Windsedge Shard

Windsedge, properly named Iss'hi in elven, is a small shard with a primarily elven population located on the North American Great Lakes in the Old World. It's a quiet shard with few visitors, primarily subsisting on the export of raw copper and worked metal goods.

Climate and Geography

Located far to the north, Windsedge encompasses a peninsula jutting out into one of the Great Lakes and is bordered on three sides by water. Pleasant during the summer and fall, it's bitterly cold and icebound the remainder of the year; those who live here have chosen a life of relative isolation, and enjoy the solitude of their communities. The land is thickly forested and relatively flat, with a slight rise in elevation down the center of the shard. While it supports only minimal agriculture, the elves who make their homes here use a combination of hunting, fishing, and imported foodstuffs to set aside enough food to tide them over through the long winter.

Population and Governance

Windsedge's relatively small population lives in a handful of towns along the peninsula, located either along the shoreline or clustered around the entrances to the mines that dot the land. The largest single town, Bright Harbor, is located at the natural bay near the peninsula's tip and serves as the summer hub for copper exportation, but the extremes of winter temperature on the lakeshore means that most of the shard's population travels inland during the cold half of the year. The vast majority of Windsedge's inhabitants are elven, but a few humans make their home in Bright Harbor and there's a handful of shapeshifters who winter in the most remote villages of the shard.
As an elven-ruled shard within North America, Windsedge officially owes its allegiance to the High King in Darkmere. However, it has very little formal power structure aside from on paper. The lord of Brightheart, the capital of the shard, is generally considered the official ruler of the other towns but for all intents and purposes they operate largely autonomously.

Capital

BRIGHTHEART/AHN'YS
The second-largest town in the shard, just behind Bright Harbor, and the largest settlement that's inhabited year-round. Brightheart was built at the location of the shard's largest mine, and consistently produces the most raw copper year after year. A relatively short journey from the harbor, its proximity gives it a huge advantage in terms of trade that the other towns can hardly compete with. In addition to housing those who work in the mines, Brightheart is also home to the foremost metalworkers and craftsmen of the shard and converts a great deal of the product of the mines into high-quality products before sending them on to be taken off-shard. Notably, the town is built with architecture that appears far more human than elven; its sturdiness is a necessity to survive the bitter winters, but the attitude of its inhabitants remains typical to their race and every effort is made to minimize the effects of the mines on the natural environment of the shard.

Other Notable Locations

ADREHN'S HOLD
Extremely remote, Adrehn's Hold is located deep in the woods and is located over the smallest of the copper seams on the peninsula. Its inhabitants eke out a living primarily on hunting and preserving game to sell in the more prosperous towns, combined with the fine jewelry crafted by a family of craftsmen who've made their home their for several generations.
BRIGHT HARBOR
The largest town of the shard, and the hub of commerce during the summer months, Bright Harbor is Windsedge's gateway to the wider world.
THE FINGERS
A small cluster of rocks just offshore of Bright Harbor. They can be a dangerous swim, with surprisingly strong currents between them and the shore, but they're also the first place from which an incoming ship can be seen rounding the peninsula's tip. Despite several tragedies, it's still common for the more daring youth of the shard to swim out to the Fingers to keep watch on days when a ship's expected home.
PINECROOK FALLS
Tucked away in a surprisingly elusive corner of the woods, Pinecrook Falls is far less impressive than it sounds and is more accurately described as a small spring that falls over a series of boulders into a moderately-sized pool. It's said that the falls are home to a place spirit that will show you your true love's face on the surface of the water, but despite this romantic reputation they're equally well-known as a popular summer swimming hole.

Quick Facts

Approximate Size: 850 sq. miles
Number of Entrances: 1
Capital City: Brightheart (Ahn'ys)

Dominant Race: elven
APpproximate Population: ~13,000