Savage Worlds Accursed Valkenholm
Valkenholm
The northern realm of Valkenholm has long been seen as one of the most pre-eminent regions of Morden. Its vast, thick forests provide many benefits—amongst them rich lumber, furs, and food. Valkenholm sits astride the mighty Scythe River, itself a prime source of fish and minerals. To the southeast, the realm’s forests give way to a deep and largely unexplored series of bogs and swamps known as the Sunken Lands.
Valkenholm was originally settled as part of Steppengrad over seven centuries ago. For many years, the first inhabitants of Valkenholm built villages and farmholds, peaceably working the land, exploring deeper into the forests, and establishing the first roads and trails. The people of Valkenholm were industrious, independent, and honorable, establishing several traditions of hospitality and fairness. However, the Grafs of Steppengrad saw the region’s rich forests as a resource to exploit rather than a culture to embrace. Many of the area’s settlers were stripped of their profits and forced into indentured servitude under the direction of Steppengrad nobles. Most settlements in Valkenholm evolved into plantations and logging camps. These centered around fortresses and castles built by the Grafs to defend their wealth against the occasional peasant uprising or bandit raid from the neighboring Outlands.
After thirty years, the countryside of Valkenholm was scattered with developed villages and looming towers, but citizens of the region had reached their breaking point. Messengers traveled from settlement to settlement in the dead of night, and townsfolk gathered to collect weapons they had cached against just such a need. In one bloody week of uprisings, the rebels drove out most Grafs, while a handful of the cruelest or least fortunate noblemen were rounded up and killed.
Having attained its independence, one of the leaders of the rebellion rose to prominence and named himself King Stefan Hightower the First. This began a tradition of royalty in Valkenholm that King Hightower’s descendants cemented over the following decades. Valkenholm became famous for the institution of feudal order. The former Grafs’ castles were turned over to the King’s supporters, creating peers and a system of vassalage. Nor were the commoners ignored; a House of Commons was established to help advise the king and provide a voice for those without noble blood.
The more egalitarian realm grew in size and influence until it became arguably the foremost nation in Morden. Valkenholm dealt affably with all realms of the Outlands, traded with Cairn Kainen, and was a popular destination for caravans leaving Hebron and Hyphrates. Relations with Steppengrad were less than warm, but the two realms learned to coexist.
The Enochian church chose Valkenholm as a central meeting point and constructed a mighty cathedral there—the fortress-monastery of Massif Helsenn. In fact, the Enochian church has a prominent presence in Valkenholm. Over the centuries, the monks have worked with the monarchy to establish several orders of knighthood in service to both the crown and the church.
The nation lasted in this manner for centuries, and it was the invasion of the Witches into Morden that changed the character of Valkenholm. Prior to its conquest, Valkenholm prospered over its neighbors. Forestry, carpentry, and lumbering were some of Valkenholm’s largest industries, followed by fishing, mining, and riverway trade. The capitol of Kulidar—even after the ravages of war—is amongst Morden’s largest and most well-developed cities, featuring numerous guild houses, villa homes, and Enochian cathedrals.
Citizens of Valkenholm were famously proud of their nation, having gained a reputation for believing they were just a little bit better than any other realm in Morden. That pride was shattered by twin blows. The first blow was the loss of the war against the Witches. The second blow to Valkenholm was enduring the crushing grip of subjugation under its conqueror.
After the conquest, Valkenholm is a symbol of what awaits the rest of Morden. It is a realm fallen from grace, firmly under the thumb of a ruthless Witch and preyed upon by monsters. Its people, once proud and prosperous, cower and walk with their heads cast down—an object lesson in how the Witches exert their dark influence across the land.
Role in the Bane War
The invasion of the Witches smashed through the Outlands and ran directly into the bulwarking forests of Valkenholm. For centuries, Valkenholm depended upon the Outlands—specifically, the strong military forces of Riverspring—to shield it from the beasts and terrors lurking in the Darkwall mountains to the north. Once that shield was stripped away, Valkenholm was forced to scramble to prepare its own defenses against the Witches and their Accursed armies.
