Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia

Law and harmony are bedfellows in the Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, a strict rule-oriented plane where everything has a purpose. Its rules and restrictions are enacted to enforce a vision of true harmony for the greater good of society itself, and the kingdoms that make up the plane’s name all adhere to that philosophy. Of course, what one kingdom sees as a move towards harmony may strike a note of discord with a neighbor.

Arcadians’ viewpoint on law walks in lockstep with its ideas on military prowess. The Peaceable Kingdoms are kept peaceable by strong standing armies and militias that serve as the front lines of defense against the reckless forces of chaos and disorder. Collectively, these militias are known as the Perfect Order, and its soldiers – einheriars – keep the peace and defend the laws with righteous zeal.

Comparisons to the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron are not out of place, and the two planes both operate fundamentally on rules and laws with a military bent. But where Acheron is strife personified with individual armies clashing in a never-ending tumult of steel-on-steel, Arcadia has well-defined laws, boundaries, and edicts that keep the peace between the hyper-organized kingdoms. This is largely due to the Lex, a group of powerful judges and arbiters that debate and transcribe the various laws of Arcadia. As befitting an organization of its size and scope, the Lex is a rigid hierarchy of bureaucracy.

Law-abiding citizens can do well on Arcadia, and everyone has their place within the plane, their kingdom, and their community. The borders between the Peaceable Kingdoms are well-marked and maintained and each enjoys its own political structure. Most follow the edicts of a king, queen, or similar monarch, but democracies, plutocracies, magocracies, and more are represented among the myriad individual states. All are represented in the Lex and each maintains a magical copy of the Lexinomicon, the book of all Arcadian laws.

As long as they are useful, citizens of Arcadia are treated well, which reveals one of the surprising dark side to the plane of law and harmony. Usefulness is determined largely by the laws of the Lex and edge cases can be brought before the Great Court to be argued and defended in a process that takes months, years, or even decades of time.

Much of this planar bureaucracy occurs on Arcadia’s first layer, Abellio, where everything is arranged according to a pattern and a plan. Mountains, grasslands, forests, lakes, fields, and more all stretch out in perfectly ordered rows, squares, and other configurations. The Peaceable Kingdoms occupy much of the infinite landscape, with well-maintained stone roads connecting everything together in a great grid. Neutral and unclaimed regions are carefully marked and monitored. All of this occurs beneath a brilliant sphere in the sky called the Orb of Day and Night. During the 12-hour day, the orb is luminous and white, while during the 12-hour night it turns abruptly to dark. There is no twilight or dawn, only day and night.

Arcadia’s second layer, Buxelos, is a very similar to the first in geography and layout, with perfectly ordered orchards, forests, fields, prairies, and the like. It is less populated than Abellio, however, and the kingdoms that do dot the layer are more heavily invested in their militaries than the first layer. It is here where Arcadia leans more towards law than good with the Court Castles of Lex dominating great swaths of territory. It is rumored that Buxelos is also where radical indoctrinations take place within the closely guarded Spires of New Harmony overseen by a special branch of the Lex, but little is known about it for sure,

One of the more curious inhabitants of Arcadia are the formians. Diligent and ant-like, the formians have several massive city-hives scattered above and below the plane. They all pay homage to Queen Mother Clarity who rules from the city-hive of Mandible. The formians have been granted provisionary citizen status on Arcadia by the Lex while their application for full kingdom status moves through the courts (which it has for centuries).

Breaking one of the many laws of Arcadia can have dire consequences, especially since the passing of Great Law Article #3929, stating that ignorance of Arcadian law does not provide exemption from Arcadian law (a hotly debated law article initiated when a clever wizard claimed she could not break a law she did not know about). Einheriar are sworn to uphold the laws of their kingdoms and that of the Lex, while judgewraiths move about secretly to further enforce certain planar laws.

Nonetheless, wonders and treasures abound across the Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, including the glittering mines beneath Mount Clangeddin, the Compass Citadels of the Storm Kings that control Arcadian weather, the arcane libraries of Nomos Prime, and the flawless magical fruits that grow on mighty silver, gold, bronze, and copper trees in certain protected groves.

Powerful & Mighty

No one single entity or power holds greater sway over all Arcadia than the Lex, the sprawling behemoth-like organization that debates, transcribes, and enforces the laws that keep the harmonious axis of the plane spinning. Nonetheless, other powerful groups exist, some of which may be friend or foe to a band of adventurers from across the planes.

• Azuth (Toril)
• Clangeddin Silverbeard (dwarf)
• Izanagi and Izanami (Japanese)
• Lu Hsing (Chinese)
• Meriadar (mongrelman)
• Osiris (Egyptian)
• Ra (Egyptian)
• Reorx (Krynn)

Burmussoith the Bold

Long ago, in some distant Material Plane, the bronze dragon Burmussoith hatched. He had several hatchmates and together they lived in a hidden lair along a well-traveled coastline with their parents. Before Burmussoith was old enough to contribute, a magical call was sent out among dragonkind and the family of bronze dragons answered, flying to a great campaign against a tyrannical foe. Unfortunately, the forces were overwhelming and the bronze dragons were defeated and Burmussoith was captured and imprisoned.

