City of The Great Wyrms

Ruler: Grand Turnip Mageret Gardham

If one should travel the plains of Cantillia, roughly through the middle, one may come to regret the journey. The centre of Cantillia is soft in the soil, but rich in nutrients, a perfect ground for Great Wyrms to burrow and nest. The citizens of Roravale however rely on the wyrms for farming and the occasional deposit they throw up on the surface. Not that Roravale is particularly near the surface.

When Ianis was first formed and the races of the world settled, a mighty farming community settled in the middle of what would become Cantillia. The soil there had been blessed by Sarnea and the farmers became rich and prosperous. Sarnea saw what the farmers were able to do and asked for tribute to be paid to her and the gnomes that had taught them. The farmer’s success however had made them arrogant and they refused. Sarnea asked them once more, saying that it her blessing that had made the land so fertile. The farmers refused to listen once more, saying that it was in fact their own efforts that had produced such good soil. Sarnea was enraged by this and sent a plague of great wyrms to destroy the farmers. And destroy they did, all traces of the farmers were wiped from the surface, and the land was laid bare.

Thousands of years later a new collection of tribes wished to settle in the area, convinced that the earth was perfect for farming, however try as they might the great wyrms were still too prevalent in the area. Praying to Sarnea, they were met with silence. Determined, they prayed to Shallorn for assistance. Touched by their plight Shallorn caused mighty, strong trees to grow from the ground and lock their branches, providing a safe place for the tribes to settle. He then provided them with the knowledge to grow more, that their city might grow mighty. It is said that when the trees of Roravale shake in the wind, it is Sarnea giving Shallorn a right bollocking for circumventing her curse.

Roravale is perhaps the most successful farming city in all of Cantillia, having spread its branches and trees across multiple kilometres. A complex arrangement of ropes, pulleys and lifts allow the people of Roravale to plant and harvest on the surface without fear of attracting great wyrms, sowing and planting suspended just a few feet from the ground. The merchants of Roravale are always welcomed in the nearby Fernshire or indeed any other smaller village and Roravale profits greatly. Roravale also attracts a great many visitors due to its famous temple to Shallorn, allegedly the highest temple in terms of elevation to the gods in all of Ianis.

Presiding over the entire leafy business is Grand Turnip Mageret Gardham, a plump old women with a heart of gold and a mind like a steel trap. Slow to trust, but unwavering with her friendship once given, Grand Turnip Gardham is as great a diplomat as she is farmer. When Roravale was first established the tribes found themselves in need of a leader to oversee the complex task of arranging how to live above their farms. Being a practical folk, an election was held to establish a royal family. Several counts and ballot boxes later, the Gardham family was instated. Having a strange sense of humour their first law was to outlaw the word King and Queen and instead replace the title with Grand Turnip. The Grand Turnip is selected from the most capable of the previous Grand Turnips children and should the Grand Turnip choose poorly, the people of Roravale reserve the right to throw them to the worms. An event that has only occurred twice in Roravale’s history and only once by mistake.

Art by Jon Pintar
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