Ramya Vasavadan

M A P 3.8: K A L A K E R I

Jadurai retains its splendor, b u t t h e conflict between Ramya and her siblings takes an enormous toll. Sections of the city lie in ruins, and the slums encroach farther every day as misery and squalor consume Jadurai from the inside. THE BACKWATERS

An extensive web of brackish rivers a n d lakes crisscrosses the Harvest Peninsula. Houseboats travel their lengths, ferrying food and wares between thriving trade towns, rural villages, and the estates of regional nobles. Refugees from the ongoing war and the rampant poverty of Jadurai seek haven in the Backwaters. Those brave enough to fight the tyranny of the Vasavadan scions organize into rebel bands that prepare desperate, dangerous attacks on the royal family. Kalakeri's most fearsome predators inhabit the Backwaters, including basilisks, hydras, stone giants, and cloud giants. C ERULEAN C ITAD E L

The Cerulean Citadel i s the palace o f the royal family. The jewel in Jadurai's crown, it derives its name from the sky-blue sandstone used to construct its outer walls. The octagonal Citadel encompasses one hundred acres. Within its defensive walls and

-��' = 10 miles

strategic bastions lies a complex of beautifully designed marble quarters and pavilions, arranged between courtyards, baths, ponds, and gardens. Bas-reliefs adorn the buildings, depicting the history, heroes, and legends of the kingdom, some of which remain mysteries to the wisest scholars. The central domed court houses the Sapphire Throne and is the hub of political activity in the Citadel. Beneath the Citadel, vast tunnels for storing supplies and secretly moving troops also hide the magical troves of forgotten rulers. TOWE R OF TRAITORS

T h e Tower of Traitors is an ever-expanding structure on the outskirts ofJadurai, situated on the battlefield where Arijani and Reeva murdered Ramya, precipitating the creation of Kalakeri as a domain. Row upon row of skulls, all taken from Ramya's fallen enemies, fill depressions set into the stone tower. Two skulls hold places of special prominence: the original human skulls of Arijani and Reeva. Ramya's skeletal soldiers continue to build the tower as part of her plan to rid Kalakeri of evil and receive the gods' blessings.

Two treacherous mountains j u t from the forest-cloaked hills and cliffs of southwestern Kalakeri. The Greater Vochalam and the slightly smaller Lesser Vochalam are home to vast numbers of wyverns. Legends say that temples crown both mountains and that an ancient deity placed a treasure able to grant wishes in one of them. Whoever claims the treasure in the wrong temple, though, is turned into a wyvern loyal to Kalakeri's true leader. THE ASHRAM OF NIRANJAN

Another Domain of Dread hails from the same lands as Kalakeri. Those who sail into the Mists of the Sea of Spears often find this shadow-haunted domain of Niranjan, which is detailed further in the "Other Domains of Dread" section later in this chapter. R A M YA VASAVADAN

The Vasavadan dynasty has ruled over Kalakeri since ancient times. Ramya Vasavadan was handpicked by her father to succeed him, but on the bleak day of the maharana's death, Ramya's brother, Arijani, declared himself the new maharana. Allied with ranas hungry for unearned power, Arijani tried to force Ramya to relinquish the Sapphire Throne.

Ramya refused to yield. Moving swiftly, she organized her allies, met her brother in battle, and captured him. She intended to execute Arijani, but her sister Reeva counseled her to be merciful. Ultimately, Ramya forgave the rebel faction, Arijani was imprisoned, and Ramya ascended as Kalakeri's maharani, Queen of Kings. A golden period in Kalakeri's history followed as Ramya promoted learning and upheld justice. Meanwhile, Reeva secretly coordinated with Ramya's foes. After years of resentment and plotting, the rebels freed Arijani and spurred nobles across the nation into open revolt. The resulting conflict swiftly turned vicious. Regretting her past mercy, Ramya captured enemy ranas and executed them using flame and ravenous tigers, while her loyalists put anyone suspected of treason to the sword. The maharani's brutality increased distrust in her rule, and the fighting spread. After numerous battles, Reeva begged her sister to meet her brother and negotiate an end to the war. Ramya, who remained ignorant of Reeva's part in freeing Arijani, trusted her sister-and walked straight into their trap. Ambushers slaughtered Ramya's royal guards and captured the maharani. I n the central courtyard of the Cerulean Citadel, Arijani sentenced his sister to death. As the court strangler's garrote crushed h e r windpipe, Ramya cursed h e r brother a n d sister, calling them bloodthirsty beasts. Arijani and Reeva denied their sister the honors befitting a maharani, dumping Ramya's corpse into the sea. As they did, a terrible monsoon struck the Harvest Peninsula, bringing with it walls of supernatural mist that closed around Kalakeri. The storm lashed Kalakeri for weeks, and when it reached its height, Ramya emerged from her watery grave. Reborn with terrifying power, she called upon those who had been slaughtered in her service. Loyal in death, a corpse legion joined the revitalized maharani. They stalked the streets ofJadurai, tore down the gates of the Cerulean Citadel, and slaughtered those who had betrayed Ramya. They dragged Arijani and Reeva into the courtyard where their sister died, and there Ramya declared them traitors. The treacherous pair clawed and howled like beasts as undead elephants crushed them to death. Their wails of terror left Ramya unmoved. Arijani and Reeva's plots didn't end with their lives, however. They too were reborn, transformed into fiends with animalistic features by their souls' ravenous desires. And so the conflict gripping Kalakeri continues, trapping the nation in an endless war and forcing its people to swear loyalty to monsters. RAMYA'S POWERS A N D D O M I N ION

Reborn as a death knight, Ramya desperately tries to hold on to or retake the Sapphire Throne in a cycle of victory and loss with her equally uncompromising siblings. Although an illusion disguises her deathless state, Ramya constantly feels the chill in her bones and her own crumbling flesh. Her existence has becomes one of constant struggle, doubt, and defeat as her obsessions shape all of Kalakeri.

War Leader. Ramya eagerly leads her troops in battle. She rides into combat upon a war elephant or wyvern and carries the legendary talwar (longsword) and longbow of the Vasavadan dynasty's founder. The Vasavadan coat of arms, a golden wyvern clutching a white lotus in its talons, emblazons her armor and that of her soldiers.

Merciless. Ramya demands loyalty from her subjects. She and her soldiers kill anyone who she considers a traitor, a status extended not only to those who back Arijani and Reeva, but even to those who don't support her vociferously enough. Her paranoia makes her ruthless, leading her to slaughter countless innocents.

Deathless Loyalty. Kalakeri's armies and the guards of the Cerulean Citadel obey Ramya without question, despite thousands of them having died in her service. These soldiers' loyalty follows them into death. Any living soldier who dies in Ramya's