Mareave

Overview

Mareave is part of the Broken Shore, controlled by the Grendel, and ruled over by Salt Lord Ehsan. It borders Spiral, Ayereed and an unknown territory of Skoura. It has much more in common with the coast of Spiral and Redoubt than that of Attar; there are comparatively few natural harbours here, and the coastline is both rocky and raised into steep cliffs. Like the rest of the Broken Shore, it is warm and dry with little in the way of large-scale vegetation.

The main settlement is the town of Beoraidh; which also serves as the only substantial port in the territory, and the location of Salt Lord Ehsan's Palace of Chains.

Recent History

At some point in the distant past, the territory of Mareave was known as Mahal, named by the human settlers who drove out the orcs that had previously lived there. These were not members of any Imperial nation; they were the ancestors of the Skouran people. There is some evidence of a handful of Urizen spires in the north but no indication the territory was ever made part of that nation even in pre-Imperial times. Eventually, the orcs reconquered the land and drove them into the mountains to the east. Much of this history can be found in the Mareave and Urizen historical research document published in late 385YE.

The territory has long been the seat of one of the Salt Lords - the rulers of Grendel society, who ruled from the city of Beoraidh, itself built on the ruins of a much older city. The armies that invaded Spiral in 331YE came north through Mareave, through the Apulian Gate that is the only reliable way to move large numbers of troops between the Broken Shore and the Empire.

In 381YE, the Imperial Senate took advantage of an opportunity to send Imperial captains to map the Bay of Catazar. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the Empire's mariners, the first reliable modern map of the Bay of Catazar was produced. This included details of Attar and the Broken Shore - including a first look at the coast of Mareave. This was later followed by a more extensive survey in 385YE.

Ultimately, the map led to a raid against the city of Beoraidh following the Winter Solstice 382YE. An incredible number of Imperial ships and soldiers launched a surprise attack against the city, inflicting significant damage and liberating a large number of both slaves and soldiers who had been press-ganged by the Grendel. These orcs would form the foundation of the Sannite sept of the Imperial Orcs.

After the Autumn Equinox 385YE, and the end of the two year peace treaty with the orcs of the Broken Shore, four Imperial armies passed through the Apulian Way to launch the first serious attempt to conquer the territory of Mareave. They faced only token resistance, with the bulk of the Grendel forces being engaged in their own attack on the other side of the Bay. The four armies conquered Icarion and Nadir, and following a major conjunction of the Sentinel Gate during the Winter Solstice, they secured their hold on Eoradal as well.

The Grendel responded by reinforcing the (somewhat disorganised) defence mounted by Salt Lord Ehsan and the Brine Turtles, but it was not enough. Imperial armies pushed south, capturing the wealthy region of Clisearn and the mines of Fundindelve. By the start of the new year 386YE, the Empire had control of the territory - although that control was by no means secure. Shortly before the Spring Equinox, the (former) Salt Lord of Beoraidh sent a delegation to speak to the leaders of the Imperial armies with a number of unexpected offers contingent upon the Imperial Senate recognising him and his people as foreigners distinct from the rest of the Grendel.

Points of Interest

Beoraidh

The port of Beoraidh is the only major coastal settlement in Mareave. Built on a relatively accessible part of the shoreline, the town appears to be in danger of being washed away. Much work has been done to rebuild the town in the years since the raid, though clearly, most resources have gone towards the shipyard that commands the docks.

Fundindelve

In northern Clisearn, deep in the mountains near to the Ohwinn river, is a large village built around a large opening cut deep into one of the mountains. This is Fundindelve; a mine with ready access to abundant veins of mithril that lie beneath Mount Finnoderi.

Estimates suggest the mine provides 22 wains of mithril each season

Palace of Chains

To the south-east of the town of Beoraidh the Palace of Chains squats over the river; controlling access between the north and south of the territory. A series of watchtowers run eastwards, into the mountains. The inner buildings of the fortification are used by Salt Lord Ehsan; with marble walls that have high windows that open to allow a breeze. The city is effectively protected by a fortification of strength 6,000.

The Apulian Way

The Apulian Way links Icarion with Apulus in Spiral. This "pass" runs through the foothill, along the coast of the Bay of Catazar, and was widened during the peace treaty to allow Grendel caravans carrying white granite into the Spiral from the Broken Shore.

The Lighthouse of Icarion

The cliff-top buildings were originally built in the Urizen style, but are inhabited and have been converted for use by the Grendel. The settlement's most striking feature is the seven-sided lighthouse constructed with white granite, topped by a globe of tempest jade. There is no light shining from the globe - the lightstone is either lost or unused by the orcs of the settlement.

