For a larger view of the map, I hosted it on imgur.
CHARACTERS
Point of View:
Faerel: A light-hearted woman with a mysterious past. She has made a name for herself at the Drain due to her friendliness and cunning. The guards appreciate her ability to keep the other prisoners counseled and happy; the prisoners can't help but like her. She used to be a priestess from Ard-Abthen, long ago.
Lito Laeth: Lito, called "Little Lito" or "The Sunset Knight" was called to be a soldier at a young age from her farming life. She distinguished herself in the beginning of Altor Caeton's reign during the uprising in Glen-Clachan, and rose through the ranks. She is now the head of the city guard, waging a desperate and silent war against the Carpenter. Lito follows Fiach, the Lady of the Soil.
Dane Wrickon: Dane is a soldier in Lito's guard who struggles with his life, his direction, and his drinking. He has a fierce, long-term optimism combined with an equally strong short-term pessimism. Dane follows Aer, the Crone at the Cliffs, but he doesn't do a good job of it.
Elaene Alkalae: Elaene had success as a priestess in the Drain and in the Table at Invercard. She was called to Caeledonia to be Lito's counselor, where she is struggling considerably with the idea of impartiality.
Paene Umber: Paene, called "Parish", is the right-hand man of the Carpenter. He is a follower of Dotean, and creates liquid mixtures with a variety of properties.
Others:
Elders Aeron, Amelia, Graham: Priests and priestesses teaching at Ard-Abthen during Faerel's novitiate.
Novitiates Willow, Julian, Leah, Aria: Novices studying at Ard-Abthen at the same time as Faerel.
Vesper Grant: A short soldier who works in Lito's guard, he is incredibly strong and agile for his height.
Crick Hasting: Called "The Carpenter", Crick uses horrific torture methods in order to fuel his uprising against the current regime. He hopes to put an end to the King's programs and establish a new system, one that focuses on individuality and personal choice.
Rask Trapping: A sallow unpleasant man in Crick's employ.
Raeden Clamore: A spy for Lito Laeth, who is caught by the Carpenter.
Altor Caeton: The King Enclosed, he rules from Raven's Run and instituted a series of vocational programs that have had a polarizing effect on Olean.
Callador: A toy-tinker in Cael Proper who assists Dane with odd requests
Salva Santori: A drinking friend of Dane who works in shipping for Cael Proper, with some secret and dark connections.
Gramton Haus: A broad prisoner in the Drain with a dry wit, who is in charge of Faerel's squad.
Harrow: A rude, petulant prisoner who toils in Faerel's squad
Lewer Brown: A joker with quick fingers who toils in Faerel's squad
Roc Renner, Cisco Forell: Friends of Salva Santori's, who may also work for the Carpenter
RELIGION
Religion is a large part of the culture of Olean. The people worship five gods: one main deity and four lesser deities that any individual can choose to follow.
Fiach, the Lady of the Soil. Fiach governs the working life, and rewards those who are dedicated and faithful to a task. As such, it is easy to switch to Fiach's allegiance in life, but it is hard to switch away (as she sees this as a lack of commitment). Farmers and craftsmen often take Fiach as their emissary. Fiach's marvel is the Breaker of Oceans, the titanic and ever faithful wall that makes life on the island possible. Farmers and the like will make pilgrimages to Caeledonia to throw the best of their produce into the water as an offering to the Lady of the Soil. Followers of Fiach will wear utilitarian headbands which keep the hair out of their eyes as they work.
Uisce, the Cascade Prince. Uisce wants his followers to make other people happy. It is easy to switch to Uisce's allegiance and out again, since he will presume that you are doing it because you want to be happy, and he wants you to be happy. Bartenders, actors, and politicians (those wishing to "signal", anyway) often take Uisce as their emissary. Uisce's marvel is the Autumn Rush, a place in the landscape where the river flips vertically and goes along at speeds unimaginable. Followers of Uisce must give away something that they own that is precious to them to a total stranger. Followers will often wear a harsh and hidden corded necklace or belt to remind themselves of their commitment.
Aer, the Crone at the Cliffs, Plucky Mother. Aer wants her followers to seize life and live it to the fullest. Because of that, it is hard to switch to Aer's allegiance (as you have to really prove yourself by doing something brave, crazy, and stupid), but easy to switch away, as she will assume you are switching away to live your life in a better way. Youth will often pick Aer as their emissary, but you will see some older people with resources choose her as well. Aer's marvel is the Cliffcomb, a series of tunnels and caverns built into the cliffs where the priests live. Followers will write memories and tales of their exploits and burn them as an offering to the Crone at the Cliffs. Followers will often wear a practical bracelet, which they themselves must decorate.