The bronze dragon grew up in the tight confines of a lightless prison under the watchful eye of an order of dark knights. Burmussoith flexed his mind as much as he could, learning through eavesdropping everything about the iron fist of his captors, though the magic of his prison kept him firmly in place. Eventually, when Burmussoith had become an adult, the dark knights and their code of tyranny collapsed from an outside force and the bronze dragon was freed. He aided the new force greatly as he shared his considerable knowledge about the inner workings of the black-hearted order.

Freed, Burmussoith helped clean up the rest of the evil forces, and then turned his considerable prowess to learning about how laws could be used to help or hinder societies. He traveled the length and breadth of his Material Plane world, gaining much knowledge, but he knew he had to go further. The bronze dragon, now a venerable wyrm of considerable power, took to the planes, and he found Arcadia to be a bastion for his research. Burmussoith took up a residence at the Court Castles of Lex and has an entire castle to his self now.

The bronze dragon enjoys the litigation process of the Lex and often finds himself aiding strangers that get caught up in the byzantine system of laws, crimes, and punishments.

Clangeddin Silverbeard

Many dwarves consider their deities within a trinity framework. At the pinnacle is Moradin, god of creation, but supporting him are Dumathoin, the keeper of secrets, and Clangeddin Silverbeard, the patron of warfare. No one point of the trinity is strong enough on its own to survive without the other two, but all are made better by their connection. Beneath Mount Clangeddin on Abellio, Arcadia’s upper layer, Clangeddin keeps a dwarven army ready for nearly any battle across the multiverse.

The dwarven god of battle runs a complex organization in the miles and miles of tunnels beneath the mountain. He moves about constantly, inspecting troops, leading formations, and running combat drills, while maintaining information lines into the workings of the many foes the dwarves face. Chief among these are the duergar who have infested several underground realms in Arcadia. Clangeddin sees it as his personal duty to defeat the dark dwarves and drive them from the plane, but they have somehow found a way in from Acheron and other realms.

Lex

The embodiment of Arcadia’s lawful nature is found wholly in the Lex. This sprawling bureaucratic organization is divided into countless orders, each with long and complex titles denoting their fields of authority. The main function of the Lex is to debate, write, and enforce the laws of Arcadia that keep harmony in balance and the peace between the kingdoms. These laws are transcribed into a massive magical tome called the Lexinomicon. The original is kept in the Court Castles on Buxelos in a well-fortified keep in the center of one of the better defended castles, but it is magically linked to each copy that is kept in the individual kingdoms.

The Lex is made up of countless members, each called a servant. Joining the Lex is a long and involved process involving hearing committees, approval committees, background checks, and more, but those that join its ranks become immortal. Elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and more are counted among the immortal servants of the Lex, along with stranger and more powerful creatures including angels, modrons, and dragons.

Immortal servants dress in black robes with white undershirts. Their designed order is marked on the sleeves of the robe in intricate symbols. The pinnacle of responsibility within the Lex is the Order of Peaceable Laws, where the immortal servants debate and decide upon the presentations that could eventually become laws. There are 100 members of the Order of Peaceable Laws and passing a law requires a two-thirds majority.

Two types of laws exist on Arcadia. The first are the Common Laws, and these edicts concern property, behavior, and borders, among other more standard areas. The second are the High Laws which are reserved for indelible rights of people and creatures. Murder is a crime against a High Law, while theft is a crime against a Common Law. The difference can sometimes be unclear especially to those outside the Lex, but the punishment ranges are far more severe for the High Laws than for the Common Laws.

Most outsiders find dealing with the Lex an exercise in utter frustration. Every action and request requires documentation in the form of special scrolls that must be signed by authorized individuals before they can be processed by the Order of Scroll Reviewal. From there they move into one of many different orders based on the request, eventually ending up in the Order of Scroll Archiving and Storage. Even seemingly simple requests to the powerful organization can take days, weeks, or even months to finally get processed.

Nomos Prime

Magic obeys its own set of internal laws. Wizards and other arcane scholars have been deciphering those laws since magic was discovered, but the underlying structure has always eluded true understanding. For the singularly powerful being known as Nomos Prime, however, such understanding has been achieved and perfected.

Who or what is Nomos Prime exactly? None know for certain, but it is an immensely powerful being that controls fantastic magical powers unheard of outside of the most spectacular divine interventions. Some stories say that it was a wizard that traveled the planes and unlocked the magical code, while others maintain it is a manifestation of that very code given voice and form. Nomos Prime is genderless and sits in a vast tower constructed of magical force on Buxelos.

