Surrounding Lands
Published by: Sqarr
, On: Feb-21-2006
[ The Lands ]
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The land lies in the ancient emerald isles of an other universe. For eons the land has rested, unchanged by the hands of the unknown number of species and races that inhabit its impossible mountains, slopes, valleys, forests, swamps and plains. This high number of conflicting races is what keeps it so; the balance they each keep with the others holds any one race from being absolutely supreme and advanced enough to ruin the face of the land.
[ The Lost ]
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Natural enough to be greatly unexplored by those who would draw maps, the world holds many mysteries still. In the dense, uninhabitable forests may lie the ruins of some ancient and forbidden civilization, or perhaps one might only find death in the webs of forest spiders. In the ruins, in the dirt, uncountable treasures may lie -- chambers of immense piles of gold and jewels -- but be warned; what remains of past treasure hunts must be well-guarded, for it remains undisclosed yet. Imagine, if you will, what keeps them hidden from greedy hands. What monstrous creatures can lie in wait, in the darkest, deepest, most concealed parts of the unknown world? Surely someone has tried to map these places... Why do they remain so blank on paper? Do horrors await, unseen by living flesh? Or is it simply that strange wards make it impossible to approach by certain ways? Explore and discover, if you will dare the unseen.
Among the trees, in its corner of the woods bordering a large, unnamed lake of crystal-calm waters and abundant life, the Heart stands at the end of a well-used road that connects to an other well-used road that links the villages around the lake to the more coastal towns and ports. This highway brings merchants and supplies from near and far-off kingdoms, to keep the populace alive in a place where safe farmland is a hard commodity. The roads themselves are dirt, packed hard by centuries of prosperous travel, made by lords and ladies, paupers and harlots, all going about their meandering lives.
[ The Woods 1 ]
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Though these wagon-rut roads may seem safe enough by the light of shining day, they may be impassable in the dark of claustrophobic night. The balance is maintained, always, by bands of brigands and the things that would eat anything in the wee hours of the moon's domain. Wolves and abominations have often been seen at the edges of towns, but, when the weather becomes bitter through the winter months, those who have not locked their doors have reason to pray indeed.
These towns are simple places, and home to simple people. Superstition is a common faith and whole-wheat bread, sided with spring-water, a common meal. Most of those unfortunate enough to inhabit these towns have had little contact with anything but rumors of the outside world brought to them by the thieving merchants and their hired bodyguard of womanizing miscreants, let alone any proper education. Royalty and riches, heroes and dragons to be slain are myth and legend to them. What is real is the thing that snatches their children from their cribs in the night, the curses that poison their water and the luck of a young, strong man. The power of the land, in all its raging, fickle persona, is God herself.
True, the lake, whose shore lies less than half a mile to the north of the tavern proper, would seem an encouraging factor for advanced settlement, but the forest's powerful presence here has given light to many stories that mothers might tell small children in order to keep them in line with their betters. Truth be told, the area is surely a convergence of some sort; whether of worlds, or way-lines, for other-worldly creatures and men exist, seemingly without heed for the natural laws at all. This both frightens and mystifies the rest of the world, even with the knowledge of great heroes among the shadows.
From the road that passes near the clearing in which the Dragon's Heart sits, there is a small, simple foot-bridge, over a simple stream of clear, fresh water, to cross before one can reach the lush grass that is the building's front step. Beyond this, without turning in, there is a well-worn path that leads to a simple shore, bordering the nearby lake. Neither sand, nor boulders make this shore. Rather, it is a classic lake, in a classic, lush landscape; walled close by tall trees and damp earth that freezes solid in the winter, with the occasional grassed step reaching to the surface, where one might stand and enjoy the beauty this vantage presents, or even bathe without fearing entanglement in roots or the more difficult plants that grow in the shadows that a tree's bows will provide. Water-grasses and other aquatic plants choke the water near the edge, in most places, providing shelter to an abundance of life; both water-logged, amphibian and terrestrial.
Looking out over the water, simple piers dot the wooded horizon where villages keep their small fishing crafts. A network of almost haphazard roads that snake their uncertain ways through the land's forests can reach these towns.
Behind the inn, a little-known path, over-grown after all the time the site's been void of inhabitants, leads to an underground stronghold, some times older than the inn's tower. This is accessed through a small hovel, opened long ago at the base of a wizened old tree. First excavated by clever goblins, it was quickly abandoned again, once they realized the land's water-table rose surprisingly during torrential rains to flood their home. Later, it was fortified by a race of thick-skinned and peaceful two-legged reptilians, long-thought to be extinct, with a knack for architecture. Now, though, it lies mostly undisturbed. A surprisingly simple and robust irrigation system forces the land's back-wash out of its narrow corridors and low-ceilinged chambers to keep the stronghold dry. But it is not entirely uninhabited. Though forgotten by the goblins that were first there, other feral creatures have found sanctuary and seclusion from the light of day in the few miles of unmapped darkness.
