Aeor

→ *For the episode of the same name, see "Aeor" (2x132).*

Fan art of the floating city of Aeor, by Shawn Ballard Art.

**Aeor** was a pre-Calamity floating city that crashed in Eiselcross, which in the 830s PD was being excavated by a few outposts for the ancient relics to be found there. In its prime the city soared above the clouds and had beautiful lavender spires and prismatic cobblestones in its streets.

## **History**

Long ago, during the Age of Arcanum, the massive flying city-state of Aeor was a place of invention and magic, ruled by its mages, and considered one of the most powerful of the pre-Calamity arcane societies. Held aloft by brumestone, the bluish stone used in skyships with the property of being easily enchanted to lift, Aeor's people had grown powerful enough to create weapons capable of killing the gods. Devexian believed that their eventual development of a device called the "Factorum Malleus" or "Creator Hammer" was the cause of the gods' destruction of the city. According to Loras, an apprentice of Eldamir the Wise, Aeor was also preparing an attack on one of the smaller flying cities, Lathras.

Only Aeor was advanced enough to create automatons that achieved humanoid sentience. These constructed humanoids were called Aeormatons.

### **The Care and Culling**

At some point during the Age of Arcanum and before the Calamity (although the exact period is currently unknown), Aeorian politicians gave a number of their famous Aeormatons to different people around Exandria as some sort of a peace offering or reaching for collaboration. Those automatons worked as caretakers or helpful companions until, in one sweeping attack, they tried to kill those to whom they were gifted; not all of the succeeded, and some even survived that rebellion, but the event itself, known in history as the Care and Culling, created a precedent after which it was very rare to see Aeorian technology outside of said city (and thus it is now rare to find remnants of it far from its ruins in Eiselcross).

### **The fall of Aeor**

The city also suffered from tumult within, even as its success and growing abilities drew the ire of the gods. During the Calamity, both the Prime Deities and Betrayer Gods called a truce long enough to crash the city onto the island of Foren in Eiselcross. It was believed that there were no survivors from the fall of Aeor.

#### **Post-Divergence ruins**

Aeor was long believed to have been obliterated and its location forgotten. However, artifacts and relics from Aeor began to be discovered and started making their way into the Dwendalian Empire around 828 or 829 PD. Dwendalian, Uthodurnian, Xhorhasian, and mercenary expeditions began searching the hazardous terrain of its crash site for more. Kryn Dynasty and Empire outposts were, as of 836 PD, excavating what remnants they were able to access of the fallen city.

Caleb was able to recognize and recall that the material used to power both the golems and the collar that he recovered from the Heirloom Sphere does not exist naturally, but was utilized as an arcane battery technology that was employed by some of the top echelon of archmages during the Age of Arcanum, and that some elements of it had been traded, usually scavenged from the ruins of Aeor to the north.

Lady Vess DeRogna then offered the Mighty Nein unspecified work "in the north" to be done sometime after the War of Ash and Light peace talks concluded. When the party inquired at her residence, she asked for their assistance with an expedition to Foren to investigate Aeorian ruins for artifacts. They traveled with her there, where she was killed by Lucien and the party discovered the link between the Somnovem of the Cognouza Ward of Aeor and mysterious living city in the Astral Sea which they saw in Vokodo's dying vision.

The Mighty Nein ventured across Eiselcross in pursuit of Lucien, first coming across the A5 and then A2 crash sites. They traveled alongside the Tombtakers for a time, and learned of a secret entrance to the main crash site crater. After splitting with the Tombtakers and regrouping with other allies, the Nein ventured into the main ruin itself. The secret entrance led the party to the Praesidis Ward, and they continued travelling to the Genesis Ward. In their trip through the ruins, the Mighty Nein found evidence that the Aeorians had discovered a Luxon beacon, and had made developments in the arcane field of dunamancy. The party then made use of the Immensus Gate to travel to the Astral Sea, where they found and defeated Cognouza.

Some months after the defeat of Cognouza, Caleb Widogast and Essek Thelyss returned to Aeor to further study the ruins and report their findings to the Cobalt Soul. During this trip they destroyed materials and research enabling time travel in the T-Dock chamber of the Genesis Ward.

## **Society**

### **Language**

Residents of Aeor spoke an archaic version of Draconic; they did not speak Common. At least some could speak an archaic form of Elvish as well. This predecessor to modern Elvish was also the basis of the modern Orc language.

### **Demographics**

Most of the populace in Aeor consisted of humans and elves. The people in Aeor created living constructs called Aeormatons as companions. Those automatons would eventually fight for their freedom, becoming citizens of their own.

