Brevoy

## Geography

Brevoy is divided into two lands historically, culturally, and geographically. The vast Lake of Mists and Veils forms the northern border of Brevoy, bound in ice during the winter months, the domain of fishing vessels, merchant ships, and the pirates who prey upon them the rest of the year. The Awzera and East Sellen Rivers, along with the dark depths of the Gronzi Forest, divide the nation into north and south. The Golushkin Mountains south of Port Ice mark the western border, while the Icerime Peaks to the east form a barrier with the old lands of Iobaria beyond. The northern half of Brevoy, Issia, is a broken expanse of rugged, rocky hills stretching between the bordering mountain ranges of the Icerime Peaks and the Golushkin Mountains, with the lone peak of Mount Veshka rising in its midst. Small, windswept scrub and spiky grasses are all that grow in the rocky soil, save or in small, painstakingly tended plots and in some of the more fertile areas long the lakeshore (which must deal instead with storm surges, floods, and other hazards of equal concern). The mountains offer plentiful stone for quarrying and building, and occasional veins of metals and precious stones for mining, although the locals are generally poor at mining. Compared to the land north of Lake Reykal, Rostland is a gentle and fertile place of grassy plains and rolling hills. Watered by the lake and rivers, Rostland’s soil is better suited for farming, and the mountains and forest help to blunt the worst of the storms that roll down off of the Lake of Mists and Veils. Still, Rostland is known for its chilly winters and its long, slow, and muddy spring season. Rostland is relatively poor in minerals, so most construction is of wood, supplemented by local fieldstone. A few great structures, like the Ruby Fortress or the Bulwark of Gorum in New Stetven, are built with imported stone, but otherwise even the great manor houses are built mainly of wood.

### Icerime Peaks

   The Icerime Peaks wall off most of Brevoy from the former lands of Iobaria to the west. Their heights are perpetually covered in ice, even in the summer months, when cold rivers tumble and cascade down their sides, forming towering waterfalls and clear mountain lakes. The late spring thaws open what passes there are through the mountains, although few make use of them. Skywatch is by no means the only ancient site in the Icerime Peaks. Tales tell of half-buried entrances to mountain dungeons, some of them outposts of old Iobaria, others even older. Some of the ruins are said to be haunted by the chill shades of soldiers or miners who perished there, still guarding whatever treasures they found in life.

#### Skywatch

High in the northern Icerime Peaks is an ancient observatory discovered by the Surtovas centuries ago in the early days of Issia. The walled fortress has sealed its gates. No one has entered or left since, not even couriers or supply caravans.

#### The Valley of Fire

In the southernmost Icerime Peaks lies the mountain alley where Aldori rebels fought their last battle against the forces of Choral the Conqueror. They were lured into the valley with the hope of cornering Choral, but instead found themselves in a trap when the Conqueror’s red dragon allies bathed the valley in fire, wiping out the men of Rostland. To this day, the Valley of Fire is an infamous place where life refuses to return to the blackened and melted earth, said to be haunted by the tortured shades of the men who died here, seen in the night as fiery shadows with a burning hatred for the living.

### The Forest

   The dark expanse of the Gronzi Forest is simply “the Forest” to the people of Brevoy. It extends from the highlands of the Icerime Peaks to the shores of Lake Reykal, forming part of the old border between Issia and Rostland. Although technically the forest belongs to the Brevic crown, hunting and even woodcutting is largely unregulated around its outskirts, particularly in the western reaches. The stretch of forest nearest New Stetven was largely cleared generations ago for the wood to rebuild and maintain the city, and Brevic woodcutters must delve deeper each year to meet their needs.

Although there are many tales of the hazards of the deep forest, the most recent stories are of human origin. A mysterious bandit chief known as Duma the Sly, has led raids on merchants, travelers, and tax-collectors near the bounds of the forest. He and his band are known for their ability to strike without warning and vanish just as quickly into the greenery. Duma is no friend of King Noleski Surtova, but the common folk love him for his generosity, and therefore aid him in evading royal sanction. Tales claim Duma is everything from the son of a wronged Aldori nobleman, a fey-blooded trickster, or a lost Rogarvian heir.

