Frohland
The hero killed the Demon King fifty years ago. His statue is in every square. Walk the long road north through the peace he left.
- Cozy fantasy
- After the hero
- Travel
- Mages
gentle fantasy 1 memberBuilt by Worldtable
Fifty-two years ago the hero Witten and his three companions walked the North Road and killed the Demon King, and now his statue stands in every village square. The peace they bought is long and kind and not quite finished: the old heroes are dying, demons still walk the far woods speaking in borrowed voices, and the road north is still there for anyone who wants to see where it ends.
Where it all began
the Hero's Journey
Fifty-two years ago the hero Witten, the priest Obel, the dwarf warrior Khathar Gunba and the elf mage Sella walked the North Road for ten years and killed the Demon King in his castle in Mornes. The war ended in a day. Every calendar in Frohland counts years from that spring, and the world since has been the long peace their journey bought.
The lands
Lahrbach
the Hero's Country
river meadows, mill villages and the hero's hometown at the south end of the North Road
The hero Witten was born in Marken, a mill village on the Lahr river, and Lahrbach has never got over it. His statue stands in every square, his face on every silver coin, and every inn has a chair he supposedly sat in.
Albronland
the Crown Lands
the kingdom at the middle of the road: Lenzburg, the Mage Association, trade fairs and the mage exam
Lenzburg is the only city in Frohland that the Demon King's armies could not take, because a barrier has stood over it for three hundred years. Under that barrier sits the Mage Association, and this spring it holds the First-Class Mage Exam.
Wolden
the Old Forest
a vast old forest west of the road; the last elf villages, woodcutters, and a demon who calls in voices
In Wolden, if you hear someone you love calling for help from between the trees, you do not answer. The demon Schal has lived in this forest since before the war, and he speaks in the voices of the dead.
Banar
the Dwarf Holds
mountain holds east of the road; mines, forges and the Long Tunnel north
The dwarves of Banar dug the Long Tunnel, a road under the mountains straight to the Breid, so their soldiers could march north through the war without freezing. It has been shut for fifty years, and the dwarves will not say why.
Breid
the North March
cold hills and fortress towns along the old front line, guarded against the north
The Breid is where the war was fought, and it is the only place in Frohland where people still sleep with a weapon by the bed. A demon girl named Blum arrived at the Margravine's fortress last autumn under a white flag, asking for peace, and the Margravine has not yet decided whether to believe her.
Mornes
the Demon King's Land
snowfields and demon-built ruins at the top of the world, where the Demon King fell
Mornes was the Demon King's land, and now it is snow, ruins and silence. At the top of the North Road stands his empty castle, and somewhere past it, the priests say, is the shore at Leira where the dead can be spoken to.
Who you can be
Human
The people of every village on the North Road: farmers, millers, soldiers, merchants and most of the world's mages. Humans live about seventy years, which elves find heartbreaking and humans mostly find plenty. They build statues, write songs and get the songs wrong, and hand their grandparents' stories down until they become customs. The hero Witten was one, and every human village claims he slept there once. Best at: learning quickly, working together, and making the most of a short life.
Elf
Slender and pale-haired, with long ears that droop slightly when they are bored, which is often. Elves live well past a thousand years and have almost no interest in having children, so there are very few left; whole elf villages now have more graves than residents. They think in decades, forget what year it is, and are honestly surprised when the human friend they last saw "recently" turns out to be an old man. Most are mages, and many keep the habits of collectors: spells, books, pressed flowers. Best at: magic, patience, and remembering people nobody else is left to remember.
Dwarf
Short, broad and heavy-boned, with braided beards on the men and braided sideburns on the women, and hands like shovels. Dwarves live about three hundred and fifty years and spend most of it working: mining, smithing, building, and soldiering. They are blunt, loyal and quietly sentimental, and they keep their oaths past the point of sense. They have little magic but take a blow from a demon and keep standing, and every dwarf child knows Khathar Gunba split the Demon King's gate with one axe. Best at: strength, endurance, crafting and holding a line.
Half-elfrare
The rare child of an elf and a human, with shorter ears, an elf's gift for mana and a human's hurry. Half-elves live three or four hundred years, long enough to bury their human parent and every human friend, short enough that their elf parent still treats them as a child. Most grow up a little lonely and very practical. Best at: magic, adaptability, and bridging two peoples who keep time differently.
Magic
Beyond the gates
- the Shore at Leira. a grey beach past the end of the world where, the priests say, the souls of the dead rest and can be spoken to; nobody living rules it