Aivorab

Being a former NWTC colony, most of the people here are humans, halfings, dwarves and elves. Given the constant darkness of the area and the elves' connection to the natural world, elves that are born under the sunless sky or mutated by it and are born as shar-kai, elves that have a natural connection to the shadow and as a result have much more muted emotions compared to other elves.

The entire region is ruled from up on high (literally) by Pirate Lord Elizabeth Rochelieu and the Bloodtide Pirates. Rochelieu is something of an absentee lord, far too preoccupied with her quest to find Newgate's Treasure and fending off rivals that she rarely spares a thought for the ordinary people living in her realm. seeing her lands as merely a citadel safe from the sun and sailors alike. As such, the villagers within her domain are largely left to their own devices and have formed their own miniature governments with their own rules and regulations. The patriarchs of these small towns are known as burgomasters.   There are a few matters in which the Lady actively enforces her will. Firstly, is that any act of insurrection will be met with swift and cruel punishment. Secondly, and perhaps more disturbingly, is the matter of taxes. Rochelieu makes many times more money from her fleet's plunder than any peasant or serf could scrounge up. She requires from her charges an altogether more precious commodity that is harder to buy - blood. Once on each month, the Lady's tax collection ship sets sail from Ashloft, visiting each town and village in the archipelago. Each family from that town must then pay 'tax' in the form of one of the members of their own family, preferably young girls around 13 years old, but failing that, young boys, adolescents or adults will do, in that order of preference. These terrified young people are loaded onto the tax collector ship, and are never seen again. Though it is never stated, it is clear what these young women and men are for. Food. Although the blood of any humanoid will do, the Lady takes special pleasure in devouring the youth and innocence that was once lost to her. Each family must provide at least one of their children for the tax. Those without children are meticulously made note of, so that when the time eventually comes, they can pay what the Lady is owed...

The most infamous defence that Aivorab has is the mountain range surrounding it - Mount Baratok to the north, and Mount Tsolenka to the south. Both mountains are marked with treacherous icy weather, sheer cliffs, and intimidating height. These two mountains meet at the east and western sides of the archipelago, forming a wall that a skilled mountaineer may be able to pass, but that an invading force would find utterly impenetrable. Hordes of mindless undead - skeletons, zombies and the like - roam these ranges, eagerly feasting on any stray living being that wanders too close.   The only entrance to the archipelago is through either of the large gates stationed at the east and west side of the archipelago. They are a pair of massive steel walls surrounded on each side by stone towers bristling with the heaviest cannons money can buy, manned day and night by a cohort of undead that does not need to eat or sleep as well as a rotation of living guards there to command the undead against more complex threats and access if ships that are coming or going should be allowed to enter. Each gate is a fortress in its own right, able to withstand a large amount of firepower, with the gates themselves being constructed of adamantine - the strongest metal on earth. Engraved on each of the gates is a quote in draconic, said to be engraved on the entrance to Old Ed's locker itself:

Credien shio chairs, wux svaust lekaric tenpiswo.

  In the common tongue, it reads, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."   The Castle Ashloft itself is no slouch either, despite its dilapidated appearance. Its elevated position makes it incredibly difficult to assail from sea, leaving invaders vulnerable to return fire from the castle's many heavy cannons.

Castle Ashloft

Burnt remains of the castle the lady murdered her sister in. Atop a stone pillar. Surrounded by a castle town that is party central compared to the rest. Ashloft was built during the dawn of the Age of Discovery, by the nobles who later became the Board. They built this castle to keep a watch over the Amber Temple and try and find a way to break into it. They used to routinely send noble families to serve a tenure there, up until the castle was burnt and taken over by the Lady.

The Amber Temple

A temple up in the southern mountain range that contains not only secrets about occult magic but also the forgotten age. Only someone baring a piece of Lord Kintama's body can bypass the magical seal placed on the doorway. Thus far only Lady Rochelieu has ever entered it and is where she learnt the secrets of becoming a vampire. This makes her knowledge of the world extremely dangerous for everyone involved.

Kinkatei Castle

Amongst the hills and valleys of the long-flooded island, there lurks an ancient ruin of a time long lost that clashes with the aesthetic of the land above. A drenched ruin of a castle in the architectural style of the far-off land of Ryoukuni. This is the lost home of Lord Kintama, former shogun of Ryoukuni and lord of what became later known as the Knights of the Golden Dragon.    The history of this unusual sight dates all the way back to the Forgotten Age, when the metallic dragon dynasty of Ryoukuni was overthrown and the former shogun was forced into exile along with his retinue. After wandering the seas for some time, they came across the island of Aivorab, before it sank into the sea. Kintama from there discovered the Amber Temple and realised the danger of the occult secrets within. He and his loyal samurai made their home in the valleys of Aivorab, vowing to defend the world from the horrors of the Amber Temple.    This was not to last, as the noble families that founded the NWTC learned of the location of the Knights of the Golden Dragon and sought to destroy the last of the metallic dragon dynasty, the last survivors of the collapse of the ancient age who would still remember the forgotten age. The dragon and his samurai fought bravely but were eventually struck down, and the small country they'd built for themselves was drowned beneath the sea. Kintama's last act was to seal away the Amber Temple in such a way that only he could possibly open it, sealing his own story inside in the desperate hope that future generations could learn from it.   The spirits of the samurai who defended the manor have grown restless due to their many ryukatana being washed away and being lost to the sea. They desire never more than the destruction and suffering of the family who destroyed theirs.   These spirits are aware that the descendant of this family, the Lady, dwells within the castle, and are aware of the circumstances that brought her here. Despite their hatred, they do not seek to destroy her. Instead, their leader, a gold dragonborn by the name of Vanji, understands the sheer amount of pain and grief that the Lady constantly lives with and revels in it. Under her command, the ghosts and spirits are to ensure that no one is allowed to put an end to the Lady's suffering.

It is an archipelago made up of several small islands, surrounded by a wall of mountainous land in a loose diamond shape that forms a natural fortification against defenders. In the centre of the archipelago rises an island that is a natural pillar of solid stone, atop which sits the foreboding Castle Ashloft, home of Pirate Lord Elizabeth Rochelieu.   The landscape of each island is hilly, filled with thick pine tree forests and valleys. A few islands reach tall enough to have mountains that are snowy all year around.   The reason for this bizarre arrangement is that Aivorab was once a single island long ago, filled with hills and valleys, and a mountain range around the outside. The entire island has now sunk beneath the waves, leaving only the hilltops as islands.   The smaller islands are dotted with a number of small villages and camps that belong to the civilian population of the archipelago, with larger settlements near the centre reserved for the abodes of the upper echelon of the Bloodtide Pirates.

Aivorab is notable in that swirling black storm clouds completely cover the entire area at all times, trapping it in an endless night. As such, the general climate is quite cold and wet, with a relatively short lukewarm summer transitioning into a rainy, freezing winter.   Fog is also common, making sailing between islands a risky endeavour, and is usually only done by servants of the Lady.   As this land is the source of her curse, Lady Rochelieu's mood has an effect on the land around her. She is usually in a state of repressed rage and grief, and so creates the dour weather most are used to, but on days of rage her malice can whip up storms, gale-force winds and hurricanes. On days when she's in a good mood, the normally black storm clouds can fall away into a white overcast sky with mild temperatures. On days of her deepest sorrow, she can plunge the land into a winter so deep that it freezes the very seas themselves.