DKMortals/SettingInfo
Setting Information
In general, most material from Bastions of the North is canonical to this campaign. However, the illustrious past of Gerd Marrow-Eater and the role of Lunars in the formation of the Haslanti League has been excised for a more mortals-centric campaign. The items on this page represent common knowledge to residents of this world, and are either original material or expansion on canonical items unique to the campaign.
Events
The Wolf War – Fifteen years ago (R.Y. 753), raiding by bands of wolfmen intensified along the southwestern border of the League. Hundreds of wolfmen streamed into Haslanti territory in the dead of winter, seemingly on a mission of outright slaughter rather than conquest – certainly, their numbers were too slight to hold much territory. The League, however, has a small military, and difficulty moving it on the ground during winter, and a bitter war resulted, short and violent. During the course of the war, it was discovered that the attacks were the work of the Lunar Anathema Magdala Sevenclaws, an Exalt only remembered in whispered tales. Along with The Three Bitches, her godblooded daughters, and a legion of wolfmen mostly bred from her stock, she and her forces produced utter havoc, killing thousands. These depredations drove a number of refugees north out of the Emeralds and resulted in the massacre at Little Cove, now a Shadowland known as the Forsaken Green. It was perhaps only the presence of airboats which allowed the League to eventually drive the invaders back – during the Battle of Brix Canyon, a massive aerial bombardment destroyed the vanguard of Magdala’s army, two of her daughters, and it is believed, the Lunar Anathema herself. However, her name remains a totem of terror for children – and some adults – all across the League.
Locations
Dock Four - Several decades ago, a horrific accident at this Icehome dock resulted in the sinking of several fully crewed ships and over a thousand deaths. Since then, the dock and its surrounding streets have been a place of ill omen - not quite a Shadowland, but a place where the border between the Underworld and Creation is thin. The area has proved solely inauspicious for legitimate businesspeople and criminals alike, and though the occasional brave smuggler dabbles about the edges or ventures within, just as many never come out. Rotting hulks and derilect ships still list at anchor, and warehouses sag sodden and empty in the mist that seems to cloak the area.
Fella – Fella is a curious city state located to the southwest of the Haslanti League, amidst the sharp valleys and twisted peaks of the Silverlode Mountains. The Fellai are a reclusive but not entirely insular breed, peculiarly limited in their range and activity. Their city bears its curious name because of a mysterious phenomenon – no stone laid atop another will stand in the city for more than a few minutes before forcefully hurling itself to the ground. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown, but the consequence is that Fella is also known as the City of Wood and Ivory, and its 100,000 or so inhabitants live in carefully and precariously shaped towers of wood and bone. Because of the intense fire hazard, the Fellai worship the goddess that they know only as the Lady of Leashed Ash, the goddess of controlled fires, and have cruel laws regulating the use of open flame. Perhaps the Loom of Fate has a sense of humor, for the Fellai need fires less than most mortals in the harsh North. Their bodies are curiously resistant to the cold – and summer clothing suffices for many of them where other Northerners would require furs and wool. The source of this mysterious phenomenon is unknown, but it relies on their proximity to the city – only one who was born in the city of Fella is so gifted, and the further away they move from it, the less effective their protection grows. RELATIONSHIP TO HASLANTI LEAGUE: Hostile.
The Republic of Shanarinara - Located between the Haslanti League and Whitewall, the Republic of Shanarinara is a struggling state that looks fearfully upon the growing League to the North. They view the Haslanti as backwards barbarians, and have a much more urban outlook than other northern states. They are nominally a tributary of Whitewall and pay occasional tithes of troops and taxes in a very one sided relationship that nevertheless insures that they are shielded from the horrors of Marama’s Fell. The Guild virtually dominates commerce in Shanarinara and uses it as a base of operations for the entire North. Though the military of the Republic is large, it is also largely untrained, and though the Republic has nearly 200,000 residents, they are loosely scattered across a number of small fortess-towns. Additionally, the federative nature of the Republic, its bloated, inefficient legislature, and its weak executive Dominar mean that it is a poorly organized and led state. The League views it as a likely target for conquest. RELATIONSHIP TO HASLANTI LEAGUE: Hostile.
