Kenabres
Destroyed city of the Crusaders
Kenabres was the shining center of much of the protection of the Worldwound against demon invaders. However, on the day of the Festival of Armasse, the Wardstone protecting Kenabres was obliterated, leaving a crater where the Wardstone once stood in the Keep. As soon as that occurred, thousands of waves of demons began pouring out of portals all around the city. It was an invasion like no other. After the ensuing battle, the Ancient White Dragon Terendelev, the protector of the city, was killed, and sent a group of adventurers to the underground. Over the next week, the demons, satisfied with their destruction of the city, mostly moved on, to take other towns and cities along the border, and create a bigger gap around the Worldwound for more demons to enter the rest of Golarion.
After the adventurers emerged from the Underground, they formed a resistance movement with the help of the remaining residents to retake the cathedral, and, ultimately, retake the city. It was here, where the adventurers were ordained the carriers of Myth, and proceeded to adventure into the Worldwound to fight back against the hordes of demons.
History
Until the First Mendevian Crusade, Kenabres was a small town perched atop a bluff overlooking the West Sellen River. The townsfolk of Kenabres were an industrious, innovative people who constructed a complex system to pump water from the river up to the safety of the town. The townsfolk maintained a fishery and quarry as well, and traded their goods with their neighbors in Sarkoris and up and down the West Sellen. During the final dark days of Sarkoris, the people of Kenabres saw horrifying sights to the west. Foul, twisted creatures scraped their way across the land. The sky burned green, and plumes of acrid smoke drifted across the new wasteland. Hysterical refugees splashed across the river and sought safety behind the walls of Kenabres. At first these refugees were allowed in unquestioningly. In early 4607 ar, however, a lilitu demon named Minagho entered Kenabres magically disguised as a refugee. Once inside the town’s walls, she revealed her true form and slaughtered 62 citizens before vanishing in a cloud of greasy black smoke. After the Red Morning Massacre, as it was called, Kenabres refused entrance to any except those who could demonstrate direst need. Those admitted were forced to undergo protracted and painful tests to demonstrate their mortality. Individuals who fell under suspicion were turned away or executed on the spot. Over the next decade, Kenabres became known as a safe but suspicious city to stop in when traveling through Mendev. The town swelled from 3,000 people to more than 8,000 due to the constant inf low of refugees, researchers, and adventure-seekers. Many new citizens went to work at Truestone Quarry as the demand for worked stone soared. Demons, such as hezrous and omoxes, occasionally attacked the water pumps, the life of the city, and the leaders of Kenabres sent out messengers declaring that they would pay a handsome reward to anyone with the skill to build a shield for the pumps. A half-elven stonesmith named Sibella Morond came to Kenabres to claim the contract. It took the city almost 3 years to complete her vision, and thousands of tons of stone had to be transported to the river to build the rising columns around the pumps. The demand for stone didn’t end once the pumps were fortified. New districts and city walls rose to house and protect Kenabres’s swelling population. In 4622, the Church of Iomedae launched the First Mendevian Crusade, and crusaders and knights poured into Kenabres. More than 2,000 people came to Kenabres in that single year. By the time the Second Mendevian Crusade began in 4638, Kenabres had been established as a launching point for successful crusades. The leaders of Kenabres agreed to house one of the wardstones to guard against the demonic hordes pouring from the Worldwound. This act assured Kenabres’s role as a strategically vital city, key to the defense of Mendev. Strangely, Sibella Morond returned to Kenabres that year. She had left with her reward after the pump’s defenses were completed, and hadn’t been seen in Mendev in the 18 years since. The leaders of Kenabres asked Morond to construct a fortification to house the wardstone. She agreed, and oversaw construction of the wardstone’s fortress in the Ring District at the base of the center pump’s structure. When the construction was complete, Morond presented the city with an oversized stone shield engraved with the city’s sigil. The next 50 years saw Kenabres swell to the size it is today, yet this growth was not always easy. The city’s famed prelate, Hulrun Shappok, first gained the trust and admiration of Kenabres’ citizens by organizing inquisitions against suspected demon-worshipers and witches. Hulrun and his force of elite witch hunters exposed dozens of cultists and spies—and, it is said, executed many more under suspicion but with no real proof. These events started the Third Crusade—widely accepted as the least effective and most self-destructive of the four crusades. Still, Hulrun roused respect and admiration in the populace as well as fear, and he agreed to guide the city as its prelate in 4682. Though Hulrun was forced to temper his obsessive witch hunts somewhat in his position as prelate, his inner zeal has only recently begun to truly diminish. Looking back on his actions has left him struggling with shame over how these events cast a shadow over Iomedae’s church and the crusades for decades to come.Kenabres used to be a Large Town of over 12,000 inhabitants, one of the center places where the crusades and incursions into the Worldwound began. Its strategic placement meant that crusaders could retreat easily to the town and rest up. The destruction of the Keep opened up a hole that made this a weak point in the convergence of the demon containment.
