Upwold
Overview - "The Silver Chase"
The quick-growing silver birch woods on the eastern borders of Upwold are the source of a deal of income. Charcoal-burners live there, turning wood into easily transportable fuel for smith and hearth alike. The bark of those trees is used in the tanning industry, to cure the hides of the cattle that graze on the river pastures. It's one of the few areas where anything other than beer is drunk - a drink made of 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 - uncivillised 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.
Recent History
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 it's cattle and livestock markets. It is known for it's 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 Woldstone
An old dolmen said to be the first planted by Marcher Landskeepers when they claimed Upwold for their own.
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 is a Bourse position which produces white granite.
Regions
Ashbrook
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.
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. 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 it's advantageous position at the junction of major roads linking Mitwold, Hahnmark, and Tassato.
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
OOC Notes
- All the regions of Upwold are under Imperial control.
- The fortification of Eastern Guard is a rank one fortification.