Well met, travellers. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ

Here follows a collection of all the data shared on the official lore website for preservation purposes. As of sharing, only the first quarter of the map has been revealed, offering us this western lore book. Originally, this site was meant to also allow linking to players' journals where they could update on the net or link items and their descriptions directly!

You can find the original source link here[lore.bookoftravels.info] as well as here[bot-lore-page-joel-mightanddeli-web-devs-team.vercel.app] as long as these links are still active.

Plenty other delightful item descriptions, quest dialogue, and more on the community wiki here[bookoftravels.wiki.gg]

Maybe one day I'll get around to transcribing all the novels' worth of unused item and skill card text from in-game... But I digress.

Enjoy, ye' lore goblins.

Don’t blame the Western Wind for your muddled mind

The known history of Braided Shore is divided into five Ages: the Elden Age, the Varhim Age, the Age of Settlement, the Age of Dynasty – also known as the Halzhaan Age – and the Fifth Age, which is the current Age. Ages usually gain their name after they have dawned, often in connection to a large-scale event.

Distinct cultural differences mark the five known Ages, and each of them have influenced the land and life of Braided Shore in various ways.

Ages are divided into cycles, and sometimes a significant period of time within an Age is marked as a specific era. Each Age starts with its 1st cycle.

The Eldens were a civilization that called Braided Shore their home before the Asken folk arrived. The Age bearing their name – the Elden Age – is the first Age and is seen as one of wonder.

Little is known about the Eldens, beyond that they are the first known inhabitants of the region now called Braided Shore, but what they left behind suggests a great and powerful civilization. The industrial machines and railways around Braided Shore, and even The Wall, were all built by the Eldens and largely remain a mystery to this day, even though all cultures that followed them have used the machinery in some way, shape, or form.

The Eldens left an undeniable mark on the landscape and history of Braided Shore, yet the circumstances of their eventual disappearance remain unknown.

The Second Age – the Varhim Age – seems to have been ill-fated. The Varhims dwelled in Braided Shore for many hundreds of seasons after the end of the Elden Age.

Very little from the Varhim Age has survived beyond its end. Scholars agree that Varhim construction was inferior to that of any other Age, and that the Varhims made use of Elden machinery and infrastructure rather than building their own. Some extant remains of the Varhims are, for example, their signature jagged carvings and simple tools.

According to some Sefra, the Varhims were shortsighted – a culture that, whether out of necessity or choice, lived entirely in the present.

The Third Age – the Age of Settlement – was when the original Khelims wandered the land. It was an Age of courage, exploration, consolidation, and culturalization and also when the Asken folk arrived in Braided Shore.

When the Exploration Era of the Third Age came to a peaceful close, settlements and homesteads had grown, eventually becoming prosperous towns and cities. The largest of those settlements became small kingdoms around Braided Shore.

The Third Age straddles the line between the mythical Ages of the Eldens and the Varhims, and the nascent historiography of the Halzhaan Age. As such, stories of the Age of Settlement have a curious air of both fairy tales and facts.

The Age of Settlement is commonly divided into three Eras: the Exploration Era, the Consolidation Era, and the Culturization Era. The Age came to an end after the tumultuous time of the Cobalt Eclipse and the Lords’ War.

The Fourth Age – the Age of Dynasty – is also known as the Halzhaan Age, named after the Halzhaan Dynasty, who ruled from the city of Kasa. It is seen as an Age of strength.

During this Age, the groundwork for the Councils and unions was laid out, and a more conscious historical documentation of events started to take form. Therefore, the rulers of the Halzhaan Dynasty are well-documented: First Monarch Issa Halzhaan, Monarch Ilmana Halzaan II, Monarch Sylla Halzhaan III, and Monarch Manas Halzhaan IV, also known as the Boat King.

Historical documentation is not a flawless way to ensure cultural memory, however. Much knowledge of the Halzhaan rulers was almost lost to the violence erupting around the end of the Fourth Age. Unions rose up against the Boat King in anger, wishing to tear down the Halzhaan family tomb for good and destroy the remains of his ancestors. According to legend, what stopped the violent mobs in the end was their unwillingness to hurt the unarmed elders protecting the tomb.

The Fifth Age is the current Age, and is seen as an Age of wisdom. What has marked the Fifth Age so far is the dissolution of the monarchy and the shift over to rule by labour unions and the two Councils.

Is there anything as soft and down to earth as moss, Khelim?

An island in the middle of the Verve and an important stop for seafaring vessels between New Foundry, Kasa, and Myr. It is a trading hub for goods from around the Verve and beyond. Bat Saha is a lively place and – as the saying goes – there’s a thousand ways to get rich there.

There are tensions between several groups in Bat Saha, and the Wardens Union turns a blind eye to shady activity around the island. Because of the tensions, people have tried to find alternative routes across the Verve which leave Bat Saha out of the equation, but to no avail.

Currently, life for both locals and travellers in Bat Saha is made more complicated by a blockade put up by the Coroners.

An ancient city and the main capital out of two in Braided Shore, the other one being New Foundry. It is a city with a dramatic history, and similarly dramatic current events.

Recently, something has happened in Kasa, which leaves most of the city closed to travelers.

The symbol of Kasa is a knot feather.

A small but busy town that has sprung up around a large crossroads. In the center of the crossroads stands a great oak, which is why Crossing’s symbol is that of an oak and a sickle.

A small, rustic farming and fishing town that has existed since the Asken folk first made landfall in Braided Shore. Its most significant feature is a lighthouse, which stands next to the town’s dock.

There is also a famous boathouse and the family who runs it has a secret of how to make a type of mist-piercing bell, which they keep very close to their chest.

A fertile island in the West where a lot of the tea in Braided Shore comes from. In that vein, Myrt is where the Myrt Tea Cooperative was founded and operates out of.

A forest in western Braided Shore, which was once an actual orchard. Years of neglect – and perhaps some mystical meddling – have resulted in the orchard becoming a sprawling forest.

Willow nuts and char-mustard are very common in Kuro Orchard and are exported from there to the rest of Braided Shore.

New Foundry is the sister capital of Kasa, with New Foundry being the younger of the two. As the name suggests, New Foundry is an industrious city, where the main affairs surround heavy industry and machinery. Outside its production of machinery, New Foundry is also surrounded by salt mines, where citizens find work excavating the useful mineral. Despite the city’s focus on machines, or perhaps to counter it, it has a large number of verdant parks.

New Foundry is also where the Ehran Engine is located – an Elden machine without which most new machinists would be out of a job, according to some. The Engine receives metal and produces cogs of different sizes from it. It is a vital part of the industrial center of New Foundry, where the Engine is presided over by the Machinists Union and House Yehan.

New Foundry’s symbol is a crest depicting cogs and smoke.

A large trading post in the South of Braided Shore. The port is built around a large pier in the sands, and an imposing lighthouse stands in the heart of the town’s bazaar.

Because of the climate, people in Ovi Talif do not keep livestock or have a dairy-heavy diet as many others in Braided Shore do. The desert is, however, home to a lot of snakes and lizards and they are common in Ovi Talif cuisine.

There’s a certain smell that has become associated with Ovi Talif and people who travel to and from it, which comes from a common grass that grows in the desert. The smell is bitter, yet not unpleasant.

