Ten-Towns

An arctic hinterland, the diminished remnant of a once-great mannish empire.

Ten-Towns, sometimes written as the Ten Towns, is a loose confederation of towns and villages found in Icewind Dale in far northwestern Elleswere. While the communities of the Ten Towns were once significantly larger, their populations have shrunk significantly in the past three centuries. While each of the towns are self-governing, the Speaker of each town has a seat on the Council of Speakers, the official decision-making body of the Ten-Towns as a whole.

History

Ten-Towns is something of a rarity. The majority of mannish population centres in Elleswere tend to be found in more temperate regions. During its height in the early first century NE, the population of Ten-Towns reached some tens of thousands, despite the harsh climate. The Ten-Towns have managed to develop an economy that remains sustainable year-round driven by fishing in the lakes of Icewind Dale, a relatively robust woodcutting industry, and some notable mineral wealth.

Ten-Towns consists of its capital at Bryn Shander, along with the settlments of Easthaven, Targos, Termalaine, Lonelywood, Good Mead, Caer-Dineval, Caer-Konig, Bremen, and Dougan's Hole.

Imperial Remnant

Ten-Towns is part of the Northlands Province in the Nalemonic Empire. It is a minor voice in the Empire. Although it maintains a consul in the provincial capital at Norvissen, the disinterested, aloof style that characterizes Nalemonic power makes it difficult to attract Imperial attention—except, of course when too much subversion, instability, or insurrection trigger a crackdown.

This frozen backwater of the Empire was once the heartland of the massive Alagonid Empire, a mannish imperial project nearly the size of modern Nalemonia. The Alagonid Empire collapsed during its war against the Nalemonic Empire. Ten-Towns is the only remnant of the greatest mannish imperial project in Elleswere.

It's hard now to imagine that these ten disparate communities, built in a land defined by cold and privation, were once the birthplace of an empire that spanned half a continent. Now, these hardy folk still hang on, as the elements continue to rage and riot in a futile effort to chase them out.

— Endarnymeirathyn of the Bronze Pen

The war officially ended after the conquest of Norvissen (then called Alagondria) in 113 NE. For several decades, Ten-Towns occupied a precarious political space, cut off from its former empire and wealth. The region was officially incorporated by Nalemonia in 141 NE, when a military detachment from the newly organized Northlands Province was sent north of the Worldspine.

A Conquered Confederation

Ten-Towns is a confederation of villages and towns in Icewind Dale. Following the Nalemonic occupation of the towns in the second century NE, the old feudal political structure of the towns into duchies, earldoms, and baronies was rapidly dismantled. Following the crackdown, the Empire took on its typically aloof disposition, leaving Ten-Towns to figure out how to govern itself under imperial rule.

The Speakership system of Bryn Shander slowly took spread to other towns, with each adapting it to local contexts. Bryn Shander's then-Speaker, Brava Gullstóll, converted a local administrative manor in town into the modern Council Hall. Following outreach, he formed the Council of Speakers to manage collective governance for the Ten Towns.

Constituent Towns

Long-simmering rivalries between the towns were not resolved by the confederation, but they are somewhat tamed. The largest towns, Bryn Shander, Easthaven, and Targos, maintain a relatively cordial balance, although they jockey for influence in the smaller towns. Rivalries between the smaller towns can sometimes boil over into conflict, although a full-blown conflict hasn't happened since the War of Redwaters.

Bremen

Main article: Bremen

Bremen is a sleepy town on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen is famous for its seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer that wash up treasure and uncover precious minerals on the shore of the town. The Everlasting Rime has ended these floods ending the threat but greatly harming the village economically as it no longer has a draw for prospectors and treasure hunters.

Bryn Shander

Main article: Bryn Shander

Bryn Shander is the political capital of Ten-Towns and the trading centre of Icewind Dale. It is largest and youngest of the towns, having only truly become a major settlement under the Alagonid Empire. It is the gateway to its fellow towns of the dale, as well as their lifeline to the larger markets to the south. It sits at the crossroads of Ten Trail leading to Norvissen, and the Eastway.

Caer-Dineval

Main article: Caer-Dineval

Caer-Dineval is located on the northwestern bank of Lac Dinneshere, not far south of Caer-Konig. It was situated in a half-circle around Knucklehead Harbor, with the Caer castle overlooking the harbor from the Cliff of Dinev in the east. It is an Alagonid-era fort town, with the eponymous castle constructed as a replacement following the destruction of Caer-Konig during Vassavicken's War. While small by southern standards, the Caer is more than large enough to guard the narrow northern approach to Ten-Towns between the foothills of Kelvin's Cairn and Lac Dinneshere.

