Concordia
Major Locations in Concordia
Prodigum
The Azimuth Patrol
Halls of Tanarus and Sulis
Hospice of the Defiant Hope
Janora's Galleries
Simultaneous Antechamber
The Quiescent Nexus
Prime Harmonists of Concordia
Major Locations in Concordia
Prodigum
Nearly all of Concordia, or rather the interior surface of the plane, is the sprawling city of Prodigum. Beneath, or outside depending on your perspective, is the Astral River that insulates Concordia from the Frictional Barriers of the other eight planes of alignment. The Astral River is thus also the Concordian Cocytus, though the souls it carries are always deposited at the poles. As the ground-down essence of the other planes leaks into the Astral River, it is carried upwards or inwards to burst out of one of the four Deluges.
These are four perpetual waterfalls of the Astral River reaching to the heart of Concordia, the 'sky' at its center, where it meets with the other rivers to become the Concordian Confluence, roiling around the Maelstrom that is the molten core of the plane. It is now that the Astral River leaves the frictional essence of the other eight planes on the surface of the Maelstrom, compressing the unaligned energy into a place it is more suited to be. The Astral River also emerges to the surface at the poles, surrounding the approach to the Outer Barrier which touches upon Concordia only here.
The two areas of Prodigum immediately around the polar appearances of Astral River are known as the Ontology Heights, and are worked exclusively by the most strong-willed inhabitants who retrieve the souls of immortals left here. Wherever possible, mortals or mindless constructs are used instead, as the toll on the mental health of Concordian immortals this close to the Cocytus-- for all that it is known as the Astral River here-- is considerable regardless of any precautions they take.
Prodigum is divided into four districts, each centered around one of the four Deluges. The immediate area around the Deluges are almost entirely guest quarters for mortals, since the Deluges are still a part of the Astral or Cocytus River and therefore innately disturbing to immortals. Since this also applies to elves, whom sometimes even planar natives forget are immortal despite originating on the Material Plane, there is a recurring pattern of brief madness among elven visitors to Concordia.
Each of the districts is named for their metaphysical adjacency to the Outer Planes beyond. The District of Good, for instance, is 'bordered' by the planes of Caelestin, Efferenus, and Aeron; whilst the District of Evil is 'bordered' by the planes of Barathus, Carcus, and Malor. With the exception of the District of Chaos-- which was specifically designed to appeal to those of more chaotic inclination-- this has no real impact on the inhabitants who live in each district, or on those from other planes who are merely visiting.
At a guarded place in the great city of Prodigum is the shining portal that leads to the Universe of Núrion, the Shining Jewel.
The Azimuth Patrol
The Azimuth Patrol is a spherical megastructure surrounding the Maelstrom, essentially forever watching 'inwards' to the Inner Planes, in particular the Material Plane. It is supported by the sixteen Meridian Spires, four in each district of Prodigum, and houses the Unified Host-- the vast armies of Concordia-- led by the Keruv Astarte.
It is more than a mere garrison, however, for the Azimuth Patrol was constructed to extract and then redirect minute fragments of energy from the Maelstrom of Friction back into the Frictional Barriers from whence it came, essentially eroding them much more quickly than the planes themselves were naturally replenished. The intended result is to relax the pressure on Concordia, allowing it to expand into the space it was previously compressed out of by the other eight planes - the ultimate intended consequence being to erode these planes away entirely until Concordia is all that remains.
Halls of Tanarus and Sulis
The Halls of Tanarus and Sulis are a vast and mysterious building that has, as yet, never been explored fully. Whilst the outer courtyards are readily accessible, and the main structure itself has no guards at its entrance, none have gone beyond the main foyer, a blank and featureless realm where even the floor is invisible to give the impression of walking through an infinite sky, to the deeper interior. Or at least none have emerged again to report back what they found.
