Ravendean

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Ravendean

Type	Town
Government	Mayoral
Location	Osugbo
Inhabiting Race	Mostly Humans

Ravendean was a town located on the banks of the Blackburn River, in north west Osugbo. It was fairly unremarkable, save for a notable curse on the land causing perpetual darkness. Regardless, the town endured and became a tight knit community of farmers, craftspeople,and other townsfolk.

The Curse

Much speculation surrounded the nature of the curse. However, in a town composed mostly of humans reliable facts were long lost from living memory. Stories varied from occult rituals angering the gods, to evil wizards enacting revenge upon unfaithful lovers. One drunken bard even swore a Fiend lost a bet with an Archfae over who got to play with the population.

While initially many fled the area, a significant investment in public lighting infrastructure and the replacement of now unusable farmland, the population stabilized. The mycelial tunnels that took the place of grain turned Ravendean into one of the continent's top mushroom exporters.

Notes from the CR Era: Ravendean is a decently sized town, but there are many big cities nearby, so most people in the town have at least visited other areas and seen sunlight a few times in their lives. The darkness has had some physiological effects on the people who live here - they have excellent vision in the dark, for example, but usually need to wear intense sunglasses when visiting anywhere with full light to protect their eyes, as well as very high SPF sunscreen.

History

The settlement began originally as housing for the servants working at the Ravendean Estate. Over time the rich soil, abundant lumber supply, and a prime river crossing point, brought merchants through and outsiders began to settle. Trade and agriculture grew and the population swelled.

The town continued to thrive into the CR era, where it embraced its reputation and marketed itself as the City of Light in the Dark, with grand lighting displays decorating much of the town. A sizable portion of the town was destroyed in 2368 by a great fire caused by clashing supernatural forces. Luckily, much was saved following a large ritual permanently dispelling all magic from the area.

During the events of Secondary Characters, a cult took over the town, and was eventuallly banished, causing all of the latent magic still held in the city to disperse.

Geography

Ravendean is nestled in a valley between two mountain ranges, the Hematites and the Obsidians. These were not named for gemstones that can actually be found in these areas, but instead for the darkness that surrounds the mountains. Fir trees are the most common trees in the region, although you can certainly find groves and forests with a variety of flora. There are some farms on the Southern side of the town, although historically the city has depended far more on hunting, trapping, and gardening than on true farming.

Weather

Despite the constant darkness, the seasons and weather follow a fairly predictable pattern. Spring is cool and wet, summer heats up considerably (and you haven’t been to a true pool party until you’ve been to a pool party in the dark), the leaves change and the air grows cool in the fall, and the winter brings snow and cold. It is a fairly rainy region. Any time the clouds clear at night and the moon and stars are visible, you can see people gathering in their yards and in the streets as if it was a block party to take a look at the sky.

Landmarks

• Blackburn River: this river winds its way all the way through town, up from where the mountain ranges meet all the way down to the main highway. It divides the town - about ¾ below the river and ¼ above the river. The division is not just geographical, but also societal. North of the river is where the poorest in the town are able to find cheap homes; south of the river is the middle and upper class of the region.
• Closed tunnel entrances: in Ye Olde Times, one of the ways in which Ravendean sustained itself was mushroom farming. Something about the darkness of the town allowed for a wide array of mushrooms to grow extremely quickly and well. Some of these grew above ground, but many were subterranean. There are still a few mushroom farms around Ravendean, but for the most part, these have been shut down in the last fifty years or so. But of course, they have only been closed in a legal capacity. The underground tunnels, some still filled with shrooms of all varieties, quickly became the coolest hangout for the coolest teenagers of the town. Where else could you go that adults would never, ever find you?
• Monoliths: www.thecut.com/2020/11/monolith-mysteriously-disappears-from-utah-desert.html

Holidays

CR Era:

• Festival of Life: A winter holiday. For Pelorians, fairly religious; for everyone else, fairly secular. Celebrated at the end of the year, to provide hope and excitement for rebirth and new beginnings. Gift-giving, home-grown food, and lots of singing are staples of this holiday.
• The Seelie’s Ball: A spring festival. Often features playing pranks on friends and family, as well as dances - especially masquerades. This is often seen as a romantic holiday, oddly enough.

• If Day: A fall festival. Legend has it that this holiday was originally an actual day of training and preparation for dragon attacks, but if dragons ever were real, they haven’t been seen in centuries. Now, it’s simply a holiday filled with traditional games, fun costumes, and lots of fall-and/or-dragon-themed food and alcohol.
• Dionysus Day: A summer holiday, dedicated to the arts, wine, and general revelry. A day of theatre, music, poetry, art, and drinking far, far too much.

