Therunin

The water-logged bayou of Therunin provides a unique challenge to the stridings that travel there

Overview

On the borders of Highguard, the water-logged bayou of Therunin provides a unique challenge to the stridings that travel here. As the Navarr recovered territory from the vallorn, the Tharunind presence grew still more malicious. Monstrous insects are a common threat here, even outside of areas where the vallorn still holds sway. Orcs from the east were a constant threat, although their incursions are made more difficult by the swampland. This changed in 386YE when a massive force invaded from the Sarangrave, ultimately leading to the Empire losing control of the territory and seeing the vallorn at its heart reclaim Eastring and infest East Ashes.

Recent History

The Druj have long coveted Therunin. Since the fall of Reikos in 367YE, many Navarr had been expecting an assault from the barbarians. In the Winter of 377YE, this long-anticipated attack finally came. A major force of Druj moved across the border from Reikos into Peakedge Song. Only the courage of the Black Thorns slowed the barbarian advance. Outnumbered two-to-one, the Navarr army suffered grievous losses, but prevented the Druj from establishing a beachhead in Therunin.

While Reikos was dominated by the orcs, Therunin was connected to the Empire only by tenuous routes through the mountains of Morrow; with the Druj gone the old trade routes down from Chalcis Mount have been restored.

After the Spring Equinox 386YE, the Druj launched a surprise attack on Therunin. Emerging from Sarangrave, their armies swept through Eastring and East Ashes, and brought down the Holt of the Oak in the Lower Tarn Valley. At the Summer Solstice the heroes of the Empire fought to prevent the use of Sephal's Cauldron, but were only partially successful leaving the Lower Tarn poisoned. The Druj continued their assault, and while the Empire was able to drive them out of the Tarn Valley the orcs of the Mallum maintained their taloned grip on the eastern regions. During the Autumn Equinox the orc magicians of the Tainted Basilisk army attempted to unleash terrible magic aimed at sinking Feverwater Docks into the lake and, worse, rousing the vallorn of Sweetglades. They were prevented from doing so, but victory in the Battle of Ashwater came at great cost - many Imperial heroes fell, and the price of triumph was paid in particular by the heroes of Dawn.

The Druj attacked Therunin in 386YE, slaughtering or enslaving all who did not flee before their assault.

Druj and Vallorn

Season	Wind
Summer 386YE	Ashes
Autumn 386YE	Blood and mire
Winter 386YE	Under eastern skies
Spring 387YE	To hold death's hand in mine
Summer 387YE	Willow and rain
Autumn 387YE	Songs like trees
Winter 387YE	Crimson and green
Spring 388YE	A bright cerulean flame

As the autumn faded into winter, Imperial armies - the Black Thorns and Isaella's Dance, the Iron Helms, and the Golden Sun - sought to drive the Druj out of East Ashes. Unfortunately the Druj were ready for them, having set a trap, and the resulting slaughter saw both Isaella's Dance and the Iron Helms armies disband while helping their allies break free. Some of the Varushkan warriors continued to fight on, rising as unliving horrors bent on slaughtering as many Mallum orcs as possible, but the surviving armies were forced to retreat north into the Barrens.

During the Winter Solstice, the Navarr National Assembly urged the people of Therunin to flee, and following the summit the Druj swept west across the territory conquering the Tarn Valley and Peakedge Song. This brought the entire territory under their control. Worse, as the Spring Equinox approached the magicians of the Tainted Basilisk - a powerfully magical army of the Mallum - roused the Tharunind vallorn to wakefulness.

It began to spread after the Spring Equinox, gathering strength as it did so. If not for the efforts of the Golden Sun and the Wolves of War before the Summer Solstice, it might have dominated the Tarn Valley. The Dawnish and League armies fought the expanding power of the vallorn in Peakedge Song, and were victorious enough that it was forced back. After the Autumn Equinox however, in part due to cunning use of magic, the vallorn ravaged Eastring and the Druj forces sequestered there, eventually claiming the entire region. While the ghulai tried to exacerbate the situation and drive the vallorn to keep expanding, Imperial heroes prevented them doing so with some assistance from the eternal Llofir. Finally, following the Winter Solstice 387YE, the Pilgrim's Defiance sacrificed much to prevent the vallorn spilling out to consume East Ashes before the last of its energy was depleted. As of the Spring Equinox 388YE, the Tharunind vallorn is quiescent again - although by no means slumbering.

Major Features

The Thimble

The Thimble was a Bourse resource located in the Eastring. Custodianship of the Thimble was an Imperial Title that brings with it a Seat on the Bourse. It produced 26 Imperial wains of weirwood every season. Following Autumn 381YE, the custodian of the Thimble received 22 wains a season, with the Great Forest Orcs receiving the other four wains. Control of the Thimble was assigned to whichever Navarr candidate received the most support from Navarr owners of herb gardens. As of the Winter Solstice 387YE, the Thimble has been lost to the vallorn.

