Fairhaven History & Colony Lore
Founding and Early Years
Fairhaven was founded 100 years ago by explorers looking for freedom and land away from the empire of the Land of Seven Tribes (LoST). Some of the settlers were Shai Felan, part-cat/part-human hybrid that was developed in LoST for use as warriors by one of the Battle Mages of Valadium. More comfortable in the wild, they left the town proper and created steadholts deep in the forest. The town quickly became prosperous. Shortly thereafter a damaged merchant vessel from Venetia (in Cadrys) took refuge in the tiny cove and was forced to winter there. Amicable relations were easily formed and the crew promised to return the next spring with supplies and merchant goods as payment for the hospitality shown to them. Returning the next spring, they were met with a scene of death and utter devastation as the colony had been destroyed. Grieving for the loss of their new friends, the Venetians returned home and reported the destruction of the colony.
Seeing an opportunity to easily expand his borders, the king of the fledgling Cadrylin Empire sent 500 Colonists and the First Royal Corps of Engineers under Captain General Marco Bragadini . Upon arrival, the general and his troops quickly laid out the city and began a series of canals reminiscent of their home Venetia. Buildings of cut stone and timber sprang up at a regular pace and defensive walls closed off the mouth of the Valley. With the colony on sound footing, the Captain General turned his attentions to the local mountainside where silver was discovered. Everything seem perfect until a supply vessel arriving in the spring discovered almost all of the colonists and garrison dead; seemingly at each other hands. One of the few survivors was a ranting and raving Captain General Bragadini who was drug home in chains to face justice for the colony's failure.
Over the ensuing centuries, all attempts to settle the area resulted in the same yearly massacre. The town served periodically as a bandit hideout, a temporary camp for miners or hunters. For several seasons, a group of “wreckers” plied the coast south of the town with a fire cart to lure ships to their deaths as they were looking for shelter in the cove. Word quickly spread that the are was cursed and only death awaited those that dwelt there. Of course, none of this was in the original reports that Sir Julius DiFornio found in the musty archives of the city of Venetia.
After gaining permission from the Council of Seven (Venetia's ruling council) Sir Julius DiFornio and his partner Don Guido Carpelli set sail and soon arrived in the new land. Once again the entire peninsula was claimed for the city of Venetia and the Cadrylin Empire as the colony of New Cadrys. Fairhaven is currently the largest town and its only port. The colonists found a uninhabited city of abandoned buildings and farms with functioning canals, a sewage system, and small sturdy dock. They made quick work of the clean up and all but a few of the canals are cleaned out. The colony is small, with a little over 200 inhabitants. A large portion of the colony's revenue comes from the local silver mine that had been worked irregularly over the past century but has seen consistent activity since the colony's re-founding.
Which brings us to the founding of Cadrylin's southern colony. Although well funded initially, the Cadrylin colony on the northeast corner of Fiorgynshiem has come on hard times. This has been due to primarily three reasons.
1. The colony is not on any major trade route. An attempt to forge an alliance with the kingdom of Fiorgynshiem failed and the resulting trade has never materialized. This is due primarily to a lack of the Fiorgyn's refusal to allow a road to cross their lands.
2. Although a deep water anchorage, there are no geographical features which shelter the harbor from the northern storms. A seawall and accompanying docks have never been completed due to a lack of manpower. The seawall and docks were started by a previous magistrate and utilized local Dainga natives. The superstitious natives refused to continue working after a sudden squall spawned and washed 9 workers off the wall and drowned them. They took the deaths as a sign that the gods did not approve of their task and refused to continue. Most of the local natives seem to have vacated the area for more amicable lands far to the south.
3. The colony had been utilized by the Cadrylin monarchy as a dumping ground for those out of favor. Being overly ambitious or inept are easy ways to lose favor in the court. This hasn't stopped the royal courts from imposing taxes and burdening the colony with additional drains on their resources.
