Therunin
Overview
On the borders of Highguard, the water-logged bayou of Therunin provides a unique challenge to the stridings that travel here. As the Navarr have recovered territory from the Vallorn, the forest here has grown still more malicious. Monstrous insects are a common threat here, even outside of areas where the Vallorn still holds sway. Orcs from the east are a constant threat, although their incursions are made more difficult by the swampland.
Recent History
The Druj have long coveted Therunin. Since the fall of Reikos in 367YE, many Navarr had been expecting an assault from the barbarians. With Reikos now almost entirely dominated by the orcs, Therunin is connected to the Empire only by tenuous routes through the mountains of Morrow.
In the Winter of 377YE, this long anticipated attack finally came. A major force of Druj moved across the border from Reikos into Peakedge Song. Only the courage of the Black Thorns slowed the barbarian advance. Outnumbered two-to-one, the Navarr army suffered grievous losses, but prevented the Druj from establishing a beach-head in Therunin.
Major Features
The Thimble
The Thimble is a Bourse resource located in the Eastring. Custodianship of the Thimble is an Imperial Title that brings with it a Seat on the Imperial Bourse. It produces 24 Imperial wains of white granite every season. Control of the Thimble is assigned to whichever Navarr candidate receives the most support from Navarr owners of herb gardens.
The Docks at Feverwater
Built along the western shores of Feverwater are a series of ancient quays of aged weirwood and white granite. Some have collapsed, and others are now submerged or exposed as the waters of the massive fresh water lake have ebbed and flowed. The docks date back to the time of Terunael, and have been thoroughly explored by the modern Navarr; they seem to be much larger than would be appropriate for fishing the feverwater, and the ruins around the area are certainly those of a reasonably large Terunael settlement. Their purpose remains a mystery - all that lies to the east of Therunin are the dark woodland homes of the Druj. Even if the docks were restored, there would be nowhere useful for boats to actually go.
Regions
East Ashes
Stretching along the shores of the Feverwater, East Ashes is a twisted maze of great mangrove trees and murky water. Like the Tarn Valley it is home to several rare creatures, but the smaller beasts are overshadowed by the occasional incursion by a pack of hydra. Even the threat of the hydra is minor compared to the danger caused by the occasional marshwalkers attempting to migrate through East Ashes toward the Lower Tarn Valley - when they pass through Greenheart, they invariably rouse the insects there and emerge on the far side angry and twisted by the poisonous air of the Vallorn.
The Steading of Ruis Farkas is based in East Ashes. Since the death of Empress Britta, this small steading has been highly politically active in the Empire to ensure that Britta's successor has strong Empire to lead
This region has a reputation for being haunted; the core of that reputation can be traced to Fever’s wake. Once a Navarri Glade of the Dead, but over a small space of days all the corpses laid there disappeared completely, with no sign they had ever existed. The area is shunned completely now.
Keywords: Marsh
Eastring
The ground in Eastring is less marshy than that of the Lower Tarn Valley or East Ashes, but there are several expanses of bayou especially in the west or south. The Iridescent Butterfly is extremely common here, and the forests are rich in hard and soft woods making lumber a regular export. Eastring is also home to several fortified steadings, and a higher than average concentration of Thorns due to the constant threat posted by the barbarian lands to east and north. This was one of the first regions of Therunin cleared of vallorn influence, and is the site of the Thimble, a valuable source of Weirwood.
Keywords: Forested
Greenheart
The vallorn holds the ruins at the centre of Therunin in a fierce grip. While other Navarr forests are generally more threatened by vine-infested husks, the monstrous insects of Greenheart greatly outnumber the unliving corpses. The ruins themselves are water-logged, with large sections submerged in marsh according to the few adventurous scouts who have penetrated into this deadly zone.
Keywords: Forested, Vallorn
Lower Tarn Valley
The lower valley is boggy and marshy. It is known as an excellent location for herb gathering, and the steadings here tend to have large numbers of herb gardens. The Lower Tarn Valley teems with rare wildlife seen nowhere else in the Empire - the delicate and deadly red crane, the somnolent bark alligator and the morose blue wave frog.
Keywords: Marsh
Peakedge Song
Comparatively lightly wooded, especially for a Navarr forest, the steadings of Peakedge Song maintain cordial relations with their neighbours to the south. The land here slopes quickly into the foothills of Morrow, and there are several valuable mines along the southern border. During the fall of High Chalcis the Navarr lead several rescue missions across the borders, and as a consequence a number of Highborn refugees are now camped here; in recent years their numbers have dropped as they have made the difficult journey to Bastion and Casinea, or grown with each new Druj victory in eastern Reikos.
One of the most important sites in Therunin, Peakedge Stead is found in the western part of the territory. A place of contemplation, of houses in the trees where the Navarr can see across the hills of Reikos to the forests beyond. Some stories claim the steading is a remnant of long-lost Terunael; there is something ageless about the trees here.
Sweetglades
The forests of the Sweetglades are ironically named; the vallorn holds sway here.
Keywords: Forested, Vallorn
Upper Tarn Valley
Looking down on the Lower Tarn Valley, the Upper Valley is comparatively dry but the soil here is rich and healthy. The steadings here take advantage of this fertility, and the relative dearth of trees, to maintain extensive agriculture. The largest steading in the Upper Tarn Valley is Return, a well-fortified settlement surrounded by tall watch towers that look out across the forests to the north and east. A place of flowers and memory, the steading has a storied history, revolving around the tale of a Brand who spent too much time amongst the barbarians and became too much like them - where Stridings pass to remember what happens when you forget that you are human, and they are not.
OOC Note
- The Vallorn infests Greenheart and Sweetglades; the Navarr (and thus the Empire) control the other five regions. Thus, Therunin is an Imperial territory; the Navarr would need to lose two regions before they lost control of the territory.