Strand

Strand is a village of 900 people with two notable features. One is the large walled keep with a garrison which keeps watch over the border with Ahlissa and acts as a center for spies headed there and also into the lands around Rel Deven and beyond. The stable of swift light warhorses, and the five resident mages, testify to the importance of the place strategically. There is also a small shrine to Istus which receives a steady supply of pilgrims, for it contains a holy relic; a strand from one of Istus's woven webs. The strand is said to be an infallible guide in some matters, able to reveal by changing color whether a child has the innate skills to be a mage, if a person's malady is due to a magical curse or affliction, and more. The shrine thus receives a constant trickle of hopeful parents and afflicted souls, which provide a constant headache for the men of Prince Karralak, one of Xavener's younger brothers. They must be sure that none are spies, especially of the Scarlet Brotherhood.