Tillan-Ait

Tillan-Ait is the location of the first official campaign in Arc 1 of The Boogiers in ?innacle and where the group is first exposed to a population that denounces the Heroes' Guild. Ironically, the small community was founded under the name of the legendary hero, Charm (albeit her mythologized counterpart shown in twin form) and came to be regarded as a safe haven for refugees.

Description
"While Runa tries to remember her extensive geographical lessons, she recalls that Tillan-Ait is a cliffside settlement propped on an ascending staircase all the way to its summit. The place has become a home to oddities and entertainment while also housing large populations of refugees and outcasts. There tends to be a lot of people who worship Charm Dimeshore, a Heroes’ Guild legend, here despite the general disdain for heroes. They really don’t care for the exterior influence and would rather live without any sort of surveillance."

- Campaign 1, Part 1

History
As the Pinnacle Era was ushered in for the Beginner’s Continent, Tillan-Ait was a cliff on the edge of a vast sea left uninhabited save for some wanderers that would often find temporary refuge at its base, its peak obvious beyond the labyrinth of forest that made even the most experienced adventurers lose their place. As the rumors of Pinnacle spread and heroism took root in the hearts of populations worldwide, many ousted groups resonated with the identity crises of Charm, one of which would claim Tillan-Ait as a settlement due to its distinct layout and relative seclusion.

The first settlers in particular were the ones that built into its natural architecture Sin Schism, a winding staircase intended for those desiring atonement through means of self-punishment as the original population was comprised of supposed exiles and prisoners. Many believe the identities of the architects to be either members or direct relatives of the Stormeye tribe from Duvathos. The staircase, having now fallen to decay from extensive use and tourism stints, has since been sectioned off.

Only later would the place be transformed and advertised as an inclusive space for all those outside the bounds of society, with the present Tillan-Ait acting as a hub for outlandish forms of entertainment rejected elsewhere. Those residing there believe reinventing and keeping the traditions of such entertainment alive act as preservation and positive implementations of archival. The controversy has led them to reject any and all that desire reform, even those only wishing to aid with the extremists that now plague its base.

Campaign 1
The Boogiers would find themselves in one of the central tourist stops at Tillan-Ait, advertised as an act separate from their hero-in-training affiliations. Following their subsequent mishap in Aventura Memoliant's establishment The Best Stop, Boogie would come to admit that he aimed for the group to be the first to change pre-conceived notions about heroes despite their obvious failure at doing so.

It is later that they find out a cult, comprised of human extremists previously known to wander the grounds surrounding the cliff and other dangerous individuals, have since become more aggressive, going so far as to operate kidnappings and other acts of terrorism exclusively at night. Runa however observes them uncharacteristically operating while it is still light out, which prompts the group to investigate further. Their continued delving leads them to the cult leader Colette, who they realize is advocating the extremist's cause to eradicate any magically inclined or non-human beings only so she may carry out her plan of consuming the living scroll Elemeno.

Though they are renounced by the population following their confrontation with Colette among other disturbances, their acquaintance Gander Yanar promises that she will work to improve the reception of heroes in the community after seeing their courageous deeds.

Charm
Prior to the founding of Tillan-Ait, Charm was taken into a healing residence by supposed Kalashtar that aided those fleeing from prejudice with their abilities. Using their connection to the dream plane, they would enable a weary body the effects of a long rest without the time required. Implied to have committed acts of self-harm in the name of masking her identity, she would remain in their care and learn meditation, art therapy and other forms of self-care. A descendant of her caretakers would then sell the lands to the dragon-born Gander out of desperation, commenting on how cluttered the place is. It is presumed that the flanking statues at its entrance, two twins resembling herself but also representing personifications of 'Lies' and 'Truth' based on the inscriptions, were made by Charm.

Trivia

 * Tillan-Ait was inspired by El Peñón de Guatapé in Columbia.
 * The first part of the name Tillan was meant to resemble תל (Tel) in Hebrew, which means hill or mound and used in some archaeological naming conventions for Near Eastern settlements. It can also reference the agricultural process of tilling. The ait in contrast may play on "tilling it" in reference to Sin Schism as the defining feature.
 * There are mentions of a travel service to scale Tillan-Ait in the absence of its central stairway though the group deems it 'out of their price range,' only having resorted to it upon their arrival.