Vlostrov
The county of Vlostrov is a border region of the Kingdom of Dovenar: the hilly region between the Keilbarbolk and Tolinchoff and the Scouringwood Wastes.
Vlostrov appears on maps to be reasonably large, but is only sparsely controlled. It is mostly made up of the Broken Hills, a dangerous hilly region that mostly serves as a physical barrier against monsters and invaders. Most of the directly-controlled and feudal parts of Vlostrov are clustered in a large forested valley, while numerous tribes and isolated villages operate mostly autonomously in the hills and small valleys of the rest of the region.
Even in the main valley, Vlostrov resists taxation and governing efforts, as it is a region with a long history of evading subjugation. Vlostrov was once where the people of ancient Andrig fled to escape apocalyptic wars, and the hills are dotted with ancient tunnels and hidden refuges.
While Vlostrov doesn't keep up with fashions or have access to great outside resources, the people here do also have a rich artistic tradition - often expressed through domestic crafts. Vlostrovan rugs, sweaters, carpentry, metalwork, and pottery are all known for their unique and provocative styles; while it would be wrong to say that they are "superior", the communities consider it important to adorn them well with their ancestral patterns and symbols. While most of the rest of Dovenar is infused with material elements of Hainish Culture, Vlostrov's designs retain traces of what the people of Andrig once made and how they once dressed. That said, Vlostrov is not exactly a bastion of cultural preservation. In most social and linguistic terms, Vlostrov has been Hainified as well as any part of the Kingdom.
If a player is looking to have a Wood Elf settlement or tribe in a place saturated by other Woold Elves, this is the place to have that. While Wood elves can be anywhere, Vlostrov and the Broken Hills are the place for them to be.
The DeVlostivs rule here: a local noble family descended from a minor knightly family (the Kellivstrevs) down in Hain. The DeVlostrivs are known as a strict family, where older family members are given extreme respect and deference over younger members.
The current Countess is Lady Pamina DeVlostriv, an older dryad woman who keeps the realm peaceful and stable. Pamina is a calm and serene woman, and a capable Wild Magic sorcerer proficient in spell and blade. She is good at maintaining order and keeping her more autonomous vassals in line through diplomacy, but she isn't particularly good at keeping the realm centralized - she keeps the tribes and distant vassals loyal, but not particularly well-integrated on a trade and infrastructure level. She's competent enough to keep them protected but isn't the most attentive when it comes to court cases or road maintenance. She is deeply afraid of the Forest Spirits that rule over the Elfenhorn Mountains and Dark Elves given her own brief stint in her youth as a thrall to them, and refuses to venture into their territory herself. She has been slowly gathering magicians to her castle, and hopes to eventually form a kind of sorcerer's school here to put the county on the map as a place of magic and mastery.
Beneath the countess, a mess of local knights, autonomous villages, and tribal lords rules the majority of Vlostrov outside of Vlostrov keep itself. Only a few more notable villages will be named, representing the general vibes and acting as potential locations for adventurers stopping along the road.
The Lords
Geography
Breaking down the major sites of interest here on the map:
Terleg is the gate connecting Vlostrov to the Keilbarbolk. It is a small fortified settlement, perfect for both catching any wayward monsters headed towards the Southern farmlands, and helping hold off invaders while the people of Vlostrov flee to safety. The lord of the Gate here is a knight of some esteem. The village is mostly herding-based, and does a great deal of weaving. Recently, strange animal deaths have led to some villagers suspecting Curse Magic at play, which threatens the pastoral harmony of the village. The priest is a proud missionary of Hainish culture, who sees his job as not only a moral guardian but an evangelizer for Hainish culture.
Vlostrov Keep is the castle-town in charge of the valley and residence of the countess. Vlostrov keep is currently doing quite well, and the local farms are thriving. It has also been harvesting lumber from the Northern forests for export down to Keilbar. The town is in good spirits, as an annoying minor land dispute and family grudge between two of the largest peasant clans has finally been resolved not long ago. The Countess and her family have been more personally involved in governance and tax collection recently, as their steward died recently and they are looking for a replacement.
Varinlok is the center for governance of the Western valleys. It is divided firmly between the farming communities and the local hillfolk, and the knights have in recent years sought to forcibly enserf or displace the hillfolk. Recent livestock thefts or dissapearances have been blamed on the people of the hills, and the knights have gathered together to escalate the conflict while their countess is distracted. The priest has been of little help, for they are a corrupt drunkard exiled here for a sordid past of embezzlement and intrigue.
Kaxig is also known as The Castle of Witch Mountain, for a powerful monstrous sorcerer once lived on the unusually-tall-and-steep hill here. The local lord of the castle is well-respected, and has recently resolved an issue where monsters were pushing exiled and wastelanders South into their territory as bandits. The priest of Kaxig is a hard-drinking warpriest known as a pugilist willing to defend their faith with their fists (or even their axe).
Manyvales is the Southern part of the Broken Hills - safer, more protected, but still relatively autonomous and difficult to farm. There are many very small valleys, but only six are large enough to really sustain farms and the like. There are some small mines harvesting copper and marble, and many small bands of herders. Hillside gardens abound, as do hidden sanctuaries. Monsters and bandits are an occasional hazard, though.
The Varkond Mountains, meanwhile, are a group of four peaks emerging from the Western hills that have a storied (and mostly lost) history. This was once the site of a Prism city, a part of the ancient empire of Andrig named Varkond - that was worn down in the Scouring Wars and finished off by Mageplague many centuries ago. The old ruins remain, as do a number of small pockets of settlement and hillside villages. The foothills are a bit dangerous, but the mountainside villages are thriving and in communication with the Countess as autonomous vassals.
The Oldstone Hills are known as one of the places that ancient peoples fled to escape war- and it remains rather ddangerous and on the far limits of state authority. The Countess has some distant ties there, but mostly this is uncontrolled land. Five valleys dot the hills, each with their own local farming communities. The Oldstones are known for their intense independence; they pay no taxes and can be hesitant to reveal their location to their theoretical overlords.
Anhon Pass is the fortified gateway out of the Eastern part of the valley, leading into the marchlands of Upper Gernzlov and to the lonely fortress of Altmog. The Pass is guarded by a fort and a small garrison, overseen by a depressed drunkard of a knight. The local priest is an inquisitive and kind of annoying person obsessed with 'the truth' and natural science - and was exiled out here as punishment for repeatedly inconviencing a high-status cleric in the Autumn Court.
Darenmosh is a walking temple that moves around Vlostrov and is not on the map. It is dedicated to both Ustav and the local spirits of earth and forest. Its legs are large roots and branches, warped Awakened Plants growing into the temple foundations. It is the sacred meeting place of many Wood Elves, and a camp of people follow it as it goes. The Darenmosh often plants itself in the ground for decades at a time, but can just as suddenly get up and leave if its arbitrary mind decides. It often picks remote and/or dangerous places to plant itself, making it a bit of a pilgrimmage to get to.
Drowlish in the Drowen Woods, is a magical and twisted castle-town of Dark Elves enchanted and dominated by a forest spirit who calls itself Queen Melobalath the Spider Queen. The Woods here are contested ground between the Dovenarans and the Spider Queen, but the castle-town itself is entirely beyond the Countess' reach. The Countess has been ceding ground very slowly and quietly, as the Spider Queen terrifies her. Drowlish is neither large nor rich nor important enough to be a serious threat, though. It is mostly a place for those who wish to be stereotypical Drow.
Villages
Other Places
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