Upwold

Regions of Upwold

Overview - "The Silver Chase"

Upwold is where the Marchers first established themselves when they walked away from Dawn. The scattered orc tribes that dwelt here were no match for their determination to make a home for themselves; those that fled west or south would find themselves followed in short order as the Marchers pushed into Mitwold and Bregasland. Those that fled north found death at the hands of the Wintermark.

Today, Upwold is a wealthy territory in a wealthy nation - though unlike Mitwold a significant amount of its wealth comes from industries other than farming. While there are of course many farms in Upwold, the quick-growing silver birch woods on the eastern borders are the source of a great deal of income. Charcoal-burners live there, turning wood into easily transportable fuel for smith and hearth alike - the charcoal of Upwold provides pure fuel for the cities of the League and the forges of Wintermark alike. The birch bark is used in the tanning industry, to cure the hides of the cattle that graze on the river pastures.

Upwold is one of the few areas where anything other than beer is drunk. For centuries, the brewers of Upwold have made a drink from the sap of the birch trees that warms their hearts in the cold winter nights but brings strange dreams.

The people who live up here have closer links to the Navarr than many in the Marches, and more need for Beaters than most. Through the dark heart of those woods are paths no Marcher treads. From these secret ways come the painted Feni - uncivilised raiders, thieves, and rustlers who raid and steal from isolated settlements. To the north-west, cousins to these forests decay into the marshes that form the southern border of Kallavesa in Wintermark.

While the farm is the centre of Marcher life, many make their living in other ways.

Recent History

Upwold has always felt a certain rivalry with Mitwold to the west. There is no argument that the farms of Upwold tend not to be as fertile as those of their neighbours; the soil tends to be quite acidic. In part, this has lead to a more diverse economy - while the farm is the centre of Marcher life here as elsewhere, there are many who make their living from trees rather than crops, which occasionally attracts comment from the more agriculturally minded Mitwolders.

Some of the worst fighting of the short-lived Marcher civil war took place in western Upwold; one of the few pitched battles between the supporters of the First Empress and those households who opposed the formation of the Empire took place here at Hepton Bridge. Perhaps the bloodiest conflict of the civil war, the scrubby heathland of the battlefield is largely given a wide berth except by occasional pilgrims of Loyalty who come here to muse on the spiritual significance of the ancient conflict that set cousins against one another.

Over the last thirty years there have been several attempts by the Jotun to attack across the border from the Mournwold. These campaigns were primarily aimed at claiming the Sutton Stone Quarries - the Jotun apparently have a great desire for white granite to help build and maintain their fortifications. The last such attack in 372YE saw significant losses on both sides, and several new Jotun burial mounds along the southern borders.

Shortly before the Spring Equinox 381YE, work was completed on a network of granaries and storehouses across Upwold as part of the Imperial Breadbasket great work.

Minor Features

Stockland

Dominating the fertile farmlands of Stock March, Stockland is a sprawling town known for its sheep and cattle markets. Almost all the households of western Upwold take their stock here to trade, and there is a market most weekends through Spring, Summer and Autumn. In addition to its cattle and livestock markets. It is known for its raucous taverns - successful drovers and herders celebrate the sale of their livestock with a hard night's drinking, while the less successful drown their sorrows before heading home. The breweries of Stockland produce ale and beer that is exported around the Marches and across the Empire - but while it is popular it is not particularly fine. Rather, the distinctive peaty taste of the brews is immediately recognisable to anyone who has spent time in Stockland, and easily brings a lump to the throat of the homesick Marcher. The brewers of Stockland take pride in their straightforward, down-to-earth product, and are quick to scorn anyone who expresses a preference for more refined beverages.

The Eastern Guard

Great crenelated walls and brooding towers look down from Eastern Guard onto the northern forest of Miaren. Built early in the history of the Marches in Birchland, the garrison was initially charged both with remaining vigilant against Dawnish aggression, and with maintaining readiness for attacks from the Vallornspawn of the deep woods. Since Miaren was cleansed in the early days of the Empire, and since the people of Dawn are now an allied nation, the castle has become more open - it is a popular stopping place for merchants travelling through the central Empire. Still, the dour Marchers ensure it maintains battle readiness at all times, for one never knows when an attack may come from an unexpected direction.

Sutton Stone Quarries

The Sutton Stone Quarries are a Bourse resource located on the Heath. Custodianship of the Quarries is an Imperial Title that brings with it a Seat on the Imperial Bourse. It produces 23 Imperial wains of white granite every season. Control is allocated to any Imperial citizen by open auction during the Summer Solstice.

Regions

Ashbrook

Named for the river Ash which feeds into the Mead, the region of Ashbrook is scattered with thriving communities such as Ashill - said to be perpetually covered in soot from the charcoal burning that provides its main industry. The Woldstone is also located here - an old dolmen said to be the first planted by landskeepers when the Marchers claimed Upwold for their own. It stands at the centre of a strong Autumn regio that has in the past been used to lay down potent enchantments over the whole of Upwold.

Birchland

The thick birch woods of Birchland are a source of valuable timber. There are also extensive stands of beggarwood in Birchland, producing excellent quality Beggar's Lye, which support a thriving tanning and leatherworking industry. The fortress of Eastern Guard stands here, still watching the forest of Miaren for any sign for invasion by the Dawnish nobles who once upon a time fought with the Marchers here.
Keywords: Forest

The Heath

There are few settlements on the Heath's rolling grasslands - the soil is not exceptionally fertile and the farms here tend to focus on raising goats and sheep rather than growing crops. Farmers fleeting from the beleaguered Mournwold often arrived here after fleeing their southern lands. Although the number of Marchers leaving the Mourn has more-or-less dropped off in the last decade, a significant number of the farms here belong to by grim-faced refugees and their children. These emigrants keep a close eye on the border to the south; they see it as a solemn duty to rally the rest of Upwold against any sign of Jotun aggression from their old homelands. The most significant location here are probably the Sutton Stone Quarries.

Stock March

The green farmlands of Stock March are dominated by the presence of Stockland, which makes the most of its advantageous position at the junction of major roads linking Mitwold, Hahnmark, and Tassato. Also found in Stock March are the Applewood known for the fine, fat apples that bear its name. The Applewood shares its name with a village on the road near the border to the moot, famous both for the Applewood Arms and for the fine-quality ciders it has produced since the earliest days of the Marches.

Tower March

The thick woods of Tower March have been cut back around the village of King's Stoke, but remain thick and vital in the rest of the region. A pre-Imperial tower stands here, just east of the village, that is said to mark the place where the rebels held back the King of Dawn in the march of secession. Most Upwold families, and many families from other parts of the Marches, claim a connection to the battle at King's Stoke - though if every family who claims an ancestor fought there is right, it must have been an easy victory.
Keywords: Forest

You have fighters for your squabbles, but we need fighters for the bounds. The Silver Chase has been contested for longer than there has ever been an Empire. The raiding Feni have troubled the charcoal burners, woodcutters and other goodfolk of the Marches from before living memory.

Yesterday, the people of Upwold were remained abandoned, remained unhelped, remained left to fend for themselves.

Today, the people of Upwold are no longer alone.

Sergeant Guildenstern of the Boundarymen

OOC Notes

• All the regions of Upwold are under Imperial control.
• The fortification of Eastern Guard is a rank one fortification.
• * The Imperial Breadbasket great work gives every Marcher character who owns a farm a share of 1080 rings.