Wintermoor

Disclaimer: I OWN THE WORLD, nah I’m just joking… actually I own the world you are about to read about; you see I created it. So anyway, the only things I need to add a disclaimer for are for the possible creatures that are the property of someone else.


Of Planes and Powers.

As the council was dismissed the various beings in the room filtered out of the great hall the two dragons patiently waited for the majority of the smaller folk to leave before they walked down to the center dais. The High Councilor also waited as the others dispersed out into the corridors outside.
“High Councilor Elidron, thank you for your assistance with the others.” Equifax spoke as he approached the wizened old man.
“Mention it not, my young friend. Though I still wonder where you get such useful and skilled spies in your line of work…” Elidron grinned and waved for the two huge beasts to sit.
“I have my sources.” Equifax noted as he settled to the floor of the chamber. Destin was lowered to the ground, as the great dragon introduced him to the High Councilor. “This is Destin Fireflinger, apparently a mage of some power and recently relocated to our fair city. Destin I would like you to meet High Councilor Elidron, possibly the oldest and most powerful priest on this world.”
“Ignore him young man, I am but a humble servant to the Prime. I would be nothing but dust without His eternal blessings. So please young mage do not be offended, but we have far more important things to be blathering on about than your arrival.” With this Elidron looked at the crimson scaled dragon.
“Oh don’t mind me, I’m just enjoying the cold floor.” The red dragon spoke, his eyes full of laughter.
“Oh hush, Inixyllia. We have even less time for your witty repartee. Now tell us what you know of these Kaeldorn.” Elidron settled down in a wooden chair looking intently at Inixyllia.
“Well there is not much to say really, they sent a patrol of five into the city of Scorchedale. I am not sure why, but this patrol only attacked when the first of our scouts neared it. They badly injured one of our whelps, severed his hintershoulder completely off. We have the clerics working on him, with luck they will be able to reattach the bones so in a few months he may be flying once more. When they grounded him one of our elder warriors attacked, sadly there wasn’t much left but soot. All I can say is they have some very nasty magical spells for anti-draconic combat, but seem to be lacking in the area of flame resistance…” Inixyllia chuckled.
“Anyway, I saw the spell they cast at the Son of Flame, it wasn’t like anything I have ever seen. It wasn’t magic, it was some weird power…” Inixyllia pulled out a charred humanoid skull. “This was the only part of them that survived the Elder Brother of Flames first breath.”
Elidron and Equifax looked over the burned skull, it was definitely similar to a humans but a good bit larger. Two horns thrust out of the skull running laterally along the brow, small spiked ridges ran from the top of the nasal cavity spreading and meeting in a semi-circle near the top rear portion of the skull. The eye cavities were elongated and oddly slim, but no jaw accompanied the skull only short sharp teeth jutted out from the upper portion of the mouth.
“I have never seen the like of it, reptilian I would say… but like nothing I have seen.” Elidron muttered as he looked over the alien skull.
“Not like any reptile I will claim kinship to,” Inixyllia interjected, “these things have skin like a humans, hell if it weren’t for the freakishly large head, horns and spikes on it… I would confuse this with some human breed or another.”
Thunderous laughter echoed through the tiny room as Equifax shook with mirth. He slowly regained his composure and remarked, “Yeah, they all do look alike don’t they…” Equifax sputtered with laughter once more and was joined by Elidron.
“Ha ha… real funny Equifax, you should try out for the position of court jester, I am sure someone could find you humorous. To the issue at hand gentlemen, we have a race none of us have ever seen threatening our very lives.”
“We cannot proceed until we have more information, you know this Inixyllia. Perhaps if we can find a weakness we could scare them into a compromise… you both know the consequences of open warfare here.” Elidron eyed both of the dragons with the stern look of a father.
The dragons nodded in agreement. “Well, Equifax go get your spies off their asses and out of the kegs they are most likely diving into and out to find out what we need to know. I’ll show Mr. Fireflinger around a bit.” Inixyllia said as he deftly picked up Destin with his tail and lifted him to a sitting position between the ridges of his shoulders.
As Inixyllia carried Destin off, Elidron looked at Equifax and spoke once more, “Are you sure he was brought by him?”
“No doubt about it.” Equifax grinned, “Poor guy can’t even guard his mind against the most simple of probing spells. He was struck by a green lightning bolt and brought here…”
“So the old bastard is still alive after all… been what four hundred years since he brought anyone here by that spell?”
“Fourdreddred and thirty-two to be exact, I’ll bet my left wing that this Destin won’t be the last. I’ll also bet my left arm that he has something that might hes ins in our struggles…”
“Indeed. We don’t want to pressure the boy, I will instruct Inixyllia to set him up in the residential district of Longview. There is a new building there we can use for the upcoming influx of adventurers… we both know he won’t be the last we see over the next few days.”
“Makes you wonder… old Vin...” Equifax stopped suddenly and looked about the room before continuing, “Always seems to do this before some huge war. He brought hundreds in during the Dragon Wars; perhaps he doesn’t think this war will be as bad.”
“We can only hope, hope and pray…”

