Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #67 - Hearth and Hydincall

19th of Tridec 1047 - Hearth, Duchy of Ferrand
The month of Tridec in Crosdes is simply full of mud.  The thaw has occurred and the rains have come.  The rains are not torrential, but they are of a cold, unrelenting assault of dampness through every crevasse imaginable.  And with no sun to dry the countryside, the roads have turned into a brown quagmire.    No trade is being conducted across this land right now, and the only other travelers I encountered were some ingenious woodsmen using converted snowshoes to stay above the mud.

I'll need to stay in Hearth a few days to let the weather turn more favorable.  I'll keep my head down and Optmar Hestir will get extra care in the stables for the great effort he put forth getting me here with zero complaint.

...

30th of Tridec 1047 - Hydincall, capital of the Kingdom of Crosdes.
The extended stay in Hearth to warm my soul, dry out the trade routes, and make a plan was a wise choice.  With that time, I enjoyed life as a random stranger with just enough money, but not too much to attract attention.

With warmer weather and sunnier skies, I made great time to visit Hydincall, the capital of Crosedes and the seat for the great Church of Akana.

Feraso City has always been my benchmark of civilization, of grandeur.  It is a vast metropolis with numerous ages of architecture and dozens, if not hundreds of remarkable buildings and monuments.

Hydincall is not as big, not as old, or as varied, but I can describe the capital with one word I never did for the capital of Ras-Prythax: Vibrant.    The colors are bolder, the citizens friendlier and off-puttingly frenetic.  The Archbishop of Hydincall has vast holdings of the church inside the city's walls, filled with temples and lyceums, museums and poor houses for all the world to see.  And even under the shadowy megalith of the Church, shrines and temples of even the pettiest or most distant gods can be discovered just down the street.  The Crosedean Military and their Knights of Crosedes are not respected or feared in this town.  They are, I daresay, loved by the populace.

And even with those two potential factions inside the walls, there is room for the Hydincall Lyceum, a school of wizardry! 

Yet, all this civilized talk and action within Crosedes has allowed one primitive activity to keep the rest of the population satiated with some bestial blood.  Hydincall is home to the largest collesium in the world, and unlike the one in Ispatlia, it still hosts gladiatorial combats.

The fact that Crosedes' capital hosts the heart of teaching of Akana, the home of the 'world' gladiator championships, and the most reputable arcane university between Senzar, Feraso City and Lygresse, I'm certain to find some part of the kingdom satisfactory to my needs.

Next:  #68 - The Free Town of Omsjik

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