### **Notable people**

* **Brashaar:** One of the great mages, architect, and one of many who doomed the people by filling their minds with grandiose thoughts, drawing the ire of the gods. She was found by the Mighty Nein in a stasis bubble on the dais of the political discourse amphitheater, surrounded by long-dead and mummified residents of the city.
* **Athodan:** Information was found in the records room in the Genesis Ward. Athodan made the inspired find of "The Relic", and worked in rejuvenation. Athodan's weaving of necromantic glyph work revealed unique arcane properties, and The Magistri were said to be pleased.
* **Ayoshadaf:** An archmage who worked with Athodan studying the "Primal Artifact", channeling the seemingly limitless source of temporal transmutation. They discovered one could temporarily shunt to a point in one's own history (leaving an anchoring echo behind) and that it might even be possible to go beyond one's own timeline.
* **Devexian:** An Aeormaton that was restored to working order with the help of the Mighty Nein.
* **Bolo:** Allegedly an aspiring reporter who accompanied Loquatius Seelie to a Replenishment party in Avalir.
* **Ferol Sal:** A necromancer who was once in charge of the laboratory of Salsvault. He worked at creating arcane diseases, including an experimental one that he released when his laboratory crashed during the fall of Aeor, turning all the humanoids near him into undead. As a wight, Ferol has been working for centuries, isolated from the rest of the world, trying to create a disease able to infect and kill the deities he incorrectly assumes are still present in Exandria.

## **Notable locations**

At least some parts of the city were connected by "brume elevator", presumably lifted by brumestone.

### **Cognouza Ward**

→ *Main article: Cognouza.*
One section of the city of Aeor was called the Cognouza Ward, and the leaders of that ward were called the Somnovem. The Somnovem orchestrated Cognouza's escape from the destruction of Aeor, and centuries later they wished to return. They betrayed Aeor to ensure their survival.

### **Praesidis Ward**

     The Mighty Nein entered the Praesidis Ward during their exploration of the ruins of the city. The location was identified as "Convocation Grounds, Central Deliberations", and held a large amphitheater with hundreds of mummified bodies surrounding a raised dais and podium. A central figure near the podium was caught in a stasis bubble at the moment the city was destroyed and the rest of the crowd annihilated. The neighborhood also held several other official-looking buildings among the homes.

### **Genesis Ward**

Similar to the Praesidis Ward, the Genesis Ward when the Mighty Nein found it in the buried ruins of the city was an open neighborhood consisting of thousands of feet of rolling, broken streets and structures. However, it appeared more industrial with larger buildings that were plainer and more defensible, and less of the decoration found in the Praesidis Ward. It was designed more for function than beauty.

Its entire center was heaved up from beneath as though from a giant explosion. The center of the crater was a mile-wide deep hole with hundreds of small waterfalls tumbling down the dozens of broken subterranean floors and levels now carved open and exposed. Bits of light glowed inside, as if a series of underground bases were suddenly sheared and abandoned. On the southern edge was a smooth groove a hundred feet across, as if bored with a giant auger directly into where the explosion initiated. Dozens of green-glowing, slightly moving pieces of rock drifted slowly along the ceiling of the now-buried ruin.

Prior to its destruction, the ward was an extremely advanced portion of the magocracy of Aeor, with bustling streets and large buildings. Then something arrived from above, boring into the ground and creating a massive explosion that threw whole sections of the neighborhood upward, killing thousands instantaneously.

### **Ars Ward**

This ward was buried with the rest of the ruined city, and was accessible from the Praesidis Ward. Little is known about the Ars Ward, but based on its etymology it may have been a center for skilled crafts within the city.

### **Dawn Crucible**

This research facility, also known as the Crucible of Dreams, was the place where Aeorian citizens volunteered to have their dreams studied and recorded. Elatis used to work there when she was still alive, and in 836 PD, there was a threshold crest in its ruins.

#### **B-1**

The Level B-1 held a large hall, "Component Keeping and Dry Storage" and "Records 104".

#### **B-2**

The Level B-2 held the "Elemental Energy Funneling" room.

#### **B-3**

The ruins of level B-3 of the Genesis Ward held the "Repair Terminal" and "Maintenance" Chamber.

**Repair Terminal**

The Repair Terminal is a cylindrical chamber with a bunch of rebar-like metal structures on the back wall. In the center sits a brass ten-foot dome that has been slightly pushed up and dislodged. There are doors that opens on the sides. On the inside is a cushioned interior with a number of small, metallic objects and slight arcane flashing bits of energy. This chamber is used to repair Aeormatons.

#### **B-9**

The ruins of level B-9 of the Genesis Ward held the "T-Dock Project", the "Rejuvenation Chamber" and "Immensus Gate".

