Lore

Timeline of History

The history of this world is essentially the history of our own, with a few changes:

Beginning of Days: The world is untrod by humanoid sentient life; spirits of the woods and forest manifested in the form of primeval or elemental beings later revered as gods or saints and some as the first dragons.

The fey venture into mortal realms: Beings from the timeless realm of faerie find their way into the young world. Some tarried for a short while; others established dwellings and kingdoms, like the Cold Prince in Dolmenwood.

Recorded history: Begins approximately 3500 BC.

-2400s: Town of Seloy in southeastern Vinland founded.

-2000s: First human villages established in Piooc, Vinland.

-1400s: Arrival of mortals in Tribania; breggles (goat-folk) in Dolmenwood serve the Cold Prince, and humans living in the isle begin trade with the faerie kingdom.

-900s: Considered the beginning of official known history in Tribania, commencing with the gradual withdrawal of the Cold Prince into his Faerie realm, Frigia. The cycle of seasons returns to the area; only Dwelmfurgh, where the prince’s castle was located on the verge of Lake Longmere, remains frozen.

-800s: Humans, an occult cabal known as the Drune, first venture into the forest of Dolmenwood. They establish Drune Lodge in the depths of Dwelmfurgh and discover the existence of ley lines and the Wood Gods in the forest.

-700s: Other humans–unaffiliated with the Drune–settle in and around Dolmenwood and venerate the Wood Gods, establishing the Gwyrae religion and the traditions and practices of witchcraft in Dolmenwood.

-753: City of Archontos founded.

-650-600: The Drune bind Gheillough, the dragon spirit of the lake, greatly increasing their control of the magic in Dolmenwood. As the Drune’s power rises and the Cold Prince’s wanes, the breggles who had served the fae aristocracy swear fealty to the Drune instead.

-635: City of Anfa founded.

-570: Town of Chebucto founded by the Mi’kmaq.

-509: Beginning of the Archontean Republic.

-414: Hraigl the breggle steals the Horned Crown of the Hydrogyle and leads the breggle in a rebellion against the Drune. The Crown is destroyed. The longhorn nobility, for the most part, trace their ancestry back to Hraigl.

-275: City of Portus Cale, now known as Porto (or colloquially as Waterdeep), founded at the mouth of the Douro River in the Iberian Peninsula.

-114: Thorcin settlers arrive in Tribania, rapidly inhabiting the south-eastern reaches of Dolmenwood and appropriating the small number of extant settlements as their own.

-78: The Archontean heroes and adventurers, Arden and Vul, discover the place of power that later bears their name, namely the cliff and cavern systems of Arden Vul.

-76: The Archontean Republic begins to send scouting parties to Tribania to assess its suitability for conquest and appropriation. They discover Dolmenwood and attract the attention of the Cold Prince.

-55: Led by the Cold Prince in Dolmenwood, other fey throughout the Archontean Republic’s mortal holdings turn their minds once more to the mortal realms, which they still regard as their own property. Asserting his claim to the mortal realms, the Cold Prince causes a fey winter to fall on Dolmenwood. The dispute soon spreads throughout the Republic, and escalates to full-scale war.

-54: Attempting to end the war at its source, Julius Caesar attempts two invasions of Tribania and fights the Cold Prince upon the battlefield of the High Wold. Eventually, the Archontean general retreats from the island.

-27: Beginning of the Archontean Empire.

-14: City of Arden Vul founded by imperial decree, and the emperor Augustus appoints Fretevus of Haldur as the first archon of the city.

0: Following decades of all-out war throughout the empire, the Emperor Augustus makes a desperate and unlikely alliance with the power-hungry Drune in Dolmenwood and dragon-kind throughout the realm. This alliance–known as the “Triple Compact” and which gave Tribania its modern name–banishes the Cold Prince from Dolmenwood and the faerie courts from the mortal realms, at last freeing the central woods of Dolmenwood from their ages-old mantle of frost. The Wyrdwood rises.

4-8: Marius Tricotor, archon of Arden Vul, defeats or subjugates all other denizens of the Halls below the city.

43: Aulus Plautius leads an army of forty thousand to invade the rest of Tribania; Emperor Claudius makes Tribania a part of the Archontean Empire.

44: City of Camoldun founded.

