Nova Vaasa

Lands of the Core

Things, Creatures & Personnages of Legend

• Chezna the Blood-cat
• Eternal King Zaanji Højplads
• George Weathermay
• Nightmares
• The Black Duke
• The Centaur

Biology

Flora of Nova Vaasa

Grasses

• Dødmangraes ("dead man's grass") is found in the Ehrendton of Nova Vaasa. A fungus turns patches of the short and thin native grass from its yellow-green to an unhealthy white. It is said to be the sign of an unmarked grave.
• Havgraes is a tall a chest-high grass, the tallest in known world, which is perfect for a stalking plains cat. It is common in the Pommel.
• Hestgraes is a knee-high grass, in which the plains cat is certainly capable of crouching, with brown or white seeds. It is common in the Tordenmark ('Thundering Plain').
• Knivgraes is a razor-edged grass that thrives only in the Dommark ("Plains of Judgement").
• Vingraes is a short golden grass with royal purple seeds. It is common on the Kesjermark ("King's Plain)" and lends it the moniker of “Højplads’s Carpet”.

Cacti

• Catspaw

Crops of Nova Vaasa

• Wheat
• Oats
• Rye

Fauna of Nova Vaasa

Cats=

• Plains Cat

Snakes

• Bluffsnake
• Diamondback
• Goldenhood
• Ironwhips
• Kingsnake
• Sidewinder
• Vaasi garter snake
• Whipsnake

Horses

• Gedfode ("goat-foots") is a breed of horses native to the rockier western reaches of the Kesjermark and of the Elendighedmark in Nova Vaasa. They stand from 13 to 15 hands high. Gedfode are used by the Vistani as pack animals. The Vaasi use them to carry freight to and from the docks of Guldstrand Beach and up and down the rock trail to Egertus perched on the cliff high above.

• Jernryge (“iron-backs”)
• Rødbuge (“red-bellies”)
• Vaamgaaer ("heat-walker")
• Vindhåre (“wind-manes”)

Fish

• Cod
• Herring

Native Horrors

Nova Vaasa is host to several species of monsters unknown elsewhere and closely related, symbolically at least, to horses. They include the tragic Doedridere, a marriage of horse and rider in undeath; the foul Hestdrikker, which feeds on the blood of horses; vicious Hestskærere, which slits open the stomachs of horses and crawl inside; and treacherous Niksiee, which captivates with its beauty before carrying off and drowning its rider, and the devilish nightmare, a fiend that has the form of a horse.

• Jermlaine
• The Bad Wind
• The Mud Monster
• The Red Bride of Nova Vaasa

Aberrations

• Broken One

Undead

• Bastellus
• Doedridere
• Geist
• Ghoul
• Ghoul Lord
• Ghost
• Shadow
• Skeleton
• Spectre
• Wight
• Dread Wight
• Wraith

Geography

The maximum length of Nova Vaasa on the north-south axis is 118 miles and the maximum width on the east-west axis is 68 miles. The surface area is 4518 square miles. These measurements include land, lakes and rivers but exclude the Nocturnal Sea.

Terrain

Plains

• The Dommark ("Plain of Judgement") is located in central east Nova Vaasa.
• The Ehrendton is located in northeast Nova Vaasa.
• The Elendighedmark ("Plain of Misery")
• The Kesjermark ("King’s Plain")
• The Pommel is narrowing pennisula of southern Nova vaasa south of the Saniset River.
• The Tordenmark ("Thundering Plain") lies between the Ivlis River and the Saniset River. To the north it is part of the Ivlis Duchy of the Rivtoff family and to the south it is part of the Pommel Duchy of the Chekiv family.

Hills

• The Altid Bluffs
• The Forgotten Hills are the southern foothills of the Mountains of Misery. They constitute, in effect, the north frontier of northwestern Nova Vaasa. Since 740 BC, they have become home to bandits who prey upon travellers on the East Timori Road between Liara and the Trished River and even beyond.
• The Howling Hills, called the Hills of Bleak Vistas by Barovians, are the eastern foothills of the Barovian Balinoks. They are wolf infested, are rumoured to harbour werewolves and vampires, furnish inferior timber, and consequently are shunned by all but the most foolhardy.
• The Hvile Bluffs
• The Koshka Bluffs .... In their eastern shadow stands the Misbande Forest.
• The Stony Bluffs
• The Vaesen Foothills of northwestern Nova Vaasa are the foothills of the Balinoks from vanished Markovia. They front the Shadow Rift.

Canyons

• The Katsmund Canyon
• The Storrokke Canyon

Forests

• The Briarweed Forest is found in northeastern Nova Vaasa, south of the Sydligdnar and south of the East Timori Road which joins Egertus and Kantora. It is a hideout and base for bandits, most famously the Briarweed Forest Bandits led by Chezna the Blood-cat. The forest is seemingly immune both to the conditions that make the Dommark a virtual desert and to the axes of men. As to the first point, there must be springs. As to the second, on at least one occasion Prince Othmar did make a point of sending foreign mercenaries to clear out the bandits, driving out, but not capturing, Chezna the Blood-cat. In return for this kindness, she began a reign of terror.

The Briarweed Forest was also formerly home to a circle of druids until one of their own, Lady Heather Shadowbrooke, betrayed and murdered them all. Now the Briarweed Forest Circle serves as the lair of Lady Shadowbrooke, now one of the horrid undead.