Osso-by-the-Canal, or simply Osso, is a small yet prosperous northern city. It is full of gardens and orchards which lie along the city’s eponymous body of water – the Twin Wind Canal.

Osso produces some of Braided Shore’s most popular food items, such as olive oil, almonds, and cider. It is also home to the largest cider mill in Braided Shore – The Winne Cider Mill.

A treacherous swamp forest – a wild land in the East of Braided Shore that runs along most of The Wall, and which is largely uninhabited. The area is not entirely void of settlers, though. People brave and curious enough have lived in the Deeplands since they were first discovered in the Third Age, and are called “Deeplanders.”

Mushrooms from the Deeplands are sold in the rest of Braided Shore, but other than that, most people simply avoid the generally quite dangerous area.

Umber Lake lies just outside of the city of Kasa. Enchanted koi fish live in the lake, which clears the water of pollution.

The lake’s name comes from the colour it had while it was still severely polluted.

The Windless Pavilion sits atop a sheer cliff face in the Pale Char Mountains, marked by a great royal cobalt statue of Issa Halzhaan.

An ancient wood of gnarled trees rumoured to be full of old ruins. People generally avoid the Forest of Four, not the least because of the rumour that the Char Wolf Gang operates out of it.

Rivenleaf University lies in the North, and is the only seat of higher education in Braided Shore. It has many famous alumni, and strives to be on the cutting edge of research in all fields of study.

Many structures on the Rivenleaf campus are made out of the rare and marvellous rainstone – a dark mineral which reacts to rain, making it shine during a downpour.

Rivenleaf has a long list of faculties, among them three separate faculties for magic: knotbinding, brew mastery, and windvoicing.

The large bay in the middle of Braided Shore. In the middle of it lies the island of Bat Saha, which is a vital stop for travellers across the Verve.

To stand next to The Wall is to know how small and young one truly is. Running virtually the entire eastern border of Braided Shore, The Wall efficiently cuts off access to the Unwound – an unmapped land of little more than fearsome legend to the people of Braided Shore. The Wall is of Elden construction, making it as impressive in age as it is in size.

Over the decades, pieces have crumbled and mingled with the soil below. Mixing some Wall soil into the soil of your garden can have peculiar and unpredictable effects on the plants that grow there.

“The Wall” is a western name. To the Deeplanders of the East, who live next to the structure, it’s “The Veil”.

A wild river, flowing directly from a great waterfall emerging from The Wall. Whether the waters receive their mystical properties from flowing through The Wall itself, or from some hidden reservoir in the Unwound is unknown, but the arcane effects of the Fumes is well-documented.

A fishing town in eastern Braided Shore, located by the River Fumes. Fishing is so important to the town that they even have a fishmarket temple.

A large peninsula with a warm, temperate climate. Its western part is dotted with settlements, whereas at its eastern border towers the ancient structure The Wall – barring the unknown lands of the Unwound beyond.

Be polite to your reflection in still water, there are stories of those who have lost theirs.

During the Elden Age, the eponymous civilization – the Eldens – built wondrous machinery all across what is now known as Braided Shore. Many of these structures have survived into the current Fifth Age. Industrial machines, railways, The Wall, and the Ehran Engine in New Foundry are all remnants of the Eldens.

Other strange and remarkable structures are sometimes ascribed to the Eldens, for example certain highly personalised sculptures that dot the landscape of Braided Shore, even though they differ considerably from other Elden construction. The arguments for Other strange and remarkable structures are sometimes ascribed to the Eldens, for example certain highly personalised sculptures that dot the landscape of Braided Shore, even though they differ considerably from other Elden construction. The arguments for those sculptures being Elden are mostly based on the fact that anything that old and still standing must be of Elden make, since the construction feats of the directly subsequent civilization – the Varhims – were of such poor quality that virtually nothing remains.

Unless active efforts have been made to restore them, only ruins remain of Elden structures and one cannot help but be in awe at the thought of how they must have looked in their prime.

During the Age of Settlement, many small kingdoms formed in Braided Shore. Most of them were ruled by a single person and those individuals became the founders of the Old Dynasties. There were many important and interesting Old Dynasties, but one was impactful beyond the rest, and is the one often called the Old Dynasty.

The founders of the Old Dynasty are unknown, but the earliest known members of it are King Mathidas and his wife Thela Thenn, who ruled from Kasa. It is believed that the Dynasty lasted three or four generations after Mathidas. When Issa Halzhaan founded an entirely new ruling dynasty in Kasa, the Third Age ended and with it most of the Old Dynasties.

The Fourth Age is named after its ruling dynasty – the Halzhaan Dynasty. The rule was one of a single monarch at a time. In chronological order, the rulers of the Halzhaan Dynasty were: First Monarch Issa Halzhaan, Monarch Ilmana Halzaan II, Monarch Sylla Halzhaan III, and Monarch Manas Halzhaan IV, also known as the Boat King.

The Halzhaan Age was when the groundwork for the Councils and unions was laid out. For example, Ilmana Halzhaan officially endorsed the founding of the Skalds Union, which was the first of the unions to form.

The colour orchid is also known as royal cobalt and it is the colour of the Halzhaan Dynasty, as well as of leadership, sociability, speechcraft, and the art of persuasion.

The symbol of the Halzhaans is a flaming crescent.

The Edu family was a short-lived merchant dynasty during the Fourth Age. The head of the dynasty, Nadir Edu, was married to Empress Ilmana Halzhaan, the second monarch of the Halzhaan Dynasty. The Edu Dynasty ended almost as quickly as it began – Ilmana died without an heir and Nadir never took a second spouse, falling into despair after Ilmana’s death.

Bat Saha has been an important island since the Elden Age. As a reminder of that historical importance, the ruins of a colossal Elden bridge still jut up from the water at the northern point of the island.

During the Third Age, the Dandelion temple was constructed by unknown builders. The temple drew visitors, and the Third Age saw Bat Saha turn into a home for pilgrims and merchants. As the name suggests, the temple is connected to the Khelims, and the spirits inside the temple specifically guide Khelims on their journeys through the lands.

Nearing the end of the Third Age, the fearsome pirate the Gull-Lord took control over the island, disrupting trade and life in general. He was eventually defeated, but it wasn’t until the Fourth Age that commerce resumed in earnest, when the Halzhaan Dynasty rose to power.

Now, in the Fifth Age, Bat Saha has been deemed neutral ground, after a dramatic feud between the island’s noble houses. The island remains a busy trading port, and enjoys less restrictions under the Councils than it did while ruled by the Halzhaans. What this means in practice is a flourishing smuggling business and rampant pirate problems.

“There’s a thousand ways to get rich in Bat Saha,” or so the saying goes. The island is a hub for all kinds of people, and all kinds of trade – both legitimate such and less so. The intricacies of trade in Bat Saha are difficult to master, and nothing a newcomer readily understands. But, whatever you are looking to sell, chances are someone in Bat Saha is looking to buy it.

Enterprising souls utilise the island’s mercantile atmosphere for their own projects.

For example, the Bat Saha Teasole Festival uses surplus tea that ends up in Bat Saha after the harvest months as a basis for its festivities.

