City State

The cities are not completely safe. Most are ruled by tyrannical despots, secretive cults, or even monsters. The rulers of these cities are clannish, warring with one another.

## City States

**Anchor Island**: (90 degrees) Anchor Island's self-professed mayor is a complete tyrant, but has a dedicated group of followers. He won their loyalty through prowess on the battlefield, slaying hundreds of his enemies in each engagement.

**Newtravel**: (55 degrees) Newtravel holds an ancient glass prism which radiates magic power. Most of its properties are still unknown to modern scholars, but mages often use it as a focus point for teleportation, and to augment the barrier's strength.

**Riverbed Town**: (85 degrees) The druids in Riverbed Town have revolutionized agricultural magic- plants grown in the enchanted soil are of massive size, and have healing properties. However, the merchants' guild has a high tariff on any imported food, and the druids do not sell the plants cheaply. This has started a conflict between the criminal black market and the guild leaders.

**Augertown**: (65 degrees) Augertown is hostile towards outsiders, and despite its strong barrier the city has strict laws on the use of magic. Only a few magic-users approved by the secluded Cult of Barmite that rules the city can practice. The town also uses an odd "ribbon language" of clothing to denote status in society.

**Eclipse**: (35 degrees) Eclipse is a merchant's paradise, as the monarchs have always had loose rules on trade. However, this has also made Eclipse a "safe port" for criminals, pirates, and warlords from outside the city-states. The city has a tendency of taking on the enemies of these people, as it is far easier for an injured city to attack another city than to locate a pirate.

**Green Island**: (80 degrees) Green Island is one of the few cities not dominated by humans. Its ruling class is a line of elven queens and kings. It rarely storms, and only thrives in the intense 160-190 degree heat through special enchantments on its barrier. Its power is supported by enchanted metal structures, which allow the city to remain protected for a limited amount of time even if the barrier is not active.

**Mountainlake**: (95 degrees) The people of Mountainlake leave the barrier more often than in other cities. Its people raise large insects the size of horses to act as guards and steeds. With the use of these vermin, they can travel freely within a few miles of the city, confident that they can defend themselves or at least run away if confronted with monsters. However, some bandits in the area have begun taking these insects, and using them in raids against Mountainlake and other nearby cities.

**Dragon’s Ford**: (105 degrees) Dragon's Ford was built inside the skeleton of an ancient dragon. This dragon, its name now unknown, was several miles long, and said to be tens of thousands of years old. Some scholars say that the dragon might have been older than the world itself.

**Seaspring**: (60 degrees) Seaspring, also known as the "Gleaming City," is famed for its complex network of canals and marble streets. The city was magically carved hundreds of years ago, and the fine sheen of the city has been maintained ever since.