Port Aethelgard

Also known as Verum Roma Colony, formerly Kwith-Ka by the Ratfolk.

This island located in the northern corridor between the Western Continent and Tiss is now known as Port Aethelgard, though its history is written in layers of ancient stone and bitter ink. Long before any maps marked this spot, the Ratfolk established the warren of Kwith-Ka. They remained undisturbed for decades, building a communal civilization within the island's limestone cliffs and trading only with the occasional pirate or wandering Fae. This peace ended with the arrival of the Imperial Reman Republic. A faction involved in the Reman civil war colonized the island, seeking distance from the capital and established the Verum Roma Colony on the western side of the island. While they initially stayed apart from the Ratfolk, their marble villas and stone arches began the slow encroachment on the native foraging grounds.

As Reman influence waned, the City-State of Tiss moved in, replacing legions with the Vell Trading Company. During this era, Tissian "Clarity Audits" led to the mass kidnapping of Ysoki who were funneled into "Voluntary Servitude" contracts and shipped to various Tiss trading ports and the Island nation of Tiss. Because of its perfect location, the island became a convergence point for seafaring cultures including the Jade and Red Sun Empires, the Cherokee, the Norse, and the Vanguardians.

The current state of things began when the Dawn Landers recognized the island was being bled dry by Tissian legalism and multicultural squabbling. Using their merchant influence, they purchased the exclusive trade rights for the island directly from Tiss. Upon taking control, the Dawn Landers ended the legal practice of indentured servitude on the island and rebranded the colony as Port Aethelgard. They established an official trading port with standardized weights and fair-trade laws and appointed a governor to oversee the docks.

Today, Aethelgard is a city of distinct tiers. The Heights still hold the crumbling marble of Verum Roma where the Governor resides, while the Docks serve as the bustling, efficient hub for the merchant fleets. Mallow, the last living Ratfolk of the island, no longer dwells in the silent warrens beneath the city. Instead, she lives on a small island out in the harbor in her little tent house, keeping watch over the water with her rowboat.

The Hidden Origins and the Haunted Wilds

Beyond the documented arrival of merchant fleets and imperial factions, a more ancient secret lies at the heart of the island. Rumors persist among scholars and long-time residents of a gateway portal hidden within a long-forgotten cave. It is whispered that this is the very threshold the original Ratfolk crossed when they first entered Shiandria from their home world. While its exact location remains lost to the encroaching forest and shifting tides, the portal remains a source of both hope for the displaced and dread for those who fear what else might emerge from the void.

This sense of unease is most palpable at the edge of the village, where the dense forest begins. Most travelers and sailors refuse to venture into the woods, fearing they are haunted or serve as a hidden domain for the Fae. These fears are grounded in frequent reports of a vengeful female Ratfolk spirit that inhabits the deep thickets. Known to be a fierce protector of her territory, she is said to seek relentless revenge upon any who harmed her in life and any who dare to trespass upon her domain today.