The Sanctified Realms of Elysium

Note: The initial work I did for Elysium was on the WotC board where Urban Planescape was concieved. I'll be continuing to flesh this plane out whenever I get the opportunity.

It is the source of the Blessed River
It is a place of unconquerable goodness
It is a land where the anxieties of modern life are washed away.

Elysium is the most strongly good aligned plane on the Great Wheel, a place of good untrammeled by issues of chaos or law. On this plane, doing well by others is more valued than any other ideal. The coming of modern technology has done little to alter this basic nature of Elysium.

The first layer of the plane is a riot of color. Visitors marvel at brilliant green meadows dotted with starburst flowers, pools as deep blue as a jay's plumage, and silver clouds drifting across a perfect sky. Buildings are of a dazzlying (though never obnoxiously flamboyant) colors, and modern aircraft look like daytime stars as they cross the plane. Elysium itself seems to vibrate with its own sense of life and intensity. It is usually a peaceful place, and tranquility seems to seep into the bones and souls of those that cross it. Legend has it that the plane used to trap travelers by making them so content and peaceful that they never wanted to leave. Recent tests show this is no longer the case, and long-term visits to Elysium have increased markedly.

Elysium consists of four layers strung together by the myriad of courss of the River Oceanus. The first layer is most like the Material Plane, with sweet-smelling pines and flowering trees along its banks giving way to open meadows and rolling fields. Urban life is more common on this plane than in the past, but it remains fairly low key, and it is still very possible to traverse through this layer without seeing a trace of the modern world (it's also possible to see nothing but the modern world on such a trip). The second layer is rougher and more mountainous, and rapids and falls are common along the channels of the river. Railroads and small airports are usually the only reliable means of keeping communities in contact with each other, and bringing any vehicle to this layer that doesn't have offroad capabilities is a waste of time. The third layer is a great wetlands teeming with life, with a budding metropolis at its center. The deepest layer is the sea itself and the headwaters of the great river, dotted with islands where veteran heroes of good relax for eternity.

The size of the River Oceanus varies from a braid of smaller side channels to a mighty flow that tops its banks and floods the surrounding area. Along the river are islands, low gravel bars, and rocky promontories, which are often the homes of petitioners and other more powerful denizens. Docks and warfs of all sizes line the river's shores, servicing the massive number of ships that use the river to travel the upper planes.

Elysium Traits
-Normal Gravity
-Normal Time
-Infinite Size
-Divinely Morphic
-No Elemental Traits
-Minor Positive-Dominant: Characters on Elysium gain fast healing 2
-Strongly Good Aligned: Nongood characters suffer a -2 penalty on all Wisdom-, ntelligence-, and Charisma-based checks. As a result, neutral and evil creatures shun Elysium except in dire emergencies.
-Cleansing: This is a trait unique to modern Elysium, replacing the entrapping trait of the past. A character on Elysium experiences increasing joy and satisfaction, cleaning their physche of any strain and healing their emotional wounds. Characters who stay in Elysium for more than a month are slowly cured of any insanity (including permanent insanity), eventually being restored to full sanity. Also, staying in Elysium reduces a character's taint score by one each week (of course, these rules are only relevant in campaigns that include Sanity and Taint. If yours doesn't, replace it with slowly curing ability damage and drain).
-Restricted Magic: Dominate spells do not function on Elysium, and any characters under the effects of such spells are no longer effected by them and are allowed a new saving throw (at a +4 planar bonus) to throw off the enchantment permanently. A being's consious is held inviolate within the Sanctified Realms.

Elysium Links
Elysium borders the neighboring outer planes of Bytopia and the Beastlands. Natural portals exist between these locations, and the shifting borders between Elysium and its neighbors means that travelers may find themselves on another good-aligned plane without realizing it. Portals from Elysium to other planes often take the form of natural caverns or artificial tunnels with roads (or train tracks) leading through.

