Tower of Ascension

Ruinele is the royal capital of the Barony of Varbis and the seat of the royal court. It is known for its royal government, major trade markets, magical academy, foodstuff commerce, and ambitious spelljammer infrastructure.

Ruinele was founded as the new capital of the area following Team Small's triumph over the avatar of Feng and the rise of King Varbis I. The city's public monuments preserve the official memory of Team Small, King Varbis I, the battles surrounding the founding of the city, and the construction of the new capital.

A major part of the city's royal memory is Team Small's intervention against the celestials of Lady Corinette, who attempted to arrest or assassinate King Varbis I before Team Small stopped them. This history remains one of the chief reasons Lady Corinette's faith is disliked in Ruinele and the wider Barony.

Ruinele is ruled through the monarchy and royal court of King Varbis III. The city contains the principal royal offices of the Barony and several powerful civic institutions tied to trade, magic, finance, and court administration.

Ruinele is organized around its royal core, central plaza, major trade district, arcane institutions, and expanding outer works. The modern city was built atop the foundations of Old Ruinele, whose ruins still exist beneath the streets.

Ruinele's economy is built around royal government, trade markets, foodstuffs, banking, magical research, and growing spelljammer commerce. The city uses standard currency and maintains important trade relationships with the Dwarven Holds and other distant markets.

The Merchant's Crescent contains branches of both the Bank of Gurkel and the Bank of Mephisto.

• The Bank of Gurkel is the buttoned-up Dwarven bank: stable, traditional, careful, and trusted.
• The Bank of Mephisto is wild and flexible, reflecting the eccentric nature of its founder, Mephisto.

The Meat Emporium maintains its mainland headquarters in Ruinele. The organization uses M3 magic items, modified from Heward's Handy Haversack, and a network of teleportation portals to store, transport, and distribute meat and monster parts.

The Meat Emporium partners with the University of Mephisto. Students help craft M3s as part of their studies and research improvements in meat storage, transportation, and preservation. In exchange, the Meat Emporium procures monster parts and ingredients useful for magic and alchemy.

The Merchant's Crescent is Ruinele's main trade and commerce hub. It is lined with trading guilds, import houses, artisan workshops, banks, and merchants from across the world. Glittercurd Cheese's largest seller and distributor is located here.

The Aetherport Docks are intended to make Ruinele a major regional gateway for spelljammer vessels, cosmic trade, and extraplanar goods. The Celestial Market supports this developing trade by catering to adventurers, collectors, scholars, and visiting spelljammer crews.

Ruinele has a secular royal culture centered on monarchy, civic pride, trade, and the legacy of Team Small. Religion is tolerated where it serves clear civic or practical purposes, but the faith of Lady Corinette is viewed with suspicion because of the attempted arrest or assassination of King Varbis I by her celestials.

Public traditions include gatherings and festivals at the Obelisk of Victory, limited public tour days at the Thorned Palace and Thorned Gardens, and seasonal activity around the Merchant's Crescent and Grand Bazaar.

Located in the heart of the city's largest square, the Obelisk of Victory is a towering monument commemorating Team Small's triumph over the avatar of Feng and the founding of Ruinele as the new capital city of the area.

The massive structure is intricately carved with scenes of battle involving Team Small, the angels of Lady Corinette, King Varbis I, and the construction of the city. The surrounding plaza is a popular place for festivals, gatherings, performers, merchants, and nobles.

The Thorned Palace is the home of the ruling Thorne family and one of the principal symbols of Ruinele's grandeur. Its outer walls are adorned with massive thorn-covered vines, a symbol of the royal family's name.

Visitors are allowed on certain days to tour the royal gardens and halls, though most of the inner palace remains off-limits.

The Thorned Gardens are famous for magical plants and rare fauna. They are among the most notable attractions available to visitors who are granted access to the palace grounds.

Druid Lyriana Mossveil is the royal druid in the employ of King Varbis III. She protects the Thorned Gardens and advises the court on nature and the balance of the land.

Lyriana has long auburn hair intertwined with living vines and leaves, deep emerald eyes, and a cloak of woven moss and living wood enchanted to blend with the environment. She is often seen tending the Thorned Gardens.

The Astral Bloom is a rare mystical plant from the Astral Plane. Its flowers glow with a soft silvery light, with petals shifting from midnight blue to shimmering silver. The plant floats just above the ground, its roots barely touching the soil due to subtle gravitational magic.

The Thorned Gardens display the Astral Bloom as a centerpiece inside an enchanted glass dome that replicates astral conditions. When in full bloom, the plant releases motes of light that hover in the air like tiny stars.

The Void Serpent is a rare creature from the Ethereal Plane known for phasing in and out of existence. It appears as a long, sleek, snake-like creature with scales that shimmer between deep black and dark violet.

The serpent is displayed in an enchanted glass enclosure in the Thorned Gardens. It vanishes and reappears at intervals, moving in a slow and hypnotic pattern while the enclosure prevents it from slipping fully into other planes.

Ruinele is home to the University of Mephisto, one of the most prestigious magical academies in the world. Visitors may tour some of the institute's libraries and view public exhibitions on magical history and arcane artifacts.

Adventurers may use the university for research, training, or access to its network of arcane scholars.

The Meat Emporium Land HQ is the main mainland holding of the Meat Emporium. It supports the organization's M3 magic items, teleportation portal network, restaurant partnerships, and trade in rare creatures and monster parts.

The headquarters also supports the Meat Emporium's relationship with the University of Mephisto, especially in the areas of M3 crafting, preservation research, and magical or alchemical ingredient procurement.

The Merchant's Crescent is the bustling trade and commerce hub of Ruinele, named for the curved layout that wraps around the central market. The district is filled with peddlers, ship captains, distant merchants, trading guilds, import houses, and artisan workshops.

The Grand Bazaar is a massive open-air marketplace at the heart of the Merchant's Crescent. Goods available here range from spices and food to magical trinkets and rare imported items.

The Thorne Guildhall oversees trade and commerce in Ruinele. It is run by Gregor Thorne, brother of King Varbis III.

Glittercurd Cheese's largest seller and distributor is located in the Merchant's Crescent.

Branches of the Bank of Gurkel and Bank of Mephisto can be found in the Merchant's Crescent. One represents stability and tradition, while the other offers innovation, magical flexibility, and a less predictable approach to finance.

The Aetherport Docks are an ambitious new construction project on the outskirts of Ruinele, designed to accommodate spelljammer ships. Once completed, the Aetherport is intended to become the first and largest spelljammer dock in the region.

The docks combine traditional port architecture with arcane technology. Massive stone piers are being fortified with enchanted runes, while floating platforms are under construction to allow access to ships moored high above. Mages, engineers, and artificers are developing arcane anchoring systems to prevent spelljammer vessels from drifting into the skies.

The Tower of Tethering is an elegant spiral of enchanted steel and crystal that extends skyward from the Aetherport. It emits a magical beam that latches onto incoming spelljammers and guides them into position.

The tower is visible from almost anywhere in the city and serves as a symbol of Ruinele's expanding influence beyond the world.

The Celestial Market is a newer, smaller merchant district connected to the Aetherport. It caters to exotic goods brought in by spelljammer ships and has become popular with adventurers, collectors, and scholars.

Unusual peoples such as giff, thri-kreen, and plasmoids can often be seen here.

Ruinele was built atop the foundations of an older forgotten city. Portions of Old Ruinele still exist beneath the current streets and can be reached through tunnels and catacombs.

Most of Old Ruinele is off-limits, but guided tours lead visitors into safer sections where they can view ancient chambers, murals, and artifacts from a long-lost civilization.