Kasa is an old city, and has been the site of many momentous events. Perhaps most famously, it was the seat of the rulers of the Halzhaan Dynasty of the Fourth Age.

Before the Halzhaans, there was another ruling family in Kasa, simply called the Old Dynasty now. The first known members of the Old Dynasty were King Mathidas and his wife Thela Thenn. The assumption is that the Old Dynasty lasted three or four generations after Mathidas and that it ended some time before the Cobalt Eclipse and The Lords’ War – two events where many of the Old Dynasties met their end.

Kasa is a place brimming with legends. Not least of which are the ones about its founding. Some say it was the work of Mason King Nadrimm Kassa, a master stoneworker who built the city overnight, while others insist an ancient, mysterious cult built the city to honour their forgotten queen.

Right now, the communal ferries to Kasa are suspended, and private skippers appear busy or unwilling to take passengers to the city. Apparently, the gates to Kasa have been barred, and armed guards prevent anyone from entering. At the barrier, the Wardens tell travellers that Ilmana’s Bridge is closed, on the Coroners’ orders.

Gossip around Braided Shore mentions that the Arch Council Forum in Kasa stands abandoned, and governing directives now come all the way from New Foundry. Rumours suggest that whatever caused the incident started within the Council itself.

All city districts, from the Old Town to the Council Pavillion, the Embassies, and the Factory, remain isolated during the ongoing investigations into what has happened in Kasa.

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Kasa is a city rich in culture and one of its main areas of trade is in far sea exports.

Until recently, the Kasa Arch Council advised the population, with an Arch Sefra heading the Council. Now, however, the New Foundry Council has taken that place, due to the current situation in Kasa which leaves the city barred to visitors.

Kasa enjoys a high reputation when it comes to many of its local wares. Kasa silk is an exquisite fabric famous across Braided Shore, for example. Due to the city’s focus on textile manufacturing, raw silk and wool are the most imported goods in Kasa. Far from everyone wears the famous Kasa silk of course – common folk generally wear simple woollen clothes in their everyday lives.

Small details in attire, such as hairpins, mark one as a member of the merchant or crafter classes in Kasa. Such details are easily spotted by members of either class, but will seem insignificant to anyone out of the loop.

The city of Kasa – one of two capitals – lies in the south part of Braided Shore. It is divided into several districts, many of them connected by bridges. Much of the city is built on very old foundations, which have survived through a long, sometimes quite violent, history.

Underneath the city runs an old sewer system and rumour has it that something called the Sewer Queen stalks its darkest corners. But then again, maybe it’s just rats. (But then again, maybe the Queen controls the rats).

To the south of Kasa lies the billowing saffron fields which supply all of Braided Shore. The royal cobalt saffron crocus has become a symbol of sorts for Kasa, ever since the fall of the Frost Hag. It is said that, when the ground once more lay without the frigid touch of the Hag, the first saffron flowers appeared to grace the survivors of that terrible time. Many are convinced it was a gift from the Sefra, for the noble deeds of the Asken.

Back when New Foundry was still in its infancy as a city, the residents there discovered an ancient Elden train hall which they dubbed “the Kiln.” The hall was in disrepair, and in order to repair the Elden machinery, the New Foundry residents needed an enormous amount of leather rope.

The leaders of New Foundry struck a deal with Kasa to transport livestock from the rest of Braided Shore to Kasa for slaughter. The leather would then be easier to ship to New Foundry. As a result, New Foundry managed to restore part of the Kiln and Kasa, in turn, invented the famous Kasa sausage.

New Foundry is an industrial city, and elements of that nature make it into all parts of everyday life. For example, New Foundry cuisine is known – or perhaps infamous – for its ubiquitous addition of soot and ash.

But industrialisation has brought with it technology as well, not just soot. Instead of being a city covered in pollution from the factories, the Street Cleaner Guild – armed with advanced technology to help them do their job – works to keep New

At Rivenleaf University, one’s attire signals many things. Robes, armbands, and waistbands all come in different colours which communicate rank and specialisation.

A sulphur armband and a pale jade waistband, for example, would be worn by a novice at the university, where knots on the armband spell out a student’s specialisation. Waistbands are also practical – they can be used to hold knotting and sketching material – and there is a tradition of adding a daily stitch to one’s waistband at the end of every school day, to mark one’s progress.

As for the official uniform robes, the senior students wear sulphur such, whereas junior students wear marble.

The myth of the Or Hab cult dates back to the founding of Rivenleaf University when Or, the last of the Hab line, mysteriously disappeared. With his disappearance, the family’s ancestral home of Rivenleaf Castle stood vacant. Therefore, the castle, with its magnificent library, was granted to the wise Kamampos – a mystic and friend of Or Hab.

Kamampos’s apprentices would later found Rivenleaf University, and stories of the Or Hab cult began to sprout long after that. Those stories were of a secret library underneath Rivenleaf, which only certain chosen individuals could gain access to.

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There is a Sah Basir legend that tells of Sammakko, the first frog. Other spirits took dominion over mountains and valleys, but Sammakko claimed the waters, hopping from sea, to river, to swampland, and never stayed in one place.

Wherever Sammakko went, he sired children, who became the frogs, toads, and other amphibious creatures around the lands.

One day, Nago Liama appeared in the court of Ilmana Halzhaan, where he quickly became quite close with her brother Hakkaid. Up to that point, Hakkaid had been faithful to his wife.

It is rumoured that Nago had been gifted a forked tongue from some strange spirit, which he could use to charm anyone he spoke to. Whether true or not – or if Hakkaid simply needed an excuse for betraying his wife – a forked tongue has since become a symbol for underhanded charm and seduction among Asken folk.

Keronos is said to have been the last of the Old Family of Kasa, before the rise of the Halzhaan Dynasty. As opposed to his ancestors, Keronos is seldom featured in any tales and the few stories that do speak of him and his disappearance speak without source. Even the scholars of Rivenleaf know next to nothing about him, beyond his name.

Bodraan, the Twilit Knight, knighted by Monarch Issa Halzhaan and bane of the Frost Hag, is a legendary figure shrouded in mystery. It is known that he met Issa Halzhaan before the Cobalt Eclipse - the calamity brought by the Frost Hag - but circumstances of their introduction are unknown. Bodraan is also known to have had a sister, who contracted the Frost Hag’s curse, but how that happened is also lost to history.

There is, curiously, no documented mention of Bodraan and his sister after the fall of the Frost Hag – no grave to mark his possible demise to the Hag, and no mention of an honoured knight remaining at court following the end of the Cobalt Eclipse. The legend of Bodraan lives on, but one cannot help but note that that legend seems somewhat cut short.

There is a famous folktale in Braided Shore that tells the story of the warrior Abarat and her braid.

Abarat was born to an impoverished family and made a vow to the Winds, the Sefra, and her ancestors that, until she had defeated the very concept of hunger, she would not cut her braid. Through her tireless work to feed the hungry, Abarat’s braid had one day grown so long that it trailed behind her, and her own body had wasted away, neglected as it was in favour of everyone else’s needs. Utterly fatigued, she lay down in a glade to rest.