• The Dyrskov ("Beastwood") fronts the Barovian frontier a little north of the Old Svalich Road to the edge of the Shadow Rift and fronts the Shadow Rift to a little south of the Borchava River. It covers the southern half of the Vaesen Foothills that themselves fronted the Balinoks of vanished Markovia.
• The Graenseskov ("Borderwood") grows thickly on the lower slopes of the eastern foothills of the Balinoks in Barovia and well out onto the flatter land of Nova Vaasa beyond them. Its upper reaches are known to Barovians as the Hills of Bleak Vistas and to the Nova Vaasans as the Howling Hills. The northern boundary of the forest lies a little south of the Old Svalich Road where the beech-firs of the Old Svalich Woods resolutely hold their ground. The southern limit extends at least to the border of Hazlani frontier but perhaps continues into Hazlan itself.
• The Skyggeskov ("Shadowwood") straddles, just south of the Saniset River, the eastern Hazlani frontier with Nova Vaasa, fronting the Misty Border. It begins in earnest east of the Felgmøsge ("Mistmoss River").

Woods

Note: wood are usually less than 1 mile square.

• The Abentaage Forest stands a few miles north of Arbora.
• The Briarweed Forest stand between Kantora and Egertus, a little south of the East Timori Road.
• The Misbande Forest stands in shadow, to the east, of the Koshka Bluffs.

Lakes

• Lake Kronov
• The Three Sisters

Rivers=

Dnar River System

• The Sydligdnar ("South Dnar River") is navigable, although not without difficulty in both directions owing to its current, with small ships between the Nocturnal Sea and the docks at Kantora. With the right winds, the Sydligdnar can be sailed. Otherwise it must be rowed. The Vaughn Dnar and the Dnar are too deep to be forded as they merge to form the Sydligdnar. Bridges consistent with small ships pose a manifest engineering problem, but none are mentioned, so ferry service for river crossings would make sense. A ferry service is known to exist between the docks of Kantora and the port of Guldstrand Beach on the sea at the foot of Egertus.
• The Vaughn Dnar River is navigable, although surely with progressively smaller craft as one climbs past the Borchava River and the Trished River on the way to Liara. The Vaughn Dnar is not navigable in Tepest as its waters plunge through shallow but sinuous and boulder strewn gorges.
• The East Timori Road remains on the south shore of the Vaughn Dnar from Kantora until just after the Trished River, inviting the hypothesis that at that point either the Vaughn Dnar becomes fordable or has a bridge thrown across it that doesn't greatly harm river traffic. To reach that point, the East Timori Road crosses the Borchava River, suggesting that the Borchava is either more fordable than the Vaughn Dnar or that a bridge thrown across the Borchava would do less harm to river traffic than one thrown over the Vaughn Dnar. In Liara there is at least one bridge over the Vaughn Dnar. There are four ancient stone bridges built over the Vaughn Dnar between the Tepestani frontier and Lake Kronov.
• The Sydligdnar ("South Dnar River") has as its tributaries the Dnar River and the Vaughn Dnar River.
  • The Dnar River
  • The Vaughn Dnar River has as its tributary the Borchava River and the Trished River.
  • The Borchava River has as its tributary the Little Borchava River
  • The Little Borchava River
  • The Trished River

Ivlis River System

The Ivlis River and its tributaries are essentially unnavigable, which is not to say that it cannot be done, only that it cannot be done reliably and safely enough for it to be economical. The Volgis River may be used, at least seasonally, to float logs individually to Bergovitsa however.

The Ivlis River has as its tributaries the Volgis River and Ulvand River

• The Volgis River
• The Ulvand River

Saniset River System

The Saniset River is navigable from the Nocturnal Sea to Sly-Var and beyond, certainly not all the way to Immol, but perhaps to the shadow of the Barovian Balinoks where the climb to Immol begins. Craft are very likely smaller than small ships however. Otherwise chuul, when they rear their ugly selves, wouldn't be able to make a mess of transport on the river.

The Genspejle is navigable from Sly-Var to the frontier with Nova Vaasa and with greater difficulty some distance beyond.

Fording the Saniset River seems unlikely, even above Sly-Var. The Iron Road crosses the Saniset two-thirds of the way to Toyalis. This would be the disembarkation point for goods carried by water to Toyalis from both up and downriver, so throwing a bridge across the river here would do no exceptional harm to river traffic. Additionally, one could imagine Hazlik insisting upon a bridge as it would also service his private estate of Veneficus. The Iron Road crosses Genspejle at Sly-Var. A bridge here would allow the town to straddle both banks and would be a boon to commerce. And a ferry across the Saniset would make sense too. The Vaere Bange Road crosses the Saniset near the Nocturnal Sea. Again a ferry would make sense.

The Saniset River has as its tributaries the Genspejle ("Mirror River") and the Felgmøsge ("Mistmoss River")

• The Genspejle ("Mirror River")
• The Felgmøsge ("Mistmoss River")

Musarde River System

The East Musarde River could conceivably be used for a bit of transportation back and forth across the southern Pommel. Only the Vistani or a captain of the Mists could, however, hope to use the East Musarde River to reach southwestern Hazlan or the Musarde River to reach the southwestern Pommel of Nova Vaasa.

The Musarde River has as its tributary the East Musarde River.

• The East Musarde River

Roads

The East Timori Road runs from Egertus, through Kantora and Liara, and into Tepest where it is cut short by the Shadow Rift. The distance by this road from Egertus to Kantora is 30 miles, from Kantora to Liara is 46 miles, and from Liara to Kellee is 10 miles.

The Old Svalich Road begins just south of Bergovitsa and joins Nova Vaasa to Barovia and the lands beyond, crossing the Balinoks. The distance by this road from Bergovitsa to the Village of Barovia is 47 miles.

The Prince’s Road joins Bergovitsa and Kantora. The distance by this road from Bergovitsa to Kantora is 50 miles.

The Vaere Bange Road joins Bergovitsa and Arbora. The distance by this road from Bergovitsa to Arbora is 92 miles.

The Iron Road joins the Pommel to Sly-Var and Toyalis. The distance by this road from Arbora to Sly-Var is 59 miles.

Note: Efforts, subject to continual sabotage, are underway to cut a road through Tepest and Keening to the Strigos Road in Darkon.

