| Duchy of Eadfast | |
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 The streets of Eadfast City. Artist: CD Projekt Red | |
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Current Ruler: |
Abandoned |
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Capital |
Eadfast City |
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Location: |
Northwestern Alterac Mountains |
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Fealty: |
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Status: |
Abandoned, sacked by Forsaken |
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Denonym: |
Eadfastian |
The Duchy of Eadfast is an ancient Alteraci Duchy mainly comprising of the City of Eadfast and the surrounding lands on the northern edge of the Alterac Mountains. Older than a unified Alterac under the Perenolde Dynasty, Eadfast even before the fall was and is a mere echo of its former glory. The rule of Eadfast has recently fallen to Toderick Stoneward after the former criminals were wiped out.
History[]
Although no one single legend is considered to be the true tale of Eadfast's creation, the most commonly accepted goes as follows. Long ago there was a mighty but aged warrior who's valor in battles was renowned throughout Alterac. The old warrior decided to settle down somewhere and have somewhere to live out the rest of his days in luxury. The man charged his eldest son, a growing warrior who had promise to be an even greater warrior than his father to gather one hundred men willing to build his holding in exchange for a fraction of his immense hoard of riches that he had earned in battle.
The boy traveled throughout Alterac and gathered some of the most skilled masons at the time to come and build his fathers holding, all eager to receive a piece of the promised riches. The men labored for a nearly a decade, carving a mighty keep from the mountainside. At the time of its completion, many of the stonemasons were rewarded fairly and decided to settle down around their impressive creation. The old man did not live too long after the keep was finally finished but his son inherited his holding and his son and so on.
Overtime, more and more came to the keep commonly called Eadfast (Ead meaning wealth) due to the legendary gold hoard in the keep and the known wealth of the keep's owner from the beginning. Due to the growing settlement growing against the back of the Alterac Mountains many mines were opened near the region attracting more settlers.
Eadfast was once its own miniature kingdom under the rule of the Arnwake King's, they ruled over what is now the duchy. Their throne still remains intact, made of Alterac Granite with a variety of jewels carved into the top of the throne. In the center there sits a round golden disk, the bottom half carved into the throne when the over half sticks out of the top. On the disk was the sigil of House Arnwake, a sable with a golden falcon in flight. This has since been replaced with a steel disk with the sigil of House of Stoneward.
At the peak of Eadfast, shortly after the creation of the Perenolde Dynasty, descendants of the aged warrior commonly known as House Arnwake ruled over a large city, gold ran through Eadfast like water. The Vault of Eadfast was legendary, attracting bankers and locksmiths alike. Miners, blacksmiths jewel crafters came to work in or with the several mines nearby. Eadfast was among the few cities in the far north and its proximity to Lordamere Lake and the Magocracy of Dalaran caused Eadfast to be flocked with traders. The rulers of Eadfast had built ramparts and a gate around the road leading to Eadfast requiring a small toll but still amassing even more wealth.
As time passed, the people and wealth of Eadfast began to seemingly fade away. People had moved to the capital or great family's had died out. Abandoned buildings fell into despair and began to crumble. House Arnwake had lost their practically hereditary title of HighTreasurer and died out with the population of the duchy. It was not a single event that caused this, rather the greatness of Alterac City caused many to move there and over time the populace of Eadfast shrunk. The death of the few remaining Arnwake's in a freak accident was the final nail in the coffin.
At the time of treachery of Aiden Perenolde, the city was a ruin enough and as Alterac ensued into chaos it was latter taken by the Syndicate and transformed into a Syndicate Outpost. The leader of this outpost falsely claimed to be a descendant of the ancient Arnwake line.
Eadfast City Description[]
Eadfast City being built into northern edge of the Alterac Mountains has a rather chilly climate in the winter but in the summer, the weather can be quite pleasant. Since little life grows where the the mountains were chipped away, any flora and fauna are at the northern part of the city where the environment is Hillsbradian.
As for the city itself, the oldest landmark would be Eadfast Keep. This enormous fortress was literally built into the mountainside. The halls of Eadfast once decorated with many riches and at the end of the main hall still sits the Eadfastian Throne. The ceilings of the hall rise high and beautiful engravings can be seen. Inside Eadfast Keep there are many bedchambers carved out and a large vault. Much of the interior has fallen into some ruin, one of the enormous pillars have crumbled. The exterior of the keep is remarkable as well, besides the gigantic stone doors that can be shut to withstand an attack, there is also a wooden gate and portcullis, and that is simply the inner gate. Several ramparts were built into the mountains above the keep where defenders can use large crossbows and even a cannon to defend the keep. A large stone wall surrounds the inner gate providing a courtyard for the Keep and an outer gate. Upon these ramparts may sit guardsmen and there is a portcullis protecting this gate. Inside the courtyard there is a large fountain, clearly meant for a spot of outdoor recreation for the noble family of Eadfast.
Beyond Eadfast Keep lies the rest of Eadfast City. Originally the city was divided intro five districts, the Summit District was where Eadfast Keep lied along with the Guard barracks and Library which sit on either side of Eadfast Keep and are impressive structures themselves.
A Silver District home. Artist: InnoGames
Next there is the Silver District which is the wealthiest part of town. Here there are large homes, banks, and the wealthiest of businesses.
Below that there was the Steel District, more commonly known as Crafter's Lane.
Typical housing in the Steel District. Artist: InnoGames
Here live the middle class workers but mostly it is comprised of their shops and forges. On the far right edge of this district sits a mine that simply came to be known as Eadfast Mine, which is mostly filled with iron and common metals. Below that sits the Elm District, for the tree's that were once found throughout the area. Although as Eadfast grew these disappeared and it was called the Dirt Town. Here live the poorest residences. Called Dirt Town for the lack of tree's which resulted in mud covering much of the street's in the summer.