Moved by Abarat’s ceaseless selflessness, the Winds, or the Sefra, or her ancestors – depending on the version of the tale – cut off her braid for her and planted it in the forest. Each hair from the braid grew into berry bushes, edible roots, and fruit trees so filling that one apple could feed three grown people.

Abarat’s braid is a famous tale and is, as such, often referenced by folk in Braided Shore, not seldom as a cautionary tale to warn children about what happens if their hair grows uncontrollably long.

During the Third Age, a skirmish broke out between the Malku Su and the Sah Basir. Hestu Kesku – “Big Kesku” – was a legendary Malku general of that period, who wielded a large war pick with a massive fall gem in it.

Heap high the farmer’s wintery hoard, heap high the golden corn!

The Councils act as governing body of Braided Shore. There are two Councils – one operating out of New Foundry and, prior to the Kasa incident, one out of Kasa. Below the Councils in hierarchy are the twelve unions, which oversee affairs around Braided Shore.

In the New Foundry Council there are twelve members, where each council member is a representative from one of the twelve unions. In the Kasa Council there are thirteen members – one representative from each of the twelve unions, and the Arch Sefra who leads the Council. Prior to the Kasa incident, people in Braided Shore generally counted on the Arch Sefra for advice – now that the New Foundry Council is Acting Arch Council, people are worried about what their focus on industry and machinery might change.

The Councils have rules and laws but not everyone follows them. There is smuggling in Braided Shore, people who trade in prohibited goods, and people who try to cheat their way out of paying taxes. Indeed, the Councils and its Councillors are not universally liked but they are in charge of hearing citizen complaints and requests – which is perhaps a reason for the divided nature of the support they enjoy.

A union dedicated to the construction and maintenance of machinery.

A union of musicians, artists, and poets. It was the first union ever established, granted union status by Monarch Illmana Halzhaan in the Fourth Age.

A union for manual workers and labourers. Servants, fishers, and miners, for example, all make this union their home.

In a combined effort to better the life of those less fortunate, the Hands Union and the Free Union have cooperated to support poor houses across Braided Shore.

The Northern Hands Union headquarters are located just outside the small town of Billows.

A union for those who do not belong to any other union.

The Free Union and the Hands Union have cooperated to support poor houses across Braided Shore.

A union for business owners, traders, and other mercantile professions.

There have been attempts by other unions to join discussions on export and import policies, but traditionally – and rather firmly so – those policies are only discussed by the Councils and the Merchants Union.

A union of farmers and those who tend livestock.

A union for teachers, professors, and other tutors.

A union for fishers, sailors, rafters, and brodders (brodders are the name of those who clear waterways of weed in Braided Shore).

An offshoot of the now defunct Warriors Union, the Wardens Union are the people’s peacekeepers, or a tool for the Councils, depending on who you ask. The union is sanctioned by the Councils and largely acts on their command, through the Warden Councillor. The Wardens Union does not have an official uniform, but most choose to wield a crescent when performing their peacekeeping duties.

The Warriors Union existed during the reign of the Boat King, Manas Halzhaan. When Manas commanded the Warriors Union to follow him, some refused and tried to stand up in protest against the forming of the Councils. The attempted uprising failed, and what remained of the Warriors Union became the Wardens Union.

While they still existed, the Warriors Union claimed that the Wardens Union was made up of traitors, created to guard nothing but the selfish interests of the Councils, and that it would spell the end of the monarchy.

The fact that that prediction would prove correct did little to help the Warriors Union – it is now entirely defunct. Their symbol was a single, sharp crescent.

The Crafters Union is a union dedicated to forging and pottery.

The Esoteric Union is a union of mystics, arcanists, and alchemists. It was the second union to form, and did so out of a group called the Esoterim.

The Esoterim were secretive mystics, who banded together to research and preserve arcane and occult knowledge. When rumours started to spread that the Esoterim were looking to uncover powers strong enough to rival the Sefra, and perhaps even the Winds themselves, the general public began to view the Esoterim unfavourably. Those rumours stopped when Elo Aël, brother of the Esoterim leader Raph Aël, married Monarch Sylla Halzhaan, and in turn made Raph Aël her court mystic. The Esoterim enjoyed royal support from then on, and turned into the Esoteric Union – free to act in an official manner, and leaving their previous secrecy behind.

Not much is known about the Children Union – it is an unofficial union, if it truly exists at all, and its name pops up occasionally in the East. Question is – is it a union for children, or for people who work with children? The mystery remains.

The Coroners is an inquisitorial tribunal, established by the ruling bodies of Braided Shore to investigate mystical large-scale events.

The original Coroners were established by Issa Halzhaan in the early Fourth Age, to handle the investigation of the Kasa Massacre.

The Coroners of the Fifth Age were reestablished by the New Foundry Council, to investigate the Kasa Incident. As such, the Coroners are the ones responsible for barring Kasa, subsequent to the Incident.

It is possible, though unlikely, that the Halzhaan bloodline lives on, if one is to believe the Loyal Halzhaanists. They worship the old Halzhaan Dynasty and want a Halzhaan back on the currently non-existent throne of Braided Shore. One of the group’s focuses when it comes to Braided Shore history is that the Halzhaan Dynasty ended the Lord’s War, and united Braided Shore into one realm under a single ruler.

Most folk – if they have even heard of the group to begin with – would tell you that the idea of the Loyal Halzhaanists still being around is nothing but a rumour. But ever since the Kasa Incident, murmurs of Loyal Halzhaanist messages being found around settlements have increased.

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A group of craftspeople who worship practicality to the point of shunning all adornment.

A xenophobic, conservative organisation that seeks to keep Malku Su, Selka, and Sah Basir out of Braided Shore.

Enjoy running long distances? Then it might be a good idea to join the Smoke Runners - a group of long-distance running enthusiasts that hold gatherings to discuss and exchange running advice and techniques, and engage in some friendly running competitions.

The name of the group comes from their running rules of having the runners stop for invigorating smoke breaks now and again. Apple-weed is the current pipe weed in fashion.

Not much is known about the Wall Cult, only that they gather around fragments that have fallen off The Wall to conduct strange rituals in the dead of night. Onlookers claim to have seen rare Abat birds circling the rituals and that the cultists use spikes made of fall gems for their sinister rituals.

The Wall Cult’s insignia is that of a shepherd’s crook.

Very little is known about the Tirum Cult, apart from the fact that they wear concealed knots on each arm and leg, and that each knot represents one of the Four Winds. On the rare occasion that a person of standing has been discovered to be a member of the Cult, they have disappeared never to be seen or heard of again. Note: despite the image used, not confirmed to be related to the Cult of the Hidden Winds

A mysterious cult that seems to idolise the process of flowering and the cyclical quality of natural growth.

Some insist that members of the Kasyran cult were the first residents of Kasa and that they built the city in a pattern honouring their leader – Queen Kasyra. Some tales even go so far as to suggest that Kasyra was the mother of King Mathidas himself, although there is no evidence to support or disprove that suggestion.

“Kasyran,” has long been a term for someone born in Kasa, though natives of the city prefer to call themselves “Kasan.”

Also known as the Barefoot Bandits due to their mastery of running unheard across grass, leaves, and gravel. Most people robbed by the Jade Foot don’t know it until they check their belongings, long after the assailants are gone. Fortunately stealing while unseen seems to be the Jade Foot gang’s only interest and they are not looking for violence of any other kind.

