Making

If a typical person in Khorvaire were asked where they thought the Mourning originated, they would say the city of Making. The region around the city was consumed by enormous tremors, and nobody who was in the city that day is credibly believed to have escaped the mists. The lightning rails and other roads connecting the city to the rest of the continent were also annihilated, fully isolating Making from even the most daring Orien repair plans.

Source: Politics of Eberron

Source: Politics of Cyre

Contrasting sharply with other Cyran cities, Making reflected the most practical interests of House Cannith, with plain and functional architecture neatly laid out on a grid. The relationship between local leadership and House Cannith was less obviously in violation of the Korth Accords than more flagrant examples involving House Lyrandar in Stormhome and Valenar.

Airship Docking Tower

Making was home to one of the continent’s first airship towers, a skyscraper strategically located for flight paths traversing the continent that allowed elementals to rest. This tower enabled for direct passage to and from Metrol, the other fully operational Cyran tower in 994. Prior to the Mourning, airship production was just beginning to ramp up, leaving it even more exclusive and high-class rather than an economical method of transporting goods and people, especially with the network of lightning rails throughout the country

The Genesis Foundry

While the creation forges are an obvious miracle of arcane industry, allowing House Cannith to play god in creating new life, the Genesis forges were an equally powerful—if less fantastic—application of the Mark of Making. Proficient Cannith heirs could use Genesis forges to transform raw materials into finished goods using only a fraction of the time and effort it would otherwise take to conventionally produce such goods.

Galifar Forest

The city of Making was located on the northern edge of the Galifar Forest, a protected reserve that extended significantly southward. Legend says that Galifar made a deal with a hag that ruled over the woods, promising that so long as the woods stood, so would the Kingdom of Galifar. The woods had a heavy fey presence from its Thelanian manifest zones, but the Mourning has left the fate of those extraplanar beings a mystery.

The ruins of Making are largely an enigma—transport in and out of the city is difficult, so even groups capable of surviving the living spells in the area tend to target other ruins that are more accessible.

The Glass Plateau

The city of Making now rests on an enormous expanse of opaque glass, a combination of smooth rolling hills and jagged spikes. Occasionally new fissures open, with strange magma flowing outwards to expand the size of the plateau slowly but steadily.

Traversing the Glass Plateau is an adventure by itself; the mist dome makes orienting by the sun impossible, and traditional navigation magic is unreliable at best here. Magic in general is unpredictable as dangerous magical phenomena (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything Chapter 4) are especially common here.

The Crystal Spire

An enormous pillar of glass juts up from a seemingly arbitrary point in the city. It reaches an impossible height into the sky, occasionally crackling with volatile arcane energies. The fabric of reality is thin here, potentially allowing transport to other planes or even other universes.

The Undercity

Making’s urban sprawl extended not only outwards but downwards, with numerous subterranean passages connecting the city utilizing ancient Dhakaani tunnels. House Orien even considered Making for the first expansion of its subway system, after its home city of Passage. The earthquakes have largely sealed the undercity off, although rumors suggest secret Cannith laboratories hold valuable secrets.

House Cannith formed the economic backbone of Making, building the arcane industrial equipment that converted resources extracted from the surrounding area to refined products for consumption elsewhere.

Duchess Sayyida ir’Sufyan

One of the wealthiest nobles in Cyre, Duchess ir’Sufyan (she/her) had a very comfortable working relationship with House Cannith. Taxes on the House’s profits often went right back into the House’s coffers, as the Duchess tried to secure both the eastern and western borders from the secessionist goblins and elves. A lifelong devotee of the Sovereign Host, she did her best to rule in accordance with its values—public education following the will of Aureon and a respect for the family in the name of Boldrei.

Seneschal Norran d’Cannith

The named successor to the house patriarch, Norran (they/them) ran the house’s operations in Making. A highly skilled administrator, Norran spent their life disproving accusations that Starrin’s preference for a biological successor would weaken the house’s century of success. As Seneschal, Norran was responsible for Cannith operations in south of the east-west lightning rail line through Metrol. They conducted most business in Making, preferring that parties come to them rather than traveling themselves.

Muhsina Walid

While Making was a wealthy city that produced many of the goods the people of the Five Nations relied upon each day, it was also a place where a nascent labor movement began to speak out about the lives of ordinary citizens. Muhsina (she/her) was the leader of one of the city’s unions, organizing the assembly line workers who produced clothing to demand protections from cottonlung, fairer wages, and reasonable hours.

Magic runs wild in the ruins of Making, where innumerable living spells haunt its streets. A few other groups also inhabit these ruins.

The Arch-Spell

While most living spells lack anything resembling intelligence, one appears to have gained something resembling an awareness of its surroundings. According to a salvage report, this spell has begun absorbing other living spells, amalgamating into an arcane maelstrom.

The Blades

The followers of the Lord of Blades are simply known as “Blades,” presenting themselves as weapons in his arsenal. Many of them have taken an interest in the city of Making, trekking across the glass plateau to carry out their lord and master’s wishes.

Fire Warden Ignius Herculius

A Sulatar Drow from the Obsidian City, Ignius (he/him) has received a prophetic command to travel to the alien northern continent in search of a treasure he can bring back to his people. He has gathered a small party that will join him on this exotic journey, navigating a land the natives have destroyed in internecine warfare.

The Kolyarut

For reasons unknown, The Kolyarut—the ineffable central intelligence that enforces the laws of Daanvi—has taken a special interest in the city of Making. A single Kolyarut agent delves the ruins of the city, replaced almost immediately when destroyed. The agent does not hesitate to use violence against those who interfere with its duties.

Source: Politics of Cyre

The industrial city was a blueprint for the rest of Khorvaire, as new practices and tools were tested and refined in the factories.

Criminal: While House Cannith did its best to keep everything above board, the city's industrial power left plenty of room for smugglers who skimmed off the city's resources and evaded Cyran taxes. How big was your scheme? Are any of your allies or rivals still alive?

Noble: While Duchess Sayida held the highest role in the region, her family and the counts that ruled under her vied to produce results both economically and militarily. What role did your family play?

Soldier: Making served as the central hub for the fights against both Darguun and Valenar. While the city was never directly threatened, anyone who fought for Cyre against either knew the city as both a respite and staging ground. Did you take the secessions personally? Did you question the campaigns to retake the two nations?

While it's dangerous to get to Making, valuable secrets await those who make the trek.

Lost Notes. Norran suspected something strange was going on in House Cannith, after uncovering suspicious shipments. Rather than work their way up the house hierarchy, they conducted private investigations. Picking up on Norran’s trail of evidence might uncover Cannith’s complicity in the Mourning or even grander conspiracies.

Regenesis. House Cannith was unable to replicate the success of the Genesis forges outside of Making before the Day of Mourning destroyed the facilities, but one or more of the three leading heirs (Jorlanna, Merrix, and/or Zorlan) believes a successful mission to the city could recover the missing components and knowledge for success.

The Next War. Both the Crystal Spire and the Arch-Spell represent enormous concentrations of arcane energy. One of the surviving nations is interested in harnessing it, and has either hired the PCs to acquire it, or is hiring the PCs to stop a competing group from doing so.