Aquos

Aquos is the capital of the Laverathian Empire. It is the hometown of Reides.

Description
Aquos is the capital of the Laverathian Empire. It is located in the central area of the Laverathian Basin and is the largest settlement of the empire itself. An active, bustling city, Aquos is very self-sufficient. It is surrounded by a plethora of natural resources which give its residents a high quality of life. For example, due to its relatively close proximity to the Laverathian Hydrothermal Vents, many tradesmen have businesses set up in Aquos, and the vast seaweed fields surrounding the city are well taken care of. Aquosian scavengers, scouts and hunters are very well-trained. Many different Aquosian goods are exported to other Laverathian territories; it is considered the main hub of resources for the rest of the empire.

All Laverathian settlements are assigned a shell in order to bolster a sense of community within that settlement. Aquos’ shell is the conch. This was selected for the capital due to its link to Persana, as the triton creator-god's symbol is also the conch. Buildings around Aquos are decorated with conch insignias, and the shell itself is also used as decor in many Aquosian establishments.

Most of Aquos' population comprises of tritons, but some sea elves and other undersea races have been granted residency as well. It is very rare for a non-triton to settle within Aquos, but those who attained permission to do so are treated without scorn, as they are considered part of the Aquosian people. These are typically people who have shown a great deal of loyalty to the empire, usually in the form of ambassador work or upholding trading treaties with other undersea kingdoms. Alternatively, they may have formed families with Aquosian tritons and gained residency through that relationship.

Though Aquosians are very loyal to each other, the city itself has a rigid social hierarchy. There is a vast social divide between its nobility and its commoners. The current leadership has made some progress with lessening this divide, but traditional-minded tritons find issue with this. Refined pelagic ore is associated with the upper class. High-ranking members of Aquosian society use the silver-blue metal as decor and as armor.

Members of the Laverathian City Guard are colloquially referred to as Steelfins. The Laverathian Kingsguard are high-ranking guards assigned to protecting the Laverath family. Commoners occasionally refer to the Kingsguard as Silverfins due to their pelagic armor, but it is highly inappropriate to do this to their faces and can result in imprisonment. Aquos boasts a strong standing army which seeks to keep out all external threats.

Aquos’ pride and joy is the Coralpeak Citadel, which has housed the Laverath family since the empire’s inception.

Coralpeak Citadel
The Coralpeak Citadel houses the royal family of Laverathia. It is a massive, sprawling structure, magnificently decorated and fortified to withstand the harshest of undersea elements.

Known Rooms and Structures of the Citadel


 * The Grand Entrance Hall: A huge open room that one enters upon swimming inside of the Citadel. It is extravagently designed; its sturdy pillars are decorated with tons of shells and mosaics crafted out of colourful glass adorn its walls. The hall leads almost directly to the garden at its far end, which in turn leads towards the throne room. The entrance hall also has spiraling stairwells which lead to various wings of the Citadel, such as one dedicated to its library and another dedicated to its bedrooms.
 * Throne room: The throne room is also a coral reef; as a result, the room is very colourful. It has very high ceiling, held up by several massive, coral-covered pillars. A bridge fashioned out of a shimmering opal-like material connects the room’s entranceway to a series of platforms carved from white stone. Each of these platforms is decorated with gold and pelagic metal, though many of them have melded together with the sea life around the room. The visible patterns upon them give homage to Persana, depicting his symbols in abstract mosaics. The throne is located on the highest of these platforms, which is in the center of the throne room. The midpoint of the throne room's bridge is decorated with a huge emblem of Laverathia - a detailed, swirling conch shell. Beneath the bridge and surrounding the throne itself, one can see an extremely deep chasm which many peaceful sea creatures reside in as well as the coral reef itself. The room is illuminated with bioluminescent lamps. The throne of Aquos grows out from the reef itself. This is symbolic of the harmony between the tritons of Laverathia and the creatures of the sea. A hidden tunnel is located towards the back of the throne room. This tunnel leads out of the Citadel and towards a large ridge to the southwest of Aquos, past the seaweed fields. It is used in emergencies, but members of the royal family (such as Reides and Lotlyn) occasionally use it as a means of sneaking out of the Citadel.
 * Ballrooms: The Citadel has two huge ballrooms which are reserved for formal functions.
 * Bedrooms: Each member of the immediate royal family has a personal bedroom. In regards to the current generation of Laveraths, Khavas and Arlyn share a bedroom, and Reides, Dhudus, Viglis and Lotlyn each have a personal bedroom. During their stay in Aquos, the Champions Valoris visited a few of these rooms. Notably, they visited Reides' room, which was very large, with an unmade bed and tons of bookshelves crammed full of tomes as well as scavenged items from shipwrecks. They also visited Dhudus' room, which was significantly more messy than Reides', but in a way that implied a personal organization system. They noticed that well-maintained weapons were hung up on the walls of this room, too. Later on, Reides visited Viglis' room, which was very neatly organized with a portion of it dedicated to serving as a study of sorts. There are also a number of bedrooms that are vacant, currently serving as guest rooms.
 * Library: The royal library has the most impressive collection of tomes in Laverathia. Its floors and walls are constructed out of a variety of gray, blue and green stones.
 * Garden: Located in the central area of the Citadel, the royal garden is renown throughout Laverathia. Many rare seaplants and types of coral flourish here. It is open to visitors; many people pass by as they go about their day-to-day business.
 * The Tower: The most isolated tower on the outskirts of the Coral Citadel. A small bridge leads out of the main palace towards this tower. It has one huge door which locks from the outside. Inside, it has chains on its walls. Reides was imprisoned in this tower in 597 for a number of weeks due to his request to go to the surface world. He was freed by Lotlyn and Viglis. In 598, Lotlyn was imprisoned here by Kal’dazzum and Ryl'dhagt of the Abyss. The Champions Valoris broke the door down, freeing her. Reides later told Arlyn that they should just level the tower. However, he soon learnt that the tower had more functionality than a simple prison cell. A secret lower level of this tower served as a very important safehouse for a variety of Khavas' treasures, accessible only by pressing a specific flagstone at the tower's base. These treasures included the Wreath of Persana and Aquos' teleportation circle. After learning of this, Reides admitted that they couldn't tear down the tower, but suggested that they turn the prison cell into something nicer.

