Avalon Shard
Avalon, centering around the mystical isle which gives it its name, is a mid-sized shard located in the British Isles of the Old World. Though the area has been held sacred for far longer than there's been a settlement around it, the loose collection of towns known as New Avalon is also ancient and the first place where the races lived side by side; it's a pilgrimage site known for its craft, trade, and representation of all faiths within Genesis. Avalon Shard's inland location makes it much harder to reach than shards bordering the ocean, but in spite of this it the constant influx of travelers seeking guidance, communion, and spiritual healing makes it one of the most frequent destinations for those daring a journey across the Old World.
More accurately a sprawling collection of towns and shrines whose boundaries have bled together over time, the city of New Avalon is connected by a series of roads around the lake containing the sacred isle of Avalon itself. Its largest section centers around a hill to the west of the lake, where a great cathedral to Tanith is a beacon to incoming travelers and is thought to be the first structure around which the rest developed. First and foremost a city dedicated to the many gods of Genesis, New Avalon is a site that has been important to all faiths since the distant past; as a result, the primary feature of the city is its great temples, many of which are the largest of their respective gods in any of the shards. The city sees constant visitors coming to visit its temples, and its population swells enormously during any of the sacred festivals. Despite its religious leanings, New Avalon is also a placeof bustling commerce; there's an obvious need to provide for its migratory population, and there are a huge number of inns, dining houses, and merchants making a tidy business selling devotional offerings like candles, incense, fruit, or flowers. Similarly, craftsmen here specialize in the weaving, metalworking, and leathercraft needed for travel supplies for the long journey home. New Avalon is known for its high standard of workmanship, with its products being reliably sturdy, finely crafted, and of good quality. They're a large importer of high-end materials, with the wealth to absorb the cost of the complicated overland process to get it there. AVALON ISLE
Though it has no population, the Isle of Avalon is the shard's most important feature and deserves its own mention. Avalon itself is a sacred isle shrouded by constant mists in the center of a wide lake. It contains no shrines or structures, and is covered in wild-blooming apple trees, with a deep hollow in the center that houses a spring containing the remains of a fallen star; the hollow is a site of highly concentrated magic and believed to be a natural entrance to the Dreamroad. Surrounded and protected by constant mists, access to the Isle is exceedingly rare and granted only under circumstances of extraordinary need; the inherent magic of the Isle can grant enormous power to spells cast there, and can be called upon for near-miraculous healings. Passage to the isle is via boats manned by the servants of Eihel, who also serve as the initial arbiters of who is granted access.
The land to the northeast of the lake rises slowly, and then abruptly drops off in a vertical cliff known as Diedre's Plunge. Though the frequent wind across the moorlands means it's dangerous to go too close to the edge, many visitors to the city will make the climb since the faintest glimpse of the Isle's famous apple trees can sometimes be seen above the mists from the top of the Plunge; for most, it's the closest they'll come to the sacred isle itself. THE GREAT TEMPLE OF EIHEL
Nobody's entirely sure why Avalon is an area of such interest to the goddss of justice, but it indisputably is. Her temple here is one of the only of its kind, and certainly the largest dedicated to a deity who normally has little interest in such things. It doubles as a headquarters for her significant following of Hounds within New Avalon, giving them a place to work from as they keep the shard in order. THE MISTS
Constantly encircling the sacred isle, the mists of Avalon are a potent protection and are governed by a powerful spirit force generally referred to as the Lady, or the Lady of the Lake. Though the Hounds are the first to narrow down who can travel to the Isle, she's the final judge of whether or not someone will be permitted there; those who don't meet with her approval are turned away, at risk of becoming permanently lost or worst if they should overcome their escort and try to continue alone. Strangely, the mists are also present in the Worldshadow and similarly block access to the isle. SWORD HOLLOW
A small depression in the moorlands, filled with forest and centered around a hollow where the rusted remains of a sword can be seen magically fused into an outcropping of rock. It's said that when the ancient mage-king Arthur was given his sacred star-forged sword on the Isle, he left his former blade here; whether or not the rusted remains are actually his, nobody's truly sure. THE RAMBLE
A long stream-filled gully that stretches a fair distance across the shard, filled with thick brambles that seem unnaturally resistant to any attempts to dislodge or traverse them. The locals accept it as a fact of life, though it's a frequent annoyance to visitors who think it'll be an easy matter to cross. It's effectively made the southernmost entrance to the shard obsolete, cutting it off from the rest of Avalon. THE RIVER CROÍ
The Croí is the only major river of the shard, fed by any number of small rainwater streams that crisscross the land. It crosses the landscape in large, gentle curves and eventually empties in the lake surrounding the Isle. VOIDHOLLOW
A small forested hollow, once popular as a romantic spot due to its wildflowers and the small brook that formed a waterfall there. In more recent times it's become perpetually shrouded in mists similar to those protecting the Isle itself, and possibly serves as a similar entrance to the Dreamroad. A Freed Spirit called the Gray Lady seems to have claimed it as her home.
