Throne of Primordial Unity
The small plot of land carved out around the Throne of Primordial Unity is almost tranquil, a reminder of how things used to be.
Formerly known as the Dessarin Valley
The Throne of Primordial Unity is a city dedicated to the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye and its four sub-cults: Black Earth, Crushing Wave, Eternal Flame and Howling Hatred. All cults have equal standing within the city, putting aside any differences to maintain civility and order. The streets spiral toward the center, past the houses of high-ranking cultists and shrines that bind powerful elementals, until they meet at an inverted ziggurat in the center of the city. Within that ziggurat is a vacant throne. It’s here that the cults await the return of the Elder Elemental Eye and conduct business of primordial unity.
Although the city is united, the outer circle highlights the fundamental divide that previously kept all the cults apart. Each cult controls a different quarter of terrain that surrounds the city, and their Princes of Elemental Evil shape their quarter to their liking.
Imix’s domain of fire is a flattened wasteland of ash and soot. All former wildlife fell victim to wildfires or the persistent smog that rolls across the landscape. Roads of volcanic fissures line the landscape, making the entire region inhospitable for anyone who can’t handle the heat. To the south of that rises Ogremoch’s sculpted territory of earth. Tunnels wind through mountainous peaks and deep caverns, and unpredictable seismic tremors frequently reshape the land. Here, it pays to be careful where you step.
On the other side of the throne are the territories of a body of water claimed by Olhydra and the floating icescape of Yan-C-Bin. The quarter dedicated to water is more akin to a deep basin, filled to the brim with water and sporadic islands. Untamed and vengeful waves form in the basin, ensuring none may sail without paying a dear price. Lastly, Yan-C-Bin’s domain climbs high into the clouds with perilously sharp peaks, the exact opposite of Olhydra’s. A constant frigid cold howls eerily as fierce winds cut through the air, carrying a torrent of debris in their wake. Each gust sharpens the mountain peaks like daggers preparing to piece the sky.
For elemental minded individuals, the Throne of Primordial Unity is an elemental haven in its purest unbridled form. For non-cultists, it holds the closest proximity of four divergent terrains that are dangerous in their own right without all the cultists or elementals present. Few survive long enough to reach the throne itself, but all that awaits them is the fury of the elements.
Citizenry
Races and people of all walks of life find their way into the ranks of the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye. In fact, the Throne of Primordial Unity offers an unparalleled diversity of people, from aarakocra of the skies, tritons from the sea, or dwarves of the earth. Anyone with an affiliation to a certain element is welcome to contribute. Oblivious new recruits might never learn how far the cult would go to keep nonbelievers away from its fickle utopia.
The bulk of the citizenry are trained to work alongside the beasts that each elemental cult favors. The Black Earth is fascinated by burrowing creatures like bulettes, while the Howling Hatred raises hippogriffs and griffons. It isn’t uncommon for aspirants to be rewarded with a young animal to tend and bond with.
Religion
Members of each of the four cults continue to worship their respective elemental prince, listen to lessons from their prophet, and provide frequent sacrifices to please their overlords. Only those within the highest pinnacles of the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye actively pray to or idealize Tharizdun the Chained. Many common cultists are entirely unaware of the cult’s affiliation to the deity who forged the Abyss; revealing it could be the cults’ own undoing.
The prophets know Tharizdun is trapped somewhere within Vecna’s clutches, since he speaks to them in lucid visions. Tharizdun requires constant worship to remain strong, and the Princes of Elemental Evil empower him with rituals that their followers don’t fully understand. Since Tharizdun’s return, many of the citizens have taken an apocalyptic view on life. With the world in chaos, it’s a just deed to end the world—and its suffering. Many followers hear the wild babbling of Tharizdun, entirely unaware of its subconscious calls for elemental cataclysm. Tharizdun created one Abyss that gazes into all, and in this goal, at least, he and the demons are concerningly ideologically aligned.
Noteworthy Information
As a region and faction split into four parts, the cults have numerous important figures with conflicting ideals, strengths, and flaws. The elementals and prophets are intelligent enough to put any differences aside, but exploiting a weak link could cause the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye to falter.
Elemental Prophets
Opposite the Princes of Elemental Evil stand their mortal counterparts, the prophets who paved the road in order for the elemental portals to be opened, and whose elemental power is only surpassed by the princes’ themselves. (The stat block for each prophet is presented in Princes of the Apocalypse.)
Vanifer, Fire Prophet. Vanifer (she/her, neutral evil tiefling) burned both literal and figurative bridges to get where she is. She knows how fire captivates and entices, using that to manipulate others and achieve what she desires. Those who play with fire and outlive their usefulness eventually get burned.
Marlos Urnrayle, Earth Prophet. Marlos (he/him, neutral evil medusa) is enamored with jewelry of gold, silver, and gems. He was a noble of high society until a fateful encounter turned him into a medusa, solidifying his contemptuous attitude toward his lessers. Those who don’t see eye-to-eye with Marlos’s methods are simply turned to stone.
Gar Shatterkeel, Water Prophet. After a life of hardship, Gar (he/him, neutral evil human) found himself stranded at sea. After a shark chomped off his left arm, he’d all but lost hope when a sudden current carried him to the safety of the shore—and for that, Gar believes he owes his life to the sea. Despite his hatred toward all others, Gar fights his nature to better serve his position as Prophet. After all, water eventually erodes all it touches, and Gar is exceedingly patient.