Map
(tba)

Prior to the Campaign
Aquos has been the capital of Laverathia since the empire formed.

Siege of Coralpeak Citadel
The Siege of Coralpeak Citadel was an Aquosian battle that occurred on Winter’s Dawn 9 598.

During the Leaffall Stormbringing Festival, Aquos faced a surprise attack led by Kal'dazzum, a young kraken, and Ryl'dhagt, an aboleth. These two beasts were accompanied by legions of sea spawn and sahuagin. The attack was shockingly well-coordinated and unlike anything Laverathia had ever seen before. Many Aquosians perished in the ensuing battle, and Aquos itself fell. In the chaos, Princess Lotlyn Coril Ven-Alen Kaen-Arlyn Laverath – who had strayed from her guard detail during the festivities – was abducted by a platoon of triton-turned-sea spawn. Despite heavy losses, the rest of the royal family was able to escape the Citadel via the use of secret tunnel system in the Citadel’s throne room, and Aquosian soldiers protected many Aquosian citizens as they made their escape to the region outside of the city.

The Aquosian survivors set up a large refugee camp to the southwest of the city. This camp was shielded from outsiders by natural cover in the form of a massive ridge and a coral graveyard. The refugee camp was very well-organized and served as a settlement in its own right. Emperor Khavas Alatraen Yon-Xanthan Kien-Zinthos Laverath retained his authority for the establishment of the camp. After being summoned by Ryl'dhagt for a failed parley, however, Emperor Khavas stepped down from his leadership role. Unbeknownst at the time, Ryl'dhagt had blackmailed him out of the position, threatening the hostage princess’ safety if the emperor did not bend to its will. Unwilling to endanger his daughter, Emperor Khavas complied and placed himself under house arrest. He was accompanied by Empress Arlyn Giarde Laverath.

Prince Viglis Nomos Yon-Zinthos Kien-Khavas Laverath, Shield of the Reef and heir to the Laverathian throne, picked up where Khavas left off and began spearheading the relief efforts. Dharsus, captain of the Laverathian Kingsguard, also played a key role in assisting him. Objectives included keeping the camp safe from sea spawn and sahuagin by establishing of a system of patrols, finding Aquosian survivors who had fled to different regions of Laverathia, gathering supplies, carrying out reconnaissance and strategizing for retaking the city itself.

Prince Dhudus Kedis Yon-Zinthos Kien-Khavas Laverath, third in line to the throne, led a great number of patrols with the platoon under his leadership. During one such patrol, the group encountered Ryl'dhagt. Despite attempts at resisting the beast’s manipulation, the entire platoon – Dhudus included – fell under its command. Though they were all now thralls for the aboleth, these tritons behaved as they normally did; they posed a huge security risk in the coming days, as they gave the aboleth insight into the inner workings of the refugee camp.

