Dylaefa City Zu'Aan

Dylaefa City (pronounced dye-LAY-fah) is a zu'aan settlement situated in the Deedra Wooded Mountains. Once a thriving civilization renowned for its trade in rare ores and gemstones, it was very suddenly driven to ruin by repeated attacks from bandits, mercenaries from opposing cities, and kin'toni raiders. Its citizens have since fled underground to the city’s extensive mines, adapting to the subterranean darkness and mostly cutting themselves off from the surface world. For this reason, many have taken to calling Dylaefa “the City of Moles”.

History

Dylaefa City was founded as a safe haven by famed geologist Odanagr Sacabu and several other academics over two-hundredand fifty years after the kin'toni outbreak and the subsequent fall of the Xerea Empire. The Deedra peaks were already promising thanks to their strategic position high above the surrounding forests, yet it was the discovery of soil rich in the kind of nutrients the botanists in Sacabu’s employ only ever dreamed of. Not only was the vegetation plentiful, but it grew at an absolutely staggering rate. A paltry few grain seeds could fully mature in mere weeks with enough produce to feed a small arm.

The gardens grew, and the people came in droves. Food. Water. Safety. All things they lacked in an age where the world laid devastated. Things they craved beyond measure. Things Sacabu wasn’t kind (or in his words, foolish) enough to give away. With these resources at his disposal, he merrily saw the promise of a revitalized economy throughout Taerel with him at the helm. If it was his findings these stragglers wanted, they would have to earn it on his terms, and his terms were hard labour for all those he thought beneath him and his intellectual equals.

Desperate as they were to survive, the wanderers became workers and toiled night and day to tend to and expand the gardens, complacent in how they were treated so long as they could live to see another day. And so for a time, things were good. Then as they dug deeper into the soil to further means of production, the employ stumbled upon the mountains’ greatest secrets. Beneath Dylaefa’s surface laid a literal treasure trove of silver, gold, ruby, sapphire, diamond, and many more precious metals and gems waiting to be mined, refined, and sold for seas of coin.

And seas they did receive: the rich and powerful of the zu'aan world sent their messengers and their merchants in droves to acquire jewels befitting their perceived status. Sacabu was more than happy to provide, but as Dylaefa’s mines grew and its profits flourished, so too did Sacabu degenerate into further greed, short-sightedness, and cruelty. This much industry required many more workers. More than would come to Dylaefa willingly, and so Sacabu dispatched his personal guard across the surrounding lands, procuring wanderers to be returned and put to work for less and less every day.

Slacking off or attempting to negotiate a better deal was met with strict punishment, from whiplashes to three days without food or water. Those among the slaves that weren’t long for the grave found themselves worked until their bones were no more than dust, and those that tried to flee with whatever supplies they managed to earn were swiftly and publicly executed upon capture. Somehow worse than what happened inside the city, however, was what many feared would come from the outside.

Though his closest confidants warned that the city’s elevation was not enough to defend them from increasing aggression from bandits and neighbouring cities, Sacabu too blinded by further profit and terrified of spending a single coin on something as simple as a wall. As far as he was concerned, anyone who questioned his rule was a liability, and he had neither the time nor patience for such things. The city was his property, as was all things living and inanimate within it.

Needless to say, even those he trusted and had shared his profits with had no qualms of turning against him in the end, with Sacabu’s warm-hearted son Ormanir leading the insurrection against his father’s corrupt reign. Within a single night, Sacabu was executed by the very people he’d kept under his heel, and the workers enslaved for all that time were Alas, none of them could have foreseen that this sudden shift in power would catch the attention of other steadily rising governments, least of all the mighty $2 who knew nothing of mercy and thus demanded Dylaefa surrender its people and its position in the name of Emperor Ondreding.

Ormanir, elected the city’s de facto leader after his father’s removal, stood up and countered with the demand that his people had suffered enough without “that monster on his false throne” stamping on them, unknowingly lighting the first flame of rebellion against Ondreding’s tyranny.

Grolewzyk did not take this resistance kindly and promptly attacked. To their surprise, however, Dylaefa was not nearly as unprepared for war as they thought. With more than enough warriors in their midst, a plentiful supply of mining tools that could easily double as weapons.

And Ormanir at the helm, the subjugated mountain folk put up a resistance so fierce that not even Ondreding himself can forge a path to the peaks when he personally joins the battle. Sacabu had been right about one thing: the mountains gave Dylaefa the advantage over all foolish enough to attack from below. Nevertheless, it is a resistance of a few hundred versus a trained army of thousands, and within three months, the beautiful forests at the base of the Deedra Mountains ran red with the blood of both forces. And where there was blood, there was the Kin’toni.

A mere three days passed. Grolewzykians by the sun, kin'toni by the moon. Two forces at odds with each other, but both fixated on the prize that was the steadily weakening Dylaefa. The poor souls longing for freedom found themselves trapped on both sides, retreating further up the mountains as the bravest among them fell by Grolewzykian blade or were snatched up by kin'toni raiders and spirited away to be enslaved or feasted upon or heavens knew what else.

The resistance numbers grew too thin, and on the night of the third day, Deedra’s defensive line fell and the kin'toni charged hungrily toward the doomed Dylaefa. With no other options remaining, Ormanir Sacabu called on his people to gather what they could and take refuge in the mines, an event they would forever look back on as the Great Descent. “Lay traps as you go,” Ormanir said. “Don’t look back...and no matter what happens, survive until the sun shines on you once again.”

This he said as he remained behind to seal off the tunnels and single-handedly battle the invaders in the name of his kin. What became of him is unknown, though a popular legend dictates he turned himself to bedrock so that he would be an everlasting barrier between his people and the dangers of the outside world. Whatever the case, none pursued the Dylaefans into the darkness, and whether out of fear or acceptance, there they remained for centuries to come, their bodies changing over generations to adapt to the subterranean complex.

