High Alden

The Capitol

Image

Realm

Crownvale

Geography

High Alden sits at the heart of Crownvale, built on rising ground above Points Bay where the Sable Sea meets the southern coast. The city climbs in tiers — white spires and banners at the top, vaults and forgotten canals at the bottom. Older foundations from older empires lie beneath the current streets, and the city has been built, rebuilt, and built again on top of itself for centuries.

Districts

Crown Ward — the upper city, where the castle sits and where the crown makes its decisions. Lady Maren Voss runs the Steward's office here. The Royal Guard patrols in full battle readiness; they no longer wear ceremonial armor. Access is controlled. Refugees do not enter.

Lantern Abbey — the church district and the neighborhood where most ordinary citizens of High Alden live. The Abbey itself is the largest temple in the city. Brother-Calmer Edrin Hale runs the healing house adjoining it. The Collegium Arcanum — the city's center of arcane scholarship — sits within this district; Magister Hadrik Sorn is its dean and sealed its public records several months ago. The outer wards are now crowded with refugees from Frostmarch.

Ashdock — the port, harbor, and market district, built around Points Bay. Dockworkers, ferrymen, and people who prefer not to answer questions about their cargo. Orric Fen runs ferries here. Veyla Quill, the Ink-Witch, keeps her shop in the market end of the district. Smuggling has increased as official trade routes have collapsed. The smell of salt and coal smoke never leaves.

Notable People

• Lady Maren Voss — Steward of the Crown Ward
• Brother-Calmer Edrin Hale — Lantern Abbey Healer
• Captain Sella Rook — Watch Commander of Gate Seven
• Veyla Quill — Ink-Witch of Ashdock
• Orric Fen — Ashdock Ferryman
• Magister Hadrik Sorn — Collegium Arcanum Dean (Lantern Abbey district)
• Sir Kaelin — Watcher of Crownvale

Points of Interest

• Castle of High Alden — seat of the crown, home of the King Regent. The dungeon beneath it runs deep into older foundations.
• The Collegium Arcanum — within Lantern Abbey district. Sealed its records when the Corruption worsened. What it knows and isn't saying is an open question.
• Lantern Abbey — the largest temple in the city. Its consecrated hearths are said to slow the Corruption's spread.

Under the Corruption

Refugees from Frostmarch fill the outer wards of Lantern Abbey. Merchants report trade routes that simply stopped — caravans that left and didn't arrive, ships that sailed and weren't seen again. The Royal Guard is on a war footing that has no declared war to justify it.

The Collegium Arcanum sealed its records without explanation. Lady Maren Voss moves certain documents nightly.

Beneath the castle, in the old dungeon, the King Regent's father lies suspended on a stone altar, breathing but unreachable. The people who put him there are still in the city.

Connections

• Kings Road east to Stonebridge
• Points Bay south to the Sable Sea
• Kings Road north and east through Crownvale toward Still Lake of the Vale and Stonebridge

Notes

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