Bouvet Keep of the Macron Mountain-the capitol of Bouvaldia,
the giant keep is carved out of as well
as inside of a dormant volcano that legends claim to have been the home of the
great Fire Giant Macron. Supposedly the
Fire Giant created the keep for Ysson Bouvet in exchange for his life after
Ysson defeated the giant in combat. The
rest of the Evening Isles believes it more likely that the volcano dwarves that
live in the region are a more probable sculptor of the gigantic keep. The most impressive feature of Bovet Keep is
the deep harbor that cuts into the mountain and guards the dukes navy. Bouvet Keep is the most defensible city in
all the Isle’s. Never, has an invader
felled the keeps mighty walls. The city
is reported to be 50,000 strong with another 5,000 people serving actively in
the Bouvaldian Navy.
Famous Location:
The Water Wall-The wall
ranges in height from 50 to 100 feet in a 40 mile radius some thousand feet
from the northwestern coast of Bouvaldia.
The Wall blinds the vanguard position of the isles from seeing where
they travel to while also threatening everywhere the Isles travel with a moving
wave of destruction. In the 1000 feet
between the wall and the coast, monstrous waves fall off the wall battering the
coast. Occasionally, creatures known to
be native to the elemental plane of water have passed through from the wall,
creating unique threats for Bouvaldians to conquer.
Bouvet Keep, the living
mountain, a nickname earned by the constant construction and expansion of the
original keep. In truth Bouvet Keep was
a military base and port for one of the world’s most powerful navies. The stone
walls of the Keep were one-hundred miles long and made of mountain. The volcano
dwarves that survived the sundering of the isles turned from their sorrow by
investing their engineering might towards the sculpting of the northernmost
portion of the Macron mountains. The
Duke’s castle and the deep harbor the castle sits above make up the original
Bouvet Keep. The harbor, encircled by two
mountains in an enlarged U, is never forgotten once seen, The two mountains are
known as Day and Night by the foreign sailors for their unique abilities to
enhance light due to their rich mineral deposits. During the day the mountains
seem to absorb the light, providing warmth to the castle and preventing reflection
and horizon blindness for sailors. At
night the minerals of the mountains glow a rich fluorescence, providing enough
light to see and sail by, and so much beauty as to inspire the creation of the
Bard’s College Northern Lights.
The Duke’s Castle has had
many names through the years, being rebranded and rechristened through its
variety of leaders.. In the lean times
of recent years skeptical Bouvaldians refer to the castle as The Crows Nest, a
reference to the lookout point on a ship but also a sarcastic criticism of a
royal family without answers. Perhaps
not surprisingly local superstition connects crows to abnormally long
lifespans, death , or as a supernatural creature serving as an otherworldly
messenger. The original castle sits atop
the plateau of the mountain that makes up the original keep.
The original structure beneath
the castle has always been called the Roc’s Nest so named for the legendary
monster that once laired upon this mountain.
The structure now served as the central headquarters for the Duke’s
military and civilian apparatus. The
current commander of the Roc’s Nest is Chief of Staff Carvanatos Tramore. Commander Tramore is
singularly recognized as the greatest administrator in all of Bouvaldia. It was a designation that provided him
appreciation from his superiors and derision from almost everyone else. The
Chief of Staff ‘s greatest talent lay in recognizing talents and shortcomings
in people and systems then redirecting
those two resources towards more efficient production. It was this talent that allowed Carvanatos to
accurately evaluate his own talents and shortcomings where he found his
military acumen lacking. Commander
Tramore’s solution has been referred to by some of the upper crust of
Bouvaldian military as the most selfless act of statesmanship in the history of
Bouvaldia. In a speech before the Counts
and Warlords, Carvanatos Tramore nominated Ralikanthae the Sea Master Knight
Protector of Bovet Keep, placing all of Commander Tramore’s considerable
military power under the wizard’s control while he protects Bouvaldia from the
Water Wall. While some praised the
decision, others were outraged and reacted by warning their young Duke against
giving so much power to a wizard about whom so little was known.
