Ghieronburg¶
A rural fief built on cursed ground that turned out to be the most magically active terrain in the city. The Ghiérons punch above their weight — and above their station — to prove they belong.
Vibe: Built on enchanted ruins. Two rivers (the Asp and the Adder) run through, yet the fief suffers a strangely dry microclimate. Long lying fallow because only fayrees, Elementals, and "slogres" (the slow apathetic ogre cousins of Ogrokh) lived there. Now urbanized but still rural at the edges. Day work, night unsavory. Dominant Attitude: Opportunism.
Canon Facts¶
- Peer: Bernadil Ghiéron — eldest grandson of Commander Denerac. Charismatic, ~30 years old.
- Founder: Commander Denerac Ghiéron — ennobled in 956 at age 58 for crucial role against the Anfrebian (water elemental) invasion. Land was thought sterile and worthless when given. Died in 984.
- Population uniquely includes "Others: Fayrees, Elementals and magical Familiars..." — the fief is genuinely magical.
- 956 — Fief founded
- 958 — Villa Denerac built
- 961 — Catacrypts developed
- 962 — Mysterious Baron Mardi appears, introduces his Truce, regulating the magical creatures of the fief
- 966 — Tamarez Canal scandal (Goldsmiths-orchestrated humiliation)
- 973–987 — Shaproa project launched, aborted
- 1002 — current year context, recent events
The Ghiéron Family¶
- All human. Descendants of Commander Denerac. Lacking culture and elegance; their attempts at "coup d'éclat" usually come off clumsy and tacky.
- A serious complex of inferiority masks great ambition and a cunning mind.
- Each Ghiéron has relative independence in their domain:
- Bernadil — Peer, central authority
- Gowayn — finance
- Isabess (Gowayn's wife) — relations with noble houses
- Martolbe — relations with guilds and leagues
- Thismee and Ombeline — cousins, receptive to magical phenomena; manage relations with Sihirs and Voyagers
- Adalban (or "Adaldan") — military expert, the last of Denerac's living children. Runs Camp Valiant on Wyvern Road. Long-running personal hatred with Silnus Drakaër.
Districts¶
- Parchedale — village-like, Villa Denerac, Scales Square (pre-Cadwallon Ophidian scale-tiles cause the dry microclimate), the gossip-rich Great Wash House, catacrypts entrances
- Petropolis — supernatural enclosure of petrified plants; orc gangs, magical phenomena, the basiliege (oak or statue that gives "unfailing fortitude" to those who sleep under it), the Fairslime goblin farm, Cal Ka Dum orc worship grove
- Arcadia — magical creatures' district under Baron Mardi's Truce
- Shaproa — the failed/aborted 973 project
- Wyvern Road — military road, Camp Valiant (Adalban Ghiéron's elite training ground for "Wyvern" soldiers, also the prison), Fort Gentle (Militia's Club HQ)
Power & Politics¶
- The Ghiérons are dynamic and demagogue with a wide popular following — they stay in contact with subjects.
- Vulnerable to flattery, charlatans, and crooked guild investment schemes that exploit their inferiority complex.
- They are looked down on by older noble houses. The Tamarez canal scandal made them so vindictive even the most skillful speculators got tainted.
- Baron Mardi — mysterious figure who appeared in 962. Wicked pleasure in humiliating the Sihirs and Voyagers Thismee and Ombeline. His Truce regulates magical creatures of the fief; what he wants in exchange is unclear.
Who is Baron Mardi
41 years on the scene. Not human (probably). His Truce holds the magical creatures in check. What did he get in 962 for offering it, and what does he take now from the Ghiérons in exchange for keeping it?
Scales Square
The dry microclimate, the Ophidian scale-tiles, the catacrypts inheritance — Ghieronburg sits on the largest concentration of pre-Cadwallon vestige in the lower city. The shrews who survive the catacrypts have stories.
The Drakaër feud
Adalban Ghiéron and Silnus Drakaër hate each other personally. Both run major military operations (Camp Valiant in Ghieronburg, the Light Cavalry Academy in Drakaër). The hatred is old. The Rag'narok will offer them a chance to settle it.