Locations - The Blood of Dawnwalker Database

For thousands of years we’ve been wondering what happens to us after we die. Is there an afterlife? For vrakhiri there is, but it’s far from hospitable. It’s called Anachora.

When one vrakhir dies by another vrakhir’s hand, the killer may decide to absorb their victim’s soul, carrying the dead spirit inside themselves. If the killer refuses, victim’s soul is trapped in Anachora.

At that point, there’s no way back. The dead souls are condemned to wander through the cursed plains forever, constantly watched by something… An unnamed presence, hidden behind the clouds, whose gaze sinks into the vrakhiri’s souls the way fangs sink into flesh. Who is it? And what does it want?

The region of Boar’s Back was once known mainly for the Shrike’s Crag quarry – until, years ago, Knyaz Skender turned the place into a slaughterhouse, killing peasants who dared oppose his unjust rule. Today, Shrike’s Crag is abandoned and people give it a wide berth.

That plus the thick forests covering Boar’s Back make it a good place to lie low, which has spawned rumours of the manumits having many of their hideouts there.

However, it’s also a part of the valley overseen by the mad Boyar Bakir, a cruel and unpredictable monster.

Briar Sloughs isn’t far from my home village, Laslea, but I don’t go there often. Its eastern part is mostly a swamp, which – especially at night – always gave me the chills. The western part, on the other hand, is full of Brencis’s soldiers, stationed at Stoneward Post, one of the largest military camps in the valley. Either way, I’ve never had much need to visit those parts, other than on the way to Svartrau. But that might change now…

Looking at Greifberg Castle, you might think it has towered over Svartrau for centuries. But it was actually built just thirteen years ago. Before that, a much less impressive stronghold stood there – one made mostly of wood, with only a few crucial parts fortified with stone.

But I heard that Knyaz Skender had been fantasising about a proper castle for years. He started building it right after taking over. And then, in AD 1333, after the infamous Shrike’s Crag massacre, he pressed on even harder, possibly worried the rebels might strike again. They never did, and three years later the castle was finished.

Skender boasted that this imposing castle would keep all his enemies at bay… But its walls were no great obstacle for Brencis. He took over the castle, along with its dungeons, where he imprisoned my family.

Laslea, my home, was once mainly a mining village. But after Brencis became knyaz, he closed down the silver mines. Since then, we’ve been farmers and herders. Our life may seem peaceful and quiet to some, but it’s mainly back-breaking labor from dawn till dusk – no matter the weather. If we don’t have enough food before winter, we’ll starve.

The village of Maragir is nestled in a dense, lush forest. Some of the villagers hunt there, now that Brencis has made that legal for peasants – or they pick berries and mushrooms. Others earn their living as lumberjacks. And they all love their boyar, Ambrus. At least, that’s what you hear whenever you set foot in Maragir.

The region of Rockfalls owes its name to the landslides and avalanches whose roar so often echoes over the peaks. They’re too frequent to be of nature’s doing, some say. There are legends of mountain giants or ancient sites of volatile magic causing these phenomena… but since few people have actually wandered through Rockfalls and survived, we still don’t know the truth.

Maybe the uriashi, whose villages are rumoured to lie somewhere in Rockfalls, know more. Unfortunately, they aren’t eager to share any of their people’s secrets.

The Silts is part of Boyaress Xanthe’s fiefdom. It’s a secluded place far from the valley’s centre. Bakir has his manor there as well, and it’s where he holds his infamous Lunar Tournaments. Brencis seldom casts his gaze over this part of the valley – whether by neglect or by choice – and his boyars do as they please in the Silts, undisturbed by anyone.

Back in the day, St. Tyna’s convent was run like clockwork. I bet the prioress never complained of a shortage of candidates for the novitiate. If you were a third daughter with no dowry, or if you were giving your parents a hard time and ‘needed some discipline’, Saint Tyna’s was where you ended up.

And then the plague came, and a wave of pilgrims flooded the convent. Some of them came to ask the saint for protection, others – already infected – to pray for a miracle. The sisters worked their fingers to the bone tending the sick… until, in the end, there was no one left. Rumour is, all the pilgrims died, and so did the nuns. The convent and the surrounding woods fell silent. But not for long…

Svartrau is the city at the heart of Vale Sangora – and the place where all roads lead.

It used to be a rich and lively town, but the last two years have taken their toll. Many people died of the plague, others – mostly nobles – were killed by Brencis after his coup.

The new knyaz might have put an end to the plague, but there have been other problems. Today, those debilitated or orphaned by the plague flock to the cathedral steps, hoping for a warm meal. After dusk, they crawl back to the shadows, while vrakhiri blood-addicts and other shady types take over the streets. Despite the guards’ best efforts, Svartrau is hardly a safe place.

On the other hand, it’s still the liveliest place in the valley. It consists of four districts.

The rich merchants – as well as those few nobles who bent the knee quickly enough for Brencis to spare them – live in Silberstein.

The place where merchants sell their goods is called Altenmarkt, and is by far the most crowded part of the city.

The Middens, on the other hand, are almost abandoned. This is where the plague hit the hardest. Only beggars and shady characters dwell there nowadays.

And then, there’s Neustadt – a relatively small, Jewish district. The Jewish community keeps mostly to itself and tries to avoid provoking the knyaz. They understand better than most how precarious our lives are now.

A century ago, a large group of Tatars came to our region with the Mongol army, led by Batu-khan. Some of those Tatars, tired of warring, began looking for a place to settle. Soon they came to Vale Sangora and in exchange for the right to herd sheep, they pledged their allegiance to house Dragosti.

Just like the Jews of Neustadt district in Svartrau, the Tatars now live predominantly in one place – the village of Tantari. And just like with the Jews, I don’t think it’s entirely by their own choice. Our world isn’t a just place for anyone, but for some – it’s even less so.