Reclusive and strange, wearing antlers from dead deer as part of their getup. They are known to steal things, but they are completely absent from night markets, smuggling operations, and other underhanded business for profit, so what they actually do with all they steal is anyone’s guess.

The Cobalt Ribbons is a gang of bandits in western Braided Shore. In the past, the Sy family joined the gang and worked their way up in their ranks, until Hakham Sy became the gang’s leader. Kalhna Sy, the granddaughter of Hakham Sy, now leads the gang.

The Cobalt Ribbons is one of the more peaceful criminal gangs in Braided Shore, and seek to avoid conflict when possible. They are rather focused on making as large a profit as possible.

The Cinnabar Salt gang are known for their tactics that involve a lot of alchemical weapons, such as poisonous gases, flammable powders, and acid salts. Wardens all across Braided Shore warn of them being perhaps the most dangerous of all criminal gangs in the region.

Some members of the Cinnabar Salt gang wear headbands with stylised dog ears, which are mystically enhanced with knots of awareness to sharpen one’s hearing.

Stories of the feral nightstalkers of the Cobalt Wolf gang are abundant in villages around Braided Shore. Children’s stories intended to stop young ones from straying too far from their parents often feature the threat of Cobalt Wolf members abducting them and hauling them off into the Forest of Four, where the gang resides.

According to folk who have had the misfortune of running into them, the Cobalt Wolf gang are wild criminals acting like actual wolves in their hunt of unsuspecting victims. They wear lamellar armour with cobalt grass tufts stuck between the scales, to make it resemble fur.

A notorious group of ambushers, known for their ability to lie in wait for hours in the grass, camouflaged by their deep jade garb. When unsuspecting travellers come too close, the Rustle Grass gang members leap out and strike like serpents.

The Soot Spike gang’s entire conduct revolves around stealing railway woots. They are infamous for also stealing trainwarden tunics – all to better facilitate their main underhanded business.

The Shipguards is a group of mercenaries who specialise in protecting cargo and passenger ships from pirates, well known for their cobalt plate armour.

There are three noble houses in and around New Foundry

House Pelgen favours flexibility and change and lies to the southeast of New Foundry. Their colours are char and marble and their motto is “We Master Changes.”

House Nehem valorises generosity and lies in the city of New Foundry. Their colours are char and jade and their motto is “We Master Sources.”

House Yehan is a house of practicality and action, residing on the coast between New Foundry and Rivenleaf University. The Yehan colours are deep char and pure sulphur and their motto is “We Master Actions.”

The first settler of Osso-by-the-Canal is said to have been an individual by the name of Osso Droil, who lived in the Third Age. At that time, the area around the Twin Wind Canal was thick forest and impossible to traverse. Lost in the forest, Osso discovered a secret grove, where the most succulent olives grew. Together with his wife, Aliea Droil, Osso cut down an area of the forest around the olive grove, and established the first orchard of Osso.

The Droil family of today is an olive farmer family and they are known for their loud opposition to the fact that the Councils and unions are the ruling body in Braided Shore.

Their family crest is an ornate olive branch.

The Moonstone Order is a reclusive and esoteric order whose members wear heavy, shimmering garb. Anyone who wishes to join must first complete a series of trials while wearing weighted practice armour.

The Hamsham are the honour guard of the Malku oracle. Not much is known of the Hamsham – illustrations of them on Malku objects depict them wearing no armour, but rather only a thin tunic over their muscular forms.

The name Hamsham comes from the Malku words for “shield” – haman – and “silent” – sisham.

The Amrusian Covenant is a mercenary group of Selka who have renounced the main Selka government and culture. They reside in the East of Braided Shore, where rumour has it that they have been seen performing strange, ritualistic dancing dangerously close to cliff edges, as if daring the Winds to throw them off.

The Order of the Peacock once served faithfully as the royal guard of the Hab family of Rivenleaf. Now, the order has become a prestigious group that valedictorians at Rivenleaf can join, as recognition of their scholarly talents.

The Keepers of the Flame of Weld are a select group of New Foundry machinists that are entrusted with the arcane secrets of metal welding.

The individuals following the Path of the Plain Cloth live a minimalist life and shun all extravagances in life, including items made of metal.

The M.T.C. is an organisation built around the commerce of tea leaves. It mostly operates in the northwestern parts of Braided Shore. The cooperative’s most important customers are the three noble families of New Foundry and its surroundings. Whether the families really are passionate about tea, or just want to compete with the other families over who manages to get their hands on the most exclusive tea, is up for debate.

The Kasa New Shipping Company specialises in shipping cargo around Braided Shore. Their flagship is called The Golden Whale and is currently docked in Kasa, which means it is trapped in the city.

The mark of the Kasa New Shipping Company is a whale with a water stream coming out of its blowhole.

The Frontiers Railway Company is a newly founded company intent on laying private railways through the less inhabited areas of Braided Shore.

The Town Guards is a mercenary company which advertises itself as an alternative to the Wardens Union, in small towns and villages where Wardens might be scarce.

The Subo family is a reclusive family whose members live in the mountains on Foundation Peak. Due to their isolation and unwillingness to relinquish any information about themselves and their lives, rumours about the family are many.

They do usually send the younger members of their family to Rivenleaf University, but there too, members of the Subo family are known for their aversion to socialisation.

Their sigil is a four-winged bat.

Pacivity is a group made up of younger folk who collect old weapons and melt them down, to make tools and metal objects not intended for inflicting violence.

Can you tell the mundane from the miraculous? Let us see...

The tying of magical knots is the most common magical practice in Braided Shore. The gestures of tying, the final shape of the knot, and the reagents tied into it are what gives a magic knot its power. There are many kinds of magical knots and their effects are usually released the instant they are untied.

Knots are also what Braided Shore folk use for writing. Messages, poems, letters, history, and literature – whatever needs to be put down, is done so in a knot.

When a magical knot is tied, alchemical reagents are wrapped around the knot, or the knot is coated in the reagent, to produce the desired effect. Sometimes, mystical “words of making” need to be spoken to create a magical knot as well. It is believed that these words of making are related to the knot symbols.

The single knot is the least complex knot, and a more complicated version of a single knot is called a double-banded knot. The two-folded knot is a reinforced, intricate knot that only master knotmakers can create. The open knot is a reactive knot that can absorb, or react to, outside forces.

The Khelims are a mysterious group of people who wander Braided Shore, traditionally making repairs and solving problems. Once thought disappeared, they have lately been seen across the land again.

According to scattered stories, many generations ago there existed a self-ordained caste of travelling master crafters that people came to call “Khelims” – a word meaning “dandelion.” The word was chosen based on how the settled people saw the Khelims – seeds on the Winds, going where the breeze took them.

The Khelims went from place to place, serving with their crafting skills, leading the work of construction projects and the like. As towns and cities grew and the Councils formed during the late Halzhaan Age, the Khelims gradually disappeared. Now, however, the Khelims have reappeared, as if walking straight out of Braided Shore legend. Some point out a curious synchronicity between the Kasa Incident and the reemergence of the Khelims.

