Chatoon In its glory during the Classic Age of Khitus, Chatoon was the envy of the region, a bustling city of tall marble and ruby spires Its Makadan inhabitants enjoyed a reputation as a place to visit to see wonders of architecture and magic with colorful buildings and incredible vistas anywhere the gaze fell Now it is a dark bloodstained shadow with death stalking the streets at any hour Like shattered dreams, its oncemighty towers now stand or lie broken and ruined Most marauders and monsters alike give Chatoon a wide berth, for in the depths of the city lurks a Daragkark sorceress Shagnathrix whispers to the dark walls, conjures fell magic, and makes pacts with sorcery that she hopes will make amends for her troubled and murderous past Her people know better than to cross her, and the city has been turned into a nightmare by her constant conjurations Undead abominations walk the streets and seek to return to the desert sand; the still-living population cowers by day and hides in terror by night Worse than the walking dead are the powerful psychic monsters that lurk in Chatoon’s streets They flit among the alleys, ever watchful for unwary travelers whose minds they rip apart in an instant and feed on their souls Chuma Zor (Chukka Zor) Many years ago, Chukka Zor was merely a single Watu shamaba, one of the many enormous slave-tended farms overseen by extended pachyesh family groups The bwasana (matriarch) Chukka managed her shamaba so well that the region prospered for the Watu Pachyaur It grew like a flooding river in the rainy season, overwhelming local farms until the central buildings and the combined plantations became the city of Chukka Zor All other Khitan races called it the Slave Circle A few years into her city’s prosperity, Chukka died mysteriously and a cunning creature called Chuma became the new bwasana She renamed the city Chuma Zor and increased the amount of slave farms by a third, sending agents across Khitus to capture more workers for the farms She and her ruthless overseers made sure that Chuma Zor’s combined eight shamabas—all Chuma’s daughters by blood or marriage—each focused on one of the crops that were needed The city now looks like a mix of stone and wood, broad block trade roads leading to and from important parts 82 Top Khitan Cities by Population Pacheodon Wani Chereet Torqal Alos Aleothkka Chuma Zor* (#4 if the Watu counted slaves in their population numbers.) Gathush* (#2 If all encamped & nearby refugees counted as citizens) • Pavouk would exceed Torqal’s population if its spiders were counted as citizens, as they outnumber humans there more than 100 to one of Chuma Zor and high hedges separating the various farms from each other There is a centralized urban region at the center of all the farmlands that encircle it The city appears to be in harmony with the natural world, its urban core far greener than other Khitan cities, with slaves by the hundreds tending all kinds of crops in and around the city Estica The strong rock of the nearby Deepshadow Mountains to the northwest protects Estica, as it has for centuries This Makadan city also sits a stone’s throw from the Serpent Hills, whose caverns and creatures provide the city with its many unique trade goods such as gemstones, perfumes, and oils Estica dominates much of the trade around this region and prospers for it They roof their largest buildings with deep red rock tiles fired to reflect a sun-like sheen, visible for miles across the horizon in any direction Before the marauder scourge came to the Old Countries, Estica protected itself by its prime location in the mountains With the escalating threats of slavery or violence from many savage tribes, city leaders, its krals and sovetniks, want to build a defensive wall against the growing darkness This wall has not yet been started and many believe that it will lead to later problems, from interfering with trade to hampering population expansions Time will tell if the city’s population wins the battle of the wall, or the government decides to construct one regardless of popular opinion Regardless,