Each individual present in the Halls has a slightly different experience as well, further adding to the strangeness of the whole affair. To any given person inside it may be illuminated to resemble the daytime or night time-- even if someone else right next to them reports the opposite-- and most of the horizon is filled with the sun or the moon. Notably, if it is as bright as day, the moon is visible; and when it is as dark as night, the sun is there instead.
Hospice of the Defiant Hope
The Hospice of the Defiant Hope was conceived shortly after the first orcs appeared in the world, but was not actually established until the dulim were proven to exist. Its aim was to seize the souls of dark folk and bring them to a place of true neutrality, a halfway house between good and evil, law and chaos, to see if it was possible to cleanse the taint they inherited from their ancestors corrupted by Vornoth.
Very little progress has been made, not least because some of the most important souls, those of the dark elves, cannot be retrieved by those working at this grand goal, but because a number of their most effective scholars, the body of experts known as the Almahmia, apparently abandoned the endeavor. These all-but-forgotten dragons recused themselves all the way to the continent of Eruna, where whatever projects they resumed have been shrouded in mystery ever since.
Janora's Galleries
The galleries of Janora are an archive of prophecies and foretellings, some of which have come to pass, and others of which are still predestined. These records are not, unfortunately, sorted in any comprehensible order, and are usually far too obtuse for any save the goddess to understand their full meaning. Tapestries depicting some great battle may be placed alongside poems of important births, near to statues of heroic or villainous figures unknown, and of such varying styles and qualities that even the most learned oracular scholars would struggle to make headway in their study.
Simultaneous Antechamber
Each district of Prodigum contains an entrance to the Simultaneous Antechamber, the first metaphysical chamber of the non-location that is the Harmonic Manifold, wherein Dekk himself and his most powerful servants reside. Those who enter the Simultaneous Antechamber from any entrance are not taken there via a portal, as confusing as that appears, as it simply exists within the fabric of Concordia rather than separate from it. Each Simultaneous Antechamber is guarded by an instance of the Saraf Raziel, whose supposed primary self is said to dwell in the Fragmented Synchronocity-- the very heart of the Harmonic Manifold through which the Ontological Force of True Neutrality itself pierces. The iterations of the Saraf found here are especially irritating for their habit of following visitors about and mimicking their actions as might a bored child. No reason has ever been given for this.
The Quiescent Nexus
The single most exclusive neutral location in the universe is the Quiescent Nexus, reserved for those rarest face-to-face meetings between the very highest representatives of the planes. Here may demon princes and archangels, Sarafai and Godsliver Fiends, even the gods themselves come together to speak when in dire need. Its location is kept so secret and its appearance so non-descript that only those actually taken there ever learn of it, and not even the chaotics of Nemux or Malor are so foolish as to reveal its mysteries.
Prime Harmonists of Concordia
Raziel
Domain: The Fragmented Synchronicity, within the Harmonic Manifold
Position: Concordant Scripturist
Significant Titles: Bright Shadow, The Unaligned, Enlightened of Secrets, Voice of the Balancer
Primary Adjutant: Astarte
Other Adjutants: Dumah and Rahab
A Brief Overview
It is a universal constant that opposites are required for existence to function as it does: that which can be created can also be destroyed; whilst order has been imposed, chaos may ever lurk; where love may flower, hate may also take root. No entity exemplifies the necessary dichotomies of existence more than Raziel, the first and most terrible of the Sarafai, and a self-proclaimed answer to the premise of the Ontological War.
Manifested by Dekk specifically to uphold universal balance, Raziel acts in ways that even others of Concordia find difficult to condone, and fewer still comprehend-- for he works towards creating imbalance, thus forcing a perpetual state of fluidity to disrupt the otherwise perfectly static nature of the universe. As he has never left Dekk's side and transcribes everything up to the very unspoken thoughts of his maker, his approximate omniscience makes understanding this task beyond any other save the gods.
Though every Saraf is a being of terrifying strength, they are entirely limited to a single source of power, being the Ontological Force responsible for their native plane. Uniquely, appropriately, Raziel draws from the melded energies of all the planes, purified of alignment and prejudice in the Maelstrom of Friction. This enables him to perform his function equally capably everywhere, be it among other Sarafai, the Godsliver Fiends, or the Erebusites.