49: City of Sterling founded.

96-180: The Archontean Golden Age

110: City of Tiwanaku founded; beginning of the Hesperian Tiwanaku Polity that would last 900 years.

176: Priscus Pulcher emerges as a leading voice seeking to democratize the teaching of magic throughout the Archontean Empire; he becomes one of the most important leaders of the emerging Sortian party.

187: The Order of Thoth announces the formation of the first new collegium, the New Imperial Academy.

192-197: War of radical egalitarian Sortians & conservative Theosophs weakens central authority of Archontos. Septimus Severus emerges as emperor.

195: City of Arden Vul brutally sacked by dragons and renegade Sortians during the war of Sortians and Theosophs. The archon, Uriel Basileon, dies in her palace. The Archonteans are expelled from the Lower Halls.

198: City of Ashenwilde founded.

211: The Archontean Empire abandons Thracia, which is overrun by the tribal Caledonian Confederacy of northern Tribania.

285: Archontean Empire splits into eastern and western empires.

305: Flavius Valerius Constantius, the archon of Tribania also known as The Sterling Potentate, defeats the Caledonian Confederacy in the north of Tribania and is declared emperor. Stonehell is established.

313: Edict of Milan standardizes religion throughout the Archontean Empire. The Pluritine Church is recognized as the official religion of the Empire. The empire formally adopts a new pantheon of primary gods-turned-saints known as the Twelve, bringing their former temples’ worship under the umbrella of the Pluritine Church.

367-369: A new Caledonian Confederacy of Thorcin & Wiskin forces, lead by Sir Lazlo, rebel against Archontean rule in Tribania in an event later known as the Great Conspiracy, prompting Imperial re-invasion to restore order.

368: Emperor Valentinian orders the abandonment of the city of Arden Vul; the archon, Pellas the Last, oversees the evacuation. Stonehell liberated.

391: Worship of Set and other chaotic gods and godlings is proscribed throughout the Empire by Emperor Theodosius I.

410: City of Archontos sacked. Archontean administration and legions are withdrawn from Tribania, abandoning imperial citizens in Sterling, Camoldun, Ashenwilde, and elsewhere; jubilant native Thorcinga occupy these cities.

476: Western Archontean empire falls.

500: Kingdom of Takrur founded.

554: The Archontean Silver Age begins with a renewed period of military expansion from the Eastern Archontean empire, now known once again as simply “The Archontean Empire.”

597: Formal Pluritine mission begins in Tribania.

600: The Illini elves found the city of Cahokia in central Vinland.

610: Altawhid al-Sayf founds a monotheistic and militaristic religion that decries even depiction, let alone devotion to any god or saint besides the One True God. The Sayfian religion rapidly spreads throughout the Middle East and Africa.

686: A wandering chaos godling–known to the learned as Atanuwë Nine-legs–arrives in Dolmenwood and establishes a secret court around Sargstone. Over the next decades, Atanuwë creates cults and spawn of chaos (including crookhorns and atacorns); the lake monster known to locals as Big Chook first appears.

697: Brackenwold emerges as a kingdom in Tribania; its kings are crowned in a recognizably Pluritan ceremony.

715: Porto conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate.

732: Empress Leona personally leads a triumphant Archontean return to Tribania; imperial forces reoccupy southern cities.

735: Founding of Noviomagus, colloquially known as Newmarket.

741: Porto reconquered by Alfonso I.

743: City of Santo Domingo founded by the Taíno in Hispaniola.

746: Rumors arise of the wicked Nag-Lord who dwells in the wild northern woods of Dolmenwood.

750: St. Clewyd and the Atacorn Sallowbryg die in mortal combat in Dolmenwood. The saint’s loyal followers vow to build a great abbey at the site in his honor.

754: Secret revival of the cult of Set commences in Archontos.

757: Offa becomes king of Brackenwold and is the Archontean Empire’s primary foe in the isle.

786: Abbey of St. Clewyd established in Dolmenwood.

800: Charlemagne crowned Archontean Emperor, seen as the founding of the Holy Archontean Empire. The beginning of tensions between the Holy Archontean Empire, based in Archontos, and the Eastern Archontean Empire in Constantinople (plus its holdings in Tribania).

803: City of Marajoáca founded in Chult in Southern Hesperia.

