Isilsolar

*Population:* 7,000

*Founding Date:* Unkown

*Primary Religion:* Celine, the Silver Lady

*Minor Religions:* Eldath, Goddes of Peace and Shar, Goddess of Darkness and Loss

The Golden City of Man or the Holy City, Isilsolar was once a garrison for great armies of the old world and beacon of civilization, similar to how Nephus was once a beacon of commerce. They believe that might makes right, as long as that might is grounded in virtue and purity of the soul. Now ruled as a theocracy by Celine, a fallen angel, it remains an island of light amidst the darkness of the Old Realm.

It is known for the legions of plate armor soldiers known as the Shining Knights that it uses as standard warriors. They are also known for their powerful clerics, artisans, and attachment to the divine. A pirestess of Pelor, Eldath, sacrifieced herself to protect the grounds of Isilsolar from the Fall, though the minds of its citizens were still battered.

Local Dungeons: Glade of Eternity, Crystal Monastery, Knight's Proving Ground

**Recovery from the Fall**

The history of Isilsolar is recorded almost hours after the chaos of the fall was banished. The city reeled from the mental strain they had all endured. Most terrible of all, news of the royal family's suicide mere moments after peace was restored threw the city in to a dire panic. The Shining Knights were leaderless and panicked like everyone else.

The people of the city then saw a birlliant white light strike down from the heavens. Almost like a comet, a silver light flashed from above and impacted the grounds just before the city gates. Those close enough to investigate found a celestial being. A sort of angel named a Solar, it called itself Celine. She dclared that she had been sent to protect this city and lead it. Together, they would rebuild the old world. Celine entered the city and met with the remaining leaders. Her presence banshed panic and restored peace.

Hours later, the surviving council declared Celine a fit replacement for the King and declared the Church of Celine to be the new governing body. Early concerns eased when Celine addressed the people. They found her to be kind and wise. Many still grumbled, but did not fear tryanny.

**Containment of Nephus**

Weeks after Celine's arrival, messengers from Nephus arrived to re-establish communications. Somewhat surprised at the renewed faith of the city, they told Celine of the strange disease spreading throughout the city and they would appreciate any aid she could spare. Celine dispatched a company of knights to follow the messenger back and report on what they found. Three months later, a somewhat diminished number of kngihts returned to tell that the city was plagued by monsters. This disease turned men into frog-monsters that could create even more monsters.

Celine was no scholar of evil, but knew that such a plague in the dis-orderly land could only cause havoc. By 4 A.F., Nephus formally asked Isilsolar for aid. Celine order the city to be quarantined and the bridges to the north and west of Nephus destroyed. Outrage by the people of Isilsolar was quelled by the stern warning of Celine as to what this plague could do. Mortified by the choice, they went along with it. Pleas came from Nephus for the next 10 years for aid, but none ever came. Celine declared Nephus a hollow city in 15 A.F.

**Rumors of Evil and the Noxmarsh**

During the Slaadi Plague of Nephus, Celine had begun feeling a dark presence just beyond her sight. Somewhere to the east, in what was formerly a grassland, a darkness had grown. Scouts reported that a great marsh, toxic by smell, had replaced the forest.

In 6 A.F., cartographers officially revamped the map of the area to include this place they now called the Noxious Marsh, or the Noxmarsh. Amidst that swamp, an old fortress stood. Made of stone as black as midnight and guarded by sleepless golems, it lorded over the nearby terrain.

Celine now watched both Nephus and the Noxmarsh with a close eye. Decades passed, Nephus festered and darkened while Isilsolar grew great and powerful. The city's faith and love for Celine gave them an ideal. They could believe that not all the gods were dead, for this angel had fallen to aid them in their darkest hour.

Many pressed the Silver Lady for knowledge of what happened to the gods and why so few other divine beings could be found, but she never spoke.

**Taming of the Northern People**

The mountains valleys to the north once had many humans living among them, but now they had devolved to barbarity. Though Isilsolar was stable, they could do little to tame the wilderness. Celine's mission of restoring the old world began moving in 103 A.F.

