Vesech

"People in Vesech be's a lit'l off in the 'ead, I say. They act all hoity-toity 'bout their 'ancient town' but really its just a dirt hovel, same as the rest of us."
--A merchant, having recently left Vesech

Frontier Founding

The town of Vesech is an Eitridean settlement positioned less than a day's travel east of the foothills of the Wulfspires, a full days into the mountains proper. Founded very near the beginning of the Eitridean Expansion in 41 ALF, Vesech always has been, and always will be a frontier town. Originally intended as a waystop for merchants travelling along the northeastern reaches of the Boneroad, the small village of inns and their caretakers quickly grew into the largest Eitridean town of its region.

Looming Neighbors

Vesech is uniqutely situated on the border of the climatic, political, societal, and religious climates of its surrounding regions. Less than a days journey north outside of Vesech is savage wilderness in the form of the southeastern edge of Birthright Wood. Northward along the Boneroad lie the frigid airs and frozen waters of Coldtail and the Skymeet Isles. West lies the arid climes of the Wulfspire,s and the quartering of all that remains of Eitridea, while south is the city state of Valendost, and the fledgling nation of Ifrinn.

The Wood

The ominous presence of Birthright Wood has always been viewed as a constant threat, and the townsmen's practice of pushing back the wood in many different ways is not only common to the point of being revered, but it is solidified in the town's culture and history. These practices include cutting trees, burning back the wood, digging trenches, and building walls to try and stem the invasive growth of the wood. Until now, the wood has never fought back.
Recently, rumor has spread that the woods around Vesech have begun to grow outwards at an alarming rate, far faster than ever before. It is not known if this growth is isolated only to Vesech, or if these stories are even true at all, but such rumors are rife in Ravengrin - whispers of nature finally beginning to push back against the human intruders.

Commerce

At its founding, a significant portion of Vesech's economy was comprised of the spendings of travelers, wanderers, and merchants traversing the northern reaches of the Civilized Lands. But with roads becoming more dangerous, long distance travel has become a rarity for all but the most daring and foolish.
Despite this, Vesech's nearness to Birthright Wood - and regular practice of cutting sections of it down - creates a constant supply of varying types of wood. This has naturally become a widespread logging business. The woods harvested in Vesech have been imported all over Eitridea for years, although as with all such corporations, the transport of such goods has decayed in recent years.
Like nearly all towns and cities in Ravengrin, Vesech is also highly self-sufficient, cultivating many common crops and animals.

Surrounding Geography and Locations of Interest

Movan Stream

The Movan Stream is a small but fast-flowing river that flows from the foothills of the Wulfspires to the southwest in a northeastern direction, ending in the Graben. It lies a very short distance from Vesech, and portions of it have been diverted for the town's use.

Movan Ford is the stone bridge built by the Eitridean settlers very near the town's founding, and is one of the oldest Eitridean landmarks in the region. In reality, it is seldom used, as most of those traveling to Vesech come from further to the west of the town.

The Old Stream

The Old Stream is the name given to the dammed river flowing out of Birthright Wood to the southeast, in the direction of Valendost. Once, the river bisected the Movan Stream at Movan Ford, but less than a century after the town's founding, it was dammed in two places. The first, old dam was built only a handful of miles from the Ford, creating an artificial lake on the town's outskirts that was utilized by farmers to grow hydrophyllic crops such as Eave.
Some years ago, however, a storm caused the lake to flood the surrounding farmland, even damaging the nearby hamlets that skirt the town. Since then, a second dam has been built, at the mouth of the river that flows out of the wood. In the years since, the section of river between the new and old dams has entirely dried up.

The Movan Pools

Just north of Movan Ford along the Stream are the Movan Pools, a set of 7 natural poolings. These pools, and the rapids connecting them, only span two miles before solidifying back into the single Stream that flows to the Graben.

