Storms Keep
Storms Keep is a dark Stronghold, with a Central keep that juts out of cliff that faces east, with two other lesser keeps at the "entrance" of the Stronghold, equipped with a deepening wall between them. To the west is an open plain that has been made nearly impassable with barricades, walls and archer towers. Though most recently it has become filled with Catherine Wheels on pikes, containing the bodies of heretics, so that one would have to walk through a field of the dead. For miles around the place looks as a foreboding dark series of structures. The sky is always roiling with storm, the sky is dark and chaotic. The people of Thulsoma find comfort and escape from the dreary landscape by eating a hallucinogenic fruit that they call the 'Bloodmoon' fruit. There are massive stick and wicker sculptures and wind screamer and howler constructions all over, so if one was to attack they would see what appeared to be monsters and their nights filled with odd noises and phantasm like things.
The Storms Keep tower in older days was little more than a fortified Lighthouse, though it was soon renovated into a great Stronghold and keep. There isn't any real thing nice about the keep, but it is home. People walk and go where they please and do what they like artistically. The sky is always filled with strange kites and stiltwalkers make their way around the courtyard. People sing and dance naked, drink and make strange art. It is a circus of dreams. Coloured smoke fills the air and spices float everywhere.
Storms keep is always bustling with soldiers, everyone is either a soldier or doing something to help other soldiers. At night the land is filled with bonfires and the soldiers can be heard to be howling and dancing under the moon if it is full. The soldiers dress in the armour of their service, the Knights Of Holy Iron Chain's wearing ornately designed steel, the Goeguth wearing chainmail, the Duguth wearing perhaps the leather armour of their youth. Their weapons are a mixture of swords (All free men are required by law to bear a sword) a spear called a Gar and a Bow (All young men are required by law to practice archery) all the soldiers are fanatic in their loyalty to the Queen and Thulsoma, whenever the Keep is in danger they rise in arms and anger and will fight to the death against any enemy. Libero fiefdom is hated, nay loathed here, with King Sejieda viewed as an evil pariah.
Contents
The Citadel
Upon ForÞwíf Heofon Haruka's command of the Stronghold, she oversaw the increase of the defences by four levels of fortification, where once it was a crude motte and bailey of sorts, it is now a great Citadel and defensive position, the greatest on the continent, and second only to a legendary Citadel in Chocxcal, at least in terms of "fortification levels", though the Saxon's view their Citadel as the greatest in the world. The Citadel consists of two Outer Keeps, connected by a deepening wall, with an inner Keep at the far back of the cliff, also surrounded by an inner wall. Outside the keep is a series of trenches, iron spikes, moats and, as of recent, a field of Catherine wheels, where the bodies of thousands of Star worshippers have been placed. It is a great symbol to any foreigner or heretic of the fate that awaits them. To further back this up Heofon Haruka ordered the creation of a wall entirely of Liberite dead, held together by mortar, to show the Liberite's that they will have to clamber over thousands of their dead to ever take her fortress from her.
The Religious Uprising
In mid June of the first year of Heofon Haruka's rule, a Priestess by the name of Elsebeth, a strongly disliked Liberite noble entered the Stronghold under the pretences of peace. Previously Queen Haruka had ordered her arrest, but due to talks with the Archon of Xinhai, she consented to allow her presence in the Stronghold. A grave mistake. Up until this point Thulsoma had been easily deflecting Liberite invasion and seemed set to hold out for months with ease, when the Torenist, Sejieda, realised this, he manipulated the Priestess into filling the hearts and minds of the Thulsoman peasantry with corruption and hatred, using the hallucinogenic Bloodmoon fruit to further infect them with madness. The Priestess then demanded the Star worshippers charge the palace and try to throw Heofon Haruka out, the soldiers of Thulsoman quickly rallied in defence of their beloved Heofon, when the first wave failed, slaughtered, Priestess Elsebeth called for another wave of crazed peasants to attack, when this failed, she raised another, only to be captured. Because of her more than Two Thousand peasants lay dead, a majority of the populous of Storms Keep with many soldiers also dead. Storms Keep, which had been set to hold out for months now seemed ruined at the hands of this single Priestess, doing the bidding of a greedy Torenist (Torenism, ironically being the arch enemy of Sanguis Astroism) Heofon Haruka had agreed to keep the Astroist temples intact previously, though now it was clear that they could not be allowed to. When she spoke of this mass slaughter of Star Worshippers under the orders of a Torenist they closed their eyes and held hands over their ears, to see no evil, hear no evil and refused to believe such a slaughter happened. The Priestess is now in the hands of the Ministry Of Torture where she is being tortured repeatedly, everyday.
The Autumn hunt
A hunt that takes place late in the Autumn, before the outbreak of winter. It normally happens in the regions of Storms End and Valldir, the aim of this hunt is to kill and capture as many of the indigenous Blue Feathered Quails as possible; as opposed to normal noble hunts of this time of the year, no one uses horses.
Food Of Storms Keep
Storms Keep, deprived of sunlight struggles to grow crops of any value, the crops that are yielded are valued only as hard, stone like, gritty grain. This makes up an important part of the Thulsoman diet, as hard grown soaked in crushed Bloodmoon fruit is the main meal. For animal meat, there are so few native animals to Storms Keep that meat is hard to come by.
