Laywich

Dragon Haven, Dragon Town

Laywich, often called Dragon Haven or Dragon Town, has been settled since before history. It has a population of 8,500, gained its charter in 1055, and its crest is a lozenge azure on a field of argent. Laywich has been the victim of Draas’ predation for a long time, although this ended when the Draas modernized. Now the town is surrounded by the Brotherhood of Ghosts.

This settlement is a river port on the rocky east banks of the Wyk River, settled among the western foothills of the Aragen’s Hills. These lands are ill-suited for agriculture, but they are excellent for pasturing. As politics go, Laywich is in the Barony of Rondric, the Duchy of Staevin, the Kingdom of Noelred, in the High Kingdom of Ayrlium.

The town is defended by a high wall, except where it is protected against unassailable cliffs. This town is centered on the great hall at the end of market street, which includes the guild hall and a church devoted to their patron saint, Umfrey the Light Bearer. There is a Rathelite monastery that has been subsumed into the town. All the streets here are cobbled.

Laywich is connected to Holdwyc Town to the north-by-northwest by a secondary road. It is accessible to Aevkirk Town to the southeast by the Wyk River, and to Tolwyc Town to the far south by the Laywic/Ardek Canal and then the Toll River. The Laywich/Ardek Canal also connects Laywich by the Toll River and the Wykk River, giving it easy access to Dargrange, Lindomme and Tolwycc.

These townsfolk are morally ambiguous, as they host the Brotherhood of Ghosts’ black market. Local minstrels write renegade bandit songs, and some aged-out bandits live here under assumed (but known) names. Sheep and goat wool and meat products are Laywich’s exports.

Portunia Simster, inventor of playing cards in 1156, lived here, and there is a strong tradition of playing cards in taverns, as well as professional sharpsters to prey on unwitting visitors and their money.

This settlement is proud of its ancient association with Aragen, the Dragon Maid, and they show their enthusiasm by holding a dragon festival every year, and adorning the town and its walls with dragon murals. Folklore claims there are a pack of wolf-dragon hybrids that live in the surrounding hills, and their howls/roars can be heard in town at night. Locals jealously guard the secret to these creatures’ lairs and hunting grounds, and killing one of these predators could only result in a death sentence for the hunter.

Laywich’s most famous living citizen is Cerdic, called the Saint of Literature, and he lives in the Rathelite monastery here. His many books widely are available here.