The City of Veldonia - Part I

Veldonia is the capital of the Alderworth Kingdom and one of the most populated cities on the planet, Iskandria. It is a city of sharp contrasts, where the excessive luxury of a decadent nobility sits directly atop a horrific, ancient necropolis, and the masses struggle to eke out an existence in the cruel streets.

I. The Pre-Cataclysmic Era: The Vaelorian Ascendancy (Approx. 5000 – 2000 Years Ago)

Before Veldonia was a city of stone and wood, it was Ker Nethalas, the crown jewel of the Vaelorian Ascendancy. The ancient Vaelorians followed the so-called Theology of the Bone, believing that life is merely a “crude gestation” for the eternal existence of undeath. Their architecture was grown from alchemically hardened bone and obsidian, powered by Aether-wells that tapped into the spiritual ley lines of Iskandria.

The Veldonian’s seat of power, the Midnight Throne, is a massive subterranean spire, designed to act as a lightning rod for soul-energy. The Vaelorian rulers used it to practice soul-siphoning, where the life force of the lower castes was extracted to extend the life of the nobility.

Roughly 2,000 years ago, the Ascendancy fell, although the reasons for its demise aren’t entirely clear. Sources suggest it wasn’t just barbarian tribes that ended them, but a “great silencing”. Their goddess, Kalatha, supposedly turned her gaze away, and the complex necromantic enchantments maintaining the city began to fail. The bone-walls crumbled, and the dead they had enslaved turned into the mindless horrors that now haunt the lower sections.

II. The Age of Iron and Ash (2000 – 1000 Years Ago)

Following the collapse, the surface became a desolate wasteland of warring tribes. For a millennium, tribal leaders fought over the “warm Stones”, areas near the ruins of Ker Nethalas where the lingering magical radiation kept the ground from freezing, allowing for the establishment of settlements and communities. These tribes eventually realized that the most stable ground was directly atop the central spire of the old necropolis. They began building wooden forts and stone keeps atop the Midnight Throne, unaware (or perhaps ignoring) that their foundations were the literal skulls of an empire.

III. The Silvercrest Unification & The Second Era (1000 Years Ago – 0 TE)

Varkonos Silvercrest united the tribes through diplomacy and blood pacts, ensuring the loyalty of all the other tribal leaders and creating the foundation of a new kingdom. Among his first endeavours to secure the nascent nation, Varkonos attempted to seal the entrances to Ker Nethalas permanently, creating the first iteration of the Obsidian Wardens. He declared the world cleansed, effectively convincing future generations into believing the horrors below were mere myths.

During the 3,471 years of the Second Era, Veldonia grew into a massive metropolis. However, a growing portion of the local economy became dependent on secretly sending expeditions into the upper reaches of the ruins below to recover Vaelorian artifacts, which the Silvercrests then sold to the College of Arcane Lore or foreign powers to fund their lavish lifestyle.

IV. The Great Eclipse and the Third Era (0 TE – 473 TE)

The 50-year eclipse (The Long Night) fundamentally changed Veldonia’s character. As the sun vanished and the ice age began, resources became scarce. Desperation led to a spike in crime. To keep the starving masses from revolting against the well-fed nobility, the Silvercrests built the Great Arena, serving a dual purpose: population control and a source of twisted entertainment.

Now, even if the sun has returned, the cold remains in the hearts of the people. King Jeoff Silvercrest rules a city that is a gilded cage, and Veldonia keeps feeding on the remnants of the Vaelorian Ascendancy for its magic and knowledge, while the ancient ruins below feed on the city’s discarded people (the executed, the poor, and the lost).