Cities and Towns
Nexus, The City of All Races
The City of the Nexus was the last major population center remaining free on the continent after the fall of Tholm. Built on top of the ruins of the ancient Daer'lin city from lore, it has become home to members of all allied races.
Nexus City was the main focal point during the Goblin invasions due to its unique defiance of the Hoardes. It had a strong magical barrier surrounding the city, which prevented the more powerful of the Goblin forces from entering. After the Goblins defeat, there was no more need to maintain the barrier or much of the standing Army.
Millennia of relatively peaceful times have seen the once great Hero's of Nexus fade away into the history books, and the Gods have not been heard or felt in nearly as long. Yet the lurking evil seems to be stirring once more in the world of Altin, with reports of strange attacks throughout the land and undead rising from graves. The city guards work tirelessly to keep the streets safe, but are calling for any volunteers to help.
Many heroes have once again risen from the ranks of Nexus City's populace and surrounding lands, and it currently serves as the headquarters and coordination point for all efforts by the Allied Races.
Rymek, The Town of Seafolk
Rymek started as a small fishing village to the south of the City of Nexus, nestled along the Sea of Tears. The Townsfolk are a peaceful lot and enjoy the commerce brought on by the sea trade. During the war, the Heroes of Nexus and its Militia drove much of the Goblin Hoardes out of the south, and patrolled the roads to keep things that way. Rymek was a vital source of food from the bountiful coastal waters, which Goblins couldn't burn down as they did with the crop fields.
After the Goblin defeat and during the long peace that followed, Rymek's population exploded alongside its prosperity. After Falcion was reclaimed by the Dragons, Rymek became the prime destination for new travelers and adventurers to the lands. When the city expanded its ports, Rymek also became a major trading hub for distant lands and brought supplies in for the surrounding inland cities.
The busy city has been fortified with walls and city archers to accommodate its growth, and now serves as the hub for new heroes to start their training against the growing evils in the world. The port of Rymek currently provides transport to an unnamed island off in the distance to the south. It is home to many creatures and sailors warn captains to steer clear of a coral reef off the island's southwest coast.
Talmet, The Elven Palace
Some say Talmet is older than Nexus itself, while others place its age around that of Rymek. Little is known about the actual founding of this beautiful blend of nature and Elven building aesthetics, high above the northern Eldane Forest. It was formed by ancient magic, warping and growing the immense trees in the area to accommodate the elegant Elven structures. This lack of historical archives is in part due to the burning of the city, likely multiple times in the ancient past, but at least once on record.
This magic also protects and slowly restores the ancient Eldane trees, as discovered after the Goblins were defeated. During the war this town was besieged and set to the torch, with many believing it completely destroyed. However, after some scouts went back to the site decades later, they noticed the trees were not dead after all. The blackened charred bark was slowly being pushed off by a healthy layer growing beneath the scabs.
The Elves have long since reclaimed their Capitol and cultivated a treetop Palace deep within the canopy above the Eldane Forest. While all allies are welcomed, only the Elves are generally allowed to live there permanently.
Rosehelm, Outpost (Order of the Rose)
The Outpost of Rosehelm was established over one thousand years ago by the Order of the Rose, a religious order of holy warriors, and charged by the former Tholm Empire to protect the realms. For many years they served as a calming influence in the countryside. Until the coming of the Goblin Hoardes, when the Outpost itself under almost constant attack.
The Order of the Rose is more commonly known individually as the Rosehelm Guardsmen. They currently have many religious and arcane artifacts buried deep in their keep, and under their protection. These artifacts were taken out of the City of Tholm only days before its fall to the Goblins.
To their credit, the Order of the Rose held their own during the Goblin invasion, without the protective barrier magic that the City of Nexus benefited from. Some attribute this to the highly secretive artifacts they still safeguard. During the final Goblin invasion, it was thought that Rosehelm Keep was taken by the Giants and all inhabitants put to death. In the aftermath, it was discovered a small group still lived, barricaded deep in the keeps underground fortress. During the following millennia of peace, the Order of the Rose has slowly rebuilt their numbers with those truly devoted to their ancient religious order.
UnderCity, Ancient Daer'lin City Ruins
Located deep beneath Nexus and its sewers lies a fragment of the ancient Daer'lin City, thought to have been formed in The Beginning times of creation on Altin itself. Myths say that during the Gods War, the land itself swallowed up the city in a terrible earthquake or sundering depending on who tells the tale. Little is known about how parts of this now sunken city ruin survived, but speculation is from a combination of ancient unique Daer'lin structural material and some divine intervention.
Now called The UnderCity by most, it was re-discovered beneath the construction of Nexus City atop the old site over a millennia ago. During the war with Goblins it was often used by those who knew the way to circumvent sieges on Nexus City itself. As well as those looking to take less traveled paths to avoid bumping into any Nexus Guards.