Caer-Konig

Main article: Caer-Konig

Caer-Konig is a Kingdom-era fort town in northeastern Ten-Towns. It is the most northerly community on Lac Dinneshere at the foot of Kelvin's Cairn. Caer-Konig is the fifth largest community in the region other than Dougan's Hole and is famed principally for mushing and mountaineering. It is named for its eponymous castle, which was destroyed during Vassavicken's War in the seventh century MA. Before the Rime, Caer-Konig hosted the world's most northern icegrain farm.

Dougan's Hole

Main article: Dougan's Hole

Dougan's Hole is the smallest and most insular of the Ten-Towns. Its residents aren't fond of visitors, and inbreeding has caused the population to dwindle in recent years. It is a small cluster of dwellings perched on the edge of Redwaters that is too small to support any major industry—not even scrimshaw, with only a subsistence economy. It is more a family home of the Durmoot clan than a true village, and was once part of the Barony of Good Mead in the Alagonid era.

Easthaven

Main article: Easthaven

Easthaven is situated on the southern coast of Lac Dinneshere. It is the historical capital of the Alagonid Empire and is the second largest town north of the Worldspine after Bryn Shander. While much reduced from its imperial glory, it is governed by a hybrid of the aristocratic feudal system of the Alagonid-era and the Shanderite Speakership system. Easthaven is famous for legalizing pickpocketing in the late 200s NE in protest against a Nalemonic crackdown on lawlessness in Icewind Dale.

Good Mead

Main article: Good Mead

Good Mead is a small village in eastern Ten-Towns on the western shore of Redwaters. It is located several kilometres south of the Eastway crossroads. It takes its name from the Mead Hall near the small pier, which produces the northmost locally-produced mead in the Empire and is famed throughout Ten-Towns. The historic Mead Hall was initially constructed in the late Alagonid period, around 1300 MA, prior to which Good Mead was called Shorewood.

Lonelywood

Main article: Lonelywood

Lonelywood is the northernmost of the Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale, located on the northern shore of Maer Dualdon. It is surrounded by the Lonelywoods, the largest forest in Icewind Dale north of the Worldspine foothills. While Lonelywood was once a robust logging town during the Alagonid Empire, by the 400s NE it consisted of only a few dozen structures clustered along the shoreline. Lonelywood's distance from civilization has made it attractive for rogues seeking a refuge in Icewind Dale.

Targos

Main article: Targos

Targos is the third-largest of the Ten-Towns and was Icewind Dale's only maritime connection to the south by way of the Shaengarne River before the Everlasting Rime. It is situated on the southernmost shore of the Maer Dualdon, in a cove near a series of high cliff walls that shelter its port from the savage winter winds. Targos has deep rivalries with most of its neighbours on Maer Dualdon. In the ancient past, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Icewind, but today it is securely third in influence behind Bryn Shander and Easthaven.

Termalaine

Main article: Termalaine

Termalaine is the fourth-largest and second northernmost of the Ten-Towns, situated on the eastern shore of Maer Dualdon at the southern edge of the Lonelywoods. Termalaine is renown for its scenic environs and the mineral wealth of its gem mines to the east. During the Alagonid period, Termalaine was often called the "gem of Icewind Dale." Prior to the Nalemonic conquest, Termalaine's lord was traditionally highly influential in the Alagonid and Kingdom courts. Termalaine is well known for the harsh cold wind coming off of Maer Dualdon.

Contents

General Information

Type

Confederation

Ruler

Council of Speakers

Capital

Bryn Shander

Part of

Nalemonic Empire

Preceded by

Alagonid Empire

Location

Icewind Dale, Elleswere

Geography

Arctic to subarctic taiga, lakes, rivers, foothills

Population

~8000

Demonym

Ten-Towner

Religion

Feylord Worship
Nalemonic Pantheon
Cult of Auril

Culture

Northmannish (majority)
Reghed (minority)
Other

Speakership

Revived after the Nalemonic Occupation by the Shanderite merchant-class of from the extinct position of "Lords-Speakers" during the Kingdom of Icewind, Speakers are the highest-ranking officials in Ten-Towns. Speakers are generally elected, although there have been instances of Speakers being appointed or assuming the role without ceremony. In addition to overseeing their communities, Speakers each have a seat on the Council of Speakers, where they represent their communities' interests with regard to decisions affecting the whole of Ten-Towns.