Dotean, the Master with his Forge, Artisan: Dotean desires his followers to create something beautiful, often for other people and often a "luxury" item. It is hard to switch to Dotean's allegiance, as you have to prove yourself by creating a beautiful craftwork-- you dedicate such an offering to the temple. As a result, temples to Dotean are filled with clockwork wonders and trinkets. It is also hard to switch from his allegiance, as he tends to value long-term commitment. Dotean's marvel is the Drain, the bottomless chasm into which all water flows. Legend says that his workshops and forges lie at the bottom of the drain. Both in order to join and to worship, followers will craft something wondrous and decorate the temples to Aigean in the area. Followers of Dotean wear a ring, something that they themselves must make, which is usually hard to take off.
Aigean: The King in the Deep: It is known that Aigean wants his followers to be generally good people, but nobody really knows what that means, except for the priests, since most people ally themselves with the lesser deities. The priests give their allegiance to Aigean and Aigean alone, and work on making the lay people better servants of the lesser deities and better people in general. Aigean's marvel is the whole world, which he created. It seems that Aigean desires some sort of sacrifice, since all the lesser deities, one and all, demand one kind of gift or another, but what kind of sacrifice is not agreed upon. The priests and priestesses of Aigean often make one group of people their project: novitiates are assigned to Drain teams to really hone their skills, others are assigned to cities, to families, or to rulers. Unlike people who follow Uisce, goodness, not happiness, is the end goal.
Other Religious Notes:
Other Religious Notes:
Because the deities are all quite busy, people who die must wait until the New Moon, called the Solemn Vigil (or the Night of Revels, depending on how faithful you are), where they are all judged as a whole. Each person who died comes before Aigean, where the other deities act as an advocate, abstain, or act as an accuser for the soul. It is for this reason that most of the people of Olean follow one deity or another.
Because it is believed that the gods are all busy during the Vigil, you can pretty much do whatever you want that night-- if you think you can get away with it come morning.
Similarly, the full moon is a night and day when people offer what they can to the gods. These are called Gift Days.
LOCATIONS
Caeledonia: The Twin City. Caeledonia lies below the Breaker of Oceans, the titanic wall that makes the island possible. Caeledonia is divided into two distinct sections: Raven's Run, the barracks and governmental spots by the cliffs and waterfall, and Cael Proper, the residential and market districts. Both the bridge and the wall connect the two, but the wall is the exclusive property of soldiers and pilgrimages. The bridge is full of vendors, who face a difficult problem: the more stamina you have, the farther along the bridge you can push your cart and the more money you'll make off the soldiers and officials, but the more strenuous your work day is. Some governmental officials live in Cael Proper, but some life elsewhere. The majority of the regular soldiers live in Proper, but those higher up, who are closer to their jobs, life in the Run.
Ingerwald: The Fiery Forest. The natives have a name for Ingerwald that Faerel never knew, she always called it Ingerwald after the red trees. Their culture is, for the most part, unknown: certainly the rest of the island doesn't know about it. They worship animal gods, not listed in this guide.
Loch Inferior: The Drain, the Prison City. There are three main pillars that rise out of the drain, and these house the mess hall, the reception area (where new soldiers are processed), and the courtroom. The cells are located on the winding staircase that goes on the inside of the drain. Most people live in stone houses that surround the mountainous landscape.
Ard-abthen: The Cliffcomb. The priests' lives are pretty austere, as the only supplies they get are from the prisoners via the screw-- although they do have a good supply of livestock. They could live by themselves for a time, but perhaps not that long. The water they get from the Screw. They occasionally send messages down the waterfall from the upper lake, but only on dire occasions. There are four main temples in Ard-Abthen for each of the four deities, and then a large one for Aigean where they study. The journey of a novitiate is quite scary: they have to travel through Loch Inferior, to start, and then climb through a winding trail in the mountains. But it gives them a great perspective on what they need to fix in people.
Glen-Clachan: The city surrounded by farms. It literally means, the small village in the valley. The main fixture in the town is the market, which brings traffic from Caeledonia and Glen-Deoch, and the temple to Fiach, where they gather the best produce (instead of destroying it)-- and give it out to the poor in times of need or famine.
Glen-Deoch: Literally, the drinking city, this is the main luxury producer on the island. They make paper, brew beer and make wine.
Invercard: Literally, the tinkers on a river, this is where all the artistry takes place-- at least the metal artistry.
General Geography:
Loch Cnoc: This silly lake lies at the foot of the novice's section of the Comb. literally means "Hill Lake". The kids named it, and the name stuck.
Olean, the Island Beneath: Where our story takes place.
Autumn Rush: The place where the river flips vertically and speeds up.
Winter Rush: The river expands a bit more before reaching the drain.
Summer Rush: The entrance to the Rush by the Breaker of Oceans.
Spring Rush: The artificial split from the Summer Rush to irrigate Glen-Clachan and the farmlands.