Though there are many who have challenged him, celestial and fiend alike, for his actions over the millennia, none have been able to work out how to do so effectively. The problem lies again in Raziel's literally divisive nature, for he is at once always next to Dekk and in many other places across the planes, each instance as real as any other and able to remanifest within a century or two, even the supposed prime version in Concordia, leading to the suspicion that all of them must be killed nearly simultaneously to actually slay him.
There was one notable exception to this, when the Godsliver Fiend Samael managed to triumph in an impromptu duel. For over two thousand years afterwards, Raziel was clearly weakened-- neither did that particular instance seem to remanifest nor be replaced by a new one. Raziel has since taken pains to avoid anywhere that Samael is rumored to be, though Samael has never attempted to repeat the achievement or explain how he managed it in the first place.
Astarte
Domain: The Azimuth Patrol
Position: Overmarshal of the Unified Host
Significant Titles: The Bladeborn Maiden, Calm-bringer, She Who Grants Equality
Adjutants: Sgathaich and Morrhigu
A Brief Overview
One of the three Keruvai emanated by Janora to serve the needs of Concordia, Astarte swiftly claimed the proffered mantle of inevitability, becoming a proactive warrior bent on the forceful imposition of balance throughout the universe. Her early campaigns were marked by a variety of clearly avoidable failures, if not outright military defeat, leading to several calls for her dismissal.
Astarte then revealed the depths of her strategy, being not military conquest, but insidious subversion of the other planes. That Concordia was effectively diminished in size due to metaphysical compression by the other planes was an indisputable fact, but Astarte claimed to have found a way to counter that insult by redirecting the influx of energy from the Ontological Forces. Her open invasions, and obvious mistakes, had been mere feints to give her time to determine how this was to be accomplished.
It was a ludicrously ambitious scheme. By simply exposing the tiniest fraction of power from the Maelstrom of Friction onto the borders of the Outer Planes, the energy drawn from the Ontological Forces would be transfigured into raw unaligned energy, eroding them away bit by bit. Before they could repair the damage, that energy would in turn be claimed by the power of Concordia and expand the inner plane of Balance.
Slowly, over the course of uncountable millennia, Concordia would reverse its shrinking. Eventually, it would even grow to replace the Outer Planes which had so humiliated it, and press up against the Outer Barrier to absorb and transform the infinite energies of all the Ontological Forces. In essence, Astarte claims to have found a way to ultimately win the Ontological War for Concordia and achieve its manifest destiny; victory is now, she says gleefully, inevitable. Whilst it is still too early to tell objectively if this scheme is working, many Concordian optimists believe that it is.
Abzu
Domain: None, currently somewhere in Carcus
Position: Kyreion Adversus
Significant Titles: Lord of Lightless Deeps, Coral-crowned King, He of Cleansing Waters
A Brief Overview
One of the three Keruvai of Janora, Abzuwas manifested to combat the growing influence of such entities as Dagon and Amphitrite but was unexpectedly left without a purpose when the majority perished or withdrew to the Material Plane. Interestingly, though he initially tried to follow them, he found it almost impossible owing to interference from the Teregnaven-- their protections against invasion by Garuda and other such creatures apparently not discriminating between the two!
He is utterly loyal to Janora and the preservation of cosmic balance, which he currently sees as being threatened by the forces of Vornoth. These armies, once more laying siege to Gennax, may not be able to breach the wards surrounding the final retreat of the Death God for millennia to come, but the mere risk of this happening is enough to send Abzu into a frothing rage.
Abzu has taken a large contingent of specialists into Carcus for the express purpose of disrupting Vornoth's attempts to take Gennax. The turnover rate is extremely high, but even though Abzu himself has been discorporated on five separate occasions, upon reconstitution he immediately seeks to return and continue the effective guerrilla campaign.