~ Outside the Council Room ~

“Yeah, Winter is a great world, but we have some strict rules…”
“What kind of rules Inixyllia?”
“Well never attack another person without provocation, preferably not at all. Don’t screw with the Dragon Watch, they are our city militia and guards, they are well trained and very well prepared. Avoid the demon bars, they are no place for a human… unless you like pain and blood… then they might just be the place for you. Oh yeah, you are going to have to find a job. No one lives free, and unless you have a huge stockpile of gold pieces on you, you will need the money.”
The two talked more about the city and its residents as they walked the streets. Destin learned that the city was built to be a hub of commerce and trade, not only economic but spiritual and idealistic as well. The city is divided into 9 districts; each district is separated by sixty foot stone walls and gates on the major streets.
The western district of Longview, named for the large hill in the center of the area that gives a great vantage for the surrounding plains, is the primary residential district and by far the largest district. Longview is a sprawling area with confusing streets, tall housing complexes, and a few palatial residences of the cities wealthiest merchants.
The Flat Hills district near the south gate houses the inns, taverns, and pubs of the city as well as the low rent housing and a small area of slums. This district is the most patrolled and regulatestristrict due to the nature of folk attracted to the numerous pubs and brothels. The fact that prostitution is legal, but highly regulated, makes this also a favorite spot for off duty members of the Dragon Knights, the cities elite squad of warriors, mages, and priests.
Surrounding the bay of Moor Lake to the east is the Docks District, which is the primary area of warehouses and storage facilities in the city, as well as the location of the vast fishing and mercantile fleet. The docks district is usually a quiet area of the city, considering only persons with official business may even enter the district.
Nestled in between the Flat Hills, Longview, Docks, and University districts is the Mercantile district. The backbone of the city economy, the mercantile district is a massive area of well designed streets, formed into a giant grid containing hundreds of individual shops and merchant houses. Near the center of the district is the Città di Commerciante, or the bazaar of sorts, a massive cluttering of tents and stalls of the poorer merchants.
Pressed in between the Mercantile district and the Temple district is the Univeristy of Wintermoor, a large area of school buildings, libraries, and study halls. The university seeks to educthe the entire populace and is funded solely by the generous people of Winter. Induction into any classes or programs is very cheap and in many cases free due to the abundance of grants and scholarships. Wintermoor’s citizens are well educated and typically have attended at least three to four years of advanced courses covering their areas of expertise.
The Temple district is a veritable mess of temples, shrines, and holy buildings to just about any deity imaginable. The largest of the temples is the Church of the Prime, dominates the center of the district, its simple stone walls form a very defined image of the most humble of all of the religions of Winter.
The Beaching District is the location of the barracks, jails, and courthouse of the cities well trained guards. Stoic stone buildings dominate the rather bleakly decorated area that acts as the center of law and justice for Wintermoor. Training grounds dot the entire small district and the cities House of Healing also resides here. The House of Healing acts as the hospital to Wintermoor, providing any needed healing and recovery for the citizenry free of charge; the entire operation is ran by funding from the city government which excises taxes on many goods to cover the cost of the expensive facility.
The northernmost district of the city is the Marsh District, named so because the entire district used to be part of the marsh north of the city, was made by using powerful magic to raise the ground and form the basis of the cities center of government. The great Council of Elders meets in the largest single building of Wintermoor, the Council Home. The houses of many of the politicians and councilors dominate the eastern part of this district, and the west is home to the various other buildings of the government. Among the various buildings in this district are the civil courts, repository of council logs, a few banks, buildings for the factions of Winter, and many other smaller less meaningful buildings. This district is very well made, the streets are kept clean, and the buildings all boast delicate facades and fanciful architecture.
They wandered the city for hours, strolling casually from district to district, until finally returning to Longview. A large building was before them, Inixyllia noted that this building would be Destin’s home for now. “You may live here; on the sixth floor you will find your abode. Do please respect the other rooms on that floor, while they are empty now, I expect you will have roommates before too long.”
Up a long flight of stairs they went, but only after Inixyllia dwindled and shrunk into a human wearing robes marked by a single white star on the back. Inixyllia showed him the rather spacious sixth floor and the rooms he could choose from.
The center of the area was a large common room that had several chairs and two overstuffed couches, a couple low tables were around and in between the other furniture. The place had an oddly made kitchen which had things that Destin assumed must be magical devices for cooking and food storage, though he had never seen anything like them before. There were two hallways that led away from the common area and kitchen, each hall had six doors leading to six exactly the same rooms, and the only way to tell them apart was the color of the mark on each door. The rooms were decorated in color schemes that matched the colored marks on each door, Destin chose the room that was done in a very tasteful red scheme.
“Good night Destin, I shall return in the morning to help you acclimate to this world.” Inixyllia bowed then quietly left Destin to his thoughts.


Whew, thought that one was going to go on too long… Well there we have it, a small bit of intrigue arises in Wintermoor. More new arrivals to come? Wait and see, in the next installment of Wintermoor.