### The Golushkin Mountains

    The Golushkin Mountains are home to Issia’s greatest concentration of natural resources, as the peaks sit upon deep veins of iron, nickel, copper, silver, and tin, along with some other useful or precious ores. Humans like the Surtovas showed little interest in mining these riches, particularly since the Golka clan of dwarves were already doing so. House Garess established trade with the mountain dwarves, building a reputation on metalworks and a stronghold in the defensible mountain lands.

### The Lake

The people of Brevoy know the vast Lake of Mists and Veils simply as “the Lake,” and it defines the northern border of the land as well as dominates Brevoy’s seasons and weather. In the winter, the fiercest storms howl down from the foggy waters, driven between the mountain peaks to pour freezing rain, sharp hail, and heavy snow drifts upon Issia, slowed only slightly by the forest and the hills around Rostland, before exhausting their fury on the southern hills and plains. The lake gets its name from its tendency to warm enough in the peak months of summer so that when the first chill of winter sets in, the water “steams” with heavy layers of mist at night, slowly burning off each morning.

The Lake is crisscrossed by pirates, fishermen, and traders who ply their trade, while soothsayers claim to be able to read omens in its mists. Dark whispers in Rostland speak of powerful creatures who live beneath the lake's waters who are the true masters of Issia and emerge from its depths at night to make dreadful bargains with local villagers. The pirate lords of Issia engaged one another in a massive naval battle in Jellicoe Bay off the coast of Brevoy. The fleets wrecked when they were caught up in a massive storm. Today the location is known as the Jundlan Wrecks.

#### Port Ice

    House Surtova’s (*"Ours is the Right"*) ancestral lands extend from Port Ice, a settlement that has shifted increasingly inland, like its masters. Although connected to the lakeshore villages by a reasonably well-maintained road, Port Ice is locked behind its walls for much of the cold winter months, visited only by sled and the occasional foolhardy traveler. The rest of the year, the city is open to stockpile all the supplies needed for the next season. The White Manor is the Surtova ancestral seat, currently in the care of King Noleski’s uncle, Domani Surtova.

#### Winterbreak

Winterbreak is the seat of House Lodovka (*"Our Waters, Our Fields"*). It is located on Acuben Isle and overlooks Winterbreak Bay. Anyone sailing the straight pays fees to Lodovka, and those who sail around to the north risk ambush by the mists' monsters and pirates.

### Rostland Plains

    The region of grassy plains and rolling hills to the east of the Sellen and south of the Gronzi Forest are the heart of Old Rostland, dotted with farming towns and villages with a mixture of Issian and Astorian heritage and manners, but with more of an emphasis on the Rostlandic descendants of the original Astorian colonists. Although close to the capital of New Stetven, the Rostland Plains harbor some simmering dissent against the crown, the man who presently wears it, and the very idea of Brevoy as a unified nation.

#### New Stetven

Choral the Conqueror established the Brevic capital of New Stetven after his successful campaign, building over the ruins of the original Taldan settlement of Stetven. It remains the center of political and economic power in the land, in spite of the recent upheavals. Of particular importance is New Stetven’s place as a trading city, carrying goods to and from Brevoy along the East Sellen River and the major trade roads that meet here along the shores of Lake Reykal.

New Stetven earned the nickname “The City of Wooden Palaces” for the abundant use of timber to build everything from walls and houses to mansions and forts. Even some of the city streets are “paved” with planks laid in the near constant mud from the snow and slush. Raised wooden sidewalks are common in the wealthier parts of the city, allowing people to walk up out of the mud as much as possible. The only great stone structures of the city are the Ruby Fortress, the seat of power to the crown of Brevoy, and the Bulwark of Gorm, a massive cathedral.

#### Restov

Nowhere is the Rostlandic spirit more alive than in the Free City of Restov. The city owes its allegiance to the Brevic crown, and Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius must bend his knee before the Dragonscale Throne like any lord, but otherwise Restov belongs to no house, making it a haven for the lost glories of the Aldori swordlords and those who look back to the old days before the coming of the Conqueror. Restov is a city of both refinement and rough-and-tumble manners, as only a colony can be in fondly recalling and imitating its motherland. The gentry of Restov consider themselves sophisticates, although an Astorian visitor would consider their ways quaint, and touched with no small amount of northern barbarism. The city is a bustling trade center along the border. Restov’s relative wealth supports no small number of idle and titled lordlings and merchants’ sons. They frequent the various Aldori and Astorian dueling schools, as well as the alehouses, and fight each other in street corner challenges at dawn and dusk. The schools, salons, and taprooms of Restov are also hotbeds of rebellious talk against the reign of King Noleski Surtova, with young firebrands in search of a leader to rally them to the cause.

