Magician who works at the orrery for the Cult of the Shattered Stone. She is of average height and has an aquiline nose. Her black hair is unusually curly for a Drow, a source of great pride for Mic. Mic has deep purple eyes, and her lips are in a perpetual sneer. Mic wears robes that have the cult's symbols embroidered all over it. Her favorite weapon is a long dagger with runes to draw extra blood. 

• Mic has been part of the Cult of the Shattered Stone for many years. She has risen through the ranks and become an advisor to the leadership. Most of her talent is in ritual magic, and she provides stability to the Orrery by drawing from the ley lines and parsing the magic to other magicians.  

• Mic has one apprentice, Relona, 25, Half-Elf. Relona had just joined the cult, and Mic reluctantly agreed to take her on. At first, Mic gave Relona paltry spells to practice and lots of grunt work. Now, she has taught her the beginnings of ritual magic with a few surprise spells thrown in. Mic talks to a few other people during the day and only spends time with other magicians when necessary for the rituals. 

• Geography: The Orrery of Pala is about two weeks hard trek into the Borderlands either southwest of Ulono Atu (#204) or southeast of South Plains Tar (#68). The altar is a flattened stone about 40 feet across in the center of the hollow chamber almost 100 feet across. A path leads through a narrow defile to a ledge connected to the altar by a rope and wood bridge. The Cult of the Shattered Stone occupies a series of caves on either side of the entryway carved by hand and magic into the stone surrounding the Orrery. The Cult plots the return of a darker, more forceful Ta’arnan Empire to the lands outside of the Borderlands. They wait for a sign from Pala that a great plan is in motion.