Vohzaarm

Concealed in between the tall timbers

History

Hidden deep away in the forests of Akasha, the town of Vohzaarm subsists. Few have heard of the town and, far less know its history. The townspeople do not share their tales with outsiders, because they are far too disturbing and would scare visitors away. The town was built next to a magical essence power plant, supposedly used for storing large amounts of concentrated magic. The plant was designed by a vampire whose name has long since been forgotten. When the Black Emperor established the nation of Akasha, he sized all of the concentrated magic that was stored in the facility and shut it down. The facility was dismantled and abandoned when the army had finished draining all the concentrated magic and relocated it. A few years later in the year 666CE, a lengthy flood plagued the town for weeks. Previously they had relied on the commerce generated by the magic facility to provide them with enough food and water to outlast the flood. However, now that the town no longer had its magic facility, people would rarely come to trade. At the time, the town leader had not yet adjusted to the fact the magic facility was gone and had not stockpiled enough food for everybody. A few days without food can break anyone, the desperation can turn a civilized person into a beast in the blink of an eye. After weeks of starvation, ethics and rules start to fade, and anarchy emerges. The tales of what happened during those months horrify even the most tenacious. The event was named the "Cannibal Holocaust", but the story was perceived as a myth or a propaganda tool to scare townspeople to adhere to the rules.

Noone living can say for certain what truly happened during that event, but the aftermath is very clear. The previous town leader is now gone, presumed dead. Some rumors would have you believe that he hoarded food to himself, and so the townspeople sieged his house and took it back, slaying him in the process. Others claim he was the first to be killed and eaten by the townspeople, for his lack of foresight when it came to food storage. With the leader gone and a significantly reduced amount of townspeople, the future of the town was ambiguous. While Lysander had other matters to attend to, the Vampire Lord Lillith Pagan bought the territory from Lysander. Ever since Lillith has been the lord of Vohzaarm.

The townspeople are wary of Lillith, she did not save the town out of the goodness of her heart. She occasionally visits the town to check up on her projects. Additionally, she drafts various townspeople into her service. Few, if any, of the people drafted are seen or heard from again. Despite all of this, most of the townspeople still hold her in high regard.

Geography

Vohzaarm is a remote town that is only reachable by the old dirt road through the forest that surrounds the town. The forest essentially functions as a cloak that hides the town and the townspeople away from bypassers. But while the forest might serve a defensive function, it is also home to wicked and unholy creatures. Some would say that the forest is not keeping outsiders away, it is keeping the townspeople inside. The forest gets denser the further away from the main road and the town, you get. It is dark, gloomy, and filled with untold horrors.
A river runs downstream to the capital city Galacea, however, the river course is treacherous and no large vessel can complete a journey to the capital without being demolished. The river is an important source of food and clean water for the townspeople. The area is prone to floods, typically flooding the entire stream all the way down to the capital. Because of this, the townspeople build their houses far enough away from the river, and at an altitude that exceeds the flooding. While the water levels rising might not cause a problem for the people, the inevitable destruction of farms, and roads. Additionally, the floods pollute the water, which makes it unsafe to drink. With no connection to the other settlements, and little food and water, the townspeople are left starving and thirsting for some time. The soil recovers pleasingly after floods, allowing for an abundance of growth since the soil has been reinvigorated with more nutrients. This renewed and fertile soil provides the farmers with boosted yields for up to five years.

Trade

Vohzaarm is for the most part self-sufficient and does not export a lot of goods. The types of goods they can't produce themselves include luxury resources, like wine, silk, gold, gems, and spices. A limited amount of weapons are produced in the town, however, the town has never had the need for military-grade weaponry and armor. They do need weapons that can deal with the creatures of the forest. For the creatures that the townspeople hunt, and for the creatures that hunt the townspeople. In terms of exports, the town has little to offer. The only special wares they sell are Transvine which they gather from the forest and Gossamer which they harvest from the large spiders that lurk in the forest.

Notable Inhabitants And Locations

The village has a few alchemy based businesses, but the finest one is run by Lady Harvine, a female human. The Store is called Harvine's Lotions and Potions.
Mayor Cairn Adwell runs the day to day operations in the town. He was not born in Vohzaarm, but moved here and was made Mayor by Lillith. The only person in Vohzaarm that occasionally have talks with Lillith, although they are mostly just short reports from his side. Cairn is a male human and looks to be around 40 years old.
One of the local taverns is called the Sly Meadery and is run by Dell Underbough, a female wood Elf.
The town blacksmith is Roger Stoutmouth, a middle-aged orian dwarf. He owns and runs the Commoner's Forge, the only blacksmithing business in Vohzaarm.
The General Store is called Odds and Assortments and is run and owned by a Tiefling named Traki Siannodel.

Vohzaarm

Type

Town

Geography

Nation: Akasha
Region: Rekx

Society

Demonym: Vohzaarian
Population: 3307

42% Humans

34% Elves

17% Tieflings

7% Others

Common Deities: Inedia, The Ravenous

Commerce

Exports: Potions, Transvine, Gossamer
Imports: Luxury Goods, Weapons

Politics

Settlement Leader: Mayor Cairn Adwell
Associated Vampire Lord: Lillith Pagan