Mistways

The Bleak Road (poor reliability, two-Way) from the Misty Border south of Arbora in southern Nova Vaasa to northern Vorostokov. This Mistway is little known as such, although inhabitants south of Arbora have probably seen strange things.

The Serpent's Coils (moderate reliability, two way) from eastern Nova Vaasa to Paridon. This Mistway is little known as such, but those living in eastern Nova Vaasa have noticed a corellation between disappearances and individuals being out on foggy nights during the dark of the moon. Subsequently revisited by the FoS, presumably in the Paridon Gazeetteer.

The Unending Sleep (one-way, excellent reliabiliy) from The Clinic for the Mentally Distressed outside of Egertus to the Nightmare Lands. This Mistway is unknown as such.

Landmarks

The forventetaarn ("watchtowers")

Frontiers

Barovia

The Old Svalich Woods is a small forest of old growth beech-firs along the Old Svalich Road in Barovia from the Village of Barovia to the Nova Vaasan frontier.

The Howling Hills, called the Hills of Bleak Vistas by Barovians, are the eastern foothills of the Barovian Balinoks. They are thickly forested by the Graenseskov ("Borderwood"). It, however, comes to an end before the Old Svalich Road where the beech-firs of the Old Svalich Woods resolutely hold their ground.

The Graenseskov ("Borderwood") grows thickly on the lower slopes of the eastern foothills of the Balinoks in Barovia and well out onto the flatter land of Nova Vaasa beyond them. Its upper reaches are known to Barovians as the Hills of Bleak Vistas and to the Nova Vaasans as the Howling Hills. The northern boundary of the forest lies a little south of the Old Svalich Road where the beech-firs of the Old Svalich Woods resolutely hold their ground. The southern limit extends at least to the border of Hazlani frontier but perhaps continues into Hazlan itself.

Darkon

• The Mountains of Misery
• The Forgotten Hills

Hazlan

The Graenseskov ("Borderwood")

The Høj i den Safdrede Sti-Naavne ("Hill of the Hundred Paths") stands in northeastern Hazlan close to the border with Nova Vaasa at the limit of the Ufrugtbarlan ("Barren Lands"). It is shunned as a place where ghosts walk and kill those who put a foot wrong.

The Skyggeskov ("Shadowwood") stradles just south of the Saniset River the eastern with Nova Vaasa, fronting the Misty Border. It begins in earnest east of the Felgmøsge ("Mistmoss River").

Tepest

The Wormwood stands south of the South Dnar River in southeastern Tepest and reaches across the frontier into Nova Vaasa where it gradually thins and ultimately gives way to the Elendighedmark ("Plain of Misery"). It harbours goblins, Hala's witches, Vaasi bandits (near its eastern fringes), and the three hag sisters (at is heart) who are the Darklords of Tepest.

The Shadow Rift

The Vaesen Foothills of northwestern Nova Vaasa are the foothills of the Balinoks from vanished Markovia. They front the Shadow Rift.

The Dyrskov ("Beastwood") fronts the Barovian frontier a little north of the Old Svalich Road to the edge of the Shadow Rift and fronts the Shadow Rift to a little south of the Borchava River. It covers the southern half of the Vaesen Foothills that themselves fronted the Balinoks of vanished Markovia.

The Mists (the Misty Border)

• The Skyggeskov ("Shadowwood")

The Nocturnal Sea

• The Fortress Coast

The Great Upheaval

Nova Vaasa was significantly altered by the Great Upheaval. To the northeast its frontier with Markovia became one with the Shadow Rift, with positive consequences for the Dyrskov ("Beastwood"). But the Shadow Rift also ended trade with the western Core via the Timori Road, which could not have been good for Liara in particular although it may have helped Bergovitsa a bit. A comparison of the rivers, in particular, before and after the Great Upheaval suggests that Nova Vaasa effectively annexed the former territory of the Nightmare Lands, but a comparison of the subsequent position of the cities suggests that this was a stealth annexation, with Kantora and Egertus simply being relocated to the east and Arbora likewise being relocated to the southwest. The disappearance of the Nightmare Lands was itself a boon and even more so was the eventual appearance of the Nocturnal Sea, which has not only lent Egertus and Arbora considerable importance, but given Nova Vaasa a possible direction for expansion. The former territory of Hazlan was also annexed, as that land reformed along what had been the frontier with Bluetspur. This greatly altered the locations of Sly-Var and Arbora relative to each other, but perhaps improved the prospects for trade, as the navigable Saniset River could now carry goods between the two lands.

Population Distribution

Cities

• -- Arbora
• -- Bergovitsa (pop. 6640) / Bergovitsia
• -- Kantora (pop. 16520)
• -- Liara (pop. 7590)

Towns

• Arbora (pop. 4610)
• Egertus (pop. 3940)

Villages

• Drataan was a village in northern Nova Vaasa in the Ehrendton, probably near the Darkonese frontier which was the Arakian frontier prior to the Great Upheaval. In 685 BC, it was razed by the Black Duke and his Brotherhood of the Whip. There were probably one or two survivors, spared to spread word of the Black Duke's terrible deeds. The village was not rebuilt.

• Guldstrand Beach is the leading port in Nova Vaasa. It lies on the Nocturnal Sea just south of the mouth of Sydligdnar. It is joined to Egertus by a steep path, to Kantora by a ferry, and almost certainly to Skibbygger Beach by a ferry.
• Haaldam is the largest settlement on the Ehrendton in northwestern Nova Vaasa with a population of roughly 200 people.[18]
• Mavalga is a small fishing port on the Nocturnal Sea that harbours a population of 209 souls. It is not far south of Rutledge which itself stands on the border of Darkon and Nova Vaasa. This is to say that Mavalga lies on the edge of the Ehrendton in northeastern Nova Vaasa. It was assaulted by the Bad Wind in 755 BC.
• Mel Fira was a large village in northern Nova Vaasa. It was razed in 735 BC as part of an attempt by adventurers to put to an end a conspiracy led by a wererat. The village was not rebuilt and its site is shunned.
• Rutledge is a port harbouring roughly 250 souls on the Nocturnal Sea that straddles the border between Darkon and Nova Vaasa. It has, as yet, been claimed by neither. Its lifeblood is fishing but it also serves as a pirate haven.
• Skibbygger Beach is the leading ship building centre in Nova Vaasa. It lies on the Nocturnal Sea just north of the mouth of Sydligdnar. It should be joined to Guldstrand Beach by a ferry.

