History

The Old City of Drydock came together slowly on the banks of a drying river snaking near the western edge of the Kel’Toran desert. Tribes of Bugbears and Orcs that called the river home settled together by desire or by necessity, a ley line providing some small manner of sanctuary against the punishing desert heat. However, over time the growing population put too much strain on the local ecosystem and catastrophe sought to wrack the land. A band of powerful adventurers from amongst the founding tribes came together to avert disaster. Tapping into the local ley line and harnessing its energies, they constructed the Eventide Kiln, a magical artifact that helped to gather the ley line’s energy and harness a magical resource the locals called “Dust,” in order to revitalize the land. The ritual claimed the entire party, except for one, Salm Ysharra, the Orphan, who remained amongst her people. Over time, the magical dust around this newly built ley-kiln influenced the clay and sand, bringing about the Dustborn, an industrious and friendly race, their connection to the magics was essential to bring stability to the region. Salm and the tribes, bolstered by their new companions, worked to usher the budding settlement of Drydock to prosperity.

However, over time the city grew to be a place that was feared. Crooked trade guilds and cruel politicians took advantage of the city’s position and resources to foster a hive of corruption and villainy. This status quo existed for an age before some among the populace sought to stabilize and reinvent the city after the assassination of several leaders of the city’s government and merchant guilds by vigilantes.

Now, Drydock stands as an oasis on the edge of a sea of sand – , one of the final settlements before any caravan sets off into the Kel’Toran. Grandiose in every sense of the word, the city is a center of trade, its location serving it well as a hub for goods of all sorts. Travelers seeking the Radiant Bastion far to the east can stock up on supplies, especially precious Wellspring, before venturing into the unforgiving sands. At the heart of Drydock is the Eventide Kiln, the city’s saving artifact, its magical Dust used  to power much of the city and suffuse the surrounding countryside with residual aether. A tall beam of energy, called the Waylight, shines from the Kiln, something the city uses as a selling point, its bright light serving well as a beacon for travelers.

Culture

The people of Drydock are devout ancestor worshippers, the Dust of the Eventide Kiln providing a strong magical connection in the area and amplifying the local connectivity to spirits and the world around them. Houses will often be filled with idols and relics of ancestors, with most households having specific shrines to members of the local pantheon, the adventurers that founded the city so long ago, a group of 8 known as “The Waking.” Families will often worship different Waking because of personal reasons, though the Dustborn specifically hold worship of The Orphan, a member of that adventuring party that chose to stay behind, highly as she was instrumental in establishing them as a people. Throughout the city there are hundreds of small shrines to the waking, and residents or locals will often have jewelry and clothing bearing motifs and symbols related to the Waking they connect most with, believing that venerating their ancestors and heroes this way will make them more powerful. For example, a musician might affix their rebab with a charm of Lilira or light special candles before a performance, or a person looking to start anew might tend a garden in honor of Soth.

The people of Drydock make excellent pottery and glass, the magical nature of the clay and sand in the area serving to make excellent wares for use in all manner of magical rituals, or for general use. The soil also means that the cloth they weave serves as excellent fabric for magic users. They are exceptional practitioners of mundane, functional magic and pride themselves, as a people, on their magical literacy and relative advancement of their city. Bartering is common, and many folks will gladly trade a needed good or service for a story, trinket or favor, within reason, though gold is still the primary currency. 

The streets are littered with pneumatic tubes that pump Dust from the Kiln throughout the buildings and houses. Mammets and magical automation allow the populace to focus on more engaging feats of artistry and creativity. 

The Eventide Kiln

A magical artifact located at the heart of the city, the Eventide Kiln is a massive furnace within a looming cylindrical tower that rises from the city center. Its outer surface is decorated in beautiful arabesque onlay depicting the city’s founding and venerating The Waking. Within, a henge of 8 Stone pillars, called Theuliths, encircle a nexus of ley lines that run underneath the entire region. The aperture of the great Kiln releases Dust in the form of a powerful torrent that rises high into the sky, showering Dust across the land. This phenomena has been called the Waylight, and is used by travelers to navigate the treacherous journey across the desert. 

