Tamrivena
The settlement of Tamrivena is located in the western Ustalavan county of Canterwall, close to the unsettling Shudderwood. The town was one of the first to declare independence from traditional rule after nearby Lozeri did so in 4670 AR, replacing its hereditary ruler with a town council in a bloodless coup.
The people of Tamrivena have long known fear. Short miles to the west, the barrier of the Tusk Mountains gives way and through the crags slip bands of bloody-minded Belkzen orcs. Should they ever rage from the north, Tamrivena was constructed as a redoubt against the orc hordes, or barbarians. In recent years, however, the town’s reassuring walls have turned cold and foreboding as paranoia creeps among the people.
Although none can say exactly when, within the past five years, the Wallguard stopped being the city’s well-trained constabulary and became an occupying army of overzealously watchful counterspies and enforcers of social standards. While they strictly enforce the letter of the law, the quickness with which they drag suspects to the dungeons of Fort Vhiled causes most citizens to avert their eyes and hurry past their precisely organized patrols. Life and commerce continue in Tamrivena, with the people relying on travel and shipping upon the Lamand and nearby farms for their livelihoods. However, increasingly strict laws on passage through the town, what goods are permitted for sale, and what constitutes morally appropriate services have stymied many entrepreneurs, with fines levied or shops shuttered as the town’s laws grow ever more restrictive and numerous. And all the while, from vague sources, comes word of growing criminal syndicates, mysterious saboteurs, and massing orcs in the east, leading the town’s residents to hurry home from their jobs and wonder which of their neighbours might be in league with the unseen but encroaching evils.
Demographics
- 3,558 humans, 42 halflings, 15 dwarves, five other
History
In the early decades of the 41st century AR, the county of Canterwall was known as Tamrivena, and was in a precarious situation. Ustalav had only been freed from the Whispering Tyrant's control in 3828 AR, and Tamrivena was still recovering from over 600 years of abject enslavement. The orcs of the nearby Hold of Belkzen sensed the county's frailty and conducted numerous cross-border raids at that time. They were driven back by the tactical cunning of Tamrivena's rulers and the strong bows and axes of its rangers time after time.
This changed with the ascension of Count Andachi. Knowing he did not have his ancestors' genius for warfare, he pleaded with the Ustalavic court for help, but his requests were mired in endless bureaucracy. Mile by mile, the orc forces pushed further into Tamrivena, and even the Count's pleas to Desna went unanswered. In desperation, he turned to a darker patron; he pleaded with Zon-Kuthon for aid.
In 4042 AR, the Dark Prince heard his prayers and sent the mercenary Kazavon, who quickly reorganized Tamrivena's army, brutally training them to be ruthless and efficient. Kazavon led the army across the border and massacred the disorganized orc hordes. By 4043 AR, the enemy had been driven off Tamrivena's land, retreating into the foothills of the Kodar Mountains. It was then that Kazavon revealed his true intentions: instead of returning to Ustalav, he built a stronghold at Castle Scarwall and began to gather forces of his own. When Count Andachi realized Kazavon's cruelty and lust for power, he turned against the general, raising an army and marching against Castle Scarwall. The Count was easily defeated and publicly executed. Kazavon expanded his realm and ruled with terror and war for over a decade until he was destroyed by an army led by the Lastwall hero Mandraivus.
Canterwall
The first of the Ustalavic counties to overthrow autocratic rule was Lozeri, in 4670 AR, in a relatively non-violent coup. At that time, the ruler of all Ustalav, Prince Valislav Ordranti, was disinterested by this political manoeuvre and quickly recognized the new arrangement in Lozeri. Shortly thereafter, the two counties of Vieland and Tamrivena followed suit, the latter county re-established itself and changed its name to Canterwall. These three counties became known as the Palatinates. In the case of Tamrivena, the reliance of the whole of Ustalav on its food production was considered a major reason for the crown not contesting its political reformation as Canterwall.
Type
Large town
Population
3,620
Location under
Owner/Ruler