## History

Brevoy is a relatively young nation, having only existed for the past three hundred years. The history of Brevoy before this time is the history of two often-warring nations, Issia and Rostland. The coming of Choral the Conqueror in 4499 AR changed all this. He arrived on the shores of Needle Lake, the current Lake Reykal, accompanied by a ragged band of soldiers and knights numbering just over three hundred. After his arrival he declared the creation of a new nation called Brevoy that would encompass much of the land that was then Issia and Rostland. This declaration was almost completely ignored by both nations as neither perceived Choral as a threat. Rostland eventually had to deal with Choral when he began sending tax collectors from his settlement of New Stetven to force the citizens to support his usurping government. They sent a small army to deal with the proud warlord.

Rostland's army seriously underestimated Choral's cunning, and their army walked into an ambush. They were lured into a river canyon south of New Stetven where Choral unleashed his secret allies, a pair of enormous red dragons. Their flames devastated the Rostland army as it was trapped in the canyon with no way to escape. There were few survivors. After this the dragons rampaged across much of Rostland proper, forcing its leaders to surrender within days. Seeing the devastation Choral caused in Rostland, the Issian lords surrendered immediately, declaring themselves to be a part of his new aristocracy and eventually creating House Rogarvia.

Choral only ruled his new land for a decade before disappearing, leaving his descendants to rule until 4699 AR using the threat of the conqueror's return and his fearsome dragon allies to maintain their power. The dragons seemingly disappeared after Brevoy's creation, but they returned once to lay siege to Skywatch, an observatory-cum-fortress held by those still loyal to Rostland.

The Rogarvians' rule ended with the mysterious disappearance of every member of House Rogarvia in 4699 AR, leaving Brevoy free, but in a precarious political position.

## Earlier History

Long ago, pilgrims left the plague-ridden land of
Iobaria, crossing the Icerime Peaks into the land that
would one day be called Brevoy. Led by cyclopean
prophets, they settled in a place they claimed held spiritual
significance. They believed it to be the birthplace of “the
Second Dragon,” an alleged figure of greatness and divinity.
These immigrants became known as the Firespeakers, and
they forged an alliance with the local warlords to ensure
the area remained a neutral territory. In exchange for this
allowance, the Firespeakers offered the warlords access
to their healers, scholars, and seers. They even served as
mediators during diplomatic sessions between the tribes.
The Firespeakers constructed a solitary temple, where they
recorded their prophecies and met with tribal representatives.

This peace ended in 2009 ar, when Taldan settlers moved
into Brevoy, seeking to stake out land for themselves. One
such settler, Lysius Corcina, set his sights on the copper-
rich hills where the Firespeakers lived. Lysius and his
retinue destroyed the Firespeakers and leveled their temple,
building a fortress on its foundation. Angered by the Taldan
invasion, local forces moved against Lysius. They eventually
killed him, and the once-neutral lands again became a site
of frequent squabbles. The keep shifted hands between the
quarrelsome lords for centuries, until an earthquake in 2920
ar collapsed significant portions of the building. The local
warlords lost interest in the ruined keep entirely.

Taldan colonists kept a firm hold on the southern portion of
Brevoy, naming their colony Rostland, while the independent
northern tribes called their land Issia. The two lands retained
fiercely independent identities for another fifteen hundred
years. Iobarian warlord Choral the Conqueror disrupted this
balance when he took over both nations and forced them
to unite into Brevoy under the rule of his family, House
Rogarvia. The strength of House Rogarvia was sufficient to
hold the country together despite internal tensions, until
every member of House Rogarvia mysteriously disappeared
17 years ago in an event known as the Vanishing. A member of
the Issian House Surtova holds the throne, but his position is
far from stable. Brevoy now teeters on the brink of civil war,
with its noble families locked in a struggle for power.

## People

The people of Brevoy are called Brevans by foreigners but the Brevans call themselves either Rostlanders or Issans, depending on where they come from.