The wind inside the chamber constantly swirls the sand. The Kiln itself is difficult to be in. While the Dust itself does little harm, such high concentrations can be fatal. Over time, the kiln will condense enough dust and form a Leystar, a giant crystal which rises on the Waylight before bursting over the city, showering the land in aether. The birth of a Leystar is a significant event, and can be felt prior to its coming. Festivals are held in the lead up to, and after a birth, and they are generally considered good omens, with periods of drought being the opposite

The Dustborn

An ancestry of small, friendly elementals, the original Dustborn were the result of powerful arcane and elemental magic. Their bodies are sleek, covered in ornate patterning by their parents, their faces set with large, gem-like eyes. They wear bolts of billowy, patterned fabric and carry simple silhouettes. Their mannerisms are considered but light-hearted and Dustborn are generally perceived as being fun-loving, optimistic and outgoing. They have a fondness for magical tinkering, pottery, weaving and artistry.

Dustborn parents know how to make special, decorated idols, embedding them with magical gemstone eyes and infusing them with their thoughts and feelings. The idol is then submerged in the sands around the kiln. Over time, the Kiln will blow away the sand and animate the idol, bringing the Dustborn to life.

Dustborn live a long time, many outliving their other mortal companions, and many dying of causes other than age. Dustborn’s eyes are said to be most vibrant at the moment of their creation and fade over time until they die, something some choose to cover with decorative veils. They are exceptionally industrious and friendly, taking delight in completing great works of stone and magic in service of their community and others. 

Dustborn can speak common, though any language they speak will often have a heavy accent due to the shape of their mouths. Inherently they communicate through the use of complex pheromones and sounds, a language known as Aroma. Their natural scents are pleasant to many other races, but some might find the earthiness an acquired taste.
Dustborn names often include markings for stops and elisions in their language.

Dustborn given names are chosen by their parents and used in their creation, being physically carved into their idol. Additional names are chosen or received throughout their life, and often reference mundane things that the Dustborn enjoy or their feats or skills, and are often simple nouns. Dustborn will sometimes choose new names to commemorate milestones in life, and will inscribe old names as banded patterns on their body

The Dustrose

Drydock is fortress-like, a twisting nest of buildings, walls and winding alleys. Commonly nicknamed “The Dustrose,” its populace come from all walks of life, though many locals are of the founding races, Orcs, Bugbears and Dustborn. The city is powered by a resource called Dust, an advancement made possible by a talented inventor and conjurer known as S’uga Redbhul, the founder of the Fortune’s Bloom Trading Company. She led a magitech revolution, leveraging the city's trade connections and ancient technologies to collect some of the brightest minds in the region. In partnership with the leader of the city, a talented alchemist named Faria Qalameet, S’uga has brought about a boom in society and industry for Drydock. Goods are cheap and the quality of life is very high, a significant advancement from the Drydock of eld, a cruel, grimy place ruled by ambition and hunger.

Now, the city is a refuge for many, almost utopian. Fields of the region’s signature dustrose flower dot the countryside and for miles around villages, permanent and temporary, host travelers and caravans. Thousands of people go through Drydock every day and many find something within the nestled walls that makes them stay.

Inhabitants of Drydock refer to themselves as Dustroses.

The Old Friend

The Old Friend is a manifestation of the ley line to some, to others it is a nature spirit or celestial. Some think it is a Fey while some still believe it to be a natural force, something beyond mere “being.” The truth of its nature is not known to many, but what is known is that the Old Friend is always there. For many outsiders it is folk magic, but to Dustroses the Waking are very real. The people of Drydock believe that everyone has an Old Friend, a unique connection to the magics of the world, and everyone’s Old Friend is different, though traditional depictions are often of the city’s original founder, Delilah Ran, or a desert hare, like the one that is said to have guided the tribes to Drydock originally. 

