Lux Tenebris: Moontree - Part One

          

Seal of Moontree

  Moontree is one of the oldest cities in Nur and it is the oldest city on the continent's west coast. It was established over twelve centuries ago by human refugees from the continent of V'resh.  When the humans arrived, they met the gnome clans who had lived in the region for millennia. It is highly doubtful the first settlement would have survived without the assistance of the gnomes.  However, relations between the two races would sour as the humans began to expand their colony into gnomish territories. Eventually, the gnomes would declare war on the humans and thus would begin a protracted conflict that became known as the Gnomeblood Wars.

            The Gnomeblood Wars lasted for almost forty years. Although the gnomes had superior numbers on land, and laid siege to Moontree for years, they had no naval power at all. The humans survived off of trade with V'resh and the Phoenix Kingdom and what they could harvest from the sea. Eventually, the war ground to an end. The humans, led by a battlemage named H'rin Sevov, allied with a dragon called Whitescale, to overpower the gnomes. In the end, only a single gnome tribe survived. Knowing they had lost the war, the gnomes invoked Redethal, the God of Destruction.

            Redethal answered their petition, laying waste to the entire region, killing everyone present. When travelers and traders returned to the area, they discovered the blasted ruins of the city and a countryside haunted by the tormented ghosts of those who had been killed by the God of Destruction. 

            Remarkably, a minor son of the Moontree family survived and pledged to rebuild the city.  Lanor Moontree and his heirs dedicated themselves to the task, which involved placating the restless dead as well as convincing folk to settle in the god-blasted region. It took centuries but Moontree was eventually restored to its former prominence and stature.

            However, as Moontree's material wealth and influence increased, there were concerns that the city's history would repeat itself. Lord Sarrel Moontree was aware of these concerns and whispers and worked to counter them, turning his attention away from the economic growth of the city, and toward more civic and diplomatic matters.  Lord Sarrel instituted sweeping legal reforms, guaranteeing the same rights and responsibilities to all citizens of Moontree, regardless of race or gender.  He invited paladins of Abasha, Goddess of Justice, to oversee the courts and empowered them to ensure that justice and fairness were observed at all levels of the legal system.

            It is Lord Sarrel who is widely credited with ensuring that Moontree did not remain as insular and closeminded as most of its neighboring communities. Indeed, Moontree became a haven for individuals who did not fit in with their families, clans and communities. The city established a reputation for tolerance and inclusion that no other city along the Gulf of Promises could match, and it became a haven for artists, poets and writers, as well as philosophers, radicals, heretics and revolutionaries.  And although Moontree never developed a significant college or university, its Artists Quarter became famous, and infamous, across Nur and V'resh.

            Moontree enjoyed a long history of prosperity and peace. And although the city maintained a strong navy, to defend against pirates and other nautical threats, its land-based defenses were not maintained as stringently.  As such, when the Draconic Invasion began, Moontree was caught by surprise as much as all the other cities in western Nur. They assumed that if the Draconic Empire was going to attack the city, it would be by water and so fortified their defenses facing Silver Moon Bay.  Their neglect of their terrestrial fortifications would have deadly consequences when the Empire attacked, not by sea, but by land.

            Led by General Akor Korkiri, the Draconic Legions marched across Nur and laid siege to Moontree with spell and sword.  The city's neglected fortifications were overwhelmed. The western fortifications fell and the dragonborn soldiers swarmed into the city. Lord Baris Moontree led the city's militia in a defensive battle, to give his subjects a chance to flee. His nobility cost him his life, but hundreds of Moontree's citizens escaped with their lives. Many fled by boat into the bay, while others ran south, seeking refuge in Krake.  General Korkiri set Moontree alight, then gathered his soldiers and their spoils and led them back east.

            It is widely speculated that General Korkiri's actions were not part of the Empire's formal battle plans, that his forces were dispatched with general instructions to harry local communities, to disrupt the morale of local populations.  The Draconic Empire never intended to hold Moontree, but attacked it as part of a larger strategy to destabilize the region.  If so, their efforts may have backfired.

            Moontree's survivors returned and began the process of rebuilding. Assistance and resources were provided from the neighboring communities of Krake and Astordo. With the death of Lord Baris, the only surviving son of the Moontree family is the youngest, Lavic Moontree, who currently resides in Darkwater and has no strong desire to return to the city. Needing leadership, the citizenry turned to Raul Sybrow, a paladin of Rasha, to govern them. He is aided by his wife, Lilah.

            Under the Sybrows leadership, Moontree has recovered far more quickly than anyone expected.  Also, unexpectedly, the city has adopted a war-footing, reaching out to its allies and trade-partners across the Gulf of Promises, hiring mercenary companies from V'resh to reinforce the city militia and contracting with dwarven engineers to repair and upgrade the city's defenses. The attack on Moontree has also had unexpected diplomatic and economic repercussions for the Draconic Empire.  Moontree's allies have invoked trade sanctions against the Draconic Empire and some, observing the Empire's actions in Western Nur, have expelled Imperial embassies from their own territories.

