Yashinskoye

Yashinskoye (prounounced yah-shin-skoi-yay) is a gemstone dragonborn settlement in Melabrauth, the only known clan of gemstone dragonborn in the world. Gemstone dragonborn are rare because they only breed true when a pair of them are mated together. The temperate desert is a harsh environment. The gemstone dragonborn manage to eke out a living here and their culture has taken on strict ascetic values.

Government

The Psion Council, comprised of the most wise and most powerful psychics, act as judges and guide the village's efforts towards prosperity and justice for all. Current members are Ivar Sheraliev (male crystal), Raigo Shakirov (male emerald), Aurelia Kalda (female sapphire), Katariina Keskula (female sapphire), Kalev Kallas (male ruby), Amina Sultanov (female onyx), Tokris Melronthash (male onyx).

Defences

The Crystal Spire can be psionically tuned to cause pain and fear in certain types of creatures, which the Psion Council have used to repel invasion for centuries. When a gemstone dragonborn is within a few miles of the strange spire, their minds are calmed against fear and anxiety, their bodies recover rapidly from disease and poison, and the Moonfall curse seems to have no effect on them.

While the surrounding farms are protected by the psionic power of the Crystal Spire, the town is also protected by a single, circular, perimeter wall and five watch towers.

Industry & Trade

Fields of corn, beans, squash, potatoes, and quinoa are planted outside the walls and covered with pumice stone as a mulch, which helps retain moisture in the soil. Llamas and chickens are kept as livestock for food, and alpacas for wool.

The settlement is almost entirely self-sufficient within the influence of the Crystal Spire, with one exception. Twice a year, armed caravans must travel to the nearby ocean to gather salt and transport it back to the village, where it is carefully rationed.

Infrastructure

The gemstone dragonborn have constructed large, copper-lined cisterns to gather rainwater during the wet seasons.

History

In 966 DR, Melabraun dragonborn slaves broke their chains and migrated to Relmaur, but first they must pass across The Windswept Plain region. The Windswept Plain is a treacherous temperate desert inhabited by undead skeletons that are quick to tear invaders to pieces and add their bones to their legions. The dragonborn were hounded through the desert by the relentless undead. They found refuge at the base of a strange crystalline pillar that the gemstone dragonborn were able to use to as a weapon against the undead. The gemstone dragonborn stayed behind with the pillar to cover the escape of the other refugees.

Architecture

The distinctive round huts in Yashinskoye are all made using adobe bricks and covered with a special waterproof stucco made using desert cactus juice. Roofs are generally made from straw bundles which deflects water away from the building during the wet season.