Rivean Baruntacht Estate
These lands are ceded in trust to the Fiolag of Riveach, whom owes their fealty to Clan Ironcliffe. This person has the sacred trust of governing well and proper, the towns, villages and peoples within this land. To insure they've the necessary protection, to enforce law and order, and to collect taxes, and insure productivity of the region.
These lands are, as with all in the province, technically part of the Ironcliffe Connighclan, however, even with the swifter, newer option of locomotive travel, it simply makes more logistical sense to have appointed nobles and officials aiding in handling governance, economics and civil affairs. This Baruntacht is one of three such divides within the Ironcliffe Province. Traditionalist as Suranthi people are, each province follows suit to this, copying roughly this idea, having three lesser officials appointed to handle day to day affairs in sections of the province. Their neighbors in Depenwood have similarly set up their own lands, in six tribal territories, roughly equal in size, as the elves too are an ancient people with ancient claims and systems they still embrace traditionally.
This estate marks its beginnings along the line that the Iron-Tip Peaks would run, had they continued south, as its western edge, and marks the coast and the waters out to sea about a hundred kilometers or so (and all islands therein) as its eastern and northern edges. To the south, they mark their current edge not with a neighbor, but across the Nordjeim about thirty kilometers, as the land changes, the icy beginnings of the Nordjeim Spines, the massive peaks of pure glacial ice, their tunnels and runoff providing water in many creeks and smaller rivers that is fresh and cool, feeding the Nordjeim. However these are considered dangerous and wild places, for the tunnels and caverns are home to all manner of foul beast. Yeti, Winter Wolves, even undead are believed to haunt the lands of the Spines. Even with that, those threats are expected in such places.
However far stranger and more dangerous creatures are known to live deep within the lands of the Nordjeim Spines. Industry and economy in the lands of this estate are heavily centered on the river lands and waterways, as the Rivean Baruntacht is an important connection point, a place where both oceanic trade and river trade flow far and wide, and can meet. Harvesting the resources of the rivers and coastlands are the largest industry, but a close second is shipping and movement of trade. To the north, the Azure Caverns get their name from the small but valuable mining operation, where various crystals and gems can be mined, such as turquoise, and garnets. There has been the scattered tiny sapphire deposit found within the caverns, only the one thus far, but it is believed there will be others found in due course. These manna gems fetch a massive profit of course, given their rarity and difficulty to safely acquire. The Voris Hill-lands are, for this extreme climate, known to be quite fertile in a fashion, many hardy mosses, lichens, and small brush plants growing sturdy and healthy. Combine this with the lush little ponds found within the valleys and Lake Voris' coastlands, you find a little area that for those more outdoorsy old fashioned types, they can make a good living. Moose love the region, making a great source of game and profit, though they can be risky to hunt. Caribou and musk oxen thrive in the region too. The fishing is exceptional in the region as well. A major danger however, where plentiful game exists, predators will follow. At least one wolf pack calls the hill-lands home, and it is likely a handful of snow-cats and/or white bears do too. However for the most part, the Rivean Baruntacht is one of the safer regions within the province to call home, with its roads and rail routes well patrolled and maintained. Piracy is of course an issue and threat, along with the rare occasional raid or Bestial attack, but for the most part such things are but peripheral, the Nordjeim providing a natural barrier for most settlements form such dangers, and those few that are not, are heavily fortified, and large communities, or stubborn frontier folk.
These lands are, as with all in the province, technically part of the Ironcliffe Connighclan, however, even with the swifter, newer option of locomotive travel, it simply makes more logistical sense to have appointed nobles and officials aiding in handling governance, economics and civil affairs. This Baruntacht is one of three such divides within the Ironcliffe Province. Traditionalist as Suranthi people are, each province follows suit to this, copying roughly this idea, having three lesser officials appointed to handle day to day affairs in sections of the province. Their neighbors in Depenwood have similarly set up their own lands, in six tribal territories, roughly equal in size, as the elves too are an ancient people with ancient claims and systems they still embrace traditionally.
