City of Silinea
World Connections Type LOCATION Sub‑Type CITY Status UNEXPLORED Time Period The War of the Enlightened Regions The Cartas Empire Campaigns The War of the Enlightened World Period Dilatatio et Bellum
Titles: The Emerald City, The City of Mists & Magic, Crown of the North
Region: Northwest Cartesia — where dense temperate rain‑forests meet the Sapphire Sea
Size: Large
Origin: Old‑Age City (Pre‑Unification, ancestral high‑elf enclave)
Population: ~835 000
Perched on a rugged peninsula between slate‑blue waters and the snow‑capped Evergreen Peaks, Silinea dazzles visitors with sun‑sparked glass towers, cedar‑scented boulevards, and veils of silver rain that drift in from the coast. Canals stitched among island districts mirror the sky, while spell‑lamps tint evening mists an other‑worldly jade. Seat of the High‑Elf Royal Family and home to Cartesia’s most prestigious arcane universities, Silinea is equal parts scholarly sanctuary, bustling trade hub, and experimental playground for illusionists whose city‑scale glamours blur the line between architecture and art.
History
Founded millennia before the Great Unification as an elven port called Sail’Linae, the city’s sheltered harbours once hid silver‑leaf warships and crystal archives. After the Unification, high‑elf artisans guided the reconstruction of northern Cartesia, weaving permanent illusion wards into seawalls and civic plazas.
- 128 A.U. — Completion of the Star‑Thread Causeway, binding mainland Silinea to its western islets and catalyzing a golden age of maritime trade.
- 302 A.U. — The catastrophic Fogfire: an alchemical refinery explosion whose phantasmal flames burned without heat for seven days. The event birthed the city’s modern chemical‑ and glamours‑safety codes.
- 472 A.U. — Establishment of the Conclave of Infinite Forms, a biennial festival and academic summit where illusion mages premiere city‑wide art pieces that can bend light, sound… and sometimes local politics.
Politics & Government
Government Type: Royal Council‑Monarchy hybrid
Royal Presence: High‑Elf Royal Family (House Felyariel)
Dominant Parties: Modicus 51 %, Cambiare 49 % (silvern‑tongued debate is a civic pastime)
Current Steward‑Mayor: Maelis Aurakeen, Voice of the Crown
Defense: Moonstone Wardens (arcane guard), Cartesian Royal Knights garrison on Emerald Point
The Council of Nine Veils—three royals, three elected scholars, three trade delegates—drafts policy beneath the moon‑lit dome of Crystalhall. As royal seat rotates every fifty years, Silinea has accrued nuanced protocols ensuring high‑elf ceremonial traditions integrate (rather than dictate) civic law.
Religion & Belief
Silinea honours the four great Churches, yet devotion to Mystra (patron of arcana) permeates daily life: twilight hymn‑lights ripple across rooftops, and students of the Iridescent Lyceum earn blessings before final spell‑casting trials. Shrines to Eilistraee and Oghma speckle scholar quarters. A moss‑draped megalith known as the Silent Throne predates any church—rumours insist night‑time supplicants hear distant harp‑songs when sea‑fog rolls ashore.
Commerce & Industry
Major Exports: Refined mana‑crystals, illusion components, timber‑arcane composites, nautical cartography
Industries: Arcane research, film‑grade glamour projection (“phantasmography”), shipbuilding, sustainable forestry, high‑end gastronomy
Nicknamed “VanCartesia’s Backlot,” Silinea’s phantasmography studios rent illusion stages to bards and playwrights across the empire. Green‑cloaked Wardens of Canopy & Crystal regulate selective logging in surrounding rainforest, ensuring a perpetual supply of spell‑grade cedar and yew.
Maritime trade passes through the deep‑water Azure Docks, whose geomantic pylons dampen the notorious coastal swells. Grain from Jimbasa, mithral from Cavaros, and exotic silks from Baruba flow into arcane‑warded granaries and bonded warehouses.
Key City Locations
Crystalhall
Seat of royals and council alike, its prismatic façade refracts moonlight into shifting constellations mapped upon the plaza below.
