Brevoy is a place where you can travel
for days between small villages, to say nothing of the long journey
between larger strongholds of civilization. These places tend to huddle
in the shadows of the mountains, and along the shores of the rivers and
lakes, leaving the lands between dotted with small settlements making
their way as best they can.
The Golushkin Mountains are home
to Issia’s greatest concentration of natural resources, as the peaks sit
upon deep veins of iron, nickel, copper, silver, and tin, along with
some other useful or precious ores. Humans like the Surtovas showed
little interest in mining these riches, particularly since the Golka
clan of dwarves were already doing so. House Garess established trade
with the mountain dwarves, building a reputation on metalworks and a
stronghold in the defensible mountain lands.
The dark expanse
of the Gronzi Forest is simply “the Forest” to the people of Brevoy. It
extends from the highlands of the Icerime Peaks to the shores of Lake
Reykal, forming part of the old border between Issia and Rostland.
Although technically the forest belongs to the Brevic crown, hunting and
even woodcutting is largely unregulated around its outskirts,
particularly in the western reaches. The stretch of forest nearest New
Stetven was largely cleared generations ago for the wood to rebuild and
maintain the city, and Brevic woodcutters must delve deeper each year to
meet their needs. Although there are many tales of the hazards of the
deep forest, the most recent stories are of human origin. A mysterious
bandit chief known as Duma the Sly has led raids on merchants,
travelers, and tax-collectors near the bounds of the forest. He and his
band are known for their ability to strike without warning and vanish
just as quickly into the greenery. Duma is no friend of King Noleski
Surtova, but the common folk love him for his generosity, and therefore
aid him in evading royal sanction. Tales claim Duma is everything from
the son of a wronged Aldori nobleman, a fey-blooded trickster, or the
lost Rogarvian heir.
The Icerime Peaks wall off most of Brevoy
from the former lands of Iobaria to the west. Their heights are
perpetually covered in ice, even in the summer months, when cold rivers
tumble and cascade down their sides, forming towering waterfalls and
clear mountain lakes. The late spring thaws open what passes there are
through the mountains, although few make use of them. Skywatch is by no
means the only ancient site in the Icerime Peaks. Tales tell of
half-buried entrances to mountain dungeons, some of them outposts of old
Iobaria, others even older. Some of the ruins are said to be haunted by
the chill shades of soldiers or miners who perished there, still
guarding whatever treasures they found in life.
The Lake of
Mists and Veils is known simply as “the Lake,” and it defines the
northern border of the land as well as dominates Brevoy’s seasons and
weather. In the winter, the fiercest storms howl down from the foggy
waters, driven between the mountain peaks to pour freezing rain, sharp
hail, and heavy snow drifts upon Issia, slowed only slightly by the
forest and the hills around Rostland, before exhausting their fury on
the southern hills and plains. The lake gets its name from its tendency
to warm enough in the peak months of summer so that when the first chill
of winter sets in, the water “steams” with heavy layers of mist at
night, slowly burning off each morning.
The Brevic capital of
New Stetven was established by Choral the Conqueror after his campaign,
building over the ruins of the original Taldan settlement of Stetven. It
remains the center of political and economic power in the land, in
spite of the recent upheavals. Of particular importance is New Stetven’s
place as a trading city, carrying goods to and from Brevoy along the
East Sellen River and the major trade roads that meet here along the
shores of Lake Reykal. New Stetven earned the nickname “The City of
Wooden Palaces” for the abundant use of timber to build everything from
walls and houses to mansions and forts. Even some of the city streets
are “paved” with planks laid in the nearconstant mud from the snow and
slush. Raised wooden sidewalks are common in the wealthier parts of the
city, allowing people to walk up out of the mud as much as possible. The
only great stone structures of the city are the Ruby Fortress, the seat
of power to the crown of Brevoy, and the Bulwark of Gorum, Brevoy’s
greatest temple to the Lord of Iron. Fire, like that which destroyed Old
Stetven, remains a constant threat, and the city relies heavily on the
services of volunteers aided by local spellcasters to put out the
handful of fires that occur each winter.
House Surtova’s
ancestral lands extend from Port Ice, a settlement that has shifted
increasingly inland, like its masters. Although connected to the
lakeshore villages by a reasonably well-maintained road, Port Ice is
locked behind its walls for much of the cold winter months, visited only
by sled and the occasional foolhardy traveler. The rest of the year,
the city is open to stockpile all the supplies needed for the next
season. The White Manor is the Surtova ancestral seat, currently in the
care of King Noleski’s uncle, Domani Surtova.
The Free City of
Restov is where the rostlandic spirit is most alive. The city owes its
allegiance to the Brevic crown, and Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius must
bend his knee before the Dragonscale Throne like any lord, but otherwise
Restov belongs to no house, making it a haven for the lost glories of
the Aldori swordlords and those who look back to the old days before the
coming of the Conqueror. Restov is a city of both refinement and
rough-and-tumble manners, as only a colony can be in fondly recalling
and imitating its motherland. The gentry of Restov consider themselves
sophisticates, although a Taldan visitor would consider their ways
quaint, and touched with no small amount of northern barbarism. The city
is a bustling trade center along the border. Restov’s relative wealth
supports no small number of idle and titled lordlings and merchants’
sons. They frequent the various Aldori and Taldan dueling schools, as
well as the alehouses, and fight each other in street corner challenges
at dawn and dusk. The schools, salons, and taprooms of Restov are also
hotbeds of rebellious talk against the reign of King Noleski Surtova,
with young firebrands in search of a leader to rally them to the cause.
The Rostland Plains are the region of grassy plains and rolling hills
to the east of the Sellen and south of the Gronzi Forest. They are
dotted with farming towns and villages with a mixture of Issian and
Taldan heritage and manners. Although close to the capital of New
Stetven, the Rostland Plains harbor some simmering dissent against the
crown, the man who presently wears it, and the very idea of Brevoy as a
unified nation.
Skywatch is a city high in the northern
Icerime Peaks and is built around an ancient observatory discovered by
the Surtovas centuries ago in the early days of Issia. In spite of its
apparent age, the observatory is perfectly preserved, maintained by a
powerful, lingering magic. The same night House Rogarvia vanished,
Skywatch sealed its gates, and the walled city has allowed no one to
enter or leave since, not even couriers or supply caravans. Messages and
envoys sent to Skywatch have been ignored and none are known to have
left. Even divination magic cannot penetrate its walls to discover what
is going on within, or even if anyone there is still alive.
The Valley of Fire lies in the southernmost Icerime Peaks where Aldori
rebels fought their last battle against the forces of Choral the
Conqueror. They were lured into the valley with the hope of cornering
Choral, but instead found themselves in a trap when the Conqueror’s red
dragon allies bathed the valley in fire, wiping out the men of Rostland.
To this day, the Valley of Fire is an infamous place where life refuses
to return to the blackened and melted earth, said to be haunted by the
tortured shades of the men who died here, seen in the night as fiery
shadows with a burning hatred for the living.
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