Skyfell Geography: Doraku

Skyfell Geography: Doraku

I’ve been blogging sessions for the Dungeons and Dragons campaign I’m running in my homebrew setting “Skyfell.” I started blogging more about its geography to provide context to my players and to make clear the gaps in the setting so that they could explore and add to it. The first blog I posted was for Akima Prime. This installment is about Doraku. Please enjoy.

Doraku

Overview

Doraku, the smallest of the Skyfell continents, spans only 300 miles from end to end. It is the traditional homeland of the kenku. It is also a refuge for those who did not or could not fit into Skyfell’s mainstream society. While its cities are nowhere near as grand as others in the Known Skies, they are far more diverse and more open to that diversity. This tolerance is supported by a shared identity of being outcasts from a society that didn’t have room for them. 

Geography

Mount Doraku, near the center top-side of the continent, dominates the landscape and comprises the bulk of its mass. Its steep slopes give way to foothills that roll out across the terrain. To the west, these melt into the broad flatland known as The Mayraki Flats where a handful of farming communities have taken root. The Emerald Lake fills Mount Doraku’s bowl-shaped peak, providing water to the continent’s settlements via a series of aqueducts. The city of Highwater spreads across the mountain’s rim which affords the city a 360-degree view of the entire land.

Mount Doraku and the Emerald Lake
Source: Pixabay

Kalraka Island is a small land mass off the south-eastern corner of the continent. It is connected to the mainland via an enchanted suspension bridge built and maintained by members of the Gearmount Foundry. Its rocky terrain is home to the Kalraka School of the Weave and a rare breed of archaeopteryx imbued with innate magic.

Hills of Kalraka Island
Source: Pixabay

Mayraki Flats spreads across the western top-side from the foothills of Mount Doraku to the continent’s western edge. Several farming communities dot its interior because its relatively flat terrain make it ideal for agriculture. Like the rest of the island, Mayraki Flats is covered in dense cloud forest except where the land is being cultivated. Tanya’s Hideaway clings to the western edge where thrill-seekers and adventurers gather to dive and surf the open skies.

Farming Community in Mayraki Flats near the Foot of Mount Doraku
Source: Pixabay

Whistling Caverns is a cave complex whose unassuming entrance in the south under-side grossly misrepresents its depth and grandeur. Parts of its Upper Chambers have been mapped. Very little of the Lower Chambers have even been explored but they are believed to wind their way into Mount Doraku. The entrance is within a half-day’s travel of Fort Delakor which periodically sends patrols into the area to warn off the foolish, curious, and adventurous and to rescue those who do not heed those warnings.

View Out from the Entrance of the Whistling Caverns
Source: Pixabay

Settlements and Locales

The Aerie is an imposing palace in the Maht District on the western side of Highwater. Lord Ko-maht-aa, the kenku crime lord who consolidated what was a fractured tangle of competing interests into a single power structure overseen by he and his family, rules over all of Doraku from its luxurious halls. Though his rule has proven to be relatively good for the stability of the region, there are still remnants of the old crime clans that would love nothing more than to wrest that power, and the wealth that comes with it, from his cold, dead talons. 

The Aerie
Source: Pixabay

Wyrmking’s Sanctuary is a large temple devoted to Bahamut that is situated in the Maht district on the western side of Highwater. The temple is also an extension of Tescalain’s power, serving as a very tangible reminder of who is ultimately in charge. Lady Oolaura, a female Dragonborn of exceptionally clear faith, oversees its operation and spiritual health. From its main entrance it is only a short stroll through the Treasured Gardens to The Aerie. A life-sized statue of a gold dragon stands watch over each of the seven gateways onto the temple grounds. It’s widely believed that they are representations of real dragons whose spirits slumber within the stone and will only awaken if Skyfell ever faces another cataclysm. (See also the Wyrmking's Sanctuary playlist on Spotify)

Wyrmking's Sanctuary
Source: "Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica"

