Davik's Pass
Location
The Gianthome Mountains mark the northwestern border of the Kingdom of Corlansen as well as being the home to the kingdom of the Cloud Giants and multiple Dwarven Clanhomes. While to the South of the mountains lie the relatively settled lands of Corlansen. While not as wild and untamed as the outlands beyond the mountains, this portion of the realm is by no means safe and settled having only been added to the realm in the past three centuries. It is sparsely settled by small villages and hamlets, trading with each other and ultimately back to the regional royal seat in Morvanis. History
The village of Davik's Pass was founded just over two centuries ago near the end of Corlansen's war with the Giant Kingdoms. It was in the valley and pass that contains Devik's Pass that the final peace was brokered with the Cloud Giants - after a hero named Davik Fairhands defeated the Cloud Giant King Goradok in single combat before perishing himself. Davik's second-in-command, a Knight of represented the Kingdom of Corlansen and Lord Obrok represented the Giant Kingdom during the negotiations. In the end, the valley and the pass through the mountains to the outlands was ceded to the Kingdom of Corlansen - on the grounds that the ancestral tombs of the Giant Kings would remain guarded and unmolested by grave robbers. In return, the giants would retreat to the higher paths of the mountains and leave any further settlement in the valley unmolested - thus allowing free passage through the Gianthome Mountains between the outlands and the newly claimed region of Corlansen that would later become the Duchy of Morvan. Both Goradok and Davik were entombed in the Giant King's Tombs located within the pass. Only once since the was ended has any of King Obrok's folk come into the valley to entomb one of their own, and that was over a century ago. A keep was quickly built at the east end of the valley. With the assistance of the Dwarven engineers and masons of the Stoneback Clan - who had discovered a large vein of copper nearby and began to settle there after making their own agreement with the giants - and with the strength of both Stone and Cloud Giants, the fortification was finished quickly enough that it was complete and ready for habitation by the time the first assigned soldiers arrived from beyond the Harkenwood. Surviving initially on what little they could grow and trade with the Outlanders and the Dwarves, the Keep at Davik's Pass seemed to be the worst place to be. Eventually the camp followers and brave souls wising to be farther away from the crowded cities, or were simply sent there by families no longer able to feed them made their way to the valley and started settling near the keep. Some barbarians from the outlands, separated from their larger tribe even saw fit to settle there in the lush, green valley that first full summer. Soon enough, there were intermarriages between the settlers and the barbarians as well as the soldiers, who, when their term of service expired would take up the plow or some other job that needed doing would settle there only to be replaced by younger men from the kingdom. (A trend that has slowed as younger men are trained to be militia now and the standing soldiers are few at the keep.) Soon enough, Davik's Pass was a self sustaining community. After the first winter, more curious tribes of outlanders - both human and goblinoid - were investigating the absence of the giants and discovered the fertile valley. Those that came in peace found welcome and trade good from the Kingdom and the Dwarves. Those that came for violence and loot met the sword and axe - and volleys of boulders from unseen foes in the peaks. Over time word spread over both sides of the mountains of the existence of Davik's Pass, and that is when the village began to truly thrive. Every autumn, before the snows close the passes on both ends of the valley, merchants from Corlansen and Outlanders would meet on the open pasture and establish an immense market within the tent-city that benefitted both trade partners and the populace of the pass. In the spring, once the snows melted enough to free up the pass, the merchants and Outlanders would meet again and the market would again thrive for a few weeks. It is during the Spring Market that the Stoneback Clan treks down from their young Clanhome with load after load of raw copper and intricate jewelry and other items from their artisans. Yearly, these two faires are highly anticipated by not only the populace of Davik's Pass, but the Duke of Morvanis and the tribes of outlanders closest to the mountains. Only five years ago a new element joined the faire. A Hill Giant named Rudd entered the valley with a small group of his kin and entered into the trading. The year after, Rudd and his band returned again, accompanied by an even larger figure - the Stone Giant Verrd. Two years after that, Boram arrived. A Cloud Giant merchant sanctioned by none other than King Obrok himself, he set up a stall and began trading with all comers. Davik's Pass has recently just entered into this new period of prosperity with the peaceful return of the Cloud Giants to the valley. The residents are still fiercely independent and proud of how well they have done for themselves and justifiably proud of the new source of wealth for their town and ostensibly for the rest of the kingdom. Population
