The Peaceful Jug

"I've never been there myself, I only know the stories," Arwin laughed as he ran the iron ladle through the stew, stirring it vigorously.
"But do you believe it exists or is it just a legend?", wild excitement marked Liam's face as he looked at the tall man from feverish eyes.
"I'll tell you this at least. A few years ago, while traveling in the south, I met someone, an astral, more than 200 years old. Never before and never again have I met anyone who had seen so much of the world," the older man paused meaningfully, where he stopped the circling motion and looked briefly skyward, "Each of his stories sounded more implausible than the one before, but yet I always felt there was an incontrovertible truth in his words."
"And he was there? In the tavern?" blurted out Liam, who by now could no longer sit, but was frantically stepping from one leg to the other. Arwin now stopped completely. He exhaled, letting the nocturnal wafts of his breath drift apart, and plucked his thin chin beard. A sheer eternity seemed to pass for the boy before the elder finally broke the silence. His peal of laughter made Liam recoil briefly and nearly land on the seat of his pants.
"No, he's never been there," Arwin pressed out between his laughter, rubbing the hint of a tear from the corner of his eye, "But he once told me about a massive turtle that swam by under the clouds in a star-speckled night sky just like the present one. He claimed to have seen on its back a wooden hut that had the dimensions of an entire palace."
Almost offended, his son lowered himself back onto the wooden trunk and folded his arms in front of his chest. As the moments passed, Arwin's laughter faded and his gaze met the boy's displeased expression. He hesitated briefly, increasing his efforts at stirring the stew before speaking again with all the seriousness he could muster: "When you grow up, you can look for it yourself. Supposedly, only the peaceful find this fabled place. Drinking a cool glass inside this legend sounds like a delightful dream to me."

---

The tavern "the peaceful jug" is a place that has been mentioned in myths and legends from all over the world since the end of the second human liberation war. All these myths go back to the same origin, a group consisting of the members of the intelligent species who sought to escape war and in this pursuit created a place of gluttony, pleasure and most importantly, peace.

Table of contents

1. On a turtles back
2. Where worlds and times collide
3. Powers and secrets

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

1. On a turtles back

If you are looking for that place, you should always keep your eyes open. The door to that place can manifest just when you are not expecting it. Sometimes it rises from the ground at a nights campfire, sometimes it takes the place of another door, or it just floats as a reflection on the surface of an unsteady body of water. Moreover, it is in moments of despair, restlessness, and worry that that door opens and grants you a time of peace and tranquility. Even when it does show itself to you, however, never forget the rules of these gatherings. If you want to go inside the peaceful jug, you have to pay a price for that entrance. Money, however, will not get you far. This place lives on the gifts brought by its visitors. Their gifts ensure the constant development of the tavern, so you should bring one of your treasures or achievements with you. If you do so, you will be granted a night of drunken joy and gluttony second to none. However, never forget the most important rule under the umbrella of peace. Those who do evil or take up arms will be flung outside by the power of this place and will never see it again."

When the second human liberation war shook the continent of Uras, a small group consisting of humans and other representatives of the intelligent species rose up, fleeing from the front of the united human army. Their destination was the far south of the continent, where a ship was to be built from their cooperation. On this vessel they wanted to cross the seemingly endless sea in the south and find a new home far from the shattered continent.

This ship, the "Unity", housed all manner of species who relocated together to the Tarial-Archipelago and began a new life of unity and cohesion, but some beings remained behind. History argues why this second group did not climb on the means of transportation they created, and so on the one hand there is talk of a mysterious touch of fate, but also of internal disputes or power struggles in this group. In any case, however, this second grouping split off and turned to the creation of an alternative.

This alternative came in the form of the massive turtle Habridia, which the group encountered on their journey in the south of the continent. To this day, legends and mysteries surround this peculiar creature, but its ability to move through the various levels of the astraverse is confirmed. It is unclear exactly what powers enable it to do this, but Habridia was willing to put this ability at the service of the group, and so they were allowed to build a house on the creature's back. This small building, at first just a simple room, was soon refined by all the parties that attended the group.

One of the human mages cast a spell which transformed the inside of the building into many times more than what was visible from the outside. The elves sang to the wood and created a beautiful and magnificent interior. The dwarves erected a

stone framework on the back of Habridia, which would serve as armor for the turtle. Some individuals with the powers of oracles bound an ability to the building, whereby its presence was able to dissolve the boundaries between spirits and mortals. From then on, the millennia brought more and more beings to these sacred halls of peace, and thus the powers of the tavern grew almost immeasurably.