Blood River Colossi

Two giant statues stand on the coast facing the sea, each about fifty feet tall. The weathered statues depict humanoid figures with human faces and the remnants of what might have once been a spear of a staff. They flank a waterfall that cascades into the Bay of Catazar with dark red-brown polluted water. The rising water level is eroding the left foot of the northern statue, putting it at risk of falling to the sea. Despite their condition, the statues remain an impressive sight.

Regions

Icarion

Quality: Hills, Under-developed, Arid
The hills of Apulus extend down into Icarion and dominate the region. Icarion, like Nadir to the east, is sparsely populated - beyond a handful of mining settlements there are a few small camps making full use of the neglected ruins of the former spires of Urizen. The mining settlements deliver wagons of iron and copper, along with crates of orichalcum and green iron down to the town of Aghnayadh in Sinfoyard. On the coast stands the ruins of the lighthouse.

Nadir

Quality: Hills, Arid
Much like Icarion the hills of Spiral continue into Nadir. The region is even less populated than Icarion to the west; there is only one village of note, Rathmonna, nestled in a lee near the mountains of Borenj. Rathmonna has low walls, nothing close to a fortification, but serves well enough to protect the inhabitants from the packs of drakes that infest the area but that provide an industry for the high risk and high reward profession of hunter. The high mountains to the north and east are impassable; there is no access to either the Mountains of the Moon nor Skoura from Nadir.

Eoradal

Qualities: Hills, Ruins, Arid, Uncooperative
Eoradal is a region of gentle foothills that slowly rise the further eastwards; the great mountains that are the border to Skoura continue southwards and dominate the horizon. There are ruins here in a style reminiscent of the Skouran embassy in the Mountains of the Moon - clearly they are all that remains of the Skourans that held the region hundreds of years ago. The ruins are clustered around the border to Skoura and lead deeper into the mountains.

Sinfoyard

Quality: Beoraidh
The coastline of Sinfoyard is rocky which abruptly leads to steep cliffs that stand tall against the waves of the Bay of Catazar. The region is barren, even more so than the rest of the territory, but is heavily populated due to the salt mine worked by the many slaves of Salt Lord Ehsan. Near to the salt mines is the sprawling town of Aghnayadh; home to warehouses filled with ore from the northern regions and destined for further south, and with accommodation for those poor souls that work the salt mines.

Beoraidh

Qualities: City, Coastal, Beoraidh
Beoraidh is the most densely populated of all the regions in Mareave. It houses the town that shares its name with the region, the fortified Palace of Chains that straddles the Ohwinn river before it meets the sea, and the shipyard to the south of the port. The walled headquarters and warehouses of the North Mareave Trading Consortium are located slightly to the north of the port.

Clisearn

Qualities: Hills, Uncooperative
The hills of Clisearn are similar to those found in Eoradal; low foothills that lead into the imposing mountains to the east. The key difference is the sheer amount of wealth found in this region. The family of Salt Lord Ehsan reside here in extensive villas, rather than in the Palace of Chains or the dilapidated port town of Beoraidh. The Ohwinn river starts in the hills, not far from the Fundindelve where rather than being worked by slaves is instead entirely staffed by paid workers who have the kind of housing and amenities that would make a Tassatan bridgewright envious. There is a small garrison of Stone Born who guard both the mine and the villas of Ehsan.

Fleisardh

Qualities: Uncooperative, Under threat
Fleisardh is the home of the Brine Turtles, one of the major septs of the Broken Shore and the core of the army of the same name. Their town of Fioroult is built next to the lake that feeds the "blood river" and is sprawling and dangerous. The lake is fresh water, but there is something in the earth in eastern Mareave that rapidly makes the water undrinkable, tainting it with a crimson hue and making it splash sluggishly - like blood - into the Bay of Catazar. The Brine Turtles maintain a very public town watch but the town is large enough and filled with enough ramshackle dwellings that there are three times as many snickets as there are clear roads and every one of them is potentially deadly. There is a small and close-knit group of "alleywalkers" who serve a similar function to the thief-takers of the Imperial Orcs. The Blood River Colossi stand as sentinels looking out over the Bay of Catazar.

Summit	Elected
Summer Solstice 386YE	Gaddak

Recent Senate Elections

As an Imperial territory, Mareave is represented by a senator elected in the Spring. This title is currently held by Gaddak; it will be reelected at Spring Equinox 387YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

OOC Notes

• As of the start of the Summer Solstice 386YE, the city-state of Beoraidh controls Beoraidh and Sinfoyard. The Empire controls the rest of the territory.
• The Palace of Chains is a rank two fortification in Beoraidh

Further Reading

• Set my lands in order - 386YE Summer Wind of Fortune about the issues affecting the territory
• Sea-wood fed with copper - 386YE Spring Wind of War about the conquest of Mareave
• Between stone and salt - 385YE Winter Wind of War concerning the invasion of Mareave
• Mareave and Urizen - Historical research document concerning history of Mareave from an Imperial perspective