Morhurst. It is a country nestled on the southern part of the
continent Higalia. The large and only known landmass of the world
with varying degrees of life in every way. From the denizens that
build cities on its soil, to the beasts that roam the wilds and
waters of it. The weather changes with the seasons but sometimes
mother nature loves to torment or uplift the souls of Morhurst from
time to time. This is one of those seasons for torment.
The year the
weather had been particularly cruel to the people and beasts of
Morhurst. The rains came too early in the spring which meant most of
the crops did rather poorly during the summer months. Now that mid
fall had come upon the continent, both denizen and beast vied for
food in some of the less fortunate areas. Areas such as Oakdale did
not worry of such trivial matters but near the Koguran Forest and
closer to the eastern coasts, food carts were attacked daily by thugs
and would be thieves more frequently. Recent activity by raiders and
the true thieves had increased by ten fold, such as: robbery,
kidnapping, caravan heists and even some raids on smaller,
unprotected villages. To add salt to the wound, some of the more
docile beasts of the wilds had become more ferocious towards the
denizens of Morhurst. Standing defiant as they charged at anything
they perceived as a threat. A very strange manner for them. Worst
still, the generally aggressive beasts had become particularly
undaunted and had mounted assaults on armed guards of transports or
even tried to get into some of the fringe towns to scavenge for food
on more than one occasion. This wasn't their normal behavior for
sure. Many people suspected that the reasoning for this was because
there could very well be an incredibly harsh winter coming. One that
would most certainly test all of the people of
Morhurst.
Some of the towns were decently prepared for such things but there
were still some that were not. The ones that were not prepared had
recently been buying foodstuffs left and right until suppliers went
dry. Not only that but many of the towns had been buying surplus
trade goods and materials for trade crafts.. Things like Iron Wood to
help patch and make homes. Stone to help build walls and to reinforce
their buildings. Metal ores for weapons and armor along with
anything else they could get a hold of. The towns that already had
plenty of these items were more than happy to lend some of their
materials and foodstuffs, for the right amount of coin anyway. One of
these towns that possessed such staples was the town of Aelkeep. It
sat nestled in a circular clearing towards the southern tip of the
dense Koguran Forest and even though it was near such as a place, it
was still a prime trading hub for towns that surrounded them on all
sides. Though they may have been miles apart, it did not stop the
merchants from coming through Aelkeep on more than one occasion. Many
of the merchants looking for financial gain and adventure called it
home along with many so called “adventurers” looking to make a
name for themselves.
This town provided it's people with luxuries that were not normally
found in most towns on Morhurst but since Aelkeep was one of the
larger cities, it was more than able to provide for them. Aelkeep
boasted one of the most eclectic gathering of guilds in Morhurst.
There were fifteen official guilds that were noted though that didn't
mean some weren't official. These guilds consisted of: the smithing
guild, bone workers guild, hunters guild, leather workers guild, wood
workers guild, alchemist guild, beast tamers guild, agriculturists
guild, jewelers guild, miners guild, treasure hunters guild, fighters
guild, mages guild, tailors guild, and last but certainly not the
least the cooking guild. Some of these guilds got along quite well
with one another while others developed fierce rivalries. There were
also many shops to be found that not only bought and sold products to
the guilds but to many of the people who came through and called
Aelkeep home. The city also contained two of the most well known
taverns in the central region of Morhurst. Famous for the latest
gossip swirling around the back alleys and through loose lips. Tall
tales of woven adventure, written with the sword and magic ink and
knock down, drag out bar fights that ended in the brawlers either
drinking each other under the tables or someone visiting the local
dentist the next morning to fix a mouth full of teeth that had been
knocked loose or out. Setting all of these things aside though, for
the people of Aelkeep and its visitors, life was good.
The sun had just began to rise over the shores to the eastern
coasts and slowly made its way towards the central forests. Though it
had to pierce through the thick clouds and through the even thicker
Koguran Forest trees, beams of light penetrated through the canopies
that stretched out as far as they could until they reached the
clearing of the farmland that the people of Aelkeep had made and
called home. Many of the farmers days had already began long before
the sun made her morning rounds. Most of the harvesters were either
coming from or going to their gardening flats or other locations that
were scattered across the farmlands. Though the air was cold and had
a rather nasty bite to it, that did not stop the people of Aelkeep
from working hard. If anything, it gave them the drive to work more
efficiently so they could get out of the cold quicker. New and
familiar faces started to funnel in and out of the city like they did
every day. Mercenaries looking for work, merchants looking to trade
their wares and adventurers looking to make a name for themselves.