805: In an attempt to bolster his own claims to the Eastern throne, Emperor Nikephoros the Logothete dispatches an expedition led by Adrienic to reoccupy the halls of Arden Vul.

822: Archontean attempt to recolonize Arden Vul ends in complete failure, as Adrienic’s forces disappear and are assumed to have been destroyed.

850: Wiskin tribes establish their parliament at Tórshavn, Færeyjar.

868: Vimara Peres repopulates and fortifies the areas surrounding Porto, founding the County of Portucale, later known as the County of Portugal.

874: Wiskin chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson settles Garðarshólm, founding Þingvellir.

877: Order of Priscians is founded in Archontos.

927: Athelstan becomes ruler of all Tribania, consolidating various Thorcin and former Wiskin territories under one crown, with the exception of Burdock’s Valley, which remains under Archontean rule. The Kingdom of Brackenwold becomes the Duchy of Brackenwold, and the High Wold becomes a Barony under the rule of Brackenwold.

950: The Toltec elves emerge from the jungles of Hesperia, asserting influence over the human settlements on the continent and sharing magical and technological advances.

962: Otto I crowned Holy Archontean Emperor. Sir Brandon slays a dragon and the town of Brandonsford is established.

985: Wiskin chieftain Erik the Red discovers Grœnland, and returns in 986 to found two settlements: Herjolfsnes and Sandnaes.

986: Abbey of St. Clewyd is destroyed. The Nag-Lord’s power waxes in Dolmenwood, and many of the Pluritine Church’s shrines in the forest are lost.

990: Wiskin explorer Leif Erikson discovers Vinland.

993: Explorer Rashid ibn Ahmad takes part in an expedition across the Atlantic ocean & lands at Marajoáca, thus establishing contact between Hesperia and Europe & Africa.

995: Town of Dakar founded in Takrur.

997: Formal Pluritine mission begins in the Western hemisphere, with missionaries traveling to and around the Caribbean.

998: First contact between the Illini elves of Vinland and human explorers. Trade is established, and the elves share that that Vinland and Hesperia are one connected landmass.

1014: Wiskin settlement of Vinvik founded in Vinland.

1030: City of Salā founded by the Umayyads.

1050: The Almoravid Caliphate begins its conquests.

1052: Jean-Giscard Malévol abandons Castle Xyntillan.

1054: A schism shatters the unity of the Pluritine Church; the central question is over the obvious power granted by saints, gods-turned-saints, godlings, and elemental powers to their devotees. The Western half of the Empire is mostly monolatrous, maintaining that the saints of the One True God deserve devotion, but that the old gods and godlings are real though false and should absolutely never be revered. The Eastern half is mostly henotheistic, acknowledging the One True God, but insisting that the saints and former-gods-now-saints of the Archontean Empire are true (though significantly lesser) deities in their own right. A small portion of the faith in Archontos itself maintains a monotheistic view: worship is due only to the One True God, while saints (a broad term that includes godlings and former pagan gods) are worthy only of reverent devotion; devotion to these saints ultimately redounds wittingly or unwittingly to the benefit of the One True God, from whom comes all clerical power.

1061: Lady Alexia Basileon leads a sept of the Knights of the Azure Shield to a tiny Thorcin community named Gosterwick, near the falls of Arden Vul. The knights restore an ancient fortress and Lady Alexia renames the community Vetucaster; she proceeds to expand the community rapidly, offering residence, citizenship, and services to adventurers and others.

1062: Town of Marrakesh founded.

1066: Norman conquest of Tribania. William becomes King William I of Tribania. He pushes out the remaining Archontean foothold in Burdock’s Valley, but retains Archontean leaders and language there after extracting an oath of fealty.

1070s: Harrying of the North in Tribania, where William I suppresses northern Thorcin resistance with severe devastation and depopulation. The Thorcin Recovery League is founded during this time.