The UnderCity inhabitants continue to enforce their own rules on its citizens, and issues are generally considered outside of Nexus City jurisdiction. Exceptions so far have been if the action is against Nexus City itself and deemed too egregious by the council. Most UnderCity citizens either prefer to live underground or are not welcomed in other parts of the land above. There are no city guards, and no guarantees of safety, but people who become a problem are "dealt with" according to their representatives. Visitors are advised not to linger in the streets or out in the open for too long.
Tholm, The Imperial City (City of the Arcane)
The City of Tholm was once a vast source of knowledge, and a major population center in the realm. It was said that not since the University of the Daer'lin had such a vast quantity of knowledge been collected and distilled in one place. Tholm was once the heart of the Old Empire before the Goblin invasion, where influential and powerful people congregated.
Tholm was suddenly destroyed by the Goblin Hoardes. All contact from the city cut off for months before news arrived that they were gone from survivors. Scouts sent back reports of a city changed, its magic bent and twisted with a perpetual darkness covering the sky, and undead marauding in the otherwise deserted streets. Only a handful of refugees made their way to Nexus, of those, the most notable being Thelia. She had left Tholm only a few short weeks before the invasion which was its downfall.
The City of Tholm resides somewhere to the east of Nexus beyond the Emerald River, and across the Great Waste. Legend has it that after the Goblin defeat, Theila took the best and brightest volunteers on a crusade across the desert to purge the city of evil. Reports ceased coming back from the group after they ventured deep into the desert, and the common folk eventually stopped asking about any heroes they no longer needed for protection.
Taeviral, The City of Giants
Occasionally the narrow pass that leads up through the Crystal Mountains from the crossroads becomes blocked and travel to the city becomes impossible. During the war with the Goblins, this natural choke-point was used to setup ambushes against heroes while the Hoarde ravaged Taeviral. Many Giants and heroes died before the war ended, while the city was nearly destroyed.
Little is known about Taeviral's current status other than the Giants were focused on rebuilding it again. Contact was lost when the narrow mountain pass became blocked and clearing it was deemed too costly by Nexus City at the moment. They theorize that eventually the Giants will use their considerable strength to clear the pass again anyway.
Corynth, The City of the Gryphons
Presumed to lie on the Northern Continent of Ghoorma, many months travel by land and sea, the City of Corynth was 'rediscovered' by the denizens of the City of Nexus when they unexpectedly reached out and called for help. Research into the event indicated that Corynth was once an ally of the Daer'lin and that they had certain understandings regarding offering one another assistance and specific means of communicating such requests.
The Corynthian Gryphons demonstrated considerable magical ability, well beyond anything seen in centuries. Although the City of Nexus was able to help the Gryphons, no progress was made in enlisting their aid. Before sending back a party of Heroes to the Nexus, the Leader of the Gryphons merely says: "If you should require help, contact us in the usual ways".
All records of Corynth and the Gryphons, beyond a cursory dialog in an unrelated missive in the archives, are presumed to have been destroyed centuries ago when the University of the Daer'lin fell into ruins. After the Goblin defeat, Fenwick rode off to the north through the mountains to re-established trade routes with the Corynthian griffins. Being welcomed openly by Corynth, other heroes followed suit and moved there as well for new adventures.
Falcion, The City of Apprenticeship (Former)
It was raised from the ruins of the abandoned City of Algorian, after the First Coming of the Goblin Hoardes, on the magical Isle of Falcion. The City of Apprenticeship was gifted by the Metallic Dragons (who call this Isle their home) and was designed in cooperation with the Allied Races of Nexus during the war.
The Major Guilds of the time agreed to establish training facilities upon the isle, for their apprentices, and so this once abandoned island became a major center of activity. Guildmasters, Heroes, and Apprentices alike inhabited this small community as the next generation was trained in relative safety, to reinforce the ranks of those already on the front line holding the Goblin Hoardes back.
The Mages Guild at the time, worked with the Metallics, to imbue the Falcion Citystone with many magical properties which serve to protect the island and its inhabitants. Many of the properties of the island are not common knowledge. It is known however that the island is shrouded in a magical mist, and that the location of the island shifts from time to time. Also, Apprentices were unable to leave the island, being compelled through some magical geas to complete their training before venturing out into the world.
After the devastating defeat of the Goblins Hoardes, the Metallic Dragons reclaimed Falcion island to recuperate their numbers after losing so many in their fight with the Chromatic Dragons. The training and protection the island offered was not needed by heroes anymore, and all creatures that once inhabited the land were said to be teleported to new homes. Currently nobody knows the island's magically hidden location or what the Metallic Dragons have been doing this past thousand years.