Uden: Realm of the Forest Gods
Character: Relax in the shade of the trees. Enjoy the refreshing breezes. Love nature, respect it, learn from it and benefit from it.
Power: Uzo-otl and Uzoat, rulers of the uzo pantheon, based on the prime world of Ambal, hold court here. Some of their subjects also make Uden their home.
Description: Uden has been cited as the third great realm in Olympus, after Olympus itself and Arvandor. The uzos and grinn certainly think so. But others maintain that the uzo powers lack the wide following of the Seldarine and Olympians, and that if there is a third realm, it must be well hidden.
Like the rest of Olympus, Uden is larger-than-life throughout. The majority of the terrain is subtropical forest and jungle, punctuated by mile-deep ravines into which the ubiquitous rivers of the realm plunge. The largest such river, the Worldsap River, is a tributary of the Oceanus. The powers themselves reign from huge step-pyramids in the wildest parts of the jungles. A mature conduit links Uzo-otl's pyramid with the realm of his son Khogaotl in the Grey Waste. The principal locals, apart from petitioners and nymphs, are the uzo powers' chosen servitors, the Eagle Maidens. Their eyries, located on the highest peaks and sheerest cliffs, cling to the landscape with seemingly unshakable tenacity. Less well-known are the secretive Treecreepers, who serve Uzo-otl.
The architecture, such as it is here, might be described in some places as Mesoamerican. But the petitioners, almost entirely uzos, live simple lives in caves and huts in the jungle. The skies over the realm are the domain of the dragon power Karuk, god of flight and the air, known to the uzos as Karotlizec.
Principal Towns: Minor hamlets litter the realm, but there are no major towns here. Oneness with nature precludes it. The nearest thing the realm has to a major settlement is the temple-city of Joyous Service, where the petitioners who in life most dutifully obeyed Uzo-otl and were a part of his cult perpetuate his rule in the afterlife.
Special Conditions: The nature of this realm is to encourage sentients to enjoy nature in co-operation with it. (Which is why it doesn't slide into the Beastlands. It's too cultured.) Anyone who takes suitable precautions before spending a night in the open will not come to harm, unless something unnatural comes past (in which case the Eagle Maidens might have something to with it).
Principal Nonplayer Characters: Lereshticlol (Px/female uzo/P17/CG) is Uzoat's main proxy in the realm. She wanders the lands meeting visitors and warding them away from the lethal ravines in the realm. Rumour has it that she's hiding something, but no-one knows what. Ragrathlaxitlec (Px/male uzo/F19/CG) on the other hand is Uzo-otl's servant. He patrols the realm keeping foreign monsters at bay and revelling in the natural beauty of the realm. At Joyous Service, the high-up is Bujkalot (Px/male uzo/P23/NG) who works in the temple complex and is known mainly by his reputation for diligence.
Services: The priests here are experts in natural matters, and anyone wanting advice on travelling to the Beastlands could do a lot worse than to ask a local.