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"It is the Crossing where most come to make their fortunes. For some it is the center of a new frontier to be explored, but for many, it is also a second chance."
- Councilman Edwin Alpenspire

The Free City of Carran's Crossing is a newly settled town located on the border of the kingdoms of Paladia and Calindra within the Blueblood Riverlands, earning it's independence by the peace terms of the Swordbreak Concord following the bloody border conflict instigated by Lord Arno Talistar and Lady Caron Arendon put to an end by the famous adventurer Carran of Dorwich, formerly of The Heroes of the Three Cities


History

In spite of being nestled between the greatest realms of the Heartlands, the lands surrounding the River Blueblood's main channel and fork have a long history of rebuking settlers owing to the various monsters infesting it from the enormous roc that were known to hunt in the Featherfall Plains, the hill giants that used to lair in the Dusk Peaks, and the long-ranging orcish tribes descending from the Baradani. Over time the steady march of civilization had whittled away the dangers of even this wilderness and as of 1179 A.F.C. a trade outpost situated on the modern Midway Harbour was settled by a caravan headed by a Calindran merchant company, gradually entrenching it's position as it's numbers swelled from settlers bound from both east and west. By 1194 F.C. the beginnings of a true, permanent settlement had formed on the island at the River Blueblood's fork. Inevitably, conflict would stir.

Lady Caron of Arendeep were the first to claim the Blueblood Riverlands as an extension of her own ancestral lands owing to the original settlers being of Calindran origin and soon brought to question by Lord Arno of Talistar whom disputed the riverlands as part of Paladia, dating back to the long-lost Duchy of Wallandor dating back to it's ancient history. Negotiations proved fruitless as tempers flared, neither party interested in compromise over the ownership of the budding new boom-town and what could one day become a vital trade hub of the Heartlands. A bloody end seemed the nearly inevitable conclusion between the rivals, drumming up support for each of their causes in their respective wider realms with the lingering bad blood since their kingdoms' recent war, a bitter border conflict soon arose as neighbours of the nascent town were turned against the other. 

After various clever skirmishes led by Lady Caron the Calindran forces had pressed the bulk of Lord Arno's small army to the edge of the Mere of Bones where the Paladians had dug in to settle the conflict the way they knew best: in open, valiant battle. As news spread to the courts of Eribourne and Calanthea, the young kings of the rival kingdoms scrambled to send word to their distant lords calling for an end to the conflict, unwilling to risk a second war after that which had claimed the lives of both of their parents. By the demands of formal custom, Caron and Arno met in the latter's camp in a last attempt to discuss terms that neither had interest in accepting. Thus it were, however, that the rogue and adventurer Carran of Dorwich had become aware of the conflict, emerging as the two lords were due to part with a declaration: the wine they and their retinue had shared that night was spiked with a magical poison and he would withhold the antidote unless they both in turn withheld all hostilities for no less than three days, assured they would otherwise be dead within the week. 

All attempts by the lords' clerics to heal the ailment failed, perhaps partially owing to the fact that they too had been present and partaken in the wine, terribly stricken by a malady that left them bedridden and, as the bards retell it, "upset the workings of their bowels most mercilessly". With no choice but to comply, hostilities ceased, and in that delay the messengers of the distant kings' arrived to demand an end to the conflict. Carran had lied about his poison, there were no cure, but Arno and Caron would survive with only their pride broken. In a hasty attempt at compromise King Osric of Paladia and King Alvendir of Calindra declared that the Blueblood Riverlands be named an independent, separate realm unto itself. 

Carran of Dorwhich became a hero overnight once again with his daring scheme that put an end to the border conflict and the man whom allowed the riverlands to become an independent town. It came as no surprise that he was elected it's very first mayor and only a small surprise when he ran off after less than a year in office when sedentary life became too dull, making off in the night with a not-so-modest chunk of the town treasury stuffed in his pack. While their local hero and first mayor did not stick around, the name did, and Carran's Crossing is today a fast growing trade hub connecting the northern ends of Calindra and Paladia. The scars of the old conflict remains as the town strives for an identity of it's own beyond the divisions of it's origins, as thus all whom had partaken in the conflict on either side were summarily exiled for a period of ten years on pain of death. Those veterans whom refused the decree would become the infamous outlaw bands still troubling the Caledor Trail and Kingsroad known as the Kingfishers from the Calindran side and the Kingsmen on the Paladian side of the conflict. 


Society

Composed primarily of immigrants from Paladian and Calindran descent, only the first generation of it's original settlers can claim to be truly native to the area, it has nevertheless forged a strong pioneer spirit as ambitious, adventurous young men and women come to seek their way into the newest inland frontier to settle and rediscover one of the last untouched ends of the Heartlands. While it's population is largely Heartlanders it is steadily growing to become far more diverse with settlers from farther afield come to seek their fortune. The more exotic, far-flung visitors come in no small part from the ranks of adventurers that are known to be drawn like flies to honey in places where wealth and danger might be found in equal measure and it's reputation does not disappoint. 

The sudden disappearance of it's first mayor has left the administration of the town somewhat poorly established, ruled since then by a hastily-formed town council composed of it's head spiritual leader, the merchant guildmaster, guard captain, and most recently, it's newly appointed hedge wizard. As the town has steadily expanded it has been decided that the role of mayor be reinstated that more clear action can be decided should Carran's Crossing find itself under duress as it's growing prosperity begins to invite those who could take it for themselves. Growing out of the original caravan guards brought along with the settlers, a proper town guard has been established and even a small, separate militia known as the Wolf Watch after it's beginnings as a team of rangers responsible for guarding the roadbuilders, they now hold a permanent seat in the small fort of Brokenfang Keep guarding the Crossing from orc raids from the north while manning patrols up and down the Blueblood. 

The mixture of both Calindran and Paladian influences is keenly felt within the local culture where shrines of both the kingdoms' favoured deities jostle for space around the unifying temple of Alissa. It's original settlers of Calindran merchants have carried with them their aversion toward the nobility and their inborn advantages, letting their money do the talking, while the scrappy adventurers arriving in search of glory and excitement have all but become the knight-errants of the borderlands and the making of their own ballads and local legends. To many of its settlers it is a place to find their fortunes when they have failed elsewhere or a place to belong when none others would take them, earning their place into the solidarity that comes with forging a life on the uncertain frontier. 

The wounds left by its violent past still haunts some of its denizens and although most of its settlers consider the Crossing their home, the lingering animosity between its Paladian and Calindran diaspora whom both lost much to past wars has not been easily buried.