Findar Endar
Ervenian Era, 1051 AB
Findar Endar is a mist-hidden grotto-realm where duel becomes dance, debt becomes story, and luck rings like a struck bell. It lies deep in the perpetual evening of Brux, under leaning trees and red-sun haze, where a lantern-lake reflects both the half-moon and the glint of polished steel. Anya’s dwelling is a simple cave cut into a ferned bluff, but the glade around it behaves like a stage: voices carry cleanly, footfalls find their rhythm, and even the wind seems to wait for a punchline. The realm twins across the planes, there is a second Findar Endar in Dwarfhome, a remote cavern in the foothills, and the two are joined by oath-gates and performance-rites so that a vow made in one can be answered in the other.
Customs and Laws
Debts are resolved as performances: a claimant declares terms on the coinwork dais, and the answer may be duel, deed, riddle, or prank,always clean, never cruel. Guest-right is sworn by sharing bread, salt, and a drink at the grotto’s rail; while it holds, hospitality and frank speech bind all parties, and lies taste of iron and catch in the throat. Art as Contract is sacred as oaths are chiselled in rune, sung as verse, or braided into scarlet cords quietly ward malice within their circle and steady the heart of those keeping them. Grudges escalate only through the Ring: nonlethal contests before witnesses; victory obliges uplift,an offered lesson, a gifted tool, or safe conduct. While, petty vengeance is redirected into Mirth-Trials, where wit replaces blood and everyone goes home with a story.Geography
The heart of the realm is a crescent mist-grotto: a mirror-pool rimmed by smooth stone terraces and root-buttresses that act as natural galleries. A honeycombed cave-lodge behind the falls serves Anya’s home and greenroom; its walls are hung with gilt bells, debt-tallies etched in runes, and a traveling tavern’s worth of tankards. Lantern-fungi and foxfire bead the cedars, throwing warm footlights over a central coinwork dais, a mosaic of hammered coppers and golds where challenges are spoken and wagers sealed. Narrow shade-ways lead into rehearsal-glades, armories of beautifully made loaner weapons, and the Echo Hall, where shattered enemy steel sings as if a distant chorus. At the grotto’s edge, a vine-laced Stone Curtain opens at the close of a well-told tale, revealing its twin passage to the Dwarfhome version of Findar Endar.
Notable Locations
The Coinwork Dais
A bright mosaic at center stage where wagers are set and settled; bells ring different tones for duel, deed, or jest.The Red-Cloak Tavern
A traveling temple that appears where laughter runs high, pouring courage and swapping loaner blades for songs.The Caltrop Garden
A raked bed of black iron stars used to teach footwork and humility; cross it clean, and the Guardians nod once.The Echo Hall
Holds the broken arms of foes; each shard hums a different note, and together they make a chorus when a brave tale ends well.The Mist-Row
A hush-path from which the seven Guardians step when judgment is needed; their presence alone is often enough to turn wrath into wager.Travel and Access
Silent branch-arches and vine tunnels connect Findar Endar to the wider twilit forests of Brux, and the nearby Library of All Knowledge may be reached by speaking a costly truth while touching a book’s spine. The grotto’s Stone Curtain opens to Dwarfhome mirrored cavern when a debt is settled with laughter on both sides; returning requires a new performance. Hollow giants at the treeline cycle as tree-gates in rhythm with Brux: scarred oaks and silver beeches often open toward Arborea, while sequoias lean to Elysium; ledgers kept by oath-gardeners note which groves are “open.”Inhabitants
Petitioners here are dwarven adventurers, debt-chasers, duelists, and laughing brawlers reborn with bright eyes and unshakable timing; they tend the stage, keep the weapon-gleam, and host estranged hearts without judgment. Crepuscular beasts of Brux, tigers, foxes, owls, bats, move freely through the mists and sit as quiet audience or sudden chorus. Seven Guardians called einheriar, forged from Anya’s favored fallen,keep watch in crimson cloaks and open-faced helms, serving as ushers, seconds, and final arbiters when tempers flare. Azatas (bralani referees, lillend balladeers) and goodly Fey of glow and brume help record outcomes as song-law; visiting Kaxanr priests bring mobile-tavern liturgy, loan out shining arms, and trade quips for secrets. The realm is friendly to lammasu and leonine Agathions who arrive as guest-judges during major compacts.Localized Phenomena
Caltrop Showers sometimes patter from the gallery rafters when cowardice dresses up as honor; the points never maim, but pride may.
Coin-Mist rises during wagers, making small risks feel sweet and gaudy gambles taste of ash. The Echoes of the Fallen hum in the armory when a borrowed weapon is returned with a good tale attached; neglect turns the same hall sullen and off-key.
Well-meant Pranks of Red Boot (Anya’s favorite flourish) trip tyrants and blow pompous speeches askew; those who laugh at themselves pass unharmed. And on festival nights, a Twilight Spotlight finds the honest challenger and carries their voice to the back row like a trumpet.
Performative Casting, such as chanting cadence, rhythmic footwork, carving runes, or telling a truthful tale while you work. steadies the mind; bystanders read non-harmful magic as part of the show.
Duel-Wards and bindings sworn in the Ring (messages, protections, challenge-compacts, safe-conduct) carry a little farther and linger a little longer. Luck in Battle swells for courage used to shield the weak, for stylish risk that lifts the room, and for clever mercy delivered with a wink.
Joyless Coercion strains: fear-domination, slavery bindings, and petty cruelty tend to fray or fail. And those who repay a debt with wit or generosity often feel the Coinbearer’s Nudge—one flawless opening in the next contest, there to be seized or squandered.
Trait Type |
Description |
|---|---|
| Gravity | Normal. |
| Time | Standard, but scene-sense intrudes, moments of wager, duel, or punchline stretch just long enough to land. |
| Shape & Size | Infinite; its borders meander with the mists and “breathe” wider during festivals. |
| Morphic Traits | Divinely morphic to Anya; mildly morphic to bold, artful acts—songs shape soundscapes, choreographies “light” the stage. |
| Elemental Energy | None Dominant |
| Alignment | Good, Mildly Chaotic |
| Magic | Luck, charm, performance, travel-by-oath, and duel-wards are gently enhanced; fear-dominance, slavery magic, and joyless coercion tend to falter. |
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