It can manifest anywhere in the tower as a crackling visage of magical energy, shaping it in any way conceivable but always identifiable. Nomos Prime speaks in a calm, measured whisper that is easily heard and understood by any it so desires within its tower. Outside the tower, magical ooze-like creatures called nomo enact the will of Nomos Prime. The powerful magical entity offers to teach any wizard its power that comes to its tower, and these wizards – nomomancers – often take their knowledge out to the multiverse.

Perfect Order

The Perfect Order is the military arm of the Lex. Its members are einheriar, warriors in service to law and justice across Arcadia, but they do not enjoy the immortal benefits of being a Lex servant. Instead they are equipped and trained to enforce the laws passed by the Lex, and are usually assigned to permanent duty at one of the many kingdoms across Abellio and Buxelos. In this regard, they function as that kingdom’s law enforcement force, though they are usually supplemented with other military commands for the defense and good of the kingdom.

For such a vast peacekeeping force, the Perfect Order is surprisingly cellular. The units of einheriar stationed at each kingdom are autonomous from the larger organization as each is imbued with perfect knowledge of the Lexinomicon and its many, many laws. This connection is maintained by powerful forces within the Lex itself.

Two divisions of Perfect Order einheriar exist. The first are the guards, and these are the common soldiers and warriors stationed across Arcadia. They are skilled combatants and loyal soldiers, able to sense the breaking of a law within a certain range in order to locate criminals and bring them to justice. The second division are the investigators, which are housed centrally at the Court Castles of Lex. Teams of einheriar investigators are assigned territories across Arcadia and it is their duty to track down those that break the High Laws.

Queen Mother Clarity

Formians are not native to Arcadia, and their arrival in the past few centuries caused confusion and concern initially. The ant-like race approached the Lex under peaceful terms, however, and the terms of a peace accord were struck after the first full meeting. This meeting was conducted with Queen Mother Kk’llaa’raa’tt IV, a word that is difficult to pronounce for non-formians. She is known as Queen Mother Clarity to outsiders, and currently her progeny, Queen Mother Clarity XI, rules over the formians on Arcadia.

She dwells in the massive hive-city of Mandible on Buxelos, constructed in a vast network of tunnels beneath a large mound of solidified earth and dirt that stands like a mountain on the planar landscape. Queen Mother Clarity has three daughters who represent the formians in matters of state and importance, as she herself has gotten too big to move outside of her brood chamber. Soon, her time will end and one of her daughters will become Queen Mother Clarity XII. The three princesses have different views of how to run the formian forces on Arcadia, but one of them agrees with her mother’s viewpoints. It’s a volatile situation that is likely to erupt in the coming years into civil war unless drastic measures are taken.

For her part, Queen Mother Clarity XI is pushing on the Lex to finalize their membership into the Peaceable Kingdoms once and for all. It’s a process that’s been taking a very long time, held up in debates among the orders and sub-committees, but the Queen Mother hopes that its final decision will cement the formians into Arcadia and prevent a civil war when she passes. Two of her daughters lean heavily towards withdrawing from the plane entirely – one of them violently so.

Storm Kings

High above the perfectly ordered orchards, forests, hills, and rolling plains of Abellio hang four floating stone structures. These are the bases of the Storm Kings, four immortal beings together with complete command over the weather of Arcadia. Their homes are the Compass Citadels, each positioned thousands of miles away from the Orb of Day and Night in one of the compass points (north, east, south, and west).

The four individually are the Cloud King, the Wind Queen, the Lightning King, and the Rain Queen, and each of their Compass Citadels are surrounded by powerful and damaging forces controlled by each individual. They meet on a regular basis at one of their citadels, rotating among them each time, to discuss the weather patterns and plan for the coming period. These meetings occur every 360 days, also referred to as a storm year.

The weather of Arcadia follows definite patterns that can be ascertained. It never rains for more than one day at a time, for example, and never more than four days pass between weather extremes. The temperature across the plane is kept steady and comfortable, so snow and ice are never a widespread concern. But two or three of the Storm Kings have worked together to create particularly violent bouts of weather. Once a storm year the four allow their powers to coincide to create a powerful storm that stretches across both planar layers.

Creatures & Denizens

Arcadia is home to numerous creatures that are also found on most Material Plane worlds. Sheep, wolves, cows, and other common creatures can be encountered in the vast expanses, along with humanoids and angels of all types. A few unique creatures also call the plane their home, including the displaced formians and others.

Beasts

Upon first look, Arcadia appears as a perfectly ordered plane with specifically defined borders separating unique kingdoms. And it is, but there’s more wilderness to the plane than most would assume. The wilderness of Arcadia is naturally organized into well-defined regions and it’s populated by a surprisingly large variety of creatures. Large herds of elephants are common in the warmer kingdoms, and the mountains are home to rams, crag cats, and great gatherings of goats.

