Asphodel
| Asphodel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Plane | Theros |
| Colors |
  |
| Part of | Despair Lands, Mortal Realm |
Asphodel (AHZ-foh-del) is a necropolis of the Returned on Theros, situated on a lifeless peninsula south of the Nessian Wood where the influence of the Underworld seeps into the land. Known as the Despair Lands, this bleak region is home to a city where the Returned dwell in quiet detachment, seeking solitude amid crumbling ruins. They rarely leave Asphodel except when stirred by sudden waves of emotion or flickers of lost memory, and its dusty streets remain mostly empty, watched over by the hollow-eyed masks peering from the windows of decaying hovels. A distorted mirror of the Underworld's grim cities, Asphodel stands as a cruelly ironic refuge for those who once fled death's grasp.
Description
| “ | Death and life are two sides of the same coin. Opposite, but eternally connected. One cannot exist without the other. | ” |
—Slighos the Body-binder | ||
Unlike their sister city of Odunos, the Returned of Asphodel are purposeless and seek only to be left alone.[1][2] It is named after the Asphodel Meadows, one of the three main wards of the Underworld in Ancient Greek mythology.
Geography
Asphodel itself is a dull place with unimpressive architecture, and there is usually little to no activity within the city.[1][2]
Locations in Asphodel
- Coliseum of the Aphonai - a circular stone building at the center of Asphodel serves as its seat of government. Trespassers are often taken to this coliseum to be judged.[1]
- Stoa of Shadows - the Order of Phaios uses this vaulted hall to record their arcane secrets in coded scrolls and tablets.[1]
Locations in Asphodel's surroundings
- The Despair Lands - the sprawling marsh where Asphodel is situated.
- The Hetos Mire – a desolate expanse at the southern tip of the peninsula, so harsh even most Returned avoid it. Asphodel rests on a rise at the edge of this sprawling marsh, surrounded by treacherous bogs and tangled thickets that serve as a natural defense against outsiders. A tribe of peat-drenched minotaurs live here.[1]
- The Blood Tree - a gnarled, ancient cypress standing at the Mire's southernmost point, stained deep crimson. Its color seeps into the surrounding waters, tinting the swamp like a vast charnel pit. The tree draws venomous and predatory swamp beasts, which often drag their victims into the mire's fetid depths.[1]
- Athreos's Shrine, the Temple of Silence
- an entrance to the Underworld is nestled between the roots of the Blood Tree. The cave is a shrine to Athreos, the God of Passage, and hosts an entrance to the Underworld, through which Daxos lost his mother Lidia.[3][1]
- Athreos's Shrine, the Temple of Silence
- The Blood Tree - a gnarled, ancient cypress standing at the Mire's southernmost point, stained deep crimson. Its color seeps into the surrounding waters, tinting the swamp like a vast charnel pit. The tree draws venomous and predatory swamp beasts, which often drag their victims into the mire's fetid depths.[1]
Culture
Religion
Phenax is worshipped openly in Asphodel.[1] As the residents have accepted their fate, they are said to be symbolically aligned with Erebos.[2]
Inhabitants
The majority of the population are the despondent Returned, or Noston,[4] undead mortals who have escaped the Underworld through the Path of Phenax. This process causes them to lose their memories and faces, which they hide with golden masks.[5] They rarely leave Asphodel, only doing so when low on resources or moved by temporary emotional desires. Asphodel usually only conflicts with outsiders attempting to assault or infiltrate the city.
Asphodel is defended by a cabal of evil mages[2] (or "kakomanteis") called the Order of Phaios, using blood magic and spells corrupted by the Underworld. Because they can't form long-term memories, the order records their arcane discoveries in the Stoa of Shadows.
The Nyxborn harpy Aphemia is known to prowl the Despair Lands, using her unique song to control the Returned and command them to partake in raids on Meletian and Setessan settlements.[1] She was used as a minion of Ashiok.[6]
Government
Asphodel is ruled by three silent Returned called the Aphonai.[1]
Economy
Gold is commonplace in the Underworld and, as such, the dead don't value it. Instead, they use pieces of dark clay carved from funerary masks,[7] called an "ostrakon". The Returned of Asphodel use ostraka as mementos and tools to barter.[2] Outside the necropolis, the Gray Merchants sell cursed items in exchange for useless trinkets.[1][8]
In-game references
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Referred to:
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Wizards RPG Team (2020), D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros, Wizards of the Coast
- ↑ a b c d e Wizards of the Coast (September 04, 2013). "Planeswalker's Guide to Theros, Part 3".
- ↑ Jenna Helland (2014) - Theros: Godsend, Part I, WotC, Prologue.
- ↑ Trick Jarrett (December 5, 2013). "The Returned". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Flavor text of March of the Returned
- ↑ Flavor text of Aphemia, the Cacophony
- ↑ Flavor text of Underworld Coinsmith
- ↑ Flavor text of Gray Merchant of Asphodel
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