Imagine Sir Julius's surprise when one day when an Imperial galley arrived in the tiny cove and disembarked Captain Alesandro Bellini and his garrison of 100 men. Captain Bellini was dispatched to the colony to act as the Imperial representative. The Captain's attitude that he felt the colonists should support the garrison in return for the protection quickly became a point of contention and open conflict between the settlers. The settlers thought the soldiers were freeloaders benefiting from their hard work. The soldiers felt the settlers where ungrateful considering the protection they offered. Several fights occurred between settlers and soldiers which led the Captain and Sir Julius to meet and discuss the issue. The resulting truce of sorts seems to be working out well, but there are still some hard feelings. The captain agreed to allow an Inn to be opened up as a place for the soldiers to spend their wages. As an incentive, R&R/leave is granted to only those men who "volunteer" to man off-hour work details used by the settlers to reconstruct the colony and provide food for all. The settlers have agreed to pool the output of their individual farms into a common food source to help support the garrison.
This unwanted intrusion has caused such a drain on the colony’s resources of food, shelter and services that has placed Sir DiFornio and Captain Bellini at odds. The two are not openly hostile, having more of a silent battle of snide comments every once in a while. Things changed however when a message arrived from the royal court demanding taxes on the colony's revenue. An infuriated Sir DiFornio consulted with his legal experts and set sail for the royal court to gain relief for his fledgling colony.
Person's of Note
in the Re-founding of the Colony
Don Guido Carpelli - owner of the Wild Boar Tavern and Sir DiFornio's business partner. He is a Ranger and former soldier in the famed elite Harlequin unit of the Cadrylin Empire. His health, however, began to fail the more battles he survived. He retired and purchased a tavern and inn in Ventia and quickly turned it into a profitable business. He is married to Dona Maria Carpelli and moved to Fairhaven for his health, at his her insistence. Guido is a little gruff at first, but very likable. [GD Will/Val Broderick] He and his wife Maria have recently returned to Venetia to expand his business ventures using profits selling goods from the colony. He has left the Wild Boar Tavern in the capable hands of “Maxine” Carpelli, his sister. He has designated as his representative on the local council Don Gino.
Sir Julius DiFornio, Knight of the Golden Cup - Sir Julius is the founder of the colony and its driving force. He is a kind, but stern man, who values the protection and safekeeping of his colony above everything else. As a Knight of the Golden Cup, he is charged to always be gentle with women, protect children and the insane, and to always meet his foe face-to-face. He likes to meet new people who come into Fairhaven and see if they are potential troublemakers or not. Those whom he thinks are trouble he usually watches over closely as long as it doesn’t interfere with his Magistrate duties. Sir Julius and Captain Bellini are not friends. They do not get along at all, due mostly because Captain Alesandro and his 100 soldiers Garrison was forced on the colony of Fairhaven without his permission and has caused such a drain on the colony’s resources of food, shelter and services. The two are not openly hostile, having more of a silent battle of snide comments every once in a while. [GD Will/Val Broderick]. This open hostility has forced Sir Julies to venture to the royal court to withdraw the garrison or to appoint him as the Imperial representative. He has designated Don Carlo Corlleon as his representative on the local ruling council .
Alesandro Bellini Captain of the Garrison - He is a strong, capable man who was well on his way to becoming a genuine threat to the power-structure amongst the Military commanders in the Cadrylin Empire. He was sent to this small, backwater colony to slow his career advancement, and hopefully never to be seen again. He understands what happened, but his own sense of personal honor and duty will not let him do anything but the best job he can for his charges here.[GD Will/Val Broderick]. He has almost fanatically seeks fame and glory and leads the garrison in long raids in the countryside. As a result, he and the garrison is almost never present. He has happily proxied his seat on the local council to Cullen allowing him to escape the politics of the colony.
Master Niccoli, master of the local mage school. - He has the policy not to fight the battles for the Fairhaven citizenry…if you did it once, they would continually deplete the resources and people within the school.[GD Will/Val Broderick].
Dona Luca Andretti, Guild mistress of the Postres de Dulces Guild (Bakery and Sweets Guild). She is a beloved (if not senile) member of the Fairhaven community. After a Drau attack a few years ago, she doesn’t always remember things the way others do and she is senile at times. Nevertheless, she is a kind grandmotherly figure who gives out the most wonderful cookies in Fairhaven with a smile to anyone. [GD Will/Val Broderick].
