The Competitor is a sculpture which dates back to the Age of the Vyrum. It was installed in the portico of the courtyard of the new Moderasia of Peakshadow, built by High King Agon.
Showing posts with label s:Peakshadow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label s:Peakshadow. Show all posts
The Competitor
The Competitor is a sculpture which dates back to the Age of the Vyrum. It was installed in the portico of the courtyard of the new Moderasia of Peakshadow, built by High King Agon.
The Platinum Throne
The Platinum Throne is a massive high-backed seat, carved from the black heartwood of the Ironspine Cedars—trees now extinct. Its imposing frame rises like a jagged crown, each armrest carved into the snarling heads of an ice bear -- creatures no longer seen beneath the Gray Mantle Mountains.
From base to crest, platinum filigree twists and coils, tracing words in ancient Vyrum. The inlays gleam cold and pure, immune to rust and untouched by time, glinting like moonlight even when the Hall is dim. Along the seat’s back, a wide sunburst medallion of platinum displays the sigil of a forgotten House, but now taken to mean the new day that dawned with Fergus the First.
The seat itself is padded in a storm grey hide from a creature unremembered, though rumored to be dire wolf. Fifty-five Platinum studs dot the leather, each one hammered in during the coronation of a new High King.
The Throne rests upon a block of flawless white onyx, its surface smooth as frozen water, its pale body veined with subtle currents of grey and pearl. By torchlight it gleams like hoarfrost, and in the morning sun it glows as if clouds had been trapped in stone. None now know from where it was quarried it, though the rumors say it was hewn from the mountains at the top of the world, where it is too cold for any man to remain and where the daylight lasts for an entire year.
The Platinum Throne was a gift of the Lod People (an ancient and diminutive race far to the North) who visited Fergus the First on the occasion of his coronation.
The Throne rests upon a block of flawless white onyx, its surface smooth as frozen water, its pale body veined with subtle currents of grey and pearl. By torchlight it gleams like hoarfrost, and in the morning sun it glows as if clouds had been trapped in stone. None now know from where it was quarried it, though the rumors say it was hewn from the mountains at the top of the world, where it is too cold for any man to remain and where the daylight lasts for an entire year.
The Platinum Throne was a gift of the Lod People (an ancient and diminutive race far to the North) who visited Fergus the First on the occasion of his coronation.
History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 6
In the 600 years since the proclamation of the Grand Hierophant at Dovaris, mankind had indeed proved himself to be the obvious successor to the Vyrum. While they lacked the sophistication and learning of the previous age, they had an obvious gift for fertility. Three times, the more experienced and more tactically sound Urok had been repelled by the men of Westrun. Those victories were based on attrition as much as on any other factor. While the Urok had fought themselves to near extinction after three conflicts, the armies of man were able to completely rebound within twenty years.
Not only did they have numbers on their side, but the human capacity for death and loss proved to be greater than any the Besnir had ever seen. The Urok were by no means alone in this observation. Factions of the Dwarves and Elves were horrified by the way in which many humans abandoned their dead and even failed to mourn them for the decades required in Besnir society. Among the Besnir it was not uncommon for a mother who lost a child to forego the rest of her years of fertility.
Most frustrating to the Realms was that within a decade, mankind could forget alliances and treaties and even a state of war. Agreements made between a Rane and a human king might not survive the birth of the king's first heir, let alone his coming to power. Treaties between the Mistwood and Sak were in a state of continual reinforcement, with the elder race providing reminders by way of gifts. In this way, their borders were made sacrosanct. The Dwarf of Oromir and the Lord of Sudhall memorialized their treaty with a construction of a massive keep using the artistry and craft of the Dwarves, which no man could gainsay.
Rath too was beneficiary of such an arrangement. When the King's men uncovered a centuries old well-intended, but sacrilegious burial of Dwarves, he returned those remains to Dynkyr. This single act was well-received for there were many still alive who missed their kin and wondered about their final rest. In this way, the King of Rath earned great respect and gratitude from the Dwarves though there were few enough humans who even remembered that Dwarven militias had helped at the Third Urok War. The prevailing opinion that mankind had no memory, compounded the generosity of this gesture rather than diminish it.
