Magella Pegason

Magella's early life was spent in bowed reverence to the goddess Shelyn's messages of love, beauty, art, and music above all else. As a child she felt drawn to these feelings, understanding the simple messages of her parents' faith as law. Of course, the protection of art and other living things seemed to be the obvious way people should behave.

This unerring devotion to her goddess's teachings was seen by many in her community as incredibly naive, and the local children would tease and chide her for her pure heart and belief that others would see in her the teachings of Shelyn, and come to the light of her love by that. Magella never preached or proselytized, but chose to instead serve as an example of goodness and expression. Her chosen forms of art at a young age were simple wooden carvings and poetry. As she grew, her interest in exposing this poetry to the world grew as well, but rather than singing it like some members of her congregation chose, she decided to scrawl this poetry on the walls of the city, taking Shelyn's message to the streets. Her beautiful calligraphy and artistic displays of faith came to earn her a bit of a reputation. One day while working on a particularly involved depiction of one of her favorite hymns from the Melodies of Inner Beauty, the holy text of the church of Shelyn, she was discovered by one of the clerics of her congregation. In an attempt to channel her energies toward a more lawful expression of her holy impulses, this cleric chose to take Magella in as his apprentice.

Quickly, her skills as a battle-ready instrument of faith became apparent. It seemed, indeed, that Shelyn had a chosen emissary for spreading her gospel, but that Magella may actually be used more as a fist of the faith than a mouthpiece. Realizing this, the clergy of her congregation prepared a proposal for Magella's parents: Enter her into the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers for more seasoning in adventuring, so as to help grow her survival skills. Her parents flatly refused.

Unfortunately for them, though, Magella had already come around to the side of the church in this debate. Working with the head of her now-former church (her parents had already started attending services out of a neighbor's house rather than associating with a "bloodthirsty sect" of their religion), Magella created a scheme wherein she pitched the idea of a clergy apprenticeship with another church of Shelyn, across the city from her their previous church. Contacts within the clergy worked out different contacts for Magella's parents so they could keep her parents from learning the truth: Magella would indeed serve as the closed fist of Shelyn against her enemies, and would receive extra training in this from the PSYCHE academy.

Within the academy though, Magella's... quirks... were still an issue with the class in general. However, this led her to forming tight bonds with some of the less-appreciated youths in her class. In particular, she was fond of Raiden, a large half-orc boy whose gold heart shone through his otherwise intimidating exterior, and of Graceela, a young gnomish prankster who had quite possibly the funniest jokes Magella had ever heard.

Yume Bloodstone

Yume Bloodstone's earliest memories are running in a field with her mother, emulating some of the squire boys she had seen by wearing discarded armor she'd found in their camps, trying to learn the hunting and trapping skills her mother employed so easily. Of course, this was harder for her due to the inflexibility of her armor, but over time she learned techniques to compensate for it.

At the age of 12, Yume's mother received a message from her biological father, a human man from the city of Absalom. He had been selected to help teach in an academy within in the city, an academy designed to keep the Society of Pathfinders from dying out as the wildlands grew ever stronger. Yume's mother had indeed noticed more demons in the area, and stronger ones as well. Could it be true that the Worldwound had opened further? Or worse, were the demons winning the ever-lasting Mendevian Crusades? Either way, the idea of moving to an actual human settlement was not something that Yume's mother much liked, but keeping her daughter safe called for any and all precautions to be taken.

Arriving in Absalom, Yume was instantly taken in by the charm of the massive City at the Center of the World. She felt immediately at home, although she would steal through the gates at the drop of a hat to enjoy the woods on the other side of the walls. Between two worlds, she grew up beautiful and tall, proud and strong, and her father had her entered into the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers just as soon as she was able to. To his dismay, her peers looked down on her instantly. Professor Bloodstone was known as one of the surliest, toughest professors in the academy, due to his serious nature and stern reactions to any horseplay. This drove his daughter from the more popular student body toward the group of outcasts that had bonded together. Frustratingly enough, this group also contained his least favorite student, a wise-cracking gnome who seemed to constantly be laughing at the administration of the academy that he felt so graciously allowed her to attend classes, despite her advanced age.

