Eastmarch

East of the Greyspires and north of Lunebrook Forest lies Eastmarch, the agricultural heartland of Vel'Nathar. Plains, river valleys, lakes, and wooded hills cover much of the region, with farms spreading across the dark soil between them.

Wheat, vegetables, orchard fruit, and livestock from Eastmarch supply settlements across the island. Hedgerows divide fields and pastures, while streams and irrigation channels feed into the larger rivers. The climate is cooler than in the Lowlands, particularly close to the Greyspires and toward the northern hills, where morning mist and colder winds are common.

Wild horses still roam parts of the open country. Elk and aurochs are more common along the northern grasslands and woodland edges, where farms grow smaller and the land begins to rise toward the Northern Highlands.

Rivers and Farmland

The Silvermere is the largest river in Eastmarch. It winds through the central plains, passing farms, villages, and market towns before joining the network of waterways farther east. Much of the region's best farmland lies along its banks, and barges carry grain, timber, livestock, and other goods between settlements.

The soil around the Silvermere is unusually productive. Some fields have been worked for generations without showing the decline expected elsewhere, and crops often grow especially well near older river channels. Local traditions sometimes attribute this to magic within the soil or water, though no single explanation has been accepted.

The Orla and Nara rivers support orchards, mills, grazing land, and settlements elsewhere in Eastmarch. Smaller streams descend from the Greyspires and northern hills, joining the river system as they cross the plains.

The rivers also carry a large share of Eastmarch's trade. Barges and shallow-draft boats move between inland markets and Greyharbor, while smaller landings provide access to villages away from the major roads. The same network has allowed the Tidemarked Consortium to extend its operations inland, moving goods between river traffic, lesser roads, and coastal routes while avoiding official ports and inspections.

The Folk of Eastmarch

Humans, halflings, and gnomes make up much of Eastmarch's population, and mixed communities are common.

Marcher Halflings are widespread across the plains and river valleys. Many farm, brew, or tend vineyards, while others work as guides, couriers, traders, and caravaners. Their knowledge of minor crossings and old country roads is particularly useful away from the main routes.

Gnomish communities are more common around woods and hills. Herbalism, alchemy, woodcraft, and gardening are established trades, and some settlements cultivate plants that are difficult to grow elsewhere in Vel'Nathar. Smaller communities may be built partly into hillsides or beneath woodland cover and can be easy to miss from the road.

The Southern Gateway

The Amber Road leaves the northern reaches of Lunebrook and enters Eastmarch through a gradual opening of the countryside. The canopy first breaks into clearings and pasture before giving way to cultivated fields, hedgerows, and open grassland. Low stone bridges cross streams flowing toward the central plains, while heather, thyme, and patches of lavender grow along the road margins.

Briarhill is the first substantial town reached from the south. Roads divide beyond it toward the central farmlands, the Greyspire foothills, and settlements farther east. The western route passes through Keldwick before beginning its climb toward Ridgeford and the mountain roads.

The Greenroad Fellowship is a familiar presence along these routes. Its scouts and roadkeepers report damaged bridges, blocked roads, dangerous animals, and other hazards while helping smaller settlements maintain stretches of road they could not patrol alone. Fellowship guides are also hired by merchants and travelers heading beyond the busier routes.

Briarhill

Briarhill is built across a broad rise between two streams near the southern edge of Eastmarch. Roads climb toward its central square from the surrounding fields, giving much of the town a clear view over the lower country and the northern edge of Lunebrook.

The position was used long before the present settlement developed. Vaela'drin communities maintained a lookout here, watching the approaches to the forest and the routes that crossed between Lunebrook and the lands to the north. Worked stones and older foundations remain beneath parts of the town.

A spring beneath the hill feeds the well near the center of Briarhill, where seasonal observances have been held for generations. Their earliest form has largely been lost, though wishes spoken into the well and lights carried through the streets eventually became part of the modern Blooming Light Festival.

Each spring, lanterns are hung throughout the town before being released after sunset. Markets, food, music, and visitors fill Briarhill for several days, drawing people from across Eastmarch and the southern Lowlands. Druids from Lunebrook also attend to bless the waters, continuing a practice older than most surviving records.

During the rest of the year, Briarhill serves the farms and villages around it. Inns, workshops, merchants, and local trades gather around the central square, while traffic through the town keeps Eastmarch connected with Lunebrook and the Lowlands beyond.

