The city of Illian’s Crossing lies at the first crossable ford of the Orankle River as it comes out of the Thunder Peaks fifty miles to the north. This important location connects the vital iron mines to the northwest in the mountains with the cities to the east. It also allows access to the fertile farm country on the west and south side of the Orankle River. The river itself is broad and slow at this point allowing horse drawn carts to cross without tender most months of the years except during the height of the winter and during the spring thaw. During those months, most caravan traffic stops except those willing to pay for rope pulled tender service. South, the Orankle narrows as it enters the rugged badlands where it cuts a deep canyon and does not become a navigable river until some 240 miles south at Whitehall.
Weather is temperate with two rainy seasons in the spring and fall. Summers tend to be drier with a continental climate that allows high temperature to reach over 100. Winters are also a bit drier with lows in the teens, though temperatures rarely stay below freezing long enough for prolonged snow cover. Spring and fall bring more rain and occasionally strong thunderstorms that can spring up quickly and cause flash flooding of the Orankle and tributaries. Precipitation is heavier near and in the Thunder Peaks.
Iliad’s Crossing is an old town, almost as old as the cities to the east. Legend has it that it was founded by King Illian (then Prince Illian) as a fort in his new kingdom of Landewald (Lan-day-vald) some 900 years earlier. The fledgling kingdom was small compared to today’s realms, stretching from barely within the Thunder Peaks to the north and west, south to the confluence of the Orankle and White rivers, and east along the Old Road into the Druid Hills to Watchman’s Point. The kingdom attracted many settlers quickly as the rich farmland on the Orankle floodplain was now promised to be safe enough to farm. Soon scouts wandering the Thunder Peaks discovered rich veins of iron ore along the upper reaches of the Orankle River and its tributaries sponsoring a new rush of settlers including a clan of dwarves looking to start their own kingdom under the mountains.
Illian’s Crossing swelled to nearly five thousand residents within 20 years of its founding. It was more than twice the size of the kingdoms capital nestled in the foothills of the Thunder Peaks to the north. The town had quickly grown beyond the earthen and wooden walls of the fort and now sprawled along the west bank of the river along the roads coming from the north and south and along the Old Road heading west.
This prosperity was not to last. In 370 the first of the Orc Wars began as hordes of the humanoid beasts streamed through the Thunder Peaks from the wastes to the north. King Illian and his eldest son Prince Aeneas along with a small company were out hunting when the first of the hordes descended into the tiny kingdom and were never heard from again. The capital Stadtwald and the Red Castle was quickly besieged and fell within days, Queen Arna barely escaping with the young Prince Gawain and Princess Marie to Illian’s Crossing.
For three months the fort at Illian’s crossing was besieged by the orc hordes, with the citizens unable to break out, but the hordes were unable or unwilling to spend the energy make a major attempt to storm the walls. Indeed, most of the hordes crossed the river around the town and preferred to head south and east pilling easier and richer lands beyond. Eventually word of the orc hordes and the override of Illian’s kingdom of Landewald reached Queen Arna’s cousin, Prince Ian, in the great city of Bistritz. He quickly organized a rescue attempt of two thousand mounted men and rode west to save his cousin and the city. Although they were badly outnumbered as they traveled through the lands terrorized by the hordes, they encountered only small groups of resistance. By the time they reached the town, the hordes had inexplicably retreated for the most part back beyond the peaks.
Although Illian’s Crossing was saved, most of the population of the new kingdom was not. The Red Castle was never rebuilt as Illian’s family stayed at the crossing and rebuilt the forts walls, this time of stone, and extended the ring around the town. Growth came slow for Landewald with less families willing to risk moving so close to the Thunder Peaks and increased taxes due to the need to build and pay for increased protection. But after a couple generations people became less concerned about the threats of the orc hoards to the north and more interested in the fertile grounds and rich iron ore deposits.
Illian’s Crossing remained the most important town in the region and Illian’s descendants continued to rule the surrounding area from the keep built on top of the old fort. Prince Gawain took the title of King when he came of age though in practice he only ruled over the town of Illian’s Crossing and the surrounding countryside west of the Orankle. The fledgling kingdom of Landewald never turned into much more, and people now most people refer to the area by the name of its only major city, Illian’s Crossing.