Outside of classes, Yume was blessed and cursed with an otherworldly appearance, which made most humans at least slightly uncomfortable. They would gawk and stare, trying to decide whether she was uncommonly pretty, or just... "off." This feeling of otherness drove her closer to her band of misfit friends.

Graceela Silvershaper

Graceela Silvershaper was born in a place much different from Absalom. About as different as a place can be on this plane of existence, truly. She was born in an underground home to gnomish magical tinkerers in the countryside of Andoran. As such, she has been practicing the arcane arts for quite some time now. It was always said of her family that someone must have primal roots, considering the familial penchant for the arcane arts. This is, in fact, true. Somewhere in her bloodline, one of Graceela's ancestors found themselves enamored of a fire elemental, and its arcane powers still course through her family tree, manifesting themselves in some generations of her family. 

In fact, she herself discovered this one day while out with her father. They were exploring territory close to home after a torrential rain, when suddenly a great owlbear appeared before them, driven from its home by the rising waters. Calmly, her father muttered a few ancient-sounding words and raised his hands. With a flick of his wrist, a great cone of fire erupted from his hands, scorching the feathers of the owlbear and sending it screeching into the woods from whence it came. Ever since that day, Graceela promised herself she would learn to control the strength living within her blood.

As a gnome, her  propensity for wanderlust, deep curiosity, and desire to master odd or esoteric skills and languages made her a natural adventurer. Without realizing it, as she grew older she found herself ranging farther and farther from her home, until one day she ended up at a small harbor town on the Inner Sea. Here, she saw all manner of people coming and going on boats out across a seemingly never-ending sea, and in the taverns she heard tell of a city at the Center of the World, the city of Absalom.

There would truly be someone there that might be able to assist her in understanding her magic abilities, she thought, and boarded a ship headed to the city.

In Absalom, her naturally curious nature led her to the Pathfinder Society's Grand Lodge. Because of her youthful gnomish appearance, her love of gamesmanship, and emotional volatility, members of the society took her as a youth, and enrolled her in the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers upon learning of her thirst for adventure. She decided to go along with it. She liked the young humans better anyway -- they were less dreadfully serious and boring, and could follow her fun tales and silly rhymes.

Panian Graveltoes

Panian. A name known round the districts as belonging to a real talker, what he lacks in height he makes up for boasts, tricks, and secrets. Always curious and always stealing away from being caught red-handed, Graveltoes made a bit of a name for himself as a youth by playing tricks on the local clergy of Cayden Cailean's "temples," such as they are. This was perfectly in the spirit of The Drunken God's disciples though, these few worshiping spaces typically doubling as local after-hours speakeasies, ordering more sacramental wine than all of Iomedae's temples twice over, making Panian's tricks even easier for the halfling, and even more approved of by his fellow Cayden devotees.

As Panian grew, though, his stealthy nature started to turn to a more... financial boon than when he was younger. Sure, sleight of hand "magic" tricks would earn him a copper or two in the streets while he was younger, but he started to learn that secret-trading would earn him more silver or gold to line his coffers with. Being a halfling, some of the citizens of Absalom would treat him poorly -- "he was, after all, only half a man..." -- and so this sort of disdain for his kind started to affect him, causing him to turn to less law-abiding means to find justice against the discrimination he and his kind face. In a city like Absalom, a halfling never knows what wrong turn may end them up in shackles, being sent off as slaves for Chelaxian owners. This kind of fate is something Panian has absolutely no interest in, so it seemed obvious to him that the best way to protect himself would be to sign up with the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers.

The day before his 18th birthday, his little sister was taken by slavers. Drawing on his growing network of contacts within Absalom, he was able to track the trader who had captured her's whereabouts, but found that he had already placed her on a ship bound for Cheliax. Panian watched the trader cracking jokes with other slavers in a tavern by the harbor, like a lion might stalk its prey before attacking. Because of the general habits of humans to not look down, and his comfort in and familiarity with the shadows, Panian was able to pass undetected and wait for the trader to retire to his room in the inn for the night. At this point, Graveltoes entered the inn behind another patron, stole into the halls, and picked the lock, silently, on the door of the slaver's room. Panian didn't wake the trader before playing the man's throat like a violin using his dagger.

