Trollhaven Island is a large island, located directly between the continents of Westland and Eastland. Trollhaven was named due to an accident of fate, which led the first Westmen raiders to land in the Trollgaard, rather than among the settled regions of the Islanders. The Westmen settlements were savagely attacked by the trolls who lived there, and the fleeing survivors gave the island its name. The island was known as Rianar by the Overkingdom, but the Westmen's name is the one that stuck.
The center of the island rises up with tall, jagged toothed mountains surrounded by rolling hills. The island is heavily forested, with small centers of civilization cut out of vast tracts of forest.
The Free City of Towers is an innovative maritime nation ruled by the Lords of Towers, a mysterious council of mages. Towers is a naval nation renowned for the speed of its ships and the boldness of its sailors. The Towers navy constantly battles for control of the Trollhaven Straits with the Tarsian Hegemony, a theocratic state ruled by the Godspeaker of Tarse, while holding off the private raiding fleets of the Westmen. The small Towers army is well disciplined and experienced, based on the old legions of the White Horn Overkingdom, but modified for modern times.
Towers is in a constant state of war with the Tarsian Hegemony, brought about when the Godspeaker of Tarse declared that Towers was infested with and under the direct influence of demons, and called for a Holy War against the city. Meanwhile, Towers actively patrols its borders and the sealanes against raiders from Ceol Ric and Westland. Towers has formed an alliance with Gwynedd, provides covert assistance to King Oswald of Grim Ric, and is working on an alliance with Troicinet. Recent diplomatic attempts to unite the jarls of Ostland under Towers have failed miserably with the Archon invasion. Towers is not yet willing to confront Skaghane, and so looks to her border defenses with North Ostland.
Gwynedd contains the last remnant of free Islanders and a large contingent of Eldar. Ruled by the beloved Queen Sian. Queen Sian is wise in politics and has kept the warlike tribes of the Islander focused on fighting the Westmen instead of each other. Half of Queen Sian's advisors are drawn from the Eldar, most of whom advised her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The Queen is a dynamic and energetic ruler, who's travels around the countryside have earned her the love and respect of all the people.
Gwynedd is a civilized land, but still retains some of its barbarity. Wild celebrations are common among the Islanders, and they do not seem to set much store by civilized etiquette. Islander clothing styles are different from those of other lands, with their use of plaids, kilts, and tartan cloth.
The Eldar, known among themselves as the Star-born, are an old race who claim to remember the first humans who came to the world. Eldar are a naturally magical race, whose members stop aging after the age of 25. All Eldar have at least some hedge magic, and they produce a large number of powerful mages. The Eldar and Islanders have a long history of respect and friendship. These days, Gwynedd enjoys good relations with the Free City of Towers. The Gwynedd Rangers patrol the borders of the land, and Islander warbands may be found raiding Ceol Ric, Grim Ric, and The Trollgaard, often working as irregular auxiliaries to the Legion of Towers.
Ceol Ric is the most powerful Westman kingdom on Trollhaven. The King of Ceol Ric, is called Gorm Hardlaw by the Westmen in his kingdom. He was so named because of his harsh laws and his tendency to judge a case so as to garner the most profit for himself. He is respected by his followers because of his power, but he is by no means loved. King Gorm keeps a group of twelve berserkers in his great hall. All who enter his hall are challenged by the berserkers. His warriors typically make up an excuse for not fighting which admits that the berserkers are their betters while saving face and avoiding a fight. While this is a cause of much grumbling among his warriors, they fear the berserkers.
Ceol Ric receives aid and advice from the Tarsian Hegemony. In return for this King Gorm has allowed Tarsian priests to live in Ceol Ric and has given the Tarsian navy safe haven in his ports, from which they stage attacks on Towers. His advisors fear the growing influence of his Tarsian advisor, a honey-tongued priest named Lonistan who came to convert the Westmen from their traditional gods. The army of Ceol Ric consists of the King's personal retainers, as well as those warriors sent to him by the underkings who pay a yearly tribute and must come when he summons them. Together, they form a powerful army of warriors, but their individualistic fighting style and constant infighting means they have a hard time against the disciplined legion of Towers.
The embattled kingdom of Grim Ric is ruled by King Oswald the Fat. Occupying the central highlands of Trollhaven, Grim Ric is bordered by more countries than any other on Trollhaven. In the old glory days of Grim Ric, this meant that Oswald's warbands had many targets to strike at. Now, King Oswald fights a determined battle against incursions from The Trollgaard, vengeful Islanders from Gwynedd, and Ceol Ric warbands looking for easier prey than is found in Towers and the Trollgaard. The only relatively secure border is with Towers.
