Husk

By all mundane metrics, Husk should not exist as a nation. Its desert landscape is predominantly rocks and pebbles and there are no noteworthy areas that could function as arable farmland. In fact, chunks of pebbly landscape have been known to spontaneously levitate for a time before showering down on whomever is so unlucky as to be standing beneath.

And this unexplainable phenomenon is what gives Husk its appeal. When prospective settlers traversed across this strange and hostile land, they were fascinated by the magical phenomena that they witnessed. Defying logic, they built a city-state in the most stable land of the region and began studying these strange events. The formative years of Husk were brutal and deadly, but Husk now thrives as a city- state that attracts scholars and adventurers the world over.

Academic.

Husk boasts a large university dedicated specifically to the study of magic and how the different Sources of Magic interact with one another. It was at the Husk Institute that a scholarly Bhrunai named Zitvin discovered that certain Sources of Magic, when applied in equal force against one another, trump each other like a five-way game of Rock, Paper, Scissors: each Source is stronger than two others, and weaker than two others.

Aristocratic and Political.

Although it was originally a small community of a few curious researchers, as generations progressed, the ruthless Licten family took over by force and has ruled Husk ever since. The Lictens purport that they are the chosen of the Lumen Cloud, one of the strange magical phenomena of the area.

When a new Licten is ready to assume the throne of Husk, they journey into the desert to be claimed by the Cloud. Thus far, every Licten who has done so has returned with a mark as though struck by lightning, cementing their belief that they are divinely chosen.

Mercantile and Trade.

Husk imports a vast majority of its foodstuffs, water, textiles, and basic raw materials. Capable manufacturers turn these raw materials into finished products, often infusing these items with minor magical properties. Husk was the first nation to commodify magical items and still dominates the international magic item trade. In addition to magic items, Huskan merchants sell bottled ambient magic with unpredictable effects. Careless travelers will be scammed and sold empty glass vials.

Militant.

Husk has some of the fiercest infantry fighters in all Gathandia, but the Huskan army is so small that this does not actually mean much. Trained to fight with unique magical weapons, each elite warrior crafts their own magic weapon at the end of their training. While their army is small, it is nonetheless strong enough to dissuade any other nation from invading Husk.

Religious.

The Lumen Cloud is the god of the region, and the Licten family is its chosen emissary to sapient creatures. The Lumen Cloud is a great glowing cumulus cloud that appears at random times over the region. When it is visible, normal daily affairs halt and the citizens of Husk praise the Cloud and pray that it bestows its everlasting power upon their nation and their beloved Licten family. The Cloud is especially spectacular to behold at sunset when it catches rays from the setting sun and magnifies its own glowing properties, or at nighttime when it refracts the silver light of the stars.

Social.

Because they live in a region that experiences frequent chaotic magical occurrences, the folk of Husk tend to be both cautious and unflappable. Having seen many strange things, they accept each new ripple of magic with almost disinterested stoicism.

Underworld.

The Licten family has failed to crush multiple criminal organizations that smuggle magic items and bottled ambient magic out of the region to sell at black market prices to other adventurers and merchants.

Points of Interest

The entire region of Husk is a point of power where arcane, primal, and psionic magic swirl together with unpredictable results. Sometimes this causes rocks and pebbles to levitate and rain from the sky; other times it causes the Lumen Cloud to appear. Records show that it has snowed in Husk despite there not being a cloud in the sky, and occasionally portals to other planes will briefly open.

Quest Ideas

• The heroes need to investigate a magical event for a researcher.
• The heroes are recruited to help steal a shipment of magical items.
• A band of rebels ask the heroes to help them overthrow the Lictens.
• The Lictens ask the heroes to root out and crush a burgeoning rebellion.
• The heroes must explore the grand Husk Institute to find answers to a magical riddle that a Sphinx has asked them.