Freefolk Dwellings

A rare depiction of a peaceful free-folk dwelling prior to the rise of the Withered King, commissioned by Lorium and Co.

## Society

### Races

Humans - 53%Orcs - 18%

Wood Elves - 12%

Halflings - 6%

Goblins - 5%

Half-Orcs - 3%

Half-Elves - 2%

Other - 1%

### Religions

The New Gods

*"Behold: The magic of the freefolk!"*
*"But I see nothing but trees and hills..."*
*"Exactly!"*
- Discourse extracted from the tragedy: "Ulshenia: The Fall Thereof" (904PR), between characters Lepmin Black and Hargoth Yule, the latter of which is attempting to point out the great illusionary magic possessed by the free-folk.

## Region

### Geography

The Free-Folk Dwellings is the name given to the large expanse of magically imbued land between that rests East of Iron-Valley and the Grand Imperium Arcarnum, while still being West of the Great Forest; and North of the Sellederre Empire, while still being South of the Northern Stretches.

The region is mostly woodlands, hills of wild-grass, and hidden lakes, making it ill suited to support large populations. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it is mostly considered little more than wasteland to larger powers.

### Magically Imbued Soil

The Free-Folk Dwellings were a site of many magical battles between the Rommulite and Bennite Empires over their seven century reigns of Varia. As such, much of the land still bears the scars and residual magical energy of those battles, and sudden outbursts of wild-magic are not uncommon.

The magical energies stored in the land has been turned to good purpose by the current inhabitants of the land, the Western Freefolk who have used their own magical abilities to harness the stored energy into a variety of different effects, such a village-wide illusions and accelerated crop growth.

## Travelling

### Getting There

Getting to the Freefolk Dwellings is a very easy task if one resides within Western Varia. Generally, such a traveller must simply journey towards the Great Forest from their current location, and they will encounter the Freefolk Dwellings first. However, some difficulty may arise in knowing when one has actually reached the Freefolk Dwellings, as the powerful illusionary magic harnessed by many of the regions inhabitants means that most travellers pass through the region without ever realising the sights they are passing.

Travellers wishing to visit any of the villages or mythical locations within the Freefolk Dwellings are advised to hire a

guide prior to undertaking their journey, preferably a Wild-Land Ranger, who may be able to act as a negotiator in convincing the local populace to lower their illusionary magic, thereby allowing the traveller to visit such locations.

### Crossing

Until very recently, the Freefolk Dwellings were arguably the safest wild-land region to cross owing to the relative tameness of the wilderness. The majority of inhabitants are more concerned with remaining unseen than they are with harassing travellers, and the relatively low number of dangerous monsters and beasts mean that most wild-hazards are minimal. Until the year 1001PR, the only real danger within the Freefolk Dwellings existed in the form of outcast mages, vampires, and Orc tribes.

Recently, however, the rise of the Withered King has resulted in the Freefolk Dwellings being over-run with hordes of undead, the magnitude of which has not been seen since the Spellwar Liberation. Furthermore, the recent civil war within the Ironvalley has resulted in large numbers of deserters and political exiles attempting to regain their former power through domination within the Freefolk Dwellings region. These combined circumstances have resulted in making the Freefolk dwellings a significantly more dangerous place than it once was - though, it is thought that the inhabitants of it's lands still have little difficulty in remaining hidden, or otherwise allying themselves with the dominant forces in that region.

## Culture

The inhabitants of the Freefolk Dwellings are collectively known as the Western Freefolk, though this term is relatively meaningless within the region itself. Individual pockets of races may be found throughout the entire region with relatively little seeming to connect them together. More often than not, such pockets consist of primarily a single race, with scatterings of additional individual races according to the surrounding populations.

Although humans are considered to be the dominant race within the region, it is important to note that these humans are not similar in many ways to other Western humans, and are instead more akin to the Wood Elves which roam that region. Further, the populations listed are merely estimates made according to the frequency in which populations of those races may be found. It is entirely plausible that the figures are wrong, and that it is simply a matter of the humans of this region being most willing to engage in discussion with travellers.

Importantly, no Dwarven holds are thought to lie within the Freefolk Dwellings, though Stone Peak does border the region.

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