Yay Wintercrest! It's honestly a wonder I still had this, but hey I'm not complaining. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [b]Settlement name:[/b] Wintercrest [b]Type: [/b]Large city [b]Description:[/b] Wintercrest was founded by an Eanian family by the name of Fellrien twenty years ago. Before Fellrien came to the city, it went by another name, Dilanol and was ruled by a Sovereign King, Frendril. Built at the base of the Mithril rich mountain on the border of Eania and Djarkel, Dilanol made its beginning as a mining town but quickly grew to a city. Under Frendril's rule Dilanol barely managed to maintain its sovereignty, many times nearly falling to either Eania or Djarkel only being saved with the King offered a substantial amount of gold to keep his cities sovereignty. But by doing so he sowed the seeds of his own downfall. By the end of it the city owed both Eania and Djarkel a substantial amount of gold and was only able to pay it off by forcing its people into the Mithril mines that ran deep into the mountain or into military service. Every citizen either enlisted for a military life, which was more of filling the role of slave drivers, or were forced to work in the mine to pay off the massive debt that crippled the city. Yet still, the city survived if not barely, only having just enough to stay afloat. This is how the city remained, for many a year until house Fellrien came. In Eania house Fellrien was the the reigning house in the south easternmost region of Eania. Another house, house Levaran who had sworn fealty to house Fellrien coveted their lands and their power. Seeking anyway they could to undermine their claim house Levaran stumbled across a secret. House Fellrien had a line of gifted Lues blood mages in their midst. The second this was discovered Levaran went about setting to work sparking Fellrien’s downfall. Twisting the image of the noble rulers to make them seem to be corrupt Djarkel mind controllers. Unrest spread like a disease, house Fellrien tried to fight it but their downfall was almost assured. Soon other houses sworn to fealty rose up against their Liege Lords. Very few of the houses remained loyal to Fellrien and those that did were prosecuted to the same extent. A bloody civil war erupted between the houses, split by those loyal to Fellrien and those who rose up against them. For nearly two years the small civil war raged. Until finally the High King stepped in to end it. The King joined on the side of house Levaran, having fallen sway to the lies spread about Fellrien being mind controllers and Djarkel sympathizers. Against both the rebelling lords and the High King himself, house Fellrien and their allies fought a losing battle. Until finally, house Fellrien's home city, the capital of the region, Rayheaven was razed to the ground. Every house and every building burned to the ground, every man, woman and child even the livestock were slaughtered in droves, including half of house Fellrien's family. Battered, half destroyed and officially beaten, house Fellrien and what was left of her allies retreated, into Djarkel territory. Hoping to fare better there than against their own people. In the time between their defeat and the capture of Dilanol, or as it will come to be called Wintercrest, the few other houses that fled with them were incorporated into house Fellrien. Either by adoption or marriage. The now one unified house, brought what was left of their armies together under one banner. Unable to survive as nomadic outcasts their gaze fell upon the Sovereign cities separating Eania and Djarkel. Desperate to find a place to survive, and unable to retake the lands lost to Eania and unwilling to risk anything with Djarkel the people of house Fellrien found themselves with little other options. Their desperate gaze settled upon the city of Dilanol. With proper leadership and no small manner of hard work this could be made the seat of an empire and so House Fellrien went to war. The city held for days, its defenses built to last, supported by the natural defense of the mountain. But eventually the poor unequipped armies of Frendril fell to the battle hardened veterans of house Fellrien. With the conquest of Dilanol and the freeing ofcitizens from the near slave like lifestyle, House Fellrien's survival was assured. The noble house made a home out of the mountain city. Changing the name from Dilanol to Wintercrest. In time and with no small amount of hard effort the city saw a change from the desperate state it had been in under King Fendril. A new aged seemed to be dawning for the sovereign city. Thanks to it’s lucrative mithril mines Wintercrest received a large amount of trade from the other sovereign cities and even eventually the surrounding empires. The people who had remained loyal to and had followed house Fellrien had changed, they were no longer the outcasts from Eania. They were now the proud people of Wintercrest. Djarkel was the first to accept the sovereignty of the new city, seeing it as a lucrative trade partner their relationship can generally be seen as much more positive than the city's relationship with Eania. When word reached house Levaran of House Fellrien’s survival they were swift to gather an army and march to city and demand the heads of House Fellrien’s members seeing them still as enemies of the state. As the much larger Eanian army starved out the city until their demands were met they were surprised when an army from Djarkel arrived demanding they lift the siege. Fearing a fight on two fronts the Eanian army lifted their siege and pulled their forces out. After the Eanian army had retreated the Djarkel general met with House Fellrien’s leader, the Lord of Wintercrest, Daegon Fellrien. The Djarkel general explain that they arrived to ensure that Wintercrest’s sovereignty remained untouched. Though many speculated that their intentions were much more selfish than they had presented them to be. But so Wintercrest’s survival was assured ever so barely. With time Eania began openly trading with the sovereign city and relations improved ever so slightly. Still, those who live in the city of Wintercrest that followed with House Fellrien harbor strong grudges against the people of Eania and there is still many of those who stick to the old Eanian ways of resenting Djarkel. The city has become a melting pot for cultural influence from the surrounding empires and is seen as something of a safe haven from both Eania and Djarkel where no one can be prosecuted for their blood or their race and people may forge their own beginnings. [b]Alignment:[/b] Neutral, they are distrustful and at times hateful to both Eania and Djarkel, though their relationship is easily much better with Djarkel then it is with Eania if not for their mutual need for one another. [b] Location:[/b] Some ways North of the Twilight college, on the opposite side of the mountain built near its base, right along the border of Eania and Djarkel.