Keldwick

West of Briarhill, the farmland rises toward the lower slopes of the Greyspires. Keldwick developed there around mines worked by generations of dwarves, humans, and halflings.

Stone houses and workshops climb the lower slope above the main road, while mine entrances and ore yards occupy ground closer to the mountains. Much of the town's work revolves around extraction, smelting, repairs, and moving supplies between the mines and the rest of Eastmarch.

Iron and silver account for much of the local output. Small Galarium deposits are also found from time to time and are handled more carefully than ordinary ore before being sent to specialists elsewhere on the island.

Wagons regularly travel between Keldwick and Briarhill carrying metal, tools, timber, food, and mining supplies. The road continues west toward Ridgeford, where the foothills give way to steeper Greyspire country. Keldwick is therefore a common stopping point for miners, merchants, and travelers before the mountain climb begins.

The Quarry Bell is the busiest inn in town, serving miners finishing their shifts alongside caravan crews and people travelling between Eastmarch and the Greyspires.

Glenbrook

Northwest of Briarhill lies Glenbrook, built along the Orla River among orchards of apple, pear, and cherry trees. Farms follow the river valley beyond the town, and carts carrying fruit and cider are a common sight along the surrounding roads.

The Great Barn stands near the center of Glenbrook. Originally built to store communal harvests, the timber structure also serves as a meeting hall during festivals, markets, and public gatherings.

Music and storytelling are common at these events. Local songs often concern the rivers, forests, old heroes, and spirits associated with the countryside around Glenbrook, and families continue to add their own histories to those traditions.

Heart of the March

The central plains contain Eastmarch's largest settlements and most heavily worked farmland. Villages, mills, orchards, and farmsteads spread along the rivers, while roads from the Lowlands, Greyspires, northern country, and eastern coast meet throughout the region.

Much of Eastmarch's inland trade passes through these plains. Grain and livestock move alongside wine, fruit, timber, textiles, and goods brought down from the mountains. Greenroad patrols are most frequently encountered on the busier roads, though members also make regular circuits through smaller settlements and river crossings farther from the main routes.

The concentration of road and river traffic has also drawn criminal interests. The Ironwake Cartel maintains a significant presence along Eastmarch's larger trade routes, where warehouses, merchants, river traffic, and goods moving between the coast and inland markets provide opportunities well beyond its Stormhaven base.

Starpath Seekers are another familiar sight across the central plains. These wandering scholars and mystics follow ley lines through farmland, river valleys, and older sites, recording unusual magical or planar activity as they travel. Their routes change frequently, and individual Seekers may disappear into the countryside for weeks before returning to a major road or settlement.

Elmsworth

Elmsworth lies beside a large lake surrounded by low hills. It is one of Eastmarch's main centers of scholarship and holds several important collections dealing with the history and natural environment of Vel'Nathar.

The Academy of Natural Philosophy is the city's best-known institution. Its scholars study plants, animals, geology, weather, and magical anomalies, with frequent overlap between natural philosophy, druidic study, and arcane research.

Humans and gnomes are especially well represented among its scholars, though the Academy accepts students and researchers from across Vel'Nathar. Visiting Starpath Seekers occasionally exchange observations with Academy scholars, particularly when their travels have uncovered unusual ley activity or phenomena elsewhere in Eastmarch.

Every five years, Elmsworth hosts the Elmsworth Symposium. Scholars, druids, explorers, artificers, and other specialists gather to present research and compare discoveries from across Ethelra.

Greenglen Vale

Northwest of Elmsworth lies Greenglen Vale, a wide plain containing some of Eastmarch's most productive farmland. Grain fields cover much of the lower ground, with orchards, vineyards, and sheep pasture spread between the villages.

Everglade is the vale's main market town. Produce from the surrounding farms is collected there before travelling toward Valenhold, Greyharbor, or the southern roads.

Halfling communities are especially common throughout Greenglen. Willowshade and Brambleshire are among the villages scattered between its farms and orchards, alongside many smaller settlements that rarely appear on maps of the wider island. Communal meals, music, and gatherings around outdoor fires remain common across the vale during the warmer months.

Valenhold

Valenhold lies along the Silvermere where several major roads and river routes meet. Its position has made it the principal trade center of Eastmarch and, in practice, the region's administrative heart.

