Weirwater
Overview
The craggy hills of Weirwater are home of many weavers, and the noble houses here seem to have more than their fair share of witches. The territory itself is scattered with deep forests, maintained untouched by the noble houses and inhabited by Eternal Heralds, exotic beasts and an abundance of rare herbs. The caves of Weirwater have a dark reputation with the people of Dawn, and are said to contain mysterious magics.
Legend has it that long ago the Earl of Sedaret pursued a crusade against several cabals of weavers who refused to recognise her authority. At the height of a great banquet, thrown by the Earl to celebrate her apparent victory over the weavers, a great bell began to toll and the castle and its surrounding village was drowned beneath great waves and unrelenting rain. It is said by the people of Culwich that on Winter nights of the new moon when the sky is clear one can still hear bells ringing in the depths of the great lake, and see lights that are said to be those of the drowned Earl and her noble household, still celebrating in the depths.
During the reign of Empress Varkula, a significant force of Druj crossed the Semmerlak from the east and invaded Weirwater. Fighting under the banner of the Shadow Wasp, the Druj invaded Weirwater with a flotilla of great rafts launched across the Semmerlak. The Druj were led by a powerful Ghulai and her coven, who wielded the power of Spring magic against the Imperial defenders. With the aid of the Navarr - especially Megan Black Blood - the Druj were defeated - but not before they raised the oldest forests of Weirwater against the Empire. Since then, there has been no significant incursion across the Semmerlak... but the folk of Weirwater remember.
Recent History
Major Features
Culwich
A large town with a few outlying villages. Culwich has a long tradition of farming and is said to produce some of the best flax and wool in the Empire. The local merchants have influence with the weavers, who in turn offer them fine woven goods to sell to mutual profit. It was here or hereabouts that the first humans to live in Dawn landed. Culwich is now a rich port: goods and trade come to Dawn from Varushka through Culwich. There’s some trade to far-off Highguard, though to get there ships have to pass the shores of the Barrens.
Applefell
A sprawling hill town in Garthmoor, surrounded by small farms. The people have a reputation for standoffishness, even with the merchants who pass through on their way to and from Karov and Semmerholm. While the area is known for its apple orchards, it is also known for “ ground apples” - a type of mushroom with an almost spherical head - which can be quite dangerous to those who mistake them for wholesome fungus. They grow on the ground, in rings, and the wise do not consume them without great care. Rumour has is that those who know the trick to preparing them can see into the Labyrinth, converse with ghosts, and perhaps more importantly avoid a lingering death.
A beautiful terraced garden is cut into the hills near Applefell. Created to celebrate Lady Eleanor Novarion's efforts in building people up from hardship, its pergolas and secluded nooks embrace those seeking refuge. Several small statues dot the garden, celebrating in turn the deeds of those aided by the Proffered Hand.
The Weirwater Vales
The Weirwater Vales are a Bourse resource located in Wickmoor. Custodianship of the Vales is an Imperial Title that brings with it a Seat on the Bourse. It produces 23 Imperial wains of weirwood every season. Control is allocated to any Imperial citizen by open auction during the Summer Solstice.
Giritane's Gaze
There is a vast statue that stands on top of a hill in Wickmoor to the northwest of the Weirwater Vales. This immense white stone mandowla is Giritane's Gaze and is visible from miles away; head and shoulders above the trees of the region. The construction was announced by the Master of the Koboldi and was funded almost exclusively by House Castellan. The most impressive feature are the two massive lightstones that allow the alabaster beast to serve as a beacon to those venturing in the dangerous forests of Weirwater at night. The mine owners of the territory benefit from the steady presence of the statue with not only an increase in precious metals and gemstones taken from the earth - represented by a seasonal income of 36 rings - but also from a single deepstone each season dependent on the type of mine.
Spiral Castle
In the centre of a small weirwood forest in Weirmoor stands Spiral Castle. Built in pre-Imperial times, it lies at the heart of a strong Summer regio. The earls of Spiral Castle have always been enchanters, and usually possessed of a strong changeling lineage. The household has been controlled by scions of the de Casillon family, and many of the nobles who live there are descendants of Empress Richilde. Over the centuries, the inhabitants have become more and more insular, spending less and less time beyond the boundaries of their manor. Some members of the Synod have even expressed concerns over whether they are entirely human any more.
During the height of the Sun Queen's reign, the Senate agreed to a request that the resources of Spiral Castle be dedicated to the support and upkeep of the armies of the Empire, and of Dawn in particular. They created the title of Castellan of Spiral Castle to oversee the procedures needed to turn the weirwood and expertise of the castle's inhabitants into emergency support for armies camped in Weirwater.
For several decades, Spiral Castle was not reachable by outsiders; following the death of Emperor Hugh in 368YE the castle and surrounding forest abruptly disappeared behind a wall of swirling, chaotic mist. Attempts to communicate with, or reach, the inhabitants of Spiral Castle proved unsuccessful. Recently, however, contact was re-established with the de Casillons and the wall of mist brought down, leaving the house free to rejoin the rest of their nation - and providing the Dawnish people with a valuable new resource.
The Castellan of Spiral Castle is an Imperial title within the Bourse appointed annually by the captains of Dawn.
Bardic Academy
The Bardic Academy of Ozren de Orzel stands proud and beautiful at a site near Belletain. With an extensive atrium and storytelling amphitheatre surrounding an open courtyard used for recitals, debates and seasonal performances inspired by the exemplar and the compositions of the High Bard of the Empire. Musicians, troubadours, poets, and orators from across Dawn and the wider Empire come to study the arts, to perform before their peers, to research and read the works of Ozren in its library and to contemplate the legacy they wish to leave behind them.
