Zephrah

High atop a mountain aerie within the Summit Peaks sits Zephrah, the tribal home of the Air Ashari people, keeping vigil over a gate into the Elemental Plane of Air. The Ashari people worship and live by the balance of the natural world, and the people of Zephrah have adapted to life among the clouds. Most of the tribe consists of skilled hunters and climbers who hunt mountain goats, large birds, and other cliff-dwelling creatures, along with subsisting on high-elevation vegetation. Utilizing the proximity of powerful elemental magic, the druidic masters of the Air Ashari craft skysails to ride the ever-present winds, allowing their people to traverse the sheer cliffs of the mountains. The leader of Zephrah is called the Voice of the Tempest; they oversee all travel through the rift, all major druidic rituals, and any visiting outsiders.   Though it’s still a small settlement, Zephrah has grown greatly in the past several years. Many people with an innate connection to the element of air have petitioned the current Voice of the Tempest for her permission to live here among the Ashari. Likewise, a number of druids and other spellcasters who wish to learn the ways of the Air Ashari have come to live in relative isolation here—after they have proven their good intentions and respect for the sanctity of the skies.

Diplomacy and Developments

Zephrah has grown in more than just population. The close friendship shared between the Voice of the Tempest and the genius inventor Jamie Lemieux of Whitestone has led to a number of modern technologies being adopted in Zephrah. Windmills now dot the cliffsides, milling grain purchased from farms on the Dividing Plains. The Voice continues to work with Lemieux to improve the lives of her people through technology and innovation. The operation of two of these mills is also kept private from the rest of Zephrah, and they’re used to refine whitestone into Residuum for the construction of magic items to arm the Ashari Skydancers.
The Voice’s confident leadership has also guided her to make further diplomatic ties between her people and the rest of Tal’Dorei. These attempts at breaking down the traditional isolationism of the Ashari have been met with skepticism from within, slowing the process to a crawl. Allowing any outsiders into Zephrah at all has been seen as a huge step. Beyond this, the Voice of the Tempest has pushed for greater economic and political involvement, so that the needs of Zephrah can be heard in the Tal'Dorei Council. Resistance toward political integration has mostly been internal within the Ashari, but the Voice considers any progress at all a good start.

Defense

Zephrah has never maintained a formal army, though past Voices of the Tempest have trained martial forces and druidic warriors to defend their home against the monsters of the Summit Peaks. As the Voice attempts to build bonds between her people and the rest of Tal’Dorei, she has expanded the training of new skydancers and created a unit of druidic warriors capable of responding to any emergency across Tal’Dorei. If a threat like the Elemental Scions were to rise again in Tal’Dorei, the Skydancers of Zephrah would be there to help save the nation’s people.
Thanks to Zephrah’s mountainous terrain, the Ashari enclave has never fallen under siege. Because of the dangerous beasts that lurk in the mountains, most Zephran adults have learned how to wield a spear or a staff to defend themselves. Roughly one in ten people have undergone a small amount of elemental training.
Were Zephrah to fall under attack, the skydancers would defend the town and its elemental rift for as long as possible while the rest of its people evactuated to hidden retreats in the mountain caves.

Demographics

62% half-elves, 12% elemental ancestry, 10% humans, 9% halflings, 5% tieflings, 2% other races

Population

1,310

Owning Organization

The Ashari