A Place to Live

A place to Live

The many places where things live.

Gray Elves

The gray Elves have no real cities or towns in the Northern Province.  They abide somewhat by the truce Agreed to by King John and Inbaranen, the King of the Gray Elves of those days.  Though Inbaranen is long dead, and the Hierophant has assumed all real power of the Gray Elves and their Kingdom of Westfolden, they only send their Emisaries into the lands below them and maintain the great and high forts of the people in the Cold Mountains and their Temple of the River Hale.

It is said the Hierophant abolished the cities of Westfolden and their dynasties, and brought the great tombs low and made all the land for all the people and made none great above the other.

The Emissaries are known, as they are most tall, very capable in combat, polite to the extreme, and unobtrusive, but they do wander the land in pairs.  To what end none know but they.  They were and are Great Warriors of old and all fought in the war to drive the Humans from the Northern Province some several hundred years ago.

The Tower of Light – a watchtower high and old in the cold mountians, close to where they join the Hard mountains, above the start of the First valleys run to the west.  The Tower of Light sits upon the main Trade road between Westfolden and the Lands of the south, as none are allowed into the First Valley but on pain of death from the green hells, trade from the south must climb and then cross the mountains at the birth of the First Valley in the east, and take the dwarven roads far north before they lead past the Tower of Light, and the great keep of the Gray e Elves, Eyeguard.  

That Road is long and starts at the Free City of Hardwall in the south, rises to Highwall, a Fort of King John, and from their the road pierces the mountain tops on it way to SkyGrave, the Kings name for the ruined dwarven city in the mountains.  From there farther north to the Tower of Light, and then west into the Gray Elvin lands.   

Yulibrien Pass – A long passage from Phylukon to Westfolden dotted by shrines, forts and caves.

The Temple of the River Hale – A temple where Leah’Dah was worshipped before the ushering and her death.  There are no priestesses or druids there, only the bastion of Temple Guards who still serve without divine worship.  The memory of the Priestesses who all died that day as their god collapsed and darkness stole their destinies, is all they have.

There is a pass there to the sea in the north and to Phylukon in the south.

Phylukon is a Leahdic Temple half high in the White Mountains.  Still a pilgrimage for many of the north of all kinds.  There is almost always an encampment of travelers and traders there.

Nearspire is a relic of the days of Pholtus, as is Dawn, and lies in a northerly direction on the road from Phylukon to the Tower of Light.  A shrine is there at the crossroads, to Aday, the first servant of Pholtus who lives still and haunts these lands.  Nearspire is now the city of the Aracokra, and is called Rest.  there other cliff cities of Willin and Ora are nearby to the north and south.

Dawn was the first seat of power for Pholtus, and it is here that he absolved the Ascendants who would later become, Leah'Dah, Malfator, Peytah and Varmelius.  It is from Dawn that he made a place for man, and when man came, he went into the lands below and lived with them there in Azizarn, now where the City of Brighton stands.

Eyeguard tower – A great and old fortress of the Dwarves first, and then the Elves, and then Men, and now the Elves again.  A full garrison is there and trade available to Westfoldedn.  Grey Elven Pilgrims come this way to visit the Northern Province.  It is a week west from the Tower of Light.  None take the pass or reach the tower without permission from the Wardens of the Tower of Light first.

The Silver Gate – Located at the west end of a deep valley called Moella, at the feet of the cold moutnains.  The Valley is down in the warmth of the fields, it pushes into the cold mountains and is three days from end to end.

It is said that Suel the Old, a Great Nature Green Dragon lives there, from the time of Ovardiis.  The Silver gate is the Deep road into Westfolden, built for the Elves by the Dwarves.  It does not Break the Lock, and is an incredible journey through wonders and sights that takes 8 days from start to finish.  A spring is born at the Silver Gate there and runs through Moella and leaves the valley, flowing into the Nehi.  The Spring has often there, those that are kind to elves.  Passage through the valley must be granted by Elmwheel at the Eastern Edge, or Varith the Leafwinder at the spring for those coming from Westflden as Moella is the domain of the Dragon, and none, not even the Heirophant himself, walk without its permission.  

With that said, Moella is where most gray Elves can be found, the Silver Gate in particular. 

The Kords

The Kords of the Northern Province are Banded Kords.  They are wild, tribal, clanned and are not yet consumed by the Armies of the God King Mok Turosh, who united the Kords of the south and made one people of them there.

They are tribes of up to 200 strong, and clans of small multifamily units. 

Lone Kords are almost always feral as Kords desire to be a part of a family, a clan or a tribe.

There are three large Tribal Camps of Kords that live in some form of harmony or attrition with the men of the Province. 

