Four quarters, one volcanic island — shown as it stands today, fifty years after the Final Division. Choose a district below, then explore its landmarks.
Pick a district, then match the numbers on the map to the descriptions listed below it.
The Docks — where everyone still arrives, and where the law gives way to Vox Noctis after dark.
The Docks — Locations
1
The Painted Veil
A ramshackle door painted with an all-seeing eye opens onto a steep stair winding up to the Painted Veil, where a small, untended altar to Tempestas now stands. Sailors, nobles, and adventurers come to leave offerings to the Stormlord before crossing the ocean. Perhaps because of her mortal mother — the famed fortune-teller Madame Zoirovas — Tempestas herself sometimes answers here, in her aspect as the change-bringer. Those who come away with answers always hear the truth, and seldom like what they hear.
2
Wyr and Wode, Pawnbrokers
Josef Wyr and Alexander Wode, the original owners, lived by their motto: "Nothing is without value." These days the shop is run by a taciturn orc named Gavorn Thistlewoad, its shelves still crammed with goods at fair prices. It's rumored that items of real magickal power surface here now and then — and that the late founders still drift the aisles as ghostly apparitions. Gavorn will publicly deny both.
3
The Harlot's Triumph
Perhaps the best-known inn in Asylum, owned by Jestina Veryx, a former prostitute turned proprietor — now well advanced in age and no less sharp of tongue or mind. Famous for potent drink, decent food, and available company, it's a gathering place for the whole Docks, and Vox Noctis keeps a standing presence here. Mind your manners with the Voices; they have little patience for outsiders.
4
The Fish Market
Once simply a place for fishermen to sell the day's catch, the market has grown into a sprawl of open-air vendors hawking all manner of goods. An excellent place to find food, drink, trinkets, and rumors — and to have your pocket picked, all in the same afternoon.
5
The Miner's Gate
A stark contrast to the Docks' other great inn, owned by the laconic dwarf Korin Ironcask. The service is limited, the food plain, the beds hard — but the ale is the finest in all of Asylum, and those who value a truly excellent pint gladly pay the premium.
6
Oslo's Curiousity Shoppe
The inimitable halfling Oslo DoGood retired from a rich adventuring career to open this shop and stay close to other wanderers. On his death he stunned everyone by leaving it to an apparent stranger — an energetic young man named Vasily. Unbothered by anything so dull as profit, Vasily would rather talk: he's been known to keep a customer for tea, dinner, and evening drinks when they only came in for a spare compass, and will trade away expensive things for the chance to learn something new.
7
Veris' Slip
The first bar off the wharf, a favorite of local fishermen and travelers who can afford no better. Its one-armed owner, Veris Lightbringer, was a sailor saved from a deadly storm by a beam of light he credits to Lux; now an ordained priest, he offers his inn to those without means, taking only what guests can give. Poor, but well-loved in the Docks.
8
Orsten Manor Ruins
Once the dilapidated manor of Jarvis Orsten — the first outsider ever to settle Asylum, and the island's first permanent structure — now little more than rubble. At the end of the old age smugglers used it as a base of operations, until the Tarrasque's rampage flattened it. Rumor holds that a vast network of caves opens beneath the ruins, though few would dare find out.
Irontown — once the roar of the forge; now, forty years on, a quarter of warehouses and merchants trading across Aevum.
Irontown — Locations
1
The Obelisk's Delay
The oldest and best-known bar in Irontown, where the district's busy folk spend what little free time they have. The drink flows and the food is hearty, kept so by the elven owner Roland Hearthfire, who keeps the peace among the often-contentious crews buying and selling goods — and is regarded as Irontown's de facto "Mayor."
2
The Antiquarian Eye
As much private lounge as shop, the Eye is where discerning buyers find the strangest items to reach Asylum. It's tended by the elf Althaea Greymoon — curiously, a proud citizen of Zhangrym. Entry requires a membership fee, and even then it isn't guaranteed; but for those who meet Althaea's exacting standards, wonders from every corner of Aevum await.
