Auros. once a small island lying far out into the Geroen Sea, east of Ba'Eskalos, and north of Darkrock, the Island was first inhabited by the Dwarves, who mined it for its large gold veins. due to the particularly high quality of the gold ore mined there, the small dwarven outpost quickly prospered into a bustling city. soon other races set their sights there, and soon Elves, humans, and ever a few Dragonborn clans were anding, building their own settlements around the edges of the island. But the island was only so large, and soon it went from 'bustling', to overcrowded. the dwarves saw this as less of a problem and more of a challenge. calling on the elves for their skills in magic, the humans for their ingenuity, and the Dragonborn for their strength, the four races began artificially expanding the size of the island. each race choosing a wide swath of ocean to build over. the elves, ever graceful, demanded that they get the shallows to Auros's south, where the buildings could simply be set on raised white marble arches crossed by delicate magic elven twine bridges, thin and delicate as a birds nest yet stronger than steel. the Dragonborn took a much more tribal approach, requesting the marshy area to the east of the shallows, where they asked for huge floating wooden platforms to be erected, the walkways replaced by canals. the humans built complex machinery, that would lift their houses with the tides off of the north coast, and lastly, to the west, the Dwarves just built right into the ocean, the buildings just getting taller and the water got deeper. for hundreds of years it was called a "golden land" where all races could live together, not just the elves dwarves humans and Dragonborn, but also halflings, gnomes, goblins, Yuan-ti, even Merfolk lived in the city, utilizing hollowed out areas in the submerged dwarven buildings. but as time passed, the Dwarves changed, becoming more and more reclusive. over the centuries, due to renovators, expanders, magicians and mad scientists, the architecture of Auros had become hopelessly complexly mixed. one might be walking along an elven archway before suddenly finding themselves underneath a human lifting house. not only that, but over the years and outward expansion slowed due to deepening waters, upward, and more importantly, downward expansion increased. the center area of the island, once the main hub back in the dwarven mining days, is now an area known as "The Well" for over a mile downwards, and about a couple hundred meters across, bridges, ropes, and ladders criss-cross up down and across buildings cut directly into the edges of the hole, some even extending out over the edge. The Well only gets deeper as time passes. this area is considered a slum and is resident to a whole nest of thieves and liars, as well as drow and tieflings. some say that sections of the Well even contain dimensional tears to the Underdark. conversely to this, the edges around the Well are a circle called the golden heights. this mile thick band around The Well almost seems to pierce the heavens, and several now distinctive spires are numbered among these heights: The sunlit Throneroom, the Daomanah's Study, and the Lounge of the Gilded to name a few. with these high heights, came a new race, one of the last to get their own special area, the Aarococra, who build an aerie strung up in between the buildings, hundreds of feet above the surface, yet still far below the tops of the buildings. these days, walking through the streets walkways and alleys, you'ss hear talking in a hundred languages, laughter, shouting, swords cashing, fires crackling, wings flapping, smiths, kitchens, a thousand smells, a thousand sounds, and millions of faces. you might pass some stout halflings, merrily heading to a tavern, or a hulking Dragonborn, on their way to the Mages institute for another day's hard study. you might pass a couple of hunched over Drow hiding in the alleys, eyeing passerby with malice and suspicion, or you might run into a gaggle of goblins and unknowingly lose your coin purse. it's a wild and crazy land yet as the centuries have passed, tales of great heroes and epic adventures have numbered people from Auros in their verses. anyone, from Bards to Wizards, can find a place in Auros. or at least so they say.
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Auros. once a small island lying far out into the Geroen Sea, east of Ba'Eskalos, and north of Darkrock, the Island was first inhabited by the Dwarves, who mined it for its large gold veins. due to the particularly high quality of the gold ore mined there, the small dwarven outpost quickly prospered into a bustling city. soon other races set their sights there, and soon Elves, humans, and ever a few Dragonborn clans were anding, building their own settlements around the edges of the island. But the island was only so large, and soon it went from 'bustling', to overcrowded. the dwarves saw this as less of a problem and more of a challenge. calling on the elves for their skills in magic, the humans for their ingenuity, and the Dragonborn for their strength, the four races began artificially expanding the size of the island. each race choosing a wide swath of ocean to build over. the elves, ever graceful, demanded that they get the shallows to Auros's south, where the buildings could simply be set on raised white marble arches crossed by delicate magic elven twine bridges, thin and delicate as a birds nest yet stronger than steel. the Dragonborn took a much more tribal approach, requesting the marshy area to the east of the shallows, where they asked for huge floating wooden platforms to be erected, the walkways replaced by canals. the humans built complex machinery, that would lift their houses with the tides off of the north coast, and lastly, to the west, the Dwarves just built right into the ocean, the buildings just getting taller and the water got deeper. for hundreds of years it was called a "golden land" where all races could live together, not just the elves dwarves humans and Dragonborn, but also halflings, gnomes, goblins, Yuan-ti, even Merfolk lived in the city, utilizing hollowed out areas in the submerged dwarven buildings. but as time passed, the Dwarves changed, becoming more and more reclusive. over the centuries, due to renovators, expanders, magicians and mad scientists, the architecture of Auros had become hopelessly complexly mixed. one might be walking along an elven archway before suddenly finding themselves underneath a human lifting house. not only that, but over the years and outward expansion slowed due to deepening waters, upward, and more importantly, downward expansion increased. the center area of the island, once the main hub back in the dwarven mining days, is now an area known as "The Well" for over a mile downwards, and about a couple hundred meters across, bridges, ropes, and ladders criss-cross up down and across buildings cut directly into the edges of the hole, some even extending out over the edge. The Well only gets deeper as time passes. this area is considered a slum and is resident to a whole nest of thieves and liars, as well as drow and tieflings. some say that sections of the Well even contain dimensional tears to the Underdark. conversely to this, the edges around the Well are a circle called the golden heights. this mile thick band around The Well almost seems to pierce the heavens, and several now distinctive spires are numbered among these heights: The sunlit Throneroom, the Daomanah's Study, and the Lounge of the Gilded to name a few. with these high heights, came a new race, one of the last to get their own special area, the Aarococra, who build an aerie strung up in between the buildings, hundreds of feet above the surface, yet still far below the tops of the buildings. these days, walking through the streets walkways and alleys, you'ss hear talking in a hundred languages, laughter, shouting, swords cashing, fires crackling, wings flapping, smiths, kitchens, a thousand smells, a thousand sounds, and millions of faces. you might pass some stout halflings, merrily heading to a tavern, or a hulking Dragonborn, on their way to the Mages institute for another day's hard study. you might pass a couple of hunched over Drow hiding in the alleys, eyeing passerby with malice and suspicion, or you might run into a gaggle of goblins and unknowingly lose your coin purse. it's a wild and crazy land yet as the centuries have passed, tales of great heroes and epic adventures have numbered people from Auros in their verses. anyone, from Bards to Wizards, can find a place in Auros. or at least so they say.