In 490, 120 years to the day since the First Orc War, the Second Orc War began. As with the first war, the orcs’ and their minions way outnumbered the residents of the kingdom. The new outlying garrisons were overrun, though they got word out in time so that most families were able to quickly seek shelter within Illian’s Crossing. Again the hordes mostly went around the city and the half hearted siege lasted three months before the hordes inexplicable returned back beyond the peaks. After the incursion, the people rebuilt and improved the defenses in the area, and after a couple generations, were as prosperous as before the war.
This cycle continued for the next 600 years as three more times the orc hordes descended through the Thunder Peak passes (645, 832, and 1022) and pillaged the lands to the south. Each time the walls of Illian’s Crossing held until the hordes retreated back to the wastes. The last orc war, or the Great Orc War, lasted almost a full year until an army from Bistritzia liberated the town from lingering remainders of the horde. Since then, Landewald has been a suzerainty of Bistritzia, though the King of Illian’s Crossing has complete control in all but foreign matters.
Today the City of Illian’s Crossing is thriving with 4,000 residents living within the city half of which have residences within the stone walls. A second earthen wood wall is currently under construction around the outer city and is mostly complete. Another 5,000 live in dozens of small hamlets within two days ride of Illian’s Crossing and would come to the town for protection in the case of war. The people of the outlying hamlets are totally dependent on many of the goods sold in Illian’s Crossing and visit frequently. During the height of the summer the daytime population swells in the town by an additional two thousand people who come in to sell or buy goods.
The town currently garrisons 900 men of the town guard who regularly patrol the trade routes and the Orankle River. Another 2,000 men of the town guard live in scattered outposts around the north and western portions of Landewald primarily as lookouts for orcish incursions. This large population to military ratio is a large burden, but is paid for almost exclusively by export taxes. The guard is the responsibility of the prince himself, who takes pride in its readiness and effectiveness. It is led usually by member of the ruling house, as is the case now by the strong and intelligent heir, Prince Labraid Lord Captain Commander of the Guard. Under him is the more experienced Lord Captain Ulster.
Most guardsmen are equipped with studded leather, a small wooden shield, a short bow, and a spear and are trained in it use. The guard also values people who are spell casters or trained in alternative forms of fighting and attempt to make the most out of such assets.
The guard is broken down into lances of 6-12 men led by a sergeant. 4-6 lances make a platoon led by a lieutenant. Five platoons make a banner led by a commander. Each strategic interest is led by a Captain which may have one or more banners. All officers who are of noble birth also have the title of Lord and outrank those of the same level, but not above. So a Lord Commander ranks above a Commander, but not above a commoner Captain.
Illian’s Crossing levies taxes on all trade items passing through to support the garrisons and forts needed to keep the area secure. Tax collectors measure goods wanting to pass across the Orankle River and collect fees. These are the only taxes in Landewald (Illian’s Crossing has additional civic taxes) and hence make tax collection easy for the small kingdom. The taxes are high, though the bountiful cropland and rich ore deposits still make it worthwhile. The drawback to the high taxes on exports is that it has created a small but profitable smuggling industry that risks moving goods across the Orankle at other locations other than Illian’s Crossing. To prevent this, the city garrison patrols the west bank of the river regularly, especially during the late summer and early fall when the river level is at its lowest.
All residents of the vale who are strong enough to fight are required to be part of the militia and undergo two weeks of training each year. Experienced town guardsmen perform the training as part of their normal duty. The prince maintains an arsenal for the militia of 2,000 spears, 1,000 short bows with a full quiver of 20 arrows for each one, and a couple dozen swords of various types. Militia members coming for training are encouraged to bring their own weapons, armor, and horses if they possess them and are trained with their use.
The population of Illian’s Crossing is has a large middle class primarily made up of human merchants providing supplies to the mining and farming communities who come from all parts of Landewald to trade. Wealthier trade houses make up the majority of the aristocracy with the descendants of Illian whose wealth comes solely from taking a small percentage of the export taxes are the ruling elite. Poverty is low as the economy is thriving and those who refuse to work tend to migrate east and south to better climates. Lately a dramatic increase in mental illness has resulted in many more homeless individuals and is becoming a problem.
Non-humans make up a very small percentage of the residents of Illian’s Crossing, but frequently pass through the town. Elves frequently use the ford at Illian’s Crossing on their way to their woods to the west beyond the thunder peaks. Usually they will camp outside the city while one of them enters to buy supplies. The Dwarven populating consists of five large families that solely produce masterwork weapons, armor, and exotic metalwork items. Gnomes actively trade within the town, primarily selling and buying jewelry and gems, but one family actually runs a business making clocks and employees mostly humans in that endeavor. Halflings are rare despite the closeness of their lands to the south of the Druid Hills, there are just no good roads through the hills going south and no reason for a risky and slow overland route. Orcs and half-orcs are actively discriminated against.
