In the northern reaches of Weiland, where the land sits slightly lower, where the fields flower green with clover rather than golden with wheat, where the grand lake twinkles in the winter sun, there is a peace. Everguarde, as it was dubbed by the King himself for its position defending the Kingdom from the cursed Weald and its thorny inhabitants, is a quieter duchy than its southern neighbours. As least it was before the war came to it.
Now Everguarde rouses from its slumber. This place of greenery and magic is scarred by the war against The Onyx Aristocracy and still silent in the halls of power. While its residents adorn themselves with violets and steel, it still remains to be seen if they will rise to power, or fall beneath the silent waves of Lake Ladure, dragged low by unseen hands.
Show Me Glory and I Will Show You a Place to Rule
Everguarde stands as Weiland’s unclaimed duchy. Originally given to the close companion of the King, Ser Gareth Everguarde the Brilliant, Everguarde is a place of verdant wonder. Where Heartsgrave is a bucolic countryside of vast fields, Starscar a rough scrabble-land of hard work and hard deeds, Everguarde is suffused with a gentle darkness. Count Gareth was once written to have said about his new home “The land gifted to me by my brethren is beautiful in the morning light, serene in the evening dusk and coiled to strike in the dark of night.” With the looming presence of the Weald to the north, the vast idyllic waterways of Lake Ladure, and the fine grassy fields surrounding Carningsfield, Everguarde is a place of magic, mystery, and beauty. Playwrights in the capital often chose the location as a setting for stories of otherworldly tales or humorous fae dealings, something both alien and familiar.
But in the current day, Everguarde is the least advantaged by the wounded Kingdom. As the only duchy still administered by the Wise Council, many of its offices remain unfilled. Damages wrought by the battle for Weiland against The Onyx Aristocracy are difficult to recover from and opportunities for growth fallow. While the Wise Council has admitted that it is not the best suited to holding the title, they are also bound by the need to focus on what is best for the whole nation, rather than just Everguarde. As more and more pressure rises to see Everguarde returned to the Nobles of Bordevar as Heartsgrave and Starscar have been, the Council has finally issued a public response.
“The wars against our and The Concord’s foes have been felt across all the realm. There is not one person in Bordevar who does not mourn a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a lover. This loss is felt by the Wise Council as we too wear the wounds of the realm. This war has ravaged all people, but in this we have lost many of our Noble peers. While we do wish to release the Duchy of Everguarde back to the holdings of the Nobles of the realm, we cannot do so in faith while the realm is so wounded. To do so would not ensure the best outcomes for the people of Everguarde nor for the Crown. Be rest assured that the Council will continue to safeguard the region until the realm has healed.”
As the enchanting lands of Everguarde remain unled, the Heroes of Bordevar look to each other to find greatness. But the Wise Council is not leaving them unmotivated: two grand estates, once held by the companions of King Artourious Bordevar, and since returned to the Wise Council’s ownership, are being repaired and returned to good order.
The Gryphons Glade rests on the northern side of Lake Ladure, nestled among the oak and chestnut trees that split off from the cursed Weald to the north. Once a personal hunting ground of the King, it contains numerous small but fine cottages, homey campsites and beautiful views over the lake and river. Most notable are fine ‘Imperial Stags’, a particular bloodline of elk known for long limbs and red coats.
The Spire of Jovell looms tall on the peninsular of Lake Ladure’s south-east: a spire of granite and arcstone some six stories, overlooking a private beach of pale sand. Once the private venue of Jovell, an enchanter and ally to the King, the site still retains powerful magics and is a stable supply of mana for those who would suffer to live in its picturesque walls.
Both sites are returning to their former glory, to be offered to those individuals who would obtain their Nobility and move to Everguarde.
Game Information
Low numbers of Nobles within the Bordevarian contingent has concerned the Wise Council, who has elected to retain the title of Duke of Everguarde and Sheriff of Carningsfield for the time being. They will reassess as the realm grows and sees more Nobles complete their Virtues.