Elysium has four layers, each with a radically different type of terrain. Inhabitants move between layers through a portal or, more commonly, by following the River Oceanus. The easiest (though most expensive) method of moving from layer to layer is by taking a planar jet. Airports can be found on every layer, although airports on the second and forth layer are usually restricted in their size.

The River Oceanus originates in the deepest layer of Elysium and flows through all four layers, emptying from the first layer, Amoria, into the Beastlands. There are rapids at the border where the river crosses the boundary between layers, but no serious waterfalls or other perils. Some crossings even have river locks to allow larger ships to avoid the rapids in passing into the next layer. Most of the activity on Eysium takes place along the borders of the great river.

Elysium Inhabitants
All types of good-aligned outsiders can be found on Elysium, including those of lawful or chaotic disposition and even natives of the Elemental Planes such as djinn. While all types of celestials can be found here, the dominant type is the guardinal, who are widely regarded by many as the indigenous inhabitants of the plane (the archeological record gives no evidence either in support or against this belief).

The plane is also aswarm with celestial creatures and half-celstials. Celestial creatures have golden skin and silvery eyes, and they seem to shine with power and nobility. Unlike the creatures of the neighboring Beastlands, clestial creatures have the same Intelligence scores as their counterparts on the Material Plane, although they seem more empathic and understanding.

Elysium is also the home of deities devoted to the cause of good. Pelor, the sun deity of Oerth, and Lathandar, Faerun's god of dawn, are among the most powerful deities residing in Elysium. Finally, there are the Celestiar, a group of unique, good-aligned creatures that wander the plane. These incredibly power creatures, born in the aftermath of a nuclear attack by the Yugoloths, are believed to be manifestations of the plane itself, and are fully capable of laying waste to armies of fiends.

Elysium Petitioners
The petitioners of Elysium either venerate a particular deity of that plane, or are merely souls that naturally gravitated to the plane of ultimate goodness and peace. Petitioners appear as they did in life (goodness cares little for outward appearances), but most have a nobler and calmer demeanor as petitioners.

Only when evil actions besmirch the plane do the petitioners of Elysium take up arms, and then they are more dangerous than most other petioners. Unlike other petitioners, those who call Elysium home retain some knowledge of their past, which usually manifests as wistful nostalgia. Sometimes their memories are more practical: Petitioners who had character levels befoer they became petitioners retain up to four character levels (multiclass characters can choose levels from any classes they held in life).
Petitioners of Elysium have the followint special petitioner qualities:
-Additional Immunities: Electricity, cold
-Resistances: Cold 20, fire 20
-Other Special Qualities: Retain up to four character levels acquired prior to becoming a petitioner.

Planar travelers are common on the shores of the River Oceanus, and cargo freighters move goods up and down the river between towns inhabitied by petitioners and half-celestials.
Evil and morally neutral creatures tend to become lost along the riverbanks, unable to cope with the goodness that infuses the landscape. This makes such interlopers prime targets for avoral scouts. If the scouts face determined evil foes, they'll call on stronger guardinals or (in rare cases) one of the Celestiar to join the battle; evil creatures are slain on Elysium. Morally neutral visitors are often questioned closely by the avorals, who determine their intentions and then either aid or expel them. Aid or expulsion is accompanied by a gentle (but long) lecture.

Movement and Combat
The Great River Oceanus and its side channels dominate much of the plane, so boat traffic is common. The Oceanus current is normally 3 miles per hour and flows from the deepest layer, Thalasia, through Belierin and Eronia to Amoria.

Modern ships of all types and sizes can be found travelling the River Oceanus. In places, the Oceanus widens to a great, calm lake or fen with no appreciable current, while in others, the river splits and tumbles through sharp-rocked rapids, particularly on the mountainous second layer. In many places, the side channels have been dammed to provide hydroelectric power, although the main River has been left unimpeded.

Elysium Combat
Elysium does not present any inherent benefit or penalty to combat. There is very little tolerance for evil, and most of the celestial natives have the ability to smite evil. Fights tend to last longer and be less often fatal due to the positive energy that infuses the entire plane (although modern firearms have diminished this effect to a degree).