Climate and Geography
A northern shard, Avalon is cool most of the year; spring and summer are mild and pleasant, but frost arrives early in the fall and transitions to moderate snowfall in the winter. Most of the landscape is flat or gently sloping moorland, with scattered forest here and there as well as encircling part of the lake itself. While there's enough richness to the soil for farmers who know how to work around the cold season, the shard isn't a place to go wandering; mist and fog are common here, and the moors are interspersed with areas of swampier ground that can be a hazard to the unwary.Population and Governance
Avalon's population is hard to ever put a fixed number to, since a significant percentage of its people at any given time are coming and going. Those who live in the shard fulltime are primarily focused in New Avalon, maintaining the temples and providing shelter, meals, and supplies to the constant stream of travelers; the land further out from that central hub is small villages and isolated farms, which themselves are usually located within a day's ride of the central city and enjoy the protection of the roaming Hounds that call the shard home. The population leans slightly towards human in the farming communities, but there's plenty of elves living in New Avalon and a small number of shapeshifters. The people who choose to live in Avalon Shard tend to be more pious than those elsewhere, and even those who've been brought up there rather than living there by personal choice tend to have a heightened sense of reverence for the gods. The Temple of Eihel in New Avalon is the largest of its kind, and her Hounds serve as the city's official peacekeepers as well as patrolling the shard as a whole. Matters for the city as a whole are generally decided between the leaders of the various faiths, but there's usually little in the way of conflict due to the place's holy reputation and the diligence of its protectors. In the smaller farming villages, elected village headsmen settle conflicts and represent their communities to the city when required.Capital
NEW AVALONMore accurately a sprawling collection of towns and shrines whose boundaries have bled together over time, the city of New Avalon is connected by a series of roads around the lake containing the sacred isle of Avalon itself. Its largest section centers around a hill to the west of the lake, where a great cathedral to Tanith is a beacon to incoming travelers and is thought to be the first structure around which the rest developed. First and foremost a city dedicated to the many gods of Genesis, New Avalon is a site that has been important to all faiths since the distant past; as a result, the primary feature of the city is its great temples, many of which are the largest of their respective gods in any of the shards. The city sees constant visitors coming to visit its temples, and its population swells enormously during any of the sacred festivals. Despite its religious leanings, New Avalon is also a placeof bustling commerce; there's an obvious need to provide for its migratory population, and there are a huge number of inns, dining houses, and merchants making a tidy business selling devotional offerings like candles, incense, fruit, or flowers. Similarly, craftsmen here specialize in the weaving, metalworking, and leathercraft needed for travel supplies for the long journey home. New Avalon is known for its high standard of workmanship, with its products being reliably sturdy, finely crafted, and of good quality. They're a large importer of high-end materials, with the wealth to absorb the cost of the complicated overland process to get it there. AVALON ISLE
Though it has no population, the Isle of Avalon is the shard's most important feature and deserves its own mention. Avalon itself is a sacred isle shrouded by constant mists in the center of a wide lake. It contains no shrines or structures, and is covered in wild-blooming apple trees, with a deep hollow in the center that houses a spring containing the remains of a fallen star; the hollow is a site of highly concentrated magic and believed to be a natural entrance to the Dreamroad. Surrounded and protected by constant mists, access to the Isle is exceedingly rare and granted only under circumstances of extraordinary need; the inherent magic of the Isle can grant enormous power to spells cast there, and can be called upon for near-miraculous healings. Passage to the isle is via boats manned by the servants of Eihel, who also serve as the initial arbiters of who is granted access.
Other Notable Locations
DIEDRE'S PLUNGEThe land to the northeast of the lake rises slowly, and then abruptly drops off in a vertical cliff known as Diedre's Plunge. Though the frequent wind across the moorlands means it's dangerous to go too close to the edge, many visitors to the city will make the climb since the faintest glimpse of the Isle's famous apple trees can sometimes be seen above the mists from the top of the Plunge; for most, it's the closest they'll come to the sacred isle itself. THE GREAT TEMPLE OF EIHEL
Nobody's entirely sure why Avalon is an area of such interest to the goddss of justice, but it indisputably is. Her temple here is one of the only of its kind, and certainly the largest dedicated to a deity who normally has little interest in such things. It doubles as a headquarters for her significant following of Hounds within New Avalon, giving them a place to work from as they keep the shard in order. THE MISTS
Constantly encircling the sacred isle, the mists of Avalon are a potent protection and are governed by a powerful spirit force generally referred to as the Lady, or the Lady of the Lake. Though the Hounds are the first to narrow down who can travel to the Isle, she's the final judge of whether or not someone will be permitted there; those who don't meet with her approval are turned away, at risk of becoming permanently lost or worst if they should overcome their escort and try to continue alone. Strangely, the mists are also present in the Worldshadow and similarly block access to the isle. SWORD HOLLOW
A small depression in the moorlands, filled with forest and centered around a hollow where the rusted remains of a sword can be seen magically fused into an outcropping of rock. It's said that when the ancient mage-king Arthur was given his sacred star-forged sword on the Isle, he left his former blade here; whether or not the rusted remains are actually his, nobody's truly sure. THE RAMBLE
A long stream-filled gully that stretches a fair distance across the shard, filled with thick brambles that seem unnaturally resistant to any attempts to dislodge or traverse them. The locals accept it as a fact of life, though it's a frequent annoyance to visitors who think it'll be an easy matter to cross. It's effectively made the southernmost entrance to the shard obsolete, cutting it off from the rest of Avalon. THE RIVER CROÍ
The Croí is the only major river of the shard, fed by any number of small rainwater streams that crisscross the land. It crosses the landscape in large, gentle curves and eventually empties in the lake surrounding the Isle. VOIDHOLLOW
A small forested hollow, once popular as a romantic spot due to its wildflowers and the small brook that formed a waterfall there. In more recent times it's become perpetually shrouded in mists similar to those protecting the Isle itself, and possibly serves as a similar entrance to the Dreamroad. A Freed Spirit called the Gray Lady seems to have claimed it as her home.
map of Avalon Shard
Quick Facts
Approximate Size: ~1200 sq. milesNumber of Entrances: 5
Capital City: New Avalon
Dominant Race: mixed
Approximate Population: ~21,000
Type
Territory
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