Ruins
and Landmarks
Bethesda's
Well | Davrim's
Keep | Fairkeep Forest | Lake
Idrian |
The Watchtowers |
The Weeping Stone
Bethesda's Well
A tale
of sadness indeed. The tale is about lovers. Lovers that
fall desperately and madly in love but are hunted by those
that forbid their union. The thing is, the woman was human,
and her name was Bethesda. Her lover, Súrion,
was elven. The story goes that Bethesda grew old with mortal
age, and desired to find her youth. An Elven Sorceress, who
wished to rid their Elven son from the clutches of the mortal
woman, concocted a potion that would give her this eternal
life. Instead, it accelerated time and she died within days.
Some say he remains in Bethesda's Well, hoping to see her
again, or that she still searches for her lover. Through
hundreds of years, many have fallen in love with the ill-fated
lovers...they soon built a shrine to honour their memory.
Over time, it was clear that the place has evil upon it.
There is rumour that the old witch's enchanted items remain
hidden. Others say the lover's left their riches...gold,
jewels and personal items that were said to contain Elven
magic. Beneath are long and twisting corridors...a matrix
of tunnels and traps controlled by a winding machine made
of stone. Many who enter, never return.
Davrim's
Keep (Cordaire)
To
the Northeast of Cor Cathair, on the shoreline of Cordaire,
a city once stood. It is said that it stood before even the
Great War of the Houses of Cordaire. This city was called
Davrim's Keep. Legend has it that great ships floated to and
from Davrim's Keep during this time or war. At one battle
during the war, Davrim's Keep was abandoned and then demolished.
Though
little remains of the ruined city, the Keep itself still stands
undisturbed. Legend tells that it is a place of undiscovered
mysteries and artifacts. Some say that the tower is haunted
but none have come forward to confirm such findings, for rumour
keeps adventurers at bay. Those who live in the nearby hamlets
know it as a place full of peace that seems to have fallen
asleep...or has it?
Fairkeep Forest
Directly
to the north of Cor Cathair is Fairkeep Forest. Not much larger
than the city itself, it is the last remaining dense wood
directly in the vicinity of the great city due to war and
farming. It is owned and protected by the Crown, and is used
for hunting game. There are a few small dwellings within,
and there are rumours of Highwaymen making their home there.
Lake Idrian
Lake
Idrian is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with sheer
cliffs rising up on the south side. The surrounding land are
clear and there is a beach on the north shore. The low land
floods easily with surface run-off from the mountains - with
the minerals washed down the land is fertile, but has never
been cultivated.
Empaths
and mages alike agree that there is a strangeness about the
place that cannot be ignored. Many think it to be harmless
- perhaps an ancient place of power, but others believe that
there is something malevolent there.
Just
above the floodplain on the western side are the remnants
of a half-built village, with only foundations and in some
cases exterior walls. There is a large rock in the centre,
covering the shaft that was to be the well. Little is known
about the story behind the village.
The Watchtowers (Creachann, Mias
and Tanek)
The
watchtowers stand along the east coast of the three islands.
There are eighteen in all joined by a great wall that is only
broken by the passes. They were built two hundred years earlier
to protect the mainland from raiders. To this day the raisers
still come each spring and attack the islands, for if they
were to take even one island, they would have the toehold
needed to wage war on Cordaire.
The Weeping Stone (Nuall)
The
Weeping Stone is a tall narrow stone that stand four stories
high. Found in the centre of Nuall, it is said to have
been placed there by the hand of Cor, for no other stone
of this nature is found in Nuall. Once the great city of
Guleòr
surrounded it, but the city fell to ruin when the people
abandoned it and became nomadic.
It
is a holy place where the tribes gather each year at Meán
Samhraidh for on month to celebrate, trade livestock forge
tribal alliances through marriage. This is the longest
any tribe remains in one place.
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