The people of Avereaux – the Averlaise – have an easygoing nature most of the time, and many visitors from foreign shores are surprised to discover the drive that powers the nation below this fallacy. They are a people who plan for the future, who plant the seeds that future generations will enjoy the fruits of.
They are a people who value diversity of passion, and ensure no one is stuck in a job that does not suit them. The act of setting out on adventures is a national pastime, not just the pursuit of the young and vigorous – they believe that people should change as they grow, discover sides to themselves and challenge themselves at every point in their story. A life well-lived should be full of variety – a meal made from one ingredient may keep one alive, but it does not nourish the soul.
Everywhere in Avereaux, people are making their own story; stories that can be told as part of their legacy and passed down alongside their sword, or bow, or magical foci. The fact that their Monarchy has finally fallen is not something to mourn – instead the tales of their Queens, Kings and Lieges live on to inspire. The Freeholds managed their own affairs for the most part anyway, so unlike other nations’ bloody coups and strikes, Avereaux has found the transition from monarchy to republic a smooth one, though one not made by choice.
Avereaux now finds itself working alongside its frequent rival and occasional foe – Valdraeth, in the Realm alliance known as the Crownlands. This nation and Avereaux have been on opposite sides of conflict more times than allies, but their differences have been put aside over the last century, first by the brokering of the Crownlands Realm Alliance by the nation sandwiched between these two behemoths, the Wonder, and in recent years by the Pact of the Nine against the incursions of the Corrupted. They have shown the importance of letting bygones be bygones, and are looking to the future guided by Gods and magic, ready to see how this story plays out.
Geography
Freeholds are large Avereaux towns which have a degree of self-governance, formed as a result of a Royal Charter from the Averlaise monarchs. Referred to as “Freeholds” or simply “Holds”, there are four in all, although in previous centuries Moonvigil Bay was making progress to become the fifth to gain a Royal Charter. Each has sprung up around a tavern – most of which started out as a coaching inn for travelling adventurers but have now become the bustling hive of Averlaise activity. The four most famous are at the centre of the freeholds and are known as Grand Taverns; places where many adventures start out, and where many lifelong friendships are made over a fireside table.
Since the fall of the Monarchy, the possibility of additional Freeholds being formed has been raised, but as no towns have yet become as large or powerful as the four below the point has been moot. Other settlements around Avereaux are numerous – especially those on the Royal Roads between the four Freeholds and Cloudreach Castle, and all are under the jurisdiction to the closest Freehold to their home to call upon for support if needed.
As visitors to the nation are fond of remarking, there are almost as many taverns as there are people to stay in them, and small villages or hamlets line the major trade routes, almost all of which are centred around a tavern. Many gain a level of notoriety from the famous Chevaliers who return to them whenever they are passing, others host Chroniclers or other storytellers who are collecting tales as they travel. It is the standard starting off point for parties, and many name themselves after the taverns that brought them together – one of the most famous examples being the du Violette Fellowship, who met at the Violette & Rose tavern in the far reaches of Windchase and went on to slay the chimera who was causing terror in the outlying region.
Windchase
Appearing as though an island in a sea of gold sprawling from the great crossroads is Windchase Hold, sat at the centre of fields upon fields of golden barley. Windchase is the largest territory in Avereaux, and with the ever-increasing demands for hops and barley some of the farmers of Windchase Hold have become wealthy indeed, showing off their wealth with simple farmhouses rebuilt as opulent villas. This recent change in fortune has even led to the nickname “Barley Barony” being levied at Windchasers. Though others might balk at shows of conspicuous consumption that would never have passed muster in the days of the Monarchy, market day is a sea of brightly coloured clothes and jewellery as farmers revel in the riches of their harvest.
However this wealth has not been hoarded – one of the most impressive examples of this is the Academy of Arcane Excellence and Weaving. A campus for the magically talented which was established in what was once one of the most lavish Farm manors in the region, but had since fallen to a mysterious blight and remained empty for some years. Though a fledgeling institution now, it has become a popular stopping off point for Hedge Mages and international practitioners of the magical arts alike and there are concerted efforts to rebuild the dilapidated outbuildings of the old manor as it grows with the student base.
At the great crossroads at the centre of the Hold, the Windchaser Tavern can be found. Epitomising the wealth and luxury of the hold, this is a place of extravagance of the highest order – only food of the highest quality is prepared by the greatest of gourmands, and only the proverbial cream of the crop is used in the house malts. Exotic flowers sit upon each table and the most revered bards fight for a place on the stage. Yet with all this opulence and expense, the Windchaser serves all who comes to its door – it doesn’t do well to turn away what could be the next great hero of the nation.
