SHADOWBOOK
LOCATIONS
The Kingdom of Umbragard, the lands
surrounding it, and the wonders within it.
Maps!
Map of Umbragard
Most of Umbragard is nestled between the eastern Pale Mountains and western Onyx Mountains. Much of it is heavily forested. The climate is roughly similar to that of Scotland. It doesn’t really have any lochs or large lakes, though; instead, it has a massive glacial swamp. Umbragard is bordered by several other Dark Realms — the bleak Land of Undeath and the forest of Styganwald to the south, the Hesperian Sea and various Fey kingdoms to the west, and Pterophoros to the north (just beyond this frozen wasteland is Hyperborea, the land of eternal summer). It also maintains multiple points of contact with the Underworld.
The Kingdom of Umbragard
Umbragard has six distinct regions: Nocturne Valley, Thesternesse, the Moonlight Moors, the Twilight Lands, Ebonshire, and Feyshadow. Scattered throughout these regions are fonts of magical energy that infuse the very soil, providing Umbragard with its most valuable natural resource. Almost everything in Umbragard is enchanted, from humble talismans cut from Umbragardian wood to glowing crystals from Umbragardian mines. The magical vortices also have a weird effect over the wildlife, most of which is monstrous. Umbragard is home to wargs, stryges, kelpies, tentacled swamp-beasts called telmatorata, small nocturnal dragons, many unique species of bats, sarbin (imagine a carnivorous bison with rhino horns), and (allegedly) Night-Gaunts. Umbragard’s domestic animals are no exception — the goats herded on the Moonlight Moors all look demonic. It also has some unique kinds of herbs, fruit, flowers, and trees, which make for rare reagents in alchemy and potion-making. Umbragard has six cities. Nighthaven is the center of royal power, nestled in a mist-shrouded dell between the swamp and Nocturne Park. The king and queen reign from the beautiful gothic Palace of Eternal Night. Further upriver is Darsinnin, the former capital, now a relatively small town under the ruins of Castle Nocturne. Windymere is the second-largest city, towering over a lake in the Pale Mountains. In the middle of Thesternesse is Erebion, the center of magical practice and advancement in Umbragard. At the mouth of the River Sothis is Duskraven, the capital of the Twilight Lands and the center of power for the Nightshades. Finally, Obscurus is a large city-state in the Underworld that Umbragard has recently annexed. It has various entrances all across the map. There are mainly three ethnicities in Umbragard — Nyctean Shadows, who are the bulk of the population in Nocturne Valley, Hesperian Shadows, those who live in the Twilight Lands, and Stygian Shadows, who are native to the chthonic city-state of Obscurus. I’m pretty sure a fourth ethnicity that can tolerate extreme cold lives in Ebonshire, and there may be a fifth in Feyshadow produced by interbreeding between Shadows and Fey, but neither group has shared anything with me so far.
Umbragardian Wildlife
Sarbin: A large buffalo-shaped beast that has fangs and claws and sharp horns, living in Umbragard’s wilderness. Shadows hunt them for sport and enjoy eating them. Telmatoteras: (pl. telmatorata) A tentacled aquatic monster that lives in the swamp near Nighthaven. Shadows kill younger ones with harpoons and eat them, but they can grow to gigantic size. Strix: Also called a witch-bird. Stryges are gigantic black birds that feed on flesh and blood and are large enough to prey on humans. They have horrible screams and blank yellow eyes, and they hang upside down and lactate like bats. They’re basically hagsfiends. (They’re described in Ovid’s Fasti.) Warg: A gigantic species of jet-black wolf that lives throughout Umbragard’s forests and mountains. They’re not actually more dangerous or malevolent than normal wolves, just bigger, and more intelligent — they can be tamed and ridden. Senka can change into one. Kelpie: A type of monster that lives in the swamp. It usually appears as a shadowy horse swimming or wading through the water, but sometimes appears as a beautiful nude man bathing or playing the violin. Usually they have no qualms about drowning Shadows who attempt to ride them (in one way or another), but they will also leave Shadows alone if Shadows leave them alone. It’s possible for a Shadow to earn a kelpie’s trust, but this doesn’t often happen. Night-Gaunts: Monstrous beings that live in remote parts of the Onyx Mountains. They appear as gigantic, vaguely-humanoid demons with batlike wings, curving horns, and long tails. Their skin is smooth and slimy, and they have no faces. It’s not clear exactly what they are, or whether they are even native to the plane of Aion. Little is known about them, but there are legends of Shadows having tamed and ridden them. They are often confused with Vespertilian Wyverns. Ghouls: A humanoid monster that feeds on dead flesh. They’re