Towns

• -- Draatan
• -- Hornwood

---

Sites of Infamy/Interest

• Castle Chekiv
• Castle Drakkir
• Castle Faerhaaven
• Blacktower Heights
• Koshka Bluffs
• Stonegard
• Saniset Forest
• Three Sisters

---

Economy

Agrarian

Crops of Nova Vaasa Livestock of Nova Vaasa Horses of Nova Vaasa Manufacturing Ships Trade Taxation Black Market

Authority

Darklord

• Malken

Temporal Rule

Legendary

• Eternal King Zaanji Højplads (“Highly Seated” or “Well Mounted”) – The Conqueror-King, The Unifier of the Vaasi nation, Empire Builder of The Lawgiver and commander of his hordes from the Hell of Slaves

• Sainted Prince Gorkyn – Breaker of the False Religions, Breaker of the Cycle of Stewards, self-proclaimed and recognised leader of the Church of the Lawgiver as its Himmelsk Naeve (“Divine Fist”), leader of the unsuccessful Wars of Conversion

• Sainted Prince Jokum Rivtoff the Pacifier – Restorer of the Cycle of Stewards, 10 year prince and 25 year regent

The Five Families and their Territorial Holdings

Five Families are the leading noble families Nova Vaasa that have divided and shared the rule of the Vaasi nation between themselves so long as the Cycle of Stewards has remained unbroken. At present the cycle is broken, the work of Prince Othmar Bolshnik who has undisguised ambitions for himself and his line. The Church of the Lawgiver has so far supported his royal pretentions.

The Bolshnik family has as its patriarch Prince Othmar Bolshnik. He rules over the Heartland Duchy located in north-central and northeastern Nova Vaasa. Kantora and Egertus fall under the sway of the Bolshniks.

The Hiregaard family has as its patriarch Duke Tristen Hiregaard. He rules over the Borchava Duchy in north-western Nova Vaasa. Liara falls under the sway of the Hiregaards.

The Vistin family is governed by a regent, Lady Lara Vistin. She rules over the Altid Duchy located in the corner of Nova Vaasa formed by Barovia and the Shadow Rift. Control over Bergovitsa is disputed with the Rivtoff family.

The Rivtoff family has as its patriarch Duke Søren Rivtoff. He rules over the Ivlis Duchy located in central-southern Nova Vaasa. Control over Bergovitsa is disputed with the Vistin family.

The Chekiv family has as its patriarch Duke Tunch Chekiv. He rules over the Pommel Duchy located in southern most Nova Vaasa. Arbora falls under the sway of the Chekivs.

The Cycle of Stewards

The perpetual temporal rule of the Vaasi nation by a royal family ended before it began. The Conqueror-King Zaanji Højplads was named the Eternal King and his seat left empty awaiting his return, which is to say that the role of king was replaced by that of prince and steward. The patriarchs of the Five Families each enjoy a four year term as temporal leader of the Vaasi nation according to a rotating schedule named the Cycle of Stewards. The choice of the title of "prince" and even more so of that of "steward" anticipates the return of a king who would reincarnate the glorious past of Eternal King Zaanji Højplads if not be the reincarnation of the Eternal King himself. Othmar Bolshnik seeks for himself Højplads's title of king at least. To this end he has broken the Cycle of Stewards, something that has been done before, although never for a complete cycle. As of yet there is no indication that he can win for himself and his nation glories worth speaking of and so hope to be the title's undisputed bearer. And even if he could, the Bolshnik family would be unwise to imagine that the other four of the Five Families would lie quiescent for long.

BC

   664-668 BC - Patriarch of the Vistin family [Deduction]

   669-671 BC - Prince Romir Hiregaard ( - 671 BC) 

   671-673 BC - Prince Tristen Hiregaard (660 BC -) / Regent Sergei Hiregaard 

   674-678 BC - Patriarch of the Chekiv family

   679-683 BC - Prince Ingemar Bolshnik (- 683 BC) 

   683 BC - Prince Kethmar Bolshnik (671 - 729 BC) 

   684-688 BC - Prince Rivtoff [MT]

   689-693 BC - Prince Bevis Vistin ( - 756 BC) 

   694-698 BC - Prince Tristen Hiregaard (660 BC - ) 

   699-703 BC - Patriarch of the Chekiv family 

   704-708 BC - Prince Kethmar Bolshnik (671 - 729 BC) 

   709-713 BC - Prince Søren Rivtoff / Regent Lord Adal Keirin 

   714-718 BC - Prince Bevis Vistin ( - 756 BC) 

   719-723 BC - Prince Tristen Hiregaard (660 BC - ) 

   724-728 BC - Deceased father of Tunch Chekiv 

   728-729 BC - Prince Kethmar Bolshnik (671 - 729 BC) 

   729-733 BC - Prince Othmar Bolshnik (708 BC - ) / Regent Sir Tristen Hiregaard (660 BC - ) 

   733 BC-present Prince Othmar Bolshnik - Breaker of the Cycle of Stewards (708 BC - ) 

Spiritual Rule

The Church of the Law Giver has ruled the spirtual life of the Vaasi nation for as long as history recounts. Legendary

Sainted Prince Gorkyn united in his person the temporal authority of the Vaasi nation and the spiritual authority of the Iron Faith. He instituted the title of Himmelsk Naeve (“Divine Fist”) and was the first to bear it.