**T-Dock Project**

The "T-Dock Project" entrance is seals with a teal-colored crystal that can be opened with a bracelet. The walls are lined with lead and there is a platform bearing an experimental arcane construction and a deeply intricate runic circle which a combination of transmutation and dunamancy heavily based in temporal alteration. There were notes referring to the "Primal Artifact" with drawings of the Luxon beacon, indicating that the Aeorians learned from the beacon how to travel backwards in one's own timeline, leaving an anchoring echo behind. The Temporal Dock allowed them to spend only a few seconds in transit, but created worrying physical stress. Individuals who spent longer than predetermined in the past had their echoes fade and the person never returned.

On their return trip to Aeor, Caleb and Essek revisited the T-Dock chamber. While they were both tempted by the opportunity to change their pasts, they ultimately decided against it. Caleb destroyed the interior of the chamber, to Essek's approval.

**Rejuvenation Chamber**

The Rejuvenation Chamber is a large room with two empty platforms at the center-back encased in cylindrical glass labeled "Terminal RE 01" and "Terminal RE 02". One is heavily cracked. There is a purple crystal at the base of each. An amethyst bracelet opens the terminals. When standing in terminal, neon purple light fills the cylinder revealing the skeletal outline of the persons body within. The Rejuvenation Terminal created the effect of a long rest, apparently by manipulating time slightly.

**Immensus Gate**

The Immensus Gate is one of the larger waypoints between the planes within the city. It is a large device capable of creating a portal into other Planes of Existence, including the Elemental Plane of Water and the Astral Plane.

### **Crash sites**

When the city was brought down during the Calamity, the bulk of it crashed onto the island of Foren in Eiselcross. Large and small sections of it broke off during its descent and are scattered in various locations across the island. Some of the crash sites have been mapped, identified, and to greater or lesser extents, explored.

#### **A2**

The A2 crash site was at the bottom of a deep pit. The buried ruins in one direction held a street with a stasis bubble in which were frozen three of the ancient inhabitants of the city. The other tunnel led to a biological research facility containing several Aeorian hunters in stasis and at least one creature which had broken loose. Beyond that was a massive arboretum of warped and corrupted trees leading to a room containing a threshold crest.

#### **A5**

At the A5 crash site was a room in which was embedded a particularly large (one-and-a-half to two feet wide) threshold crest, which are used for teleporting entire cities between planes.

## **Flora and fauna**

* Brown mold
* Aeorian hunters
	+ Aeorian absorber
	+ Aeorian nullifier
	+ Aeorian reverser
* Frost salamander
* Canoloth
* Otyugh

## **Trivia**

* The languages spoken in Aeor were archaic versions of Draconic (called Aeorian) and Elvish.
	+ Being an ancient civilization, it seems that part of the inspiration for the Aeorian language is Latin: the names of the four wards identified to date appear to have Latin roots:
		- Cognouza: *cognoscere* (to learn, to know, or knowledge)
		- Praesidis: *praesidi* (guard, help, protection)
		- Ars: *ars* (science, skill/craft/art)
		- Genesis: *genesis* (generation, birth, creation)
	+ If Bolo's speech can be used as a reference of a regular Aeorian humanoid, the accent of the inhabitants of the floating city was similar to Slavic.
* Elements of the structural architecture of Gelidon's lair in Mythburrow have similar elements to Aeor.
* The wild magic that afflicts all of Eiselcross is strongest within the ruins of Aeor itself.
* Slavery seemed to be legal in Aeor.