a rare sight in Umbragard, but sometimes appear around its western border, where it meets the Land of Undeath. They seem to have a unique symbiotic relationship with night-gaunts. Night-Dragon: A small dragon about the size of an elephant, living in the Pale Mountains north of Windymere. They are completely black, and nocturnal. Shadows can tame them, although this only works if they are raised from infancy and bond with humans, and they should only be handled by experienced beast-tamers. Rumor has it that Hecate’s chariot is pulled by four night-dragons. Vespertilian Wyverns: A type of wyvern that appears particularly batlike. Their wings resemble a bat’s more than an average dragon’s, and they have batlike faces and long tails. They resemble gargoyles or night-gaunts. Also called Orphic Dragons, because they travel to and from the Underworld. Night-Raven: A nocturnal species of raven that lives all over Umbragard. Night-Phoenix: An exceedingly rare bird that burns with purple fire. It looks like a normal phoenix, but has black, purple, and blue feathers. It dies in flames at the end of its lifespan and is reborn from the ashes. It’s possible that the only night-phoenix in Umbragard is Skia, the familiar of Queen Sombra, who is still alive because of her natural immortality. Leucrotta: Amphiptere: Bats Little Black Bat: The most common type of bat in Umbragard, a microbat with a coal-black body and wings that roosts in caves and bell towers. Scavenger Bat: A larger bat about the size of a small hawk, which feeds off of dead animals. Has long fangs. Looks scary, but isn’t aggressive. Silver Bat: Microbat with silver wings and fluffy white bodies. Migratory; found in spring and summer.
The Dark Realms
Styganwald: The Black Forest Styganwald borders Umbragard on the other side of Dark Wood. It is a massive, dense forest that is essentially a dumping ground for various creatures that don’t live in any of the other Dark Realms, including Unseelie Fey, goblins, wraiths, wargs, occasional Nightmares, and other miscellanious monsters, but Styganwald is especially known for its population of witches and hags, who are loosely congregated. Massive conventions of witch covens usually meet in Styganwald. Hecate lived and studied there for quite some time. Somehow, all the witches of Styganwald became beholden to her and recognized her as their Queen, the Sorceress Supreme. Most of the Styganwald witches still have deep respect for her, if they don’t simply fear her. They have a more begrudging respect for Astor, since they resent that Hecate’s heir is a man, and don’t like having to answer to an arrogant, impulsive youth. Styganwald was ruled by the ruthless witch-fairy Carabosse for some time, but she was somehow vanquished. Recently, a relatively young witch named Nepenthe took over Styganwald and attempted to subject the witches to her rule. She sees herself as a rival to Hecate and seeks to purge Styganwald of Hecate’s lingering influence. Hecate attempted to befriend Nepenthe, but when that failed, she pays Nepenthe no mind. The witches have divided loyalties between Hecate and Nepenthe. Nepenthe maintains power through surveillance in her magic mirror. There are rumors as to how she acquired the mirror, but no one knows for sure. (Styganwald is mostly an archetypical fairytale forest of the don’t-go-in-the-woods-or-you’ll-die variety, and Nepenthe is a wannabe evil queen. Inspired by Grimm Tales by Nox Arcana.) Also living in Styganwald is The Erlking, a mysterious horned entity who rules over its local Fey (mostly goblins and kobolds). He is seen as an incarnation of Vhasta. The witches of Styganwald primarily worship Vhasta and Liath under the names Elenyon and Akanwe. Elphame: The Unseelie Court of Fey Led by the dread Queen Nicnevin of the Storm, the Unseelie are a species (or collection of species?) of dark fairies. Unseelie Fey are nocturnal and known for being extremely aggressive. They have a tendency to assault or torment humans for their own amusement (usually without killing them, but doing everything else besides). Just being near one can cause ill luck. Some Unseelie Fey are very beautiful while others are hideous-looking. Some look like roughly humanoid plant things while others resemble animals or human-animal amalgamations. Some are shapeshifters (like kelpies). Their wings are usually (but not always) insectoid or batlike. Most are venomous or poisonous, or spread disease or natural disasters. However, they are known to lend powerful (often baneful) magic to those who gain their favour, such as witches. Their realm, called Elphame (or Elphyme), borders Styganwald. There’s a significant population of Unseelie in Styganwald. Umbragardian relations with the Unseelie have historically been tense, since the Unseelie disdain Shadows as inferior competitors (i.e. basically humans with the pretension that they are monsters). Unseelie