Khelims mainly communicate using a fluid sign language. They do not generally lack a voice, however, and use it if a situation calls for it.

The spirit world is made up of three realms: The Sea of Despair, the Bitter Barrens, and the Meadow. It is believed that souls that pass into the spirit world carrying negative emotions must first find peace, before entering the Meadow. After their rest in the Meadow, souls can cross over to the Outer Sea.

Three great spirits rule over the three realms of the spirit world - Sea Beast, Swamp Fiend, and Whisper Spirit.

Between dream and reality, on the border between the Outer Sea and Braided Shore, lies the Halfway Teahouse. It is a mythical place where voyaging souls meet, share adventures, and drink tea.

Maisu are demons from the Bitter Barrens. They are creatures of spite, fuelled by wickedness and ill tempers.

Objects can be possessed by maisu, and when that happens, it corrupts the object in question. Demons in general prefer possessing objects that have movable joints, such as dolls, foldable furniture, or – in very rare cases – Elden machinery. Possessed machinery often tries to hide its possession and continues to work as normal, but the result of its work tends to show proof of it.

Maisu are demons, not folk, but they are capable of complicated emotions nonetheless, such as regret and remorse. While they are not able to possess people or animals, they can inflict sickness, and physically harm them.

Summoning a maisu is mostly done intentionally, but tales suggest that there have been instances when they also appear spontaneously. If that is the case, no scholar has been able to determine how or why. Demon summoning is no easy feat, and many failed would-be summoners have sown the rumour that perhaps maisu do not exist at all.

The Sefra are a curious group of powerful spirits with unclear motives. Their roles among the folk of Braided Shore are many – they are sometimes worshipped, or at least receive supplicants, and some of them lead communities as oracles or guides.

The legends and stories about the powers of the Sefra are numerous – often tales about wondrously good deeds, but other times telling of a more nefarious side to the Sefra. Due to the Sefra’s unwillingness to specify their intentions – if they even have any as a collective – their presence is often viewed with suspicion and sometimes even spite or violence.

Winds and Half-Winds are the main forces of positivity and negativity in Asken belief. The four cardinal Winds – North, South, West, and East – are praised and lauded, whereas the Half-Winds – Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast – are seen as bad omens.

Folk who can interpret and shape the Winds are called windvoices and they are often employed on larger ships for their skills. They use portable tools called windvoice wheels to gauge storms approaching. A "boatmaster" is someone who is both a windvoice and the captain of a ship.
Winds and Half-Winds are a large part of everyday life in Braided Shore and, as such, they are part of everyday conversation as well – the words “Wind” and “Half-Wind” are used for both positive and negative emphasis.

Omin are small nature spirits that often shy away from folk, unless given offerings. Such offerings are sometimes put out at night by common folk who hope for the blessings of the omin. In addition to such blessings, which the omin may or may not give, the small spirits sometimes also leave simple gifts in return for folks’ offerings.

Some legends speak of mighty omin, of great serpents and mountain kings, but most accounts are of diminutive, timid creatures with a penchant for mischief.

The Four Winds influence the changing of the seasons in Braided Shore, as well as many factors crucial to people’ everyday lives, economy, and safety. To support the people of Braided Shore, windvoices walk the land in small groups or on their own, looking to balance the Winds in people’s favour, and limit the damage from Half-Winds.

Windvoices are often employed on ships for their skills. A windvoice who is also the captain of a ship is called a “boatmaster.”

No one knows what creates a kettem, but legend has it that they form when Half-Winds pick up driftwood, infusing it with their malicious energy. What truth lies in those legends is unclear, but the fact remains that creatures made of wooden debris walk Braided Shore, and that folk call them kettem.

People debate whether kettem are simply energy held together by the Winds or if they are sentient beings. There are enough stories telling of powerful kettem who have been heard speaking the Vellan language to make the latter seem the more probable, and possibly more unsettling, case.

How you got here is less important than where your heart directs you now...

The Asken folk came to Braided Shore in the Age of Settlement, arriving from what is simply called “the Oldland” now. When the Asken civilization of the Oldland fell, some managed to flee. The few who survived – mostly children – blew ashore in Braided Shore. There, Sefra took care of the Asken folk, and helped them settle and prosper into the sprawling civilization they are today.

Asken folk vary in height and build, as well as in skin, hair and eye colours. Their clothing mostly depends on their culture, social status, and occupation.

The Malku Su – a strong and hardy people twice the height of Asken folk – come from an island which most Asken folk call Malku island or the Malku lands. There, the climate is much harsher than in Braided Shore, with storms and seasons of snow, and where the south of the island is covered in majestic mountains.

A love for spicy and well-seasoned food is a hallmark of Malku Su culture. In that vein, the game of hahtat – which is a hot food eating competition – is a Malku Su invention. The Malku Su also favour physical prowess. For example, they have an ancient tradition of competitive wrestling.
In the homeland of the Malku Su, trade does not work as it does in Braided Shore – it is coin-based, rather than mostly bartering. Coins of alabaster, stamped with the mark of the Malku oracle, are used to represent trade value, due to the rarity of the rock in Malku lands.

The Malku Su also have strong gift-giving customs – something to keep in mind if one is looking for companionship with one.

The Sah Basir are a nomadic, seafaring people and their majestic clan ships are easily spotted the rare times they make landfall in Braided Shore. Sah Basir vaguely resemble birdlike humanoids and are of similar height to most Asken folk.

In the early Third Age, when Asken folk first encountered stray Sah Basir, some assumed them to be ocean spirits. Without means of communicating with them, some Asken communities began worshipping the visitors alongside the Sefra, but that practice has since disappeared.

Sah Basir clothing and attire reflects their seafaring, nomadic culture. While Sah Basir sometimes make jewellery out of various metals, they most often make it out of colourful coral and seashells. Most Sah Basir clothes are made out of rough textiles and plant-fibre twine.

The Sah Basir’s secrets, which allow them to so masterfully traverse the ocean, are well-kept and attempts to know more of their customs and crafts have so far failed. Among those secrets is a mysterious way of producing a kind of textile that does not get waterlogged, and remains light even when submerged in water.

The Selka invaded Braided Shore several generations ago but very little is known about them. Most of what folk in Braided Shore know about them is based on what they barter with. They bring spices and cheese, for example, but it is unclear whether the raw ingredients and seeds are Selka in origin, or if they simply use what Braided Shore provides.

Selka in Braided Shore often love the smell of wood, which might – at least for very old Selka, or those who have arrived recently – come from a sense of homesickness. Cedar wood and cedar wood perfume come from the Selka homeland, for example.

Selka are generally secretive about their appearance, and hide underneath oversized dresses and gloves. They all have the same eye colour, which is an intense and vibrant cinnabar. The fact that they are smaller in stature than Asken folk sometimes makes others mistake them for children.

If you find something made of glass in Braided Shore, it is most definitely of Selka make. The sand in Braided Shore cannot be made into glass, and no one but the Selka has brought it there.

A strong enough white tea can brighten the moon

Little is known about where or how fall gems come to be, but they are considered the finest of gemstones and can be traded for quite hefty sums. They have remarkable colour and pattern – like the moon reflecting in deep, dark waters, or like night skies littered with stars.
They are also quite durable.

