:: Random Location—Kala, Cloud Forest Settlement ::

The Ranai Forest almost seems to press in on all sides, but your next push through the underbrush surprises you by offering less resistance than you expected. You land in a patch of strawberries on the shores of a massive lake that stretches out before you. At first you feel a sense of vertigo as the mirror-surface of the water perfectly reflects the expansive sky, interrupted only by the inverted image of the white tower standing guardian on the opposite bank.

Long red banners, like trails of blood, weep from the windows set near the tower's height. A unexpected and crisp wind suddenly rushes down from above, sending concentric circles across the lake, revealing the true grey color of the water in the diminishing waves.

Past the tower you see a field of inky black flowers, dotted here and there with an anomalous vibrant pink. On this side of the field, set low into the ground—and therefore almost escaping your notice—squats a long row of stone rooms with large barred gates for roofs. Nearby, a man with skin as white as salt and hair black as oil struggles in the grasp of a pair of swordsmen. The swordsmen unceremoniously throw him into one of the squat jail cells, slamming the gate and locking it after him. The swordsmen dust off their gloves, shake hands, and walk away into the field of black.

Beyond the field, the settlement itself awaits. Unlike most, it is not a simple collection of independent structures, but rather an interlocking complex of homes, businesses, and public spaces, all built into, from, or adjoining the natural verdure. In the center of this elaborate web, one tree in particular—tall, thick, and ancient—displays the windows of a five-storey inn. From the fourth of these storeys extends a bridge of living wood, reaching out to the middle of a neighboring tree where a general store perches among the higher branches.

:: Random Location—Benchford, Grassland Thorp ::

Waves of heat rise up from the plain, taking entire clouds worth of moisture with them. It is stifling to say the least. The trail leads straight over a short but cavernous crack in the ground, spanned at the narrowest pinch by a bridge of stone. The height is daunting, but the trip to the other side is a brief one.

The thorp begins almost immediately on the other side of the chasm, a prominent selling-house advertising "ravine tours" on a sign that swings from the porch. This house, though old, is well lit and clean. The rest of the thorp, however, is positively ancient by comparison. As you emerge into the center of the place you see a crude stone bench—dew-dappled and moss-covered—surrounded by a circular garden with flowers of cobalt blue.

By necessity, each of the few dwellings that circle the bench is also tasked for selling the goods and services of those who live there. The trail continues on the other side of the bench, between "Frida's Belladonnas" and "Benchford General Goods", and out into the wide world once again. From that direction also comes the bleating of sheep, followed quickly by the sheep themselves, led by one shepherd and trailed by another.

:: Random Location—Alinta, Mountain Fort ::

The walls of the ancient village of Alinta were toppled by a small child—from the inside.

Once, a very long time ago, there were six Córean merchants who left their homes to set up shop in a city together. One of the merchants was named Alinta, and she made pyrotechnics the likes of which none had seen; with but a small flame, they would pop and sizzle and whiz off into the sky and explode in all manner of shapes and colors.

The other merchants knew that Alinta was talented, which is why they wanted to come with her. For who would be watching Alinta's pyrotechnics but clients that would want something to eat, and perhaps a blanket against the cold of the night, and surely transportation to and from the watching grounds. So the six set off to find an ideal place for their enterprise, and they found it—not in a city—but on the side of a mountain...

Three things drew them to the spot:

:: Random Location—Haf, Desert Settlement ::

The desert offers you nowhere to hide; the sun pounds down upon you without mercy. From a good many miles away, atop a tall mesa, you see the ruins of Haf’s signature henge, marking the burial grounds of the settlement’s most notable leaders. The desert’s dry, brown desert brush began to all look the same to you when suddenly it turns lush, green, and vibrant. Only now do you realize that—besides being terribly hot—the air has now grown steamy. Your mount kicks up less dust as you get closer, and the trail signs are noticeably cleaner.

The path dips downward into a delve that guides you further into the settlement. Just before you lose sight of the horizon, you feel a cool rush of wet air rise up to meet you. Only as you enter the settlement do you begin to hear the roaring waterfall that you were told would be waiting for you inside the rock formation—a cool, welcoming, subterranean oasis. A certain calm settles over you as you ride between the rounded adobe domes, half of which are built into the side of the mesa. Curious owlfolk peek out from their curtained windows—it is not yet night, and your entry is disturbing their sleep.

:: Random Location—Shrine Rest, Trading Post on the Open Sea ::

You know how if you want the freshest seafood there is, you go all the way down to the docks to that one restaurant that actually sits over the water and the cook scoops up the fish right out of the sea? Yeah, Shrine Rest is that place, but for landlubber stuff. And they mostly sell to sea-folk.

