Astramar
The only place in the realm that has the most light. The stars shine down on the towering mountains and rolling hills to cast a luminant shade of blue that's made brighter with the magical ley lines that streak across its landscape. The province draws anyone who wishes to study the arcane arts from Druskenvald. This includes beings beyond the Shroud. While magical energies of all varieties radiate through the province, the cosmic guidance of the stars and other celestial bodies that fill the cerulean skies are especially leveraged by clairvoyants, soothsayers, and other such practitioners of divination magic.
Provincial Folklore
The Winds of Aither
Long ago, an impossibly powerful ritual called down storms of arcane energy from the stars themselves. It suffused the entire province with aither condensed arcane energy that spellcasters can draw upon to empower their magic. This volatile essence whips through the sky and crackles across the land, forming interconnected strands of power that are constantly shifting like complex wind patterns.
The people of Astramar rely on aither for their magical way of life, looking to the skies and the landscape to trace the ley line patterns and following the stars to divine how they will change each night. Azure crystals are used to collect arcane substance and are imbedded in the ground or held aloft in the heavens atop great towers. These crystals send the winds of aither across the province to fuel enchantments, conjurations, and countless other spells.
DM Note: While they're here the party could add 1d6 to spells they cast
The Stygian Depths
A sprawling network of caverns below the mountainous surface of Astramar. Aither-touched souls are at risk of being ripped from their bodies with one wrong incantation or misappropriation of a spell. When miscast occurs, the spirit is pulled into the underworld and joins the numerous souls that form the River Atropos; a spectral river that's utilized for stranger and more profane rituals. Those that perform these rituals are extremely dangerous and can strip one of their youth, magic, and vitality in mere moments.
Noteworthy Folk
Headmistress Narcissa Voss
Headmistress of the illustrious magical academy Gandorhal. She is known among the other nobles of the Crescent Court to be especially stern, proud, and cold. But to her students, she is warm and patient; and prioritizes their tutelage above most of her other duties. Can be located in her tower in Lunarium. She looks into the stars as a master of diviniation, seeking to foresee threads to her people. While she can see many possible futures, fate can always be twisted and changed and she often joins her most powerful mages in weaving monumental spells that protect the peoples of Astramar
Sister Effigy
Dwells in the ruined city-sized stone palace deep within the darkest cavern of the Stygian Depths. Draws the waters of the River Atropos and spins them like threads into malign and mutating spells that transforms beast and person alike into horrific monsters. She sees herself as a loving mother to her creations and plots for the opportune moment when her horde can rampage across Astramar and tear the cities down so that only her cavern will glow in glory. In the meantime, she magically molds new stone blocks, pillars, and statues for her palace.
Location Location Location
Lunarium
Astramar's grand capital filled with ornate spires and towers that reach high into the night sky. Despite the diverse population of practitioners of the arcane, the city was constructed with flight-capable beings in mind. Those without flight must expolore the city on floating arcane discs that are easy to control.
The capital is fueled by great arcane crystals thrumming with aither and contains numerous homes, schools, and cultural centers that shine like the stars.
One of the most prominent and famous landmarks of the city is the Dome of Cygnus, a large observatory said to have been built by Lunarium's founder. Numerous enchanted telescopes protude from the structure, allowing stargazers from across Druskenvald to seek answers from the cosmos above.
Gandorhal College of the Arcane Arts
Located on Lake Rommeda in the misty moors of Astramar. Students from all thirteen provinces are drawn to this influential college to hone their arcane skills and knowledge by gollowing a general curriculum that covers all types of magic.
The institution provides the opportunity for students to specialize in one particular school, diving each year's class into eight houses to foster the growth of talent in each pupil's selected focus. The labyrinthine halls are filled with mysteries and dangers that some consider unacceptable for students so young, but professors believe that the necessity to defend oneself with magic is the best path to mastery.