Fall gems are only found in bodies of water. They originate in the Unwound – the unmapped, unknown area beyond The Wall – and appear in Braided Shore through the great waterfall of the River Fumes.

Silkflower seeds need arcane energy in their soil. Once enough magic has been absorbed, the silkflower sprouts pale sulphur blossoms, which are used as a reagent by alchemists and mystics alike.

Master-Iron is a char-coloured metal of mysterious and incredible strength. Favoured by the Eldens and found in the ruins and remnants of their culture, no one in current times has deciphered how to create more master-iron. Only the most skilled char-smiths in Braided Shore can even work master-iron to begin with, and they are the only ones who can make new master-iron items.

Rainstone is a versatile, wondrous mineral. It is useful simply for its rainbow beauty and magical glow which emerges when the mineral gets wet, but it is also an amplifier of enchantments.

Much of Rivenleaf University is built out of rainstone, and there is a rainstone pathway there called Rivenleaf Path of Illumination, which is famous for the brilliant glow it emits when it rains.

Oil made from the versatile river-root can be used on items that are normally sensitive to moisture, and make them waterproof.

Acorns are the nuts of oak trees and they hold the essence of creation, luck, and growth.

The spiky husks of chestnuts carry the virtues of strength and force.

Jade algae is a coastal seagrass, rich in sea-seasoned restorative energies and gifts of water.

Char-mustard seeds offer warmth, focus, and clear-sightedness.

Civela leaf is the common Braided Shore tealeaf, full of mending and protective energies.

The wispy seeds of the dandelion hold secrets of displacement, trust, journeys, and fate.

The crocus root is a many-layered bulb with gifts of vitality and protection locked inside it.

Tufts of hair from beasts can be used as reagents and hold the secrets of the animal realms.

Feathers from birds hold the essence of air, speed, and the sky.

Garden balsam is a leafy green which is rich in the raw powers of nature itself.

The chalky, many-coloured shells of molluscs are infused with the raw essence of water and the stormy sea.

Pure soot is a flaky powder, pitch dark enough to summon bad weather on a sunny day.

Metal granules of woots can be used for discharging sparks and volatile energies.

The tender petals of the whispering orchid hold powers of guidance, visions, and spiritual revelations.

Alken powder is chalky and charged with qualities that ignite sparks, light, flashes, and volatile energies. It is used as one of the main components in mineral lamp oil. Alken ore is commonly found along rocky coasts.

Mirror ash leaves are silvery and full of ethereal energies, as well as powers of illusion and un-reality.

Olive leaves are fragrant and possess the essence of energy, protection, and plenty.

Driftwood dust is a Wind and Half-Wind blasted powder smouldering with occult energies.

Wind dust is a glittering powder sparkling with the essence of change, concealment, and transmutation.

Hard-edged granules make up ancient ferrite grain, and they hold secrets of conjuring equipment as well as explosive energies.

Viscous and rank, coagulated engine oil may cause changes in speed and friction.

Wall dust is a fairly recently discovered reagent. Because of this, it has not yet been explored enough to have been dealt a generic classification.

The ancient clover is an extremely rare reagent. Because of its rarity, the effects and capabilities of ancient clover have not been fully determined and classified.

As a tree can't decide when to leave, neither can you

The Bat Saha Teasole Festival uses surplus tea, which ends up in Bat Saha after the harvest months, for its festivities. Dried tea leaves are scattered in a large oak basin and participants are given special pincushion sandals to wear. After having traded for a ticket, participants are allowed to step into the basin, where they tread around the basin at their leisure. When they step out, a controller collects the tea stuck to their sandals and puts it into a festive paper pouch. It is said that you can tell your fortune in the tea mix you gather.

City rings are souvenirs that can be found in most major cities. The rings are each made of different materials, which denote its city of origin. The Kasa ring is made of tombac, the New Foundry ring is made of woots, the Ovi Talif from bakar, and the exceedingly rare Rivenleaf ring is rumoured to be made from master-iron or rainstone.

Most alcoholic beverages are prohibited in Braided Shore – a restriction that was put in place in the Halzhaan Age. The marked exception is cider, and the most famous Braided Shore cider is made in Osso-by-the-Canal.

As is often the case, restriction breeds invention – drinking alcohol is prohibited, but not eating it. Hence the, perhaps unsurprising, popularity of wine cheese.

Disks of various materials and sizes are often used in Braided Shore for a variety of practical and domestic uses. They are also used as surfaces for illustrative carvings of everything from art, to depictions of historical events and coded image-messages.

Sometimes, the function of a disk is even more elaborative. Some carve holes into disks which function as chimes when the Winds blow through them. If disks are made out of crystals, spectacular kaleidoscopes can be created with the right application of knife, light, and colour to the disk.

Glass is a rarity in Braided Shore, since the sand in the region is unsuitable for glass production.

Sand from the land of the Selka is different from the one in Braided Shore, and that one can be heated into glass. The situation of the glass-unsuitable sand of Braided Shore has given the Selka a monopoly of glass items, which is one of their biggest trade advantages. The Golden Ledger forbids the export of any raw sand from the Selka lands, so any glass found in Braided Shore is very likely of Selka make, and imported such.

Attempts have been made by court mystics – egged on by demanding princesses and covetous monarchs alike – to make Braided Shore glass, but to no avail. What did come out of those experiments was the material of alchemical porcelain, however.

There are several organisations in Braided Shore that skirt around the rules and regulations upheld by the Wardens Union. The Tabac Toe, the Cobalt Ribbons, the Soot Spike gang, and the Rustle Grass gang – to only name a few – deal in smuggling, illicit services, thievery, robbery, or worse.

Olives grow easily in Braided Shore, but the most famous olive-related products come from Osso-by-the-Canal. Ask any Ossoan, and they will tell you that their olive oil will elevate the flavour of even the simplest of ingredients.

Char-dyed clothes are sought after, due to how tricky it is to get the dye to stick properly. This has led to there being a large number of counterfeit char articles of clothing being sold by underhanded merchants, where the textile has actually been dyed with mud, and will wash out quickly.

One might think that colours have an inherent meaning to all folk who experience them, but the truth of the matter is that the different folk residing in or visiting Braided Shore have vastly differing ideas of what emotions and thoughts certain colours evoke.

For example, Asken folk see char as a colour befitting high status, and which represents wisdom and age, whereas Sah Basir see char as something ominous – the colour of a dark, stormy sky or the navigational impossibility of a starless night.

Another example is pale cinnabar, which in the North is seen as a lesser cinnabar, a colour of faded passion or cooling embers. In the South, however, pale or marble cinnabar is seen as a colour representing young, innocent passions – the colour of a first infatuation, or the first burst of flame in a fire.

The round-knot is an old symbol of family identification. Long ago, when small Braided Shore settlements had grown to the point of rivalling each other, family knots – uniquely designed for each family – were a way for travellers to prove their identity. It takes a lot of practice to learn to tie an intricate round-knot, so the ability to fashion a perfect one was taken as proof that a person was part of the family the knot belonged to and, by extension, the settlement the family was connected to.

Family round-knots are still worn for ceremonial or sentimental reasons, but they are becoming an increasingly rare sight.

