Exploring Laubu Mesa Within a _Castrovel Adventure_

So in yesterday’s Chapter 2, Lady Vaeol my narrator and her flag-pod arrived in Laubu Mesa (or Ofu-Laubu, as I have created the Lashunta name), ‘the Growngem of the North,’ an almost legendary city among Lashunta. They have come under invitation from Lady Kueth, the city’s ambassador, and officially as guests of Queen Seri-Ilaueth. This seems like a great opportunity to explore and develop more worldbuilding content.
For canon sources, Laubu Mesa is most defined within Paizo’s Starfinder Gazetteer: Castrovel (Compton & Sutter) published within the Dead Suns adventure path. However, it references the city had survived since ancient times. Furthermore, the more recently published PF2 Gatewalkers: Seventh Arch adventure, along with including the new Adventures on Castrovel article by Sutter includes a reference to Laubu Mesa within the Adventure Toolbox. So the first decision to make is what content to ‘bring backward’ to a pre-Gap, early-period setting contemporaneous with Golarion’s Age of Lost Omens.
The first and most spectacular option is Thakasa, the tame flying steeds Ofu-Laubu’s skyriders have been using for thousands of years, and which currently fly in their heyday. Without artificial flight, Ofu-Laubu’s aerial cavalry enjoys almost complete supremacy over the entire region of northwestern Asana. Based on their description as being ‘close evolutionary relatives of Shotalashu’, I envision them as wyvernlike pterasauroids large enough to carry a rider and flight-saddle.
I have also chosen to place an aiudara elfgate in Ofu-Laubu, connecting it directly to Qabarat in the south. With an aiudara needfully comes a connection to the Elves, who had colonized Ofu-Laubu and cohabitation with the city’s Lashunta back in the Age of Sage-Queens, until the ~Hoathara~ - the Withdrawal, corresponding to Kyonin’s Return, when the Elves recolonized their ancient homeland on Golarion. While no Elves remain in Ofu-Laubu today, not only the elfgate but also Elven-built architecture, elfyards, technology, and art remain to this day.
I have also decided that Ofu-Laubu is ruled by a queen, one of the few surviving monarchies in this era, after being mostly eradicated at the end of the Age of the Thief-Queens. The Laube Queen has the additionally distinction of being revered as a living goddess, which creates specific rules surrounding ritual purity and worthiness to enter the royal presence, which will be fun to play with in future chapters, and which get extended out of courtesy to Taiase, being a former Sage-Queen.
Lastly, Ofu-Laubu, despite being closely gate-tied to Qabarat, occupies a unique geographical position, being far enough north in Asana that it temporarily escapes Castrovel’s tropical heat and cools enough to have an arguable winter. Although Qabarat’s influence remains strong, their climate warrants a distinctive, appropriate fashion style. So, whereas I’ve drawn inspiration for fashion in the Yaro Cities being based on Indian and Southeast Asian fashions, for Ofu-Laubu I will draw on Ancient Minoan. For one thing, on a point of etiquette I have already devised, I like the irony of Laube Damaya females walking around using their hands to cover the one part of their bodies bare to the eye.
More details will come in succeeding chapters. Hopefully this in-depth exploration will entertain and ignite inspiration.