Hardship

## Affiliation

Priesthood of Eris

**Hardship** was the capital of Hallowmere.

Located on the Dire Straits, the city began as a small shantytown that sprang up around the airship that provided entrance to Dragonhollow during the Sixth Era. The name was a play-on-word referencing both the airship and the crushing difficulties that awaited travelers beyond it.

Unlike most capital cities, only the airship itself provided immunity from damage; visitors were vulnerable on all surrounding public and private lands to any monsters and men they encountered. Furthermore, the use of a Teleport Scroll to travel to the airship caused a half-heart of damage.

# History

After evacuation from their temporary layover at Mere Stop, on 6E:1 the Hallowmere Pioneers arrived in Hallowmere aboard the airship as settlers of this new, vibrant, and dangerous unexplored territory.

Residents began to build structures around the airship, first as temporary refuges against the wilderness. Over time, it was developed into an active community with public farms and private homes and became one of the few relatively safe regions in Hallowmere. The Hardship Trail passed through the city.

    Ky was the the first permanent resident of Hardship. On 6E:2 he built a fortified building with protected farms so that he would have a renewable food source to survive the journey from the airship to his real home to the north, though over time it became his primary residence. Three days later, Tox's Cabin appeared in the city.

Zen and Bagger maintained shops in Hardship that sold hard-to-acquire items in the early days of the Sixth Era. On 6E:5, Tox's cabin suddenly appeared on a gentle slope facing the airship.

Public farms provided by Sprankles and a community beacon constructed by Ky made the city more appealing to residents struggling to survive in Hallowmere.

The Scylfings launched a major offensive in the area of Hardship on 6E:36, occupying the airship and slaughtering anyone they encountered. Nearly twenty men and women lost their lives, including Wojcik and Kimarastraz.

On 6E:44, the Merry Men launched their campaign in Hallowmere and constructed a base of operations in Hardship. From there Jrod waged war against the city's residents, racking up 24 kills on his first day alone.

With the surprise departure of Eris and subsequent ascension of Retro as her Hegemon on 6E:71, Hardship became the headquarters of the Priesthood of Eris. Retro performed initial testing of his new Levitation Potion there, "accidentally" killing one of his test subjects Tox in the process.

Zen completed the Sans statue on 6E:78, which became a fixture of the town skyline against the greater backdrop of his towering mob farm and enchanting treehouse.

    On 6E:88, MaccaMan completed the Phoenix Spire in the heart of Hardship, which won first place in the Hallowmere Best Build Contest.

Hardship became a flashpoint during the revolt against Retro and was the target of a terrorist bombing on 6E:95 that destroyed the airship dock and made it difficult for passengers to disembark without breaking limbs. Gabault was named as a leading suspect but no convincing case was ever made against him.

In the weeks that followed, many claims expired and the town slowly began to fall into ruin as spiders and other monsters openly roamed Hardship Trail, though an effort by Sprankles, Tox, and Ky

According to *New Beginnings*, the capital was destroyed on 6E:124 when a massive sinkhole swallowed it entirely. Some theorized the airship bombing had eroded the soft clay beneath Hardship and brought about the calamity, while others felt more metaphysical causes were at play, attributing it to Acey's absence and a slow decay of the Heart of the Hollow.

# Points of Interest

### Airship

The airship was the gateway to Hallowmere and the entrance point for all of Dragonhollow during the Sixth Era. It was the only place in the entire region where residents were immune from damage. A trader there exchanged contaminated iron for purified iron. It was damaged in the Bombing of Hardship and the ladders were destroyed, forcing passengers to risk injury by leaping off of the deck.

Acey built the airship.

### Hardship Trail

*Main article: Hardship Trail*
Hardship Trail was a major road in the heartland of Hallowmere that passed through Hardship.

Within the city limits it ran from The Ratio in the north to Tox's Cabin in the south, passing by the airship dock in the city center along a double-decker oak wood route maintained by Curious and Sprankles and contiunuing along between Knowbody's Home and Castra Aerumna.

### Knowbody's Home

*Main article: Knowbody's Home*
Knowbody's Home was the residence of Ky, located in a fenced-off red sandstone plateau directly south across from the airship. There was a villager farm, a fishing hut on the Dire Straits, livestock pens, and crop farms primarily used to provide free food for those newly arrived by airship.

A beacon—the first powered up in the city—enabled health regeneration for all who visited Hardship, which proved extremely helpful against the deadly elements of Hallowmere.

### Castra Aerumna

*Main article: Castra Aerumna*
Castra Aerumna was a Zaeric fort built by Bagger and [MaccaMan]]. It was surrounded by a five-meter tall stone brick and dark oak wood wall inlaid with redstone blocks. Its most prominent feature was the elaborate Phoenix Spire tower, the winning entry in the Hallowmere Best Build Contest. The foundations for two other structures were laid out but never finished. A single-tier beacon provided the Speed effect.

In the early months of the Sixth Era, the fort was home to several shops, but after customers came under attack during the Hardship Raid on 6E:36 they were shut down indefinitely.

