VranDuchy
Description
Located north of Aethdale, lands that previously belonged to Vran Duke now lay mostly barren and abandoned. Most people have fled to Aethdale following civil war of succession of Year 948. Whatever communities that still exist in these lands are rugged, ungoverned, independent (and they like it that way). There is little reason to travel to former Duchy, as no major settlements exist in these lands, although rumors circulate that goblin or fey-folk communities have taken root among rubble of
townships that once were there.
Locations
Ruined Vran Estate
Seat of Vran Duke's power, 'The Roost' is a hollow shell of formally grand estate, now overgrown and quickly reclaimed by a forest. Estate saw heavy fighting during the civil war, and nothing of value remains on the grounds - aside from the gutted buildings themselves. Surprisingly, the orchard survives to this day in orderly rows of colorful fruit trees, an oasis in otherwise new-growth evergreen forest. 'The Roost' hides a secret that lay undisturbed until present day - an arcane laboratory underneath the mansion.
Twohills
Unremarkable village named after the two hills it lay in-between of, Twohills was abandoned wholly during civil war. Presently, goblins and hobgoblins had taken taken up residence in the mostly undamaged village.
Events
Year 948; Civil war of succession\\
Duke Ivar Vran had died childless in Year 948, leaving the duchy without an heir. Ivar's nephew and niece, Vikas Vran and Anastasya Vran, had both laid claim to the lands, sparking a brutal civil war. Conflict had extinguished the Vran family line entirely, and had laid waste to the duchy - during the war, most settlements were razed to the ground and land literally salted. People, looking to escape the fighting, had fled south, mostly to Aethdale, where remaining survivors of war and their descendants have stayed to this day.