Current Year: 1086

Calendar of Saints

  • Jan 2: St. Waylord
  • Jan 3: St. Gondyw
  • Jan 9: St. Calafredus
  • Jan 15: St. Wynne
  • Jan 19: St. Albrith
  • Jan 23: St. Fredulus

  • Jan 28: St. Eggort

  • Feb 5: St. Clister
  • Feb 6: St. Ponch
  • Feb 11: St. Flatius
  • Feb 12: St. Quister
  • Feb 13: St. Aeynid
  • Feb 18: St. Visyg
  • Feb 22: St. Pannard
  • Feb 23: St. Simone
  • Feb 25: St Sortia
  • Feb 27: St. Pastery

  • Feb 28: St. Bethany

  • Mar 1: St. Tumbel
  • Mar 2: St. Lillibeth
  • Mar 3: St. Gwigh
  • Mar 4: The Feast of Cats
  • Mar 5: St. Medigor
  • Mar 7: St. Ingrid
  • Mar 9: St. Neblit
  • Mar 10: St. Dullard
  • Mar 12: St. Whittery
  • Mar 14: St. Pious
  • Mar 16: St. Thorm

  • Mar 20: St. Goodenough

  • Apr 7: St. Craven
  • Apr 9: St. Rhilma
  • Apr 10: St. Talambeth
  • Apr 16: St. Jorrael
  • Apr 19: St. Hoargrime
  • Apr 22: St. Abthius
  • Apr 24: St. Primace
  • Apr 26: St. Knock

  • Apr 29: St. Wilbranch

  • May 3: St. Gripe
  • May 9: St. Puriphon
  • May 19: St. Hildace
  • May 27: St. Maternis

  • May 30: St. Waylaine

  • Jun 6: St. Nuncy
  • Jun 10: St. Apoplect
  • Jun 16: St. Cornice
  • Jun 20: St. Dougan
  • Jun 27: St. Sabian

  • Jun 30: St. Jubilant

  • Jul 4: St. Foggarty
  • Jul 5: St. Keye
  • Jul 9: St. Primula
  • Jul 16: St. Dillage
  • Jul 20: St. Torphia
  • Jul 25: St. Esther
  • Jul 27: St. Philodeus
  • Jul 28: St. Lummox

  • Jul 29: St. Capernott

  • Aug 5: St. Willibart
  • Aug 8: St. Sanguine
  • Aug 10: St. Benester
  • Aug 15: St. Faxis
  • Aug 25: St. Gretchen

  • Aug 28: St. Galaunt

  • Sep 1: St. Dextre
  • Sep 3: St. Wick
  • Sep 4: St. Elephantine
  • Sep 8: St. Moribund
  • Sep 13: St. Loame
  • Sep 18: St. Shank
  • Sep 21: St. Hollyhock
  • Sep 22: St. Egbert
  • Sep 25: St. Clewyd
  • Sep 26: St. Howarth
  • Sep 27: St. Howdych
  • Sep 29: St. Signis

  • Sep 30: Festival of the Green Man

  • Oct 7: St. Horace
  • Oct 9: St. Hamfast
  • Oct 13: St. Woad
  • Oct 22: St. Hodwich
  • Oct 24: St. Wort
  • Oct 27: St. Godfrey

  • Oct 28: St. Dank

  • Nov 9: St. Poltry
  • Nov 10: St. Sedge
  • Nov 15: St. Clyve
  • Nov 21: St. Gawain
  • Nov 25: St. Thridgold
  • Nov 28: St. Therese
  • Nov 29: St. Habicus

  • Nov 30: The Hunting of the Winter Hart, Feast of St. Willofrith

  • Dec 1: St. Vinicus
  • Dec 4: St. Albert
  • Dec 5: St. Offrid
  • Dec 9: St. Choad
  • Dec 17: St. Clyde
  • Dec 19: St. Elsa
  • Dec 21: St. Baldric
  • Dec 27: St. Cantius
  • Dec 29: St Joane

Places

Anfa (Casablanca)

Population: 3,700. Anfa is a lean, wind-swept harbour town on the edge of the Atlantic, with sun-bleached walls and palm shade. The kasbah (citadel) towers over a bustling, diverse bazaar where inland caravans trade goods with ships at port. Due to its location on the cusp of both Atlantic traffic and inland caravan routes, Anfa is known far and wide as an excellent place to find the rarest alchemical and magical ingredients.

  • Exports: Fish, copper, animal byproducts, spices
  • Imports: Fine textiles, iron tools and weapons

Archontos (Rome)

Population: 25,000. The original capital city of the Archontean empire. Formerly one of the largest cities in the world, it has declined much of late. It’s still an important central enclave of the Pluritine Church, and culturally significant, though its population is less than a tenth of its former glory.

