Darkhome

Darkhome

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A small confederation of tribes and city-states populated by humanoid insects, located in the Underdark beneath Meridan.

 
Darkhome (sometimes known by the older name New Hallownest) is the union of settlements built by the refugees from the fading dream of Hallownest. The city of New Hallownest proper is built in the style of Dirtmouth and old Hallownest, located on a vast plateau of rock in the middle of an even more vast cavern (in the area marked as Ilhara-Vel on the map). As its architecture suggests, it is primarily inhabited by the survivors of the old kingdom of Hallownest and the village of Dirtmouth, civilized and industrious bugs with varied civilian industries and a well-established guard force. New Hallownest is nominally ruled by Knight , who inherited kingship from the Pale King, but day-to-day administration is handled more by Hornet and an elected council. The council consists of representatives from various subfactions, such as the Menders, the City Guard, and the merchants.
Just to the south of the city, in the small cavern extending into the southern wall, is a small farming community of drow who have renounced Lolth. They are a protectorate of New Hallownest and rely on it for defense. Immediately beyond the southern entrance to the city’s cavern, in a network of smaller tunnels and caves, lies a large death phase spider nest whose intelligent inhabitants have been bribed into an alliance with the city with lots of food.
To the east and southeast of New Hallownest, from the Ebon Lake to the southern edge of the Stalactite Forest, the Mantis Tribe has recreated their settlement. Led by the redoubtable Mantis Lords (a trio of sisters known for their skill with the nail-lance), the mantises are largely insular and xenophobic, but their honor and martial culture have made them irreplaceable members of Darkhome. They are largely self-sufficient, but they do provide some tools, loot, and guard services in exchange for more advanced goods from New Hallownest.
The Weavers make their home in the vast caverns to the southwest of New Hallownest and the Mantis Tribes. Though Hornet is officially their queen, they mostly keep to themselves. They are secretive and few in number. They trade silk “paper” and cloth to New Hallownest in exchange for some manufactured goods.
The passage off the southern edge of the map leads, after some distance, to the Alvidarian mountain castle of Fanthe Dragolth. Trade with Alvidar comes through this route regularly, though this being the Underdark, such caravans typically need substantial guard forces. Darkhome forces do their part to keep this road clear, though due to limited numbers their reach extends only to the Ebon Lake.
The Stalagmite Forest to the east of New Hallownest has been granted to the Fools, an army of gladiators and beast tamers who once competed in the Colosseum of Fools on the border of Hallownest. They have established a new Colosseum in the Forest, endlessly testing themselves against creative new challenges and monstrous beasts. Due to the danger of the Underdark, they’ve agreed to try to keep the mortality rate of their contests to a minimum; there are far more interesting and productive things to die against down here than each other, and they’ll gather honor just the same. The Fools have little in the way of government, but they are numerous and powerful enough to have a representative when the leaders of the various Darkhome factions meet to coordinate. This position is currently held by their champion, the God Tamer.
The large, circular cavern between the Stalagmite Forest and New Hallownest is neutral territory, primarily used for farming. The output is shared between the factions as needed, though New Hallownest typically gets more than the other factions, as the city proper has less viable farming space.
The area marked as the “Great Bat Cave” to the north is now the home of the Hive. The bees are led by Queen Spera, the only Darkhome faction leader too young to have seen the end of the Radiance’s Infection. The bees in general are highly insular, their unusual mentality making interaction with those outside the hive difficult, but the queen is much more capable of understanding outsiders and has set up some trade in honey, wax, and other products.
The web of passageways between New Hallownest and the Hive sees regular patrols from both, but is too sprawling for either to properly claim or defend with their current numbers. Drow and various monsters have been seen in this area.

Structure

For the most part, the various Darkhome factions are treated as equals and supported according to their needs. A council of representatives meets regularly to discuss current events and issues. These representatives are not constant, and are not afforded any particular rank; given the small sizes of the factions, the faction leaders typically attend themselves or pick someone responsible to go in their place when they're busy.

Agriculture & Industry

At the center of Darkhome is the shared farming zone. It is a circular cavern that has been enhanced by Locke's magic and expertise in permaculture. It grows a wide variety of plants and fungi for consumption in all of Darkhome, and it is defended by plant golems and the beginnings of extensive fortifications being put in place by a team of dwarven engineers.

Maps

• 

  Darkhome mining zone map

  A map of the Darkhome mithril mining zone, showing the various named caverns and features in the area.

Founding Date

April 9th, 23 ARL

Type

Political, Confederation

Capital

New Hallownest

Alternative Names

New Hallownest

Leader

Knight of Darkhome

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Confederation

Currency

While some citizens still trade in the old "geo" currency used in old Hallownest, most have switched over to the Meridan previous metals standard.

Location

Meridan Underdark

Official Languages

• Common
• Hallownest Common

Controlled Territories

• Colosseum of Fools
• Darkhome, region
• New Hallownest

Neighboring Nations

• Druin Kraz
• Yellow Formian Empire

Notable Members

• Burmble
• Clive
• Et-Kehri
• Fulthor
• Hashek
• Hornet
• Kikibald
• Knight of Darkhome
• Mato
• Ngel Sfet
• Oro
• Scyka
• Sheo
• the Hollow Knight
• the Snail Shaman
• Tikiri
• Vulthor
• Zolsikar

Related Species

• Bug, Hallownest

Related Plots

• Defense and expansion of Darkhome
• Secure the Darkhome mithril mining zone
• The Fading of the Dream
• The War Against the Yellow Formians

Related Historical Events

• 23 ARL
  The Ruination of Gertaglebrache
• 23 ARL
  New Hallownest - Formian War
• 23 ARL
  SoE clear a path to the Darkhome mining zone
• 23 ARL
  First Battle of New Hallownest
• 23 ARL
  The founding of New Hallownest

Allies

Darkhome

90

Alvidar

85

Friendly

Kalgrid

50

Darkhome

50

Representatives of New Hallownest solved the cause of a famine afflicting Kalgrid and offered a mercenary contract of sufficient size for Kalgrid to purchase the food it needed to avoid starvation. Kalgrid's troops subsequently aided New Hallownest in their war with the Yellow Formian Empire. A permanent portal was also opened between the capitals of the two kingdoms as a means of transporting reinforcements.

Allies

Thorandul Empire

45

Darkhome

45

Allies

Druin Kraz

30

Darkhome

30

In 23 ARL, New Hallownest (a member of the Darkhome confederation) acquired access to a motherlode of mithril. Druin Kraz learned of this and approached New Hallownest in hopes of making a deal to benefit from this bounty. The two nations arranged a contract in which Druin Kraz would provide a large on-call defensive force on an ongoing basis in exchange for 10% of the monthly mithril output of the mine. Relations between the nations have been positive (if calculating) since.

Hostile

Darkhome

-100

Yellow Formian Empire

-100