The 20 Letters of Baron Hörchst
The Account of a Journey into the White
Historical Details
Background
Dearest Lady Saara, today is the grand day! Today, my weeks of preparation finally come into effect. I and my companions have set off to venture up the mountains into the uncharted territory known as the Orodim Highlands. With me, I have 26 able men and women, all as eager to make the secrets of the Wild Ones accessible to us as I am. We have packed six sleighs with all the equipment we need and are already making good progress up the Qesselpass. Nothing could stop us. When I return to you in but a month, I shall be proud to say that I have braved all dangers and made this country of ours a safer place. Also among our luggage are twenty carrier pigeons which I will use to tell you, my dear, how this undertaking progresses. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst
In the year 3216, the count of Freystein was faced with two problems:
Firstly, the Wild Ones from the mountains had drastically increased their attacks in the previous months.
He knew something was going on in the highlands, but the land and weather up there were unkind to travellers, so hardly anyone had ever attempted a survey of the territory.
Yet, to stop the onslaught of raids, he needed a better standing there.
Secondly, the count himself was ageing and his only child, his daughter Saara, was still unmarried. For her to be legally allowed to inherit his title she needed a husband. The solution to both problems presented itself in the form of Baron Wilmer Hörchst, the young, eager and ambitious heir to a rather unimportant swath of land in the South of the county. He offered to undertake an expedition to the highlands in exchange for Lady Saara's hand and a place at the count's court. The deal was made and a mere two months later, the Baron and his party set off on their journey. He documented his findings in letters to his betrothed. These letters remain the most important account of the circumstances in the highlands to this day.
Secondly, the count himself was ageing and his only child, his daughter Saara, was still unmarried. For her to be legally allowed to inherit his title she needed a husband. The solution to both problems presented itself in the form of Baron Wilmer Hörchst, the young, eager and ambitious heir to a rather unimportant swath of land in the South of the county. He offered to undertake an expedition to the highlands in exchange for Lady Saara's hand and a place at the count's court. The deal was made and a mere two months later, the Baron and his party set off on their journey. He documented his findings in letters to his betrothed. These letters remain the most important account of the circumstances in the highlands to this day.
History
The Barons's first letters paint a picture of a calm voyage where all hindrances were easy to overcome for him.
They resemble more a recollection of a vacation than an expedition into the unknown.
Today, scholars believe the baron may have purposefully misrepresented his hardships in the hope of a better standing at the court later on.
His first documented major encounter with the Wild Ones is as follows:
Dearest Lady Saara, I'm writing to you from our newly established basecamp two thirds up the Quesselpass. We had to fall back to this well defensible plateau in the western mountains after the Wild Ones found us and outnumbered us three to one. The majority of my men will stay here while I press on with only two of my most reliable companions. The Wild ones are nothing like the accounts of the survivors of their raid would make us believe. They are pitiful creatures at first glance: Maybe as tall as a thirteen-year-old, bent over, and huddled in primitive furs and rags. They utter nothing but unintelligible screeches and grunts. Sure they may be mischievous and somewhat organized, but they are no match for a versed strategist. I am sure your father will have no trouble eliminating this threat once I return with more information. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst
That basecamp would be further fortified while the baron continued his journey and would later become known as Fort Hörchst, which served as the first line of defence against the Wild Ones for years to come after the end of the expedition.
Eventually, Anita Ekbom who had held the Fort for Baron Hörchst was named Baroness herself and was granted reign over the castle and its surroundings.
She braved the winter and the Wild Ones for another 21 years after the end of the expedition.
The last year's winter was especially harsh and cut them off from the outside world.
Almost starved to death, an army of Wild Ones awaited them as the snow thawed in spring.
Nevertheless, Fort Hörchst was the longest standing human settlement in the Orodim Highlands to this day.
After the camp had been initially established and a few days of rest, the Baron continued on his journey towards an enormous stone spire he had spotted on the horizon.
While his greatest worry was the prospect of having to cross the Bransblood river at some time in the near future, the Wild Ones demonstrated that he might have underestimated them:
Dearest Lady Saara, they came in the night. Wild Ones. But these were different. Larger than an orc, yet as sturdy as a dwarf; blunt beasts of brute force. Britt was severely wounded when one of them caught her off guard and snapped her arm just like one may break a twig in two. In the meantime, their smaller companions stole our food and other equipment from our sleigh. We do not have enough to return to the basecamp. I decided we will head up further north. A dwarven fortress is supposed to be there. I am positive we can get some rations there and continue our journey. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst
Indeed, the Baron managed to reach the dwarven city and convinced these otherwise reserved and mistrustful people to aide him and his companions to recover.
Despite their discouragement, he carried on in a second attempt to reach the spire.
On his way there, he reports on multiple attacks of Wild Ones and noted down their capabilities and tactics.
These notes are maybe the most valuable result of his entire expedition as they are to this day part of the training of any knight sent to fight them or hold the border.
Cartographers were also able to transform his observations into a map of the highlands.
This map is still the most accurate one to this date.
Part of these records was also another discovery as he got closer to the spire:
Dearest Lady Saara, the day before yesterday, we got as close to the spire as we will probably ever get. We are on the run again, for reasons you will find hard to believe. I have named the spire the "Giant's Spire" and I chose this name not for figurative reasons, but for very literal ones. There are giants here. As tall as three men and with cold blue eyes that still haunt my dreams. Even if they hadn't noticed us, I wouldn't have dared to move even one step closer. But they have noticed us. We barely managed to flee and hide in a small cave. They sent for other smaller Wild Ones to search for us. We will not be safe here for long, so I had to come up with a brilliant idea: We are converting the sleigh into a raft. The river Bransblood is not far from here. Its currents will push us down the mountains and home to your father's castle near its mouth. I will soon be home again. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst
Dearest Lady Saara, I am out of luck. The raft is shattered. My companions are dead. The crows are pecking on their bodies as I write you this letter. The waterfall came suddenly. There was nothing we could do but pray to the Captain that he may spare our lives — but he spared just mine. The ironic part is that this place is among the most beautiful places I have seen in all of Terenus. I call it the "Frozen Stairs". The water winds down the steep mountainside in a dozen waterfalls. Their spray paints a dozen rainbows into the air which reflect off the dozens of frozen surfaces all around me. I am surrounded by colours. Words are not sufficient to describe this place. I'd say this is paradise if I were not in the depths of hell already. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst
The Baron tried his best to struggle back to the basecamp, alone and wounded.
His subsequent letters show a slow descent into madness while he was wandering about for days.
His descriptions show that he was walking in the entirely wrong direction.
Needless to say, he never returned.
He had no heir, and no clear successor, so his land was divided up among the neighbouring baronies.
Lady Saara eventually married another man, a young noble who was 43rd in line for the throne of Arendir.
She soon forgot about Baron Hörchst.
And as such, all that remained of him are his final twenty letters.
Lady Saara, the crows are everywhere. They watch every step of mine from their thrones in the branches above me. This is their forest! Under my feet is no snow, but a sea of black feathers. The crows follow me wherever I go. They know I am soon to die. It is only a matter of time until a Valraven emerges from among the flock and ends me. Saara, I am sorry I failed you and your father. I will never return to marry you. In Love
Baron Wilmer Hörchst, last of his name.
The Crows! They are eating me alive!
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Truly a beautiful thing to read Gondy!