Kiern Vale Handbook
Chapter 4: Kern A-Thel – The lands of
house Kor-Om'thel
Prologue | Landscape and Important
Locations | Local Population | Recent History | Characters
Organizations | Background of Player
Characters |Expansions of Further
Information
|
Landscape, Important Locations, and
passes into the region The bare heights of the Kern A-Thel region
overlook the lush expanse of the Kiern vale. This rocky land consists of
steep cliffs and wind-battered, sparsely wooded rock formations, overlooking
deep canyons, with wagon trails winding through them. These narrow trails
feed into the old Imperial Road, which laboriously ascends through sharply
angled switchbacks towards the towering ridge of the Karansil mountains,
whose snow-covered peaks visibly loom to the east. The Karandon Falls In the southern part of the region, the
immense Karandon Falls cascade down from the mountain heights. There are
three tiers of falls, with the uppermost one plunging directly from the
ancient forest of Mag Eglor, dividing the southern part of the region into
three plateaus that become wilder and colder as one ascends. The roiling waters beneath the falls
sustain small villages as well as seasonal fishing camps, many of whom are
quite poor and occasionally suffer attacks from wild tribes or monsters from
the higher plateaus. As winter approaches, many of these
villagers abandon their settlements and migrate below the lower falls—or to
the relative security (but also the hardships, and often condescension) of
the larger walled towns. The Imperial Road Not far from the pool where the lower
falls plunge into Kiern vale and the Karandon Stream, a tributary of the
Kierna River, the ancient Imperial Road diverges from the riverbed and heads
north. Even after the Great Shattering, the
road still accommodates heavily laden cargo wagons. The road gradually
ascends along the ridge's foothills and then turn eastward where the ridges
become taller and steeper. The road continues towards the lord's
castle and the adjoining town alongside it, and towards the mountains beyond,
winding around the rocks, passing here and there beneath an ancient bas
reliefs carved into the rock face. The path is lit by scattered magical red
lanterns, enchanted by ancient priestesses and fixed within crude copper
rings. The Lord’s castle and the Granite
Courts The regional lord's stronghold is
situated three miles eastwards from the elbow of the road, where the mountain
road twists eastward. It is built at the end of a small, narrow valley
branching off from the Imperial Road. The Kor Omthel Dynasty is known for
their traditional affiliation to the Gray Reflection. Hence, they are heavily
influenced by the events in the Principality of Orm'thriel, where collateral
lines of the Kor Omthel dynesty reside – thus, making the situation in the
Granite Courts more sensitive and dangerous than ever before. The castle is
nestled against a mighty rock cliff, and its two imposing stone towers are
visible from afar. Within the small valley beneath the
castle stretches the town of "Granite Courts": three tiers of
ascending stepwise towars the catle. Residences and workshops are carved into
the cliff faces separating the plateaus, while several marketplaces occupy
much of the lower Plateus surface. The Granite Courts serves as the
trading hub for miners and ore traders descending from the heights of the
Karansil Range, to bring their goods to the Kiern Vale. Here, they display
their merchandise and negotiate with local traders and artists who have set
up shops here. It is known to be dim and dark most hours of the day (even in
summer!) due to the cliffs looming overhead and the mist often hovering over
the entire area. Tolls levied on the trade of ores and minerals and the wares
local craftsmen provide a significant portion of the local dynasty's income.
It is one of the best places - perhaps the best outside the guild halls of
En'mirlor - to buy not only raw minerals but also various metal or stone
items, even magical weapons and jewelry.
The east fork in the Imperial Road,
after passing by the Granite Courts, continues to ascend beneath towering
crags, passing between the somber stone mounds of the old battlefield of
Lin-Morlith. Here the rebels of the Gray Rose
suffered a surprising and bloody defeat from the loyalists of the Blue
Reflection, led by the Order of the Frost Knights (Karansiri). These
loyalists halted the onslaught of the Gray Rose army with a barrage of
rolling stones and arrows ablaze with icy flames.
Far above the mounds of Lin Morlith and
the almost vertical crags rising predominantly from the north, but also south
of them, majestic peaks looms, crowned with ancient and imposing stone
columns known as Dush’magor. These are likely remnants of a non-human
civilization - attributed to the Dush’m: ancient and less developed relatives
of the Ogres, who according to legend once wielded nature's magic. These
remnants can be seen from a great distance, especially on days when the mist
is lessened. Further to the east, The Imperial Road
ascends up to the Karansil Ridge at the "the Frozen Stairs." Here,
the road is flanked by two giant statues, nearly fifty meters tall. These
statues depict the legendary battle of War Lady En'lanir (pronounced Enlahnir
by the men of the mountains) Tahl-En'lind - known primarily by her moniker:
"The Ice shard". Her statue faces a statue of a Gartharon demon,
which snarls and bares its teeth – while the famous war lady plunges her
magical sword straight into the monster’s chest. Those two gigantic statues,
locked in eternal combat, loom high above the road. The statues and an
ancient inn carved deep into the rockface beneath the statue of the war lady,
aptly named "The Ice Shard Inn," mark the boundary between the
Kiern Vale and the Karansil Ridge.
Mag-Eglor An ancient, dense, hard to reach and
even more difficult to traverse forest that covers the south-eastern part of
the region, above
the magnificent waterfalls of Karandon. The ancient giant trees dominating
the eaves of this forest form a unique habitat for strange creatures and rare
animals. The only routes leading to it are treacherous mountain paths,
fraught with danger from bandits, savage human tribes, and even monsters. Few
people dare approach this forest, and rarer still are those prepared to
venture into its dark heart, claiming it swarms with evil spirits and
particularly deadly monsters. According to local legends, in the distant
past, bizarre creatures lived there, including powerful shape-shifters, and
holy men secluded themselves within it. A poetic and somewhat different
version of the story appears in the "First Cantos" of the shepherds
of the Tolo Valley recounting the mythical origin of Tolo’s forefathers,
before they migrated into the valley that bears their name. Recently, some of the lord’s men,
influenced excessively by the teaching of the Grey Scholars from the
Orm'thril Principality, have begun to claim that the evil spirits in the
forest are nothing more than shamans of the the fiendish ape-like Gabbutu,
who may already be weaving plots on how to harm the Lord’s castle and defile
his noble bloodline with their wicked sorceries. |
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Kiern Vale guide
Created and edited by Gideon Orbach (2017) ©
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