All was not peace in Westrun during the 36th century. Small scale war continued between what few Urok remained and the tribes of the Balduren Confederacy.
3600ey the monarchy of Treft was toppled after the assassination of its king who did not leave a clear heir. Various pretenders to the throne rise and fall before the city declares itself a democracy and the light of the world.
All was not peace in Westrun during the 36th century. Small scale war continued between what few Urok remained and the tribes of the Balduren Confederacy.
3600ey the monarchy of Treft was toppled after the assassination of its king who did not leave a clear heir. Various pretenders to the throne rise and fall before the city declares itself a democracy and the light of the world.
In 3605ey the Jarls of Northrun cast a jealous eye on the growing prosperity of Wanderhalt and Sudland. A decade of raids and war followed. During the height of these conflicts, the timber fort at Wanderhalt was taken and its lord was sent into exile, not to return on pain of death. The Lord of Wanderhalt went through the Silverlode Mountains into Sudland and appealed to the Lord of Sudhall for assistance.
In 3618ey at the Gathering of the Fraternity, the Lord of Sudhall petitioned the Rangers to retake Wanderhalt for its exiled lord. In stirring them to action, he also extracted an oath of everlasting fealty from its lord. Two years later, Wanderhalt was retaken and the daughter of the Lord of Sudhall was married to the son of the Lord of Wanderhalt -- linking the two nobles thereafter.
3622ey Arepos, the former court magician of the King of Treft resided in the Mistwood since the king's death and ingratiated himself to the ancient Llormaster and librarian there. After stealing the ancient Scrolls of Alobal and taking them back to the kingdoms of men, he ignites a war between Treft and the Elves which leads to a one year siege of the ancient ald. To resolve the siege, the City of Treft consents to surrender every scroll and slip of paper in the city, loading them on carts and sending them out to the waiting Elves. The scrolls are not recovered.
3627ey The Dweomersecte is founded with a tower in Talir. Within weeks of completion, this tower is burned by what some say are Elvish saboteurs. In 3647ey the second tower of the Dweomersecte is completed in Menea. This tower is also burned within weeks. A third tower is located near Sudhall and comes under the protection of Oromir, after negotiation between Elves and Dwarves, this tower escapes damage, but Arepos himself is found dead (believed assassinated) in 3651ey. Sarseer is declared the new Archmage of Westrun.
In 3686ey the Urok make an unholy alliance with the Dweomersecte. Under the Dread Foulness, they begin to give themselves over to simple, savage propagation -- hoping to beat humanity at their own game. This magical reproduction gives rise to animalistic goblins who hate the banishment of their forebears and eventually vow eternal war on all the other races. In one hundred years, no Urok will remain and all will have been replaced by their goblinoid descendants.
Peakshadow Historical and Antiquities Society
The Antiquities Society is a private club located in the City of Peakshadow. Membership is reserved to un-landed nobility (baronets) and to the gentry who have distinguished themselves in the eyes of the membership.
Any nobleman or gentleman may attend the club as an associate of an existing member, but will not have voting privileges nor be invited to the Privy Sessions until membership is conferred by majority vote.
The club meets every Thewsday evening for members and associates alike. The Privy Session occurs afterward at the ringing of the bells, where the membership is drawn out into the Inner Sanctum to discuss business, as necessary.
The PHAS has been in continual existence for centuries, boasting some of the most unusual and eclectic membership the world over. The purpose of the club is thought to be that of wealthy men pretending at adventure. This masks the true purpose of explorers and adventurers who have advanced to name-level.
Any nobleman or gentleman may attend the club as an associate of an existing member, but will not have voting privileges nor be invited to the Privy Sessions until membership is conferred by majority vote.
The club meets every Thewsday evening for members and associates alike. The Privy Session occurs afterward at the ringing of the bells, where the membership is drawn out into the Inner Sanctum to discuss business, as necessary.
