Hourdast

Hourdast, dubbed The Province of Frozen Trees, is a Darklands realm to the north. A curse resides in the Cursed Forest to Hourdast's south, rendering it useless to the Darklords, but the land has given the Drakkarim a small taste of freedom.

History

Before the arrival of the Darklords, the Forest of Amazkononim (also known as the Cursed Forest) was cursed by the Cener Druids, sending any living being into an eventual sleep, and the Giant Wolves, once inhabitants of the forest, moved to Tadatizaga. The only antidote to this curse is known by the Herbwardens. The curse made Hourdast useless to the Darklords when they arrived. However, in MS 4492, a group of Drakkarim renegades, who had staged a failed coup against the Warmarshal the same year, claimed the Forest of Amazkononim as their own. They were able to survive in the province due to them stealing a large quantity of the antidote from the Herbwardens. This drew derision from the Darklords, but ironically also gave them a degree of freedom they would otherwise never have had under the Darklords.

In MS 4995, the south seceded from Hourdast, forming the domain of Luurvad.

Geography

Hourdast is located in the frozen north of the Darklands, east of Gourizaga. The Forest of Amazkononim (also known as the Cursed Forest) stands in the south of Hourdast, a forest enchanted by a curse by the Cener Druids older than the Darklords, that sends its inhabitants into a slumber from which they will never awaken. Inhabitants thus live in the frozen tundra of the north, away from it. Beyond the Cursed Forest lies Luurvad.

Although Hourdast is sparsely-populated, it has two key fortresses. Valmarn, to the west, watches over Gourizaga's Nhaaga Keep, and Troonmahr, to the south, watching over the Cursed Forest and Luurvad. In the latter, troops have to be rotated out in order to avoid succumbing to the curse.

Politics

Odgoz, a renegade Drakkarim Gudjadoknar, has ruled Hourdast since MS 4992.

Its population in MS 5000 was over 5,000 Drakkarim, of which 2,000 were combat-ready. There were also 1,000 slaves.

Design

In the first edition of The Darklands, the details about Hourdast were slightly different:

• Hourdast was instead ruled by Vorrat Tlorn, one of the great leaders of the Drakkarim.
• Luurvad did not secede from Hourdast, although the two realms were ruled by Drakkarim, and they struggled against each other to make themselves stronger.
• Its total population was 20,000, rather than 5,000.

Sources

• Hahn, August [2004] (2011). "Darklands Geography: Hourdast — The Province of Frozen Trees", The Darklands, Dever, Joe, Second Edition, Mongoose Publishing.