Alùrin

The Old Lands

The southern coast of the Nyr Alùrin has been inhabited by Yrūn for millennia. The earliest known Yrūn inhabitants were the Iksàris “spirit people” (rf. Sugòrom). The name of the province, Alùrin, was once applied to the entire region.

The Shalvàsal Road winds south from the capital city in Elàrwið. The road passes through four distinct regions: the farmlands of Alùrin, the Kardāyn Drūden, the rocky Tor’n Muran, and the Shalvàsal Coast. Travelers along this road travel by foot, horseback and carriage. Throughout Alùrin, the high road is kept in good repair. Through much of the farmland and low-lying marshes of the Alùrin, the road is built higher and sometimes crossed with logs in the corduroy style. The closer one is to the capital city, the more commonly one finds the ancient Dekàli stone slabs which mark the Empire’s ancient roads. It is common to find cobblestones near and about most towns along the road. The countryside of the Alùrin is mostly pastoral, with small woods and wide-ranging marshes the closer one gets to the Tor’n Muran. Stone piled fences divide the rolling green hills, broken occasionally by the wide grin of a carved stone from times long passed (rf. Iksàris). At every stream crossing there is either a small village or a road leading off to hidden hamlet. Despite the hills, villages are easy to spot by the climbing smoky tendrils from round stone chimneys. Although there are dozens of towns and villages along this route, the most notable are Naddal, Kirdèwym, Ston and Teshal.

Cities, Towns, and Villages

  • City of Shalvàsal
  • Town of Caldāeð
  • Town of Elzìrið
  • Town of Harmor
  • Town of Kirdèwyn. Kirdèwyn is a quiet town east of Naddal, along the Shalvàsal Road. A tower of some kind once rose from the town, but it has since collapsed and its stones have been salvaged for other buildings within the village. Only the round foundations (Dwürden) of the tower remain. Though this area is south of the Dwürden kingdom Nurumwar Gurm, it is believed that it served as an outpost or lighthouse to watch ships moving along the coast. Additional evidence of Dwürden living in this area are a number of ancient mines that are uncovered from time to time in the surrounding hills. The mines are deep and narrow and thought to serve little purpose in this Age except to breed monsters. For this reason, when mine entrances are found the town rallies to seal the openings.
  • Town of Naddal. Naddal is a largish town, two hours outside the city of Taldàna along the Shalvàsal Road. The town circles an old domed temple of Dalāsya. Only half the dome remains, though all the columns that once supported it remain standing in a perfect circle. The town is of some importance to the faith because it is the birthplace of Admìra (II) the Fair, a high priestess of Dalāsya who traveled to Lanàdus to be wedded to the disfigured High King Arsìðir in 723 HK. The legends of Admira tell of how she dutifully attended to her husband despite his monstrous appearance. Arsìðir refused to let anyone look upon him except his wife, who was brought to tears whenever he lowered his veil. Upon his death in 734 HK, Admira fashioned for him a mask that he might be presented to his peers and receive their final respects. Renown for her artistic skills, the Mask of Arsìðir was proclaimed to be the most beautiful face any had beheld. High King Arsìðir and his death mask were buried beneath Kryr Trèmendūm, while his wife returned for a short while to her home at Naddal where she lived for some few years and then died. Her bones remain buried beneath the temple devoted to her.
  • Town of Ongam
  • Town of Kezylen
  • Town of Laíðaràn
  • Town of Soráldor
  • Town of Stōn. Stōn is an inland town seated where a large stream from the Tor’n Muran and the Shalvàsal Road converge. Surrounded by marshland for miles, the roads to and from Stōn are mostly earthen-works and log bridges. Much effort is spent each year repairing the roads and bridges (especially after storm season). Other than some domestic fowl and deer, most people eat corū, a swamp bird. Children learn from early ages to be proficient with the slings that are used to kill the corū. A lucky child can feed his family for a night with one of the birds. Corū dive and catch snakes in the marshes, so children seeking the birds often catch snakes, tie strings to their tails and use them as bait. Otherwise this is an unremarkable town with a small inn that offers no private quarters.
  • Town of Teshal. Teshal is a small town with more shops and inns than are usual for a town of its size. The reason for this is that travelers heading south and north along the Shalvàsal Road often stop here to get provisions before pressing through the Kardāyn Drūden, or to rest following the hard push through the previous area (forest). For those entering the forest from here, there is a large wind spirit statue alongside the road that many travelers rub for luck. The statue appears to be a rounded (and polished from rubbing) rabbit-bird with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. When the wind blows across the mouth, the statue gives off a hollow sound. Teshal offers a small stone and timber shrine to Amra, three inns, and numerous little shops. The shops here thrive off merchants who are trying to lessen their loads for cheap before attempting to make the run through the forest. All inhabitants of the town encourage this by telling awful tales of the horrors that lurk in the forest. Some of the tales are true, but many are not. The more travelers that fear the forest, the longer they stay in Teshal.
  • Village of Karsæn. Karsæn is small village in an old clearing of the Kardāyn Drūden. Not a village in the classic sense, Karsæn is a lumbering town which cuts and hauls precious old woods from the forest’s ancient heart. Many of the artisans of Taldàna are very demanding in the woods they use to create their masterpieces and choose carefully the trees and logs they work with. Apart from wood imported from Kændal and distant Panæð, these are the choicest pieces along the northern coasts (keeping in mind that these workmen have never heard of the Oðári Nar Drūden). Despite the overgrown spirit carving here and there, the Kardāyn Drūden is bereft of good spirits, having fled the ancient trees long ago. The people of Karsæn sometimes speak of the Dark Heart (Ardìn Durgor) from where the Evil crawls. This same Evil is what twists the trees of the Kardāyn into their creepy, unsettling shapes. Some artists refuse to work with the wood from this place as they claim it carries a taint. Most serious artists work with it regardless. The priests of Taldàna have been explored the forest before, but have never found the Ardìn Durgor, and though they admit to a preponderance of evil spirits they do not support the idea of the heart. There are no inns at Karsæn and travelers are encouraged to water their horses and continue through the forest with all speed.
  • Village of Riddin. An abandoned village in the Kardāyn Drūden.
  • Village of Toram. An abandoned village of the Kardāyn Drūden.

Landmarks

  • Horn of Caldàeð
  • Nyr Alùrin
  • Shalvàsal Coast
  • Tor’n Emràdor
  • Tor’n Muran

People

History

Nomenclature: Alurin Dekàlic: Alùrin (place), Alùrini (pertaining to), Alùrinyn (resident), Alùrinyr (people), Alùrinic (dialect)