Lauriea

Lauriea is a land of impossible beauty and calculated danger where the veil
between wonder and terror is gossamer-thin. This central continent serves as
the crown jewel of Fae territories, its landscape meticulously cultivated over
millennia to reflect the aesthetic sensibilities of its immortal masters.

Dominating the exact center of Lauriea stands the Golden City, a metropolis of
such architectural splendor that mortal minds struggle to comprehend its full
scope. Towers of liquid metal solidified mid-flow reach toward skies that
shift color with the emotional tenor of the city’s rulers. The streets follow
patterns based on mathematical principles unknown to human scholars, creating
a labyrinth that seems to rearrange itself when not directly observed. At the
city’s heart rises the Palace of Changing Seasons, where the High Court of the
Fae, comprising representatives from all major and minor courts, convenes to
settle disputes and coordinate the grand machinations that occupy immortal
attention.

Radiating outward from the Golden City, perfectly straight roads of polished
stone cut through the landscape like sunbeams, each exactly one hundred feet
wide and enchanted to remain clear of obstruction regardless of the wilderness
that presses against their edges. These arterial highways extend in every
direction until they reach the coast, facilitating the movement of Fae
processions and the transportation of tribute from outlying territories.

The forests of Lauriea represent the pinnacle of Fae manipulation, ancient
trees with bark of deep purple or midnight blue, their canopies forming
perfect geometric patterns when viewed from above. These woods are carefully
tended by the Sylvan Fae, who shape living matter as a sculptor shapes clay.
The most renowned of these forest-shapers, Lord Thornheart, spent three
centuries creating the Labyrinth of Whispers, where trees grow in tight
corridors that capture and transmute the sounds of visitors, sometimes
preserving conversations for decades until another traveler passes to hear
them.

Human presence in Lauriea is strictly controlled, with most mortals existing
as direct servants or possessions of Fae nobles. The Palace of Changing
Seasons alone houses over a thousand human attendants, their lives extended
through Fae magic to provide centuries of service. These servants are marked
by elaborate tattoos that denote their owner and function, with the most
valued bearing marks that glow with inner light.

The coastal regions of Lauriea host the Ports of Exchange, where vessels
constructed from materials that should not float, glass, stone, or
occasionally the bones of extinct creatures, dock to unload treasures and
curiosities from distant realms.

Beneath the surface splendor of Lauriea runs a current of ancient tensions and
rivalries. The seeming harmony of the Golden City masks countless intrigues
among the Fae courts, each maneuvering for position and influence in games of
power that have continued uninterrupted for thousands of years. Mortal
visitors who fail to recognize these underlying dynamics often become
unwitting pieces in plots spanning generations, their entire lives
representing nothing more than a single move in a game whose rules they cannot
hope to comprehend.