  • Exports: Fine textiles, weapons & tools, olive oil, wine, holy objects
  • Imports: Raw metals, cloth, dyes, spices

Ashenwilde, Fyrcashire, Tribania (Liverpool)

Population: 8,900. During the Great Conspiracy in 367-369, a days-long battle erupted between Archontean and Thorcin mages; their fireballs and flame walls scorched the earth for miles around the settlements of Portus Setantiorum. After the land recovered, the ash proved to be an excellent fertilizer. A city sprang up quickly, and the area was renamed; Fyrcashire is known now both for its fertile farmlands and the prestigious Collegium Arcanum in its capital city of Ashenwilde.

  • Exports: Grains & vegetables, animal byproducts, woolen cloth, dyes & chemicals
  • Imports: Monster parts, fine textiles, wine, salt, gems

Brackenwold, Tribania

Home to some of the earliest human settlers of Tribania, the Duchy of Brackenwold is at the center of south Tribania. Thick forests and wide river plains cradle fortified estates, market towns, abbeys, and cathedrals. The former kingdom, now under the vassalage of William I, includes Norwich and the Table Downs, Castle Brackenwold and the Tithelands, High-Hankle and the High Wold, and has at its heart the weird forest of Dolmenwood.

Burdock’s Valley, Tribania

(aka Burdoc Valley, Vale of Burgheat) The valley in southeastern Tribania in which Arden Vul, as well as the town of Newmarket, is located. Known to the local Thorcinga as the Vale of Burgheat, the valley is held as a vassal duchy by an Archontean aristocrat, Iskander Basileon, who bears the title “Lord Burdock” and has sworn an oath of fealty to King William I of Tribania.

Camoldun, Sterich, Tribania (Colchester)

Population: 2,400. A major city in Archontean days and the first capital of Tribania, Camoldun lost much of its population when the capital shifted to Sterling several hundred years ago. Now, the borderlands town serves as a halfway stop between Sterling and Venta, and the seat of the baron of Camoldun. Camoldun Castle itself is built directly atop the vaults of the old Archontean temple, and rumors abound as to the riches below the town.

  • Exports: Grain & vegetables, animal byproducts
  • Imports: Fine textiles, iron tools, wine

Canary Islands

These volcanic islands featured rugged terrain, stone and cave dwellings, while small villages of locals live subsistence lifestyles based on farming, herding, and fishing. The islands are a navigational marker and refuge for sailors, but have no port or city. Still, they’re a useful stop for water, one which avoids the more dangerous coastal waters of northwest Africa.

Cape Verde Islands

Approximately three days west of Dakar, the Cape Verde Islands are volcanic, arid, and sparsely populated with small fishing and pastoral settlements among rugged landscapes. They are useful mainly as a refuge and fresh water supply before the two-week sail across the deep sea.

Castle Brackenwold, Brackenwold, Tribania

Population: 8,700. A great, walled town sprawled at the feet of a fortified keep, Castle Brackenwold is an ancient place whose oldest parts were used by elf lords in ancient times, before the people of Brackenwold migrated to Dolmenwood. At the summit of a hill, the ducal castle is the ancestral home to the nobility of the Brackenwold line. Alongside the mighty garrison maintained by the duke is the great Cathedral of St. Signis, making this fortress-town also the centre of the Church’s power in the region. Indeed, the Bishop of Brackenwold holds sway over the Duchy nearly equal to the duke himself.

  • Exports: Livestock, tools, armor/weapons
  • Imports: Beer/ale, wine, gems, fine textiles

Chebucto (Halifax Harbour)

Population: 1,100. Chebucto is a small Mi’kmaq town on a vast and protected harbor surrounded by dense mixed forests and rugged cliffs. The land is rich with freshwater springs and abundant wildlife including deer and seabirds. Visiting sailors find safe anchorage and fresh supplies of fish and timber. The surrounding wilderness offers opportunities for hunting and foraging while repairing ships.

