Miekarova

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Regions of Miekarova

Overview

Miekarova is more heavily forested than the rest of Varushka. It is known for its furs, for its hunting, and for its particularly harsh winters. Snow regularly falls here for up to six months in the year, and it is common for vales to be snowed-in during the darkest months. The wolves of Miekarova are especially savage, and every few years or so gather in great hordes that sweep down out of the north, threatening the unwary and causing widespread trouble until they are eventually dealt with. Plaguewulfs are more common here than anywhere else in Varushka, and the sovereign believed to be their progenitor, The Howling Queen, is said to slumber somewhere beneath the hills of north-eastern Miekarova.

Noted for beautiful painted caves beneath several of the larger ranges of hills, it was also the heart of Ushkan mysticism in the dim days long before the foundation of the Empire. It was in Miekarova that the Imperial Faith found its deepest roots in Varushka, and there are a number of vales here that surround churches and shrines to the Way. The priests here are especially vigilant against the dangers of the dark winters and the monsters that come with it, and several warden brotherhoods make a practice of spending their winters here to offer additional assistance.

Major Features

Olodny

The centre of the northern fur trade; pelts from here adorn many a Dawnish Earl or Merchant Prince of the League cities. Olodny is built to defend against wolf packs, and sometimes worse; the ditches are deep and the walls thick with spikes. Its fortunes have suffered since the fall of of Skarsind.

Essk

A hilltop town fortified with a great wooden wall, it links Miekarova to the rest of Varushka. It is famed for the Bell of Essk, a great Wintermark-forged monstrosity that is high in the wooden watchtower at the junction of the roads from Miekarova, Karsk and Karov. This bell can be heard for miles, and is sounded when a known Sovereign of the area has been spied.

Mormyk

The furthest western Vale, and closest to Wintermark. It enjoyed a long history of good relations with the people of Krysse. Varushkan merchants regularly traveled east to the great market there, while adventurous Winterfolk traders and peddlars were a common feature along the road linking the two. This came to an end with the fall of Skarsind to the Thule in 373YE. Amid concerns that the barbarians would push east into Miekarova, the people of Mormyk fortified their vale and cast expectant eyes towards the barbarian bastion that the orcs had made amid the halls of Estermark. Now that Skarsind is free again, it remains to be seen if the good trading relations between Miekarova and Skarsind can be re-established safely.

Olga’s Ashes

A place of virtuous study, part-built into caverns above the road. Olga was an early Varushkan convert to the Way, a Warden by calling, and her ashes are said to have miraculous powers. Some Varushkans claim her as an Exemplar of Vigilance.

Wendell’s Hope

A mining vale that grew up round a tavern and trading post. Its unusual Boyar is the tavern-owner who sings of Courage. Stenza are welcome here: the nights are long, and the miners either wealthy beyond dreams, or rich only in hope. Either way, they’re a fine audience. It is sometimes called the Last Warm Hearth in the North.

The Painted Caves

Several clusters beautifully painted caves that lie under the hills, thought to be of Ushkan origin.

The Night Quarry

The Night Quarry is a Bourse position which produces white granite.

The Razors

Seven spines of black obsidian atop a mountain that shadows the road between Essk and Triosk. If the razors are in cloud as the day dawns, it’s a good omen. If the razors are unsheathed, however...

OOC Notes

• The regions of Miekarova are in the hands of the Varushkans (and by extension, the Empire) making this an Imperial territory.