Features of Elysium
The top layer of Elysium is Amoria; it is more like the Material Plane than the other levels. Upstream on the Oceanus, the land becomes rougher and more mountainous until the traveler reaches the cascades of Eronia, the second layer. Here, steep valleys flank the river, which surges through narrow passages.

Eventually the mountains diminish and the river sperads into a great wetland teeming with insects, reptiles, and waterfowl. This is Belierin, with the growing city of Soulguard occupying most of the dry land on the layer. Finally the bottom of the wetlands deepens and the traveler passes into the fourth layer of the plane, Thalasia, the headwaters of the Oceanus among the Isles of the Blessed.

While the Oceanus flows between the layers of the plane, it is not a straight journey. The great river splits into myriad smaller flwos, recombines, and splits again. Occasionally an offshoot of the river curls around and reentrs the layer it just left. Fortunately, the main course of the river is well enough traveled that the chances of getting lost have been greatly diminished.

Vision on Elysium is just as on the Material Plane at that particular time of day. Elysium shares a day and night cycle with the Material Plane and has similar (if gentler) weather. The days are warm and calm, the nights cool and comfortable.

The nights are also alive with small lights. Not only is there a river of stars overhead in imitation of the River Oceanus, but fireflies dance among the trees and fields, and luminous jellyfish swim beneath the surface of the Oceanus. Surprisingly, light pollution from city lights is almost non-existent, even though the city lights are seemingly more luminous. The effect has to be seen to be appreciated.

Amoria
Amoria is the topmost layer of Elysium and one of the most hospitable places on the Outer Planes, despite the recent nuclear attack by the Yugoloths on the layer. Urban centers ranging from small towns to metropolis cover a good percentage of the banks of the River Oceanus, and islands of rolling hills rise from the river itself. Boat traverl is common, and the bulk of the popluation of Elysium lives on this layer (although many are beginning to move to Belierin with the growth of Soulguard).

Amoria is a relatively peaceful place, but it is also a place where those who live have ample opportunities to aid others and demonstrate goodness. There is still misfortune on Elysium-car accidents, fires, lost wallets, etc.-but it seems to exist only to show the collective power of goodness. Calamities here test and identify those who are from other planes. Travelers to Armoria are besieged by small errands and tasks (which is usually the one thing that keeps most planewalkers from taking long vacations to the layer), but if they complete them, they find powerful allies at their side.

The fallout from the nuclear attacks still lingers in Amoria, but it only seems to benefit the layer. Petitioners, along with any good-aligned traveler who remains for a year in Amoria, recieves a permanent +2 radiation bonus to a randomly determined ability score. Combined with the awsomely powerful Celestiars, and its clear why many say that the loths secretly wish they had never dropped the Bomb on Amoria (The loths, of course, have their own spin on this piece of history).

Amoria has seasons, though they are so timid that visitors from the Material Plane hardly notice them. It is never too hot in summer nor too cold in winter, and it rarely rains without a rainbow appearing immediately afterward. Even heavy rainstorms seem to be pleasent in an odd way.

The rulers of the guardinals also live on Amoria. These supremely powerful guardinals are as powerful as the Archdevils of Baator and the Demon Princes of the Abyss. First among their number is Prince Talisid, the wisest and most powerful of leonals. Talisid's lieutenants are known as the Six Companions: the lupinal Duke Serradus, the ursinal Matriarch Bharrai, the avoral Duchess Sathia, the equinal Duchess Vhara, the cervidal Lord Manath, and the musteval Lady Techine. Together they organize the efforts of the guardinals, sending them on missions against evil and even striking into the lower plans to recover those captured by the forces of evil. Recently, however, Talisid and the Six Companions led a successful retaliatory attack against the Yugoloths for nuking their plane, resulting in the partial destruction of the Tower of the Arcanoloths (the tower is being rebuilt).

The Planar Canal: The section of the great canal on Elysium is a massive set of locks capable of servicing ships of any size. The locks are located about midway between the border to Eronia and the Beastlands. Going down the canal takes you into Dothion, on Bytopia. the canal runs through the entire layer, eventually taking a traveler to the Silver Sea at the base of Celestia. The Planar Canal is almost as wide as Oceanus at its largest.