## **References**

1. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 282. Also see p. 12.
2. ↑ See "Dark Waters" (2x98) from 0:57:06 through 58:57.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 121.
4. ↑ See "Dark Waters" (2x98) at 0:58:02.
5. ↑ See "What Dreams May Come" (3x34) at 0:10:49.
6. ↑ See "Dinner with the Devil" (2x110) at 1:38:19.
7. ↑ See "Dark Waters" (2x98) at 0:58:02.
8. ↑ See "Frigid Propositions" (2x109) at 3:28:53.  Vess DeRogna tells the Mighty Nein that the city had advanced arcane research sufficient to eradicate divinity in its entirety.
9. ↑ See "Dinner with the Devil" (2x110) at 1:39:21.
10. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 2:15:55.
11. ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 2:04:06.
12. ↑ See "Hidden Truths" (3x26) at 3:43:08.
13. ↑ See "A Stage Set" (3x32) from 1:53:20 through 1:56:14.
14. ↑ See "The Neverending Day" (2x125) at 0:42:41.
15. ↑ See "Frigid Propositions" (2x109) at 3:29:35.
16. ↑ See "Dinner with the Devil" (2x110) at 1:40:02.
17. ↑ In 836 PD, Babenon Dosal said it was "seven or eight years" ago.  See "New Homes and Old Friends" (2x111) at 3:00:46.
18. ↑ See "A Walk to Warmer Welcomes" (2x124) at 2:42:30.  Essek explains that the Kryn "delvers" sometimes encounter Empire explorers within the ruins.
19. ↑ See "Dark Waters" (2x98) at 0:58:02.
20. ↑ See "From Door to Door" (2x81) at 3:12:37.
21. ↑ See "Dark Waters" (2x98) at 0:56:46.
22. ↑ See "High Seas, High Stakes" (2x99) at 0:26:22.
23. ↑ See "Frigid Propositions" (2x109) at 3:36:15.
24. ↑ See "An Open Window" (2x114) at 1:35:00.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 249.
26. ↑ Olara, a sea elf who survived an attack around the end of the Calamity, after Aeor fell, "speaks an ancient dialect that formed the basis for both Elvish and Orc, and any character who speaks and understands either of those languages can converse with her." See *Call of the Netherdeep*, p. 129.
27. ↑ See "The Streets of the Forgotten" (2x134) at 1:37:43.  Matt describes the skeletons in the amphitheater.
28. ↑ See "The Streets of the Forgotten" (2x134) at 1:51:28.
29. ↑ See "Hidden Truths" (3x26) at 3:47:03.
30. ↑ See "The Streets of the Forgotten" (2x134) at 1:29:43.
31. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 1:11:36.
32. ↑ See "Hell or High Water" (2x136) at 0:54:49.
33. ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 2:56:06.
34. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 245.
35. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, pp. 247–249.
36. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 2:21:41.
37. ↑ See "Solace Between the Secrets" (2x118) at 2:47:53.
38. ↑ See "Solace Between the Secrets" (2x118) at 2:06:53.
39. ↑ See "Hunter and Hunted" (2x133) at 1:21:15.
40. ↑ See "Aeor" (2x132) at 3:23:04.
41. ↑ See "Hunter and Hunted" (2x133) from 1:52:39 through 2:00:18.
42. ↑ See "Hunter and Hunted" (2x133) at 2:03:40.
43. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:32:38.
44. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:33:05.
45. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:45:47.
46. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:49:05.
47. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:49:55.
48. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 0:48:04.
49. ↑ *Critical Role: The Mighty Nein - The Nine Eyes of Lucien*, p. 130.
50. ↑ *Critical Role: The Mighty Nein - The Nine Eyes of Lucien*, p. 179 and 180.
51. ↑ See "Hell or High Water" (2x136) from 0:48:09 through 0:57:06.
52. ↑ See "Fond Farewells" (2x141) from 6:40:00 through 6:46:18.
53. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 2:28:14.
54. ↑ See "The Genesis Ward" (2x135) at 2:21:25.
55. ↑ See "Hell or High Water" (2x136) at 2:26:52.  The gate is activated to the Plane of Water at 2:38:15
56. ↑ See "The Tortoise and The Dare" (2x117) at 15:43.
57. ↑ See "The Tortoise and The Dare" (2x117) at 1:04:13.
58. ↑ See "Solace Between the Secrets" (2x118) at 3:24:27.
59. ↑ See "Hell or High Water" (2x136) at 3:03:44.  Matt confirms wild magic effects happen on a d20 roll of 17 or above after a level 3 or higher spell is cast.
60. ↑ *Critical Role: The Mighty Nein - The Nine Eyes of Lucien*, p. 119 and 120.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Fan art of the floating city of Aeor, by Shawn Ballard Art (source). Used with permission.
2. ↑ Fan art of Aeor, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
3. ↑ Fan art of the city of Aeor underground, by Cers @Cersonality (source). Used with permission.
4. ↑ Fan art of Aeorian ruins, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
5. ↑ Fan art of the Cognouza ward in the Astral Sea, by Cers @Cersonality (source). Used with permission.
6. ↑ Fan art of Amphitheatre in Praesidis Ward, by CT Chen (source). Used with permission.
7. ↑ Fan art of The Crater, by Cers @Cersonality (source). Used with permission.
8. ↑ Fan art of Descent in Genesis Ward, by CT Chen (source). Used with permission.
9. ↑ Fan art of the repair terminal, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
10. ↑ Fan art of the rejuvenation chamber, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
11. ↑ Fan art of the Immensus Gate in the Genesis Ward, by Clara (source). Used with permission.
12. ↑ Fan art of the Mighty Nein arriving at the Aeor crash site, by @tshortik (source). Used with permission.
13. ↑ Fan art of Aeorian hunters in a ruined lab, by CT Chen (source). Used with permission.
14. ↑ Fan art of the frost salamander, by ArtByMikuTee (source). Used with permission.