Periodically, I am going to add detailed histories and customs of each country and region in Eirda. I will start with the countries of Canascus and move to the other areas of the Terron Landmass. If I come with any more details for any I will update these.
The Country of Hildwaine
Lore and History:
Hildwaine is a country in the northwest corner of Canascus. It is known mostly for its farming and fishing communities. It has a famous Annual Market, but the coast is known to harbor pirates and criminals.
Over 300 of years ago, Hildwaine was run by a monarchy, King Velus and Queen Imalyn Merrah. But during Dol's Imperial Conquest it was occupied and brought under Dol rule. The royal family were executed. A few decades later, when Dol's Empire mysteriously fell, Hildwaine was free to rebuild itself. The citizens formed a democratic government, a national guard, and renamed the former royal capitol of Merraten to Goldenbark.
For the next few centuries, Hildwaine thrived as a farming and fishing community. It traded with Serra and other regions by sea. It prospered fairly well. When the Eordkhun [the name of the dwarven race] took to the sea it really affected the economy of Hildwaine. Since they were still relatively small they did not have the military power to protect all of their ships. They had to resort bringing their goods to Serra by land.
Hildwaine's economy began to crumble and the pirates began to drift closer and closer to Hildwaine's coast. Some even began to settle on the coast and set up a pirate hideout. They would frequent the town of Dulnport; the villagers were worried at first, but the pirates spent a good amount of money at the local taverns. It was a huge relief to the struggling town. The national guard left the pirates alone so long as they didn't cause problems and spent their money well.
Eventually, the pirates integrated into the town of Dulnport. It had vastly expanded because of pirate spending. The town was then renamed to Freeblade by the pirates. They had also established a few other cities on the coast and now the Hildwaine government has a mutual understanding that they do not interfere with the pirate cities and the pirates don't venture inland to the other towns.
The population of Hildwaine is mostly Canascan. The pirate cities of Freeblade, Saltvein are greatly varied, but the major races are Canascan and Eordkhun.
Major Cities:
-Goldenbark-
Also, called the City of Gold. Goldenbark is the capital and also the largest city of Hildwaine. Before Dol's conquest it was named Merraten, after the royal family. When Dol collapsed it was renamed and the country established a democratic government. Goldenbark is a fairly prosperous city and is the largest in Hildwaine. The capitol building was converted from the royal castle and that is where the government officials reside while in office.
They have a fairly grand market. Every fall season they have The Annual Hild Market Fair that attracts people from all over Hildwaine; and even some from Serra visit during this time. Farmers and merchants come from all corners to sell their goods at the annual fair. Getting a spot at the fair is a very competitive process and hundreds of sellers don't get a spot in the Golden Plaza. So, those that don't get a spot in the city set up a second fair outside of town. In town, you can get better quality goods; but out of town the fair is much livelier since it is out of city bounds. The "Road Fair", as they call it, takes place on the main road that leads into the city and the Golden Plaza.
The city is mostly made of gray stone that is mined from the Drake Mountains. Merrah Castle was renovated and is now used as the government headquarters and is located in the east side. The main road that leaves Goldenbark leads to Silpha, the largest still-running port in Hildwaine. The main entrance on the south leads into the Golden Plaza, the largest market in Hildwaine. While not as large as some markets in Serra it is still popular enough to attract many visitors and food enthusiasts. Many farmers and merchants sell food that are unmatched in taste and quality.
The name Goldenbark comes from the trees of the Golden forest. The trees there have a very attractive golden color for the bark on the trunks.
Most of the city's trade is done with Serra. It's
economy has still survived by using the Silphan Strait to get to the
trade cities of Serra.
-
Freeblade-
40 years ago, Freeblade was originally named Dulnport; it used to be a moderately large fishing village.
When pirates ruined a lot of their sea business the village began to suffer. Ironically though, the pirates eventually traveled to Dulnport and enjoyed the taverns and local shops. The pirates began to settle and designated Dulnport as a new hub.
