in memoriae

to the people of imyon thaloré

tales of theapocrypha

ㅤㅤa d&d homebrew for 5eㅤㅤ

• locations
• homebrew
• players

• cosmology

• religion

• calendar

the world our heroes hail from is known as idavoll, and follows a linear lunar calendar of four-hundred and seventy seven days. citizens trace their path through the stars by counting the phases of all four moons as opposed to their two suns, with nine long months and no shifting hemispheres. these months have names that reflect the nature of their weather and have fifty three days in their cycle.keep in mind these months and holidays only apply to the surface world on our material plane, as the underdark goes through its own cycles of time, as well as has its own ways of telling what time of the year it is through wet and dry seasons. days are not named, but are simply referred to as the ''thirteenth day of deepwinter'' or so on.

• midyear

the first month of the year, when the trees are bright in their colour and their blossoms have spread their pollen. considered the month of good harvest, where farmers can safely pick their crop and traverse the perilous roads to bustling cities in order to sell their latest haul.the festival of sunlight is often celebrated during this time period, and is a beloved holiday in the city of valgaard. dancing and music are considered a must on this holiday, and it is beloved by bards.

• winterbirth

as the world awakens to a gentle yet transformative touch of frost. In this month, the first snowflakes fall gracefully from the heavens, dusting the landscape in a pristine, crystalline blanket. As the chill deepens, the world seems to hold its breath, anticipating the frozen wonders yet to come. It is a time when nature's palette shifts from autumnal hues to an ethereal spectrum of whites and blues, and the air is imbued with a palpable sense of enchantment. Communities gather to mark this turning point, kindling fires and exchanging tales of winter's past.

• firstbloom

the herald of spring's triumphant return, ushering in the awakening of nature in all its resplendent glory. As the world emerges from the slumber of winter, the air is suffused with the delicate fragrances of blossoming flowers and the sweet songs of newly arrived birds. Trees burst forth in a riot of vibrant greens, and meadows become a carpet of wildflowers. It is a time of rebirth and renewal, where life surges forth with boundless energy. Communities celebrate this season with joyous festivals that revel in the beauty and promise of spring, and people welcome the warmer days with open arms, eager to embrace the vibrant world that blooms before them.

• redgrass

the second month of the year; these fifty-three days are beloved by worshipers of neferu, as it gives way to the beauty of her colors- red, gold and sunset orange in the shade of the falling leaves.the festival of birth This day is heralded as a life-giving day, one in which animals are cared for extremely (combed fur, washed hooves, praised mosquitoes, etc). The consumption of meat is banned for the day, and all must sleep early, with a loved one, if possible.

• deepwinter

As the land lies shrouded in thick blankets of snow and the days grow ever shorter, the stark beauty of this unforgiving season becomes evident. It is a period of contemplation and introspection, where nature itself seems to slumber beneath a pristine, frozen veneer. In this month, communities draw close to one another, seeking solace and warmth in shared stories and hearty feasts. Deepwinter embodies both the harshest and most serene aspects of winter, a time when the world stands still, holding its breath in anticipation of the eventual thaw and the rebirth that will follow.

• greenloam

nestled in the heart of spring's embrace, is a time when the world transforms into a lush, verdant paradise. As winter's chill retreats, the land awakens with a burst of vibrant life, and the landscape becomes a tapestry of a thousand shades of green. Trees are adorned with new leaves, and flowers of every hue unfurl their petals to bask in the warm sun. The scent of blooming flora fills the air, and the cheerful melodies of songbirds resonate in every corner of the land. Greenloam is a season of abundance and growth, where both the natural world and its inhabitants thrive, and communities come together to celebrate the renewal of life in this enchanting, emerald-drenched month.

• treesleep

the third month of the year in which the leaves die, and the trees begin to wither.the runefast is observed in the country of ydalir. Legend has it that a man named Stanar who existed long ago lost his wife that day. He was so distraught that refused to eat or drink, and hrist took pity on him as he withered into a husk. Stanar was transformed into the allar of winter, and to to appease the coming chill, one should fast the day before winter.

• lastfrost

a time when the last remnants of frost relinquish their hold on the land, giving way to the promise of milder days ahead. The days grow longer, and the world begins to awaken from its wintry slumber, with the sound of melting snow and the emergence of early blossoms. Communities celebrate this transitional phase with festivals that pay homage to nature's resilience and the coming rebirth of life. Lastfrost is a season of hope, where the world begins to stir from its frozen dormancy, and the promise of spring is just over the horizon, warming hearts and spirits alike.

