Northlight Vigil

As it once was

Northlight is the ancestral home of the Auromere family. It was a territory on the northern border of Lordaeron, but was destroyed by the Scourge during the Third War.

## History

In the years when the Arathorian Empire began to fracture, many nobles and peasants made their way north to settle in the region now known as Lordaeron. Among those were a group of people led by a rather grouchy and stubborn knight known only by the name of Bern. Bern was not tall, not dark, and only considered handsome by some, but his staunchly chivalrous attitudes and principles of self-reliance attracted a following.

Bern led his family and followers far, far north, until they crossed the border into the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. There, according to legend, they were intercepted by high-elven rangers, and told to turn back. Bern asked the rangers where precisely the border was--and when they made the mistake of identifying it exactly, he built a tower within arrowshot of it.

The lands settled by Bern and his followers were far enough north that, during the winter months, the Northern Lights appeared in the sky, so the tower and its surrounds were named Northlight Vigil. Bern himself took a name in the old tongue that reflected this: *Auro-*, for the aurora borealis, and *-mere*, an ancient word meaning "watchtower".

The people of Northlight looked after themselves, soon gaining the grudging respect of their high-elven neighbors. This era of absolute independence went on even as the rest of Lordaeron unified into a single monarchy. Emissaries of the new king arrived with the expectation that Northlight would fall in line with the others, only to be surprised that the Auromeres were uninterested in what a unified kingdom had to offer, having provided for themselves for so long.

As threats flew, the king's men discovered the good relations Northlight had with the high elves, and became concerned that attempting to annex Northlight by main force would risk the ire of Quel'Thalas. As a result, they negotiated a treaty with the Auromeres. Among the provisions of this treaty was that Northlight Vigil remained an earldom, rather than becoming a march, and its boundaries could never be altered except by an Auromere.

The Auromeres continue in an unbroken line to this day, though they were unseated and their title made extinct by the destruction of Lordaeron in the Third War. Jeremaias, the only known survivor, was elevated to the peerage of Stormwind, and is currently Baron "in-chief" of Redgold and any other lands he manages to reclaim for the kingdom.

## Geography

Northlight Vigil lay against the border with Quel'Thalas. Its lands were extensive, although its borders shifted occasionally during disputes with the neighboring high elves. The region is mountainous, often cold, and rather unforgiving, but they were unwilling to trade or surrender their lands in favor of something more temperate. As a result, the Auromeres have, as a family, a reputation for being almost insanely stubborn.

Due to the peculiar difficulties of agriculture, Northlight Vigil had to breed hardier and more specialized crops, and as a result, developed a number of unique strains of grain and fruit. Blueberries were the most notable of these specialty breeds, smaller than average berries but far sweeter and less fibrous than their southern cousins. These special breeds have, for the most part, been lost due to the spread of the Plague of Undeath.

## Politics

The Auromere family, with few exceptions, was known in the court of Lordaeron for being rather isolationist. The scions of the family were typically reared to view themselves as the protectors of the people of Northlight Vigil, and as a result, viewed with skepticism any potential threat. They often regarded even their own countrymen as "threats" to Northlight, and were notorious naysayers in the Court at Lordaeron City, particularly on matters of taxation and conscription--when they cared to appear, which was seldom. As a result, they tended to attract a great deal of hatred from their political opponents.

The Auromere family tended to work the land alongside their vassals and peasants--and occasionally selected brides from said groups--and other noble families sometimes viewed them as little better than common stock themselves. But it is conjectured that this practice resulted in a tighter bond between noble and commoner, so that many of the abuses that went on in other parts of Lordaeron were almost unheard of in Northlight Vigil.

The people of Northlight Vigil, like many in the northeastern region of Lordaeron, speak Common fluently, but also speak a language that went extinct elsewhere; it often imparts a curious accent to their Common speech, particularly when they are emotionally excited. Though he was not of Northlight, Armand of the Scarlet Crusade provides an example of this accent. This language barrier often reminded other Lordaeronians of the slight foreignness of the border dwellers.

It was often rumored that the Auromeres, and the other people of Northlight Vigil, were secretly worshipers not of the Holy Light, but of some heathen god from before the establishment of the Church. This has never been completely substantiated.

Famously, Earl Jonas Auromere opposed the taxation of Lordaeron peasants to fund the reconstruction of Stormwind, and proposed that the orcs be shipped to Northrend to create their own colony rather than interned.

## Currently

The land lies dead, still under the pall of the Plague of Undeath. Its people are scattered, and the last Auromere known to survive is the last earl's son, Jeremaias. As Jeremaias has begun to make the rebuilding of the Duchy of Ashfall his life's duty, it is unlikely that House Auromere will reclaim its ancestral territory, even Lordaeron could ever be reclaimed by its former citizens.