King Oswald has no living children, and it appears that his kingdom will die with him. Towers has approached the king with a proposal to form a League, in which Towers would handle all foreign relations and trade, while Oswald would rule over his people as normal. In return, Towers would bring the country's roads up to her standards, and construct a line of fortifications like those which guard the border between Towers and Ceol Ric. Upon the death of Oswald, Grim Ric would be administered by a governor elected by the jarls of Grim Ric and approved by the Lords of Towers. Each jarl would pay their tribute to Towers, and would retain an advisor appointed by Towers. King Oswald has sent his jarls to visit Towers and see for themselves the wealth that the Free City can bring to Grim Ric. Their visits to the Legion's camps have also shown them that Towers can help protect them from raiders. Presently, most jarls are in favor of the League, but several powerful jarls are opposed to giving up their power and the chance to become the next king of Grim Ric.
The warbands of Grim Ric are battle hardened, but dispirited. Almost all of the Westmen of Grim Ric believe that their country will be invaded and conquered once King Oswald is dead. Until that day, they fight to protect their farms and homes.
The Trollgaard is a vast expanse of moorlands ruled by a creature known as The Troll. The Troll is an ancient, powerful creature, said to be the first of its kind, and the most powerful. It is rumored that The Troll is the child of a god, but no one knows for sure.
The Troll has bred hordes of lesser trolls, who roam the wastelands of Trollhaven, feeding on each other or the unwary. Occasionally, a smart troll will begin to organize other trolls into warbands that raid into Ceol Ric, Grim Ric, and beyond. So far, these troll warbands have been unstoppable until The Troll appears to devour the smart troll before it becomes a rival. Individually, trolls are fearsome, but can be defeated. In a warband, they are an awesome fighting force.
The Troll has been seen by few reliable, surviving witnesses. The most famous of those witnesses was Duach ap Cas, an Islander bard present at an appearance of The Troll. Duach later wrote a ballad about the encounter, complete with a description and the circumstances of the sighting. Duach reported that The Troll was as large as a Titan of legend, and that spent its days dreaming in a bottomless bog at the center of the moor. He further reported that The Troll is only awoken by the deep throated war chants of its children. It then seeks out the cause of the disturbance and devours it, along with any other bystanders it can catch. Duach was present at a battle in which the troll warband was defeating an Islander warband, until The Troll appeared and ate the leading troll and most of the other participants. Duach was one of three survivors who managed to hide for three days until The Troll headed back in the direction of the center of the moor.
An ancient race of humans known as Archons live in the land of Skotos. The Archons dress in black, fly a black flag, and take to sea in black flagged ships. The Archons regard all other humans as little better than animals. Visitors to Skotos are captured and enslaved. Archons never use torture, and slaves are treated with the tolerant if impersonal kindness of a farm animal. Disobedience merits a mild flogging, imprisonment in a slave pen with only bread and water, or a sudden death. The Archons consider themselves to be at war with the rest of humanity. Recently, the Archons have invaded North and South Ostland and are sweeping aside all resistance by the disorganized jarls and towns in their path.
The Dwarfholds are Dwarven cities, almost always under mountains, where hundreds or thousands of Dwarves reside. Dwarfholds are usually near a volcano, geyser, or other source of underground heat and light. A Dwarfhold is filled with workshops and benches, roaring hearths, and hundreds of bustling, busy crarftsmen plying their trade. The Dwarfholds are sources of intricate and beautiful jewelry, runecarved swords of power, and wondrous artifacts. Dwarfholds are ruled by a King Under the Mountain, who is more like the President of a modern company. The King Under the Mountain is one who has convinced the rest of the Dwarfholders that his business sense and leadership can make them the most profits.
Deephold is one of several Dwarven cities carved into the mountains of Trollhaven, and the nearest to Towers. Regular caravans stop to trade food, drink (mostly beer), and luxuries for the exquisitely crafted handiwork of the dwarves. The Dwarves of Deephold are ruled by King Moonbeam Ironmaster.