The Phoenix Meadows: The Phoenix Meadows are 12 lightly forested fields along the River Oceanus that were once bustling Metropolis before they were wiped out in the nuclear attack by the Yugoloths. They are also the birth sites of the Celestiar. Scholars are unsure as to why the Celestiar were born. Some believed that the spirits of the petitioners who died in the blast fused together to create a single being of incredible power. Others think that the Celestiar are in fact avatars of the Plane form in reaction to the wound inflicted on it. Still another theory links the Celestiar to the ancient Heralds of Holiness that once resided on Elysium.

Little trace remains of the city or the blast that destroyed it. At the epicenter of each meadow is a memorial commemorating those who died in the explosion. No one knows who made these statues. Each memorial is different, but they all emenate a sadness that is uncharacteristic of Elysium. Those who visit these memorials appear to act with a renewed sense of purpose in their lives.

Talisid's Dive: Although Talisid doesn't normally like keeping a permanent residence, he has seen the need for keeping a modern base of operations. He thus opened a small, open-roof dive on an island in the middle of the River Oceanus (complete with a small dock). A small but beautiful lighthouse stands at the Island's center. Beneath the dive, a group of dedicated guardinals and other celestials secretly track and analyze information throughout the Outer Planes. How they collect their data is one of Talisid's best kept secrets.

Above ground, drinks are served to patrons at only small charge. This makes it a popular place for anyone who knows where to find it. There is very little else on the Island aside from a nice beach. The bartenders can tell with only a glance if patrons are underage or had too much to drink. If they had to much to drink, the bartenders let them sleep it off in one of the cots kept around the island. They never allow a patron to leave while intoxicated and unaccompanied.

Talisid's Dive is perhaps the best place to find Talisid or one of his Companions. That's not to say that they come here often, but that they tend to come to the Dive more often than any particular spot on the plane. Talisid and the Companions have never actually been seen drinking at the dive (or anywhere, for that matter). Occasionally, Talisid can even be seen meeting with the leaders of the other upper planes. Only celestials from Arborea and Ysgard have been seen drinking at this bar.

In the back of the dive is the closest thing Talisid has to an official seat of power: a small office with a single desk and a couple chairs. Lining the walls are pictures (both paintings and photos) of former Companions who fought beside him throughout the ages. There is a small television set in the room, which Talisid can use to moniter any place on Elysium. Usually, though, its turned to college football (a sport Talisid takes a strange liking to, although no one knows which team he roots for).

Eronia
Eronia is a rising land of steep hills, sharp-toothed mountains, and white granite valleys, which divert the river again and gain. Rugged foothills coil at the bases of these mountains, high bluffs, plateus, and mesas. Communities tend to congregate on the plateaus or in small towns hunched between the mountains and the River Oceanus.

The weather is fierce on Eronia; great windstorms and snowfalls with lightning are common. The summers are hotter and the winters more bitter than on the Material Plane. Eronia is for the good souls who still want to be challenged in their afterlife.

While Eronia is arguably the most dangerous layer on Elysium (most inhabitants here will tell you its perfectly safe as long as you use common sense), it has also seen more changes with the coming of technology than any other layer. Roadways and railroad tracks cut through the mountains, while concrete bridges span over the steep river valleys. Modern mining equipment has allowed the locals to access the previously untapped riches of the layer. On many of the Oceanus' side paths, dams that are miles wide and thousands of feet high now provide hydroelectric power to most of the plane. Almost every town is equipped with a heliport, and those with enough open space have also built small airports. Every town has a satellite dish for connecting with the rest of the Planes (see the Blimp Satellite below).