The nation of Brevoy was once two vastly different nations locked in a constant state of war before being conquered by Choral the Conqueror (aka the Mad King) and his dragons. After centuries of rule by his descendants, the Dragonscale Throne now sits empty and Brevoy must now decide its own destiny.

The peasants of Brevoy are the largest part of the population and owe taxes and fealty to one of the house lords. Their life consists of working from dawn to dusk, farming if they live in Rostland, or either fishing or mining if they live in Issia. In the long, dark winter months there is no shortage of mending, brewing, carving, and cleaning. The wise peasant attends to their own house and avoids the attention of noble and priest alike, praying to all their gods simply for decent weather, good crops, a healthy family, and the peace with which to enjoy them.

### Dwarves

Though typically rare in northeastern Avistan, dwarves exist in small numbers in almost every community in Brevoy. Many serve as town blacksmiths, masons, militia quartermasters, or pawnbrokers. The small mining village of Brunderton in eastern Rostland has an overwhelming dwarven citizenry—most dwarves in the region can claim at least one relative or acquaintance that calls the hamlet home—and gem and ore traders from Brunderton travel throughout the area peddling their wares. Rumors of untapped or unclaimed mines hidden throughout the Stolen Lands are enough to get most dwarves interested in exploring the wilderness.

### Elves

Full-blooded elves are rare in Brevoy and harshly distrusted. The few elves that have emigrated from their homeland, the Empire, up the Sellen River to Brevoy have generally done so as exiles or fugitives. Often, these "Forlorn" elves, are shunned as a result of their actions or reputations which may result in them having difficulty finding work. As a result, they use their natural skills in stealth and combat to make money or food, which generally means crime. And thus their reputation worsens along that with all elves.

Long ago, the elves maintained a stronger presence in this region, and rumors of surviving elven ruins scattered throughout the Forest have long intrigued elven scholars and historians.

The Brevic city of Restov boasts one of the largest concentrations of elves in the region. An elven ghetto where elves go to perform legitimate work to try to restore their reputation or to hide from the law or the Empire.

#### Half-Elves

Half-Elves on the other hand, are more numerous and suffer much less stigma than their full-blooded kin. The upper classes have a long history of embarrassing illegitimate half-elf progeny, and as a result, many of the region’s half-elves claim some noble heritage (though such claims aren’t generally recognized). Other half-elven settlers in the region are the result of trysts between locals and elves from the Empire. Regardless of their origins, half-elves find their adaptable nature well suited to Brevic life.

### Half-Orcs

Throughout the civilized world, half-orcs suffer ostracism and prejudice, yet many find Brevoy not merely tolerant of their kind, but in fact refreshingly accepting. Brevans don’t view half-orcs with the same disdain that the half-breeds receive in other parts of the world, and any half-orc who adheres to the strict, provincial customs of the land achieves the same level of acceptance that a similarly compliant full-blooded human would. Half-orcs blessed with less overtly bestial features might attempt to pass for human, keeping the unseemly conditions of their birth a closely guarded the secret and leaving their past behind as they start again with a clean slate in Brevoy. Some embrace their heritage, however, and are rewarded; warlords among feuding citystates often recruit half-orcs to serve as elite soldiers, officers, and law enforcement, valuing their blend of strength and cunning.

### Hobbits

Brevan halflings tend toward transient lifestyles that shuffle them throughout Brevoy, often accompanying Varisians, experiencing both sides of Rostland and Issia. Halflings often work as street performers, pickpockets, or legitimate shop or tavern owners; their natural penchant for stealth and showmanship makes them valuable assets to both the ruling elite and underground criminal organizations.

### Humans

Humans constitute the most populous race in and around Brevoy. And are divided into three main ethnic groups:

* Ethnic Taldans make up well over half the region’s human population; many trace their lineage back to the explorers and soldiers who first tamed the wild countryside ages ago. Taldans have "flowing" brown hair and green, blue, or grey eyes.
* Descendants of Choral’s conquering army possess strong Kellid bloodlines, as do the barbaric hordes of nearby Numeria. Kellids are hardy folk of fair skin with dark hair and eyes.
* Spring and autumn bring fleets of Varisian flatboats to the Sellen’s waterways as the nomadic people make their seasonal migration around Brevoy and the Lake of Mists and Veils. Varisians are lithe folk with wildly varying eye and hair colours, "expressive" eyes, and a tendency to tattoo themselves.

