Friday, December 5, 2014

The World of Mistfall: The Valskyrr

This time the history of the world of Mistfall continues, focusing on the Valskyrr – an icy northern region and a stage for heroic struggles the Heroes will undertake, facing the sinister power of the Mists.


The First Days


Despite the Valskyrr being one of the most inhospitable of the known regions of the world, it was also one of the first to be conquered by humanity in the early days, long before the Mistfall. As if to prove their right to rule the world, the Children of Dawn built their homes in the rocky foothills, on mountain slopes and and deep in the snow covered woods of the valleys.

The north-western part of Valskyrr ends with a cold sea that occasionally freezes for the duration of a few of the coldest months of the year. That, however, did not stop the Valskyrrians' expansion, making them some of the first people to master the art of shipbuilding. It quickly led them to become explorers and traders, and sometimes, in the case of those who decided to worship Dusk, also raiders feared on every other coast of the known world.


Valskyrrian Landscape - prototype art by Enggar Adirasa

After Dusk created his own children, the Valskyrrians were first to come into contact with them. The beastmen tribes quickly found out, however, that although their numbers and their ferocity may make them almost invincible, even in a hopeless situation the people of Valskyrr would not go down without a fight – and without taking as many of their hated enemies with them.


After the Mistfall



Skeletal Warrior
by Enggar Adirasa
The Valskyrr was also one of the regions first touched by the corrupting tendrils of the Mists, with its most northern parts influenced heavily enough to change the land itself. It was here that the Mistwalker term was coined, as the bravest and strongest of the Valskyrrians, already known as fearless explorers, would venture into Mist-ridden territories in search for an answer to the mystery of the Mists. And although many have not returned, some say that one woman uncovered a terrible secret, now guarded deep within the dungeons of Frostvalley Keep.

Although the people of Valskyrr are truly indomitable, their territories have suffered greatly from invasions of beastmen, both before and after the Mistfall, which scarred the land and left hundreds of burned villages and decrepit runs of old outposts, now haunted by creatures returned from the dead or created by the Mists.

Now the Valskyrr is a house besieged, perilous and more hostile than ever before. But for as much the Mists push its people, so do they push back, never easily broken. It seems that their strength and resolve remains unwavering in the face of the nameless horrors spawned by the Mists and the brutality of its beastmen servants.


Denizens of the Valskyrr



Wild Icehound
by Enggar Adirasa
Today most of the Valskyrrians live in or around Frostvalley Keep, a stronghold built between two mountain ranges almost four ages ago to stop any further expansion of the beastmen hordes. The rest are spread all over the land, inhabiting small settlements that exist in constant danger of being taken by the Mists or invaded by its servants.

People of the Valskyrr are easily recognizable wherever they appear: tall, stout and broad shouldered, with strong arms as if made to wield smithing hammers, axes or broadswords and heavy thick shields. In some parts of the world the Valskyrrians ar considered giants, for even Valskyrrian women often stand taller than men born in less harsh and unforgiving regions.

As for other denizens of the Valskyrr, the whole lands and especially its northern territories, are swarming with beastmen, and almost every old ruin seems to house some sort of a returned dead: from reanimated skeletons taking up weapons against the still living, to wraiths, night wailers and the formidable draugrs. The coldest parts of the Valskyrr are also a home of all manner of ice beasts: animals twisted by the Mists and partly melded with the ice that surrounds them.


A Land of Cold and Peril


Ancient ruins, dark forests and icy lands await all those brave enough to venture into the wild. The influence of the Mists seems strongest here, so there is always work for the those ready to lend their weapons, their magic and their resolve to help keep the relentless Mists at bay.

 

__________________
FIND OUT MORE NSKN official website Facebook  | BGG
Follow us on Twitter: @NSKNGames

No comments:

Post a Comment