Despite the achievements of modern technology on Eronia, those who live here do so at the whim of the mountains themselves. Often parts of great hills slide away, blocking the river as well as nearby roads and rails. In the winter, snowplows fight a fierce battle to keep the roads open. Eronia is a place of rugged peace, its mountains lost in luminous clouds above and a challenge to any climber. Many who live here are natural loners looking to live apart from the press of the cities. Small cabins dot the mountain pass, providing welcome refuge to those trying to travel the layer by foot or road. Here the wind whips around mightily, causing several helicopters and planes to crash against the mountain sides every year, especially if the pilot is not expecting the wind's ferocity. Statistitians have noted, though, that these crashes have a greater chance of there being survivors than what would be normal on the Prime Material Plane, and the response to these disasters from local communities is swift. All creatures with a fly speed have their maneuverability reduced to the next lower category (perfect to good, good to average, average to poor, poor to clumsy). Clumsy fliers remain clumsy.

Bharrai Research Center: Overlooking a small lake nestled between four mountains, the Bharrai Research Center is considered to be the most important center of learning among the ursinals. Originally a lodge that served as a part-time school of wizardry, the ursinal matriarch Bharrai has done much to renovate the lodge into a modern research facility, studying everything from planar ecology to quantum physics. On the outside, the lodge looks little different, although the addition of a helipad and satilite dishes make an interesting contrast to the elogant wooden exterior of the lodge. The old dock on the lake has been greatly renovated to accomdate those interested in studying marine biology.

Inside, the lodge has undergone huge changes, although it stays true to its original use. The lodge would be familiar to anyone who has visited a modern hunting lodge, although they would wonder where all the trophies are kept (Bharrai only hunts for food, and never keeps trophies). The lodge is also equipped with several boardrooms and lecture halls, where classes on enivormental studies are held. Bharrai also uses these rooms when meeting with the inhabitants of the layer, who usually come to her for advice before they begin any major construction project (such as making a clearing for a helipad, establishing a new town). Bharrai has had a large influence on the shaping of Eronia in modern times, but has consequently spent less of her time travelling with Talisid and her fellow Companions. Many believe that she will retire as one of Talisid's Companions in the near future.

Many of the research center's newest facilities are in fact located under the mountains boardering the lake. A large tunnel circles the lake, holding one of the largest particle accelerators on the Planes. It is certainly the largest that allows other researchers access to it for their experiments. Time to use the accelerator is sought by many scientists that are on the cutting edge of science.

The Blimp Satelite: One of the curious effects of Eronia is that communication signals are interfered with by the high mountains, whether they are technological or magical in nature. This makes communication by radio or sending a precarious business, and ever cross-planar communication appears to be interfered with by the mountains. Meanwhile, Eronia's hazardous weather makes using wire connections impractical in the long run.

To overcome this communication barrier, Bharrai has bought several custom-made blimps from Bytopia. These blimps, hovering miles over the rugged terrain, carry equipment normally found on communication satelites that orbit the primes. Each town in Eronia is equipped with satelites which can link up with one of the blimps without having to worry about interference. The blimps then send the signals where-ever they need to go.

The blimp satelites are watched over and maintained by an old silver dragon named Rennusiantus. He is helped by several astral devas who live on the layer. The sky-duchess Santhia also keeps an eye on these blimps from time to time.

Belierin

The third layer of Elysium almost seems out of place-at least to sods who don't look below the surface. A cutter's first impession of Belierin depends on how he reaches the layer. Planewalker travelling via the Oceanus enter into an endless wetland. The river frequently swells and recedes, sometimes going through a cycle in a few days. Torrential downpours accompany every swell. Frequent clouds and a rich canopy ensure that sunlight is always spotty, at best. And like any wetland, Belierin has plenty of snakes, mosquitoes, and other less-than-wholesome animals.

Alternatively, using a portal from a different plane will more often take a traveller to the budding city of Soulguard. Hardly the idylic paradigm of urban landscapes, Soulguard appears to be a mish-mash of different cultural elements (especially low-income elements) from the Primes. On the Planes-where cultural norms change reality-this kind of cosmopolitan atmosphere is almost unheard of outside the Cage. And while grandeur is the norm on the Great Wheel, there's little about Soulguard that strikes a berk as 'grand'. In fact, the place looks like a mess. Even more astonishing is the biological make-up. A majority of the inhabitants are from races typically not associated with the Upper Planes; and when a cutter spies a fiend standing at the corner, she might be tempted to flee back through the portal she entered through, convinced her tout had peeled her.

