The Elemental Shatters is a continent far from Labyrinth, with a deep connection to the four elemental planes. The land and surrounding ocean is scarred by huge crystals, called shards, thrust through from the planes, infused with elemental magic and thinning the barrier between planes. Since the arrival of these shards thousands of years ago, the continent has been brimming with powerful elemental forces, and all life here if suffused by it.
The continent is not only shattered physically, but politically, where the magic granted by these shards has fractured it into many small city states and kingdoms, usually centred on a shard that grants its rulers power. Many of these states are ruled by powerful elemental beings, who are better able to harness the power of the shards and use them as a tool to maintain control. The everchanging web of alliances and treaties between these states see wars happen frequently, usually in an attempt to capture key locations containing shards that can further a kingdom's power. Many city states swear fealty to others, forming some of the larger nations across the Shatters, though they usually act more are loosely associated federations than fully unified states.
While many shards serve as the hearts of cities and kingdoms, many more lie buried deep in the earth, or sunken far off the coast, waiting to be discovered. Many adventurers in the Shatters set out to discover new shards and attempt to claim their power, and many more spend their lives fighing to defend those that empowers their home. Shards often do not match the environment they were dropped in, causing abnormal phenomena such as a snowy peak in the middle of the desert, or rivers of lava that flow through tundra. The effects of shards oon the land can also vary greatly; even two of the same element may have completely different effects - one air shard could hold a flying city aloft, while another could cause roaring winds and rolling storms tear up anything that comes close.
The people of the shatters are as diverse as the landscape, and many are just as infused with the elements - among others Genasi are exceedingly common here. People have had to adapt to survive in such a rugged, varied landscape, but can be found almost anywhere across the continent - from floating, icy peaks and valleys of rolling storms, to lakes of lava and the unfathomable depths off the coast. While there may be tension and distrust between many kingdoms, there is also a clear mutual respect between all who meet each other here - they have been able to survive life here, same as you, even if in different ways.
The gods of the shatters are as elemental and powerful as the land, and are worshipped and feared in equal measure. They are primordial forces of nature, only ever personified in the broadest of terms by the people who venerate them. They are known to be fickle, and quick to anger, so prayers and offerings are are made often to appease them. Those who carry their favour are often gifted powerful, difficult-to-control magic, which must be maintained with regular offerings and actions in their dedication.
The gods are also further divided into four different pantheons, based on which element they are associated with. Kingdoms and individuals generally choose one element's pantheon of gods to honour and worship, often to their detriment when they deal with the domain of a god outside their pantheon. Offerings are made to patron gods often, while others only recieve offerings when relevant to a course of action or after they have been angered.
For a list of Shatters gods, click here.
The southwestern coast of the continent is home to some of the largest ports anywhere in the Shatters, and much of trade with the City and elsewhere runs through the alliance of city-states that dominates these shores. The Shimmering Depths are named for the bottomless trench of ocean that drops immediately from the edge of the coast, with no seabed anywhere in sight. The sea is called shimmering here not just for the way the sun dances on the water as it rises, but for the masses of wealth that lie in sunken ships embedded deep down, in the walls of the trench. For adventurers brave enough to face the deep unknown, diving here is very lucrative, though the shadows of gargantuan creatures keep many from delving too deep.
Above the water, the trade cities that dominate the coast are ruled over by by the Grand Duke of Grandiosa, the largest and most powerful city on the coast, who used both its influence on trade and the considerable elemental power of its shard to bring the other nearby cities under its control. There's a high concentration of Water shards and elementals on the coast, with most of the major cities being built around them. Harnessing their power to control ocean currents and create calm seas around the Shimmering Depths have allowed Grandiosa and the other cities to become such trade superpowers.
However, for the last 6 months, the coast have been plagued by constant, supernatural storms. This has of course been devastating for many of the cities on the coast, who rely heavily on international trade to function. The closing of the ports has caused massive unrest in cities across the coast, as people struggle to find work without the constant arrival and departure of ships. This has also caused a major food shortage, as fishing boats have been unable to sail out, requiring the coast to import food overland for the first time in its history. Many people believe the storms to be an expression of divine wrath, with the people of Grandiosa or the Grand Duke having offended the Stormbringer (an Air Pantheon god) in some way.
| Grandiosa | Grandiosa is the capital of the Shimmering Depths Coast, and its largest port city. It's the centre of trade up and down the coast, and home to the Grand Duke of Grandiosa, a Marid who rules the rest of the cities on the coast. |
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| Port de la Lune | Home to the largest temple on the coast, to the Water Pantheon Gods. This is the next largest city on the coast, and was considered a regional power before it was brought under Grandiosa's control. |
| Vizera | A small barony in the hills outside Grandiosa, until recently under its dominion. The baron was recently killed in a battle with a red dragon, who has supplanted him as baron over the territory, and is yet to swear fealty to the Grand Duke. |
| Leilon | 'The town that washes in and out with the tides' - A town that has been abandoned and rebuilt several times in its history, it remained in ruins until 6 months ago, when the storms closed every port further south on the coast. It's now being gradually rebuilt as a place for goods being taken further down the coast to make port, though the journey south is still difficult, and the storms still limit the amount of ships that make it into port here. |