The place is on an island just off the coast and it's run by mermaids. Sorry, Sirens. (They don't like it when you call them mermaids; there's men-folk, too.) Built by a pair of carpenters named Maiara and Aputsiaq. Sisters. That was decades ago, though, so they're well past their good working years. They got the brilliant idea for the place from that one restaurant on the docks, except they made it for sea-folk who wanted to get a taste of the shore life. Tale's worth a listen if you got a sec. Yeah? Good, listen up...

:: Random Location—Kaawa by the Way, Forest Thorp ::

As you march along the trail, fallen pine cones crunching beneath your feet, the tall trees towering above you, the sound of trickling water meets your ears; your first sign that Kaawa is near. Soon after, you come upon the characteristic piles of stone that flank the trail, the cairns standing both as gate and sentinel for what lies beyond. The trail continues past the cairn, but you take the less-traveled path through the underbrush. The air turns crisp, and clear, and you know that out into the wood just a little more is the spring that supplies the inhabitants of the thorp.

Only just before you emerge from the green does the burbling of the spring give way to another sound. No, many sounds: many people laughing at the same time, the trill of a tinflute, a boastful voice, and then a melodic response. As you pass between the small, sturdy houses from behind, you smell the sweet, nutty wafts of a food vendor selling honeyed pine nuts. You enter the clearing proper and see a simple stage that has been built out of cloven trunks where an acrobat deftly flips several times before feigning a botched landing. The small gathering of local folk laugh in concert again. Your heart lifts: you've reached Kaawa by the Way.

:: Random Location—Pillars of Qilak ::

Pillars of Qilak

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/24/15

a seraph

Monument: Henge

Nation: Seraphim

Condition: Wild, Elaborate

Weather: Thunderstorm

Color: Light Brown

Keyword: Awesome

After strapping the pirium-wrapped bracers to your arms you tighten the pirium-toed boots on your feet to ensure they don’t fall off mid-flight. The company of seraphim surround you, caked in the light brown mud significant to their religious rituals. The lead escort gives you the nod to activate the levitation gear. Doing so, you rise with them into the night. Lightning flashes in the distance and the thunder soon follows, cracking and rumbling across the cloudy sky as if in recognition of the seraph who lies dead high above.

The funeral site is composed of a levitating henge of pirium pillars encircling the sacred space, blue electricity infrequently snapping between them. In the center hovers a pirium bier, bearing the body of the slain. All around, the attending seraphim don their pirium circlets, glowing brightly in the night, making the scene feel somewhat like a candle-light vigil in a human cathedral. When all have gathered an elaborate ritual begins, thunder rolling after each plea to the Strangers of Darkness. At last, all seraphim close their eyes and the pirium henge is lit up by a web of blue lightning. When you look again, the body of the deceased is gone.

:: Random Location—Tor Ysbryd Garreg ::

Tor Ysbryd Garreg

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/19/15

Tor Ysbryd Garreg

Prominent Feature: Tor

Nation: Bóreans

Condition: Lush, Holy

Weather: Sprinkles

Color: Redwood

Keyword: Gargantuan

For the last hour of your journey all other conifers have given way to trees as tall as castles—the mighty redwoods. Through the bare lower trunks you see a dim glow the color of lapis gracing the silhouettes of the underbrush; you know you’re close. Finally, as you clear the treeline your full view is overwhelmed by gargantuan hunks of stone piled haphazardly upon one another. Tor Ysbryd Garreg towers above you, above even the tops of the redwood trees.

The company of bórean exemplars has already arrived, attesting to the efficiency of their tunnels. The avatar of stone steps forward, reciting the final plea of the ritual. You pause just inside the treeline to sit and watch the ceremony. The rain sprinkles your face, the spongy moss yields under your hands, and for a moment you let the sanctity of the place ease the tension in your body. Then, the avatar’s recitation reaches a crescendo, the lapis glow intensifies, and the forest floor begins to tremble…

:: Random Location—Fairgrounds of the Emerald Overlord ::

Fairgrounds of the Emerald Overlord

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/16/15

Attraction: Maypole

Nation: Ranai

Condition: Barren, Maintained

Weather: Strangely Cold

Color: Emerald Green

Keyword: Overlord

Ignoring the signs that clearly discourage wandering off the path, you leave the well-traveled road behind and plunge into the forest. You abruptly stop short as a piercing pain shoots through your foot—a razor-thin blade of grass has lived up to its once-metaphorical (now literal) description. Looking closer, you see that the blade retains the vibrant green of grass, but now shimmers like a perfectly cut emerald, and—as your foot can now attest—is just as hard.

Proceeding on stilts as you were wisely instructed, you enter a clearing full of such emerald grass. Within the clearing, you see a joyous celebration in progress—children playing field games, maidens dancing around a maypole, and vendors selling sugar crystal candy. At least, you assume it was sugar crystal candy at some point, just as you assume the occasion was joyous… You shiver in your skin; everyone and everything in the clearing has been turned to hard, cold emerald...just like the grass.