The Iridescent Lyceum
Premier academy for illusion magic and theoretical mana‑geometry. Its campus bridges seven islands via light‑woven arcades that appear physical only to tuition‑paying students.
Azure Docks
Tiered harbour whose runic breakwaters rise and fall with the tide. Look for sky‑whales painted along berth #7—artists refresh the mural annually during the Conclave.
Star‑Thread Causeway
Gleaming sky‑bridge of glassite cables infused with aurora motes. Pedestrian esplanades overlook kelp farms and pods of moon‑dolphins.
Verdant Commons
Old‑growth park nestled between downtown wards; towering red cedars host arboreal tea‑houses and nightly lantern festivals. A traveling circus, the Luminara Menagerie, pitches its spell‑tents here each spring equinox.
The Forgotten Forest Gate
Northern outskirts checkpoint where wilderness patrols begin charting the myth‑shrouded Forgotten Forest. Adventurers seeking mapping contracts—or answers to whispered disappearances—start here.
Opaline Market
All‑weather arcades famous for rain‑shedding canopies. Stalls hawk shimmering spell‑ink, seafood dumplings, and elusive Night‑Bloom Azaleas (flowers eerily similar to those rumoured in a recent string of murders).
Society & Demographics
- Racial Makeup: High‑Elves 42 %, Humans 24 %, Gnomes 12 %, Dwarves 8 %, Tieflings 7 %, Orcs 3 %, Halflings 2 %, other < 1 %
- Renowned for multicultural harmony, Silinea hosts annual “Mists & Melodies” festivals featuring druidic rain‑drum concerts and gondola light‑parades.
Notable Factions & Defenses
- Moonstone Wardens — elite arcane constabulary wielding crystal‑lattice shields that refract hostile spells.
- The Conclave Coalition — loose network of illusion artists, projection engineers, and dream‑weavers lobbying for creative freedoms.
- Guild of Arcana (Northern Chapter) — research branch headquartered in Mirror‑Spire tower; admits only top percentile of spell‑crafters.
Prominent Figures
| Name | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Selannar Felyariel | High‑Elf Monarch | Soft‑spoken visionary who promotes arcane accessibility yet guards ancestral secrets in Crystalhall’s Moon‑Vault. |
| Maelis Aurakeen | Steward‑Mayor | Half‑elf negotiator balancing royal expectations with guild ambitions; known for rain‑proof cloaks that sparkle like wet quartz. |
| Professor Corvin Glasswake | Dean, Iridescent Lyceum | Pioneer of large‑scale glamour projection; rumours tie him to clandestine research on planar echoes of the Fae Realm. |
| Captain Iona Wavecrest | Moonstone Wardens Commander | Former adventurer famed for solo rescue dives beneath the Star‑Thread foundations. |
| Madam Hyssop | Proprietor of Luminara Menagerie | Charismatic ring‑master whose carnival beasts display unsettling, other‑planar traits. |
Additional Information
Silinea’s weather shifts swiftly: drizzle can yield to sun‑breaks that scatter prisms across sailcloth roofs, then fade to velvet nights where light‑storms dance above mountain crests. Merchants say “If you don’t like the sky, conjure a new one—” a quip equal parts weather joke and testament to the city’s flair for spectacle.
“Between forest shadow and ocean light lies a place where dreams are stitched of mist.” — Old Silinean proverb
Campaign Notes
Campaign Updates
- TBD
Hidden Information
- Main Arc — The adventuring party must navigate the Forgotten Forest from the Silinean side, securing local charter papers and magical compasses.
- Menagerie Arc — Informant Comfrey’s aunt resides in Verdant Commons, seeking a lost journal said to hold keys to channeling wild chaos within the Fae Realm.
- Side Threads —
- Explore the enigmatic Luminara Menagerie circus (rumoured planar anomalies).
- Investigate a spate of murders marked by rare Night‑Bloom Azaleas found in each victim’s mouth.
- Assist the Cartographer’s Guild in updating hazardous forest routes.