Rothlene

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Overview

Rothlene (Nortongue ˈrɔθlin for root land) is named for its short but strong river. Lore about Rothlene is thorough and accurate. It is highly civilized, well mapped, and studied by scholars and historians. It's two biggest mysteries are The Witness and The Needle.

History

In the early Shattered Age, this island was known as Kildedain (Nortongue \ˈkɪldɪˌdeɪn\ for fountain). In the latter half of the Shattered Age, this island became known as Fontillia (Imperial, \fɑnˈtɪlliə\ for fountain).

Populations

Rothlene has a population of 34900, across 1 city, 1 town, and 3 villages. High quality roads connect all of the settlements.

• Wrenford (Commontongue) has a population of 700. It is on the northern shore of Wrenhollow Lake, on the mouth of Haldrun River. It is surrounded by smaller farming villages and has both fishing and shipping industries, sending agricultural products down the Holdrun and off the island. The village is famous for a sourdough bread with an herby tang, made from lakeweed, that they eat with every meal.
• Vistrene (Dawntongue ˈvɪstrin for land view) has a population of 900. It is located on the northeast coast of The Haldbrook and the Ruby Passage. It is surrounded by many smaller farming villages, and has a prosperous fishing industry. The local villagers observe the traditional celebrate dawn of The Long Day with the Sunwatch Festival, believing it brings luck for the year.
• Lavenham (Nortongue ˈlævɪnɛm for Lafa's village) has a population of 600. It is located on the eastern edge of Slipwood. The village has tons of wooden disks with abstract faces carved into them hanging by strings from the eaves, trees, and other, which locals call "The Watching Wood". Originally a superstitious warding off of spirits, locals now find it to be a charming craft. Visitors often find it creepy.
• Larendale (Commontongue) has a population of 3400. It is on the southwestern coast of Summerset Downs and Sapphire Bight. The town is surrounded by many livestock ranches and pastures. The town has a significant animal product industry (especially wool and leather) as well as a respectable fishing industry. The town is famous for maintaining an ancient art of song-herding, where loud melodic calls are used to guide flocks. A seasonable competition for the art is held every spring.
• Cailbraith (Nortongue ˈkeɪlbreɪθ for freckled wedge, a mottled building stone) has a population of 29300. It is on the east coast of The Haldbrook and the Ruby Passage. Called the City of Ink and Thread, the city is famous for producing some of the most skilled scribes, authors, poets and weavers in The Isles. The term Inklines is used for generational calligrapher guilds. It has a fishing industry and is surrounded by many small farming villages.
• Northreach Road connects Wrenford with Vistrene. It is a winding country road that skirts the northern coast and cuts through open fields. The halfway point has a watchtower called The Lantern by locals, for its high beacon. It is manned by guard rotations from both villages.
• Eastguard Road connects Vistrene with Cailbraith. This road hugs the eastern coast with broad views of the beaches and sea. Its name comes from its use as a patrol against raiders in ancient days. It has three towers along its length, but only the middle one is manned in modern day.
• Barrowtrace Way connects Cailbraith with Lavenham. This road starts on the east coast, but soon turns inland toward Slipwood. It passes a series of overgrown barrows and standing stone courts. Local folklore says you should never speak while passing the barrows and courts, especially at night.
• Hollowcross Road connects Lavenham with Larendale. This road passes through the Slipwood before winding across the pastures of Summerset Downs. In spring, pig herders lead their flocks to the forest to find truffles.

Geography

Rothlene is entirely flat land, with rich, fertile soil in most of it.

• The northern plains are called The Haldbrook (Nortongue ˈhɔldbrʊk for hearth), and is covered in dense vegetable farmland.
  • The large lake in The Haldbrook is called Wrenhollow Lake (Commontongue).
  • The river that connects it to the sea is called Haldrun (Nortongue ˈhɔldrʌn for hearth)
• The western badlands area is called Rothkaar (Nortongue ˈrɔθkɑr for root breaker). It is a cracked, dry bed of silt leading to an ashy shore.
• In central eastern Rothlene there is a small forest called Slipwood (Commontongue). It is named for the slippery bark caused by smooth sycamore trees and significant nightly fog.
• The southern plains of the island are called Summerset Downs. This region is primarily cultivated as pasture land for livestock.
• On the southern tip of the island is Saint Tabian Bog, more commonly shortened to Heiltobog (Nortongue ˈheɪltoʊˌbɑɡ for holy).
• A large islet is off the west coast of Rothlene, called Brasklene (Nortongue ˈbræsklin for land of Brask). It is a beautiful islet with lush greenery.

Economy

Rothlene imports its building stone from Dustmere and Keshlene. It has enough agriculture and fishing to feed its own population, but most of its exportable agriculture is used to create fabrics and paper. Its paper is used in the city to bind books. This has attracted many scribes and authors to the city as well. Paper, fabrics, and writing are its main exports.

Features

The Witness

Standing on the central western shores of Rothlene, in Rothkaar, is a massive (20+ m) quartzite statue of a man. Its origins are lost to history, and so it goes by many names, expressing the many myths and legends around its origin. Its names include:

• The Witherking: Said to be a tyrant pirate king who ruled with such cruelty that even the land rejects his image.
• The Orphan of the Loam: Used a lot in poetic references. Believed to be a symbol of something taken from the land that was never returned.
• The Bound Prophet: An account found in Imperial texts. Accounts hold that it depicts a prophet who foresaw The Fall and was silenced. The statuew as built after The Fall in his memory.
• Suthmar's End: The oldest known legend, from Nortongue traditions. Said to be a giant of Fury turned to stone by the Shard Gods.
• The First Merchant: A cautionary tale told by merchants about a man who tried to buy the island from the sea, cursed to stand forever as a failed negotiator.
• The Admirer: A famous bardic song about a man who loved Anastasia and dared to woo her. Spring itself rejected him and erected the statue as a warning, cursing the land.
• The Witness: A fringe theological perspective, says the statue represents someone who saw something that was never meant to be seen, and the Shard Gods petrified him to preserve the witnessing.

The statue itself is an incredibly dense, gray quartzite. It represents a tall, gaunt human man standing rigidly upright. His arms stretch out before him, two hands wrapped around the top of an unadorned staff that touches the ground. His eyes are deep-set hollows. His expression is hauntingly stoic. His garments are loose fitting robes worn in an unusual fashion. He wears a crown of antlers wrapped around his head, which has long braided hair. One of his feet is bare and the other wears a sandal.

The Needle of Sarn

A white stone tower stands on the southern shores of Wrenhollow Lake. It is named The Needle of Sarn, though there is little agreement about who Sarn was, other than an ancient magic wielder of some kind. The current inhabitant of The Needle is Ulvin of the Eyes, a mad Arcanist who locals say can see everything that happens on the island. Farmers swear that they have seen him on the balconies of the tower, and that he casts no shadow.