| Island Province of
Ban'diel | |
|---|---|
 Pursuit of Radiance | |
|
Seat |
Radiance Keep |
|
Regent |
Margrave Davrum Niall |
|
Retainers |
"Trade Baron" Jacob Luxford; ✝ |
|
Settlements |
Radiance |
|
Standing Army |
361 Footsoldiers |
|
Population |
Estimated 2,500 |
|
Main Exports |
Lumber |
|
Established |
Lord-Admiral Geromus Niall, 593 K.C. |
|
Founder |
The Farstriders |
|
Organization(s) |
|
Preamble of the Good Mariner[]
"Stay wary of the sea, the tales say be,
For vengeance is as great as one's body.
The boat rock to and fro, the sail may flow,
At the permission of her humbling glow.
Yet what matches the tides, we look to the sky,
And see Its Radiance as It cries.
Light have mercy, can you not see?
The ocean's pulse is made by Thee."
History Abridged[]
The island province of Ban’diel, or ‘the traveler's gate’ in common, is located north-west of Stormwind city and south-west of Dun Morogh. The province was found by the Quel’dorei in the days of Thalassian dominance where they used the location as a base of operations for a Farstrider lodge located in the northlands. The land, however, shifted condemning the lodge partially into the ocean and the Quel’dorei abandoned their operations there leaving behind only the name.
In 587 K.C. the Kul Tirans created a staging area on a small island that is a part of the chain known as the Vigil to ward off the threats of pirates and naga. Lord-Admiral Geromus Niall was made margrave of the island in 593 K.C. where he began funding an operation to populate the island, including a sanctioned magi academy, with his close advisors and house retainers. In an unexpected turn of events Lord-Admiral Geromus Niall was caught in an uncharacteristic storm off the coast of the Eastern Kingdoms which capsized his ship and led to his death.
Stepping into his place as Margrave of Ban’diel was his oldest son, Davrum, who attempted to continue building infrastructure on the island. Davrum, however, saw his calling elsewhere and sought to serve the Light among the Brotherhood of the Light at the apex of the scourge threat on mainland Azeroth, leaving the island in the hands of house retainers and stewards. The island is currently controlled by splinter factions of the retainer of House Niall.
Geography[]
Situated between Dun Morogh, Vashj'ir and Elwynn Forest, Ban'diel receives dual climate. While the southern ends of the island has warm temperatures with reasonable rainfall, the northern ends receive ruthless and unforgiving winds, barren of most seasonal crops.
Ban'diel is primarily a leveled province, making it susceptible to flooding when storms come its way. The few counties that are able to regularly endure disaster is Eastcliff, Midpass Outpost and the Halls of the Illuminated as the halls pierce the clouds and are fortified by an unmoving foundation of rock.
The most spectacular sight of the island is the Bulwark. The highest peak reaches a bit more than a kilometer, spanning 97 kilometers across the main island.
Religion[]
Despite the island's size, Ban'diel houses a plethora of faiths due to the fact that between settlements is primarily allegiances between vassals and overlords. Intendants are free to have the voice of law in each village or city so long as they pledge their armies and men to the capital, or at least say so in paper. Other areas which have no distinct ruler succumb to other religions be it derived from magic or death.
The primary distinction of faiths likes in the separation of the Bulwark. Making travel difficult with their southern kin, northern settlements are more likely to house people with religion of more pagan origins, idolizing many gods rather than the Holy Light, which is the dominant religion in the southern reaches. There are, however, different degrees of polytheism in the north. Some are more able to see the Holy Light as one of many other gods, or it is portrayed as the goodness that gods can possess rather than the evils and impishness they may display in the presence of mortals. Much like the Holy Light, the pagan gods are sometimes said to have a physical manifestation, like a sign being behind the whispers of a forest.
Folklore[]
"The Tale of Ban'diel"[]
"They say the sea is a deep and never ending dusk,
Though the good mariner knows it is full of cusk!
The smart man knows of the Leviathan, the beast of the swamp.
All who go find only a creature so cruel and vile,
That all shall return with the complete void of a smile.
The tunnels filled with gleaming azure rocks,
A hardened and true miner knows of the illusory blue fox.
For in the woods of the east lies an evil so demonic,
But at first the trees seem exceedingly harmonic.
To the north lies a frigid winter no man can survive alone,
Where all the black-hearted men go to atone.
In the old tongue, we are the Traveler's Gate,
But all that go will find that a deadly circumstance awaits.
O' they say the sea is a deep and never ending dusk,
Though the good mariner knows it is a ripe and deadly musk."
- The Tale of Ban'diel as told by Calisendra's father, Jace Rhys.