Description
Hearthdell is built on a large cleared hilltop, the Ottumback Hill, surrounded by farm fields to the east and southeast. It consists of "dozens upon dozens" of buildings and homesteads.
Points of interest
- Silvercall Mill - The larger of two lumber mills, located on the north side of the village. It is owned by the Silvercall family out of Endovaar, who had bought a lot of property in Hearthdell and arranged for the Sunrise Sanctuary to be built there. According to a local inhabitant, their excessive logging caused a bit of discontent to the Demithore Eidolons.
- Rainmade Mill - The smaller lumber mill, locally owned by the well-liked Rainmade family for over two centuries.
- Stone Square - The central square at the highest point of the hill. It contains a stone monolith that juts out as it rises, and has steps built around it. Two maypoles have been erected off to the sides.
- The Sunrise Sanctuary - The Temple of the Dawnfather, it is much larger than would be expected for a village of this size. It was built around 823 PD of beautiful white marble with red and gold details on its multiple towers, and a central dome. Inside the Dawnfather was depicted battling the Lord of the Hells. The temple was destroyed in 843 PD by the Demithore Eidolons after Bells Hells and the villagers defeated the followers of Pelor.
- Innovar Apothecary - Owned and operated by Proleff.
- Telder Twins Pub - Has rooms for rent.
- Fairfroth Brewery - Secret meetings are organized inside.
- Arklune Fields - Located on the southeastern side of the village.
- The Knotburrow - A large, two-story, quaint looking rounded cottage with round windows, wrapped in vines. It is the home of Elder Abaddina.
The Loam and the Leaf
Instead of worshiping the Prime Deities, the Betrayer Gods, or other lesser deities, the villagers follow a lifestyle (seen as "pagan" by outsiders) called The Loam and the Leaf. They have done so for centuries, worshiping the local eidolons, respecting them and establishing a symbiotic relationship in which the spirits took care of the mortals while they took care of the land, and showing their discontent when they failed to comply with said requirement.
The elders of the village are the ones who communicate with the eidolons in behalf of their people, with Joan Abaddina's family having done so generations.
History
At some point in the past the villagers of Hearthdell contacted the Demithore Eidolons, elemental spirits of the land that had survived the Founding. They started organizing their spiritual lifestyle, the Loam and the Leaf, around those entities, being respectful to the land they inhabited and communicating with the Eidolons through the elders of the village. Eventually the position of elder was filled by Joan Abaddina, a local soothsayer whose family had protected Hearthdell from external threats for years.
Around 823 PD, missionaries from Othanzia with ties with the local and wealthy Silvercall family built the Sunrise Sanctuary on the north side of the village. Although this displeased the Demithore Eidolons and not many townsfolk were interested in following the god of the temple, Pelor the Dawnfather, the locals and the newcomers coexisted, and over the years a few conversions happened, although others only entered the temple as an excuse to inform other villagers about what was happening inside. However, in 843 PD, Vasselheim sent more forces to Hearthdell, suddenly interested in ending the village's "pagan" lifestyle (thus being antagonized by the locals), although also communicating their concern about the approaching apogee solstice; the truth behind this was that, due to the approaching event, the leylines were starting to shift, with a new nexus appearing over the village, and Vasselheim wanted to reassert their control over that new place of power, being willing to buy more land with the help of the Silvercall family in order to build even more temples. When the solstice arrived the villagers, who despite their tensions with the bastions of the temple and the newly arrived Judicators wanted to have some fun, organized a party, but after they named the stone seat king and queen, they started hearing someone's voice giving a speech on divinity, after which eleven people disappeared, teleported to other points in Exandria.
Elder Abaddina used her scrying well to look for some of the missing people, but she was more focused on the townsfolk's plans to fight the followers of the Dawnfather and free their village, convincing a group of adventurers, Bells Hells, to join them. After a brief attempt of negotiation with Flameguide Kiro, the people of Hearthdell attacked the Sunrise Sanctuary. Although some villagers were killed, their efforts were successful, managing to kill several followers of the Dawnfather, including Flameguide Kiro, one Judicator and one Dawnborn Angel, and banishing the surviving bastions loyal to Vasselheim; the temple itself was destroyed by Elder Abaddina and the Demithore Eidolons, who reclaimed the building with vines.
After their victory (which included recovering a local boy that had joined the temple and now regretted his decision) the townsfolk celebrated, and the tithes that had been kept by the followers of Pelor were returned to the people.