This estate marks its beginnings along the line that the Iron-Tip Peaks would run, had they continued south, as its western edge, and marks the coast and the waters out to sea about a hundred kilometers or so (and all islands therein) as its eastern and northern edges. To the south, they mark their current edge not with a neighbor, but across the Nordjeim about thirty kilometers, as the land changes, the icy beginnings of the Nordjeim Spines, the massive peaks of pure glacial ice, their tunnels and runoff providing water in many creeks and smaller rivers that is fresh and cool, feeding the Nordjeim. However these are considered dangerous and wild places, for the tunnels and caverns are home to all manner of foul beast. Yeti, Winter Wolves, even undead are believed to haunt the lands of the Spines. Even with that, those threats are expected in such places.
However far stranger and more dangerous creatures are known to live deep within the lands of the Nordjeim Spines. Industry and economy in the lands of this estate are heavily centered on the river lands and waterways, as the Rivean Baruntacht is an important connection point, a place where both oceanic trade and river trade flow far and wide, and can meet. Harvesting the resources of the rivers and coastlands are the largest industry, but a close second is shipping and movement of trade. To the north, the Azure Caverns get their name from the small but valuable mining operation, where various crystals and gems can be mined, such as turquoise, and garnets. There has been the scattered tiny sapphire deposit found within the caverns, only the one thus far, but it is believed there will be others found in due course. These manna gems fetch a massive profit of course, given their rarity and difficulty to safely acquire. The Voris Hill-lands are, for this extreme climate, known to be quite fertile in a fashion, many hardy mosses, lichens, and small brush plants growing sturdy and healthy. Combine this with the lush little ponds found within the valleys and Lake Voris' coastlands, you find a little area that for those more outdoorsy old fashioned types, they can make a good living. Moose love the region, making a great source of game and profit, though they can be risky to hunt. Caribou and musk oxen thrive in the region too. The fishing is exceptional in the region as well. A major danger however, where plentiful game exists, predators will follow. At least one wolf pack calls the hill-lands home, and it is likely a handful of snow-cats and/or white bears do too. However for the most part, the Rivean Baruntacht is one of the safer regions within the province to call home, with its roads and rail routes well patrolled and maintained. Piracy is of course an issue and threat, along with the rare occasional raid or Bestial attack, but for the most part such things are but peripheral, the Nordjeim providing a natural barrier for most settlements form such dangers, and those few that are not, are heavily fortified, and large communities, or stubborn frontier folk.
Geography
Below are very brief descriptors and hooks to give you an idea of geographic regions, as well as the larger towns. The towns will also have rough population listed in brackets, and a limited description of the place, along with two or three interesting rumors, hooks or facts. Villages will be but pins on the attached map, with a brief description and a population listed not much else.
GEOGRAPHIC PLACES OF NOTE:
Azure Caverns: This plateau and the caverns and stone within are mineral rich with crystals and gems of all sorts, and a small but healthy mining industry exists in the region, and is quite profitable. Sapphires have been found once here, the manna gems bringing in a tidy profit and some economic boon for all in the region, as such gems are exceedingly rare and highly prized. Of course this is but one of the many things in the Azure Caverns, and very little thus far as truly been properly explored. However odd bits of worked metal or stone, things that look as if they may have been tools in a time long gone by, have been found in and around the caverns, and it is believed by some that perhaps an ancient and long forgotten ruin of a town or city lies hidden within the glacial and stone caverns further north. Though the brave few whom have ever into the tunnels further north, well most have never returned, and those few whom do generally won't speak of it, other than odd mutterings such as 'Eyes, eyes in the shadows.'
Lake Voris, the Voris River, and the Voris Hill-lands: This region is full of mosses and lichens of all varieties, along with various brushes and other small but hardy vegetation, with little ponds and glacial pools and runoffs in the valleys between the hills. Wild blueberries, cranberries and blackberries grow here with surprising abundance despite the cold and artic climate. Snowberries as well of course. Where such vegetation and water sources gather, inevitably game animals follow. Caribou love the region, as does a herd of musk oxen. Moose range the area regularly, and the little ponds and streams between the higher ground of the hills find themselves home to otters, voles and other such animals. But where such prey species gather in abundance, so to till their predators. A wolf pack hunts the area regularly, and a least a handful of snow-cats and white bears are known to include parts of the region in their home range. This area and the small lake that gives the region its name, Lake Voris, is a plentiful region that is well known for good hunting and fishing, and those whom call the area home do quite well for themselves. Such bounty also attracts trouble of course, in the form of predatory beasts, along with bandits, highway men, and river pirates or the like.
