Darkwood
Golden Paths: 2
Vel’A
Vel’Dorath
The forested hills of Darkwood are ancient beyond measure. It is almost
as if the forest has a will of it’s own. It covers all of Darkwood.
Land cleared is covered in forest once again within a decade. In this
shaded land the first elves and orcs were created. This is where their
undying enmity was forged, in the dank shadows of the ancient wood. Even
today the forest remains unchanged from its protean state those eons ago.
The sphere is divided roughly in thirds. One third is controlled by the
elves another by the orcs. The borders constantly shift as orc tribes
fight elven clans in the wood. Every hundred years or so a warlord springs
up on either side and attempts to capture the other’s Pathway, but
neither side has ever been able to gain a decisive advantage. So the war
rolls ever on.
The remaining third is the Untraveled Lands. It is a forbidding land;
few who venture into it are ever seen again. This is where the wood has
gone feral. Dire creatures and monstrous beast prowl its forbidden depths.
Neither orc nor elf, dare its depths. However, once elves reach a certain
age the Untraveled Lands call to them and they will eventually leave their
clan and head to the west.
Cities:
Sarsarta:
Size:
Alignment: LN
Capital of the elf lands, home to the Council of Illasta, the highest
council of the elves. Also the site of the elf controlled Pathway. There
have been no orcs here for over 7 thousand years, and those of orc blood
are not allowed beyond the Pathway. Even here in the only elven metropolis
on the sphere the forest covers most of the city. In true wood elven style
the inhabitants of Sarsarta have incorporated the woodlands into the city’s
design. Sarsarta is ruled by the noble elf house Zadethavel, the oldest
and most tradition-bound of the elven houses
Rivenholt:
Size:
Alignment: NG
Nearest city to Sarsarta, at the headwaters of the Ryaveloth (a huge river
basin that stretches for miles), is Rivenhold, the second largest trade
town second to Sarsarta. It’s location upriver of almost every elven
habitation. The leaders of Rivenhold are the most influential in matters
of trade. Since metal is rarely mined on Darkwood, most all metal comes
from off-sphere and is shipped through Rivenholt.
Mainae:
Size:
Alignment: CN
An outland village on the border of orc lands and the Untraveled Lands.
And home of the Firsae Ryl, a barbarian tribe who train Darkwood Stalkers.
Vrirbag:
Size:
Alignment: NE
Capital, if you could call it that, of the orc lands. It holds the orc
controlled Pathway, as well as the largest concentration of orcs on the
sphere short of the borderlands. Here the orcs constantly clear the encroaching
forest for building supplies, heating, and weapons.
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