Vyvelstad (Vy'vel'Stard)

A tall hill sat in marshes between The Dark Forest and Serils' Rise. The hill is surrounded by a wall made from wood, clay and stone protecting against the dangers that the forest holds. Intricate lampposts follow the roads leading from an opening in the forest to the illuminated hill. The sound of metal against metal breaks the silence as a murder crow scatters above the tall plume of darkness above the town. In Vyvelstad it is almost always dark, as the plumes of darkness above fortify the town defences. The clanging of metal echoes above the trees as howls and screams approach the edge of the forest.

History

Vyvelstad is the oldest of settlements in the region, many years before the Marquisate Vyvelstad was a place for adventures and hunters to gather and hunt for dangerous beasts and treasure. The foundation of Vyvelstad is bound to Vyvels' Hill as the place the town is sat upon. In the year of 3399 a.o.d The first walls rose from the ground and the tents and bivouacs became more permanent buildings as more people came to Vyvels' Hill. With the increased population, a small manor for the lord was built with the funding of the newly established guildhall.
For the next 200 years, the town was used as the main hub for hunters and adventures that wanted to enter the dangerous forest ahead; The Dark Forest. Many of those who came to this part of the continent either came to prove a feat of strength or perhaps were exiled with a criminal record and because of that, the region was filled with many different characters of equally different backgrounds. Though many had one thing in common, to conquer the region for themselves.
In the year 3278 a.o.d the first sightings of a ruined citadel rumoured around town, and as these rumours travelled so did the amount of adventure coming to town to seek out these ruins and their treasures. Many tried and failed to find the ruins and as they continued to map the area it seemed like The Dark Forest twisted their paths and trapped those who dared defy the nature of the place. The old people Vyvelstad warned the newcomers but they continued to venture into the darkness of the forest. This led to the second wave of young blood hiring a powerful wizard to enchant a newly built road to a clearing in the forest, this was to become the second settlement of the region; Hevilmstad.
Sister Stads
With the new town of Hevilmstad settling deeper into the forest many of the adventurers that came through Vyvelstad, and the economy of Vyvelstad boomed as it became a choke point of travel and trade for those willing to put themselves into danger for the chance for beastly rewards and treasure. During these times Vyvelstad made a diplomatic treaty with the Selestine Concord as a supplier of Nidewyr leather and other rare reagents commonly found in dangerous beasts found within The Dark Forest. This resulted in a strong guild that governed the surrounding area and established the outer wall to allow the newcomers to start their lives anew as they came to town.
The Cursed Citadel
The ever-growing population pushed through The Dark Forest and more concrete rumours of the ruined citadel, it was ancient as almost like it purposefully hid from those seeking to raid its treasure. Alas, another powerful wizard was hired to anchor the placement of the citadel, and those who dared hunt for the citadel and found it, came back bruised and barely able-bodied. They also came back pale as the moonlit skies above, and with this anchoring of the citadel, many adventurers began their selfish hunts for treasure. Those who came back spoke of bloodied terrors and stone beings falling from the ceiling attacking those who took the treasure. Soon after these deadly encounters, the main guild of Vyvelstad banned the hunt for the citadel, and those who brought back the treasure from that cursed place were exiled from the Towns of Boradeal.
Only a couple of years after the rush for treasure in the citadel Guildmaster Marcus Brizzlegut and his close circle of friends made plans to raid the Citadel a final time and then banish the Cursed ruins back to their place of origin. Only Marcus and two of his men came back, and they were as pale as the moon they travelled under. Marcus fell ill with a burning fever, that soon turned to vomit blood. His dying words were;
"Gather the best healers of the continent, and make them a home in Vyvelstad. If this illness is not contained - it might be the bane of all of Caeroth".
Adventurers that came to the village were now being asked who the best healer of the realm was, and many words regarded the demi-god Esynsia highly. Her deed was undoubtedly that of divine powers. Soon she had been summoned to Boradeal to teach a small group of clerics her ways, and during this time a monastery was built in her honour. Esynsia taught her ways to the Boradeals, and even with her help only those who got help before they began to vomit blood had any chance of survival. And those who developed vomiting symptoms were exiled and sent to the forest hoping for a merciful death. After Esynsia had taught her ways she went back to her travels and left the north behind.
Vyvelstad and bad luck had over the last century given each other company and many believed that after Esynsia's visit that the tides of fate had turned. Only to soon discover the tragic fate of those who had been exiled. They had turned to bloodthirsty spawns of evil and Vyvelstad and other villages soon had problems with raids of the crimson spawn.
Margrave Estrel Redmane
3578 a.o.d a mysterious carriage arrived in town with a fling of newcomers, with these were the newly titled Margrave Estrel Redmane. She spoke of herself having come to these lands to gather power and prestige. She gathered together a militia to fight back against these crimson spawns, with the only thing she asked for in return being a container filled with blood as her payment. Her military order was soon named the Bloodguards and they became a stable for merchants and guilds to hire for merchandise and goods to be delivered. Her reign garnered popularity and with The Arcane Plague ravaging the realm her rule was shortly questioned only to be strengthened when her Bloodguard began protecting Boradeal Staderne. This time the Bloodguards had to be given a pinch of power, and large rituals were conducted to rise tall dark plumes of the night sky as the Bloodguard had increased strength during the night.
These grandiose pillars of darkness rise tall above the forest and mark Boradeal Staderne for miles, as the proud survivors that there are. Vyvelstad and its sister towns have stood the test of time against the undead. But if history is to repeat itself only misery follows Staderne.

Type

Large town