Umbral Clouds

The Umbral Clouds is a quiet, dreary sky largely controlled by the Riah. Though, in the south, there are islands controlled by Mokso.
Few people go through the Umbral Clouds willingly. Usually only merchants on a deadline make their way through, otherwise, the more visually appealing jeweled sky to the east is passed through instead.

Dark Sky

The Umbral Clouds is a dark place. Literally, there is a magical property to the sky which causes colors to seem washed out, shadows are more intense, and the night is simply darker. Shadows are often exaggerated to seem more terrifying than it truly is. This does not affect natives very often, but visitors to this land can develop a fear of the dark and a mistrust of shadows.

Prominent Witches

Three witches of note make their home in the Umbral Clouds. The Queen of the Black Threads, Lord Dravis of the night, and The Witch of Riah.
The Queen of the Black Threads: The Queen resembles a giant spider with a lifeless woman's head attached under the mandibles. She was once a woman who feared spiders to such as degree, that she refused to leave her home. This fear grew into hysteria, paranoia, and caused some mild illusions. Before she attempted to kill herself with a Warp Pearl, She thought everyone was aligned with the spiders, as if they had a malicious intelligence. When she became a witch, spiders and silk became her domain. She hates herself and her children but projects that hatred to others. She is dangerous but rarely kills outright. Instead, she prefers to lure people into a trap of their own making. The fae she creates are large spiders with human heads.
Lord Dravis: Lord Dravis is a Warlock who has a deep connection not with the night, but with the things that we believe are stalking us in the night. His form is a simple man, but in the dark, he twists and mutates into a creature that is an avatar of all things that go bump in the night. A hideous, bat-like monster which has eyes all throughout its body. His Fae is quite similar to him. They are normal in the light, but in the dark they take the form of whoever is closest's fear.
The Witch of Riah: Perhaps the oldest legend of the Riah. The Witch of Riah is a witch who embodies paranoia. Simply thinking about her can cause a man of sound mind to distrust his friends. Little is known about this witch, but she seems to revel in mass paranoia. Her fae can look like anyone. The can be anyone.

Prominent characters

Emmanuel Lengacher: Emmanuel is the most powerful and rich member of the Riah ruling council, The Council of the Realm. His holdings include most of the profitable farmland in the Umbral sky, as well as several government buildings. He does wish Riah to remain safe and good, but he wishes Riah to never change. He will adamantly fight any change to their ways and has even led several mobs against outsiders who wish to alter their way of life.
Solomon Johnson: Solomon is the head of Riah's branch of the church. He holds sermons in the largest church in Riah. Solomon has also hired several mercenaries and assassins in order to keep himself in his position, but in his mind, he believes that only he can truly lead Riah's faith.
Antonin Treich: Antonin is likely the most hated person in Riah who is tolerated. He is a scientist, and the reason why no-one likes him is that he asks questions. The secret to life is his current obsession. He believes that a corpse can be brought to life with science. He keeps these experiments secret. He is a professor at a small school that teaches medicine, and his status there is low because of his controversial research.

Locations of Note

Koprec, The Slow City

Koprec is the capital of Riah and is its largest city. It has the nickname, The Slow City because it is very difficult to actually get anything built or demolished in the city. The city has looked more or less the exact same for nearly fifty years. The old, sentimental mayor believes that everything is fine the way it is. The city also has a problem with the homeless, especially those who fought in the war. There are no homes for them to stay, so they keep to the streets. Crime is also relatively high in Koprec, especially since Koprecs guard will hang the first suspect in an investigation. Over the years, people have learned to keep your head down, and say nothing. Even saying hello to someone in Koprec will get you a dirty look.

Arachni Islands

There are three islands in relative proximity to each other called the Arachni Islands. True to their name, they do poses a large number of spiders. Even sailing between the islands will cause your airship to be wreathed in fine webs and fill with baby spiders. Rumors say there are ruins deep in one of the islands, and others say it is the home of The Queen of the Black Strands.

Sheffield, The Town That does not Exist

Sheffield is a dirty secret of the Riah. It is a town on a small island, no-one knows for certain where, that has a murderous reputation. The people of Sheffield are quiet, set in their ways, and experts at combat with farm tools. If an airship stops at the town for supplies, they will likely be killed by the inhabitants of Sheffield.
Perhaps its darkest secret, however, is that the people of Sheffield are cannibals. They eat those they kill and even eat their own dead. The bones are discarded in great piles throughout the town.

Island of the Dead

There is an island in the Umbral Clouds which is used for nothing except for storing the dead. Wealthy Riah will buy lots of land on this island in order to bury their dead, and a section of the island is dedicated to the dead who cannot be identified. However, this island is far from safe. It is commonplace for young necromancers and grave robbers to flock to. Sometimes, a small tavern is set up in a certain empty tomb. But this is a rare occurrence.

Geography

There are many smaller islands in the Umbral Clouds. It is a warm region, and often a bit dry. Though, it rains enough to make it relatively easy to live. The individual islands are fairly flat, there are no mountains. They also have no large forests, but woodlands can be found spread out.

Fauna & Flora

The Umbral Clouds has animals and plants common to central-America, though deer are not common at all. Spiders are more common in the Umbral Clouds than many other skies. Some of the worlds largest and most dangerous spiders live in the Umbral Clouds. Including the Man-eater spider which, legend says, can grow to the size of a wolf.

Location under

The Skies