Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) (38 page)

Sateren
– One of the largest guild cities in the four continents, it is ruled by the Iron Dragain Guild. Sateren has existed since the time of governments, and parts of the city are so old that there are no records of when they were built. It is a predominantly Wynngaardian city, but there are enough foreign tradesmen coming in via Quigg and the Dual Channel that people of other nationalities don’t warrant a second glance. Sateren prides itself on trade first and foremost, with various food products and highly bred dogs being their main source of trade goods. Sateren is Rune’s hometown.

Vakkiod
– Most villages in Wynngaard do not prefer to deal with the outside world or have any true business dealings with the guild cities, and Vakkiod is no exception. A small village, it makes most of its livelihood through various herds and fishing from the relatively nearby Drahn Lake.

Drahn Lake
– This lake is famous for never completely thawing year round. The northern section always has chunks of ice floating in it no matter if it’s high summer.

Winter’s Heart
– A grassland famous for being completely slick with ice most of the year. It’s only unfrozen during the high summer months

Reske
– All of Wynngaard is known to produce strong people who are excellent at fighting, but even then Reske is in a league all on its own. A more mountainous region, Reske is wrapped up in winter most of the year and the people there are practically immune to the cold. They get their livelihood from the sea, especially from Wulfschanz Harbor, and all Reskens can sail every a ship, even under the most arduous situations. This is Wolf’s hometown and where he was kidnapped at fourteen.

Teherani – Southwestern Continent

Cymer
– The wealthiest city of Teherani by far, Cymer is ruled by the White Dawn Guild. With the trade coming in through Robin’s Wake and the Grey Bridges, it is considered to be
the
trading hub for the Teherani continent. It is also the most ethnically diverse city of this land as it sees more foreigners than Teheranians.

Pryiam’s Waters
– Pryiam’s Waters are famous for being leech infested and no soul dares to actually enter this huge lake. The Teherani people are well-known for using their own limbs to get them wherever they want to go, but the one exception to this is swimming because no one is willing to enter leech-infested waters. Despite that, quite a bit of trading activity happens because of the lake as people load barges with different trade goods.

Torrian’s Island
– This is completely grassland without any civilization on it. The Teherani people leave their herds and herd dogs on the island for months at a time as it’s completely safe from predators.

The Exiled Lands
– This wasteland doesn’t have a single plant growing on it, not even cacti. The natives here do not venture into the heart of it for fear of being baked alive, and instead skirt around the edges whenever they wish to travel. Those that are thrown out of their villages as punishment for crimes committed are exiled to these lands, never to be seen again.

Bog’s Marsh
– One of the few marshes that exist in the four continents, this area is well known for its leeches, poisonous snakes, and very unfriendly human inhabitants. It is this marshland that Denney was lost in for four days, wandering until she was found again by her guild members. (They’ve never let her live that down, either.)

Jioni
– Tran’s hometown and the place that he lived until he was a little shy of turning seventeen. As a small village, it is unknown by most and has no noticeable trade or specialty. The village mainly survives by trade and hunting in the forests around the lake’s edges.

Robarge – Southeastern Continent

Goldschmidt
– One of the more prominent guild cities of the continent, it is ruled by Blackstone Guild. A sprawling, industrious city, it manufactures as much in trade goods as it buys. Deepwoods Guild was founded in this city, registered as a sub-guild of Blackstone, and it is there that it’s existed for the past decade.

Widstoe
– Ruled by High Legacy Guild, this city is the second oldest in Robarge and was founded just after the governments fell. Situated on the edge of Exidor Port, it does more trade by sea than any other city aside from Island Pass. Beirly, Grae, and Siobhan hail from this city.

Winziane
– Infamous in the world for being a wildly successful city in spite of the fact that it has no specialty, Winziane is a relatively new city in Robarge and has only existed for the past eighty years. It was built and now run by the Silvermoon Guild, Markl Hammon’s family.

Converse
– The last city that one can stop in before leaving the continent via the Grey Bridges, it serves travelers from all nationalities and backgrounds. More than trade goods, it specializes in services as it sees more travelers than any other city aside from Island Pass. Converse began as a simple camping area, erected by the workers who built the Grey Bridges over a millennia ago. It has grown considerably since that time but in spite of its size, no official guild rules over this city. Converse boasts the largest black market on Robarge and is where Siobhan bought Wolf.

Stott
– Despite the fact that it is the last city before you cross the Third Bridge over to Orin, Stott has no true wealth or size to it. Few choose to stay there as it takes no more than five hours to cross the Third Bridge and there’s no reason to delay the journey by staying in the city. With poor trade opportunities and no real draw to visitors, it has always struggled financially.

Orin – Northeastern Continent

Wingate
– Founded by dwarves many centuries ago, it is now mostly owned and operated by humans. Wingate thrives off the trade coming in from the Dual Channel and across the Third Bridge, but despite that, it is the poorest guild-operated city of all of Verheimr. The Highlords Guild runs this city, but do so only because of tradition instead of any real money or power. This is Conli’s hometown although he spent very little of his life there.

Saoleord
– Home of some of the fiercest, most renown fighters, this city is shrouded in mystery. It is the most inaccessible city of Verheimr and the people that built the city designed it that way on purpose. They did not want any outside influence, and they are rarely seen outside of their homeland. Rumors have it that there is no leadership, guild, or government ruling over the city but there is no basis for this. Fei was born and raised here but left at the tender age of fifteen.

Coravine
– The Fallen Ward Guild, who founded and rule over Coravine, have petitioned many times for help in building a fourth bridge that would connect Orin directly to Wynngaard. Unfortunately, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears with the other guilds and so they are only able to do trading by sea on the Dual Channel. Perhaps because of this, the city has never flourished, and the only people that come to it do so either by boat or from Gibbons. This is Sylvie’s hometown.

The Grey Bridges -
Built during the time of governments, the Grey Bridges have existed almost longer than history records. It started as a simple project by the ancient monarchies of Robarge and Wynngaard in order to promote trade between the four continents. A mammoth project, it took nearly a hundred and twenty years for all four bridges to be complete. Spanning fifty feet wide, the bridges were built to accommodate a great amount of traffic coming and going both directions. At the time of their construction, they cleared the water by thirty-five feet, but due to the slow shift of currents, the buildup of silt and sand, and other such factors, that is no longer the case. Now, the bridges are susceptible of flooding during high tide. Despite this, they are still heavily in use and are the more popular method of traveling from one continent to another. The main connection for three of the bridges is Island Pass, which serves as a gatekeeper for Wynngaard, Teherani, and Robarge. Conli is from this island.

Honor Raconteur grew up all over the United States and to this day is confused about where she’s actually from. She wrote her first book at five years old and hasn’t looked back since. Her interests vary from rescuing dogs, to studying languages, to arguing with her characters. On good days, she wins the argument.

Since her debut in September 2011, Honor has released over a dozen books, mostly of the fantasy genre. She writes full time from the comfort of her home office, in her pajamas, while munching on chocolate. She has no intention of stopping anytime soon and will probably continue until something comes along to stop her.

Her website can be found here:
http://www.honorraconteur.com
,
or if you wish to speak directly with the author, visit her on Facebook.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Epilogue

Glossary

Honorifics:

Characters:

World:

Author