Call of the Outlands

Blacknesse calls to you!   When the Green Fires ended, the Boki returned to the Thornwold in the Lochlands of Dupree while the Vulki, who stood with their orcish brethren engaged the forces of Colonel Vaeska Ylalari, commander of the Tilan Corps of the Haelan Legion, in a bloody battle across the Crags where the rocks were stained with the blood of thousands. In the final battle between the Colonel and Ki’Thrun of the Whitewold, something happened of which no witness will speak. Before they parted, an accord was struck, which became known as the Pact of Ten Stones. This treaty established the Crags, also called the Outlands, as a place that no one would lay claim. It would be for all, or it would be for none.   Anton Constantine, the successor to Governor Henrick Volan, agreed to the peace to stabilize the lands after the loss of more than half of the Landsgraves and all the Margraves of the colony. Though it is known that the Black Eagle, General Itzliquauhtli of the Haelan Legion, raged against the peace that sent the marauders back north, he eventually accepted the terms. Some whisper that Archduke Ammertus, the Dread Conqueror himself, personally ordered it! Though the peace was challenged by the Dominion of Rhahael during the Long Snows, they could not stand against the might of both the Norwolders and the Empire. The first Primal of Rhahael, Primal Sinjen Wildclaw, fell in the Long Snows. Upon his ascension, Primal Goldeneye signed the Pact as did the Assembly of Medea, the Haelan See of Mindor. The native Peoples of the Hides could stay in their ancestral lands, but no other could lay sole claim to any land or resources.   For years after the Long Snows, people stayed away from the Outlands, fearful of retribution and the lack of protection. That all changed when imperial prospectors began to find signs of gold in the Outlands. Soon, others followed, finding more riches, strange gemstones filled with elemental power, plants with the strength of stone, geysers with waters from Deepurth springs laden with seemingly random powers and more.   Fear gave way to wonder, greed and adventure!   Small settlements began to rise, seeking the hidden wealth. One such settlement is known as Blacknesse. This frontier town sits on the Dark Braid near one of the ten great stones of the Crags. Though this place is mainly populated by kothites, the Outland Way says that no one may lay sole claim to the land or its resources. So imperial treasure seekers mix with native hidesmyn, medean scholars, rhahaelan scavengers and norwold raiders. Even runners seek the ‘safety’ of the Outlands, beyond the reach of the imperial legions. All of these people balance a precarious peace as Koth seeks to cast the shadow of the Black Flame over the bounty of the Outlands while the young Vulki seek to prove themselves against the enemies of their old ones. The recent raids of the Boki in the Lochlands emboldens their allies abroad and even Koth has not forgotten the devastation of the Green Fires.   Blacknesse is funded by the Farmont Consortium, a mighty merchant clan of dwarves with strong ties to the Imperial Guild of Miners who operate mines and panning along the streams and braids of the Crags. The Imperial Guild of Mages has taken a great interest in the region. One reason is the lack of Fire magics found in the area. Another is the clear abundance of elemental power in the area and the possible presence of a Lord or Lady of the Elemental Ascendancies. What may be most intriguing was the discovery of a dragonbone!   Imperial Slavers operate openly in gangs and lack of papers can prove problematic!   Imperial Assassins serve as swords and spells for hire to slay enemies of the Empire on the spot!   Imperial Foresters tend the land, herd the beasts, lay traps for creatures with valuable exotic pelts, hunt dangerous cragcats, and cragorm renders, even defend people from tarrangasts, repillian winged terrors found only in the Wings of Haelos and the Crags.   Boring beetles have a standing bounty on them as they plague the miners endlessly.   Imperial Entertainers run Black Letters, the local broadsheets and courier service as well as the Rough, a small local Diamond made from the shell of the only Imperial fortification attempted in the Outlands. Gull’s Gambit competes with the Long Run, a game house run by a former racer, for the business of gamblers. Unfortunate circumstances plague the local stage, now known only as the Outhouse by the locals.   Although, the House of the Healing Heart has not moved a Heartstone into the region, it operates a busy Holm which locals inspiringly dubbed Whiteholm because only the members of the Heart wear white.   While Koth cannot lay claim to the land or resources, the Reeve of Blacknesse employs Shieldmyn to keep the peace and protect the people as well as the terms of the Pact of Ten Stones.   The landsgraves and wardens to the south are in competition for the title of Margrave of the Machaira since the appointment of the new Governess while guilds weigh their investment and risks constantly, making the status of Blacknesse uneasy at best.