Carteia (Car- tay- Ah)

Located on the island of Elba, the frozen island in the northeast of Halruaal, Carteia is the second oldest settlement founded under House Aetius.  Built in concentric tiers into the side of a great mountain known as Mount Caelus, Carteia is a marvel of magical engineering and defensive design.  Its skyline gleams with stormglass and wardstone towers etched with runes along walls that shimmer faintly with active wards.  Snow rarely settles within its heart, repelled by ever-burning enchantments and weather-controlling glyphs. 

Coincidentally, Carteia is the second most defended city in Halruaal, surpassed only by Castle Aetius.  It's defenses are due in part because of the benefit of a large deposit of Wardstone but also the intervention of wizards of House Aetius.  For centuries, wards and special enchantments have been woven into the cities walls and buildings, making it nigh impenetrable to damage and divination. As such the most of Halruaal's security force and all of House Aetius standing army have trained or been housed behind Carteian walls.

Demographics

Humans make up roughly 60% of the city and are the backbone House Ateius' region.  They serve in every role—mages, merchants, wardens, and scholars.  Most noble houses are human, and the human-blooded dominate the Spiral Archive and ducal courts.

Gnomes following humans make up 10% of the city.  Rock gnomes make up the predominent block of Carteia's gnome population.  They are revered for their meticulous arcane craftsmanship and contributions to wardstone refinement.  Many serve as wardwrights, artificers, and archivists within the Spiral Archive.

Dwarves are next, establishing about 8% of the population.  Stoic and magically adept (especially those of the Mountain-blooded Clans), dwarves of Carteia often oversee the mining and shaping of wardstone.  They are highly respected for their pact-binding oaths and resistance to magical manipulation.

While often discriminated to the south of the Duchy, Elves make up 7% of Carteia.  City Elves, once enslaved by human magisters have slowly started to come to Carteia seeking skilled emploment with a few joining the Spiral Archive.  These elven mages fight hard to overcome their race's past much to the point that some even occupy prestigious teaching or researcher roles.

Half-Elves are the next populous block at 5%.  As natural intermediaries and diplomats, half-elves often serve in administrative or educational posts, bridging gaps between cultures.  They are also valued as military officers for their adaptability.

Many are refugees from House Petrov's lands, Tieflings come in at 4% of the city's populace. Though mistrusted in other parts of Halruaal, tieflings are often welcomed in Carteia if they show magical promise.  Many find place as ward-binders, spell testers, and arcane scholars of unusual resilience.

Others races (i.e. Dragonborn, Halflings, Aasimar, etc.) complete the population at 6%.  Carteia’s gates are not easily opened, but those who bring skill, magical talent, or oaths of loyalty may earn citizenship.  Aasimar often serve in the Sanctum Invictus, while Halflings manage trade and logistics with the Congregation.  Dragonborn likewise have serve as elite guardians or lecturers in magical combat.

Government

Carteia is a vassal city under House Aetius' rule.  The like other regions, the duchy's rule is a tripartite dominion: the Duke of House Virelius reigns from the Citadel of Aetherglass, wielding hereditary authority and the ancient right of wardenship.

Beneath him sits the Senate of the Magisterium, a collection of learned wizards drawn from noble lines and arcane academies, who draft decrees, allocate resources, and ensure that no single hand bends the city’s fate alone. They are scholars, powerbrokers, and political predators draped in robes and rhetoric. At the head of the Senate is Senior Enchanter Varian Decilius.

Opposing their secular spellcraft is the Church of the Seven, led by the Bishop Severian Mirov —a stern and spiritual figure whose divine mandate challenges the unchecked spread of wizardry. The Church preaches that magic is a gift to be guided by divine will, not mortal ambition, and casts a wary eye upon the Magisterium’s pride.  Under Bishop Mirov are his Lieutenants: Inquisitor Calpurnia Vettia and Knight-Commander Gaius Severus Albinius.

The result is a tense but enduring equilibrium—a spellbound republic cloaked in feudal robes, where theology, sorcery, and noble blood vie for primacy, each checked by the others, none wholly in command. It is not peace, but it is stability. For now.

Defences

Carteia is the second most defensive city in the entire country. It's ancient walls are build directly from Wardstone, a mysterious material that his nearly three times stronger than your average stone, especially when it is laced with powerful wards. And over the last two centuries, it has been further enhanced through the wards of House Aetius' wizards. Many boast that the outer wall could repel a direct attack from the Tarrasque. While not impossible to breach, it would take the combined effort of several Archons to bring down and then several Legions to storm it. The Local garrison is some of the most veteran defenders in the realm.

Within the city are various Garrison Keeps.  These are three sub-fortresses within the city ensure internal security, manned by the Custodes Aegis, elite abjurer-knights loyal to House Virelius.