Raiden the Reclaimer

Raiden's early childhood is a blur of campfires, fights, blood, and savage warcries. Most of this blurs together in dreams for him, which sometimes wake him in a cold sweat, other times he wakes frothing at the mouth, veins in his arms bulging, and the rage of his heritage boiling over.

The details of his birth are uncertain, but Raiden was discovered in the aftermath of a raid on an orcish warcamp in the outskirts of the Cairnlands, covered in blood but perfectly calm. Raiden was picked up by a knight and brought to his field commander, the knight wondering what should be done with this abomination of a toddler. His commander took the child and guaranteed that he would handle the situation -- for the most part, the child seemed very human, with the exception of a pale green tint to his skin.

The commander took Raiden in, teaching him the ways of humanity, convinced he could raise this child as his own, and help to show the world that anyone can know peace and law, respect, and goodness, regardless of their upbringing.

Raiden grew up quickly, stronger and faster than all of his classmates, and always feeling slightly different from the rest of his peers. When he reached puberty, though, was when the barbs came full-on at him. As he matured, his orcish features became more prominent - his tusks, which up until this point had merely caused his lower lip to jut like someone chewing tobacco, finally grew out past his lower lip, sitting extended in an underbitten snarl. His skin, which had maintained a slightly sickly greenish tint for his entire childhood, started to undertake a darker tone, like a suntan might look on a pale green base, and as the hair on his arms and chest started sprouting, it became apparent at first glance the gruesome history of his birth. Because of this, the city-dwellers of Absalom were increasingly unwelcoming to him if he chose to walk the streets without wearing the crest of his adoptive family.

Adventuring seemed most alluring for Raiden -- a chance to show the world that good can come from chaos and evil, and to make good on his family name. Upon seeing his strength, Balenar Forsend sent emissaries from the Society to recruit Raiden to the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers.

Introduction

Greetings, adventurers, and congratulations!

The spring is upon us and with it comes another graduating class of would-be heroes and heroines from the hallowed halls of the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers, eager and willing to explore the great world of Golarion and all that comes along with it -- mostly, treasure, fame, and evil in need of smiting!

This year, as with seemingly every passing year since the start of the Age of Lost Omens, the number of graduates has dwindled to a mere 20. Rumors around the city have begun circulating that the world outside the walls is just too dangerous to submit youths to -- the monsters have become too powerful in the wake of Aroden's death, the animals themselves growing larger and more resolute in their ownership of the wilds, and rumors of evermore chaotic and evil forces rising from long-forgotten places. Only a paltry few remain who even know of the Pathfinders' academy, and fewer still who talk about its purpose in a glowing light. You, young fortune-and-fame seekers, are proud to count yourselves among those few. While most of your schoolmates have gone into apprenticeship in the workforce, trying to carve out a living as cobblers, blacksmiths, shopkeepers, etc., you've joined the ranks of those who one day hope to consider themselves Pathfinders.

Of course, no matter the size, 10-10,000, any group has its outcasts. This, friends, is where you find yourselves. A group of five, united by fate, separated from the rest of your class for various and sundry reasons, whether it be due to your age, your height, your skin color, or the prejudices others have learned from their parents about your heritage. Some of you may feel this pressure actively such as Raiden, (Rogue name), (Sorcerer name), and (Ranger name), others passively (Cleric name), and have, in the past, expressed your feelings toward this in your own ways. Over the course of your education at PSYCHE, though, you've come to recognize counterparts and cohorts in the other adventurers in your social group, and have learned to stick together in and out of class.




