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Origins
Places: The Shivercoast
The Shivercoast is the southernmost nation on the continent of Known Achen, the closest to Pryssenda and consequently the one where most elven ships seek a harbor after their month-long trip through storms, freezing weather and sea-monsters. No other Achenian nation has more half-elves, but it has surprisingly few elven citizens, since they tend to seek north, away from it's cold climate. For the most part, if an elf has left Pryssenda, he never wants to see another snowflake again.
Fishing, trading with elves and producing very prized mercenaries seems to make up the majority of the tiny nation's remarkable traits. It's mercenaries tend to be known as Shiverblades, and they have their own guild. Two Shiverblades will never fight each other on a field of battle, and any leader who tries to command them to do so will soon find himself lacking some of his best soldiers.
What formal government exists along the Shivercoast tends to vary from city to city, rather than having any sort of central location, though the various lords will confer on matters of great import and stand together if a threat warrants it. Since this nation has little that the others seek, it has neither any particularly great enemies or allies, with the possible exception of Pur-Bien and Angor's Haven. The last great war before the current period of peace involved Pur-Bien attempting to march through Angor's Haven to reach Rhost, but Angorian spies had advance warning of this and they hired a vast army of Shiverblades to defend their realm.
While it is several decades ago, Angorians still remember that the brave men of the Shivercoast saved them, even if not for free, and the lords of Pur-Bien have yet to forget who stopped their last bid for power.
The terrain of this small, frosty nation, which often lies covered in snow over half the year, tends towards the rocky, with the vegetation mostly consisting of pine trees and thorny things. Without importing food from Rhost, the Shivercoast would starve, since they have no reliable farmland.
Notable people in the area include the pirates of Nathanial "Icebeard" Eiriksson, who, despite raiding up and down the Shivercoast, as well as several neighbouring nations for over five years, have yet to be caught. Supposedly they have some frozen crag where they make port well off the coast, but neither scriers or sea captains have been able to find it.
Edited content added beyond this point by request
Jan Volfsfang is another noteworthy person, the currently leader of the Shiverblades and an extremely capable warrior. Supposedly he single-handedly slew the last Remorhaz ice beast that dwelled along the Shivercoast. Rumour has it that he has sent a band of Shiverblades to investigate the portal, but not as paid mercenaries of any other faction, simply for the sake of the Shiverblades themselves.
All of the Shivercoast's borders are to the north and west. South and east there is only icy sea. Immediately to the west lies the bleak nation of Kasdek, directly to the north lies the orc-filled kingdom of Southmarch and northeast lies the dangerous no man's land called the Shadowfel Forest, the last truly wild region of Known Achen.
The portal appeared west and centrally in the continent, within the borders of Angor's Haven. The fastest route there from the Shivercoast would be through Southmarch or Kasdek, then further north through the massive nation of Rhost. By foot it would probably be several weeks of hard marching assuming that the weather was good, on a fast horse, half that. Of course, the cold weather along the Shivercoast and the neighbouring lands can easily bog down any expedition or traveller before they get far.
[ 01-11-2007, 07:28 AM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]
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