Lowside

Area

Lowside is the central region of Alven. Five powerful clans have traditionally held the relatively flat lands of Lowside. Their territories stretch from the southern shores of Loch Morgunt to the foothills and lower valleys of The Great Towers Range.

Clan Wylfedd - Wylfholm - Lowside is the most northerly. The clan governs the lands from Loch Morgunt to The Eastern Seas north of the River Aiker.

The clan keep, Wylfholm, is found to the east on the marshy shores of Loch Morgunt.

Further east, the fortified town of Conniewill can rival in style and size the keep itself.
Found in the eastern part of the clanlands, Conniewill has had a tempestuous history, but has always been a Wolf at heart.

Clan Wylffedd also boasts of one of the busiest ports on the Eastern shores: Wylfhythe.
The harbour is strategically situated to pick up all manner of business and trade from around the region and The Eastern Isles : Region.

South of the river Aiker is Clan Glassader - Holiholm - Lowside. The Black Viper clansmen and clanswomen have a reputation for being nimble and fearless fighters and archers.

Their keep, Hollyholm, is as big as the Alven capital, [Highfort and was formed when four villages merged into one.

It is the biggest business centre in the East. A very cosmopolitan place, Hollyholm, has seen the rise of a scientific and 'enlightened' elite who are thriving away from the scrutiny of The Archive, a more religious and dogmactic organisation.

The smallest of the five clans is Clan Beesson - Pithelm - Lowside in the south of the country.

These are the borderlands of Alven. The Bees may not possess a large number of lands but they are fierce, guerilla warriors.

The clansmen have held to these territories despite would-be invasions from the north and the south.

Nowadays, they can count on a heavy contingent of Archivists who constantly patrol the southern borders and maintain the peace with Alven's neighbours.

Pithelm, the clan keep is by far the biggest town in the area.

Being at a crossroad and having a sizeable harbour of its own in Pitmeden, the keep and its communities have always done well on the business side of things. The Bees are well known for being excellent negotiators and deal makers.

In the foothills of the Great Towers mountains, Clan Hawkspaar - Aikholm - Lowside has its keep: Aikholm on the banks of The Gusheen, a powerful, torrential mountain river. The Gusheen comes out of the largest mountain loch of Alven, Loch Spaar. Furhter down, the Gusheen , through spectacular gorges, arrives in Glen Gussie and follows the glen until much wider when it goes through Alven borders into the Southern Kingdoms.

The Hawkspaar fortress was built to take advantage of the high promontories of the region. It is an eagle's nest, very difficult of access and inpregnable.

The clanlands are wide and stretch from the Aikholm high valleys in the south to river Aiker in the north.

Last but not least is Clan Ravensen - Bleckhelm - Lowside . The keep Bleckhelm, high up, above The Donach Valley, guards the way to the Whisper Bridge.

The Whisper Bridge spans the flast flowing River Carlwheen.

Half the bridge is owned by Clan Ravensen, the other half by its rival clan, Clan Deeryant - Glashelm- Sutherlands in Sutherlands.

The clansmen of Ravensen have always been the watchdogs of Lowside. They have a keen reputation for patience and are well known to be skilled in the arts of deception and shadow fight.

Habitat and Natural Resources

- The Marshes and Moss of Loch Morgunt

Around the southern shores of Loch Morgunt lies a huge cold swamp. The Swamplands are pretty much deserted and impassable if you do not know the secret routes to cross them.

The swamp takes up most of eastern Lowside and Clan Ravensen's lands.

The marsh becomes a Moss on its western and southern fringes. A few human settlements eek out a living on the treacherous and poor lands of The Moss.

The main commodity are the extravagant feathers of a heron-like bird, the Haron, who likes to roost deep in the swamps. The feathers have always been used as part of the traditional clan garments.

- The Foothills of the Great Towers

Most of the northern foothills of the Great Towers mountains belong to the Lowside clans.

From their high perch, the Ravensen and Hawkspaar keeps look over the hilly and rocky ground of the valleys at their feet.

The sheltered lower valleys of the Great Towers are home to the best white wines of Alven, and much revenue is made from the trade of the wine all over the country and beyond.
As well as wine, logging for the shipbuilding trade is another source of revenue in the foothills.
Some fruit also grow very well in the valleys - nut trees are a specialty of the area.

Further up the mountains, mining for crystals has been going on for generations.

- The Aiker Plains

Most of Lowside is an immense alluvial plain separated in two by the River Aiker. The plain stretch from Loch Morgunt to the Eastern Seas.

It is a fertile land, interspersed with gentle hills and large forests of deciduous trees. The area is mainly agricultural and a lot of the cereals grown in Alven come from here: barley, wheat etc.

The whole of Lowside is very well known for the quality of its poultry. Many different types of hens and ducks as well as goose are bred on the plains either for the quality of their meat or the production of eggs.
Pigs are also a specialty as well as the cure meat made from pork: hams, sausages etc.

The Sacred Oaks

One of the most recognisable sights of Lowside are The Seven Sacred Oaks found miles away from each other on the Aiker Plains.

No one knows how old these trees are - maybe a few millennia - and they seem to be a different breed of oak than the common ones found all over Alven.

Their girth and height surpass any other oak known to mankind. They tower between 10 to 20 metres or so each and their girth is the size of a small keep.

These trees were growing well before humans arrived in this area and have been imbued with legends of their own from time immemorial.

The Seven Oaks are places of religious significance and have their own lore in the religious teaching and pantheon of the Alven religion.

- The Cities of the Plains

The cities of the plains have been growing exponentially within the last century.
If the countryside can be considered sleepy and traditional in outlook, the cities are the exact opposite.

Fuelled by generations of prosperity and peaceful enterprise, the sons and daughters of the wealthy clansmen have had plenty time on their hands to ponder the world around them.
Inquisitive minds started the scientific movement now taking the cities by storm.

The Enlightenment - as it is being called - is not always well seen by the more traditional parts of society and notably the Archive.
However, some notable achievements in the realm of war engines and fire weapons have made the Archive leaders look at the scientific process in a more lenient way.

- The Lowside Coast

The coast in the Lowside region is a mixture of cliffs, sandy coves and sheltered bays. The sheltered bays are home to some of the busiest ports in Alven.

Many goods coming from the other side of the continent are transported there. Travelling by land is impeded by the Great Tower mountains, a formidable barrier to the rest of the world.
It is much easier, in general, to transport goods and people by sea than by land.

The biggest harbours on the coast are from north to south: Inchaber, Wylfhythe, Hollyholm, Kynally and Pitfallish. Some of these harbours are well known for transporting and receiving certain goods.

Type

Region