A Visitor's Guide to Nokt: Overview: General Description

Nokt is a seaside town with several distinct styles of architecture, depending upon which “ring” of town you are in. The original section of Nokt, called “Old Town” today, was built right on the shores of Ereland, with docks and a small keep. These original buildings were more along the lines of an outpost than a town, though (owing to Nokt’s location) this outpost grew quickly, becoming first a hamlet and then a town – and, right before Draven went missing, a city in its own right.

Originally a colony of Nalo in the magic-rich land of Foerl, Nokt was set up as an experiment of sorts. Nalo is one of the richest lands in Foerl, concerned with building their empire and acquiring more power and influence – in short, money. While almost every other nation in Foerl devoted resources to magic and its dividends, Nalo sought to supplement magical power with fiduciary gains. The end result of this desire was the founding of a colony on another continent – and that colony was meant to be milked dry.

Nokt was intended to be a source of income from the get-go, despite all the problems that come along with a brand-new colony. Back in Nalo, the government officials expected to ship a bunch of colonists overseas and then have money come rolling in. Setbacks, like bugbear raids, a poor harvest, and even plague were not acceptable. As problem after problem reared its head in Nokt, Nalo decided something had to be done about it.

They sent Draven. Both their greatest choice and their greatest blunder, Draven was able to turn things around in the colony. He organized a town guard, created incentive plans for his workers, and set up a solid defense plan of the city – halting the bugbear raids. As Draven’s popularity with the colonists grew, fear of him also grew back in Nalo. Draven was a proponent of change, and was outspoken in his opinions of Nalo’s caste structure, religions, and more. The more he improved conditions for the residents of Nokt, the more the people of Nokt began to echo Draven’s sentiments about their motherland.

Dissent was brewing, and it reached a head shortly after Nalo announced they were going to replace Draven with another mayor. Taking this as a sign, Draven organized his supporters, and Nokt declared its independence.

Nokt broke free from its mother country right at the start of the Great Illithid War, and kept much of its magic-rich heritage while combining it with the gunpowder and steam-driven technologies of their Taggartian colony neighbors. As in Foerl, there are “magic shops” in Nokt, and the city’s economy supports a very brisk trade in magic, rare goods, and exotic animals such as griffons.

In addition, regular trade between Nokt and the Taggartian colony of Greathaven has resumed in the years since the war. Steamships, sailing ships, and magically-driven vessels all ply their way to the docks and harbors of Nokt, loading and unloading their goods in the hopes of finding fortunes in the marketplace. Ships from as far away as Taggartia and sometimes even Foerl make their way to Nokt, and the citizens are more than happy to see them – and their interesting cargos – arrive.