Dawn territories

Dawn is relatively flat, dotted with expanses of largely untamed forest and rocky crags. The forests are maintained by the noble houses of Dawn as part hunting preserve and part training ground. They are home to wild animals, bandits, some monsters and a few ruins, and occasionally these inhabitants cause trouble for nearby villages, but a few scared yeomen is seen as a small price to pay for the opportunity for knights to show their glory by seeing off the occasional threats.

Astolat

Central, well defended, civilized and beautiful, the heartland of the nation. It is famous for its rose gardens, and the offering of a single Astolat rose is considered the perfect gift of true love. In the north of Astolat, the granite mountains are rich in ore, but regularly threatened by their proximity to the wild forests which shelter beasts, barbarians and bandits. The people of Astolat are tough, hardy and laconic, and used to weathering quite difficult winters.

Near the centre of Astolat is the Castle of Thorns, the seat of the old Dawnish Kings and Queens. Given over now to a great park, and almost completely engulfed in rose bushes, the Castle of Thorns serves as an academy for the training of civil servants, and is where most of the day-to-day business of running the Nation takes place. Each Dawnish Senator has apartments within this beautiful edifice, decorated with the produce and images of the territory they represent.

Weirwater

This rocky territory is home of many weavers, and the noble houses here seem to have more than their fair share of war witches. The territory itself is scattered with deep forests, maintained untouched by the noble houses and said to be inhabited by Eternal Heralds, exotic beasts and an abundance of rare herbs. The people of Weirwater have a dark reputation with the people of Astolat and Semmerholm.

The largest settlement in Weirwater is Culwich, a large town with a few outlying villages. Culwich maitains a long tradition of flax and wool farming, and is said to produce some of the best materials for the use of weavers in the entire Empire. The local merchants have made much of this in recent years, and hold some political sway with the weavers, who in turn offer them fine woven goods to sell to mutual profit.

Legend has it that long ago the Earl of Sedaret pursued a crusade against several cabals of weavers who refused to recognise her authority. At the height of a great banquet, thrown by the Earl to celebrate her apparent victory over the weavers, a great bell began to toll and the castle and its surrounding village was drowned beneath great waves and unrelenting rain. It is said by the people of Culwich that on Winter nights of the new moon when the sky is clear one can still hear bells ringing in the depths of the great lake, and see lights that are said to be those of the drowned Earl and her noble household, still celebrating in the depths.

Semmerholm

A national rarity in terms of its rich and fertile soil, Semmerholm produces the majority of the nation's food, though it is closely surrounded by thick and dangerous forests. The dark forests here are home to vicious beasts, including boars, lions and bears, and hunting is a regular practice for nobles and a training method for young knights. If the forests were to be cleared it is possible that the farms of Semmerholm would become more productive, but whenever this is suggested the inhabitants simply laugh, or spit, and ask if the stranger has mistaken their beautiful home for some muddy Marcher field,

The easternmost part of Semmerholm is called the Barrens and is little more than a series of long-established outposts, desperately holding the border against the barbarians. The land is rich and fertile and there have been several attempts to settle it more fully, but the continual threat from over the border has rendered this all but impossible. Nonetheless, the Dawnish refuse to abandon the Barrens, and focus their struggle on defending them and their sovereign border.

The Senator for Semmerholm is responsible for holding the border, and is heavily supported by levies of troops from other territories, and a large force of Knights-errant. This responsibility tends to weigh heavily on the head of the Semmerholm Senator, with the realisation that if they fail at their task this will be the first land lost to the barbarians in Dawnish history ...