A Region of The Iron Valley
Text taken from the Winds of the World Entry: Retaken from Hands Lost
Crag Owls, great stone gray and ice white beasts of the Steinvaults, have been known to fly for days at a time, so high in the frost above the high places that one might forget they stand as tall as a five year old child when on the ground. A crag owl that descended from the heights of the Steinvaults to sail lazily through King’s Pass would have a great amount to see.
First, the pale green of the Attercoppe would unfold beneath its great wings. A dense and hard-scrabble woodland, the Attercoppe is predominantly made of Bladepines, so named for their nearly steel coloured leaves during winter, and Stonebreakers, massive oaks which appear to perish each winter, leaving them sticking up like skeletal hands over their smaller companions. The Attercoppe is known to be a dark and dangerous place, with winding paths, freezing shade, and an infestation of cold-loving spiders that can grow as big as cats. But, the woodland keeps the Pass warm, and its fires burning.
Next, this silent hunter's flight would take it over Haegrim. Set atop a meagre outcropping of stone. This minor town exists to collect the works and peoples that make Kings Pass, but not the fortress of Baelag’s Holdfast their home. It's an honest town, known for its stubborn people who, after centuries of having to stand up for themselves against whomever ruled the fortress, refuse to be told what to do.
Out to the west the Owl could spy Cydigfel, and perhaps it would tempted to try its luck on the lake’s surface hunting for shining river fish or great silver eels. The waters of Cydigfel are so cold that they can’t even be drunk fresh without hurting the teeth and mind, but the denizens of this deep, crystal lake, do not appear to mind one bit.
Lastly, it would behold the great fortress of the Mountain Kings. The modestly named Baelag’s Holdfast could rival Legend City to behold, such is its scale. Its oldest stones are many thousands of years in the living, to run your hand along its walls is to trace the history of the Valley, the history of the world. Its outer walls harbour carefully tilled farmlands and its keeps hold homes for many soldiers.
But as our great snowy hunter alights atop the greatest peak of the keep, the flat-topped courtyard where the last Mountain King breathed his last defiance, and the King’s Pass unfurled beneath is human-like eyes, this land could be seen as what it is; the crossroads of empire, the crossroads of history. A place defined not by its own strength, but the lands it exists between; between east and west, between the Steinvaults and the Cildfrau.
Between a great past and an uncertain future.
Game Information about King's Pass
King's Pass is dominated by the massive fortress that is Baelag's Holdfast. Because of this it has a number of unique circumstances.
The following types of investments cannot be held in King's Pass:
- Business
- Naval
The following types of Enterprises cannot be held in King's Pass:
- Bivouac
- Cove
- Shipyard
- Merchant League
- Marketplace
King's Pass has the following traits:
| Name | Casualties Inflicted Mod | Casualties Suffered Mod | Claim Mod | Special |
| Mountain | - | +20% | - | Defending armies gain +750 Claim bonus. If that defending army has a base strength of 5000 or less, they instead gain +1500 |
| Fortified | - | -10% | - | Only applies to defending armies. |
| Unbreakable | - | - | - | This territory cannot be taken until Baelag’s Holdfast is destroyed, or is taken by some other means. |