This brings us to the present. It is currently one week prior to your graduation ceremonies, an increasingly modest affair, no longer met by trumpeting throughout the main thoroughfares and streamers but instead a warm gathering of those closest to you, and your teachers from the Society wishing you well on your adventures. In the lead-up to your ceremony, the campus of the academy is closed in preparation for the graduation. Although the public may not take as much pride in the Society as they once had, the Society itself is a proud organization, and is prepared to pull out all the stops for its newest members. Because of this though, your lot finds itself a bit restless. Four days ago, the gods seemed to echo your restlessness with a strong earthquake north of the city in the Cairnlands.

Shortly following the last of the aftershocks, your innate curiosity gets the best of you, and you all decide that it'd be best if (Rogue name) poked around the academy to see what (he/she) can find out. Meanwhile, (Cleric name) asks (his/her) clergy if they know of any disturbances beyond the walls that your crew might handle. Your team is able to find a few things out in this:

1. The earthquake mostly affected the Cairnlands, and luckily no one within the city was harmed.
2. There were a few old ruins affected by the quake, including a ruin called the Fallen Fortress, rumored to have been sealed by magic centuries ago to keep whatever was entombed within it. Now, the whole front of the fort has caved in, allowing entrance... and exit.
3. Three days ago, one of the Pathfinder Society members entrusted with your education, a wily bard by the name of Balenar Forsend, had been sent out to find out what he could about the Fallen Fortress, and has yet to return, despite the trip being only 10 miles roundtrip, hardly a full-day's journey. Members of the Pathfinder Society are trading whispers of something befalling him, but also express a cautious optimism, and seem resolved to give Balenar a week to return before setting up a search party.

Fearing that the worst possible fate could have befallen Balenar, Raiden makes the suggestion that he may need assistance, and rather than waiting the week recommended by the Society, this would be an excellent opportunity for you to make your mark as a successful, new Adventurers Guild.

Our story picks up here, with our heroes and heroines sitting in a pub near the edge of the Wise Quarter.

Absalom

For more than 4,000 years, Absalom (pronounced AB-sah-lahm)[1] has been the City at the Center of the World, a metropolis-sized showcase of the greatest treasures in all Golarion. The importance and influence of Absalom upon theInner Sea and the whole of Golarion can not be overstated. The city not only holds a key strategic position for both commercial and military endeavors in the region, but encompasses the site of the ascension of four deities and claims to have been founded by none other than the Last Azlanti, the god Aroden. It is not without reason that the passage of time throughout the Inner Sea region is counted in Absalom Reckoning.[2]

Economy

Absalom's great wealth is driven by trade, so the city's rulers strive to craft policies favorable to commerce (and their own interests), but otherwise take a relatively laissez-faire approach to regulation.[3] Taxes in the city are very light, although Siege Taxes during wartime may be significantly higher. There are no property taxes, although the city charges for access to roads, sanitation, and other public infrastructure. Modest taxes on foreign merchants, fees for pilots through the Flotsam Graveyard, and docking fees, are generally sufficient to supply the city's needs.[3]

Absalom's economy can be divided into three basic parts: craftsmen, who manufacture goods; traders, who buy and sell physical goods; and laborers, who provide services. While craftsmen and laborers are organized into guilds that provide legal and illegal products and services, traders are prohibited from organizing to prevent collusion and price-fixing.[4] The city's laws require that goods to be sold must be owned by a single merchant, who may operate a single commercial outlet for them.[4] Absalom's currency consists of pennies, silver weights, crests, gold measures, and platinum sphinxes.[4]

The city is a major hub for commerce on the Inner Sea, and its most common trading partners include Almas, Cassomir,Katheer, Niswan, Okeno, Oppara, Oregent, Ostenso, and Sothis.[5] However, Absalom has varying relations with and regulations concerning trade with these cities: for example, Almas views Absalom's ships as unwelcome bullies, while Vudrani traders from Niswan are celebrated, and ships from Oregent must prove they carry only glassware and silverware or face a 100% tariff.[5]