The brekekex is one of the most dangerous beasts, and they dwell in swamps and other marshy terrain. These black-and-white toads have a distinctive booming croak that echoes for miles, and they defend their territories with animalistic ferocity. Cadmals are a curious creature that watch and wait the kingdoms of Arcadia from a safe distance. They can change their shape and are surprisingly difficult to catch.

Celestials

Celestial beings are no stranger to Arcadia. Many of the kingdoms of the plane have a celestial patron watching over them, such as a solar or deva, and the archons of Mount Celestia maintain a large presence on Arcadia as well. The Lex works hand-in-hand with celestials of justice, mercy, and compassion in order to carry out the laws of the plane. Felidar are celestial cats devoted to the idea of law and order that live in the Court Castles of the Lex, bonding with individual magistrates and judges and serving as close advisors in matters regarding High Laws.

Humanoids

Arcadia remains one of the more populated planes of existence. The Peaceable Kingdoms that make up the bulk of its landscape are filled with all manner of humanoids. Many have come to Arcadia to establish permanent and peaceful realms in a place renown for such things but while conflict certainly still exists between some of them it rarely breaks down to warfare. Skirmishes between rival neighbors over resources and ideologies have been known to occur, but the iron hand of the Lex and their legion of einheriar enforcers keep the peace – by force, if necessary.

Dwarves. The rigid order and community support of Arcadia is a natural fit for dwarves. Many of the kingdoms that makeup the plane have dwarven citizens and more than a few are governed exclusively by dwarves. The largest dwarven community, however, is around and within the mighty Mount Clangeddin. Here, industrious dwarven crafters work tirelessly to create weapons, armor, jewelry, and art of the highest skill. Clangeddin Silverbeard himself watches over the realm, though he often travels to Mount Celestia on divine duty to visit with the other gods of the dwarven pantheon.

[b1]Loxodons.[/b1] The origin of the elephant-like loxodons is shrouded in mystery, but many planar scholars look to Arcadia as their possible original home. They are a strong force in the Lex, serving as legal counselors, defenders, and lawmakers, and the loxodon kingdoms in the greater Arcadian countryside are among the most revered and respected. A loxodon’s name holds subtle indications of their family, individual status, and community role, and they tend to be longwinded in general in their pontifications of law and order. Some venture outside of Arcadia and there’s a large community of loxodons in Ravnica, many of whom traveled from the Peaceable Kingdoms to settle in the City of Guilds.

Monstrosities

Some interesting monsters dwell in Arcadia, but not all in ways one would expect. The wizards in and around the Tower of Nomos Prime experiment with magical laws and some of those experiments have created monstrosities that escaped. The Lex has worked to help contain these dangers and, working with the wizards, have actually created a “sanctuary” on the lesser populated layer of Buxelos for the castoffs to be sent. Almost any monster can be found there, and the containment measures taken by the assigned einheriar always seem to be lacking in effectiveness.

Gore worms are burrowing monsters that can smell chaos so they leave most inhabitants of Arcadia alone. The presence of a gore worm is a sure sign that something illegal has happened according to most residents, and many work to actively support the huge monsters.

Formians. Formians are ant-like creatures originally from Mechanus, the plane of ultimate law, but they’ve expanded into Arcadia aggressively. They are not evil but they are expansionists who believe that all territory is there for the taking by those with the strength and will to take it. Mandible is the largest hive colony on Arcadia, and Queen Mother Clarity has done a fantastic job working with the other inhabitants of Arcadia to make sure the formians are not seen as a threat. Nonetheless, the aggressive posturing and secretive nature of the ant-like creatures has caused many to worry. The Lex is largely powerless as Queen Mother Clarity has jumped through all legal loopholes to ensure her presence and actions are legal.

Hazards & Phenomena

While Arcadia stands as one of the safer planes to traveler for well-intentioned visitors, there remain a few hazards to watch out for, chief among them breaking the law (accidentally or deliberately!). Other wonders attract strangers to Arcadia’s perfect fields as well, and Dungeon Masters can randomly generate a Peaceable Kingdom using the tables contained herein for quick inspiration.

Arcadian Flawless Fruit

The trees that fill the orchards and forests of Arcadia’s perfectly ordered landscape are pristine specimens, each standing tall and reaching out with symmetrical branches and leaves. Most of these trees are simply perfect versions of more common varieties found across the Material Plane, such as oaks, maples, and birches, but under the right specific circumstances a seed falls and grows into a flawless metal tree.

The flawless metal trees have bark made of gold, silver, or copper, with bronze or brass leaves sprouting along ordered lines on the branches. They appear to be oaks, but they bear no nuts or seeds – instead, flawless fruit grows from their limbs. Resembling pears of varying shades of red, green, orange, and violet, the flawless fruit from these rare trees hold magical properties. Each flawless tree grows fruit of one particular type, which mimics a potion from the below table. When picked, the fruit lasts for 1d10 days before crumbling to dust.

