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Ur

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Ur is the wound that never healed, the mother that devours her children. It is the memory of what was taken and the rage that remains.
— Zed of the House of Vek, from The Brood Mother’s Lament

Ur, in Yevim mythology, is the domain of Asag the Brood Mother, a primal hellscape that Asag was banished to at the conclusion of the War of the Ancients. Described as a realm of shadow and brimstone, it is populated by monstrous serpents—beings wrought from Asag’s own essence, to embody her chaotic will. For the Yevim, Ur represents the embodiment of primordial chaos, a dark counterpart to the idyllic harmony of Muraius and the God Tree.

The mythology of Ur is deeply tied to the conflict between Yevna and Asag. According to Yevim tradition, the world was once a barren expanse peopled by Asag’s evil influence. It was only through Elsene, Yevna’s first Queen, that order was imposed upon the earth and made habitable for life. Elsene’s victory over Asag is said to have banished the Brood Mother to Ur, severing her dominion over Midworld and transforming it into a realm fit for the High People’s reign.

However, the Changelings tell a different story. From their perspective, Ur represented not a hell on earth, but an ancient paradise—a world teeming with life before Elsene and her followers colonized it. They claim the lush jungles of the earth were once a paradise, and even the barren Northern Wastes were verdant and alive. For the Changelings, Ur is a tragic reminder of what was lost in the war between the Yevim and the Rasa, and their mythology recasts Elsene not as a savior, but as an oppressor who eradicated their home.

The legend of Ur persists in both mythologies to this day, and while the High People shutter to think of it, the Changelings dream a future where Asag would be freed from her prison and the paradise of Ur re-established on the Midworld.

Story Hook

The question of what exactly Ur is can help define the moral dimension of your campaign. If Ur really is a hellscape, then perhaps Asag and Yevna represent the classical view of elemental good and evil: the bad guys are cosmically bad, and the good guys are cosmically good. In such a campaign, it would be clear cut that Asag and the Changelings must be completely defeated in order for the PCs to triumph over evil. However, if Ur isn’t exactly what the Yevim say it is, then we have a case of the Yevim rewriting history to suit their preferred narrative. Elsene claims to be a savior of the prehistoric world, but what if she was actually a conqueror? What does that mean for the Queen Who Lives and her campaign to restore balance to the World of Ruin?

A Changeling cult claims to have rediscovered the ancient paradise of Ur beneath the earth, accessible through a massive sinkhole in the Shadowvale. The party, all Changelings from various Houses in the Shadowvale, is hired by the Council to infiltrate the cult and investigate their claims, but they discover that their employer has their own agenda for exploiting Ur’s power.

Does the cult’s vision of Ur as a paradise align with reality, or has the realm become a twisted reflection of its former self?
How do the party’s choices affect the fragile balance between the Changeling Houses?
Will the party’s actions ignite a new civil war among the Changelings for control over the remnants of Ur’s power?

Tags: Realms

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