Zephrah

Zephrah is the home of the Air Ashari at the portal between the Elemental Plane of Air and Exandria in the Material Plane.

Location
Zephrah is located at the very top of the Summit Peaks mountain range that falls away to a cliff on either side. The area is protected from any aerial invaders by the strong winds that surround it.

Culture
The leader of the Air Ashari, called the Voice of the Tempest, oversees all travel through the rift to the Plane of Air, all visiting outsiders, and all major druidic rituals. Most of the Air Ashari are, by necessity, skilled hunters and climbers. The tribe subsists on high-elevation vegetation (many of them are farmers) and the occasional large avian hunt.

The tribe's leaders and warriors use winged skysails, riding on the ever-present winds, to traverse between the peaks. Skysails appear to be simply bat-like wings connected to a pole with a rung, and they can be constructed with bone and leather or with wood and cloth. Riders can use the skysails to cast levitate at will, and they can cast fly once per long rest unless they are bathed in intense elemental magic such as exists around the Summit Peaks, in which case it can be cast at will. These skysails can be collapsed into a pole that is easily hidden or used as a quarterstaff.

Demographics
As of 812 PD, Zephrah was a village with a population of 410 people. Most of the villagers were half-elves (75%) with some humans (10%), halflings (10%), and tieflings (5%) as well. Though that adds to 100%, there were also apparently genasi at that time.

At some point in Keyleth's time as Voice of the Tempest there are also dwarves, orcs, and elves, among others.

Notable people

 * Keyleth: Left Zephrah for her Aramenté and returned as Voice of the Tempest and headmaster of the Air Ashari
 * Korrin: Half-elven member of Air Ashari; former acting headmaster
 * Vilya: Left for her Aramenté in the 790s PD, but her trial in Vesrah in 806 or 807 PD went awry. Returned to Zephrah in 836 PD.
 * Derrig: Half-elf bodyguard of Keyleth when she attended the wedding of Vex'ahlia and Percival
 * Dwala: Voice of the Tempest prior to Keyleth.
 * Orym: Halfling fighter who had previously been a guard in Zephrah; abroad in Marquet in 843 PD.

Background
During one celestial solstice about 900 or 1000 years before the Campaign of Vox Machina—possibly before or after the Calamity began—huge elemental rifts burst open across Exandria, causing terrible earthquakes, fires, and a flood of elemental monsters against which the peoples of the world struggled to defend. Though they eventually beat back the elementals, they were terrified of what would happen on the next solstice. The druidic Ashari, until then a single nomadic society on the continent that would later be called Tal'Dorei, made a covenant to split into four tribes to seal the rifts and watch over the major remaining portals, where they settled. The Air Ashari settled at Zephrah.

In 836 PD, Vilya, having recently recovered her memory, returned to Zephrah using Transport via Plants. One person who could be seen through the portal was Keyleth.

Exandria Unlimited
In late 842 PD, the Nameless Ones had a warehouse with large quantities of residuum in crates and barrels, half of which were marked as being from Zephrah. Orym, who had previously been a guard among the Air Ashari, recalled that Keyleth had deals with her friends in Whitestone.