Weather is temperate with two rainy seasons in the spring and fall. Summers tend to be drier with a continental climate that allows high temperature to reach over 100. Winters are also a bit drier with lows in the teens, though temperatures rarely stay below freezing long enough for prolonged snow cover. Spring and fall bring more rain and occasionally strong thunderstorms that can spring up quickly and cause flash flooding of the Orankle and tributaries. Precipitation is heavier near and in the Thunder Peaks.
Iliad’s Crossing is an old town, almost as old as the cities to the east. Legend has it that it was founded by King Illian (then Prince Illian) as a fort in his new kingdom of Landewald (Lan-day-vald) some 900 years earlier. The fledgling kingdom was small compared to today’s realms, stretching from barely within the Thunder Peaks to the north and west, south to the confluence of the Orankle and White rivers, and east along the Old Road into the Druid Hills to Watchman’s Point. The kingdom attracted many settlers quickly as the rich farmland on the Orankle floodplain was now promised to be safe enough to farm. Soon scouts wandering the Thunder Peaks discovered rich veins of iron ore along the upper reaches of the Orankle River and its tributaries sponsoring a new rush of settlers including a clan of dwarves looking to start their own kingdom under the mountains.
Illian’s Crossing swelled to nearly five thousand residents within 20 years of its founding. It was more than twice the size of the kingdoms capital nestled in the foothills of the Thunder Peaks to the north. The town had quickly grown beyond the earthen and wooden walls of the fort and now sprawled along the west bank of the river along the roads coming from the north and south and along the Old Road heading west.
This prosperity was not to last. In 370 the first of the Orc Wars began as hordes of the humanoid beasts streamed through the Thunder Peaks from the wastes to the north. King Illian and his eldest son Prince Aeneas along with a small company were out hunting when the first of the hordes descended into the tiny kingdom and were never heard from again. The capital Stadtwald and the Red Castle was quickly besieged and fell within days, Queen Arna barely escaping with the young Prince Gawain and Princess Marie to Illian’s Crossing.
For three months the fort at Illian’s crossing was besieged by the orc hordes, with the citizens unable to break out, but the hordes were unable or unwilling to spend the energy make a major attempt to storm the walls. Indeed, most of the hordes crossed the river around the town and preferred to head south and east pilling easier and richer lands beyond. Eventually word of the orc hordes and the override of Illian’s kingdom of Landewald reached Queen Arna’s cousin, Prince Ian, in the great city of Bistritz. He quickly organized a rescue attempt of two thousand mounted men and rode west to save his cousin and the city. Although they were badly outnumbered as they traveled through the lands terrorized by the hordes, they encountered only small groups of resistance. By the time they reached the town, the hordes had inexplicably retreated for the most part back beyond the peaks.
Although Illian’s Crossing was saved, most of the population of the new kingdom was not. The Red Castle was never rebuilt as Illian’s family stayed at the crossing and rebuilt the forts walls, this time of stone, and extended the ring around the town. Growth came slow for Landewald with less families willing to risk moving so close to the Thunder Peaks and increased taxes due to the need to build and pay for increased protection. But after a couple generations people became less concerned about the threats of the orc hoards to the north and more interested in the fertile grounds and rich iron ore deposits.
Illian’s Crossing remained the most important town in the region and Illian’s descendants continued to rule the surrounding area from the keep built on top of the old fort. Prince Gawain took the title of King when he came of age though in practice he only ruled over the town of Illian’s Crossing and the surrounding countryside west of the Orankle. The fledgling kingdom of Landewald never turned into much more, and people now most people refer to the area by the name of its only major city, Illian’s Crossing.
In 490, 120 years to the day since the First Orc War, the Second Orc War began. As with the first war, the orcs’ and their minions way outnumbered the residents of the kingdom. The new outlying garrisons were overrun, though they got word out in time so that most families were able to quickly seek shelter within Illian’s Crossing. Again the hordes mostly went around the city and the half hearted siege lasted three months before the hordes inexplicable returned back beyond the peaks. After the incursion, the people rebuilt and improved the defenses in the area, and after a couple generations, were as prosperous as before the war.