• highblossom

a time when nature's bounty reaches its zenith, and the world is resplendent with an explosion of colors and life. As the days grow longer and the sun's warmth intensifies, flowers of every variety burst into full bloom, painting the landscape with a riot of vivid hues. Orchards and gardens yield their first fruits, and fields sway with golden waves of grain. The air is alive with the hum of pollinators, and songbirds serenade the world from the leafy canopies above. Communities revel in the abundance of Highblossom, gathering for vibrant festivals that celebrate the season's harvest and the sheer vitality of the natural world. Druids especially tend to celebrate during this time.

A combination of Sophus and festival. It happens on the first and last day of High Blossom. It's a 24 hour event starting when the sun rises and ends when the sun rises again the next day. It was originally done early on in Akhet's history when the blessing of Neferu's lightening was less understood.The festival consists of keeping your camp as bright and lit as possible all day and night. The reason it was done twice a year is that, the first was to ask for Sophus' protection and the second was to thank Sophus for protecting everyone. "We can't throw the thank you party if you cook/freeze/starve/dehydrate us all during summer!"In the modern day it's far more grand, especially once electricity was harnessed. The city could probably be seen from orbit with how lit up everything is. Although with Neferu's lightening waning/gone, the festival isn't quite what it once was as more basic lightning is needed.
Today the festival includes everyone (thought not required) wearing a sun headdress or tiara made of reflective metals or glass. Because of these (sometimes annoying) headwear people will often where goggles or shades of some kind to protect light reflecting all over the place. It's also expected that your lights be lit/on the entire time.Because the point of the festival is to entice Sophus to not murder everyone, the city of Abydos somewhat splurges. Food is cheaper, guilds are encouraged to offer prices cheaper, creature comforts are cheaper or sometimes given for free. At night fireworks are basically fired off constantly all night in order to keep the sky lit up as much as possible. In fact bigger guilds will have firework competitions to see who can put on the best show, complete with full on music and theater going on in the streets. Like the entire city suddenly becomes a stage with multiple groups of choirs singing in several parts of the city depending on how wealthy the guild is.

Zhalindraar, The Festival of Shadows, is celebrated on the longest night of the year, deep in the heart of winter, when the darkness of the Underdark is most profound. Drow communities engage in nightly rituals that involve the lighting of black candles and the offering of obsidian jewelry to honor Vhaeraun and Eilistraae.On the eve of Zhalindraar, Drow families gather for a lavish feast featuring dark and exotic delicacies found in the Underdark. The consumption of raw flesh, toxic mushrooms, and blood is a symbol of their connection to the horrors of the abyss. This feast includes dishes made from rare fungi, cave-dwelling creatures, and spiced wines that symbolize the richness of darkness. It culminates in a grand midnight parade where they all don elaborate masks and dark clothing. There is eerie dancing and singing that pay homage to the twins.Instead of exchanging gifts as a symbol of goodwill, Drow exchanged "Gifts of Dread." These are dark and ominous items, often cursed or enchanted to bring misfortune to the recipient. The gifts are meant to instill fear and paranoia among the Drow.As the clock strikes midnight, Drow cities are plunged into a surreal darkness as they extinguish all sources of light. It is a time when assassinations, betrayals, and acts of violence are most prevalent, as Drow take advantage of the shadowy cover to settle vendettas and eliminate rivals. Followers of Eilistraae may be especially targeted, as they tend to keep their houses illuminated with Dim-Moon Lanterns of Levitation, Dancing Lights and Faerie Fire.

Strangely enough, the holiday of Zhalindraar is actually mirrored on the surface. The High/Moon Elves (and the rest of the world, as it has adopted this holiday happily) have the Holiday of Zhalindriel, the festival of radiance. Zhalindriel is celebrated on the winter solstice, a day when the sun's rays are at their weakest, but the promise of renewal and light is on the horizon. It is entirely celebrated in the name of Ilthuryn and Eilistraae, with no mention of Vhaeraun or his kin at all.Celebrations for this holiday start at dawn by gathering to watch the sunrise. It is a moment of quiet reflection, gratitude, and hope as they embrace the return of longer days and the increasing warmth of the sun. Families and friends come together for a grand feast, featuring an abundance of colorful and fresh fruits, as well as dishes symbolizing renewal and growth. The feast is a celebration of life and the bounty of the natural world.Instead of exchanging gifts in a materialistic sense, High and Moon Elves encouraged the exchange of "Gifts of Illumination." These are thoughtful tokens of kindness, such as handcrafted jewelry, artwork, or heartfelt letters, meant to inspire and bring light to the recipient's life. As the day transitions into night, they participate in stargazing and storytelling. They share tales of their ancestors, heroes, and mythical beings, connecting their past to the bright future ahead

