The Village of Valais

I don't necessarily believe that all tieflings want to go there, but I do believe that the village exists.

Overview

Legend has it that there exists somewhere in Awldor a village, called Valais, made by Tieflings for tieflings. It is the place to which every tiefling is drawn at some points in their lives. At least that is how the legend goes. At one point the peoples of Quassus believed that the village was a story told to tiefling children so that they could believe that there was a safe place for them in a world that is largely suspicious of their kind. That all changed when Captain Amaya Quickwind and her crew claimed that they had found the mythical village and have even brought back several artifacts to confirm its existence. However, Amaya had ordered the destruction of any document that could reveal its location in order to protect its inhabitants from unwanted visitors. She even removed mention of her journey to the village from her own Journal, and never bothered to write anything concerning her return trip. In fact, some believe that the entries about the village that has survived in her book were written in the wrong place intentionally although this claim seems dubious. No one is entirely sure why Amaya no mention of her reasoning is to be found in the journal (it is possible that one of the missing pages contains the entry). What is certain is that it is located somewhere other than Quassus, most likely the Silvan Continent going by the timing of her surviving journal entries on the topic.
Since Amaya's discovery, several adventurers had begun a quest to find the village. Some only want to have the honor of laying eyes on the village of legend. Others have a less innocent motivation: to destroy the village and its inhabitants. On a less destructive note, several merchants also have a desire to locate the Tiefling Village if only for the prospect of acquiring exotic goods that would be valuable in their home markets. Captain Amaya expressed disdain over the prospect that these adventures would be successful and has said that she ought to have never said anything at all. However, she has said that the Tieflings of the village are more than capable of taking care of themselves should they need to fight. To date, only a few of these adventures have returned. Most undoubtedly did not survive the journey across the ocean, or upon unfamiliar lands should they have landed. Others may have met their end when confronting the village. Still others may have chosen to remain in what became their new home, in the village or elsewhere on Silva, Planus or Corona.

Variations & Mutation

Some stories has it that the village exists on a mountain top. Other stories say it is hidden in an oasis in the Corona Desert. Others believe it resides upon a sky-island that travels the world. One strange variation has the village existing at the bottom of the ocean with some dubious explanations as to how the inhabitants breath in such a realm.

In Literature

Several stories are written that involve an adventurer of renown discovering the village. Some have this heroic adventurer protecting the misunderstood inhabitants from some evil force, while most involve the noble hero valiantly fighting for his life against the hostile inhabitants.

In Art

There are a few paintings of such a place, though they are now largely traded among the rich. Particularly in Centrum. It is also said that Queen Shava Lunaria has a painting of her own somewhere in her palace.

All artwork is by starfarertheta unless otherwise stated.

Note(s) from the Archivists:

There was a tiefling, Kairon was his name, who visited the library during the last month of festivals. He said that he intended to find this village and bring back a relic from it as part of his initiation as an Archivist. If he succeeds, he will be the Guild's first tiefling member. I wish him luck. - Archivist Savitri