The expansion of Bovet Keep
has spread through many miles, claiming seven individual mounts. Each Mount, is
rechristened and provided a Warlord leader. Each Warlord gains a seat on the Duke’s
council where they sit alongside all of the Counts that rule Bouvaldian
lands. The Mounts and Warlords numbers
are also indicative of proximity to the Duke and original castle.
1. Hollow Mount: The first expansion is the nearly bereft
of all ore from the years of mining. The
mount was strictly a mine during the earliest years of Bouvet Keep, only being
converted into a three tiered mountain structure after all the minerals were
freed from the mount. After hollow mount
each additional mount converted well before being stripped of all their resource,
their three tiered structures mimicking Hollow Mount. Regardless of mountain, all tiers are
identified as 1st Tier Near Earth, 2nd Tier Sky High, and
3rd Tier Cloudhome.
Accordingly citizens of Bouvet Keep would refer to each mount and Tier
to identify location, “Hapius the Alchemist? He lives Near Earth Hollow Mount
but works Sky High in the same.” Hollow Mount is ruled by the Elven Admiral of
the Bouvaldian Navy, Melandrach Olithir.
2. Praecipium Mountain, the most bountiful land in all of
Bouvaldia, it provides half of all food for Bouvet Keep and its navy. The entire mountain is designed to continually
utilize everything produced upon it.
Those that are privileged enough to visit Praecipium all mention the
swarm of movement and activity visible from great distances in the daylight,
and the mountain lights at night.
Praecipium Mountain is ruled by Fumi Laumstaucher, famous not only as a
Warlord but also a midwife, responsible for guiding many successful births in
Bouvet Keep. Other midwifes train under
the Laumstaucher method.
3. Downhill Mountain, normally just referred to as
Downhill. The shortest in stature of all
the individual mountains, it was developed into animal husbandry, training, and
processing. The animals travel through
life can be denoted by its location on the mountain. Due to the animals Downhill is also the most odorous
of all the Mounts and the term Downhill or Downhiller an insult to all but
those who live there. Downhill Mountain
is ruled by Verasqueue Wolair a ranger of impressive skill, if few words.
4. Mount Artis: Crafter’s mountain, the bottom near earth
tier serves Bouvet Keep with its ship making and repairs. The two higher tiers of Artis provide a
shared environment for all the craftsmen of Bouvet Keep to work in concert and
limit waste. Since the sundering, great
effort has gone towards finding ways to use and reuse or repurpose. Mount Artis
is ruled by Javier Kipps, a Halfling knife fighter of such skill that locals
claims no armor can stop his blade.
5. Mount Carcerem: The people of Bouvet Keep incorrectly
believe this to be the world’s largest prison. Despite this mistaken belief the
prison is quite large and bulging near capacity with foreign prisoners. Near
Earth Carcerem is reserved for the families of prisoners who were accepted into
Bouvaldian military service to fulfill their criminal sentence. Families that live in this lower region have
to put up with constant surveillance and searches but are otherwise unharmed
and are well provided for. Mount Carcerem operates under the leadership of the
half-elf Epnitious Snoot, a man who identifies himself not as a warden but as a
linguist.
6. Embassy Mountain: The Sundered dwarves finally claimed
a home and seat at the Duke’s table. The
dwarves identified this mountain as being rich in resource and soon began
converting it into a new home for the Volcano Dwarves. Since the conversion, Embassy
Mountain has provided a steady new source of silver, iron, copper, and cold
stones. Gargoyle Zarl is the Warlord of Embassy Mountain.
7. Stranger Peaks: The newest mount and most
controversial, Stranger Peaks is named for those individuals who purchased citizenship
from the crown and in return are provided Bouvaldian lands and titles. While newly purchased citizenship will not
require military duty, Stranger Peaks future generations will have to take part
in mandatory military service. The Duke
ordered the creation of the mount and within a couple years a Warlord. The most recent Warlord of Stranger Peaks was
assassinated and the post has yet to be refilled. The murder of the Warlord is believed
to arise from the inner turmoil of newly forming politics in Stranger Peaks.
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