Due to Absalom's size and scale, beasts of burden are important elements of the city's commerce and transport. Regular bench-wagons allow commoners to ride around town for a copper, and halfling porters with dog travois can be hired for a similar price.[6] Horses are rare on the Isle of Kortos, since the centaur tribes regard them as invaders and the harpies like to eat them.[6] Consequently, the most prominent beast of burden is the camel; farmers use them for agriculture, drovers use them to pull wagons and chariots, and many district guards field a camel cavalry.[6] Camel barding is more commonly available than barding for horses in the city.[6] After camels, axe beaks are most common mount and beast of burden, faster and better able to defend themselves than camels.[6] Dogs, lizards, elephants, and monstrous centipedes are also found; before the establishment of Hackamore House, much saddle and tack had to be custom made or ordered from dozens of shops due to the diversity of animals used in the city.[6]

Government

Main article: Government of Absalom

Absalom is ruled by the Grand Council which is chaired by the primarch, a position currently held by Lord Gyr of House Gixx. The Council has twelve high seats (including the primarch's) and a variable number of low seats. Most of the city's administrative positions are filled by members of the Council, the more sought after titles going to members of the High Council. The position of primarch is held for life and decided upon by the High Council. It has additional privileges unique to the position granting the holder considerable power over the Council, and by corollary, the City at the Center of the World itself.[7] Much of the day-to-day administration are handled by the district councils of Absalom. The district councils are headed by a nomarch, who is appointed by the Low Council with the approval of the primarch.[8]

A map of Absalom

GeographySituated on the southern coast of the Isle of Kortos, Absalom is the largest city in the Inner Sea region and quite possibly the entire world. The ice-capped peaks of theKortos Mounts are among the highest known in the world, stretching high above treeline.[9] Countless abandoned siege engines and constructions of war from the numerous failed attempts throughout history to take the city by force lie scattered throughout the surrounding countryside in what has become known as the Cairnlands[10] and the wreckage of armadas of unsuccessful attempts on the city from the sea all but block the wide harbor in a mass known as the Flotsam Graveyard.[11][12]


The city itself is enormous: it stretches more than seven miles from the Starwatch Keep to Azlanti Keep and more than five miles from Westgate to Eastgate, and Absalom has three times as many residents as the capital of Cheliax, Egorian[9]
DistrictsMain article: City districts of Absalom

A city the size of Absalom could not function as a single cohesive unit, thus it has been divided or split naturally over time into a handful of distinct districts, each a city unto itself both in terms of sheer population and overall atmosphere, and each having its own district council to run its day-to-day affairs. From the high-class havens of the Petal and Ivy Districts to the dangerous and destitute districts of the Puddles andPrecipice Quarter, Absalom's neighborhoods run the gamut of both the economic and social spectra. Additionally, austere monuments of historical and spiritual significance draw thousands of people to Azlanti Keep, the Ascendant Court and Wise Quarter on a daily basis.[13]

Holdings

More than just a city, Absalom controls holdings in and around the Isle of Kortos (though much of the isle remains wilderness). Although still under the control of the city-state, they function as independent communities.

Diobel, the smaller of the two settlements, is a bustling port town located on the western coast of Kortes. The town is a center of trade in its own right, acting as a hub for fishermen, traders and smugglers wishing to bring illicit goods into the City at the Center of the World via overland caravan instead of through the closely watched harbor of Absalom proper. Because of its important position as an alternative shipping route into the city, control of Diobel is very valuable and rising factions wishing to gain power in Absalom can often be seen first across the Isle in Diobel. The city is currently ruled by Scion Lord Avid of House Arnsen, a rival and childhood friend of Absalom's own Lord Gyr.[14]

Escadar is a vital military town located on the Isle of Erran off Kortos's northern shore. Originally founded as a shipyard and warehouse to aid Absalom against naval blockades, the town quickly grew as workers and naval officers moved to Erran. Beyond its continuing function as a reserve navy for times of siege, the fair-sized military base operates throughout the Inner Sea and as far south as the Obari Ocean in constant efforts to hamper piracy in the region. Escadar's governing body, theLesser Council of retired ship captains and young relatives of members of the Absalom Grand Council, has also been known to grant letters of marque to civilian ships committed to fighting piracy in the waters around the Isle of Kortos itself.[14]
Shadow Absalom