- Bloodmoon Fruit - a Hallucinogenic fruit grown compulsively by the locals, one of the rare fruits to survive and grow in the Stormland's. The most notable instances of Bloodmoon Fruit in recent Thulsomaite history, was when Heofon Haruka delivered a gift of Bloodmoon fruit to a variety of neighbouring rulers (King Theodred of Averoth and King Sejieda Libero Empire, and also Regent Medugnatos Of Corsanctum) in which two of them claimed to have had their servants die when tasting the fruit, (more than attributable to the poison placed in the fruit -cough-). The fruit was also, most notoriously used in the religious riots of Storms Keep, used to drug and intoxicate the Astroist followers in rioting and rebelling against the rightful noble government, at the behest of Astromantic priests.
- Crow Feathers - Crow feathers are a well known filling for pies, as their meat is considered unworthy due to the Crow's "laziness". However, there are instances of its meat being consumed.
- Blue Feathered Quail - A bird of intense rarity (Perhaps because of the relentless hunting of it, and the fact it is indigenous to the Stormlands) this birds meat and eggs are highly prized as delicious.
- Boar Meat -
Maps
(Maps and pictures will be made here)
The Catacombs Of The Keep
The Catacombs of Storms Keep, a glorified series of extensive tunnels and dungeons long mined and built into the hard bedrock of Storms Keep, deep under the Citadel, mostly used for storage of good and resources, under the directive of the Heofon in case of sieges and resource shortages during wartime, it has of course been imperative to the Saxon survival. It is rumoured the great Hrēdmōnath treasury is placed deep within the maze like Catacombs, deliberately kept from public knowledge as to its location, so only the truly trustworthy can locate the gold supply that long funded Thulsoma. During the darkest days of the Héahcáseren Kingdom the Saxons sook refuge in the caves, to allow wounds to heal and to allow them to avoid the brutal rape and looting of the Heresiarch barbarian's. The origin of the catacombs is believed to have been Saxons mining deep into the bedrock for the purer metals, only found in the unworkable rock of the Stormland north sea cliffs, upon which Storms Keep was founded upon in the first age of the Saxon's.
The Catacombs, by design are directly only accessible from the Central Keep of Storms Keep, and are rumoured to have deep tunnels leading straight out of Storms Keep, one to Valldir, and one to Storms End.
Buildings and Structures
- The Ministry of Torture. Perhaps the most infamous part of the Stronghold, located deep in the depths of the final and main Keep, it is only reachable through a single, wrought Iron door. Screams can regularly be heard echoing throughout the keep, a deeply haunting sound.
- Royal Barracks Of The Knights Of Holy Iron Chains. A vast structure where the Knights Of Holy Iron Chains are housed, their equipment stored and the great armouries forge new weapons and armour, and repair their equipment. It is also home to a very extensive training ground for the Knights, one of the best that money could buy, for the Holy Knights are the sacred army, and the Vanguard of the Heofon, it is their duty to serve, and to be the best
- The Witenagamot. The great and revered chambers of the Witenagamot are located deep within the central Keep, where the main chamber is adorned with a vast table to house all the Witan's, with the walls draped in torch brackets and a vast array of banners and heraldry belonging to the different Saxon houses and noble families, and great symbols of the past and present.
- Hrēdmōnath Temple. The first and central temple of the Hrēdmōnath faith, it is also the largest and grandest temple of the faith; it is devoted to Storms Keep, a stronghold and installation viewed with great religious reverence, as it is a construct built and designed by the Saxonic forefathers, though in the ruin of their Kingdom it was destroyed, but under the revivalism, it is being rebuilt, the temple honours it.
- Háligdórnhús, a second temple of Hrēdmōnath, built deep within the Central Keep of Storms Keep, unlike the first temple, which is designed to be a place of worship for all Saxon's, this temple is far more reclusive, with only a select few having access to it, it is also the home of the reliquary, where a majority of relics are protected and divinated.
- Storm Haerbann: This recruitment centre provides the bulk of Thulsoma's infantry, particularly because it sports some of the best equipped troops on the continent, the recruitment centre is regularly bolstered by drafts and the main purchasers of the soldiers are the Knights Of Holy Iron Chains.
- Archers Of The Heofon: Thulsoma's only archer recruitment centre, it sports archers of a decent quality, even if their bows are not of a favourable standard. This centre soon became defunct as they were replaced with better recruitment centres.
- Scytere Féðehere: Thulsoma's first Mixed Infantry Recruitment Centre, it's value is derived from its excellent range in missiles and projectiles, supplemented by a great degree of training and armour, including weapons. This was the initial successor to the Heofonic Archers.
- RægelÞebn Comitanses: Thulsoma's second Mixed Infantry Recruitment Centre, a successor to the Scytere Féðehere Centre, while the range of its missiles and projectiles is decreased, it has a great degree of weapons and armour, furthered by excellent training, these soldiers are to become the bulk of Thulsoma's missile troops and an excellent secondary close quarters combat force, perfect for defending the Citadel.
- The palace. The construction of which was ordered by Heofon Haruka in the first days she took over the Keep, using a large amount of her own gold she created "The peoples palace", it is located within the inner walls at the foot of the main keep. It is mainly used as a the residence of all the knights and nobility, though it has many extra areas reserved for royal visits, though Duchess Haruka refuses to live in such grandeur her family paid to be constructed.