Riverside
Resting on the banks of the gentle Millturn River the sleepy Freehold of Riverside can be found. Once little more than a hamlet, it has slowly grown into a Freehold proper, but to keep the tranquility for which the area was famed, only very limited building has been done on the banks themselves. Here it is commonplace to find visitors and locals alike relaxing on the small jetties peppering the river’s edge dangling their feet in the gentle currents or with a fishing pole in hand hopeful for a nice river trout for supper. After a busy day of peace and tranquility many head to the freeholds Grand Tavern The Fuzzy Duckling to share tales of things they saw from the riverbanks with good company over a cool drink and warm meal.
So in a place as idyllic and charming as this it would be easy to question why anybody would ever leave. The people of Riverside know that they are very fortunate to live in such a place and that they need to work to preserve it, whether by patrolling the lanes or setting forth to fight the Corruption further afield lest it one day reach their beloved home. For this reason the Freehold has grown in legend as the tales of heroes from Riverside are all the more remarkable because it is those people sacrificing a life of perfect peace heading out into the world to preserve it.
One of the highlights of Riverside is the Millturn Bards College, situated on the eastern bank, it is one of the very few buildings built directly on to the river bank, other than the water mills that give the river its name. With its wide terrace leaning over the river and perfectly manicured topiary garden, glistening chimes hung from the carved columns, all this is curated to inspire the artistic mind, as such it is common to find painters, scriptwriters and other creatives retreating to the serenity of the Millturn alongside the bards themselves. It is also a daily occurrence to find groups of locals sitting on the sandbars beneath the bards’ overlook – listening out for what might be the next epic of romance, heroism or tragedy, and hoping to inspire those looking down from above in their artistic pursuits.
Phoenix Rest
Nestled into the side of the Embermount and spilling into the lush meadows below lies Phoenix Rest. Established due to its lush and fertile volcanic soil, the area has become both an agricultural powerhouse and a place of respite and rejuvenation, famed for the healing qualities of its hot springs set into the side of the mount itself. The area has become a popular stop for many heroes seeking to bathe old wounds in the mounts waters.
Although the volcano itself has been dormant for centuries, many Avereaux make a pilgrimage of sorts to the peak to gaze down upon the molten heart of the mountain. Often they are inspired to visit by the ancient story for which the Freehold is named, in which a great phoenix was said to have flown across the skies and descended upon the peak of the mountain and upon landing the mountain gave one last bellow of fire and ash before resting forever more. Some of a less poetic mind say that this was merely a comet streaking across the sky and disappearing behind the mountain, but the bards, travellers of a romantic turn and particularly dramatic chroniclers hold fast to the tale of the phoenix’s final journey. So popular was this tale that the tavern which now resides in a cavern tucked into the upper reaches of the mountain was named The Sooty Pigeon in reference to an old joke about what you get when a phoenix has had its last rebirth.
Low down in the meadows at the base of the Embermount, weekly markets are set up where freeholders hawk their wares and trade for the lush homegrown crops with travellers and Averlaise from other Freeholds. The increase in commerce has led to the many businesses here pooling together to build defences for the Freehold making it the most fortified of all the holds. As a result, only a small garrison is needed due to the formidable walls and gatehouses, and the protection given by the Embermount itself.
Irondelve Hold
Beneath the great rise where Cloudreach Castle sits, the breaths of ancient bellows and rhythm of a hundred hammers can be heard. After the demise of the Avereaux royal family the small mining town of Irondelve Hold was the first to declare itself a “Free Hold”, bolstered by the huge number of mourners from other holds coming to pay their respects to the fallen Royal line. While coming together to mourn in solidarity, many of these travellers and adventuring parties chose to put down roots in Irondelve, picking up the reins where royal commissioners previously kept the city ticking over. Though previously holding a Royal Charter, the move to declare its own council was as much to show it was still a town to be reckoned with – and perhaps in fear that the more powerful Holds of Windchase and Phoenix Rest may have tried to make a bid for power in the time of instability.
Before the invasion of the Corrupted fifty years ago that saw the last King, Lambert the Bold, slain in battle, Irondelve was already famed for the quality of the ore mined from its depths and provided almost all of the armour and armaments to the royal family and their guards. The town was famed for the skill of their smiths and artisans and many of the storied artifacts of legend and heirloom weapons were wrought here. This reputation has carried on to this day with artisans flocking to Irondelve to work the legendary forges and work in such hallowed halls.