The flawless trees usually only appear singly in a grove or forest, but in some places they are specially cultivated. The Enlightened Orchard contains the densest collection of flawless trees that grow fruit near constantly.

Breaking the Law

The laws that govern life across Arcadia are complex and byzantine. Travelers to the plane, especially ones with a chaotic alignment, can find themselves inadvertently breaking any number of laws, bringing the wrong kind of attention down upon them and those they associated with.

Rather than detail out the myriad Arcadian laws, which would likely fill many thick volumes in its own right, the DM is encouraged to use a simple abstraction. Anytime a character makes an ability check while on Arcadia, roll 1d20. If the character is lawful, a law of some sort is broken on a roll of 1. If the character is neutral, a law is broken on a roll of 1 or 2. And chaotic characters break the law on a roll of 1, 2, or 3.

You can use the table below to determine the severity of the law broken. Common Laws are handled by einheriar in the area, while High Laws are usually policed by the investigator einheriar or judgewraiths (or both, in rare circumstances). Law and order are so bound together in Arcadia that a magical effect attaches an aura to criminals that can be read by specialized equipment held by einheriar across the plane, allowing them to quickly judge if a person has broken a law and demand fines and/ or incarcerate as appropriate. Just because no one was around doesn’t mean a law was not broken on Arcadia!

A night’s imprisonment can be settled with 500 gp per night at any Perfect Order office around Arcadia. Breaking a High Law usually involves a trial, and such offenders are apprehended and taken to the Court Castles of the Lex on Buxelos. There they wait for their time in court, and are assigned a defender while evidence is gathered. Some criminals have waited years for their trial to start.

Harmonious Vitality

The harmony built and maintained by the Lex and other inhabitants of Arcadia mingles well with the plane’s natural tendencies, and together they infuse travelers and natives alike with charged vitalities. While on Arcadia, creatures can’t be frightened or poisoned, and they are immune to disease and poison.

Random Peaceable Kingdom

The Peaceable Kingdoms that give Arcadia’s its title are many and varied, and not all of them are kingdoms in the strictest sense! Democracies, magocracies, plutocracies, and more populate the well-ordered lands of Arcadia. Collectively they are known as the Peaceable Kingdoms and they are all lawful good or lawful neutral (usually a mix of both).

You can randomly determine the general properties of a Peaceable Kingdom using the below tables. The first table determines the government type, or who holds the highest level of authority in the kingdom. The second table helps determine the dominant race, which can be one or many depending on how unique you want to get. The third table is a catch-all for general traits that apply to that kingdom; you are encouraged to roll two or three times on that table to make the kingdom unique from the others. Some of the results are opposite of one another and if rolled together, one should be re-rolled.

Sites & Treasures

Arcadia is a well-populated plane with varied and distinct realms of a law-abiding nature, but that doesn’t mean secrets and treasures don’t lay between the cracks. Whether characters are searching through the vast Scroll Crypts, perusing the Lexinomicon, or trying to find the mythical Stormvault, Arcadia has plenty of adventure opportunities to offer.

Compass Citadels of the Storm Kings

Hovering high above the ordered landscape of Arcadia’s first layer float four impressive fortresses, each serving as the home of one of the powerful Storm Kings. They are positioned at the compass points around the Orb of Day and Night, though spread out far enough and high enough so that they cannot view one another. Each of these Compass Citadels is surrounded by titanic weather patterns matching the Storm Kings’ own demesne – wind, rain, lightning, and clouds.

Each of the Compass Citadels is unique to their respective Storm King, but they are all organized stone layouts with multiple towers surrounding the central structure. There each Storm King holds court, commanding their weatherly aspect across Arcadia. They each have their own perspective on visitors, so travelers should be cautioned. The Rain Queen is fond of entertaining those that make the long and perilous journey to her Compass Citadel and has been known to talk for hours at length with any willing to listen. By contrast, the Lightning King is a brooding quiet lord that keeps intruders away with a massive force of storm elementals and precision lightning strikes.

Court Castles of the Lex

The largest developed region in all of Arcadia belongs to the sprawling complex of bridges, walls, towers, and fortifications that make up the Court Castles of the Lex. The bureaucratic orders of the Lex each have their own gray stone castle(s) within the 50-mile square plot of developed land. There is order to the tangle, though the closer one gets to the center of the Court Castles the less that order is obvious as the buildings and spires date back to the beginning of the Lex on Arcadia.

Although its size dwarfs many kingdoms, the Court Castles are not evenly populated, and some sections have been sealed away or abandoned in the edicts of new policies. Old orders are shuttered but their residency sites remain, sealed away, with their records moving into the Scroll Crypts buried below the ground.

The center of the entire structure is dedicated to the Castle of Peaceable Laws, where the Order of Peaceable Laws meet to debate new laws. This is also where the true and original version of the Lexinomicon is housed, magically linked to every copy on Arcadia. Few visitors are allowed inside the Castle of Peaceable Laws unless the Order of Peaceable Laws has called a special public session, an act that requires two-thirds majority of the order’s members after such a motion has been made.