:: Random Location—Kléber's Pipe ::

Kléber’s Pipe

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/13/15

a leonian

Prominent Feature: Shaft

Nation: Leonian

Condition: Vacant, Pristine

Weather: Monsoon

Color: Bright Green

Keyword: Monster

The winds beat against you as you trudge up the mountainside. Clearing the trees of the Ranai Forest, you see your goal tower into view: the mile-high tube of bright green volcanic glass known as Kléber’s Pipe. Out in the open, you feel the droplets of rain beginning to fall and press onward toward the remote cave entrance. Once inside, you can hear the rain coming down in sheets.
Following the winding cavern, you finally emerge at a sheer drop-off—the interior of the Pipe. At least a hundred feet across, the tallest reaches of the shaft emerge above the stormclouds, admitting sunlight where the monsoon clouds would have brought gloom. The whole shaft above you glistens with the light, and brings a verdant glow to the darkness below. You stare down into those green depths pondering what brought you here in the first place.

:: Random Location—The Lincean Lexicon ::

The Lincean Lexicon

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/12/15

a zephyr

Attraction: Aviary

Nation: Leonian

Condition: Simple, Charred

Weather: Nor’wester

Color: Salmon

Keyword: Lexicon

Rubbing your head, you awaken to the howling of the wind as it blasts across the treetops, shaking the leaves in a raucous rustle much like the roar of the ocean. You discover that your bed is actually a large wooden platform swaying high above the forest canopy on a pole thicker than the trunks of the surrounding trees. There are no bars, no walls to hold you prisoner; only the staggering height and the blasting wind.

As you look around you see there are other platforms, other prisoners. One is a desperate siren with salmon-colored scales, busy pleading with her platform in a language you don’t understand. As she turns, however, you realize that she is not a siren but a zephyr whose wings have been clipped, explaining why she had not flown away already. Likely the blasting wind is her vain attempt to topple her pole and secure a gentler descent.

Another platform bears an actual córean, asleep, wings also clipped. A third is empty, but the charred black patch on it makes you think a phoenix might have been there once, its wings also clipped no doubt...before it burned itself alive and its ashes were scattered. Well, you reason despondently, at least it escaped.

:: Random Location—Nexus to Nowhere ::

Nexus to Nowhere

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/12/15

a bórean

Architecture: Barn/Silo

Nation: Bórean

Condition: Haunted, Maintained

Weather: Dry

Color: Glow in the Dark

Keyword: Nexus

You light a torch and hold it overhead as the cavern opens up before you. Stalagmites emerge from the darkness like tusks, strange curled lines flashing across their surfaces as your torchlight passes. As if sensing your presence, the stalagmites begin to glow and pulsate, finally bursting with light as the strange curled lines crisscross the walls of the cavern in knotted patterns.
Dousing your torch, you observe—in the light of the strange lines—that a large neat pile of grains lies swept together in the center of the floor. Against one wall leans a large square shovel and a straw broom. Just then, a gyrating wisp of light materializes above the pile of grain. A small echoing voice speaks out of the wisp: “Hello. My name is Dai. Have you come to feed me?”

:: Random Location—Desert of Wūshī Huì ::

Desert of Wūshī Huì

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/31/15

Land Area: Desert

Nation: Merrow

Condition: Pristine, Elaborate

Weather: Blizzard

Color: Dark Brown

Keyword: Rapture

As you descend the gangplank onto the docks, you pull your cloak tighter against the blustering snow. If not for the blizzard, you might not have seen the invisible tower protruding through the surface of the water at the other end of the boardwalk. As it is, you can only see where the snow gathers and where it does not, outlining an archway in the side of the tower. Entering, you lift your magelight lantern and see the bluish glow of stairs descending into hole in the sea. As you follow them down, the daylight filters through the water just enough to show you the open-air desert of dark brown sand far below the waves. Your breath catches at the sight; you’ve finally found it!

:: Random Location—Pasture of the White Warriors ::

Pasture of the White Warriors

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/23/15

Land Area: Pasture

Weather: Light Hail

Conditions: Unsettling, Charred

Color: White

Keyword: Warrior

An unsettling scene rolls out before you: all of the land from your feet to the foot of the mountains lays wasted, white with a thick blanket of ash. Underneath this covering, you know the pasture’s once-green grass is now only charred black soot. A light hail of volcanic rock still falls from the fume-black sky, thin flames trailing behind each marble-sized chunk. The sound of the fiery stones clinking against metal on all sides tells you of fallen warriors, entombed in their own armor and buried along with the pasture, the volcano having silently breathed white death into their bodies. Then, from under the ash, you see pairs of bright white lights, blown to life as if with a bellows...