At the time of the invasion, Valkenholm’s ruler was King Stefan Hightower II, regarded by many across Morden as a wise, courageous, and just monarch. With the utter devastation of the Outlands, the true scope of the Witches’ invasion became clear. Knowing that time was short, King Stefan made great efforts to build the other realms of Morden into a unified force that became known as the Alliance. The King became the spokesman for this council of nations. Under his leadership, Valkenholm quickly became the center of organization for the Alliance’s efforts to turn back the Witches and their dark armies. Barges traveled the Scythe River to transport men and supplies, while the forest roads were thick with knights and cavalry riding patrol circuits and messages between camps. The Alliance used Valkenholm’s staging grounds to launch numerous raids against the Witch armies. These raids were, for the most part, quite successful, for the Witches were focusing their efforts on subjugating the Outlands and augmenting their Bane forces with the newly-created Accursed.
However, the Alliance soon gained an answer to their raids from an unexpected source. Hordes of reanimated corpses poured over the Highlands—the cauldron-born had entered the war. This dark surprise was the creation of the Witch known as the Morrigan, and she launched her assault from the moors of Cairn Kainen, a border that many in Valkenholm—including King Stefan—considered safe. This mistake cost the Alliance dearly, as the shambling horrors wiped out many villages in the Sunken Lands and the eastern forests of Valkenholm.
King Stefan took charge of the survivors and gathered his host for the final battle. The Alliance made a pact with the Seelie Fey in a desperate gamble to sunder the Witches’ Grand Coven and break their hold upon the dark hordes threatening to overrun Morden. It was a moment for heroes, and the king did not flinch from his duty. He rode at the head of his knights, his guards carried the banner of the crown of Valkenholm into the teeth of the Witches’ assault. In another time, another land, such a stand would be made into legend—but that day, in Morden, the King and his band of loyal knights fell. They died to the last man defending their home, but all of their valor was not enough to stem the tide. The Alliance’s plan did succeed in destroying the Grand Coven, but it was too late. The ruthless Witches had conquered Valkenholm, and all of Morden.
Aftermath
It did not take long for Valkenholm to feel the grasp of the Blood Witch cementing her victory. Sanguinara swept into Kulidar, the capitol city, arriving within days after the Grand Coven was sundered and most of the dark hordes dispersed back over the Darkwall Peaks. The Blood Witch made few appearances, but she made it known throughout the land that she laid claim to the ancient title of Countess. The trappings of King Stefan’s monarchy were wiped away and she established herself quite comfortably in her court at Kulidar. The glory and majesty of Valkenholm had been plucked like a ripe apple from the tree.
Life in Valkenholm after its conquest continues much as normal. The farmers bring in their crops, hunters sell pelts and meat to the outer villages and cities alike, and miners dig away in shafts beneath the forest searching for veins of precious ore. However, the atmosphere in Valkenholm is much bleaker than can be remembered. The dark, thick forests that the region is so renowned for are now home to terrible, blood-hungry beasts. Banes have driven out all but the bravest or most stubborn settlers from the swamps in the Sunken Lands. Many villages are more frightened of the Redhawk knights who ostensibly patrol the realm for their safety than the monsters that lurk in the night.
For the self-styled Countess Sanguinara Nasady, Valkenholm is a plaything that she enjoys toying with endlessly. She has shown no signs of tiring of her games. From Kulidar, she spins intricate webs of plots and schemes, ensnaring young noblemen with her beauty and charm. Many of these paramours end up as pale corpses drifting in the Scythe. Villagers in the surrounding settlements have learned to hide their more attractive sons and daughters, for many beautiful young men and women—some barely out of childhood—have been taken away by the black-armoured Redhawk knights to serve as “pages” and “ladies-in-waiting” for the Blood Witch’s amusements.
Sanguinara does not have as much control over the realm as she might prefer. She has largely chosen to ignore the Enochian religion within her borders, finding the monks and their studies to be highly boring and mundane. In truth, the Enochians and their support of the Order of St. Vitus are one of the greatest threats to her rule. Similarly, some of the plots that hatch within the Blood Witch’s court are hidden from even her awareness within the highly byzantine political maneuvers that surround her. There are a handful of nobles who remember the Valkenholm of old and have no love for their conqueror, no matter how fair and pleasant she might seem. For the nonce, the Blood Witch seems content to solidify her power and prepare for expanding her rule—it would seem that her desire for power is nearly insatiable.