Aerisi Kalinoth, Air Prophet. Aerisi (she/her, neutral evil moon elf) carries herself with the regality of a queen. Illusionary wings curl around her as she graciously allows the bards of her court to entertain her. Behind the air of nobility, she possesses a raging storm that can’t be tamed. Aeries is the kind to leave all she meets breathless, one way or another.
Princes of Elemental Evil
From their respective elemental planes of existence, the Princes of Elemental Evil have tainted cores. It was these four princes who were tricked by Tharizdun into believing he’s their creator; perhaps if there were irrefutable evidence of his ruse, they would turn on the master they fanatically serve. (The stat block for each prince is presented in Princes of the Apocalypse.)
Imix, Prince of Evil Fire. Imix (he/him, neutral evil elemental) is a pillar of pure fire with all the fury and wanton destruction the element embodies. With a temperament like his element, there is little rhyme or reason to his actions, for none can truly predict the whims of fire.
Ogremoch, Prince of Evil Earth. Known also as the Mountain That Walks, Ogremoch (he/him, neutral evil elemental) has a humanoid form of rock and crystal. He believes all the earth, from its minerals to its precious gems, belong to him. To take even a copper nugget without his blessing is to feel the full weight of a mountain upon you.
Olhydra, Princess of Evil Water. Appearing as a titan of a great wave, Olhydra (she/her, neutral evil elemental) lurks in bodies of water far larger than herself. She sees all who dare traverse her waters as sacrifices, smashing their vessels until the ocean is stained red. Olhydra is both a torrent of unrelenting force and the gentle eroding of the waves— and to the chagrin of her foes, she knows exactly when to switch between the two extremes.
Yan-C-Bin, Prince of Evil Air. It’s rare that Yan-C-Bin (he/him, neutral evil elemental) ever shows his physical appearance; instead, he’s found in the howling breeze or the dancing gust of cold. None of the elemental princes can match him for wisdom or malice. Yan-C-Bin is believed to have few enemies— which is true in part, as those who oppose him are ambushed and suffocated, their very breath caught on the wind.
Government
Despite unifying, each cult still maintains independent city-states and governs their respective followers as they see fit. It’s only when they must deal with the world beyond the Dessarin Valley that all four cults unite for the Council of the Elder Elemental Eye. Each elemental prophet—and on rare occasions, one or all elemental princes—gather there to discuss plans or prioritize threats against their way of life.
While the elemental cults are no longer enemies, the lowest ranks all hold rivalries with one another. This misplaced competitive nature dwindles as the elites rise through the ranks of government, and the most powerful all share the united vision of ensuring Tharizdun’s safe return.
Each Cult operates under strict laws, believing in the destructive power of their chosen element; each has little issue in turning it on traitors. Impure thoughts are burned away by the Eternal Flame, those who restrict liberty are choked out by the Howling Hatred, the stubborn are met with torrents of fury by the Crushing Wave, and abusing what the earth freely gives is met with the weight of a mountain by the Black Earth.
Defences
The city’s first line of defense is the inhospitable weather and terrain of the four elements: heat, wind, tremors, and high waves. Any who survive beyond the outer circle are confronted by legions of cultists and servile elementals. In times of dire need, the Princes of Elemental Evil stride into battle themselves, where their mere appearance wards off foes.
Industry & Trade
Outside of the four elemental quarters, the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye had enough foresight to establish smaller farming settlements to become self-sufficient. All trading and economy is coordinated between the different cults, ensuring ample supplies of food and resources.
Each elemental cult plays their part—the Cult of the Black Earth discovers ores without the need for mining, passing them to the Cult of the Eternal Flame, who use unquenchable fires to forge weapons or armor. Meanwhile, the Cult of the Crushing Wave provides drinkable water, irrigation, and sewer systems, and the Cult of the Howling Wind shapes the wind to make it difficult for even dragons to fly through, repelling outsiders.
A twisted normality pervades the Throne of Primordial Unity, as if this is the world that could exist had Vecna not risen to power. Their combined elemental might has proven enough to ward off dragon threats or Vecna’s forces, but the balance is precarious. Most of the Princes of Elemental Evil would sooner flee to their home planes than risk destruction.
Guilds and Factions
The four lesser cults that comprise the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye fight amongst each other for dominance, but they all come together to crush any fifth faction that tries to plant roots here.
History
Once, the widely populated Dessarin Valley contained the settlements of Red Larch, Triboar, and Westbridge, as well as the city of Yartar. But unbeknownst to the people of the valley, the Cult of Elemental Evil worked beneath their feet in the dwarven redoubt of Tyar-Besil. Within that castle in the Sumber Hills, each cult opened portals to the elemental planes, summoning forth the Princes of Elemental Evil. With their arrival, untold destruction awaited all of Dessarin Valley.
After the dust had settled and the valley was theirs, the four princes combined their forces to reshape all of the Dessarin Valley. The land was divided into four quarters, one for each prince to claim as their own dominion outside of their elemental plane. Where the four corners met would be their capital, the Throne of Primordial Unity. The four lords of Elemental Evil plotted their next move, a planar prison break to free their master Tharizdun from his abyssal prison. They turned to the only entity they believed powerful enough: Vecna.
In exchange for shaping portions of the Sword Coast to his liking, Vecna cast a powerful ritual in Silverymoon, summoning Tharizdun—chains and all. The princes move with caution and acquiesce to Vecna’s demands, because if anyone knows how to kill their god, it’s the God of Death.
And so, the Throne of Primordial Unity sits vacant, calling out for Tharizdun to claim it and usher in his reign of corruption. Until then, all the Princes of Elemental Evil can do is obey Vecna’s commands and bide their time. One thing is guaranteed: when the fury of the elementals is finally unleashed, they will never yield.
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