A small, secluded valley serving as safe haven for the Reaper
Artemis Hunter and his companions at various points in time, Hunter's Crossing is often simply referred to as 'the Valley' by those who live there. It's mostly undisturbed nature, with only a few small structures hidden well out of sight from prying eyes.
Location
Hunter's Crossing is located in the Old World, somewhere in the undeveloped coastal range near the California Bay Area. While its exact location is known to very few, it's generally understood to be within a day's travel of the nearest magical community within the north Bay.
Layout and Features
Roughly two miles long by a mile wide at its broadest point, Hunter's Crossing is a thin valley tucked away among steeper slopes of coastal redwoods. Centered around a stream that flows through the bottom of the incline, it's an area where the steep terrain that borders it on all sides becomes somewhat more moderate and flattens into a mix of meadowland and oak/bay laurel forest.
The valley's primary point of access is a hidden tunnel that runs under the northern mountainside for approximately a mile; it opens out close to a fire trail, facilitating the periodic delivery of supplies that make life in the valley feasible while still helping keep its exact location secret. Other than the tunnel, there are few easy ways to access Hunter's Crossing. The surrounding mountains are steep enough that they're not easily travelled, and even the one more open ridgeline to the south doesn't connect to anywhere but more mountains.
The geography of the Crossing is shaped by the stream, which despite its relatively modest size runs consistently year-round. Flowing down the western edge of the valley, it's populated by small trout during the spring and early summer when the water flow is strongest; to the south, the stream descends a rockier slope to form a large pool deep enough to swim and fish in.
The only structures in the valley were originally built to serve as a base of operations for the elven siblings
Alysa Silverleaf and
Elasion Silverleaf as they mentored the new
Reaper and though the valley was only meant to be a temporary home the settlement is made with the quality and craftsmanship befitting royal inhabitants. There are three individual 'house' structures suited for one or two occupants and built in a modest but comfortable style to provide both social and private space. There's also a communal bathing house and a joint cooking/storehouse that opens onto level ground with a firepit.
Out of a mix of security and practicality, all of the structures in Hunter's Crossing are built into the hillside. Interiors integrate and are reinforced by the root systems of trees overhead, and are comfortably insulated against both summer heat and winter chill. Though all are fitted with large windows to give even their mostly-subterranean layout a light and airy feeling, they're also well-hidden with illusion magic that allows the inhabitants to see out but shows only unremarkable hillside from outside. Magic is responsible for many functions due to the small size and the necessity of self-reliance of Hunter's Crossing; it helps provide steady light and temperature control for food storage, as well as supplying, purifying, and heating water for sanitation, bathing, drinking, and cooking. As a whole the settlement is a testament to the efforts of a whole host of skilled craftsmen, both mundane and magical, and though originally intended as temporary it's provided a lasting home to those who live there.
Population
The few residences in the valley were intended for
Alysa Silverleaf and
Elasion Silverleaf, who were eventually joined by the Reaper
Artemis Hunter when he had to abandon his human life. Over time it's also been home to
Darius Seraph,
Andrea Renolds, and eventually
J'alla Seraph. Of these, the semi-permanent inhabitants of Hunter's Crossing are Hunter, Darius, Alysa, and J'alla.
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