Miscellania
Origin of the name “Fairhaven”
With hurricanes blowing from the east Fairhaven is the only sheltered cove in the northern part of Fiorgynshiem. The mountains to the east of Fairhaven village effectively shift the winds up and over into Blakes Bay. However, the surf is barely deflected by the land mass as well as the cove being very small and can accommodate only one large ship. It is only a so-so or "fair" haven. That is why they are building a seawall. Please note that there is no road between Fairhaven and Fiorgynshiem as it would have to cross Fiorgyn lands and that they will not allow.
Canals?
The canals and sewers of the Fairhaven are an amazing feat of engineering carved from solid rock by the First Royal Corps of Engineers under Captain General Marco Bragadini of the Cadrylin Empire. They accomplished this using several labors (groups) of torta at great expense but within the span of a year. You may ask “Why would you carve canals out of solid rock? Canals are more suited for connecting groups of islands (as in Venetia). Engineers and soldiers sometimes fail to see the big picture. Make a soldier into an engineer, your almost guaranteed to get by the book results perfectly adhering to each and every regulation based on what has been proven in the past. Whether or not it makes sense is stretching it a bit.
Geography
Fairhaven is situated in the valley between two ridges of the Gray Mountains or more accurately the Mantle of the Gray Man. These mountains are ancient and weathered and but hint at their former glory. The largest ridge to the east terminates in the sea in sheer cliffs several hundred feet high called the Leaping Cliffs. Their sheerness hints at some past cataclysm that possibly bisected the mountain range or of the sheer power of the waves from the sea. At the apex of the cliffs is a ruined temple dedicated to a ancient sky god which is the origin of the name. The ridge to the west is much eroded and terminates in the sea at Wrecker's Point.
Further southeast, there is tunnel called Brunel's Folly. At one point, a rather eccentric man arrived in Fairhaven to attempt the creation of a tunnel from one side of the Gray Mountains to the other. The tunnel had only progressed a couple of hundred yards when the tunnel pierced the edge of a mammoth underground lake. The resulting surge of water drowned all of the miners, including Brunel. The underground lake extends for several miles to the west and the water level remains constant although any signs of feeding tributaries have not been found. Also as elusive, the lake has resisted all attempts to sound its depths. The lake seems to be in constant motion and the water is a deep black although some have reported points of deep green light far in the depths. Those foolhardy to attempt to ascertain the origin of the lights have never returned.
History of the Fairhaven Colony
Fairhaven, is the largest and only
city in the colony of New Cadrys and is located on
the west side of the north-east peninsula of the Land of Fiorgynsheim.
Here is a map of the known lands:
Map of Fiorgynsheim *(see instructions below) To the West is Blake's Bay, and the town is
bordered on the east by steep hills in
which there is a local silver mine which seems to have veins of the strange ore
called mithicarum. Winding among the buildings in the
north are various canals. There is a seawall that is currently unfinished and
provides deep water shelter for only one ship alongside it single set of docks
On the southern edge of the town is a large square with Cullen's Forge being on the east side, along with the Magic Shoppe and other buildings. The largest building in the square is the sprawling Wild Boar Tavern and it is on the west side of the square. To the north of the square is the rest of the town where there are many more buildings - some used and some unused. To the south of the square are the barracks and buildings containing the local garrison. The decision to house the garrison separately from the townspeople was but one step to minimize the open conflict between the two parties. The resulting truce of sorts seems to be working out well, but there are still some hard feelings. The absence of the garrison on long raids on the countryside means they are almost never present.