Industry & Trade

Because Carteia is located on a frozen island, there is not much in the way of farm capable land. But what land there is has been cultivated for cherries and certain frost resistance vegetables. Much of the water is harvested from the many frozen lakes and mountain runoff, but in terms of food, Carteia is largely reliant on importation. Advances in magical heating has allowed for much of the city to escape the regions climate and create a small portion of fertile soil, but such crops and cattle services could not support the city alone.

However, the city is fortunate to have large deposit of an extraordinary stone. Believed to be a byproduct of the spellplague that turned Elba into the frozen landscape it is, Wardstone is an extremely durable stone. It is nearly three times as strong as normal stone. Additionally, when properly refined and enchanted by House Aetius' wizards, it can be three times as strong as steel. It is the heart of Carteia’s wealth.

Wardstone is quarried from the mountains of Elba under strict magical protocols, as careless extraction may trigger arcane backlash. It is refined in the Wardforge, where magewrights shape it into bricks, slivers, or pylons for use in abjuration spellcraft, architecture, or siege defense. Exports of wardstone are heavily regulated, often only sold to other duchies under imperial contract.

Arcane Trade

Carteian smiths specialize in defensive enchantments—spellguard shields, amulets of resistance, and anti-scrying talismans. Aegismancers, trained in the Spiral Archive, work alongside artificers to create battle-wards and arcane bulwarks for elite forces across Halruaal. likewise, Artisans trained in magical calligraphy create custom ward-scrolls, home sigils, seal-scripts, and permanent glyphwork for noble estates, temples, and ships. These crafters are licensed by the Magisterium and often employed directly by the state.

Major Imports

Due to its harsh climate and limited arable land, Carteia depends on steady imports to sustain its population:

• Grain and Wine from southern inland regions
• Exotic spell components and alchemical reagents not found in Elba
• Textiles, silks, and enchanted fabrics for noble and magical garments
• Divine relics and holy oils for the Church of the Seven, often shipped from coastal sanctuaries

Infrastructure

Transportation throughout the city is an ever evolving process.  Arcane elevators connect the tiers of the city and are operated by sanctioned mages or enchanted constructs.  the Glacialis Viaducts serve as elevated, rune-etched bridges span the steep chasms between parts of the city, designed to be retracted or sealed during siege.  For faster travel, guest and VIPs seek out the runeways - swift underground rail-carts powered by magical current run between the port, the Spiral Archive, and the upper tiers.

For Utilities and Maintenance there is the Aqueductum Arcanum: A system of magically sealed aqueducts brings fresh water down from enchanted glacial reservoirs. The water is filtered through abjurant purifiers to remove both mundane and magical contaminants.  Warming Nodesare statued throughout the district and serve as subterranean foci of continual flame and thermal enchantments to warm homes and roads, ensuring the city does not freeze despite the frozen island air.  As with other grand cities, sanitation Wards are etched into the sewer to provide minor cleansing along with waste channels to prevent disease or arcane contamination.

Districts

Carteia is constructed in seven concentric tiers climbing the side of Mount Caelus, each ring separated by rune-locked gates and reinforced wardwalls. These tiers are not only a marvel of engineering, but of magical stratification—each higher level possessing stronger abjurations, cleaner air, and more elite access. Entrance to higher other zones are strictly guarded by the city watch and the Magisterium.

Tier I – The Portus Aegis:

The city’s harbor, hewn into the icy cliffs and lined with arcanely reinforced docks. Enchanted cranes and levitating cargo platforms assist the loading of wardstone and rare goods. A ward lattice protects against storms and sea monsters. This tier is home to the Custodia Navalis, the Magisterium naval office and coastal defense fleet, and the Nauts, the guild of free sailors.

Tier II – The Mercatus Glacialis (Frostmarket):

An expansive, tiered marketplace with enchantments to maintain constant temperature. Merchants from all Halruaal come here to trade goods, magical reagents, and scrolls. The market is overseen by Lictores Arcanii, the Merchant Prince of the Congregation of Merchants. Although not a part of the Magisterium, he works alongside them as a magical customs officials who inspect for contraband enchantments.

Tier III – The Plebeian Districts:

Where the common citizens, merchants, and artisans live. Streets are cobbled with ward-etched basalt, resistant to cold and wear. Public hearth-wards maintain warmth in the harsh winters. Magical lamp-posts powered by ambient ley energies illuminate the city.

Tier IV – The Spiral District:

Surrounds and contains the Spiral Archive, the city’s arcane university. Houses students, lecturers, and spellwrights. Glyph-carved towers, crystal observatories, and quiet study parks adorn the streets. Small libraries, dormitories, testing grounds, and elemental laboratories are parsed throughout this district.

Tier V – The Senatorial Cloister:

Housing and chambers of the Magisterium. Rich with architecture resembling old Imperial forums—domed halls, columned sanctuaries, and meeting spaces of polished marble. Each senator’s domus is magically reinforced, and several are said to contain private teleportation sigils despite the ongoing war.

