Shrine of Levar
South of Alham, in the bay, there is a small island, called by the contradictory name of Squallpeace. It is of no economic value, not being large enough or accessible enough to serve as a supply base, much less a seaport. The entire island is a quarter mile long at its most extreme points, and it rises steeply from the water with few accommodating landing places.
It is a favorite nesting place for the local species of gannet and petrel, and these birds can be seen from afar during the nesting season. Fishermen come near to gather the fish which brought the birds, but they rarely land on the island itself.
Squallpeace has not always been ignored, however, and the keen observer can spy among the rocky cliffs a place where the stone was fashioned into columns and planes. This is the Shrine of Levar, and it makes the island sacred to the Heege peoples.
Levar was a figure of history and myth, a mage who served a king who would be long forgotten if not for his connection to the more fascinating Levar. Levar is supposed to have fought magical wars on behalf of his king, not only against human opponents but against magical beasts and the risen undead. Some scholars have tried to correlate these tales with ideas of early raids by the Ryuven , who could fit the descriptions of magical beasts and who, with their ability to heal many wounds, might be mistaken for creatures living past death. But what is most certain about the history of Levar is that there have been far too many tales and retellings to be certain of original truths, and there is no general agreement upon these interpretations.
The warlords of Heege fought for Squallpeace in generations past, each anxious to claim Levar as a sort of patron, but due to the island's inhospitable setting, it is easier to claim in words and to fight on the continent than to try to take and hold the island itself. The shrine, never fully occupied and tended, has been left to weather with the island, visible from the sea but rarely disturbed.
With the twin causes of the Heege regard and the limited utility and threat of the island, Chrenada has not bothered to claim ownership of Squallpeace, leaving it officially in Heege hands.
Type
Shrine
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