Dharnam

**Dharnam** is a fortress city near Dharva-in-the-Forest. Gwyn ap Nudd, Augus Each Uisge, Eran Iliakambar, Mosk Manytrees, Ash Glashtyn, and Julvia Dubna Vajat headed to Dharnam on their way to deal with Olphix. Most villages and towns around it are considered 'town[s] before Dharnam'. The city holds special reverence for Baba Yaga.

## Appears in

Major canon:

*The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague*

## Description

Gwyn described Dharnam as: 'Grim . . . It used to be heavily besieged Unseelie territory, and so it is a fortress city. It’s the last major city before Zhitovar'.

'Dharnam was a collection of fortresses surrounded by forbidding walls that soared into the sky, covered with ivy and creeping roses that flowered in a deep, blood-stained red.' The entrance that Gwyn's group used had 'two large iron doors'. The residents dressed in 'a bevy of bright reds, ochres, blues, yellows, and greens . . . They called Gwyn ‘the Dual King’ as he entered. They bowed.' There were many different kinds of fae in residence.

Dharnam had 'black stone roads. Planter boxes outside most of the buildings had ancient rose bushes growing from them, gnarled and twisted with bright green leaves. Stained glass depicting more roses was set into many of the windows and the doors, sometimes depicting blue roses instead of red.'

Gwyn's group was 'given a two-storey building to occupy, which had a generous training field, as well as a generous garden at the back of it, and an entrance clearly designed for meeting visitors, with all its chairs and round tables and framed scrolls extolling the virtues of cooperation in battle.' At one point, in their room, Mosk 'grew Eran a fire tree from the very wall, so its blossoms hung over Eran’s side of the large bed.' He and Eran also accidentally grew a field of fire poppies in their room when practicing blending their magic. 'Countless fire poppies crowded the floor all around the room growing straight up from the floorboards, through the rugs, around the bed until they pressed into the walls. They grew in the fireplace, untouched by the flame, they showed off their gleaming yellow centres, cheerful and vivid.' The room also had a 'stone button that [, when pressed,] would allow light to appear; electricity stolen from the human realm and powered with magic.' They also ate at a servant's dining table.

Away from the central part of Dharnam are 'sprawling cottages and little gardens that seemed more homely within the walled fortress.' At least one of the houses 'glued shells to their wall'. 'The shells had aged, but they were still pretty and decorative against the low, dark grey stone wall. It protected a little square of grass, surrounded by dark green shrubs, and roses that weren’t flowering. A small pair of gumboots rested against the wall by the front door, which looked like it was made of clay, instead of wood.' Farther away from the city center were poorer areas, where some of the houses were in disrepair, and some 'of the gardens were filled not with decorative plants, but plants that offered up fruits and seeds and vegetables and nuts. Down these poorer streets, stray black cats with white stars on their foreheads and neat little white socks would occasionally cross their path and look at them solemnly, and then continue like they had business to attend to.'

Barna, Lalik, Harai, Mimi, and Tesha's home was 'one of the poorer ones. The front garden was filled with food plants, and the roof had a hole in its thatching. But there were colourful charms hanging from the windows and door, and the little porch had carved wooden children’s toys on it.' Inside was a cauldron used for cooking food 'over a generous hearth.'

Eran noted that 'in Dharnam, the cups were made of a dark clay carved with grim geometric sigils, glazed to make them stronger. They were also large'.

An important resident of Dharnam noted to Gwyn, ‘We’ve had fae arriving for weeks', and Mosk realized that Gwyn seemed to be gathering fae to Dharnam, potentially to attack Olphix.

Eran noted that Dharnam was cold (or at least too cold for him), as it was in the far north. It started snowing while his group was there. He also heard balalaikas playing while walking around.

Species of fae that reside there include polevik and rassel. Eran and Mosk also encountered 'a fluffy puffball of a dog', 'cats with stone-grey coats that blended in with the stone of the walls [who] watched them with lamp-like eyes', and calm 'glossy roosters'.

As Gwyn's group continued to stay in Dharnam, 'Dharnam was growing in number. Around the outskirts of the wall that surrounded the city of fortresses, militaries had come and set up camp, waiting to be made useful by the King. . . . Fae were coming to join them, to help. Master Mages came, walking around the town with a contingent of followers in their horrid, gaudy motleys.'

The center of Dharnam has a 'garden-like pine forest where most towns and cities might have a village green', which was used for the mourning bonfire during Evale.

### Government

'Dharnam cared much for its council meetings and the ‘proper’ way of doing things'.

## Residents

* Barna
* Fossick
* Frieze
* Harai
* Lalik
* Mimi
* Tesha
* Yborza

## Trivia

* Karsk appears to be a kind of drink that's possibly local, or unique to a group of fae who live in Dharnam. It is stronger than coffee. Lingonberry juice is another drink available in the city.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 9 December 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/88760557. Chapter 21: Hungers.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 30 September 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/85040659. Chapter 16: Trowna.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 12 May 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/97400118. Chapter 32: Our Better Natures.
4. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 3 February 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/91940740. Chapter 25: Monsters Within Monsters.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 February 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/92776732. Chapter 26: It's Love.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 26 May 2022.https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/98170593. Chapter 33: Soul Crying.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 17 March 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/94345423. Chapter 28: Family.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 3 March 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/93567520. Chapter 27: Sweet Torments.
9. ↑ not\_poignant. "The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague." *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 14 April 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/95883649. Chapter 30: I Hated It All.