Locales: Dakon-Bar

Dakon-Bar, also known as Dragonwood, is one of the petty kingdoms that make up the lands of Evandar. The forest that covers vast tracts of this land's rolling hills gives this kingdom its name. It reaches up into the foothills of the mountains that are the border between Dakon-Bar and Tarsus and to the edges of the plain that is in Aelethmer. The Shadowmere river runs north to south, marking the western boundary between Aelethmer and Dakon-Bar.

To the east, Dakon-Bar reaches to the borders of Ranyth. The city of Farden marks one of the most prosperous routes. A stone road runs from Dragonwood keep, the seat of the king of this petty kingdom to Farden. At Farden, another road runs north, leading to Tarsus and Tor Caldri, the seat of the High Council. Other unpaved roads wind through the heavily forested terrain.

These roads connect the open spaces carved out from the dense wood where the nobles beholden to the king live and the peasantry do their best to get by. Within the wood, there are bands of outlaws and the clanless and rejected. Travel between the villages and towns is at times dangerous and challenging, despite the fact that the largest confederation of bands known as the Foresters has moved from being a criminal element to something of a vigilante force that serves to enforce some measure of order on these more or less lawless places.

In the western and southern regions of Dakon-Bar, the forests thin out and there is a great many farms. This is predominantly where the grain that forms a significant portion of the trade of Dakon-Bar with the Evandari kingdoms of Aelethmer and Moesia is produced. Dakon-Bar trades heavily with Tarsus in lumber and grain, though more emphasis is placed upon lumber. Fur trade is strong in Dakon-Bar but it is firmly regulated by guilds.

Unlike the southern and western Evandari kingdoms, Dakon-Bar does not have much in the way of sumptuary laws. While the variety of colors worn by the people of Dakon-Bar does increase as one moves higher in the social strata, the restrictions are few. The Foresters are known for wearing the colors green, gray, and brown. The people of the northern regions of Dakon-Bar tend to wear plaids reflecting the families they are descendant from. The peasantry of Dakon-Bar wear mostly undyed clothing or own very few pieces of dyed clothing (usually serving as special occasion clothes). The nobles and merchants of Dakon-Bar wear a greater variety of colors and fabrics as markers of their wealth. They will also clothe the people of their households in garments that reflect their membership of a wealthy person's household.

Horses are found in Dakon-Bar mainly in the western and southern regions. The wealthy of the kingdom, however, will own them because they are markers of high status. Cattle are found in the southern and western regions of Dakon-Bar. In the northern and eastern regions, goats, pigs, and mules are found as livestock. There is also an overabundance of deer in the forested regions.

Bears are said to roam the northern portion of Dakon-Bar. Wild boar are also found in this region. The wild deer of Dakon-Bar have antlers upon both sexes. Some have domesticated them and trained them to the saddle. Wolves are problematic in the southern and western portions of Dakon-Bar, known for harrying the sheep and cattle. In the northern and eastern portions of this petty kingdom, wolves are a necessary part of the system because they help control the deer population.

Unfortunately, the large predators of wolves and bears are not as prevalent in this part of Dakon-Bar for reasons unknown. Nobles have placed a ban upon hunting bear, but some of the people in northern Dakon-Bar will do so. Rumors and local folklore speak of a dragon living within the deep wood. This is not something that has been substantiated. Local folklore also speaks of a female figure (considered by some to be an avatar of the goddess Roen) known as the Gray Lady.

The Gray Lady pops up in the mythos of Dakon-Bar as a wise adviser of kings and nobles. She is always spoken of wearing gray and coming in the hour of greatest need. The Gray Lady is always described as coming out of the forest and usually reputed to have some sort of charmed way with the animals. It is said that the fiercest of wolves will behave like a beloved pet dog, responding to commands by the Gray Lady and allowing her to fondle and pet them with impunity.

Sigurt, Roen, Kaileth, and Morguthu.

The faith of the Evandari people is polytheistic. Primary deities are Sigurt, Roen, Kaileth, and Morguthu. Sigurt and Roen are the most popular deities, as they are considered to be the originators of humanity by many. Sigurt is known as the Storm Lord and associated with the summer storms that roll through Evandar and bring much needed moisture during the hot and dry months. Sigurt is regarded as the source of divine justice and frequently petitioned upon such matters. Roen is commonly considered his bride. She is associated with the land and viewed as the mother of all life. Prosperity is considered a sign of Roen's blessing.

Roen is also considered by some to be the bride or consort of Morguthu. Depending on whom one speaks to, Roen's role as consort to Morguthu is to give shape to his will or she is the mercy of death in the midst of suffering. Morguthu is the god of sorrow, suffering, and evil. He is considered to be a deity of darkness, where as his brother Sigurt is associated with the sun. Morguthu is very strongly associated with violence and death. His priesthood are known for wearing the clothes of the dead. Morguthu is reckoned as the darkness between the stars and the biting cold of deep winter.

Kaileth is the god of the wind. He is considered the source of all magic, master of fate, and the agent of change. Kaileth is also the god of insanity. He is also a deity associated with death. Death from accident and old age fall under his purview. Kaileth is the brother of Roen. Where Roen is associated with things of the material nature, Kaileth is associated with energetic nature. Kaileth is also a shape changer. Kaileth is frequently considered to be in Sigurt's company and acts as a messenger of him and Roen.

Kaileth is opposed to Morguthu. Sigurt is opposed to Morguthu. Roen is Morguthu's victim and Sigurt's wife. Morguthu is opposed to Sigurt. He is vexed by Kaileth but not opposed to him. He desires to possess Roen. Kaileth and Roen are favorable towards each other, described in some tales as having worked together to create the whole of reality, which was then infused with life by way of Sigurt. The tales all agree that the first death brought into reality came from Kaileth's hand, thereby robbing Morguthu of absolute power over this realm.

Another story.

Below is the four part story of how Byroniac, the sorcerer of the deamons acquired a bride and then lost her to his brother Maigren. Adult themes and content.

http://anamcarafiction.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-demons-kiss-pt-1.html
http://anamcarafiction.blogspot.com/2013/12/deamons-kiss-pt-2.html
http://anamcarafiction.blogspot.com/2014/01/deamons-kiss-pt-3.html
http://anamcarafiction.blogspot.com/2014/02/deamons-kiss-pt-4.html