Prince Reides Aurelian Yon-Zinthos Kien-Khavas Laverath, second-in-line to the throne and known amongst the Laverathians as the Storm Prince, reappeared in Laverathia on Winter’s Dawn 7, accompanied by a group of surfacers. The Storm Prince had been absent from Aquos since his disappearance in 597. This group – consisting of Reides, Kilwin of Cowersby, Jorah Wolfwood, Briar and Ashara – was known as the Champions Valoris. They immediately allied with the Aquosian forces and began working closely with the Shield of the Reef. Most notably, the Champions Valoris recovered a lost armory deep within the Crystalline Trench. This helped with outfitting fighting-fit Aquosians, as it provided them with pelagic armor. Otherwise, reconnaissance proved to be very difficult; two members of a trio of Aquosian spies met their ends while obtaining information on Kal'dazzum. The surviving spy managed to report back to Viglis and provided crucial information about the kraken's whereabouts in the Citadel. They reported that Kal'dazzum remained in the throne room of the Coralpeak Citadel, while the aboleth's location remained unknown. This information would form the foundation of the battle plan for retaking the city, as it implied that the beasts did not need to be faced simultaneously.

Compiled by Viglis and the Champions Valoris, the plan for retaking Aquos involved the main Aquosian force hitting the sea spawn and sahuagin legion head-on. While the armies clashed, a strike team consisting of the Champions Valoris would utilize the tunnel system leading into the throne room and land a surprise attack on Kal'dazzum, thus engaging the kraken in battle. After killing the kraken, this strike team would then set their attentions on Ryl'dhagt, with the goal of killing the aboleth.

On the eve of battle, Reides shared this battle plan with Dhudus, not knowing that his younger brother was under the control of Ryl'dhagt. This meant that the strike team lost the element of surprise when they faced Kal'dazzum, though they were able to infiltrate the Citadel via the tunnels with no issue. Kal'dazzum was accompanied by a number of sea spawn during this fight, and Reides was almost killed in the ensuing battle. Regardless, the Champions Valoris were able to thwart the kraken and its forces. In doing so, a large number of sea spawn facing the main Aquosian force seemed to lose the will to fight, abandoning the battle altogether. This helped the Aquosian forces breach the Citadel, and the battle began to spill into the palace itself. After slaying the beast, the strike team immediately set their sights on Ryl'dhagt. They found the aboleth in the royal library, where it was presumably trying to obtain as much knowledge about Laverathia as possible. Prior to facing the beast, the Champions Valoris learnt that Dhudus was serving as the aboleth's thrall. Reides immediately contacted Vigils via the use of a Sending spell, seeking to warn him of Dhudus' state, but learnt that Viglis knew about it already, as the prince had stabbed Dharsus and attempted to slit Viglis' throat. Fortunately, Viglis was able to knock Dhudus out, stopping the prince's rampage against his fellow Aquosians without the cost of his life. Upon slaying Ryl'dhagt, more sea spawn became listless, and the Aquosian forces were able to rout their forces entirely. In doing so, the Aquosians were able to retake Aquos for themselves. The battle would come to be known as the Siege of Coralpeak Citadel.

Though the Aquosian forces faced losses, they began rebuilding in the immediate aftermath of the Siege. The death of the aboleth seemed to release Dhudus from its control, but the prince placed himself under house arrest until he could be absolutely certain that he would not lose himself again. Despite his severe wound, Dharsus was kept alive thanks to the triton sorcerers' healing magic, with Kilwin's healing abilities stabilizing him entirely. Furthermore, the Champions Valoris were able to locate Princess Lotlyn, freeing her from her prison.

For his valor in slaying the beasts and aiding his home, Khavas granted the Wreath of Persana to Reides. He also granted his son the title of ambassador. Reides departed from Aquos alongside his surfacer companions on Winter's Dawn 10, with the goal of thwarting the evil that sought to take over Aquos once and for all.

Known Residents

 * Arlyn Laverath
 * Dharsus
 * Dhudus Laverath
 * Kannen
 * Kanom
 * Khavas Laverath
 * Lotlyn Laverath
 * Nakros (deceased)
 * Reides Laverath (currently elsewhere)
 * Viglis Laverath
 * Zinthos Laverath (deceased)