When word traveled that Dulnport was being frequented by pirates, the Hild Guard sent troops to protect the citizens of Dulnport. But since the pirates were merely entertaining themselves and actually spending money; apart from a few troublemakers, the Guard couldn't force them out without causing trouble in the first place.
Within the year many Dulnport residents left once the pirates started settling, soon the pirates claimed the city as their own and renamed it to Freeblade. With mostly pirate residents and no Hilds, the Guard abandoned the city. Now it is a bustling and lively city filled with pirates and criminals. There is lots of coin to be earned here, but just as much danger and lawlessness. Though most of the ruckus is contained within the city.
It is governed by the Deskar Clan, a racially mixed band of pirates. They are a strangely honorable pirate clan. The Hild Guard have attempted to arrest their leader before, but with no real cause they were not able to keep him incarcerated. Onadum Deskar, the clan leader, made an unofficial rule that he would keep the people of Freeblade within it's walls and not cause trouble to the rest of Hildwaine so long as they left it alone. The politicians of Goldenbark unofficially agreed and leave it alone.
As a show of good faith, the Deskar Clan also try to keep the other pirate hubs of Saltvein and Un'kehva in check as well; especially Saltvein. They believe that if they would get on the bad side of the Hild government that it would spell trouble for Freeblade as well.
Freeblade is a large port city with plenty of docks for hundreds of pirate ships to land and sail off. The buildings are mostly made of wood. Some of the older areas retain the simple aesthetics of the Hild craftsmanship, but the expanded areas are mixed between Eordkhun and other styles.
-Un'kehva-
This is one of two pirate established port towns. Whereas Freeblade was originally a Hild village, Un'kehva was was founded solely by pirates. Un'kehva is a dwarven name and has a bigger dwarven population than the other pirate cities. It is held by the Huhndel Clan, a clan that is all dwarven and doesn't like to mix it's members. Other races are usually not received very well. But that doesn't mean they would refuse non-dwarven money. Like any pirate they would do about anything for the right price.
The pirates of Un'kehva keep mostly to themselves. They pride themselves with being seabearers and try to keep their business on the seas. They consider the town only as a hub to land and rest. The buildings are mostly wooden with Eordkhun styled buildings.
-Saltvein-
Saltvein is a very dangerous place for non-pirates. It was established by pirates from the ground up, like Un'kehva. But, where Freeblade usually welcomes anyone and is usually not directly threatening; Saltvein's residents are usually very open with their hostility. Even though most Hilds detest Saltvein their mutual standing with Freeblade make it hard to enforce laws there. Most Hilds are content to just leave Saltvein alone.
Though, occasionally there have been instances where bandits would take refuge in Saltvein after robbing some nearby Hildwaine citizens.
-Greenvale-
This village is located deep within the Erris Forest. They are one of the largest providers of lumber to the majority of Hildwaine. There is a big lumber and hunting community in Greenvale. Some claim that the best hunters come from Greenvale and they even have contests in the spring to see who can hunt the biggest buck.
The buidings of Greenvale are log cabins made of the rich reddish wood that Erris Forest is famous for. The residents value their forest and people may not hunt, harvest, or chop down trees without a permit. Those whom are found illegally gathering these are fined and even imprisoned depending on the severity of the infraction.
Greenvale got its name from the lush green grass and trees of the Erris Forest. One of the largest forests in Canascus. The forest is also one of the most densely inhabited by wildlife forests.
Because if how large the forest is it also is home to tribes of barbarians. The barbarians don't usually get along with outsiders and don't consider themselves part of Hildwaine. They usually get angry when they are labeled as a HIld.
-Duvar-
The Hild Guard has recently established Duvar as it's main headquarters. With the nearby villages being periodically attacked by bandits from Saltvein, The Hild Guard wanted to keep a closer eye on the coast. They have other small outposts throughout the southwestern area to survey the area.
