The Shatterfast

The Hall at the End of the World

At the edge of the Shattering—the giant, obsidian-edged gouge in the Far North—is the Shatterfast, the home of monastic Weavers dedicated to remembering the past. Pilgrims come, but none stay for very long. The end of the world can drive a man mad, they say. Many wonder if the Weavers themselves are not mad. The stories they tell...

Demographics

The only people who live in the Shatterfast are monastic Weavers, who have devoted their lives to prayer, contemplation, and remembering the lore of the Ryk Ibuar. Pilgrims used to come regularly, bringing food and gifts. It's also part of a skald's initiation to travel to the Shatterfast and be given their skalds marks by one of the Weavers there.

Defences

The monks of the Shatterfast aren't warriors, although they know enough to hunt and keep bears and wolves away. But parts of the walls proved strong enough to withstand the Breaking, and were reinforced by the monks for protection. However, their best defense from humans is the simple fact that they're out on the tundra, at the end of a maze of volcanic rock.

Assets

The Weavers of the Shatterfast live a very ascetic life, but over the course of their time in these ruins, they have assembled a collection of relics for study and safekeeping. These would be highly valuable to any student of magic, but the Weavers see them as memories to be preserved, not explored or exploited.

History

The first explorers discovered ruins at the edge of the Shattering in roughly 200 AB, and returned with stories of the "last hall", where they said that even the walls had tales to tell. Other explorers seeking the edge of the world stayed in these ruins and said the same thing, and for a thousand years the legend continued.
In 1045 AB, Kout kin-Kajuk, a Weaver, made the journey intending to verify and record the facts of the tale. When he returned, Kout declared these ruins a holy site, where the memory of the world was still strong. Twenty years later, in the heat of the First Horse War, Kout returned with all those who would follow him. They established the Shatterfast, a monastery where the memory of the world where Weavers would dedicate their lives to being the memory of the world, far from the wars and conflict of men.

Geography

The Shatterfast sits in the mountains at the southern edge of the great abyss known as the Shattering. The gouge in the earth is easily three miles deep, and lined in jagged rock and obsidian formations. This canyon winds its way through the Far North of the Empty Lands for miles. No one has ever made it to the bottom and lived to tell the tale.
All around the Shatterfast are mountains and tundra—it's 75 miles to the nearest point of taiga, and even reindeer herders rarely come this far to the Northwest.

Natural Resources

The Weavers grow mushrooms and root vegetables in the geothermal caverns beneath their hall, to sustain them when pilgrims were few. In the late 2000s AB, an earthquake turned out to be a stroke of good luck, as it revealed the ruins of a Vault, and with it some greenhouse technology. The Weavers used this technology to start their own small greenhouse, and grow just enough to feed the rabbits they use for meat. They also make seasonal hunting trips to the sea to stock up on seal meat and skins, and hunt the lands around the Shatterfast when necessary.
The hot springs beneath the ruins also provided a number of resources, as the clever engineering of bored minds led the Weavers to create a series of vents that keeps the ruins much warmer than the outside would suggest, as well as allowing them to bathe regularly in hot water.
The nearest forest is miles away, so wood is a luxury. Bones and dried human feces are the fuel primarily used, although fires are only used for cooking and steam heat is used most of the time.

Alternative Name(s)

The Hall at the End of the World

Type

Outpost / Base

Population

15

Location under

The Empty Lands

Owner/Ruler

Torgal Kout

Owning Organization

The Weavers