Feverwater lake

The Docks at Feverwater

Built along the western shores of Feverwater in East Ashes are a series of ancient quays of aged weirwood and white granite. Some have collapsed, and others are now submerged or exposed as the waters of the massive freshwater lake have ebbed and flowed. The docks date back to the time of Terunael, and have been thoroughly explored by the modern Navarr; they seem to be much larger than would be appropriate for fishing the Feverwater, and the ruins around the area are certainly those of a reasonably large Terunael settlement. Their purpose remains a mystery - all that lies to the east of Therunin are the dark woodland homes of the Druj. During Summer 379YE, the Senate appointed the Dredgemaster of Feverwater to oversee and expand the docks; boats regularly ply the western end of the great lake dredging the waters for valuables. Historical research commissioned by the Advisor on the Vallorn in Spring 384YE further explored some of the mysteries of the Feverwater, and the provenance of the ancient quays here.

Lake Aescalon in the Lower Tarn Valley.

Mudlark's Haven

Mudlark’s Haven was a bustling steading that wrapped around the shore of the Feverwater protected behind a thick network of mangroves which acted as harbour walls. The steading was raised out of the water on stilts and was popular with traders heading south to Zenith and beyond, sailors looking for money dredging the Feverwater, and thorns preparing to head into Sarangrave. The steading’s taverns were always full of deals and celebrations.

At the mouth of the docks, amongst the mangroves and accessible by awkward platforms sat a building made of discarded dredging boats - the office of the Dredgemaster. Flags hanging off the outside were used to communicate the weather conditions. The docks were supplemented by a series of pontoons on wooden supports, some new and some dating back to the Terunael. The moored dredging vessels and houseboats knocked against the docks rhythmically along with the ebb and flow of the Feverwater.

When the Druj invaded Therunin, East Ashes was conquered and Mudlark's Haven served as a centre point for the orcs of the Mallum in their war against the Empire. As of Spring 388YE, the Haven is the only significant Druj settlement in East Ashes, and the barbarians there are trapped in a life-or-death struggle against the vallornspawn of the region.

Holt of the Oak (Ruined)

This unique fortification was constructed in the Lower Tarn Valley by the Great Forest Orcs from weirwood rather than white granite as part of the treaty between the refugees and the Empire. The commission was beset by challenges but work was completed shortly before the Winter Solstice 383YE. A series of majestic weirwood towers surrounded by a wall topped with living thorns, the beautiful and imposing fortification was garrisoned by orc warriors - meaning that the Empire did not need to pay for its upkeep. Navarr and Great Forest orcs alike mixed freely in the shadow of the towers, and traders from other Imperial nations - with the notable exception of the Dawnish - found it to be an excellent place to meet and do business with the otherwise standoffish orcs.

If the treaty with the orcs were broken and the Great Forest orcs motivated to try and seize the Lower Tarn Valley the fortification would have taken no part in the initial fighting. If this had happened, and the orcs were to consolidate their control of the region, the fortification would have provided full support to any effort they made to conquer the territory or resist Imperial forces.

Peakedge Stead (ruined)

One of the most important sites in Therunin, Peakedge Stead stood in western Peakedge Song. What initially began as a steading dedicated to fighting the vallorn of Therunin was transformed over the centuries to a place of contemplation and healing. Some stories claim the steading was a remnant of long-lost Terunael; there was something ageless about the trees here. Most of the buildings were built in the spreading branches of these great trees, or clustered around the trunks of these immense green giants. Many of the trees were centuries old, some so tall that on a clear day a Navarr could stand on one of the viewing platforms and gaze across to the hills of Reikos and even the forests beyond.

Peakedge Stead was for a long time a place for the Navarr to meet with the people of Highguard, especially when it came to their shared interest in the arts of the physick and the apothecary. Some of the earliest work mastering the transformation of vinum sap into liao took place here, for example. During the occupation of Reikos by the Druj, the great tree-houses served as a sanctuary for those who were able to escape eastward out of the territory. Since the liberation, many of those former refugees returned to High Chalcis but many also chose to stay in Peakedge Stead. Some still maintained their Highborn identity, but a fair number - especially of the children born amidst the gentle tranquillity of this place - chose to become Navarr. They helped maintain the renown of the steading as one of the Empire's premiere locations for the study of herb lore and healing. In time they were joined by members of the Great Forest Orcs sept from the Barrens, who brought with them their own understanding of the herbal arts. For several years representatives of the three groups worked in close harmony together to the betterment of all.