One of these new faces was a young mage named Graven, who had just
recently made his trip from his desecrated home town. A sad story for
most people, though it might be told differently if you were to ask
him about it.
He came walking through the farmlands without a care to them in the
world. He looked at the farmsteads and remembered his childhood for a
moment, giving a low “ugh” in disgust. Though this did not keep
him. The only thing that was on his mind at the moment was getting
into the town and fulfilling his desires, that was until his stomach
started to growl. He hadn't eaten anything in the past two days and
he was about to collapse from the pains of his hunger. "Magics
of the world. They can heal the fallen in battle, burn flesh from the
bone and sunder a man's mind to the edge of oblivion but they can't
quell the pains of an empty stomach." Graven looked around for a
moment and took a big whiff of the air and his stomach growled even
more. He could smell all of the variety of things already being
cooked by the street vendors for the hungry people of Aelkeep. "No
doubt that wonderful aroma will be coming from the market district.
Perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone and feed my stomach while
I hopefully feed my mind the food it so desires. Hopefully this
doesn't give my mind and body indigestion from the backwoods nature
of this town." Graven continued on his weary way towards the
city. Though one thing was strange for Aelkeep as the walls were very
short for this town. Though they did have the troubling wildlife on
occasion and the random groups of raiders that would try their best
to raid the town and fail miserably thanks to the the residents,
certain guild members and fairly well trained armed guards, the
people never really thought they would have a need for such things as
better fortifications. "A city should always have large, sturdy
walls, no matter how well off they are. It's as if they want a giant
wyrm to come crashing through here and devour them all like
livestock. Though who am I to complain.” Graven neared the fairly
vacant stone entrance of the city and was stopped by what appeared to
be an old beggar woman, cloaked all in black and covered in what
Graven hoped was just mud. "Excuse me weary traveler. Could I
beg for a moment of your time?" Graven looked at the old woman
in disgust of her complexion. Her face riddled with what looked like
a disease that had never been cured. "What do you want you old
hag?" snapped Graven. The old woman smiled and cackled for a
moment. "Oh ho, a feisty one I've caught today. I knew I felt a
dark aura pulsing from within the flowing people today. Though I did
not expect it in one so young. My dear, I am a soothsayer. I give-"
Graven cut her off before she could finish. "I know what a
soothsayer is and let me guess, you want to read my fortune in
exchange for some Koriya am I right?" The soothsayer cackled
some more and smiled at Graven. "I don't care for the coinage of
the Empire my dear. Never really did me much good anyway. No, I wish
to give you your fortune so that I may see what the future may hold
for you."
Graven thought to himself for a moment. Surely it wouldn't hurt to
have his fortune read. It might even give him some insight as to were
he needed to go or what he needed to do in order to fulfill his
goals. It might even make him laugh if this woman happened to be a
fraud and send a wild vision to him. "Alright hag. Do your
worst." The soothsayer cackled again and she pulled him inside
the gates and into the side of a dark alley way, were no one could
see them. She held out her hands and touched his shoulders and closed
her eyes. She began to chant for a moment in a rhythmic beat and
after a few minutes of concentrating, she began to speak "Ah
yes. Very interesting. Oh my word, this is very intriguing" said
the soothsayer. Graven started to become impatient. "What do you
see old woman?" The soothsayer began to weave her visions with
words that seemed slightly confusing. "Your soul is slowly being
consumed into darkness. This is not your decision. This is to become
your destiny. Achieving this goal will take some time but in that
amount of time, you will become part of an even bigger spectacle and
your destiny will become that much closer to you. Though some of your
actions may bring about strife and blood, it will not be in vain. I
see a great deal of pain in your future, that will be not only to
your body but your soul as well. I see that something may keep your
from achieving your destiny but how you handle it will affect
everything. I also see a role of leadership in your future, one that
many people look up towards. A pinnacle of loyalty and respect."
Graven began to smile "What a very pleasant fortune. Perhaps I
misjudged you. Here, something for your troubles." Graven handed
her a handful of koriya and made his way into the city, never looking
back at the old hag. "Be warned young man. Choose your friends
and your enemies carefully. For your greatest ally, may one day
become the one with the dagger pointed towards your back."