Inspiration Photos: The Graymist Way

The Graymist Way is a long, winding road that connects Darkwater, in the North, with Moontree, in the South. Below are some inspiration photos that, I think, reflect the general atmosphere of the Way and the small, mean-spirited communities that exist near it.

Lux Tenebris: The Graymist Way

            The road stretched before Malora, wide enough for two carts to pass each other. To the east, the road was bordered by thick woods. On the western side, the road dropped away to nothing but air and sea. Thick fogs were common, making the road slick and perilous. Malora saw the remains of more than one cart crashed on the sea rocks. More often than not the skeletons of horses could be seen, still harnessed to the vehicles. Malora kept her own pace slow and careful.

            She knew that the Graymist Way ran from Darkwater, in the north, to just south of Moontree. The route was used by traders to transport goods from the major ports to the smaller villages and towns that lined the route, and provided access to the major trade routes that ran east.  Moontree and Darkwater were the biggest ports, but there were scores of small fishing villages along the way.  From what Malora had seen, traveling between Widowmaker Bay and Gullcliff, many of those villages were clinging to existence by their fingernails.

            Most of the local economies were based around fishing and logging. Trade was limited between the villages. Most of the communities were self-sufficient and insular to the point of actively distrusting strangers.

            It had taken her a day to make it to Gullcliff from Widowmaker Bay. The town was small and the source of its name obvious. Gulls in their hundreds nested on the cliffs around the town. She wasn't at all surprised to discover that gull pie was a local specialty.

            The liveryman in Widowmaker Bay had given her the name of an inn in Gullcliff where she would find safe lodging. The Blackwood Inn stood on the outskirts of town, near the Graymist Way, and offered no-frills lodging and meals. Malora had stayed at much worse placed and, after making sure her horse was properly tucked away, she'd had a meal and gone to bed. The night had passed uneventfully and she'd left the next morning just after dawn.

            The innkeeper had told her she'd make it to Moontree before sunset, depending on the weather. It was changeable this time of year, the thick fog often heralding coastal storms that could be inconvenient to dangerous. An hour after leaving Gullcliff, the fog turned into a heavy, persistent rain that prompted Malora to take shelter in a copse of trees until it relented.

            The rain had cost her a couple of hours, but she was hesitant to rush. The road here was made of fitted stone, hard and durable, but slick as glass when wet. She slid off her mount and they proceeded on foot.

            They passed tiny hamlets comprised of a few stoutly built wooden houses. Smoke rose from chimneys, but she saw no sign of the inhabitants. Occasionally, she could hear the sound of trees falling in the woods, and surmised the local folk were more loggers than fisherfolk.

            The further south she went, the more the landscape flattened until the road was flanked by forest and beach. Gradually, the road twisted eastward, taking her away from the beach, until there were tall pines all around and the only hint of the sea's presence was the smell.

            Ahead, a wooded track diverged from the Graymist Way to the east. A simple wooden sign identified the track as leading to Elawor. The name was Elvish but the meaning escaped Malora. Remembering Master Dusk's warning, she did not leave the Way but continued south.

            The road twisted west again and, once more, the sea came into view. The sky was blue and cloudless, a rarity in this region, and the water shone like polished silver. Malora ducked her head against the glare, but enjoyed the sunlight on her skin.

            Now, she began to meet traffic on the road, coming from the south, from Moontree. She adjusted her cloak, pulling her hood over her head.  Her hand drifted, quite unconsciously, to the hilt of her blade. Old instincts died hard.

            Another hour and she passed a waystation. It consisted of a three-sided structure with a roof. There was a firepit, a cistern and a trio of latrines.  A battered carriage, being pulled by a team of four, was parked nearby. The top of the carriage was laden with trunks and luggage. A lanky human youth sat beneath the waystation roof, next to an older looking man that Malora assumed was the carriage driver. They nodded amiably as Malora drew her mount to a stop.

            "Well met, mistress."

            "Well met, sir. Might you know how far it is to Moontree from here?"

            "Just a hop, skip and a jump, mistress," said the driver. "Be there before nightfall, you will."

            "Thank you, good sir," said Malora.

            "And the road north, mistress?" asked the driver. "Was it hard traveling?"

            "No, sir. Well-kept between here and Widowmaker Bay. Not a bandit or a beast in sight."

            The driver nodded. "Good to know, mistress. Our thanks."

            "Fair travels to you and yours," said Malora, and guided her horse back onto the road.

            The day progressed, the sun marching toward the west. The area became more inhabited. Tracks led off the Graymist Way toward wood and water, toward small hamlets with names like Silverbeach and Honeywood.  There was more traffic than before, heading north and south.

            The road began to snake up cliffs and coil around hills. And, then, cresting a small hill, Malora looked down and saw Moontree.