Ruary (the City of Festivals)

Posted on July 25, 2023 in Steel-Realms

Overview: Ruary is a small city compared to the other Merchant Cities. Its stable population is around 20,000 (about the same mount in many “hamlet” communities). Rare hardy grapes on the north side of the river in a valley which catches the sun light and is fed by streams from a lone short peak. Ruard mountain is sacred to Ikribu and Darupet. Pure and cold and used for brewing is the Artesian spring on the mountain named “Pristos”. On the southern side is hops, barley, corn and oats. The major industry is brewing and distilling of mead, wine, and beer – especially beer. When folks speak of northern wine, most of them are shipped out from here, as the aging process and bottling is done in Ruary in traditional manners.

The greatest of the holy place of Scrofa the Boar (of the Wyld Faith), is the artesian Spring of Pristos in Ruary of the North Merchant Cities, on the north side of the Beyne River.

Wheat is mostly brought in from the southern merchant cities – the golden vein of the south. The brewers have been perfecting their craft for thousands of years. There are sacred times, festivals, and such.

PRINZ Family: Alpien

Places

Brothels: The brothels of Ruary are also legendary, and attract many a sailor, merchant, and noble alike.

• Temple to Ezrilus

Ruard’s Anchor

The bridge over the the Beyne River was constructed by the Ducateon. It is a sight to behold. It supports three full lanes of traffic.

Ahead you can see the arched bridge over the Beyne River. Placed in the narrowest span that could be found, it replaced an ancient ferry crossing that Ruary was founded upon. The bridge is a total of 40m from side to side, arched about 20m high in the center. There are massive constructed embankments on both sides that hold each end in place. Getting closer, you can see that although there are guard stations, they are not manned. There seems to be little in the way of security – probably due to the the repeated attempts over thousands of years to affects it – none of which availed themselves. Mount Ruard looms in the distance on the north side, a small mountain just over 1km tall. The smells, sounds, and sights on revelry are unmistakable – and its easy to understand why Ruary is called the City of Festivals.

Important Groups & Individuals

A council made up of the various brew houses rules the city, with the house of Gormont being the oldest and having the greatest privilege.

Multi-Faith: The town’s patron is Ezrilus and Darupet has a strong following as well, in addition to churches for Ikribu and a shrine to the light-bringers in general and almost every other faith has a shrine presence in Ruary. In some unspoken sense, Ruary is a sort-of neutral ground for the faith’s – though no formal relations are conducted between them here.

• The Spring of Pristos is guarded day and night by a Briarwood that surrounds it and is the highest holy place of Scrofa the Boar.

Noble Families

Gormont:

Military Strength and Brotherhoods

Each house provides its own militia to guard its product, and House Gormont is paid a stipend by each to have a naval presence and a formal Merchant City garrison – for protection of the town in general. The Harbormaster Office controls the docks and is allied with the breweries, coopers, and Glassblowers and Bottlers Guild of Ruary– serving as their militia as well.

Home of Baleguard

The Breweries of Ruary

Oh, the breweries of Ruary are legendary. From flat (often called a ‘stoic ale’) to bubbly (carbonated)

Nanford River of Dunstrand

Posted on July 3, 2023 in Steel-Realms

The Nanford River flows through the original Vale of Dunstrand. Originally, it met the mountains and flowed south along what is now The Black Shore, into the Loamwold Cut (now Hoolip Coast), where it flowed out to the sea into ColdStream Inlet (now Coldstream Channel). When the shelf on which the Aragratep Chain of mountains sank in a cataclysm, Westmarch sank and Scar Flow took its place. Dwindor Swamp was created and it created a muddy delta and The Black Shore.

Defining Moment: All of the Riverdans were devastated when, in CY 7950-7986, Nanford River changed course during the Storm Times and Dwindor Swamp became a living things itself and gained the appellation of “Mighty Dwindor”.

The headwaters of this river some from two spurs – one in Broken Feather Hills to the north, and the Valewall Hills to the south.

The Nanford Accord was named after the river, which divided the duchy into trade zones and governed transport.

North Pranin Edgewwod (“Serpents Teeth”)

Posted on May 18, 2023 in Steel-Realms

The North Pranin Edgewwod is place of note within the Pranin Moorswood in the Barony of Crestwold of The gRand Duchy of Dunstrand. This area is given to the inhabitants of Crestwold to log. The deal is made under the auspices of the baron, between him and the Druids of Pranin. This agreement and its stipulations are marked for all to see in the Serpent’s Tail. The Baron’s representatives are given first opportunity to enforce and correct violations.

The Non-Stop ‘Teeth Grinding’/Tree Growing: The “teeth” of its name are the thin, newly growing trees sticking up as the magic of the druids causes their accelerated growth as fast as they can be harvested in North Pranin. They grow so quickly, they make hideous and alien cracking, creaking, and groaning sounds at night, when their growth spurt mostly happens. It takes getting used to, most find it impossible to camp nearby, though the loggers get used to it after a week or so… of they leave, unable to sleep.

Northwinde Road: This is an animal friendly trail for moving between and hauling logs from the logging camps. It takes about 3 days to traverse at a normal clip, 4 to 5 if going slow or inclement weather. The road is safe (no encounters), and can accommodate any mount and/or transport.

Settlements of North Pranin

1. Logging Camp + General Store
2. Logging Camp
3. Logging Camp
4. Steading
5. Logging Camp
6. Steading
7. Logging Camp
8. Logging Camp
9. Logging Camp

Westwinde Trail: This trail is known as a changing trail, winding through the woods to the briarwood. Its initial section leads to a trail head that allows loggers from the north into the south in summer and fall, but that leg closes in winter and spring.

Logging Camps:

• The Pranin Logging Accord: There is an annual amount that is agreed to between the Baron of Crestwold and the Druids of Pranin. The druids try and find ground on which they can work – the alternative is that humans log without balance or management and intrude into their sacred place. This keeps all humanoids out of their home, and reduces the risk or resource clash with the halflings and others. No more is harvested, rights are forfeit of the amount is exceeded, so the pace is managed in addition to the amount.

Settlements: A couple camps are permanent logging settlements, family operated with perpetual rights from the baron. A general store trade post is on the settlement nearest Torrelson’s Ford.

Serpent’s Tail (trail end) – The logging agreement with Crestwold written into a large wood round as long as it shall weather, the agreement is good. When it crumbles (about once a decade – usually on years ending with “9”), a new agreement must be made. It stipulates how much is to be taken, dates of rest, when to stop (disease breakouts, weather issues, etc.) and who resolves issues/when and where to meet.

Adventures in the Locale

• A Trek to Pranin with Artifacts for the Druids /DONE