  • Exports: Fish, wood, furs & pelts, shellfish, berries and medicinal herbs
  • Imports: Iron tools and metal goods, salt, woven cloth, grains and corn

Dakar, Kingdom of Takrur

Population: 2,800. Dakar is a modest coastal settlement with fishing and local trade. The settlement is growing rapidly along with trade across the dangerous Atlantic: It’s the last place to resupply before heading across the deep sea. It’s a natural deep harbor, and links interior kingdoms to maritime trade routes.

  • Exports: Gold, ivory, animal byproducts, monster parts
  • Imports: Salt, iron tools, textiles

Faysting, Fyrcashire, Tribania

Population: 4,500. Located at the base of the Spine mountains and but a few days’ journey from Ashenwilde, Faysting is a common base for adventurers exploring the nearby famed Stonehell dungeons or the abandoned Castle Malévol. Backed by the famed Guild of Hamu, the sprawling town has everything a budding adventurer needs to get themselves into trouble in the ancient prison.

  • Exports: Monster parts, books
  • Imports: Tools, armour/weapons, ale/beer, medicinal herbs

Gosterwick, Burdock’s Valley, Tribania

Population: 2,200. A truly new town, growing at the base of the cliff outside Arden Vul, around the Azure Keep. Lady Alexia Basileon is actively recruiting merchants, craftsmen, and adventurers to this location. The current population bears a high proportion of adventurer-oriented businesses: sellers and buyers of curios, general sutlers, trainers, etc.

  • Exports: Monster parts, books
  • Imports: Tools, armor/weapons, ale/beer, medicinal herbs

Herjolfsnes, Grœnland (Greenland)

Population: 180. At the southern tip of Grœnland, Herjolfsnes is a small Wiskin settlement of sod-roofed turf houses nestled against rocky, arctic shores with towering glaciers inland. Sparse tundra vegetation marks the land, where hardy settlers hunt seals and fish. Storms roll in from the icy seas, challenging visitors to maintain their ships and supplies. Nearby, the harsh wilderness promises encounters with polar bears or the eerie aurora borealis lighting the night.

  • Exports: Walrus ivory, polar bear and seal skins, wool, walrus-hide rope, whale products, falcons
  • Imports: Ground grain/corn, wood, iron tools & metal goods, salt, fine textiles

High-Hankle, Brackenwold, Tribania

Population: 5,300. The seat of administrative power in the barony of the High Wold in Brackenwold lies between Sterling and Dolmenwood, amid a region of windswept grasslands and rolling hills. The current baron is renowned for his lax attitude to the law, more interested in wine and debauchery than in the maintenance of order. High-Hankle has thus, in recent years, become a favoured haunt for jaded nobles and hedonists of all stripes.

  • Exports: Woolen cloth, animal byproducts, grain & vegetables
  • Imports: Ale/beer, fine textiles, fish, salt, silk, spices, wine

Kazildor

Kazildor is the subterranean realm of the dwarves, where the dwarven clans conduct their age-old Endless War against their doppelganger enemies. The dwarves are notoriously reclusive and suspicious, and few humans have been permitted entrance to Kazildor. As a result, little is known of its size and structures, as those few dwarves who travel under the sun are oathbound to maintain the secrets of their people.

Lankshorn, Brackenwold, Tribania

Population: 1,100. The northernmost settlement in the High Wold barony of Brackenwold, the market town of Lankshorn lies within a bowshot of Dolmenwood’s border, acting as one of the two main “thresholds” into the forest (the other being Castle Brackenwold, in the east). Lankshorn is regarded as a cultural oddity by outsiders, as the traditions of the civilized world meld with the quaint, superstitious ways of Dolmenwood. The respect Lankshoners hold for the longhorn breggle nobles of the wood is an apt example of the cultural melange in this border-town. The finest bladesmith in the High Wold–perhaps even all of Brackenwold–makes his home in Lankshorn.

  • Exports: Cider, cheeses, horses, hounds, livestock
  • Imports: Tools, fine textiles, salt

Marajoáca, Chult (Marajó, Amazon River mouth)

Population: 6,300. Marajó is a sprawling river island of wetlands, seasonally flooded forests, and savannahs. At its center, the walled town of Marajoáca is a central gathering place for trade and worship, surrounded by fishponds and cultivated fields. The waters of the Amazon provide a natural moat, and the jungles of Chult lie beyond, full of alleged ancient Casarabe ruins and very real dangers.