3
The Merchant's Guild
Dour and functional — a three-story brick block with a single double-door — where Maester Brahm balances the scales of commerce. Every business pays a semi-annual fee for the protection of its interests, and Brahm serves as the island's arbiter of trade disputes: famously fair, and famously indifferent to wealth.
4
Sturm and Drang, Metalsmiths
For arms and armor, no one in Asylum compares to the dragonborn brothers Sturm (red) and Drang (brass). Their innate resilience to fire lets them work at the forge's full heat, and they command a justly high price — Sturm focused on weapons, the quieter Drang on armor.
5
The Ironwurks
A blackened blemish on an otherwise prosperous Irontown — the massive, abandoned factory where Obelisk ore was once smelted. Every attempt to repurpose it fails, burns, or vanishes overnight, and only the poorest wretches, with nowhere else to go, shelter here. Local legend says the demonic blood worked into Cold Iron over the years has seeped into the very stones; to venture inside is to take your life in your hands.
6
The Miner's Guild
Founded by the City Fathers to administer the Obelisk gold rush, the Miner's Guild endures in diminished form now that Cold Iron no longer flows. Under Gregor Ironsinger it serves as a mercantile for the precious metals, gems, and base ores mined out of Tenebris. It bristles against the Merchant's Guild — which now manages it — but Asylum's trade is far too vast for either to handle alone.
7
Crossroads
The best-known inn in Irontown, built where three roads meet, drawing merchants, day-laborers, entertainers, and sellswords with its lively music and hearty smells. Owned by the famously lucky gnome musician Gimble Boddynock, whose success seems almost accidental — he simply books the musicians he thinks have talent, and prosperity follows as if by magic.
8
The Storm Wrack
Only a fool prays to Tempestas expecting an answer; at best the Stormlord is appeased, and the Final Division staved off another day. So Adir Kerriway — the Grinning Bastard — built this place to honor the storm another way: an arena of noise, thunder, and might where the strong test themselves in brutal mock combat. The fights are rarely fatal, never gentle, and open to any who would try — but it is no place for the faint of heart.
The Governance Quarter — embassies, locked doors, and the hum of two nations, Elenethil and Zhangrym, in constant competition.
Governance Quarter — Locations
1
The House of Justice
A dour, triangular building at the corner of Liar's Path and Honest Lane, with an entrance on each face: the courts, where the City Fathers dispense judgment (if not always justice); the headquarters of the Blue Cloaks, the city watch; and the Hall of Mercy, Asylum's prison. Money and influence sway sentences here as surely as the law.
2
Arcanist's Academy
An ivy-covered, walled brick mansion, once a private home and now Asylum's school of magic. Its eccentric headmaster, Dean Argus Fiendsbane, teaches by deeply unconventional methods — yet wide-eyed apprentices emerge years later as competent wizards.
3
The Privateer's Guild
Neutral ground where a sailor of either flag may meet without bloodshed; the first rule of membership is no violence on guild grounds. The peace is kept by Head Bosun Clayton Greer, who flies the colors of both Elenethil and Zhangrym at once, and whose feel for political deep water has kept the whole profession alive.
4
Embassy of Zhangrym
The embassy of Zhangrym (the old Southern Federation): blocky, solid, and unmistakable in purpose, ringed by clockwork-precise guards and tight controls. Its dwarves and humans are taciturn and plain — all but Ambassador Merris Goldweaver, the rare dwarf who genuinely enjoys company, forever hosting parties and galas. Like her mother before her, she is a shrewd negotiator, a loyal friend, and one who never forgets a slight.
5
The Two-Headed Coin
The premier tavern for diplomats and travelers of both powers, its sign a slowly rotating gold coin — an elven face on one side, a dwarven on the other. Owned by the refined gnome Lady Daphne Wendelbright, who whisks each guest to a private room and personalized service. Many a deal has been struck here, with Daphne as the catalyst.
