Blackshore

Vassal of Darkwater

Words: "May the blood of my enemy spill upon the shore."
Sigil: Great Beast lanced by many harpoons, its blood soaking the shore black.
Nickname: Harpoons. Black Bloods.

House Blackshore gained its name from the terrible battle fought against 'those twisted by the Great Beast' during the Reckoning. For many centuries, the honorable vassals were known for their naval military tactics, keen business sense and thirst for knowledge that led many of the descendents to explore the seas and collect a rather large library on creatures of the Deep. Stories of sirens, merfolk and sea serpents filled the library's shelves. Perhaps it was their thirst of knowledge that led to the downfall of Blackshore. There have been rumors for the last several decades that the men of the bloodline have been twisted by the darkness they once spilled on their rocky shores. Last year, Blackshore Keep and the bustling port town nearby were destroyed by what some whisper was dragon fire. The isle stayed abandoned for a year, until House Darkwater found the last living heir of Blackshore and named her baroness. Perhaps the family will fare better under a matriarch. Currently the new baroness seeks to rebuild her isle.

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Ruler: Aedric

Land Holdings

New Hope

Description: Overlooking the rocky shore, the new white limestone walls of New Hope glitter as the sun shines down upon it. An optical illusion but the masons that used sea shells in the mix of mortar gives the feel of being the sea. The roof of the buildings are made of ceramic tiles that overlay one another, showing that artisians have taken bits of shell and glass to form intricate designs. In the center of the courtyard, a fountain with several spouts is surrounded by wild flowers that naturally grow on the isle. Benches around the fountain are made in the same stone.

Behind the keep is a forest of chesnut, cherry and other trees that have given their harvest for the year. Iron gates stand protecting the outer walls in two tiers so the port town recieves some protection before moving into the inner circle. Industries that may yet thrive in this holding are: fishing, whaling, exotic skins, lamp oil, candlemaking, and ship building. And they make an exceptional cherry wine.

Landmarks: Part of the Seacoast Watch of the Mourning Isles, built in 1013

Trends: Founding member of the Empyrean Trade Route.

Recently popularized a new vintage of sweet cherry wine: Hope's Sweetness.

Has formally banned thralldom on its lands, infuriating traditionalists in the Isles.

Tresova

Description: The island of Tresova is shrouded by an everlasting, unnatural fog. Its most distinctive landmark is a colossal, active volcano which, on the rare occasion when the weather is particularly cooperative, can be spied by the naked eye through the thinning veil. Even then, its sudden and apparitional appearance is often disbelieved until the observant ship runs aground of the basalt rock formations serving as a defensive barrier jutting up from the island’s shoals. Shipwrecks are plentiful, and act as a foreboding watershed for passing ships; most sailors have learned to give the region a wide berth. Those intimately familiar with the composition of the coastline can navigate its perilous waters with relative ease, though only when the tide is high and weather permits a captain to maintain strict control of their ship’s heading. When one is so fortunate to get past these initial trepidations, however, the landmass itself is far more forgiving. Grassy plains give way to verdant forests, and the surrounding mountains, or what can be observed beneath the cloud cover, feature plentiful waterfalls which birth rivers of various sizes that snake across the landscape.

Tresovans are loyal, indomitable, and incredibly skeptical. Having suffered a series of misfortunes in recent times, their trust is not easily won, though dire circumstances necessitate that they open their hearts and minds to new laws, customs, and cultures.

Landmarks: For hundreds of years, until the recent expiration of the Carideo family line, a series of four lighthouses served to illuminate a clear passage to an expansive bay whereupon its blackened cliffs the city of Tresova, the island’s namesake, was founded. Three of the lesser pillars were strategically constructed atop the eroded rocks as intermittent guideposts. The fourth stands two-hundred meters tall, accessible from the external wall of the Bloodstone Keep, signaling an end to the stress of maneuvering a massive vessel through narrow, treacherous channels. This impressive monument was named the Sovereign Star, for its brilliancy and long-rage visibility simulated the lodestar that citizens were unable to glimpse through the perpetual gloom.