Amberwick
Tucked into the glowing bones of a fractured canyon, Amberwick is the sanctuary nobody knew they needed until it grew in them like the bioluminescent fungus on the walls. Those cast out of the Dusk Continent gathered here, devoted to the very curiosity and community the Dusk tried to kill in them. They became alchemists, scientists, keepers of old secrets and breathers of new life.
These people are rebels, in the purest sense, rejecting the very idea of them not being born "correctly". Chosen families are built between former strangers, and whole streets carry the quiet intimacy of people who have rebuilt themselves from the shards of loss. Very few here are related by blood, but that matters very little.
After the Guild's intervention, their core has stabilized and light has returned to the high paths and caverns of Amberwick, but the residents still feel a little uncertain. They have been betrayed before, and they have rebuilt before, but they aren't used to still working with those they feel wronged by, especially when those same people have attempted to rectify their "wrongs". They are re-calibrating, and the guild has opted as a whole to give them the time they need to do so.
Overall, they are cool toward the guild, but not antagonistic. Some have already forgiven, but there are no heroes among our number in their eyes.
Primary Features
- Built into a fractured canyon with bioluminescent walls
Homes carved into stone, often marked with glyphs honoring ancestral lines
Bridges and terraces connect districts above the canyon floor
Power grid supported by a synthetic ichori core (installed post-Egg Incident)
The Rekindling Fault
480
EXP
"One of the younger researchers has come across a strange bioluminescent substance. It appears to be sentient. They are asking for Guild assistance to figure out whether it's dangerous."
Not another Egg?
450
EXP
"Amberwick is worried that their new core might be another egg. Calm their fears."
The Clogged Artery
320
EXP
“A section of Amberwick’s canyon has become difficult to traverse. Alchemical mist won’t vent properly, and structural shifts have rendered the area impassable. A scholar has requested Guild assistance."
The Founding of Amberwick (Over 100 years ago)
Amberwick began as a waystation along ancient trade routes. Bioluminescent fungi and crystalline formations drew in scholars and wanderers, slowly transforming the site into a center for experimental study.The Exile Influx (35 years ago)
After the Dusk Continent formalized its rejection of magic, exiles began arriving in waves. They arrived alone, grieving, burning with questions. Amberwick became their haven, repurposed by necessity and community into something far more than the rigid scholarly institution it once was.A Light Unstable (1 year ago)
The lights of Amberwick have begun to flicker out of sync. Some burn too bright. Others fail entirely. Alchemists insist nothing has changed in their work—but something unseen is shifting beneath the systems they control.The Catalyst Beneath
The Guild Dragon's visit awakened a buried artifact beneath the canyon floor.
Scholars believe her presence destabilized the artifact’s frequency.
The artifact is becoming volatile. Carefully maintained stasis has unraveled.
A new quest has been posted, urgently seeking intervention.
Failure to act will force a last resort: the artifact’s destruction.
If that happens, Amberwick will lose its core power source and many of its infrastructure.The Catalyst Beneath - Resolution
The Guild Dragon's presence triggered instability in the town’s supposed “core,” revealing it to be an egg. The artifact was removed and replaced with a synthetic stabilizer.