Iconic Locations Behind the Veil

We’ve been discussing rules and mechanics a lot lately, so let’s delve a little into setting. And this time I mean setting pretty literally, as in the place where things happen.  Or in this case, places.

One of the best ways to understand a character is to know where they grew up, where and how they lived.  To that end, I wanted to detail a few of the more well-known and iconic locations within Dusk Veil. These locations are placed in real-world cities but are entirely made up. Any resemblance to real places is coincidental. Either way, they will help us understand the world that people in Dusk Veil live in.

A quick apology, and invitation. 
I’m an American and though I have been fortunate enough to travel the breadth of this country several times, I have not had the opportunity to travel outside of the U.S. Locations here will be in the States, because that’s what I’m familiar enough with to write without messing it up.  I know I have some readers who live in other parts of the world. If you would like to describe a location in your country (or one you know well enough, or even part of this country I’m not familiar with) that exists in Dusk Veil, I will gladly add it here, credit you, and make it canonically part of the setting. 
I would love to be inclusive, but the right way to do that is to include other voices.  
So, chime in if you would like.

Now, here are some iconic locations in Dusk Veil.

Subterranean Homesick Brews

Subterranean Homesick Brews is a bar located in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.  The bar was built by a Dwarf, Jacob Lee, in the mid-1970s.   At the time he was already living in the area due to its low rent and high immigrant population which allowed him to blend in easily.  Due to the counterculture movement in the Bay Area of the ’60s and ’70s, Jacob noticed an influx of people behind the Veil and realized there were no dedicated places for them.  He was able to find a basement that was vacant and converted it to a bar.  Though he was young for a Dwarf, Jacob took inspiration from taverns of ole and decorated the place to look like it had been built centuries ago. At the same time, there were a few modern touches to make it more comfortable and welcoming. The name is of course a reference to a popular Bob Dylan song of the time.

Subterranean Homesick Brews gained a quick and loyal following, partly on the strength of the beer brewed right on premise —getting ahead of the microbrew trend by a couple of decades— and partly because no one had created a space like this for Veil people before.  It was a place where they could let their hair down, so to speak.  Or more accurately, let their illusions and disguises down.  The bar’s reputation grew until it became one of, if not the most famous hangouts in all of Dusk Veil. Certainly, in America.

Because people will travel from all over the world to come to visit Subterranean Homesick Brews, it means almost everyone goes through there at some point.  And that means, it is also a great place to meet people, find information, and eavesdrop on other people doing business.  It has become one of the main meeting places for those who wish to meet in public, but in a way that they can discuss topics that are behind the Veil without fear of mundane folks overhearing.

Because of its popularity, Jacob Lee has been able to add a fair amount of security, both magic and not.  The alley that Subterranean Homesick Brews is located in is protected by two powerful spells.  One makes it so those who are unaware of the bar have a hard time finding it.  Anyone walking by will simply ignore it, thinking there is no reason to head down there.  If they do decide to head down there, an illusion makes it appear empty.  The entrance door is guarded at all times.  Currently, Jacob employs a trio of Bugbear siblings.  Each of them is also disguised to look like hulking humans.  Their only job is to make sure no one gets through the door who shouldn’t.

All of this combines to mean if you are looking for information, or somewhere to start an adventure, Subterranean Homesick Brews is the perfect place to begin looking.

Vandran University

In the late-18^th century, there was a political split at the University at Hisbal, one of the oldest schools of magic in the world.  One group, the Free Mystics, had seen that many humans were innately capable of using magic. Their thought was, rather than risk them learning on their own and becoming dangerous to themselves or anyone else, they should be brought in to be taught magic in a proper setting.  Other, more traditionalist people, said that this was a direct violation of the Dusk Veil Accords. They claimed it was more dangerous to the school and its inhabitants to open the doors to humans.  The Traditionalists won and the school stayed closed.

That was not the end of it though.  The Free Mystics group split off.  There was a new country, called America, where they were out of the reach of University at Hisbal.  So, a group of them grabbed what books, scrolls, and other learning materials they could and moved to New York.

Now, tucked away, just off the beaten path, in the finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York, is Celeste Vandran Free and Open Mystical University, named after the wizard who spearheaded its creation and usually Shortened to Vandran University. The campus houses a few hundred students and faculty in the premier school of magic in North America. In the two-hundred-plus years since its founding, Vandran University has amassed a wealth of resources for those interested in the arcane arts, including a library of esoteric texts and research centers for new magic.

But possibly the most noteworthy part of the school is the recruiting branch.  Unlike University at Hisbal, which requires students to seek them out, Vandran University actively recruits students who have shown signs of talent in magic.  Importantly, this includes humans. In order to attend, all human students must sign a contract agreeing to uphold the Dusk Veil Accords. 

While there is the Skoto Gnostic Order, they tend to be much more selective in who they allow in, and often you must know someone. This has made Vandran University one of the few ways humans can get behind the Veil, and indeed is the most likely way for it to happen for human magic users.

Hayward Regional Flea Market

If you’ve been to the Bay Area of California, you might know that it is lousy with flea markets.  While almost all of these are mundane in nature, there is one that stands out, The Hayward Regional Flea Market, located of course in Hayward, California, just south of Oakland.  Like many flea markets, it’s open only on Saturdays and Sundays.  Inside is a veritable bazaar of goods, from discount clothes and knock-off Blu-rays to rusty tools and used toys.  But Hayward regional has a secret.

There is a section of the market that appears to many to be empty and sealed off.  In reality, this is an illusion.  Behind that illusion exists the largest marketplace for magical items and other Veil paraphernalia in the United States. Here you can buy healing potions, runes for enhancing magical weapons, Alchemists Googles, Cloaks of Elvenkind, and many, many other items of magical nature.

Founded in 1907, just after the San Francisco Earthquake, The Hayward Area Flea Market is the longest-running market in the U.S. for anyone seeking items that are only available to those behind the Veil.

A few other locations

 The following are less specific locations and more places you might find all over in the world of Dusk Veil.  They aren’t unique sites, but versions of them can be found in many cities.  As such, what follows is a rather general description of them.

Better Farm and Garden Stores

Even Druids have bills to pay.  This is why there are stores all over the country that are mysteriously just a little bit better than many of their counterparts.  The plant nursery that has flowers that seem to always bloom a little more than the others.  The feed store that sells their own animal food mix that seems to keep livestock a little bit healthier.  The garden center that always has the best soil. There’s a good chance these are run by someone who is using a bit of primal magic to give them a little bit of an edge over the competition.

Humans often shop at these places without knowing their magical nature.  People behind the Veil will invariably seek these places out.  Sometimes, because they like supporting other Veil folk, and sometimes just because they appreciate the extra tomatoes in their garden.

Theaters

People like hearing and seeing stories about characters who are like them. This is true of almost all cultures. People wanted to be represented.  And to this end, there have always been playhouses that cater to Veil Folk.

Not only are the plays here written and performed by all manner of ancestries, but they are often augmented with illusions and other spells that increase either immersion or spectacle.  While they can be hard to find, they are out there.  If you get a chance to go to one of these shows, it’s hard to pass up the phenomenon.