Tier VI – The Ecclesial Ring:

Domain of the Church of the Seven, housing the Sanctum Invictus, the grand cathedral of the city. This ring holds monastic residences, healing wards, and the headquarters of the Templars and Inquisitors. Pilgrims and faithful find warmth here—both spiritual and literal, as divine wards push back the ever-encroaching cold.

Tier VII – The Crown of Caelus:

At the summit lies the Citadel of Aetherglass, residence of the Duke and seat of power. A radiant fortress of shimmering silver, rune-bound stone, impervious to scrying, siege, and time. From its spires shine the Seven Wardlights, a defensive enchantment grid that blankets the entire island of Elba.

Guilds and Factions

The Congregation of Merchants hold a strong presence in Carteia, mostly residing in the Mercatus Glacialis.  Guild leaders also count themselves to have homes in the Plebeian Districts- though few actually use them.  The Nauts also have a strong presence in the Portus Aegis and run the shipment of goods on the misty waters.

There are rumors that the Night Guild has a collection of cells within the walls, but the guard hotly dispute this.

History

Carteia is established by Virelius the Boundless, one of the Seven Archmages who forged the Halruaalian Empire.  Drawn to the island of Elba for its rare deposits of Wardstone, he erected the first bastion atop Mount Caelus and binds the mountain’s fury with a great abjuration sigil.  The city’s foundations were woven with layered spells, making it the first city in Halruaal constructed to be eternally warded.

Over the next couple of centuries, Carteia became the Empire’s foremost bulwark, charged with guarding the northern seas from extraplanar incursions, wild magic surges, and pirates.  The Citadel of Aetherglass was completed during this era.  The Magisterium formed an advisory council within the city, slowly accruing power beneath the Virelius dukes.  The Wizards of Carteia formed the first circle in the region to create the Aetheric Aegis Grid: an arcane defense net spanning the island.

roughly 800 Years Ago – The Elven Rebellion and the Binding Wars began.  Enslaved Elves across Halruaal rise up enmass, and Carteia became a bastion of loyalist resistance. The city withstood multiple sieges by rebel-sympathizers. The Seventh Seal Vault is said to have been created during this time, imprisoning something unspeakable.  Though slavery ended some centuries later, elves in Carteia remain marginalized, mistrusted for their association with the rebellion.

600–300 Years Ago – The Era of Silence and Study emerged.  With peace reigning across the Empire, Carteia became a city of learning and internal refinement. The Spiral Archive was restructured into a full university.  The Frostmarket and Wardforge rose to prominence as sources of magical trade.  While outwardly serene, this era marks increasing tension between the Church of the Seven and the Magisterium, especially as arcane authority grows unchecked.

Roughly 150 Years Ago, the Frostfall Crisis took center stage.  It was a cataclysmic magical storm that erupted in the northern seas, threatening to tear open the enochian ward.  Carteia activated its full ward-grid for the first time in centuries, protecting the Empire’s coast.  The event cemented the duchy’s importance—but also deepens fears of magical instability.  The Church uses the crisis to argue for tighter restrictions on magical experimentation.

Now Present Day there is a fractured Balance.  Duke Arrian Virelius rules with a steady hand, but his authority is ever watched by the Senate and challenged by Bishop Severian Mirov and the Church.  Carteia stands mighty, wealthy, and proud—but cracks show beneath the frost.  Forgotten wards flicker.  The Spiral Archive delves too deep.  And some whisper that the seals beneath the mountain begin… to hum.

Points of interest

• The Citadel of Aetherglass – The ducal seat and arcane heart of the city, set atop Mount Caelus. Its walls are shimmering silver, nigh indestructible, and carved with wards old as empire. The Tower of Vigilance within its highest spire never sleeps.
• The Wardforge – A massive foundry where magewrights craft sigils, rings, and wardstones. The air thrums with power and the clang of enchanted hammers.
• The Velarium – A high coliseum where magical duels and rituals are performed before the city. Protective magics are showcased here not in violence, but endurance and craft.
• The Spiral Archive – A helical tower that houses Carteia's Arcane University - a crucible where fledgling mages are shaped and abjurists refined. It descends into the mountain’s heart, filled with lecture rooms, ritual chambers, and baracks for the magisterium hopefuls.
• The Frostmarket – A tiered bazaar where snow gathers lightly under floating wards. Goods from across Halruaal arrive here, but only those approved by the magical inspectors pass through.
• Sanctum Invictus – The chief temple to Initiumartis, Goddess of Magic and Creativity, as well as a shrine to the Empire’s founders. The clergy here maintain the spiritual sanctity of magical law.