Led by the priest Dionae, diplomats and holy men from Isilsolar traveled north and spoke at every village they could find. Most villages welcomed them as friends, but some had no interest in other people. The clerics did not want to dissapoint their Silver Lady and pressed onto these people, sometimes facing open hostility to their presence.

Dionae quickly realized the problem in these villages. Wherever he went, whoever he spoke to he could smell the faintest trace of sulpher upon the lands. His suspiscions of demonic influence were confirmed in 107 A.F. when a sick man proved to be possessed by a powerful demon.

Dionae returned to Isilsolar for four months and counciled with the church leadership. He recieved further training and was armed with holy water, incense decanturs, and a holy artifact from before the Fall known as Talisman of Ultimate Good. Using these tools, the priest drove out the demonic infestation and won the trust of the Northern People. They would not join Isilsolar, but they would cooperate with their wills and call their people friend.

**The Holy Mandate and Growth**

By 135 A.F., all regional groups had been contacted or discovered. Celine declared that it was time to take their message to the wider world. A recruiting drive began, hiring many more clerics, holy men, and paladins to explore the world and spread word of Isilsolar's justness. This Holy Mandate was stirred the city into a religious fervor that had not been seen since Celine's first arrival. The SIlver Lady was, to the people, the old world's promise made flesh. How could anyone speak ill of her?

Ships made from the rivers to the south and reached outwards to the high seas. Many stuck to coastal waters and reached distant towns such as Trickletown and Azuran. Fifty years the mandate stood and for fifty years Celine's devoted spread word of her majesty and power. Many traveled back to Isilsolar to set up a new life and Isilsolar grew. A smaller town was established to the east of Isilsolar. Devotee it was called. Much smaller and not nearly as glorious, it is often used as a rest stop for those journeying to and from Isilsolar. By the year 227 A.F., word had spread up and down the coast and trade fluorished like no other. However, Isilsolar's message had yet to penetrate the inland recesses of Alduroum.

**Celine's Absence and the Silver Principles**

Celine's theocracy had brought great things to Isilsolar and the people who called themselves servants to it. However, between the years 245 A.F. and 278 A.F., many saw the SIlver Lady retreat inward. Increasingly she spoke to planar beings and other kingdoms. In 282 A.F., Celine departed the city altogether, telling her people that events on another plane required her attention. She instilled a council to lead. Those who took over in her absence had failed to ask when she might return.

Absent from the streets of her common people, the rampant religious fervor stirred previously still burned and was now untethered by their lady's absence. The princes, clergy leaders, and clerics she placed to lead for her day-to-day took strict readings from the Silver Lady's lectures, teachings, and examples. A series of laws were codified into the Silver Principles in 297 A.F. Many feared that Celine's absence may let the trail of darkness filter into their city. The Silver Principles introduced new "morality" laws and restricted some activities such as gambling, disorderly conduct, and also banned the possession of weapons and powerful magical items by non-clergy members. A small footnote also created a class system where clergy members were favored for housing considerations.

Many citizens were put off by these laws and made a point to ignore them as best they could. Not wanting to break the law, but not wanting to wear the dress codes mandated on clergy memebers, or wanting to continue imbibing, many skirted the law by remaining indoors or avoiding city guards. This motion was quickly detected by the new leaders of the city, led by the newly penned Inquisitor Hollis, gave orders to Captain Barnaby Hallard, leader of the Shining Knights, to crack down on "un-rightous behavior". Significant protest can be found in the recordings of public meetings between the two, but Hallard followed orders. Few were arrested, but fines were handed out in stacks measured in feet. This action only bred resentment.

Where this action was the most harshly recieved was Devotee. Still subject to the city's laws, it had developed its own culture as a trade town, a mixed populace, and a loose approach to faith. This crackdown resulted in a legion of Shining Knights based in the city for the sheer amount of citations handed out (some suggested 4 out fo every 5 people had recieved a penalty of some sort). Protests occured and were broken up. In 300 A.F., people began joining what was being called "alternative faith". Small church groups were begun in the shadows. Some of these were disguised as rituals to Eldath, when truly they were parties with a large amount of wine flasks. Other were more sinister. Cultists of Shar, sent by the King of Bones had moved across the river and now promised freedom and indulgence to the people of Devotee and Isilsolar. Instead of a demanding god, their new goddess encouraged them to live free and wild.