A home in the Elm District. Artist: InnoGames
This is the only district inhabited by the Syndicate, the rest they deemed were either too large or too degraded to operate from. Of course with the Stoneward invasion, all districts are being utilized. The Elm District is also home to the brothel and most shops of a more peculiar nature. At the northern edge of the Elm District sits the Gate of Eadfast, a titanic, impregnable structure. Five towers go across the ramparts each armed with the same enormous crossbow, ballistas that were situated above Eadfast Keep. A five inch thick steel gate that required three men to activate sits in the center. It was designed so strength isn't necessary to open it, rather three levers needed to be pulled at once to activate the system. There also sits a gatehouse that came after the massive where any intruders could be stopped by pulling up a drawbridge which isoperated inside the city. Behind the drawbridge sits only a portcullis. Beneath the drawbridge is a moat halfway filled with water that is deep enough to drown a man but not allow him to climb out. All in all, the gate is an impressive structure that required roughly seventy five men to properly guard. The final district isn't truly apart of the city. Leading out of the city sat the "Road to Wealth" which leads out of Eadfast and down to the final district which sits on Lordamere Lake. This district is called the Port District and is somewhat of a micro city. Urbanized into a small area, there are several docks, quite large
Artist: CD Projekt Red
to be on a lake. There are large fishing barges and ferries that lead their way across the lake.
The Port District was technically apart of the city limits but the road connecting it to the rest of districts is not. The rest of the districts are connected by a paved road known as the Stair of Riches, which began down in the Elm District and gradually rises up to Eadfast Keep.
In the center of the Silver District there is the Eadfast Cathedral, commonly called the Cathedral of Gold. It reaches high, although in design relatively simple the interior of the Cathedral was relatively plain but it was called the Cathedral of Gold due to the underground of the church which hosted a large treasury but this was often emptied due to donations. Altercate Traditionalism once held some sway in the countryside of Eadfast but the majority of the city worshipped the Light.
General Duchy Description[]
The environment of Eadfast is generally Hillsbradian. The land surrounding the city are filled with small, but still rolling hills with the occasional tree spurting from the ground. In the far south-west of the Duchy, on the northern ridge of Alterac there lies a pine forest known as Eadhurst Forest. The rulers of Eadfast have continually decided to very carefully regulate the amount of timber harvested.
Throughout the Duchy as a whole, one can find a plethora of beasts varying from wolves to stag. The weather is fairly decent, usually covered in snow from late autumn to early spring. The temperature in the summer consists at a temperate climate.
Along the main road, commonly called the "Road to Wealth" going from Eadfast City to the Port District, there rests a large inn. It is believed to have been there for nearly a century. Known as Old Man's Burrow, legend states it built atop of the ruins of original builder of Eadfast's country home. A lively establishment, it has both its traders and regulars from both the city and the outlying farms.
In the countryside of the Duchy, there sits a few outlying farms but also some remnants of pagan worship. During its prime, there was significant pagan worship however this slowly died out with the Church of Gold's construction. There are also several mines placed on the far north ridge of the Alterac Mountains where much of Eadfast's former economic success originates.
Outlying Settlements and Landmarks[]
Eadfast City is not the sole settlement throughout the Duchy. There are several smaller settlements and landmarks throughout the Duchy.
Shawthorpe[]
The village of Shawthorpe lies on the edge of Eadhurst Forest. The town is of considerable size, its primary export is timber. Shawthorpe does have a small chapel but this the region of Eadfast with the highest percentage of Old Ways worship. Many of the pagans enter the woods and go to various shrines to practice rituals. A nearby folk legend goes that a yeti once climbed down from the mountains and took refuge in the forest. However it grew hungry and terrorized the villagers. Eventually the beast was chased off but was never slain. The legend ends saying that one day the Yeti of Shawthorpe will return one day and terrorize again! Of course, this tale is generations old and dismissed by adults but a few start wondering overtime someone gets lost in the woods.
Arnwick[]
Believed to be the first holding of the first Arnwakes. Arnwick is a smaller village in the plains of the Duchy. Much of the area known as Arnwick is made up of outlying farms of the village. This is where most of the local crops are grown. The village itself is small but the market is often quite busy.
City-State Reclamation[]
After scouting out the ruins over a month ago, Toderick Stoneward and his host aided by any volunteers amongst the Reformed Kingdom of Alterac laid siege to this city before storming the Gates of Eadfast a day later. It was a swift victory although there was some trouble in getting past the Gates of Eadfast. In the end, the Syndicate leader, Gerold Arnwake was slain and the city fell into Todericks control. Now under proper rule, the city was rebuilt at an incredible pace, said that earth and arcanemagics were employed. Toderick was also recognized as the Duke of Eadfast by the Imperial Diet. Eadfast know sits in the capable hands of the Toderick Stoneward and is apart of the City State of Alterac.
Exodus[]
After the Ousting of Kormed Wolfheart, Alterac was left in a torn state. Unstable, the Assembly of Alterac proceeded to disband with the exit of Alterac Silver Hand. As if things did not appear grim enough, a Forsaken advance was reported. Unable to organize most of Alterac to evacuate, Toderick lost hope. Many seemed keen on fighting the Forsaken despite Alterac's weakened state and Toderick evacuated his own lands, including Eadfast. He led much of the Eadfastian populace to his Gilnean lands, the Earldom of Corvric. Here he organized the construction of two large towns to host the refugees, much of the Eadfastian refugees moved to Bleakhowe where they now live to this day, making a life for themselves in safety.