An ancient elven castle in the middle of the Plains of Coriant, fought over for centuries. The centaurs were created as troops by one of the battling factions.
The Citadel holds a famous rainbow mosaic of the 27 elven colours.
Archives: Wiki Pages
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Perspicacity Weaver
Perspicacity Weaver (known as Persy) is a political philosopher, one of the Realmgold’s Creatives, responsible for the voting system for the Assembly.
Rosie Printer notes, on meeting her, that she is younger and better looking than Rosie herself (who is 27 at the time).
She wears neat, good-quality clothing that falls short of being a Victory suit mainly because it isn’t all the same colour, and has her straight black hair pulled back into a tidy tail at the back with a velvet band. She wears small, round, wire-framed eyeglasses.
She has a tendency to overexplain, especially when asked about her voting system.
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Patient Carver
Woodcarver, resident in Redbridge. Pleasant, open face, wavy hair.
Oathmate of Hope at Merrybourne, who tells him that his hair smells of cedar shavings and wood oil. He calls her breasts Glory and Splendour. Glory is the right one, and has a mole.
Has potential to be trained as a mage-minor in mindmagic.
Formerly a part-time member of the wardens, which resulted in a military callup in the Unification War. During this callup, he was injured by a crossbow bolt through the left thigh. Despite this injury, he reached his unit in time to warn them of enemy action, for which he received the Realmgold’s Military Honour, Gold, with Sun and Moon and the Recognition of Injury in the Line of Duty, Second Class (a hexagonal silver decoration). He now walks with a carved dragon-headed cane, which has pain-relief spells on it.
He has a lot of body hair, and a number of scars from his craft in addition to those from his military service.
As well as his carving skill, he is a competent cook, and a local champion in throwing knives.
He met Hope while they were waiting in line to find out where they needed to go to be awarded their respective honours.
Neighbour Productive Victualler.
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Patience
Countygold of Southern Shore, a poised woman in her late 30s whose legs are replaced with a steam-powered walking machine. She is a former Realmgold’s Agent who lost her limbs protecting the Realmgold before her accession to the demesne. A dead shot with a rifle.
She was at school with Victory, a few years ahead of her.
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Pack of Sevenhills
Dwarf caravan owner, the victim of Human Purity inspired violence just prior to the Unification War, at a location south of the village of Boulder Bend, while on his way to the Thunder Gorge dwarfhold. Constance judged in his favour.
Associated characters:
Pot at Sevenhills, his gnome leader, business partner and (Constance suspects) lover, killed in the attack.
Three other gnomes.
Tree Stonecircle (“Muscles”), caravan guard (see centaurs).His caravan consisted of six mules.
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New Dwarves
The New Dwarf movement has arisen out of the increased commerce between humans and dwarves, and the changes in dwarven society brought about by increased industrialization. New Dwarves are more cosmopolitan and liberal in their outlook, and prepared to entertain ideas like the dechattelisation of the gnomes.
Typically, New Dwarves live in or close to human urban centres. Initially, most were unmarried males out on their own, but increasingly it is the case that formally constituted Dwarf Holds are being set up by New Dwarves.
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Pintuck
Always known as Mistress Pintuck, this gnome seamstress is a cousin of one of the gnomes at the Clever Man’s Works. She and her workers own the business, having taken it over after Gnome Day. Her shop is in the old town in Illene.
Makes a ruby-red Victory suit for Hope at Merrybourne for her presentation to the airhorse investors. Hope subsequently wears this suit on other formal occasions.
Also equips Rosie Printer with more flattering clothes. Later provides Bucket with a “gnome suit”.
She is middle-aged and plump, has a no-nonsense manner and a thick gnomish accent. Widely respected in the gnome community and beyond.
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Master-Mage
The Master-Mage is the chief magical educator of a realm. In Koskant, this role is held by the Head of the Magic School at the University of Illene. The current incumbent is Amiable.
There was no Master-Mage of Denning at the time of Unification, since magical education in the realm was in its infancy. Most magical students studied at the College of Ancient Turfrae.
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Marsh Whitegrove
Musician, sometime lover of Briar Heathlake. He and his brother Reed Whitegrove play the style of music known as Heart and Bird.
Marsh plays the ninestring and the harp, Reed a variety of sizes of flute. They both play a small drum.
The two men have slightly different styles of improvisation. Reed’s is wider-ranging, while Marsh concentrates on ornamental flourishes.
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Magical Creatures
A number of magical creatures have been created, largely by the elves, whose bioengineering skills were considerable in the days of the Empire. Gryphons, wyverns (like a dragon, but with no forelegs) and unicorns are only three of the rare and peculiar beasts to be found in remote regions. More familiar and more utilitarian are the agricultural beasts bred and magically altered from ancient templates.
The most common, perhaps, are medicattle, which produce medicines in their milk and which are largely responsible for the relative rarity of epidemic disease in the Great Land. They are farmed alongside medical herbs, many of high potency.The couriers of the White clan from over the mountains ride flying horses.
Water horses are used in rivers and at sea as mounts and to tow boats. They are horselike in the head, though sleeker and without much in the way of external ears, like a seal. Their forehooves have been replaced by large paddling limbs with webbed feet, and their hind legs are fused together and terminate in flukes. Their hair is also seal-like, and they have a layer of fat below the skin to keep them warm.
Sparksheep produce a significant ingredient of a primitive polymer instead of wool. They are so called because they sometimes build up an electric charge. Their wool is combined with several different plant materials to make hardwearing cloth or a malleable substance which can be formed into useful items and then set by baking.
Guardian Dogs are large, intelligent dogs used to guard valuables, locations, merchant caravans or people. They stand about rib-high on an average human male. They have been interbred with ordinary dogs (no purebreds were left behind by the elves at the Fall of the Elven Empire, and they had to be bred back over generations). They vary in the degree of their special abilities, but all of them can communicate by a form of simple, wordless telepathy with their handlers (conveying sensory impressions to the handler and receiving commands from the handler such as an ordinary intelligent dog could understand); be magically aware of the location of a number of items or people or of the perimeter of an area that they are guarding; track those items or people or an intruder into that area; and disable fleeing miscreants with their unearthly howl (which affects only those they target). They cannot howl and pursue simultaneously.
Naturally, spells and talismans have been developed to render people undetectable to Guardian Dogs and protect them from their howls. Equally naturally, these are illegal to create, own or use in most places which have the rule of law. Still naturally, this doesn’t always stop people.