Several founding members are currently away from the colony. The colony is being run by a council of local leaders. The members are Don Carlo Corleon ( DiFornio's representative and a lawyer), Don Gino Monteverdi (Carpelli's representative and an accountant), Cullen, Captain Bellini and the newcomer Dona Lucia Michaelangelo. The local politics is Cullen's own private little hell as Don Corleon and Don Monteverdi have a seething hatred for one another and will often vote to simply oppose each others efforts. Many mornings, one of these two men can be found pacing in front of the Two Hammers Forge awaiting to air a list of grievances (imagined or real) to Cullen. Monthly council meetings are often loud boisterous affairs with Cullen barely maintaining order but quite surprisingly moving the business of the colony forward. This is due in a large part to Cullen holding Captain Bellini's proxy and vote in his frequent absence.
Persons of Note in Fairhaven
Alesandro Bellini, Captain of the Garrison - He is a strong, capable man who was well on his way to becoming a genuine threat to the power-structure amongst the Military commanders in the Cadrylin Empire. He was sent to this small, backwater colony to slow his career advancement, and hopefully never to be seen again. He understands what happened, but his own sense of personal honor and duty will not let him do anything but the best job he can for his charges here.[GD Will/Val Broderick]. He has almost fanatically seeks fame and glory and leads the garrison in long raids in the countryside. As a result, he and the garrison is almost never present. He has happily proxied his seat on the local council to Cullen allowing him to escape the politics of the colony.
Don Luigi Michelangelo- He was here because he caused so many problems in the city of Florencia, that his father sent him here to learn how to cool his temper and behave respectfully to his elders in the criminal community. Don Luigi expected to be treated like a kingpin, and became upset with anyone who didn’t understand that he was a really important man. This was mostly because he was the baby of his family and was always told by his loving Mama that he was the most special of children, and that everyone in the world should understand that. What Mama Michelangelo did was to raise a Sociopath, who will gladly kill, steal, rape or loot because his Mama convinced him that he had every right to, being naturally smarter and better than everyone else. Don Luigi was trying to create a criminal syndicate here in Fairhaven. He waned to show Papa Michelangelo that he can make good for La Familia even from his forced exile. [GD Will/Val Broderick]. This character met his untimely end in Fairhaven requiem at the hands of Aminor (David Spence), Garabaldi (Matt Kline), Angeles (Mike Whaley), Acacia (Tina Cox) and Delwin (Greg Cox), Aundulin (Jonathan Whaley), Nevvalia (Sandra Whaley) and Sir Tifficate (Tom Paul Grissom). His body was completely dismembered, the pieces cast in acid, cast ashes to ashes on the parts and then gave each member of the Don a part of the body to spread out somewhere when they got home so that his body would be all over the various kingdoms.
Dona Lucia Michelangelo [NPC Amy Coley / GD Paul Coley]- She arrived on the shores of Fairhaven looking for her little brother Luigi. As Luigi's older sister, she feels responsible for determining his fate. She has made no efforts to start any illicit or other dealings. It was not soon after that her feminine charms, sparkling personality and her large fortune earned her a spot on the local ruling council. It is in this position of power that Dona Lucia is pursuing an as of yet undisclosed agenda. She can normally be found entertaining Don Carlo Corleone, Don Gino Monteverdi, or Captain Bellini when he is in town. She has publicly apologized to the town for her late brother's actions but nonetheless has offered a reward for the information about her brothers death. She has taken over a large abandoned estate on the south western edge of the city near Wrecker's Point. Interesting enough, she presents herself as a widower or repentant woman who has devoted herself to a chaste and holy life. Seemingly, she has substantial holdings in Florencia and extensive connections in multiple ports and cities. She holds a non-voting position in the Merchant Guild similar to a ship captain as opposed to the rank of merchant or head of house. [GD Paul Coley]