Sadly, Peakedge Stead is no more. When the Druj invaded, they sought to burn the place to the ground. Only the intervention of the eternal Ossegrahn balked their scheme when his servants hid the place behind impenetrable walls. Sadly, Lord Rain was unable to maintain the protection for long; after the Summer Solstice 387YE Peakedge Stead was burned to ashes by the Druj along with Thornsong House.

Regions

East Ashes

Quality: Marsh, Infested
Stretching along the shores of the Feverwater, East Ashes is a twisted maze of great mangrove trees and murky water. Like the Tarn Valley it is home to several rare creatures, but the smaller beasts are overshadowed by the occasional incursion by a pack of hydra. Even the threat of the hydra is minor compared to the danger caused by the occasional marshwalkers attempting to migrate through East Ashes toward the Lower Tarn Valley - when they pass through Greenheart, they invariably rouse the insects there and emerge on the far side angry and twisted by the poisonous air of the vallorn. The Steading of Ruis Farkas is based in East Ashes. Since the death of Empress Britta, this small steading has been highly politically active in the Empire to ensure that Britta's successor has a strong Empire to lead.

While not truly haunted, this region has a reputation for being troubled; the core of that reputation can be traced to Fever’s Wake. Once a Navarri Glade of the Dead, but over a small space of days all the corpses laid there disappeared completely, with no sign they had ever existed. The area is shunned completely now.

East Ashes is the location of the Feverwater Docks which originally date back to the time of Terunael. The docks were restored in 377YE and are overseen by the Dredgemaster of Feverwater. These were supplemented by the construction of Mudlark's Haven, a fortified steading on the edge of the Feverwater. Unfortunately both were captured by the Druj during their invasion of Therunin. As of Spring 388YE, it seems the remaining orcs of the Mallum are concentrated in the Haven, locked in a desperate struggle for survival with the vallorn.

In Winter 387YE, the Pilgrim's Defiance fought the expanding Tharunind vallorn here as recounted in the A bright cerulean flame wind of war. They were successful in preventing the region being consumed by the vallorn, but it was instead left infested by vallornspawn which will need to be dealt with by any force attempting to reclaim East Ashes.

Eastring

Qualities: Forest, Marsh, Haunted, Vallorn, Under Threat (Empire)
Originally recovered from the vallorn in 105YE, it fell back into the grasp of Tharunind in the run-up to the Winter Solstice 387YE. For some time prior to that, it had been part of the Druj stranglehold on Therunin; the vallorn at least ended the dominion of the orcs of the Mallum. Sadly, in doing so, it added significant numbers of new orc vallornspawn husks to the dangers of Therunin.

The ground in Eastring used to be less marshy than that of the Lower Tarn Valley or East Ashes, but there were always several expanses of bayou especially in the west or south. Following the terrible storms of late 384YE, the bayou spread across most of the region, drowning sections of already sodden land and turning the rest to fens and marshes. The Navarr and Great Forest Orcs were able to mitigate the worst of the rain in the rest of the territory, but it is no easy task. The transformation did nothing to reduce the large numbers of iridescent butterflies that once flocked here, but while the forests remained rich in hard and softwoods the change in soil quality heavily impacted the previously flourishing lumber trade here.

Eastring was home to several fortified steadings, and a higher-than-average concentration of Thorns due to the constant threat posed by the barbarian lands to the east and north. This was one of the first regions of Therunin cleared of vallorn influence and is the site of the Thimble, a valuable source of weirwood.

Greenheart

Qualities: Forest, Vallorn, Vallornheart
The Tharunind vallorn holds the ruins at the centre of Therunin in a fierce grip. While other Navarr forests are generally more threatened by vine-infested husks, the monstrous insects of Greenheart greatly outnumber the unliving corpses. The ruins themselves are water-logged, with large sections submerged in marsh according to the few adventurous scouts who have penetrated into this deadly zone.

Lower Tarn Valley

Qualities: Marsh, Great Forest Orcs, Poisoned, Under Threat (Empire)
The lower valley is boggy and marshy. It is known as an excellent location for herb gathering, and the steadings here tend to have large numbers of herb gardens. The Lower Tarn Valley teems with rare wildlife seen nowhere else in the Empire - the delicate and deadly red crane, the somnolent bark alligator and the morose blue wave frog. Following the Summer Solstice 386YE, the spilling of Sephal's Cauldron caused insidious Druj poison to spread through the region rendering it extremely dangerous for Imperial armies to pass through or fight in.

Until the Druj invasion the region was the centre of habitation for the Great Forest orcs. They didn't control the region - it was still part of the Empire - but there was a sizeable population of orcs here living alongside their Navarr hosts. A small community of non-Imperial humans, all of whom are said to possess the briar lineage lived with the Great Forest orcs, and continue to be closely allied with them. While orcs from the Great Forest can be found across Therunin - and indeed the Empire since some of them began walking the trods - the heart of their community had been in the Lower Tarn Valley since they had arrived. The orcs maintained and garrisoned the Holt of the Oak here - a unique fortification that served to protect the Lower Tarn Valley from enemy invasion.