Observant bloods, however, know better than to trust first impressions. While rains are frequent and heavy, they are never miserable. Even as the river swells and recedes, shelters are never flooded and boats are never stranded. Shafts of light dance gracefully through the foilage. Travellers discover that the diseases and poisons that are found in Prime swamps are strangely abscent here. Animals may be wild, but they leave visitors alone as long as they are respected. Unlike the Beastlands, a cutter who tries to develop the swamp isn't scragged for trying to live as he wants; however, such Enterprising berks usually find there development shifted to the outskirts of Soulguard.

While Soulguard is no glittering city, it isn't a dangerous ghetto, either. The smells of urban filth are conspicuously abscent-instead, the air is filled with rich ethnic smells of incredible variety. The different cultures and races coexist peacefully, even while maintaining distinct identies. The 'foul races' are in fact petitioners of Elysium, and bear all the traits and beliefs as fellow spirits on the rest of the plane. The souls of creatures that were persecuted for being different-either because they were from an alien culture or defied evils that were accepted by their peers-travelled to Belierin in the afterlife. The one major difference is their attitude towards non-good beings: Belierin petitioners tend to be more empathetic to those haunted by dark thoughts and deeds.

The 'fiends', too, are notable because they defy the norm set by their dark kin. Belierin is home to the largest community of Risen fiends on the Upper Planes. Thanks to their numbers, these Risen can operate more openly than in times bygone. There are several different 'lodges' of Risen united under an umbrella organization called the Prodigal Order. Heroes fighting against Evil have turned to the Prodigal Order for their invaluable insight and unique perspective on the moral depravity they once represented.

Soulguard

A very recent addition to Belierin, Soulguard is often called 'Martyr's Rest,' a name owing to the first petitioners to settle in what is now the city's bustling market ward. Scholars believe that Martyr's Rest had been an indiscript town on the banks of the Oceanus for ages, a final resting place to those who willingly gave their lives for the sanctification of righteousness in the Multiverse. The rise of industrialization brought a demographical shift in Elysium, with more petitioners being drawn to Belierin than ever witnessed. As a result, Martyr's Rest transformed almost overnight from a quiet town into a sprawling, almost haphazard, metropolis. It wasn't long before planewalkers to discover that the berg was one of the few places on the Upper Planes open to trade with the rest of the Multiverse.

Today, Soulguard has expanded across the Blessed River, with docks lining the banks and several bridges connecting the two banks. Due to a lack of common language among Soulguardians (as locals call themselves), Planewalkers tend to refer to the side that has City Hall as 'Old Town' (though no one knows if that side was originally Martyr's Rest) and the other side as 'New Town.' On either side of the Oceanus, there are hundreds of ethnic communities, each preserving the rich cultural traditions of the petitioners living there. Interaction with other 'enclaves' is common enough that these communities, while distinct, are not isolated.

As noted earlier, residents of Soulguard are willing to do business with non-good cutters without lecturing them. In addition, the city has a number of large gates connecting to the rest of the Upper Planes as well as several Inner Planes. These two features have made Soulguard a prominent center of trade, especially when the markets in Sigil get too crowded and Azzgrat, Dis, and the City of Brass are less than compelling alternatives. That's not to say that Soulguard isn't without hitches. For one thing, the entire berg negates language-related magic and psionics, such as Tounges or Comprehend Languages. While many of the petitioners know a smattering of common or Celestial, and some even understanding several languages, the only way to get the best deals is to be able to speak their native tounge. Given the variety of languages permeating Soulguard, this can often be a tall order. Bloods that regularly do business here will learn the native tounges of whomever they deal with. Interestingly, the number of languages understood by a petitioner, and their level of proficiency in them, appears to be directly proportional to how far along they are towards merging with the plane.