TOWNS/CITIES:
Riveach (10276): https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tariek-rough-collection-twaren-stormborn/a/riveach-settlement?preview=true?
Mabeinnei (6491): A garrison town, Mabeinnei was built out of necessity but also pragmatism. She stands at a central point for the part of the Nordjeim under Fiolag Souvanna's responsibility. The garrison town is well supplied, as it has a direct rail connection to Riveach, and another under construction to Fjordsburg, though admittedly this has been a endeavor that is proving a great struggle. The town is as one might expect from a garrison town where the rail yard and river docks are the two predominant industries available for peoples not in the military. Of course as it is a garrison town, it does have an impressive, for its size, spread of craftsmen and trades people plying their crafts, as a military garrison is always a good and reliable customer for a great many things. Besides this of course, for those braver and more inclined to thrill seeking, the new rail project has stalled because of.....'localized difficulties' and the company laying the track, Durzi's Rails, well the foreman assigned to the project is getting more and more desperate, and also becoming more and more of an alcoholic. Some beast or another keeps picking off the laborers and local forces have been tied up, given the increased yeti raiding in the last few months. The foreman in question, one Yonis Bjorkstri, is offering quite a handsome reward for any willing to try and solve his....'problem'.
Fjordsburg (9176): This large town is a community that is a melting pot of local cuisine and is also well known for having perhaps the healthiest and most pleasantly varied diet in the region, in no small part due to the abundance of available foods, herbs, berries, fish and game. The town has three churches, a little odd, but not unexpected, for though Sir Kartheart gets his own, the people here felt it would be a grave insult to their good fortune to merely have altars to Talia, Lady of the Leaves, and Boran the Bloodhound. So each of them have a chapel dedicated to just them, fully ordained. Fjordsburg also even has a small college, focused mostly on alchemy, tailoring and the culinary arts, Fjordsburg Finery Academy, or FFA. Indeed it is known for its successful programs in these three areas, and produces some of the most skilled alchemists, tailors and chefs in Suranth. They also have a stadium, the Crossings' Colisee. This beautiful, though humble, coliseum can seat a modest thirty-five hundred, but it is always jam packed for its main attraction, the home games of the local Caid team in the SCL (Suranthi Caid League), the Fjordsburg Flippers. The town also has a few successful wineries and distilleries operating, four to be exact. Two wineries, one distillery and one brewery. However the two wineries have always been at odds, for they are owned by two halflings, cousins. And in recent months things have escalated and the police have had to step in, for there have been full on fights and brawls between staff. With the new railyard under construction and the promise of such a connection to the new and fastest methods of shipping product, both have been trying to develop and refine a new signature line...in secret. The whole process, for both companies, was to be extremely clandestine. However....well when both companies held their tastings.....guests whom had been invited to both have claimed, unanimously, that the two new wines tasted exactly the same. Including veteran wine tasters, people of greatly refined palettes, such as Sir Gendry Flint of Flint's Finest Drink-house, a place where you cannot even get in the door for less than five silver moons a person, and that'll just get you a taster. So now the two wineries are at odds to the point where threats, violence and a full on street brawl erupted but three days ago. Police are doing their best, but it is said both owners are offering a great deal of coin to any of an 'inquisitive and investigative mind' whom will get to the bottom of this, though of course they are each offering this separately and refusing to trust each other or anyone the other hires.
Karak Dhuph (8943): Karak Dhuph is another port town, doubling as a naval garrison. It is a place of tough, hardy men and women of business, of trade and of the sea. Sailors, whalers, navy personal, merchant fleet workers, navigators and the list goes on, along of course with shipwrights and carpenters, any and all trades one could associate with seafaring, along with fisheries, whaling and kelp or seaweed harvesting. Crab fishing and lobster fishing as well of course. The naval garrison here is the home port of call of some thirty or so vessels of the navy, and another fifteen or so of the river patrols. As such, it is also again, a militant town, with a heavy emphasis on defense and on the trades of such craft, weapons, basic necessities, armors, fishing gear, whaling equipment, the list goes on. Recently a trio of whaling vessels docked and word is they looking for some deck hands for the short but busy summer, promising quite good pay.
