Ustalav, Fog-shrouded Land of Gothic Horror

The Strange Aeons Adventure Path kicks off in the country of Ustalav.

     The Immortal Principality of Ustalav lies on the northern shore of Lake Encarthan, a grim bastion of civilization surrounded by the barbarian north. A harsh landscape and a history rich in tragedies inspire a wary population to skepticism, religious devotion, and superstition. A conglomeration of loosely affiliated counties run by feuding nobles vying for power and influence, Ustalav is a pitiful shell of its former glory, before it was subjected to centuries of slavery at the hands of the Whispering Tyrant’s undead armies. While the nation’s upper classes struggle to compete with the very nations that abandoned them to fend for themselves after the Whispering Tyrant’s defeat, the average Ustalavic citizen faces far more gruesome realities.

     Hundreds of years of subjugation and the residual horrors that plague the countryside have left the people of Ustalav suspicious of magic, religion, foreigners, and even their fellow citizens. Beyond their eccentric and insular qualities, the people of Ustalav often have a dour worldview. They resign
themselves to lives of suffering, seeing nothing in their people’s history to suggest there exists any hope for a better life. Despite the physical and psychological strains upon its populace, Ustalav nevertheless fosters extremely hardy and tenacious stock: men and women who firmly believe that no matter how bad it gets, history shows it could always be worse.
     Although Ustalav has little to offer its rural peasants, inhabitants of its many metropolitan areas fare somewhat better, and the centers of learning and culture they provide draw trade and travelers from throughout the Inner Sea region. The capital, Caliphas, stands on the banks of Lake Encarthan, and its fog-shrouded streets host some of the nation’s most esteemed trade and academic establishments. In the north, the city of Karcau boasts a thriving culture of music, theater, and other fine arts, and its opulent architecture rivals the excesses of even the most exotic Taldan palace. Meanwhile, Ustalav’s northwestern counties have broken from aristocratic rule and formed their own local, democratic government without nobles, calling themselves the Palatinates and providing a glimmer of hope for the downtrodden people of provincial Ustalav.

Thrushmoor
Though the characters won’t actually reach the town of Thrushmoor until the second adventure, the asylum they find themselves in initially was built on Briarstone Isle. This island is situated in the Danver River, not that far from Thrushmoor. 

     Originally established by Kellid wanderers, a settlement has existed in some form at the mouth of the Danver River for nearly seven centuries. Early settlers found a bounty of clean water and abundant fishing here, though many felt that the area was cursed. Even though the people enjoyed all the resources they needed to survive, danger lurked behind every shadow, and something always seemed to go wrong with their efforts to tame the land.
     Thrushmoor is the seat of power of the Ustalavic county of Versex and home to the region’s ruling family, the Lowls. The town maintains a veneer of propriety despite its sinister underbelly. Count Haserton Lowls IV takes a largely hands-off approach to rule, leaving much of the county’s governance to elected or appointed mayors. In the case of Thrushmoor, this
bureaucrat is Magistrate Tillus Padgett. The count’s reclusive tendencies rarely impact Thrushmoor’s daily activities, as the noble spends most of his time holed up in his estate, Iris Hill, poring over arcane tomes and ancient grimoires on unknown topics.