Helstav
Found in the centre of a wall of mountains to all sides is the large city of Helstav. The city itself is split into eight districts called Octants, each of which acts as its own city. The Octants all have a role within the city and handle a different aspect of the city; they all work together to allow the city to function properly.
Ever since its founding in 6946 BR after a decade-long war between the long-lived ethereal Elves and the newly-created sturdy Dwarves, Helstav has kept itself carefully neutral in history's various conflicts. The city provides refuge to people fleeing various conflicts around the world, but is meticulous about whom they accept.
Due to its location as well as its political stance, Helstav has become a mix of all sorts of races, which is reflected in its culture. Individuals with traditions from all over Aladathia have come together and made the odd and quirky amalgamation which is the Helstavite lifestyle.
Helstav is one of the richest, if not the richest, region in the two known continents, owing largely to the products made in the Stone and Steel Octants and then sold in the Money Octant.
Culture
Helstav as a people and a place love and are proud of their diversity and ever-changing traditions, but the few descendants of truly Helstav origin are equally proud of their roots and traditions. As such, even as new traditions arise, the people ruling Helstav make sure that the traditions of old are not forgotten about. Helstav, being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. The three national holidays in Helstav, Empire Day, Independence Day, and Unity Day, are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm across Helstav. The Octants are separated not only by their function, but also by the socioeconomic status of their inhabitants. In order of the most affluent to the least affluent Octant, the Octants are ordered as:- Centre
- Holy
- Money
- Study
- Garden
- Well
- Steel
- Stone
Pantheons
The matter of native deities and pantheons is a tricky one. Truly native Helstavites would by definition be the Elves and Dwarves that created Helstav in 6946 BR, who worship Moradin and the Morndinsammen. and Corellon and the Seldarine. However, at around the same time, more races were created, as the gods decided that there was too much separating the Dwarves and Elves. With the Skybreakers surrounding Helstav to the north, south, and east, the only truly open way to enter or leave the region that surrounds and includes the city of Helstav was to the west, through the orc-infested Hungola. As such, over time, the Maori religion, encompassing various religious beliefs, made its way to Helstav, brought by the orcs and humans ever-so-often fleeing the war-stricken lands of their origins.Raising of the Skybreakers
When the Skybreakers were raised by the Maori god Maui in 3221 BR, they destroyed the last large exit out of Helstav, and separated Helstav and Hungola. As a result, the orcs in Helstav over time lost contact with much of their roots, and while the orcs of Hungola continued to value honour and battle above all, the Helstavite orcs adapted to their environment and came to take pride in contributing to Helstav's diversity.Isolation
After their last large trade road was closed, and Helstav was surrounded on all sides by the Skybreakers, the city became, by necessity, self-sufficient. What they could not make, they did not need, and if they needed something, they needed to learn how to make it. It was around this time that the system of the Octants, which had been gradually put into place as the city of Helstav was built, was put to the test. The Garden Octant expanded outside of the city walls, while the Well Octant built aqueducts to help transfer the water from the nearby lake into the city proper.Re-integration
It took a long time to find paths through the mountains, and even then, it took longer still to make the paths safe enough to be passable by merchants and the average person. After its discovery some years after the raising of the Skybreakers by Maui, the Desert Trail (later renamed the Emperor's Pass after Emperor Valtyv used the pass to exit Helstav and start his conquest of Southern Aladathia) became the primary exit used by the odd traveller looking to travel to or from Helstav, though there were few leaving Helstav as the city itself remained reclusive until Emperor Valtyv's conquest forced them to integrate with the modern world when he set about creating Old Valtyvian Empire.Geography
Helstav is situated in the middle of a huge crater, encircled by mountain chains, the Skybreakers, on all sides. There’s a nearby lake, which is the primary source of Helstav’s water supply. To the north, Helstav borders Grecia; to the west, Hungola; to the south, Opatra; and to the east, Mazteca.
In the mountains, there are a few small communities, created hundreds of years ago, when a few people got tired of living in the large city. Over the years, they have become an isolated and self-sufficient network of villages in the mountains. There is also a tribe of nomadic Goliaths supposedly living in the Skybreakers to the west of Helstav.
Fauna & Flora
Due to Helstav's urban nature, not many monsters exist in the area. A large portion of the crater outside of Helstav proper is dirty soil or stone, although a part of it has been cultivated by the people of the Garden Octant to serve as an extension of the Octant and supply the city with food produce.
Map
Herald
Type
Crater / Crater Lake / Caldera
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Included Organizations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Tradition (Primary)
Related Myths
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