Three princes subsequent to Gorkyn have been recognised by the Church of the Lawgiver as Himmelsk Naeve (“Divine Fist”), reuniting in their person the temporal authority of the Vaasi nation and the spiritual authority of the Iron Faith.

Contempory

BC?-present Himmelsk Naeve Pieter Jergaar commands the Iron Faith across the known world from the Black Citadel-Fane in Kantora. He is a priest of the Church of the Lawgiver who by his spiritual prowess climbed its ranks and succeed becoming its Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist").

Church and State

The rule of Vaasi temporal leaders, in temporal affairs, is recognized by the Church of the Lawgiver. Likewise, the rule of Vaasi spiritual leaders, in spiritual affairs, is enforced by the princes of the Vaasi nation.

Temporal authority and spiritual authority have been incarnated in a single individual on four occasions. This was first done by Sainted Prince Gorkyn who instituted the title of Himmelsk Naeve (“Divine Fist”). Only the most ambitious and worthy of temporal or spiritual leaders make much progress towards achieving this coincidence of temporal and spiritual authority.

The ambitions of Prince Othmar Bolshnik, by comparison, run in the direction of breaking the fetters placed by the other noble families on his own so as to elevate himself and his line to a position of perpetual temporal rule. This is not something that the Iron Faith in principle opposes. And indeed it is at present giving every indication of supporting Othmar in his royal pretensions.

Government

By the Prince of Nova Vaasa and his officials, under the guidance of the Council of Lords. The annual meeting of the council has been reduced to a mostly pointless formality by Prince Othmar.

Law

Pronounced in the name of the Eternal King, by the will of the Lawgiver."

Law-Enforcement

By the militias of each of the Five Families within its duchy.

By the city, town or village guard where one exists.

Extra-Judicial
Intelligence Gathering
Military Footing
Casus belli

Crime

• Claws of Senkmaa

Present

Repeated attacks by an unidentified party (or parties) on Vaasi efforts to cut a road through Tepest into Keening and on to the Strigos Road in Darkon. There is discussion of the need to civilize the Tepestani.

Future

   Speculation.png Any of Hazlik banning religion in his land, declaring the independence of the Hazlani Church of the Lawgiver, being implicated in the death or disappearance of members of the Iron Faith, imposing a pave of his own choice upon the Hazlani Church, or ensorcelling the pave or other church leaders. Why would Hazlik do any of these things? Because the Himmelsk Naeve ("Divine Fist") has ordered that a hardline be taken by the Pave of Hazlan on the practice of arcane magic. Pave Stavroz Vatsisk has not yet seen fit to obey this order, having some appreciation of the possible consequences. Whether the Himmelsk Naeve Pieter Jergaar has failed to appreciate the consequences or appreciates them all too well is the question.

   Speculation.png Growing threat of piracy on the Nocturnal Sea with Liffe's status as a "failed state" being given as its cause.

   Speculation.png Colonial ambitions in respect to one or more of the islands of the Nocturnal Sea.

   Speculation.png Similarly, a determination to monopolise trade on the Nocturnal Sea.

   Speculation.png A crusade against arcane magic in Hazlan, on one or more of the islands of the Nocturnal Sea, or every it is found. In the last case perhaps it could begin with simulateous assasination attempts across the Core and its seas. You know, the usual suspects: Azalin, Strahd, Hazlik, Meredoth, The Lady of Ravens, Gabrielle Aderre, . . .

   Speculation.png A crusade to lay the undead to rest in Barovia.

Language & Culture Vassi

Vaasi is the official language of Nova Vaasa. The use of any other language in legal proclaimations and historical records is proscribed. And it is likewise with the rites and the records of the Church of the Lawgiver.

While Vaasi is spoken in Hazlan, Kartakass, and Valachan, the dialects in use there are deemed to be degenerate in comparison with the the right and true Vaasi of Nova Vaasa. Special Days

   The Celebration of the Reemergence
   The Day of Penance
   The Night of Bright Truth
   The Night of Dark Deeds

Gods and Religions Gods

   The Lawgiver

   Mytteri

   Speculation.png Bubahkaa - Cats - Animals, Trickery [31]

   Speculation.png Sehkmaa - Cats - Animals, Luck, Liberation [31]

   The Cat Lord - Paka - Chaos, Evil, Trickery [32]

   Speculation.png Tygas - Horses, Animals, Travel [31]

Hero Cult

   Fjodor [21]

   Fyldor [21]

Inns & Taverns Arbora

   The World’s End Inn

Bergovitsa

   The Clever Gray Mouser (formerly The Clever Gray Malken)
   The Inn at Bergovitsa

Kantora

   The Hungry Tyger
   The Maiden’s Scarf

Egertus

   The Sailor’s Hearth

Liara

   The Staggering Stallion
   The Green Grail Inn

The Barovian frontier

   The Weary Horse Inn

NPC Bandits[33]

   Chezna the Blood-Cat who laired in the Briarweed Forest for a time before being driven out and commencing an unprecedented reign of terror.

   Dagfinn the Burner who infamously torches both farmers and their fields.

   The Tatters Man who decorates his lances and bardings with strips of clothing taken from his victims.

