In the center of a beautiful and ornate circular room, there is a glass dome display case holding the smokeless flames of a mysterious fire. The velvet red walls have golden embroidery that glisten with the fire's light. Darkness paints the ceiling, with white dots resembling the stars of the night which, if you stare long enough, seem to move.
Around the room, there are six doors. One is bronze with dark brown, a wheel in its center for the knob. Two lanterns are lit above the door with a vent in the center. There’s a cogwheel just above the knob, also golden and embedded in the door. To the right of that door, there is another, much humbler door. Made of mahogany wood, the door is rectangular with long iron hinges and a curved knob. Around it, there are thin, swirling tree branches with leaves of the green of early spring. To the right of that, the door is much the opposite. Encased in frost, this door is made of a darker walnut color with a simple golden knob. Icicles come from the ceiling just above it and snowflakes seem to be suspended in the air around it.
Across from that door is a door in the shape of a lyre with an emanating hum of a low cello note reverberating against it. Beside that door is another wooden door with a rectangular doorknob. This one is surrounded by large stones piled on top of one another. There is a trapezoid stone at the top of the door with a symbol of an arrow pointed upward. Next to that one is the only door without a doorknob. Rather, it is a small opening with a door frame around it. The door frame holds strange and indecipherable hieroglyphics.
Behind these doors lie the six kingdoms of Maanosa. Among them, six shards of a powerful object, known as the Mirror of the Equinox, are hidden, ready for the finding. But the adventurers who choose to accept this quest may find that the six kingdoms hold far more than just mirror shards.
This is the start of an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign I am running. It is a campaign that holds a very special place in my heart, because Maanosa is a world of a trilogy I am writing. Though the trilogy is still in the works, this campaign has really given me a good look at my world building. In turn, the setting of my trilogy will be just that much richer and believable.
As a Dungeon Master, it's always so great fun to guide my players through the campaign, but as a writer, it's almost surreal to have my friends live in a world I created.
I hope to offer a glimpse into the adventures of this party with a few written stories of their time behind the doors to Maanosa.
Copyright ©️ 2020 Daniela Doncel. All rights reserved.
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