Meetings between Hallard and Hollis show that these new groups came up often in discussion and neither of them trusted this. Some minor research showed that the deity now being worshipped was "not of the light". In the later months of 301 A.F., an offensive was carried out by priests and clerics, reinforced by the Shining Knights, to clear Isilsolar of these cults. Many were found and taken to prison and cults were broken up. However, the same efforts would not be as successful in Devotee.

When they dragged away the priests of Shar, they screamed that this is how Celine faced down adversity and competition: imprisonment. They made accusations of tyranny. These claims were heard by the people of Devotee. A rift was built between Devotee and Isilsolar, so much that in 303 A.F. the community leaders of Devotee changed the town's name to Holliston, an insult that the Hollis line will remember: their lineage caused this rift. Even when the Inquisitor repealed the Silver Principles, Holliston still had the message of Shar in their ears. Cultists of Shar found a home in Holliston and they continue tooperate in secret. Rumors say that a single cultist cell exists within the walls of Isilsolar to this day.

In the meantime, Celine was still missing. A city that had been broken by the loss of its god, it had left the wellfare of its soul in Celine's hands. The Silver Lady could discern a single lie from a year of words and limited powers of foresight, but she failed to see the damage her sudden departure would cause. Eldath rose as a popular deity in Celine's place.

**Celine's Return and Hallard's Crusade**

Celine returned to Isilsolar in 315 A.F. Almost 30 years since she left, she was troubled to hear what had happened. Immeadietly, she reached out to the people of Holliston, but she was too late. Holliston had become a mixed community with Elves, Dwarves, Lizardfolk traders, and even the occasional Halfling band. This town was no longer the pure community of worshippers. Indeed, many forgave her, but even more had arrived within the past 10 years and knew nothing of her love and had no stake in her worship. Holliston was lost to the Silever Lady, even if it was under her dominion.

Celine embraced the church of Eldath and welcomed their worshippers. Some grumbled it was to save face, but others believed Celine merely wanted to help the people of Isilsolar. If they found peace in another heart, so be it.

Decades passed and the world spun on. The Hallard line held onto the Shining Knights, so much so that it was refered to as "the royal line at arms". Celine picked up on the people's feelings and instilled Elizabeth Hallard, captain of the watch, as her personal military adviser in 398 A.F. Three years later, Hallard requested Celine to allow 5,000 Shining Knights to accompany her on a crusade across the mountains. She had recieved a dream from Eldath saying that a great kingdom of man was in danger.

Celine allowed Hallard to depart. Hallard took this substantial army around the mountains, eventually reaching Ganzorig Hall in time to save them from the Giant armies of Grandmaster Grore'kin. Hallard would remain in Ganzorig for five years more and become close friends with Jerol Halmut, elite captain of cavalry, bringing him and several other horse riders back to Isilsolar to bring cultural understanding between the two.

**Present Day**

Isilsolar is the strongest human kingdom in the land and is revered as the guardian of mankind across Alduroum. The evil of Nephus worries the SIlver Lady much and she has instructed the Shining Knights to double their numbers, fearing they may soon come to blows with the growing forces of Slaadi and undead.

A treaty has been discussed between Ganzorig Hall, Isilsolar, and Trickletown. This three way understanding would be a trade pact as well as a promise of aid. Ganzorig brought this offer forward, as it is the most pressured by armies of Mongrel folk. Trickle town has not been eager to accept and Celine knows that one more armed obligation may be the weakness that her enemies across the river are looking for.

Celine is now six-hundred years older than when she fell and some grow worried. Rumor on the street says their maiden is paranoid. She stays in the Crystal Monastery, staring to the southeast. Even among these worries, she continually tells her advisers of a great evil to the east, in the Noxmarsh. Something she now recalls as familiar from before the Fall, but is still uncertain of.

Across the Old Realm, there is the sense that a storm is coming. The peace they live in feel sshort-lived and soon it may collapse upon them in a downpour of spear and splintered shields.