Brinehall
Brinehall is the hallowed council chamber of the Greefolk clans, located in the heart of Awarth’s industrial district, Greewerks. A place of eerie reverence and iron-bound tradition, Brinehall serves as the neutral ground where the Ring of Five—the council of Clan Caerllyn, Clan Vossryn, Clan Fawney, Clan Grymarh, and Clan Maelvor—gathers to debate, negotiate, and settle matters that shape the Greefolk’s collective future. Hidden away from public view and marked only by an ancient, weathered sigil of the Greefolk, Brinehall’s dark stone walls are stained with brine and oil, remnants of countless years steeped in ritual and secrecy.
At the center of the hall stands a massive, circular table forged from melted harpoons and scorched iron, its pitted surface scarred by time. Around this table sit the clan leaders, each chair carved or marked with their clan's symbol, symbolizing unity despite fierce rivalries.
To betray the neutrality of Brinehall is to invoke the wrath of the Greefolk, for this place is the heart of the Bond of Blood & Brine, the pact that binds the clans together in Awarth’s dangerous, gree-fueled world.
Architecture
Brinehall’s architecture is a testament to the Greefolk’s rugged, industrial spirit, with walls of thick, rough-hewn stone reinforced by corroded iron beams that have darkened over decades of exposure to brine and smoke. The hall is cavernous yet sparse, designed for function and solemnity rather than comfort. Its central feature, the massive iron council table, is forged from salvaged harpoons and the bones of long-fallen Greebeasts, its pitted surface scarred and stained by countless years of use. The chairs surrounding it are an eclectic mix, each heavy and solid, marked with clan symbols that have been carved, hammered, or seared into their backs. Gree-lamps, crafted with an artisanal touch but deliberately left worn, cast a ghostly green glow over the hall, illuminating rivulets of brine running down the walls and pooling in grooves along the stone floor. Shadows gather in the corners, lending an eerie sense of timelessness, as though Brinehall exists outside the reach of Awarth’s frantic pace, rooted in secrets as old as the Boil itself.
History
It is said that the hall was first consecrated after a bloody conflict between the clans, a time when rivalries over gree threatened to erupt into full-scale war. In an effort to stave off mutual ruin, the clan leaders met on neutral ground—a place where no clan held sway—and forged the Bond of Blood & Brine, an oath to settle disputes within the safety of Brinehall, to protect the integrity of the gree trade, and to safeguard Awarth’s survival. Over the generations, Brinehall has seen betrayals, bargains, and uneasy alliances, its walls bearing witness to moments of unity and tension alike. The hall is a place of unyielding neutrality; to break its peace is considered an unforgivable sin, punished with exile or worse. For the Greefolk, Brinehall is more than a meeting place—it is a sacred institution, a living reminder of their hard-won stability and the ever-looming dangers that could destroy it.
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