A Guide to the City of Maddox
Recommended Lore
- A basic familiarity with Padwell’s history and artistic culture is recommended.
- Otherwise, The Heron’s Ballad is not a particularly lore-heavy event, and participants should be able to get by just fine with only reading this setting guide and the main event page.
A General Overview of Maddox
Farming takes place directly in the city on man-made islands in the surrounding marshes, connected to the main sections of Maddox by large wooden walkways hanging over the water. They grow various types of trees and plants for nuts, a wide variety of fruits and berries, maize, beans, squash, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, cocoa, tea, coffee, and sugar cane. Farms for fish and small livestock - like pigs, goats, and chickens - are also present in the city.
Before the rebellion against Xocrium, the city was known as ‘the King’s Roost’, as it was the traditional home of Padwell’s leaders. It was renamed in honour of King Maddox after his death in 460 A.E.D.
City Districts
Numbered Points of Interest
Certain spots on the map above have been marked as points of interest; see each’s corresponding number and name below for information on what that location in Old Roost is like!
The front of the Padwell family home is an audience chamber where Queen Tuonetar, or occasionally Rutinas Aava Padwell, sits for a few hours each day to hear out the complaints of citizens of Maddox.
While certain security measures are observed to ensure the safety of the Queen, any person may speak with her. Redwings guard the audience chamber, and supplicants are searched and asked to sign their name on a “guest book” before entry.
A large public theatre named after the late Prince Ohtli. This massive wooden hall hosts many major public events in Maddox, though is most famous for its elaborate plays and operas. Its wooden tiers are decorated elaborately with wooden carvings, and fine netting keeps out swarms of mosquitoes and other biting pests.
Rather than being lit by torches, Prince Ohtli hall is illuminated by dozens of tiny gardens filled with all kinds of bioluminescent plants, and pale golden candlestone traded for from High Heart and the sundrakes.
A large public school where children growing up in the city can receive an education. Funded by the Padwell family.
A griffon rookery and embassy for High Heart; it’s where visitors from the Sunflecked Reaches will stay while in Maddox. Representatives from each Perhe serve six-month shifts as ambassadors to Queen Tuonetar.
A church for the Phoenix and the Marsh King run by the Order of the Burning Wings that does services for those of Xocrian descent who sided with Padwell during the revolution.
Numbered Points of Interest
Certain spots on the map above have been marked as points of interest; see each’s corresponding number and name below for information on what that location in Eastern Maddox is like!
A public school that services the children of Eastern Maddox. Smaller than that of Old Roost’s, but with no substantial difference in education quality. Funded by the Padwell family.
Headquarters for Redwings operations within the Deepmarsh region of Padwell. Kingscrest is a large wooden fort that houses agents operating in the city and the Paikata for Deepmarsh.
Kingscrest has several sections; a medical ward for Redwing healers to operate; barracks for agents who do not have housing within the city; dining and command halls; and practice yards for trainees and older agents alike to hone their skills.
The Land of Rivers’ embassies - both for the Perigee and the Southern League - are located within the Lunar Village.
Numbered Points of Interest
Certain spots on the map above have been marked as points of interest; see each’s corresponding number and name below for information on what that location in the Lunar Village is like!
Named for the fact that it is located far east of any traditional Perigee-run temples to the Moon Sisters. Provides services to the Lunar Village’s populace as well as arranging for followers of the Sisters to receive a burial according to their own customs. It is made of both moonviper-shaped stone and wood.
A home for representatives of the Land of Rivers’ Perigee. An old building, decorated with carved moons and dragons, its roof tiles glazed a deep shade of blue-violet. Since the establishment of the Southern League in 504, fewer diplomats have been serving here, but the embassy remains active and present in the city.
A home for ambassadors from the Land of Rivers’ Southern League. Only opened up in 504, to house representatives of the relatively young League. Its diplomats have an ongoing rivalry with the residents of the much older Perigee Embassy. The building is in traditional Padwellan styles, decorated with serpent and heron imagery, and proudly flies the banner’s of the League’s founding cities.
The embassy has hosted the respected League leader, Discite Justitiam Moniti, several times over the years on her visits to Maddox.
A small public school in the Lunar Village funded by the Perigee. Most of the students are from highly traditional riverlander families, who wish to ensure their children retain the culture and traditions of their homeland. The Old Roost or Eastern Maddox schools are more popular with those who have become more attached to Padwellan traditions.
Numbered Points of Interest
Certain spots on the map above have been marked as points of interest; see each’s corresponding number and name below for information on what that location in the Agricultural District is like!
A university in Maddox that teaches farming and livestock care. It’s partially funded by the Padwells and only takes a small fee from its students.
A public stables for use by travellers and the city’s residents to board mounts such as swamp steeds or hippogriffs. Visitors with griffon companions are directed to make use of the Empress’ Hall instead. It sees ready use by travellers coming to and from the city, and charges fairly reasonable fees, especially for short stays.
It’s a good place to meditate, search for wild plants or animals, and on holidays like Surujen Aika it receives care from many of Maddox’s citizens.
Numbered Points of Interest
Certain spots on the map above have been marked as points of interest; see each’s corresponding number and name below for information on what that location in Old Roost is like!
A shrine to the Marsh King within the wilderness of the Haikaroita district. Citizens of Maddox will often make offerings to the god here. The shrine’s name comes from the tradition of, when there is no living family left to tend them, mounting the death masks of the recently passed on the shrine’s walls. Over the years many have been washed of colour by sun and rain, but all who visit the shrine honour the dead, ensuring they are never forgotten entirely.
An old Xocrian military fortification that once stood at the edge of Maddox. Over the period of Xocrian rule, this castle and its soldiers were responsible for putting down any unrest in the city, and it was considered a symbol of oppression for many years.
During the uprisings amongst the Padwellans that followed King Maddox’s initial declaration of the Kingdom of Padwell reborn, the fort and much of the city were set alight. The cause of the blaze is debated to this day - with some claiming it was deliberately set by one side or the other, or a simple accident in the chaos of battle - but little effort was made to save the fortress, and it has been left to the wilds to reclaim.