Mgzeluin Village

Mgzeluin Village

Pronounced, “muh-neigh-loon”, Mgzeluin is a community of people that eek out a living on the gently rolling lands between the Mist Fox Mountains of Saast and the Zolkhar Mountains of Azelkha. They dwell on the demesne of the Noble House of the Pale Wind. Historically, Mgzeluin was founded as an outpost to watch for incursion of savage beasts that roamed the Mist Kill Plains. It slowly grew into a community, spurred into rapid growth a little more than 100 years ago by the formation of the Seagnzchaylien but has slowly receded back to a more natural size.

The people of the Mgzeluin are slow and apathetic like the rest of Saast, content in their isolationism and indifference. The heavy fogs that bath the land provide an almost surreal quality to life, adding to the sedate and apathetic pulse of their lives. It also gives fuel to the great brood of folk lore and reality of the things that dwell in the mist.

The primary occupations in Mgzeluin are harvesting or farming. Harvesting is by far the most common and many exotic foodstuffs, plants and semi-precious things are found in the Mountains of the Pale, Mist Kill and Mist Shorn Plains, Zool Stalk Forest, and along the edge of the Seagnchaylien. Farming is tougher; the soil is rich but hard and sunlight little. It takes many years to cultivate the land to make a living.

Nobility:

Lord Ktor, House of the Pale Wind. Ktor is the custodian of the Pale Wind lands from the southern border of the Zool Haunt Forest to the Seagnzchaylien. He is almost always away, either at Fangwall or north to Seajuin, leaving his son, Caesmein in charge of the local area in his absence. Caesmain takes this charge seriously and is always about in the village, ensuring the presence of the Pale Wind is felt. His sister, Stairtyi, is cut from different cloth, however, and is always into mischief of one sort or another. Their fighting and shouting matches are legendary in the village and betting always ensues when they occur to see who will be the loudest.
Lord Maeynqueuk (Ghorfarian Noble, House of Jade and Steel). Maeynqueuk is a wizard and is engrossed in studies of the Seagnzchaylien, the nexus and tangle of ley lines that converge around Mgzeluin. At time noted for hits quixotic behavior, he is still well liked and a free spender with what seems like an endless amount of coin.

Other Notables:

Chiall. More frequently known as “Goat Face” due to his heavy facial scarring, Chiall is a Swamp Saurig and a pensioned soldier of the Pale Wind. He is always at one of the three ponds in the village or The Mother Hill.
Cobalt Foxhaunt. New to Mgzeluin, Cobalt is from the Fox Haunt forest area, something he is loud about saying. Among the scavengers and hunters he has made a name and earned a place in their lodge in a very short amount of time (less than 2 years). This has gone a long way towards overcoming the villagers’ initial hostility to his obviously Tuchukk heritage.
Faded Jay. The only year-round shop that’s open in Mgzeluin. He sells a hodgepodge of everything, from food to blades and always seems to have something unique tucked away to dazzle a customer. Liked by just about everyone, the Kobbitt is also a prodigious drinker and well known at the Inescapable Mist.
Joein LaMail. His family was deeded land by the Pale Wind in the past for their acts of bravery during the nexus storms that birthed the Seagnzchaylien. He is currently a sheep herder and keeps hundreds of them on his lands near the Pond. Very likable and energetic when it comes to his sheep but lethargic otherwise, Joein is well known as a keen wrestler
Locke Duan, Sergeant, Fog Shiver Battalion. When Fang Wall was created 113 years ago to guard against the Seagnzchaylien, the Fog Shiver Battalion was left to guard its walls. As time has progressed, more and more of the battalion was called away until only a mere handful remains. Mgzeluin is a dead end post in the Saast military and no one knows what disfavor brought Locke Duan to Mgzeluin 9 yeas ago. When the roof collapsed in the old barracks 3 years ago, Locke ordered it abandoned and moved his small headquarters into the Inescapable Mist Tavern and hasn’t left since. His 7 men are, Corporal Utain and Soldiers: Mikelhaep, Kailtailn, Diia, Hoan, Zpculad, and Nealdoft.
Moawgnte. Sister to Trelbrangze, Moawgnte is a devotee to Boreas and minds the Winter Tower shrine. She is little seen in the village.
Trelbrangze. Always on one quest to find something or another, Trelbrange seems to be constantly on the move, getting out of one scrap right into another. He is frequently being nursed back to health by his sister Moawngte after getting hurt in one of his adventures or moving around town looking for his next quest.

Local Holidays & Ceremonies:

Burning of the Mist. A midsummer event where bonfires are lit at night until the dawn of the next day. No one sleeps that night and all dance, eat and revel with abandon until the sun mounts the sky.

