The Barony of Laurentium
The people of Laurentium are known for their oddities, love of experimentation, and spiral architecture. As the initial birthplace of the Order of Averin, strong opinions on which of the four elements is the strongest are rampant throughout the barony, and friendly arguments are a common dinnertime topic. Centuries of these conversations have yielded a strange effect on architecture, with those who prefer stone focusing on building long, one-story buildings, those who prefer ice building in complex fractals, those partial to fire refusing to build anywhere but downwind, and those partial to lightning building tall, narrow complexes that often try to outdo one another as the closest to the sky. Over time and as the Order coalesced, these beliefs have slowly compromised into a predilection toward spirals, though there are some who still stick to the old way of thinking, and such preferences have begun to instead appear on clothes.
Though all races can be found in Laurentium, elves, stone elves, selunari, and dark elves are found most prevalently, drawn to either the geological hot spot or its associated activity. The area is known for being the progenitor of many unique pieces of art, be it statues sculpted by lightning or soot paintings made popular by famed artist Centra Meyor. When one of its barons permanently dies, they are traditionally carried by their council into the depths of the Levyn Valley and left to the elements.
Outside of their art, Laurentium is also a prolific exporter of many types of stone used for construction, ranging from volcanic rock to marble, as well as Chalameria’s primary source for cedar and evergreen trees. With the fall of the Dreamwood it is one of the only places left with prevalent forestry, and has tried in the years since to fill the void of shipbuilding that has plagued the land.
NOETICA
The Laurentian Capital
The city of Noetica sits as the nearest city to the Paradox Gates, and draws scholars, mages, and thrillseekers of all kind. It is home to the largest mages’ guild in Chalameria, overseen by a an elected leader known as the Eye of the Storm. Only reachable by boat or passage through the unstable Paradox Gates, it is considered a safe place for experimentation due to its inherent separation from the mainland, and when denizens leave it is normally due to either the inherent danger of its position or to spread news of their results with the broader world.
Noteworthy Places
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The Paradox Gates
The Paradox Gates are a highly unstable natural feature as old as Chalameria itself, where neither people nor elements behave as they should. It is here the Order of Averin and mages guild gather to nominate their leaders and observe the Trial of Elements, and where celestialists from Noetica gather once a decade to document its unusual effects on the land. Under constant observation by a rotating vanguard of scholars, it is never left unattended and any elemental threats are observed and quickly disposed to prevent them from reaching the mainland.
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Embervale
The northernmost city in Laurentium, Embervale is the last civilized stop before the Planar Pass, a dangerous pathway taken by convicts and exiles as sentencing for banishment-worthy crimes. Once little more than an outpost, it has grown with legal and illegal trade alike made through those seeking absolution via the Pass or looking to test their luck in the Dreamwood. It is widely believed to be homebase to the Silver Ashes, a mercenary group consisting primarily of keen scouts, quick-fingered rogues, and persuasive merchants who ferry goods in and out of the Pass – for a profit.
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Woodsedge
Woodsedge is the city nearest the Dreamwood, and served as a sanctuary to many dryads who fled the forest once it became blighted. It now serves as one of the foremost lumbermills in Chalameria, and is the first line of defense for attacks that might arise from the Dreamwood. Many warriors looking to cut their teeth in battle travel here for training from some of Laurentiums’ finest spellswords and fighters.
Laurentians of Note
Famous, infamous, noteworthy, or otherwise – these Laurentians are widely known throughout Chalameria for one reason or another, but note this is not an exhaustive list.
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Aludiane is a Selunari and known patron of the arts and science. Born on the road near the dangerous Planar Gate, she has lived in Noetica ever since but makes a yearly commitment to visit each of Laurentium’s cities. Rumor has it she can sometimes be found gambling under cover of cloak during visits to Embervale.
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The first person to initially call for a unification of the elements, he is infamous for his handling of piracy on the Mistbrim Sea, striking a deal with the pirate lord to act as the Chalamerian conscripted navy once the Dreamwood became blighted.
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The current Eye of the Storm, leader of the mages’ guild in Noetica. She is considered just but fair, and only three mages have been sent through the Pass for crimes against the elements in her tenure. She is often called upon for counsel by leaders across Chalameria.
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A renowned painter and flame elitist known for mixing soot and ash into her paint.
Views on Other Cultures
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On Maram
Though many might argue Laurentians’ love of experimentation indicates a lack of order, this isn’t the case. While they find the extreme law prevalent in Maram stifling, they are similarly strict on other, seemingly meaningless minutiae, such as which cardinal direction a bakery should be facing (always west, of course).
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On Elion
Trade with Elion is normally friendly, with the region’s Bound Shard scrolls in high-demand among wealthy Laurentians. Though ownership of the Stillwater Channel in its entirety was once contested, this argument quickly faded into obscurity after blighted creatures were known to exit the Dreamwood to sail its shores, and it became more dangerous to claim ownership than profitable.
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On Wincor
Alike in spirit if not in practice, Laurentians are traditionally quite intrigued by the free-spirited proclivities of those who hail from the bogs of Wincor, and recipes for various experimentations have long been traded between the borders. Mercenaries from the Wastelands are known to link with those from or coming through Embervale, and through these deals underground traderoutes have been established from Chalameria’s northernmost border to its southern tip.