Rhostir (barony)

For the ruin of the same name, see Rhostir.

Rhostir is a barony in County Cargwenyn. It is bounded by County Greymoor to the north, and is the main crossroads of the Esterpath.

Rhostir is a popular haunt for local historians and archaeologists due to proximity to both the ruins of Rhostir to the north, and Caerafon to the northwest.

## Folklore

### The Pale Hound

Stories and sightings of the Pale Hound predate the fire of Rhostir by hundreds of years, so it’s probably safe to say the two are unrelated. The Pale Hound is an apparition of an enormous white or grey mastiff, with eyes that gleam like red hot coals, and surrounded by a sickly greenish white glow. It is generally said to be an omen of death, and there are tales of some falling dead just at the sight of it. However, the Hound might not be a malevolent being; there are those who say the Hound comes only for the wicked. In fact there are some tales of the Hound guiding lost children or travelers to safety. Whatever the phantom’s true nature, it has inspired story, song, art, poem, pub names, and at least one mystery novel over the centuries.

### The Flayed

There is no ambiguity about another local spook. The Flayed is outright malevolent, and an even more terrifying sight for those unlucky enough to encounter him. Stories disagree as to whether he was a highwayman who robbed and murdered travelers, or a local tanner who slaughtered his family, but he was definitely tried and condemned for ghastly crimes. He was partially flayed and then set in a cage at a crossroads, displayed for all to scorn. Reportedly it took almost two days for him to die. The vengeful revenant still wanders the area, killing people and animals that it finds, and wearing their skins like clothing until the skin rots off and he must find another.

### The Cricket Church

The local church boasts a rather charming oddity: a weathervane with a large copper cricket at the top. The story behind it is that one day a lord and his retinue were out hunting, and being caught up in the excitement of the chase, they stayed out into the long afternoon and a ferocious summer storm blew in from the coast. Facing both the weather and the oncoming dark, the hunting party decided to take no chances and sought refuge in a local church. And they weren’t the only ones; a cricket had a thought along the same lines, and upon finding itself warm and dry, the cricket got to singing its happiness. All. Night. Long. The lord and his retinue did not sleep well, though the lord seemed to take it with good humor and promised to donate a token of his gratitude. A month later, the cricket weathervane arrived. Though the bright copper has long since turned green, the cricket still stands guard over the church, a symbol of safe haven.

## Points of Interest

(Note: Some of this is future world-building, as technically County Cargwenyn has not yet been reclaimed.)

### Plentyngard School and Adelaide Carp

Reclaimed and revived, Plentyngard School is a symbol of hope for the local population, though enrollment is currently only a fraction of what it used to be. Despite its small size, Plentyngard served as the educational center for children ages seven to seventeen from both Rhostir and Breckin Town. Built near a crossroad not far from the Cricket Church, at peak enrollment the school operated six days a week during the summer, alternating days for different age groups. The longer days of summer allowed for both more school time and sufficient travel time for children to get home before dark. It was common to see groups of neighbor children piled into carts and wagons, brought to and from school by a responsible adult. Schooldays lasted a full day, with breaks in between for children to complete homework assignments and projects on their own. In this way, the school encouraged responsibility, individuality, and a certain amount of self-directed study. Despite the school's unorthodoxy, the residents of both Rhostir and Breckin Town felt that their children received an education comparable to, and as thorough as, one that might be offered by a big-town school such as you might find in Cargwenyn City.

Behind the school is a statue, carved in stone, of a pigtailed young girl: perhaps ten years old, barefoot, with her shoes cast aside, a hole in her straw hat, a cat slinking against her ankle, a frog peeking from her pinafore pocket, and a bird cupped in her hands. It is a tribute to Adelaide Carp, fictional student of Plentyngard and the imaginative and irrepressible heroine of a series of Gilnean children's books. (It was said in the books that any other school would have thrown her out in a week.) Though difficult to find copies now, the series was tremendously popular throughout not only Gilneas but much of Lordaeron as well, even finding admirers among the children of Quel'thalas. It is perhaps evidence of enduring sentiment that, despite the Forsaken having defaced landmarks and buildings throughout Gilneas, the first reclaimers back to Gilneas found Plentyngard untouched, and signs that the Forsaken had taken care of Adelaide's statue--keeping it free of moss and weeds and in good repair, with little bunches of wildflowers from the moors laid near her bare stone feet.

### Genealogical Society, Rhostir Office

Recently opened as a local branch of the Caerseren Genealogical and Historical Research Society, the Rhostir Office currently operates from a spare room in the Cricket Church. While apparently much of the barony's familial and historical records survived safely hidden under the church, the immediate challenge is to properly account for and catalog them, while serving various historians, archaeologists, legend-hunters, and those searching to reunite with family.