The Flarelands exist in a world full of natural magic. That magic currently flares and erupts in unpredictable and potentially deadly ways almost everywhere across the continent. For the last two decades, the nature of the flares has changed, spawning monstrous creatures and deadly storms far more often than in the centuries past.
In some places, however, flares occur rarely, or not at all. These places are Flarehavens, where mortalkind can settle down, build permanent structures and institutions, and hope to create a better future for their families. But travel between these havens is so dangerous, most people consider it impossible. In generations past, brave adventurers known as “Flarewalkers” dared the expanses between settlements, transporting messages and goods and occasionally people through the dangerously unstable territory. The stories of these adventurers have become legendary in some cases. But lately even the Flarewalkers are finding the danger too intense. Many are retiring or dying in action, and few are taking over.
This site will be a place for me to publish publicly available information about the Flarelands, as seen by a group of Flarewalkers called "The Misfits".
The Misfits first gathered in the town of Dawnfisher, when Flarb, a young Ribbet with a big sword and even bigger dreams, and Pandora, a Demonborn Human exiled from her druidic circle, went into the forest just outside the town to find a lost dog named Happy. Their companion Gortblat, a towering monster and novice wizard, had been accused of eating Happy, and the three were looking to clear his name. There in the woods they encountered Onyx, a Feline teenager who had recently run away from her home, and her new companion Logan, a metallically enhanced Galapa who had recently lost companions at sea.
The 5 of these adventurers, along with Happy the runaway pooch, were caught in a sudden magical storm of acid, and took shelter in an ancient temple where some thieves had been stashing stolen goods. After surviving the dangers within the temple and finding the pilfered loot, the band of companions dubbed themselves "The Misfits", and set out on their first intentional adventure, braving the flarelands toward the City of Breadgate and the mining settlement of Duggin's Hole.
A maritime power run by a group of wealthy trader princes known as the Consortium, Bayswall sits in the shadow of the Frozen Wave, a wall of ice magically suspended just offshore.
An isolated and mostly tribal settlement of satyr-like Tidekin, Bilbrey is surrounded by deadly jungle to the north and a bounteous coral sea to the south.
Blacktide is unfortunately appropriately named for the brackish sludge that dominates its shoreline, forcing its hardy residents into a difficult lifestyle of hunting and living off the land.
Home to powerful families and entrepreneurial problem-solvers, Breadgate is a walled city of bright lights, powered by a permanent subterranean whirlpool and a steady supply of magical ores from nearby mines.
Located in a nautically important position within the Revyed Bay, Corim's Bend is the hub of the region's seafaring trade, turning raw materials from around the region into crafted goods ready for sale.
A fishing town located between the occasionally dangerous waters of Silver Lake and the perpetually dangerous waters of Wild Lake, Dawnfisher is a relatively quiet town of of hardworking people.
Not much is known about the city of Drellif Sands, as few people have succesfully found their way to it through the ravaging desert it supposedly exists in the center of.
A town with a strong connection to Solond, the god of craft and ingenuity, Graintreddle is always problem solving with magic and technology, looking to squeeze the most efficiency out of their many Deific blessings.
High on Mt. Gura in the Bahar Mountains, Inker's hold is a scholarly redoubt where, thanks to the area's naturally occuring magical lights, reading and writing are practical at all hours of the day and night.
At the center of a large sphere of influence on the dry Windbreak plains, Joffer's Mound is a center of learning and culture, presided over by a Procurator enacting the will of Thalon, the god of knowledge and preservation.
Presided over by the royal family of King Mandren IV, Manhall is a predominantly human settlement protected by chivalrous mounted Knights wh sweep the plains around the city slaying monsters and safeguarding the people.
Situated atop the anomalous monolithic pavement known as the Compass Stone, Nemis is a city with little to no natural beauty, but a deep sense of community and work ethic among its many different people.
Protected and presided over by a group of 4 witches known as the Coven of Roots, Owlgarden is a town imbued with elemental and natural magic surrounding an enormous magical Tree known as the Maidentree.
High atop a lush green mountain, surrounded by a sea of fog and mist, Oxbridge is a city isolated from the world, save for a few extremely vertigo-inducing bridges connecting them to nearby peaks.
Redbark is a city dedicated to meeting the needs of Adventurers, soothing their aches, providing entertainment and companionship, and sending them back out to their adventuring with substantially lighter purses.
Rikesfield is a fishing and farming town, with fishermen descending into the town's many dark caves to fish Lake Vilapai, the enormous subterranean freshwater lake that sits, full of aquatic life, just below the city.
High on windy cliffs above a crashing sea, Sambaton shares its territory with the generational nesting grounds of the continent's most awe-inspiring apex predator, the dragon-sized avians known as Zebrabirds.
Once two cities, the underground settlement of Sanctis Eidar, and Morril Post on the surface, a catastrophic cave-in devastated both, combining them into one large city with a massive crater in its center.
A small town protected from the world's dangers by a single powerful -but delicate- magical flower, Scotston has experienced much hardship, and safeguards its blessings with a heightened sense of vigilance.
At one end of the famous "Flarewalker Road", Scribblefield is a town known for producing adventurers, including the Cast Iron Six, the Children of Varras, and the original group known as the Wolfwalkers.
A town of rolling hills south of the Bahar Mountains, Shommlich is a town of herders and farmers who occasionally get inspired by visiting flarewalkers, and called away from the quiet town to lead a life of adventure.
A town known for its ingenious plant breeders and botanists, Sunmarsh has carved a bountiful life for itself in a punishingly cold part of the northern coast, where farming should be much more difficult.
With the most bounteous coast on the continent, the sea life from Thornhook is the most abundant anywhere on the planet, producing fish and pearls and seashells (and sometimes even people) of inordinate size.
Formerly known as Briarwall, this settlement was narrowly saved from complete destruction by the Flarewalker group known as the Wolfwalkers, who then chose to retire there to help rebuild the town.
Tune in later for more....
The adventure will continue....
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