Feldarow Valley
Geography
Situated between the north Balian Range and the Freysian Mountains, Feldarrow Valley is a heavily forested valley, with only a few stretches of plains near the major settlements. On all sides rocky crags box the valley in, with near vertical cliff faces and sudden drops preventing travel, save for a few small paths, as well as the Royal road, which is the only 'safe' road through the region. Running parallel to the Royal road is the Wes River, which runs alongside the Royal road from near the Freys town of Borough all the way down to the great Wes Lake. Along the eastern-side of the river is a large marshland, home to an ancient cairn and the Cagnudo armoured beasts. In the North-East are the Crag Lowlands, a dry rocky region teeming with aggressive fauna all competing for the scant resources present.
Ecosystem
Many strange and deadly creatures have made the Feldarrow Valley their home, as it's secluded nature has granted them a reprieve from predators. An ancient cairn in the region's south-west is known to be the home of multiple undead, which have slowly increased in number as a ghoul-plague has been spread. Packs of armoured Cagnudo roam the marshlands to the east of the river, hunting the Muck Striders.
Localized Phenomena
Fell Spring: Located in the crag lowlands the Fell Spring is a Majical source of water, which has been corrupted by some unknown power. All creatures that drink from the Fell Spring, including sapient creatures, become hyper-aggressive and, if they continue to drink from the Fell Spring over the course of weeks, they begin to show physical signs of corruption. A number of highly dangerous beasts that wander the Valley are known to have been created from the spring, and there is no known way of sealing the spring.
History
Settled long before the First Mysterum catalogued the world, Feldarrow Valley is an ancient place full of ancient people and their secrets. The first records of it's discovery date back to the year 37 FM, when a Cabal of non-compliant Majes sought refuge in the Valley, only to come screaming back out to beg their pursuers to arrest them. Since then multiple attempts have been made by the various Mysterums and independent Cabals to understand the Valley, only for each attempt to be thrown back in their faces. One such attempt is suspected of being the cause the creation of the Fell Spring and the subsequent horrors that haunt the Valley, though this is only a theory.
When the Wesian Kingdom sent cartographers into the region in 2944 LM they were met by a near silent landscape choked with fog and inhabited by some of the most aggressive fauna and native inhabitants. It seems that this exploration caused some kind of aggressive outburst from the local Geryon populace, as raids from the isolationist villages began to strike the Wesian towns along the shared border. Initially the Marquee ignored the threat as primitive raiders striking small isolated villages, until the town of Bearseborn was razed to the ground in 3089. Now realising the extent of the threat a large force of light infantry and skirmishers was rallied to force the threat back into the Valley, and contain it. Against a properly trained military force the Geryon were no match, and were forced back into the Valley, fighting the entire way, though the Marquee did not stop with just containing the threat. What happened next is of much contention between Wesian scholars, but nevertheless it happened, the Marquee marched their army into the Valley, and began a near decade of brutal occupation.
When the new Queen of the Kingdom, Queen Elyse van Uslier the First, ascended to power, the occupation was ended, when the Marquee was forced to withdraw their forces from the Valley, and guarded diplomats were sent in instead. The region was integrated into the Kingdom, a first for the nation in decades, as a semi-autonomous region under the guidance of a Crown-appointed Baron. All of the local villages would remain self-governed and would be mostly left alone, save for the tax they would have to pay, and the specific agreements that they had signed. One such village, Quercin, would adapt to this new situation better than the others, and is now situated as the centre of the entire region.
When the Wesian Kingdom sent cartographers into the region in 2944 LM they were met by a near silent landscape choked with fog and inhabited by some of the most aggressive fauna and native inhabitants. It seems that this exploration caused some kind of aggressive outburst from the local Geryon populace, as raids from the isolationist villages began to strike the Wesian towns along the shared border. Initially the Marquee ignored the threat as primitive raiders striking small isolated villages, until the town of Bearseborn was razed to the ground in 3089. Now realising the extent of the threat a large force of light infantry and skirmishers was rallied to force the threat back into the Valley, and contain it. Against a properly trained military force the Geryon were no match, and were forced back into the Valley, fighting the entire way, though the Marquee did not stop with just containing the threat. What happened next is of much contention between Wesian scholars, but nevertheless it happened, the Marquee marched their army into the Valley, and began a near decade of brutal occupation.
When the new Queen of the Kingdom, Queen Elyse van Uslier the First, ascended to power, the occupation was ended, when the Marquee was forced to withdraw their forces from the Valley, and guarded diplomats were sent in instead. The region was integrated into the Kingdom, a first for the nation in decades, as a semi-autonomous region under the guidance of a Crown-appointed Baron. All of the local villages would remain self-governed and would be mostly left alone, save for the tax they would have to pay, and the specific agreements that they had signed. One such village, Quercin, would adapt to this new situation better than the others, and is now situated as the centre of the entire region.
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