Dayloc Point
The Continent of Amuria is split from East to West by a vast Mountain range known as Spine of Amuria.
North Amuria is populated by a number of Kingdoms and City states, some of which border one another, others are separated by swathes of unpopulated land.
The two largest kingdoms in North Amuria are the Kingdom of Peria and the Thorovian Dynasty. The Thorovian Dynasty occupies much of the Western coastal areas, with the Kingdom of Peria occupying the foothills of the Spine of Amuria to the north-western coast.
The capital of the Kingdom of Peria used to be known as Redhollow.
A 150 Years ago the Great Wizard Iphiar Bellatos was betrayed by his apprentice.
At the very gates of his tower in the centre of Redhollow, an arcane battle ensued, so fierce, that it tore the very city in two, leaving a deep rift in the land that stretches for 100 miles. By some strange twist of fate Iphiar’s tower and walled compound in which it sat, survived, floating in the void between the two halves of Redhollow. There it remains to this day, a strange floating bastion of wild magic and mystery.
And so the Sundered City of Redhollow was born.
However, the effects of the rift were felt far beyond the city. Rivers which had flowed for thousands of years from the mountains of the Spine of Amuria to the sea suddenly pouring in great cascading waterfalls into the abyss. Towns and cities which had been built on the banks of these rivers suddenly found themselves without the life giving waters to sustain themselves. Kingdoms found themselves in turmoil, and for many years there was a period of great unrest.
The rift has also revealed a previously unknown subterranean world beneath the surface of Amuria, with its own riches and people’s and civilisations. And so, in the midst of this tragedy Redhollow found itself suddenly a key trading post with explorers and prospectors descending into the depths below, bringing forth materials and reagents which sparked a renaissance of arcane discovery, envoys and emissaries made contact with the civilisations below, discovering a subspecies of dark elf, and establishing diplomatic relations.
Redhollow entered a new age of prosperity and enlightenment, while many of the surrounding kingdom saw the kingdom of Peria as being to blame for the rift, and the suffering that they were experiencing as a result of it. They became angry and jealous to see that Peria, rather than suffering alongside with them, was instead prospering and thriving.
Thorovian Dynasty
One of the kingdoms left struggling was the Thorovian Dynasty, a direct neighbour of the Kingdom of Peria.
Since the rift, both kingdoms have put a lot of work into restoring their relationship, and this effort came to a joyous peak 20 years ago when the younger sister of Queen Angharad of the Kingdom of Persia, married the heir to the Throne of the Thorovian Dynasty, Prince Galanth the IV, joining the two kingdoms in marriage. It was hoped to be the start of a long lasting friendship between them.
However, it was only a few short years after that when King Galanth III took ill, and as he lay dying, a series of accidents and mishaps befell the entire lineage of succession, with all of them meeting with gruesome ends.
All except Prince Erisforth, who ascended the throne.
Queen Angharad along with many others believed that King Erisforth was the man responsible for the deaths of his brothers and their families, including Angharad’s own sister and her nephew. These rumours were further enforced with the official formation of King Erisforth’s Shades of Dipolmacy, which were rumoured to have been a former thieves guild which ahd been legitimised and turned into a spy network under King Erisforth’s leadership.
Some rumours even suggested that the youngest son of King Galanth III had been the leader of this organisation even before its legitimation.
Relations between the two kingdoms descended into hostility.
There has never been an official declaration of war between the two, however border skirmishes between the two militaries have been commonplace for the last decades, and fortifications along the borders have been built and reinforced over the years.
However, Our story does not take place in Redhollow.
For our story we have to travel to the town of Dayloc Point, which sits nestled on the coast, 7 days travel north-west of the Sundered City of Redhollow.
It’s not a large town, but it supports a healthy population of traders, farmers, artisans and merchants. Dayloc Point is ruled over by Lord Repinal Dayloc, a half elf in his middling years, somewhere in the region of 90, who lives with his son and heir in the large estate on the outskirts of the town, called Dayloc Hall.
Standing on the cliffs above the town are the still imposing ruins of the old Castle, which had once been the home of the Lords of Dayloc in days past.
The portside is a busy one with ships being unloaded and loaded, the yells and curses of the dockers and deck hands mingling with the shouts of merchants and peddlers hawking their wares.
In the middle of the town there is a large open Square which once a week hosts a large market.
Standing proudly in the centre of one of the four edges that make up the market square is the Tavern of Sekolah’s Folly, its wooden sign depicting a great shark tangled in a net, swings in the wind above the door.
The town has in recent weeks been subject to some turmoil, with poison pen letters and notices being posted airing some of the townsfolks’ dirty laundry, publicly.
One of the prime suspects in many folks eyes was the town scribe, however a few weeks later the scribe’s house was burned to the ground. The scribe going up in flames with his house.
Which should have been the end of it.
But the notices and letters continued. Far from being the end, it seems that this was just the beginning…