Skyfell Geography: Akima Prime

Skyfell Locations: Akima Prime

I’ve posted a handful of blogs regarding my homebrew campaign setting I call Skyfell. The first was a general description that I wrote up for new players so that they could get a taste for its mood and general feel. I’ve also been blogging about a campaign I’m currently running in that setting. It is very much a work in progress. I wanted to share a little more about the geography in part to provide some more background for my players to latch onto but also to make more clear the gaps in the setting so that any of my players can explore and add to it. To that end, I present the Skyfell map, something everyone who has been following me should now be familiar with.

This installment is about Akima Prime. I hope you enjoy it.

Akima Prime

Overview

Akima Prime is the largest of the Skyfell continents, stretching nearly 3000 miles from its northernmost point to its southernmost. Every race except the feral gnomes and firbolgs can be found there in appreciable numbers. It hosts the largest cities in all of Skyfell, including The Copper Citadel, Din Kuldihr, Deep Hearth, and Folthrax. These are huge metropolises whose cultural, social, and economic developments ripple through the rest of Skyfell, for better or for worse. There are also dozens of towns and rural communities, such as Paela, that dot the landscape.

Geography

Akima’s Spine, a splintered collection of top-side* mountains, runs nearly the entire length of the continent. Xymor’s Nest is the highest peak in this range; it’s the largest in all of the Known Skies in fact. It was once the spawning ground of the metallic dragons who ruled Skyfell before the Cataclysm. It’s also the legendary birthplace of Bahamut, the lawful-good god of metallic dragons. 

Holy Symbol of Bahamut
Source: "The Draconomicon"

Akima’s Belly is a swollen collection of under-side* formations primarily clustered beneath Xymor’s Nest. These formations are riddled with caverns. Only cursory explorations have been made into the shallowest of these networks. Rumors abound regarding fantastical creatures and horrific monstrosities living in its deepest passages. They are the sorts of nightmares parents warn their misbehaving children about. 

Platinum Pool is located in the southern top-side. This enormous lake is a place of natural beauty where people escape to for rest, contemplation, and a connection with wild nature. Several druid circles tend this wild place while teams of rangers keep out poachers, would-be adventurers, and other troublemakers. Its waters are carried across Akima Prime via a complex network of aqueducts to feed its cities. Fleets troll its waters for fish and other aquatic food sources.

View of Platinum Pool

Settlements and Locales

The Temple of the Wyrmking (often simply called The Temple) is the spiritual and bureaucratic center for Bahamut worship. This imposing complex is located in the heart of Xymor’s Nest, surrounded by jagged peaks that cut into the sky. A life-sized, golden statue of a dragon guards each of its seven entrances through which thousands of pilgrims pass every year. Though grand by many standards, it retains an element of humble spirituality in all of its sacred spaces.

The Temple of the Wyrmking
Source: "Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica"

The Copper Citadel is located in Xymor’s Nest. It is Tescalain’s seat of power, the copper dragon whose rule spreads across the Known Skies. (His lair is thought to be somewhere beneath the city.) It is the social and cultural center of all Skyfell, or at least believes itself to be. It is also Tescalsin’s stronghold where dozens of Dragonborn clans serve as his army in times of war and his police force in times of peace. His network of spies, investigators, and tricksters are also controlled from here. The court of Tescalain works closely with the clergy of Bahamut to maintain order, though some of those clerics might silently bemoan the copper dragon’s relaxed method of rule.

Market in The Copper Citadel
Source: "Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica"

Din Kuldihr is located in the northern top-side in a mountain peak with the same name. It’s a massive dwarven city whose mines cut deep into the continent. There seems to be no end to the precious metals and gemstones that are pulled from it each year. This wealth supports the activities of Bahamut’s clergy and Tescalain’s peacekeepers. Over the centuries, these mines have accidentally tunneled into natural caverns that are believed to be a part of the network in Akima's Belly. These discoveries have been known to unleash long sleeping creatures who do not take kindly to invaders. It has long been ruled by the Rumnaheim clan though a series of misfortunes and ineffectual responses by Ulfgar, the current sovereign, threaten that power.

The Main Gateway into Din Kuldhir

Deep Hearth (affectionately nicknamed UnderWhere by its denizens and slandered as Gnome’s No-sense by nervous visitors) is located in Akima’s Belly. It is a sprawling rock gnome city, the size and complexity of which boggles even its citizens. It hosts hundreds of workshops that crank out all manner of invention from the truly absurd to the truly wondrous. The headquarters of the Gearmount Foundry guild is located here and attracts artificers from all walks of life. A clumsy airship port is the “safest” way in and out of the place, though, as is true to every gnome burrow, there are dozens of secret and not so secret alternatives. It is governed by an assembly of merchant lords who are ostensibly elected to the position and elders who represent each of the major gnome clans that call the city home.

Artificer from Deep Hearth
Source: Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

Folthrax is located in the central top-side. This gorgeous city is filled with towering structures that inspire awe. It is a center of learning whose schools demand a culture of devotion, hard work, and excellence regardless of the subject. Several guilds are based out of this city, including the Arcane College (wizard’s guild) and the Thraxeen Union (sorcerer’s guild). Members of these guilds find it a great honor to be invited to these centers, even for only a brief visit.

Folthrax
Source: Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

Paela is located in the southern top-side. In this picturesque halfling community, hadrosaurs graze rolling foothills that give way to expansive fields of wheat and barley. Gardens supply fresh produce to its inhabitants. The hardosaurs serve as both food stock and beasts of burden. What isn't consumed locally is shipped to nearby cities via an airship cooperative. The community is managed by an elected council who strive to maintain an image of an idyllic community where folks can escape the manic demands of city life. To that end, it boasts several inns and farmers' markets that attract visitors on their way to and from the Platinum Pool. A cottage industry of local crafts also supplements many family incomes.

Town Hall, Paela

Hideaway is the name kobolds give to the lair in which they live. Every major city has at least one Hideaway though most denizens will not know how to find it. Nor will they even care to. Kobolds are not looked upon with much regard. They are scavengers, living off of others' discarded scraps. They pick through city dumps, troll city streets at night, and hunt in city sewers. Sometimes, a formal agreement exists between the city council and the local Hideaway. In such an agreement, the kobolds are usually contracted as maintenance and cleaning crews. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement that ensures the safety of the kobold lair and the smooth operation of daily city life. Only The Copper Citedal and Folthrax have such an agreement. The gnomes of Deep Hearth actively evict kobold intruders and skirmishes between the two races are not unheard of. This has led to some deep-rooted animosity. The same is true of the dwarves of Din Kuldihr and the kobolds who live on the fringes of that city.

Kobolds Protecting their Hideaway
Source: Volo's Guide to Monsters

Glossary

top-side - The upper (right-side-up) surface of a continent or island. Most settlements are located top-side with a few notable exceptions.
under-side - The lower (upside-down) surface of a continent or island. 

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