While the Order of Peaceable Laws is the pinnacle of the Lex, other orders housed within the Court Castles hold just as much if not more sway in the day-to-day operations of the bureaucratic organization. Members of the Order of Scroll Scribes can be found everywhere as they are responsible for taking accurate notes on everything, who in turn pass their documents over to the Order of Scroll Archiving and Storage. The Order of Scroll Retrieval are responsible for taking requests and fetching the desired scrolls as summoned by members of the Lex or representatives in good standing.

Many of the outlying Court Castles are dedicated to holding actual court, with a judge presiding over a case. Cases are argued by defendants and prosecutors on behalf of clients, who are often citizens accused of a crime that they have disputed. The legal proceedings of these many, many courts is long and tedious but most judges of the Lex are fair if overly thorough. “Everyone has their day in Lex court” is a common Arcadian saying, followed closely by “but the Lex judge takes their time in months.” It’s a slow, ponderous system, but for the complex law-heavy societies of Arcadia there is no other option.

Enlightened Orchard

The flawless metal trees that dot the landscape of Arcadia are rare, and while there is a pattern to their appearance and growth it is complex and poorly understood by most. The most reliable place to find the metal trees and their magical flawless fruit is the Enlightened Orchard. Guarded by four gynosphinxes of incredible age and power, the orchard is hidden from casual view on Abellio, the first layer of Arcadia, in an otherwise unassuming patch of land not claimed by any Peaceable Kingdom.

Those that wish to partake in the fruits of the orchard must pass five tests. The first test is finding and accessing the Enlightened Orchard, a riddle few have been able to solve. Then each of the gynosphinxes that guards the site offers a distinct test. Failure expels the applicant from the orchard for a period of four years. It is widely known that those that pass the tests have their memories selectively cleared of the experience by the magic of the gynosphinxes, so few clues exist to aid travelers. Applicants must rely on their wits and knowledge to access the orchard.

Glockenspiel

Glockenspiel stands as one of the many Peaceable Kingdoms across the landscape of Abellio, and it would be wholly unremarkable among its neighbors except for one distinct feature. It is ruled by an erinyes devil named Lady Lacquella who has turned her back on the evil ways of her devilish kin. Lady Lacquella’s path to rulership over Glockenspiel, a plutocracy rooted in old aristocratic ways and means, started recently when one of the old nobles schemed to gain greater power. He summoned the erinyes and taught her the ways of Arcadia in secret while using his considerable influence and deep knowledge of the laws to keep the Perfect Order from discovering his plots.

Lady Lacquella learned a great deal from her summoner, and she found that Arcadia held more for her than the Nine Hells. When she learned that the old noble that summoned her had broken a High Law, she pushed through incredible agony and pain to defy his will and report it to the Lex. The Perfect Order came in with full force into Glockenspiel and tore down the noble’s house and plans in punishment, but the erinyes was a conundrum. She was given a chance to plead her case before the courts of the Lex, and using the knowledge of Arcadian laws she had gained Lady Lacquella was able to expedite the case hearing. The judge that oversaw the case ruled in her favor and she was given her former master’s land and title as recompense.

The erinyes moved quickly to consolidate her power among the other nobles, but she holds no malice in her heart. She is careful not to break any laws, but some of the Perfect Order that protect Glockenspiel – ancient knights – bristle at the very thought of a devil in their lands. Lady Lacquella has done well for Glockenspiel and its people, however, and by all account she is eyeing a seat on the Order of Peaceable Laws as her ultimate goal. Is this part of a devilish plot to usurp the powers of Arcadia? Or is this a case of a changed heart?

Lexinomicon

It cannot be understated how many laws adjudicate life and society in Arcadia. Most of those laws were passed with good intention, though a few come close to absurdity, and some are so ancient that their original reasonings have been lost to the dusty archives of the Scroll Crypts. Every single law of Arcadia, from the simplest to the most ridiculous, are transcribed in a massive tome called the Lexinomicon, housed within the Court Castles of the Lex on Buxelos. The sheer number of laws and amount of people needing to reference them makes a single copy worthless, so a magical copy exists within every Peaceable Kingdom that is updated automatically and immediately when the original is marked.

The book itself is massive. A single page is 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall, and when closed the Lexinomicon sits 10 feet high. The pages are magical, as thin as paper but as strong and durable as steel. Perfectly neat and legible handwriting lays out each law in ordered, organized sections, but even for such a weighty tome the sheer number of laws on Arcadia should fill multiple copies of the behemoth. Another magical aspect of the Lexinomicon holds an extradimensional space between the covers allowing for a near-infinite number of pages to be kept inside. Each copy of the Lexinomicon is half the size of the original but otherwise holds the same properties.

