Sutherlands

Area

The region of Sutherlands is considered the center of Alven: politically, financially and culturally. The dominance of the Sutherland clans has come gradually over the last millennia or so.
Highfort(location:30b4b335-4705-4782-87e5-4eaeceebfa96) is the capital of Alven and the residence of the Thanes as well as their support organisation @[The Archive.
The region stretches from The Green Tips in the north to the southern border of the country and the The Great Towers Range.
In the middle of the region is the second biggest lochs in Alven, The Lake of Inner Voices.
The Sutherlands belong to the Thanes and three other powerful Clans:
Clan Deeryant - Glashelm- Sutherlands is the most northerly of the three clans. The clan keep, Glashelm, is situated at the extreme tip of Loch Morgunt, on the western side of the River Carlwheen.
Clan Botterfyre - Dunhelm - Sutherlands is a neighbour of the Thanes' lands in the south and the clanlands lie mainly between the shore of The Shimmering Seas and the Lake of Inner Voices. The clan keep, Dunhelm, is one of the most important port in the region.
Finally, in the far south of the region on the border with the Southern Kingdoms, is Clan Clan Badgorsen - Carrhelm - Sutherland. The clanlands run from the borderlands between The Shimmering Seas and the Lake of Inner Voices to the Great Towers mountains. The clan keep is the formidable fortress of Carelm. The fortress has resisted many assaults from the southern invading armies and still stands as a proud reminder of the clans' fierce warrior past.

Natural Resources and Habitat

The Green Tips and the High Forest

Stretching north of Highfort is the dark woods of the High or The High Forest. The forest is a fully magical entity that few people can cross or live in. The dark woods are in sharp contrast to the bustling metropolis just a few miles from its edges.

It is the place of the Seers. Many ceremonies are held within its sacred groves, and the Thane's Seer, The White Seer can draw a lot of power from the place. Animals in the forest are more sentient than anywhere else.

There is an 'alive' quality to the flora and trees in the sacred groves of the High. The nature there cannot be tamed: to this day, no humans have been able to hunt or fell trees in the forest.

The Broon Hills

The Broon Hills are the hillfoots of The Yella Fells. The range of low hills are called brown for different reasons.


First, the hills are ploughed every winter and planted with cereals and different kinds of hardy crops. The deep, brown colour of the earth is a feature of the countryside.

In the autumn, the leaves of the native beech tree, The Licorn Tree, turn to a brown rusty colour.

Finally, the hill stones turn dark after the rain, and most are made of a brown smokey quartz. The quartz is called an Earthlight. Veins of the Earthlight Stone are mined in the hills to decorate weapons and war gear: (hilts, harnesses etc.).

The Earthlight has from antiquity been associated with martial arts: it is supposed to bring good luck to warriors as it is the stone of Morgan, the dark goddess of war. She is ofent called the Phantom and the smokey nature of the stone reminds people of her dark and shadowy nature.

The Fields of Glasswin

The Fields of Glasswin is a large flat plain which runs from the Broon Hills to the north up to the shores of the Lake of Inner Voices in the south. The lands belong to Clan Deeryant in the north and the Thanes in the west and east.

It is the main bread basket of Alven. Its central position in Alven means that grain can easily travel up and down the country to be sold.

The rich estates of the Deeryant Clan have been the main support of the Thanes and the Archive for generations. The Stagmen have close links to power in Alven, and are very keen to keep it this way.

The landscapes of the Fields is pleasant and bucolic. Small woods intersperse the large fields. The summer golden fields of the Glasswin have been celebrated in many songs and epics.

The Waneweald or Crimson Weald

The Waneweald or Crimson Weald is the name of the large forest existing between the Lake of the Inner Voices and the coast in the south of the region.
The forest is well known for The Red Frond - a type of acer turning bright red in the autumn and yellow in the spring.

The forest is also home to a very ancient race of pines that can rival in height and weight with the Sacred Oaks. These pines are a non-earthly species of evergreen tree which is called The Bitter Fir by the Alvenites. It grows far and few in small groves between the red acers.

The Firs have been sacred to the Alvenites since their arrival on the continent. The groves are dedicated to the god of nature, Carnos. The deer herds in the forest have a very pale fawn colours to their hides and are dedicated to the god.

No one is allowed to hunt them. Only the Seers serving Carnos are allowed to kill or cull the herd as a sacrifice to the god.

The Ridge

The Ridge is a seemingly peaceful and quiet range of hills. Not many human settlements have made roots in the wide valleys of the mostly green barren hills.

Most of the hills is supposedly haunted and the sun does not shine many days of the week on its summits.
The weather on the hills is very particular: the land receives an inordinate amount of rainfall throughout the seasons, and is all the time pretty much shrouded in mists and fogs, which might account for the eerie quality of the landscape and the stories, no doubt.

Type

Region

Included Locations

• The Muirise Barrows