Ravounel & Kintargo
A nation newly independent from Cheliax's grip — and a city that still remembers what it cost.
Ravounel is at once very old and very new: a nation on the cusp of an unknown future. Formerly Cheliax's northwesternmost province, the Archduchy of Ravounel earned its independence through a combination of revolutionary heroism and a decades-old legal oversight that House Thrune could not simply unmake. Its people are now unexpectedly free to chart their own course — most of them optimistic, most of them eager — though diabolic influence is subtle, and they are not quite as free of House Thrune as they believe.
The climate is pleasant: warm and humid summers, chilly and rainy winters, fog rolling in off the Arcadian Ocean. Most of Ravounel's population concentrates in two very different cities.
Kintargo
Kintargo — the Silver City — sits at the wide mouth of the Yolubilis River on Argo Isle. It is a city of people who have recently tasted what it means to govern themselves, and the hunger for that freedom is still bright and unguarded. The Silver Road along the Yolubilis echoes with songs and barge traffic. Fisherfolk look west to the water and rarely concern themselves with distant courts. In Kintargo, liberty is discussed over fruit haggling and tavern arguments and quiet prayers to gods the Chelaxian governors once tried to suppress.
The city's recent history is defined by the Night of Ashes: in 4715 AR, Paracount Barzillai Thrune seized Kintargo under martial law, drove out the lord-mayor, enacted draconian edicts, and unleashed a brutal night of violence on suspected dissidents. Buildings burned. People died. Thrune thought he had broken the city's spirit. He was wrong.
Revolution ignited in 4717 AR when a group of heroes, styling themselves after the historical Silver Ravens, began organizing resistance — sabotaging supply lines, building coalitions, collapsing the Menador Gap that connected Ravounel to Cheliax's heartland. The discovery of the long-forgotten Kintargo Contract — a legal document placing Ravounel outside House Thrune's infernal authority — gave their victory legal teeth. Cheliax had no choice but to recognize Ravounel's independence.
Barzillai Thrune was ultimately found to be a traitor even to his own house, and was consigned to Hell. Jilia Bainilus, the exiled lord-mayor, returned to take command of the new nation under the title of Domina.
Vyre
Vyre is ancient — founded in 1673 AR, a millennium before Cheliax existed — and it festers in iniquity behind closed doors and elaborate masks. Its so-called Kings and Queens publicly support Domina Bainilus, which in practice means they agreed to be left alone. Vyre's Chelaxian tourists, questionable shipments, and elaborate masked dealings continue uninterrupted.
Smaller Towns
Cypress Point — A small coastal town about 40 miles north of Kintargo along the Night Road, known for its fisherfolk and its resilience. The town has been revitalizing since the rebellion lifted the neglect of Chelaxian governors. An elderly cleric of Desna named Xerelilah has shepherded it through hard times. The Scarlet Triad recently ran a slaving operation from Cypress Point. The party destroyed it.
Whiterock — A quarrying town further inland, known for its stonework and the surrounding mines.
Government
Ravounel is governed by Domina Jilia Bainilus, aided by the Silver Council — a loose association of noble houses and wealthy power brokers assembled during the rebellion, replacing the old Court of Coin. Those who backed House Thrune have seen their political fortunes diminish substantially. The Vyre leadership operates separately and answers to no one.
The Scarlet Triad
The Scarlet Triad is a criminal organization with deep roots in Kintargo and the broader Ravounel region. They traffic in enslaved people. Their Kintargo operations run through a front called Sunset Imports. The party became aware of them through documents recovered from a contact named Heuberk Thropp, and through the Cypress Point operation, where Triad captain One-Eye Amnin oversaw the transport of enslaved townspeople.
Their leader in Kintargo — the name Laslunn has appeared in the intelligence — does not yet know that her Cypress Point operation has been entirely dismantled.