Port Turqoi (6187): This small port is the exit to the ocean for the rich goods sent along the rivers from the mines of the Azure Caverns, and is also a hub of fine manufacturing. The necessary metals are imported by oceanic vessel from all over, and all manner of finery, jewelry and the like are made by the highly skilled craftsmen of this town. The town gets its name from this trade, as turquoise are one of the more common crystals and brought out in measurable volumes, but even so, the command an impressive price. In recent months business has been good, booming, and the jewelers guild has been quite happy. Everyone was doing well, down to even the lowliest assistant of the least popular jeweler. However in recent weeks, five of the twenty-one jewelers in the town, (ten custom makers, eleven more factory-esque establishments), have been robbed, and in a variety of manners, and not just once. Their weekly shipments were hit, every week, for a month. Regardless of precautions, they were cleaned out, and each differently. Yet it seems to be the same person, or at the very least, only one person, for there is never any evidence of more than one thief. All five businesses in question, four of the mass production 'factory-esque' establishments, one custom maker, were forced into poverty and bankruptcy over month, due to having to pay their workers, having to pay massively increased rates for emergency shipments, and for lost orders, as word got out and their competitors scooped clients like vultures. Two of them, including the custom maker, hung themselves, one has taken the Slayer Oath and the other were caught in a botched attempt to rob the local bank, having not acquired quite enough smoke-powder to actually punch through the wall. A bank clerk died in the partial wall collapse however, so both are awaiting trial and then likely execution for murder. However, they insist they are innocent, indeed they claim they are being framed, claiming quite wildly, that it was two others wearing their faces. The two jeweler's in question, an elf and a human, are desperate for anyone to investigate, and word through the grapevine is they have nest eggs hidden some place, and if you come to the local precinct and hear them out, perhaps investigate what they tell you, if nothing else, they will detail to you where to find these tidy sums. No monetary amount is mentioned in the rumors. Also, there is talk of a madman in the Frenil Institute for the Insane, the local Asylum, whom survived Puffin Bay. Stories of outlandish claims, such as 'Scaled Folk from the Deep' and 'The children yet live.' and other such ramblings. He's been the butt of the crass and comedic talk in local taverns for the last week since he arrived, and one of his nurses spread the tales out of spite after he attacked her and nearly clawed her eye out.
Polgran (7130): Though quiet this large town is not actually known for too much. It is a quiet calm place, with no fame to speak of, or at least that its citizens will willingly speak of. It is a quiet, industrious place, seemingly quiet, with not much going on. However four years ago, there was a spree of killings, twelve in less than four weeks, a true spree of murders, and quite grisly. The victims had their teeth removed, and skin flayed from their legs and abdomen, and were all missing their left eye. A woman was convicted of multiple murders and witchcraft, as the eyes, supposedly, were found in her home. The Crusader in question did not, of course, document evidence, and instead merely torched the woman, her two young kids and her husband, along with their house, to the ground. Ever since the town seems a quiet place, almost devoid and empty of all emotion, broken even. The ground where her house stood is avoided, and the wreckage has never been cleaned, the bodies never properly buried, if they didn't burn to ash. No one ever checked. However rumors on the road in surrounding villages is the killings have started again.......
GEOGRAPHIC PLACES OF NOTE:
Azure Caverns: This plateau and the caverns and stone within are mineral rich with crystals and gems of all sorts, and a small but healthy mining industry exists in the region, and is quite profitable. Sapphires have been found once here, the manna gems bringing in a tidy profit and some economic boon for all in the region, as such gems are exceedingly rare and highly prized. Of course this is but one of the many things in the Azure Caverns, and very little thus far as truly been properly explored. However odd bits of worked metal or stone, things that look as if they may have been tools in a time long gone by, have been found in and around the caverns, and it is believed by some that perhaps an ancient and long forgotten ruin of a town or city lies hidden within the glacial and stone caverns further north. Though the brave few whom have ever into the tunnels further north, well most have never returned, and those few whom do generally won't speak of it, other than odd mutterings such as 'Eyes, eyes in the shadows.'
