King Alwick

Alwick Ravenlion, better known as King Alwick the fourth, is the current King of Asconar, having succeeded to the throne of his Father, King Magoran.

He is supported by Queen Sharasaan, the Queen Consort.  She is his second wife, his first having died in childbirth despite the best efforts of a whole cadre of priests, doctors, and midwives.

He has three children.  Prince Rufus, the crown prince, Prince Broderick, and Princess Elian, who is the youngest child.

Alwick is known to be a firm but fair ruler, and a careful diplomat, preferring the quiet of peace to the tumult of war.  He pays attention to the advice of his Royal Council, but has established other ways of gathering both information about the welfare of his people and events elsewhere in the Kingdoms, in other ways.

He established the position of ‘King’s Investigator’ soon after he took the throne and has quietly recruited a talented and loyal group of individuals to serve in that role.  Some of these are publicly known as holding the office.  Others work in the background, accorded the King’s authority when charged with a mission, but often staying out of the limelight and pursuing his requests without revealing his hand in their tasks.

The most well-known of these agents is the Lady Parasin, whose nature excludes the potential for secret or even discrete investigations, but who, nevertheless, provides a valuable service to her King, to his subjects, and to others across the Known Kingdoms.

Alwick is much more than a throne sitting diplomat.  He is a formidable warrior (as is his Queen) and has personally fought to defend his kingdom from invasion, from insurrection, from corruption, and from supernatural incursions.   He is an excellent hunter, and personally cares for his dogs, his hunting lions, and even the luprrin that was gifted to him by the R’rruthren S’ssarmow pride that hunts in the forests of the Gleanings.

They also gifted Queen Sharasaan with a kirtle cat kitten – which now rules the roost among the cats of the Athel Palace with confident superiority.

Nemithia

Nemithia is the Capital of Asconar.

City wards of Nemithia

It straddles the river Medlure, and is a walled city surrounded by some outlying residential areas, along with some local industries.  There are also a few estates on the outskirts of the city, primarily providing fresh food for the city.

The Medlure is a wide river at this point, despite having many miles to go before reaching its estuary in Carthery.  Barges come down the river, laden with goods from Daberon along with trade from Oscallon and produce and other necessities grown or produced in the Kingdom.

At the heart of Nemitha lies the Athel Palace, the traditional seat of Asconar’s rulers.  It is guarded by the Ravens, a cadre of warriors and supporting personnel recruited from among the common populace.  Anyone can become a Raven and benefit from the honours that bestows, but they take only the best, the brightest, and the most promising.  Ravens serve for life, taking an oath to protect the Crown, and the State.  When the King (or Queen) is in residence, the Ravens are joined in their duty by the Lions, the order of Knights who carry the Royal Arms.  Most of the Lions are noble born, but it is possible for a commoner to join their ranks at the ruler’s discretion.

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The Barrens

The Barrens are a harsh and desolate area lying on the eastern side of the Horseshoe mountains. It is bordered by Daberon to the north, HighHarren to the west, and the Midmerle sea to the east. Scoured by the rise and fall of waters that churn back and forth along the Midmerle when a red tide runs, and dominated by the sculpted and bleak spurs that reach down from the mountains into the sea, the land offers little attraction to human settlers. Legend has it that the land was fought over by Val’Vachea, the Earth Mother, and Innsh’ana, the Lord of the Sky, in some ancient squabble that left the civilisation that had settled there in ruins, the previously fertile fields barren, and the land itself cursed for eternity. Some versions say that the ancient Kingdom raised altars to Innsh’ana, sacrificing pregnant women to him in order to gain his favour – and that Val’Vachea shook the land in her fury, sending walls and towers toppling. The devastation that followed was driven by her wrath, but fuelled by her consort’s blood lust. The Barrens have been barren ever since.

There are very few human settlements, although it is home to outlaws and exiles who can find shelter there. There are some villages to be found, mostly eeking out a living on the borders of Daberon and providing shelter and provisions to the bands that pass through from time to time. These include parties of law enforcers, hunting outlaws.; companies of adventurers and scholars investigating the ruins that scatter the land; and traders, following the safe path to trade with the Phraif hives that lie in the deep valleys at the mountain’s feet.

The Barrens are home to the largest Phraif population in the Known Kingdoms, with four or five well established hives, and a number of satellite hives that have sprung up over the centuries. The Phraif don’t rule Kingdoms – but they can compete for hive space, and have been known to go to war with each other when necessity demands it. Ambitions Phraif Queens may come to the Barrens to establish their own hives, or to beg breeding males from the older and more populous hives already there. Because a well established Phraif hive tends to be highly self sustaining, the barren nature of the land does not have much impact on them (although attempts to establish a new hive may fail because of scarce resources at the start). The hives mostly trade silk, cloth and honey to the few caravans that risk outlaws and the harsh conditions to bring wine and other luxury goods to please the queens. They also trade with the smaller Kharad settlements in the mountains themselves, which is where they get most of their gold – and their salt, which is much in demand back in Daberon. Their currency is just gold bars – an ‘arif’ being a bar of set weight and length.

The Kharad here are equally unaffected by the harsh lands they occupy.  Safe beneath the mountains, they mine the depths of the eastern Horseshoes for copper and tin, using the ores to produce bronze as well as the base metals. They transport their ingots underground through long winding tunnels on carts powered by a mix of magnets and Kharad magic, emerging in Daberon to trade with the House of Bronze, with whom they have a long association.

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Masren

If the Barrens are harsh, Masren is unspeakable.

This is a land of twisted, rotting trees, stunted growth, weird variations, strange plants and animals, and an unseen, potentially deadly contagion.

There are still some villages, close to the borders – and possibly other areas of habitation hidden deep within the land. But babies conceived here – like the offspring of any animal touched by the Blight – are very rarely born without any mark or sign of it. Villages in Masren are guarded, wary of strangers (although often willing to help adventurers for whatever they can get from them). They hug patches of slightly healthier land, watching the soil and the skies for incursions from Blighted creatures and the haunts of those long lost to the Blight itself. Old age is rare – most of its inhabitants (and visitors) die from drinking polluted waters, through contamination from something carrying the blight, or from attacks by creatures (and plants) twisted by it. Venturing into Masen is fraught with danger – nothing can be trusted, no matter how innocent it looks. Yet people do attempt incursions – drawn by rumours of magic and treasures in the long abandoned cities and palaces, or perhaps seeking rare ingredients, lost libraries, unusual spell components – or even the bones of those who may have ventured there years before.

Those that venture deep into the Kingdom risk strange diseases, unpredictable magical effects, and the poison of the Blight itself. Long exposure to high levels of the Blight withers flesh, weakens bone, corrupts the living and – in some cases, kills the soul and turns the remains into those undead. Ghosts haunt the ruins in Masren, along with ghouls and spectres, feeding on both dead and living flesh.

Even powerful mages venture their with great caution and don’t stay long.

Although some summoners can profit from sending summoned creatures into the Masren waste to retrieve items and valuable spell components, most are wary of doing so – there is a strong rumour that the fall of the Posmera Council began with something being retrieved from Masren that should have been left well alone.

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