6
Embassy of Elenethil
The embassy of Elenethil (the old Northern States) looks less like a building than a vibrant forest park — until you notice the spidery bridges between the trees and the halls grown into the living wood. Here the elves, half-elves, and humans of Elenethil plan their strategy for the new world, guided by the ever-patient Ambassador Jiran Wintersbloom — Celulinde, the Springseeker — who moves his pieces from on high with a vision others cannot fathom.
7
Garret's Fine Accoutrements
The shop of Garret Slimfinger — halfling tailor, fashion icon, and entrepreneur — who clothes the diplomats that call the Quarter home. He has an uncanny sense of what others need, and for those who can pay, a brisk trade in garments enchanted less for protection than for social advantage.
Highside — the walled hill of the wealthy, entered by invitation only.
Highside — Locations
1
The Gate of Champions
Highside's only public entrance through its high stone wall, manned at all hours by the Gold Clasps — a private guard that has served the Wylanders for generations. Once fiercely devoted to the late Duke Andreas Wylander, they now serve his young grandson, Prince Jesper — though their truer loyalty is to Guard Commander Mikaela Bront, a hard-nosed woman whose priorities begin and end with the Clasps. They admit no one without invitation and keep the district's peace.
2
The Treasury House
Highside's bank in all but name, where the rich keep their wealth behind defenses both physical and magical, insured against loss. Run by the tiefling Kairon Trueheart — disliked for his heritage and his steep fees, but undeniably effective; would-be thieves end as statues in his garden. Despite his great age he remains the picture of health, which some credit to his rumored dealings with demons, and others to his long, happy marriage to the medusa Karisa.
3
Lady Carlotta's Auction House
Where the idle rich spend fortunes on art and curiosities at glittering galas full of gossip. Lady Carlotta served that need for years; today her daughter, Lady Vandra Dross, carries on the lucrative trade — frequently hiring able-bodied adventurers to retrieve treasures for the block, and paying handsomely for the risk.
4
Rose's Bloom
An elegant salon and the center of refinement in Highside: poetry readings, wine tastings, art — and the quiet meetings where the district's powerful settle what matters. Since Lady Aladrea Wylander was killed by demons and replaced by the Cambion Ophirah, the Wylander family runs it through Sir Jarvis Forsythe, a retired adventurer turned philosopher, chiefly preoccupied with what it means for mortals to become gods — and how the old world endures past the Final Division.
5
Prince Wylander's Castle
The seat of the richest and most powerful man on Asylum: Prince Jesper Wylander, built on the township's highest point. Nobles of Elenethil, the Wylanders were among the first to see Asylum's value and built much of its infrastructure. Jesper himself is young, idealistic, and hopelessly naive — sent here both because he has almost no real claim to Elenethil's throne, and because his family hoped a rougher posting than pampered Thalorien might do him good.
6
The Bazaar of Wonders
The island's only dedicated magic-item shop, its wares displayed in glass cases for the discerning and deep-pocketed. Founder Balthazar Gorski, now in his 90s, has handed daily affairs to his granddaughter Katya, though he still watches what the shop chooses to stock. The Gorskis famously supplied the Seal-Bearers themselves — and are not shy about using that pedigree to drive their prices up.
7
The Gearspeaker Manor
Everyone knows Gearspeaker Anton Verkel ascended fifty years ago to take up the mantle of Nequitia. In life he was Zhangrym's man on the ground — adventurer first, liar and thief second, minor noble last — who saw Asylum as the place to build his fortune and legacy, and did. Today his manor is a meeting place for visitors from Zhangrym and a temple to Nequitia, kept by Gearspeaker Orek Steeljaw, a dwarven priest who leans on the god's gentler guise as diplomat and storyteller rather than outright deception.
8
The High Garden
A place of quiet reflection and soothing scenery where the bluebloods mingle, hold weddings, and conduct official gatherings. Its rolling hills and trees offer discreet corners for amorous couples — though the regular patrols of the Gold Hands discourage anyone from overstaying their welcome.