This cycle continued for the next 600 years as three more times the orc hordes descended through the Thunder Peak passes (645, 832, and 1022) and pillaged the lands to the south. Each time the walls of Illian’s Crossing held until the hordes retreated back to the wastes. The last orc war, or the Great Orc War, lasted almost a full year until an army from Bistritzia liberated the town from lingering remainders of the horde. Since then, Landewald has been a suzerainty of Bistritzia, though the King of Illian’s Crossing has complete control in all but foreign matters.
Today the City of Illian’s Crossing is thriving with 4,000 residents living within the city half of which have residences within the stone walls. A second earthen wood wall is currently under construction around the outer city and is mostly complete. Another 5,000 live in dozens of small hamlets within two days ride of Illian’s Crossing and would come to the town for protection in the case of war. The people of the outlying hamlets are totally dependent on many of the goods sold in Illian’s Crossing and visit frequently. During the height of the summer the daytime population swells in the town by an additional two thousand people who come in to sell or buy goods.
The town currently garrisons 900 men of the town guard who regularly patrol the trade routes and the Orankle River. Another 2,000 men of the town guard live in scattered outposts around the north and western portions of Landewald primarily as lookouts for orcish incursions. This large population to military ratio is a large burden, but is paid for almost exclusively by export taxes. The guard is the responsibility of the prince himself, who takes pride in its readiness and effectiveness. It is led usually by member of the ruling house, as is the case now by the strong and intelligent heir, Prince Labraid Lord Captain Commander of the Guard. Under him is the more experienced Lord Captain Ulster.
Most guardsmen are equipped with studded leather, a small wooden shield, a short bow, and a spear and are trained in it use. The guard also values people who are spell casters or trained in alternative forms of fighting and attempt to make the most out of such assets.
The guard is broken down into lances of 6-12 men led by a sergeant. 4-6 lances make a platoon led by a lieutenant. Five platoons make a banner led by a commander. Each strategic interest is led by a Captain which may have one or more banners. All officers who are of noble birth also have the title of Lord and outrank those of the same level, but not above. So a Lord Commander ranks above a Commander, but not above a commoner Captain.
Illian’s Crossing levies taxes on all trade items passing through to support the garrisons and forts needed to keep the area secure. Tax collectors measure goods wanting to pass across the Orankle River and collect fees. These are the only taxes in Landewald (Illian’s Crossing has additional civic taxes) and hence make tax collection easy for the small kingdom. The taxes are high, though the bountiful cropland and rich ore deposits still make it worthwhile. The drawback to the high taxes on exports is that it has created a small but profitable smuggling industry that risks moving goods across the Orankle at other locations other than Illian’s Crossing. To prevent this, the city garrison patrols the west bank of the river regularly, especially during the late summer and early fall when the river level is at its lowest.
All residents of the vale who are strong enough to fight are required to be part of the militia and undergo two weeks of training each year. Experienced town guardsmen perform the training as part of their normal duty. The prince maintains an arsenal for the militia of 2,000 spears, 1,000 short bows with a full quiver of 20 arrows for each one, and a couple dozen swords of various types. Militia members coming for training are encouraged to bring their own weapons, armor, and horses if they possess them and are trained with their use.
The population of Illian’s Crossing is has a large middle class primarily made up of human merchants providing supplies to the mining and farming communities who come from all parts of Landewald to trade. Wealthier trade houses make up the majority of the aristocracy with the descendants of Illian whose wealth comes solely from taking a small percentage of the export taxes are the ruling elite. Poverty is low as the economy is thriving and those who refuse to work tend to migrate east and south to better climates. Lately a dramatic increase in mental illness has resulted in many more homeless individuals and is becoming a problem.
Non-humans make up a very small percentage of the residents of Illian’s Crossing, but frequently pass through the town. Elves frequently use the ford at Illian’s Crossing on their way to their woods to the west beyond the thunder peaks. Usually they will camp outside the city while one of them enters to buy supplies. The Dwarven populating consists of five large families that solely produce masterwork weapons, armor, and exotic metalwork items. Gnomes actively trade within the town, primarily selling and buying jewelry and gems, but one family actually runs a business making clocks and employees mostly humans in that endeavor. Halflings are rare despite the closeness of their lands to the south of the Druid Hills, there are just no good roads through the hills going south and no reason for a risky and slow overland route. Orcs and half-orcs are actively discriminated against.
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