:: Random Location—Slasher's Circle ::

Slasher’s Circle

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/23/15

Attraction: Arena

Weather: Muggy

Conditions: Small, Simple

Color: Pastel Red

Keyword: Slash

Wiping the sweat from your brow, you come upon the rubble of a fallen building. Traversing a cleared path in the debris, you see that the center has been swept to the dirt foundation, making an ideal place for several young combatants to play-fight without interruption. As one girl lunges with a “spear” fashioned from a broom handle and a damp sponge, her opponent staggers away with a dab of pastel red paint on his clothes. Thus “wounded,” he falls to the ground, acting out a gruesome demise. Only then do you realize the true purpose for the whole performance, for the adult spectators sitting atop the rubble now stand, alternately cheer or sulk, and begin exchanging money.

:: Random Location—Hortus Mortem ::

Hortus Mortem

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/19/15

Attraction: Park/Promenade

Weather: Dusty

Conditions: Inviting, Barren

Color: Bright Blue

Keyword: Venom

Tired, your feet plod on across the barren sand. Parched, your lips crack a little more. Blinded, your eyes squint into the burning reflection of the sun glinting off...water? Your eyes focus, taking in the slightly denser haze off in the distance. A hasty shuffle brings you at last to the edge of a lush oasis. You bat a large palm leaf, shaking loose a spray of dust, proving to yourself that this place is not simply a product of the heat. Past the foliage, you quickly arrive at the blessed lake that waits, silently inviting the thirsty to drink of its bright blue liquid.

:: Random Location—Puerta del Diablo ::

Puerta del Diablo

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/16/15

Land Area: Harbor

Weather: Snowy

Conditions: Large, Pristine

Color: Dark Purple

Keyword: Devil

The ship pitches to starboard and aft, then fore and port. Ahead, the vague suggestion of an opening in the coast offers hope to all aboard that they might not perish on the rocks, or under the waves. As soon as the stern enters the mouth of the bay, the sea immediately calms, the winds cease, and the sky rains only large tufts of quietly-falling snow. The bay is spacious, and the harbor lights inviting. When the ship is docked at last, you see a fort on the nearby hill, decorated with banners of imperial purple and untouched by the ravages of war. A hush overtakes the crew. “By the Gods, who lives there?” you hear a sailor whisper. “The Devil himself,” comes the reply.

:: Random Location—Temple of Ulemu ::

 Temple of Ulemu

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/15/15

Monument: Pyramid

Weather: Rainbow

Conditions: Occupied, Wild

Color: Pastel Yellow

Keyword: Honor

The wall of dense jungle vines seems to thicken the further you proceed. At last you tumble out into the open. Picking yourself up, you behold a large squat step-pyramid of expertly carved sandstone sitting in the exact center of a perfectly square clearing. Silence pervades. The long, untidy grass does not even sway a little, and a bright rainbow arcs overhead, completing the idyllic scene. But your attention is suddenly drawn away as scores of dark-skinned warriors soundlessly present themselves on the pyramid’s steps, weapons drawn, fierce gazes levelled at you. One warrior advances a few paces—body decorated with paint the color of chick’s feathers—and speaks in an unknown tongue. When she sees that you don’t understand, she repeats herself in your language, but with a heavy accent: “Speak: whom do you honor by your actions here?”

:: Random Location—The Serene Signpost ::

The Serene Signpost

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/13/15

Prominent Feature: Signpost

Weather: Flurries

Conditions: Serene, Large

Color: Bright Blue

Keyword: Awesome

Rounding the bend in the road, a feeling grips you that makes you pause. Your muscles relax, and your mind clears. Little snow flurries begin dancing in the air, landing gently on the bright blue hyacinths growing to either side of the road. Ahead, you see a large signpost facing the road. Reaching it, you see that the post appears to have grown from a still-living tree. However, the sign itself is entirely blank. How peculiar, you think. You can’t remember ever seeing anything like it in your entire life. And then, as you stare at the sign and ponder this oddity, you find that you can’t remember anything at all...

:: Random Location—Aviary of the Éan Sídhe ::

Aviary of the Éan Sídhe

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/12/15

Attraction: Aviary

Weather: Damp

Conditions: Vacant, Wild

Color: Seafoam Green

Keyword: Awesome

As you crest the peak of the seaside cliffs you are met with the largest birdcage you have ever seen, easily matching a two-storey mansion in height. Composed of not only one, but dozens of cages of cascading sizes, the whole must be taken together as a labyrinth of barred-off spaces carpeted with patches of green-and-purple heather and bright golden-haired lichen. With a framework of cold-wrought silver and draped in a mesh of thin gold links, the expansive aviary sparkles in the foamy splash of the sea and the light of the setting sun. As the crash of the waves dies, a faint twittering reaches your ears. Yet, eerily, you see no birds anywhere...