Peakedge Song

Comparatively lightly wooded, especially for a Navarr forest, the steadings of Peakedge Song maintained cordial relations with their neighbours to the north and south. The land here slopes quickly into the foothills of Morrow, and there are several valuable mines along the southern border. During the fall of High Chalcis the Navarr led several rescue missions across the borders, and as a consequence a number of Highborn refugees camped there, especially in the tree-top town of Peakedge Stead. With the final liberation of Reikos, many of them have chose to return - but a significant number chose to remain as permanent residents of the steading. At the same time, a number of Navarr chose to move to Reikos - initially to help in the establishment of the Gardens of High Chalcis, but they also founded a small settlement on the edge of the forest not far from the now-fallen Peakedge Stead. Ironically perhaps, when Peakedge Song fell to the Druj, refugees from Therunin found sanctuary in Reikos in the same way the Highborn had one taken sanctuary among the Navarr.

Sweetglades

Qualities: Forest, Vallorn
The forests of the Sweetglades are ironically named; the vallorn holds sway here. It was from Sweetglades that the attacks on Eastring, and East Ashes erupted and as a consequence there is a higher than normal prevalence of former orcs among the vallornspawn husks that infest the area.

Upper Tarn Valley

Looking down on the Lower Tarn Valley, the Upper Valley is comparatively dry but the soil here is rich and healthy. The steadings here take advantage of this fertility, and the relative dearth of trees, to maintain extensive agriculture. The largest steading in the Upper Tarn Valley is Return, a well-fortified settlement surrounded by tall watchtowers that looked out across the forests to the north and east. A place of flowers and memory, the steading had a storied history, but was ultimately harrowed by the schemes of the eternal Yaw'nagrah and her efforts to rouse the Therunin vallorn. The exemplar Gerallt Brackensong lost his life thwarting those plans. Today, the old steading is abandoned and has been largely reclaimed by the marsh, the forest, and the great insects although it remains by all accounts quite beautiful.

Travid Longest Path, last Senator for Therunin

Summit	Elected
Autumn Equinox 385YE	Travid Longest Path
Autumn Equinox 384YE	Travid Longest Path
Winter Solstice 383YE	Travid Longest Path
Autumn Equinox 383YE	Cybi Farkas
Autumn Equinox 382YE	Cybi Farkas
Autumn Equinox 381YE	Cybi Farkas
Winter Solstice 380YE	Willa Farkas-Vigil
Autumn Equinox 380YE	Caerwyn Summer Crow
Autumn Equinox 379YE	Caerwyn Summer Crow
Autumn Equinox 378YE	Caerwyn Summer Crow
Autumn Equinox 377YE	Caerwyn Summer Crow
Winter Solstice 376YE	Caerwyn Summer Crow

Recent Senate Elections

As an Imperial territory, Therunin was represented by a senator elected in the Autumn. As the territory is no longer Imperial, the senator cannot currently be elected. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

Strategic Considerations

Thanks to the presence of the Feverwater, campaign armies cannot move east from East Ashes to Sarangrave, nor can East Ashes be invaded from the east, without an appropriate opportunity.

The vallorn in Sweetglades and Greenheart mean that it is only possible to move from Therunin to Peregro in Morrow through East Ashes, and vice versa. Likewise the vallorn in Eastring represents a significant obstacle to anyone trying to move an army between the Tarn Valley and East Ashes.

OOC Notes

• As of the start of the Winter Solstice 387YE, the vallorn dominates Eastring, Greenheart, and Sweetglades, and the Druj nominally control the rest of the territory.
• The Holt of the Oak was a unique level one fortification built and garrisoned by the Great Forest Orcs before its destruction by the Druj before Summer 386YE
• The Great Forest Orcs had their main settlement in the Lower Tarn Valley but hunting parties can be encountered everywhere except Eastring, Greenheart, and Sweetglades.

Further Reading

• A bright cerulean flame - Spring 388YE Wind of War
• Crimson and green - Winter 387YE Wind of War
• Songs like trees - Autumn 387YE Wind of War
• Willow and rain - Summer 387YE Wind of War
• To hold death's hand in mine - Spring 387YE Wind of War
• Under eastern skies - Winter 386YE Wind of War
• Blood and mire - Autumn 386YE Wind of War
• Ashes - Summer 386YE Wind of War
• Make a deal - Spring 384YE Wind of Fortune detailing several opportunities to improve the prosperity of Therunin
• The Feverwater docks - Historical Research into the Feverwater and the docks there