The penal system of the northern cities includes worker chain gangs, where citizens can work off their debts to the community by doing hard labour, most commonly as miners, or canal and road workers. A coarse, uniquely patterned, chain gang shirt makes up a convict's uniform. When a chain gang worker has done their time, they get to keep the shirt as a reminder of their fate at the hands of justice, hopefully steering them towards a new life pursued within the confines of the law.

Gambling is often an affair of the spirit, and may have consequences far beyond a lighter purse. Hesem were once folk who at some point gambled away their possessions, clothes, name, and eventually their very souls. Now, they wander the land as husks with no purpose and no will of their own.

The servants in the Kasa Council Pavilion wear distinct vestments that date all the way back to the Halzhaan Age. The vestments consist of a slim, marble robe with an asymmetrical hem, which hangs lower in the back than in the front. A char sleeved vest is worn on top of the robe and, back in the Halzhaan Age, the crest of the Halzhaan family used to be displayed on the back of the vest. Now, the back of the vest features the knot and feather crest of Kasa instead.

The work the servants of the pavilion do varies from cleaning the floors to tending the garden or serving tea during meetings. A great amount of trust is put in the servants, who must take a strict vow of secrecy to not disclose any information revealed in the council meetings to anyone outside the pavilion. The punishment for breaking that vow is unknown, since no pavilion servant has broken their vow. As far as the public knows.

Braided Shore has not seen a citizen soldier since the final seasons of the reign of the Halzhaan Dynasty and the war surrounding the Boat King. The swiftly raised citizen soldiers in the union armies of that conflict wore differently dyed vests to make it easier for their commanders to keep track of them.

Where Kasa specialises in textile production, New Foundry has part of its industry entirely dedicated to leatherworking.

New Foundry sources its leather both from around Rivenleaf University, Osso-by-the-Canal, as well as from the western parts of Braided Shore. From all those mixed sources, the leather is then stripped, folded, and processed by machines until Foundry leather is produced.

Foundry leather can be made from any animal hide and the composition of the end result is impossible to discern – it can be anything from bovine, to canine, to even ursine in origin. It is tough and has even been known to be able to break weak blades that try to pierce it.

The court mystics – mystic advisors to the monarch – held much power and influence in Kasa during the Third and Fourth Age. Both the Old Dynasty and the Halzhaan Dynasty relied on their court mystics for advice, in both the mundane as well as the arcane.

Music instruments of all kinds are found everywhere in Braided Shore today, many of them quite intricate creations constructed with knowledge from seasons upon seasons of accumulated expertise.

The first music instruments were made with utility in mind, however, and were used to appease volatile Winds and emulate benevolent ones.

Root braids are clusters of delicately intertwined roots. Also called “gardener’s treasure troves,” root braids are only made by Deepland nature mystics, who guard the secret of their making fiercely. A healthy root braid will continually sprout new shoots, which can be picked from the braid and planted in soil.

Various colours have specific meaning to the Asken folk of Braided Shore, and much can be said by only picking the right shade for a certain intention.

🞗 Umber is the colour of mysticism and creativity, and is rooted in the bond between folk and nature.
🞗 Cobalt is the colour of eternity and sorrow, of calm, and – most notably – of death.
🞗 Marble is the non-colour of the Wind, the paleness of youth and humility.
🞗 Sulphur is the colour of the sun, and the passing of time – of learning, culture, and achievement.
🞗 Cinnabar is the colour of blood, fire, and passion – of life and the beating heart.
🞗 Char is the colour of nobility and seniority – of singularity, mastery, and wisdom.
🞗 Orchid is also known as royal cobalt, and is the colour of the Halzhaan Dynasty, therefore representing leadership as well as sociability and persuasion.
🞗 Jade is the colour of harmony and healing – of reflection.

Trade in Braided Shore is handled through bartering. However, there are goods that are mainly used for trade and little else, such as simple blocks of minerals. Often, though, the minerals have been carved into decorative objects.

Objects of jade and marble are prized for their beauty and shifting nuance, sulphur for its bright colour and brilliant translucency, charcoal for its hardness and reliability, and cinnabar for its striking brightness.

Figures and precious things cobalt – and especially orchid – in colour carry with them an air of regality and aristocracy.

When it comes to metal objects, the rarer the metal, the more it will fetch you to barter with – master-iron being the most coveted, if you can even find one such object to part with. The same can be said for things made of the rare and wondrous rainstone – a dark mineral which shines magnificently in rain – and glasswares, which are always from beyond Braided Shore and generally of Selkan make.

Everyday life in Braided Shore runs according to a moon cycle of seven days, with the moon phases named as such: Flowing Crescent, Flowing Half Moon, Flowing Oval, Full Moon, Ebbing Oval, Ebbing Half Moon, and Ebbing Crescent.

Ailments of the teeth are the only ones that magical teas and other remedies seem entirely unable to cure. Something about enamel simply refuses to be affected by restorative magic. For this reason, it is advisable to always clean your teeth before going to bed.

The Sefra challenge of “flying fools” is a cider-drinking game with a quite dangerous reputation. However, part of the game is the tremendous rewards offered to a winner, and so it naturally becomes irresistible to many. Only one person is said to have ever won a game of flying fools against a Sefra.

The Last Resort is an infamous prison barge. The prisoner-sailor inmates of the barge receive cinnabar marks on the palms of their hands, which are impossible to remove.

Passage is a card game made to tell the story of the Asken folk’s passage to Braided Shore, hence the name of the game. The idea is that, for every card laid down, a piece of Asken folk history is invoked, picking at the spirits of the Asken ancestors. Gambling in a game of passage is risky – every bet is done with a piece of one’s soul and, as such, threatens to hollow the gambler out, eventually leading to the horrible fate of transforming into a Hesem.

The game of sota is a casual game which uses trump cards.

The various parts of Braided Shore have developed different culinary preferences over generations and where a certain food is enjoyed can generally be sussed from some overall flavour indicators. Folk in the East of Braided Shore prefer robust, rich flavours, while in the West they enjoy things that are bitter. In the South, the preference is briny food, while folk in the North like things to be refreshing and bright.

The carpet of a room can change its entire atmosphere. Colour has meaning, and varies from culture to culture, but if you ask an Asken where to put what colour carpet, the answers might be as follows.

For a kitchen or party area, choose a cinnabar carpet – it is, after all, the colour of passion. A meditation area or tea room might benefit from the healing and reflection inspired by jade. A library or study needs a sulphur carpet, since it is the colour of learning and culture, whereas a char carpet – with its evocation of seniority and status – suits a dining or living room. For a children’s room, choose marble – the colour of humility and youth – a choice that also suits your outhouse. Sitting rooms and hallways do well with a cobalt carpet, to calm the mind with its serenity. An umber carpet is a good choice for a vestibule and workshop, since it stimulates creativity, and makes one think of nature.

One might wonder what carpet to put in one’s own bedroom, after this rundown. A bedroom is a personal space and, as such, whatever suits the person sleeping in it is the perfect colour carpet for them.

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Thanks for browsin'! Hopefully you found some tasty morsels to nibble on this glorious gem of a world we've been given. I invite you to dive into more with the various Kickstarter and Steam Announcement posts collected here as well:

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2573415403

- Mister Wekonu