Latest revision as of 17:14, 31 May 2025

Template:Breadcrumb Shards > Acrolon > Mercatia > Keshlene

File:Mercatia-keshlene.jpg

Overview

Keshlene (Dawntongue \ˈkɛʃlin\) is named for a famous swordsmith from the early Dawn Age. Lore about Keshlene is thorough and accurate. It is highly civilized, well mapped, and studied by scholars and historians.

History

In the early Shattered Age, this island was known as Jarhof (Nortongue \ˈjɑrhɔf\ after a pirate king). In the latter half of the Shattered Age, this island became known as Vallemagnia (Imperial, \ˈvæləˌmæɡniə\ for great valley).

Populations

Keshlene has a population of 5300, across 1 town and 2 villages. High quality roads connect the northern village and town. The southern village is isolated by land from the mountains and foothills. Its inhabitants formed a secret pact with The Court of Half Tomorrows during the Dark Age for protection against the Dark Empire of Acrolon and Demons. The central town is famous for labyrinthine alleys that are very easy to get lost in. A remote estate in the mountains outside of the town is Emberhold, home of a Charter House of master smiths.

Geography

Keshlene has a flat lowland plain in the northeast and southwest of the island. The western coast is a mountainous cliff, with steep foothills stretching to the southeast. A spring feeds a river that cuts through a valley in the foothills, and feeds a lake in the northeast plains.

Economy

Keshlene has enough farmland and fishing to feed its own population. There are copper, gold, and iron mines in the mountains and foothills. The town has a magical smelter that needs no fuel. Most of the refined metals are exported to markets in Mercatia, but some of it is given to Emberhold, a Charter House of master smiths. Their wares are commissioned by the wealthiest buyers. The mountains and foothills also have granite quarries, which are used for local building and exports to Rothlene and Kopakita.

Features

Jarhof Statue

There is a granite standing stone ring with an ancient, granite statue 4 m in height of the pirate king Jarhof who first ruled the island.

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   {{Breadcrumb Keshlene}}
-[[File:keshlene.jpg]]
+[[File:Mercatia-keshlene.jpg]]
 =Overview=
-Keshlene ([[Nortongue]] \ˈkɛʃlin\) is named for a famous swordsmith from the early [[Dawn Age]]. Lore about Keshlene is thorough and accurate. It is highly civilized, well mapped, and studied by scholars and historians.
+Keshlene ([[Dawntongue]] \ˈkɛʃlin\) is named for a famous swordsmith from the early [[Dawn Age]]. Lore about Keshlene is thorough and accurate. It is highly civilized, well mapped, and studied by scholars and historians.
 =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'').
+In the early [[Shattered Age]], this island was known as Jarhof ([[Nortongue]] \ˈjɑrhɔf\ after a pirate king). In the latter half of the Shattered Age, this island became known as Vallemagnia ([[Imperial]], \ˈvæləˌmæɡniə\ for ''great valley'').
 =Populations=
-Rothlene has a population of 24900, across 1 city, 1 town, and 3 villages. High quality roads connect all of the settlements.
+Keshlene has a population of 5300, across 1 town and 2 villages. High quality roads connect the northern village and town. The southern village is isolated by land from the mountains and foothills. Its inhabitants formed a secret pact with [[The Court of Half Tomorrows]] during the Dark Age for protection against the [[Dark Empire of Acrolon]] and [[Demons]]. The central town is famous for labyrinthine alleys that are very easy to get lost in. A remote estate in the mountains outside of the town is Emberhold, home of a Charter House of master smiths.
 =Geography=
-Rothlene is entirely flat land, with rich soil in most of it. There is a lake in the northern center of the island. It is fed by a powerful spring, but is heavily polluted by magic from The Needle. It leads to the Topaz Reach through a short but incredibly powerful river. In the western center of the island is a patch of dry, brittle loess. A strip of forest lines the middle of the island. The southern tip of the island is a small marsh.
+Keshlene has a flat lowland plain in the northeast and southwest of the island. The western coast is a mountainous cliff, with steep foothills stretching to the southeast. A spring feeds a river that cuts through a valley in the foothills, and feeds a lake in the northeast plains.
 =Economy=
-Rothlene imports its building stone from [[Dustmere]]. 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.
+Keshlene has enough farmland and fishing to feed its own population. There are copper, gold, and iron mines in the mountains and foothills. The town has a magical smelter that needs no fuel. Most of the refined metals are exported to markets in Mercatia, but some of it is given to Emberhold, a Charter House of master smiths. Their wares are commissioned by the wealthiest buyers. The mountains and foothills also have granite quarries, which are used for local building and exports to [[Rothlene]] and [[Kopakita]].
 =Features=
-==The Witness==
+==Jarhof Statue==
-Standing on the central western shores of Rothlene 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:
+There is a granite standing stone ring with an ancient, granite statue 4 m in height of the pirate king Jarhof who first ruled the island.
-* ''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 ''Thunderwake 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.
-* Name is Dawntongue for a famous swordsmith, once Liganella (Imperial, ''little wood'') and Jarhof (Nortongue, for a pirate king)
-* Population: 3400
-* 1 town, 2 villages
-* Northern village famous for a monument to Jarhof, a famous pirate
-* Southern village isolated by canyons
-** Made a pact with Court of Half Tomorrows for protection during the Dark Age
-* Central town famous for labyrinthine roads and alleys, almost impossible to navigate for non-natives
-** Remote estate where master smith Charter House works with a magical smelter
-* Western mountains have copper and gold mines
-* Small central lake is spring fed
-* Canyon formed by mountain spring fed river