Stormkeld

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> The Stormkeld
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> The Domain of the Sky Lords
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> Details
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> ### Type
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> Prime Echo
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> ### Parent Plane
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> Prime Material
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> ### Alignment
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> Unaligned
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> ### Ruler
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> Sky Lords
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> Section Header
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> ### Landmarks
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> Eye of Incus
> Khartoum
> Mount Seluvar
> Venholde
> Vindvirki
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> ### Denizens
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> Arclight Phoenixes
> Cloud Giants
> Lightning Elementals
> Rocs
> Storm Giants
> Tempest Harts
> Yggdrasti
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> "Hark! Hear the rolling fields of rain and wonder! Hark! The Stormkeld sings hymns of Sky and Thunder!"
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> - Virdi Skyseer, *Glory of the Giants*
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The **Stormkeld**, also known as the **Plane of Storms** or simply **the Keld**, is an **echo** of the **Prime Material Plane** situated within the **Skysea** of **Araam Vestii**. It is a domain of swirling clouds and unceasing storms, barely contained by the dominating will of the **Sky Lords**, where creatures of mist and lightning frolic and unfettered magic creates world-sundering displays of primal power.

## Description

Much like the Feywild or the Shadowfell, the Stormkeld is an echo of the Prime Material plane. But where the planes of emotion and apathy are mirror images of Araam Vestii, the Stormkeld instead exists in tandem with the world below. It possesses its own topography, landmarks, and climate, while the creatures that inhabit it are broadly unique to the plain and formed from the rampant elemental energy diffused within it.

The Stormkeld is a plane of wind and mist. Both its ground and sky are made of clouds, with the space between comprised of breathable air that pulses with electricity and constantly smells of ozone. The majority of the plane is covered by expansive fields of clouds, with "forests" of giant ruins and rivers of rainwater. Occasional hills and mountains of clouds reach towards the sky in vast, miles-tall ranges, creating permanent storms where the two layers meet. These mountains are often topped by cloud and storm giant fortresses, which only act to amplify the elemental releases of these places.

Being in many ways an elemental plane, the Stormkeld is beholden to the influence of especially powerful creatures. Many elemental vortices and lightning storms appear around these beings. Where the most potent and influential creatures reside, the full power of the storm is unleashed. Arcs of lightning repeatedly join the ground and sky in these places, deafening those who linger and filling the air with electricity. Elementals often gather in the periphery of these unceasing storms, feeding off the latent energy and fueling them further with their presence.

The climate of these regions varies greatly. Where magic is weakest and powerful beings are few, fields of puffy, white clouds and broken, sunny skies frame a middle of gentle breezes and warm rain. These areas are known by many names. The biggest of these, residing above the Azur Rift, is home to the famed floating city of Khartoum, where ancient magic is traded regularly and races from across the breadth of the planes gather to barter, trade, and discuss. Where magic is more potent and rivaling Sky Lords grapple for influence, the ground roils with energy while the sky unleashes torrential, freezing rain and blasts travelers with cutting gales. The most notorious of these places surrounds the ancient Cloud Giant fortress of Vindvirki, the home of the ancient cyclopean smith, Steropes.

Gravity exists on this plane; up leading towards the Infinite Above; down leading towards the lithosphere of Araam Vestii. Due to the unique nature of the plane, its borders are fairly amorphous and a significant amount of bleeding occurs. This, coupled with the scattered nature of the Stormkeld, gives the plane the rare privilege of being separated from the Divine Gate. Because of this, it is incredibly easy to wander to and from the Stormkeld, and those who wander the highest elevations of the world will often find themselves entering and exiting the plane throughout their lives.

To reach the Stormkeld with the plane shift spell, one requires a planar fork of steel. It is generally regarded as safe to plane shift to this plane, though travelers are advised to exercise caution given the rampant electrical storms and elemental vortices that can make unprepared travel an instantaneously deadly endeavor.

Travel within the plane itself is far more dangerous. Whether moving across rolling fields of clouds or trekking through the unceasing gales of the Sky Lords' wake, one must always be watchful. Stromnhai and blue dragons often prey on the careless and unprepared, while gaps in the cloud floor can spell a sudden and precipitous end for the imperceptive.

Besides mundane travel through mountain ranges and skyships, the Stormkeld can also be reached through portals, though few permanent portals exist naturally. One exists in Aerith, within the forgotten halls of Memnor, while another exists within the unfettered power of Mogis.

Very rarely, elemental vortices can form temporary portals directly connecting the Prime to the Stormkeld, usually from sudden storms and hurricanes directed by the Spiteful God.

## Rulers and Governments

Given the highly dispersed nature of the Stormkeld, it is difficult to say who exactly claims dominion over the entire plane. Local governance is typically ascribed to powerful elementals, cloud giant remnants, or influential robber barons, though much of the Keld is wilderness with no concept of hierarchy. What little structure exists in the plane is ascribed to the few beings whose wills can directly influence the Stormkeld. There are two parties that can claim this power, being the mighty and varied Sky Lords, and the aloof Spiteful God.

### The Sky Lords

The Sky Lords are a loose collective of powerful creatures that are said to rule the Stormkeld. It is unknown how many Sky Lords truly exist, as the plane is an ever changing and incredibly volatile place. However, if the known and established Lords are to be used as a metric, these beings are unfathomably ancient and immeasurably influential.

The most prominent Sky Lords include Ataar, Prince of Khartoum; Steropes the Lightning Bringer; the elder tempest, Kudakai; and Ehtvir, the Last Son of Memnor. They rule from various places of power and landmarks within the Stormkeld, bending their surroundings to their will.

