Item: The Heartstealer:

     Item: The Heartstealer (9/10th Kg) (Rare) (Marvelous) (Cannot be sold once bound, 50 GP if not bound) (4) (2 EP) (Cursed):
       A cursed soul-bound glove weapon, The Heartstealer allows the user to expend one of their own HP to literally rip another being's heart out of them if their attack lands on a being whose combined HP and EP (including bonuses) is less than three times the character's physical damage from their strongest bare-handed attack, and the other fails a 1d10 save.  On ripping out the other being's heart, the character can squish it to kill them if they have only one heart which they need to survive, or magically turn it into a phylactery for that being at a cost of 20 FP, or puppeteer the being for 1d10 turns at a cost of 3 FP per turn.  For every day the character wears The Heartstealer, they lose 1 HP and suffer -3 Charisma for that day.  If they use its power, they expend an addition 2 HP and 3 FP per usage.  At the end of every week if The Heartstealer has not not been used on another being, the character also loses an additional 1d10 HP.  [Refueled, Arcane, Draining (Blood)].

Region: The Hole of Secrets:

In the Northern-most tip of Tesaria there are rolling fields which run from the coast to the edge of Ran'Lifon.  Hidden amongst the fields legend says a mouth opens in the ground every solar eclipse and swallows flora and fauna.  While none living have seen it themselves, there are texts dating back even to the ancient human ruins dug up underneath New Hollowstone that state that it has left no trace of the animals and plants it consumed.  There are rumors, however, in ancient stories and songs, that The Hole of Secrets holds more than animal carcases within it.  Robed strangers from distant lands who never revealed their faces, whose memory of visitation was removed from most who glimpsed upon them, opened the hole during lunar eclipses and full moons as well.  During these fabled tales, the strangers bore treasures and potent artifacts some had deemed accursed or sacred, down into the mouth of The Hole of Secrets, which rather than swallowing them whole admitted them down a winding stairwell into darkness.  While they were not seen to rise from it again, a flash of pale blue light emanated from the hole hours later, and it would be decades before the robed strangers or perhaps their descendents would be seen again.  More recently, some have tried to test these stories by trying to mine in the area, but all attempts have led to massive magical backlash despite all magical sensors detecting no trace prior...  It seems if one wishes to enter The Hole of Secrets to plunder its supposed riches, they have one of two options...  Hope to survive being swallowed...  Or be lucky enough to sneak in when the robed strangers appear once again.

Population Center: Askarr Colony:

While still a colony of The Great Suarn Empire, the Askarr Colony is much closer to the continent of Tesaria than it is to the government it functions under.  As such, it greatly serves as a staging ground for potential defenses for or against the fledgling country, and as the power of leadership has changed hands four times since Tesaria gained its independence, the stance Askarr Colony has been ordered to take has swung between paranoia and welcome arms.  Over the past century and a half, the military and governmental presence on Askarr Colony has largely been cautious with the people of Tesaria but still kept trade relations which have greatly benefited both governments.  Askarr Colony also serves as facilitator of fugitive exchange from both governments if one had fled from Tesaria to Adslein or vice versa, and its customs agency and ability to help ships restock for the journey across the seas has made Askarr Colony a vital waypoint port for transportation between the two continents.

The majority of architecture in Askarr Colony is six centuries old, designed for stationing troops and shipbuilding for the empire, but it has since expanded to have more markets, many houseboat residences, and a strong fishing industry.  The majority of those who live on Askarr Colony are Draconis Dragon-Kin, though the population has expanded to include all other species in the past century.  Primarily, Gnomes, Pixies, Felinae, Kenthri and Reynix are scarce there due to the relatively crowded city's design, but some make their living either on the colony directly or through selling food grown on their greenhouse houseboats.  Likewise, the Goblins and Gitwerg have created vast storage facilities under the city for its benefit while begrudgingly sharing the mining rights deep under the colony's shores.  Naiads and Cubi tend to work in the fishing industry most, but some have also taken to cultivating underwater plants and salvage operations.  Gargoyles are not very fond of the lack of natural great heights in the colony, but an artificial rookery has been worked on for the past six decades offshore with the aid of other species, letting them create a vast trio of towers with which to also aid in allowing a few airships to dock and launch.

Population Center: Ran'Lifon:

Dug into a great ravine in northern Tesaria, Ran'Lifon is a goblin colony built looking down at underwater ancient human ruins.  While its population is almost entirely goblin, it does not consider itself part of The Goblin Federation as its residents attempt to focus their development looking to nature and ancient goblin texts and customs long considered useless to the general goblin population.  However, as the goblins living in Ran'Lifon have prospered greatly and located many magical and technological discoveries in the past few decades, The Goblin Federation has tried to strongly convince them to join the federation.  New Hollowstone, meanwhile, has extended diplomatic relations with them since Ran'Lifon was formed, while letting operate wholly on their own unless they requested aid.  When rarely it has been called for, New Hollowstone, Oak Hill and Gear Rise have offered their support, and slowly it seems that Ran'Lifon's younger generation has grown interested in the idea proposed by New Hollowstone that the city have roads made to reach it for better transportation and general travel, as well as other benefits to the region.  The elders are more wary given the trappings of changing the land to suit their needs, rather than serving the land...  But some may have been swayed due to recent translations of their ancient texts giving them greater knowledge on how to create a compromise that benefits them and the lands they serve...

Population Center: Despolis:

Crouched amidst the barren hills and valleys of The Northern Wastes of Tesaria, the citizens of Despolis weather a multitude of ever-present dangers.  Surrounded by arcane storms, toxic rain, rampant mutant creatures roaming the wastes, and extremely little land in the wastes capable of growing edible crops, let alone those able to remain pure despite the corruptible magics and pollution, it is no wonder that the majority of Despolis' population remains safe within its domed cities.  While it is ever expanding into the wastes and building new domes to protect restored land, Despolis primarily relies on its arcane defenses and the ancient human technology left behind there to maintain its disciplined order.  Those who reside in Despolis are few, primarily the best and brightest who seek to learn from the city built upon human ruins.  Eighty years ago it was located in the Northern Wastes when an ever-present storm in the region seemingly vanished and the city's first dome was revealed.  While there is no distinction between species in terms of their employment opportunities, few Naiads, Gitwerg, Gnomes, Felinae, Kenthri, and Pixies choose to live there due to the dangers nearby.  Humans, Cubi, Goblins, Reynix, Draconis Dragon-Kin and Gargoyles are in abundance there, most seeking to make the city more efficient, though there are the occasional individual laying low in Despolis because few are insane enough to look for them there.