Udrid Meho

Welcome

Greetings Apprentice and welcome to your new home for the next three years. In successfully completing your entrance exams you have demonstrated great promise and talent in the Planeswalking Arts, and here your skills and mettle will be tested to their absolute fullest. You are all already competent Druids with proven track records in the Druidic arts, but becoming a Planeswalker takes extraordinary skill and mental fortitude. It is my hope that you enjoy your time here, but the magnitude and importance of the path you have set out upon must remain forefront in your minds. Learn all you can from your teachers and form bonds with your fellows, as it is these bonds that will make the struggles you face here less overwhelming. With that being said I once more welcome you to the Druid Academy and hope you will find a home away from home as you embark upon this great journey.

— Ravnael Josen - Academy Keeper, Shrine Guardian and member of The Great Circle

INTRODUCTION

This document aims to give you,the Apprentice, a brief overview of the different zones within the Plane of Udrid Meho; their geography, denizens, hazards and their importance to your training. More in depth information will be given by the Zone Keepers during orientation week where they will be happy to answer any questions you may have. For those who wish to, further reading on each of these zones may also be obtained by asking one of the library keepers in any of our extensive libraries.

HOME

This zone comprises the Great Forest and three floating islands which hover half a mile above the vast greenery below. The forest is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life that flourish in the mild temperate climate. Oak, Birch, Ash, Maple and Horse-chestnut are but a few of the trees to be found alongside a multitude of mosses, lichens, ferns and wild flowers. Within the forest lies The Great Redwood, a tree as old as Udrid Meho itself, gifted to the Druids by a grateful dryad queen. The forest is meant as a place of quiet contemplation, a place to reconnect with nature and calm the mind after strenuous tests. Apprentices are encouraged to maintain small groves or wild gardens within the forest and are free to roam this space in whatever form they choose (fire elemental forms are strongly discouraged!)

Academy Island

Sitting in the centre of beautifully landscaped grounds the Academy dominates this island, it's many spires reaching high into the air. It is here that Apprentices spend a large portion of their time learning the secrets of planes walking and the intricacies of diplomacy.

Top Hat

A small bustling village fills most of this island. Here live the people that keep the Academy running day to day, from groundskeepers to scribes, to cooks. A couple of large inns allow plenty of room for visitors as well as recreation for Apprentices.

Hearthstone

The largest island contains the living quarters of the Teachers and Apprentices. The middle tower contains a library, quiet study areas and workshops for practising crafts and alchemy. Apprentices must maintain the grounds themselves.

PORTALS AND VOID BRIDGES

The portals lead to the void between the zones, they are the only way in and out of the zones. The void is a vast silent emptiness and is traversed by treading the void bridges. The bridges are the only safe passage through the void and it is imperative that you remain upon them at all times. The void represents the emptiness between the planes that you will patrol upon becoming a Planeswalker. It takes a day to cross each bridge, though time will soon become meaningless as the nothingness presses upon you. These spaces are designed to train the mind to cope with the "between".

SURVIVE

A vast desert greets Aprentices here, a seemingly endless landscape of rolling sand dunes. During the day the sun beats down relentlessly sending the temperature soaring, as a contrast the nights are bitterly cold. A raging sandstorm moves across this expanse at random, catching the unprepared in a skin stripping storm of wind and sand. It's counterpart, a constantly moving whirling sinkhole, also roams the desert attempting to swallow the unwary and bury them beneath the dunes. In the centre of the desert stands a large sandstone archway, passing through this archway leads one into a small pocket dimension in which lies a small lush oasis. The ruins of a large city lie a days journey from the entrance portal, it's maze of crumbling walls and confusing streets can easily turn one around and becoming lost is a very real danger. Within this harsh environment resources are scarce, and your survival and navigation skills will be honed and tested to their fullest.

BATTLE

This hostile wasteland of twisted trees and jagged canyons is infested with a host of dangerous and cunning creatures which seem to pour out of a giant pit just in front of the exit portal. Here there is no night or day, just an everlasting twilight which casts stretched shadows across the land. The ground is rocky and barren with large cracks that sometimes run for miles and appear to be bottomless. Crossing these wide chasms is a challenge in itself as flight is not permitted in this zone. You never know what dangerous enemies you will encounter while walking the Planes and the same is true of this battle arena. Keep your swords and wits sharp, and your magic at the ready, there are no friends here!