Yidari Duor close to Brighton.  The Name comes from the Ruined Elven Temple that their camp has been in for many years now.  There is heavy trade with Brighton here, and Kords of Yidari Duor are not hostile to wards Humans, though the Kords call themselves Door.  Their color is yellow.

The Pit, as it is called by all who have dealings with it, is a large camp somewhat centrally located.  Not many interact with the Kords of the Pit but Miners, Adventurers and Traders.

Then there is Mutt, the oldest continuous habitation of clanned Kords in the Northern Province.  It is more of a city, mud brick, trades, markets, etc.  Most who know and travel the wilds without fear, know of Mutt.  Their Color is Blue.  The color taken from a nasty blue fern that grows in the woods here.

Warrior Bands of Kords are known to roam and hunt or kill humans and elves and the like unprovoked.

Wild Elves

They live in small single family units.  The only gathering places they have than can be called a village are Turnilee, and Amber.  These are more like communal Campgrounds though.  Both are springs and both places families meet and trade and talk and marry.  There are no permanent structures here.

Amber is to the North in the blue Moutnains a few days from the River Hale.  Turnilee is at the base of the Cold Mountains a few days inland south of the Nehi.

You rarely see more than one Wild Elf at a time.

Halflings and Humans

All live together and almost every community, hamlet, town and City as each represented somewhat equally.

Brighton sits almost completely to the northeast coast at the mouth of the Lost River at the Beach and Bay of the same name.  The Bay is a huge safe harbor.  Brighton and the surrounds are built on old Ruins of Pholtic Times, that have subsequently been rebuilt and renovated, first by the Elves then by the Humans.  The Fort that King John built here some 300 years ago is gone, much of the stone from that great work has gone into the building of the Brighton which can boast nearly a million people.  The Pholtic Temple Ruins of Azisarn, the Kings Gladness Keep, and the ruined Gray Elvin city of Seven Tears all intermingle, overlap, and cover all ground in this nearly 20 square mile area that meets the sea.

Ashdale, is another large City built much aarther inland and somewhat centrally located in the Province between the River Under, and the Pinacle of Restos where Restos the Simulacra haunts the skys.  Ashdale is the true center of the Northern province and at 800,000 inhabitants, all trade comes through the City.  It has been rebuilt, of wood, as Restos tears down any stone work he sees. 

There are many Towns like Bricking, Kneeling and Tenwillows.  Generaly no more than 10,000 live in a town, and no less than 3,000.

There are many Hamlets like Needles Bunk, The Green Hunt and Frogwallow.  Generally no more than 2,000 people live in a hamlet and no fewer than 500.

There are many Camps like Lowlite, Fishburden and Many Rivers.  No more than 200 people live in a camp, and no fewer than a few dozen.

There are many Estates, Towers, Keeps and Households in the wild were families, self declared lords and retired adventurers live.  These vary greatly in size.  There is the well know ColdWater Keep; the home of a retired Vicar of King John.  There is Wildover Tower; the oft visited home of a powerful Wizard.  And Anadons Forge; the home of a Dwarven Smith of renown.     

According to the Truce between Elves and Men, King John was never to raise an army or Employ mercenaries in these lands, nor govern them with his Law.  If he did that, the Gray Elves would let all those that survived the war live and more come.  For now, the Northern province is the only place where Men and Elves could heal their past.

Kcerpa

The Cerpa's are the common and familiar race of intelligent Squirrel looking people everywhere.  While Cerpas are seen mainly as farmers and indeed make up most of the farmers in the Northern Province, they are a more diverse race of being than just crop tenders.

It is said the Gray Elves awoke them, it is also said that Pholtus awoke them, some say they are a byproduct of Oovardiis broken mind.  If you ask them they come from the days of the Dark before men, and have always been here, like Dragons and Fairy's.

They speak decent common albeit a bit chittery and of a higher pitch.  They have quite a large town in almost the dead center of the province in the plains that is called Orkan.

tTere are many hamlets that are predominantly Cerpa inhabited like Stirp, and Cope.

High Elves 

There are three houses of High Elves in the Northern Province and combined they make up what is considered the High Elven City of Ilithin, in the Woods east of the Nehi.  There is also a large amount of High Elves at The River Running, further east and closer tot eh Coast and Tenwillows.

The Great Houses are that of Ilwin, Ilithin and Lithilin, though it is a refuge for the disposesed of the High elves, who's Great Houses fell along with the entirety of the Kingdom of Kesh when the Armies of Mok Turosh, climbed the White Stairs of Varmelius, threw down the Gates of Horn, and entered the Vasting to end all life there.

In general, elves with the livery and colors of the Great Houses are left somewhat alone, though other elves, high, wild or gray are seen as the enemy, trash, and often caught and sold as slaves, or just killed outright.