Every major city on Golarion has its dark mirror opposite on the Plane of Shadow, and none are greater than Shadow Absalom. Inhabited by fetchlings, various other humanoid races, and intelligent undead, the city is a thriving community of both natives from and visitors to the Shadow. The mirror opposite of the Ascendant Court holds a permanent portal to the Material Plane, making Shadow Absalom a popular destination to those trapped on this plane. The city is ruled by Argrinyxia the Shifting Lady of Ebon Scales, a powerful umbral dragon.[15]

History

Full article: History of Absalom

The busy harbor of Absalom

Founded in 1 AR by the god Aroden when he raised the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea, there is nothing ordinary about Absalom's history even from its very first day in existence. Its whole-cloth creation allowed for a quick inhabitation and Aroden tasked the best and bravest from throughout Inner Sea region to protect the Starstone and prevent any from moving it.[16]

But given Absalom's tactical position in the middle of countless trade routes and its undeniable influence, many ambitious nations or greedy warlords have set their sights upon the walls of the city over the millennia, and the guarding of the city and the Starstone within has never been easy. For the past four millennia, the city has been besieged by one army after another, in an attempt to bring Absalom to its knees and wrest control of it from all others. Despite the relentless onslaught, the city has never fallen. Relics of these ongoing wars still litter the plains of the Isle of Kortos surrounding the city (known as the Cairnlands) and sunken warships clutter the harbor.[16]

Inhabitants

For a complete list, please see: Category:Absalom/Inhabitants, Houses of Absalom

More so than anywhere else on Golarion, Absalom plays home to every conceivable type of inhabitant. While primarily a human settlement, members of all races, religions and homelands can be seen in (and under) the streets of the City in the Center of the World. The specific demographics of each individual district vary greatly, but there are few (if any) peoples who are not represented somewhere within the city, even the mysterious gillmen of ancient Azlant and travelers from other planes.[16]

The earliest inhabitants of Absalom were wise and brave nobles, merchants and adventurers from the lands nearest to the Isle of Kortos, thus the influence of the nations of Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, Taldor and Thuvia remain most pronounced in the city to this day.[16] Due to influence of nearby Osirion and Qadira, many of the city's inhabitants speak Kelish or Osiriani in addition to Taldane.[16]

Halflings are the second largest racial group in the city after the humans making Absalom one of the main halfling settlements in the Inner Sea region. Halflings from many countries come to Absalom joining the indigenous community. The main halfling districts are the Coins, Eastgate and the Foreign Quarter; few halflings live or travel to the Puddles where the height of the water can be dangerous for them.[17]

Elves are relatively uncommon in Absalom, mostly consisting of adventurers or outcasts; more common are their half-elven descendants, many of whom can be found around the Pleasure Salon of Calistria.[18]

Many of Absalom's residents organize themselves into houses, which are similar to clans organized by national origin.[19]

Religion

The most common faiths in Absalom are, of course, those of the four ascended gods: Aroden, Norgorber, Cayden Cailean and Iomedae. In addition to these churches, temples and shrines to Abadar, Nethys, Sarenrae, Calistria, Irori and Shelyn can be found throughout the metropolis.[16] Abasalom is also the only civilized city where the worship of Norgorber is tolerated.[20]

Symbols

Absalom's many centuries of immigration have provided it with a dizzying array of guilds, houses, religious and martial orders, and other organizations, each with their own symbols.[21] Absalom as a whole, however, has a number of common symbols. The city's colors are golden yellow (for the Starstone) and green (for the sea and the island's lush pastures).[21] Absalom's mascots are the hippocampus, representing the island's naval power and Sea Cavalry, and the mother-sphinx, imported fromOsirion.[21] Absalom's mother-sphinx is typically presented as a winged lion with a female human head and upper body, and occasionally shown pregnant, astride a wave, or with human hands holding a scale and scepter or scroll.[21] The city's motto is "Ex Prothex", which is interpreted to mean "From the First" or "First Among Equals".[21] Absalom's hybrid nature and long history are reflected some of the in the foreign names for it: the Patchwork City, or the City of Buried Treasures.[21]