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Circles

Sota’s Gate

Diverse fishing community at a pass through the Barrier Islands. Overlooked by a fort and an unused lighthouse.

Bastien the Watcher*, Reema the old fisher, Temir the Watcher

Home. One of the first landings in the Ironlands for those fleeing the Old World. A fort and lighthouse were quickly erected to guide ships in, through the Barrier Islands to the mainland…and later, to watch the seas for any sign that the Skulde had followed. Eventually the arrivals slowed to a trickle, from fleets to single wary longships full of desperate refugees. Then they stopped. That was two generations ago and before my time though. I’ve always known the Gate as a fishing community. The Watchers still maintain the fort but I don’t’ recall the lighthouse ever having been lit. A struggling fishing community with an empty fort which the circle sometimes retreats to when a the watchers sight sea raiders or other terrors.

Stoneharbor

Abundant fishing and trade port on the Ragged Coast.

Shona the Healer

I know…Stoneharbor? It sounds silly. Clearly a joke but the fact that they kept the name might reflect on the kind of people that still reside here. Either profoundly silly or profoundly oblivious, guess we’ll find out. One of the first landings on the mainland, named after a giant stone that jutted into the water at the head of a safe fjord. The first ships, the large ones that were built for war, were able to unload alongside the giant rock without shoring the ship, making it an ideal first outpost in the dangerous new land in case a quick escape was needed. A community quickly grew around this first landing and though it has been generations since the last ships arrived from the Old World, Stoneharbor has been able to relatively thrive as a safer waypoint for the ships that travel up and down the Ragged Coast.

Lowspring

Island fishing village, protected by small harbor

Before leaving for Autmunrush, this was the farthest east I had ever traveled.

Brokefall

Tightly packed port within a withered tall ancient wooden palisade.

Nazmi the Overseer, Gethin the carpenter

This was where our ancestors first met the Broken. Its natural harbor made an ideal landing for the first ships exploring the coast. Abundant lumber and calm fishing waters tricked them into believing this was paradise. Then the Broken attacked, murdering most and driving the few survivors back to the sea. Eventually the survivors returned, with aid from more recently arrived refugees. They took back the harbor, rebuilt, and waged the first brutal war in this new land, eventually driving the Broken north into the Deep Wilds. The ancient withered palisade from the first war still stands, though patched and maintained. The houses and hovels are tightly packed within the palisade’s walls as if they had been afraid to expand outside them in the generations since the Broken were driven away.

Galehope

A small village on the mouth of fjord. A few dozen small buildings and an ancient but well maintained dock. Welcoming to travelers and surprisingly well stocked for trade on account of proximity to Autumnrush.

Autumnrush

A thriving port at the foot of the Ragged Coast serving as a trade hub with the coastal and Haven communities. Strange and contested.

Bustling, especially during the fall when the Havens are trading and provisioning for winter. After the coast had been explored and the Havens discovered, I guess it only makes sense that Autumnrush would have become the final landing for many of the ships that fled the Old World. Since then, it has served as the primary trade and travel hub between the Havens and coastal circles for those unwilling to disappear forever in the untamed Deep Wilds. They say this is where the first Pillars were discovered and most that have never been here will at least be familiar with the stories of political intrigue between the rival clans and merchants that vie for dominance over this important port.

Cera’s Grounds – The largest longhouse of all, wielding all of the abundance of the Havens. Cera, the Daughter of Longbridge guides her clan’s interests from these northern outskirts.

The Docks – Merchants from up and down the Ragged Coast bringing their goods to market.

The Grain Market – Bustle and trade. Leisure and games.

The Hovels – Shacks and gardens.

Mouth’s Watch – An island fortress at the mouth of the fjord built in fear that the Skulde might follow from the Old World. Generations abandoned and only recently occupied by agents of the Western Reach.

The Overlook – Longhouses and old families, descendants of the port’s first landers.

Pillar Hill – The Twin Pillars, avoided as the city expanded. No occupied by the camps of the rival factions of Iron Priests, in tenuous peace as they compete for proximity to the ancient Pillars.

The River Bas – Safe and easy passage for goods to and from the Havens.

Sayer’s Lumber Camp – Stacked logs and the skeletons of new ships. Sayer the Shipbuilder’s workcamp.

Torren’s Square – Artisan workshops encircling a large dusty field.

The Western Wall – An eroded earthwork built after the first landings, after the Broken and the First War.

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Sites

The Broken Fjord

A deep fjord long abandoned from settlement attempts as each previous circle that has attempted to settle there has faced some sort of existential disaster. Considered cursed.

The Desolate Beacon

A Pillar, tall and smooth, rising above the plateau of a horrible hollow island on the southern edge of the Barrier.

The darkest of darks and brightest of brights. This is indeed a place of power, dangerous power with dangerous guardians. We delved into the dark and light and returned with Kodroth the Bitter’s journal. Hopefully it’s secrets were worth Kaivana’s great sacrifice.

Spotter’s Peak

Smaller island with a clear view of the surrounding seas at the top.

The Piercing Swan camped here for a day after a desperate sea battle against Haf and two raider longships off the southeastern shore.

Broken Isles

Long island with numerous smaller cliffed isles and rocks to north. Precarious northern winds and dangerous to navigate.

We were almost dashed to pieces amongst the rocks. I was shaken by the power and cruelty of the Gods.