The Town of Mist
The Town Lost to Violence
Before the Ghost Woods
Though everyone in The Queendom knows Mist as the gateway to their lands and the last stop before entering greater Therrania, it was not always the case. Just as Circe was not always Queen of the penninsula, the town of Mist was once another town entirely: Arborwind Bay. A quiet little hamlet situated just on the edges of the Wyrd Wood and only a stone's throw away from the Seawinds Bay; known now as Dead Bay.Arborwind Bay
Built and established during Hekate's reign of The Queendom, Arborwind Bay was a small town of little importance aside from being the most likely place to resupply for travelers coming into The Queendom from greater Therrania. It survived on fishing from the nearby bay and its supply of hunters.The Lost Chapter
In Y489 3A, far to the west of Arborwind Bay in the area of Therrania known as The Crossroads, there was a joint military operation helmed by The Aegis with the assistance of The Iron Law to wipe out a band of thieves and brigands that had risen to power and was terrorizing the towns outside of Troia itself. The group called themselves The Lost Chapter and their warlord leader claimed direct lineage to a Paladin who served in Zeus' name in the 2nd Age. He spoke in rhetoric of the betrayal of the Gods by admitting defeat and accepting the Benevolence Accord, spitting on the memories of generations of loyal warriors who fought in their names. The group had been growing steadily in power throughout Y488 3A, until it felt bold enough to openly attack the city of Apada, killing its Legate and Provost along with several dozen civilians. The response from The Aegis was swift, and as Apada held a sizable number of Ares worshippers, The Iron Law also sent several troops to enact vengeance. By the time of The Frigid Tail in Y489 3A, The Lost Chapter had been driven east and reduced to less than 50 in number. Cornered and desperate, their leader drove them further east into They Wyrd Woods in hopes to shake their pursuers and regroup. Unknown to them, at the time, The Aegis were under specific instructions not to cross into that section of The Wyrd Woods as it was the domain of Circe. Believing the dangers of The Wyrd Woods itself would finish off the wounded criminals, they ended their pursuitThe Destruction of Arborwind Bay
After days of panicked fleeing, the remnants of The Lost Chapter came out of the woods into a fully formed town; Arborwind Bay. The citizens were surprised and nervous at the sight of the wounded and heavily armed men and women. Seeing an opportunity, the leader of them brigands gave the command to take everything of value, kill everyone that wouldn't pledge to the cause, and burn everything else to the ground. The city guard were completely outnumbered and the town was massacred in a matter of hours. By the time the battle stopped, Arborwind Bay was little more than a burning patch of earth and rubble, with only the members of The Lost Chapter remaining.The Frenzy of Arborwind Bay
News of the devastation of Arborwind Bay reached the other towns in The Queendom in only a matter of days. As The Queendom had no Aegis presence by Circe's preference, there was no dedicated protectorate force to drive the brigands out of the charred remains of Arborwind Bay. Friends and family who had lost loved ones were devastated and called for vengeance. From deep in the FEN, a single witch, self-proclaimed to be the Guardian of the Witch Queen's Woods, arrived in the remains of the destroyed town with an entire pack of 20 wolves at her side and under her command. To her surprise, she arrived to find the entire camp asleep in the wreckage, a sleep so deep that it could only have come from the Goddess of the Night herself. As if guided by Circe herself, she and her wolves knew exactly what was to be done. Her wolves padded silently through the camp, never waking a single member of The Lost Chapter, even as they bit down into their necks. Death would not be swift however, as the wolves bit only hard enough to ensure bleeding, not to kill. Every villain accounted for, the witch walked away with her pack back into the woods, her job done and now in the hands of Circe herself. The legends say that as the veil of sleep was lifted from them, they all began to arise together, all awoken to the sound of Circe's angered voice filling the air around them:"Those who trespass in my lands and slaughter my subjects. You enter these lands as violent animals caught in a blind frenzy of self-preservation with no respect for others; and so you now leave my lands just as such with your basest animal instincts laid bare.". The sound of bones violently cracking, flesh tearing, and sinew snapping filled the air as every member of the brigands was forcefully turned to a wereform, struck with a curse of lycanthropy by the Witch's pack and instantly amplified by Circe's anger, driving them to the highest violence of bestial blind rage. Some say it took hours for the frenzy to end as they lost all concept of humanity, friendship, or comraderie and sought only to kill and feed on one another. By the end of it all, none of them survived; most dying instantly to vicious teeth and claws, many others bleeding out and dying slowly. The leader however was the last standing and in his final moments Circe restored his sanity to him that he could see the devastation his deeds had led to firsthand before she personally struck him down herself.
The Dead Town
The town of Arborwind Bay razed, its people gone, and the villains responsible for its destruction violently torn apart by their own hands, the land that would one day come to be known as the village of Mist sat dead, defiled, and empty for many years.The Town Born of Fog
Circe's Veil Falls
Months after the destruction of Arborwind Bay, Circe's anger at the loss of her people from the evil deeds of those outside of her queendom would not abate and she finally made a decision. No more would there be travel between her territory and the rest of Therrania. She could protect her people from the dangers of her Queendom, but others could always come in and ruin that peace. No more. Over the course of 5 days, a mist and fog began to thicken across the Wyrd Woods that marked the edge of Circe's territory, right at the edges of where Arborwind Bay once stood. The mist thickened and thickened with no sign of lightening until eventually it settled in position and held. Circe send missives to every town in her Queendom that all passage into the Queendom was now under her direct control and that no one would be permitted in without her explicit approval. The people quickly came to call the phenomenon Circe's Veil, and the stretch of Wyrd Woods caught in it The Ghost Woods.A Time of Control
For a number of years, Circe's shut down of her Queendom seemed the best decision as the memories of the devastation of Arborwind Bay were fresh and the peoples' fears fed into paranoia. However, after a decade of no easy contact, the towns began to complain of certain resources and items becoming increasingly difficult to acquire or maintain. Tensions were beginning to rise between the merchants and the Provosts left in charge of each town. Unbenknownst to them, the situation would wind up resolving itself as after being oblivious to the goings on of his niece, Zeus' attention turn to Circe's Queendom after many reports of traders going missing made it from local authorities to The Aegis and eventually to the High Priest of Zeus who beseeched him for salvation for the lost souls. Zeus, once aware of the veil, commanded Circe to remove it and reconnect her lands with his, reminding her that she served in his name, not her own. Circe protested and explained why it was necessary, invoking Zeus' inability to protect her mother as evidence she was unable to rely on his Aegis. After much arguing, Zeus relented in as much as allowing Circe to keep the veil in place, but a safe method of travel must be established and a dedicated route maintained so that some travelers, including his own emissaries, could enter properly.A Town Risen
In Y502 3A, Circe gives an edict that a new town shall be built on the land where Arborwind Bay once stood and it shall be gifted her blessing that all who dwell there will be masters of the veil, immune to its magics so long as they remain loyal to her. They will be the official gateway to her queendom and represent everything that her territory holds dear. Workers, missionaries, witches, and merchants came from across the Queendom to build this new town and serve in her name as the first representatives of The Queendom of Night to all new visitors.Government
The Drawn
As is the law and tradition of The Queendom, every town or city must be governed by a minimum of 3 chosen officials referred to as The Drawn.The Provost
The Legate
The Mother
Founding Date
Y502 3A
Alternative Name(s)
Town of Ghosts
Population
400-600
Location under
Characters in Location
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