### The Spiteful God

Angry and terrible, aloof and alluring, the God of the Sea and Storms is a fickle mistress with little care for anything but power and destruction. She bends the waves and winds to Her will, amassing great and terrifying tempests that sunder armadas, shatter civilizations, and sink continents. As such, despite the undeniable influence of the Sky Lords, it is widely accepted that She reigns supreme within this plane of lightning and thunder. There are many locations that Her followers regard as holy sites within the Keld, veiled by raging storms that have claimed the lives of innumerable pilgrims.

It is because of Her obvious influence and the nature of the plane that some dispute the Spiteful God's residence in Thalassos. There exist a few sects of Her faith that claim She holds court within the wild tumult of the Stormkeld, though none can agree on where. Some believe her to be resting within the fluffy peaks of Mount Seluvar, where Her dreams conjure wind and hail that scour the world. Others claim she is imprisoned within the swirling Eye of Incus, unleashing her wrath on the seas below. Regardless of where She may exist, many make pilgrimages to the Keld, hoping to find and commune with their Mistress or Her servants.

### Lesser Rulers

While scholars of the Lands Below debate the wills of gods and titans, the denizens of the Stormkeld live their day to day lives free from care and authority. Within the hinterlands of the Keld, far beyond sight of the fabled sky fortresses, elementals frolic within stormclouds, fae play pranks on drifting skyships, and stormriders rocket between the anviltops. These wilds hold many beings that claim petty holdings and exert their minor wills on those who pas sthrough their territories. They range from ancient and wise high fae, keeping eternal vigils over their leystones, to witty and adventurous sky pirates and their diverse robber barons. These minor powers are beholden to the will of the Keld, lacking the mighty will to command the volatile plane. Their domains drift and change within the Skysea, with entire nations vanishing in a single downpour, and new petty kingdoms rising from the sea. To try and document the lesser rulers of the Stormkeld is to count sand on the shore: a monumental exercise in pedantry more likely than not to be undone long before its completion.

## Landmarks

The sparse and scattered nature of the Stormkeld makes for few permanent landmarks. Most of what is to be found in this expanse of air and mist is of natural make, formed by the whims of the Wind and Rain. What few permanent locations exist here are often remnants of the former cloud giant empire, either left to fade into obscurity or maintained by their eternally vigilant Aarakocra charges.

### Eye of Incus

The Eye of Incus is an eternal maelstrom permanently raging within the Green Ocean. It is a significant barrier to anyone attempting to journey between Rhondil and Eisheim, residing over one of the most direct routes between both continents. Its existence has done little to hinder trade between the continents, though, despite the high number of ships that wreck upon its shores and subsequently wash up on the Isle of Wights.

### Khartoum

The ancient sky fortress of Khartoum resides within the Plains of Khartol, drifting above the ever peaceful and warm Azur Rift. Ruled by the steady hand of Ataar, it is a bastion of wealth and civilization within the endless fields of clouds. Its golden halls and enchanted walkways are said to be the greatest wonders of architecture to survive the Unmaking, home to creatures taken directly from Archon myths and storing artifacts of incomparable power.

### Mount Seluvar

The Stormkeld has a varied topography, prone to constant change and wild fluctuations in elevation bereft of the natural sense of the Lands Below. Without plate tectonics to dictate what land forms appear where, it is not unheard of for a mountain to appear in the middle of an expansive plane, or a tremendous rift to open up beneath a sky fortress and send it plummeting into the sea.

Mount Seluvar is one of these oddities. A massive, miles-tall anvil top cloud reaching towards the sky, it is a rare constant in the ever changing wilds of the Keld. Situated within the Sea of Mists, near the Básmor Isles, it is a permanent source of wind, rain, and lightning within the already tumultuous sea. Many lesser civilizations make their homes among the swirling clouds that surround the mount, carried along by wind currents that frequently tear cities apart of smash them together with the reckless abandon of the uncaring storm.

### Venholde

The ruined sky fortress of Venholde is an ancient repository of artifacts, as well as the final resting place of the cloud giant prince Ehtvir, the Last Son of Memnor. Situated atop an astral rift, wild magic is diffused within the earth and stone of the castle, distorting time and reality for all who enter.

In 1020 E-V Ascendant, a group of adventurers ventured from Khartoum, across the Dah'Azzad Expanse, and into the fortress. They managed to defeat Ehtvir and extract a variety of artifacts from the ruin in the name of Ataar. Since this defeat, his influence has been severely diminished, his consciousness struggling to reform within Aerith due to his Father's grief.

### Vindvirki

The sky fortress of Vindvirki is a cloud giant castle abandoned since the Era Antiquity. One of the many holds destroyed by the forces of Tiamat during the Slahtr, it has been under the care of the Virkol clan of Aarakocra since its fall. It is home to the Forge of the Lightning Bringer, the greatest artifact of Steropes, an ancient cyclops said to be a child of Annam, imbued with his mastery of runecraft and smithing.

## Denizens

Every region of the Stormkeld is filled with one form of life or another. Most of the creatures that inhabit this realm are elementals of air and lightning, who reside within and between the clouds and sustain themselves on the latent energies within. These creatures can take on a variety of shapes, from fabulous arclight phoenixes to majestic tempest harts.

Most fauna found here are native to the wider Skysea. Stromnhai and kindori roam the clouds and expanses of blue sky in sizeable herds, while solitary rocs roost in the Lands Below, emerging into the Stormkeld in late life to merge with their beloved skies.

Among the more intelligent creatures native to this realm, cloud giants, storm giants, steam mephits, blue dragons, bronze dragons, and high fae make homes here. Djinn also commonly visit this realm, oftentimes in pursuit of business with Khartoum. Many devotees of the Glittering God venture to this realm in pursuit of kindori pods, hoping to attune with their mistress, while others use it as a rest stop between the Skysea and the blustery expanses of the Infinite Above.