Alda.
The capital of Atela is Alda. Alda is the only city in the land. It is the home of the Kingpriest, the House of Lords and the Council of Bishops. The Kingpriest's palace rises above the rest of the city; this is the residence of the Kingpriest, his wife, his concubines and various trusted courtiers. There is a heavy military presence in the city, and you can't throw a stone without hitting a priest. However, Alda is infamous for its taverns, whorehouses and theaters.
The Barrow Way
Between the Blessed River and the Guardian River is a stretch of land dotted with stone cairns and lumpish hills. These hills are barrows, mass graves of soldiers who fell during the Giants' War and the Lords' Rebellion. Although safe to travel by day, once the sun sets this area is plagued by restless spirits and, even worse, barrow weights. Attempts by the Church and Crown to pacify the region have been largely ineffective and most humans avoid the area whenever possible.
St. Ida's Wood
Atela has a long list of saints, but few are as venerated as Saint Ida. There is some confusion as to whether Ida was a man or a woman. The Church teaches that Ida was a man, but among the common folk of the region it is widely believed Ida was a woman who posed as a man. As such Ida is seen as a patron saint of men and women. Regardless of Ida's gender, he was a fierce warrior, a paladin in life who fought the enemies of man and eventually paid with her life. The Shrine to St. Ida is a popular pilgrimage site, especially for paladins and young priests.
St. Claena's Wood
St. Claena was a peasant woman who was pursued by a besotten elf-warrior, Claena fled and praid to God to save her virtue. Her prayer was heard and answered; God transformed the peasant woman into a mighty tree. Today, St. Claena's Wood offers a refuge from elves; no elf can enter those woods and survive. The wood from the trees is said to be blessed, capable of inflicting killing wounds to any fae creature.
The Lonely Wood
On the southern coast of Atela is a small forest, surrounded by grasslands. This foresst, known as the Lonely Wood, is a strange and haunted place. There are no human settlements or habitations within the Lonely Wood, but travelers tell stories of a mysterious house that appears and disappears on the edge of the wood. The house is the home of a powerful witch known as the Witch of the Lonely Wood. According to legend, she is very beautiful and uses her beauty to lead men into lives of sin and depravity. Occasionally a paladin will enter the Lonely Wood, to seek out this foul sorceress and end her machinations. To date, none have ever returned.
Hardhearth
The eastern grasslands of Atela, between the Guardian River and the River Fren, is scarcely populated. Hardhearth is the largest settlement in the region, a fortified garrison manned by veteran soldiers of the King's Army. Hardhearth has been besieged by giants on three seperate occasions and never fallen. The town has an almost mythic reputation among the locals. There are stories of divine relics burried beneath the town that are responsible for its safety. The Church denies these stories, but there is an unusually large number of priests who call Hardhearth home.
Imbir's Cove
Imbir's Cove is a fishing village on the Cold Coast. A centure ago it was a bustling trade port, but as the winters grew longer and colder, foreign trade diminished and eventually stopped. Today, Imbir's Cove is a miserable village of half-starved peasants who eek out a miserable existence from a combination of fishing and farming. The beaches around Imbir's Cove are dotted with the bleached wooden remains of old ships. On some nights, bonfires burn on the sands, and the locals tell tales of sirens and sea-monsters coming ashore to plot mischief and murder around those same baleful fires.
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