Wythmoor
The least prestigious region in Ord, southeastern Wythmoor is a swampy and unpleasant stretch of land. It includes various small lowland communities, the Wythmoor for which it is named, the Dogwood (as the Olgunholt in known east of the Western Tradeway), the Molhado River, and the town of Tarna. Aside from logging for cork, this area has meager resources. Nearly all of its significant commerce comes from river trade passing through Tarna, together with the work of textile mills along the river. Moorgrave Caitlin Turlough rules Wythmoor, having recently inherited the grav following the accidental death of her father.
The Wythmoor has a reputation as a haunted and accursed place, a boggy swamp where strangers are unwelcome. All manner of unholy creatures are rumored to prowl the bog, particularly grymkin with malicious and cruel habits. The locals enjoy tales of rusalka, glowmoths, and other creatures that lure the witless to their deaths. Despite this, the Thurians who dwell here take rustic pride in the region and enjoy the discomfort outsiders feel here. This area also is also home to a relatively large number of gobbers, including both those living in the townships and small tribes of swamp gobbers comfortably dwelling in the moor itself. Gobbers are well integrated into communities and are treated with more friendliness by the bogfolk than they greet strangers among their own countrymen.
Living close to the Thornwood, and with the nearest large township being the Cygnaran city of Point Bourne, the locals are insular. Outside the smoking halls of Tarna where rumormongering is common, most of the people of Wythmoor do not pay much heed to what is happening elsewhere in Ord. Indeed they do not appear to have a clear idea of whether they are Cygnaran or Ordic citizens. In some cases confusion is understandable as there is considerable mixing between Wythmoor townships and woodsfolk living across the border in the Thornwood. A number of these individuals are reputed to participate in clandestine meetings during the dark or full moon, joining unsavory ceremonies led by the blackclads. As with all tales told by the people of Wythmoor, these should be taken with a grain of salt.
The region has been home to an abnormally high number of individuals born with the Gift. It is a matter of pride that during the Orgoth Occupation the first known sorcerer was born here. The inhabitants of Wythmoor refer to those touched by this legacy as having been born with “Thamar’s Kiss.” The people of Tarna in particular frequently inherit either the blessing or the curse of unusual powers. While most of the people of Wythmoor claim to be Morrowans, the locals here prefer to see to their own spiritual needs. What priests pass through usually find themselves marked as outsiders and rarely stay for more than a few years before requesting transfer.
Recently awareness of the outside world has been imposed on the people here due to the Khadoran occupation of the Thornwood. While it is unlikely that Khadoran troops would march on Wythmoor, apprehension runs high among local militias across the grav. One reassurance has been additional Ordic Army presence in the region. Army engineers just completed Torre Wythmoor on the border, where a substantial garrison is maintained. While it is the smallest of Ord’s major fortifications, Torre Wythmoor is situated to take advantage of the local terrain, built atop an artificial motte amid the moor and surrounded by swampy terrain. The only easy approach to the fortified tower is from the west. The regiment at Wythmoor is part of the Thorn Division; many of its soldiers are recruited from Wythmoor locals and thus knowledgeable in the vagaries of the local terrain. Colonel Sancia Durante is commanding officer here, a woman who is respected despite her Tordoran heritage by the predominantly Thurian soldiers making up her command. However, her forces are clearly insufficient to stand against the powerful Khadoran Army massed just east of the border. The hope remains that Khadoran forces will concentrate on their Cygnaran rivals rather than turning west.
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