The Order of Scribes Eternal are tasked with actually writing and adjusting the laws within the book. These immortal scribes speak rarely and work in shifts, maintaining the wording of all the laws and adjusting them based on the rulings of the courts of the Lex. A single representative of the Order of Scribes Eternal is assigned to each copy held by the Peaceable Kingdoms, who are responsible for relaying new laws and updated language to their respective rulers.

Mandible

The formians are a relatively new arrival on Arcadia, having spread from the coglands of Mechanus in a relentless incursion into the planes. But the ant-like creatures are not evil, and they recognize the value in integrating into Arcadia seamlessly. Several hive-cities have appeared on Buxelos, the plane’s second layer, but none are as large or complicated as Mandible. There, Queen Mother Clarity rules the formians across all of Arcadia, and she commands great respect with the queen mothers on Mechanus as well.

Mandible stands as a massive dirt tower rising up from the once lush grassland surrounding it. The indomitable formians have worked tirelessly to build the structure out of the land’s materials, using their own magic and prowess to push it higher and higher. The base is nearly a mile wide and it stretches up almost half that height, tapering as it reaches the pinnacle. Inside is a complex but well-organized network of tunnels, passages, caverns, and rooms built into the earthen structure of Mandible itself. The tunnels extend far underground as well, where the formians have dug out extensive regions within their designated borders.

The hustle and bustle of constant movement dominates existence in Mandible. The formians inside all have specific tasks they must complete, and they work to complete these with ruthless and machine-like efficiency. Soldiers patrol, drones work, and Queen Mother Clarity’s personal brood and guards oversee the entire operation. The queen mother’s chambers are hidden in a secret chamber at the tower’s base, roughly at ground level, but accessing it requires intricate knowledge of Mandible’s tunnels and hidden halls.

Some representatives on the Order of Peaceable Laws believe that the formians have sinister intentions that they hide within Mandible’s borders. It is a sovereign nation on Arcadian land, subject to its own laws, a situation agreed upon by Queen Mother Clarity’s tireless negotiations upon their arrival on the plane. What exactly transpires in the formian hive-city is unknown to the Lex or other residents of Arcadia, a fact that worries many in positions of power.

Mount Clangeddin

A blind traveler can find Mount Clangeddin with little problem, as the rhythmic pounding of hammer on anvil echoes for miles upon miles around the singular peak, the sound of industrious dwarves working on countless projects within the mountain’s halls. Of course, Mount Clangeddin is even easier to find with sight as it towers above every other natural feature of Arcadia, with the exception of Mount Today. Its rocky surface is dotted with regular openings where dwarven sentries stand watch, but no easy trail avails those that would scale its exterior – the jagged rocks are aligned specially to prevent such ventures.

Inside and below Mount Clangeddin, thousands upon thousands of dwarves work under the auspices of their god, Clangeddin Silverbeard. The famous dwarf deity resides somewhere in the mountain, though he is not one for religious rites, preferring instead to constantly move about the halls inspecting soldiers and the results of numerous dwarven crafters. The dwarves in Mount Clangeddin live a rigid, militaristic life, with a definite hierarchy and chain of command running through every facet of life. Defense of the mountain is paramount, and numerous spontaneous portals have appeared in the tunnels below ground where duergar, derro, and other evil invaders seek to plunder the riches of the fabulous dwarf kingdom.

And the riches contained within Mount Clangeddin are fabled and many. Great weapons and armor of dwarven make adorn vaults and halls of legend, though rarely do they remain in place for long. Clangeddin and his clergy believe that a weapon that sits idle is a weapon misused, so worthy contenders constantly strive to prove their value before the vault keepers in hopes of having one of the mighty items bestowed upon them.

Dwarves make up the bulk of the residents of Mount Clangeddin, and dwarven members of the Perfect Order protect it and the surrounding territory from incursions and evil, but occasionally a non-resident impresses the keepers enough to find a place among their ranks. Known as beardfellows, these outsiders have been welcomed in Clangeddin’s halls and are recognized by most dwarves as honorable friends who have performed great service. Even dwarves can be titled beardfellows and they are regarded higher still by the people under the mountain.

Orb of Day and Night

Nothing more encapsulates the perfect order of Arcadia than the Orb of Day and Night. Every 12 hours, the orb shifts, bathing one half of the plane in sunny daylight and the other in moonlit night. It turns without fail, a symbol of Arcadia’s harmony. No twilight or dusk shines upon the land, and a definite line divides the night and day sides of the plane. The Orb of Day and Night rests atop Mount Today on Abellio, but through some magical force it can be seen just as clearly on Buxelos as well.

Several planar sages have tried to study the orb, but thus far all attempts to reach the summit of Mount Today have met with failure. The weather turns violent the closer one approaches the peak, and when coupled with the intense effects of the orb itself – the day side radiates fierce and blistering heat with the night side sends a numbing chill – approaching the top has simply proved too dangerous. A little known prophecy written by a blind diviner says that one day the Orb of Day and Night will fail, and when that happens order will become chaos and harmony will crumble. Those that have heard of this prophecy scoff at its words. How could such an event occur?

