Omyriel
Location: Mount Celestia / Lunia / Nectar of Life
Omyriel is the crown jewel of Nectar of Life, a realm town where the pages of knowledge are as precious as gemstones and bookbinding is an art form. First off, the scenery – the realm of Nectar of Life itself is serene and pristine, right? Well, Omyriel fits right into that picture. It’s nestled in a gorge, just like everything else in this realm. You’ll see forests of gnarled pines up in the highlands and lush orchards of pear and apple trees down in the valleys. The moonlight rarely plays hide-and-seek with the clouds, giving the whole town a divine glow.
Now, Omyriel ain’t your typical bustling metropolis. It’s more like a fortified library-town. Picture keeps that’ve grown homes and shops around them. But the real star here is the Katsudarma, a library that’s the dream of any bookworm on the planes. It’s packed with tome after tome, all copied by the skilled scribes of Omyriel, who mimic the Lamplighter’s handwriting. And believe me, they’re serious about their books – they’ll fight tooth and nail to snatch back any important volumes that fall into the wrong hands.
There’s a rumour, though, about a portal in Omyriel that leads straight to the Hall of Records in Sigil, the Fated’s headquarters. Whether it’s true or just a tall tale, who can say? But if you’re into portal-hunting, you might want to do some poking around.
Speaking of arcane, the Pinnacle of Indigo is worth a mention. Standing on a rocky outcrop overlooking Omyriel, it is tower of lapis lazuli that’s bigger inside than out, and it’s guarded tighter than a Carcerian titan. When its mage, Indigo, is off-plane, the warden archons Amabael and Cetarari hold the fort.
But the real enigma here is the Lamplighter, a nameless archon who’s got a past shrouded in mystery. Word is, his true name once bound him to a cruel Prime mage. Now, he records every move of the realm’s denizens, oversees the hound archons, and decides which lantern archons get promoted to hounds. He’s as secretive as they come.
Lastly, there’s Madhi Pradhamneshti, the true blood of the biggest monastery. The man’s got a memory like a steel trap, and he’s training five apprentices to take over his gig. Every bit of Brihaspati’s lore known to humans is tucked away here, though finding it ain’t a cakewalk. Guides might cost you a pretty penny, and impatient cutters have been known to turn them into spectral tour guides – not that it gets them anywhere. Brihaspati’s got a hand in this place, after all.
Now, alongside all that bookish business, Omyriel’s got another trick up its sleeve – the Guild of Purplemakers. These folks have a pretty niche gig, brewing that sacred purple dye using some rare shellfish found in the Maiden’s Veil. And here’s the kicker, pal, that dye is strictly off-limits for anyone but the archons.
The story behind it? Well, it’s a bit of a yarn. Goes like this: Way back when, some crafty berk in Omyriel stumbled upon these holy water clams in the Maiden’s Veil waterfall. They were a bit of an eccentric, so instead of just gobbling them up, he decided to ferment them and brew some dye. Now, purple in Nectar of Life is like the divine colour, the archons’ favourite shade. So, when they got wind of this newfound dye, they were all over it. The archons were so smitten with the stuff that they declared it sacred, fit only for their use. And as any chant goes, once the archons want something, they get it. The Guild of Purplemakers was founded, and their sole purpose became to create this exclusive purple dye for the celestial elite.
But here’s the kicker – outsiders trying to get their hands on this dye? It’s like trying to snag a sip from Bahamut’s private wine cellar. Archons are very protective of their exclusive shade, and they don’t take kindly to anyone trying to replicate it or get their mitts on it. So, the purple dye remains a well-guarded secret of Omyriel, reserved for the celestial big shots.
Speaking of Bahamut, you may or may not find that his palace is perched on the edge of the Maiden’s Veil waterfall, drenched in the mists of the Shimmering River as it crashes over the precipice from Mercuria to Lunia. Bahamut’s Palace has a habit of wandering between the lower layers on Mount Celestia in exactly the way that you wouldn’t expect the realm of a lawful power to do.
And there you have it, Omyriel and the tale of the Guild of Purplemakers, where even something as simple as a colour is wrapped up in celestial politics and exclusivity.
Canonical Reference: Places of Law: Mount Celestia [2e] p14-15 (realm description)
Source: Jon Winter-Holt. This entry is homebrew expanding upon a canonical location.
