Asteri

Asteri is the strangest city of the Golden Coast. For thausands of years they hid from the outside world and developed their own unique culture and language. In contrast to basically all other cultures out there, Asterians heavily rely on Necromancy to run their settlements, but they follow a strict moral code in honor of their dead. This has made it incredibly hard to form relationships with the surrounding cultures, once they left their self-imposed exile about 150 years ago during the Resurgence.

Morals & Ideals

Death is final. Fate is set. There is no way back when your time has come.

— From the Tennants of faith of The Lady of Crows

Asterians have a way more differentiated look at necromancy than any other culture out there. To them, necromancy is just another tool you can use, but there is one hard line they will never cross - bringing back the soul once it passed the veil. Once someone has died, denying them their eternal happyness in the afterlife and forcing them back into this world, is the hardest punishment anyone could impose on somebody else.
Reanimating the dead body and putting it to work on the other hand, is an honor imposed on the deceased. Even after death, they can still serve their people and make their life easier. A dead body doesn't need food or rest and can work day in and out. While not every job can be done by a dead body, this still gives Asterians a lot more free time, and they developed a rich culture filled with arts and crafts.

Geography & Infrastructure

Asteri by Artbreeder

Asteri is built into the jungle and mountains of The Voiceless Holm about one day of travel upstream the northern river. The city easily blends into the flora and natural rock formations, and protected by ancient magic and illusion, it could stay hidden for thousands of years. Over all, the entire region around the city is incredibly beautiful and diverse, filled with a wide variety of Flora and Fauna.
Not much is known about the city itself, as the Asterians are still incredibly reserved towards outsiders. Asteri is built into the mountains and rock formations of the jungle and at least half of the city exists inside the mountain or underground. If you don't know where to look, it's incredibly easy to miss. As Asterians don't have to work as much, there are many cultural sights like operas, theaters and sports facilities.
Ancient magical protections are woven into the structures of the city, but most of the specifics are a closely guarded secret. It is not possible to use divination magic to watch the city or gain any information about it. Should someone try regardless, they will just see an empty jungle void of all civilisation.

Government

Asteri doesn't have a government in the traditional sense, they only have an elected group of people called Caretakers, which - like the name might suggest - take care of the day-to-day business of the city. For all political decisions, the city comes together for a public vote, and every citizen gets an equal say in the matter. During war time and crisis, the caretakers can take control of the politics of the city for a short time, but if the citizens disagree, the caretakers will be quickly removed from their position.

History

There is no clear founding date of the city, as over time, many small settlements in the region grew and eventually merged. Some of the oldest buildings date back thousands of years, which would make Asteri one of the oldest cities on the continent.
When the Everlasting Empire of the Dragon expanded towards Teldora in the Age of Arcanum they tried to conquer the Voiceless Holm as well, but after many bloody battles they fought off the Empire. This conflict left a scar on their culture and they retreated more and more into the jungles and mountains and broke off all connections to the outside.
For thousands of years, they hid on The Voiceless Holm and their culture developed completely independently from the mainland. Even during the War of Fate they fought for themselves, keeping their existence secret from the world. While the destruction of the war was severe, they survived.
In the second half of the first century of the Age of Mortals, the Asterians began secretly to explore the surrounding cultures, trying to make contact and see how the world developed after the devastating war. 250 years later, shortly after the Resurgence in 755 MOR, they send out their first ambassadors to Kamorda, the Meisian Empire and the Confederation of the Golden Coast.
To this day, they are still very secretive about their home, but have invited diplomatic figures and other important personalities. Relationships between Asteri, Kamorda and the other cities of the Golden Coast have improved over time, and they even joined the Confederation of the Golden Coast in the year 796, but getting rid of the evil stigma associated with necromancy takes a lot of time and effort.

Work in Progress

This article is still heavily WIP and can change at any moment

External Copyright

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Alternative Name(s)

City of the Dead

Type

Large city

Inhabitant Demonym

Asterians

Location under

The Golden Coast

Teldora

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