Reina
Lidia Valentine
"Compared to the somewhat similar tombs the men all have over in Roy, each tomb to a Queen in this valley is wildly different from each other. From the Obsidian Tower of Nessa to the Marble Gardens of Queen Vernador XIII. It's impossible to tell what time period any of it is from just by looking at it. That's what I'm paid to figure out!"Reina is a small province located within the Valley of Kings and is part of the Kingdom of North Cassel. It is bordered on the east by the Barony of Roy, and by Sacellum on the west. To the north across the Gilden Peaks, is the barony of Agennum. Like all of the Valley of Kings, this barony is notable for the many large tombs in the areas. Reina seems to have a higher concentration of queens buried here than anywhere else in the valley, which is how it got its name.
The mountains north of Reina sit on a particularly large deposite of gemstone quality Beryls like goshenite and emeralds. There are also Chrysoberyls, and Topaz. These deposits are larger here than neigboring provinces. There are some Corundum deposits here like Ruby but nothing that is gemstone quality.
Mining the area is somewhat difficult as there are thousands of tombs in the mountains as well and work has to be stopped several times a year because a new tomb is discovered. Cassel has laws in place for what to do when this happens. The tomb is catalogued and several mercenaries are hired to clear out any ancient nameless horrors that lurk within. Then Scholars are allowed to examine the tomb while a new mining path is picked.
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2534, Iron Age
Atron
Baroness Anita Jacquinet
2,098 km2
Continental
64,500
80% Human
Atron
Baroness Anita Jacquinet
2,098 km2
Continental
64,500
80% Human
Notable Tombs
The Obsidian Tower of Nessa
This large tower stands roughly 1200 meters in the center of Reina, towering over the landscape. It was built far back in the Silver Age and Queen Nessa, the first ruling queen of the Olimians, is somewhere within. Queen Nessa was also known as The Great builder, and she is responsible for the creation of the Igri Canal that connects the Nerian Sea to the Aetheric Ocean (now known as the Argent Channel). She also built the Great Lighthouses that dot the eastern coast of Cassel. The Golden Observatory in Irrelith, the Tower of the Moon in Alluth, and the Dams of Karrask that drains the Sea of Wrethas are all also attributed to her. Most of these structures still stand to this day.
By far her most inpressive structure, and her last, was the Obsidian Tower. The name might be misleading and one may assume the tower to be black, but that is not the case. It was made of volcanic glass, but it appears like a great white diamond on the landscape, visible for many miles. This is because Obsidian turns clear when it is charged with aether. Since the start of the Iron age, the tower has started to lose its aetheric charge and parts of the tower are completely black again. There are also large chunks of the tower missing, including its entire mid-section, but the tower seems to float in place as if there is no problem.
Exploring the tower is one of the most dangerous tasks any person in Vreathe can undertake. The twisting halls and stairwells has many hundreds of traps, most of which magically rearm themselves if triggered or disarmed. Several explorers have managed to clear the invisible mid section. The reason it appears to be missing is because it is 100% crystal clear and not even light interacts with it. After this mid section, the upper sections of the tower are still unexplored and many adventurers dream of the treasures that are at the top.
The Marble Gardens of Queen Vernador XIII
This structure is a large 500 meter by 500 meter castle that sits at three progressively smaller levels. The structure itself was originally a bronze age tomb of Queen Styliani but it was raided and fell into ruin long before Queen Vernador XIII's time. The tomb was originally described as a warm paradise in the cold valley of kings. Queen Styliani's love for tropical plants and animals was brought with her to the afterlife. The tomb was said to be host to all manner of tropical palms and exotic fruits that cannot be found anywhere in modern day Cassel.
Queen Vernador XIII was riding through the valley when she was younger, before she was crowned queen. She came across an old tomb, long overgrown with weeds, partially buried, and with none of its original beauty. After she became queen, she ordered that the tomb be repaired, and the aethercite heat generators be recharged. Plants from all over the tropical areas of Vreathe were brought here and planted, and a large amount of aethercite crystals from Rosika were brought here. A project of this size was a bit much for Cassel at the time, but Vernador XIII wanted to see it completed. She drained her fortune and sold off large areas of land that were in the Vernador family for over a thousand years.
The result was a beautiful paradise in North Cassel, that also later became Queen Vernador XIII's tomb. The town of Atron was founded near it and was the location where most of the workers who repaired the structure stayed. In time, after large deposits of gems were discovered in the mountains, Atron grew larger and now surrounds the tomb. The center of the city is filled with gardens and the temperature feels more like the warm shores of Mataro than it does the cold and snowy Reina.
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