Cullen – Fighter, skilled armorer and weapon-smith of some renown in Fiorgynshiem. He moved to Fairhaven from Terraline in search of more mithicarum to work. A large vein of the dark ore mithicarum is available but not actively mined due to repeated attacks from drau. This strange dark crystal has completely captured his imagination. Recent efforts to alloy this ore with steel has resulted in a purplish metal that will not rust but with little other improvement over normal steel. Cullen has created the Two Hammers Forge in a building on the east side of the main plaza across from the Wild Boar Tavern. After the events of Fairhaven Requiem, the townspeople have clamored for an effective magistrate and placed him on the local ruling council. The local politics is Cullen's own private little hell as Don Carlo Corleon ( DiFornio's representative and a lawyer) and Don Gino Monteverdi (Carpelli's representative and an accountant). These two men have a seething hatred for one another and will often vote to simply oppose each others efforts. Many mornings, one of these two men can be found pacing in front of the Two Hammers Forge awaiting to air a list of grievances (imagined or real) to Cullen. Monthly council meetings are often loud boisterous affairs with Cullen barely maintaining order but quite surprisingly moving the business of the colony forward. This is due in a large part to Cullen holding Captain Bellini's proxy and vote. Cullen would be far happier in the forge or adventuring. [PC/GD Paul Coley]
Don Carlo Corleon - Fairhaven's Imperial judicial representative and a lawyer. He was designated by DiFornio's to represent his interests in the colony while he was away and as such sits on the local ruling council. He is a short rotund man of considerable appetites and has a seething hatred for Don Gino Monteverdi. He will often vote simply to oppose Don Gino irregardless of cost or personal agenda. [GD Paul Coley]
Don Gino Monteverdi – Venetia's Council of Seven's financial representative and an accountant. He was designated by Carpelli to represent his interests in the colony while he was away and as such sits on the local ruling council. He is a tall thin man who considers himself a considerable intellectual. He is expressly jealous of his position to dispense the profits from the silver mine. (20% to DiForinio, 20% to Carpelli, 20% to the Council of Seven, 20% for use by the colony, and the last 20 % to run the mining operations). Don Gino has a seething hatred for Don Carlo and will often vote simply to oppose Don Carlo irregardless of cost or personal agenda.[GD Paul Coley]
Dona Maxinamallina (Maxine) Carpelli – Proprietor of the Wild Boar Tavern. Her younger brother, Don Guido Carpelli, left her in charge of his investment in the tavern. Years of slinging full liters of ale around have made her pretty tough. Those same years have made her a shrewd judge of character a keen negotiator with a natural predilection for money. Her standard litany is “A gal’s gotta make a gold piece” and “In the Gods I trust, every one else pays in cash”. She is friends with Cullen and sometimes pities his predicament.
Peter Skorovsky – Head of the Miners Guild.
Captain Bellini hired adventures to retrieve some missing miners and deal with a large infestation of spiders. The drau were behind the attacks and spider infestation that carried a unique disease caused by Spider Lycanthropy Venom. [Venom – GD Will and Val Broderick]
The curse plaguing the previous attempts to colonize the area has been finally laid to rest. The first colonists were attacked by local Quershatta tribes and wiped out but at a great cost. Spirits of the dead were tied to the area from that time forward. The dead were a mixture of the original colonists and the Quershatta natives forever locked in a battler that occurred on the anniversary of the battle. Each year they would rise and pursue their very different agendas. The Quershatta dead wanted to kill any and every living thing that they encounter: after all, they are the invaders and destroyers of their land. The original colonists wanted to protect the new town from the ravages of the Quershatta, and whenever possible, would like to reap their vengeance on their dead slayers – over, and over, and over. Adventurers hired by Cullen learned the history of the town, determined the proper burial ceremonies for both the original colonists and the Quershatta, and performed both ceremonies properly to lay each group of spirits to rest permanently. [Fairhaven Requiem]
A regular trade route has been established between Fairhaven
and Norlake [GD John Jones], which has brought an
influx of merchants bearing exotic and magical goods. As a result, the port of
Fairhaven has become much busier. This has placed a renewed need for the
seawall to expand the protection of the harbor.
A large, mist-shrouded island has been discovered (or
appeared) several days sail north east from Fairhaven. The island is the
setting for the Averlast games. [GD Justin Murphy ]
A (now deceased) wererat named Cole burst from the
sewers with a number of rat-men and swarms of rats, and tried to seize the
merchant vessel Magister. Cole's dying mutters indicated that he was
terrified of something that was coming, and trying to escape. [Casting Off, the
prep game for Adventures in Averlast. GD Justin Murphy ]
