Lorbeer (ˈlɔrˌbeːr)

"After Eafa and his rebels sacked Lorbeer, it was completely abandoned. The very land it stands on was poisoned by the atrocities revealed that day, and none but the most wicked could stand to remain."

— Arvandus, Court Wizard of Creoda

Lorbeer is a ruined city located on the border between Creoda and Gewisse on the island of Ynys. It has a long history going back to the days when the Clarati ruled over Ynys, and it was the capital of Kingdom of Wuffa for nearly six hundred years. It was sacked by Eafa's rebellion, and subsequenly abandonded. Today, while it is technically inside Creoda, Lorbeer exists as a no-man's land between the two kingdoms, haunted by its past and avoided by all sane people.

Ancient Fulmenorum

Lorbeer was founded by the Clarati sorcerer Fulmen, shortly after the Conquest of Ynys. He used the city as an admistrative center, while keeping his experimental work further north in Bestarium. He also used it as a place to showcase the creatures he wished to display publicly, presumably as a way to build their legend and influence the direction the Egregoric Force pushed them. During this period, the city was known as Fulmenorum, and consisted of an arena surrounded by several buildings dedicated to the governance of Fulmen's territory.

The Capital of Wuffa

After Fulmen's death in 3305, the city became the capital of the newly established Kingdom of Wuffa. Seeking to distance herself from Fulmen's legacy, Wuffa renamed the city Lorbeer for the many laurel bushes that grew in the region. Lorbeer means Laurel in her native Inselsprach, and she had always been fond of their flowers.

Lorbeer remained the seat of the Kingdom of Wuffa for nearly six hundred years. The royal family built their palace over Fulmen's arena, in order to take advantage of the many subterranean tunnels and chambers he had built using magic. It was in these underground places that the royals of Wuffa conducted their many atrocities, disposing of the bodies in lowest levels where seemingly bottomless pits were driven into the earth. When Eafa's rebellion sacked the city, they collapsed as many of the old tunnels as they could, but there are still miles of corridors beneath the ruins to this day.

A Cursed Ruin

When Eafa opened the torture chambers of Wuffa and revealed them to the people, the city of Lorbeer died. The contents of those tunnels sickened the hearts of the citizenry, poisoning the metaphysical atmosphere around their home. For most people, sleep became impossible as their dreams were filled with horrors, and they came to hate the very stones from which Lorbeer was built. In their flight from the cursed city, they burned everything that would catch fire, and pulled down whatever buildings they could. The refugees from Lorbeer were seized by a furious need to erase the city and its legacy from the world.

But some stains persist longer than walls and monuments, and the site where Lorbeer stood is considered cursed and evil to this day. The ruins fell into the control of Creoda when that nation conquered the Kingdom of Pengwern (founded by the survivors of the Wuffan royal family), and Gewisse has never sought to reclaim it, not wanting any part of what still lingers where a city once stood.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
3905

Founding Date

2086

Founders

• Fulmen

Alternative Name(s)

Fulmenorum

Type

Large city

Location under

Ynys

Owner/Ruler

Aldric the Bold

Owning Organization

Creoda

Geographic Details

Location: Ynys, Northeastern Region
Latitude: 50.82 degrees North
Longitude: 70.17 degrees East

The Laurels of Lorbeer

After the city was abandoned, the laurel bushes that grew over the old castle grounds began to produce strange and unsettling fruit. These have come to be known as Clotberries, and eating them fills a person with a mix of magical vigor and the memories of gleeful sadism. Most people find the experience of eating a clotberry horrific, but some enjoy it, and even become addicted to the fruit. These people style themselves Pain-Gardeners, and they are considered a scourge by everyone repelled by the clotberries. You can read more about Clotberry Laurels here.