For about two hundred years now there have been rumors that he will soon be officially recalled by Janora, however, in order to replace the Keruv Marduk as emissary to Efferenus. Abzu, realizing that this would effectively end his campaign against Vornoth, has stepped up his efforts considerably in response to these rumors. Most of his reports back to Concordia include a desperate message urging Marduk to reconsider his approach so that Abzu can stay where he is.
Dumah
Domain: The Orbiting Thrones, atop the Fractured Portal
Position: Kyreion Justiciar
Significant Titles: The Unrelenting, Banisher of Trespassers, Executor of Justice
A Brief Overview
Though there are many entities mightier among the planar masters, most of these tremble when the Enforcers of Concordance are abroad. For whilst Dumah and his twin sister Rahab may freely leave their posts by the portal leading to the Material Plane, they only actually do so if so commanded by either Dekk, who tries not to get too involved with the matters of other planes, or Raziel, who usually takes care of the situation personally.
Armed with such authority and power, even the Demon Princes are inclined to listen to them, at least for a time. Their curious heritage, as children of the Godsliver Fiend Lamashtu, grants them further protection. It was Dekk who appointed them to guard the Material Plane from all, even those claiming to act in the interests of Balance, and to punish those who try to breach the Fractured Portal without permission. Only once since their ascension to this role have they left Concordia of their own accord, during the Incursion from Beyond.
Whilst it is often thought that Dumah is mute, the truth of the matter is that his voice is a weapon nearly equal to those of the gods. A syllable uttered without care can wrack mortals with agony, whilst a focused word of censure has withered entire legions. On three separate occasions has Dumah spoken a full sentence, and each time he has hurled an arrogant Godsliver Fiend-- first Demogorgon, then Apollyon, and finally Lamashtu herself-- bodiless and agonized from Concordia.
As Kyreions, Dumah and Rahab are nominally in command of a considerable portion of the Concordant soldiery, theirs being the Nine Praetorian Corps, but in practice they leave this duty to Astarte. The increased presence of the Corps in engagements across the Hells has begun to draw remarks of late, some veering dangerously close to sedition, regarding Astarte's apparently unbalanced deployment strategy… and why the Kyreions are not doing anything about it.
Rahab
Domain: The Orbiting Thrones, atop the Fractured Portal
Position: Kyreion Justiciar
Significant Titles: Giver of Judgements, Denouncer of Absolutes, The Imperturbable
A Brief Overview
Though there are many entities mightier among the planar masters, most of these tremble when the Enforcers of Concordance are abroad. For whilst Dumah and his twin sister Rahab may freely leave their posts by the portal leading to the Material Plane, they only actually do so if so commanded by either Dekk, who tries not to get too involved with the matters of other planes, or Raziel, who usually takes care of the situation personally.
Armed with such authority and power, even the Demon Princes are inclined to listen to them, at least for a time. Their curious heritage, as children of the Godsliver Fiend Lamashtu, grants them further protection. It was Dekk who appointed them to guard the Material Plane from all, even those claiming to act in the interests of Balance, and to punish those who try to breach the Fractured Portal without permission. Only once since their ascension to this role have they left Concordia of their own accord, during the Incursion from Beyond.
Those who have sought to defy her speak in awed, sometimes hateful, whispers of how unnaturally resistant to harm Rahab becomes when she decries their actions. This is because she anchors local reality, forcing it to bend to her will in such a way that effectively nothing can prevent her from discharging her duty. Even afterwards, Rahab can exert a more limited influence upon her surroundings, twisting the plane itself to fight for her-- though even without this, she can and has fought many opponents, from archfiends to prime celestials, to a draw.
As Kyreions, Rahab and Dumah are nominally in command of a considerable portion of the Concordant soldiery, theirs being the Nine Praetorian Corps, but in practice they leave this duty to Astarte. The increased presence of the Corps in engagements across the Hells has begun to draw remarks of late, some veering dangerously close to sedition, regarding Astarte's apparently unbalanced deployment strategy… and why the Kyreions are not doing anything about it.