  • Exports: Gold, tropical hardwoods, exotic feathers, palm products, monster parts, and magic items.
  • Imports: Metals (iron tools especially), finished textiles, and luxury goods.

Marrakesh, Morroco

Population 3,400. A rapidly growing sunburnt crossroads of a town, Marrakesh is a magnet for travelers crossing the Atlas mountains into Takrur. Its market is not as well-traveled and varied as Anfa’s or Salā’s on the coast, but it has less of a military presence, ruled instead by a merchantile elite.

  • Exports: Spices, copper goods, animal byproducts, silk
  • Imports: Salt, iron tools, fine textiles

Newmarket, Burdock’s Valley, Tribania

Population: 4,000. The largest community in Burdock’s Valley, Newmarket lies on the Swift River. It is a free town, exempt from the lordship of Lord Burdock and governed by a mayor and council of aldermen. Although at least three days walk from Arden Vul, it is a good site for adventurers to heal, train, resupply, and trade. The major Factors and temples all have a presence in Newmarket. The local villages sell their surplus in Newmarket, and merchants from Newmarket trade all across Tribania and across the Channel to the Continent.

  • Exports: Grain & vegetables, game animals, fish, fruit, salt
  • Imports: Silk, precious metals, gems

Porto, Portugal

Population: 17,000. Porto (aka “Waterdeep”) is a bustling river port at the mouth of the Douro River, surrounded by steep hills and rocky granite outcrops. The city thrives on trade, with busy quays, craftsmen’s workshops, and fishermen’s boats. Merchant caravans and seafarers mingle in the crowded market squares, while the city walls and towers offer defense against pirates and Almoravids.

  • Exports: Salt, fish, wine, olive oil, linen cloth
  • Imports: Precious metals, ivory, spices, cotton cloth, luxury textiles

Prigwort, Brackenwold, Tribania

Population: 2,800. The most populous settlement beneath the eaves of Dolmenwood, the town of Prigwort is the centre-point of trade in the region, situated halfway along the road that connects Castle Brackenwold and Fort Vulgar. Prigwort is especially famed, even in the wider region of Tribania, for its breweries and distilleries. Fine Prigwort spirits, flavoured with the wild herbs of the forest, are found on the tables of connoisseurs far and wide. Of particular interest to adventurers, it is also known that a magician of commercial bent makes his home within the town.

  • Exports: Beer, ale, and spirits; medicinal herbs, livestock
  • Imports: Tools, armour/weapons, common metals

Salā, Morocco (Rabat)

Population: 8,000. Salā is a militaristic city on the rise, founded by the Umayyad dynasty. Built around the impressive Kasbah (citadel) of the Udayas overlooking the Atlantic at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, it serves as a military stronghold, administrative center, and staging ground for the Almoravid expansion into the Iberian Peninsula.

  • Exports: Leather goods, olive oil, dates, spices (local and imported), and traditional crafts including metalwork and textiles
  • Imports: Gold, salt, ivory, iron tools, fine textiles

Sandnaes, Grœnland (Greenland)

Population: 90. Located not far from Herjolfsnes, Sandnaes is another compact Wiskin farmstead amid wind-battered cliffs and ice-strewn coasts. This is a much poorer settlement than Herjolfsnes, but an important stop for sailors who want to avoid deep waters.

  • Exports: Walrus ivory, polar bear and seal skins, wool, walrus-hide rope, whale products, falcons.
  • Imports: Ground grain/corn, timber and firewood, iron tools & metal goods, salt, fine textiles, luxury goods.

Santo Domingo (Hispaniola)

Population: 2,500. This island is inhabited by the Taíno people living in large villages among rolling hills, fertile valleys, and coastal bays. Their wooden houses, plazas, and ceremonial ball courts form vibrant community centers. The town of Santo Domingo hosts visitors interacting in lively trade for cassava, pottery, and cotton cloth, and a base for exploring tropical forests rich with birds, fruits, and rivers.

  • Exports: cassava root, pottery, cotton cloth, tropical fruit.
  • Imports: Tools and metal goods, spices, luxury goods.

