The Lands of Warlderia

Roseguard

The Citadel of Roseguard was an ancient Elven city on the borders of Orc lands and fell soon after the start of the Higher Wars to the Orcs with the help of a human necromancer. The Orcs held the city for almost thirty years and filled it with slaves while the necromancer, Ulan Vast, added his creations in the old Scholar’s Quarter of the city.

The city in Elven hands was famous for its beauty built on the side of a hill with gardens of roses throughout the city itself, centred on the Library of Art, a many columned building of grandeur overlooking the port. When the Orcs held sway the gardens turned into a mass of thorns and the Library was filled with undead creatures and horrors.

Near the end of the Higher Wars a force of half-Elven knights landed in the port and freed the slaves during the day. The fighting in the city was fierce but when the half-Orc soldiers of the garrison changed sides the tide turned and the remaining Orcs fled. The Library still held out until a priestess of Mayaheine, LG god of protection, justice and valour, led a force of freed slaves inside. They slew Ulan Vast, who died promising that he would return from the dead and avenge himself on the city.

The city freed from Orc dominion fought off several attacks before word of Kaegor’s revolt came, the half-Elven knights and their half-Orc allies led several attacks against the nearby Orc holds freeing more slaves until the Kaegorian Army swept past the city destroying the Orcs hold on the area and sending them fleeing north. The grateful city converted the library to a temple to Mayaheine and asked that the knights who were almost all worshippers stay and rule the city. The priest of Mayahaine gratefully accepted the gift of the library but refused to rule the city she said that without the help of the half-Orc soldiers the city would still be held by the Orcs and that they should have a part in ruling the city.

Since that day the city has been ruled by the High Priest of Mayaheine and the Marshall of the Garrison, using the precepts of Mayaheine. The city has the largest half-elven population on Aeldaria and a strong half-Orc presence. The knights formed the Order of the Rose and built a castle near the port, which they use for their fleet of warships which patrols the sea in the area. These knights have traditionally bought their horses from Malchin but these days are more famous for their naval commanders than their cavalry. The Garrison moved their base from the city to the Red Tower in the hills and are renowned for their pikemen. The only real blot on an idyllic life of the city is the Isle of Hate to the cities south, 30 years ago when the fighting on the island stopped remnants of the armies fled bringing many wounded and desperate men to the shore near the city. Tales of legions of undead spread though out the city and the Knight of the Rose sent a mission to investigate, the few survivors confirmed the tales and the fleet has maintained a loose blockade of the island ever since.    

Roseguard    

Roseguard (Large City) – Alignment LG, Population 17,000 (60% Human, 30% Half-Elven, 10% Elven, 5% Half-orc, 5% mixed) Authority Figure: - Grand Master Urien Talastar (Half-Elven cleric)

The city of Roseguard stands on a hill overlooking the coast with a great harbour and high walls. The city itself is full of Elven architecture mixed with human and gardens dotted over the whole of the city. The gardens are mostly filled with roses which fill the air with their sent during the spring and early summer, the citizens of the city are proud of the beauty of their city and most help to maintain these gardens. Two buildings dominated the skyline of the city, the Temple of Mayaheine with its columned front and the Castle of the Order set beside the harbour. Since the Old Empire stopped trying to retake the Successor States the city has seen peace, this peace has brought prosperity. In the central market you can find goods from all over the continent and that to the south, bringing merchants from all over the world to buy and sell their goods.

Red Tower

Red Tower (Large Town)- Alignment LN, Population 3000 (40% Half-Orc, 40% Human, 10% Half-Elven, 5% Gnome, 5% mixed) Authority Figure: - Commander Ugulish Orish (Half-Orc, Fighter)

The Red Tower is the keep at the centre of the new town, which has grown up around it, once an Elven citadel against their enemies it has since become the home of the Garrison. The town supplies the soldiers with food and drink as well as bring the place where their families live; it spreads out on the sides of the hills below the Tower itself. The Garrison was originally made up of half-Orc slaves of their Orcish masters but has since welcomed humans and half-Elves into its ranks. The tower is made of reddish stone with roses climbing up its walls since there has not been a war in the area for over 100 years, the soldiers of the Garrison train daily but the only action they see is when they hire out in regiments to the other cities of the Successor States. Commander Orish is a powerfully built Half-orc in his late fifties with a respectable reputation and a professional atitiude. He has commander the Garrison for fifteen years since he returned from service in the army of Sanziberg, seeing that the Garrison was becoming stale and lacked actual he started hiring out regiments to other states and the quality of the soldiers has increased measurably.

Castle Blanc

Castle Blanc (Small Town): - Alignment NG, Population 900, (60% Human, 25% Half-elven, 10% Elven, 5% mixed) Authority Figure: - Danyal Silverfoot (Half-elf, Ranger)

Castle Blanc is one of the newest towns in the southern Successor States, it sits below the cliff on which the fortress stands and is inhabited by fishermen and foresters. The fortress of Castle Blanc was built after the liberation of Roseguard from the Orcs by the Orcs with the intention of using it as a stepping stone to the re-conquest of the city. It was built quickly by an Orc shaman using powerful artefacts to cause the walls to be shaped from the local stone, this stone is a light shade of grey and so when Kaegor cleared out the tower it was names the White Castle and then Castle Blanc. The fortress was garrisoned soon after its fall by half-Elven elements of the city with the intention of balancing the half-orc garrison in the Red Tower, in case they made an attempt to conquer the city. The initial mistrust has long since vanished and the Castle has become another strong point defending the city, but since the founding of Casterton the need for defence has been lessened. The newest commander of the Castle is the daughter of one of the Knights of the Rose and a talented ranger, she has trained the small garrison as rangers so that they can keep a watch on their neighbours and the Necropolis to the north.

Illustration: From The Battle for Wesnoth (http://www.wesnoth.org/) used under General Public License