Kalakeri
| Kalakeri | |
|---|---|
| File:Tepest.png | |
| Culture Level | Medieval |
| Ecology | Full |
| Climate & Terrain | Rainforests |
| Year Formed | ? |
| Population | ? |
| Races (%) | Humans ?, ? |
| Languages | [[]] |
| Religions | [[]] |
| Government | Feudal monarchy |
| Ruler(s) | Ramya Vasavadan, Arijani Vasavadan, Reeva Vasavadan |
| Darklord(s) | Ramya Vasavadan |
| Nationality | |
| Analog | India |
| Related Categories | |
| Locations in Kalakeri | |
| Transportation in Kalakeri | |
| Inhabitants of Kalakeri | |
| Former Inhabitants of Kalakeri | |
| Flora of Kalakeri | |
| Fauna of Kalakeri | |
| Native Monsters of Kalakeri | |
For untold generations, the Vasavadan dynasty has ruled over the Great Kingdom of Kalakeri. This land was one of stability and prosperity until a barbarous civil war and a queen's dying curse brought low what centuries never could. Once an unrivaled power known throughout the world for its rare resources and vibrant trade, Kalakeri is now locked in an endless storm of violence. At the center of that storm stand the remnants of the Vasavadan: three heirs transformed into unspeakable monsters by their depravity and hatred.
Kalakeri is a deceptively beautiful land of verdant rain forests and an idyllic web of rivers and lakes known as the Backwaters. Rare creatures and extraordinary magical plants are found across the forest peninsula locals call the Harvest Peninsula. At the height of its prosperity, Kalakeri was a robust center of art, commerce, and religion, with foreign merchants spreading wild tales of Sri Raji, the Steaming Lands, the Land at the Heart of the World, and other fanciful names for Kalakeri. Now Kalakeri is a shadow of its past glory, a quagmire of intrigue and despair where fortunes change on a whim.
The people of Kalakeri live in dread, as a single misstep means doom. Schemers and hapless citizens alike are tossed by the tidal forces of the royal family. Following her betrayal and assassination, Maharani Ramya was restored to the world to avenge herself against her treacherous siblings, Arijani and Reeva. Ramya's curse manifests in both her deathless rage and in the monstrous forms afflicting her siblings. Both sides continue to escalate their atrocities against one another, drawing the powerful and the innocent alike into their squabbles. As Arijani and Reeva host murderous galas to entice fiendish allies, the forces of the Darklord search out and execute anyone they consider treasonous, adding their skulls to Ramya's ever-growing Tower of Traitors.
Geography
Jadurai
This city is thousands of years old. Here ancient structures with the architecture of previous dynasties stand alongside modern buildings. Hardly a month passes without locals rediscovering a forgotten chamber or catacomb.
The colorfully canopied Lakshma Market trades in everything from betel leaves to the eggs of wyverns, which are common near the mountain spires known as the Lesser and Greater Vochalam. People of all social classes flock to the market, moving past the flower-petaled kolam that ward the entrances of the high temple of Kalakeri's gods.
Jadurai retains its splendor, but the conflict between Ramya and her siblings takes an enormous toll. Sections of the city lie in ruins, and the slums encroach farther every day as misery and squalor consume Jadurai from the inside.
The Backwaters
An extensive web of brackish rivers and lakes crisscrosses the Harvest Peninsula. Houseboats travel their lengths, ferrying food and wares between thriving trade towns, rural villages, and the estates of regional nobles.
Refugees from the ongoing war and the rampant poverty of Jadurai seek haven in the Backwaters. Those brave enough to fight the tyranny of the Vasavadan scions organize into rebel bands that prepare desperate, dangerous attacks on the royal family.
Kalakeri's most fearsome predators inhabit the Backwaters, including basilisks, hydras, stone giants, and cloud giants.
Cerulean Citadel
The Cerulean Citadel is the palace of the royal family. The jewel in Jadurai's crown, it derives its name from the sky-blue sandstone used to construct its outer walls. The octagonal Citadel encompasses one hundred acres. Within its defensive walls and strategic bastions lies a complex of beautifully designed marble quarters and pavilions, arranged between courtyards, baths, ponds, and gardens. Bas-reliefs adorn the buildings, depicting the history, heroes, and legends of the kingdom, some of which remain mysteries to the wisest scholars. The central domed court houses the Sapphire Throne and is the hub of political activity in the Citadel. Beneath the Citadel, vast tunnels for storing supplies and secretly moving troops also hide the magical troves of forgotten rulers.
Tower of Traitors
The Tower of Traitors is an ever-expanding structure on the outskirts of Jadurai, situated on the battlefield where Arijani and Reeva murdered Ramya, precipitating the creation of Kalakeri as a domain. Row upon row of skulls, all taken from Ramya's fallen enemies, fill depressions set into the stone tower. Two skulls hold places of special prominence: the original human skulls of Arijani and Reeva. Ramya's skeletal soldiers continue to build the tower as part of her plan to rid Kalakeri of evil and receive the gods' blessings.
The Vochalams
Two treacherous mountains jut from the forest-cloaked hills and cliffs of southwestern Kalakeri. The Greater Vochalam and the slightly smaller Lesser Vochalam are home to vast numbers of wyverns. Legends say that temples crown both mountains and that an ancient deity placed a treasure able to grant wishes in one of them. Whoever claims the treasure in the wrong temple, though, is turned into a wyvern loyal to Kalakeri's true leader.
The Ashram of Niranjan
Another Domain of Dread hails from the same lands as Kalakeri. Those who sail into the Mists of the Sea of Spears often find this shadow-haunted domain of Niranjan, which is detailed further in the "Other Domains of Dread" section later in this chapter.
Authority
Darklord
Temporal Rule
The Temporal rule of Kalakeri is split between Ramya, the rightful Maharani who rules with her undead army, and her rebelious brother and sister, Arijani and Reeva. Each enforces their own set of rules, taking over the villages and the capital city, while also killing those they see as rebels and traitors.