Chronology

   Kingdom of Vaasa: Centuries ago Persarval Hiregaard seizes the Cat’s Paw (a minor artifact) from cat cultists who had themselves acquired it following its loss by the Paka. [34]

   660 BC - Kingdom of Vaasa: Tristen Hiregaard is born. [The given date of 664 BC is inconsistent with him being 11 when his father commits suicide in 671 BC and with the 11 years between his first love and the formation of Nova Vaasa. [35]

   670 BC - Kingdom of Vaasa: Prince Romir Hiregaard, father of Tristen, kills his wife in an unjustified fit of jealous rage and is cursed by her to kill any woman he loves. (Tristen is ten.) [25]

   671 BC - Kingdom of Vaasa: Prince Romir Hiregaard commits suicide, his son Tristen Hiregaard becomes prince at the age of 11, Sergei Hiregaard is regent, and the curse jumps to Tristen. [25]

   674 BC - Tristen Hiregaard and Sergei Hiregaard step down and the Patriarch of the Chekiv family becomes prince. [Deduction]

   676 BC - The curse lays dormant for five years until Lord Tristen Hiregaard falls in love with a peasant girl, kisses her, and kills her. The crime is covered up, Tristen is remorseful, but enjoyed the deed in the moment. [25]

   677-682 BC - Lord Tristen Hiregaard kills a total of nine women over the next six years, doubts his sanity, and decides to commit suicide, but the Mists intervene. [25]

   682 BC - In the Second Judgement of the Lawgiver, the Vaasans are wrenched from the Faldverden (“Fallen World”) into the Falskverden (“False World”). Nova Vaasa emerges from the Mists. [36]

   682 BC - Prince Ingemar Bolshnik describes the appearance of Barovia, Arak, the Nightmare Lands, and the Mists upon the frontiers of his land with the words: “howling fear to the west, stone death to the north, shapeless nightmares to the east, and nothing but ominous swirling to the south”. (Winter) [21]

   682 BC - The Clever Gray Malken tavern hosts the first murder of the Signature Killer. [13]

   682 or 683 BC - Prince Ingemar Bolshnik dies in office and is replaced by his son Prince Kethmar Bolshnik. [21]

   Potential-captioned.png682-700 BC - A man lures nearly a score of his neighbors into his home to see his arcane fireplace which burns without wood. It explodes consuming them all and the house too. The dangerous arcane essence that lingers afterwards in the ashes is extinguished by a priest of the Lawgiver. This story is recounted frequently by clergy of the Lawgiver in Nova Vaasa and its time and place varies. It may be but a cautionary tale devised to slander arcane magic and promote its betrayal to the authorities before something bad happens. [37]

   683 BC - Tristen Hiregaard is knighted by Prince Kethmar Bolshnik and the men become friends. [25]

   683 BC - Sir Tristen Hiregaard becomes an officer of the Kantora City Guard and begins the hunt for the Signature Killer. He will rise to be the Constable of the Kantora City Guard by 717 BC at the latest. Malken will murder his first wife, Ailsa, and child, Ivaar. The tortured spirt of Ivaar may survive as a ghost in a haunted Kantora orphanage. [38] [39]

   685 BC - Armand Ironhand (Sir Armand Rivtoff) confronts and is put to flight by the Black Duke, the fiendish leader of a cult (The Brotherhood of the Whip) responsible for the destruction of the village of Drataan in the Ehrendton. [40]

   685-700 BC - The Tapestry of Dark Souls is woven by Welse in Arbora using silk supplied by an Abber Nomad. It brings doom to his family and in short order passes out of Nova Vaasa. [This cannot happen before trading relations are well established with the Abber Nomads and must occur well before 700 BC according to Mangrum] [41]

   691 BC - Tepest emerges from the Mists. The event is marked in that land by deformity and crop failure. [42]

   691-692 BC - Tepestani famine is relieved by assistance from Sir Tristen Hiregaard in particular. (Winter - Spring) [42]

   694-698 BC - Sir Tristen Hiregaard serves as prince.

   695 BC - Sir Armand Rivtoff publishes The Beast of Ehrendton. It is widely acclaimed, although as fiction and (by some) as political commentary.. [40]

   698 BC - Markovia is born and the Dyskov forest is effectively put off limits for four decades. [43]

   702 BC - G’Henna appears. [44]

   703-721 BC - Katya Chekiv, the unloved second wife of Tristen Hiregaard, gives birth to three sons some time within this period. The oldest is Yorgi, next is Sasha, and the youngest is Myar. All three are middle-aged in 756 BC. [45]

   705 BC - A band of wererats devastates the population and provokes the abandonment of a village in Northern Nova Vaasa named Mel Fira. [The event happens several decades before the publication of Van Ritchen’s Guide to Werebeasts in 735] [46]

   708 BC - Othmar Bolshnik is born the second son of Kethmar Bolshnik. [47]

   713 BC - The council elders of Briggdarrow in Tepest convince Falkovian investors to fund the construction of The Spider House inn to profit from and to bolster burgeoning traffic between Nova Vaasa and Falkovnia. [48]

   714 BC - Hazlan appears and is converted rapidly the faith of the Lawgiver. The relatively benign reputation of the Skyggeskov forest is retained. [49][50]

   717 BC - The cult of the Claws of Sehkmaa sees the light of day. It is led by the high priest Malken and its message of easing poverty and reversing disenfranshisement proves popular. The Church of the Lawgiver is strangely disarmed before the threat. Sir Tristen Hiregaard unmasks the new religion as a criminal organisation, breaks its back, and is widely thought to have slain its high priest. He pays for his meddling with the life of his son Ivaar. [51]

   719-723 BC - Sir Tristen Hiregaard serves as prince. [22]

   720 BC - Trade tops out along the Old Timori Road joining the Eastern and Western Core across Tepest and G’Henna. [52]

   720-726 BC - Talgaard Bolshnik, older brother of Othmar and victim of a long-standing mental illness, begins his six year reign of terror as the Kantora Strangler. It is ended with his institutionalisation in the Clinic of the Mentally Distressed outside Egertus as the first patient of alienist Dr. Gregorian Illhousen. [25]

   720-743 BC - Yorgi Hiregaard discovers the Cat's Paw in a secret compartment of a wardrobe and makes use of it during his youthful adventures until attacked by paka. [The youthful adventures can begin anywhere between 720 and 738 BCdepending on when Yorgi is deemed to have been born] [53]