Tristane is a kingdom recovering from recent dynastic upheavals. When the old king died, his nephew Prince Trevan prepared to take the throne. The old king's son, Prince Harald, was lost at sea and believed drowned. At the coronation, Prince Harald appeared and claimed his rightful throne. In the confusion, Trevan was killed. Prince Harald later related that Trevan pushed him from the ship on which they traveled. Harald washed up on the shore near Ceol Ric and was held prisoner by King Gorm Hardlaw, who did not realize his identity. After escaping from Ceol Ric, he was captured by the Archons for a time, and forced to work in a slave gang in South Ostland. After winning free from Archon slavery, he travelled across Trollhaven Island and eventually reached Tristane just in time to thwart Trevan's coronation as King of Tristane. He is now in the process of bringing order to his outlying holdings, a task he is pursuing with alarming (to Ceol Ric) vigor. King Harald is actively encouraging an alliance with Towers against Ceol Ric.
The people of Tristane are a homogenized mixture of Westmen, Eastmen, and Islanders, all combined into a single new race known as the Trista, or Southlanders.
The island of Darkhaven is ruled by a mysterious figure known as Nightstar. No one has ever seen Nightstar, only a cloaked and hooded figure all in white, wearing a golden mask. Even Nightstar's hands are gloved at all times. Soon after the founding of Towers seven hundred years ago, Nightstar arrived on what is now known as Darkhaven Island, killed the Islander king who ruled there, and took over his fortification in the center of the island. Soon after, thick black fog began to issue from the windows of the fortification, now known as Starhold. The fog blanketed the island over the course of a month, until the entire island was blanketed to the shoreline with the mysterious fog.
Visitors to the island first see a roiling black mass of fog or smoke which is cut off abruptly by the shoreline, even moving in and out with the tide. Upon entering the fog, the visitor perceives everything to be nighttime. The sun is transformed into a full moon, and the stars are clearly visible. The peasants of Darkhaven were dismayed by this as their crops began to die off from lack of sunlight, but Nightstar sent emissaries with new seeds for crops that thrive on moonlight. The peasants now grow strange mushroom-like plants that taste strangly like their old crops.
The laws of Darkhaven are harsh; most crimes are capital offenses. The condemned are taken to the palace for execution. Some are never heard from again, but others are spared and return as loyal agents of Nightstar, their minds somehow changed. These agents have no memory of their lives before entering the palace. Travellers to Darkhaven are neither encouraged or discourages, but all are watched, and those who ask too many questions are dealt with. Merchants who are brave enough to travel to Darkhaven can make a tidy profit.
The Wodesman lands are inhabited by primitive people who lived here even before the Rhyafolk. Driven back into the deep forests of Trollhaven, these blue painted people attack any who enter their domain. Numerous settlements have been planted within their forests, and they have always been attacked and burned to the ground. Only those settlers who manage to hide or run ahead of the attackers escape with their lives. All others are killed immediately or captured and killed later.
The known portion of Eastland is part of the largest continent of Rhya. The Western reaches of Eastland are home to the familiar cultures of the fallen White Horn Overkingdom. Farther east and to the north are the barbarian Centaurs and the enigmatic Insect Men. There are several civilized states that have arisen out of the ashes of the White Horn Overkingdom.
The Tarsian Hegemony is the largest and most powerful successor state to the White Horn Overkingdom. The Godspeaker of Tarse is the secular ruler of the Hegemony, as well as supreme head of the Church of Pyremius, state religion of the Hegemony. The current Godspeaker is Polnos, formerly Metropolitan of Soria, one of the more powerful cities in the Hegemony.
Each city of the Hegemony, along with the surrounding countryside, is ruled by a Metropolitan. The Metropolitans are the supreme religious representatives of Pyremius. The city of Tarse, a provincial capital of the old Overkingdom, is the seat of the Godspeaker. Technically, the Metropolitans owe obedience to the Godspeaker, but some of the Metropolitans are powerful enough to ignore all but the most strident communications from Polnos. The Hegemonic Guard is under the command of the Godspeaker, and is a strong incentive to obedience. Each Metropolitan is allowed to retain a guard, and some of the Metropolitan's Guard are powerful enough to give the Godspeaker pause. The Hegemonic Guard could defeat the forces of any Metropolitan, but doing so would weaken the Guard enough for another Metropolitan to march on the capital and seize power.
The Tarsian Hegemony has recently declared a Holy War against the Free City of Towers, accusing Towers mages of being in league with demons.
Aquila, one of the oldest provinces of the White Horn Overkingdom, borders the Tarsian Hegemony.
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