Maps
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Kenebres - Before the Fall
Before Kenabres fell, it was a huge sprawling city on the edge of the Worldwound. -
Kenabres
After the swarms of demons ravaged in the city, the city of Kenabres was utterly destroyed.
Districts
Kenabres sprawls across a series of graduated tiers that rise from the plains in the east to a cliff ’s edge in the west. At the base of the cliff, the West Sellen River roars past. The central and westernmost districts of Kenabres are the oldest, and those radiating out and to the east are the newest, built only in the last hundred years. Old Kenabres: The original town of Kenabres perched on the edge of the cliff, looking down over the West Sellen. Many of those buildings now form the historic central district. The houses here are well constructed from heavy stone, with angled tile roofs and arched windows characteristic of architectural fashions popular hundreds of years ago. Houses and official administrative buildings—including the courthouse, city hall, and the garrison—make up Old Kenabres. The houses aren’t the largest in the city and not always home to the wealthiest citizens, but the oldest families, who can trace their lineage back hundreds of years, live in Old Kenabres. Hulrun Shappok lives here in the Prelate’s Manor. Ring District: The second tier of the city, circling Old Kenabres, was also a part of the original town of Kenabres. More homes and administrative buildings, including the hall of records and the maintenance building for monitoring the water pumps, make up the Ring District. At the district’s eastern edge, a steep switchback road makes the transition between the higher-elevation Ring District and the lower-elevation districts of New Kenabres and the Gate District. The switchback is called Davon’s Ramp after the architect and philanthropist who designed and paid for the structure as the town grew to a city. Heavy iron gates safeguard the top and bottom of the switchback. For security, these gates are locked an hour after sunset, and a guard is posted at each. Persons wishing to use the switchback must make their case to the guards and hope their business is deemed important enough. Some citizens have special, expensive passes that allow them to move back and forth without question, and some say that the Wallers have their own methods of moving beyond the Ring District after curfew. New Kenabres: New Kenabres was built during the initial flood of refugees after the opening of the Worldwound. Buildings in this mostly residential district are stone, butthe walls are thinner than in the older districts, and the houses are built in a more modern style, with flat roofs and square windows. New Kenabres also houses most of the city’s warehouses. The eastern and southeastern sides of New Kenabres hold many of the largest manors in the city. During the construction of New Kenabres, many moneyed families chose to build new homes in the new district, as it offered just as much safety as the old city but without the claustrophobic density. Gate District: A decade after New Kenabres rose, the Gate District followed. City officials realized that the new housing units wouldn’t be enough to support the city’s growth, and in response constructed the Gate District— the largest district in Kenabres. The Gate District includes a mix of residential and commercial buildings, as well as wealthy family homes. Temples to Abadar, Sarenrae, Shelyn, and Torag sit alongside smithies, stoneworks, and woodshops. The city’s two gates, Northgate and Southgate, lead into this district. Truestone Quarry: Truestone Quarry lies approximately 10 miles to the east. Caravans arrive weekly to supply Southgate with stone for constructing additional buildings and reinforcing the city defenses. Guards are always in high demand to protect these caravans from coordinated demon attacks, and to ensure the deliveries keep stone flowing into the city.
Type
Large city
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