Lands of Dorsill
North of the Rosewater, nestled in the lush valleys of the Orynfell Mountains, lies the Lands of Dorsill. Once an unfettered wilderness that the fey made home, the serenity of this place was shattered when Ardennian forces began their conquest of the region in the early 13th Century.
The Lands of Dorsill gained its independence in 1380, with the Family Howe awarded possession of the territory. Its current ruler is Bernart Howe, with Zunez Valdueza acting as regent following the disappearance of the Howe family.
The area is still home to vicious animals and untamed wilderness, even after two centuries of infrastructure projects and failed attempts to shape the land to their needs. To this day, Dorsill is often seen as a bleak backwater to the rest of Dane, with very few understanding the actual threats of the land.
Ecosystem
Dorsill is infested with an unnatural gloom that hangs from its dark wood trees. Fog creeps through the brambles and underbrush, and the sun rarely stays high in the sky. Rain is a near constant in Dorsill, coating the sky with gunpowder grey clouds that unleash torrents when not burying it in snow.
Jagged mountains surround the tremendous black forests, capped with snow, giving the area an unsettling chill for most of the year. It only knows warmth during the peak of summer, when the heat breaks through the gloom and reveals the twisted, knotted landscape.
The land is a thick, rooted soil full of loam and death that rises and falls into the hills that scar the land. Its twin rivers, the Fey and the Howling, carve deep gashes through the earth like wounds before flowing into the large Rosewater Lake. The Rosewater, on its northeastern side, is coated in black algae, giant dead mangroves, and strange rock formations that house deadly fey creatures.
Ecosystem Cycles
Seasons rarely change in Dorsill; when it does, it only presents newer and more deadly dangers. For much of the year, Dorsill experiences tremendous rainfall, which drowns plants, animals, and people. A sickly gray fog grips the land, which only releases during the peak of summer, when the sky is its clearest, and the land is allowed to be renewed. The summer sun temporarily drives away the gloom and allows the plants to bloom, grow, and refresh after prolonged rainfall.
In Autumn, the landscape is blanketed in blood-red leaves and bare, twisted trees stretching towards the grey overcast. It is during this time many animals and creatures begin to roam freely, seeking sustenance for the long winter ahead. Because of this, many residents either stay near their homes or actively hunt the creatures for food and profit.
As winter creeps in, the cold air bites like the creatures that inhabit it. Hibernation makes hunting difficult as the thick, clay-like snow piles into deep drifts across the valley. Roads become barely useable, houses are nearly swallowed, and those who survive must bare the brunt of repairs when spring arrives, and the rains return.
Localized Phenomena
Roads fade from stone to dirt to muddy horse paths in Dorsill as the near-constant rain calls for near-constant maintenance. All bridges in the land must be stonebuilt and reinforced to avoid collapse during the heavy rains and flood seasons.
Because of the weather, farming is not a traditional practice. People instead rely on trapping, hunting, and foraging fruits and vegetables. Any grain that grows is susceptible to fungus and rot. People rarely walk far from home, living in tight-knit communities which form the many hamlets and villages in the area.
At night, the forest becomes filled with fairy lights and will-o-wisps, which haunt the landscape with an eerie, cyan glow. Fairy rings are standard, dotting the hills and ravines with strange stone formations that people fear to tread near due to their connection with the Feywild.
Fauna & Flora
Much of Dorsill's animal population is large predators such as bears, dire wolves, and giant spiders. While the landscape is covered by large, black trees, animals have little use of them due to their hardwood. The fruit produced by these trees is saturated in color, bitter and unpalatable. A typical delicacy among the population is "Ashgrey Apple Pie," which is noted to be extremely bitter and sour, although nutritious. The food is as cold as the landscape during the summer months, with meat being saved and salted for warm stews in the winter.
Familiar food sources include prey animals, like deer, boar, aurochs, and giant insects. An unusual delicacy in many bars and taverns is the giant Pillipede, which is stuffed with vegetables and mushrooms and cooked until an appetizing grey before being sprinkled with garlic, salt, and pepper.
Notable vegetables are potatoes, garlic, turnips, onions, beets, and cabbage which people farm and grow in small farmsteads and village planters. Mushrooms, truffles, and other fungi are special treats among the people of Dorsill, who forage from beneath trees and in small caves.
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Expanse
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