To encourage this the Wise Council has prepared the following two investments. The first characters to complete their Virtues MAY elect to take up these investments to replace their own - first to succeed gets the first choice - but in doing so they must move to Everguarde Duchy. They are:
- The Gryphons Glade (Tier 4 Wilderness - Beastbone)
- The Spire of Jovell (Tier 3 Leyline)
Halt My Future And Save Me
Of all the wounds suffered by Bordevar in the recent past, the Crystal Maw remains the most visibly present. Each day since its arcane creation it has continued to syphon away the life of Everguarde and greater Weiland, draining the waters of Lake Ladure like blood forcing its way back into a flowing cut. This has not gone unnoticed nor unattended, as efforts to dam the breach between Lake Ladure and the Crystal Maw are begun in earnest during the Winter Season.
The support of The Ducal Council and notable Bordevarians were imperative in arranging the necessary support to create a functioning dam. Funds and finances, always the bane of any seeking to save their home, were gained through promise and politics. What to some would be an amount wasted on such things, this coin would see no effort wasted by the people of Carningsfield in the construction of the initial dam, fueled by what trees remain after the arcane malady had struck the area.
There is no telling whether this speed was imperative in not feeding the Maw further, but the dam’s hasty creation certainly saw the rushing waters of the Lake halted for a short time. It quickly became apparent that this would not be enough, as the pressure of the Lake’s waters would constantly press and prod at the dam, trying to find what many weaknesses remained. The pressures of the leaking water were constant, straining the minds and hands of the workers providing maintenance, requiring observation near day and night to ensure that the dam did not crumble to nothing.
But they would not work alone. Through the wisdom of the Ducal Council, in particular Duke Portless of Heartsgrave, the Wolfden Woods were to be logged and its wood to be ferried out to all corners of Bordevar. This wood would find its way to the pyres of Starscar near the same time it came to the people of Everguarde, who desperately fortified the dam with each further cart sent their way. Yet much to the surprise of everyone, least of all the Duke himself, the carts would not stop coming. The powers of the Wondrous Forest manifest in ways unexpected, and the Wolfden would see barely a dent in its size despite the constant logging of its trees.
The constant supply of hardy wood would see the dam constantly fortified, yet still it seemed to be only a temporary fix. With each patched leak, another would spring forth, the waters of Lake Ladure never letting up for a second. And so a call resounded throughout Bordevar; one of thought and consideration for the best ways forward. A resounding cry of cost and expenses were solemnly accepted, with no alternative save for the penned whispers of a madman ignored by the populace.
And so two options were planned. One would see the existing dam fortified using Thunder Oak, reinforcing it in ways that would perhaps be able to face the pressures of the Lake for far longer and requiring far less maintenance. By cleverly entwining Thunder Oak into wooden supports, water could be allowed to leak through in chosen, and as such expected, places. While a constant leak, it would enable the maintenance to be more direct and effective than would be considered possible as the dam stands.
The other, far more expensive, option would be to create a stone dam around and in front of the current wooden one. By using portions of Arcstone to reinforce the side facing Lake Ladure, there would be no worry of it ever bursting from pressure alone. With certain sluices built across the width of the dam, water could be let out if required to lessen the pressure or otherwise purposefully allow the flow of water into the Maw itself. Even in the face of sabotage, it would be difficult to break down the stone dam without considerable effort.
Whatever worth these options have in the eyes of the people, it is in the hands of the Heroes to determine their validity. To weigh the cost and efforts of those who wish to see these things done, and determine if they are possible at all. Whether the Maw will continue to feast on the life of Weiland, or if the dam will prevail, will be determined by time and choice.
Game Information
Efforts to dam the flow of Lake Ladure into the Crystal Maw see some degree of success, particularly bolstered by the logging of the Wolfden Woods. Despite these efforts, the maintenance of such things are physically and mentally taxing to the people of Carningsfield who choose to look over it. In an effort to assist them, the people of Bordevar have come together to present two ways forward.
To fortify the wooden dam further, an amount of Thunder Oak equal to 4 Wains would be required. This would reduce the efforts needed for maintenance, but not remove them entirely. There is a good chance this opportunity will not disappear unless the dam itself does.
Alternatively, a great stone dam could be created utilising a facing of Arcstone and the cost of stone. This would require 5 Wains, 1 Vault and 15 Locks. The price of stone has significantly dropped due to the Crystal Maw having ripped apart the ground around it, revealing accessible bedrock in many spots. This opportunity may become harder to achieve as time passes.