The town of Roseton has always been divided the way they choose to celebrate it’s origins. Thus did an unofficial agreement form: a mirrored holiday to appease the populace.Remembrance Day focuses on the start, for without the town of Doren being the first to rise, there would eventually be no Roseton. This holiday is celebrated with the concept of “gifting”, whether in the form of something made or sharing stories. It is to remind the people of Roseton that to be where they are now, is a gift, and to honor the loss that came from that gift.Independence Day is the celebration dedicated to the liberation from the von Doren family. Known to be the origin of the Blight and the suffering the people had endured. Many people think of it as a triumph from the evils that would have destroyed everything they had known. It is celebrated more with retelling of the day the von Doren family lost their power in the form of a play, and the reclamation of Roseton that followed after.

Strangely enough, the holiday of Zhalindraar is actually mirrored on the surface. The High/Moon Elves (and the rest of the world, as it has adopted this holiday happily) have the Holiday of Zhalindriel, the festival of radiance. Zhalindriel is celebrated on the winter solstice, a day when the sun's rays are at their weakest, but the promise of renewal and light is on the horizon. It is entirely celebrated in the name of Ilthuryn and Eilistraae, with no mention of Vhaeraun or his kin at all.Celebrations for this holiday start at dawn by gathering to watch the sunrise. It is a moment of quiet reflection, gratitude, and hope as they embrace the return of longer days and the increasing warmth of the sun. Families and friends come together for a grand feast, featuring an abundance of colorful and fresh fruits, as well as dishes symbolizing renewal and growth. The feast is a celebration of life and the bounty of the natural world.Instead of exchanging gifts in a materialistic sense, High and Moon Elves encouraged the exchange of "Gifts of Illumination." These are thoughtful tokens of kindness, such as handcrafted jewelry, artwork, or heartfelt letters, meant to inspire and bring light to the recipient's life. As the day transitions into night, they participate in stargazing and storytelling. They share tales of their ancestors, heroes, and mythical beings, connecting their past to the bright future ahead

The Feywild is, as far as we know, an exact replica of Idavoll, but filled with magical marvels and the strangest flora and fauna one could ever hope to see. The Fey are the rulers of that realm and very often come over to Idavoll–it’s said that an archfey is the one who runs the Fey Mail, but that’s just the rumors I’ve heard! Fey can be incredible tricksters and usually seek to cause mischief in any way that gains them power or something good.The Shadowfell, however, is almost the opposite of the Feywild. While also being an exact mirror of Idavoll, it is one filled with shadows and black deserts, with a land ravaged by necromancy. Dark beings lurk in the shadows here, and the undead can be found almost anywhere you look here. It’s dangerous and nightmarish, and certainly no place anyone should want to go.The Astral Plane, simply put, is the realm of dreams and thoughts. It is where our minds journey during sleep, or when elves lay down to trance to get small glimpses of their former lives. There have even been stories of powerful spell-casters able to perform astral projection--that is, being able to “project” their souls into the astral plane without needing to be asleep! It’s a place of marvel and wonder, where only the mind knows the limits, and where travel to the other planes becomes an easily-achieved reality.

Finally, the Abyss–a perverse, gruesome mirror of our world that’s run upon the laws of chaos. It is virtually endless, much like the Astral Plane, but has three pocket layers within it that we know of. These pocket realms are known as Avernus, Carceri, and the Demonweb Pits. Scholars and researchers say that only evil souls who are judged by their benevolent gods are sent to one, if any, of these pocket realms, while some are trapped to wander in the dark emptiness of the Abyss for all of eternity.The first of the Abyss’ pocket dimensions would be Avernus–it’s sort of like the hell’s front door if you’re attempting to reach the mirror realm through planar-shifting magic. And it’s also 'hell's’ only door, if you’re lucky enough to get out alive. It’s a rocky, fiery wasteland with rivers flowing with blood and swarms of biting flies. Fiery comets occasionally fall from the darkened sky and leave little more than smoke and ash-filled craters behind. Empty battlefields as far as one can see are littered with weapons and bones. Avernus also just so happens to be the birthplace of tieflings, who were birthed from the archfiend yaldabasth–a fiend heralded as the lord of death and the afterlife, and is currently trapped somewhere within that realm.