The internal walls of the academy are decorated with exquisitely painted panels and carved reliefs depicting Ozren as a troubadour at the Great Pits of Ennerlund; as knight-protector in two places at once; as Cardinal of Pride; and as a preacher raging against the deprivations of Winter magic and curses in Spiral, and facing the ire of a magistrate.
At the heart of the complex, beside a single rowan tree and a fountain with a statuette of a white eagle perched atop, is a small chapel containing Ozren’s memorial itself. Furnished from polished blocks of marble, inlaid with musical notation and fragments of fiery verse - attributed to the exemplar - using an alloy of weltsilver and gold. Around the chapel chamber are carved the names of those singers, musicians, poets and troubadours honoured by the High Bard of the Empire. Prayer sheets and honour rolls are hung as a living monument to Imperial artistry reflecting each deed and accomplishment and inviting more to come.
To the Semmerlak side of the academy are hosted the apartments of the High Bard of the Empire, generously appointed and overlooking the amphitheatre and atriums. Attended by several yeofolk to aid the office in its deeds and ambitions. The construction of the academy at Belletain was a significant undertaking. The white granite used in its construction was provided through the prosperity of House Orzel, whose patronage ensured that the structure could be raised to a standard befitting their sibling and exemplar of Pride. Additional support came from across the Empire, whose collected Prosperity and virtue contributed to the labour and provisioning required during the works.
The project was brought to the Senate by the eloquence and Virtue of Earl Tristan du Lac, as Senator for Weirwater, aided by Gwendoloena de Ordraig and Cesare Sanguineo Rezia Di Tassato, whose efforts secured the recognition and authority necessary to establish the academy.
Within the academy grounds, a carved frieze records those who laboured, funded, and spoke in favour of its creation. The inscriptions make particular note of Astrid Fjellrevening Rezia di Tassato and the Lady Kaywenn du Launcet who were instrumental in elevating Ozren to the status of exemplar, and Starac Sijed Orzel, who created the enduring aura using true liao, as an enduring and permanent inspiration to the Empire.
From the ‘Duel of Art’ in 380YE to the voices following in Ozren’s footsteps and example, each adds to the traditions of artistry and Pride as a legacy of our deeds and the promise of a golden future.
Regions
Garthmoor
The town of Applefell stands in Garthmoor. Known for lightly wooded hills, Garthmoor has a reputation as an odd region, and many Dawnish ghost stories take place on the roads and in the woods here.
Hawksmoor
Hawksmoor is a land of wild hills and twisted woodlands. The only settlement of any size is Hawthorn, a small town of lush gardens in a hollow near the road to Delev. Hidden behind a forbidding hedge, it is home to a circle of witch weavers well versed in the intricacies of Spring magic. Their coven accepts only those who vouched for by a herald of Spring - although which eternal the herald owes allegiance to is not common knowledge. The hedge around hawthorn grows thick and tall, and those not welcome feel its thorns if they try and push their way in.
Sandling
Best known for the town of Culwich, and for the fisherfolk that live in villages along the banks of the Semmerlak, the wide fields of the south slowly rise into the low wooded hills of the north. Atop one of these hills, overlooking the lake, stands the Sentinel’s Folly. The remains of this ancient, shattered stone tower rise high above the trees and are attributed to the paragon known as the Sentinel. The four storey white granite structure is weathered, but the remaining floors are reasonably sound and it is used variously as a reference point or beacon for sailors in the western Semmerlak, as well as a look-out post for keeping an eye on the woods of Karov to the north.
Weirmoor
- Quality: Forest
One the least settled regions in Dawn, the rolling hills of Weirmoor are largely covered by an old and tangled forest. In the north and south, well maintained roads link Weirwater with Delev and Astolat, but the heart of the region is wild and untamed. There are said to be trees in Weirmoor that were old before the Dawnish ever came to the Bay of Catazar. The local Dawnish nobles prefer the forest primaeval - Weirmoor is prime hunting ground and not only for game. Forest lions roam here, along with occasional packs of dire wolves or bears, and the occasional wyvern. The handful of noble houses in Weirmoor have a reputation for standoffishness, and several have a grim reputation.
Wickmoor
The eerie Weirwater Vales stand in Wickmoor, between the extensive estates of the feuding House deCourney and House Seerkan. Their presence gives the entire region a reputation for strange events, usually blamed on whatever it is that haunts the weirwood trees.
| Summit | Elected |
|---|---|
| Summer Solstice 387YE | Tristan duLac |
| Winter Solstice 386YE | Tristan du Lac |
| Summer Solstice 386YE | Ser Lucan Mortére |
| Winter Solstice 385YE | Ser Lucan Mortére |
| Summer Solstice 385YE | Lady Eve Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 384YE | Baldwin |
| Summer Solstice 383YE | Lady Eve Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 382YE | Lady Eve Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 381YE | Lady Eve Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 380YE | Valentin Ivarovich Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 379YE | Valentin Ivarovich Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 378YE | Valentin Ivarovich Orzel |
| Summer Solstice 377YE | Adia of House Arwood |
| Winter Solstice 376YE | Marek |
Recent Senate Elections
As an Imperial territory, Weirwater is represented by a senator elected in the Summer. This title is currently held by Tristan duLac; it will be reelected at Summer Solstice 388YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
OOC Notes
- Every region of Weirwater is under the control of the Dawnish (and by extension, the Empire) making this a staunchly Imperial territory.
- Mines in the territory benefit from the Giritane's Gaze and produce an extra 36 rings and a single deepstone each season.
- Congregations in the territory benefit from the Bardic Academy and produce a dose of Philtre of Strength each season.