Echo

(Author Note: Consider the information in this article to be spoilers or GM knowledge (Dawnbringer content) and read accordingly! The contents of this article will be made secret after SummerCamp.)

The echoes tell us everything we need to know, young one. From the whispers of our kin, to the roars of the beasts, the echoes bring us understanding.

— Echoan mother

Echo is a large settlement located deep underground, far beneath the Earthen Kingdoms.

City in the Caverns

The city of Echo is an expanse of its own, its center constructed in a large, open cavern. In an effort to preserve the natural echo of the caves in which the city is built, much of the space is left open as it was when they found it, and the people endeavor to alter as little of the cave system's structure as possible while building up the city with new homes and buildings. This preservation of the echo is an effort born out of both preservation and of faith, the latter of which drove the very name of the settlement to reflect the city's fixation.

No Way Up

The existence of Echo is wholly unknown to those living above ground, and thus this city has expanded and grown over centuries, isolated from the known world. With no available paths above ground, and no truly feasible way to dig through to it from the overworld, many of Echo's residents do not even realize that there is a whole unknown open world above them. Expansion of the settlement has ever been lateral or further downward, as their spacious, open cave systems stretched high up overhead.
Those who have attempted to excavate upward in search of a surface world have inevitably had their progress halted by any combination of inefficient tools, struck resevoirs of water or lava, dangerous creature interference, or simply getting lost in the cave networks.

Keeping an Ear Out

The Echoan people rely on the way sound travels through their caves for hunting, adventuring, and general awareness of their surroundings. Most have learned to gauge the locations of quarry, friend, and foe alike by the way the caves carry their sounds. Most creatures within the caves rely heavily on their hearing as well, making the caves which surround Echo dangerous places for anyone who lacks sensitive ears.

A settlement long lost, long adapted to life isolated deep within the underground

by Strixxline via Midjourney

Related Locations

Earthen Kingdoms

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The Lost Log

Within the archives of Echo, scholars work to translate an age-old artifact known as the Log of the Echo. Considered a holy text by some, this ancient journal is written in a language unknown to the settlers of Echo, but is formatted in the recognizable layout of most travel logs and journals.
Similarities between the two languages have appeared only in certain phrases, particularly those centered around "echoes," driving the initial wave of settlers who perceived these words to be referencing divine phenomena.

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