relations with Shadows have improved significantly because of their massive respect for Hecate. Hecate and Nicnevin are friends. The Unseelie also have some genuine respect for Astor, as Hecate’s scion and a tormenter of humans. The Sidhe The Sidhe are another type of fairy, beautiful and ageless (although not technically immortal). They are ruled by King Finvarra and his mate Maeve. They live in the Underworld, inside a hollow hill at the edge of the woods, and they usually only come to the surface to dance on moonlit nights. Although the Sidhe may appear benevolent, their temperament is not unlike that of ghosts, and they can be every bit as nasty as Unseelie Fey. Banshees are of their people. They do not disdain Shadows as much as Unseelie used to, and right now, they are on excellent terms with Umbragard. Finvarra is friends with Eidolon, due to their shared tastes in good food, drink, music, and storytelling, and their similar personalities. Their alliance has greatly enriched Umbragard. Hyperborea: The Sylvani Hyperborea beautiful, lush forest, inhabited by creatures collectively called Sylvani, “forest people.” It is a land of eternal spring to the north, across the freezing Rhipaion Mountains (which are populated by griffins. On the other side of the mountains is Pterophoros, a land of eternal winter). The river Eridanos runs through it. Sylvani include half-human, half-animal (goat, deer, or horse) beings — satyrs, fawns, ipotanes, and centaurs— and nymphs. Satyrs, fauns, and ipotanes are famously lustful, and enjoy partying, although most of them are not violent. Sex is a significant part of their culture, used as friendly greeting, social bonding, a way of making peace, and pretty much anything else. They never wear clothes. They are known for their wines; Hyperborean wine is the best in the Dark Realms. Nymphs are extremely beautiful, nigh-immortal nature spirits (distantly related to Sidhe) that inhabit trees and springs. The vast majority of them are female, but male nymphs exist, though they are rare (and equally beautiful/ethereal). They’re much choosier about whom they have sex with (they can interbreed with satyrs but prefer not to), can be vengeful, and are much more dangerous overall. They don’t really have a ruler, but they acknowledge a nymph named Thyone as their diplomat and “first among equals.” The Land of Undeath The Land of Undeath is a desolate plain at the edge of the Shadow Realm, perpetually haunted by ghosts, zombies, walking skeletons, banshees, wraiths, and other undead entities. Occasionally, you’ll find liches or living necromancers there. These shambling corpses and restless specters can’t be said to have a ruler, per se, but the land is controlled by a hag named Achlys and her daughter, Melinoe (Hecate’s half-sister). They control who enters and who leaves their land, and keep the nastier spirits under control. Xibalba The land of the vorax. A vorax is a type of flesh-eating humanoid monster, with sharp teeth and claws and long hair all down their backs. They live in a verdant jungle, and are ruled by their king, a bat-winged vorax named Camazotz, and his mate, a Shadow named Awilix. Vorax keep chupacabras as pets. Cavernest A kingdom in the Underworld that borders Obscurus, populated by demons and other kinds of monsters. It is ruled by King Paymon, his mate Gremory, and their son Sitri. They are all a type of extremely powerful shapeshifting demons that can take humanoid forms. Cavernest covers a much broader territory than Obscurus does; while Obscurus is just one city-state, Cavernest contains much more underground “wilderness,” and is inhabited by many different species of demons. The demons of Cavernest have a tense but civil relationship with Obscurus, only because they respect the power of Lord Zagreus (which subtly suggests that Zagreus really is a deity, not a Shadow). Still, the demons had a “you leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone” foreign policy towards Obscurus. Relations between Cavernest and the rulership of Umbragard are relatively new, since Eidolon attempted diplomatic ventures in Cavernest. Paymon and Gremory’s impression of Eidolon can be summed up as “cute.” The only reason they engage with him in good faith is because of their respect for Hecate. Panteria The distant land of the intelligent big cats. They come to Umbragard because of a deal made between their people and one of Umbragard’s early rulers. Thester Land of Eternal Darkness where Shadows believe their gods and the dead reside. Since they live in Aion, they believe they visit Thester when they dream, and some of their myths are set there. Thester is basically “the Underworld, but up.” Some extremely skilled mages (like Hecate) can visit Thester in their bodies. Thester is also home to Narkata, the Obsidian City, a city of “great gloom and yet great beauty.” Erebion is allegedly modeled after it.