   Netbook-captioned.png722 BC - A diseased, maimed foreigner is found dead within sight of Arbora and the Nocturnal Sea. Behind him, stretching back to the frontier with Barovia, he leaves a half-dozen people miraculously cured of their aliments. [Any date from 700 BC is possible] [54]

   728 BC - Gerald Ferrier, a Falkovnian, opens the Hawk’s Haven Inn in Kellee to profit from and to bolster traffic between Nova Vaasa and Falkovnia along the Old Timori Road. [55]

   Netbook-captioned.png 728 BC - Lukas Durmke is born in a hamlet in the Ehrendton north of Egertus. [56]

   Netbook-captioned.png 728 BC - A cell of the Order of Twilight, dedicated to the study of dreams, is established in Nova Vaasa. [This can be anytime after 725 BC and probably best before 740 BC. [57]

   729 BC - Othmar Bolshnik conspires with Chezna (a darkling and leader of a ruthless band of thieves known as the Briarweed Forest Bandits) and slowly poisons his father, Kethmar Bolshnik. Because Othmar’s older brother is a mad serial killer kept in the Clinic for the Mentally Distressed, Othmar becomes Prince, but Sir Tristen Hiregaard is made his regent (per Kethmaar’s final request). [58]

   729 BC - Prince Kethmar Bolshnik dies in office, but not before consulting with the other great families and devising a regency for his 21 year old son. [59]

   729-733 BC - Othmar Bolshnik becomes prince, Tristen Hiregaard becomes regent, the latter runs the government and the former prepares his revenge. [60]

   Netbook-captioned.png730 BC - A vampire slays the best friend of a man known only as Turk Mader. Mader pursues the creature out of Nova Vaasa to Levkarest where it is slain with the help of Ronald Kranston. The pair subsequently found the society of the Huntsmen in 733 BC. [61]

   733 BC - Regent Tristen Hiregaard steps down. Prince Othmar Bolshnik breaks the Cycle of Stewarts by refusing to do the same. He defends his cause by insisting that he has been cheated out of his turn. Normally regency is for children and ends at age 16. Bribes to the Kantora City Guard and especially to the Church of the Lawgiver (its Himmelsk Naeve issues a supportive decree) prove decisive. [62]

   733 BC - Prince Othmar reaches secret understandings with Malken and with the bandits, offering them a measure of protection from legal authorities in return for gold. Malken contacts the bandits, including Chezna the Blood-cat, to compile evidence that might be used to blackmail Othmar should the need ever arise. [63]

   733 BC - Prince Othmar begins the formation of a personal police force called the Straffers with extrajudicial powers. At the insistence of the other great families, they are limited to Bolshnik territory and Kantora. They have the curious effect of reducing random attacks by creatures of the night but increasing the number of attacks with political undertones by these same creatures. [64][65]

   Netbook-captioned.png737 BC - Prince Othmar appoints the uncorruptible Sturm Androv, endorsed by Tristen Hiregaard, Constable of the Kantora City Guard. [66]

   738 BC - Prince Othmar commissions paintings and sculptures of himself bearing the Whip of Right and the Rod of Might (devices of the Eternal King Højplads) eliminating all doubt as to his pretensions. [67]

   738 BC - Sulo Boristi, brother of Ivana Boristi, relocates his family from Borca to Bergovista shortly before the Great Upheaval and continues the expansion of the Boristi Trading Company. The appearance of the Nocturnal Sea will prove a particular boon to him and a Boristi trade ship will eventually ply its waters. [68]

   738 BC - Abu al Mir flees from the wrath of Ankhtepot in Har'Akir. The Mists transport him to Nova Vaasa.[69]

   Questionably-captioned.png739 BC - The Kantora Strangler begins murdering people out on the Kantorann streets during storming nights.[70][71]

   739 BC - Shortly prior to the Grand Conjunction, Count Sulo Boritsi takes most of his family to Bergovitsa. He establishes the Boritsi Trading Company in Nova Vaasa and, through it, expands the business out into the Nocturnal Sea. Soon thereafter, he finances the creation of trading company offices in Armeikos.[72]

   740 BC - The Great Upheaval, ending with the first full moon in August, shakes the foundations of known existence. The Lawgiver goes silent, spawning the heresy that he died. The official account is that he was preoccupied with saving the world from Mytteri, god of rebellion, nihilism, self-interest, self-gratification and magic. The Nightmare Lands, Markovia and G’Henna disappear and are replaced by the Shadow Rift and the Nocturnal Sea. The rift severs the trade route to the West and the mist shrouded sea proves to be nigh unnavigable. A thin corridor of land between the Mountains of Misery and the new coast permits the development of overland trade with Darkon however. [73]

   741 BC - Disappearances and madness plague the workers of the quarries in the Koshka Bluffs after the discovery of ancient tombs. Sir Tristen Hiregaard forbids the removal of treasures and scales back the quarrying. [74]

   741 BC - The first trial of the Tepestani Inquisition is organised by Wyan of Viktal. Foreigners are accused of consorting with the Fey and what little trade remains pretty much dries up West of Kellee. In Kellee Gerald Ferrier succeeds in maintaining a degree of calm. He seeks the assistance of the Church of the Lawgiver to fight back the superstition of the masses. [75]

   741 BC - Narana Hiregaard is born. She is the youngest, by over 10 years, of 5 (or more) children (at least 3 girls and at least 2 boys) of Sasha Hiregaard. If Sasha has only 5 children he is not more than 33 and not less than 21 at the time. [25][76][77]

   741 BC - Lumbering in the Dyskov forest resumes but tales of the sortvingebute (“black fairies”) and of the Centaur soon enter into circulation. Disappearances are attributed to the former and half-eaten corpses to the latter. [33]

   741 BC - Othmar tries and fails to have Chezna the Blood-cat silenced for all eternity by band of foreign adventurers. The Vistani outcast and bandit leader replies with a reign of terror. She is, however, driven out of her base in Briarweed Forest and obliged to roam the land. [78]

   743 BC - Prince Othmar dispenses with the seals of the five great families and mints money in his own image. [67]

   Netbook-captioned.png 743 BC - Lukas Durmke is driven from a temple of the Lawgiver and subsequently from the city of Egertus for spouting heresy. [79]

   745 BC - The Illuminated Man joins Carnival as it passes through Arbora.[80]

   Questionably-captioned.png 745 BC - Following the capture of the Kantora Strangler, Talgaard Othmar. His noble status allows admittance into the Clinic for the Mentally Distressed.