Lake Voris, the Voris River, and the Voris Hill-lands: This region is full of mosses and lichens of all varieties, along with various brushes and other small but hardy vegetation, with little ponds and glacial pools and runoffs in the valleys between the hills. Wild blueberries, cranberries and blackberries grow here with surprising abundance despite the cold and artic climate. Snowberries as well of course. Where such vegetation and water sources gather, inevitably game animals follow. Caribou love the region, as does a herd of musk oxen. Moose range the area regularly, and the little ponds and streams between the higher ground of the hills find themselves home to otters, voles and other such animals. But where such prey species gather in abundance, so to till their predators. A wolf pack hunts the area regularly, and a least a handful of snow-cats and white bears are known to include parts of the region in their home range. This area and the small lake that gives the region its name, Lake Voris, is a plentiful region that is well known for good hunting and fishing, and those whom call the area home do quite well for themselves. Such bounty also attracts trouble of course, in the form of predatory beasts, along with bandits, highway men, and river pirates or the like.
TOWNS/CITIES:
Riveach (10276): https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tariek-rough-collection-twaren-stormborn/a/riveach-settlement?preview=true?
Mabeinnei (6491): A garrison town, Mabeinnei was built out of necessity but also pragmatism. She stands at a central point for the part of the Nordjeim under Fiolag Souvanna's responsibility. The garrison town is well supplied, as it has a direct rail connection to Riveach, and another under construction to Fjordsburg, though admittedly this has been a endeavor that is proving a great struggle. The town is as one might expect from a garrison town where the rail yard and river docks are the two predominant industries available for peoples not in the military. Of course as it is a garrison town, it does have an impressive, for its size, spread of craftsmen and trades people plying their crafts, as a military garrison is always a good and reliable customer for a great many things. Besides this of course, for those braver and more inclined to thrill seeking, the new rail project has stalled because of.....'localized difficulties' and the company laying the track, Durzi's Rails, well the foreman assigned to the project is getting more and more desperate, and also becoming more and more of an alcoholic. Some beast or another keeps picking off the laborers and local forces have been tied up, given the increased yeti raiding in the last few months. The foreman in question, one Yonis Bjorkstri, is offering quite a handsome reward for any willing to try and solve his....'problem'.
Fjordsburg (9176): This large town is a community that is a melting pot of local cuisine and is also well known for having perhaps the healthiest and most pleasantly varied diet in the region, in no small part due to the abundance of available foods, herbs, berries, fish and game. The town has three churches, a little odd, but not unexpected, for though Sir Kartheart gets his own, the people here felt it would be a grave insult to their good fortune to merely have altars to Talia, Lady of the Leaves, and Boran the Bloodhound. So each of them have a chapel dedicated to just them, fully ordained. Fjordsburg also even has a small college, focused mostly on alchemy, tailoring and the culinary arts, Fjordsburg Finery Academy, or FFA. Indeed it is known for its successful programs in these three areas, and produces some of the most skilled alchemists, tailors and chefs in Suranth. They also have a stadium, the Crossings' Colisee. This beautiful, though humble, coliseum can seat a modest thirty-five hundred, but it is always jam packed for its main attraction, the home games of the local Caid team in the SCL (Suranthi Caid League), the Fjordsburg Flippers. The town also has a few successful wineries and distilleries operating, four to be exact. Two wineries, one distillery and one brewery. However the two wineries have always been at odds, for they are owned by two halflings, cousins. And in recent months things have escalated and the police have had to step in, for there have been full on fights and brawls between staff. With the new railyard under construction and the promise of such a connection to the new and fastest methods of shipping product, both have been trying to develop and refine a new signature line...in secret. The whole process, for both companies, was to be extremely clandestine. However....well when both companies held their tastings.....guests whom had been invited to both have claimed, unanimously, that the two new wines tasted exactly the same. Including veteran wine tasters, people of greatly refined palettes, such as Sir Gendry Flint of Flint's Finest Drink-house, a place where you cannot even get in the door for less than five silver moons a person, and that'll just get you a taster. So now the two wineries are at odds to the point where threats, violence and a full on street brawl erupted but three days ago. Police are doing their best, but it is said both owners are offering a great deal of coin to any of an 'inquisitive and investigative mind' whom will get to the bottom of this, though of course they are each offering this separately and refusing to trust each other or anyone the other hires.
