Allodee Refuge
The last colony of Orad
“The tombs of the last Orad colony are my greatest treasure, the source of all my power. I'll never let anyone near Old Allodee, not for anything, and I'll kill anyone who defies me. Whatever secrets the Precursors left buried are for me and my kin. No one else!"
Settlement
Allodee was the southernmost settlement of the Old Orad Empire and the last of their colonies to be abandoned during the Ornish Diaspora (200-250 PCE). In subsequent centuries it was resettled and declared the capital of a new Ornish Kingdom (The Second Kingdom, 380-590 PCE), but it has lain unoccupied since the last Ornish descendents left it behind in search of the northern heartlands of Old Orad. Today it lies within the domain of the Elzar Margraves, who keep it as a place of ritual and ceremony on the High Days of their spiritual calendar. The latest Margrave, a presumptuous warlord named Toktamish Elzar, had himself crowned within Allodee's Great Necropolis and thus laid claim as inheritor of the Orad Empire's ancient Precursor legacy.
The Noghra people of Lowdown Island hold the ruins of Allodee in high reverence. They consider Allodee to be sacred ancestral ground and have left it undisturbed for many generations. Some say the silent stones of Allodee are still home to restless spirits, the forgotten shades of the ancient Orad. These shades, their sanity riven by the Mindfire Pestilence centuries earlier, are said to roam at liberty among the ruins where they nurse an invidious hatred of all living beings.
Industry & Trade
It is believed that much of Old Allodee's infrastructure and industry was purposed for research and development in search of a cure for the Mindfire Pestilence. The machines and knowledge left behind by the doomed sages of the Old Empire were recovered during the Restoration of the Second Kingdom. During the Restored Kingdom, Allodee Refuge came to be renowned as a place of advanced medical technology and expertise. This vaunted reputation made Allodee a common pilgrimage site for Zoners in search of cures for their ills and respite from their pains.
History
Little is known about the original Allodee colony. Popular legend maintains that Allodee was founded during the Pestilence as a refuge for Ornish migrants seeking respite from their disease-ravaged mountain homelands. But the settlers of Allodee failed to make a new start in the Rift Delta, for they had brought the pestilence with them, and within only a few generations the disease would eventually wipe out Allodee as well. The survivors of Lowdown's Orad settlements built their guidestones and dispersed eastward.
The Second Ornish Kingdom was founded in 380 when a clan of diaspora Ornish returned to Silver Lake and rediscovered Allodee Refuge. These lost sons and daughters of Orad restored Allodee and made it their capital for several generations. During this time they continued searching for the heartlands of Old Orad and other Orad settlements and eventually embarked on a mass migration into the northern mountains. Allodee was left abandoned and the jungle eventually reclaimed it in the absence of the "Questing Kings" of Orad.
There are several local legends about the Questing Kings. The most popular of these tales predicts the return of the Last Expedition, descendants of the last Ornish thanes, who will one day come back from the northern expanse beyond the Veil of Ice and bring with them the true Precursor legacy of Old Orad. The technological treasures of this Orad legacy will supposedly bring about a second golden age and the dead colony of Allodee will once more become the heart of a renewed civilization of enlightenment and prosperity.
Architecture
Allodee consists of several megalithic towers built in the style of slab pyramids. This style, common to the Ancient empires of both Orad and Urzen, is widely imitated among the cultures of the Forbidden Zone. The authentic representation of this architectural style at the Allodee site, however, is an impressive marvel to behold, for the use of Precursor stone has left much of the decorative design work and iconography of its structures very well preserved.
Another factor in the well-preserved condition of the Allodee site is the fact that most of the settlement was built underground. In fact, for most of its existence, the great majority of Allodee Refuge was concealed in a subterranean cave. Later processes of erosion eventually opened a breach in the cavern roof and exposed the true extent of Allodee Refuge: a great subterrestrial city hidden within the earth.
The most notable of these structures is the massive tomb hall of Allodee. Known as the Great Necropolis, this multi-tiered structure is supported by massive black stone pillars and serves as the burial place for thousands of ancient Ornish dead. Today it is used as the family mausoleum of the Elzar Margraves, who maintain a constant guard preventing all access to the tombs.
Art and Infrastructure
The surface buildings were connected to the subterranean chambers of Allodee Refuge by a network of tunnels reinforced with steel and concrete, though most of these passages have collapsed over the centuries. Up in the hills explorers have found the remains of a structure that appears to be some kind of river dam near the source of a highland stream. Whatever purpose this dam would have served is long forgotten as is the technical skill necessary to rebuild it.
It is said that long ago there were great sculptures and monuments of silver placed throughout Allodee, but centuries of grave robbers and scavengers have stripped away these sterling adornments. Even so, up until very recently Allodee Refuge has remained a popular destination for opportunistic treasure hunters in search of whatever riches may yet remain to be plundered. Margrave Toktamish has put a stop to these sorts of expeditions, however.
Geography
Allodee Refuge lies in a gentle valley within the heart of Lowdown Island. A natural spring emerges from the hills overlooking the city and forms a stream that runs through the settlement and disperses into the southern swamps on the edge of the colony's furthest extent. Part of this river drains into Allodee's exposed cavern and floods a large section of the old subterranean city.
That is one great article! You have crafted a nice narrative that manages to combine myth/legend and historic fact into an interesting read. The article also paints a mysterious and fascinating picture of your colony and the CSS and font only add to it. Only thing I would note: the "Natural Resources" section seems kinda unnecessary. Monuments and sculptures dont really fall under the category of resource. It would be better if you added those lines to the "Industry" section as an example for their craftsmanship or the "Architecture" section. Other than that, great article, like well deserved!
You are so right about that. I put that detail in to taunt my players with the prospect of hidden riches but didn't put enough thought into where to place it. Lemme see here...