Nightfall

The Darkness Encroaches

The world is waking from its Dream. Urd-Ashak, the city built on the first light of waking, has risen in unfettered glory from the dawn of that first day. But now, words from afar bring confusion and fear to this bastion. The eudor, the folk from an arid south, bring a promise of new wakings, but dangerous monsters prowl the wilds along with them. Worse, whispers spread through the city of folk of unknown provenance who emerge from below and beyond the world bearing malice.

In Urd-Ashak, the folk light beacons in the darkness to dispel such notions and pray to the spirits for succor. After all, the waking brings only the fulfillment of a promise for good. Doesn't it?

Player Characters

• Ardrynn, erephim wizard, hermit background; played by Joe
• Seswyr, Ocaithe Barbarian; played by Jeff
• Balaam, played by Adam
• Naanna-En, played by Chuk
• Iolande, mero/bard; played by Jamie

Features of Urd-Ashak

Streets and Roads

One of the defining features of the city is its elaborate system of paved streets that mapped the growth of the settlement from town to city. Quite literally, in fact, as members of what in modern times is the Order of Haman'suri worked in communion with the spirit to determine the optimal street layout for such growth.

The streets of the city connect to the great roadways that radiate out from the city across the plains. The construction of roadways, too, falls under the purview of the Order of Haman'suri, as it extends the city's connection to distant communities.

Walls and Gates

Two sets of walls have been built over the generations. The original set were simply the city walls until construction began on the newer, larger set. The original walls, which enclose the oldest parts of the city, were named the Sky-Blessed Ramparts, while the new set was named the Walls of Four Directions. City folk mostly refer to them as the ramparts and the walls, as most dwellers think of travel within the city as either in toward the ramparts or out toward the walls.

The gates allowing passage through either set of walls have always been held in great significance. Every gate has its own name and set of decorations and usually a combination of spirits and lore associated with it. Much of the city's history is enshrined in the mosaics, paintings, and sculpture that adorn the gates.

Among the most significant of the gates are the Cardinal Gates that serve as the main entrances to the city, each one set at exactly its cardinal direction and paired with a major roadway stretching in that direction. Of these, the Esthir Gate, marking the East, is considered primary and the proper main entrance to the city. The Esthir Gate commemorates the erephims' journey after the first waking, as the folk followed the waking east across the plains toward the rising sun each day.