Scroll Crypts

The Lex generates enough scrollwork to stuff any library on the Material Plane full to bursting, and then some. All of this paperwork has to go somewhere, and below the Court Castles on Buxelos the Lex have come up with the answer. The Scroll Crypts are underground dungeon chambers filled with vault upon vault, each overflowing with scrolls of all kinds. Some are simple messages, some are notes on various laws, and some are magical texts that hold words of power. All must be stored and catalogued, and the Order of Scroll Archiving and Storage are responsible for this monumental task.

The scribes of the OSAS (as they are known) are accustomed to living underground, and they are the largest order of the Lex outside of the Perfect Order. The OSAS work closely with the Order of Scroll Retrieval who take in the requests for archived document and pass them to the OSAS for fulfillment. In the Scroll Crypts, the scribes have little contact with anyone outside of member of the Order of Scroll Retrieval.

Some members of the Lex believe the OSAS has lost more scrolls than they know about, but the OSAS vehemently denies any such accusations. Unfortunately, the truth is that sometimes, scrolls do become lost – but usually under mysterious and directed circumstances.

Spires of New Harmony

While the Lex has the good of everyone in mind, the laws that it passes and the direct enforcement of those laws can be a bit stifling. Most folks with good intentions can see the reasoning behind this, however, as it does maintain a harmony and balance across Arcadia. However, one secret project undertaken at the behest of a small cadre of judges blurs the line between what’s good for Arcadia and what’s good for people. Under the mantle of the Order of New Harmony, this secret initiative operates in lone towers spread across Buxelos called Spires of New Harmony, where the ruthless inhabitants seek to purge chaos from individuals by force.

This kind of forced indoctrination is not illegal, not yet, and the judges that run the Spires of New Harmony wish to keep their project away from the eyes of the rest of the Lex for as long as possible. The mission is simple – take individuals that show strong rebellious streaks from across the planes, abduct them, lock them in a Spire of New Harmony, and then perform a series of magical experiments meant to purge the chaos from their bodies. They have not been successful to date on any grand scale but they have managed to keep most of their activities hidden. However, the Order of New Harmony is becoming more bold in their actions, and soon they will be revealed. And when that happens, the judges that run the project hope that their results prove the end justifies the means.

Stormvault

The Storm Kings are powerful individuals that hold incredible magical might between them. This magical might is rumored to stem from a hidden site called the Stormvault, where the penned up magical energy of the plane’s weather is contained and then distributed slowly between the four leaders. The Storm Kings do not speak openly about such a place, but there have been enough stories and legends told about them and their power that most believe the Stormvault exists.

If it does exist, it would contain magical secrets and power of staggering capacity, whether the Storm Kings draw energy from it or not. Some legends say that it holds powerful weapons and relics used by the four to wage war upon each other and exterior forces, while others say it is a prison for a storm-related god of an ancient and forgotten epoch. Where is this fabled site? Most sages that study the Stormvault say that the most likely place is inside the Orb of Day and Night itself, which sits at the perfect center of Arcadia and consequently the Compass Citadels of the Storm Kings. Do all four have access to the Stormvault? Are there keys necessary to opening it? What would precipitate such a momentous occasion? These are questions that no one has answers yet for.

Tower of Nomos Prime

The laws of magic are cosmic and beyond the understanding of most people, but Nomos Prime is not most people. Who or what Nomos Prime is or was is not known, but this magical entity claims to be the only being in the multiverse that truly understands all of the laws of magic. It has created a new school of magical study, nomomancy, that it teaches to students young and old that seek it out. And the best place to seek the entity is its monolithic tower on Buxelos, Arcadia’s second layer.

The Tower of Nomos Prime is constructed of black glass streaked with jagged lines of purple. It appears on the outside as a square box, 250 feet to a side, with no doors or windows visible. Entrance is provided only to those that prove they have understood the first law of magic, which is that magic obeys its own laws. Demonstrating this can be done in any number of ways, but doing so usually gets Nomos Prime’s attention, after which a door panel opens leading inside.

The interior of the tower is a marvel of extradimensional space. Its black glass corridors and halls continue in all directions, not haphazardly but ordered and measured. Students of all ages walk the halls, learning from the nomo spirits that serve as Nomos Prime’s voice in common interactions. The air hums with magical energy and the labs hold experiments dealing with the very nature of magic itself.

Nomos Prime is infused within the tower and is quick to explain to students and visitors that it cannot leave the confines of the strange magical building. But the gift of nomomancy it gives to any with the appetite to learn, and this gift it encourages all to share across the multiverse. Is this part of some sinister plot? What is the true motive behind Nomos Prime and its scores of nomomancers?