Highwater is the largest settlement on Doraku. Its sprawling neighborhoods, remnants of the criminal territorial boundaries that once fractured the city, spill across the rim of Mount Doraku. Of course, the city has never really shaken that criminal past and remains a hotbed of conspiracy, intrigue, and elicit activity. It’s the final landing spot for many who are on the run. It’s also the jump-off point for those looking for adventure. It should be no surprise, then, that its population is the most diverse and transient in all of Skyfell. The Aerie and the Wyrmking’s Sanctuary are located in the western end in the Maht District. Both literally look down on Garrison Market, the continent’s primary economic center, and the Maak-Pring Docks, its primary port of entry. The original WhatNot Shop is still in operation in the market and has become a destination of its own. Taxes from the market and the docks pay for the security and counterintelligence operations that both Lord Ko-Maht-as and Lady Oolaura command. The hideaway beneath Highwater is a tangled labyrinth said to not only connect to every other kobold lair on the continent but also to weave itself into the deepest parts of the Whistling Caverns.

Garrison Market in Highwater
Source: "Dungeon Master's Guide, 4th Edition"

Delakor is in the south-eastern topside very near the Kalraka School of the Weave. It is home for a few of the school’s faculty and staff, a destination for students on break, and the only refuge for parents and travelers. Because of this, it boasts a disproportionate number of inns, taverns, and other entertainment venues all vying for business. The competition between these ventures had become so fierce, requiring frequent intervention by troops from nearby Fort Delakor, that a co-op was imposed and placed under the direction of the captain of the fort. (A neutral third-party is needed even to this day to cool tempers and offer a voice of reason.) It’s a known secret that you can get anything you might want in Delakor if you have the gold to pay for it and know how to keep your mouth shut.

Kalraka School of the Weave is located on Kalraka Island. It’s the oldest fortified structure in all of Skyfell, portions of which hint at an origin predating The Cataclysm. Its blackened, barbed walls and spiraling towers house a labyrinth of lecture halls, laboratories, and other facilities where academics and students delve into arcane mysteries too dangerous to explore in more civilized settings. The structure’s long intimacy with raw magic has imbued with it a soul of its own capable of any deed to sate its hunger for knowledge in general and the arcane specifically. Staff close off areas that become too dangerous for students and visitors. Some of these hazards, however, have a very mercurial nature and will dissipate or relocate with little to no warning. The school’s board is comprised mostly of tiefling and dragonborn academics; it’s headed by an ancient dragonborn scholar named Torrin who works diligently to shelter the school from outside interference. (See also the Kalraka School of the Weave playlist on Spotify.)

Conducting Research at Kalraka
Source: "Unearthed Arcana, 1st Edition"

Tanya’s Retreat is a small settlement on the western topside. While it serves the various farming communities in the Mayraki Flats, it is best known as a kind of resort catering to thrill seekers wishing to escape the boredom of urban life and adventurers needing a break from the excitement of their chosen career. Suicide Alley attracts surfers from every continent wishing to sail the open skies or dive Doraku’s heart (the gravitational center of a land mass toward which all objects are pulled). The Brai-finn Gardens offer a sanctuary for those wishing a more peaceful experience. Fort Tanya is planted on the western-most point of the continent, monitoring the skies for ships headed to Highwater. 

Surfing Off the Edge of Tanya's Retreat
Source: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Glossary

hideaway - The name kobolds give to the lair in which they live.
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. 

Note About the Header Graphic

There is no day or night in Skyfell. There is a waxing and waning of the general brightness, but there is always light in the sky. The header graphic implies a nighttime setting. It's kind of dark and the windows clearly show that the rooms are lit up by candles, fireplaces, torches, or some other source of light. I went with this image though because it does sum up the ambiance of Highwater. I suppose I could just say that this is on a very foggy day, but that feels like a cheap verbal trick. Instead, I'd rather simply acknowledge that while the lighting is incorrect for Skyfell its mood is spot on for Highwater.

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