The PHAS has been in continual existence for centuries, boasting some of the most unusual and eclectic membership the world over. The purpose of the club is thought to be that of wealthy men pretending at adventure. This masks the true purpose of explorers and adventurers who have advanced to name-level.
The club has a 100 year lease with the Lord Mayor of Peakshadow and its membership has all the legal expertise necessary to see it defended.
There are currently 21 members of the club and nearly that many associates.
There are currently 21 members of the club and nearly that many associates.
Library of Lyosha
The Library of Lyosha, also known as the High King's Library, is the greatest collection of non-magical books in Westrun, and perhaps all of Erenth.
Lyosha himself is believed to have been a sage of the ancient world. Indeed the oldest text in the Library is called Histories of Lyosha and is recorded on a series of clay cones, each bearing his distinctive signature. The writing is in the form of pictograms whose meanings have been lost to antiquity.
The Library itself was once lost, but was exhumed by Dwarves who began to lay the foundations of Peakshadow as a gift to human kind, early at the start of the Seventh Age. To the records they found there, the subsequent kings of Peakshadow added whatever tomes they could acquire or have written.
The books themselves are kept by an order of sages known as the Lyoshans, or more commonly, the Gray Beards of Peakshadow or the Fingermen.
The Lyoshan's vow never to write books of their own, and never to share the knowledge they have gained by reading, but rather only to present the books they have found for other's to read and draw their own conclusions. To help fulfill this vow, the Fingermen amputate their first and second finger on their right hand after taking the hood of their order.
Some believe that Lyosha himself is interred in the bowels of the library.
The Grand Cathedral of Peakshadow
The Coin Barns of the Oxmen
The common name for those buildings in use by the most popular banking system in Erenth, the Coin Barns are administered by a peculiar society in league with Church in Westrun, and are under the protection of the famed Oxmen. The Coin Barns are the clearing houses for most writs the world over. They charge a 1% fee for those transactions.
Deposits and withdrawals can be made at locations in
The Coin Barns will take any deposit of any coinage. Withdrawals can be made at any location, but they are not allowed until a 90 day waiting period has elapsed. After that initial waiting period, amounts can be withdrawn on any Firesday, after notice has been given on the previous Moonsday.
For some, the greatest service that the Coin Barns offer is to vouchsafe (by the honor of the Oxmen) the average size of their depositors accounts per annum. Far from being seen as a breach of privacy, this actually allows nobility and other institutions to determine how credit worthy their potential customers and trade partners are.
Deposits and withdrawals can be made at locations in
- Peakshadow
- Wanderhalt
- Bolden
- Menea
- Treft
- Laketon
- Watersedge
- Balduren
- and Rath in Westrun;
- Old Darios in the Free Provinces;
- Byza and Tradepost (Sabaha) in Southrun;
- and the Imperial City of Shu in Eastrun.
The Coin Barns will take any deposit of any coinage. Withdrawals can be made at any location, but they are not allowed until a 90 day waiting period has elapsed. After that initial waiting period, amounts can be withdrawn on any Firesday, after notice has been given on the previous Moonsday.
For some, the greatest service that the Coin Barns offer is to vouchsafe (by the honor of the Oxmen) the average size of their depositors accounts per annum. Far from being seen as a breach of privacy, this actually allows nobility and other institutions to determine how credit worthy their potential customers and trade partners are.
Order of the Dawn
Founded: 4949ey
The chapel of this peerage is in Peakshadow of Westrun.
Little is known of this order or its purpose. It was founded by sole survivor of the battle to end the Siege of Peakshadow -- a squire who was elevated to knighthood on the occasion. It is the oldest order and predates the founding of the Paladins under Halded the Militant.
Little is known of this order or its purpose. It was founded by sole survivor of the battle to end the Siege of Peakshadow -- a squire who was elevated to knighthood on the occasion. It is the oldest order and predates the founding of the Paladins under Halded the Militant.
