Mourndel

Mourndel was once a flourishing city that thrived off of the wildlife and resources of the Hollow Wood. They were renowned for their business in furs and woodcraft, both in architecture and in wood carved goods. Most homes and buildings you see throughout the realm that have unique or ornate architecture was likely constructed or designed by one of the craftsmen. Even still, you can hear talk of Mourndel crafts, and people from larger cities will often moan in dismay at the fact that they are no longer available for business. Nowadays the town is much quieter and with less going on. The Hollow Wood with which they once relied has become toxic and the trees have become rotten from within. They stand in the distance like a graveyard, a constant reminder of what their lives were once like. No one is really sure what happened to cause the change. One year the forest was green and full of life, almost as magical as the Forest of Howel herself. The next the leaves greyed and fell to the ground, and the wildlife became feral and dangerous, and their furs ragged and unusable. Because of this, many chose to leave the safety of their homes and the lives they had built there, and move to more promising areas. The once busy city has become quiet, a ghost of its former self. More than this, monsters have begun moving into the woods, finding it more hospitable than other places. Werewolves can be heard at night, even when the moon is not full, and the wails of banshees often send birds flying from the dead branches. Worse still are the literal ghosts that now frequent the woods, and sometimes wander into town. This is one of the biggest mysteries of all. Ghosts do not appear out of nowhere, and they have not been known to move from their place of death, but no one can seem to remember any tragedy that would have caused such a ghost population in the first place. While the people of Mourndel still get by and the community is strong there, everyone takes care of their neighbors as though they were family; the population dwindles year by year as more and more decide life there is too difficult. A literal and figurative ghost town.

Hollow Woods before corruption