Castle Blackmire

The first location that most people see when approaching Ymeris from the west, Castle Blackmire is a fortification and village set directly across the Black Water river from the Burg of Volhof, guarding the western route into the land of the Midnight Court.

Demographics

All of Castle Blackmire’s living populace are serfs owned by the castle’s ruling lord Perseus Synioppital (see below). As a result they are all indentured labourers most of whom toil on the surrounding landscape and fulfil the sustenance needs of their lord as and when he desires fresh blood, instead of importing in blood from other parts of Ymeris.
A number of trusted serfs work within the walls of the castle itself, where they act as cooks, cleaners, footmen and tend the large, magically enhanced greenhouse within the fortification which produces food exclusively for their lord’s table.
Most of the serf population of Castle Blackmire are Humans, but there is a small number of half-orcs within the populace as well.

Ruling Lord

For approaching the last 500 years, Castle Blackmire has been the residence of Perseus Synioppital, a Vampire created by Synioppe Penthiosital and through her he is part of the extended bloodline of the current ruler of Ymeris Linniara Istarital.

Defenses

The castle itself was built with a prodigious set of fortifications, befitting the bastion intended to defend the western borders of Ymeris. A large ditch surrounds the structure, whose base is marshy, but not water logged, and rusting metal spikes have been closely packed within the ditch to create a near impassable barrier of steel before one reaches the walls.
The walls of the castle itself are thick stone and stand around 25ft high and they wrap in a circle to create a large inner courtyard. There are a number of towers set along the length of the walls and there is a single, west facing gate that provides access to the castle, with a drawbridge spanning the ditch. Within the courtyard, the last line of defence is the keep, which stands at nearly 80ft in height, topped with battlements. As well as acting as a defensive structure, the keep also contains most of the staterooms of the castle. There is an extensive network of tunnels beneath the keep, which contain both private rooms, storerooms and the castle’s garrison sepulchre.
Whilst there are no living defenders of the castle, as none of the living serfs are trusted enough to provide them with weapons, skeletal guards can be summoned to defend the castle if need be from the castle’s garrison sepulchre to defend the structure and their lord. However, as the castle’s lord Perseus Synioppital is more than capable of defending himself, he would only call on the garrison and expend some of his own magic to animate them in the most dire of circumstances.
The village that sits below Castle Blackmire has no defences of its own and should the fortress ever come under attack, the serfs would be required to abandon their homes and seek shelter within the walls of the castle.

Industry & Trade

Other than subsistence agriculture, there are no industrial or agricultural activities of any significance which take place within Castle Blackmire. However, as the castle stands guard from Ymeris side over the only bridge that spans the Black Water river, all trade coming into Ymeris from the west has to pass through its village and beneath its shadow, making it a highly strategic location. Indeed as many caravans dare not travel any further into the Desolation of Hissh, the village’s inn often plays host to traders who are trying to sell their wares, or who are waiting for shipments of goods from further within the lands of the Midnight Court, and the castle’s lord regularly hosts other Vampires from elsewhere in Ymeris who have come to see what goods caravans from the west have to offer and to receive into their custody specially ordered shipments.

Type

Castle

Parent Location

Desolation of Hissh

Owning Organization

Ymeris

Population

c.400 living souls