Karak Dhuph (8943): Karak Dhuph is another port town, doubling as a naval garrison. It is a place of tough, hardy men and women of business, of trade and of the sea. Sailors, whalers, navy personal, merchant fleet workers, navigators and the list goes on, along of course with shipwrights and carpenters, any and all trades one could associate with seafaring, along with fisheries, whaling and kelp or seaweed harvesting. Crab fishing and lobster fishing as well of course. The naval garrison here is the home port of call of some thirty or so vessels of the navy, and another fifteen or so of the river patrols. As such, it is also again, a militant town, with a heavy emphasis on defense and on the trades of such craft, weapons, basic necessities, armors, fishing gear, whaling equipment, the list goes on. Recently a trio of whaling vessels docked and word is they looking for some deck hands for the short but busy summer, promising quite good pay.
Port Turqoi (6187): This small port is the exit to the ocean for the rich goods sent along the rivers from the mines of the Azure Caverns, and is also a hub of fine manufacturing. The necessary metals are imported by oceanic vessel from all over, and all manner of finery, jewelry and the like are made by the highly skilled craftsmen of this town. The town gets its name from this trade, as turquoise are one of the more common crystals and brought out in measurable volumes, but even so, the command an impressive price. In recent months business has been good, booming, and the jewelers guild has been quite happy. Everyone was doing well, down to even the lowliest assistant of the least popular jeweler. However in recent weeks, five of the twenty-one jewelers in the town, (ten custom makers, eleven more factory-esque establishments), have been robbed, and in a variety of manners, and not just once. Their weekly shipments were hit, every week, for a month. Regardless of precautions, they were cleaned out, and each differently. Yet it seems to be the same person, or at the very least, only one person, for there is never any evidence of more than one thief. All five businesses in question, four of the mass production 'factory-esque' establishments, one custom maker, were forced into poverty and bankruptcy over month, due to having to pay their workers, having to pay massively increased rates for emergency shipments, and for lost orders, as word got out and their competitors scooped clients like vultures. Two of them, including the custom maker, hung themselves, one has taken the Slayer Oath and the other were caught in a botched attempt to rob the local bank, having not acquired quite enough smoke-powder to actually punch through the wall. A bank clerk died in the partial wall collapse however, so both are awaiting trial and then likely execution for murder. However, they insist they are innocent, indeed they claim they are being framed, claiming quite wildly, that it was two others wearing their faces. The two jeweler's in question, an elf and a human, are desperate for anyone to investigate, and word through the grapevine is they have nest eggs hidden some place, and if you come to the local precinct and hear them out, perhaps investigate what they tell you, if nothing else, they will detail to you where to find these tidy sums. No monetary amount is mentioned in the rumors. Also, there is talk of a madman in the Frenil Institute for the Insane, the local Asylum, whom survived Puffin Bay. Stories of outlandish claims, such as 'Scaled Folk from the Deep' and 'The children yet live.' and other such ramblings. He's been the butt of the crass and comedic talk in local taverns for the last week since he arrived, and one of his nurses spread the tales out of spite after he attacked her and nearly clawed her eye out.
Polgran (7130): Though quiet this large town is not actually known for too much. It is a quiet calm place, with no fame to speak of, or at least that its citizens will willingly speak of. It is a quiet, industrious place, seemingly quiet, with not much going on. However four years ago, there was a spree of killings, twelve in less than four weeks, a true spree of murders, and quite grisly. The victims had their teeth removed, and skin flayed from their legs and abdomen, and were all missing their left eye. A woman was convicted of multiple murders and witchcraft, as the eyes, supposedly, were found in her home. The Crusader in question did not, of course, document evidence, and instead merely torched the woman, her two young kids and her husband, along with their house, to the ground. Ever since the town seems a quiet place, almost devoid and empty of all emotion, broken even. The ground where her house stood is avoided, and the wreckage has never been cleaned, the bodies never properly buried, if they didn't burn to ash. No one ever checked. However rumors on the road in surrounding villages is the killings have started again.......
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tariek-rough-collection-twaren-stormborn/map/a3dc4110-6aec-4c61-bc52-cf72dd7a3022
Full map with pins in link above
Full map with pins in link above
Maps
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Rivean Baruntacht
These are the lands and towns under the control and guardianship directly of the Baron of Riveach, whomever that may be. Currently that title is held by a young dwarf of the clan Sovaunna, Baron Torvan Sovaunna, whom is only a little over two centuries in age.
Type
Territory
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Comments