Seloy (St. Augustine)

Population: 1,700. The coastal plains near Seloy are warm and subtropical, with dense pine forests and swamplands. The Timucua people have inhabited the area since the -2400s in wooden villages surrounded by maize fields, and a small settlement of Europeans has sprung up at a natural harbor. The sea breeze carries the scent of salt and pine, while the inland terrain offers diverse flora and fauna for foragers and hunters.

  • Exports: corn, beans, squash, fish and shellfish, game meat, alligator hides, fruit, medicinal plants.
  • Imports: iron tools and metal goods, salt, agricultural goods and equipment, luxury goods.

Sterling, Sterich, Tribania (London)

Population: 15,000. Sterling is a vibrant city on the Thames, its skyline dominated by wooden houses, stone churches, and the imposing White Tower. The bustling docks are filled with cargo from across Europe and the North Sea. Onshore, narrow streets and aromatic markets offer exotic spices, textiles, and goods. Nearby marshes, woods, and the Thames itself provide opportunities for hunters, fishermen, and woodsmen. The city’s political intrigue and occasional unrest make visits here both exciting and risky.

  • Exports: Wool (raw and cloth), tin, lead and silver, leather goods and pelts, ale and beer.
  • Imports: Fine textiles, wine, salt, spices, honey, wax, sugar, iron, luxury goods.

Takrur, Kingdom

The kingdom of Takrur sits along the lower Senegal River in Africa, a realm of open savanna, river plains, and caravan paths that tie the Atlantic fringe to the gold lands of the interior. Takrur recently officially embraced Sayfian theology, and its rulers struggle to balance older local traditions with the new philosophy. Caravans laden with gold, salt, and cloth pass through its markets, newly enhanced via the close connection to the newly discovered Hesperia, and the sounds of chanted verse float from temples, as the kingdom begins to expand its cultural, economical, and possibly political horizons.

Tiwaniku (Bolivia)

Population: 20,000. Tiwaniku rises like a stone mirage, its pale temples and carved monoliths stark against the thin blue air of the high Andes mountains. Tiwaniku’s place as the the ritual and cultural center of Hesperia for the past millenium has diminished somewhat over the last century, fueled by power struggles and exacerbated by disagreements over what to do with the incursion of Europeans to the continent. Most welcome new trade opportunities, but a cabal of influential elves has led a campaign of aggressive isolation; the city officially no longer welcomes outsiders, but smuggling is alive and well.

  • Exports: Gold, tropical hardwoods, exotic feathers, palm products, monster parts, and magic items.
  • Imports: Metals (iron tools especially), finished textiles, and luxury goods.

Tórshavn, Færeyjar (Faroe Islands)

Population: 240. A remote cluster of windswept islands covered in grassy cliffs and rugged coastlines. Small farming settlements cluster near sheltered bays, surrounded by steep hillsides and seabird colonies. Life is harsh and bold; fishing, sheep herding, and boat repair dominate daily life. Visitors will encounter puffins, shaggy horses, and hardy farmers who shelter from storms, offering hospitality to ocean-weary sailors.

  • Exports: Dried & salted fish (esp. cod), wool, sheepskin, peat.
  • Imports: Salt, iron tools & metal goods, fine textiles, luxury goods.

Þingvellir, Garðarshólm (Iceland)

Population: 750. A dramatic rift valley of volcanic plateaus and crystal-clear rivers, Þingvellir is both a stunning natural amphitheater and the site of the Wiskin parliament. Snow-capped peaks rise in the distance, while nearby hot springs release steam. Wiskin traders, farmers, and chieftains gather here to trade goods, settle disputes, and share stories around campfires.

  • Exports: Dried cod, wool & tightly woven vadmál cloth (coarse woolen fabric), animal skins & fleeces, sulfur, walrus tusks, trained falcons.
  • Imports: Ground grain/corn, beer and ale, metal goods & tools, fine textiles, salt, luxury goods.

Vinvik, Vinland (L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland)

Population: 60. This coastal outpost is a bustling Wiskin base camp surrounded by thick boreal forest, rolling hills, and rocky shores. Timber and game are plentiful, and the site hums with the activity of ship repair, and trade with the skraelings. Nearby dense woods hide bears and moose, providing both danger and bounty.

  • Exports: furs and pelts, fish (incl. salmon), timber, berries and medicinal plants.
  • Imports: Iron tools & smithing supplies, wool textiles, metal goods, grain, salt, luxury goods.