Somewhere, 'cross the lake and some days' travel further on, to the North-East, a fortified city of decent size and selfish magistrates with deep pockets crouches, cancerous and corrupt, named al'Milthea. A product of a land mostly unable to support any kind of civilization on its own, those in authority have become dependent on taxes and produce shipped in from other lands and grown bitter and complacent in their duties. Their people are strong-working, but rarely see any kind of large returns for their efforts. Even their minimal earnings are taxed horribly by hired footsoldiers jealous of the great soldiers of more prosperous kingdoms. Though their grip is angry, it is not far-reaching.
To the West, a week's easy ride beyond Ba'Haleahr's Crossing, lies the port town of Indaer, fed and prosperous by its easy access to many widely-varied cultures. As a rule, its atmosphere is much more endearing than in al'Milthea, due to its heavier burdens toward the rest of the world. Spreading luxuriantly across a stretch of the shore that borders a broad gulf just off the Western ocean, its inhabitants are generally better-behaved and have more peaceful beliefs and mannerisms, in regard to new strangers and the world around them. Having not seen war of any berth for several decades now, its people and security forces have grown somewhat complacent, in their own right, in the face of possible invasion from jealous neighbouring kingdoms.
Further off to the South, by South-East, lies the capitol of the comparatively small kingdom of Lensharol, whose current king is said to be of good spirits, but relatively small ambition; he is content with the kingdom as it is and spends most of his time working to maintain its current state, negotiating with the neighbouring kingdoms for peace and trade. Though the people of the cities loosely under his control mostly appreciate the peace he has kept for the past some decades, their respect for him wanes gradually from his lack of charisma and enthusiasm --- the magistrates and other governing bodies of their respective cities are much more prominent and important figures in their minds, with the king seated below them as little more than a small pawn of a figurehead.
Linking these three cities of the kingdom to each other is the prosperous and growing cross-roads market town of Ba'Haleahr's Crossing.
Some seventy-odd years past, Hayden Ba`Haleahr --- a charismatic, but middling-class merchant-musician of the time --- gambled all and purchased the rights to the land on and immediately around the cross-road that links the capital of the kingdom to its two other major cities. In order to do so, he promised a certain amount of tax on the merchants that passed through the cross-road, knowing nobody would make a new major road simply to get around the market town he would soon build on it. With years of hard and extensive work, he managed to convince the people of the region's towns to gather in his own market to trade their goods and purchase what they may need from passing merchant trains for a small fee. Since most of the towns were too far to travel in half a day, he also owned hostels where the townspeople would be able to stay and eat for an other small fee. Anyone passing through would be likely to spend at least a night and a hot meal in comfort.
Hayden's prestige among the people quickly grew, for his generosity and involvement in the surrounding towns. At the time of the last wars the kingdom faced, he was childless, but soon took a visiting Gorean woman for his wife, who bore him daughters. Of mixed backgrounds, his daughters were mostly listless and undecided, but Mahayr chose to stay to take on the family's responsibilities, when Hayden and his wife passed away.
The town is governed from a none-too-modest manor set aside from it, somewhat in the trees, dubbed by the locals as Ba'Haleahr Manor. Not necessarily known for its lavish parties in recent years, it is nonetheless a frequent way-point for many guests, who may seem to come and go as they please.
For most of the common people from the cities, the cost of maintaining an influx of diverse foods, clothes, spices and other exotic produce has gradually drained their coffers and spirits, chasing them out, in to the primal lands outside the city walls. While dangerous and fearsome, the woods have become a great sanctuary to many people who live, now, greatly untouched by the hand of law in towns protected only by walls, fire-pits and hearty farmers. This, also, presents its own problems; though most town-dwellers are well-meaning enough, they are yet easy prey for scavengers, raiders and other criminals that might have had more of a free reign, were it not for the abundance of hidden creatures that feed on them in the dark.
Living hard lives, but far more balanced than in any city, the people of the numerous small towns around the Dragon's Heart hold steadfast to what little they've earned, slowly beating the forests back. Unwittingly, this will eventually limit the number of creatures that hold the brigands in check, throwing the natural balance, heretofore barely held, over the brink. It remains a matter of time before the land is shaped in Man's image and can support him; when cities will dot the land and, perhaps, a noble and long-armed king may rise to lead the people to peace through domination, driving all other races to tragically become obsolete, no matter how beautiful they may be.
In this land was the Dragon's Heart born, baring all the weight of every child's dreams and fantasies of immortality in the act of impossible heroism or vengeance. Myth and legend abound within. Dream and fantasy surround without. On a dragon's wings, the imagination of thousands are given form. Knowledge of its existence is widely understood, among the lower scales, to be a more secretive place, hidden away in the shadows of the forest where no others would dare set their roots.
If you believe you've a good idea for an element or image that could be added to this page as further description of this world, an explanatory essay or URL to the image may be submitted for review and possible acceptance by PM to Sqarr. For images, be sure to include appropriate credits and copyright information.
Please note that not all submittals will be posted upon this page, but credit will be given to the originator of the described or illustrated ellements, whether or not the original essay or image they provide is used in part or its entirety. Editting may be needed to maintain continuity.
The form used for essays should be that of a document written by a character that exists within the Dragon's Heart universe, though they need not be a character one plays in the channel. Writing with the character's verbal mannerisms and expressions would be ideal. Consider a scholar on a quest to learn, documenting what they discover...
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