Description
Late in the Era of Reclamation, the Mornset Countryside is a haven for those who have fled the northern governments and societies of Tal'Dorei, whether to avoid punishment for illegal activity or simply because they prefer the freedom, if also the uncertainty, of the frontier. The terrain is primarily grassy plains, with some interspersed woodlands, and the settlements are small. The Mornset Countryside is also known for its landscapes marked by rivers and rolling hills.
In the eastern Mornset, along the Stormpoint Mountains, are towns nestled in swamps and shadowy forests.
Notable locations
- Byroden: The northernmost community in the Mornset Countryside. Was the second-largest settlement in the Mornset in 812 PD, but had become the largest by 836 PD.
- Hebron: A small town near Byroden that is the birthplace of Malvolio Contreras.
- Heldenfaire: A small uncharted village.
Society
Mornset society is fiercely independent in outlook. As of 812 PD it was primarily populated by humans, with small groups of similarly free-thinking dwarves, halflings seeking the simpler life of the past, and even some elven outcasts from Syngorn.
However, those living in the Mornset Countryside cooperate with each other and help each other out in order to maintain the self-sufficiency of their society. They hold to a code of behavior called the Fundaments, prescribing hospitality toward travelers, outcasts, and neighbors in need. Many of the settlements have also allied with local "lowborn" giantkin for protection against the southern threat of the Iron Authority. Mornset settlers rarely travel further south to the dangerous Rifenmist Jungle other than for occasional peaceful dealings with the Orroyen tribes. By 836 PD the Orroyen traded frequently with the Free Folk of Mornset, occasionally traveling as far north as Byroden for trade in rare goods.
As of 836 PD, some Emonian merchants desired for the Mornset communities to be brought into the Tal'Dorei Republic, and while some on the Rifenmist Peninsula would have welcomed some assistance in protecting against the Iron Authority, they also feared allowing the Republic to establish a military presence that would bring them under Emon's control.
After the Era of Reclamation ended in 843 PD, Byroden was one of several cities across Exandria that agreed to allow residents of Ruidus to relocate to its vicinity in a structured way.
Religion
As of the late Era of Reclamation, both Avandra, the Changebringer and Erathis, the Lawbearer had prominent followings on the Rifenmist Peninsula, and presumably these were majority faiths in the Mornset specifically. Several other gods had minority followings on the peninsula: Melora, the Wildmother, Sehanine, the Moonweaver, Zehir, the Cloaked Serpent, and—established sometime between 812 and 836 PD— Asmodeus, Lord of the Hells.
Age of Arcanum
A society in the Age of Arcanum paved in the western parts of this region a long road of gold-flecked white stone and mica, ending around a place that would come to be known as Byroden: "by road's end". The society was ancient and long passed by the end of the Calamity, and what remained of the road was mostly obscured by grass.
The future name of the valley was hinted at during the Divergence that marked the end of the Calamity, when Nez Pilch, a goblin settler in the refugee camp of Torm's Hill at its eastern edge, looked out over it the morning after their successful defeat of soldiers of the Strife Emperor and said, "May it ever be a valley for free peoples, here as the morning sets."
Some days later, a great army of treants marched south across the valley; they were sent to create the Rifenmist Jungle to border the lands poisoned by the Strife Emperor during the Calamity. Days afterward and to the west, a vast herd of unicorns soundly defeated an army of thousands of devils. Among them was Lumia, a servant of the Arch Heart, and elves carrying the symbol of the Arch Heart fought alongside the unicorns. Griffons descended to help complete the rout, and the remaining devils retreated to the Nine Hells. Lumia was sad to know their deity would soon be leaving the Material Plane. After their victory, the unicorns' horde also proceeded south.
Era of Reclamation
The outsider colonies of the Mornset Countryside were formed by refugees from the rule of Drassig joining with outcasts of Syngornian society.
In 792 or 793 PD, here at the southern edge of the Tal'Dorei Council's influence, the ancient red dragon Thordak began to raid caravans and autonomous villages, which sent requests to Emon for aid and protection against a "nightmare of fire and malice." Sovereign Odellan Tal'Dorei rejected the idea of sending a regiment as too costly without confirmation of the threat. Two years later, when the Council finally received more specific reports of the largest red dragon on record, Thordak had already burned the fields of the Mornset Countryside and enslaved the Outerfolk of the region. Mors Draconis, the adventuring party to which Allura Vysoren and Kima of Vord belonged, arrived to find Thordak laying waste to everything around the Gladepools, including Byroden. However, as of 812 PD, Byroden had been fully rebuilt, and when the Crown Keepers visited in 843 PD it was still a heavily guarded town but was vibrant. The Crown Keepers traveled through the Mornset Countryside on their way south to investigate the ruins of the Qoniira Tetrarchy.