The second pocket dimension, Carceri, is…well, I guess you could very simply call it a prison. It’s a plane of desolation and despair, holding vast bogs of toxic substances, fetid jungles, and black ice. It’s the home of traitors, backstabbers, and other such heinous criminals whom have met their end here upon the material plane. In Carceri, it’s said that they are tortured with vile imagery of the terrible things they’ve done for the rest of eternity, and left to rot in the horrific prisons the realm creates. No one can leave Carceri easily; any magical efforts to leave the plane fail, though there are secret entryways guarded by deadly monsters and traps that help guide you out of it.The final pocket dimension of the Abyss would be the Demonweb Pits. It’s an immense network of thick, magical spiderwebbing that forms passageways and cocoon-like chambers. Any Lolthite drow whom pass from the material plane are taken exclusively to this one, and there’s even drowic buildings and structures that hang in the webbing. They say that, deep within the bottomless webbing, Lolth dwells here with her handmaidens and those deemed worthy enough to become her servants and spies upon the Material Plane.

• Taffy
• Yulia
• Arka

• Runarian

• Rivven
• Vrek
• Narszelas

• laerad
• gharraghaur
• afonach
• helian zheng

• efryia
• akhet
• bloodstone
• the underdark

• ydalir
• hrymir
• ligaria
• the karst

The Order of the Seven, or simply known as The Order, is the most popular religious belief in all of Idavoll. Their influence has spread far and wide across Akhet, Laerad, and Gharragaur, and their aims are set even further still. Their name comes from the fact that they believe any other divine being not amongst the Seven to be unworthy of worship–for various reasons, depending on the deity. They crown Sophus as the highest authority amidst these gods.

the other six include: Ydaldin, Neferu, Hrist, Ilthuryn, Duraz, and Bahamut. The Order is based out of Idfu, the Cathedral City, nestled within the heart of Ligaria, the country which the Order rules over with Shem Enoch as their theocratic leader. he is considered the second highest head in the entire religious order, with only the fabled magi to be above him; a prophet said to be born from the love of sophus himself to guide mankind.

the prophet, the magi, is an elf said to be blessed by Sophus Himself. The elf is said to have been alive since the very beginning of the world, and continues to be reborn every time he dies. He receives prophetic visions from Sophus, as well, and supposedly has a collection of journals that he keeps these visions written down within. It is thanks to him, as well as the Shem’s earliest ancestor, that the Order came to be what it is today.

SOPHUS – the highest power of the Seven. Said to be made of Anima itself, Sophus has never had many physical depictions drawn or created of Him. Known as the god of creation and destruction, He is the ultimate authority above all.

gods such as lolth and yaldabasth are treated as heinous abominations and are not tolerated-- and neither are their children. they view garuda and ashmedai as creations of evil, and will banish their followers at will.

• ydaldin

described most frequently as an old man with a long, twisted beard, silhouetted as a shepherd and often holding some sort of walking stick. Said to be the eldest of the gods—second only to Sophus—as well as father to both Hrist and Neferu. It is said that he also oversees and maintains the order of the natural cycle of life and death, caring for the souls that go on into sophus' embrace-- or to the pits of hell where yaldabasth resides.

• ilthuryn

an elven deity and brother to the Spider Queen, Lolth. Said to have been killed by Lolth not long after the world was created, he took the form of a great tree to protect the elves upon Hrymir from Lolth’s corruption and her followers. The lord of the hunt and a skilled archer, he is almost always shown wielding a bow and quiver. Nature is his domain, and almost every wood elf regards him as their chosen deity, whether they are part of the Order or not.

• hrist

a fierce and powerful woman often depicted wielding a spear and shield, as well as a pair of wings spread from her back. She is known as the fiercest amidst all the gods, as well as the symbol of power and survival. Some consider her to be cold and cruel, as harsh as the winter and ice she rules over, but many admire and respect her strength and courage to face any trial or challenge without fear.

• neferu

a sly and mystifying goddess said to be the most beautiful amidst the Seven. Neferu is shown as dark-skinned with black hair. She has an intense, golden gaze that can pierce your very soul. The sister to Hrist, the daughter of Ydaldin. Neferu is known as the goddess of magic, especially shape-shifting, and has become the sort of patron of tabaxi due to one of her favorite forms said to be that of a cat. her children are the lightning genasi.

• duraz

the god of the mountains and patron deity to dwarves, he is said to be a fierce protector and guardian. He is master of the forge and artisans of all sorts, as Duraz is said to be as creative and intelligent as the dwarves themselves. The dwarves say that he makes up every mountain across Idavoll, with his heart being the Shielded Range of Gharragaur, which is why they have erected their capital of Darom-Dun there.

• bahamut

king of the dragons, and the first dragon to take flight in the skies of Idavoll. He is strong and powerful, intelligent and wise, courageous and strong. It is said every dragon in existence can trace its ancestry back to Bahamut, and the dragonborn also believe themselves to have come from a bond between Bahamut and a mortal woman. There are also stories that tell of a love between Bahamut and Hrist.