Azmar Valley (Azz-mar)
This location was written with the help of A. Mclean.
Geography
The Azmar valley is a technically located in The Keth Wilds but could be considered to be located within the Splintered peaks. Many mapmakers from The Arcanum contend that it makes more sense to consider it as part of The Keth Wilds due to its proximity to other population centers such as Nightgrove. The valley itself hosts a grassy, hilly terrain full of conniferous evergreen trees that grow more thickly the deeper into the valley one travels. The valley is home to several villages: Aria, Ozryn, Hankala, Aynor, Blackpool, Mossley, and Stathford. An additional villaige, once names Ashborne, was destroyed during a civil war within the villages and has been reclaimed by the local vegitation.
Ecosystem
The Azmar valley can recieve anywhere between four to six feet of snow per cycle during the colder months of Harvest and Hibernal. During springtide and harvest the rains that roll in from The Keth Wilds enrich the fields on the eastern edge of the valley creating small ponds and rivers that provide ample watering for local wildlife and domesticated animals. During summertide the smallest of the lakes and ponds can dry up but there are typically small ponds to be found all cycle long on th eastern edge of the valley.
The temperature is typically below freezing from late Harvest to the beginning of Springtide and can become very hot during the peak of Summertide. The moisture in the area typically creates high humidity year round and can result in regular tick fronts of fog during most of a cycle.
The temperature is typically below freezing from late Harvest to the beginning of Springtide and can become very hot during the peak of Summertide. The moisture in the area typically creates high humidity year round and can result in regular tick fronts of fog during most of a cycle.
Localized Phenomena
Due to the proximity of the Splintered Peaks mountain range on the valley's western edge, rainstorms and blizzards can cover the valley at any time of year. The natural eastern slope of the valley means that any accumulated percipitation readily drains out into The Keth Wilds preventing flooding in the valley's towns.
Natural Resources
The Azmar Valley is home to rich timber and mineral deposits on its western edge, leading into the Splintered peaks. These mineral deposits contain different types of ore, but Iron and coal are most abundant. To the valley's eastern edge, the grasslands of The Keth Wilds provide ample space and water for livestock cultivation and agriculture. The villages nearest to the fields or the ore deposits specialize in their resouces cultivation. The villages of Aynor and Hankala specialize in lumber and mineral production while the villages of Strathford and Mossley focus their efforts on agriculture and livestock production. The other villages of Strathford and blackpool utilize their nearby timber or grassland resources respectively, but not to the same level as their neighbors.
History
Early Days
Initally chosen as a location for settlement by bands of nomadic human and orc tribes, the Azmar valley was quickly recognized as a valuable location that could be kept safe and used to grow food. Over many generations, camps began to form and grow until seven smaller villages were formed.
Hankala, populated by Orc and half-orcs helped to keep the valley safe from predators and practice skilled trades like blacksmithing to take advantage of nearby mineral deposits. The town of Aynor was eventually developed as a closer location to some of the coal deposits in the nearby mountains and eventually became populated by a group of halflings and Dwarves who had emmigrated from the northern kingdom of Hyule.
Residents of the town of Ashborne were renowned warriors and skilled archers, they guarded the caravans that came and went as well as protected the valley from various raiding parties from The Keth Wilds.
Ozryn became known for its livestock production and amazing dairys. To this day Cheese from Ozryn is a delicacy in many parts of Deren and beyond.
The towns of Stathford, blackpool and Mossley contributed to the livestock production for several generations. Eventually Stathford became the eastern most town in the valley and provided a staging ground for caravans to venture north to Nightgrove and Hyule or points south such as Emser.
As each town grew a central town in the middle of the valley grew up to act as a trade hub. That town was named named Aria. As a trading hub between the villages it quickly began to grow. As generations came and went the culture of the Azmar Valley began to shift and Aria rose to power. Tribes and villages that had prided themselves on equality and community began to shift towards a more rigid social hierarchy under Aria’s control.
Civil War
The war against began as a smouldering resentment between the towns of the valley. When the original settlers had set up their first camps they had worked together to create an equitable arrangement of labor and trust. As time progressed and their descendants lost site of that initial vision the towns of the Azmar valley lost their shared emphasis of cooperation. Each town sought to exist in isolation and separate from their neighbors. In order to develop a shared sense of safety the chiefs of Aria, the central town in the valley, assumed the role of mediator, and over time, enforcer. The centralized location of Aria meant that more wealth and prosperity came to the town's residents due to trade. This level of affluence meant that the Chief's of Aria became cold and distant to the external neighboring towns. Eventually Aria accumulated enough wealth to pay for and house a small standing military. This group of soulders was used to enforce production and punish any of the outlying villages that failed to produce enough ore, grain, timber or other product that the people of Aria could profit from. Veiling their
Type
Valley
Location under
Owner/Ruler
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