The Graben

The Graben is a wide box canyon less than a days journey northeast of Coldtail, into which the Movan Stream flows. The canyon runs for some miles southeast of the region, but only a days easy travel northwest in the direction of the Birthright Wood. Seemingly inconsequential, this geographic feature lies directly in the path of the Boneroad, and adds an entire days journey in circumnavigating it on the way to Coldtail.
Passing through the Graben is highly unsafe, and the entire canyon has never been mapped.

The Ditches

Ruins of Bluestone Fortress

"When I was younger, but a lit'l lad, the fortress weren't so dangerous. Less bandits wandered these parts, seein' as how Valendost hadn't yet ben founded. Me an' the others from the hamlet, gods, they're all dead now, we'd scramble all over those hills, and the fortress. Some of 'em were yellow in the guts, wouldn't go into the fortress, said it was haunted. Not me. I ben in and outta that place. I tells ya, there are some places where the structure's gone all to pieces. My best friend, he got stuck in a collapsed cellar once. Took us a whole day of diggen to get im out. But still. Why this town's governance 's let it go to ruin is beyond me."

-Eli Vaff, elderly wainwright

Situated a day's travel south of Vesech, Bluestone Fortress - and the Village Bluestone - was once the location of the original town of what is today Vesech. Even after the village had relocated nearer to the river, the fortress served as a bastion of order amidst the wilds of the region. Over the years, as the area became increasingly settled, the need for such a fortress - and the inconvenience of its distance from the town proper - dwindled. Caretakers left it. It was never meant to become a ruin, but the re-stationing of the garrison inside the town itself was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Bluestone was deserted.
Since then, the fortress has largely fallen into dereliction. One of its five towers and two large sections of wall have collapsed entirely, and any parts of the castle not constructed from stone have long sincce decayed.
Still, the old fortress is a highly advantageous holdfast and base of operations. Situated high up on an outcropping near the center of a patch of rocky hills, Bluestone Fortress would, in any instance of siege, be a difficult place to conquer.
The fortress, though sometimes truly deserted, is more often than not used as a headquarters for bands of roving bandits, mercenaries, and marauders. It is also a favorite stopover place for the more heavily armed merchant caravans that still venture as far north as the town.
More often than not.
Rumor has it that the Fortress' latest caretaker, a nameless bandit warlord, has been ousted by a group of hobgoblin warriors, who now use the fortress as their own home. Some say they are an advance party for a much larger army, others that they are just another band of nameless marauders.

The Wulf's Tail

The Wulf's Tail are the northeastern foothills of the Wulfspires.

Religion in Vesech

In general, the populous of Vesech are no more or less religious than any other in Ravengrin. However, Vesech's nearness to a number of different cultural regions in Ravengrin givs its religious makeup a diversity not often found in its contemporary towns.
With the town being comprised largely of Eitrideans, mostly humans, nearly all of the Young Gods, with the only exception being Hallas, are worshipped to some extent in Vesech. However, the level of commonality varies from deity to deity.
As a result of Vesech's nearness to Valendost, Syrrha is heavily worshipped by many of the townsfolk. In addition, Morsis and Prion both have a temple and church, respectively, that appreciate significant amounts of traffic.
Vesech is one of the only places in the human lands of Ravengrin that worship of the Raven Gods are found. Out of fear, reverence, or both, the seven nature spirits are said to live in a balance between the preservation of the land and the protection of its inhabitants, man and beast alike.

Factions and Conflicts

Despite its somewhat remote geographic location, Vesech is positioned in a place of heavy religious, pseudo-political, and cultural contention.
At its core, Vesech is an Eitridean town, with an Eitridean population that adheres to Eitridean culture. However, in the surrounding region, the populous is more varied, both in race and culture. Naturally, these conflicting peoples factionalize and come into conflict, vying for power and resources in the region.

The Greytusks

The Greytusks are a clan of orcs living in the Vesech region, newer arrivals in the area. While not in direct conflict with the town, the animosity between orc and human is strong. Based in a large war camp northwest of the town, the orcs rarely come into direct conflict with the town itself, though raids on the outlying hamlets are not uncommon.

Activities of Interest

In the region of Vesech, adventure, mercenary work, and other dangerous - and prosperous - professions are in no short supply.