It is rumored that the Greenmen are the extreme enforcement wing of the Patriach and answer to the occupant of that office personally.
These men take an oath of silence that binds them from swearing oaths beyond that which they took to enter their Peerage. They are also prohibited from speaking frivolously, to maintain conversation or to observe polite company. They most often speak when asked a direct question, and not otherwise.
The symbol is a crossed mace and shepherds crook.
These men take an oath of silence that binds them from swearing oaths beyond that which they took to enter their Peerage. They are also prohibited from speaking frivolously, to maintain conversation or to observe polite company. They most often speak when asked a direct question, and not otherwise.
The symbol is a crossed mace and shepherds crook.
High King Halinard Geldorf
Violent : Cruel. Has own rules of logic which don't match most peoples.
motto : Never overlook the small joys while looking for the big ones.
motto : Never overlook the small joys while looking for the big ones.
College of Tenser
Tenser is a middle-aged male with a high forehead and tufts of unruly hair.
Tenser is a member of the Circle of 8.
The Primus of Tenser is Clem. The students of Tenser wear gold robes with a red hood.
The Oxmen give the school a rating of 23 gold bars.
College of Vecna
Vecna himself is a very long lived individual. Some say the study of magic has given him an unnaturally long life. He has claimed the moniker, "the Undying" though that is certainly an exaggeration. His school has been active for as long as records have been kept. It is therefore doubtful that this Vecna is the same as the founder.
The students of Vecna are known to wear brown robes with a black hood.
It is believed that the school does business through many subsidiary accounts, nevertheless, the main account bearing that name with the Oxmen is reported to be in good standing with a rating of 25 bars.
City of Peakshadow
Located between the Kingdoms of Bolden and Collonia in the Land of Westrun, the City/State of Peakshadow is the capital of the Eight Kingdoms and the largest, grandest city known to the men of Westrun. It is often called the City of the High King.
It is built in four concentric half rings of stone quarried from the Silverlode Mountains and fashioned in better times by the Dwarves of Oromir as a gift to Fergus II.
Journeying toward the center of the city, the ringed walls grow higher so that each overlooks the walls and city outside of it. The innermost walls stand highest of all. The innermost city is the abode of the High King and his Kathmbir Keep. The ring about it contains the residences of nobles, the gentry, and wealthiest of merchants. The ring around that is the center of commerce and middle class. The outer city is the abode of the peasants, commoners and tradesmen that make up the lowest class.
High King Agon Damaskos rules the Eight Kingdoms from Peakshadow. The wizard Tenser is known to reside there in an ivory tower. The College of Vecna was headquartered there, though now it remains a ruins. Peakshadow is also the home to the Grand Cathedral and the residence of the Patriarch Philbert the Impatient.
It is built in four concentric half rings of stone quarried from the Silverlode Mountains and fashioned in better times by the Dwarves of Oromir as a gift to Fergus II.
Journeying toward the center of the city, the ringed walls grow higher so that each overlooks the walls and city outside of it. The innermost walls stand highest of all. The innermost city is the abode of the High King and his Kathmbir Keep. The ring about it contains the residences of nobles, the gentry, and wealthiest of merchants. The ring around that is the center of commerce and middle class. The outer city is the abode of the peasants, commoners and tradesmen that make up the lowest class.
High King Agon Damaskos rules the Eight Kingdoms from Peakshadow. The wizard Tenser is known to reside there in an ivory tower. The College of Vecna was headquartered there, though now it remains a ruins. Peakshadow is also the home to the Grand Cathedral and the residence of the Patriarch Philbert the Impatient.
Magister Tenser
Quiet : Laconic. Inquisitive.
motto : Always live and let live.
Tenser is a member of the Circle of 8.
Bayburry of Peakshadow
Bayburry is a cartographer of some note and a geographer of the Eight Kingdoms.
The maps produced by the Bayburry school are widely regarded as among the most accurate ever produced and his sea charts are without peer.
The maps produced by the Bayburry school are widely regarded as among the most accurate ever produced and his sea charts are without peer.
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