Even if a cutter gets past the language barrier, doing business in Soulguard can have unintended consequences. While the locals tolerate berks of questionable morals, they will not suffer evil acts coming within the city-including business that directly or indirectly support immoral activities. And the residents somehow know if your dealings are tainted-even if you don't! This sense isn't flawless, and the workings of this 'peel sense' remains very much in the dark. If Soulguardains sense something wrong, then they either refuse to do business and/or informed whatever injured parties are involved of the activity and how they are getting peeled. Sometimes, the mark is the poor sod trying to make the transaction in Soulguard, and many companies will set offices in Soulguard for the explicit purpose of guarding the business against con-jobs.

Although each 'enclave' manages many of it's own affairs, city-wide services and external relationships are mostly handled by the Risen. Although most bloods suspect that the Prodigal Order's main headquarters is located somewhere other than Soulguard (if they even have one), the city is home to a number of lodges and serves as a 'front office' for the Order. The mayor of Soulguard, the risen Pit Fiend Gazra, was once Govenor of Abriymoch and whom many believe to be a senior member of the Prodigal Order. Gazra's skill as an administrator has served him well in his new home, despite several assassination attempts by his former masters. Though many are surprised a fugitive-traitor of Baator would present himself so openly, the dark is that drawing attention from the Lower Planes is precisely Gazra's aim-it gives other members of the Prodigal Order an important cover for carrying out their own activities.

Winter's Warmth

Far from Soulguard, the wetlands give way to a great forest of conifer trees , occasionally broken by expansive turdra. For ordinary planewalkers, this landscape, sometimes called the Blessed Taiga, will either go on indefinately or return to the wetlands. However, the chant in Soulguard speaks of a realm that only the most innocent hearts can reach. Like most rumors, there's a grain of truth to it, this one larger than others. A child that ventures into the Blessed Taiga will eventually come to an expanse of ice and snow (as long as their dressed warm enough-otherwise, they don't get to experience the joys of hypothermia). This is the home of one of the most peculiar members of the Celestial Choir-Saint Klaw, Seraph of Winter.

The snow in Winter's Warmth is soft and easy to pack, and many hills sport elaborate structures made of snow. While no one lives in them, they are frequently used by the Realm's petitioner (NG children that died prematurely) when they're out playing. At the center of Winter's Warmth is a great wooden hall, painted in bright colors and strung with glittering gems. 12 mighty fir trees make a perimiter around the hall. Here, the children-petitioners continue their storybook existance during the long nights. They are watched over by a group of dedicated astral devas and ursinals.

Any child that comes to Winter's Warmth, either on their own or in the company of his or her friends, will be allowed to sit on the lap of Saint Klaw himself. The seraph asks his guest what they hoped "Ol' Jolly Big Red" could do for them. No matter what the boy or girl needs, Saint Klaw finds a way to make it so. He then transports the young one back to their parents or (if there are complications) trusted guardian.

Children that meet Saint Klaw always describe him as "big and red and warm and friendly!!" Very rarely do they mention that the Seraph is, in fact, a Balor (albiet one that doesn't seem frieghtening). While the catalyst for Klaw's ascension remains in the dark, many sages suspect that he was making a bid for divinity that somehow got out of hand at one point. Some suspect that modern communication played a pivital part in this bizzare twist. Whatever the reason, Klaw was catapulted into the Upper Planes, where he quickly joined the ranks of the Seraphim.

There are persistent rumors that a portal or planar pathway exists that allows grown planewalkers to reach Winter's Warmth. It isn't hard to imagine that somewhere in Sigil there is a portal that connects to that realm. Even so, repeating such rumors in serious company is a good way to demonstrate that you're an addle-cove.