2. Where worlds and times collide

In the centuries that followed, Habridia began to wander the plains of the astraverse and at every opportunity they let guests into the interior of the house, which they worked out into a tavern. Probably there is no place in all of Terria where a wider selection of food and drink can be purchased than here, and with each visitor the selection continued to grow.

Thus they collected certain brewing techniques and recipes for dishes. The residents learned to use the arts of soulstones and with all the different powers they created rooms in which they could grow plants, keep animals and brew. Eventually, the inside of the one tiny house on the turtle's back grew to several hundred rooms that could house all different sizes of creatures and were designed to meet their specific needs. Among them were dozens of taverns, guest rooms with beds, rooms for hosting a wide variety of games from cultures all over the world, saunas, brewing rooms, and basically anything you can imagine as well as rooms for every aspect of every culture and their exchanges.

Although it was probably initially just the thought of creating a place of refuge and peace, the impact of this one experiment on the outside world soon became apparent, even if only on a small scale.

Over time, so many beings found their way into this cozy little world that all its laws and boundaries seemed to gradually lose relevance. At first, only the inhabitants of the continent of Uras could meet there, and only those from one place. In time, however, forces were found that allowed Habridia to be in several places at once, and so the inhabitants of Kartus were able to drink with the inhabitants of Mas'Orat during their mysterious visits. In time, the turtle managed to break through even the most powerful seals, finding the inhabitants of hidden elven kingdoms and raskhans from the depths of the Hohlenreich searching for their ancestors or lorels roaming the jungles near the Varaam-Wides. However, this development was not to end here. In time, the influx of powers even made it possible to gain access to the world of spirits, and so even the deceased could appreciate a conversation with those of this world. Eventually, even some demons and thus the long dead found a way to communicate with others. The most absurd creatures with barely comprehensible forms that roamed the void between the planes met earthly creatures here. Even drinking with a dragon in the flesh was possible in this place.

Certainly I will never forget that one night in that magical place. I drank with the craziest fellows in a tavern modeled after elven forest palaces. Afterwards, I danced in a stone filde shrouded by flaming columns and thick steam, modeled after the descriptions of the cities of the Prometheans. I swam in the pool of a spa after indulging in a long steam bath in the same. I shared the water with mermaids and lamias, the sea people I had read about only in Jou'roen's works. I strolled through gardens modeled on the ancient styles of the Gesenner and the Mirites, marveled at the mycronian architecture of a massive hall, and dined at a table such as only elbrine forces could produce under the artificial starry sky mentioned by Hormet in his "Studies of Forgotten Lands and Lost Places". At that same table I spoke with the spirit of a hero of Uhrteshkan, a barbarian of the wild lands, I drank something called ichoria with a deity who introduced himself to me as Haliamar, and shared my bed with a didalia whose people were not even mentioned in all the stories conceived on Uras

— writing of an adventurer from Trinidaris

3. Powers and secrets

It is unclear exactly how the powers are anchored in "the peaceful jug", however, something within these seemingly endless walls must have amassed a tremendous amount of power and influence by now. Not only can this entity be in hundreds of places at once, it can also seemingly banish any entity within back to its place of origin with a single thought. It can bypass any form of barrier or protection and can travel freely between all areas of the astraverse. With this, it even seems to be able to transcend some forces of the yal'sekai and legends say that even deities have been encountered in these halls. Of course, some beings have already tried to find out more in these halls, but whoever is looking for answers to all these questions will only find an emerald glow somewhere in the endless floors, which seemingly waits behind every other door and yet can never be reached. Even those who have tried to ask the turtle for answers could only report that the creature deftly skirted their questions, offered a cup of a delicious tea, and instead gave them answers for the questions of their lives they didn't even know they had.

And so Habridia wanders from place to place, city to city, realm to realm, country to country, continent to continent, world to world, path to path, plain to plain, and astravirium to astravirium. Be glad if you are ever visited by it and cherish every moment within. Enjoy food and drink as you have never tasted it before and talk to characters of all times and origins. Learn their games, their customs, their merriment and their stories. But never break the rules of this place so that you may return. Oh, that you may return, for another drink in the "peaceful jug".