Roughly 300 civilians with the garrison of the keep adding another 25; the population is predominantly human with a miniscule population of about a dozen Dwarves. This changes during the Spring and Autumn Faires - when the population will swell to nearly 1500 individuals, including usually a small contingent of elves from the Harkenwood. Surrounding Area
The outlands to the north of the mountains are rugged steppes populated by nomadic barbarian tribes - some of which are rumored to have mystical connections with some of the immense creatures that make the steppes their homes as well. Others are more settles in the lowlands of the mountains and only travel to gatherings of their tribes. These barbarians also find themselves frequently in conflict with bands of brutish and warlike Hobgoblins and goblins who claim the outlands was once the center of a goblin empire. Because of the danger and weather there is little beyond the entrance of the pass that is actually mapped. South of the mountains is a fertile plain split by the Rushby river. Formed by the glacial and spring run-offs and the spring in Davik's Pass this wide, deep, and fast flowing river is crossed only by a single ford where it bends again to the east and towards Morvan where it finally slows and is crossed more frequently. This plain makes up the most of the Duchy of Morvan and is where most of population lives. Closer to the mountains there are more scattered communities, but under the Duke's urging that is changing. West of the river is the Harkenwood - a thick old growth forest. Rumors abound of the haunts and creatures living with it's bounds. And of the people who guard it's border, the Lorend'al, the Elves. Threats
Within the Vale itself, there are few actual threats beyond the natural environment. Landslides and avalanches can be dangerous when they occur and the extremely long and cold winters prove a challenge to survive in terms of temperature as well as food supplies. Some wildlife can be a problem - the great cave-bears that are still within the mountains occasionally range into the vale looking for easy food. More frequently immense mountain cats are likely to stalk the herds of livestock raised within the vale. As always, there are tales of angry and rogue giants coming to reclaim the pass abound and rumors of Dwarven plots to take the vale for themselves. Some claim that there are still drakes and rocs still hunting in the peaks and snatching up the unawares, and others worry that there will one day be a raid by a particularly large group of hobgoblins that makes it to them. Overall, there are few actual threats within the Pass itself.
The Gianthome Mountains mark the northwestern border of the Kingdom of Corlansen as well as being the home to the kingdom of the Cloud Giants and multiple Dwarven Clanhomes. While to the South of the mountains lie the relatively settled lands of Corlansen. While not as wild and untamed as the outlands beyond the mountains, this portion of the realm is by no means safe and settled having only been added to the realm in the past three centuries. It is sparsely settled by small villages and hamlets, trading with each other and ultimately back to the regional royal seat in Morvanis. History
The village of Davik's Pass was founded just over two centuries ago near the end of Corlansen's war with the Giant Kingdoms. It was in the valley and pass that contains Devik's Pass that the final peace was brokered with the Cloud Giants - after a hero named Davik Fairhands defeated the Cloud Giant King Goradok in single combat before perishing himself. Davik's second-in-command, a Knight of represented the Kingdom of Corlansen and Lord Obrok represented the Giant Kingdom during the negotiations. In the end, the valley and the pass through the mountains to the outlands was ceded to the Kingdom of Corlansen - on the grounds that the ancestral tombs of the Giant Kings would remain guarded and unmolested by grave robbers. In return, the giants would retreat to the higher paths of the mountains and leave any further settlement in the valley unmolested - thus allowing free passage through the Gianthome Mountains between the outlands and the newly claimed region of Corlansen that would later become the Duchy of Morvan. Both Goradok and Davik were entombed in the Giant King's Tombs located within the pass. Only once since the was ended has any of King Obrok's folk come into the valley to entomb one of their own, and that was over a century ago. A keep was quickly built at the east end of the valley. With the assistance of the Dwarven engineers and masons of the Stoneback Clan - who had discovered a large vein of copper nearby and began to settle there after making their own agreement with the giants - and with the strength of both Stone and Cloud Giants, the fortification was finished quickly enough that it was complete and ready for habitation by the time the first assigned soldiers arrived from beyond the Harkenwood. Surviving initially on what little they could grow and trade with the Outlanders and the Dwarves, the Keep at Davik's Pass seemed to be the worst place to be. Eventually the camp followers and brave souls wising to be farther away from the crowded cities, or were simply sent there by families no longer able to feed them made their way to the valley and started settling near the keep. Some