Local Legends:

Hidden Riches of Andail the Arduinian Thief. Andail supposedly robbed many people of riches on a trail from Arduin to Saast, hiding more than 17 wagon loads of treasure in a concealed hideout somewhere in the area. The prize of his riches was a golden head the size of a large bull, that could speak and tell the future.
Lady of the Boughs. Ancient Seelie Faerie with powers of healing. She dwells wherever trees meet rivers and is known for her incredible powers of healing. Her coming is always preceded by song and music and they say she must come to your aid if you offer her a drop of blood, a silver coin and a strand of hair.
Moon Wells of Skaera. A holy shrine and a place of pilgrimage for Skirin that was swallowed by the mists on the Mountains of the Pale. They say some horrible transgression fouled the wells there and the world covered them up so Skirin would not gaze upon the pollution of his sacred thane.
Singing Son. A jolly child, singing and happy, whose sighting is said to be a sign of good fortune.
The Zool. The fanged, winged, reptilian-demon nightmare and bogeyman that is said to have eyes everywhere and to hunt to fill its voracious appetite. Used to scare children and frighten them into obedience. Still, the Zool Stalk Forest is to the north and their have been tales…

Local Places of Note:

Abandoned Barracks. After the room caved in, the barracks were left to rot and are in poor shape.
Chonguong’s Challenge. Made of different stuff than the average Saast, Chonguong traveled the world and lived an adventurous life. When he retired, he swore to instill the same passionate spirit that burned in him into every child of Saast he could. While he passed away 6 years ago, his spirit lives on is a maze of trees, mist and vegetation he built to, “challenge all who seek to rekindle the spirit of adventure”. His “challenge” is a living maze that shifts, changes and challenge’s its seekers. Its prizes are the wealth of his adventures (and a lot of advice). It’s a favorite pastime of the village though in the years following his death the challenge has grown wilder and more dangerous.
Fair Maid’s Hill. Haunted by the ghost of a woman who dove to her death over love.
Grinning Horse Hill. Large hill in town with a 40 ft burned imprint of a skeletal horse and rider burned into the stone at the top. A place where people in the town go for mischief and fun.
Hunting Lodge. The community home of the hunters and harvesters in the village.
Impen Twel’s Home. Impen Twel’s house has been locked up tight sine he left nearly 20 years ago.
Inescapable Mist Tavern. The best (and only) beer in Mgzeluin. Also the home of the Fog Shiver Battalion since their barracks collapsed.
Mother Hill. Small hill in the town with a shrine to Amarydion at the top.
Winter Towers. The shrine sent of Menhirs in the eastern part of the village.

Saast Geography:

Metal Towers. As the land moves east towards the Azelkha, the Mist Kill plains meld into the Mist Shorn plains, becoming gentler and less shrouded. A pocket of the plains is strewn almost haphazardly with jagged protruding stones and columns of metal, some that stand 20 ft or higher. It’s a place of mystery and known haunt of spirits and dangerous beasts.
Mist Fox Mountains. Large sprawling mountain chain in southern Saast. The leg of the mountains as it spears into Saast is called the Mountains of the Pale.
Mist Kill Plains. The rolling hills and plains south of the village always shrouded in mist and filled with dangerous beasts.
Mist Shorn Plains. The rolling hills and plains east of the village as the land moves into Azelkha.
Mountains of the Pale. Mist strewn mountains filled with white stone and honey colored soil. Actually the northern finger of the Mist Fox Mountains where they enter Saast. Highly prized for its wealth in animals and vegetation, such as silk from mist walker spiders, feathers from albino raptors, kut (beetles), Zigfondl (potato like tuber), and Mist Scum (pale fungus that looks like spilled milk).
Seagnzchaylien. A cursed place found in the Mist Kill Plains. It formed 113 years ago during a Black Equinox as a nexus storm raged across the land. When the storm ended, a strange land appeared, one filled with horrible creatures and fell beasts so foul that demons would weep at their evilness. It took three years and the blood of countless souls to contain it. Eighteen runic towers were made to surround and master it. The linchpin of the barrier is Fang Wall, a dark stone ridge with protruding stone and replicas of the 18 runic towers. Fang Wall is where all the ley lines flowing into the area where redirected to power the runic towers. Its also where the restless dead, slain by the fell beasts within, congregate and go forth in packs of restless soldiers to eternally hunt down anything that might get free.
Seajuin. Village to the north of about twice the size of Mgzeluin.
Zolkhar Mountains. Mountains that form a large part of the eastern border with Azelkha.
Zool Stalk Forest. Large expanse of wood to the north of the village, supposedly the home and hunting ground of the legendary Zool. Considered a dangerous place and unlivable.