#### Kellids

Whenever a resident of the continent thinks of or refers to a "barbarian", they are most likely picturing a Kellid. Kellid culture, like the Kellid people, is shaped by its harsh surroundings. It is a primitive tribal culture that values tribal loyalty. Few outsiders can gain a Kellid clan's respect, though those who do through honesty and strength are as welcomed as family. Only a handful of Kellid strongholds welcome outsiders and these are without exception very highly selective.

The language of the Kellids, Hallit, is a coarse language with no written form.

### Brevic expressions

Brevans are renown for their pessimism:

* “When the wolf shows you his teeth, he’s not smiling.”
* “Riders at night carry no glad tidings.”
* “Winter always follows spring.”
* “As the stars see me” (a common oath asserting the truth)
* “The stars see all.”
* “The dragon has two heads” (referring to both the crest of the Conqueror and the duplicity of the nobility).
* “The temple is close, but the night is cold. The tavern is far, but I have a cloak.”
* “Fire is everyone’s ally, but no one’s friend.”
* “Death makes cradles for us all.”
* “No man dies wishing he had worked more.”

## Politics

Brevoy’s government is a heredity monarchy ruled by a king, Noleski Surtova, although many (particularly those dwelling in the southern region known as Rostland) privately contest the current king’s right to rule.

### Noble Houses

* **House Garess**, motto: "Strong as the Mountains", symbol: mountain, colour: silver. Based in the eastern foothills of the Golushkin Mountains, House Garess has many strong ties to regional dwarven clans.
* **House Lebeda**, motto: "Success Through Grace", symbol: swan, colour: orange. This house controls much of the plains southwest of Lake Reykal, as well as much of the shipping interests on the lake itself.
* **House Lodovka**, motto: "The Waters, Our Fields", symbol: crab, colour: green. Located on Acuben Isle and the central northern coast, House Lodovka has the strongest presence on the Lake of Mists and Veils, having never abandoned their traditional waterborne ways.
* **House Medvyed**, motto: "Endurance Overcomes All", symbol: bear with antlers, colour: red. The easternmost house, Medvyed claims much of the Gronzi Forest. They are a hardy folk who remain associated with the “Old Ways” of worshiping nature.
* **House Orlovsky,** motto: "High Above", symbol: black roc, colour: gold. Northeastern Brevoy is controlled by House Orlovsky, a family that traditionally seeks to remain above petty politics.
* **House Rogarvia**, motto: "With Sword and Flame", symbol: two-headed red dragon, colour: iron. Until recently, House Rogarvia ruled Brevoy. Their recent disappearance has thrown the nation into chaos.
* **House Surtova**, motto: "Ours Is the Right", symbol: carrack, colour: blue. The most influential Brevic house, Surtova is also its oldest. They control Port Ice and much of northwestern Brevoy.

### Independent Factions

#### The Aldori Swordlords

Currently, swordlords are expert swordsmen, trained in the Aldori Duelling technique. Without an Aldori Baron, swordlords wander the lands as ronin, prostituting the arts of the Aldori School for the coin needed to buy them food and shelter. Others turn to banditry, extortion, and murder. Whatever honour they once had dwindles with hunger and desperation. To appear more employable, many sellswords also claim Aldori training and have mastered clumsy displays of feigning Aldori stances. True swordlords do not abide such pretenders to live.

#### The Church

While not truly independent from the state to the point that it has sovereign status, the church is independently managed enough to be considered separate though disturbingly entwined.

##### Witch Hunters

Witch hunters are tasked with enforcing the practice of state religion and seeking out heretics and sorcery wherever it may lurk.

#### The Elemental Temples

The four elemental temples across Brevoy are independent from one another and have directly conflicting goals. However, they are all roughly the same in an abstract sense: they seek to spread their element across Brevoy.

#### The Bards' College

In other settings, bards encapsulate happy-go-lucky musical goofballs who are lovers as much as fighters. In Brevoy, bards are truly the scum of the earth. They are the most sociopathic, amoral killers and criminals. They are poisoners, assassins, liars, and sneaks. So much as whispering the word bard is enough to put people ill at ease, suddenly scanning the shadows and clutching their valuables.

#### East Issian Trading Company

Of all the merchant companies, the one with monopolies over both an entire lake and several industries should always come first to mind.