Castra Aerumna's main purpose was concealing the four kilometer subterranean tunnel leading to Nova Zaeric, the faction's stronghold in Hallowmere.

### Kenshō

*Main article: Kenshō*
Kenshō was a large complex built by Zen that encompassed the city's entire west side.

The most recognizable feature of the complex was Sans, a 71-meter work of art that loomed over the entirety of Hardship. Nearby was the Home Tree, actually two separate hardwood jungle trees connected by a series of nested platforms in their branches. A trio of public shops sold cooked fish, ice, and packed ice for iron.

Though he did not live there, Zen took advantage of the fact that factories and farms within the city limits were always active, building a massive natural mob farm. Reaching 251 meters into the sky, the farm was the tallest structure in Hardship.

### Sprank's Planks

Sprank's Planks was a community plot owned and operated by Sprankles and his son 0uttaTime. As the name implied, it was built upon planks of jungle wood floating in the Dire Straits. The area offered a public grinder and watermelon, sugarcane, wheat, pumpkins, and pork for new arrivals. On the side nearest the airship, a series of signs provided tips and information on surviving dangerous life in Hallowmere.

0uttaTime was killed there several times by the Scylfings during the Hardship Raid on 6E:36.

### The Brick

*Main article: The Brick*
The Brick was the forward operating base of the Merry Men during their invasion of Hallowmere, constructed by their leader Gabault.

It was a square brick building with a glass ceiling, containing everything they needed to wage war including farms, storage, brewing, and enchantment. A cluster of four colored beacons—purple, yellow, orange, and red—provided the Regeneration, Speed, Haste, and Jump Boost effects.

After both Gabault and Jrod were exiled by Retro for their role in the rebellion against his rule, The Brick's claim expired and it was first looted by raiders and then demolished.

### The Ratio

*Main article: The Ratio*
The Ratio was an unusual structure on Hardship's northeast side, consisting of dark oak circular platforms and winding staircases nestled between the trees. Hanging vines and waterfalls cascading down over the curve of Hardship Trail and the Dire Straits.

It was the work of Curious.

### Greywatch Line

Located a hundred meters east of the airship, Greywatch Line was a railway that provided minecart travel from Hardship to Greywatch Garrison, the fortress headquarters of Greywatch.

It was built by Lex.

On 6E:36, the Scylfings launched an attack on the Garrison during their Hardship Raid, killing Codog while he was attempting to travel along the Greywatch Line.

### Enchanting Nook

The Enchanting Nook was the only public Level 30 enchanting table anywhere in Hallowmere, located on the northern side of the city along Hardship Trail.

It was built by Cibrel after he noticed his fellow Hollowers were having trouble gathering enough supplies for their own enchanting setups.

### Tox's Cabin

*Main article: Tox's Cabin*
On the south edge of the city was the familiar sight of Tox's Cabin, a tiny oak and birch cottage originally built in the First Era. It rested in a patch of grass on a red sandstone ridge within a small copse of oaks, which by the end of the Sixth Era remained the only grove of trees in town.

Tox did not live there but instead used it as a storage point for nether quartz ore and bottles o' enchanting, which could be used to quickly obtain enough XP to make a Hearthstone jump home to
Watchtower Theia and later Big Butte.

# Residents

This is a partial list of some of the more notable residents who lived in Hardship.

# Gallery

Airship before Hardship was builtHardshipSouthwest sidePhoenix Spire and SansFacing KenshōSouthern edgeHardship at nightThe airship and Phoenix SpireFrom above overlooking the Dire StraitsAt sunsetKnowbody's Home fisheryHelpful info provided by SpranklesHardship TrailBagger visits early Hardship and Knowbody's HomeSprankles walks Hardship TrailBagger on the future site of Castra AerumnaKy goes fishingMandy visits HardshipKy at Knowbody's HomeRetro marvels at the incomplete SansMid-era HardshipTerry goes fishingIn the rainThe Hegemon Retro high above HardshipThe completed Sans from see Greywatch GarrisonTerry beneath the airshipMaccaMan in front of Castra Aerumna

# Behind the Scenes

*The following is out-of-universe information about the real world Dragonhollow.*

To emphasize the challenging changes being introduced by the Extra Hard Mode plugin, Acey broke with tradition and decided not to build a spawn town for the Hallowmere map. She created only an airship, ensuring that once players left they were at the mercy of the deadly wilderness that surrounded it.

Naturally, a town sprang up anyway, built by the players themselves. Zen christened it Hardship in *New Beginnings*, a book that also created background lore for the city and told of its eventual fate.

The name Hardship also carried Greek mythological ties with Eris, the in-universe alias of Acey. As written in the ancient poem *Theogony*, Hardship was the child of Eris:

>
> *And hateful Eris bore painful* ***Ponos (Hardship),***
>
>
>
>

However, the Roman statesman Cicero names Hardship as the son of Nyx, tying in the spawn town with yet another piece of Dragonhollow lore inspired by Greek mythology.