Duchy of Stones

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The Duchys : Arc * Dry * Eye and Shore * High Island * Masked * Moon * Oak * Snake * South * Stones

The Duchy of Stones is ruled by Duchess Inanna.

The main settlements are as follows :

• Highest Fort is the capital and is set high in the mountains. It was the mining centre of the ancient Empire. Even today gems and metals can be mined there, although the supply of sparkstone is dwindling.
• Flint Tower is the Northeasternmost city of the Duchy, on the borders of the Duchies of the Arc, Oak and the Dry Duchy.
• Illitire is on the Southern bank of the Jirdare, standing near the border with the Duchy of the South and is also close to the Dry Duchy.
• Jerithorn is in the Northwest of the Duchy, close to Grey Port of the Duchy of the Arc. It is one of the two trading ports of the Duchy.
• Shell Harbour is in the West of the Duchy, on the edge of the Duchy's inner sea. It is the second of the two trading ports of the Stones.

Please see Map of Athory.

Detailed Settlement Descriptions

Highest Fort

Still the main source of metal and gemstones for Athory, Highest Fort is the richest city of the continent and its court resembles a luxurious palace. The court and the city wall are built from silver-vein, a rare rock mined within the Duchy. Unusually many of the buildings of Highest Fort are also built of stone, although of the more common plain grey stone. The nobles here are wealthy and many of the commoners too fare better than the inhabitants of other cities.

The main features of the city are :

• The Office in the Walls - the priests' buildings are all built into the main city wall.
• The Engraved Histories - at different points around the city wall, different scenes from Athory's histories are drawn (compare with The Picture Wall of Chir Shrine).
• The mine shafts - the currently used ones are all in the north of the city, However there are tales of disused passages and pits which come out of the cellars of ordinary houses.
• The barracks. There are a number of guard barracks in Highest Fort. However the largest are by the gates.

The Court of the Duchess

The building itself has been built from expensive materials and its furnishings are similarly expensive. In common with Duke Artallory's court, there is much silver work on display - a legacy of the Empire's past rulership of the Kerris Isles. There are also rich furnishings in the Duchy's colours (silver and red) and the Duchess' symbol - a silver hammer on a red background - is prominent everywhere.

Inanna herself is fabulously wealthy and has rarely shown concern in affairs outside of her own lands. However, within the Stones it is a different matter and any spies are hunted down and executed. Outsiders to the Stones are usually greeted with suspicion, although merchants tend to be made welcome. The Duchess rarely holds court with commoners or outsiders, but she is reputed to be a pale-skinned dark haired woman in her late twenties. Attractive, but far from stunning. All the would-be suitors have either been dismissed from court, or have lost their ardour after spending much time with one of the coldest women of Athory. Consequently she is still single and without an heir.

The Nobility of Highest Fort

• Lord Terris - Lord Terris is not a thin man and is known to pay extremely high wages to his cooks. However, he is a shrewd business man with an eye for politics. It is likely that he is better informed than his Duchess when it comes to the affairs of other Duchies. He is of medium height with light brown hair and is in his late thirties.
• Lord Vitheric - Lord Vitheric is an elderly man, now much taken with his family's history. He has a small family, a son and two daughters all of which still live in Highest Fort although no longer at the family estate.
• Lord Darstan - Once a merchant, Darstan was given his estate in reward for careful management of the mining trade. These days he is the unofficial manager of the working mines.
• Lady Tally - The only one of the Highest Fort nobles with any military training, Tally inherited her father's estate and with it his role of running the armies of the Stones. Tally is now in her early thirties and recently married one of the mages of the Duchy.

There are currently two unoccupied estates in Highest Fort.