Their pupils permanently dilated to see through the thickest shadows. Their nails lengthened into hardy claws with which to dig and defend with ease. Their ears widened to take in even the slightest sounds, bordering on echolocation. Alas, all those years in the dark were not without their penalties. A few moments in sunlight became enough to leave painful burns on their skin, and so much as glancing up into the sky could blind one for hours. A punishment they believed came from Sol’eir, the god of the sun and the gods themselves who punishes acts of regicide with famine and deformity.

But ever inspired by Ormanir’s kindness and sacrifice, the Dylaefans struggle on. Mining their precious ores. Growing what little food they can. Battling their everlasting guilt to live another day...

...surviving until the sun shines on them once again.

Geography

Dylaefa is divided vertically into four distinct sections, growing more expansive the deeper one descends. The Peak, where the original city stood, has been left entirely abandoned following the Great Descent, with the Dylaefans only rarely emerging in small troops to search for resources. Even still, they’ll likely have to venture far to find any, for hundreds of years without a caring hand has left the once proud and expertly crafted city tangled in weeds and disease turning even the simplest of vegetation into rot.

The Haven, located within Deedra’s bases, is where the Dylaefan population currently lives. The tunnels leading through the massive complex are linked by an organized web of wooden bridges, able to rotate and connect to alternate paths with the simple flip of a switch. Homes are loosely clustered together in hollowed out caverns, typically no more than small nooks in the craggy walls with just enough room to house small families. It is built this way so that if one Dylaefa family is in danger, another can quickly scurry to aid them without a need to search for too long.

At the center of the Haven is the Sol’eir Garden, a small plaza that serves as the only place in Dylaefa with rich enough soil to grow its once famous produce. Due to the large hole in its ceiling that allows sunlight in, it is also the only remaining path from the Haven to the Peak, though only select groups are permitted to traverse the path and even then only at preordained times. It is otherwise forbidden for the people’s safety, as the large amount of sunlight allowed in to grow the various fruits and vegetables can and often does prove incredibly harmful.

The Catacombs, stretching miles beneath the Deedra Mountains’ roots, make up the majority of the mines and are where Dylaefa’s famous treasures can be uncovered. It is here that the average Dylaefan will spend most of their time, doing their duty to their people and unearthing gems and ores to sell to surface-dwelling merchants. While largely charted after a few generations, the Catacombs are expanded every day as the miners forge new paths to search, making it easy to get lost and difficult to find a way back.

The Catacombs are also home to a small selection of insects and other small animals like rats and snakes that the Dylaefans hunt for food, and if one follows the specially marked route, they will reach Ormanir Lake, a small cavern filled with mineral-laden but still drinkable water, named as such for being a sliver of hope. But with that hope also comes a dwelling sense of doom; those who delve deep enough into the Catacombs will eventually come across a giant iron gate built into a wall of indestructible bedrock.

There is no handle nor key to unlock it, but all know it as the entrance to the Abyss. Entirely uncharted and untouched by the people since the city’s earliest days, the Abyss is a place so dark that not even the sharpest of Dylaefan eyes can see through it, long rumoured to be where the truly sinful would be led and trapped inside for eternity when their crimes came to light. So it’s been said, at least. The gate has remained firmly sealed since time immemorial. No living Dylaefan has ever set foot on the other side, and only the bravest dare to venture close.

All who have, however, claim that the door’s metal has begun to erode with age, and the ones close enough to listen have made out the scratching and hissing of something on the other side. As much as Dylaefans dread the surface world, it is this creature they fear most, and with time. What it is or what it is capable of is many a horror story Dylaefans share to keep their kin from venturing too far below the surface, but ever present through these tales is the fear that the gate will eventually fall, and nothing in the world will stop the monster from driving all in its path to extinction.

Culture

All of Dylaefa is united under a single goal: the survival of their race. A child will be given time from their birth to learn how to walk, talk, and play with friends, but they are made aware early on that they must not grow complacent or selfish. They will soon have a duty to their people, and everyone young and old must play their part. Upon reaching adulthood, a Dylaefan will be charged with plunging alone into the Catacombs to locate a particular stone that speaks to their soul.

Once they find this stone, they will return home and spend the next twenty-four hours sculpting a pickaxe to their own personal preferences. While an everyday tool throughout the rest of Taerel, a pickaxe to a Dylaefan is like an extension of oneself. Just the right swing of this tool can be the difference between a successful gem hunt and a failed one, or even the difference between life and death. From there, a Dylaefan will be given the choice between four vital duties.

A Miner that will scour the Catacombs for tradeable trinkets, a Harvester that will search for edible vegetation and plant seeds where they discover useable soil, a Fetcher that will venture to Ormanir Lake and gather up as much water as they can, and a Hunter to track and kill animals for meat. Every bit of food and every drop of water is evenly distributed so that everyone can have their fill, with the young and elderly served first. The average Dylaefan diet consists of insects, underground foliage such as moss, and occasionally meat from whatever small subterranean animals the Hunters are able to procure.

Anything even remotely different is considered a treat worthy of royalty, which is why Ormanir Day remains so prevalent and revered. At the dawn of every spring, fresh seeds are planted within the Sol’eir Garden at the center of the Haven, and come autumn when they have grown, they are harvested and prepared for the eve of Ormanir Sacabu’s sacrifice. Here the people will feast and share tales of their journeys into the Catacombs, what they hope to uncover in the days to come, and what the surface world is like, all while recalling Ormanir’s brave sacrifice for their sakes.

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