Though the ore that is mined below is in much smaller quantities than in its heyday, there is another industry in the depths of Irondelve – where the shafts are deepest there are regular reports of monsters. Adventuring parties are regularly sought after to clear paths so the mining teams can excavate particular areas that might still contain a motherlode. In some shafts the routes actually join up with forgotten cellars in Cloudreach Castle, or stumble upon routes dug by less scrupulous Averlaise of yesteryear who had their eye on the Royal treasury. Magical beasts are common in these hidden places, and decent coin can be made in bringing reagents and ingredients harvested from them to the surface.
At the heart of Irondelve Hold is of course its Grand Tavern, the Dead Canary. It is a place that deceives many with its appearance with its soot-blackened stone floors and lack of natural light, due expanding into one of the old mine shafts when space next door was tight. One thing unique to the Canary is the tradition of carving the names of heroes whose journeys began here so that they might always be remembered, which started as a mining tradition when a team would be preparing for a particularly perilous task. The walls in some rooms are covered ceiling to floor with scrawled names, and many pilgrims flock to the Canary to see those of their favourite heroes and make rubbings of the scrawlings as keepsakes.
Other Locations
Cloudreach Castle
Holding vigil above Irondelve Hold, the sleeping Castle of Cloudreach remains, a mausoleum frozen in time by the people of Avereaux who have pledged to keep it perfect in its silent glory until one worthy to sit upon the throne is found. It has remained this way for some fifty years, as the last of the royal line was cut down during the first incursion of the Corrupted and no heir could be found. Many travel to the castle to help maintain its silent corridors and care for the once lively gardens, some come to seek the deeper histories of the nation or some to find muse for a sombre requiem, but all show respect to the caretakers of this once bustling castle. It is tended to now by a skeleton crew of servants and retired Chevalier too loyal to leave, headed by the Chamberlain, the senior caretaker of the castle who has not left the castle since their master’s death.
Above Cloudreach itself in the Aery courtyard, the royal Griffins can be found. These are proud beasts, with few remaining of their kind, and which once shared a deep bond with the monarchs of Avereaux, to the extent that the symbol of the Griffin was – and still is – used by the Royal Guard. According to legend the first mating pair were found and nurtured by some of the earliest royals, and with the royal line destroyed these powerful creatures have become withdrawn and mournful. They seldom leave the Aery and it is only with the express permission of the Exarch of the Royal Griffin Guard that one may be granted an audience. This once grand order of Chevalier now dwindles, rarely touring beyond Irondelve.
OC Note – it is not possible for a character to be from Cloudreach Castle, or a member of the Griffin Guard, but players may have visited the castle or met a member of this respected order.
Moonvigil Isle
Beneath the looming shadow of the ancient lighthouse on the crescent island of Moonvigil, the bounty of the sea flows into the Crownlands. Although only a half mile from the main coast, this port was established long ago as a shipping route to Kairos on an overlook of cliff stretching out above the Elandrian Sea called Moonvigil Bay.
To get goods from the island itself to the mainland a set of chain ferries were constructed as a ship proper would risk being dashed against the cliffs by the unpredictable waters of the coastline. The Marble Road is the main trade lane heading from the coastline up the cliffs and into Windchase proper, although the name is deceiving. The cobbles are not of marble but merely stained white by decades of chalk from the bottom of the boots of those traversing the cliff road.
With Moonvigil being such an important place of trade and commerce it is perhaps surprising that it is not recognised as a freehold proper. Over the centuries it has been petitioned for vehemently, but sadly around a hundred years ago a vicious storm put paid to these calls permanently, when the Grand Tavern, guild houses and several other important buildings slid into the sea. The taverns that do remain on the island have not had the same drive for independence, but there are still those who call for a new freehold to rise.
The wider lands of Avereaux
Between the four great Freeholds many small villages and hamlets can be found dotted along the sprawling paths with waychapels situated at key crossroads and places of interest. These long roads are patrolled and protected by adventuring parties, and any that find themselves in need can always claim sanctuary with the Friars in their chapels. Although most of Avereaux’s abundant countryside could be described as picturesque or peaceful there are still some places where most fear to tread, where the woods grow darker and lakes give way to marshland – it is these places where many adventurers find opportunity to grow their legend.