The Broken Kingdom of Thane: Map and Storyline

OVERVIEW:The Kingdom of Thane is a broken place. Once stretching to encompass all of the Lands of the Dead and Silverleaf, it was 1000 years ago that the armies of the earliest version of the Empire, led by the Paragon himself, confronted the Death Knight, a soldier who had inadvertently stumbled unto the most evil sword that the world ever has or ever will know, the 'Brand of the Fallen' (Daniel Dacombes design, pictured below).




For over 1000 years the ruined lands have been abandoned, feared by all. But in these empty lands, generation after generation of Orc have grown in number, taking over the ruined old Capital, now known as the Dark Harbor. At the same time, unable to resist the lure of the fertile farmlands and rich mineral deposits, both Silverleaf and the Empire have begun colonizing the empty lands, though not without a great deal of hardship. And with rumors of a great Orcish King beginning to unite the various disparate Orc tribes in the region and mould them into his own army, with designs on eventually sacking Silverleaf and taking over the Badlands, the future of this region is uncertain to say the least..

NAMED AREAS

SILVERLEAF COLONIES: When the 1000 year anniversary of the end of the Thanish Empire under the terrible Deathknight came and went, the people of Silverleaf believed that the curse was over and crossed the river south of their lands to establish several farming and mining colonies. Numerous attacks by Orcs from the North forced the Royal Silver Army to conduct a series of raids, recently destroying a large Orcish settlement with several thousdand Orc warriors as they were poised to march North in earnest.. Because of this, many would be colonists are retreating back to Silverleaf and the colony, which is barely one generation old, looks to be on very shaky ground indeed.

NORTHERN COLONIES: Imperial Colonies that sprang up at the same time as the Silverleaf Colonies, the Northern Colonies have been growing in leaps and bounds over the last 30 years, attracting all manner of rough and ready colonists. However, all is not well, as the Westernmost mining town was recently wiped off the map by a massive unprecedented Orcish incursion and are requesting assistance from the 6th Legion at Batrion, as the local militia are fearful that a second attack like this would claim yet another town..

FARBARROW: The lands around Farbarrow are some of the richest, most fertile on the continent. Colonists need only casually drop seed on the ground to see lush crops spring up, and there are rich deposits of gold and silver in the foothills. Due to recent, increased attacks by Orc raiders, Farbarrow, which sprang up only 25 years ago, is in the process of fortification. Whether it will be enough, however, remains to be seen..

NEW TERRITORIES: Like their Colonial neighbors to the north, the peoples of the New Territories are troubled by the Orcish raids and recently lost a town of 300 families to the South. Furious that the Empire is not stationing soldiers there (mostly due to the increasing demands on military resources from the War with Escia and the need to station a legion at Batrion to protect the Western Road and the fortress itself against the Badlands) they have reportedly entered negotiations with the Hobgoblin King of the Badlands to hire mercenaries to defeat the Orcs..

DAWNFRONT: Capital of the New Territories, Dawnfront is an incredibly eclectic town full of proud, headstrong colonists who live free from the rule of law. While anarchic in nature, it works surprisingly well, and while only young, has been growing at an unprecedented pace, enriching many, luring even more colonists.. But recent events have cast a dark shadow over its future, and people are starting to leave..

WINDY LAKE: The Southern shores, beautiful. The north, desolate as it butts against the Badlands. The waters, while rough due to the Western Winds that whip in from across the sea and are funneled towards the Badlands, are brimming with fish, including several high in demand rare species exclusive to the area.

GRAY BASIN: Swampland. Miles and miles of it, bogging down the road to the South along the great inland sea. A place few, if any, enter. And fewer leave..

THE DARK HARBOR: In the ruins of the ancient capital, blasted to pieces during the war between the Paragon and the Deathknight, rises a new enemy. Here in the ruins the Orc King Gurak gathers his army, defeating all other tribes and bringing them under his dark banner.

THE BROKEN OUTPOST: Another ruined city, this one abandoned after the Kingdom of Thane fell to ruin, and also occupied by Orcs - but Orcs which resist the claims of King Gurak - but once defeated, are the last major obstacle to Guraks rise to supremacy.

THE MONSTER OF THE INLAND SEA

The Inland sea - as shown on the main map, it has a monster in it. A BIG monster.. Imagine Nessie on steroids cross bred with Godzilla and Cthulhu and you have some idea of how mean and nasty this being is. Some say it is a demi-god, fallen from the heavens. Others say it was caught by the Deathknight when he was fishing in the lake as a boy, and was a portent of the dark future he had ahead of him (he was fishing instead of helping his dying mother, and caught this monstrosity and threw it back into the lake 1100 years ago)..

Whatever it really is, few will ever know as no-one has been able to survive its attack with their sanity still intact.

Sightings of the Monster should be rare - due in part to the sheer size of the inland sea and the tendency for the monster to spend its time in the darkest depths. But it can be and is sighted at any point along the coast of the inland sea, though usually from a distance and as bubbles, tentacles or something big and very nasty moving deep in the seas reddish waters.