Northern Hills

**The Northern Hills** region is located in the central Hills of the Arathi Highlands, bordering the troll temple-city of Shadra'alor. A rugged landscape of steep cliffs, narrow valleys, and stony soil, the Northern Hills is a conservative and insular region that has, to a remarkable extent, thrived under extremely difficult conditions. Though far from wealthy, they are secure despite their precarious border position; this alone is enough to consider them a triumphant success story in the tumultous and unsettled state of Stromgarde.

## History

### Pre-Imperial Period

Imperial records attest to the existence of tribes as far North as the lands surrounding what is now Aerie Peak abandoning their homes to join the gathering tribes in the relative safety of the open plains and steppes of the Arathi Highlands. However, there is no direct evidence of human habitation in any significant scale in the Northern Hills during the pre-Imperial period.

### Empire's Birth and the founding of the Borean Guard

   Following the Troll Wars and the foundation of the Empire, Emperor Thoradin declared that his finest warriors would not retire and turn their swords to plowshares. While the Troll was beaten and running to the forests and mountains of Lordaeron and Khaz Modan, at that time these forests stretched from coast to coast with only a few open expanses of land. Girding the north of the most important of those expanses - the Highlands themselves - stood the Northern Hills, a troll-infested reach of foothills allowing passage into the dense forests of the Hinterlands.

It was to be the duty of his finest warriors to patrol the borders of the Highlands - including the Northern Hills - and ensure that the Troll did not muster his strength and seek to crush the nascent Empire. In the North he formed the Borean Guard from the mountainmen of the Eastern Highlands and the Strom's neighbours, charging them with the duty of establishing a bulwark against the trolls of Jintha'alor.

After several years of warfare against the trolls infesting the hills, the Borean Guard stood down and established the first Human settlements in the region.

### Warring Kingdoms Period

#### Thane Uprising

The region became a focal point during the ill-fated Thane revolt of 2084AD, with Thanes from the region striking the first blow in the murder of Duke Charles and forming much of the initial rebellion. For the duration of the war, forces loyal to the Kingdom and the Margrave engaged in steady skirmishes with the rebels.

In the last year of the war, the Northern Hills was the site of two of the most important battles. At the Battle of the Black River, the leader of the rebellion, Thane Ezekiel Thorson, was cut down, spelling an end to any hope of rebel victory. In the final days, the fortress of Caer Borea succumbed to siege, and the war was finally lost.

The population of the Northern Hills was promptly punished for supporting the revolt. A decimation was ordered - not one in which a tenth were killed, but in which only a tenth were spared. The majority of the towns and settlements in the Hills were put to the sword and set aflame, the surviving Thanes executed publically, and the Margrave given command of an Arathorian Legion for the next century to prevent any further uprisings.

### Recent Years

Previously ruled by Margrave Anton Toffler.

## Notable Features

### The Black River

Winding down from the border hills, the Black River is a slow and somewhat sluggish body of water, devoid of silt and alluvial deposits. Though the water moves swiftly enough to avoid stagnation, it is nonetheless often contaminated by farming or by the trolls in the North, and the people rarely drink from it.

On the banks of the River are a number of small marshes and boglands

   , which bring to light one small benefit of the river: Somewhere in the hills, it runs through a cavern rich in hematite ore. This dissolved ore reforms and solidifies in the form of bog iron nodules. While this iron is far from strong or particularly abundant, it provides a cheap source of material for local smiths that do not require superior materials, and has proven ideal for providing hinges, some tools, and even knives.

### Northern Passes

The steep mountains and crags bordering the Arathi Highlands and the Hinterlands are largely impassable for any but the most experienced - and lucky - mountaineers. This is not the case along the entire range, however, and the Northern Hills boasts three main passageways. One, the narrowest, was carved out of the stone by Dwarven hands during the settlement of Aerie Peak. The remaining two are natural bodies, of the which the most important is a winding passage about fifty feet across at the widest.

These passes form the single most strategically important area of the Northern Hills for the Kingdom - and a major reason for the region's initial settlement. The Borean Guard were initially entrusted to guard the passes, and a number of old towers remain watching over them and passes long-collapsed.

### Gaefa's Fall

A narrow crag some eighteen miles from Smallton, Gaefa the Shieldmaiden died in battle. While leading a hunt, a troll party fell on her small force and sought to overwhelm them. The entire raiding party was destroyed, but in the fighting, Gaefa was shot several times with arrows - and the poison coating the barbed tips proved potent enough that she died shortly afterwards.

While the site is otherwise unremarkable, it is a frequent stop for many of the region's aspiring troll-hunters and for troll-hunters, and a small shrine has been built. This shrine is not the usual funerary shrines seen in the cities; it is nothing more than a wooden post sunk into the earth, decorated with ears and teeth from successful hunts. Travellers to the region have been known to mistake it for a troll structure.

### The Borean Fort

   Located on a small plateau in the mountains is the ruin of the Borean Guard's fortress, Caer Borea. Originally built by the Guard and used as a centre-point for the region's resistance of the trolls for centuries (with constant upgrades. The stone ruins date to just before the Thane Uprising, and no trace of the original wooden fortress is to be found), Caer Borea features heavily in the region's history and myths.

It has sat unoccupied since it was stormed during the Thane Uprising and put to the torch. Today, it stands empty and slowly crumbling, and rumour holds it to be full of ghosts and vengeful spirits. This is not helped by the great dead tree that stands beside it - a great gnarled black oak, which has seen no leaves nor acorns for centuries, but which refuses to die.

## Major Settlements

### Smallton

Despite its name, Smallton is the regions largest settlement, with just under eight hundred men and women calling it home. Originally a sheep-farmer's village (the name in fact ultimately deriving from these roots), it has grown into the centre of the Hills' limited industrial capacities and mercantile interests. With the best steel in the hills coming out of Smallton, the town has become the focal point for the Thane's forces.

### Grey Hill

A small farming village situated between the eponymous hill (a small mountain) and the Black River, Grey Hill is the home of half the Corelas clan. With poor soils and creeping fogs, it is a largely unpleasant village, but its oats are nonetheless sufficient and the village is also home to a small bog iron mine.

### Greenstone Keep

    Constructed on a mound formerly controlled by Trolls, Greenstone Keep is the seat of power for the Northern Hills. It is a relatively small and unformidable castle, though this conceals a simple truth: The mound is riddled with deep caves, and the Keep's stores run deeper than any would expect. An underground stream provides clean water, and several of the caves lead to hidden exits. It is now occupied by Aref Corelas and his family, along with a number of other members of the Corelas Clan and their Household Guard.

## OOC Disclaimer

This article is fanon created by Everen. It is not binding nor intended to be taken as such except by those who would like to enjoy it or use it for their own roleplay.