barbarians from the outlands, separated from their larger tribe even saw fit to settle there in the lush, green valley that first full summer. Soon enough, there were intermarriages between the settlers and the barbarians as well as the soldiers, who, when their term of service expired would take up the plow or some other job that needed doing would settle there only to be replaced by younger men from the kingdom. (A trend that has slowed as younger men are trained to be militia now and the standing soldiers are few at the keep.) Soon enough, Davik's Pass was a self sustaining community. After the first winter, more curious tribes of outlanders - both human and goblinoid - were investigating the absence of the giants and discovered the fertile valley. Those that came in peace found welcome and trade good from the Kingdom and the Dwarves. Those that came for violence and loot met the sword and axe - and volleys of boulders from unseen foes in the peaks. Over time word spread over both sides of the mountains of the existence of Davik's Pass, and that is when the village began to truly thrive. Every autumn, before the snows close the passes on both ends of the valley, merchants from Corlansen and Outlanders would meet on the open pasture and establish an immense market within the tent-city that benefitted both trade partners and the populace of the pass. In the spring, once the snows melted enough to free up the pass, the merchants and Outlanders would meet again and the market would again thrive for a few weeks. It is during the Spring Market that the Stoneback Clan treks down from their young Clanhome with load after load of raw copper and intricate jewelry and other items from their artisans. Yearly, these two faires are highly anticipated by not only the populace of Davik's Pass, but the Duke of Morvanis and the tribes of outlanders closest to the mountains. Only five years ago a new element joined the faire. A Hill Giant named Rudd entered the valley with a small group of his kin and entered into the trading. The year after, Rudd and his band returned again, accompanied by an even larger figure - the Stone Giant Verrd. Two years after that, Boram arrived. A Cloud Giant merchant sanctioned by none other than King Obrok himself, he set up a stall and began trading with all comers. Davik's Pass has recently just entered into this new period of prosperity with the peaceful return of the Cloud Giants to the valley. The residents are still fiercely independent and proud of how well they have done for themselves and justifiably proud of the new source of wealth for their town and ostensibly for the rest of the kingdom. Population
Roughly 300 civilians with the garrison of the keep adding another 25; the population is predominantly human with a miniscule population of about a dozen Dwarves. This changes during the Spring and Autumn Faires - when the population will swell to nearly 1500 individuals, including usually a small contingent of elves from the Harkenwood. Surrounding Area
The outlands to the north of the mountains are rugged steppes populated by nomadic barbarian tribes - some of which are rumored to have mystical connections with some of the immense creatures that make the steppes their homes as well. Others are more settles in the lowlands of the mountains and only travel to gatherings of their tribes. These barbarians also find themselves frequently in conflict with bands of brutish and warlike Hobgoblins and goblins who claim the outlands was once the center of a goblin empire. Because of the danger and weather there is little beyond the entrance of the pass that is actually mapped. South of the mountains is a fertile plain split by the Rushby river. Formed by the glacial and spring run-offs and the spring in Davik's Pass this wide, deep, and fast flowing river is crossed only by a single ford where it bends again to the east and towards Morvan where it finally slows and is crossed more frequently. This plain makes up the most of the Duchy of Morvan and is where most of population lives. Closer to the mountains there are more scattered communities, but under the Duke's urging that is changing. West of the river is the Harkenwood - a thick old growth forest. Rumors abound of the haunts and creatures living with it's bounds. And of the people who guard it's border, the Lorend'al, the Elves. Threats
Within the Vale itself, there are few actual threats beyond the natural environment. Landslides and avalanches can be dangerous when they occur and the extremely long and cold winters prove a challenge to survive in terms of temperature as well as food supplies. Some wildlife can be a problem - the great cave-bears that are still within the mountains occasionally range into the vale looking for easy food. More frequently immense mountain cats are likely to stalk the herds of livestock raised within the vale. As always, there are tales of angry and rogue giants coming to reclaim the pass abound and rumors of Dwarven plots to take the vale for themselves. Some claim that there are still drakes and rocs still hunting in the peaks and snatching up the unawares, and others worry that there will one day be a raid by a particularly large group of hobgoblins that makes it to them. Overall, there are few actual threats within the Pass itself.
Type
Village
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