Miekarova
Overview
Miekarova is more heavily forested than the rest of Varushka. It is known for its furs, for its hunting, and for its particularly harsh winters. Snow regularly falls here for up to six months in the year, and it is common for vales to be snowed-in during the darkest months. The wolves of Miekarova are especially savage, and every few years or so gather in great hordes that sweep down out of the north, threatening the unwary and causing widespread trouble until they are eventually dealt with. Plaguewulfs are more common here than anywhere else in Varushka, and the sovereign believed to be their progenitor, The Howling Queen, is said to slumber somewhere beneath the hills of north-eastern Miekarova.
Noted for beautiful painted caves beneath several of the larger ranges of hills, it was also the heart of Ushkan mysticism in the dim days long before the foundation of the Empire. It was in Miekarova that the Imperial Faith found its deepest roots in Varushka, and there are a number of vales here that surround churches and shrines to the Way. The priests here are especially vigilant against the dangers of the dark winters and the monsters that come with it, and several warden brotherhoods make a practice of spending their winters here to offer additional assistance.
Recent History
Major Features
Mormyk
In Mierchernya, Mormyk is the furthest western vale and closest to Wintermark. It enjoyed a long history of good relations with the people of Krysse. Varushkan merchants regularly traveled east to the great market there, while adventurous Winterfolk traders and pedlars were a common feature along the road linking the two. This came to an end with the fall of Skarsind to the Thule in 373YE. Amid concerns that the barbarians would push east into Miekarova, the people of Mormyk fortified their vale and cast expectant eyes towards the barbarian bastion that the orcs had made amid the halls of Estermark. Now that Skarsind is free again, it remains to be seen if the good trading relations between Miekarova and Skarsind can be re-established safely.
The Painted Caves
Several clusters beautifully painted caves that lie under the hills, thought to be of Ushkan origin.
The Razors
These seven spines of black obsidian stand atop a mountain that shadows the road through Perumaki. An outpost at the foot of the mountain observes the razors each morning - they are usually shrouded in cloud as the day dawns, which is a good omen. If the razors are "unsheathed" (clearly visible at sunrise), it often signifies that a band of wolves will attack somewhere along the road before the next sunrise. Warning bells are rung, and runners dispatched to nearby vales to warn them of the danger. The razors themselves have never been closely examined - the approach is sheer and the presence of wolves makes it effectively impossible to approach - but study through spyglass has reinforced the belief that the ravening beasts that accompany their unsheathing dwell in caves and gulleys around the top of the mountain. Scholars theorize that there is a hitherto unknown sovereign under the mountain peak who directs the wolves for reasons of it's own.
The Night Quarry
The Night Quarry is located high in the mountains of Mieriada near the Painted Caves. White Granite is produced here using a technique that fills the air with a fine white dust that quickly settles on the skin. As a result the workers have a ghostly pale complexion until they wash. The decision of the Imperial Senate to make it an Imperial bourse position angered many Varushkans at the time; it was also the site of an early engagement between orc slaves and Imperial troops known as the Night Quarry Massacre. After two weeks of intermittent fighting around the quarry, Varushkan troops and revolting slave miners alike were slaughtered when Thule barbarian raiders happened across it and took advantage of both sides' weakness. To this day, miners claim to hear the occasional moans of trapped orcs, dying warriors and exultant Thule echoing in dark, giving the site an unwholesome reputation
The Night Quarry is an Imperial Bourse position. Control is allocated to any Imperial citizen by open auction. It produces 27 Imperial wains of white granite every season.
Regions
Dupadealuri
The hills of Dupadealuri are scattered with vines that mine rich veins of Tempest Jade and weltsilver. It is watched over by Essk, a hilltop town behind a great wooden wall. The broad road that runs through Essk links Miekarova to the rest of Varushka. It is famed for the Bell of Essk, a great Wintermark-forged monstrosity that is high in the wooden watchtower at the junction of the roads from Miekarova, Karsk and Karov. This bell can be heard for miles, and is sounded when a known Sovereign of the area has been spied. The tower itself serves as a place of pilgrimage for those dedicated to Vigilance.
Miechernya
The trading vale of Mormyk protects the road from Varushka to Skarsind. Much of the region is wild, and the hills and mountains are home to both mines and well-defended forests that endure the cold winters and occasional attacks by wolves. Another danger in Miecernya are Thule raiders down out of the northern mountains, come from Otkodov to steal the bounty of the miners and the foresters. There are several ancient battlefields in Miechernya where human and orc have clashed - and on occasion a conflict between barbrian and Imperial warriors near one of these battlefields stirs up old ghosts, or remnants of soldiers who attack both sides indiscriminately, angry that their sleep has been disturbed.
Mieriada
This region is known for rich veins of orichalcum in the mountains, and for savage raids by the Thule who sometimes follow the rivers down out of the mountains to attack the vales or the mines. Both the Painted Caves and the Night Quarry are found here.
The most famous vale in Mieriada lies on shores of the Coldmere (which often freezes solid in the depths of winter) lies Wendell’s Hope, a mining vale that grew up round a tavern and trading post. It is unusual in that it's boyar is traditionally the owner of the largest tavern in the vale, which is a place of pilgrimage for the dedicates of Courage. Groups of warriors planning to raid into Otkodov often gather here on their outward journey, and on their return. It is especially welcoming to stenza; the nights are long, and both the miners and the warriors are wealthy. It is sometimes called the Last Warm Hearth in the North.
Perumaki
In the mountains of Perumaki are The Razors.
Srodkoja
The centre of the northern fur trade; pelts from here adorn many a Dawnish Earl or Merchant Prince of the League cities. The largest vale in Srodkoja is Olodny, and has made much of its wealth from trapping and skinning. It is built to defend against wolf packs - the ditches are deep and the walls thick with spikes - and it serves as a base of operations for both hunters and wagon raiders.
Srodkoja is also the location of Olga’s Ashes, a place of virtuous study, part-built into caverns above the road. Olga was an early Varushkan convert to the Way, a warden by calling, and her ashes are said to have miraculous powers to reveal possessing spirits. Some Varushkans claim her as an exemplar of Vigilance, but she has not been recognised as such by the Imperial Synod.
OOC Notes
- The regions of Miekarova are in the hands of the Varushkans (and by extension, the Empire) making this an Imperial territory.