Glyndwr Keep

History

Glyndwr Keep is perched high in the Misty Moors.  It was the last stronghold of 250 Ardwian Refugees, led by Samus Macowen, durring the Avatar War in the Age of Elements.  Having been driven so far north by Sudala tropps, the remaining survivors of Caer Ardwy knew they could run no further.  They fortified themselves at the end of a 3500' high bluff, next to Loch Neul, and above it's cascading waterfalls.  Tired, out of food, and now cold and beaten from the harsh environment the put together the best defense they could on a little island, and just a few 100 feet from shore, across a shallow section of the loch.  Scouts reported back that it seemed like the sky had fallen to earth, their were so many campfires below they could be mistaken for stars.

Mists rolled off the lake that evening, and filled the valleys with a thick fog.  The main unit of Suda troops became scattered.  Troops just a score of feet infront of them seemed to disapear.   When they finally did make the summit, they did so lost and demoralized, and without many of their numerical advantage.   The first force to break the mist and appear on the shore were suprised to see the refugees charging them from across the water.  One survivor of the attack claimed it seemed as though they were running across the lake.

The Caer Ardwy refugees overwhelmed the remaining small pockets of troops, and systematically defeated the whole Suda column.  The locals of Caer Ardwy and Glyndwr Keep still credit this for the straw that turned the war, though much of the rest of the cities still claim that Erandis defeated Sudala.

After the Avatar War, Glyndwr Keep was abandoned, and the survivors moved out of the moors to try and retake their old homes in Caer Ardwy.  Unfortunately the City of Erandis claimed the territory as spoils of war, and told the refugees they could return if they denounced their God Ardwy.  Refusing, they returned the moors they made home at their last stand.  Building a new Caer Ardwy near the base of the falls, the settled down far from most of the settlements of man.

As the generation aged, some longed to return to Glyndwr Keep.  Feeling the heritage, and history, and sense of pride it provieded them, they respopulated it.  Samus Macowen, the grandson of Talbert Macowen.  A small village grew around the keep of families proud of their heritage, and wanted to keep the memory of those who died fighting the Sudala forces strong.  A keep was built on the island the survivors camped on that night, and it's said that the bridge to it covers the path Talbert ran when he charged the forces on the beach.

Present 

Glyndwr Keep is populated by a proud group of people who still worship Ardwy, the God of Protection.   Many know the history of the town, and children are taught it early.   The love extends still to the direct descendants of that night.  The MacOwens are well respected, and appreciated within the town.   They rule generously, and the people recipricate. 

A town has sprung up near the keep proper.  Due to the thick forest, and steep bluffs, the town is scattered into distinct sections or 'vales' as the locals call them.  While all the vales consider themselves part of Glyndwr Keep, they each have their own distinct feeling, shops and specialties.  The vales are called by the locals:  Royal, Merchant, Shadow, Woodland and Cobbleton.

The town income is generated by hearding sheep, some metal mines in the surrounding moores, and fishing.  Two resources, however, really make Glyndwr Keep stand out.  First is the Yew tree.  Used for many things, but mostly for it's incredible strength bows.  Local boyers keep their crafting secrets to themselves, but will aknowledge that most of the power comes from the wood itself.

Next, are the ruins to the north.  There is still some debate about who and where those ruins came from, since no known race has settled this far north, and the runes are not wholely deciphered.  Some claim to understand them, but have yet to prove it.  So, while little is known about them, one thing is.  They are loaded with treasures and monsters.  Creatures truelly from the edge of the world.  Dragons, harpies, lurkers of all sorts, haunt the ruins.  Many young people venture in looking to make an easy fortune.  So many that it's suggested a majority of the treasure in the ruins comes from the remains of those who tried to extract it.

Landmarks

The Keep itself is the most obvious landmark.  Owning the entire isle on which it rests, it is home for the Macowen clan.  Each harvest and spring festivals are held within the keep, and during the Winter Elf attack, the entire town was brought in for protection.

MaCowen bridge is also of note.  Outsiders sometimes mistake the name of the bridge for the owners of the keep, but in reality, it is a memorial to the charge that earned them their freedom, having been built over the same path Gregor MacOwen ran during the Ardwy's last stand.

There are 250 statues carved throughout the town.  Each one representing a different survivor from that night.

It is noteworthy to say what is missing however:

While all other human settlements (and some demi human ones), have shrines to both Erand and Suda, Glyndwr Keep and Caer Ardwy do not.  There is still a bitter grudge that their homes were taken, and then not returned to them, from the war.