Age of Aroden
When the immortal Azlanti hero Aroden raised the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea, a jagged column of rock scores of miles across came up with it from the sea floor. Aroden grasped the stone and found his consciousness drawn within its irregular facets, where he faced a series of physical and moral challenges designed to test his inner character. Upon successfully completing this Test of the Starstone, Aroden emerged as a living god. In a matter of days, the Last Azlanti had reshaped this new island to meet his vision of utopia, complete with the earliest city structures conjured from his newly divine mind. His nascent cult eagerly migrated to settle the city, and nations across Avistan, Garund, and Kelesh took heed of this rising power overseen by a god who walked its streets.
Absalom’s creation impacted more than geopolitics. The immense Kortos Mounts towered so high that they intercepted weather patterns and ocean currents that affected Qadira and southern Taldor in unexpected ways. Surviving correspondence shows the Keleshites’ displeasure at these repercussions and denotes Taldor’s increased exploitation of the Verduran Forest to compensate for unfavorable trade winds. History didn’t preserve Aroden’s response, yet the island remained. Absalom would budge for no one.
Absalom flourished under Aroden’s light hand. Even as its divine patron ensured its advantage in diplomatic affairs, Absalom’s growing wealth attracted envious eyes. Legends preserve the minotaur warlord Voradni Voon’s siege of Absalom, the first of many over the millennia, during which Aroden personally led the defenders from atop Azlanti Keep. Voon’s army of centaurs, harpies, and minotaurs were shattered and scattered across the land. Absalom’s adventurers gave chase, in the process exploring Starstone Isle, documenting its countless surprises and uniting into so‑called hunting lodges dedicated to these exploits. By the time the archmage Nex besieged the city more than a century later, Absalom boasted dozens of these lodges, and they rushed to repel Nex’s phantom army—the start of Absalom’s support for and use of local adventurers in peace and war, especially after Aroden left the city for ever longer jaunts into the Great Beyond.
Absalom’s creation impacted more than geopolitics. The immense Kortos Mounts towered so high that they intercepted weather patterns and ocean currents that affected Qadira and southern Taldor in unexpected ways. Surviving correspondence shows the Keleshites’ displeasure at these repercussions and denotes Taldor’s increased exploitation of the Verduran Forest to compensate for unfavorable trade winds. History didn’t preserve Aroden’s response, yet the island remained. Absalom would budge for no one.
Absalom flourished under Aroden’s light hand. Even as its divine patron ensured its advantage in diplomatic affairs, Absalom’s growing wealth attracted envious eyes. Legends preserve the minotaur warlord Voradni Voon’s siege of Absalom, the first of many over the millennia, during which Aroden personally led the defenders from atop Azlanti Keep. Voon’s army of centaurs, harpies, and minotaurs were shattered and scattered across the land. Absalom’s adventurers gave chase, in the process exploring Starstone Isle, documenting its countless surprises and uniting into so‑called hunting lodges dedicated to these exploits. By the time the archmage Nex besieged the city more than a century later, Absalom boasted dozens of these lodges, and they rushed to repel Nex’s phantom army—the start of Absalom’s support for and use of local adventurers in peace and war, especially after Aroden left the city for ever longer jaunts into the Great Beyond.
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