Cath Celdaenn Setting Primer

 

Florian de Gesincourt

 

[tryna get this done with minimal editing]

These are the default setting assumptions for this week's players. Close readers of the blog will be rewarded with deep (possibly recently retconned) setting lore.

* * *

The City is CATH CELDAENN.
- Cath Celdaenn is the old imperial capital.
- It is the last city - the only city. The rest fell with the empire.
- It is vast. The City walls contain cliffs, mountains, superstructures, an inland sea. Much of it is overgrown hinterland; circumnavigating it is a 30 day trek.
- It is deep. Some live miles below the canopy, where no light reaches.
- It is covered in ruins. Beneath the overgrowth and climbing ivy, every inch of the City was once a bustling metropolis.
- It is cold. Bring a scarf.

The City is home to the CAPITOL TREE.
- It is a God. Thru its blessings, men gained the body, the breath, and the soul.
- It is massive. Its branches can be seen from miles away.
- It contains the combined wisdom of the thousand-year empire.
- It has two trunks. To the West, it sheds golden leaves. To the East, it sheds purple-red.
- Its roots are everywhere. They anchor the City in Creation, and ward off Shivers.

THE SHIVER is a cold fog full of brilliant nacre strands.
- All that it touches is Shivered. Shivered skin is scarred. Shivered lands are lost.
- Shivers crawl across Creation. Only the City is safe, anchored by the Capitol Tree roots.

The City is also home to THE PILGRIM TREE
- It is massive. The Pilgrims brought it to the City in a palanquin the size of a treasure boat.
- It is worshiped by the Pilgrims, and for good reason. It can perform miracles, and give counsel thru dreams.
- Thru its blessings, the Pilgrims exercise control over much of Lower Celdaenn. For now, they run what remains of the postal service. They also sponsor expeditions into the untamed city.

IRON is profane.
- It is anti-magic. No spell can affect it, only circumvent it.
- It is anathema to the natural world. An iron spike can poison a tree and kill a god.

Cath Celdaenn is also full of:
- CELDS - Re-inheritors of Cath Celdaenn. Proper mutts of the City, rediscovering their lost culture.
- GHOSTS - Coalescing in lakes and valleys. Cold as death. Sometimes traded as currency.
- SKELETONS - Sentient. Mute.
- SAINTS - Dead Celds elevated by worship. Provide blessings thru relics.
- KNIGHTS - Suits of armor belonging to cargo cult orders. Rightfully distrusted by normal folk.
- GODS - Minor nature gods/genius loci. Rarely given the respect they deserve.

Beyond the City are the APOSTATES, who allied with dark forces to conquer the City.
- They engineered the fall of the empire, and the erasure of Celdaenni history.
- They were defeated.

Celds also have the RIGHT TO VOTE. No one knows what this actually means (leaders aren't always elected, and there's certainly no central government) but we're all very smug about it.