Warehouses and river quays line the water, while inns, shops, and market streets fill the surrounding districts. Farmers and merchants from across Eastmarch bring goods here before they are sent to other parts of Vel'Nathar.

The volume of trade moving through Valenhold makes inspection of every cargo difficult. Officials watch the river landings and major warehouses closely, though both the Tidemarked Consortium and Ironwake Cartel have found ways to use Eastmarch's wider trade network without relying entirely on the city's official quays.

The city is especially known for the Feast of the Moonlight Harvest. Each autumn, carved gourd lanterns fill streets and windows while music, dancing, and storytelling continue throughout the city.

One of the oldest stories told during the festival concerns a hidden grove where Yssarel is said to have planted the first seeds in the soil of Eastmarch. The story has been repeated for generations and remains part of the harvest celebrations regardless of whether the original grove can still be identified.

Greyharbor

On the eastern coast, where the plains meet the Sea of Winds, lies Greyharbor.

The port is smaller and younger than Stormhaven but has developed a strong maritime trade of its own. Much of what passes through its docks comes directly from Eastmarch's farms, orchards, vineyards, and forests.

Its shipyards concentrate on fishing vessels and ships built for coastal trade. Sudden squalls are common on the Sea of Winds, and local builders favor sturdy designs suited to those waters.

Greyharbor is one of the principal centers of the Mariners' League, a professional guild of captains, navigators, merchants, and shipowners. The League maintains trade standards among its members, supports exploration and long-distance navigation, and helps provide ships and experienced crews when coastal defense requires them.

For communities in eastern Eastmarch, Greyharbor often provides a shorter route to foreign markets than carrying goods south to Stormhaven. Roads from the central plains keep the harbor supplied, while fishing settlements and smaller landing places extend along the surrounding coast.

Those lesser harbors and river connections are also used by the Tidemarked Consortium. Its network moves goods between the coast and the interior without relying on Greyharbor's official docks, making the surrounding waterways as important to smugglers as they are to legitimate merchants.

Mosswillow Wood and Willow Marsh

Northeast of the central plains, cultivated land gives way to woods, low hills, and wetlands. Farms continue along the drier ground, though villages become smaller as the roads approach Mosswillow Wood and the waterways beyond it.

Mosswillow Wood

Mosswillow Wood is home to several established gnomish communities. The largest is Willowcroft, built beneath old oak and ash trees, with smaller settlements scattered through the surrounding woodland.

Many homes are dug partly into the earth or built against large roots, with roofs covered in moss, grass, and flowering plants. From outside Willowcroft, individual buildings can be difficult to distinguish from the woodland around them.

The gnomes of Mosswillow are known for herbalism, healing, and druidic practice. Their gardens contain plants rarely cultivated elsewhere on the island, and healers throughout Eastmarch seek out their knowledge of local herbs.

Some parts of the wood support unusual growth. Rare flowers appear in sheltered clearings, and certain plants grow larger or remain in bloom longer than expected. Local druids have studied these areas for generations and continue to keep records of the changes they observe.

Starpath Seekers occasionally travel through Mosswillow when their routes follow unusual magical activity into the woodland. Local druids generally tolerate their presence as long as they respect existing paths, gardens, and sites already under observation.

Willow Marsh

East of Mosswillow lies Willow Marsh, a wetland of reed beds, pools, narrow channels, and wooded islands.

Gnomes and halflings gather medicinal plants throughout the marsh, travelling by small boats or along raised paths maintained by nearby communities. Seasonal flooding can change familiar routes, making local knowledge important.

Will-o'-the-wisps are regularly reported after dark. Stories claim that some guide travelers toward solid ground while others lead them farther into the marsh, though experienced locals generally prefer not to follow either.

Northern Vale and Foothills

Northern Eastmarch grows rougher as the plains approach the Greyspires and Northern Highlands. Broad fields give way to smaller farms and grazing land, while woodland fills more of the valleys. Roads narrow as they climb, and the distances between settlements increase.

Toward the Greyspires, the hills rise more sharply and exposed stone becomes common along the western roads. Farther north, pasture spreads across higher ground and heather appears between fields. Pine grows on sheltered slopes, beginning the gradual transition into the wooded eastern reaches of the Northern Highlands.

Greenroad patrols continue into these valleys, though the distances involved mean they are encountered less regularly than on the central roads. Members maintain route markers, report washouts and rockfalls, and pass warnings between isolated settlements when weather or other hazards make travel difficult.

