The Trading Post
Aurora North itself is a bustling trade post, the social center of the Realm. This is where the door lets Kin out, in human shapes, in the full range of human colors, bundled in their own furs. Each of them has their own set of skills, and is here to offer them. Some hunt; some carve; some cook or create. It is a brutal world, low technology, people who live on the land -- but this trading post is aglow with activity, lit by torches or magical lamps and the Borealis above.
The trading post never sleeps, and is never quiet. Fires go at all hours, sturdy encampments settled alongside makeshift tents, people living how they like and how they can afford. People hawk their wares huddled out of the wind and the cold, trade or sell, offering the wide range of human creativity.
The Artisans
Most of the people who come to Aurora North do not live there. Most come from cities several days journey away, travelling in on carts with sturdy horses or strong animals pulling them along, bundled up in furs and carrying everything they need to survive. Everything they bring they have made, from clothing to cured meat and cheeses to rich wines; from pots and pans to tools to timepieces; from jewelry to etchings to oil paintings. As the most prestigious market, all of what people bring is of the highest quality. A poor Artisan couldn't make it in the crowd, and someone with a small niche is especially prized.
Crafting Magic
And, of course, there is the magic. Not everyone in the Realm has a knack for Crafting, but most have at least some small skill. With this magic, they're able to imbue the good they make with a Light, a unique ability, which helps people to survive in this bleak and cold landscape.
Crafters have five areas of specialization, and generally they're skilled at only one:
- Protection: Items imbued with this kind of magic provide their bearers with some kind of small protection, acting as an invisible shield or armor, or keeping others from attacking magically.
- Harm: When imbued with harm magic, items can do damage either to people or to materials, allowing Crafters to create weapons, explosives, acids, and other kinds of hurt.
- Healing: Perhaps items imbued with healing can knit wounds, drive off disease, or even help mend emotional harm.
- Enhancement: Wearing items imbued with enhancement might make people stronger, faster, more alert, or able to stay awake for long periods.
- Support: Support items simply have an ability unto themselves, making them useful in many situations, whether it's heat or cold, light, or other ambient uses.
All Crafted items have a subtle glow to them, a reflection of the Aurora in the sky above the Trading Post. Usage of these items dims the light, and when it goes out, they must be recharged at Aurora North to continue functioning.
Aurora North lives in a tree that is old and is hefty; its branches holding aloft a heavy burden of snow, the breeze cold and bright, with the scent of water on the air. Despite the wintry atmosphere, this tree is covered in small blossoms, neat and aglow with a rainbow of pastel colors, sparkling. The door is rimmed with light that only gets brighter when Kin pass thorugh, into a winter world of magic.....
