Halsfjord

Halsfjord is a fishing town within the Thrull province. Due to having mountains to the north and forests to the east, Halsfjord is easily defensible from land assaults. Additionally, Due to the easily defensible long bodies of land that stretch out towards the Emerald Sea called The Teeth, the town has become a prime location to fortify and stage raids from.
Set along the southwest coast of Grarjord, the city of Halsfjord is the seat of Clan Rune and a repository of magical knowledge to rival any of the colleges of Erlefurt in the Bürach Empire. The natural defenses granted by the Teeth—the series of long, fjord-cut peninsulas that give the northlands the appearance of a great beast set to consume the south—help to make Halsfjord one of the best-protected sites in Valika, as its residents understand all too well the value of their knowledge and craft. Raids by war bands under cover of night or storm are a constant threat, with many minor clans intent on forcefully bringing knowledgeable Clan Rune mages or artificers into their service as thralls.

The Beacon City

Halsfjord rises along steep-sloping hills from the long fjord that shares its name, and can be spotted in all but the darkest storm nights by the magical beacons blazing brightly atop the parapets of the city walls. Though their foundation stones were laid by hand, those walls have been rebuilt and raised countless times by magic, and are rumored to be imbued with subtle and dangerous arcane defenses. Numerous ships and almost as many caravans journey to Halsfjord in the traveling seasons, with the city importing most of its food and sundries in trade for magic. Halsfjord’s markets stand outside the city walls for security and are well guarded by both Clan Rune mages and mercenary Clan Völgr warriors, with the former making use of truth magic to guarantee the latter’s loyalty.

Rune’s Last Rest.

Halsfjord was the final home of the sorcerer Rune, who retired there shortly after her magic helped imprison the fire elementals in Cinderghast. Little more than a stockade village at the time, Halsfjord soon became a center of magical lore and training, as the best mages and artificers of Clan Rune sought out the great sorcerer’s knowledge. The oldest traditions of magical training in the modern city date to those times, and the schools Rune and her followers set up are known today across Etharis.

The Sorcerer’s Secrets.

Some histories speak of Rune leaving the city for a secret excursion into the Grensfal-Mountains, from which she never returned. Other tales suggest she died quietly at home among her many friends and followers, who spread tales of her disappearance to help maintain the mystique of her life even after death. Regardless of the truth of her actual end, rumors have long suggested that Rune maintained secret magical workrooms in or beneath Halsfjord that were sealed up after her death, which still hold powerful secrets and even more powerful magic. Every discovery of a secret door or previously hidden cellar in the city brings a rush of excitement with it, and many long-term residents have spent time exploring mundane crawlspaces or poring over old street maps trying to discern where Rune’s lost lore might be hidden. Some say that the Staff of Ixlalu, the great salamander who ruled Cinderghast, is among the treasures Rune left secured behind powerful wards in Halsfjord. With that staff’s power instrumental in turning Cinderghast into the prison it is today, many sages believe that finding it might help rebuild the volcanic isles’ slowly failing wards. Others maintain that Rune must have hidden the staff to keep it from Ixlalu, and that returning it to the world will inevitably feed the salamander lord’s power.

Type

Town