   Netbook-captioned.png 746-747 BC - Malken is credited with the murders of men in Kantora is followed by the murders of men on the eve of their weddings in Egertus. The true culprit is Emily, a patient of Dr. Gregorian Illhousen who is murdering in her dreams.[81]

   748 BC - Sir Tristen Hiregaard discovers to his horror that he is Malken. During his fits of madness, when he has himself locked away in a tower, he transforms into his nemesis and sets out to sow evil and chaos across the land. [82]

   748 BC - Katya Chekiv, the unloved second wife of Tristen Hiregaard, dies giving birth to their fourth son Mikhail. [83]

   748 BC - Lord Adal Keirin. former regent and adviser to Duke Søren Rivtoff dies.[84]

   749 BC - The patients, including Talgaard Bolshnik, and the staff, including Dr. Gregorian Illhousen, of the Clinic of the Mentally Distressed outside of Egertus vanish without a trace. [85]

   750 BC - The Mists roll back from the Nocturnal Sea opening it to navigation and revealing its islands. Commerce begins in earnest. [86]

   Netbook-captioned.png 750 BC - Babetta l’Jeunese, an explorer from Dementlieu, alone lives to tell the tale of an encounter with the sorceress of the Isle of Ravens but at the price of being sent back to Egertus in a skiff bearing a sentient sword that is the stuff of nightmare. It passes out of her possession within hours of her reaching Nova Vaasa. [87]

   751 BC - The Tepestani Inquisition falters as the daughter of Wyan of Viktal is revealed to have fallen under the influence of the Fey who were manipulating her to orchestrate the burning at the stake of an innocent girl. [88]

   752 BC - Kiev Hiregaard, son of Sasha Hiregaard, goes to Falkovnia to assist the struggle against its military dictatorship. [Geographically this would make more sense before the Great Upheaval. But in terms of age that is unlikely, hence just after Vlad Drakov’s fourth futile and ruinous invasion of Darkon; [89]

   753 BC - Sasha Hiregaard and his daughter Naranna visit Egertus and see the newly expanded port. [90]

   753 BC - Prince Othmar begins sitting in the Great Blackstone Throne (reserved to the Eternal King Højplads) nearly provoking a revolt by the Rivtoff and Vistin families and necessitating the intervention of the Himmelsk Naeve to legitimise the act. [67]

   754 BC - Paka, and not for the first time, attempt to steal the Cat’s Paw from Castle Faerhaven in the days immediately following its use. Sir Tristen Hiregaard captures and questions one, but learns nothing, and his conditional offer to surrender the item goes unanswered. [91]

   754 BC - Lukas Durmke settles in Arbora and leads a movement within the church of the Lawgiver that would have the spiritual and temporal authorities assist rather than oppress the masses. [The Aerkebiskop of the Pommel appears to be fragrantly shirking his duty and may have to be replaced by someone with more iron in the belly] [92][13]

   Speculation.png 755 BC - The Avener’s Distinct of Bergovitsa becomes the haunt of a creature of mud.[93]

   755 BC - Illyana Hiregaard, daughter of Sasha Hiregaard, marries a Darkonese merchant living in Kantora. [94]

   755 BC - The seaside hamlet of Mavalga is driven mad by the Bad Wind. The scope of the attack is somewhat blunted by the efforts of a Borcan aristocrat named Josef Zhitoff who captains the Bulwark and who has been hunting the Bad Wind for the last year. There are unconfirmed rumours of subsequent attacks along the coast of the Nocturnal Sea. [Unless there is a way for a ship to pass from the Sea of Sorrows to the Nocturnal Sea this should not happen before 751 and probably somewhat later; [95]

   Netbook-captioned.png 755 BC - By this year, the Black Duke has quietly taken power over a good portion of southwestern Nova Vaasa. He begins extending his reach into neighboring Hazlan and Barovia..[96]

   756 BC - Bevis Vistin dies leaving his two year old son Grigor duke and his wife Lady Lara regent. [97]

   756 BC - Repeated Nova Vaasan attempts to cut a road North through Tepest to ultimately join the Strigos road in Darkon fail. [98]

   757 BC - Stepan Ivan Hiregaard, eldest grandson of Tristen Hiregaard, replaces Sturm Androv and becomes chief constable of Kantora. He begins to investigate quietly rumours that Malken is the half-brother of his grandfather and was responsible for the deaths in mysterious circumstances of his great grandfather and great grandmother. [99]

   758 BC - A build up of royal forces within easy reach of the Tepestani border is interpreted variously as a warning to the Tepestani to stop sabotaging the road or as a prelude to an invasion to civilise the domain by force. [98]

   758 BC - Illyana Hiregaard is institutionalised at the recently reopened Clinic of the Mentally Distressed outside of Egertus and kills an orderly. There are rumours that she is Malken. [If one ascribes to the Dread Possibility that the clinic serves once a month as a Mistway to the Nightmare Lands, then the doctors and the patients vanish once more; [100][101]

   758 BC - Naranna Hiregaard is to lead the crew of the Waveprowler, an effort sponsored by her family to fight the growing piracy on the Nocturnal Sea. The ship is to be captained by Onid Rhelarian. [102]

   758 BC - An agent of Azalin known as S interviews Sir Tristen Hiregaard and finds him to be “smug and self-satisfied” and unforthcoming about his struggle with Malken. (Fall)