OUTWIT

This Zone contains vast, miles wide lakes surrounded by lush, verdant grasslands, and serves as part recreation and part testing ground. Small waterways join the lakes together which can easily be navigated by boat, and the water is clean and fresh allowing swimming. At the centre of each lake lies a lillypad island, these serve as the testing grounds. Upon three of the islands are large crystals, touching these crystals spawns an illusory puzzle which must be solved with the mind alone. Each of the other three islands houses a Master Planeswalker highly skilled in the magical arts. These Masters will test your abilities in both magical offence and defence, and also your strength of willpower.

There is one other sentient creature within this zone, the "grass dragon", as they are fondly called by apprentices. Serpent-like creatures with horned heads, these peaceful "dragons" were rescued from another plane, as the last of their species. We created this space for them as a new home, after a failed attempt to re-home them on Paneus. Although peaceful, they are a solitary species and prefer to be left alone, contact is discouraged unless they approach you first.

LAVA LAKE

Tall, black craggy mountains surround this giant lava pit, their slopes full of sharp, jagged rocks and precipitous drops. In the centre of the pit rises a large volcano slowly spewing forth red hot lava. Flames leap from the lake, and rocky protrusions break the surface creating a hellish landscape. Several small caves entrances dot the sides of the mountains, leading into a series of tunnels which, although providing shelter from the heat outside, come with thier own set of dangers. Not every apprentice will witness this, as it is here that the final test takes place, and it is a harsh reality that not all of you will make it that far. However, it is not the landscape that is the challenge here but rather the creature it was built to house, a powerful demon captured during the first invasion and now bound to the Druids bidding.

The Demon cannot physically harm you himself and he cannot be harmed in return, the demon will test you in other ways. All we can say is that the demon is capable of seeing things about you that even you were not aware of, he will find your weaknesses and exploit them in terrible ways. Succeed or fail in passing his test, you will not be the same afterwards.

Divine Beginnings

One thousand years ago the Great Master Kimin Gnarl aided the Earth Goddess Mai after she was betrayed by her brother. As a reward she helped him create Udrid Meho, and gifted him the knowledge of the void bridges. It has served many purposes over the years, and some of those still stand, but it's main purpose now is to train those druids with the ability to spirit walk to become Planeswalkers.

Alternative Name(s)

DruidHome

Type

Planar Sphere/Grouping

Included Locations

• Top Hat
• Udrid Meho Academy

Included Organizations

• Druids

Owning Organization

Druids

My people and I extend our gratitude for your assistence in saving our home. We send with the bearer of this letter, a cutting from the First Great Redwood of our sacred grove. If cared for properly it will live for many centuries and serve as a reminder of the debt we owe you and a symbol of the lasting friendship we have formed.

— an exerpt from the letter of thanks from Queen Ixalneth of the Redwood Dryad Grove

by Neil Richards

I wasn't quite prepared for the void, although the Teachers had tried to explain it to me, there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself. The feeling of nothingness all around you cannot be put into words, nor can the utter silence that accompanies it. Even the glowing bridge beneath my feet did little to cut through the feeling of being lost and abadoned in a vast empty abyss.

— Armine Delgassey, student.

Pocket Commons

Not all druids are of a race or culture suited to a desert environment, and so this extra dimensional oasis was created. Upon walking through the stone archway you will find yourself at a small watering hole surrounded by palm trees. This space provides vital relief during training and is the only source of fresh water in the desert.

The Pit

An extra planar anomaly which appeared on Paneus several hundred years ago. It continuously spews forth foul monsters and all manner of magical beast. Unable to close The Pit or stem the flow of creatures, the Druids, with Divine assistance removed The Pit to another plane. It now serves as both prison and training grounds.

Grass Dragon

Length: 6-8 foot

Diameter: 1.5-2 foot

Colour: Coral pink

Desc: Long serpent-like body, no appendages, large elongated head with two pairs of horns curving backwards from the top of the skull. tail flattens out at end, with spreadable fins to aid swimming.

Ecology: Amphibeous creatures which prefer to live in fresh clean water and tall grasses.

Udrid Meho

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