The Crescent March
Ervenian Era, 1051 AB
A moving realm of defiant mercy, the Crescent March is a constellation of oases, drum-road caravans, and moonlit sancta that drifts across Mithardir’s white deserts. Where other dust-seas erase names, Elmae’s banners plant them: births are recorded in knot-songs, rebel covenants are tattooed in henna and ash, and every shared cup writes a line against forgetting. The March never stays still for long, its tents, thorn-gardens, and wind-walls fold and travel by rhythm, yet its hospitality is constant: water, shade, and a listening ear for the wounded, the wandering, and the unwillingly ruled.
Customs and Law
Water-Guest Right binds all who share water and a true name beneath a ring or awning to hospitality and frank speech until the next bell, while lies taste of dust and catch in the throat. The Unwasted Skin teaches that every drop of water is sacred, and waste stains one’s hands until restitution is made, whether through hauling, mending, or ferrying. Art Before Blood requires disputes to begin with chorus, dance, race, or craft. Victory obliges uplift: a lesson, a tool, or safe conduct must be offered. The Kin Oath declares that harm to mothers, children, or those beneath guest-cloth is the concern of the rebellion, and the March will shelter the hunted from tyrants’ warrants. Movement is Life ensures camps never root for longer than a season, for lingering breeds dust-sleep and invites the desert’s forgetfulness.Geography
Notable Locations
Three-Rings Oasis
A crescent pool encircled by three low stone rings (echoing Elmae's sigil). Mist-condenser trees bead drinkable dew each dawn; the rings host naming rites, reconciliations, and rebel councils.The Mothers’ Tents
Crimson-and-sand pavilions that relocate by nightfall; midwives, bone-setters, and singers keep birth, grief, and recovery rites. No weapon is drawn here without shame.Drum-Road
A causeway of dark, resonant flags and basalt plates; marching in time compacts treacherous dust and shortens the way. Off-beat travel sinks the feet.Wind-Redoubt
A honeycombed scarp of fossil dune riddled with caves, every wall layered in clan-marks, knot-songs, and cartouches of freed kin.Salt Libraries
Sheltered alcoves of salt-glazed tablets and seed-ink scrolls; knowledge is copied to living media (gourds, seeds, woven bands) to resist the eroding wind.Thorn-Wadis
Seasonal channels hedged in living acacia and moon-rose; safe-rest corridors for the weak or hunted, warded by oath-thorns.Sirocco Hall
An amphitheater carved by wind; rebellions are rehearsed here as dances and drills, and disputes begin with song before arms.Travel and Access
The Crescent Gate to Arvandor opens when the first crescent light rims the Three-Rings pool and a traveler can name both what they seek and why now, forming a moon-bridge to Crescent Grove and the friendly halls of The Seldarine. Overthreads ripple along the Drum-Road, slipping travelers to Arvandor or Aquallor when rhythm and shared labor align. Returning requires a different cadence. The rare Rebel’s Thread opens when a victim of tyranny speaks a true need beneath guest-cloth, forming a hush-path toward safe allies on the nearest kind plane.Inhabitants
The Petitioners of the March are Crescent Elves, desert walkers, midwives, healers, water-singers, rebel guides, and caravan guards. Reborn with steady breath and clear sight in the night, they uphold guest-right, mend trails, and teach endurance. Among them dwell Azatas and Agathions: bralani who lead storm-relief and decoy-chases, lillends who preserve music and memory, and leonals and avorals who enforce guest-right while escorting the timid or the injured. The plane is also home to good-hearted fey of sand and moon, mirage nixies, dust-lamp sprites, and thorn-dryads, who guide without gouging and prize consent and clean departures. The Wardens of the Shared Water are Elmae’s chosen sisters and brothers-at-oath, marked by their ringed moon brooches and vows hennaed across their skin.Localized Phenomena
The Forgetful Dust abrades petty grudges first, and if cruelty is clung to, it begins to scour names and maps as well. Truth spoken kindly fixes memory like rain hardening clay.
The Simoom of Silence rises against coercive threat, choking shouts and weighing down drawn blades until parley is chosen or withdrawal made.
The Briar of Oathbreaking snags the sleeves and straps of willful vow-breakers with thorn and moon-rose, loosening only with apology and amends.
The Cradle-Sleep settles over those burdened with grief or toil, lulling them to rest beneath certain awnings or trees; they wake at dawn renewed in body and temper.
The Drift of Mercy diverts cruel pursuits away from nests, dens, nurseries, and birthing-tents, turning paths into long, reasonable detours until the lesson is learned.
Magic and effects
Desert Respite favors magic that creates water, endures elements, conjures shelter, or aids foraging when shared freely, but withers when hoarded. Mother’s Mercy strengthens healing, restoration, disease-removal, and calm emotions cast to protect the vulnerable, while soul-harm, terror, and enslavement magics strain or fail. Rebel’s Rhythm steadies concentration when spells are cast alongside drumming, chanting, weaving, stitching, or storytelling, with benign effects seen as part of the rite. Sand-Slip empowers travel magics that lengthen stride, soften passage, mask heat-sign, or respect the ground, carrying them farther when the journey spares the land. Oathcraft ensures that messages, protections, tongues, sendings, and courage-chants tied to a sworn work or watershared vow linger longer when near their living mark.Trait Type |
Description |
|---|---|
| Gravity | Normal gravity; orientation fixed to the ground. Dune slopes and ruin-arcades can create treacherous angles but the plane does not shift orientation.. |
| Time | Subjective; memory frays in open dust. Within vow-circles, mother-houses, and drumlines, recollection holds firm. |
| Shape & Size | Finite. |
| Morphic Traits | Highly entropic outside sancta; rhythmic-morphic within the March—spaces hold shape so long as the beat and work continue. |
| Elemental Energy | None Dominant. |
| Alignment | Chaotic Good |
| Magic | Survival, travel, healing, protection, sound, and oath magic are enhanced; coercion, terror, and life-harming necromancy are impeded; preservation/creation magics work best when tied to shared labor or vows. |
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