Notable People

• The AVCLUB: Always Very Cool; Looking Under Beds. A ragtag group of small dweebs who banded together to take on the mysteries of the world and also of growing up. Consisting of:
  • August: a plucky adventurous spirit who was rarely seen without their best friend September the Mouse. Definitely a bit goofy, definitely always down to whack monsters with a table leg, and DEFINITELY didn't have a crush on Ero.
  • Erasmus (Ero): A book nerd fascinated with the occult, often seen with an ill-fitting robe and a Monster Manuel tome. Never knew when to shut up and also absolutely didn't have a crush on August.
  • Jarrod: By far the creepiest of the group on first impression, however deep down was loyal and had a heart of gol- wait oh god is that a book bound in flesh??
  • Kyra: A theatre nerd and fledgling magic wielder, Kyra was often quick to charge into danger first and worry about it later. Apparently once destroyed a ferocious wild beast in a spooky library.

• Captain Klim: The Half Orc captain of the town militia. Whilst coming across as a grump, he possessed a remarkable level of patience, and sought to serve his town to the best of his ability.

• Sergeant Meac: The ever-slightly younger twin brother of Klim. His arrival surprised both parents as they were only expecting one baby, and they failed to spell Cream backwards on the spot. Would often alternate patrol shifts with his brother.
• The cast of Secondary Characters
• The cast of Metagame

Places of Interest

PR Era

• Ravendean Estate: The estate the town inherited its name from. Once the prestigious home of the Ravendean family, it eventually was abandoned for unknown reasons and left to ruin. A moderate library lay within, however much of the room consisted of local records and history rather than hidden treasures.
• Barrowdown Orphanage: Home to August and Jarrod, as well as a dozen other of the area's orphans. It was staffed at night by the unintelligible caretaker Ahti.

• Town Hall: This large building was the centre of the town's bureaucracy, as well as a community hub. It's main hall and library hosted school classes for the children, as well as a stage area for theatre. Courtesy of Kyra and August's innovative spirit, it featured rudimentary lighting and fly pulley systems.

CR Era

• Ravendean Estate: Far from the dilapidated ruin it had become, in the 2330s the estate was bought and renovated to become the town's hottest tourist destination, becoming a high class hotel and spa resort, including extra facilities for the more adventurous clientele.
• Ravendean Preparatory School: The town's leading educational institution caters for the brightest, most talented, and richest residences of Ravendean. A melting pot of privilege and hormonal drama such as this can lead to far reaching consequences. Their mascot is the Ravens.
• Ravendean High School: Their mascot is the Crows.
• The Tunnels: After the decline of the town's mushroom industry many of the tunnels used were left and abandoned. Dark, twisting and endless, mystery lurks throughout these halls. However, if you adventure into them, you may not be alone...
• Scathe Theatre: A beautifully historic building situated near the center of the town serves as the area's longest continually operating theatre. As with any ancient building, tales of ghosts and hauntings are rife; some say if you listen closely at night you can hear the sound of a bong lighting up.
• The Empty Bowl: A meeting ground for hipsters and breakfast nerds, this cereal café recently opened in the tunnels beneath the bridge and already got it's first bloody encounter during a karaoke event.
• Stuckey's: The realm's favorite infamous bar chain found it's way to Ravendean.
• Glowy Town: Willamette Asquith's Memorial Bioluminescent Jardin is a large public park located in the center of the town, celebrating the town's culture of botanical research by showcasing the diverse flora of the area, from man-made fruits to bioluminescent mushrooms.
• Dean’s Desserted Diner: A staple of Ravendean's hospitality sector, this 24hr diner has stood strong since 2318. It's owner Bodean Shmodean has been serving the towns loving customers with a smile the entire time, even if he's seeing few of them these days.
• That Hill that TJ lives near: It's on the very edge of town, where the sunrise can actually be seen.
• The Button Boutique: An adorable little shop that sells everything from clothes to accessories to gaming dice!
• The Secret in the Seed: The weird, dusty antique shop at the edge of town. Most of the items are fake “heirlooms” from the estate that the shop owner sells to tourists. Sometimes though, if you’re willing to dig through old trunks of crap or pull paintings out of their frames you’ll find hidden treasures like maps of secret rooms in the tunnels or maybe even an old questing item that still has some hints of magic in it. It closed down after the Dome.
• The Screen Nest: The town’s drive-in movie theater. Since there isn’t ever daylight, the movie times are quite extensive, all “day” and into the night. Some residents claim that watching movies here at The Nest give a peculiar sensation of immediacy, or that there are mysterious screenings at odd hours of the night despite nothing listed at that time… but surely those are just rumors. It has not been seen since the Dome.

Important Notes

• The people who live here have standard lives... apparently.