Thawgwîn (Rotten Wine)
Thawgwîn is the new name for the old Elven estate owned by Celebthîr. Prior to Kaegor the Greats conquests the reputation of Celebthîr was that of a decadent mage. His family estate was placed in a hollow and was called Mallendaeledu, golden canopy. It was renown for the balance and beauty of its design. Throughout the woods were numerous small secluded glades with decorative fountains and statutes. The branches of the trees were grown around quartz crystals in a design that refracted light everywhere providing subdued and colourful lighting. The manor itself was under four great oak trees whose branches had been intertwined over the peak of the manor.
Celebthîr cast numerous enchants to enhance Mallendaeledu beauty and make it a haven of luxury. The fountains were enchanted to produce an endless supply of wine and the sward was immaculately maintained to be as soft as any bed. The trees and bushes were always full of fruit and berries. With a quick word and gesture unseen servants could be called from the statues to fetch whatever you wanted. His parties became legendary and a guest could expect every desire to be met with slaves available to satisfy any unusual urges they had.
When Kaegor the Great marched east, the Elves called upon their nobles to make all of their resources available to the war effort. Celebthîr joined the Elven host with all of his slaves and companions thinking the war would be quickly won. He left his estate untended, but protected by a short term enchantment to hide it from any raiders. Everything did not go as planned with Celebthîr, his companions and his family never returning to their estates. Without maintenance the drains for the fountains became blocked and the endless supply of wine overflowed. Over the years it soaked the ground and eventually changed the estate into a shallow lake of wine. Although the wine out of the fountains still looks clear the rest has spoilt creating an awful smell. The fumes from the lake have been known to lay people unconscious before they have taken two steps into the wine.
Some of the other enchantments are still working causing the trees to survive this horrid environment. They bear fruits curiously misshapen and the branches have twisted into an awful mesh that seems to hold in the fumes. There are even signs of wild life further into the estate, but none can get a clear enough view through the fumes to see what it is. Just the distant shadows cast by unseen bodies, a sudden movement of branches, or some ripples in the wine show that this is not a lifeless estate. This rotten relic of an Elven estate has been renamed Thawgwîn, which translates to Rotten Wine in the common tongue. Although there are many legends of the wealth that might remain within the manor few try to retrieve it and those that do are either driven back by the fumes or never seen again. Perhaps they have succumbed to the fumes, fallen prey to the mysterious wildlife or fallen foul of an enchantment protecting the manor. None know for sure, but all agree that Thawgwîn is an awful monument to excess and decadence that is best avoided.
Copyright Winwick Pig Publications - Leigh & Ellard 2021