Architecture

Carteia’s architecture is a harmony of grandeur and arcane precision: marble colonnades etched with warding runes, towering domes reinforced by invisible sigils, and tiered aqueducts that hum with latent magic.  Buildings rise in concentric terraces along the slopes of Mount Caelus, their stormglass windows gleaming like frozen starlight.  Every structure, from humble villa to senatorial hall, is woven with abjurant glyphwork — subtle, ever-active, and older than most empires.  Arches are not merely stone, but channels for protective energy; streets are paved with basalt etched in spell-script; and public squares often double as ritual circles or magical testing grounds.  In Carteia, architecture is not just form—it is defense, tradition, and spellcraft made stone.

Geography

The Island of Elba is a mountainous, frost-wreathed isle rising like a warding talon from the northern sea, Elba is both fortress and crucible. Its cliffs are sheer, its winds sharp as razors, and the only passage to the capital is through treacherous fjords or skyship routes closely guarded by arcane sentinels. The island hums with ancient abjuration, and the city itself is crafted to create a temperate zone fit for habitation.

Founding Date

30 AC

Alternative Name(s)

The Aegis of the North; The City of Sealed Stone; Stormcrown

Type

Large town

Population

95,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Carteians

Location under

The Northeast Region

Owner/Ruler

Arrian Virelius

Ruling/Owning Rank

Duke or Duchess

Characters in Location

• Arrian Virelius

Carteian Festivals

Dies Praeventus – *The Day of Warding*

Held on the 10th day of Knowing this festival seeks to renew the city’s great abjurations and personal wards. It is customary that every citizen ritually cleanses their home’s threshold with snowmelt and salt. Priests offer public blessings, and wardwrights hang blue lanterns across bridges and arches. The Duke or his proxy walks the lowest tier in full regalia, inspecting the public ward-grid. The air is filled with silent reverence, azure light, and the scent of sanctified smoke.

Ascensio Arcanum – *Ascent of the Arcane*

Held on the 35th day of Lurking the Ascensio strives to honor the founding of the Spiral Archive and magical education. Spiraled banners unfurl across the city, students parade in enchanted robes, and senior mages perform dazzling but controlled spell duels in the Velarium. Civilians offer tokens to mentors, and even children are tested for latent talent. Everywhere one looks is crackling magic in the air, scholarly pride, and a day when anyone may glimpse the path of the mage.

Fulgur Solis – *Lightning of the Sun*

Held on the 20th day of Forging (summer's peak), it is a celebration of Halruaal’s imperial unity and the defense of the realm. The city's great Aegis Grid is activated in full brilliance, illuminating the sky. The Duke, Senate, and Church jointly preside over public games, shielding duels, and feats of endurance. Feasting and martial displays abound for glory, spectacle, and a rare moment of cooperation between factions.

Tenebrae Silentii – *The Silence Beneath*

Held on Last day of Breaking (year’s end), this ritual is meant to reflect on the dead, the sealed, and the sacrifices beneath the mountain. All magical practice ceases for one day except those under the Trial of Ice and Spell. Citizens wear dark greys and deep blue. Bells do not ring. At dusk, a procession ascends to the Citadel’s base, where clergy, mages, and soldiers renew the Seventh Seal in a solemn, warded rite. Cold candles a specifically crafted during this time and whispered prayers are uttered. It is the quiet hum of power *not* used.

Common Customs in Carteia:

1. The Binding Oath: No promise is taken lightly in Carteia. Even common folk mark solemn oaths with drops of wax on their palms—blue for civil pacts, white for spiritual ones, silver for arcane vows. Nobles and mages often bind theirs with minor abjurations that physically sting if broken.
2. The Vigil of Wards: Each winter’s first full moon, families perform a household warding ritual—cleaning their thresholds, repainting protective sigils, and lighting enchanted lamps. It is a quiet night of reflection, protection, and prayer to Initiumartis, Goddess of Magic and Creativity.
3. The Shielding Duel: Rather than violent duels, spellcasters engage in ritualized contests of defense, judged on precision, endurance, and spell layering. These events are common in festivals and legal disputes alike, especially among the nobility and Spiral Archive students.
4. The Seal of Passing: Death is marked not with fire or burial alone, but with a ritual seal drawn across the brow of the departed along with rites by the priests of Alphletay. These are meant to protect the soul from extraplanar interference. It is said that those who die without it may rise as cursed echoes if their wards fail.
5. Sevenfold Reverence: Each day, devout Carteians offer a brief nod to the Seven Gods at dawn—facing the north wind. Even the unfaithful often perform the gesture from habit, for superstition holds that those who ignore the gods entirely draw misfortune to their wards.
6. Trial of Ice and Spell: Coming of age is marked by a night alone in the high cliffs of Elba, wrapped only in warded cloth and bearing a single magical token. Success proves resilience of body, mind, and will. Failure is not shameful—but returning early is. This rite takes place on the last day of the third, sixth, and ninth month of every year.