Harebrook

Harebrook lies among the northern foothills and has one of the largest halfling populations in Eastmarch. Stone cottages and hillside homes surround farms, gardens, and grazing land.

The settlement is closely associated with the Battle of Willowford, fought during the War of the Wildfolk. Human, halfling, and gnomish communities from the eastern vale gathered here to resist hill giants and trolls moving into the region.

Statues commemorating those who fought stand near the River Nara ford. An annual festival marks the battle and remembers the communities that fought together.

Brighthollow

At the eastern foot of the Greyspires stands Brighthollow, a human city built over the remains of an older elven settlement.

Sections of elven wall have been incorporated into later fortifications, worn runes remain on foundations and gates, and surviving watchtowers now serve as guildhalls, archives, and places of study. Other structures from the earlier settlement remain beneath parts of the modern city, and excavation continues where repairs or later construction provide access.

The surviving stonework has made Brighthollow an important center for the study of Vel'Nathar's early elven history. Scholars work alongside local builders and archivists to record structures uncovered beneath the city.

Brighthollow is governed by an elected council and is also home to the Halls of the Verdant Circle. Druids and scholars there preserve records concerning the Greyspires, Lunebrook, early elven settlement, and the natural history of eastern Vel'Nathar. The Circle maintains ties with druids in Lunebrook and the gnomish communities of Mosswillow Wood.

Northeast of Brighthollow, the River Nara passes through Amberfell. The town's workshops weave and dye wool brought down from farms in the northern hills, supplying merchants throughout Eastmarch. Beyond it, roads continue toward the higher valleys and settlements along the northern approaches.

Aelen Vale

Aelen Vale lies beneath the Greyspires, where the hills begin rising sharply toward the mountains. Orchards and vineyards grow along the lower slopes, while pasture and woodland occupy the higher ground.

Several sites in the valley are associated with old druidic traditions. Groves, standing stones, and natural springs remain in use for seasonal observances, and local communities generally avoid building over them. Many of these practices have passed between different peoples for generations, leaving several traditions with no single surviving point of origin.

The village of Halden stands near the western end of the vale, surrounded by orchards and vineyards. Apples, cider, and wine from the surrounding slopes are sold throughout northern Eastmarch, and travelers heading into the Greyspires often stop there for supplies and news from the mountain roads.

Routes from Aelen Vale climb toward the eastern mountain settlements. Woodland thins with elevation, the air grows colder, and the roads become more exposed as they approach the Greyspires.

The Northern Border

Beyond Aelen Vale and the northern river country, Eastmarch rises gradually toward the Northern Highlands. Open farmland becomes less common, sheep pasture spreads across the hills, and stone walls divide fields on the higher slopes. Heather grows beside roads and across unused ground, while pine becomes more common in sheltered valleys.

Settlements remain tied to Eastmarch through trade and the rivers leading south, though their buildings and farming practices increasingly resemble those of the Highlands. Seldaine is one of the larger towns in this border country, standing where several small rivers meet among the hills. Sheep farms surround it, and its silversmiths are known for work patterned after the rivers, plants, and wildlife of the surrounding region.

North of Seldaine, cultivated valleys continue to narrow and stretches of grazing land become more extensive. Roads climb through woodland and pasture toward the eastern Highlands, eventually meeting the routes through Eldarûn and the valleys below Dun Mordain.

Stonewatch

Stonewatch lies close to the Greyspires and is one of the last substantial settlements before the higher country.

The town is built against the lower cliffs, with stone houses suited to colder weather and stronger winds. Dwarven masons have worked here for generations, leaving their mark on bridges, retaining walls, storehouses, and much of the heavier construction.

Stonewatch serves as a supply point for travel toward both the mountains and the northern uplands. Roads west climb into the Greyspires, while routes north pass through increasingly open grazing country before entering the wooded valleys of the Northern Highlands. Miners, hunters, merchants, and expeditions regularly stop here before continuing beyond the settled valleys.

Greenroad scouts use Stonewatch as one of their regular points of contact with travelers coming down from the higher roads. Reports of damaged routes, missing caravans, severe weather, or trouble farther north often pass through the town before reaching the settlements to the south.

The Blazing Hearth is the town's best-known inn. News from the mountains changes hands there alongside reports from the northern roads, and travelers often learn more about current conditions over a meal than they would from any notice posted outside.