Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #321

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #321 

November 18th, 2023 

• Number: 321 

• Name: Deep Dive on an Area of Interest: Knights of the Borderlands - Part 6 

• Location: Northwest corner of County Macad in the City-State of Noldrune 

• Population (approx.): 5110 (Gracewood Chateau and surrounding tenants) 

• Brief:  Although the three ex-Ta'arnan Legionnaires who founded House Macad over 5 centuries ago were not members of one of the long-standing noble Houses of Noldrune, the three new bloodlines, led by the Viscounts Ember, Tinder and Coal, forged early alliances with existing noble families large and small. Some proudly traced their lineage to Houses, of the Swords of the Night, who made the great migration from the far north to settle the Narrows and northern lands of the southern continent Sudeben. One of those families, House Basnum, makes their home in Viscounty Ember at Gracewood Chateau. 

• Damosel Camilla Basnum, Lady of Gracewood Chateau, 55, female Human, is a bard known for her songs and gifted voice. She is petite and has auburn hair, which she wears long and plaited. Her forest green eyes are wide and filled with wonder. Camilla loves a good party or any excuse to play her lute and sing. She also loves to dress in exotic clothes and will sometimes change outfits between sets to amplify the mood of the next group of songs. Camilla can also play various instruments and is always ready to try a new one. As a practical person, she is very skilled with daggers. 

• Camilla's parents were nobility, and she grew up without a care in the world. One of her nannies taught her to play the lute and many songs. When Camilla was eighteen, and her parents wanted her to marry an older man, she rebelled. Camilla became a bard and worked in a variety of distant taverns. One day, Denise Raventide, one of Count Macan’s advisors, heard Camilla singing in a Far Harbor inn and thought her voice might sway the diplomats of the Ceannar Peoples to sign a particularly contentious trade agreement. It worked, and as a reward Camilla became a Lady in her own right and returned home to gracefully inherit Gracewood Chateau. 

• Camilla is married to Sir Reed Ashcut, 57, male Human, warrior and tracker. They have two children, Hope, female 28, and Seth, male 25. They also have three grandchildren: Hope’s children Tucker, boy 8; Buckley, boy 6; and Seth’s child Merla, girl 3. They all get together once a month at the chateau and spend the weekend regaling one another with stories and eating good food. 

• Geography: Graceview Chateau (location 5 see below) is about 20 miles east of Mapleview Manor (location 4) and 28 miles southeast of Stormview Estate (location 3), connected to both by country roads. The Chateau is a large and elegant mansion, surrounded by beautiful gardens featuring several intricate hedge mazes. The building pre-dates the Ta’arnan occupation and was restored to its prior Noldrunean style northern Amthorian architecture after the Empire fell. Graceview Chateau was built on a small rise overlooking the town of Grace to the south. A touch of Amthor can be found in villages, homes and churches throughout the over 300 square miles of farmlands, orchards and small woods comprising Basnum lands.