The Ducal Council will receive further information and opportunities in regards to the damming of Lake Ladure at the Crystal Maw.
Strange Wars Beget Strange Wounds
“Well, fuck,” Timothy let out, squinting his eyes up at the dying sun.
“You can say that again,” his apprentice gasped out beside him, limbs leadened from the climb up. “I were supposed to be a bloody carpenter’s apprentice, not some ghost-huntin, magic-mumbo-jumbo man.”
Timothy shook his head; he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the boy - it wasn’t as if he was wrong. “Yer doing carpentry, lad. That dam didn’t just appear out of nowhere, did it?”
The apprentice smiled ruefully, staring back down the section of the gaping crystalline wound that they’d just ascended from. “No,” he retorted, eyes focussed on the gathered mass at the bottom of their ladder. “But it’s not keeping them undeadens out, or the ghosts neither.”
Almost as if summoned by his complaining, a wailing moan echoed up from the chasm; the noise would have made the two of them shiver with dread if it had happened a season ago, but now it only made them roll their eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re dead, we get it...” Timothy muttered, making sure that all of his remaining tools were safely attached to his belt - it had been quite the dash to get up to the top of the maw before the sun had set, after patching up all of the new holes in the dam.
“They should just bloody drain it,” his apprentice continued, ever-so-wise at ten-and-six. “Stick it full o’ holes and let it all go somewhere else.” But Timothy had heard the conversations that the Mayor of Carningsfield had with the Lady. “The rest of the water isn’t goin nowhere until all the magic is cleaned out of it and them undead are dealt with, unless you want all of Everguarde to look like Podrick Grimshaw.”
The two of them grimaced at the mention of the boy - he’d drank water from the dam nearly a moon ago, and he was still growing pus-coloured crystals from unmentionable places even now.
Shaking their heads free from the unpleasant image, the two of them gazed at the sun, nearly entirely swallowed by the horizon now. Then, their eyes shifted back to the wound in the earth.
Timothy felt the question in the air before it was asked, and saved the boy the embarrassment. “I’ll get the ladder - you go get yerself all gussied up for Miss Cottondale,” he said gruffly, pretending he wasn’t pleased that his apprentice that had finally grown some spine and stopped silently mooning over the lass.
Something that sounded vaguely like a yessir travelled on the wind, but the boy was gone before it could be responded to, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers as he went. Timothy smiled somewhat sadly - he could still remember nerves he was sure the boy was feeling, even forty years on.
Walking back to the ladder, he began carefully pulling it up; he didn’t fancy his chances against whatever magic happened when the crystals wormed their way inside flesh.
When the final wrung of the ladder cleared the side of the maw, he allowed himself a small amount of relief - this time last week an undead had clung all the way up, and he’d broken his favourite mallet smashing its bloated head in against the ground.
Carrying his ladder on his shoulder, and his remaining tools on his hip, Timothy made his way back to Carningsfield. Walking in the gloaming light, he hoped that someone with better brains than him would fix all this soon, as he had every night for the last two months.
Game Information
Although the Crystal Maw has, for the most part, stopped stealing water from Lake Ladure, the wound itself still poses a number of problems.
First, there is the issue of the crystals themselves - formed from excess magic, they seem to be leaking this arcane energy back into the earth around the maw, and the water that remains within. The effects of this magic are unpredictable, however, it does seem particularly to be interacting with the undead in unsavoury ways, leading to even more lost souls than usual in the area.
Then, there is the issue of the undead that remain in the maw - although they are not an active threat being where they are, them remaining in the maw poses logistical problems for those attempting to fix the structural issues with the dam, as well as making the water significantly more concerning.
Finally, there is the issue of the remaining water. Currently unable to escape the dammed area, the residual magic and undead flesh have surely made it a danger if it were able to return to the earth or the Lake, however leaving it to fester seems like an equally questionable option.
The Civil Service will be able to provide solutions to these problems, but they may not be the most elegant or cheap options. It is likely that involvement from the Heroes of Bordevar and the wider Concord will be required.
There will be decisions to make regarding the Crystal Maw by The Ducal Council and the Champion of The King