Thalasia

The source of the River Oceanus encompasses the entire fourth layer of Elysium. Thalasia is a universe-spanning ocean populated by a smattering of islands and archipeligos. Clueless often confuse Thalasia with Ossa, Arborea's second layer. This mistake is a bit more forgivable than, say, mixing up Mt. Olympus and Mt. Celestia. The differences between the two is subtle, and even experienced planewalkers must do some exploration to notice them. Whereas Ossa is fairly open to visitors (as long as they don't mind the friendly harrasement of mischevious sea fae), a sod is going to find his travel destinations limited if they want to travel beyond the realms of Powers (Pelor's City of the Sun and the Celtic Isles of the Blessed are the best known). Any sane cutter, including the good-type, knows better than to visit Thalasia on a whimsy. The reason why rests in the Unity of Rings.

Aside from petitioners belonging to a specific power, souls drawn to Thalasia had belonged to mortals who, in the eyes of the Plane of Unburdened Holiness, heroes of the highest order. These bloods did more than just perform great acts that promoted rightiousness in the cosmos-they did them at incredible cost and sacrifice, without any expectation of being recognized for their troubles. While many are, in fact, forgotton by mortal greybeards, the celestials of Elysium do remember their deeds. When these cutters get written in the dead book, and no Power can claim him or her as a worshipper, their souls travel to Thalasia. There, on a serenely beautiful island, the hero's spirit is transformed into an Einheriar. They keep all the skills, class levels and abilities they had developed in their mortal life. Even their memories are intact, though they are no longer attached to them. The Einheriar of Thalasia are awarded with a greater understanding of the beliefs they upheld, and a final peace that was denied to them in life.

Occasionally, however, an Einheriar is called on to intercede in cosmic affairs. This is where visitors to Thalasia come in. Good-aligned planewalkers that leave the divine realms (whether by air or sea) will travel for days through rough weather before coming to one of the islands of the Einheriar. The important thing to know is that the sod is not taken where he wants to go, but where he needs to go. Depending on how experienced the visitor is, this can result in a sod being enlisted to undertake some incredibly perilous quest with hundreds of millions souls at stake. As you can imagine, there are few berks that want that type of pressure.

Despite its reputation as a recruiting center for Elysium, Thalasia still recieves a fair amount of visitors. The different realms are important holy sites for a power's followers, and pilgrims can visit them without having a dangerous mission dropped in there laps. Also, bloods that are already waist-deep in such a mission will take to the sea in order to find an Einheriar that can help with what may seem to be an impossible task. Hence, the unity of rings: the spirits of great heroes of Thalasia lend their aid and advice to living heroes, who themselves will likely pass into Thalasia in the afterlife.

Los Solla: City of the Sun

The most commonly visited spot in Thalasia is the island home of the sun god Pelor. Pelor's realm has undergone many noticable changes. Originally, the entire island was occupied by a massive fortress constructed from an incredibly reflective material. Though the fortress remains, it only covers part of the island; whether the fortress was scaled back or the island was expanded remains in the dark. The rest of the island has been turned into a modern city to house Pelor's petitioners, proxies, and other mortal servants-along with streams of visitors riding the wave of Planar Tourism.

The City of the Sun (or Los Solla, a shorter name that some prime visiters gave it) is bathed in perpetual sunlight, with the 'sun' centered over the entire city. Temperatures range from the mid eighties to high nineties, with a brisk ocean breeze acting as a regulator. The ocean surrounding the island are shallow, meaning that sunlight can reach the seabed here as well. Consequently, the beaches of Los Solla harbor a bounty of coral reefs and tropical fish. The combination of plentiful sun and beautiful beaches and reefs makes Los Solas a popular destination for planar tourists.

Pelor entrusts the running of Los Solla to one of his proxies, mayor-cardinal Maria Torri. Maria's devotion to the sun lord is matched only by her keen business sense. Behind her humble demeanor is a canny blood that helped make Los Solla one of the hot spots on the Outer Planes.

Every building take advantage of the copiuos sunlight, with large windows and numerous solar panels. In fact, solar panels are as omnipresent in Pelor's realm as is his holy symbol. There's even a manufacturing plant that builds the best solar power generators in the cosmos. The plant is staffed by petitioners who see their labor as a holy mitzvah (which, considering their patron's portfolio, isn't that barmy).