Rel Deven

Rel Deven is the only really sizeable city in these lands and is of especial importance.

Prince Carwend, the Cranden ruler, is the head of a complex government. He and four brothers and cousins share the income from taxes in the city equally, but each has a particular sphere of primary responsibility (city treasury, military, guild rulership and administration) and none is, technically, a complete ruler. However, Carwend is the acknowledged head of the government, by virtue of his political skills and farsightedness.

Rel Deven is unique among Aerdy cities in that only temples of neutrally-aligned deities (LN, N, CN) are officially allowed to exist. Those of Boccob, Zilchus, and the garden-shrines of Beory are the most important. Carwend's ancestors were firmly rooted, as he is, in the pure Neutral branch of the House of Cranden. However, there are unofficial temples of many deities with a neutral element in alignment (NG, NE) to be found in the city. Some are fairly openly, such as the temple to Pelor. However, some are less so, such as the temple to Nerull.

Rel Deven also contains the bizarre glowstones, said to have been enchanted by Schandor himself. There are a dozen of these, eight around the city walls, two above the city hall, and two others which move around the city and appear at unpredictable places and times.

Each stone is a solid ball some 2' in diameter, capable of levitation and flight (MV 40). Each is apparently impervi ous to any form of magical or normal damage, and each can vanish into another plane if attacked in any way. They return at an unpredictable time. Each stone, bar the two wanderers, hovers in its usual place, emitting a pale blue glow which is visible even in full sunlight. The glow of the stones grows to a brilliant intensity when some threat endangers the city (e.g., an approaching army). The stones around the walls are said to deflect missile and siege weapon fire and to greatly diminish the potency of magical attacks. Old longbowmen, who remember the attempted sack of the city by Ahlissan forces in 531 CY tell that when they fired their arrows the shafts gleamed with blue brilliance and bent in flight, striking their targets almost unerringly.

Further, the equally bizarre Cult of the Stones has gained some adherents in Rel Deven in recent years. A small group of townsfolk claim to have heard one of the wandering stones speak, warning of the wars and giving visions of mayhem. At the time, this was laughed at, but when war broke out, no few people took to revering the stones as protectors and standing around them—scream ing prophecies of doom to all who would listen.

Since the end of the world has not actually transpired, the cult has lost some standing. However, a core of fanat ics remains, and they can be dangerous—curious visitors getting too close to the stones might be set upon by angry cultists convinced that the strangers mean their sacred stones harm.

Cults like this are a strong strand in the psychology of the city. The absolute Neutrality of the rulers doesn't provide any clear moral direction for less sophisticated commonfolk, so many take to strange superstitions or extreme, exaggerated interpretations of established faiths. The coin-worshipers outside Zilchus's temple are a good example of the latter.

Rel Deven also has an extremely varied population. An enclave of some 100 voadkyn, exiles from the Bonewood, has taken up residence in Beory's Gardens and is now part of the city's army. Their goal is to reclaim the Bonewood/Thelwood and deal with the evil therein. Likewise, 600 Thelwood soldiers are garrisoned here, their brown and green jerkins and ashwood bows demar cating them from the other soldiers.

Even a few wood elves are to be found in Carwen's city, from a tiny Thelwood clan which has brought its famous silver-streaked elven cats with them. Rel Deven is a crowded, diverse, and surprising place. Tucked away in towers and spires, or hidden in crypts below Rel Deven, are priests of Rao, Incabulos and even Joramy. There are sages with almost unequalled proficiency in arcane fields who receive disguised and silent visitors on dark evenings. And there are blue-robed stonemages, who study and research the glowstones.