Duvar is a farming community. When the Hild Guard came in they expanded and fortified the city. Now it's farmers still flourish while under the protection of of the HIld Guard.
Duvar is a city made with earthy colored wood; there are a few shops and a tavern. It has a really good market, though small. On the outskirts of the city is where they built the Hild Countryside Guard main outpost. The outpost built a wooden wall around the city to protect it from potential bandit attack. And the many farms that are still part of Duvar are on the outside of the city and surround the area. There are other smaller guard posts that patrol the area and the farmers on the outside of those farms.
-Enoriec-
This is a fairly large fishing community. Most of their profit comes from fishing in the Rimelden River and selling fish in other Hild cities and exports to Serra. They use Cold Magic to freeze the fish and keep it refrigerated. For the most part, Enoriec is a fairly normal town; the one aspect that makes it peculiar is for the fact that it is the only city in Hildwaine with a small population of draken citizens.
Draken are a reptilian race that believe themselves to be descended from dragons. The draken in Enoriec were a small tribe that was overpowered and chased out of their nest in the Drake Mountains. The Drake Mountains gain their names because of the large population of draken. Dragons are also known to live in the mountains but are rarely seen.
-Balesten-
Balesten is the the largest farming community in all of Hildwaine. It is in the middle of Lindur Plains, a region that is considered highly fertile and rich.
-Illestad-
In order to keep Goldenbark looking like a happy and carefree city. The government and the Hild Guard agreed to keep the military outposts outside of Goldenbark. So Illestad was established in a large unoccupied area of the Lindur Plains. Illestad is the military capital of Hildwaine. It is a large fortified city and is completely walled in. It serves as a headquarters for the Hildguard and it is also the location of the largest prison in Hildwaine. Though it is very large, it is for the most part very vacant. The only prisoners are some rowdy pirates and bandits that were arrested near Duvar.
And even though this may be a miltaristic city, there is still many non military residents in Illestad. Many soldiers have their families move into the city. Also, there are many shops and taverns that bring business to the Hild Guard.
-Trifeya Dol Ruins-
When Dol mysteriously collapsed and it's troops vanished, it did still leave it's mark. Many cities and areas were destroyed, but rebuilt. But there were many Dol ruins that remained and still haunt the surrounding areas. Many Dolese were transformed into twisted creatures and retreated to the many Dol military outposts that remained standing. Trifeya was one of the still standing outposts. It is a largely avoided area.
For the most part, the Dolese monsters keep to themselves and only attack those who get too close to Trifeya. But there have been incidents when they have left the ruins and attacked nearby villages.
The People of Hildwaine:
The people of Hildwaine are very polite and friendly. They are usually very kind and helpful and very hospitable. Despite having pirates on the coast Hild people are not used to dangerous and suspicious people. They are overly polite and sometimes may get nervous or anxious around shifty looking people, especially if they are suspected of being a pirate. The average Hild is around 5'8" for males and 5'4" for females. Their hair colors range from blonde to light brown with fair skin. In the northern cities of Hildwaine the people tend to have reddish hair and even fairer skin, especially in Greenvale.
The soldiers of the Hild Guard are generally very noble. The Hild Guard has soldiers in every major city of Hildwaine. Their housing and food are paid for and usually have a fairly cushy job. Because of this many soldiers haven't seen a whole lot of action and are fairly inexperienced. Luckily the few bandits that attack the areas near the southwest aren't very organized or skilled. But the Hild cities love and respect them all the same.
The pirates of the pirate cities are very different from each other. There are many of all shapes, races and creeds. But they do share a few things in common; their love of debauchery, money, and freedom. They are a very lively bunch and would do just about anything for the right amount of coin.
In the Erris Forest lives many barbaric tribes. They are also red-haired, but slightly darker skin. They tend to wear furs and leather. They are generally very spiritual and commune with the forests. They live off the land and share with one another. They value survival skills highly and are experts at living in the wild.