Many people merely do not know that they have an old friend, and spending any long amount of time in Drydock will often result in travelers feeling remarkably “at home” or comfortable, as though they have a strong connection to the city itself, and the people around them. This system of ancestor worship was implemented by Salm, the Orphan, the city’s leader after the creation of the Kiln.

The Orphan

Salm Ysharra, The Orphan, was the long-lived first Guildmaster of the Merchants Guild of Drydock, and served as its leader for many years. Her tenure saw huge strides in what the city was and could be, and her leadership brought Drydock to a position as one of the premier trading cities on the continent. She was kind and caring, notable for uniting the disparate tribes and incorporating the Dustborn into society. Though she never doffed her mourning garb, she taught the importance of life and love, serving as an anchor for the lost and weary.

Her passing rocked the city, and largely led to its previous age of decline. Some historians even say the very land itself wept for The Orphan.

To this day, her teachings are the reason the city is considered welcoming and warm, and many cite the teachings of The Orphan as the reason they’ve chosen to stay in the City.

Dust

The city of Drydock is built upon the harnessing of Dust, a magical sand that makes an exceptional reagent and source of power. However, upon its ejection from the leyline it has a fairly short halflife, meaning that much that can be done with it must be done shortly after its creation, before it can diffuse back into the land. 

Dust can be used in potions and alchemy to enhance connection to magic and help magic users push their powers to new limits. Depending on the user, its effects are fleeting and short-lived, but for truly exceptional souls, it is said to help them break barriers they didn’t even know were possible.

Dust has an invigorating element to it, and many folks will use excess dust similarly to coffee or tobacco in order to enhance their productivity. When mixed with dustrose nectar it creates a potent beverage, called redbhul, with a flavor similar to a sweet chai.

The Kiln interacts with the environment around it, and Dust will often enhance weather in the region, for better or for worse. Given that Dust is not inherently harmful, Dust Storms are not generally dangerous, though other effects, like a real sand storm or heavy winds could still prove a trial for even the most prepared travelers. Dust affected weather often has unintended side effects, and the full effects of exposure are not entirely understood

Mammets

The city is full with automata, primarily in the form of mammets: constructs of clay and magic attuned to their responsibilities and owners that facilitate much of the labor around the city. Most families and businesses have mammets, and it is not uncommon for the children of Drydock to make their own mammet upon coming of age. Local communities will celebrate this achievement much like a graduation or sacrament.

Mammets are an integral part of Dustrose life, and families mammets to be members of their family. Although they often perform repetitive or menial tasks, it is a  taboo to let one's mammets fall into disrepair, and communities will often pitch in to help if assistance is needed.

Mammets, by virtue of their suffusal with Dust, have emotions and are much more dynamic than many automata. This attunement is part of the draw of Dustrose magical technology.

Doors and the Home

The peoples of Drydock put an incredible emphasis on customizing their garments and this fervor extends to domicile as well. Dustrose houses are cluttered menageries of trinkets and memorabilia, the walls covered in art and lined with shelves.

There is an emphasis on doorways in Dustrose culture, and many significant cultural events are centered around passing through ceremonial door frames. It is not uncommon for homes to have decorative doors in gardens to allow ancestors to come and go or to celebrate small occasions and commemorate new chapters. A new home is not broken in until all doors are passed through, deals are not done without passing through a door. To many, it seems an odd, small custom, but to the people of Drydock, venturing forth together is everything.

This custom extends to the Eight Great Gates of the city as well. All gates are always open, smaller portions of them are, and trade flows unimpeded. With the birth of each new Leystar the primary bulk of the next gate in the sequence of the Great Gates is opened, while the others are closed. These openings are referred to as Blooms, and are also causes for celebration, supposedly heralding good fortune. Ventures made in “Blooming Wards” are said to be blessed, and industries in Blooming Wards will often see an uptick in business, and Dustroses will often seek to hold important events and ceremonies in Blooming Wards.