Index Mappai Solitudi: The Lordship of Volthaal

[Intraglyph: This is part of Vulf Bear-Hat's great Mappa Solitudi in its somniculized version provided by the great Athenaeum Telvannicum. An overview of all the appendices and indexes related to the map can be found here. Don't forget to read the History of Solitude. Or get a closer look at the map with the new super-zoom edition of the map.]

> Index Indicum:

> Index I: The City of Solitude

> Index II: The Island of Volkihar

> Index III: The Norinvaar Hundred

> Index IV: Sovereignty of Luftraan

 

#Lordship of Volthaal (From Ancient Nordic Vollathâla “Mountain-Valley”) (CESS-VI)

The capital of Volthaal, Volskygge (Ancient Nordic Vollalskuggja “Shadow of Vol”), is the oldest settlement still inhabited today in all Haafingar. It was built in the Merethic Era by the legendary king Vol of Volthaal, who ruled most of what is today Haafingar. The splendor of the past era of Vol and his sons is still evident in the city walls of Volskygge which still protect the city’s inhabitants today.

It is said, that when the armies of Man marched on Volthaal during the Dragon Wars, Vol’s descendant, King Volsung, decided to die in a proper manner before it was too late, for he doubted that the rebelling Men would allow him eternal afterlife. Thus, he took his own life along with those of all his servants, so that they could watch over him in his afterlife. The armies of Man didn’t bother killing that which was already dead, and so Volskygge became a city of the dead for many centuries to come. In the First Era, however, the King of the Bards in Solitude sent Fjoldmod Foul-Breather to seize the fortress, and since then, Volskygge and Volthaal have been inhabited by the living.

The housing in Volskygge (located in quadrant CESS-VI) is rather peculiar, for most people still live in the ancient halls carved into the rocky hillside in the First Era. Many dwellings still have locked and barricaded doors leading to the catacombs below the city, where the draugr dwell. It is considered a good custom to set out candles for the draugr, so as to maintain good relations with them.

Likewise, the peak of Mount Vol (CESS-V) is off-limits, as the last of Vol’s sons still rests there in his sarcophagus. It is said that the mountain’s summit is littered with ice statues - remains of the brave souls turned into icy monuments by Volsung because they disturbed him in his eternal sleep.

As a result of all this, the inhabitants of Volthaal have great respect for the dead, and grave robbing is strictly prohibited so as to not anger the draugr and their sleeping king.

 

Fyrmorn (From Ancient Nordic Fyrumôrne “Pine-Moon”) (DOHT-V)*

This lumbermen’s village in eastern Volthaal has been infested by vampires since the reign of the Wolf-Queen. The mortal populace is struggling to maintain a presence in the area.

 

Fyrthaal (From Ancient Nordic Fyruthâla “Pine-Vale”) (CESS-VI)

Unnamed on the Mappa Solitudi, Fyrthaal is a market town located where the road from Volskygge meets the main Jehennic-Solitudian trade route. Here, timber and grain from Volthaal has been sold at the annual Fyrthaal grain market since time immemorial.

 

Mor Khazgur (BEHT-VI)

Mor Khazgur is home to an Orc tribe of the same name. They trade with the Lord of Volthaal and pay their taxes, but otherwise they stick to themselves. However, interaction between the Orcs and the men of Volthaal, whose lineage is already tainted enough by Reachman ancestry as it is, has resulted in a rather greyish skin hue among the peasants of western Volthaal.