Ternia

Ternia

(City)

Plane

Material Plane, Elysium and Abyss

Population

471,091

Demographics

35% celestial, 35% fiend, 9% planar scion, 6% human, 15% other

Government

Council

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Ruler

Ahrin Sgralwr

Source: Ports of Call, pg(s). 150

Ternia is a city that constantly jumps between the Material Plane, Elysium and the Abyss, run by an unholy alliance of demons and azatas.

Geography

Ternia periodically phases between three locations: an aquatic moon in the Vast whose 50-foot swells crash against the city walls, a massive jungle surrounded by the River Styx in the Abyss, and a sprawling gorge at the foot of seven waterfalls in Elysium. It rarely stays at the same place for less than a day or more than a week. When it shifts, outsiders see Ternia instantly disappear, while those inside see mists enveloping the outskirts before fading to reveal the new location.

Government

Ternia is run by a council, among which six seats are elected every six years and the seventh seat is appointed for a 19-year term to serve as leader. Currently, this seat is held by the schir Ahrin Sgralwr. The government largely leaves residents alone, who police each other as necessary.

History

When the Gap ended, instead of fighting as is normally expected, the azatas and demons in Ternia vaguely remembered that their cooperation served some critical purpose. As both sides tried to make sense of their predicament, before any could flee or attack, the city shifted into the Abyss and was attacked by fiendish predators, causing the azatas and demons to fight together against their common foe. When the city subsequently moved to Elysium, local celestials, offended by the demonic presence, invaded Ternia, whose inhabitants once again cooperated out of self-preservation before the city phased to the Material Plane. Since then, the celestials and fiends living near Ternia's landing points have remained on guard without attacking the city, while the azatas and demons signed an indefinite peace to unveil the city's purpose.

According to a hypothesis, Ternia's locations are connected by shared chaotic energy. Others believe that reality constantly moves the city in order to fix an inconsistency left behind by the Gap's erasure of the past. Yet others even posit that Ternia was a laboratory created by the gods to test cooperation between enemies, or that it is a prison for some cosmic threat that cannot break free as long as azatas and demons cooperate to imprison it.

People

Ternia's inhabitants maintain military readiness to defend the city. Due to its predictable transit, unique crafting traditions and planar lore, Ternia has become a hub for those travelling between the Material Plane, Elysium and the Abyss.