Eokamikon
Eokamikon is a resort town in Arduli. It is located on the western Suvilidas, on the border with East Khidiana. It was the first ever kamikon, or Ardulese hot spring, in history.
Government and Defences
Eokamikon is ruled by the composed male half-orc Pasha Thistoch Merula-Maasnuur. Formerly Praetor of the Ridgelands, he retired from the position in his old age and passed the title on to his adopted son, the demure male Canoku Praetor Garu Merula-Maasnuur. Eokamikon is encircled by a single wall, known as the Lava Wall. As a result of the surrounding rocky terrain, the wall is somewhat awkwardly constructed. However, it has had a ward placed on it since the time of the Tyfilion Magocracy that allows it to magically repel the environmental damages associated with volcanic activity, such as magma and pyroclastics. Eokamikon is also guarded by three allagia of the Dicarian Legions.Commerce
Eokamikon’s economy has always come from the hot spring resorts located within and around the town. Nearly every single resident of the city either works for a hot spring, or is wealthy enough to support themselves without working at all.Geography
Eokamikon is in Arduli, in the Praetorate of the Ridgelands. It is in the western Suvilidas, outside of the actual plateau, and on the border with East Khidiana. The area has been quite volcanically and seismically active within the past few hundred years. Many of the homes in Eokamikon are vacation homes or retirement homes. Those that aren’t are usually connected to its hot springs in some way. Landmarks in Eokamikon include:- Vonbi’s Treasures and Trinkets - a pawnshop and general store run by the grandmotherly female goblin Vonbi. She is often generous to visitors, perhaps too generous to continue supporting her store.
- Botanica Magica - an apothecary run by the impetuous female Khiravi Tiefling Dawala Khosravi. Using the waters from the hot springs, she experiments with various kinds of potions and mixtures, some of them with explosive results. An accident a few years back put her in a wheelchair.
- The Roadway Geyser - a refurbished caravanserai managed by the pensive male Tavanuan Dragonborn Phrahdrandon Calulin. A sudden geyser eruption a few decades back created a hot spring in the direct centre of the courtyard, which many visitors use.
- The Velvet Blossom Spa - an exorbitantly expensive spa and inn, with luxuries such as an infinity pool and high-quality teas and alcoholic beverages. The owner, the male Fhianna elf Paris Dawncloud, is snooty and sophisticated, and looks down on any customer that does not come from the aristocracy, even though he himself is not part of it.
- Lalla Sanitarium - a hospital and sanitarium that uses the healing waters of Eokamikon as part of its treatment. Operating in an unofficial capacity for many years, it was sponsored and funded by Shah Nija I during her reign, and she spent her last few years there as a patient.
- The Old Humble Keep - a keep built by the Empire after the War of the Western Wensuas, the Old Humble Keep has since fallen into disrepair. It had a different name once, but the name that the locals gave it has since stuck. The House of Merula-Maasnuur has never occupied the keep, as they have since stuck to the nomadic lifestyle of their orcish heritage; Pasha Thistoch himself lives in a much more humble dwelling within the town.
- Temple of the Healing Waters - a syncretic Urbnatist and Niranist church dedicated to Erathis. The original temple is believed to have dated back all the way to the Arcane Age, constructed by the people of the Rathin Empire. It is supposedly one of the first places where Erathis was worshipped as a goddess of water, or at the very least, was the site of worship of a local deity that became syncretized with Erathis. The temple’s Niranist matters are handled by the diplomatic male Ratfolk Presbyter Djarihz, while the temple’s Urbnatist matters are handled by the well-intentioned yet eccentric Halfling Tiefling female Vicar Thamfira Emberdream.
History
Eokamikon was supposedly founded in the Age of Arrival, as one of the first hot spring resort towns. Its name is a possible signifier of this, as Eokamikon literally means “the hot spring” in Ardulese Infernal. Many of the names that the settlement has had over time also reflect this convention. Eokamikon was one of the first “conquests” by the Tyfilian Magocracy. It was not so much taken in battle as willingly joined with the greater power during the Magocracy’s infancy. Sometime in the early 500s MT, a volcanic eruption encased the town in magma, destroying much of the settlement and killing many people. The magma also blocked many of Eokamikon’s natural springs, damaging their economy greatly. To prevent this happening again, the Magocracy constructed the Lava Wall and warded it with magic to protect the town against volcanic events. During the 800s MT, the Ridgelands became much more volcanically and seismically active. These occurrences revealed many of the springs that had been previously destroyed, boosting Eokamikon’s economy and making it known for its hot springs once more. Eokamikon managed to avoid most regional conflicts as a result of its natural geography. However, the area was conquered by the Suvilidine Hordes in the early-to-mid 1000s MT. Eokamikon came to be ruled over by the Maasruun Orc tribe of the confederacy. During the fledgling days of the Arduli Dynasty, Eokamikon, as well as the rest of the Ridgelands, were in a power struggle. The House of Merula, a cadet branch of the region’s previous ruling family, claimed dominion over the Ridgelands as a result of the Maasruun chieftain being killed during the Night of Glass Knives. The Maasruun orcs, however, claimed they still had rulership over the area. These two factions nearly came to blows, but it was stopped by Shah Zhalita, who resolved the crisis by marrying members of the House of Merula to the chieftain’s family of the Maasruun tribes. The two unified into the Half-Orc House of Merula-Maasruun, and they gained the Praetorate of the Ridgelands. During the Niranist Inquisition, many of the Erathisite relics of the Temple of the Healing Waters were destroyed, and the temple itself was converted into a Niranist church of Zhalita. This greatly offended Urbnatists around the world, and was one of the events that led to The Near-War. In 1240 MT, the red dragon Uxingier the Cinderstorm attacked Eokamikon. The Lava Wall defended the city against many of her attacks, and most of the city’s structure was saved by it. However, a large part of the city’s population was still wounded or killed. In an effort to help, Shah Nija I sponsored and funded the Lalla Sanitarium, making it an official part of the Ardulese system. She spent the last few years of her rule being taken care of there, while she was affected by her condition. After the end of the Niranist Inquisition, the Temple of the Healing Waters was converted back into a church dedicated to Erathis. In 1346 MT, after years of request from regional Rathin Urbnatists, Shah Euphoria worked with the Unimical Church to convert the Temple of the Healing Waters into a syncretic Niranist-Urbnatist church, on the condition that no diocese be set up in the region. The renovations undertaken to convert the temple’s structure to match the building plan of both faiths finished in the early 1350s MT.
Founding Date
Possibly during the Age of Arrival
Type
Town
Inhabitant Demonym
Eokamian
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
