Merideth

The lands of Aviontrix is an old and tired land. Once it was fertile and green, but centuries of overfarming and the deterrioration of the aqueducts have left it barren and dry. Where once there was a thriving civilization building monuments and tombs that have been seldom matched over the course of history, there are only nomads.

If one can find the way to Merideth, they will see it as a classic Aviontix city tucked among some foot hills. The walls are tall, their tops are decorated with turquoise tile inlays in simple repeating geometric patterns. The city gate is impressive, massive being the best word to describe it. There are tall towers and large temples to be seen from outside the city. The buildings are square and sturdy, able to stand the test of time.

As one approaches the city, the feeling of cold normaly grips one soul. Those around Merideth can feel that cold loss, the feeling of their mortality, the fact that their soul can be torn away in a moment. The road to Merideth is not for everyone, and the area about it for even fewer.

Yet some hardy souls do make their living here. There are scribes and messangers that hire out from the city. Inn Keepers feed those that travel here, desperate to talk to lost ones. Traders in secrets and history live here, garnering a few things from those inside. Magesmiths make talismans that allow will protect people from the Ravens that will eventually take them or allow them to travel beyond the walls of Merideth.
This place is a place of magic. Some say it is a curse, other say that it is a blessing. But here, for a time, the dead live again.

The newly dead find themselves deposited here by the Ravens. It is here they stay while awaiting their fate in the afterlife. For a time they must live in this city, this waystation on the way to the land of death. The newly dead of many dieties can find themselves here, as a way station. However, only those who die who have Aviontix blood, die within the confines of Aviontix's borders, or die in reference to one of the dieties (Thus where ever the Raven is reincarnated, the deaths there feed Merideth), find their way here regularly these days. If they die again in the city walls, they are truly dead... lost forver.

The living can enter Merideth, either via a talisman (very reasonably priced), clerical blessing, or sheer force of will. The daylight is their only safety. Sometimes things in the shadows are hungry there. If the living are caught in the city after sunset, their bodies become dust and they have one day left inside Merideth before the are taken away.

Inside they will see a city of wonders. The ancient Aviontix were some of the most impressive builders of any time. There are fountains, roadways, tall towers, arches, and buildings of all sizes.

The people who 'live' here encompass all times and places. They are of a variety of ethnic groups, wearing all manner of strange garb. All seem to have a slight grey sheen over them, marking them as different. They are all trying to make a living, until the Ravens (or some other divine avatar) comes to take them away to their proper place. Some have knowledge they can trade to the living for coins. Some here also do a brisk trade in memories: buying, trading, and selling all for the chance to experience them.

Merideth is a place of legends, but it is a great place for players to have to race to get information from a recently killed target or friend.

Some people choose to rescue souls that have been lost to Merideth. Those people who have had the misfortune to die in the wrong place or by the wrong hands. Now they are in Merideth. If they are not saved by their own gods, the Ravens will take them away and their souls will be lost to the world forever.

Some scholars desperately try to find Merideth (or those with pathfinding gift) to search out knowledge of the past.

Some people want to forget certain things, and the memory traders in Merideth allow that. They can even transfer said memory to someone else.